Met Gala 2013 - Punk Style

So this year's Met Gala in New York, hosted by Beyoncé, was supposedly 'Punk' themed. Considering what an important and influential period  in fashion it was, some stars didn't embrace it as well as they could have! Nevertheless, the ball was one of the finest displays of evening dresses with some of my favourite designers both designing for, and attending, the event - Marchesa, Zac Posen, Givenchy etc. Below are a few of my favourite dresses from the ball:

Beyoncé, this year's host was dressed in a Givenchy flame skirt, corset and studded belt. I absolutely loved the look of the corset and skirt but definitely thought the matching boots were a step too far!

Sienna Miller tastefully embraced the Punk theme and her studded jacket over the white Burberry dress was the perfect combination of biker and flowing maxi dress to create a perfect look for the event.

Sarah Jessica Parker's Giles Deacon dress and Philip Treacy headpiece was definitely a Punk statement. She could definitely pull the look off and the print of the dress was absolutely beautiful, however, like with Beyoncé, I think the tartan knee high boots were slightly too much.

Although not exactly 'Punk', Carey Mulligan's Balenciaga dress was stunning. Understated and simple, the LBD was flattering and classy, and, paired with the Tiffany jewellery, created the perfect cocktail look.

Blake Lively's Gucci Premiere dress was another of my favourites, the strapless dress with feathered embroidery was beautiful and her sleek updo complimented the complicated dress perfectly.

Cameron Diaz's cobalt blue Stella McCartney dress was a nice change from all the monochrome and the contrast of the draped cape and the fitted dress created a beautiful silhouette for the actress.

Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig of my favourite design house, Marchesa, were both wearing dresses from their own label, and definitely did not disappoint. Embracing the 'Punk' theme with heavy eyeliner, the pair went for monochrome, Georgina in a short, white, feathered dress, and Keren in a floor length, black, lace gown. There is no doubt that Marchesa is the perfect evening dress label!

 

 

Vogue Festival Day 1 - Paul Smith

I don't even know where to start when describing Paul Smith's talk this afternoon! He was one of the most inspiring people I've ever seen and was so driven and so motivated yet so down to earth that it was quite overwhelming. As soon as he began talking, I thought 'I don't want to forget a second of this talk' and so recorded it on my phone so I could listen to it back whenever I needed motivating! He was joined by Alexa Chung who acted as the interviewer, but their friendship shone through and they were constantly laughing and joking.

He began with a talk about finding inspiration from everywhere ('You can find inspiration everywhere, if you can't, then you're not looking hard enough'), and showed how you can take something as simple as a beach hut, and turn it into a jumper, or shirt, or socks. He offered advice to aspiring designers: 'the world doesn't need any more designers so you need to find something that makes you stand out', 'you need to look and SEE', the importance of lateral thinking, and talked about all of the different elements which come together to create a successful designer.

He then began a talk with Alexa who prompted him by asking questions and something that was very clear from the start was that his mind is all over the place, as many creative minds are. He was up on his feet, then sitting back down, then showing off his socks, glasses on then off, lying on the sofa, talking about one thing then jumping to another, but this just emphasised his creativeness and all the ideas he  had running through his mind at once. Their discussion ranged from how much he likes what the Queen wears and the quality of her clothes, to the fact that so many people get Paul Smith socks for Christmas to his choice of swimwear for his daily 5am swims.

Apparent from the start was his enthusiasm for everything, especially life. When asked what motivated him, he responded 'the love of life'. He also said that he sees 'everyday as a new beginning', and his adoration of his wife and his job were so clear that it made me happy just hearing him talk about how happy he was!

He stated that he didn't like criticism at all and he didn't read press or reviews of his shows because by the time the reviews are in, buyers have already bought his products so it makes no difference to him anyway, and he is already onto the next season. He and Alexa then agreed that the opinions of family and friends are the only ones you should listen to as theyre the only ones who truly know you.

This fast pace and ever-changing face of the fashion industry led to talk about technology. He took a very different point of view form Natalie Massenet and stated that he did not have a computer and his wife doesn't even have a mobile phone. His assistants deal with his emails but he feels that when people spend all their life looking at screens, they are missing the inspiration in the world around them. He then went on to talk about Instagram and the fact that he chooses what goes on his Instagram and blog but doesn't put it on there himself. He does, however, shoot all of his own campaigns and this sparks from his father being an amateur photographer.

There is so much to say about his talk that I could write for hours, so a few final ideas I particularly loved are:

• He is not in it for the money, he feels that he has a duty to keep his brand successful as he employs thousands of workers and they all have families and bills to pay and he owes it to them to keep them all in work.
• It is important to have a point of view and a reason people should buy YOUR clothes, however if you are going into a company, you need to be enthusiastic and have a point of view but be open to other peoples points of view and not be overpowering.
• You have to be interested and interesting otherwise people will not pay attention.
• 'There's a lot of good out there, you have to be better'
• Success like his comes from loving what you do and constantly being inspired by finding beauty in everything

Vogue Festival Day 1 - Natalie Massenet

The first talk I went to was Natalie Massenet, founder of Net-A-Porter. Natalie decided to talk about her life and journey, rather than specifically about Net-A-Porter and this gave the talk a new dimension as there was a very clear path and witnessing other people's journeys into the fashion industry always inspires hope and ambition into aspiring fashion designers/journalists/entrepreneurs etc.

Always wanting to try something new, Natalie created a live Instagram feed (NatAPorter_MyStorySoFar) which she used as a sort of slide show whilst giving the talk. She encouraged everyone to get their phones out and look at the feed and tweet and comment etc. as she really feels that social media is the way forward (very different to Paul Smith's perception!). This was an innovative way to engage the audience and straight away it was clear that she is one step ahead of everyone, a creator.

The talk started with her parents and her as a child ('everything has to start somewhere..and it's usually small') and followed her journey through school and university, her travels from Madrid to Paris to LA to Toyko, and different careers which she toyed with before stepping firmly into the fashion pool.

In her talk, Natalie strongly emphasised the importance of Creative Visualisation, and a photograph of her standing infront of her Net-A-Porter empire, just how she had visualised it, was truly touching. In the talk, Natalie spoke about the difficulties of being a mother and a business woman, trying to set up an online magazine when people's broadband wouldn't let them load too many pictures, the importance of teamwork, and most importantly the importance of hard work.

For me, as an aspiring designer, to hear someone who's business has been recently sold for £230million talk about how they got turned down for a job at Vogue and used to sleep every lunch time at their desk when working as a receptionist, it gave me faith that there is no one route to success and it often looks different to different people, but hard work will get you there one way or another.

Natalie Massenet spoke about so many things in such a passionate and driven way that I can't even describe a tiny bit of what it was like to listen to her speak! I will be posting some quotes into the quotes section of my blog from today that I find especially inspiring.

Vogue Festival 2013

This years Vogue Festival, at the Southbank Centre, got off to a great start today with talks from J.W.Anderson, Mary Katrantzou, Natalie Massenet, Paul Smith and Michael Kors, among many others. I was lucky enough to go to the talks by Natalie Massenet and Paul Smith being interviewed by Alexa Chung and, from an aspiring designer's point of view, found them both extremely inspiring and helpful. Not only was it amazing to be in the presence of such aspirational and successful people, their talks also had anecdotes and quotes which I feel are going to help me, and other young designers, in their path to success. I'll do a blog post of each to share some of what I got out of the talk.

Alexander McQueen Spray Paint Dress (1999)

For me, as an aspiring designer, Alexander McQueen's innovation and creative instincts are one of my main sources of inspiration. His Spring/Summer 1999 Catwalk show was my favourite ever as the Spray Painted Dress finale is the most classically beautiful, yet forward-looking, piece of art I think I've ever seen. The balletic movements and the classical piano music created an atmosphere of serenity and classicism which was contrasted with the forward-looking technological aspects to create a masterpiece. The overall aesthetic of the finale was stunning and it produced a dress which is a piece of art in itself. Even 13 years on, I don't think any other catwalk shows, either of McQueen's or of any other designer's, have come close to the beauty and drama created in the finale of this show and it should be remembered as a defining moment in fashion history.

Best of British

With the whole country going Jubilee crazy this week, the fashion world has quickly caught on. Online retailers such as ASOS and Boohoo.com have front-page features with Best of British fashion trends. But will you be wearing the Union Jack with pride this weekend? I am going to look at a handful of current British fashion designers that make me proud to be British. There are so many designers that I feel show Britain at its best, notably Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney, John Galliano and Julien MacDonald, but I have chosen my four, personal favourites: Alexander McQueen, Christopher Bailey, Phillip Treacy and Marchesa.

An obvious starting point for a top British designer is the late Alexander McQueen. His dark and often disturbed collections display creativity and innovation at its finest. Originally from the East End of London, McQueen studied at Central Saint Martins and his first collection in 1992 - 'Jack The Ripper' - took the fashion world by storm. He continually pushed the boundaries of Catwalk shows, a favourite of mine being the Spring/Summer 1999 'No.13' show in which a plain white dress was sprayed with glow in the dark paint. (picture below). McQueen's innovative ideas and the beautiful execution of his designs make him a favourite British designer.



The next British designer who I feel epitomises British fashion is Christopher Bailey. The Yorkshire-born designer is the creative director of Burberry and his clean lines and simple designs create cohesive collections that are very wearable for the British public. The classic trench-coat is also a must have in every wardrobe and is a display of Burberry heritage at its best. Bailey is definately a designer who has taken the demands of the British public into consideration whilst designing and this makes him one of Britain's best.

I think when considering the best British designers, Philip Treacy is a key contender, simply because no-one makes such beautiful and creative head-wear. Treacy's hat designs have re-defined modern millinery and the orchids, feathers, ships and Andy-Warhol inspired designs have all featured on his hats. He began making hats for Chanel and then went on to collaborate with some of the world's finest artists and designers, including Alexander McQueen. His hats have recently been worn at the Royal Wedding and show off the best of British creativity and craftsmanship.



My favourite British fashion house is Marchesa. The beautiful designs of Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig are absolutely breathtaking and the combinations of the simple, minimalistic drapery and the structural organza create theatrical dresses which are extremely popular on the red carpet. The range of fabrics, colours and textures in each collection make every dress different, yet the collections still work cohesively as a whole. In my opinion, Marchesa is the British fashion house that makes me most proud to be British.

Is Fashion Art?

In a recent interview, Karl Lagerfeld continued the ongoing debate as to whether Fashion is Art. He felt that any designers who consider themselves artists are 'second rate'. This arguement has divided the fashion industry and designers such as Marc Jacobs, Miuccia Prada and Coco Chanel also believed that fashion is not art.
I, however, feel that fashion IS art. Art is an expression of creativity and manifests itself in many forms, not all of these through the traditional architecture, sculpture and painting mediums. It amazes me how can people such as Damien Hurst and Tracey Emin be called 'artists' if fashion designers are not.

Fashion is a way of sculpting the human body and producing designs to show beauty, emotion and personality. Examples such as YSL's Mondrian dress, show the ease at which a work of 'art' can be translated into a fashion design and can be used to sculpt the human form. The influence of paintings on fashion is repeatedly showing up on the catwalk - a recent example is Rodate's collection inspired by Van Gogh's 'Starry Night'. This influence of art on fashion is similar to the influence of art on art. No 'artists' come up with completely new concepts without being influenced by art of the past and the same can be said for fashion.

Admittedly fashion on the highstreet is not as much an art form as High Fashion as it is more concerned with the neccessities of the public, rather than the aesthetic quality of the clothes, but High-Fashion designers such as Alexander Mcqueen did not create clothes to be worn, he created clothes to amaze, shock and sculpt beauty using the human figure.

Some designers who agree that fashion is art are: Schiaparelli, Paul Poiret and John Varvatos.

This debate will continue to be argued for years to come, however my opinion is: anyone who uses their creative ability and imagination to create beauty in any form is an artist. Fashion is not a Fine Art, and will never fall under that category, however it is an art form which is influenced by, and influences, other art forms, and designers should be recognised as artists, just as sculptors and painters are.

The full article about Karl Lagerfeld's comments and other designers point of view is available here: http://artinfo.com/news/story/805583/is-fashion-art-karl-lagerfeld-puts-the-debate-back-into-the-spotlight-by-dismissing-the-notion?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed:+artinfo-all+(All+Content+|+ARTINFO)

YSL's Mondrian Dress:

Alexander Mcqueen:

Rodarte: