A Day at the Desert...

Dori Tomcsanyi - a bit of a mouthful but worth trying to get your lips around as this designer, hailing from Budapest, is my favourite newbie of the moment. She cites her inspirations as sensual illusions, interesting knit and applications, all relatively middle of the road until you discover she uses cheap discarded materials such as bottle caps and wood as materials for her work. Now everyone knows the common problem with eco friendly design; as much as we all should be doing it and keeping our planet at peace, everyone knows it is awfully hard to pull off a respectively beautiful idea involving being 'green' without looking like you're designing a new line for garbage bin chic. The quietest mention of plastic bags or ring pulls sends me into a whirlwind of dubiousness over the outcome, but feast your eyes on this fabulous set of lookbook images from the Hungarian designer's 2010 collection and be amazed. She's only gone and pulled the whole thing off, and it looks hot.

Uptown Girl...

Imagine the scene. Mid 1950s Los Angeles, the shade of the Beverly Hills hotels and the tree lined boulevards provide a perfect backdrop to Chris Benz's Resort '11. Painfully elegant with a Californian twist, this totally wearable collection is potently quirky in the subtle way that makes designers like Benz so successful. It screams amazing, but you just cant explain exactly why you love it so. Maybe it's the delectable ice cream colour palette you can wear to a business lunch,  or the drop waist dresses perfect for sipping cocktails in a hotel bar. Personally, I'll take those billowing shorts, kitten collared blouses and spine tinglingly large necklaces in every colour. Pretty please.

 

Fly Little Bird...

Drat, all sold out. Well that saves me £365.

Playing the Field...

After getting back to grips with my Abercrombie project it seems I am now channelling an 80's American High School student in my fashion preferences. I choose not to phase through trends as quickly as others, but rather add to my collection of small obsessions every now and again, and I have a feeling this one is a keeper. Anything that vaguely resembles Breakfast Club swing shirts and Gilbert Grape oversized tees has my heart all a flutter. And just as this fancy is reaching its peak, along comes Karla Spetic. Awash with pastel colours and unconventional cuts this collection is far from sickly sweet. The bold two ply sweaters and sharply cut tailored jackets give a gentle push into 80s chic and I have fallen hard for her orange person print two piece. I think she's channeling what I'm channeling...

Last night Phil Collins saved my life...

A little sketch from my Abercrombie project - more to come in time

Heralding...

I like Gareth Pugh. A tutor of mine, who was also once his, told him she hated his work and he would never get anywhere with it. Suprise suprise he is now one of England's front runners when it comes to pushing the boundaries of what can be considered fashion. It just goes to show you can't keep a good guy down. And so to introduce Gemma Slack, a former apprentice of Mr. Pugh. Technically, so as this theory goes, I should also like her. And oh, do I like her very much. A textural leather debut collection with lovely little chainmail elements, she is inspired by gothic architecture and excels in tailoring - one to keep a beady eye on in 2010...

Gemma Slack

Silk Sil Vous Plait...

I do not profess to be an avid Preen fan. They are bad sexy and bodycon, not frill sexy and fluttery - everything I am most definitely not wowed by in my little world of pretty things. However, they seem to have taken a sharp turn into something quite fantastical with their latest collection. There is not a figure hugging dress in sight. Oversized jumpers, lacey bits and draping? Yes please!

Enduring Love...

I have been somewhat neglectful of my blog over the last week, but I feel this will make up for it. Alexander McQueen's final collection is absolutely breathtaking. The level of detailing is far and beyond what most could even deign to imagine; the silhouettes, the colour, the genius. No one but this man could have done it better. It brings me close to tears every time I remember that this beautiful talent is no more.

City of Angels...

21 artists were asked to put their work up on a series of decommissioned billboards around LA and West Hollywood. In a bid to spread a little happiness across the city, this project brings art to the masses quietly and simply, and they call it 'How Many Billboards?'

See them all here

The Art of Keeping Warm...

Just as I was getting excited about ditching the coat and gloves from my daily routine with the oncoming of Spring, along comes Missoni’s AW10 collection that makes me want to jump right back into cold blustery days with streamlined layered looks to die for. Never failing to provide the most sumptuous of knitwear, Missoni has succeeded in providing us with such perfect, thrown together looks you need the whole collection in your wardrobe in order to recreate it! I see what they did there…

Marchesa - FW Highlights...

New York. Marchesa. There is lace, there is draped organza and french chiffon abound, and most of all there are feathers. I am reeling; how did I miss this?! Granted I was on a jaunt to Croatia for the weekend but this AW10 collection has instantly made it into my top top all time faves. Its just, so, beautiful. Insanely intricate detailing and the most delicately scultped of fabrics that I couldn't even begin to fathom how they were constructed. Inspired by the performer Lola Montez, Marchesa has engulfed the models in fairytale tulle ruffles, shooting star embroidery and circus style tailoring to within an inch of their lives, and I am ever so thankful.

Photos courtesy of Style.com - see more here

Louise Goldin - FW Highlights...

Being a knitwear student, Louise Goldin was on my radar the second her yarn clad models debuted her first collection in SS08. I feel quite a strong patriotism towards her as she flies the flag for British knitwear talent and her AW10 collection hasn't left me disappointed. Her satisfyingly technical pieces once again grace the London catwalks, this time influenced by ''space military'' yet developing the shapes she so loves to use. Her quilted geometrical themes interspersed with leather and fur prove that knitwear can not only be the sole fabrication of a whole outfit, but it can also be super flawless and bang on trend...

All photos courtesy of Style.com