Topic: News

A Celebration of British Fashion & Beauty

 

The winners of the Queens Award for Enterprise, an honour given to British companies who have proven they are “outstanding in their field”, have been announced recently with several hugely popular British companies gaining much-deserved recognition.

This has been a great moment for British fashion, among other categories of recipients, as it not only recognises the hard work and talent of those influencing British fashion today, but recognises the huge influence Britain has on the international fashion.

Brands within the fashion industry which have been recognised this year include the Cambridge Satchel Company, maternity fashion label Tiffany Rose, and nail polish masterminds Nails Inc.

The Cambridge Satchel Company has been recognised within the category of International Trade thanks to their contribution towards exports. This hugely popular company began on the founder’s kitchen table in 2008 and has since grown into a huge international force to be reckoned with. It has graced the shoulders of celebrities like Zooey Deschanel, Fearne Cotton and Elle Fanning, and it’s even been on the Christine Baranski shoulders on the TV set of The Good Wife.

Tiffany Rose was also honoured within the International Trade accolade. The maternity label has experienced a massive growth in over sea sales over the past three years, in parts thanks to its celebrity fans.

Stars including Holly Willoughby, Emma Bunton and Myleene Klass have appeared on television and within magazines wearing the stunning clothing offered by Tiffany Rose, meaning international interest has soared.

Finally, Nails Inc was given the Queen’s Award for Enterprise due to the international success of the brands. Established in 1999, the nail polish label creates and sells not only products for use at home, but has nail bars world-wide for customers to use and enjoy – and the best thing about all these brands you ask, they’re all created on home soil!

See here for the list of the queens award recipients.

Shop less, Kiss more!

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I already mentioned Vivienne Westwood’s Climate Revolution back in November when I got chatting to her. I am really pleased to hear that so many people are supporting her campaign. You don’t have to tie yourself to any trees (unless you want to that is), even small things such as having your heating on a few degrees less and recycling as much as you can will help. Three easy things you can do which the campaign promotes are:

DO SOMETHING
1 SHOP LESS KISS MORE – self explanatory, pucker up!
2 BUTTON UP – wear another jumper before cranking the heating up
3 TRAVEL LIGHT – think about taking a holiday at home rather than jetting off

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 One big supporter of the campaign is Lush, who will be hosting sign up desks in store this week (until 14th Jan). If you drop in you can add your name to the email list to be kept up to date with the campaign, find out more info and pick up a free badge designed by Vivienne which you can wear to show your support. You can see me wearing mine here.

You can also pick up some Lush bargains as they have their Xmas stock reduced to half price. I picked up a fab hat box full of goodies which will last me all year – very economical! Even better all the packaging is not just recyclable but the boxes are perfect for keeping stuff in. I’ve had my last hat box for a few years now and use it to store freebie samples so I always have a stock of mini’s for traveling. I will share some product reviews once I’ve dipped in, the only think I’ve tried so far is the Bubblegum lip scrub, which is amazing. Hmm what was that about all the kissing again?

Join the Climate Revolution

Shopping Night presented by MasterCard

Who: MasterCard Priceless London

Where: SEVEN DIALS AND ST MARTIN’S COURTYARD

What: 20% OFF CHRISTMAS SHOPPING NIGHT

When: 5-9pm, Thursday 29th November, 2012

MasterCard Priceless London presents a fabulous shopping evening in Seven Dials and St. Martin’s Courtyard, with over 120 venues and stores offering a 20% Off Christmas Shopping Night! The stores will be getting into the spirit with DJs, live music, makeovers, gifts with purchase and complimentary food and drinks on offer for a seriously fun evening.

Some of the amazing festive offers include:

  • £50 luxury goodie bag for the first 200 shoppers to spend £100 on their MasterCard in conjunction with their shopping ticket. Claim from 5.30pm onwards at 15 Shorts Gardens.
  • Show your ticket and enjoy a complimentary Courvoisier cocktail in the St Martin’s Courtyard’s Pop-Up Bar.
  • Complimentary festive manicures by WAH Nails from 5.30pm at 15 Shorts Gardens for the first 75 shoppers who spend over £50 during the Shopping Night.
  • Christmas will come early for 150 shoppers who will be selected at random and presented with a Golden Ticket for a lucky dip for prizes worth up to £150.
  • Look out for our Black Cab photo booth in which you can capture a fun snap of you and your shopping friends.
  • Vintage Tricycles serving complimentary mulled wine.
  • Get a helping hand choosing your Christmas gifts with our inspiration window at 15 Shorts Garden. Shoppers will also have the chance to win the entire £1000 Christmas Gift Window on the Seven Dials’ Facebook page.
  • A host of in-store activity including DJ The Dressing Parlour at Urban Outfitters, a Bombay Sapphire pop-up cocktail bar and  tarot card reader at Diesel’s Flagship Store, Beauty Ambassador makeovers and a ‘gift’ balloon launch at Bare Escentuals, Kopapa’s Peter Gordon and head chef Selin serving warming snacks and Kopapa & Sipsmith’s Hot Gin Punch from their pop-up stall, DJ Sets from Breton and Kiwi and complimentary asahi beer at TopMan General Store, free consultations and complimentary fringe trims from the hair-care experts at Sassoon Salon, plus savour hot pork belly sandwiches and mulled wine from the Jamie’s Italian stall in St Martin’s Courtyard.

Check out Sevendials.co.uk for more details and T&C’s

MasterCard want its cardholders to feel special and if you do own a MasterCard, you can take your Christmas shopping night even further. You can check out all the extra deals exclusive to you here: https://www.priceless.com/london/offer/Seven-Dials?productNumber=136&preview=&cid=64085 The Mastercard deals are available now until December 31st.

It certainly sounds like a fun filled evening and the perfect chance to indulge in some Christmas shopping. Nothing beats a lovely warm cup of mulled wine to keep you warm between shops. I also really like the sound of the makeovers, so you can get glammed up then pop over to the cocktail bar for a tarot reading. Sounds more like a fun night out than the usual monotonous shopping trip.

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Vivienne Westwood speaks out for Azza Suleiman

Amnesty International UK have just finished producing a video with Vivienne Westwood. Every winter, they ask people to send letters to those imprisoned unfairly, targeted for speaking out or seeking justice against all odds. A simple letter can bring hope, comfort and support to those suffering such human rights abuses. But it also shows those in authority that we will not stand by as they try to oppress such individuals or communities.

This year, Vivienne Westwood has come on board to support the campaign. Together they have made a film highlighting the injustice and abuse experienced by Egyptian woman Azza Suleiman, who was beaten unconscious simply for trying to help another protester. No one has been held accountable for the assault.

In the video, Vivienne talks about how it was a sense of injustice that first got her involved in punk.

You can find more information on Azza Suleiman here: http://action.amnesty.org.uk/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1194&ea.campaign.id=17021 where you can find details on how you can help, be it signing the petition to the Egyptian president or sending a card of support to Azza.

Those of you who know me already know of my connections with Egypt so this is a cause close to my heart in many ways. I think it is wonderful that someone like Vivienne will lend not only their support but their celebrity to highlight cases of injustice.

Whats on – Exhibition: Sneaking Into Fashion

 


If you are in London any time this week I recommend you go down to Convent Garden to check out the Sneaking into Fashion exhibition. Curated by Tory Turk this exhibition delves into the role of the trainer in pop-culture. Featuring many famous designs from Adidas to Vivienne Westwood, a must see.
I will be going down next week and I can let you in on a secret – there will be vintage Vivienne Westwood shoes. You might recognise the Westwood Tracey trainers above? Yep they are mine which I have loaned for the exhibition, so go say hi.

Lacoste Live!

It’s not often you meet a crocodile whilst strolling the streets of London, however I did just that! This huge snapper guards the Lacoste store,don’t worry though he is chained up. (Just to clarify it isn’t a real croc, it’s just a model).

Lacoste are introducing Lacoste Live! a celebration of new music and street art combined with a cool, vintage inspired new collection. It has a preppy, sports wear edge lots of great knits and checks. You can check it out in this clip and see collection at Lacoste Live!

 

 

Viral video by ebuzzing

 

 

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Video: Really NEET?

Viral video by ebuzzing

Neet = Not in Education, Employment or Training

You don’t need me to tell you about the huge number of young people who through no fault of their own (*Side eyes Just Call Me Dave*) have found themselves having left school with no job or no chance of further eduction. It’s tough and it’s getting tougher. United Colours of Benetton have launched their UNHate campaign with the aims to help support unemployed young people (18-30 year olds) with a project they have created that will be beneficial to their community. In essence challenging the stereotype often put upon young people who are out of work. They aren’t lazy, they just need to be given a chance. You can find out more on the Unemployee of the Year contest 2012 webpage.

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Video: Kool Karl for Hogan

 

Viral video by ebuzzing

 

Just watched this new Karl Lagerfeld for Hogan video (see I’m watching videos I really am at home ‘resting’). It’s a behinds the scenes look at how they styled the collection with Karl’s inimitable flare. What more can I say, you know how much I adore Karl, he has me lusting after a snug puffer jacket now!
(Warning: the video contains strobing)

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Events: Forever 21 Launch, Manchester

This morning I was invited to the Manchester launch of US store Forever 21. I first visited F21 when I was in the States, there seemed to be one in every mall and it was the go to place for a reasonably priced fashion hit. What I liked about it was that even though the prices were low the products were good, no direct runway rip just cool, trend led designs. I was also really impressed with the boutique feel of the store which I was pleased to see brought over to the UK, checker board tile floors and ornate tables stacked with jars of bright coloured accessories.

It seems I wasn’t the only one keen to check out the new store, as people camped out over night to be first in line, with a chance for the first 300 customers to receive a free surprise gift card – £10-£200 up for grabs. By midday the check out queue snaked all around the store, proof that everyone was impressed with what they found. My top picks were the faux-leather and denim bustiers – perfect over shirts, a printed pair of orange and blue chunky heels and the stacks of costume jewellery, spiked bracelets and statement collars. I didn’t have time to joint the crazy queue but I will be returning soon to pick up a few pieces.

You can seem lots more in my  FaceBook Album! Forever 21 is also available online.

Have you been to Forever 21?

Maison Martin Margiela for H&M Nov 15th 2012

H&M announces an exclusive collaboration with Maison Martin Margiela for autumn/winter 2012 on November 15th, for both men and women to launch online and in 230 stores Worldwide.

This I admit did shock me, I mean MMM who are at the forefront of conceptual design how will that translate into cheap clothes? Perhaps we will see the basics of the design philosophy, with oversized white shirts and angular blazers. I wonder if a Tabi boot hybrid will be included? I hope not. I have to say I am very skeptical about this collection, MMM always seemed so pure and untainted by the fast fashion and commercial band wagon. The designer himself choosing to say in the shadows, something of a recluse, even his clothing labels with their numbered sequence are somewhat anonymous.

When the brand was bought out by Diesel in 2002 there where whispers that Martin was not happy and wanted to leave due to creative differences, or perhaps more simply he wanted to retire. The head designer’s job was reportedly offered to Raf Simons in 2008 and later Haider Ackermann who both declined. It wasn’t until 2009 when it was officially announced that Martin had not been working for the house for sometime, it was also announced that no one designer would take the helm, but the label would be designed by a small team. Many true MMM fans have stated their disappointment with the brand since Martin left, perhaps the H&M collaboration is being done in attempts to bring a fresh audience to the brand which must be suffering since Martin took leave.

“MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA is one of the most important and influential fashion houses of the past three decades. I am so excited by this collaboration which will give fashion lovers around the world the chance to wear special pieces by MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA. This collaboration will be a great and memorable fashion moment“, says Margareta van den Bosch, creative advisor at H&M.

“We are very happy to present MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA pieces with H&M, offering a new interpretation of our vision. The democracy of our fashion has always been at the centre of our creativity, and the collaboration with H&M allows us to push this instinct further. We will bring together the contrasting universes of the two houses in ways that will surprise all.” MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA

ABOUT MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA

MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA is a French fashion house which has always followed its own path, often outside the conventional fashion framework. The Maison believes in the absolute importance of the collaborative nature of its team rather than the individual, where its ideals are founded in the desire for concept and creativity. Constantly questioning the norms of fashion and presenting its pieces through the technique of deconstruction and transformation, the collections reinvent volumes, modify shapes, change the original use and movement of garments and derail classic notions of fashion.

For more information about MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA: www.maisonmartinmargiela.com