Following two successful contests, the Dorchester Collection Fashion Prize is becoming known as the ‘one to watch’ for the most promisingly emerging fashion designers.

Anndra Neen, the luxury jewellery line by sisters Phoebe and Annette Stephens, won the 2011 Fashion Prize and have taken their brand to the next level with the support and buzz created by the prestigious competition.

Winner of the inaugural 2010 Fashion Prize, Thomas Tait has since been heralded by US Vogue, collaborated with Asos on its young designer initiative Asos Inc and shown his collections at London Fashion Week as part of BFC NEWGEN.

The Dorchester Collection has always been synonymous with style and helping the hotel find the best of the best is a judging panel made up of fashion luminaries and industry insiders.  Former judges have included Manolo Blahnik, Giles Deacon, Daphne Guinness, Stephen Jones, Francisco Costa, Giovanna Battaglia, Derek Blasberg and Lauren Santo Domingo.

The 2012 Dorchester Collection Fashion Prize will offer a €30,000 reward to an exceptional designer of ready-to-wear or premium accessories, selected by a panel of expert judges.

Each year, the Fashion Prize is hosted by a different Dorchester Collection hotel, beginning with The Dorchester in London and followed last year by The Beverly Hills Hotel.  This year’s host, Hôtel Plaza Athénée has an unrivaled fashion heritage, with an enviable address on the Avenue Montaigne and being known as the ‘second home’ of Christian Dior.  But who will be the judges?  Can we expect Carine Roitfeld, Sonia Rykiel or Emmanuelle Alt to make an appearance?

Application details are available for download at www.dorchestercollection.com and registration will be open until 31 May 2012.

Entrants must be based in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg or Switzerland and have operated their brand for a minimum of two years.

The collection features an ox blood leather pinafore dress worn over a chiffon blouse with frilled collar, a navy wool and gold high-waisted full skirt worn with a gold sequin blouse with silk patterned back and sweet day dresses with abstract retro and cat prints.  Not to forget, those high-waisted scarlet shorts paired with a demure silk printed blouse, worn by the best dancer in the room – an elegant, willowy model with legs up to the heavens!

One of the stand out pieces was a full-skirted nude and black panelled prom dress with an over-size black bow at the waist.  Other favourites were a maroon skater-style dress with a black trim and exposed zip and a delicate cream silk dress with a beige butterfly print and gold sequin peter pan collar.

I loved the fresh, innocent styling – side-parted tied-back hair with dewy skin and a strong lip and girly dance shoes with lurex bobby socks.  It was like the girls had stepped out of a shoot in Lula and appropriately editor and founder Leith Clark (who has styled previous Orla Kiely presentations) was present at the tea dance.

Of course, the new collection of Orla Kiely accessories was on show and featured some ladylike clutches in neutral shades and a stunning red patent leather chain handle bag with Orla Kiely’s trademark pattern embroidered on the back.

As the models performed the foxtrot, tango and the Viennese Waltz under the giant disco ball in Orla Kiely’s pop-up 1940s dance hall, we were served champagne in vintage-style glasses and rounds of mini Victoria sandwich cakes and bakewell tarts.

It’s a fair assumption that everyone left the tea dance on a fashion high and wanted to be an Orla Kiely girl!

Thank you Orla Kiely for such a memorable presentation and for sustaining us with lovely cakes and champagne on the first day of London Fashion Week.

For more info, visit: www.orlakiely.com

But now I want more…and lots of it!  The Spring/Summer 2012 ‘Travellers and Magicians’ collection is full of mystical, geometric pieces in gold and silver that I can’t help coveting.

I’m dying to seeing the pieces ‘for reals’ at the London Fashion Week Exhibition in a few days time and predict a new jewellery obsession occuring!

To see the full collection, visit: www.zoeandmorgan.com

The ALDO Rise fashion programme invests in emerging designers, assisting them with producing their shows and creating the perfect shoes for their collections.

Irish designer J.W. Anderson’s collection is a particular favourite, as there’s something a little bit ‘Manolo meets Cote d’Azur’ about these slim, elegant and slightly eccentric heels.

The contrasting textures of leather, cotton and eyelet detailing are inspired by J.W. Anderson’s Spring Summer 2012 collection.  Many of the shoes reflect the designs of the garments very closely, so they’re a great, affordable way to get a piece of the collection.

The colourful, tribal cocktail hour sandals are real future classics and the fringed heel of synthetic swan feathers make them even more covetable.  They are set to be a party staple for the summer, although we might spot them even earlier on some freezing fashionista feet at London Fashion Week next week!

J.W. Anderson for ALDO Rise is available now at Young British Designers and Selfridges, and at ALDO from 8 March.

However, the Holly Fulton girl has blown all her cash on living the high life and while dressed for Las Vegas, her staycation will be on a beach closer to home – Margate!

Holly Fulton is a very clever designer – she develops her unique art deco print each season and brings back certain motifs from past seasons (coral is a continual favourite), so that her brand identity is etched onto your brain.

The 90s are a strong focus for the new collection with checkerboard tote bags, zebra-print bomber jackets, studded mini-skirts, high-cut swimwear, boxy tailoring, big earrings and acid orange clutches.

But wasn’t all 90s rave-wear for ‘the kids’, as there were some stunning, breezy strapless cocktail dresses in soft yellow and pastel blue with reflective mosaic patterns and elegant feather trims worn with statement necklaces.

Sleek palazzo pants are a big part of the collection and each pair features a print with a variation of Holly’s seaside themes – coral, checker flags, shells, jellyfish, seahorses.

The palazzo pants were shown with loose silk t-shirts, sheer blouses, slinky bandeau tops and cropped embellished silk vests.

One of the most interesting new looks was a silk shift dress featuring a Pucci-esque illustrated underwater scene with psychedelic jellyfish and other whimsical marine life.

The Pucci reference continued with patterned silk scarf bandanas to compliment the affluent poolside look.

It seems to me that Holly Fulton’s strength is Spring/Summer, as she can be more daring with the silhouettes and her signature colour palette of canary yellow and swimming pool blue lend well to a lighter season wardrobe.

My only criticism would be that the bikini tops aren’t particularly well-cut, as they don’t appear to contour the body, resulting in either bagginess or under-spillage on the models (god help the civilians)!

Overall, it was another glamorous, covetable and exciting Spring/Summer collection from Holly Fulton.  Now with her own dedicated spot on the LFW schedule (previously partnering with David Koma), Holly Fulton can develop further and lead the way for young London designers.

For more info, visit: www.hollyfulton.com

Tabio are my everyday choice of tights, so I needed no persuading about their brilliance.  However, I was amazed at just how many ranges of socks, tights, leggings and accessories there were.

Tabio have become know as the fashionista’s choice of tights, as each piece is handmade and durable, the colour range is immense and all colours comes in a selection of opaques – from sheer 30 denier to complete colour block 210 denier.

Tabio tights have featured at London Fashion Week shows for Matthew Williamson, Lou Dalton and Aminaka Wilmont.  Tabio are further delving into the fashion world with new collaborative collection with Central St Martins MA graduate, JS.LEE.

The limited edition two-tone striped tights come in ivory, mint and black and were snapped up quickly by the fashion bloggers!

Tabio have foot apparel for every occasion and some of my favourites were the cricket striped knee socks, glittery ballet sockettes, sheer black polka dot tights, woollen grey marl tights and the thick ribbed cotton tights with stripes on the thigh.

One thing that sets Tabio apart from the rest is their wonderful staff.  The Tabio crew were on hand to help with sizing and deniers and gave personal recommendation and advice on how to style them up.

Tabio kindly offered us the choice of any product in the store as a gift and 20% off all purchases.

Making a decision was pretty difficult, so luckily we were given deli sandwiches, shortbread and Vitamin Water to sustain us through our indecisiveness!

Despite the warm weather, I was drawn to the thick winter tights and went for a pair of dusty pink cotton ribbed tights with navy blue stripes on the thigh.  I already have plans to wear them with a winter floral dress, high brogues and a tweed blazer…think Anna Sui and Charlotte Ronson.  I also used the store discount to replenish my ever-growing collection of black 80 denier Tabio tights.

See the Spring/Summer 2011 collections and buy online at: www.tabio.com/uk

The temporary store will offer the chance to buy pieces from the AW11-12 collection at 30% off the retail price.  Items from SS11 and AW10-11 are also available to purchase at sample price.

Jena.Theo’s stunning and wearable AW11-12 collection features voluminous blouses, ethereal silk dresses and slouchy knitwear in a palette of monochrome, grey, stone, denim and mocha.

To get a first look of the pop up store on the opening night, with DJs, drinks and nibbles, RSVP to fashion@essence-communications.com

For more info, visit: www.jeantheo.com

I’ll admit to being totally dismissive of the iPad when it first came out, but after being given one to use in the comfort of a Paris hotel room (a swish new trend), I became hooked.

With bloggers and editors tapping away from the front row on iPads at London Fashion Week, the slim and ultra-light iPad looks set to be the new fashion reporting device (and I’m still in need of one).

The app will features an interactive, insightful guide to the top 10 shows of Spring/Summer 2011, a round-up of the best accessories and exclusive footage from backstage.

You can also see the ever-stylish Team ELLE talking through the shows and sharing all the juicy details, from who was on the front row to the key looks to invest in.

Editor Lorraine Candy said: “For the first time we talk readers through the top shows, take them backstage and into the world of the catwalk, giving them access in a way no other magazine could.”

A particularly useful feature is an interactive front row, where users can click to find out who’s who and then choose to follow them on Twitter or read their blogs.

The gallery tool also offers a closer, detailed view of the individual looks as well as the name of the model.

The app is free to download now and is available from the Apple app store and from ELLEuk.com.

Read more about ELLE Collections 10th issue here…

Rather than a mere round up of the catwalk shows, ELLE Collections deconstructs the trends and makes the whole business much more fun and accessible.

The ELLE UK team bring an insider’s view of the shows, from the soundtrack at Chloe, the Prada snacks, the show scenery and all the pretty invites.

Pulitzer Prize winner and fashion critic, Robin Givhan, discusses the innate sense of glamour only achieved by curvy gals and rising Brit designers such as Peter Pilotto, Jonathan Saunders and Holly Fulton talk about the art that inspires their work.

Other visual delights include a month in the wardrobe of Anna Dello Russo, a who’s who of the front row and a montage of designers’ backstage inspiration placards – ‘think posh school girl’, was the pre-walk decree by Preen.

ELLE have even given us bloggers a helping hand with a calendar recording all of the important fashion and art events until November.  I’ll definitely be scanning a copy to stick up at my writing desk (ripping the page out would just seem blasphemous).

Other fashion treat to expect in the 10th issue include:

224 Poodles
2,000 words by a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer
73 images by style blogger Tommy Ton
16 school photos of designers
10 awe-inspiring fashion moments
8 Hermes dressage horses
… and a DIY Prada banana

ELLE Collections is available to buy from 26th January 2011.  For more info, visit: www.elleuk.com

I went with my Parisian pals during a birthday weekend stay in London, so I was after somewhere impressive but informal, where we could catch up properly over some good food and wine.

Bistrotheque is tucked away in a warehouse in Bethnal Green, parallel to Vyner Street’s industrial unit art galleries.  You wouldn’t know it was there until you see a glimmer of light and activity and a couple of tables and chairs in a tiny courtyard.

Going up the concrete stairs reminded me of being back at Glasgow School of Art on a messy Thursday night and coincidentally we were greeted by a very dapper Scottish maitre d’.

Bistrotheque is noisy, busy and a bit too warm but all of these things make it fun!

Our waitress was so warm and smiley and really looked after us, making sure our glasses were topped up.  She immediately offered us a jug of iced water and brought a basket of fresh roughly sliced sourdough bread with butter.

The wine list is interesting and well-selected, offering mostly French, Spanish and Italian wines, with the odd Argentinian and Australian bottle.

As it was a Frenchie evening, we went for a bottle of Vincent Bouquet 2009 Merlot, which was fruity, rounded and easy to drink.

Being a particularly nosy bunch, we did a little pass the parcel of each other’s food, so we could all try it out.

The fish and chips (£12.50) were exceptional – crispy golden, seasoned batter and super fresh fish.  My fork didn’t reach far enough to scoop up some pea purée or tartare sauce, but on all accounts, they were also delicious.

My half roast chicken with garlic and rocket (£14.50) was so tender and tasty and the caramelised garlic cloves really added to the flavours.  It only comes with a handful of rocket and could’ve done with fries as part of the dish – I had to order them as a side.

The birthday girl’s grilled guinea fowl (£18.50) was the poshest meal on the table.  The guinea fowl was succulent and juicy and came with a celeriac dauphinoise, mushroom, fig and devil on horseback.

She loved the guinea fowl but had no idea what the ‘devil on horseback’ was. It took some googling today to identify said accompaniment.

To finish it all off, we ordered the white chocolate cheesecake with griottines in Kirsch and three spoons.  This was absolute heaven – creamy, dense and smooth with a gritty biscuit base.

The only thing was, we all started coughing from the extra fine cocoa powder laden on top.  We found it pretty hilarious and laughed about it all evening…cheesecake with a kick!

The sign of a really great restaurant is if you’re dying to go again the very next day!  I’m already planning next week’s brunch…

The bill came to around £87 with wine and service for 3 people.  As this was £29 per person, next time I would arrive earlier and book the pre-cabaret 3 course dinner and show for £31.