Natalie Wansbrough-Jones

ELLE have gone one step further in their appreciation of all things digital by launching their first app for the iPad with a new preview version of the amazing bi-annual ELLE Collections.

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…

Last week, I joined the ELLE team and invited bloggers for breakfast at The May Fair Hotel, to get the low-down on their first national campaign, Shopgirl to Stylist.

As part of their 25th anniversary celebrations, ELLE is launching a six-month long talent search to find the nation’s most style savvy shopgirls (or boys) – a kind of ‘fashion X Factor’.

Aspiring stylists must create a look from the high street and enter their work on ELLEuk.com. The winner will get the chance to style a shoot for an issue of ELLE, an internship at the magazine and some career-breaking mentoring from the ELLE fashion team.

The competition closes on 4th May and the ELLE judging panel will then select 25 semi finalists, who will then complete a styling assignment. The list will be cut to just 10 finalists and the five ELLE mentors (Marissa Bourke, Anne Marie Curtis, Stacey Duguid, Natalie Wansbrough-Jones and Carrie Gorman) with then take two finalists and lead them through the final stages.

The London final takes place in the first week of June, where the finalist’s intuitive sartorial skills will be put to the test with on-the-spot styling tasks, followed by a one-to-one interview with Editor-in-Chief, Lorraine Candy. During then next few nerve-racking months, Lorraine Candy will select the most promising stylist and the winner will be announced in the October issue of ELLE.

British style owes a great deal to the high street, as the majority of us turn to these stores for seasonal on-trend pieces, affordable designer collaborations and wardrobe staples.

The quality, craftsmanship and originality of designer garments can’t be disputed, but the high street has recently come leaps and bounds in interpreting catwalk trends and investing in new designer talent. Where else in the world would a high street store be one of the most talked-about shows at fashion week?

It will be interesting to see how the shop assistants make use of their non-designer resources and I reckon there could be some truly unique looks to be inspired by.

You can enter at elleuk.com/shopgirltostylist from Friday 5th March.

ELLE Launches iPad App for ELLE Collections

From Shopgirl to ELLE Stylist!