The Spring / Summer 2018 season of London Fashion Week is over and it’s been a rollercoaster! From abhorrent terrorist activity and resulting bomb scares and evacuations, to the ceiling of my room collapsing, it’s been a whirlwind five days and that’s before we even get to the awesome display of design talent.
I’ve had my busiest season to date, hence no full blog posts yet – although they are coming! And I’ve completely neglected my social channels because preserving battery life is everything during Fashion Week. So to whet your appetite Voyeurs, here’s a quick post on the outfits I chose to wear to the shows this season, with a disclaimer on why they were not my intended outfits.
I packed my case meticulously with ten outfits. Nothing particularly trend led, just a mixture of things that I own and like, and things that designers and brands had sent to me in the hope that I’d wear them. Amongst these things was a pair of brand new metallic boots which led to the utter demise of my planned LFW SS18 Wardrobe…..
DAY 1
I left on the 8.38 Virgin East Coast train, which was delayed due to what we now know was a home made explosive device on the Parson’s Green underground. This understandably delayed the arrival of my train into London Kings Cross considerably meaning two things happened:
1. I missed the Pam Hogg show, which I later heard was awesome. Dr Hogg is known for her wonderfully quirky and imaginative runway shows and I was gutted to have missed this one, but you know, bigger things were happening in London at that time. I also missed the Billie Jacobina show which was a real downer – Jacobina’s creations are amazing. Think pink, negligee, teddy bears, fur, voile and throw it all together and that’s Billie Jacobina. The kitsch designer was promoted from presentation to runway for SS18 which is a really big deal. I did get to catch her static exhibit at Fashion Scout, so all was not entirely lost I guess.
2. I attended my first show of the day wearing my train outfit. I landed in London, ran to my hotel, which luckily is a stones throw from the station, ditched my shiz and literally legged it out the door to catch the much hyped Ones To Watch runway show in Holborn.
So, this outfit is an eclectic mix of AND / OR jeans (which I love), with a sheer, black ballerina skirt layered over the top. On top I’m wearing a Year One Collective spoof tee and my Starlover Clothing custom painted leather jacket. Obviously I travelled on my own and had to cut a dash so didn’t have anyone to grab a picture but I featured in Donna Air’s Insta stories wearing this and she said it looked cool so, ’nuff said.
DAY 2
My most jam packed day and one where I knew I’d be cramming a good weeks worth of regular people activity into 24 hours and for that reason comfort came high up in my list of priorities. I chose a Maison Margiela MM6 Denim shirt dress. Simples. The best bit? Pockets. Crammed with protein bars, my Oyster Card, hotel key card, San Pellegrino water & gum.
Remember those metallic boots I told you about? Well they broke on Day 1 running across a road into the show venue and sadly died that evening, leaving me with one pair of metallic fuschia flat loafers to get me through the entire week. I topped this off with bed hair and a tiffler from Marks and Spencer.
DAY 3
Another crazy schedule climaxing with the awesome Hellavagirl Couture show, and a link up with SHOW DRY London, the salon arm of SHOW Beauty who very kindly look after my hair during London Fashion Week. After fixing me up with some super cute Dutch braids, I set off for my first show of the day wearing high shine PVC fetish store pants and a custom printed slogan tee made specially for me by Virgo Seven UK. On my feet? You guessed it, those feet murdering pink loafers with white fishnet socks.
DAY 4
Day 4 was wet, with intermittent downpours; I knew I wanted to be warm. I also tried to keep the afternoon free to go buy Plankton a present in Hamleys and get myself out of the fashion bubble and take in some London architecture. None of these things actually happened, I took on extra shows and headed out into the cold with yesterday’s braids, Topshop tweed shorts and a cosy Primark sweater.
Part way through the day after The Great Foot Massacre of London Fashion Week, I went back to my hotel to switch into jeans (Plankton’s) and socks which I bought that day, mid hissy fit. I met a photographer friend for drinks that evening and he told me convincingly that I managed to style it out….
DAY 5
With the finish line in sight, I let out my braids and whizzed the flat irons over my hair to give a soft curl and after waking up to a suitcase full of water and rubble, I was left without my intended outfit. When your hotel ceiling collapses, sure it’s funny at first, until you find your Mark Fast sweater is soaking wet & your underwear is laced with plaster dust.
Luckily I was well equipped with a wipe clean PVC A-line skirt from Primark, some purple Wolford fishnets (never go cheap when it comes to fishnets) and I cut a dash to Monki to buy this Where’s Waldo-esque red & white striped tee. I added one of my signature metallic tattoos, this time a diamond gifted with the Fenty Beauty press pack and a deco style necklace from M.I.Accessories. Job done.
By this point my feet were destroyed and I’d adopted a penguin style walk that even I couldn’t style out. Note to self, sneakers or sliders next season.
The next morning I shamefully put on yesterday’s outfit to head to the station and make my way back up North to a slower pace of life. After experiencing the tornado that is London Fashion Week, and my busiest schedule to date, I’m ready to do this all over again in six months – albeit in better shoes.
Pixie xo
Send me your top tops for packing light and treating blisters for the chance to be featured in an upcoming post!