Fashion Voyeur

People will stare, make it worth their while.

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 Fashion Closet

Kristel Kuslapuu FW18 at London Fashion Week

With London Fashion Week well underway, there comes a point in the schedule where you realise you’ve taken on way too much.  After all, with two main locations for shows and presentations, and several other satellite venues used to host dreamy showcases, it soon becomes a question of choosing a venue to hover over as it’s just unrealistic to manage the hopping between venues.  Day 3 was, and always is that day.

pixie Tenenbaum wearing a prairie girl dress and faux fur coat in day 3 of London Fashion Week fall Winter 2018

I started and ended day 3 with a banging migraine and ended up missing several shows because of it, the only upside of this vile situation being that I was wearing an awesome outfit (with terrible shoes as I had broken my toe 4 days earlier).  My photographer friend and London Fashion Week sidekick, Ralph and I instead took a midday break to skulk around Holborn’s independent coffee shops and talk about upcoming collaborative shoots we’re working on.  On our walk back towards Fashion Scout, we decided to take a wander in and check out a static presentation by one of fashion Scout’s FW18 Ones To Watch winners, Kristel Kuslapuu.  Here’s a top tip for you Voyeurs, if you have static presentations on your LFW schedule, go 15 minutes before closing and you’re guaranteed an awesome view and the chance to get right up close with the designers work.  You might even be able to get the models to pose for you like we did.

Back to the work.  Kristel Kuslapuu is a new designer to the Fashion Scout schedule, after the Estonian knitwear designer showcased at Talinn Fashion Week she caught the eye of the judging panel who brought her talent to the FW18 line up.  Although new on the scene here in London, this isn’t Kuslapuu’s first rodeo.  She scooped the prizes of 2008 and 2009 SuperNoova in Estonia, Lithuania Fashion Injection and ERKI Fashion Show, alongside being showcased for Estonia at London Fashion Week in the International Fashion Showcase for 2014.  Phew, time to take a breath.

The succinct FW18 collection is inspired by dark secrets, phobias, social anxieties and traumas.  The individual pieces themselves, discuss serious subjects through highest levels of self-irony.  Most of the bold, colourful designs in the collection are hand knitted as a protest against fast, convenient fashion – a rebellion that we’re seeing more and more of throughout the Fashion Month model.  A twist is added by portraying serious topics with cute and fuzzy materials, such as yarns from alpaca, camel, goat and sheep.  Flirting with sculptural forms, bold colours, unique patterns, the collection shares provocative messages and symbols, transcending the traditional gender conformity.  Bright, vibrant and definitely eye catching.

I wonder what he said to her?

“For me winning was a reassurance that I am at the right place doing the right thing. The excitement of fulfilling one of your dreams is indescribable. I really do feel like I have found something that I am meant to do. Whilst years are passing I feel more and more obliged to give back to mother Earth and having this opportunity to share my art with the world is as given from above. I feel very grateful.”  Kristel Kuslapuu.

Kristel Kuslapuu FW18 Presentation at London Fashion Week A group shot with photographer Ralph Whitehead standing in front

I did also line up a pretty sweet group shot of the six piece presentation which Ralph stepped in and ruined…

Pixie xo

Categories: The Fashion Closet

Claire Tagg FW18 at London Fashion Week

The first day of the FW18 season of London Fashion Week has been a doozie and it’s mainly down to new and emerging design talent pulling out all the stops.  Whether it’s outlandish fashion destined for street stylers on the sidewalks of The Big Four, or sleek, classic designs using traditional methods of construction, London Fashion Week is starting BIG.

At Fashion Week we see designers favouring either the presentation or runway methods for showcasing their collections and there’s no set right or wrong.  A runway show is filled with flair and drama and lets you see a garment in motion, but a presentation lets you get up close and personal with a collection and the imagery you can get from that as a Blogger / Influencer is second to none.  Designer Claire Tagg showcased a static presentation for FW18 with some seriously bold florals…

British designer Claire Tagg is fresh out the gate with her new self titled label for FW18.  Showcasing a dramatic, oriental inspired fauna and flora collection, the pieces she’s created for the FW18 season are inspired by a personal story of her travels as an Air Hostess, combining glamour and destructed textures to creative a dramatic yet opulent range.  The collection is filled with silhouettes reminiscent of airline uniforms; structured jackets and blazer/kimono dresses are juxtaposed with full, oversized skirts and ballgowns constructed in luxurious Duchess Satin.

If there was a theme for the collection, it’s soft sophistication.  With it’s soft, clean colour palette the collection is easy on the eye, elongated and full sleeves dominate the collection providing what may become a signature aesthetic for Tagg.  Baby pinks and mustard yellows with contrasting fuchsias and black make up the base palette, whilst highlights of metallic gold sing from within the garments.  A collection that will surely inspire highstreet retailers specialising in wedding guest attire, I’m looking at you Coast.

Group shot of 5 outfits at the Claire Tagg FW18 presentation at London Fashion Week

The new designer plays with a variety of textures using delicate fabrics of chiffon and satin alongside raised sequinned lace, cotton, satin and silk jacquard to keep things interesting and really test her technique.  Tagg uses digital printing to create rich textures of ripped paper alongside a cherry blossom print and elaborate embellishment. Each garment is hand beaded, giving a real bespoke feel to each piece.

Blogger Pixie Tenenbaum with Love island's Gabby Allen at London Fashion Week

If you needed testament as to how cool this collection is, I actually spotted love Island’s Gabby Allen wearing the white raised sequin top from the collection, whilst viewing the collection.  Talk about inception.

Anyway, I’ll be back with more just as soon as I can download my imagery, in a while crocodile…

Pixie xo

Categories: The Fashion Closet

Fortie Label FW18 at London Fashion Week

After another rather bland and boring New York Fashion Week the baton has been handed to London and we’ve come to learn that over the past few years now, London is where Fashion Month really hits its stride.  What with it’s awesome street style, emerging talent, and well rooted, established designers, London Fashion Week has something that every fashion lover can appreciate and aspire to.

My start to London Fashion Week is always the same: severe train delays resulting in over half a day lost  and the FW18 show season was no different.  After an epic delay in excess of two hours, I finally arrived in the capital and met up with some familiar faces.  After checking in, I hotfooted it to my first show of the season, Fortie Label to find that I had one of the best seats in the house…

Show Pack FW18
Look 1 at Fortie Label FW18

If you’re thinking you’ve heard that name somewhere before, that’s because Rihanna commissioned this urban-luxe brand to produce part of her Anti world tour wardrobe; and if you haven’t heard of it yet, you’ve most definitely seen some of their designs on the likes of Jorja Smith, Kelela or Chaelin CL.  For their FW18 collection, Fashion Scout Merit Award winners Fortie Label drew inspiration from Forty Thieves, an all female London crime syndicate who were famously known for their antics through the 19th and 20th centuries.

Fortie Label FW17

The collection is an ode to female sexuality and empowerment and with its fierce girl gang aesthetic, it’s not hard to see why they were selected for the much coveted Merit Award.  Oversized boiler-suit silhouettes fashioned from stiffened voiles are paired with elements of the sports luxe trend, urban glamour and hints of resort wear.  Cropped hoodies, sheer tracksuits and high PVC shorts cement Fortie Label firmly on the radar of every hip, youthful female artist out there in 2018 and it won’t be long before you’re spotting pieces on MTV.  FW18 saw the return of the brand’s signature triple hoodie alongside a revamped corset fashioned from denim.  A collaboration with swimwear designer Louisa Ballou resulted in a base layer of overlay bikinis with bamboo detailing.

The colour palette for the entire collection was a warm mix of caramel tones with accents of tangerine, indigo and blue with textures ranging from denim, to tulle and faux fur.  Fortie Label founder and designer Essie Buckman demonstrates her meticulous eye for detail with this collection which was produced through traditional textile development and construction techniques rather than resorting to cheaper, mass production.

As far as Fashion Week openers go, Fortie Label put in a strong show, with a hip hop dance finale and Fortie Dollars flipped all over the runway from the opening act, this is a show that was never going to be boring.  One thing’s for sure, New York Fashion Week may have only been a few days ago, but it’s long since forgotten as London picks up the slack.

Pixie xo

Categories: The Fashion Closet

Amy Thomson FW18 at London Fashion Week

London Fashion Week is where the eclectics come out to play, it’s where we see some of the best emerging design talent in the world and were some of the most innovative designs are showcased.  For FW18 designer and illustrator Amy Thomson launched her collection ‘Chasin’ Dreams’ inspired by youthful aspirations.  Each look in the collection presents a character based on a profession seen from the perspective of a child.  Thomson poses the question – what does a Princess, Baker and Hairdresser look like through a child’s unaffected eyes?  How are these career paths defined in the mind of a child without any preconceptions?  Love pink?  Get ready for a whole load of it as Amy Thomson’s FW18 presentation is an Instagram dream…

“Telling a narrative and connecting with an audience is very important to myself as a designer.  ‘Chasin’ Dreams’ is based on real muses, real stories and my own and there is no story truer than the one you are living.”  Amy Thomson.

Thomson has created eight complete looks that embody a magical almost fairytale aesthetic, bringing to life the idea of focusing on your dreams.  She creates this magical feel with her larger-than-life hand rendered drawings that hold a distinctive and charming naivety, ensuring no two garments are the same. With dreamlike prints, motifs and her signature illustrations referencing each character appear throughout the narrative of the collection.

The tone for the season is undeniably pink. Thomson has concentrated on using a predominately and traditionally feminine colour palette, featuring fuchsias, baby pinks and vibrant rose contrasting with royal blues and lilacs.  Her use of contrasting and unusual textures can be seen throughout and this serves to add to the playful, otherworldly feel of the collection.  The metallic leather is a particular highlight and something I kinda feel like I need in my life for next season.

The collection is littered with ribbons, bows and frills giving a three dimensional feel to each piece and the addition of headwear pieces designed in collaboration with headwear designer Katie Hamlett of Sassy Freak, sees the accessories really form a part of the whole ensemble.  FW18 sees the addition of printed scarves, motif tights and embellished handbags elevate the clothing beyond that of a collection, to the creation of an imaginary world reminiscent of a dreamscape.

Given that this is only Thomson’s second collection (her first was shown at Graduate Fashion Week) she’s establishing herself within a niche of formidable talent currently dominated by Billie Jacobina.  Personally I’m intrigued by this designer fascinated by the whimsical and am looking forward to seeing how the collection is received by the industry and what could be in store for SS19, this is one label that’s right up my street.

Pixie xo

Pixie Tenenbaum Editor's signature with fashion illustration graphic