First on the agenda for SS10’s Milan Fashion Week was the laudable Prada show, featuring Miuccia Prada's vision of city-to-beach chic. Innovative as always, her collection featured light, airy silks complete with raw edgings and kitsch post-card prints on babydoll dresses and knickerbockers – a crowd pleasing collection for a high calibre front row - packed with global editors and high-powered buyers. 

Next up, I stopped by to check out the Dondup collection – a hugely popular line in Italy, renowned for its easy-to-wear collections and cult jeans. At the after party, I spotted TV presenter Belén Rodríguez (pictured) and former AC Milan player Alessandro Costacurta with his beautiful wife Martina Colombari who also stopped by for drinks.

Prada also held a suitably glamorous soiree for the launch of its new store, which had celebrities and industry faces spilling out onto the street – the store was so packed I could barely squeeze in! The boutique itself, revealed a new and stronger image for the Prada store, holding both men’s and women’s collections in contemporary surroundings – think urban grey and steel fittings.

 


Downtown in Milan, right next to the Duomo, was the Vincenzo de Cotiis presentation. De Cotiis is an amazing all-round artist, who started out as an architect and then evolved into a fashion designer. His collection featured beautiful contemporary silhouettes on leather jackets, gilets and military-infused parkas – all made from recycled fabrics. A super-chic collection for sophisticated women. My favourite.

 




It was an early start on Sunday for the Marni show, where I took my place on the front row next to Bergdorf Goodman's Linda Fargo, alongside Anna Wintour. Consuelo Castiglioni’s vision for spring featured beautiful soft, clashing prints and light materials for a long hot summer! The dresses and knitwear, billowing with volume were interesting and reflected the Marni aesthetic.

I then dashed over to two trade shows: White and Cloud, Neozone and Cloudnine where optimism prevailed over the global economic crisis. Here buyers from all over the world come to find interesting and unique products to offer in store – this year the size of the shows were increased to cater for new brands in several new locations. The collections on offer range from accessories and shoes to swimwear and complete looks – all with the chic aesthetic that the shows are renowned for.

The trade shows took up a huge part of the day but I managed to break away at 1pm to hit the Dolce & Gabbana show – certainly one not to be missed. As to be expected, it attracted a VIP crowd of celebrities including front-row girls Daisy Lowe, Alice Dellal and Peaches Geldof, plus international buyers and actors – the show itself is considered one of the most important of Milan Fashion Week and it never fails to impress when it comes to unadulterated glamour. Starting with vast screens showing clips backstage of the designers preparing the models, it served as a reminder that besides their fame, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana do their jobs with passion and professionalism! The models hit the runway in a collection which was very Dolce & Gabbana – featuring blazers, exposed lingerie, lace and smocking and new for spring – harem pants. The palette was black and white with the odd interruption of colourful floral prints. Later on that evening, I finished off the night with dinner on top of the Rinascente over looking the Duomo spikes!

Andrea Molteni

b Store’s distinctive style took to the runway on the menswear-dedicated final day of London Fashion Week with a preppy collection reminiscent of Dustin Hoffman’s Benjamin Braddock character in The Graduate. The look was American classic with a rebellious twist, punctuated by the sounds of the Lemonhead’s Mrs Robinson and London’s own style council came out in force to see the show, with the unlikely appearance of Boy George sitting front row! Single breasted blazers, pleated trousers and chinos in sky-blue and sandy shades, chambray and gingham shirts, and obligatory wayfarer-style shades, transformed b Store’s signature pieces into effortless summer attire. Their eponymous shoe line returned, with Oxford’s revisited in blue and tan shades, beachy cutaway sandals, casual sneakers and summer’s incarnation of the high top. A debut collaboration with Awai introduced document cases, belts and wallets – personifying the collegiate direction of the collection.

After the show, the FF team headed to Kettners in Soho, for the after show part and the launch of the new b Store magazine - a 100 page tome of all things b! Check out the party pictures below.  

Look out for the video footage from the show, online soon.

Shop the current Autumn/Winter collection from b Store, online now.

On the last day of London Fashion Week, the queen of international press Anna Wintour arrived at the Peter Pilotto show before everyone else. Twenty minutes later, the models strutted down the catwalk like beautiful nymphs draped in lightweight chiffon and satin silk dresses. Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos seemingly took us right into a middle of a Monet Painting, where you could almost touch the prickly sea anemones...

At the New Gen exhibition, Scottish designer Louise Gray caught my eye with her great installation where you could see the way she blends bright colours and bold textures. After roaming through the vast exhibition space of Somerset House, we finally found where the Fashion East show was taking place and went straight to our seat with a hefty goody bag between our feet. The show consisted of 3 designers back to back and my favourite had to be the super talented Michael Van Der Ham with his deconstructed evening dresses - a real feast for the eyes!

It was so hot inside the venue at Jonathan Saunders that when I saw the models with their wet-look hair, I couldn't help but wonder if it was actually sweat running down their face! Transparency was the key to Saunders’ SS10 collection enhanced by a pretty pastel palette. After watching the explosive prints and structured silhouettes at Basso & Brooke back at the tent, I went to the Tuesday Night Band Practice party (the coolest T-shirt brand!), at the Den (what used to be the End club). Just one thing to say: Rock and Roll is back!

Violaine Bernard

Starting the day with the Meadham Kirchhoff show at the Topshop space, I couldn't help but feeling emotional when the models were sent out to Nina Simone’s haunting voice (thank you Robin from Maria Luisa for pointing it out to me)... the beautiful series of dresses and romantic layers of chiffon were poetic and inspirational. It was undoubtedly my favourite show so far, with plenty of pieces I’d love to wear including their signature cut-off trousers and cute pink glittery T-shirts however, it's the black Plumetis dress adorned with midnight blue velvet bows that I'll be dreaming of until it hits the store.

Next location was Soho’s infamous Brewer Street car park where Josh Goot show was held. The invitation said "abstraction" and his SS10 formula did indeed, consist of colourful abstract prints. The two-tone trousers and polka dots silk shirt combo were for me, the epitome of sporty chic - perfect for sunny days. After the show I snapped my four favourite styles of the day on the beautiful Ece Sukan - Editor-at-large for Turkish Vogue, our very own Sarah Harris from Vogue UK, whom rocked the Chris Kane Tee like no one else, Japanese writer and fashion icon Yu Masui sporting the Louis Vuitton bunny ears headband, and Tommy from www.jakandjil.com/blog wearing the amazing Louboutin studs sleepers.

After a quick stop at Vauxhall Fashion Scout, I finished my day at the private view of Garence Doré’s exhibition for the Gap 1969 denim concept store. Some limited edition T-shirts with Garance’s illustration were on sale in-store (if you were lucky enough to grab one) and all the fashion enthusiasts were there to congratulate the beautiful Garance (who was wearing a Peter Pilotto skirt that she picked from Feathers few hours earlier!!).

Violaine Bernard

Last night farfetch.com headed to the Chelsea College of Art & Design, to capture the atmosphere outside the much-anticipated Burberry show. The entrance was magnificent with huge imagery of the AW09 campaign featuring Emma Watson (who of course made an appearance). The vast construction, created especially for the event was lit with low lighting to create a minimal ambiance…

As to be expected, the fashion pack was out in full force - from polished magazine editors and aspirational scene kids, right through to fashion royalty. We caught editor of French Vogue Carine Roitfeld on the way out - looking chic as ever in Balmain and more than happy to pose in front of our camera! It’s no surprise she has made it onto Vanity Fair’s best-dressed list. Now a regular on the fashion show circuit, Victoria Beckham stopped by, much to the delight of the waiting paps and Slum Dog Millionaire’s Dev Patel and Freida Pinto were also spotted looking calm and collected amid the media frenzy.

After photographing A Shaded View on Fashion’s Diane Pernet, we took to the street to photograph the stylish crowd. The vibe on the street was modest and calm yet electric and packed with the industry’s finest. Embellishment was a favoured trend for attendees, whether it was beaded jackets, sequinned snoods or studded killer heels. Structured looks were also key with of course this season’s favourite - the bold shoulder being a strong look. On the other end of the scale there was an abundance of individual looks sported by young fashion aficionados - with lots of layering, clashing of trends and intriguing accessories pulling it all together.

Coco Le Freak C'est Chic

Charles Anastase and Richard Mortimer outside the Ponystep party


Backstage, Sarah Mower chats to Richard Nicoll

  
Richard Nicoll's model board, Qasimi show, Mawi jewellery

Yesterday morning I popped in to Qasimi show where it was all glamour and Grecian couture. Then I head down to the ON/OFF venue next to Somerset House for the Ponystep Beach Party, hosted by promoter extraordinaire Richard Mortimer (remember Boombox? That's him!). I was happy to catch up with the lovely Charles Anastase outside the venue before going back to the tent to check out more SS10 collections, including hipper than hip Mawi jewellery. I love the futuristic gold necklace, perfect worn with a white tee and a pair of cut-off denim shorts.

Like a lot of designers this season, Richard Nicoll SS10 was full of soft silhouettes and a muted palette. Like inside a beautiful aquarelle paint box, the colours flowed from greys and pinks to lilac and blues, ending with beiges with a touch of silver. Silks were fluid and draped around the waist creating easy to wear sarong-like skirts and the hibiscus prints were simply delicious. After the show, I quickly ran backstage where Sarah Mower was interviewing Richard Nicoll for style.com.

Violaine Bernard

The FF team spent the evening at 'fashion central' otherwise known as Somerset House, last night. First we dropped in at Giles’ jewellery presentation, where we talked jewellery with Lulu Kennedy from Fashion East and shoes with blogger/shoe designer Mr Hare.

Next we went downstairs to the SHOWstudio.com Fashion Revolution opening party hosted by Nick Knight and attended by the great and the good of the fashion industry. Manolo Blahnik, photographer Tim Walker and super-stylist Charlotte Stockdale chatted to models Lily Donaldson and a very glamorous Naomi Campbell, but the star of the show was Kristen McMenamy, the '90s model who seems to be having an editorial renaissance and looked stunning with her waist-length silver hair.

The exhibition itself is - as to be expected - inspiring and showcases SHOWstudio’s amazing portfolio of work, via all sorts of media, from video projections and oversized photos to sculpture. But with so many people crowded into the long vault-like space, it was hard to take it all in, so we’ll be making another visit to the exhibition soon, and maybe next time without a cocktail in each hand.

FF

Naomi Campbell and Christian Louboutin at the SHOWstudio.com Fashion Revolution launch.


Trying out the hall of mirrors!

FF