At 10 am today (Monday), designer Antonio Berardi will unveil his a/w 10 presentation to the attending fashion press. Here, exclusively for The Daily, the designer posts his diary in the lead up to his show.
01:30AM
This is the beginning………Tati, who opened the Marc Jacobs show, an Argentinian with attitude and plenty of sex appeal, making it a happy start to the day. Oh how we smiled. And it was down to business, it is 1.30am, the day of the show, which will take place in 8 and a half hours. REWIND……..
Shoreditch studios, Batemans Row, and the procession starts early…
01:35:26
Leona
01:34:14
Jo Jones and Tamsin Blanchard
01:37:15
Me and Sophia, the calm before the storm ……
01:38:43
TAO……..PREVIEW………!
01:39:49
Swarovski 3D embroidery, PREVIEW !
01:41:27
Then it’s down to last minute embroideries…You know I love all things Swarovski, but hopefully this time we’ve been clever, as things are almost 3 dimensional.
01:42:43
Gucci Westman from Revlon for make-up, The Brilliant Malcom Edwards with John Freida products a plenty making bonces look like they should… and then the arrival of Agent Provocateur… sheer heaven !
01:43:36
The saga continues however long into the night and into the next day as we are still here, Mr. Berardi can be evil when it comes to fittings, in there with a magnifying glass, checking for loose threads and gained millimeters which shouldn’t be there. Isn’t it about precision this season? Or every season come to think of it ?
01:45:00
David on Louboutin duty…….
both stars in their own right
01:46:10
Graziella the Great . Head Honcho and chief whip!
No rest for the wicked !
06:28
Just got back to the hotel from the fittings studio , everything is now finished. Shave, shower and caffeine, and off to the venue in half an hour. This is the reality, no sleep, no massage and no ego! Be careful what you wish for !!!!!
A glimpse behind the scenes at studio Markus Lupfer in the run up to his presentation, which takes place today,
09:30 – 12noon at the Portico Rooms.
Our usual sunday, hard at work!!
Lupfer zoo!!!
Finishing touches, only 4 days to go.
The survival kit!
Markus hard at work and having trouble with a box avalanche
The unfortunate state of the sample room!
Detail rocks. My sober blue Jaeger shirt with discreet grey trim collar – not high fashion but prompted compliments. Bulldog clips replaced buttons in Richard Nicoll’s gorgeous, sophisticated collection. Love the purpose-built LFW furniture and food, especially Topshop New Gen hot chocolate – best without the trimmings, delish. All shows now start within twenty minutes of the designated hour and the schedule has been put together with a map in hand, so no more taxi lag. Guided champagne tours of the exhibition are the future. As is estethica, fashion with a story to tell. London rocks is now on a roll.
Cooperative Designs are a luxury label creating knitwear that you want to completely replace your existing wardrobe with. It’s instantly distinctive in its graphic direction and immediately accessible with its flexible appeal. The duo behind the brand is breaking into the industry with military precision and perceptive patience akin to a mould such as Peter Jensen (where, coincidentally, Coop’s Annalissa once worked). This is their first season showing with the support of iconic Italian knitwear brand Stefanel.
The girls have earned their stripes, previously showing within the New Gen scheme and consulting for Hussein Chalayan. Now they have harnessed those stripes and literally created a collection that is going to become an omnipresent optical illusion for A/W 2010.The nature of “Cooperative Designs” is to tap into the network of skills surrounding them and join forces for a greater good. Today’s presentation had an intimate salon style catwalk showing to best effect hats by Noel Stewart and jewellery by Corrie Williamson. Every angle of how to translate a new range had been locked down in an enviably conceived format. From the angles of the checkboard set by David White to the printed poster invitation keepsake……….I’ll be keeping mine and counting my pennies to invest in these incredible pieces.
The delectable Roksanda Ilincic welcomes The LFW Daily into her world in the count down to her much anticipated On/Off sponsored show.
“These are photos taken directly from the TV with my quad camera … we managed to make this dress for Florence for the Brits just a week before the show. Seeing her winning and looking so stunning put a big smile on design teams faces.”
“I am running out of the space in the studio and even my favourite cats are pushed to the corner with the rolls of gross grain ribbons…but actually they make quite a nice picture, don’t they?”
“The last few weeks before the show can be quite stressful so its always nice to find something that is calming… and what is more calming then a beautiful Dalston skyline from my window.”
“Of course when it gets to the last few days before a show, it becomes super stressful. So I like to surround myself with flowers to keep me happy and sane!”
Roksanda Ilincic’s runway presentation is at On/Off, Victoria House, Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1B 4DA at 13.30 on Monday 22nd February.
Her trademark is the throwing together of the kitsch and the cult and this season Emma Hill has yet again created an eclectic collection for the Mulberry brand. Emma’s Polaroid diary photographed exclusively for the LFW Daily pays homage to a Mulberry autumn filled with glitter, glamour and a sprinkling of drama.
The Mulberry Presentations are today at noon, 14:30 and 15:30 at the Orangery, Kensington Palace.
Grans and grandads, lock up your husky jackets, outerwear is having a moment. Our old friend the coat does, of course, make up the flavour of winter but this season London designers have played the cover up centre stage.
“Designers are especially concerned with jackets and coats this season,” Harrods’ Fashion and Beauty Director Marigay Mckee told The LFW Daily. “Bombers are the particular favourite along with the military style jackets,” she said.
Burberry based an entire collection around aviator jackets while Charles Anastase layered knitwear on top of overcoats. Daks took the husky and gave it an up to date, eccentric spin via leggings, capes and bonnets from the traditional fabric. Design duo Basso & Brooke weaved Trompe-l’œil goretex anoraks into their ensemble and at Aquascutum Michael Herz transformed tailored jackets into full-length dresses. Meanwhile, at Mens day today [Wed], E Tautz featured the ultimate in deluxe outerwear courtesy a cashmere fit for a prince. Luckily one [HRH Prince Michael] was sitting front row and was seemingly rather taken by it.
The make-up inspiration for Ashish was Eastern European girls from an imaginary country called Ashishistan.
The models had to look very natural, with bare skin, just using M.A.C Face and Body Foundation.
The only feature of the face that was enhanced was the eyebrows, using M.A.C Impeccable Brow Pencil in a mix of Taupe and Dirty Blonde, to make them look dramatically unkept.
Lashed were just curled. And on the lips Prep + Prime Lip was applied to condition them without any glossy finish.
The final look was innocent raw beauty with a tough look in the eyes.
Christopher Kane has become masterful at delivering a clear, concise message, season in, season out. This time around, it was all about tailoring. In wool, or black matte or patent leather – much of it decorated with vibrant embroidery – it was contrasted with lace blouses or lace panels that were spliced across skirts and dresses. There was a folkloric feel to the colourfully embroidered pansies and wild flowers that started out gently running up the sleeve of a chiffon blouse or a black cashmere cardigan with artfully slashed sleeves, or across the hemline of a skirt, and ended up dancing all over short leather dresses. Later in the show, Kane traded the flowers for crystals with glittering starbursts appearing on matte leather mini-dresses or shell tops, or circling a deep black patent cummerbund that cinched a black wool jacket with crisp patent collar. There was a nod to his homeland in the neat (and super-short) black wool kilts and a gorgeous black patent biker jacket with lambskin collar that was embroidered with a cluster of Scottish thistles.
If his first season at Halston was a distraction for Marios Schwab, he definitely didn’t show it in the strong, polished collection he sent out yesterday. He kicked off with a flesh-toned dress that was cut away at the bodice and edged with a waffly trimming. A series of pinafore dresses followed, all of which had a strict schoolgirl feeling (a nod, Schwab said, to being “the only boy at fashion school”), but were cut with curvilinear collars that dipped away to reveal crisp white shirting. Other jersey dresses were topped with beautifully cut, sculptural little jackets or pulled in at the waist with decorative corsetry. Schwab reinterpreted the dirndl, but there was nothing school-marmish about his full, short skirts and dresses that came out in loden wool, duchesse satin or richly coloured brocades. Later, he continued with the week’s yearning for embellishment, as crystals outlined the bodices of dresses, while textural coats in smoke grey or forest green, neatly belted at the waist, added to the plush, tactile feeling of this collection.
From the voluminous crimped hair and glossy Seventies make up to the upbeat disco tunes, Roksanda Ilincic was in a New York state of mind for autumn, giving us a super-polished collection that was, she said, “all about the beauty of winter fabrics, their textures and the way they can be sculpted around the body.” There was plenty of Ilincic’s signature cocktailwear, including a parade of killer charmeuse dresses in deep olive green, raspberry and smoke blue. A highlight was a pale pink charmeuse tunic that fanned into an air-filled cape at the back to a stunning strapless oyster silk column with a sculptural asymmetric peplum. But she developed her day wear, too, showing a beautiful charcoal jersey dress draped elegantly across the body, and a series of clean-cut shift dresses in black bouclé and charcoal wool. Some tailoring came heavily embellished with crystals and beading. On a lighter note were the sheer flesh-toned voile blouses and fluid pants, all of which were topped off with sumptuous fur stoles and gilets – perfect for a well-heeled New York city girl.
We would like to thank the following sponsors.
