Lulu Kennedy | cheriecity.co.uk

Designers, Fashion, London, London Fashion Week

LFW SS12: Michael Van der Ham

September 22, 2011 by cheriecity

Michael Van der Ham is one of London’s most promising new designers and the anticipation of each collection has brought an international crowd. The BFC are a constant presence at his shows (a good sign of support) and the front row was scattered with the likes of Sarah of Colette, Hamish Bowles, Anna Dello Russo and Lulu Kennedy.

A long way from the crushed velvet and jewel colours of Autumn/Winter 11-12, the new collection is a breezy mix of sheer silk-chiffon and heavier tweed and shimmering brocade in a fresh palette of azure, coral, turquoise, magenta, lavender, navy and lashings of white.

A key influence for Van der Ham was the photographer Joseph Szabo, not in relation to the style or fabric, but the kind of girl he was designing for. A teacher, photographer and author, Szabo is known for capturing the beauty and emerging sexuality of teenage girls (back in the 70s, of course).

Michael Van der Ham’s signature patchwork and collaging of vintage and luxurious fabrics with varying weights and textures is developed further. Many of the dresses feature layering and draping of contrasting fabric, like a sash, and silk skirts have the home-made look of a long silk scarf wrapped around the body and sewn up as a dress (a nod to grunge and Szabos young girls).

The A-line shift dresses and body-skimming draped skirts will be a godsend for Michael Van der Ham devotees who found Autumn/Winter’s crushed velvet pieces unforgiving.

The focus on separates continues with vibrant printed silk shirts in slim-cut trousers in cotton sateen and tailored tweed jackets. It’s a pristine, intelligent look with clean lines – feminine yet with a boyish cut.

The new prints including abstract brush strokes, confetti and feather prints are used lightly and seem to snake around the body in a very subtle way. The sheer t-shirts worn over long printed dresses

The dresses usually steal the show, but the shoes and accessories are so insanely gorgeous, they deserve a mention. I adored the two-tone felt and glittery tweed bags with a Chanel-esque woven fabric and metal chain strap.

I immediately zoomed in on the exquisite printed fabric t-bar heels and with good reason too – they were the work of Christian Louboutin! The shoes come in six variations of Michael’s collage prints and are sure to be major sellers.

Matthew Stone created a very cool 90s-inspired show soundtrack and Luke Hersheson gave the models girly grunge-luxe hair that was lightly tousled and centre-parted. The sparkling blue and lavender eye make-up and creamy, lucid skin by M.A.C gave the models a youthful radiance that was central to the look.

Michael Van der Ham’s SS12 collection could be his most commercially successful yet, as the collection is so diverse and democratic. Whether it’s fine tailoring, a multi-fabricated statement dress or a daytime print dress, Michael Van der Ham is the one to invest in for the next season.

For more info, visit: www.michaelvanderham.com

Designers, Fashion, London, London Fashion Week, Shopping, Websites

Felicity Brown arrives at Young British Designers

September 24, 2010 by cheriecity

YoungBritishDesigners.com is the exciting new website stocking pieces from London’s up-and-coming designers and they’ve just got even better with the arrival of Felicity Brown!

As soon as I saw her debut collection earlier this year, I instantly fell in love with her super feminine, ombre dip-dyed silk dresses with exquisite pleated ruffles and floral-inspired silhouettes. Her pieces are unapologetically romantic, fresh, beautifully crafted and almost Grecian.

Inspired by the ruffle-adorned Parisian women depicted in the artwork of Henri Toulouse Lautrec, Felicity’s ethereal, painterly pieces are utterly unique and can’t easily be compared to any other contemporary designer.

London-born Felicity studied at the Royal College of Art and went on to design for Alberta Ferretti, Loewe, Mulberry and Lanvin. Her debut collection was shown at Vauxhall Fashion Scout earlier this year and she was awarded the acclaimed NEWGEN sponsorship for Spring Summer 2011.

Felicity recently showed her Spring Summer 2011 collection at Fashion East during London Fashion Week, alongside Heikki Salonen and Simone Rocha.

Already stocked at Liberty, Barneys New York and Corso Como, Felicity Brown’s Autumn Winter 2010 collection is a highly covetable addition to YoungBritishDesigners.com and a future classic – invest now!

Felicity Brown’s Autumn Winter 10-11 collection is available now at www.youngbritishdesigners.com

Designers, Fashion, London, Stores

bSTORE presents AW10 womenswear by Natascha Stolle

August 19, 2010 by cheriecity

For Autumn/Winter 10-11, bSTORE introduces its first full womenswear collection with former Fashion East designer Natascha Stolle at the helm.

Natascha is a perfect match with bSTORE, as her wearable, tailored jersey pieces and slouchy silhouettes reflect the brand’s vision of effortless urban style.

Known for her teen grunge aesthetic, Natascha’s bSTORE collection sees her awkward prom girl take a year out in Paris and come back that little bit more chic and worldly.

Well, that was my first interpretation of the collection, as the petroleum, sludgy colours and contrasting textures made me think of Isabel Marant, Vanessa Bruno and Paul & Joe.

In fact, the bSTORE collection takes inspiration from closer to home; an imagined aristocratic family spending the weekend at their country estate in Wyndham – all faded glamour, chaise longue languishing, flushed cheeks and grazed knees.

The period is blurred between the 40s and 70s era, referencing Daphne Du Maurier’s novel, The Parasites and combining masculine and feminine shapes to get that cool ‘Natascha’ look. Luxurious, tactile fabrics like cashmere and draped silk are contrasted with more structured country flannels and tweeds.

But Natascha doesn’t lose that rebellious cool geek spirit, styling fine wool coats with cute bobble hats, ruched knee socks and arm warmers.

Natascha’s boxy jackets and wool coats feature design details such as ‘pockets-come-belts’ and detachable hoods, making them more versatile and allowing you to wear them in a number of ways. If you’re following this coming season’s style rules of course, that means with hair tuck inside the collar or draped casually over the shoulders.

To see the full AW10 womenswear collection designed by Natascha Stolle, visit bSTORE online or in store.

Designers, Events, Fashion, London, Shopping, Stores

It’s almost here…Dover Street Market MARKET

April 29, 2010 by cheriecity

The bank holiday weekend just got even more fun with the prospect of heavily reduced Comme des Garçons at the Dover Street Market MARKET, held in a warehouse location in N1 for three glorious days.

Throughout the sale, there will be samples from Christopher Kane, Raf Simons, Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Margiela, Lanvin Mens, Sacai, Undercover and many more. As the deliveries arrive, Dover Street Market will be adding new items to the sale over the three days, so there’s no pressure to get up and queue at 5am on your day off.

Also present will be selected food stallholders from London’s weekend markets providing coffees, juices, bacon sandwiches, pastries, cupcakes, salads and ice creams for some much needed energy and shopping clarity. I’ve already spotted that cupcake company, Crumbs & Doilies will be there serving up mountains of mini cupcakes and if you were sent a voucher by email, you can grab a dozen box of mini cupcakes for just £7.

Dover Street Market in Mayfair is like a fashion wonderland in which I could quite easily spend the afternoon away (especially over tea and cake at Rose Bakery), and is an exemplary of what the perfect concept store should be. The samples sales are legendary and are guaranteed to be busy, but it’s well worth a look.

Finally, some wise words on the act of shopping from Fashion East’s Lulu Kennedy – don’t bother carrying a handbag, just bring your credit card and a compact mirror in your back pocket – so simple yet genius.

Dates:

Saturday 1 May – Monday 3 May
10.00am to 7.00pm

Location:

The Old Depot
1-3 Wenlock Road
London N1 7SL

Nearest Tube Stations: Angel and Old Street.

Accessories, Designers, Events, Fashion, London, Shopping, Stores

Brit designers pop up at Bicester Village

March 31, 2010 by cheriecity

Bright and early this morning, I headed to Marylebone Station to begin the school trip to the legendary designer shopping outlet Bicester Village, to see the launch of the British Designers Collective.

Bloggers, press and designers were invited to get the first peak at a pop-up store full of the hottest British designers, from emerging to the iconic, which was officially opened by British Fashion Council Chairman Harold Tillman and Vice Chair Erin O’Connor. In true fashion style, the champagne was flowing at just 10.30am and it was so packed that it took a good hour or so to have a good rifle through the rails, appropriately under a flurry of gold umbrellas.

It feels like an extension of London Fashion Week, with most of Somerset House’s roll call of designers all there together, except this time the pieces are for immediate sale, prices have been slashed and you may meet some long lost pieces from your wish list that you missed out on the first time round.

My first spotting was the most incredible white silk blouse embellished with Swarovski irridescent white crystals by Emma Cook, closely followed by an exquisite chiffon, two-tone dress by Felder Felder (Annette and Daniela Felder were present, looking fabulous as always) and a star studded long jumper by Markus Lupfer.

I had elbows at the ready (in reality, a polite ‘excuse me’) to get in and see Erdem’s digital print offerings and was wowed by the amazing reductions – a painterly silk shift dress for just over £200?!

They weren’t the sexiest of Erdem dresses to be fair, and the jacquard coat seriously verges into HRH territory, but many of the dresses were certainly more wearable than the empire line doll dresses from the catwalk, so perhaps more of an investment in the long run.

If Erdem’s florals are not your cuppa, there is plenty of fierce black fabulousness to go round, with goth-luxe offerings from Jean-Pierre Braganza, Hannah Marshall, Todd Lynn, Markus Lupfer and even Julien Macdonald.

Nobody could resist pawing at Hannah Marshall’s black leather and jersey dress that was covered in randomly placed leather ‘Smarties’ and many other designers were all about textures, with an influx of Mongolian wool, feathers and leather.

Accessories wise, I was in awe of MariaFrancescaPepe’s minimal, origami and coil-shaped pieces and also liked Fiona Paxton’s colour bursting, Aztec-inspired hand beaded necklace and bracelets at just over £100 a pop.

There may be a lack of handbags, but the shoe collections are incredibly strong with covetable designs from Georgina Goodman, Atlanta Weller, Behnaz Kanani and House of Holland. Brash logo tees aren’t really my style, but there’s just something about these soft, foot-hugging suede heels that I love.

The British Designers Collective pop-up shop is sure to bring a lot of exposure for the featured designers and is a great chance to get unique, limited edition pieces for less and invest in the future of new labels. Over six weeks, more garments and accessories will be added and there may be a few surprises.

Bicester Village has been on my ‘to do list’ since I moved to London two years ago and I was amazed at how easy it was to get there – just a quick 50 minute train ride with the very efficient Chiltern Railways to Bicester North and then five minutes on the free shuttle buses.

If you haven’t already been, you can expect up to 70% off at a number of stores including Mulberry, Luella, Ralph Lauren, Temperley London, Moncler, Dior, Fendi, Gucci, Marni, Anya Hindmarch, The White Store, Molton Brown, Smythson and Phaidon Store. I gave in to temptation and bought a floral Luella dress that had been reduced from £210 to just £49 and had to curb the old spending until my next birthday excursion in May.

A delicious French lunch of charcuterie, cheeses, bread and pasta salads was arranged for us in the VIP room at The Villandry and judging by the steak frites on rustic wooden slabs that I saw while sauntering through the restaurant, it is definitely a must, especially as the queue for Carluccio’s was constantly heaving.

The British Designers Collective store is open at Bicester Village from now until 7 May and it can be accessed by train from London Marylebone Station.

Designers, Fashion, Websites

First Look: Natascha Stolle online!

February 26, 2010 by cheriecity

Fashion East designer Natascha Stolle is set to launch her stunning new online site at the end of the week. Chérie was given a secret password to have a gander around the site before going live, so here’s a preview of the delightful things to come…

Handcrafted by rehabstudio, NataschaStolle.com is more than just an online lookbook, it is a reflection of her cool, kooky design philosophy, with a nod to her awkward teen muses.

Natascha Stolle won the inaugural rehabstudio Design Award in collaboration with Fashion East and her prize was to have a bespoke website created by rehabstudio.

The homepage opens with on an Americana-style prom scene, but the smooching couples and sea of meringue ball gowns have been replaced with Natascha’s troupe of unamused geek chic girls. The scene is dimmed and you can move the spotlight over each of the girls, who then pose, shrug their shoulders or check their watch. The models were sketched in 2D, dressed in key pieces from Natascha’s past collections10 collection and shot on video.

The black and white sketches were produced by renowned illustrator Charlotte Mann and brought to life by rehabstudio’s digital creatives, bringing animation with the user’s mouse movements.

Natascha said: “By combining the cut and paste approach of Charlotte Mann’s signature black line illustrations of girls wearing my clothes, with the humorous and highly personal environment that rehabstudio have creatively animated for the girls to inhabit, they have engineered a website unlike any I have ever seen before and I can’t wait for everyone else to see it!”

Although the design is really sophisticated, the website is easy to navigate, with everything you could hope to find – past and present collections, press coverage, latest news, international stockists, a bio and contact info.

American designer Natascha Stolle studied English Literature at university before moving to London and gaining a placement with Peter Jensen, with whom she stayed for 10 years. After graduating from Central St Martin’s Fashion Design M.A course in 2008, she was snapped up by Fashion East founder Lulu Kennedy and in September 2008 her debut SS09 collection was showcased at London Fashion Week.

Natascha has worked with Asos on an exclusive collection of luxe jersey, chiffon wide-leg trousers and bangle detail leather gloves, and has consulted for b Store. She also exhibited as part of NEWGEN at London Fashion Week, in Somerset House’s East Wing.

Her Autumn/Winter 10-11 grey marl, jersey, twisted chiffon leggings, knotted jersey, slouchy tailoring, rainbow smudge prints, and funnily enough, studded mules – perhap’s they’ll be next season’s clogs!