London's on Fire for S/S14: Meadham Kirchhoff, Giles and Vivienne Westwood Red Label

The catwalk was set ablaze this season by three great designers in London, each with their own slightly different fan-base. Meadham Kirchhoff is the brainchild of two talented young upstarts with a suitably edgy following, Giles has his endless celebrity endorsements and  mainstream fans from his brilliant New Look diffusion line, and Vivienne Westwood's Red Label boasting its incredible price tags and customer elite sitting not-quite-comfortably alongside her protestations that we all cut down on the number of clothes we buy. Ahem.

Controversial comments aside, these three shows had a lot in common; they all showed models looking empowered and fiery, whether channeling the Lolita look or going for something significantly more dishevelled. 

 L-R: Meadham Kirchhoff, Giles and Vivienne Westwood Red Label showed expressive styles with fiery traits - lace bras, bat-like headpieces and fierce make-up coordinated with a masterclass in layering that shouldn't work but somehow totally does. [All images via Style.com].

Both Meadham Kirchhoff and Giles chose to braid the hair of their models, whilst at Westwood it was all left to hang out in glorious waves, as though just undone from its plaits. The colours may not have been glowing at all times, in fact they could be pretty muted occasionally, but the prints and draping created lashings of drama to help things along.

 The boys  at Meadham Kirchhoff brought us a gold-tinged vision of summer with the prospect of raiding the dressing-up box for those accessories. 

Red satin princess-style gloves: check. Edwardian jacket fresh out of Downton: check. Gold jacket from that 80s fancy dress night: check. Finish it all off with strappy gold shoes and a piercingly bright orange wig and you're good to go.

This is what I call Lolita meets Little House on the Prairie (with a touch of Wednesday Addams). The Meadham Kirchhoff woman isn't afraid to wear her inner child on her sleeve, but that doesn't mean you should mess with her. She mixes decades and patterns better than you, and she can also drink you under the table.

 After reappropriating famous paintings and working with beautifully burned fabrics to set the mood of a smouldering country pile, Giles Deacon has finally created his own relics using these moody photographic prints by Glen Luchford.

There's a brilliant behind-the-scenes studio piece on Giles fresh on the Grazia website right now, explaining loads more about the creative process behind this collection. Amazingly, Giles spotted the photos being posted on Instagram by Luchford, many of them previously unpublished, and he was able to use them in the designs. There's an interesting cross-over with Prada here, as some of the pieces in the collection use prints from Glen's test shots for a Prada campaign back in 1997. 

What I love about the shapes of this part of the collection is that they flatter most figures and don't seek to exploit the women wearing the pieces. There's that all-important draping and forgiving volume that allows you to breathe underneath, rather than be constrained.

Westwood's combination of Pre-Raphaelite hair and distressed layers of clothing with slight Victorian and Edwardian nods (braces, muted florals, sharp masculine tailoring) was totally absorbing.

Being a Vivienne Westwood show, there were always going to be elements of punk spirit tied into all of this extravagance; the Climate Revolution t-shirts and the childish doodling of the make-up certainly added to that, along with the vertiginous multi-strap heels, but having Lily Cole steal the show in a beautifully simplistic and feminine beige dress made sure that this collection would be remembered for its balance of anger with feminine wiles. Trust Westwood to make beige look empassioned instead of bland. 

These three designers definitely lit up the catwalk for me, and they made a strong impact. I'll be watching out for the high street's interpretation of these looks.

Top Spring/Summer 2012 Trends

As we're mid-way through the season, it seems fitting to look at the trends that have really made an impact in fashion and beauty. Here are seven of the best, giving you a week's worth of looks to road test:

 [Images via Style.com - please click to enlarge. 

L-R: Viktor & Rolf, Comme des Garcons, Meadham Kirchhoff].

1. Living Doll

On the Catwalk: Viktor & Rolf, Comme des Garcons and Meadham Kirchhoff all went for the doll aesthetic, fuelled by satin ruffles, frou frou skirts and very high necklines. Accessories included knee high socks, liberal amounts of glitter and incredibly long eyelashes, with Red Riding Hood-style capes seen at Vivienne Westwood to cover up. 

Wear with: tons of feline eyeliner, a sweet shop necklace and a quirky handbag, taking your cue from Olympia Le Tan's book clutch bags as seen on A-listers including Michelle Williams, who went for JD Salinger's Catcher in the Rye as her arm candy.

2. Cut and Paste

On the Catwalk: paste jewellery was seen at Miu Miu (in the form of cameo necklaces) and Dolce & Gabbana (used to embellish bodysuits and dresses), whilst Christian Dior's Spring Couture collection included jackets and skirts with exaggerated and obvious stitching lines. Meanwhile, laser-cut fabric turned heads at Louis Vuitton, Oscar de la Renta and Valentino, among others. The rule of thumb: either less is more, or more is more, with intricate layers of jewels or stripped back cluster sections of lace-like fabric holes doing the talking. Either way it's a feminine trump card that is more ladylike than the doll look.

Wear with: white tights and a beehive hairdo, applying as much Ellnett hairspray as possible - it's used by countless hair stylists and models.

[L-R: Stella McCartney, Lanvin, Balenciaga].

3. Olympic Arms

On the Catwalk: the shoulder was a key focus at Stella McCartney and Lanvin, where athletic arms really shone and you could forget about digging out your sports bra. The sports luxe trend relies on lashings of satin, halternecks, the occasional basketball vest shape and plenty of baseball jackets. Balenciaga provided padded shoulders that American jocks could almost carry off with aplomb. 

Wear with: a hint of body shimmer and bronzer (not too much or you'll give it an Essex feel), alongside a neoprene rucksack, fluoro eyeliner and Topshop hi-tops if you're going down the casual vest route.

4. Serious Talons

On the Celebrities: Both Adele and Lady Gaga have, ahem, spiked interest with their pointed manicures. If you're looking to really go for something different in beauty then this is definitely a style worth considering, as you'll never be able to stand a boring squared-off row of false nails again. Grab a rounded set and file them to an inverted 'V' shape if you can't find cool enough options on the high street.

Wear with: a pair of killer heels and some chandelier earrings. This look is versatile enough to work with several different styles, from leather jacket and hot-pants to the little black dress.

 [L-R: Charlotte Ronson, Prada, Louis Vuitton].

5. The Life Aquatic

On the Catwalk: it didn't have to be sea-themed, but aqua was everywhere during the S/S 2012 fashion weeks, from Charlotte Ronson's cool USA chiffon vibe to the elegant lace-clad Rodarte girl and the city-dwelling Prada woman with her long coat hiding a sneaky crop top. Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton brought us aqua tweed and gorgeous triple-strap kitten heels, House of Holland introduced cloudy aqua denim amidst sugared almond shades, and we all suddenly felt the need for an injection of that pale greenish-blue. This may have been the tip of the iceberg as far as pastels go right now, but it was a bloody big iceberg; aqua is the colour du jour.

Wear with: take a tip from Prada and go for bright red, making the blue tones really pop in comparison. Don't forget an aqua manicure or pedicure (try Barry M's Blue Moon) and a slick of pale lip gloss.

6. Deco Decade

On the Catwalk: Whether you blame the recession's glance back to the Great Depression, the Great Gatsby remake or the fact that Downton Abbey will be placing its third series in this decade, there was no denying the historical link between Dolce & Gabbana, Alberta Ferretti and Etro was firmly set to Art Deco. Milan Fashion Week, in particular, went crazy for the 1920s, but many other designers payed heed to all things Jazz Age, including Ralph Lauren. Key quirks included geometric lines, burnished gold accents on dresses, thin headbands and t-bar or Mary Jane shoes. Even at Victoria Beckham, the drop waist dress could be seen to have a 20s origin if you looked hard enough.

Wear with: the Marcel wave. A notoriously fiddly hair do, this is one of the most iconic things about the 1920s. Curl your hair and set the kinks with curling tongs and metal hairdressing clips, ideally following some of the brilliant step-by-step guides on Youtube.

 [L-R: Mary Katrantzou, Rodarte, Erdem].

7. Heavy Petal

On the Catwalk: the queen of intense floral prints is Mary Katrantzou, who continued to use them in her work but also added newer influences like underwater and animal forms which sat well with the flowers that made her famous. Meanwhile Erdem, another London print king, looked to chintzy blooms that stood out thanks to vintage-style hats, giving everything an air of cool granny chic. Lastly, those California Dreamers at Rodarte - sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy - made us look afresh at Van Gogh's sunflowers for our floral cues.

Wear with: all black or white creates a blank canvas from which the prints can almost blossom. Try a black pencil skirt with a simple black beret, a plain white t-shirt and studded kitten heels, or black leather trousers and minimalist boots.

Of course, this is by no means a comprehensive list, as there's still half a season for micro trends to emerge and expected trends to sell pitifully (yep, it can happen). Just bear in mind that these seven are going to be sticking around for a while yet, so you'd better get used to it!

A Decade of Topshop's NEWGEN Initiative - T-shirt Time!

[All images from the Topshop Facebook page, with stylisation of t-shirt images by me]. 

 In honour of reaching the 10 year milestone in supporting new design talent, Topshop will be releasing t-shirts created by 20 of its nurtured stars. The collection is not only an innovative way of bringing high-end creativity to the high street, but it's also a great way to challenge the designers and get them to translate their ideas onto basic t-shirt shapes. At a very reasonable £30 each, the products also raise money for the charity Centrepoint, so it's also giving something back to the wider community. Participants include Meadham Kirchhoff, who produced a wide-eyed print of a doll, and Mary Katrantzou, who used her trademark floral graphic design to make a busy and engaging blue and pink piece that will fly off the shelves. 

I've selected four of my favourite designs to give you a taste of what is to come, with each accompanied by one of the ten personal facts that Topshop gleaned from the creators. You can shop the collection from 17th February - be prepared to fight me for the Gareth Pugh number.

Erdem's design is like an old toile print. It reminded me of the Scottish design duo Timorous Beasties, who updated the toile for the 21st century by turning it into a cheeky urban wasteland narrative of syringes and concrete. Erdem has modernised the toile with the shape of this t-shirt and the lace Peter Pan collar, making it perfect for wearing with cut-off denim shorts in the summer. Although he hasn't subverted the design as Timorous Beasties did, he's still made it his own, and it feels fresh and quirky.  

Craig Lawrence opted for layers of painted gold that hang like giant threads. As he likes knitting in his work then it feels right to have gone for something chunky and substantial. It's bold, unsubtle and the design won't date. Thumbs up.

I like that Marios Schwab shared his name for the t-shirt. 'Crystal Explosion' feels very appropriate! His radical shaping of the fabric, using a buckle fastening, is interesting because it allows the tail end of the t-shirt to gather, which is more like an implosion than an explosion. I love the colours that artist Tom Gallant used in the print, as well - it's an almost Christmassy mix of red, green, yellow and orange.

I definitely saved the best til last. Gareth Pugh is one of my fashion idols and he didn't disappoint with his NEWGEN t-shirt offering. Eye-popping prints are one of his specialities, so it's only fitting that they formed the design. I like how the pattern filters down to a point and doesn't cover the fabric completely. I also love the fact that Pugh says he worked at Topshop for three months as a Visual Merchandiser but was sacked, and didn't have a meeting of minds with the store manager. It's amusing to think that the very same manager might be selling Pugh's t-shirt with very gritted teeth.

The whole collection looks fantastic and there's a wide range of styles due to the variety of designers who have taken part. Here's to another decade of Topshop's NEWGEN initiative!

Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice... On the Cheap

 [Lace Cami Bra in Lemon, Coral and Black, £5.99 each, New Look].

 I severely doubt I could squeeze into one of these lace bras, but they're the perfect way to inject some sherbet colours into your wardrobe on a budget. They'd look great over a white t-shirt (ahem, maybe not for work) or under a sheer black shirt (yup, not for work either, unless you're in the fashion industry, or you might be regarded as a little inappropriate). The mixture of innocence, girliness and sluttish behaviour is quite irresistable if you're already in love with the version of Spring/Summer that Meadham Kirchhoff gave us this season.

Who you're channelling in the lace bra:

[Meadham Kirchhoff, S/S 2012 show; image via Tumblr].

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[Lime Moped Print Sweat Top, £22.00, River Island]. 

I know this isn't remotely shaped like a Prada item, or even made of the right fabric to emulate the car print, but the point is that the motif has been translated in a new way. This is the street, everyday look with the same spirit. What's more, it could work with a sheer maxi skirt and Converse or as a cover-up for the gym.

Who you're channelling in that top:

[Prada S/S 2012 ad campaign with car print chiffon shirt and dress; image via Tumblr].

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[Unicorn Sweat, £26.00, Topshop].

It has to be said: I do love a good unicorn. They're so much more exciting than horses (except for War Horse, obvs) and they look a bit more punk. That's perhaps why Lady Gaga loves them too. Topshop's adoption of the motif against this bold azure colour works really well and manages to look fresh. You could wear it over a collared shirt for office chic, or over a slip dress and lace-up boots with fishnets to release some teenage angst like it's the 90s all over again.

Who you're channelling in that sweater:

[Lady Gaga's leg tattoo, which reads 'BORN THIS WAY'; image via Tumblr].