fashion scout Archives - Page 3 of 3

Categories: The Archives, The Fashion Closet

Amira Haroon x Yana Markova SS18 at London Fashion Week

It’s not often we see a partnership at London Fashion Week and on the rare occasion that we do, there’s usually one designer or brand battling for supremacy within the collection. This one however, is a perfectly complimentary relationship and that’s a rarity in fashion. Beautiful and delicate clothing pieces, complimented perfectly by expertly crafted headpieces. This Amira Haroon x Yana Markova collection is a match made in fashion heaven.

Amira Haroon showed her American pop culture inspired Spring Summer 2018 collection at London Fashion Week with the late, great Whitney Houston serving as muse. With a strong focus on the 80’s disco era, the collection was laces with glitter thread, scallop edging and satin, sounds garish but was actually uber cool, relevant and very wearable. Seven years after setting up her own label, she’s owning the retro disco look with this collection. It’s a collection that combines the past with the present to great effect and all topped off with some of the most Whitney-esque headpieces you’ve ever seen. Remember the signature floppy bow that we swooned over in the early 90’s? This partnership collection showcased a rework of that look perfectly.

Those signature headwear looks were recreated and reworked by rising star milliner Yana Markova (a darling of the Russian beau monde). The bow, which will be making an appearance on my very own head during SS18, was crafted using a secret milliners fabric coated in iridescent glitter. The second headwear look created specially for the Amira Haroon show is one you’ll have to double take to spot as it’s so effective. a chain style headband crafted from dozens of individual, delicate gold chains, sewn together to give the appearance of an Egyptian style golden wig. Clever huh?

“I was really excited to be asked to collaborate and was honoured to see my pieces on the catwalk over London Fashion Week. I hope that we can do another partnership. We worked well together and understood each other’s design philosophies.” Yana Markova, Milliner

This talented milliner has roots in fashion, after training in fashion design at the Ural State Academy of Architecture and Arts and went on to work for some of the largest designer fashion, jewellery and accessory brands for fifteen years before launching her own label. Her first collection was met with critical acclaim and she continued to create a fashion range, before turning her attention to millinery. Her designs have been featured in some of the most prolific Quarterlies in fashion including Jute Magazine, l’Etoile Magazine and L’Officiel, this gal ain’t messing around and with a celebrity following including Lady Gaga (she produced the headpieces for Gaga’s tour wardrobe), this collaboration is sure to cement her status as one of the best and most current in the business.

If like me, you’re a fan of a crown, or any other elaborate and striking headwear, you’ll be pleased to know that the Amira Haroon x Yana Markova headpieces will be available to buy as part of Amira Haroon’s Spring Summer 2018 collection.

Pixie xo

Categories: The Archives, The Fashion Closet

London Fashion Week FW17: David Ferreira Presents The Freakball

As you know Voyeurs, Fashion Month’s FW17 season has been fresh and exciting and full of new talent as well as big changes for established labels. Mulberry took a bold step for FW17 with a collection like nothing we’ve seen in seasons gone by and David Ferreira took us to the circus with his awesome Freakball showcase at London fashion Week.

I had a front row seat for this exclusive look at the Lisbon based designer’s first collection following his prestigious Les Etoiles Mercedes Benz win in Paris in 2016.

Inspired by the strikingly unusual and unique, Ferreira’s FW17 collection entitled The Freakball, was a rollercoaster from start to finish. Fuschia pink, baby pink, chartreuse yellow and cobalt blue collide in a vivid, texture rich collection that’s a real treat for the senses. Models were painted up to look like a clown / doll hybrid to great effect and they posed as they walked giving off a circus freak show vibe. (It’s no surprise that Bjork is a fan).

Research for the collection began at the circus and its origins, but it was in sideshows and freak shows that he found his true inspiration for his FW17 showcase.

Even though the foundation of the David Ferreira Fall / Winter collection lays in the film Freaks (1932), the book Freak Show by Roben Bogdan, The Victorian Freak Show and the work of photographer, Joel-Peter Witkin, the collection isn’t a literal inspiration of human deformities and biological rarities, instead it is a celebration of the beauty of singularity, of individuality and of rarity.

These days we know that uniqueness is the true definition of luxury. Exclusivity and rarity are highly covetable and we all know there’s nothing more exclusive than the singular. Ferreira’s pieces play with the shape of a woman’s silhouette by creating a visual spectacle that blurs the lines between garment and person, using uniqueness and rarity as the driving force behind the collection, as the thing most coveted. My standout piece from The Freakball was a pale pink fitted, duchess satin dress with a point of ruffles at the front.

The Freakball collection is a collective celebration of individuality, of not fitting into society’s stereotype of ‘normal’. It’s a collection that takes conventional proportion and flips it on it’s head, amping up the volume with ruffles, godês, gatherings, non conventional pattern cutting and straightened Mongolian lamb hair.

The most exciting part of this collection for me, was the extreme texture clash; silk, double duchess satins, silk satins, silk crepe satins, Mongolian lamb, tulle and woven metal fabric combine for absolute sensory mayhem on the Ferreira runway and the final piece changed the silhouette entirely by adding volume to the waist and nipping in the ankles, an pleasantly unexpected aesthetic and one just wacky enough to make you sit up and take notice of Ferreira. He was awarded the Merit Award by Fashion Scout last year earning three seasons of sponsorship so there’s no doubt the best is yet to come from this exciting, bold designer.

Pixie xo

Categories: The Archives, The Fashion Closet

London Fashion Week FW17: John Herrera

In a fashion Months full of firsts, designer John Herrera showed for the first time at Fashion Scout and debuted with his FW17 collection, Agila. A showcase tinged with tradition and exploration of Herrera’s Filipino roots.

Herrera launched his brand in London two years ago when he was chosen to participate in the British Council and British Fashion Council’s International Fashion Showcase at Somerset House. That same year Herrera went on to win at the London Emerging Designer Awards, also at Somerset House, and showed his winning collection at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Tokyo. After showing a sensational bioluminescence themed collection and on the eve of LFW’s FW17 season, Herrera was announced as the winner of Britain’s Top Designer award for 2017, a title previously held by Helen Woollams of Hellavagirl Couture.

John Herrera’s Agila Collection presented at Fashion Scout.

For his FW17 collection Herrera harked back to his roots, experimenting with filipino tribal art and tattoos straight out of Luzon. The Philippine eagle which features prominently throughout the stunning six piece collection, was a huge inspiration to the designer, each piece of his hand-drawn, original artwork was transferred to the fabric through dye-sublimation printing in partnership with Epson Philippines, with amazing attention to detail. The result, a sublime kaleidoscopic effect in earthy, neutral tones. I was on the front row and can vouch for just how hotly anticipated and talked about this show was; without a doubt, Herrera’s showcase was one of the most over subscribed shows I’ve been to in years and for good reason.

John Herrera’s Agila Collection presented at Fashion Scout.

The great thing about Herrera as an emerging design talent, is his passion for ethical material sourcing and supporting his hometown where he continues to produce his collections. His staff is made up of women from challenged upbringing and he continues to support his community through his work; Herrera is a designer who has seen struggle and made it work as a positive in his branding.

Next on the agenda for the Filipino designer is a stint at Paris Fashion Week. Agila will be shown as a static presentation at The Westin Paris – Vendome as part of the prestigious So… Couture showroom.

Definitely one to watch Voyeurs, the Agila collection is already up on Vogue Online and will feature in this season’s accompanying Vogue Collections – I’ll be watching for Herrera’s next move as September is always the best show season…

Pixie xo

Categories: The Beauty Cupboard, The Fashion Closet

London Fashion Week FW17: CIMONE

LONDON FASHION WEEK FW17: CIMONE

London Fashion Week has been the talk of Fashion Month so far this season and it’s partly due to reinvention. Each season one of the fashion capitals lags behind with an underwhelming collection of shows and another stands out for it’s bold, sometimes risque, play on fashion and trend prediction.

I’m excited about LFW this season and it’s because it’s off to an awesome start. CIMONE showed an awesome, power packed collection for FW17 at Scout and was just the start of a season of bold, brave collections that played with femininity. The exaggerated proportions which have long been a staple of CIMONE were present and a clash of the old and new in a breathtaking runway show. Carli Pearson, founder and creative Director of CIMONE, trained at Central St. Martins and gained experience working with Stella McCartney, Alexander Wang and most recently, Alexander McQueen before launching CIMONE. McQueen’s influence is laced throughout this collection; from the uber strong zombie beauty look, to the hair design straight out of Plato’s Atlantis, the collection is one tinged with the best memories of the late Lee McQueen and a fitting tribute.

I was there for what was set to be one of the talking points throughout the whole of LFW and I got to see first hand what went down at CIMONE FW17. Let me tell you Voyeurs, it was freezing cold but pretty damn awesome. The influence of McQueen was very apparent in some of the shapes, the collection felt nostalgic and familiar, I’m pleased to see houndstooth check as a carry forward trend for next season as it’s one of my favourite current trends. If anything, this show season has lent itself to transition, carrying over more existing trends than ever before, introducing new, more playful ways of wearing them.

With the feminine form at the centre of this collection, elongated shoulders and sharp panniers frame the female silhouette, Pearson has a way with fabric, using it in experimental ways to create the illusion of textures one might have thought impossible. Light, floaty silks are weighted to create restriction and heavy wools appear light and voluminous. CIMONE is a brand rooted in its passion for craftsmanship and ability to defy the laws of convention and the expected.

CIMONE FW17 is a collection for strong women everywhere, for backstreet rebels fighting the cause and for women who dress for themselves. Shapes are strong and over defined with ruffles making a re-appearance for next season, bolero jackets in stiff fabric and pelmets in a variety of shapes look set to be the standout shapes which will inevitably trickle down to the highstreet – expect to see cobalt blue and red everywhere come September.

So far this collection has been met with critical acclaim with Vogue Italia shooting a dedicated lookbook and British Vogue citing it as a season highlight. I don’t know about you Voyeurs but I’m a huge fan of exaggerated proportions, the ability to create something extra from nothing is a wondrous thing and there’s just something about an elongated shoulder that harks back to the power silhouette of the 40’s. Blend that with the modernity of the British highstreet and you’ve got a powerful mix right there. I’m looking forward to creating this look on the highstreet when Fall ’17 rolls around and can’t wait to see how the trends infiltrate your wardrobes. Whether you’re conscious of it or not, these almighty runway shows dictate what you buy and when you buy it meaning everyone, whether they know it or not, is influenced by fashion and I predict that the highstreet shapes we see in Fall will be hugely influenced by the likes of CIMONE, one of my favourite shows of the season so far. The show closed with a strong finale to Tainted Love by Marilyn Manson, models marched purposefully making a final statement before Pearson appeared briefly to wave to the crowd.

Keep it here for more from London Fashion Week, as you know we’ve had (more than) a few website issues recently so I’m working out the kinks and catching up! I promise you Voyeurs, you won’t be disappointed!

Pixie xo

Categories: The Archives, The Fashion Closet

Fun Affair: Girls Grow Up at LFW

If you’re familiar with the London Fashion Scene then you’ll already be aware of Fun Affair. Known for it’s gamine aesthetic and off-beat presentations, the brand oozes 90’s cool like no other. From the in your face logos to the vinyl baseball caps, Fun Affair is one brand that should be on your radar.

Integrating abstraction exotica, minimalism and subversion, designer Xi Zhu strives to create an avant-garde and elegant sphere of design. Zhu merges her oriental heritage with European romanticism and modernism to define her signature: ‘rebellion meets optimism’. Seemingly on a mission absolute to manifest extreme beauty, marrying oriental beauty with mystery, stillness and power, Zhu is a designer for the modern day feminist crusader.

Hosted by LFW’s younger, funkier sister, Fashion Scout, the Fun Affair show begins in a perfectly white space allowing the garments to speak volumes.

The Fun Affair SS17 collection is all of that and more and the runway show is a journey from start to finish. Inspired by the New Romantics, 80’s power dressing and postmodernism. The SS17 Fun Affair-girl is edgy, feminine and sophisticated with just the right amount of attitude. A girl gang for a new generation, and one I find myself wanting to be part of.

This season is all about playing with proportion and form. I caught up with Zhu after the show, noticeably nervous, she told me “It’s about women’s strength and rebelliousness, did you see the last look? That’s my favourite thing I’ve ever created”

Highlights of the show and top of my shopping list were oversized bow knot shirts, high gloss 90’s style slipdresses, high-waisted jeans & baseball caps, and yes, the last look was my absolute favourite, in fact I’m working on recreating it right now….

Pixie xo