Cheap VS Chíc

Although it may only be February and there are no signs of the weather in the UK getting anywhere near close to warm! Spring/ Summer 13 trends have already started filtering through stores, showcasing their energising bright bursts of colour in order to try and give us a little boost of motivation that Spring/Summer is on its way!

Bold neon colours are always popular when it comes to Summer, so it's no surprise that the hot colour of the summer is the admired orange palette, noticed in many different shades including peachy, apricot and burnt red orange. Renowned designers and famous celebs have been noticed accessorising orange into their outfits and embracing the trend.

As usual, once a month I update my blog with a 'Cheap VS Chíc' post, in order to analyse recent trends within the current market, to make a comparison between what's displayed on the high street compared with the luxury high-end market, whilst also demonstrating that you don't need thousands of pounds in your bank to capitalize on trends, however if you do then there are some options here for you too!

Fashion Scout - London Fashion Week

I have just completed working for 'Fashion Scout' for my second season running (In September and February for London Fashion Week). For those of you who don't no much about Fashion Scout they are an International showcase for fashion innovation, renowned for championing creative design talent, where they scout and present in both London and Paris.

Since they begun fourteen seasons ago, they have managed to roll call designers including Peter Pilotto,  Felder Felder, David Koma, William Tempest, Eadon Choi and Pam Hogg. Fashion Scout can be interpreted as a springboard for International design students, enabling them to showcase and promote their work through catwalks and exhibitions, in order for them to emerge and become established by top media and buyers.

I thoroughly enjoy working with Fashion Scout, the atmosphere is always so exhilarating, and the team are all so lovely to work with. During my time with FS I was working as a PR/ Social Media Assistant, so my daily duties consisted of mainly; 

• Constantly checking all socials media sites including  Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and updating them with images/ descriptions from the catwalk shows
• Liaising with house photographers  
• Searching for press articles about Fashion Scout and the designers 
• General assistance - making sure each photographer and blogger knew the daily schedule for where they should be for each catwalk show or exhibition

My favourite part about working for FS is when there wasn't t too much to do I was able to go and watch the catwalk shows. Due to being so busy this season I only had time to visit one show; Phoebe English, however I am a big fan of Phoebe's work so this was an extra special treat!

Being in the catwalk shows really gives off an exciting buzz (even though this may sound a tad cringe). With the music blaring, striking lighting and important familiar faces scattered around the room and of course the amazing outfits strutting down the runway by the extremely talented designers it's fascinating to watch!

For a sneak preview of the catwalk shows, take a look at the clip below from Phoebe English AW13.

Phoebe English AW13


 To see more images and to learn more about each designer and their collection take a look at the Fashion Scout blog.

Dover Street Market Re-Vamp!

Dover Street Market (DSM) is one of my favourite stores in London, offering cutting-edge fashion. For those of you who haven't heard of DSM or don't know much about it I would seriously recommend checking this beauty out, it is well worth it!

Dover Street Market is a market-based department store concept, which was founded in 2004 by Rei Kawakubo, also the owner of private Japanese fashion label 'Comme des Garcons'. Located in Mayfair, the store showcases a range of eclectic luxury brands (including Comme des Garcons) as well as renowned International brands such as Celine, Saint Laurent, Simone Rocha and Alexander McQueen, whilst also offering impressive contemporary art and design installations. 

The interior of the shop is remarkably striking, changing every six months to re-install, they feature very simplistic yet exciting installations to add to the contemporary feel of the store such as a giant gold birdcage that doubles as a changing room. This appealing approach is a great strategy in order to entice customers into their stores to encounter the experience rather than simply shopping online. They also have stores in Beijing and Tokyo, with a fourth opening in New York later in 2013. 

Images courtesy of Dazed Digital

The highly respected and inspirational Rei Kawakubo commented;

   "The more people that are afraid when they see the creations, the happier I am." 

Red Nose Day! 15th March 2013

It's coming up to that time of year again where everyone will be gearing up with their shiny red noses in appreciation of Red Nose Day on 15th March 2013. It's been 25 years since Red Nose Day first burst onto or screens and it always amazes me to see how much money is raised each year, with the whole country getting involved to help change countless lives in both Africa and the UK. Last Red Nose Day raised a staggering £108,436,227 and hopefully this year will continue to reach a similar success!

Every year renowned celebrities get involved to show their support for the charity in many innovating ways and this year is no exception. In celebration of this important day Stella McCartney has designed a capsule collection of T-shirts for both adults and children exclusively to buy from TK Maxx stores and online, with a percentage of profits going towards Comic Relief.

Kate Moss, Alexa Chung and David Gandy are just some of the names who will be fronting the campaign for Stella McCarntney's Comic Relief T-shirt collection. The imagery was shot by supermodel Helena Christensen and photographer Mary McCartney. 

"I admire the Red Nose Day Team and their achievements for this incredible worthwhile cause, to be able to be a small part of supporting that, is extremely rewarding." Stella McCartney

Each T-shirt has been manufactured in Africa using 100% Fairtrade-certified organic cotton, featuring various icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Tommy Cooper, The Beatles and Kate Moss. T-shirt prices start from £5.99 for a children's T-shirt and £9.99 for adult sizes.