This Spring, the MoMu (ModeMuseum Province of Antwerp) dedicates a major exhibition to knitwear from the sculptural and subversive to exquisite couture pieces.

Unravel: Knitwear in Fashion shows key knitwear pieces by international and influential designers such as Ann Salens, Missoni, Sonia Rykiel and Vivienne Westwood – all noted for their individual approach to knitwear.

Also present will be historic couture pieces by Schiaparelli, Patou and Chanel, who used knitwear to soften the female silhouette throughout the war-stricken period of the early 20th century.

Pushing the boundaries of knitwear are featured unconventional designers Sandra Backlund, Maison Martin Margiela and Mark Fast.

So, it might be time to book that Spring break to Antwerp!

Unravel: Knitwear in Fashion runs from 16 March to 14 August at MoMu, Antwerp.

On Wednesday 9 June, Ellis Faas will be hosting an evening at Liberty, offering a unique insight into her innovative cosmetics range and her successful catwalk and editorial career.

At 6pm, Ellis will be interviewed and will then answer questions from the audience. Afterwards, guests will be able to personally meet Ellis – a rare opportunity to get to know her and her work a little bit better.  I posted an introduction to the range earlier this year, if you haven’t had a chance to see it yet.

There will be plenty Ellis Faas products to try out and experiment with, plus the Ellis Faas staff at Liberty will be on hand to give advice and colour suggestions.

What makes Ellis Faas so unique as a make-up artist is her approach to natural beauty, taking inspiration from colours found in the human body, whether it be blood, bruising or natural shadows.

Ellis Faas began a long history of working with Mario Testino when he was shooting in Amsterdam and needed a make-up artist who fit in with his concept.  Her career went into overdrive meeting French Vogue Fashion Director, Emmanuelle Alt, who introduced her to Karl Lagerfeld.  She went on to work on his Chanel and Fendi shows, instructing teams of make-up artists on how to create the look for the season.

The Ellis Faas Human Colours collection is a real revolution in make-up and some of the colours may seem daunting, especially the earthy eye colours, so this evening at Liberty is the perfect opportunity to discover more about the brand from its creator.

There is a booking fee of £20, which is redeemable against purchases on the evening.  For more details: 020 7734 1234 ext. 2506.

For more information of the Ellis Faas range and to buy online, visit 

Designing the bottle featuring his silhouette and a hot pink bottle top, Karl also indulged his other life passion and shot the campaign featuring Coco Rocha as his female counterpart, and one of his favourite boys, Baptiste Giacobini.

Coco revealed on her blog, Oh So Coco, that during the shoot, Karl decided the accessories weren’t quite right, so he went home and brought back some of his own trademark leather gloves, then took off his tie pin and rings for her to wear, giving Coco the real Lagerfeld look.

Karl Lagerfeld and Coca Cola go way back and according to biographer Alicia Drake in The Beautiful Fall, Karl used to down up to 25 bottles a day and once rode along the Côte d’Azur on the back of a moped with a hot dog in one hand and a bottle of Coca Cola in the other.

Since honing his svelte figure, Karl has switched over to Coca Cola Light and savours the taste in a large Lalique crystal goblet (à la Coco in the advert), although you can just imagine him swigging from the bottle adorned with his own silhouette!

A limited edition box set including the Karl Lagerfeld Diet Coke bottle and matching bottle opener is on sale at Colette in Paris for €60 and is a major collector’s item.

At the end of the month, the campaign will be splashed all over Paris and Karl will be on sale for the bargain price of €3.50.  No word yet on when they’ll be available in the UK, but Selfridges always stock the Diet Coke designer collaborations and now they’ve started selling online.

So what will King Karl turn his hand to next?  I’m guessing a limited edition monochrome iPod, ready loaded with Karl’s favourite tunes and interludes of Karl reciting his most notorious quotes – who wouldn’t want one of those!

Fashion week is the best time to come shopping, as in my case, from spotting some pretty outlandish trends and creative individuals, I was inspired to become more open-minded about new trends and ideas, rather than worrying about what is most flattering.  That’s the essence of London style, no?

Ella’s Bakehouse was my first stop, as I needed a sugar rush, in the shape of a Malteser cupcake.  The adorable Bakehouse girls were on hand to serve up dozens of glittery cakes and they looked as cute as cupcakes in their red polka dot dresses.

Having never tried Ella’s cupcakes before, the Malteser cupcakes has made me a convert.  They have a similar dense and springy texture to Lola’s cupcakes and the icing is also thick but not too sugary.  The glitter on the top appealed to the five-year old in me, but eat it carefully, or you’ll end up with a sparkly ‘tache!

Completely avoiding the helpful information sign, I charged up and down the escalators on the hunt for the WAH Nails pop-up salon.  The WAH girls were busy applying metallic Minx nails when I arrived and there’s a display board and catalogue to help you decide which designs to go for.  Sharmadean Reid and her team are known for their amazing leopard print designs, but they can also interpret any trend from the catwalk just for your nails.

Vintage Academe’s designer dress exhibition was quite spectacular. They showed some amazing finds, from a Paco Rabanne silver sequin dress and Ossie Clark colour block dress to early twentieth century pieces by Paquin and Mainbocher.

On tuneage duty was Ali Cat (left) from electro-disco band GHOSTCAT with her DJ pal.  They were camped next to the Boutique section and played a set of Lady Gaga, 80s rock and soul.  See more of Ali Cat’s cool personal style on Show Me Your Wardrobe – something tells me she was an ice skater as a kid!

TOPSHOP Oxford Circus’ London Fashion Week in-store events are running all day until 23 February.

TOPSHOP are continuing the democratic trend with a flurry of amazing events at their Oxford Circus flagship store from 19-23 February.  Whether you’re doing the rounds at Somerset House or glued to SHOWstudio, you can stop by TOPSHOP to get  nail art done by the coolest nail techs in town, demolish some cupcakes and get insider tips on how to create a hit fashion blog.  They also will be streaming the shows that they support as part of New Gen, straight from the catwalk.

Dalston-based WAH Nails are setting up a pop-up concept salon, where the technicians will be recreating looks from the catwalk or anything you could possibly dream of, they really are THAT good.

With a huge presence of bloggers gracing the London Fashion Week shows (your truly included), TOPSHOP have invited some of the luminaries of the blogosphere to share advice on how to create and maintain a must-read blog.  Leading the workshops will be Oh Elle, Coco’s Tea Party and one of my fave bloggers, Disneyrollergirl.

But even with all the fashion madness going on, we still need sugary treats to keep us going.  I reckon even weary and famished fashion editors won’t be able to resist a ‘couture cupcake’ from pop-up store, Ella’s Bakehouse (founded by supermodel-turned-baking goddess Lorraine Pascale).

During London Fashion Week, it’s all about new creations, so it’s easy to forget about the joys of vintage garments.  Vintage experts Claire Nicholls and V&A curator, author and fashion historial Judith Watt will be showcasing a hand picked collection of vintage pieces by icon designers such as Jeanne Lanvin, Chanel, Ossie Clark, Azzedine Alaïa and Balenciaga.

Together they form The Vintage Acadème, specialising in sourcing the very best twentieth-century women’s fashion and haute couture. Clare and Judith will be on hand to give advice on the history of the garments and their designers. You’ll be able to try on some of the pieces – with tips from a TOPSHOP Style Advisor – and some items will even be for sale.

The Fashion Wall will be playing shows by TOPSHOP Unique and long-term designer collaborators Meadham Kirchoff, Christopher Kane, Mary Katranzou, Richard Nicholl, Marios Schwab, Louise Goldin and more.

The impossibly gorgeous Erin Wasson will also be teaming up with Blake Mycoskie, founder of ethical footwear brand TOMS, to host the first ‘Style Your Sole’ workshop, providing ideas to help you customised your shoes.  TOMS’ mission is to match each pair of shoes sold by donating a pair to a child in a developing country and fans of the brand include Karl Lagerfeld and Sienna Miller.

Providing the soundtrack throughout the week will be live DJ sets from Stricken City, Peggy Sue, Esben and the Witch, Wet Dog, Bleech, Chew Lips and Samual and the Dragon.

As if that wasn’t enough, every time you spend £80 in store (lets face it, that’s not too difficult), you receive a free gift – just visit the Fashion Wall to see what prize is on offer.  Gifts include free WAH Nails manicures, new season accessories and loaded gift cards to spend in store.

Visit the TOPSHOP website for details and event schedule.

Curated by Saint Laurent’s long-term life and business partner Pierre Bergé and under the patronage of the First Lady of France,Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the exhibition will cover 40 years of creation, from 1962 to 2002. On display will be 300 pieces of Saint Laurent’s haute couture and innovative prêt-à-porter line, Rive Gauche.

The exhibition ranges from Yves Saint Laurent’s beginnings at Dior as Christian Dior’s successor (including his debut trapèze collection) in the 1950s to the Scandale collection following the May 1968 Paris riots to his evening gowns just before his death in 2002.

Yves Saint Laurent turned style rules on their head and revolutionised Paris fashion with his use of masculine tailoring for women.  His signature look Le Smoking tuxedo has been reinterpreted dozens of times and he’s also responsible for popularising the safari suit and the beatnik look.  Pierre Bergé once said: “Chanel liberated the woman, but Yves Saint Laurent gave them power.”

Also on display will be a number of drawings, films and photos chronicling the history the house of Yves Saint Laurent, including an image by photographer Jeanloup Sieff, depicting Yves partially naked for his eau de toilette campaign, and French film star Catherine Deneuve’s entire Yves Saint Laurent wardrobe.

The exhibition also sheds light on Yves Saint Laurent’s influences, such as opera, cinema, theatre (his early collections referencing the theatre sets of Christian Bérard) and painting – his . His travels to Morocco, China and Russia are well documented in the ‘Chinoiserie’ and ‘Opium’ collections that are presented in the exhibition.

Yves Saint Laurent’s influence has been been Marc Jacobs, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Tom Ford .  The house of Yves Saint Laurent still thrives today under the direction of the talented Stefano Pilati, whose deep respect for Saint Laurent’s aesthetic is evident in the collections.  Unlike Tom Ford before him, Pilati understands the subtle sexiness of the strong Parisienne, but isn’t afraid to drive the house forward with futuristic references.

The garments are drawn from the collection of over 5000 piece at the Fondation Pierre Berge – Yves Saint Laurent in Saint Laurent’s former atelier on the Avenue Marceau.

The exhibition runs from 11 March to August 29 at the Petit Palais.  Tickets are €11.

www.yslretrospective.com

As Tavi smartly pointed out, she is about half the size of the average fashion ed/celeb and the offending bow was shot with holes. Would any editor dare to strip Diane Pernet of her signature raised veil? Non, pas du tout!  So really, the crux of the matter is that the teen fashion prodigy has fast-tracked her way to the privileges that editors have spent years trying to cultivating and maintain and surprisingly enough, they don’t like it!

Couture is an industry clawing on by its teeth, so it’s no surprise that designers are consciously trying to appeal to a younger market – hence Tavi at Dior, Lady Gaga sporting Armani Privé and Valentino’s woodland neon nymphs.

The direction of the house of Valentino has been somewhat vague since the departure of Valentino Garavani.  His second set of predecessors and former Valentino accessories designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli began their assault on a new look brand with their romantic, sculptural A/W 09 collection, but this season they’ve gone wild and thrown the rulebook to the wind.

Valentino’s elegant woman has put her prim little suit in storage and turned into a to a cyber partygirl with a new best mate, Alice Dellal.  Blush and nude shades are carried over from the Autumn/Winter ready-to-wear collection, but this time they’re set off with flashes of fluorescent pink and yellow and silver (with more than a nod to Pam Hogg’s panelled catsuits).

Underneath the neon and sparkle, there are whispers of classic Valentino, with beautiful draping, volume and embellishment, but the pair really stick the knife in with their interpretation of  the iconic ‘Valentino red dress’.  There are three red dresses in the collection, the most outrageous being a red leather mini dress with waves of leather ruffles.

The sheer visors and ‘exotic bird’ make-up seem to reference Avatar and the models certainly have an eco-warrior vibe.  This unashamed attempt to appeal to a younger, ‘new money’ crowd hasn’t gone unnoticed, and their new rock ‘n’ roll image has sent shockwaves through Valentino’s clique.

Valentino’s partner Giancarlo Giammetti labelled the collection a ‘ridiculous circus’ and told WWD that both he and Valentino “are always supportive of the designers of Valentino, even if we don’t approve of their effort to be cool at all costs.”

A polar opposite collection was John Galliano’s historical, equestrian collection that looked back to the work of Belle Epoque designer Charles Lamb, who was also the inspiration for Christian Dior’s New Look collection in 1947.

Galliano cracked the whip, as models were sent down the catwalk in Edwardian riding jackets with nipped-in waists and peplums, checked skirts with bustles and top hats with veils.  Next up was cocktail hour with the most beautiful jewel coloured, gathered chiffon skirts, embellished jackets, halter-neck bustier shirts and draped dresses in Duchesse satin.

For evening wear, it was all about the most incredible ball gowns and Galliano found inspiration with ‘The Gibson Girls’, the illustrated feminine ideals at the turn of the century.  There were delicately structured satin bodices with voluminous, sculptural skirts in exquisite fabrics and a colour palette including dusky pink, raspberry, petrol, mauve and ice blue.

You can tell that Galliano lives for creating couture and the colours, craftsmanship and historical references make his shows the most anticipated of all.  Suzy Menkes acknowledged the beauty and emotion of the collection, but suggested that “it would be a fine thing if Mr. Galliano could just once make the starting point of Dior couture not fashion’s sweet memories but a clean sheet of paper on which he writes 2010.”

It’s interesting that designers who have been at the helm of Valentino for just over two seasons should cut away from the house’s heritage so significantly, while Galliano, who has made Dior his own since his arrival in 1996, still references Christian Dior’s most prominent collections like an old friend.

With rejuvenated houses such as Balmain, Givenchy and Balenciaga excelling commercially but losing part of their original identity (plus the closure of Christian Lacroix), I would personally drape myself in raspberry tulle in support of Galliano’s nostalgia over a label who is in the painful midst of a personality crisis.

Dutch make-up artist Ellis Faas has a pretty stellar reputation in the fashion and beauty, with her talent championed by the holy fashion trinity of Mario Testino, Emmanuelle Alt and Karl Lagerfeld, who bagged her for his Chanel and Fendi shows.

Ellis has worked for leading brands like Clinique, Lancôme and MAC Cosmetics, but it was after creating a make-up range for Biotherm that she took all her insider knowledge and developed her own revolutionary concept and collection.

Ellis’ make-up philosophy is so unique because of her use of Human Colours, those found naturally in every human body.  Her experience of working on film sets, creating special effects gave her an insight into the colours that occur through bruising and those that are lying under the skin.

Her signature Ellis Red lipstick is the actual colour of blood and like all of the universal colours in the range, is guaranteed to suit all skin tones.

All products are fluid, even the eye colours, and have a balm-like consistency that glides across the skin and miraculously stays in place.  They come in sleek, ‘bullet’ pens that all fit into a holder that looks like a cross between a gun barrel and a really cool Thermos flask.

Having used YSL Perfect Touch foundation and Top Secrets chunky pens and finding them an utter pain to clean, I was at first sceptical about the Ellis Faas packaging.  I was won over though, when I found out just how slim and sleek the pens are, giving a good precision effect and less product wastage.

There are two collections of eye colours – creamy eyes, bold shades used for shaping and contouring and the more translucent milky eyes, to be swept over the eyelids.  The quick-drying balm sinks into the skin more effectively than powder and turns into a velvet sheen.

Many of the colours have a richer, warmer tint than I would usually chose to wear (I’m always drawn to mink and ash shades), but there are more subtle shades with an almost two-tone, iridescent sheen that give depth to the eyes.

Mascara comes in either black or mid brown and the creamy texture makes it easy to apply, without any clumps or build-up.  For a more dramatic look, you can apply a couple of coats and volumise the lashes.

Lip colours come in creamy, milky and glazed, with nine colours in each range. There are natural colours that tick every possible trend box, from red, orange, coral and this season’s berry tint. The lip colours are nourishing and easily absorbed and contain plant seed oil, antioxidants, vitamin C and Omega 3 and 6.  They also contain vitamin E and are paraben free, with a non-sticky texture.

Foundation wise, Ellis Faas Skin Veil is a light, moisturising base that illuminates the skin with light-diffusing minerals. They come in 8 colours that lightly cover the skin rather than masking it and contain SPF 15.  Each Skin Veil has its own concealer, which is a godsend, as many cosmetics brands think we can be divided into just light, medium or dark.

Ellis has also formulated a range of four liquid blushers that essential oil, rosewater and vitamins C and E.  They have a cooling, toning effect and have light reflecting particles that highlight the cheekbones and give the skin radiance.  While all of the products are cream or liquid based, you don’t have to go shiny, as there is also a range of three Ellis Faas translucent, naturally mattifying powders, containing seaweed extract and SPF 15.

The high-end quality of the products is reflected in the price (around from £19 to £34), but it’s worth investing in the Skin Veil or the eye and lip colours to get a more natural look.

Ellis Faas collection is available at from 1 February or if you can’t wait until then, you can buy online.