NYFW may be over, but Fashion Month has only just begun. Here’s the first of our London Fashion Week reviews, which you can see in full on our Fashion Week page. Between TopShop Unique‘s Egyptian themed body-con silhouettes, House of Holland‘s blown-up leopard spots and Jonathan Saunders 50s Miami prints, London is looking to be Read more →
The House of Holland show was a little bit of a visual shocker after seeing classic Brit heritage brand Jaeger London earlier on Saturday morning (review to come). A good chunk of the room was decked out in the bright orange and granny afghan print from Henry Holland’s fall 2011 collection. When I noted that the collection was titled “Pastel Punks” and that very large leopard spots had been painted on the wall, I knew it wasn’t going to be minimal (a word never, ever applicable to Henry Holland, admittedly.)
Holland’s inspiration this season was “skins and punks”, ska revival, and a Miami palette. Because of this, it was hands-down the best pre-show music I’ve heard this season–lots of Clash. The show started with some bleached-out denim pieces looked exactly like a sky filled with cheery clouds (unlike the London weather outside, which was a complete downpour.)
We heart Henry Holland, so when we found out the British designer was teaming up with Range Rover to document the London shoot of House of Holland’s Fall 2011 look book, we wanted to get in on the action.
The concept was to capture models wearing the collection at the designer’s favorite spots in the city. Henry was kind enough to answer some questions about the process for Fashionista, via this quirky little video.
LONDON–It’s only the second day of London Fashion Week, but the party circuit is in full swing. First up was Club Monaco’s event with Browns at the Royal College of Art. The Ralph Lauren-owned label is selling its wares in the UK for the first time through the legendary retailer, and they brought campaign star Lou Doillon and a slew of industry types out to celebrate. Along with a repeat appearance of that black and white photo booth–Club Monaco had one at last month’s Spring 2011 launch party in New York–the event’s big moment was when Clare Maguire took the stage. The singer/songwriter, who has been compared to Annie Lennox and Stevie Nix, is about to release a new single….
LONDON–Okay, I’ll admit it. When I received the invite to the House of Holland show and after party, I thought the bingo ink marker included was something else. What, I wasn’t so sure…. (And no, I didn’t look at the back of the invite, where there was a bingo board printed, until long after I realized what the tube actually was.)
Now the bingo theme makes a lot more sense, given Henry‘s granny chic showing. There were lots of New Look-inspired wool tweed suits, delivered in pretty colors like magenta and tangerine. There were also tons of faux pearls, which were dotted on sweaters, fastened to denim dresses, and made into giant hoop earrings.
LONDON–New York Fashion Week has come to a close, and now it’s time to switch gears and move to London. But what to expect?
New venues, for one. Although Somerset House remains show central, Topshop has moved its showspace to Old Billingsgate Market, a fish market, following a successful season at the old Eurostar terminal. Vivienne Westwood will show her anarchic Red Label wares at the Royal Courts of Justice, and Temperley London will become the first brand ever to mount a fashion show at the British Museum.
Look out for warring fashion parties, with AnOther Magazine’s tenth birthday bash at The Box (which just opened its London outpost on a suitably seedy Soho block) going head to head with the Love Magazine Party for Alexander Wang at Liberty on Saturday night. Temperley’s after-party takes place at the Groucho Club at the same time as Mulberry’s Claridges fete on Sunday. We’re keeping a cabbie on speed dial. Walk? In these shoes?
Still, our favourite parties are the shows themselves.
I want to be a Thom Browne girl: Surprise?! As far as we know, this is the first look at Thom Browne’s upcoming line for women. It of course it’s amazing. {Jak & Jil}
Google’s Trend Tracker: You can now track consumer interest in trends or brands on Google. The company, which has become increasingly fashion-conscious, demonstrates in their retail advertising blog how search queries can be traced and graphed over time and based on location. For example, most fashion trend-related searches grow in places like New York and Los Angeles and then spread throughout the rest of the country. Pretty cool. {Google via Blackbook}
Kate Moss is just like us: She got bored and cut her own bangs–with kitchen scissors. {Fashionologie}
Henry Holland For Roxy: Nylon gives us an exclusive look at Henry Holland’s new winter collection for Roxy. Fit for girls who love to hit the slopes, there are scarves, gloves, and tees. {Nylon}
Marie Claire Protest: We’re sure you’ve heard about the whole Marie Claire/Maura Kelly debacle. Well, a protest against Marie Claire ensued out of the Hearst building and Racked was there to document the whole thing. {Racked}
Bloomies Wants You To Carry Your Purchases In Style: Bloomingdale’s is rolling out limited edition designer shopping bags. Tory Burch, Elie Tahari, Marc Jacobs, Zac Posen and Michael Kors have all been selected to design their own bags, which will hit the stores early next month. {WWD}
LONDON–Fashion East, the London launchpad for raw young talent, celebrated its 10th year with the launch of a 10-piece range under new label Lulu & Co. Each look, some of which were only seen on the runway–never in stores–were handpicked by Fashion East founder Lulu Kennedy from the archives of alum like Richard Nicoll, Roksanda Ilincic, Jonathan Saunders and Henry Holland.
To mark the occasion, the East End fashion pack brought the party West to Harvey Nichols in London’s posh Knightsbridge neighborhood for a Mexican-themed disco replete with fish tacos, hibiscus margaritas, and wonderfully kitsch gold palm trees. Everyone from Roisin Murphy and Pixie Geldof to supermodel/presenter Jade Parfitt spun around in their favorite pieces from the range, while a tagteam set was DJ’d by Princess Julia, House of Holland and Hazel. We nabbed the ageless fairy godmother of London fashion, Lulu Kennedy, dressed in a fiery organza gown by Jonathan Saunders, to talk disco and a decade of designers.
Sharp pleats are everywhere–some more, please.
When House of Holland first debuted at London Fashion Week in 2008, people loved it–but not because it was so revolutionary. Rather, because it was fun. Really fun. And Henry Holland and his friends–Aggy Deyn, Peaches Geldoff, Alexa Chung–made it quite fun because it was their party. From fluorescent purple plaids to zebra print anything, it was to be taken as a fun romp, not a rack of clothing that people would actually buy.
But something changed with Holland’s “Pantone” collection. Despite its innate unwearability, people loved it so much that they became obsessed with this particular idea of color-blocking and scooped up every pair of tights produced. Holland realized that tights were great place to make some real cash, and soon his fashion house because a real business.
This season, with the help of Swarovski–who is also sponsoring me on my trip to London, thank you very much–the House of Holland became a viable commercial player. But not to worry–there was still plenty of fun to be had.
