Craig Lawrence Spring/Summer 2011 collection at London Fashion Week

Titled ‘Siren Mermaids’ the collection was inspired by Sirens of Greek mythology and the fantasy world of mermaids.

Using cutting edge materials such as Japanese Kyototex metallic yarns in his knitwear techniques, Lawrence enables the garments to glisten as if wet.  Colours are peacock green, silver and white.

Long tube maxi dresses cling to the models like mermaid tails with the two toned greens and silver creating the illusion of fish scales. The garments are also turned inside out to show web like textures and chain mail detailing which adds to the illusion.

A white strapless tube maxi is adorned with loose long yarns like floating seaweed,.....

......whilst an empire line maxi is covered with feather-like yarns to represent sea foam.  

 Very mystical.

Bernard Chandran Spring/Summer 2011 collection at London Fashion Week

Day 2 on London Fashion Week and another early morning start on a chilly day. This time at the Off schedule location of the edgier Old Sorting Office’s industrial hall in new Oxford Street

BERNARD CHANDRAN

Titled ‘A Modern Romance’  Chandran keeps pastel hues to a minimum preferring the richer tones of golds, greens, silver and black. 

His clean rectangular silhouettes are given texture through the use of a Malay technique called kerrawang, to create linear prints.

Silk organza sleeveless tunic dresses show a military feel with oversized floating flap pockets and boxed sleeves, whilst the prints reflect the Malaysian rainforest.

Metallics bring fluidity and a sci-fi feel ......

......with liquid silver pieces and.....

.....as multicoloured panels on dresses. Here we still see the floating pockets and the boxed sleeves become more exaggerated.

New fabrics used are lurex silk and patent leather.

Evening wear in the guise of embellished structured lapels, one with an extremely low neckline which kept falling off the models shoulder,.....

.....with the last outfit resembling the 1920’s with its long straight camel maxi and ostrich feathers capelet.   

Unfortunately for one model the winged styled shoes with their high and extremely thin killer heels almost made her crash land.

Jena.Theo's Spring/Summer 2011 Collection on the Catwalk at London Fashion Week

The designer duo’s (Jenny Holmes and Dimitris Theocharidis) collection titled ‘Bandoliers’ is inspired by the spirit of India with a touch of 19^th Century Victorian British colonialism.

Silk turbans adorned the models’ heads........

...... handcrafted Indian trim embellished flowing fabrics and skinny pants whilst fabric versions of the bandoliers feature as low slung belts, cuffs, necklines and garters.

Denim creates contrasting structure in shorts, jackets and dresses. Colours are either block pastel hues of iris blue and dusty violet pink or raw ecru. The raw ecru splashed with hand painted colour was inspired by the Holi festival when coloured pigment and herbs are thrown in a joyful celebration.

Stiletto platform shoes were adorned with raw painted gold leaf, as was the model’s arms, ankles, stomachs and even one nipple.

Favourites:

The pink shorts and top set adorned with intertwined bandolier belts and Indian trim. And the corseted iris blue mini dress with a graduating hemline at the back , Indian trim down one side and a on the other  a take on the Victorian bustle.

The show ended with the duo’s interpretation of the Victorian dress with a mini dress version of the cage crinoline  

Caroline Charles Spring/Summer 2011 collection at London Fashion Week

There was a mixed reaction to this sleek ladylike lux inspired collection as you instantly thought ‘mother of the bride’ due to the lengths of the skirts which are either on the knee or just below............

..............., plus the accessories of hats, long gloves and kitten heels .

For day wear there are sleeveless dresses in brightly coloured 50’s print floral silk, polka dots and animal prints. Suits have full or pencil skirts and boxy jackets in white, black and yellow.

All cinched in with skinny leather belts of various colours.  Black Capri pants and leggings give a more youthful feel worn with tunic shirts in a monochrome check and a leopard print. Although not sure on the skull caps which looked suspiciously like rubber swimming hats.

 For the evening, dress shapes vary from the shift dress to the full volume skirt.

Colours are of soft golds.....

....., pearls, reds and black. 

LBDs are accessorised with diamond and pearls. Lots of sequins and beads. 

Favourites:

The leopard print shift dress with draped neckline......

........And the monochrome dog tooth twin set edged with red.

This collection probably won’t appeal to the younger woman but then again the it is right on track for Ascot, Goodwood and Henley’s where fashion rules are not to be broken if you want to get in.

Bunmi Koko Spring/Summer 2011 show at London Fashion Week

Kicking off the Vauxhall Fashion Scout at Freemasons Hall Covent Garden was Bunmi Koko.

To celebrate the start of the show a lone Ekpe man danced in a bright red and yellow masquerade costume looking very much like a large pom pom.  It was hard to visualise the collection usurping this, but amazingly it did. 

Hear we saw no pretty summer pastels or girlie styles.

Colours are bold monochrome, bright reds and burnt ochre. Prints are Ekpe, leopard and tie dye designed to create fiery flames. The style epitomises the confident feminine woman who knows what she wants and aims to get it.  Titled ‘Matriarchy’ the collection celebrates female empowerment whilst fusing cultures of Nigeria and the UK.

Callum Best in the background

This is power dressing with a wild twist – sharp tailoring, enhanced waists, and strong shoulders embellished with pom poms, beads and fringing. An eclectic mixture of fabrics and patterns are used together such as tweeds, organza and silk....

......– all accessorised with ornate feathered masks.

Favourites:

The black body con short dress with gold embellishments around the neckline and gold fringing on the skirt and tops of the arms. And of course the silk jersey Ekpe print fringed leggings in monochrome.

Paul Costelloe's Summer/Spring 2011 catwalks show opens up London Fashion Week.

Winter is nearly upon us so our thoughts turn to Spring/summer as LFW SS11 begins. Even the weather warmed to the event as it went from crisp chilly days to end with blazing hot sunshine.
Early on Day one and opening the show at the BFC marquee catwalk was Paul Costelloe. Still sleepy, frantic shouting backstage put a smile on our bleary eyed faces.

PAUL COSTELLOE

Titled ‘A Long Day’s Night’, the collection is girlie and described as ‘Tinkerbell turned party girl’.

Cropped biker jackets are thrown in to give a harder edge but are softened with the use of lighter colours and soft sheen fabrics.
Skirt lengths go to the extremes - either short or maxis. The short skirts are fun and flirty whilst the maxis are elegant and ethereal – one a sensual diaphanous fabric with modesty only prevailing through the pale pink and blue zigzag wave pattern.

Colours are sugar pink, mint green, silver, pearl, greys and navy. The pinks formed abstract checks with navy and white, lightly spice up graphic patterns with pale apricot, zigzagged with pale blue in waves and graduated alone from light to a bolder hue. The mint green was refreshing in a shiny jacquard fabric.
Textures come in metallic weaves and twill, patterns in abstract checks and graphics

Large bows don the back of low backlines.

The short skirts swirled in skater style, cocooned legs in tulip and puff ball shapes and looked art deco in a dropped waist pleated style.

The more interesting were the silver embossed puff ball dress tied at the bottom to form the shape of a large bow.........

........and the jacquard mint green dress looking futuristic with its stiff 3 tiered skirt.

Favourites:

The loose fitting hooded shiny grey jacket with short puff sleeves – it had a Red riding hood feel to it (minus the red of course) especially teamed with the pearl twill weave skater dress.........

.........And the Grecian goddess style dress in pearl with its short puffed out mini skirt.

To keep the smile on our faces, we were treated to Costelloe’s six sons strutting down the catwalk (albeit nervously) suited and booted.

New Melvita Organic and Sulphate Free Hair Care Products

Melvita, the French organic beauty brand, have formulated a new range of sulphate free hair care products. With ten new shampoos and three conditioners to choose from, you are sure to find the one just right for your hair type.

You’ll be forgiven if you have not heard of this brand before because they only came to our shores this year.

 History of Melvita

Biologist Bernard Chevilliat founded the brand in 1983 when he started creating a cosmetic range based on products from the beehive.  He’d become fascinated by bees and the vital role they played in the eco system, and so took up beekeeping professionally. Using his knowledge of biology and his love of beekeeping, he was able to develop personal care products as close to nature as possible

He chose the name from the Latin word Mel meaning honey and Vita meaning life. 

In 2002 Melvita was one of the first companies to obtain the ecological and organic ECOCERT certification

Back to the new sulphate free hair care products.

 You may ask why so many different shampoos? Melvita believe that it is the shampoo which is the foundation for healthy hair so it is important to choose the right one for your hair type. Therefore they decided to develop individual shampoos to target all hair types.  

For hair that is dull, coarse, brittle or prone to breakage and split ends, they have two shampoos: one for dry hair and one for very dry hair.

For hair that has been chemically treated or coloured, has styling damage, breaks easily or lacks shine and vitality, they recommend two shampoos: one for tired hair and one especially for blonde hair.

Other shampoos include normal, oily, anti-dandruff and frequent wash shampoo

Once the right shampoo has been chosen and used, it’s the turn of the conditioner.

Silicone-based conditioners coat the hair shaft and only give the illusion of health, so Melvita’s three conditioners are not only sulphate free, but they are also silicone-free to actually complement and further enhance the results of the shampoos by adding extra moisture and nourishment.

Initially, the comb doesn’t glide through wet hair as smoothly as when using silicone based conditioners, but this is a small price to pay for healthier hair.

And why sulphate free?

 Apparently most shampoos contain sulphate to help the shampoo lather up but there are queries as to whether it is actually good for the hair. So without compromising on quality and effectiveness, Melvita decided to forego the sulphate and instead use an abundance of alternative natural ingredients to gently care for your hair and scalp. Admittedly the shampoos do not lather up well on the first application but by the second application the lather is fine.

Soon to come

Other hair care products to look forward to will be hair treatment masks and a detangling spray.

And still in the early stages so not yet confirmed but we can hope and cross our fingers for is a hairspray

Where to buy

At the moment, the Melvita range can be purchased at Whole Food Stores, selected John Lewis stores and online from www.melvita.co.uk and www.lookfantastic.com. But as from November you’ll be able to leisurely browse through all the range in the first UK Melvita dedicated store. The location will be in our vibrant and historic Covent Garden, but the decor will be all Parisian vintage chic – the best of both worlds.

Other Melvita products on Amazon .com