THE BRITISH FASHION AWARDS 2010

The evening of Tuesday 7th December saw the highlight of the fashion calendar taking place at The Savoy Hotel and Theatre, The British Fashion Awards. Claudia Winkleman was keeping things in order on the night, playing host to fashion royalty, including Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Yasmin Le Bon, Erin O'Connor, Daphne Guiness Alexa Chung and new to the high-fashion pack, Victoria Beckham. There was a common theme amongst those interviewed by VogueTV who stressed they were there to support emerging British talent into a market that, as Claudia Schiffer suggested, is so hard to break into.

Phoebe Philo, Creative Director of Celine was named British Designer of the Year for her wonderful contributions as a designer and her influence on the international stage. A well-deserved accolade, I'm sure we'd all agree. The Isabella Blow award for fashion creator went to Nicola Formichetti for his endless work within the fashion industry, including, but not limited to; high street and high end designer and stylist; editorial roles at V Magazine, Dazed and Confused, Another Japan and Vogue Hommes Japan; world-renowned stylist to Lady Gaga and current Creative Director at Thierry Mugler. He expressed his delight, twinged with sadness, ' It's a great pleasure, but I wish Isabella were here.'

 Alexa Chung came out as the public favourite, winning the British Style Award, voted for entirely by the great British public. This award recognises the winner as an ambassador for London style which was dubious as she rocked up wearing classic Chanel! Mulberry won Designer Brand of the year which celebrates the huge impact Mulberry has had this year on the international fashion stage. Victoria Beckham lost out on this award, which many have seen as a good thing. Although Victoria has been making her mark on the fashion industry, is she in the same league as Mulberry yet? She did however, manage to steal the photography limelight, posing with Samantha Cameron who was there to present an award and looked stunning in a full-length Osman gown, just four months after giving birth.

The undisputed highlight of the evening came with Samantha Cameron presenting Lee Alexander McQueen a posthumous award for Outstanding Achievement in Fashion Design. His extraordinary career will see him remembered globally for his incredible tailoring and innovative style both on and off the runway. Two new categories were added to the awards with Naomi Campbell, looking resplendent in Alexander McQueen, receiving a special recognition award for her long and lustrous fashion career. Secondly, Burberry were crowned with a Digital Innovation award, recognising the fact that they are the first fashion house to stream all fashion shows live since September 2009 and that they launched their A/W2010 collection as a fully-interactive, motion-responsive experience.

So another year and another set of deserving winners, proving Britain to be one of the leaders in world fashion.

 

Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen

Stepping into McQueen's shoes was always going to be a mammoth task for Sarah Burton in spite of her working alongside the designer for 15 years before his untimely death. However, as soon as the first white-clad model set foot on the runway, it was clear that she had encapsulated everything McQueen stood for whilst stamping her own signature on the collection. This was particularly shown in the first white tail coat sent down the runway, a classic McQueen piece which had been softened on the normal rigid shoulders, which were slashed open to reveal a more relaxed, feminine look.

As the show continued we were treated to some first-class craftmanship with the adornment of dresses and skirts in butterflies, pheasant feathers and black leather leaves. The fantastical, ornate pieces which we are so used to from McQueen had been updated, yet none of the magic lost. This beautiful collection was a credit to the ideas that McQueen had created with Sarah and I simply cannot wait to see where she goes next. Whimsical and truly uplifiting pieces.

BUMPER LONDON FASHION WEEK NOIR ISSUE OUT NOW

After my week of fun and running around at London Fashion Week, the whole team at Noir HQ worked their little socks off writing, editing, sending photos to and fro (probably the hardest part of the whole process!) to bring you a jam packed issue of NOIR which we're all pretty darn proud of so sit back, relax and read to your little fashion hearts are content x

issuu.com/noirmagazineuk/docs/noirmagazine

ANTIPODIUM, TEA AND CAKES AND ALEXA

The final day of London Fashion Week was a warm, sunny and bright day and the tea party themed presentation Anitpodium hosted was brilliant. Firstly the sight of lots of skinny people eating cake made me smile and secondly the clothes were gorgeous. The collection is named Hothouse and promised to be a 'steamy, sensual exploration through a garden of earthly delights,' and indeed all of these things it delivered.
There were beautiful prints on shirts and the trademark shirt dresses; muted, pastel colours and my personal favourite, a hot midi skirt teamed worn with a sheer blouse.
The men were far from forgotten with tailored shorts, trench coats and super-shiny penny loafers.
This was one of my favourite collections from the week and it seemed I wasn't alone; Alexa Chung was there to admire the collection after having worn a dress from the label's A/W 2010 to a party the night before. Thanks to Antipodium for propelling my fashion brain forward and causing excitement about Spring 2011!

The Times

It seems that my first day outfit at LFW went down rather well with the bloggers and those nice people at The Times. Here are I am featured next to a fashion editor for Vogue on page 14 of The Times on Saturday. The article is a feature on trousers and how they are back 'in' for the most stylish of ladies! It's time to put away those bum-cheek grazing skirts and opt for the altogether more comfortable option of the trouser. The great thing being is that there is a style of trouser to suit every shape of lady, the most flattering shape being the 70's flare, which was all over the catwalks. Lucky us; comfort and great looking bums!

FELDER AND FELDER SHOW REPORT

A lovely injection of colour for spring came from this duo along with s sophisticated take on texture. The colbalt blue leather jacket showcased a slashed leather panel which added an edge to the beautiful piece. The dynamic prints went thorough the colour palette from fuschia to marine blue, adding a new edge to the label known for it's black pieces. A great collection, predicting a summer full of colour in 2011. It was a refreshing break from the cocophony of designers who are trying to install a grown-up style in wardrobes across The U.K. Hooray for the Felder sisters!

LONDON FASHION WEEK

An exciting week so far with lots of new friendly faces and some fantastic fashion from both the new and established designers.

If you squint carefully, you can see me scribbling notes at the Kingston MA graduate show which produced a couple of talents to keep an eye out for, although a bad move I think to try and compete with the big boys of LFW.
Then here is me photographed by thestylescout.co.uk. If you go to the website, there's a full-length interview with me.

Have finally met the whole team from our brand new magazine team and was great to put some names to faces. The next issue is bound to be a resounding success if the amount of hours everyone has put in is anything to go by. In the meantime check out the last issue, www.issu.com/noirmagazine

Keep following for more info about the shows, the clothes and the gossip.