Unlikely Inspiration: Ikea Channels Christopher Kane

Whilst browsing the huge warehouse space at Ikea Croydon last weekend, I can honestly say I didn't expect to find a significant nod to Christopher Kane amongst the tea lights and pine shelves, but lo and behold there was one. In fact, a whole range of prints had sprung up, focusing on plant life and biology, in a major reference to Kane's S/S14 collection, which he had referred to as 'sterilised petals'.

 [Image via Ikea.com] Who knew walnuts were so on-trend?

 [Image via Style.com] The catwalk goes botanical.

What Christopher Kane addressed was the perfect print quality of a biological drawing, with the symmetry of the petals and the overall flower structure creating something that's easy on the eye and flattering on the figure. Plus it doubles up as revision if you're studying biology or botany in any capacity, especially as Kane referenced textbooks in the collection itself, and education in the music choice of the catwalk show.

 [Image via Ikea.com] A more traditional botanical drawing on sale.

 [Close-up image via Ikea.com]. The brain-like walnut in detail.

With Ikea bringing the scientific side of florals into the home, it's a clear sign that Kane is onto a winner. It's normal for colour trends to cross over into interiors but I've never seen a mainstream home ware brand so obviously take a cue from just one designer. The walnut print, in particular, is an unmistakeable tribute to the S/S14 range.

[Images via Style.com] Snippets of Kane's floral notes.

Perhaps in the future we should expect to see more lone design inspiration making its way onto the shelves of Ikea - Rodarte-esque sunflowers or goth weaving? Dolce & Gabbana-esque Italian domestic seaside images featuring buxom models in pasta earrings? The floor is open...

Fashion Resolutions for 2014

Can you believe another year is over? It seems like only yesterday that I was getting excited about wearing Spring/Summer 2013 pieces, yet already it's time to start thinking ahead to next summer, and February will see the Autumn/Winter 2014 season trends being revealed. 

In early 2013 I resolved to spend less in order to save for travelling, and I'm pleased to say that I (mostly) managed to achieve this. I've now come up with three resolutions for the next 12 months of style...

A buttercup yellow dress on sale at Czech Labels & Friends, Prague

1. Continue to explore fashion around the world

This year I brought you shop windows from Rome, a fleamarket photo essay from Reykjavik and notes on what to wear in Thailand and how to dress in Cuba. 2014 will begin in Peru, where I'll be on a guided tour until mid-January, then I'll be back to tell you all about Peruvian style in two very different climates, from the warm coastal weather in Lima to the chillier mountain conditions.

Also on the cards are trips to some of Brussels' best boutiques, and I'm hoping to visit India as well, which has been on my wish list for some time. Wherever I go, I always carry that fashion mindset with me (checking out what people are wearing, eyeing up window displays, etc.), and I'm drawn to markets and shops just as much as the official attractions of a destination. 

 [Image via WeHeartIt.com] Marilyn Monroe, curve ambassador

2. Embrace the curves with more confidence

I've always been a staunch defender of the curvy girl but when I started blogging I was admittedly at least one size smaller (ok, two at a push, depending on where I shop) than I am today. I've come to terms with the fact that I don't have the flat stomach that I did back in 2009, and consequently I can't wear the same clothes, but what has been difficult is finding really flattering pieces on the high street. Many of the items in my favourite shops are designed for women with a small chest, washboard abs and skinny thighs, whereas I'm the one trying to work around boobs that generate turbulence when I dance, not to mention a muffin top and the rest. 

When I'm confronted with endless body-con dresses, high neck crop tops and unforgiving high-waisted pencil skirts in stretch fabrics, it can feel a bit demoralising; suddenly buying a last-minute outfit for a party becomes near impossible because the selection just isn't there. In 2014 I am going to try and look past this shortfall and really nail down the retailers that play to my strengths - the ones that don't mind a bit of cleavage or a skirt that's built to skim cleverly and not to cling. I'm looking for empowering pieces to add to my collection. 

 Keep it simple at Fashion Week and beyond

3. Be more minimalist - in outfits and in wardrobe volume

Every time I see Fashion Week street style photos, I always gravitate towards the minimalist dressers. They look so chilled out and mature compared to the fraught tension behind the eyes of the brand-clad hipster teens with their eyes rolled, and the girls with bunches and Harajuku dresses trying to look coy. Okay, so the minimal look might have taken just as long to put together in reality, but what makes it extra special is its effortless facade - simple shapes, one or two colours, happy to blend into the background at Somerset House and watch the performances of others. Next year I want to channel this look in my outfit choices, but also in the sense of culling the amount of clothes I currently own.

A spring clean of my wardrobe is very much overdue, taking the opportunity to get rid of all those pieces that no longer fit my shape or my lifestyle. I'm notoriously sentimental about the things I own, being something of a self-confessed hoarder who can always think of a not-so-plausible scenario when I might need to wear or use an item, and this means that it's hard to pass anything onto the charity shops. But 2014 feels like a turning point in many ways, as I'll be travelling and freelancing before seeking a permanent editorial role later in the year, by which point I will have also turned 25. Maybe all that change is the perfect opportunity to be a bit more ruthless and hold onto less of the past.

What are your fashion resolutions for the year ahead, and will you keep them? Let me know on Twitter (@misspallen). 

Moda Lisboa S/S14: Portuguese Labels to Love

Yes, I'm turning my attention to yet another Fashion Week around the world, and this time it's Lisbon that has managed to catch my eye. There are some really talented Portuguese designers out there, and I spent ages poring over their work on Portugal Confidential and the official Moda Lisboa website.

Here are six of my favourites, as captured by photographer Rui Vasco; firstly, three designers who relied heavily on blue as an accent colour, and then secondly, three designers striking out with very individual styles.

 [All images via Portugal Confidential and Rui Vasco]. 

Pedro Pedro's tactile collection focused on texture, right down to the glossy hair of the models.

There was an interesting clash of femininity (delicate layers, long hair, little satchels) and masculinity (flat grey caps, overcoats, the face as a blank canvas) in the clothing here. I feel that these are the kind of ensembles worn by a Burberry devotee who seeks something a bit more individual and pared down; something more authentic than the sleek trench coat.

 Ricardo Preto went for practical pieces emphasised by folds, with iridescent sheer layers underneath.

Unlike Pedro Pedro's bare models, the ladies at Ricardo Preto sported washes of gaudy eyeshadow in purple, blue and red, worn against a muted colour palette of blues, greys and greens in the clothing itself. I loved the different silhouettes created by the changing volume of the outfits - cocoon coats and slimline waistcoats vying for attention on the same catwalk.

SayMyName had an Avatar-meets-Gaga feel to its S/S14 line.

According to the notes, SayMyName was inspired this season by the robes of a Senegalese brotherhood, but (to my untrained eye) I felt like there was a distinct note of Gaga to the proceedings. I loved the oily slickness of the dresses, clinging in places and glossing over the figure in others. There was a real sense of craft and playfulness that I couldn't resist.

 Nuno Baltazar made an impression in black.

How much do I want to be a Nuno Baltazar woman? She's like one of those effortlessly cool types that I always clock at Fashion Week, strutting through the courtyard at Somerset House in vertiginous heels, without a care in the world. I picked these black and white pieces to show you, but there was some colour in the collection, however my stand-out picks reflect the power of simple pieces to really make an outfit. Barbed wire print and clever drapery? Yes, please.

 Os Burgueses delivered a collection inspired by '1960s wallpaper'. 

The power of print was evident from Os Burgueses' range for this season. A humble banana became key to the quirk appeal of these outfits, topped off by punk-lite belts and precisely wrapped head scarves. These looks had the feeling of playing in the dressing up box at first glance, but you just know they'll be worn by fashion leaders who never put a hair out of place. I'm envious.

Ricardo Dourado's range was called Drop the City and blended simple street wear with intricate dinosaur prints.

If you're seeking something a bit more streetwise from Fashion Week, you can't fail to be impressed by Ricardo Dourado's vision for Spring/Summer 2014. His ideal customer seems to be a woman who isn't afraid of fashion's chameleon potential; she wants to be someone else and is happy to experiment with ballooning fabrics, off-the-wall prints and man repelling dungaree dresses. What's more, she's proud of the way she looks.

I've definitely been inspired by the work of these designers; Lisbon is clearly one to watch on the global fashion stage.

Saint Laurent S/S14: The waif chic look has gone too far

There's a point at which the banality of seeing size 0 models on the catwalk goes too far; when it stops being banal and starts being a cry for help. For me, that point came when flicking through the images of the Spring/Summer 2014 Saint Laurent (the brand formerly known as YSL) collection by Hedi Slimane.

Slimane, it's fair to say, loves the waif chic look through and through; he champions Pete Doherty, grunge and the faux-punk rebellion of the over-hyped Cara Delevingne, and he's previously created a book of rock photographs in his spare time. However, whilst I'm willing to accept the flannel shirts and rock 'n' roll attitude he brings to the brand, I am not at all comfortable with the aesthetic that his models are simultaneously bringing to the table. 

[Images via Style.com]. The Saint Laurent look for next season: worryingly thin.

The skeletal figures are not only upsetting, but they're also distracting, to the point where I can barely see the clothes because all I can picture are the jutting collarbones, alarming thigh gaps and paper-thin arms. I know that these models have walked other shows this season, that they look like hundreds of others on the circuit, but I've never seen their shape - or lack of shape - emerge quite so disturbingly from the catwalk before. This is not femininity or girl power; it is plain and simple deprivation.

Perhaps it's the slimline aesthetic of Hedi Slimane's designs, with the deliberately skinny ties and the asymmetric tops and dresses designed to highlight the shoulder and the collarbone? Whatever it is, it's not making me feel good about fashion or the health of these poor girls. Yes, they lead pressured lives and may 'accidentally forget to eat' sometimes or 'have a really fast metabolism', but at some point shouldn't the people around them intervene for the sake of their wellbeing?

Somebody please take these girls aside and give them a hug.

Besides the lack of professional concern for the models' physical and mental health, what concerns me is that these girls will be seen by the fashion world, and everyone interested in it, as perfectly normal, right down to the pre-teens who idolise them. Surely there is something wrong with the message being sent out here.

Considering the legacy of fashion shows past, I guess it shouldn't even be shocking to see such emaciated figures strutting down the runway, as the size 0 phenomenon has stayed with us since the 90s and shows depressingly little sign of disappearing. Maybe I was naive to hope that we'd get a bit more diversity in modelling in the 21st Century, with the healthier figures used by Mark Fast and, most recently, championed in the form of step dancers at Rick Owens' S/S14 show. But change is what we need, before we really do get stuck in a rut of terrifying proportions for the next generation of women seeking beauty validation from the catwalk.

Whatever Slimane might think, I do not believe that these girls should be modelling and I do not believe they should be part of his look. I really hope this show isn't the shape of things to come.

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.

Hellen Van Rees' S/S14 Presentation: Fuzzlayerglossbox

And so to London Fashion Week, where I began my adventures with the presentation from innovative Dutch designer Hellen Van Rees. I've previously covered Hellen's work here on the blog, and also for Running in Heels. It was fascinating to see how she's developed since then, especially as she's been garnering praise for her eco-friendly fashion stance (hello, Humanity in Fashion Award) and taking on the challenge of holding a TED talk on the theme of sustainability. This was her first solo presentation at Vauxhall Fashion Scout's Freemasons' Hall, giving her the chance to really shine.

The 15 looks she created for the collection had been influenced by 1920s-30s dressing, Boardwalk Empire and Coco Chanel. They showed a more mature side to the ideal Van Rees woman, with floor-length dresses and delicate chiffon pieces complemented by 2D cuboid panels, replacing the 3D cubes that were so prevalent in her earlier ranges.

 A minimalist all-white top and mid-length skirt combination in look 3.

 Wedge heels finished all of the outfits and really brought the looks together.

 The varying dimensions of this belt created drama at the waist. They also reminded me of city skylines, with the blocks like skyscrapers.

 The models' wispy backcombed hair and red lipstick was one example of the juxtapositions in this show.

 Here you can really get a feel for the different textures as they sat alongside each other.

 The oil slick effect here worked really well against the chiffon.

 As you can see, the setting of the Freemasons' Hall and its dark portraits added that bit more drama.

 Multiple panels made up these dresses. The bolero jacket on the right continued the cube-shaped theme.

 Just look at those threads. My instant reaction was to connect the diamond pattern to the quilted panelling of a Chanel 2.55 handbag, but also the coloured threads remind me of Bridget Riley paintings.

 Pure polished glamour.

 This was one of several halterneck pieces, with frayed hems.

 The presentation allowed press and bloggers to walk between the models, creating shots like this when us mere mortals were stood alongside the creations.

 Wandering around the room gave a great opportunity to see the designs from all angles and in different lights.

 The white fraying looked like feathers.

 Glossy white vs. multicoloured threads, and high necklines all round.

 An open back balanced out the high neckline of this dress.

 Simple buns were the order of the day when it came to hair - nothing that would be too distracting.

More of those Bridget Riley-esque threads? Oh go on, then.

Fuzzlayerglossbox shows a definite growth in Hellen Van Rees' work and I'm sure it will be a hit with buyers as well; personally I'd love to see UK stockists introducing her to their customers, so we can show our support.