Showing posts with label London Fashion Week. Show all posts
Showing posts with label London Fashion Week. Show all posts
The Design Museum is currently showcasing the talents of Azzedine Alaïa in Azzedine Alaïa: The Couturier. Alaïa sadly passed away last November (2017). The exhibition was co-curated with the man himself showcasing his Haute Couture and Ready To Wear collections from over the decades.
But first, what is Haute couture? Haute couture translates to 'high sewing' or in other words 'needlework'. Haute couture garments have been made to order, sewn by hand, and are fitted individually to the customer. One of the many reasons as to why couture is so exclusive and has a high price tag. Tunisian-born designer Azzedine Alaïa began his haute couture career at Christian Dior (under Yves Saint Laurent) and later at Guy Laroche before establishing his own fashion house.
I visited the exhibition a few weeks ago and it is absolutely breathtaking! It's held in this large open space and divided into mini sections, each containing a couture collection. I loved walking around the room, around the masterpieces. The silhouettes were ridiculous. Each dress was figure hugging and clung to the curves of the mannequin. I felt so inadequate surrounded by them as they stood propped up on podiums. Each mannequin had been cut to fit the dress which gave the impression it was standing up by itself. It was like each piece demanded attention and respect. For the designer and the craft.
My favourite collections from the exhibit were Exploring Volume and Sculptural Tension, Alaïa's final haute couture collection (above). Exploring Volume had a Hollywood feel, of glitz and glamour. I also loved the contrast in Sculptural Tension, between the resistance and solidity associated with metal and the delicacy of the chiffon and stature of the dress. The most unusual collection was Other Places, Other Cultures. One of the items had been made from a hair-type material; it was a little bizarre but intriguing at the same time.
Student, £10.75. Adult, £14.50. Azzedine Alaïa: The Couturier. Until 7th October. Design Museum, 224-238 Kensington High Street, W8 6AG, London. Find out more at the Design Museum.
Love, Aoife x
The Design Museum is currently showcasing the talents of Azzedine Alaïa in Azzedine Alaïa: The Couturier. Alaïa sadly passed away last November (2017). The exhibition was co-curated with the man himself showcasing his Haute Couture and Ready To Wear collections from over the decades.
But first, what is Haute couture? Haute couture translates to 'high sewing' or in other words 'needlework'. Haute couture garments have been made to order, sewn by hand, and are fitted individually to the customer. One of the many reasons as to why couture is so exclusive and has a high price tag. Tunisian-born designer Azzedine Alaïa began his haute couture career at Christian Dior (under Yves Saint Laurent) and later at Guy Laroche before establishing his own fashion house.
I visited the exhibition a few weeks ago and it is absolutely breathtaking! It's held in this large open space and divided into mini sections, each containing a couture collection. I loved walking around the room, around the masterpieces. The silhouettes were ridiculous. Each dress was figure hugging and clung to the curves of the mannequin. I felt so inadequate surrounded by them as they stood propped up on podiums. Each mannequin had been cut to fit the dress which gave the impression it was standing up by itself. It was like each piece demanded attention and respect. For the designer and the craft.My favourite collections from the exhibit were Exploring Volume and Sculptural Tension, Alaïa's final haute couture collection (above). Exploring Volume had a Hollywood feel, of glitz and glamour. I also loved the contrast in Sculptural Tension, between the resistance and solidity associated with metal and the delicacy of the chiffon and stature of the dress. The most unusual collection was Other Places, Other Cultures. One of the items had been made from a hair-type material; it was a little bizarre but intriguing at the same time.
Student, £10.75. Adult, £14.50. Azzedine Alaïa: The Couturier. Until 7th October. Design Museum, 224-238 Kensington High Street, W8 6AG, London. Find out more at the Design Museum.
Love, Aoife x
It is currently one of the most prestigious events in the fashion calendar; London Fashion Week. All over the city are catwalks, talks and special events as part of the one-week festival held in the capital. So it’s the perfect time to take advantage of connections and become a part of it! (In other words, a lot of googling to find open-to-the-public type events).
In celebration of Mulberry’s Spring/ Summer ’18 collection launch, they had taken over Spencer House in central London for the weekend (17-18 Feb) to host ‘Beyond Heritage’. From what I found online, they had a quite a few workshops and presentations over the weekend including talks from Stylists and presentations on how to style the new collection with Vogue.
It was a beautiful sunny day, like a preview to summer, and I went along with my close friend Saskia. We were welcomed into a gorgeous stately home and led through the house, out to the back, where Mulberry had completely taken over the back garden. There was a gorgeous giant pink wall with flowers that ran from one end to another. It was beautiful and we made sure to take lots of pictures!
After being ushered into a room, we sat down on those benches; the ones you only see during fashion week. Around the room on the other side were mannequins wearing the Spring/ Summer collection. All the pieces were bright and beautiful, capturing the essence of Summer. And there were quite a few pieces I could see myself wearing.
They had a talk on with LA born stylist duo Brit + Kara, from Elkin and editorial direction Hannah Almassi from Who What Wear UK. It was really interesting to find out more about the world of styling and I picked up a few styling tips from them too!
They highlighted at the beginning there’s a misconception that styling is a glamorous job when it’s actually harder than it looks and there’s added pressure as you become in charge of someone’s image, their brand.
They made comparisons between LA style and British style, exclaiming “you’re too cool for us!” Pointing out how trends don’t really work that well in the UK as every girl is individual and has her own unique style of dressing whether it be classic, punk, posh etc. In Britain, we have a lot of timeless pieces in our wardrobe whereas, in LA, it’s more based on trends.
After the talk, we had the chance to look around the house, which was stunning! In one of the rooms upstairs, they had a few ladies who make some of the bags for Mulberry and I got the chance to ask a few questions I always wanted to know.
It was a very eventful morning and I spent the rest of the day, hanging out my friends. Being a part of the LFW festivities was really fun and an absolute dream. I’m off to the London Fashion Week Festival next weekend, so it’s not over yet!
Love, Aoife x
It is currently one of the most prestigious events in the fashion calendar; London Fashion Week. All over the city are catwalks, talks and special events as part of the one-week festival held in the capital. So it’s the perfect time to take advantage of connections and become a part of it! (In other words, a lot of googling to find open-to-the-public type events).
In celebration of Mulberry’s Spring/ Summer ’18 collection launch, they had taken over Spencer House in central London for the weekend (17-18 Feb) to host ‘Beyond Heritage’. From what I found online, they had a quite a few workshops and presentations over the weekend including talks from Stylists and presentations on how to style the new collection with Vogue.
It was a beautiful sunny day, like a preview to summer, and I went along with my close friend Saskia. We were welcomed into a gorgeous stately home and led through the house, out to the back, where Mulberry had completely taken over the back garden. There was a gorgeous giant pink wall with flowers that ran from one end to another. It was beautiful and we made sure to take lots of pictures!
After being ushered into a room, we sat down on those benches; the ones you only see during fashion week. Around the room on the other side were mannequins wearing the Spring/ Summer collection. All the pieces were bright and beautiful, capturing the essence of Summer. And there were quite a few pieces I could see myself wearing.
They had a talk on with LA born stylist duo Brit + Kara, from Elkin and editorial direction Hannah Almassi from Who What Wear UK. It was really interesting to find out more about the world of styling and I picked up a few styling tips from them too!
They highlighted at the beginning there’s a misconception that styling is a glamorous job when it’s actually harder than it looks and there’s added pressure as you become in charge of someone’s image, their brand.
They made comparisons between LA style and British style, exclaiming “you’re too cool for us!” Pointing out how trends don’t really work that well in the UK as every girl is individual and has her own unique style of dressing whether it be classic, punk, posh etc. In Britain, we have a lot of timeless pieces in our wardrobe whereas, in LA, it’s more based on trends.
After the talk, we had the chance to look around the house, which was stunning! In one of the rooms upstairs, they had a few ladies who make some of the bags for Mulberry and I got the chance to ask a few questions I always wanted to know.
It was a very eventful morning and I spent the rest of the day, hanging out my friends. Being a part of the LFW festivities was really fun and an absolute dream. I’m off to the London Fashion Week Festival next weekend, so it’s not over yet!
Love, Aoife x
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