Queen Bey behind the times?

We all watched and drooled at Beyoncé's Glastonbury 2011 performance on Sunday - I wasn't at Glastonbury but I watched from my sofa, fascinated by her every move in that glamourific sequin adorned outfit. Which I have discovered is from the Autumn/Winter 2010 collection of French designer Alexandre Vauthier*.

Alexandre Vauthier. Autumn/Winter 2010.


L-R: Beyoncé at Glastonbury, and on new album cover '4'.

Beyoncé - it's not winter, and it's not 2010. Yet frankly, I don't care because you are mind numbingly awesome - and lets face it a spangly gold sequin number can be carried through to all seasons if you are the hottest woman on earth. Alas, you have redeemed your style status with later appearances in London in your beautiful brights a la Spring/Summer 2011's hottest trend.



So there is my obligatory Beyoncé is amazing post. Did you watch the performance? Did you looooooooove it?

Amelia xo

*Alexandre Vauthier is a Paris based designer who has worked for the likes of Thierry Mugler and Jean Paul Gaultier.

Brunch with Wonderbra...

What a busy week it's been - I have had to break my blog post every day routine to attend to my non internet life, which is shaping up quite nicely!

Starting off with a guest blogging opportunity for the wonderful Wonderbra! The rest of my week consisted of nerves mainly, due to getting my uni results back amongst other things! It was also my Birthday yesterday, and had a family celebration at the weekend and then went to see Derren Brown in London yesterday - That man is literally a genius, wish I could share the show but he makes you promise not to tell anyone! I got possessed though - no joke!

ANYWAY, back to business! I went to visit the lovely Sarah and Laura at Wonderbra who had created a mini Ibiza for us on a dull and dingey London day! They gave us (myself and 4 other lovely bloggers) a sneak peak of the AW11 collection as well as their summer staples - very exciting stuff! I never realised how much thought Wonderbra put into the support of their bras!


Yummy food and Beach hut.


Full effect billboard (but smaller, obvs)


Left: A/W11 Sneak peak!

Right: Classic T-shirt bra and Ultimate strapless - which uses a 'hand shaped' technology to literally hold in the boobs! Clever!


Left: The bra that wonderbra are best known for, reinvented in a lacey set. They use a 'comma' padding, which is removeable, so you can pad out wherever is necessary! Also very clever!

Right: The bra you can wear in 100 different ways, which really fascinated me!


(Couldn't resist a photo opportunity from the Millenium Bridge!)

So there we have it! A lovely morning. Can't wait to do my guest post - think I've got a good idea of what to do! But is there anything you'd like to see?

Amelia xo

Cara Delevingne video...

How cute is this video of Cara Delevingne! Definitely UK model of the moment, having landed a Burberry campaign at just 18 years old! Delevingne says her style is 'confident and casual' and her fail safe outfit is 'jeans, a cool vintage shirt and a burberry leather jacket' - not going to lie if I could afford a burberry leather jacket I would wear it everyday too!

(video from telegraph)

One to Watch: Phoebe English...

Phoebe English a recent MA Graduate from Central St Martins has been awarded the L'Oreal Professionnel Creative Award for her graduate collection. Inspired by surfaces and gravity English made the collection almost entirely from hair. With a vivid imagination and affirmed creative vision, Phoebe English is about to soar in an upward direction.







With the severe aesthetics of an all black collection the surfaces of the hair moving against gravity shows a softness to it. Thus fully understanding English's sources of inspiration.





I am already envisioning Florence Welsh or Cate Blanchette sauntering down the red carpet in the masterpieces! I will definitely be following her post-university adventures, and I hope to see more!

What do you guys think?

Amelia xo
(images catwalking.com)

Menswear: Sibling...

Probably wondering why i'm regurgatating last winter's collections on you. But this video is too good not to watch - and i've only just stumbled across it! I saw the Sibling AW10 Collection in February last year, but this behind the scenes video from the lookbook makes me appreciate it that extra bit more!

Inspired by Finnish Prisons, where inmates had no uniforms and were forced to wear the clothes on their back at the time of conviction, until they literally wasted away. Once this happened they were forced to wear anything from ladieswear to decaying hand me downs.

The terrifying sound of the prisons explains the video, and just why they wanted to portray such pictures...

Sibling comic horror shoot from This is Real Art on Vimeo.

Sibling are knitwear design trio, recently sponsored by NewGen to display an installation for London Fashion Week. Their knits are colourful and well made "for a man bored with the grey V-neck option.”

Definitely check them out. They've had some incredible work!

Resort 2012 Emerging Trends...

Far Away Prints.

Is this a designers way of telling us they need a holiday? The Resort 2012 collections are a wash with prints from the far east, Mexico and Hawaii. Hinting at a print heavy spring/summer 2012. Preen went with a Japanese inspired collection as a tribute to the people of Japan. Where as Henry Holland took his inspiration from Mexican holiday 'Day of the Dead' which is bang on for the predicted Aztec/South American summer trend. Has Prada paved the way for print heavy collections? I'm yet to see a banana in sight...


L-R: House of Holland, Givenchy, Matthew Williamson, Stella McCartney, Preen, Jen Kao.


Cigarette Chic.
No. I'm not condoning smoking. Just an observation of the chicest trouser shape in fashion lands. Continuing to be influenced by the 60s era, a mod trend has surfaced. Love Stella's canary yellow blazer, taking the masculine over feminine approach. Whilst Pringle displays with obvious Pierre Cardin influences with the cut out, high neck top. Louis Vuitton is explicitly displaying it's mod inspiration - nothing does quite say sixties like a vespa helmet.


L-R: Stella McCartney, Emporio Armani, Pringle, Mulberry, Louis Vuitton, Marc by Marc Jacobs.


Urban Bohemia.
Light and loose for the city girl, Urban Bohemia is a new take on relaxed tailoring and sheer fabrics. With slight 70's influences, pleats live on with Celine, and everything is floaty with The Row. The power of the trouser is evident from Burberry, Peter Pilotto and Helmut Lang. With an 'anything you can do we can do better' message to the boys.


L-R: Burberry Prorsum, Celine, The Row, Helmut Lang, Peter Pilotto.


Sports Aesthetic.
Sportswear we can all get along with. Racing stripes and Bomber jackets taken into the modern world, it's that good old argument of Fashion vs Sportswear. Alberta Ferreti does athlete on call, whilst Max Azria conquers Athlete off duty. Possible style tips for the 2012 Olympics - imagine a syncronised swimming team in that Michael Kors ensemble. To. Die. For.


L-R: Alberta Ferreti, Band of Outsiders, Michael Kors, Max Azria, Balenciaga, Prabal Gurung.

What do you think of my emerging trends for Spring/Summer 2012? Are you sporty chic or Mod pro? I'm a Mod Girl. Obsessed with the 60's. Forever and ever amen!

Amelia xo

Proenza Schouler Resort 2012...

Proenza Schouler appear to be setting trends since their Autumn/Winter 2011 collection. Their aztec print style is creeping into Resort 2012 collections, and we are seeing similarities from the Proenza Schouler boys in collections from House of Holland, Jen Kao and Oscar de la Renta!

The pair who are bringing feminine power dressing away from the 80s and into modern times, have taken their cropped tailored jackets, 70s inspired wide leg trousers and shift dresses away from a regal SS11 and into a camo-delic (camoflage/psychodelic) Resort 2012.



With a colour palette of mango, tibetan reds and plum the nearly psychadelic prints resemble a desert horizon from warmer climes.



Retro stylings continue - looks like the 70's trend is for keeps - pleated skirts and button down collars are continuing to take over the resort 2012 collections.



Khaki greens and berry reds add an element of militarian chic to the collection. With a hint of animal print to continue the aboriginal aztec trend!



Who is a Proenza Schouler fan? I love the use of oranges and reds - a not so easy combination!

Amelia xo

Anna Dello Russo's Fashion Shower...

I am speechless. I know this has been out a while now but I have re-stumbled upon it, and I tell you what - it has definitely brightened my day. It is so very very odd that I am actually in love with it? Prancing around in a Mark Fast dress, performing the weirdest dance moves - and why not? Afterall 'when you get comfortable, you never get the look'



Will you be making these shapes on the dancefloor? My favourite is the swirly finger face poke gesture. Genius.

Helena Bonham-Carter for Marc Jacobs: 'Sick'...?

The images from Marc Jacobs' new campaign have been branded 'sick' by many a critic. Purely because her face has been adorned with measles fresh from the tip of a sharpie. Is this a clue to what new face of the brand, Bonham-Carter, has delivered?



Or is everyone just reading far to into it and it's a quirky metaphor for polka dots?

Amelia xo

Meadham Kirchhoff...

Ed Meadham and Ben Kirchhoff form the creative design label Meadham Kirchhoff. Executed and crafted with extreme precision, the innovative designs from this forward thinking duo inject an individuality and unpredictable vision into British fashion. Claimed to be inspired by everything from feminism to Courtney Love, Meadham Kirchhoff have truly earned a space in my favourite designers list!

AW11/12



Reminiscent of Luella's AW08 Collection where Pagan chic meets Cruella De Vil. Layered lace fabrics with velvet pinnafores and folklore emboidery, the attention to detail is perfection. The true inspiration for this collection was infact uniform and uniformity. Explaining the school like uniform, hair bows and socks...with sandals!



Autumnal palettes of burnt sienna and pumpkin oranges in meticulously made woolen and knitted ensembles.





Halloween influences with chunky knitted menswear pieces - including a bewitching broom stick motif.









SS11

Hooray for multi-colours. Slinky, My little Pony, my Barbies after an appointment at Salon de la felt tip. The intriguing strangeness of Meadham Kirchhoff makes a name for itself standing out from any other Spring/Summer 2011 collection. Taking prints to a galactic new level, with exaggerated tie dyes and even new textures of paper snow flake cut outs.



AW10/11

Inspired by princesses and Courtney Love, this AW10 collection looks like dressing up box action on acid. Not afraid to take risks, this luxury label never fails to please me visually. In fact, I would quite like to ambush their brains.



What do you think of the unpredictable duo? Some say they're like marmite - whether you like it visually or not, you can't possibly knock their meticulous craftmanship.

Amelia xo

ACNE Resort 2012...

Acne. The fashionably acceptable Acne that is. 'Ambition to Create Novel Expressions' in other words. The Swedish denim label founded in 1966 showed for the first time in New York, with a 1950s inspired Spring/Summer 2012 Resort collection.



An emphasis on retro stylings and feminine silhouettes saw wide leg trousers billowing beneath tightly fitted body concious dresses and skirts. Johnny Johansson (the founder) called it "Interrupted volume"- I call it bloody brilliant.



Using a rich colour palette of pumpkin oranges, aqua marine greens, denim blues and washed out florals in a mixture of taffeta, organza, silk and linen - the resort collection from ACNE is a far cry from the all denim brand it started as! Style.com has compared it to 'mid-century couture' - lets be honest it's darn right wearable in todays modern climes. I could be persuaded to sell my right arm to fund a piece or two.



My picks would be:
- the aqua marine box sleeve dress.
- the billowing white trousers.
- orange sheer shirt (and complete outfit!)
- lemon yellow biker jacket!

Are you an ACNE fan? I went into Bluebird on Kings Road today, which inspired me to do this post! Was drooling over the denim! ACNE also have their own newspaper, you can pick it up from Magma books in Covent Garden - and many other places around London i'm sure!

Amelia xo