George @ Asda A/W Blogger Event

I went to the George at Asda blogger event on Carnaby Street last night. The team put together an amazing evening showcasing the new A/W clothing line and party pieces from their online exclusive range, G21. I'll be honest I'd never heard of G21 before but after seeing that burgundy velvet and tulle dress it's a name I won't be forgetting. I want need that dress in my wardrobe, like now. The detailing on some of the pieces were just amazing, far beyond what you'd expect for the price. In terms of trends; baroque's back with a bang, alongside some snazzy sequins and iridescent, um, everything. There was an definite element of Gatsby-inspired embellishment on some of the pieces, which is all over perfect for the Christmas party season.
The George guys were kind enough to let us try on some of their winter knitwear to take a group photo in - so I now know what Christmas jumper I'll be buying / living in for the next three months. It looks like one of those over-sized vintage / stolen from my deffinitely not imaginary boyfriend jumpers that everyone will be wearing soon.
It was so much fun I literally felt like a princess; being surrounded by so much sparkle, having my hair done by a professional stylist whilst the caterers plied me with more cake than Marie Antoinette. Oh aaaand there was a chocolate fountain, oh yes, a chocolate fountain. Although I think I ended up wearing more chocolate than I did eating it.  Eh I have my clumsy moments, but I hold no ill will as it lead me to one of THE GREATEST scientifc discoveries of all mankind; chocolate and pretzels are an amazing combination - I should really copyright that before someone else does... wait, what do you mean they're already a thing?! Uhh this is like heat sensitive nail polish all over again -_-
Anywhoo I had an amazing evening viewing the new winter pieces, everything was so well put together and the caterers / cocktail crew were just fantastic, thanks everyone and thank you Siobhan for inviting me!

AW13 | Christopher Raeburn Vermin Bags

I've been obsessed with bags that resemble animals since first seeing Mandy Coon's bunny bags and not forgetting Giles Deacon's metallic dinosaurs back in 2010. I was so in love I even had a dino bag of my very own specially made by a family friend.
Soo continuing on with my fashion week posts, another designer whose show space I was lucky enough to roam around in was Christopher R to the A to the E to the B to the... yeah okay I'm not a cheerleader - Raeburn! *woot*

My favourite thing about Raeburn is that he takes into account function and design sustainability; limiting material waste, most of which is recycled from other sources. For this collection his utilitarian and military aesthetic drew inspiration from the Maunsell Sea Forts, which were small fortified towers used as coastal defence against oncoming air-raids back in WWII. With the contrast of natural and brassy colours I had the bizarre mental image of human Daleks; kitted out in quilted teflon uniforms, roaming inside the aforementioned sea forts, being all err, mysterious and sinister and stuff. The collection has absolutely nothing to do with Dr.Who, but I guess I'm nerding out from Saturday night TV withdrawal. The electricity in my flat has gone and my laptop's just about to die so who knows what I'm talking about, uhh okay byeee.

LFW AW13 | J.JS Lee + Liam Fahy @ Topshop showroom

I went backstage to the Topshop showroom at London fashion week last month...

Was I meant to be there? Nope. Did I let that stop me? Nuh-uhh.
 

Nobody would be surprised when I say that when it comes to fashion it's not what you know but who you know, (it sucks but it's true). I went to Somerset House to do streetstyle, armed with an unusual optimism and a zillion business cards, which I kept handing out like they were M&M's (a bad metaphor really cuz when I get a bag of M&Ms I don't tend to share). I ended up befriending a girl interning at an online fashion publication, who was lovely enough to lend me her press pass so I could go backstage and look through the showrooms. I was so excited it took all imaginable self-control for me not to victory knee slide my way in air guitaring like the hero of an epic 90s highschool film, cuz apparently that kind of behaviour's frowned upon at the f'row, who knew?
Anywhoo, the topshop showroom at Somerset House plays host to the new season offerings by recipients of NEWGEN designer funding. In the past this has included the likes of Alexander McQueen, Meadham Kirchoff, Christopher Kane, Mary Katrantzou, Marios Schwab and Erdem to name but a few. There was so much to see so I'm going to spread these out over several posts...

My favourite collection of the day was by J.JS Lee - the boxy cuts and 'fragile' marked clutch bags won me over in an instant. I'm not usually all that into minimalism but the structured wool shapes and cute as a sugarmouse colour scheme were a stellar combo. Lee and her team used South African weaving techniques to create the fabric, embodying a wavy, slightly fluffled effect, and coloured the fabric using natural dyes inspired by a palette sourced from wild flowers. The collection was inspired by the idea of travelling nomads, which translates conspicuously into the collection as I imagine such clothes would fit seamlessly (and stylishly) into various cultures around the world. Lee also designed a range of footwear to accompany the pieces, including cut-out brogues and white leather wedges featuring strips of the same wool as the garments - striking the ideal balance between function and fashion.

The boots at the bottom were also a favourite of mine, designed by Liam Fahy. I think they're awesome cuz they remind me of those trainers you'd get when you were little which light up when you walk, you know the ones? Yeahhh... I never had a pair. Because of this I feel I was deprived as a child. Anyway the light's are powered by teeny tiny camera batteries which flash in relay. I'm not sure how they'd fair in the rain to be honest, I don't imagine getting an electric surge to the ankle would be too much fun, but the best trends are made to shock you after all *oh harhar*