London Fashion Week welcomes the legend, Manolo Blahnik

The most fashionable place in the world right now is of course London. A sentiment that clearly isn't lost on Manolo Blahnik as this morning the celebrated luxury footwear designer hosted a special presentation of his spring/ summer 2014 collection as part of London Fashion Week. It was the designer's first ever official spot on the Capital's fashion week schedule and the announcement, made back in August, was met with much excitement from London's fashionable elite.

A sight to behold: Manolo Blahnik spring/ summer 2014

Image courtesy www.vogue.co.uk

And boy were they were right to be excited. Held in the plush screening room at the Covent Garden Hotel the presentation was delivered via a short film shot by Micheal Roberts and starring Rupert Everett and Lucy Birley. But naturally it was the shoes that were really the stars of the show and all eyes were on the actors' feet as they danced tantalisingly before the audience's eyes.

The Royal Seal of Approval: The Duchess of Cambridge 

oozes class and power in her "Manolos"

Image courtesy of www.wwd.com 

Manolo Blahnik, born in Gran Canaria, is known (and indeed loved) for his signature style of delicate stiletto-heeled sandals and mules. Elegant, refined, though in no way simple or plain, the "Manolo" has been worn by everyone from Princess Lady Diana to our modern-day princess The Duchess of Cambridge. This royal connection was referenced in the designer's spring /summer collection by way of a pair of ornate gold slippers. There was also a regal scattering of fabric covered button fastenings, cushion tassels and jewel toned satin pulled together with impeccable stitching. In fact the notably highly-stylised designs set an altogether regal tone. Albeit, one that was infused with Blahnik's acute sense of fun and fantasy. It was a very British affair, if I may say.

Shoe fit for a Queen: Manolo Blahnik spring/ summer 2014

This season's take on the classic black "Manolo" stiletto sets a regal tone

Manolo Blahnik spring/ summer 2014

Images courtesy of www.vogue.co.uk

That in no way, however, insinuates that the the designer was shunning his Spanish roots. For there was plenty of suede fringing, not to mention vintage Spanish embroidery, adorning his classic court shoes. The vivacious mix of colours- pink, blue, red, olive green, yellow- also struck a playful flamenco note; these shoes were made for dancing all right. Personally, I would be dancing in the pink suede sandals with patchwork fringing. Or the ruby satin lace-up pumps. Gorgeous.

 

Sticking to his Spanish Roots: Manolo Blahnik spring/ summer 2014

Images courtesy of www.vogue.co.uk

Manolo Blahnik's latest shoe range is nothing if not an infectious clash of cultures: Spanish style and sensuality mixed up with the ironic, rebellious nature of British humour. What could be more alluring, more desirable? Plus it signifies the designer's personal affiliation with both communities, like the uniting of his two worlds; his Spanish roots and his present day life residing and working in the British countryside (the designer lives in Bath would you believe?!).

My very own dancing shoes: Manolo Blahnik spring/ summer 2014

Image courtesy of www.vogue.co.uk

Following the success and subsequent furore of today's presentation I'm hoping that Manolo, an honourary British resident since 1968, is here (at London Fashion Week) to stay!

Designers descend on Oxford Street for fashion festival

If you're planning to go anywhere in September, make sure you're headed to Oxford Street to take part in the first ever fashion festival to be held at London's infamous shopping destination. The Oxford Street Fashion Showcase kicks off on the 1st September and will run for a whole seventeen days- so you have no excuse not to make time to pop along!

Oxford Street is set to host its first fashion festival, The Oxford Street
Fashion Showcase, in September. Image courtesy of www.raincommunications.co.uk

In celebration of the ultimate British fashion event, London Fashion Week, and all of the wonderful home-grown talent we are harboring in this fine green land, five London-based fashion designers will have their autumn/winter 2013 designs splashed across the Capital on giant twelve foot flags. 75 flags will be raised above Oxford Street, a popular destination for many high-street flagship stores, throughout September. Such a large number of flags, featuring catwalk shots from Matthew Williamson, Alice Temperley, House of Holland, Giles Deacon and Topshop Unique promises to be a spectacular visual display showcasing the eclectic creative variety yet outstanding craftsmanship of British fashion. The festival is intended to remind us why London remains a celebrated fashion institution.

One of the seventy-five flags to be raised above Oxford Street

in London, showcasing the best of British fashion.

Image courtesy of fashion.telegraph.co.uk

In a bid to bridge the ever widening gap between high-end designer fashion and the high-street, the British Fashion Council has collaborated with the landmark shopping destination Oxford Street to bring a touch of luxury to high-street shoppers. With in-store events, such as designer make-overs, previews of the autumn/winter 2013 collections, fashion and beauty masterclasses and styling sessions taking place daily there's something for every fashionista to get involved in. And for any aspiring stylists, designers or fashion buyers out there there will also be opportunities to get career mentoring directly from the industry professionals themselves.

So make sure you clear a space in your diaries this September for Oxford Street's High Street Fashion Week. Head towards Selfridges, Topshop, Gap and River Island, to name a few, for champagne, canapes and very likely fashion mayhem...not that we need an excuse to hit our favorite high-street stores.

This week I'm listening to Muse

Last bank holiday weekend I went to see the band Muse perform live at the Emirates Stadium in London, as part of their latest tour, The 2nd Law. I'll be honest I ever-so-slightly balked at the ticket prices when I first saw them in December. I balked slightly more when I saw that Dizzee Rascal was the support act a few months later. Nevertheless, the morning we were due to head off for Highbury, I was excited. Muse are one of my all time favourite bands and this was to be my first time seeing them live. Also, I had been listening to their latest album, 2nd Law, all week and had concluded that, yes, this was absolutely their best album to date.

Muse (L-R) Chris Wolstenholme, Matt Bellamy and Dominic Howard

Image courtesy of bubblews.com

Arriving at the impressive stadium I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were hardly any ques. People just seemed to be milling around the turnstiles, enjoying the sunshine and beer that was aplenty. We nipped into Drayton Park, the official Arsenal supporters pub, which had been temporarily transformed into the official Muse groupie hang-out for the weekend. The staff were wearing Muse tour t-shirts and the 2nd Law album was humming away in the background; Great British hospitality at its best.

Image courtesy of therockrevival.com

It was time for the show to start before we knew it and what a show it was! I would honestly recommend seeing Muse live to anybody, no matter what their personal taste in music is, for their showmanship alone. Matt Bellamy commanded the stage and captivated his audience with the ease of an old pro. Which he is of course, this being the band's eleventh tour in almost twenty years! There was everything from pyroglyphics to a giant floating light bulb, from the bottom of which an acrobat twirled and spun in time to one of the best rock ballads ever written, Blackout.

Muse play Blackout at the Emirates Stadium, London

Video courtesy of youtube.com 

Musically, it was everything I expected from a Muse show, and then a little added extra on top. Bellamy's guitar skills were on top form, as were his band mates- percussionist, Dominic Howard, and Chris Wolstenholme, whose beautiful harmonica solo, Man With Harmonica, formed the intro to Knights of Cydonia.

Chris Wolstenholme playing Man with Harmonica live at the Emirates

Video courtesy of youtube.com

Au revoir Hermès!

Image courtesy of marieclaire.co.uk

On Monday, 27th May, we be bid a sad farewell to the Hermès family who, this year, celebrated their 176th anniversary and for the past week have been residing at the Saatchi Gallery in London. In what turned out to be a truly inspiring new kind of fashion exhibition, the artisan craftsmen working under the Hermès helm set up a live workshop in a space at the Saatchi Gallery.

Image courtesy of styleandminimalism.com

The Hermès Festival des Métiers, which ran from the 21st May until Monday, offered an intimate insight into the detailed and painstaking work that goes into creating some of the French heritage brand's most famous pieces. The Kelly bag, for instance- designed by Robert Dumas in the 1930's and still one of the luxury leather goods label's best-selling handbags- could be witnessed in creation, from start to finished product. Actually, that is not strictly accurate as each bag takes a reported 16-18 hours to make!

The Lady's favourite: Mrs Beckham loves her Kelly bags

Image courtesy of savvymode.com

Also available for viewing were watches and fine jewellery, belts and the iconic Hermès printed silk scarf. The Saatchi Gallery say they hoped the 'animated presentation would encourage (sic) interaction by giving visitors the opportunity to meet and exchange with the Hermès' artisans and experience first-hand their unique savoir-faire'. 

I think one of the most special things about this exhibition is that it is Hermès, I mean the Hermès. A brand that is cloaked in a certain degree of mystery and relatively understated, Hermès manages to retain its unquestionable authority in the luxury fashion and accessories stakes. And it has done for many years now, hence its reputation as a French heritage label which is steeped in historical reference. That such a formidable fashion house would pack up their more-than-likely ultra stylish abode in the ever-chic Paris to slum it in London (Ok, so not exactly slumming it at the Saatchi Gallery I know, but still...) was really quite an event to behold.

Classic heritage fashion: The Hermès print scarf

Image courtesy of dovecotedecor.blogspot.com

London was the latest stop for The Hermès Festival des Métiers tour, which has also visited Beijing and Shenyang and will be on its way to Düsseldorf as we speak. Lucky Germany.

The fashion circle

This weekend I came across something that made my heart flutter and then skip a beat. It had everything: the length, the colour- oh, the colour!- and the new wide shape. As soon as I saw it I could see myself swooshing around in it, twirling like a ballerina, before falling down no doubt. But still, it will look fabulous, my new cobalt circle skirt.

The one that stole my heart: Asos's scuba circle skirt, £38

Image courtesy of asos.com

Circle skirts. They never really go out of fashion, they just sort of mutate to adhere to the latest trends. This season they've done it again and emerged in the new midi length and on-trend bold colours. The spring/summer catwalks were awash with hems swinging freely around calves. However, this is no revival of the granny-chic look that dominated all those seasons ago (four, to be precise). The midi length circle skirts for this season have been reworked in stiff, structured fabrics that hold their shape.

Over in Cannes this week La Croisette has proved, once again, to be quite the catwalk and we have seen an abundance of swirly, swooshy skirts. Nicole Kidman looked particularly stunning, and utterly graceful, in a dainty floral creation by Dior Haute Couture, while Bollywood actress, Sonam Kapoor, opted for full-on drama with mega volume and, I suspect, mega underskirtage! My favourite look from Cannes so far has to be Julianne Moore's effortless classic-yet-modern Dior gown, which she wore to the premiere of The Great Gatsby. Complete with a small train, it is a lesson in the art of making a statement without trying to hard.

Julianne Moore attends the premiere of The Great Gatsby at 

Cannes Film Festival this week

Isn't she lovely?

Nicole Kidman at this week's Cannes Film Festival

How many underskirts do you have under there?

Sonam Kapoor at the Cannes Film Festival

All images courtesy of fashion.telegraph.co.uk

My beautiful blue version from Asos has been made from scuba material, which is fitted and holds its A-line shape well, while still feeling extremely light and ultra-feminine. Speaking of light and feminine, Raf Simons' revival of the 1950's New Look during his debut spring/summer collection for Dior was spectacular. His were the circle skirts I'd put my fashion big bucks on. Light-as-air iridescent organza, decorated with delicate rose prints, was sculpted into a dramatic yet elegant form. Simply stunning.

Stunning simplicity: Dior spring/summer 2013

Image courtesy of fashion.telegraph.co.uk

I think the thing I love so much about the new-season skirts is that they are so easy to wear; they are not intricate or complicated garments, yet they still look and feel glamorous, like you've made an effort. And they are ultra-feminine; there's just something about this circle skirt that makes you want to swoosh around. Perhaps it's the longer midi length, so demure and a refreshing change from the leggy to-the-knee circle skirts we've seen of late.

Whatever the reason, the circle skirt formula is just right for now. So invest in a good quality material in a structured A-line shape and bold colour- bright yellow and monochrome are also stylish options- and wear with your highest, brightest white courts.

It's going to be a (bright) yellow summer - Doseofvitaminf.com

It's going to be a (bright) yellow summer - Doseofvitaminf.com

There's no place like the English countryside

It struck me, as I was driving through Salisbury Plain on my way home last weekend, just how pretty this good old land of ours is. We often moan about England: the weather, the taxes, the politicians. But one thing we certainly cannot deny our Great Britannia is her stunning countryside. There are these small pockets of the country that are so idyllic, so unaffected, so picture-perfect that they really are quite a sight to behold.

Salisbury Plain

Image courtesy of www.flickr.com

As it happened, I was on route back from just such a place when we hit the plain. I had spent what turned out to be a glorious bank holiday weekend in Urchfont, a charming little village nestled away in the Wiltshire countryside.

Urchfont is one of the those rare places in the world where you feel that time has literally stopped. Thatched roofs atop quaint black and white cottages, decorated with hanging baskets, line the narrow, impeccably clean roads. The quaint community shop, which also masquerades as the Post Office, stocks an array of great British produce; jam, eggs, fresh vegetables, bread and milk. The Post Office is run by a Postmistress; it's so quintessentially British it's not true. But it is also such a sweet place that even a born-and-bred city girl like me cannot help but be charmed by Urchfont's loveliness.

Urchfont community shop 

Image courtesy of urchfont-pc.gov.uk

I was here, not merely to soak up the sun in the pretty surrounds, but also for the village's 16th annual scarecrow festival. I know what you're thinking: it sounds muddy, smelly and slightly boring, much like the countryside itself. Well, I'm afraid those rash assumptions would be wrong.

Aside from the picturesque setting the actual festival itself was great fun. The whole village gets involved, creating scarecrows according to a particular theme- this year was musicians and singers- and proudly display them in their front gardens. I was particularly taken with a Mick Jagger scarecrow with gigantic papier mache lips and Kurt Cobain, who I found smashing up yet another guitar on someone's front lawn.

Mick Jagger's colourful performance at 

Urchfont's scarecrow festival

Visitors- who come from as far as Newcastle and Scotland- then spend the weekend walking around the village identifying the scarecrows and enjoying the local ales. (Note: the green ale, served especially for the event, is worth a sup and the freshly made veggie burgers were so yummy I also ate them for breakfast!)

For anyone wanting a weekend escape in the country, Urchfont is ideal. The relaxed atmosphere and friendly residents will ensure that you want return and soon. Besides, where else in the country could you walk down the driveway to be met by a pair of sunbathing geese?

Sunbathing geese