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Designers, Fashion, London, London Fashion Week

LFW Day Two: Iris Van Herpen @ Vauxhall Fashion Scout

February 21, 2010 by cheriecity

Dutch designer Iris Van Herpen really knows how to create an atmosphere, from the cinematic, industrial music down to the models’ other-worldly, meditative expression. The attention to detail is absolutely mesmerising.

Iris Van Herpen left a lasting impression on me from last season’s Blow Presents… show and her Autumn/Winter 10-11 collection, ‘Synesthesia’ succeeded once again in leaving me temporarily speechless.

‘Synesthesia’ describes a state of dual cognitive senses, such as hearing colour, smelling motion or feeling sound and this perplexing condition characterises Iris Van Herpen’s Autumn/Winter 10-11 collection.

The winding knots, twists and volume of the leatherwork creates a trompe l’oeil effect and manipulates the senses.

Iris Van Herpen is a true fashion architect and her sculptural garments are painstakingly intricate and beautifully crafted. She creates those long, slinky strips using metallic leather and continues to work with Ecco Leather.

The Autumn/Winter 10-11 palette centres around bronze, gold, taupe, nude and black and dark purple, with many of the garments creating a two-tone effect. Her dresses externalise the inner bodily composition while exaggerating the female form with voluminous hips, curved busts and nipped in waists.

The accompanying look of the models was lucid and clinical with bleached eyebrows, pale glossy faces and milky lips and eyes. The cloud-like angel hair was styled by James Brown and added to their look of just being hatched from a laboratory pod.

After graduating from ARTEZ Institute of Arts in 2006, Iris Van Herpen assisted Viktor & Rolf and Alexander McQueen. She’s obviously taken inspiration from both designers’ artistic concept mixed with semi-couture detailing.

Iris Van Herpen brings drama, concept and intrigue to London Fashion Week and her shows continue to be among the most fixating, intense and awe-inspiring.

* All photos by: Chérie City

Designers, Fashion, London, London Fashion Week

Gemma Slack A/W 10 presentation @ Vauxhall Fashion Scout

February 19, 2010 by cheriecity

Gemma Slack showed her A/W 2010 collection in a presentation at Vauxhall Fashion Scout, complete with a promotional film and a live performance from Chew Lips.

For Gemma’s third collection, the silver tribal collars and oriental hats of Spring/Summer 10 have been replaced with draped gold chains and intricate facial jewellery – a collaboration between Gemma and Katie Rowland Jewellery called Rowland Vs. Slack.

Black leather panelled and sheer body con dresses continue the super heroine, gothic aesthetic, but they are less structured and certainly more wearable than last season’s rigid silver cone skirts.

For the winter season, Gemma has worked with more texture, using wool and embossed leather.

There are references to Jean-Paul Gaultier’s exaggerated femininity with the integrated suspender belt, structured bustiers and ‘pierced nipples’ holding up a layer of diaphanous chiffon.

Gemma Slack’s woman is part fierce biker girl and part elegant vamp. Many of the pieces are actually based on classic tailoring, like the asymmetric, long black dress and the sculptural tulip skirt.

The Autumn/Winter 10 collection doesn’t make such an intense impact as the last season’s but it’s the attention to details like leather-trimmed hems and the contrast between the fuzzy and smooth fabrics that really appeal.

There’s a bit of Gareth Pugh (Gemma’s one-time mentor) in the cropped jacket with an almost blow-up leather collar and the jumper with studded elbow pads echoes Ashish.

Despite the Catwoman and 80s references, Gemma Slack’s pieces are very modern and simultaneously complement and fetishise the female body. It would have been great to see the garments on female models, as the sheer panels and cut-away sections leave some styling questions. Plus, it would make the clothes look even damn sexier!

All photos: Cherie City

Accessories, Fashion, London

Fam Love Gays…and sailorgirls!

November 18, 2009 by cheriecity

I’ve already grown tired of dressing appropriately for the cold weather, although I’ve still been trotting round in a tweed blazer rather than a full-on winter coat, so taking a peak at Fam Irvoll’s SS10 collection has lifted my fashion spirits (which took a dent after seeing Heidi Montag wearing those sequinned Miu Miu socks early this morning).

Fam is a Norwegian designer who shows at Oslo Fashion Week and has just been taken on by Blow PR, so we’ll be seeing much more of her nutty knitwear over here.

After studying at the Ecole Supérieure des Arts et Techniques de la Mode, Fam came to Central St Martins for her BA (Hon) in Fashion Knitwear, graduating in 2008.

Fam’s colourful past collections have featured shrunked dolly dresses, sweaters with 3D ladybirds and ice lollies, ruffled prom dresses and a quirky mouse bustier top – all in eye-popping colours. My personal diagnosis of Fam’s style would be part Sonia Rykiel crossed with Grayson Perry and My Little Pony – not a bad combo, I might add!

Celeb fans already include Mika and Lady Gaga, who apparently called up Fam and ordered a 3D cherry sweater and a cake headpiece.

But quickly on to Fam’s SS10 collection, I Love Gays, which is dominantly nautical with Hawaiian and 50s rockabilly influences. It’s very sailor girl meets Dorothy with a bit of Dolly Parton thrown in for good measure.

For summer, Fam has traded in her magenta and purples for more primary colours like banana yellow, pillarbox red and cobalt blue.

The collection features embellished denim, flirty sailor dresses, tutti frutti prints, cherry print skirts, playtime tomboy shorts and a striped jumpsuit with a proud-looking 3D flamingo standing guard.

I absolutely adore the sparkling sailboat headpieces and there are plenty of other accessories to keep your wardrobe entertained, like blue and red bow bobby socks, ruby slippers and berry and floral headbands in the style of Brazilian samba queen Carmen Miranda. It would really make my day if there was a Fred Butler or Tatty Devine collaboration on the cards – I reckon they could make some mad pieces together.

Fam runs her own club night, Neverland, in Oslo with her equally creative friends and like the name suggests, she gets inspiration from fairytales and east London/Oslo club kids. You can follow Fam’s crazy adventures and adorable outfits on her blog.

Prices start from £40 and you can find stockists by contacting Fam on her website.

Designers, Events, Fashion, London

Romeo Pires Spring/Summer 10 @ LFW

October 5, 2009 by cheriecity

Romeo Pires’ Spring/Summer 10 show kicked off with cosmos and mojitos, which is always better than queuing in the rain. This is design duo Nicholas Humphrey and Sergio Pires’ second collection at LFW and they picked up where they left off last season with their signature art-inspired graphic prints.

The collection featured diaphanous silk collared shirt dresses and jumpsuits, beginning with monochrome and graduating into colour-bursting prints.

The monochrome pieces showed a more feminine, dreamy take on a tuxedo and skeleton prints were also featured.

The second part of the collection saw graphic colour prints emblazoned with checkerboards, apples, Roy Lichtenstein-inspired tableaux, mystical swirls and geometric blocks.

The majority of the collection was created using silk and includes sheer blouses, tailored shorts and beautifully draped jumpsuits. A perfectly wearable and cohesive Spring/Summer collection if ever there was!

Designers, Events, Fashion, London, London Fashion Week

New Designers at London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 10

September 20, 2009 by cheriecity

It’s all GO at London Fashion Week and I’ve made it my mission to check out all of the best new off-schedule designers that are soon to be the next Marios, Emilio or Louise – Gray or Goldin, both pretty fab in my opinion!

I missed the ioannisdimitrousis show on the first day, as I was still working away – freelancers can’t make such outrageous demands, y’know. But from what I’ve seen, his Spring/Summer 10 collection, he has continued his fishnet knits and added disc sequins, flower embellishments and contrasting panels, aka stripes. But he has really embraced the spirit of Spring with his fresh take on monochrome and delicate silver and the collection features cropped tuxedo jackets, romantic button-down skirts, checked shirts and modified summer dresses. There’s something Chanel Cruise collection about this dress – I love it!

ioannis

So, my first show of the season was Blow PR’s catwalk show at Royal Festival Hall. Blow always pick up on the most imaginative emerging designers and I was just dying to see Charlie Le Mindu’s hair sculptures in ‘real life’.

First up was a quick guest appearance from Joe, of Blue Peter fame (I’m sorry, I don’t know who he is) modelling… some clothes – best ask someone else about that one.

Charlie Le Mindu opened the show with an amazing Eiffel tower headpiece and from there we had hair-covered giant lips (think a Lulu Guinness purse after a blowdry), a plaited hair burka, hair-covered sunglasses and . There was even a tufty fringe of hair on the amazing Tuk for Charlie Le Mindu brothel creeps! Kap Bambino were responsible for the amazing soundtrack and I know that L7 was definitely played, but I forget what else, as I was so astounded by the models.

Charlie Le Mindu

Next up was Gemma Slack with her superheroine-inspired second collection of badass leather, proper studs and metal armour plates. Cones play a massive part in the collection, from Gaultier-style cone bra tops (complete with pierced nipples) and circular skirts to a futurist metal e-collar and oriental hats.

Like the Motley Crue soundtrack would suggest, her vision comes from 80s hair-metal girls and fetishised comic book characters. Gemma’s girl is unapologetically sexual and powerful and of course has an incredible cutaway bikini for lounging ’round the pool on Sunset Strip…jealous, moi?

Gemma spent two years as an apprentice to Gareth Pugh and it’s clear that the experience has made her into a bit of a perfectionist, creating really well-formed, striking pieces. I could go on about her for ages, but I’ll move on…

. Gemma Slack

Up next was Lina Osterman with a sophisticated, gothic and well-tailored collection. It was her first catwalk show since graduating from Central St Martins and it also showcased her new jewellery collection featuring chunky silver rings and dirty metal chains.

Like many Swedish designers, Lina is more interested in design than colour and used a palette of black, navy and a momentary flash of white. The collection features cropped blazers, belted coats, skin-tight jeans with studded knee-pad details. Lina has developed a darker edge from the simple deconstruction aesthetic of her first label Pudel and the faces half covered with net and bowl cuts (styling by Robbie Spencer) add a subdued goth rock element.

Lina Ostram

Iris Van Herpen finished the show with an exquisite, fluid and complex collection. Iris explores the movement of the human body, focusing on waves and radiations surrounding it. She interprets how these lines may appear through the incredible manipulation of leather and ponders a future where we can actually see them.

This would explain the great energy of the pieces, from endless spirals and almost tribal marks to uniformly abbrasive ‘metal shavings’. Iris also referenced Burmese ornamental neck rings, metal animal skulls and the concept of waves attacking and protecting the body. The beige and gold dress was breathtakingly detailed and the oil-slick black pieces really expressed Iris’ rather fearful vision of the future.

Iris Van Herpen

So, after such a great and varied show, I went to check out what was going on at Blow PR Presents…Juniors downstairs. The kids were having a blast, getting their hair and make-up done, putting together their own outfits even crazier than those in the East End and being snapped by We Are Photogirls. Future fashionistas in the making, for sure!

Later on, I hit the exhibition, drank some Chambord and champagne in the media lounge and caught up with some of the ELLEuk.com girls of past and present taking street style pics and making good use of the Toni & Guy Blow-Out Bar.

Next stop, Steve J and Yoni P presentation followed by the Bryce d’Anice Aime show…more to follow!

Fashion folk and spottings: V.V Brown, Diane Pernet, Kate Nash, Paloma Faith, Katie Jane Garside, Caryn Franklin, Brix Smith-Start, Portia Freeman, Michael Tempranillo, Dani Stahl, Johnny Make-up, Jameela Jamil, Tommy Ton, Angela Buttolph.

All images (expect ioannisdimitrousis) by Neily Alimohamadi/cheriecity