London Fashion Week: Ones to Watch. Men (Part 1)

The end to my London Fashion Week was the Ones to Watch Men which hosted four emerging labels; To be Frank, Julian Zigeril, Body Bound and Joseph Turvey.

To be Frank

When it comes to menswear, I don't feel like there are many, if any, barriers to be broken, the realist stuff has been done already. Besides we all know that most men just want trousers and a shirt or maybe a suit, but it's interesting to see fashion designers continuously try to invent something new for men.

And invention was exactly what these 'ones to watch' designers attempted. 

The To be Frank label seemed the most conversative of the lot, producing tailored and well structured pieces. The debut collection was said to be inspired by a mix of London businessmen and the Yorkshire working class male (hence the use of work boots to finish the looks rather than leather loafers maybe?- just guessing here.)

chef style outerwear by TBF

Seen as the designer of this label, Frank Phillips, is female, it was only right that she gave the girls one look that they'd want to steal for themselves and that was the huge knit sweater which carried the tobefrank logo -perfect I-am-wearing-my-boyfriends-clothes piece.

You have to love! Right?

It seems that peacocking has infiltrated London, it was a heavy feature during Men's Week in Milan with designers such as Versace sending models down the catwalk decked head to toe in sequins, so it's no surprise to see it hit London. BodyBound was all about the bling at Vauxhall fashion scout (and loudness) with gold EVERYTHING and studded shirts, knitwear, vests and socks.

The smugness of this collection is what I love about it. I may not be a fan of every single piece (could have really done without the plastic, rain coat like see through things) but you can't like everything. Even though I hate to admit it, any man who is confident enough to pull these off (no pun intended) has my respect.

Part 2 to follow shortly. 

Huge thank you to Blow PR for having me along and treating me like a star :-) 

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Lost in my Mind: 1.0

Just before February turns to March and I churn out the last of the London Fashion Week posts (and maybe some Amsterdam ones), I thought I'd make it known to those who didn't already know that on the 18th of February 2012. Lost in Talent turned the big old one.

So of course, thank yous are in order (I made a fable attempt to do some on twitter) but here is the official list of people I want to thank for supporting the blog. Yes BLOG!! :-) Beware: I am about to have an oscar acceptance speech moment

1. Number one of course, the READERS! Everyone who visits, revisits, follows, likes, emails, tweets, retweets, comments and recommends from around the world. Thank you. 
2. The family and friends, for sending me bbms, tweets and texts when my spell check fails me (too often). 
3. The PR companies, for inviting me to the parties, sending me goodies and keeping me in loop with what's what, who wore, who likes etc, i.e. bombarding my inbox with press releases. Thank you. A special thank you to Forward PR, HPR London, Purple PR beauty and Felicities PR for the support from the beginning. 
4. The artists, designers, musicians, photographers, models and everyone I've featured, thank you for letting me stalk you! And thanks for inspiring thoughts! I wouldn't have anything to blog about without you. Special thanks to the designers who let me behind the scenes, e.g. Eugene Lin, Lako Bukia, Emesha etc.
5. And finally, a massive thank you to every single person who has ever emailed or tweeted me a compliment or encouragement! You make me smile! So thank you. 

And before I forget a special thank you to Marian Kihogo who shared some very wise words with me, your words meant more than you know :) 

All in all, THANK YOU!! 

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WishLust: Parks in Spring

Laurent Parka (available here)

£295

Stalker Finds: Understated Beauty 'Akris' Style

With everyone on the Loius Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci bandwagon, people like me are constantly on the look out for other high end (less popular) luxuries to over indulge in and my latest find. AKRIS. is perfect for that.

Add Leafy Green to my SS'12 wardrobe please

Given that Akris is almost over 90 years old, has stores in most of the major cities of the world -Monte Carlo, Tokyo, New York, Paris, Zurich etc, and has MAJOR catwalk shows most seasons. I am shocked, I missed it for so long!!!
During Fashion's Night Out, I got the opportunity to tour their London store, champagne in hand and clothes at the ready. It was from then on, that a new obsession was born. The first thing I noticed and liked about Akris (bar the amazing staff) were the cut of their trousers! They suited the description perfectly of what I have been looking for YEARS!!!

autumn-winter done the Akris way -AW'11

However Kriemler's love for minimalism which is evident every season, in every collection and in their Bond Street store (in the cuts, the silhouettes- it's really the Akris way) was the turning point for me.

London Fashion Week: Lako Bukia

Last season, Lako Bukia blew me away when she sent her designs down the runway (red&black still sticks with me when I think SS12), and though I  didn't ever get round to actually penning the story, she was one of my favourite spring-summer collections. So, of course as autumn-winter showings came round, I was more than excited and nervous to see what she'd produce.

The masterpiece complete with the broken mirror effect

This time round, I got to actually interact directly with the designer herself prior to the show and she told me a few things about the collection I was shocked to hear. Lako's autumn-winter collection -Broken Mirrors- was inspired by a very popular superstition. Break a mirror and it's seven years of bad luck. Sound familiar? Something that scared and often still scares Lako. However, with the collection, she wasn't channelling her fear, she wanted to make pieces for the fearless women of the world. Whose females who overcome their fears and achieve greatness.

It was after this explanation that I began to understand the change in dynamics compared with previous collections, Lako said herself 'this collection is very different from what I've done before'. For one there was an insertion of silver which made this collection, sharper, bolder and more eye catching than other collections post SS'11.  Second, Lako did a bit of experimenting with the leather used in the collection, she actually crafted it herself.

It was absolutely brilliant to see Lako's work go from subtle, simple beauty to something loud and more daring and of course still beautiful. It's great when a designer strays from their signature and even greater when they succeed at doing that. To me, she completely embodied the fearless woman in her own way by taking risks with everything - the colours, the textures, the shapes and the process as a whole. 

Thank you Felicities PR and Lako Bukia for having me backstage and at the show! 

Get off my face. Hair

Once in a while (:translates: a lot of the time) I like to read more meaning into the simple things in fashion (and life generally, if we're being honest), but I guess as an art form that is hugely welcome.

All back, square structured hair at Prose

One of the things/trends I spotted while covering London Fashion Week and while looking through some pictures from New York was the off-the-face hairstyles that have been gracing the runway. It's not exactly a new thing, for Spring-Summer 2012 and previous seasons it was done (by the likes of BCBG Max Aria, Balmain, Yves St Laurent and others) but this season it seems that many more designers have opted for this look!!

High ponytails at Lako Bukia

And in my opinion, here is why. In a time of financial, political and social imbalance, we all need to put on a brave face, one that is super confident. And not much says confidence like a woman with her hair completely pulled back -it creates a facade, a facade which is much needed, as a lot around us crumbles.

 Straight pulled back at Ralph Lauren (photo: TCW)

Off-your-face at Prada, MFW (photo: In Style)

London Fashion Week: Spijker en Spijker

There was much excitement when I received my Spijker en Spijker invite, having just paid the Amsterdam Fashion scene a little visit I was very excited to see Dutch sister duo show in London. 

By the end of the catwalk show, I wasn't sure what to make of the collection as a whole. The collection which was a clash of print, patterns and colours, and it didn't seem to suit my personal taste.

London Fashion Week Backstage: Bits and Bobs

Backstage at PPQ

Eye Candy!! 

Backstage at Prose

Right: Portia Freeman (who is super cute) walking for Lako Bukia

Ones to Watch Mens

 Everyone was going gaga for Jimmy Q. One to watch!

London Fashion Week: Prose

There seemed to be a lot of fringing and ruffles in the Prose autumn-winter collection which was off set by the warrior like shields that followed soon after all the girly. The prose woman exudes all kinds of confidence evident from the slick off-your-face hair style to the red lipsticks to the strong shoulders and the statement accessories (that solid cape!!), which featured on the catwalk. 

I love RAP!!

I miss Bone Thugs and Harmony :( and Akon!!! Where are you hiding?!

I love listening to rap because it makes me feel so bad ass!!! 

London Fashion Week Backstage with Prose & Lako Bukia

I've been bombing Facebook, instagram, tumblr and twitter with all kinds of pictures! So I thought I'd do some photo bombs for blogger. Here are some backstage photos from Day 4 of London fashion week. 

Prose run through

Love how happy Francesca looks in this shot.

Instagram meets Blogger: LFW Day 2

So Fierce! 

Pictures 2-5: Elliot Atkinson's presentation

Love