Fashion Moment

Fashion Moment

Working in retail was something I had always loathed; being a tea-maker and running round under my boss’s orders was not a lifestyle choice for me anymore. Whilst working in Primark, I realised that it would take me years to make something of myself; and I decided it was time to do something about it. The day I received my A Level results, I rang up clearance and bagged myself a place on the Fashion course at London Metropolitan University. I always had a secret love for fashion and was good at dressing others but was never given the opportunity to better myself. Whilst living down in the Capital I begged and pleaded until someone would give me a job interview; that someone was Topshop.

During my interview I was asked to dress people for different occasions e.g. Weddings, Birthdays and I knew this was my chance to show I had the skills. A few days later, I received a call and I had the job. I couldn’t believe the quiet geeky girl from Liverpool had a job in Topshop whilst studying Fashion in London. I wasn’t always confident in the way I dressed and I shied away from wearing anything too different in case of any public attention. But as the weeks went on watching fashion experts at work; my confidence built and my style became more creative and outgoing. I started buying clothes I would never usually wear such as leather leggings, fitted dresses and oversized kimonos.

I soon got promoted up to personal stylist’s assistant, and was working with the most fashionable girls in London. This improved my work at University and I still couldn’t believe this was happening to me. Until one day at work, when I thought my luck couldn’t get any better, I had a ‘Fashion Moment.’ I was asked to assist one of the personal shopper’s while ultimate superstar Beyoncé had a V.I.P shopping tour around Topshop. I remember thinking how beautiful she was but had to remain professional and try not to stare. She spent most of her time in the underwear section picking up pyjamas, vest tops and men’s Y fronts. She was so down to earth and it inspired me to just be who I am and not try to impress others; this was a moment in my life I will never forget.

Designer profile: Vivienne Westwood

Celebrating the opening of her flagship store in Shanghai

Rachel Adams

Guardian.co.uk 19^th November 2011 – 19:48

For 30 years the work of Dame Vivienne Westwood has inspired and warmed our hearts with her irrational designs from Punk to Couture. Her signature and most famous design is that of the spinning globe topped with a studded cross that is seen on nearly all of her pieces; if not most definitely on all her handbags and purses. The tartan fabric tells the story of her punk era in the 70’s along with her bondage and chain style and was a visual that started her journey through the fashion world. When her new flagship store opens in Shanghai this week, there is guaranteed to be as much work on the visitors as there will be on the rails.

Vivienne was born in Derbyshire but at the aged of 17 moved to Harrow in London where she studied fashion and silversmithing. She didn’t get noticed until 1981 when she presented her first catwalk show which featured collaborations with former lover Malcolm McClaren. She went on to fulfil her dream of becoming a teacher, whilst making jewellery for her stall at Portobello Market. Her next step was to open a small boutique with McClaren on Kings Road called ‘Let it Rock’ where the dream started to become a reality.

Westwood’s collections have all been hugely successful and have been well received and as a result she is now recognised as one of the top designers of our generation. Westwood has flagship stores in Milan, Los Angeles and Paris as well as smaller franchise stores in Liverpool, Newcastle, and Glasgow, Nottingham, York and not to mention three in Manchester. Her most recent collection ‘Gold Label’ was showcased at Paris Fashion Week, and was a huge success due to the opening of the new store in Shanghai. She says “Fashion is global, influence comes from everywhere in the world. You can wear anything in our part of the world. Anything goes.”

Celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston, Angelina Jolie and Lucy Lui have been seen wearing the designs at ‘Red Carpet’ events and such big names have promoted the Dame’s work. Vivienne stays true to her roots by still including her signature pieces which include leather jackets and punk style heels. She even continues to carry the punk look herself with her ever changing brightly coloured hair. The foreseeable future is bright for Westwood as her collections continue to grow and develop as she successfully places her ever unique stamp on the fashion world.

@GabbiFresh

‘GabiFresh’ is a young fashion blogger that has made herself noticed in the fashion industry with her fantastic style, unique take on fashion and is now attending award ceremonies, vogue parties and what I love most about her is that she is not afraid to be herself.  

Gabi (Gabrielle) Gregg is a plus-size woman from Harlem- Detroit expressing her love for fashion and how you can be a diva at any size. I love that she says exactly what she thinks and portrays her warm personality through her blog. After every post she illustrates with pictures of what she is wearing that day and inspires her fans how to dress sexy for every occasion and feel good about it. Her pictures go into great detail showing all angles of her outfits and focussing on the embellishments and her footwear and where it’s from.

She bases her views and opinions at her target audience of larger, fashion crazed, young/middle aged females. She evidently does this well as she has a fan base of around 15, 816 people both British and American.  Her blog is about her day to day life; where she goes and what she gets up too and gives an inside picture as to what the celebrity/fashion lifestyle is like.

However, as her blog caters to the larger woman; it may only interest a small proportion of the public; she needs to make sure there is something for everyone. I think she needs to pay more attention to her blog and makes sure she posts every day to keep her viewers interested and up to date with the latest trends and events. I don’t like that UK based fans don’t have easy access to her clothes as her retailers are based in America.

However, Gabrielle uses many different aspects of fashion in her blog such as new styles, how and where to find her clothes, updates of events and who was there. She includes pictures, videos, hair styles, step by step make-up tips, where she shops and her daily reads. All these aspects make her blog successful and interesting to read.

In order to expand her fan base she needs to explore and focus more on a wider range of fashion i.e. accessories and footwear that will satisfy the needs of women of all shapes and sizes.

Breaking out of the mainstream

When everyone expects so much of you it’s hard to deliver when you’re trying to be different.

By Rachel Adams | 18^th November 2011

It is common knowledge that London is renowned as the fashion capital of the UK; hosting the globally celebrated ‘London Fashion Week’ along with being the origin of the vast amount of magazines that many fashionista’s base their style around. These are only a few examples which demonstrate the important role London plays in our fashion world.

However, London is not the only city that holds such an influence over the fashion market. Liverpool is well known for its unique sense in style and has been previously labelled as ‘Best Dressed City’ by Gok Wan along with ‘Capital of Culture’ two years running.

It strives to be first to wear new styles and so caters to a unique taste that others will follow.

As a Liverpool born student living in London, you get the best of both worlds when it comes to fashion. My prediction for any future trends is always well verified in Liverpool as they are always one step ahead of the fashion game. It goes greatly in my advantage that I can bring these styles back to London with me and yet still be noticed as a Liverpool girl by the way I dress.

However this makes trying to find your own style hard work. Trying to fit in with the current styles and trends in both cities and still trying to have your own individual look can quite often come under the category of ’physically impossible.’ I believe the way you dress and your personal style reflects your personality; but this can be hard to achieve when you’re trying to live up to everyone’s expectations when you’re a fashion student.

But try as I might, I have never been able to afford designer wear that fulfil the profile of all these categories combined. Expensive chic clothing that both London and Liverpool would fall on their feet for; instead I use London to my advantage and visit the vintage market of Brick Lane. Here I can form my own sense of style that is accepted in both cities and can be described as ‘quirky,’ yet on trend. A pair of Levi high waisted shorts with a leather jacket, vintage head scarf with tights and boots is my way of not only rebelling against what people expect me to typically wear, but to also dress the way I want; summing up a mixture of London and Liverpool, modern with a unique twist.

Essex Fashion Week

London Fashion Week still has people talking about it as the new spring/summer collection prepares to hit our high streets in the upcoming weeks. Fashion fanatics are still shocked and wowed by collections such as Vivienne Westwood and her dramatic make-up selection, Paul Costello’s crazy red wigs and Holly Fulton’s building shaped block designs. London is the number one city if you’re looking for unique fashion, classy bars and clubs, fancy restaurants, boutique shops and luxury hotels and it is equally famous for its fashion week. Designers such as Christopher Kane, whose garments you can find in Topshop, was praised for his ‘out of the comfort zone’ pieces along with Jasper Conran, who was awarded designer of the year for his contemporary British style. Women all over London have been ‘papped’ for their leading styles taken from the catwalks, and turned into affordable high street trends.

There are many simple and handy tips to keep you looking glam at all times without any effort. For example, if you’re having a bad hair day, throw a silk scarf on and tie in a pretty bow – they’ll never notice. Not enough time to do your make-up? Get hold of Max Factors new ‘Lip Finity’ pen in the colour of your choice and is guaranteed to brighten up your face and smile. However, try to avoid anything too outlandish such as super gluing 1000’s of Swarovski crystals to your face or wearing a bright yellow hat to big to fit through the door.

The last few weeks have been very busy for fashionistas all over the world, with events such as the Paris and Milan fashion week. However, one event that has just hit the fashion world is Essex fashion week.  For those of you that have managed to miss the most successful show of this year, The only way is Essex, the series follows the lives of eight ordinary people in their day to day lives gossiping, driving expensive cars, getting spray tans and not to mention ‘Vajazzles’. Just to be clear, the Vajazzle trend started in LA with celebrities and then moved over to its competing city Essex. In a nutshell, it is the use of diamanté crystals to decorate your lady parts!

Yes girls, Vajazzles were at the ready as the cast from the hit series ‘The Only Way is Essex’ hosted the fashion event lasting four days and three nights, which promised to be bigger and better than London fashion week, with their speed boat and helicopter arrivals. Not to mention their celebrity charity auction, modeling competition and a one off performance from the legendary James ‘Arg’ Argent from TOWIE cast, who kicked off the opening night with his singing performance during a champagne reception. OMG babes!

Kate Middleton: The Style Queen

Kate Middleton and Prince William have been dominating the headlines for weeks over their upcoming wedding on April 29, but there’s something else fashion fanatics are a lot more interested in: Kate Middleton’s wardrobe.

Her involvement in the fashion world has been clear since her early appearance at a charity catwalk show. Kate is a former history of the arts student at St. Andrew’s University, Scotland, and during her time there she became involved in catwalk modelling. She strutted her stuff in a see-through knitted lace dress for the charity show in 2002 and although the dress only cost her friend £30 to make, it has now been sold in an auction for a whopping £78,000.

The auction started off with a £20,000 bid, but quickly shot up to £50,000 and then became a tug-of-war between two mystery bidders. The dress was eventually sold to a mystery male buyer who was said to be ‘very happy’ with his purchase. Prince William, who was also a student at the university, is said to have first seen Kate as ‘more than chums’ at the fashion show while admiring her from the front row.

To add to her fashion points, a royal top trumps card game has been released this week and the newest must have souvenir shows how Kate is the leader of the pack beating Victoria Beckham and Princess Diana. The wacky cards giving ratings on VIP status, age, style, celebrity status and big day turnout, which players can use to compete against each other. Kate Middleton has been rated top for style, VIP status and big day turnout, blowing everyone else out of the water.

There is no news yet as to what Kate Middleton will be wearing for her big day, only whispers, yet it is the most highly anticipated fashion moment of this year. It has been said that she is most likely to be wearing something from a British designer, going for the classic wedding dress style. Deborah Joseph, Editor of Bride magazine says: “She is a very independent modern woman, who could forge her own way in the style stakes.”

Vogue have also released three bridal vogue covers in celebration of the Royal Wedding complete with possibilities of what she may be wearing. There is also a style and tip guide as to what the guests will be wearing, including predictions such as floral patterns, fascinators and very high heels. Over the years Kate has favoured many style brands such as Issa and Mulberry, but has never been a stranger from the high street, famously wearing a Topshop dress to celebrate her 25^th Birthday.

Students from London Metropolitan University have expressed excitement with regards to the wedding and plan to show their support for the forthcoming ceremony.

Fashion Marketing and Journalism student, Sasha Bradshaw, told the Holloway Express: “I have already bought my outfit and can’t wait to stroll around in it on the big day to show my support and dedication to fashion and hopefully it should be a big fashion event!”

Kate Middleton wears Alexander McQueen

The rumors were true – Kate Middleton did in fact wed last Friday wearing an Alexander McQueen wedding dress, made by creative director Sarah Burton and designed with input from the bride. Kate kept the design traditional with sprinklings of signature McQueen features, such as the bodice top and exaggerated hips.

The dress was made from hand-cut English lace and an ivory satin gazar, completed with flower design lace in cuts of actual flowers: rose, thistle and shamrock. The dress contained padding at the hips in reference to the traditional, Victorian dress in a McQueen style, with 58 organza buttons up the back. Kate would have definitely required some help getting dressed that morning.

Kate Middleton's dress was praised for it's traditional vibe. Once the dress was unveiled, Clarence House released a official statement, saying: “Miss Middleton chose British brand Alexander McQueen for the beauty of its craftsmanship and its respect for traditional workmanship and the technical construction of clothing. Miss Middleton wished for her dress to combine tradition and modernity with the artistic vision that characterises Alexander McQueen’s work.”

Kate also wore a Cartier ‘halo’ tiara made in 1936 for the Queen’s 18th birthday, which was given as a gift by Her Royal Highness for the special day. Her veil was made of ivory silk tulle – just light and delicate. Middleton’s shoes were hand made by the McQueen team, and made of ivory duchesse satin with hand-embroidered lace.

Her earrings, by Robinson Pelham, were diamond set oak leaves with a pear shaped diamond in the centre. The inspiration came from her engagement ring and the Middleton’s new coat of arms, which was styled to match the tiara. The earrings were a personal gift to Kate from her parents for her wedding day.

One of the most notable observations about the dress was its striking resemblance to the gown worn by Grace Kelly in 1956 when she married Prince Rainie, with the same the intricate lace sleeves sewn into the fitted bodice accompanied by a lace veil. The only significant difference was the plunging neck line and the McQueen style – it was a modern day Grace Kelly.

Anneka Butt, a student at the University of East London, said: “It was very sophisticated and elegant. Even though it had a low neck line it wasn’t too flashy or revealing, perfect for a princess.”

Emily Wilson, a student at Liverpool John Moore’s University, said:  “It reminded me of Grace Kelly’s wedding dress, very similar with the same fitted bodice but gorgeous and traditional.”

Kate’s sister Philippa Middleton wore a bridesmaid dress also designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen. It was made from ivory satin-based crepe,  with a cowl front and the same button detail and lace trims as the bride’s dress. She also had matching diamond earrings to Kate by Robinson Pelham, however, her earrings were more floral to compliment her headpiece.