Fashion Voyeur

People will stare, make it worth their while.

Categories: The Archives, The Fashion Closet

SOE Jakarta FW18 at London Fashion Week

You all know my love of discovering emerging design talent and one of the best places to do just that is at Fashion Scout.  Scout plays host to some of London Fashion Week‘s blossoming new talent as well as some of the more well established names like Dr Pam Hogg, but one of the most exciting things to witness at Scout is a designer’s debut.

FW18 has seen a plethora of new designers take to the vestibule of Freemason’s Lodge, from Amy Thomson‘s whimsical childlike wonderland, to Kristel Kuslapuu’s knitwear protest, Fashion Scout has got it going on.  One of the most anticipates debuts was from designer Monique Soeriaatmadja and her label SOE Jakarta whose FW18 collection The Unexplored Woman, was inspired by the works, life and style of American artist Georgia O’Keeffe.  Inspired by Georgia’s exhibitions in London and Brooklyn, the designer was drawn to the juxtaposition between Georgia’s personal style and her art.  Her wardrobe consisted of androgynous black and white; something of a stark contrast to her wildly colourful floral paintings.

SOE Jakarta is by no means new on the fashion scene, whilst the label is new to Scout, SOE Jakarta is actually in its sixth season and was born out of a love affair with hand woven textile and classic, timeless style.  The brand is committed to reviving the art of weaving in Indonesia and mixes local artisan techniques with technical fabrics to produce a collection which is as beautiful as it is wearable.

The FW18 collection features handwoven denim made on traditional Indonesian Manual looms which makes SOE Jakarta the first brand to bring this technique to London.  The yarn is dyed using natural dye Kayu Tinggi to create warm tones of brown, khaki and sand, reminiscent of the decor and surroundings of O’Keeffe’s New Mexico home.

The look is doubtlessly androgynous, loose fit dresses, jackets, trousers, skirts and shirts dominate the collection in handwoven cotton, crisp poplin and silk organza are layered to create both fitted and oversized shapes which lean towards a strong masculine silhouette.  In contrast, feminine detailing is seen on cinched in waists and drawstring detailing.

Designer Monique Soeriaatmadja

If the Indonesian influence wasn’t obvious enough, the collection features Batik textile stamp printing in a motif derived from one of O’Keeffe’s blue period paintings entitled ‘Blue Nude’.  The combination of O’Keeffe’s love for blue tones and kimono style dresses sees SOE Jakarta translate this into a wonderfully modern oversized shirt dress featuring this very Batik textile print.

For a collection that has been concentrated on such a restricted colour palette, it’s one that has produced some of the most wearable looks of day four, the split front denim pinstriped pant suit and thick bustier jumpsuits layered over loose fit polo necks piqued my interest in terms of styling.  Definitely one to watch for future seasons.

Pixie

 

Categories: The Archives, The Beauty Cupboard, The Fashion Closet

How I Switch Up My Look with SHOW DRY at London Fashion Week

When I travel to London Fashion Week I’m always working for the duration, that means I’m on duty for five full days and nights and in turn that results ins an overpacked suitcase that I usually need to sit on in order to close.  With that in mind, I need to meticulously plan every single item I take.  I plan two outfits per day, one for working shows and presentations, the other for partying on an evening.  Once I’ve done this, there’s little room for anything else.

I never, ever take any hair washing or styling equipment with me, not even so much as a hairbrush because space is precious and messy hair is cool.  So, how do I manage to stay looking awesome?  I always wash, tone and blowdry my hair the night before I travel, because I travel early, I get up and go, I don’t fiddle with it or restyle it, I literally get up and get out.  I wear that hair for the next three days, however it is when I wake up is how it is for the rest of the day, if it rains I might throw it up into a messy bun but I’m more likely to wear it messy topped off with a tifler.

Day three is where the magic happens.  I visit my favourite Notting Hill blowdry bar SHOW DRY who always look after me during Fashion Week and tend to my tresses.  They wash and prep my hair using products from the SHOW BEAUTY range (seriously, it’s worth it for the fragrance alone) and I usually opt for some sort of braid to keep my hair off my face and switch up my look for the remainder of the schedule.

Pixie Tenenbaum in the rain at London Fashion Week FW18

For the FW18 season day three brought with it hella bad weather.  The first day of bad weather for the whole of show season in fact, I’d been to the Paul Costelloe show that morning and been puddle dumped by a truck as I left The Waldorf Hotel so arrived at the salon in a fresh set of clothes but with gross and very wet hair.  After being greeted by Rihanna and given a bottle of San Pellegrino I felt decidedly less stressed.  She took me down to the back wash area downstairs which is dark shades of grey and black accented with gold, exactly like the bottles the SHOW BEAUTY products are so beautifully packaged inside.  We chatted about what sort of style I like, there have been some staffing changes at SHOW DRY so this is the first time Rihanna and I have met, I tell her that I’m an urban princess and “don’t want anything bridesmad-y or wedding guest-esque” she nods in agreement.

I usually plan exactly what I want in advance but this season’s schedule has been way too crazy to even remember my own name, so with that as her only brief, Rihanna gets to work blowdrying my over-processed hair.  To be totally honest, I pay little attention to what my Stylist does when i’m at SHOW DRY, I know I’m in good hands, the Notting Hill salon seems to just get it right without forcing their own opinions about what you should do with your hair.  For the duration of my appointment I sit and read the latest issue of Vogue on an iPad provided by the salon whilst they kindly charge my phone.

Engage Fembot mode

In 45 minutes I’m done.  Washed, blowdried, waved and braided.  In just 45 minutes my rain and puddle soaked hair has been transformed from resembling dull hessian curtains you might find in a nursing home, to bouncy FemBot-esque waves with twin split Dutch braids through the front.  Winning.  Despite leaving the salon looking freaking amazing, I hasten to add that it literally rained crazy heavy for the rest of the day.  I threw on a Baker Boy hat and popped the collar of my faux fur coat (which hasn’t looked the same since) and went on my merry way.

Basically the moral of the story is, pack heavy, ditch the styling equipment, rock messy hair for part one, hand part two over to a superfly blowdry bar like SHOW DRY and basque in how easy you made it for yourself.  Cheers SHOW DRY Notting Hill, same time next season.

Pixie xo

Categories: The Archives, The Fashion Closet

How do you know if an event is part of official London Fashion Week?

It only feels like a week or two since the SS18 show season ended and here we are on the cusp of season switchover.  For those of you who aren’t au fait with the fashion calendar (and I know you’re out there because you’ve tweeted, messaged and emailed me about this subject), there are two buying seasons which the schedule works around.  Spring / Summer (SS) and Fall / Winter (FW) – referred to in British fashion publishing as AW.

The official London Fashion Week LogoOK, now you’ve got the basics, let’s ramp up the deets.  So, because Fashion Month is geared towards buyers and press, the collections are shown in sample sizes and in advance of the season switchover.  Ergo, Spring / Summer collections are shown in Fall, and Fall / Winter collections are shown in Spring.  Got that?  This gives buyers the chance to select the designs they want to run with in advance of the season and designers the time to make a full collection with pieces in a range of sizes.  This is why the garments you see on the runway might have raw edges or be finished in places with tacking thread – not really visible on the runway but allows for last minute fit alterations.

London Fashion Week is where the magic happens.  I’m based in the UK so you may think I’m biased but I’ve frequented The Big Four throughout my career in fashion and there’s just something special about London.  Whether it’s the emerging talent keen to please, or reinventions of the classics from stalwarts like Paul Costelloe, there’s just so much to take in during Fashion Week in London.

That’s another thing, London Fashion Week is a pretty singular event, it has two main locations for it’s designated show spaces, along with several designer selected satellite spaces for those who want to offer something extra special.  Now this may sound simple but there’s a lot of confusion and exploitation around London Fashion Week‘s name; basically, if it’s not official London Fashion Week, then it’s just not London Fashion Week.  Let me explain, throughout the duration of London Fashion Week, brands, independents, designers, charities and other companies will capitalise on the traffic (both online and physical foot flow) and buzz of London Fashion Week by staging their events at the same time and trading off the name.  Put simply, these are nothing at all to do with London Fashion Week and aren’t affiliated with either Fashion Scout or the British Fashion Council in any way, but they may use the power of suggestion and excellent timing to let you think that they are.  It’s a sneaky and very naughty move that hasn’t gone unnoticed by the BFC who seek to ban any professionals using LFW tags on their non-LFW content, from London Fashion Week events.  Still with me??

the logo for separate fashion event by the independent London fashion week designers association

Completely separate fashion events, which make an independent and one-sided decision, align themselves to the Fashion Week schedule and are allowed to say that they take place ‘at the same time as’ or ‘during but not affiliated with’ London Fashion Week.  Yet you’ll find it’s very rare that they declare this, with the exception of the Independent London Fashion Week Designers Association (ILFWDA) who held their inaugural event in 2018 and stated that their event would take place ‘during London Fashion Week’.  Still a little woolly though right?  Basically if it doesn’t have the official London Fashion Week logo featured on it’s advertising and it’s not on either the ‘On’ or ‘Off’ schedule of Fashion Scout or BFC, then it’s just not LFW.

I’m not saying there’s any shame in running a non-LFW affiliated event or schedule, some independents are capitalising on the foot flow and interest successfully without infringing any of the rules around advertising a fashion event.  Kudos.  There is however shame in claiming that an event is part of something, when it isn’t.  It’s like me turning up to a movie theatre to see Suicide Squad in full Harley Quinn regalia claiming that I should be allowed to see the movie for free because I am in fact, Harley Quinn.  Just for transparency Voyeurs, I have never done this, but for illustration purposes, you get it right?

The reason for this post is that it came up on a night out with a Fashion PR, a couple of Fashion Editors and some other Fash Friends.  We talked about how Influencers are called out for minor things left, right and centre, but never brands for blatantly flouting the very clear guidelines, nay rules, on running any kind of event.  The general consensus is that if a brand is using Fashion Week as a way of drawing your attention to their own event, it’s because they don’t have confidence in their own brand without the security blanket of the London Fashion Week tag.  Basically, if you know anything about the schedule and how easy it is to check, you don’t do it.  Also, it makes you look like a massive douche.

It’s not just fashion either, it’s like your local football club running a kids club during The World Cup, which is great, awesome in fact, but if they claim that kids club is on The World Cup schedule is it still so great?  Yeah, now you get it.  Feel free to stop scrolling so you can facepalm.

Pixie xo

Categories: The Archives, The Fashion Closet, The Glorious North East

Blog At The Beach with icelolly.com

Each year, the lovely humans behind holiday comparison website icelolly.com host a big bash for Bloggers and Influencers called Blog at the Beach.  It’s one of those events that I’ve heard about, but never attended, that is until now.  Yes that’s right Voyeurs, the UK’s best Bloggers, Influencers and Content Creators are hand selected by icelolly.com to attend the event which aims to educate Influencers and improve blogger networking and 2018 is my year, the year I found myself on that very list…

Obligatory lanyard shot

So, what’s it all about?

Well, Blog at the beach, despite setting out a pretty crammed agenda is actually a chilled out, fun event for people like me to learn more about the things that really make us tick.  Whether you want to up your photography game, learn how to pitch to brands (I say that through clenched teeth after White Moose-gate), or just pick up some real world tips from super successful Bloggers, Blog at the Beach and icelolly.com hold consultation in advance about which topics are the most important, and the most current it the whole wide blogosphere, then seeks out industry experts to speak about them and pass on their best tips for success.

Where the hell is it?

The event has taken place in various different locations across the super cool city of Leeds meaning that if you’re travelling from afar, there’s plenty you can do to make a day, or even a weekend of it to maximise your Insta goals.  This year’s event took place at Duke Street Studios which was super easy to travel to, and a pretty well equipped venue for 80 or so Influencers.

Blog at the Beach??  It’s bloody January!

This year’s event had a Ski Lodge theme, but seeing as the name is pretty cool and has a nifty little following, it just had to stay, for continuity.  The venue was dressed to match the theme with fairy lights, ski accessories and even mulled wine to stretch out that post Christmas hangover.  There was even a cute little moving cable car theme projected on to the wall behind the stage.  I wrapped up in my favourite faux fur coat and met up with some of my best non-North East Blogger pals and you’d be forgiven for thinking we were cosying up in a chalet somewhere up in Val d’isere for the weekend – the attention to detail was pretty damn sweet.

Blog at the Beach with icelolly.com Fashion Voyeur Blog props including ski goggles and a Charles Conrad watch

What went down?

Three awesome speakers that’s what!  First up was Kirsty Leanne who gave an impassioned talk on how to write the perfect pitch to brands with sound advice on how to lay out that all important first contact.  Her talk included tips such as letting the brand you’re pitching to know just why it is that you love them and including what made you want to work with them, but also making sure that you never over promise on what you can deliver when you make your pitch.  Looking around the room there was a 50/50 split on those frantically jotting down notes in notepads covered with inspiring quotes, and those taking screenshots of the words of wisdom displayed on screen.

KIRSTY LEANNE

Next up was Queen Beady, a Blogger you’ll no doubt recognise from my own social media as she’s my Ice Queen hair icon, sporting silvery white tresses I fawned over her hair and her awesome teadress whilst on stage.  Her talk was inspiring, the biggest thing I took away from it was learning how to translate your top five achievements into your outgoing USP and making them work as hard for you as you did for them.  Simple, but super relevant.  Bee talked about putting money back into the thing that makes you money, whether it’s your blog or your chosen social media platform, put effort into making it look as awesome as it can, after all it’s an extension of you and well, we’re all pretty damn amazing right?!

QUEEN BEADY
JUST LOOK AT THAT HAIR…

After a lunch break and a chance to network with the people we think we know but we actually only “online know”, gasp at each others outfits and just generally seek out the people we adore and admire, it was back to our seats for the final talk of the day from photographer extraordinaire, Kaye Ford.  Kaye is a great public speaker, she’s super laid back and had everyone engaged as she spoon fed us tips on both cellphone photography and DSLR photography and how to make it work for our own websites.  With tips on how to shoot snow (for reals, it’s hard), to using tourists as part of the field in our photographs, Kaye told us to travel lots and to look away from the regular tourist hotspots for show stopping images.

KAYE FORD

But what about icelolly.com?

Well, they’ve just overhauled their website to make it way more user friendly.  If you’re not familiar, it’s a comparison site for holidays; in the same way that you might use a comparison site for your car insurance, icelolly.com scrapes the web to return the best vacation deals based on the criteria you set and then refers you out to purchase from the seller direct.  You don’t pay them any money and they don’t sell you anything.

Any thing else to report?

Well yes actually!  Throughout the day we were informed that #BlogAtTheBeach was the trending at the top spot and that the icelolly.com bods had been scanning our posts to find their favourites.  At the end of the event two winners were announced and given a Charles Conrad watch from Watches 2 U and I just happened to be one of them!  I was given a pretty smart looking watch with a rose gold bezel and black leather strap which I promptly slapped on my wrist for the journey home.  Yay me!

THE CHARLES CONRAD WATCH I WON!

Was it worth it?

Hell yeah!  The great thing about the Blog at the Beach event is that despite being hosted by icelolly.com it’s impartial and non-biased.  The speakers were given free reign on their topics and on the rare occasion that a competitor came up they were never stopped from speaking about it.  The Bloggers and Influencers selected to attend the event were friendly and accommodating – something you sadly don’t always find at networking events, and the speakers made lots of time for questions afterwards to make sure that everyone in attendance took something away that they could use and apply to their work.  Icelolly.com were open in asking for feedback, or suggestions on where the next event might take place and they worked their way round the room in the recess periods chatting to everyone.  It was definitely an unexpected vibe, and in a positive way.  Given the chance I’ll be all over the next one.

So what’s next?

Well, as you know Voyeurs, I have both Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks right around the corner straight after London and I’ve got a pretty awesome idea for a Fashion Month Diary pitch formulating in my mind.  I’ll keep you posted…

As you were.

Pixie xo

 

Categories: The Archives, The Fashion Closet

What I Wore: As a Nod to Dior’s Prairie Girls

We’re in the midst of Winter and that means cosy sweaters, faux fur tippets and baker boy hats at every turn.  Sometimes though, you find the perfect dress that just encapsulates the season.  This Voyeurs, is that dress.

Blogger Pixie Tenenbaum wearing a Prairie Girl Style Dress

The best thing about this particular dress is that I spotted it and tried it on in Topshop during a Fashion Styling Challenge I was set by Intu Eldon Square.  I planned on buying it right away but as our event ran late, we were moved on to the next part of the challenge before I had the chance.  The next time I saw it it was in the Topshop sale and was reduced from £79.99 to £35.  That’s the very definition of the best sale bargain – if it’s something you planned on buying at full price, you know for sure that you’re not acting on impulse and that you’ll definitely wear it.

Now, don’t be fooled if you’re perusing the rails of Topshop, whilst this particular dress doesn’t look much at all on the hanger, it’s a doozie when it’s on and it’s toned to perfection for Fall / Winter.  Again, a sale buy that fits the current season and beyond is a good buy.  It’s a super lightweight dress so I’ve stuck on a pair of fishnet tights for warmth as these were all I could find in my drawer, however I think black opaques would probably look better.  I’ve dressed it with these flat studded boots from Marks and Spencer (my current favourites) to give it a nod to the Amish look that stormed the runways for next season.

As far as trends go, this is very much in line with the Western theme that emerged largely from the Dior Resort 2018 show so despite this particular dress having been moved to sale, you can expect to see a lot more of this style hitting the high street over the next few months as stores and high street designers pick out key runway themes to stock as translation trends.  If you want to really pay homage to Maria Grazia Chiuri’s cowgirls then pair a prairie girl dress with cowboy boots for a look that’s straight off the runway and actually, pretty classic in terms of trends.

I’ve since worn this dress with a fine knit black polo neck sweater underneath which works equally as well and gives the whole thing a more urban vibe.  Personally, if I find something I really love that fits my personality on some level then I know I’ll wear it to death – particularly if it’s a versatile piece, and this dress is definitely that.

Blogger Pixie Tenenbaum showcasing a prairie girl style dress with flat boots

One of the best things about finding a great dress is the simplicity of it.  With just one piece, I can easily update my look and twist it up by throwing a sweater underneath or a fifties style bra on top.  This one has hint of pale pink and gold in it as well as black lace-edged hoop hemming to give it structure, meaning that even when it’s windy, this clever detailing will prevent it from blowing up around your ears.  Winning.  Now where did I put that Stetson…..?

Pixie xo

Pixie Tenenbaum Editor's signature with fashion illustration graphic