Fashion Archives - Page 13 of 17

The Tyne & Wear Lifestyle Awards 2016

Last week businesses and fashionistas from all over the North East gathered at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle to celebrate the inaugural Tyne & Wear Lifestyle Awards, broadcast live on Made in Tyne & Wear.

With twelve categories, the ceremony toasted a whole range of businesses, ultimately compiling a guide to everything that’s awesome about the North East in one handy list. I swept up the train of my Claire Pettibone Romantique dress and sped over to the Discovery Museum to bring you the lowdown….

Our venue for the evening, The Discovery Museum is an imposing, red brick building which houses treasures from all over the region and as an event venue it’s pretty special. As we make our way up to the Grand Hall hidden away in the roof space, the internal metal structure exposed, this truly is the jewel in the museum’s crown and the perfect place for a Geordie knees up.

I bumped into fellow Blogger Anth May wearing a fitted TopMan suit and he instantly became my designated date for the evening. After being interviewed for a live edition of The Lowdown about red carpet fashion and new season trends (Did you catch it Voyeurs?) we were seated for a three course dinner inspired by North East delicacies including pease pudding and even a stottie. (High five whoever shoehorned that on to the menu). We shared a table with North East favourites Donna Petch from North East Hub and Joe Sexton from cookery show Fit in the Kitchen.

Pre-show entertainment came in the form of a comedy-fest from Britain’s Got Talent favourites The Mimic Men and as the entire night’s proceedings were broadcast live on TV, the audience were given a jovial reminder on etiquette for fucks, buggers and See You Next Tuesdays before the show got underway.

Our hosts for the evening were trio Peter, Mel and Hazel – you’ll recognise them from The Lowdown, who provided the links, glamour and humour between awards, all whilst looking more dapper than ever. The girls wore aqua blue embellished evening dresses and Peter looked uber handsome in a black dinner suit, (you’ve set the bar high guys, remember, you’ve got to better this next year!)

Guest presenters from all over the region and further afield dished out awards to the best North East businesses, as voted for by the public. I was asked to present the award for Best Fashion Retailer which went to Gosforth boutique Have To Love and owner Kate Walton told me she was ecstatic to have won.

At the end of the evening, a special Tyne & Wear Legend Award was given to Colin Burgin-Plews, otherwise known as Big Pink dress, for selflessly dedicating his time to innovative ways of raising funds for Cancer Awareness charities. Kudos Colin, I think you’re pretty damn awesome.

Once the awards were concluded there was just one thing left to do, party the night away.

For one night only, the best of the best in the North East assembled under one roof, just like the Avengers did – although they did it on a plane – and danced the night away. And if there’s one thing we don’t need an award for in Tyne & Wear it’s partying, we’ve got that one covered….

Pixie xo

Tyne & Wear Lifestyle Award Winners:

Best Coffee Shop – Mister Woods

Best Pub – City Tavern

Best Fashion Retailer – Have To Love

Best Hair and Beauty Salon – Patrick Forster Barber and Shop

Best Hotel – Malmaison

Best Bar – The Botanist

Best Cultural Attraction – National Glass Centre

Best Restaurant – River Beat

Best Club – House of Smith

Best Fitness Facility – Model Health

Best Live Experience – Great North Run

Tyne & Wear Legend Award – Colin Burgin-Plews (Big Pink Dress)

Categories: The Archives, The Fashion Closet

LFW: CIMONE SS17

Carli Pearson, Founder and Creative Director of new womenswear label, CIMONE was trained at Central Saint Martins and prior to launching her own brand, she honed her craft in a variety of senior positions at some of the world’s top houses. She spent her first seven years at Stella McCartney, later moving on to become Design Director at Alexander Wang, Head of Show Collection at Pucci, and Head of Womenswear at McQ, Alexander McQueen.

Her second collection for spring/summer 2017, and first runway collection was shown as part of London Fashion Week’s SS17 season and received to rapturous applause.

A web of contradictions, the collection saw control versus chaos and high-end production values paired with repurposed textures; focusing on the interplay between naivety and self-assuredness.

statement pieces featured unique, interactive embellishment, moving with models bodies and reacting in unique ways, never appearing the same way twice. A subtle and muted whitewash was brought to life with a vibrant injection of juxtaposed bold colour, appearing as splashes and stripes.

Very obviously influenced by the late Lee Mcqueen, Pearson has focused on confidence as the recurrent theme throughout the SS17 collection – with a little fun thrown in for good measure.

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

Categories: The Archives, The Fashion Closet

London Fashion Week SS17

If there’s one Fashion Week that’s associated with new talent and a passion for supporting the underdog, it’s London Fashion Week; and with the likes of Prophetik, Gareth Pugh and Mulberry all showing strong collections, it looks like the bar is set to keep on rising.

I’m headed to London SUPER early in the morning for three jam packed days of shows and events and a special something from one of my all time favourite designers (more on that later).

Stay tuned Voyeurs, after a very mediocre NYFW, I’m predicting big things from London. BIG things….

Pixie xo

Categories: The Archives, The Fashion Closet

Prophetik presents Nevermore: SS17

London Fashion Week. The most urban and exciting of all Fashion Weeks and definitely the one most likely to show and breed hot new talent in the fashion industry. A hotbed for creativity, London is home to some of the best designers in the world, some of whom manage to fly under the radar of most non-fashion folk – Fuggles if you will…

Step forward Prophetik. An uber cool brand founded by award-winning designer, Jeff Garner in Tennessee, USA, Prophetik is the sartorial result of Garner’s take on visual art, blended with his pioneering stance on sustainability. Garner was designated as one of 40 top artists in America, resulting in his work being exhibited in one of the world’s most famous museums, The Smithsonian.

With sustainability at the core of the brand, Prophetik is the fashion label you never knew you knew. Garner has dressed Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Gisele Bundchen, Miley Cyrus, Cameron Diaz, Livia Firth, Julia Stiles, Joe Jonas, Nick Jonas and Kings of Leon; and he has reached into the technological sphere, partnering with Apple and Griffin to create sustainable iPhone cases, which were revealed on the catwalk at London Fashion Week, where Cara Delevingne both opened and closed the show.

Spring forward to today, day 2 of LFW and Garner is back in a big way with his SS17 offering: Nevermore, which took place at the Tower of London. If the venue conjures up images of gothic romance then you’re definitely on the right track.

Jeff Garner’s spring/summer show, under his label Prophetik, nods to love lost and the notion that in the depths of a shadowy, dark void, light is exposed and wisdom can be found.

Heritage set the foundation of Nevermore. An American archetype – descended from Yorkshire settlers and the Native American Cherokee – Garner and his family have been residing in the state of Tennessee for seven generations, dating back to the land grant from Lord Fairfax. Mary Crane, daughter of chief Whooping Crane of the Cherokee Nation in Tennessee was Garner’s great, great, great grandmother and looking back to this Native American ancestry and its traditional folklore, Garner examined the raven, which featured on this season’s invitation. The raven is a symbol of a light-bringer – one which gifts humanity with understanding and discernment holding the ideal of balance. On the contrary, pulling from the English side of his ancestry, in Celtic lore, the raven was the goddess of war and strife.

“The raven shows us how to go into the dark of our inner self and bring the light of our true self to healing and creation, cultivating renewal, recycling, and reflection.” – Jeff Garner

Tradition and artisan craftsmanship collide, underwritten in Garner’s signature use of romantic shapes. Working with black and dark navy silhouettes, which he has steered away from in previous spring/summer collections, Nevermore borders on sombre with hints of whimsy and the ethereal. Black, naturally shed duck feathers symbolise raven feathers, while salmon sustainable leather, hemp silk, Tussah (peace silk), and hand-woven Dupioni appear, all of which are hand dyed with plant based hues at the Prophetik studio in Tennessee.

The show opened with Prophetik’s recently launched intimates collection followed by Prêt-à-Porter and ending with Garner’s statement making ballgowns, designed around the theme of a gothic wedding.

With a live soundtrack provided by Suzy Amis Cameron and Dorado, the show was firmly rooted in Tennessee

“Nevermore is a remembrance and in honour to all of those who have loved and lost.” – Jeff garner

A collection steeped in tradition, that sticks firmly to its own ethos of ethics and sustainable production while edging towards the dramatic, Prophetik might just be one to watch Voyeurs…

Pixie xo