Time To Shine

For my latest project at university it was all about the shopping page.  We had to choose a trend, a publication and what type of shopping page we wanted to do.  I decided to do a beauty page for Harper's Bazaar on the Metallic trend.  It was a lot of work to say the least but I'm glad it's done and I'm pleased with the outcome, so I thought I'd share it with you!  

Words:

TIME TO SHINE

It’s time to embrace the new metallic party favours and put down the Kohl, says Nicola Shepherd.

Flecks of gold and silver shone out across the AW11 runways.  Dolce & Gabbana showed us that fashion has never had so much fun with their golden, sequined star embellished shift dress.   The party season has never had so much fun.  Metallic eyes stole the spotlight over the fall collections, dominating the catwalks and introducing the new party season look.  From creamy liquid gold at D&G to a soft and subtle shimmer at Roberto Cavalli.  Alexander McQueen styled up their models with metal skullcaps whilst Versace opted for smoked out eyes with a bronze modern day twist.

Top dogs MAC got rid of their matte black packaging in favour of foil and sequins for the Glitter and Ice collection, whilst Bobbi Brown created their Party collection featuring a silver leaf clutch bag with brushes to match.  Indulge in Shu Uemura’s 24K gold eyelash curlers for the ultimate indulgent accessory.  We’ve all heard about make up primers, but how about prepping your skin with Guerlain L'or Radiance Concentrate.  With particles of 24K gold you can be sure that your skin will look radiant and less tired in no time.  Chanel released three new sparklers in their most coveted line of nail lacquers, Quartz, Graphite and the infamous Peridot. 

For the perfect Cleopatra look, invest in some of the Nars Night Life eye shadows, to create a heavy metal look.  Each colour has flecks of gold pearl or silver, illuminating the eye rather than becoming dull.  “Make up should always be decadent,” says Francois Nars, key make up designer for Nars Cosmetics – so if you prefer a more muted look, try accessorising your LBD with a coat of Chanel’s Graphite on your fingertips, for a pop of sparkle.  The finely milled glitter particles create a less arts and crafts look and a more sophisticated appeal.

And finally, team up your favourite black chiffon shirt with a statement piece, like the eye catching ‘Jagged’ necklace by Gala Curios, sure to add a luxurious touch to any outfit.   When it comes to metallic’s, the party never ends.

LFW virgin no more...

It was going to happen sooner or later, SS12 stole my LFW virginity.  I was pretty lucky and managed to blag my way into London Fashion Week, thanks to the girls at Push PR.  As a trainee fashion journalist, it's something of a fantasy to go to the shows and visit Somerset House, so I jumped at the chance.  University has started back up, and our first assignment was to get into LFW and then do some work based on it, I shan't bore you with that.  I knew first off that the love of my life, David Koma, AW11 collection was being exhibited at the Topshop Newgen 'shed', so I made a beeline for that once I saw it.  As well as schmoozing with bloggers, visiting the exhibitions and seeing shows, I was also spotting the 'Fash Pack'.  I spied Anna Dello Russo, Hilary Alexander, Zandra Rhodes, Jo Elvin, Brix Smith-Start and Lenny the Stylist Pug (a personal highlight, I'm now broody for a Pug).

On Monday, after watching the Burberry arrivals, I went down to see Jasper Garvida's SS12 show.  It was particularly monochrome, with a flash of disco ball glitz here and there.  

I haven't done any show blogs as I feel it's a tad overdone in the fashion bloggersphere and I don't want to regurgitate Style.com.  I will, however, at the end of the Fashion Week season do a summary of my favourite shows and what I'll be looking forward to wearing next season.  I can tell you my stand outs so far have been DVF (naturally), Ashish, Elie Tahari, David Koma (naturally) and Burberry.  

"They'll get their spots. Just wait and see."

The day has finally arrived, i've only been dreaming of it for about, well four months.  David Koma is known for this asymmetrical designs and his celebrity clientele.  His ready-to-wear collection was showed at BFC Show Space this morning at 09:45 and after shouting and screaming at both Vogue.com and Style.com, i've finally been able to see it!

Polka dots look to be huge next season, Marc Jacobs tied them into his collection and TopShop Unique took inspiration from Disney blockbuster 101 Dalmations.  David Koma also incorporated polka dots into his Fall collection using different fabrics, leather and fur (not sure if it was faux or not).  

I love the contrast of the cream and matte black in the cuffs, high neck, waist and shoes. 

I think this is one of my favourite pieces from the collection, I love the slight introduction of colour on the right side in both leather and the fur cuffed sleeve.  

This look reminded me of a poodle, the way the cuffs are abnormally larger than any other detail on the dress.

I love how Koma fine tunes everything, even the boots have a polka dot.  I like the cut out detail to the cape and the contrasting fabrics. 

This coat is cut on the bias, giving it more movement.  Again, I like the detailing although in this look they are very subtle - leather belt and seams.  

I'm extremely excited about this collection and it didn't fail to impress.  If you like Davids designs you can grab yourself one of his dresses over at TopShop.

In the meantime, here are a few more collections that are 'spotastic'...

TopShop Unique R-T-W AW 2011 

Perdy and Pongo.

Tip: There are a lot of vintage jumpers, not unlike this one so go looking and grab yourself next seasons trends now.  

"My only true love, darling. I live for furs. I worship furs! After all, is there a woman in all this wretched world who doesn't?" - Cruella De Vil

Marc Jacobs R-T-W AW 2011

Marc used the trend in a more subtle way, using the fabric to create a sequin look as well as using sheer tights with polka dots.

Spot detail on bag and hat add to the ensemble.

Love the contrast between the shirt and skirt with the tights.

So what do you think of this trend?

I Spy! AW11 Trend: Oversized

After a slightly more relaxed weekend than I've been used to lately, I decided to have a rummage around Style.com at the latest shows.  One catwalk that caught my eye was Betty Jackson.  It caught my eye for one reason - there was a hell of a lot of red.  Colour is proving to be a staple trend this season and looks to stay throughout A/W 11 - adds a festive touch, don't you think?

Another eye catching feature was the oversized feel to the collection, whether it be maxi skirts or chunky knit - perfect for winter wrapping.  

'Simply Red': A large double breasted blazer jacket with red harem pants.  I love the contrast between the red garments and white platform shoes.  

'Lady in Red': This all red outfit doesn't look bland as there's a slight contrast between colours.  I love the Mary Janes also, they add a slight feminine touch to an otherwise masculine ensemble.  

'Flirty Florals': regular readers will know floral prints get a huge thumbs up from myself, so this crimson sheer chiffon maxi dress gets a high five.  

Other catwalks which have included oversized gems are...

Acne: 'Jail Bird'

Mulberry: 'Coal Miner'

Nicole Farhi: 'Monocrome Cable'

So, what do you think of this trend? For the slightly more voluptuous blogger like myself, it's an easy and fashionable way to cover those parts you aren't too comfortable with.  

I vote Yay.

It's the end of a busy week and I am lucky enough to have tomorrow off work, so I feel a lie in is only appropriate.  Today marks the beginning of London Fashion Week, so to all of my fellow Brits - happy fashion week! 

We began our Interviewing unit today at university and I learnt a number of valuable lessons:  

1. Do not piss off the interviewee - they may well just walk on you.

2. As crazy as this sounds, according to my lecturer, no fashion journalist wants to interview Vivienne Westwood.  She rants for 20 minutes about something completely irrelevant to the question.  

In other events, Vogue.com put up their best dressed for NYFW, including Marc Jacobs.  I have a huge crush on that man, I wish he were straight.

How are you spending the weekend?  

LFW's Best Dressed Beauts...

With all the hype around London Fashion Week I thought I would contribute to the cause.  With many female celebrities turning up to park their size zero bums on front row, there was more than enough choice for my top 5 best dressed.

My first choice is Cat Deeley, the new face of Links of London, who turned up in a stunning purple Pucci jersey fishtail dress.  With purple being a key colour this season, Deeley is really on form.  

Everybody's favourite socialite and MTV's 'The City' star is next.  Olivia Palmero attended Julien Macdonald's S/S 2011.  She sported former employer, Diane Von Furstenburg's skirt.

Girls Aloud's Nicola Roberts goes from pop chic to rock chick in this TopShop dress at the TopShop Unique show.  The metal gray compliments her pale skin whilst her red hair keeps her from looking washed out.

'These Words' singer Natasha Bedingfield wow's the paparazzi at The Kristian Aadnevik S/S 2011 show.  The royal blue dress shows off her stunning legs and compliements her skin tone nicely, whilst the feathers give off an animalistic side to the garment.

Lastly, no top five would be complete without our favourite Manolo Blahnik babe.  SJP turned up to the Burberry show in a leather camel Burberry jacket.  With military being a big trend this season, she is showing the troops just how it's done.  

All images found via Google, I do not own any of them.