Milan Fashion Week: Prada

Prada

Innocent glamour: Mondrian inspired check, sequins, fur, snakeskin, Sixties and Twenties inspired perfection. Last autumn/winter's Prada woman is now a more innocent girl; love the drop waisted coats, the flashes of red and the python boots! 

Marique Schimmel / Valerija Kelava

Tati Cotliar / Fei Fei Sun

Marike Le Roux / Daphne Groeneveld

Lindsay Wixon / Arizona Muse

Siri Tollerod / Anabela Belikova / Tali Lennox

Loving the new girls in this show, Prada always has the freshest faces first.

Fashion: Mr Porter

Inbetween the coverage of A/W 11/12 London Fashion Week and Milan Fashion Week (which starts today!), I thought I'd focus on a menswear post. My boyfriend is a big fan of fashion, is very stylish and wears some great brands which I love too. Which is why I, and he, are very excited about the launch of Mr Porter, the brother site to Net-a-Porter and new luxury e-retailer exclusively for men. In such a womenswear dominated market, it is great to finally have a man-focused fashion outlet where my boyfriend (and myself) can go "Ooh" and "Aah" at some truly beautiful menswear items.


Firstly, a layout designer and lover of all things graphic, I am in LOVE with the website design; I love the classic fonts, the beautiful colours (which remind me very much of a menswear grooming product trend report I worked on in November) and the sophistication of  the site.

Stand out classic pieces available through Mr Porter already:

Burberry Prorsum Double Breasted Trench Coat 

- a timeless design classic, a must have.

Maison Martin Margiela Slim Pleated Sleeve Shirt

- because everyone needs Margiela in their wardrobe

Gucci Slim Cotton Trousers

- navy is my favourite colour and these trousers are fantastic for casual or formals looks

Paul Smith Striped cotton blend socks

- to brighten up those toes 

Church's Classic Oxford Brogues

- the ultimate brogue for a man, fantastic is black or deep brown. 

I can see this whole look being on my boyfriend's birthday list - better get saving!

London Fashion Week: Topshop Unique

Woof woof. Once again, Unique injects a bit of fun into fashion: for Autumn/Winter 2011/12, it was all about 101 Dalmatians and Cruella De Ville - seeing spots becoming a bit trend for the season. Loved the ridiculously cute hair, with some beautiful spot, dog and bridge prints, peter pan collars, the faux fur...everything!

Topshop Unique

Julia Nobis / Hannah Holman / Tali Lennox

Sofia Fisher / Sara Blomqvist / Charlotte Free

Melissa Tammerjin / Valerija Kelava / Kirsi Pyrhonen

London Fashion Week: Jaeger, Jonathan Saunders and House of Holland

London Fashion Week is a great passion of mine; I worked backstage at some fantastic shows between 2008-2010 and it was incredible being able to witness first hand the vast amount of work that goes into putting a fashion show together (I loved it so much, I based my entire final major project at university around it!). Whilst it is incredibly sad not working on LFW currently, it is interesting to have a different view on it this time - from blogs to tweets, it is great to have the time to sit and sift through everyones comments on every show (and to be able to watch most of them online!) Here are my favourite shows so far...

Jaeger

Stuart Stockdale is no reiventing the wheel here, but is creating fabulous wearable and commercial clothes for a mass audience. Stand out pieces; the hot pink silk shirt, the beautiful outwear, the tomato red colour pops and the return of shearling! (and great casting again by my former employer Russell Marsh).

Jourdan Dunn / Maddie Kulicka

Suzie Bird / Marike Le Roux

Auguste Abeliunaite Tomasuite / Sara Blomqvist / Maddie Kulicka

Jonathan Saunders

One of the most genuine designers I have ever met, it was an absolute pleasure to work on Jonathan's shows for  2 seasons and work alongside his partner Adam, who is a very dedicated hard working associate casting director (and former model for Dries, Prada etc!)

This was Jonathan's best ever collection on my opinion; the use of colour in the tropical prints was transfixing and the shapes very wearable and;  Love the Louboutin shoes as well! 

Suzie Bird / Melissa Tammerjin

Kirsi Pyrhonen / Fabiana Mayer

Sara Blomqvist / Janice Alida

Marike Le Roux / Jourdan Dunn

House Of Holland

Somehow looking at this collection reminded me of Luella: for a cool young British girl who takes inspiration from her country's icons and puts a twist of things - tweed paired with striped socks and neon trims, a fantastic collection. Love love love the 'Hawt Couture' tee - a must have!

Tali Lennox / Jessica Clarke

Amanda Norgaard / Kelli Lumi / Auguste Abeliunaite Tomasuite

All photos © Style.com

New York Fashion Week: Proenza Schouler

Proenza Schouler

Joan Smalls / Jourdan Dunn

Julia Nobis / Mirte Maas

Katlin Aas / 

Proenza heart print this season; everything from tribal-inspired, to Art Deco. Especially love the striking orange coat on Joan Smalls; can see that beautiful shade of orange being the colour of the season for A/W 11/12 following on from it's slightly brighter counterpart in Spring/Summer 2011.

The catwalk video can still be viewed here

All images via fashiogonerogue 

New York Fashion Week: Marc Jacobs, Rodarte, Marc by Marc Jacobs

Marc Jacobs

Dotty about Marc.

Alana Zimmer / Ruby Aldridge

Tati Cotliar / Juju Ivanyuk

Julia Nobis / Valerija Kelava

Such a strong collection for A/W 11/12. I want to wear dots and spots in every size next season! Still loving the longer lengths and socks with sandals.

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Rodarte

"The Prairie Home Companion"

Melissa Johannsen  / Ieva Laguna

Liu Wen / Dorothea Barth Jorgensen

Esme Wissels / Lindsey Wixson

My dream collection! So excited by the geometric panels, polka dots and the longer lengths. I want to be a Prairie girl! Loved the light installation on the catwalk too, a fantastic backdrop to a beautiful collection by the Mulleaveys.

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Marc by Marc Jacobs 

Jacquelyn Jablonski / Ruby Alridge

Dempsey Stewart / Alana Zimmer

Constance Jablonski / Nimue Smit

Marc by Marc Jacobs went down a more Seventies route for A/W 11/12, following on from the Seventies influences seen throughout the collections for Spring/Summer 2011. Love the shorts suit on Constance, the leopard print and that fantastic shade of green.

All images © Style.com

New York Fashion Week: Favourites so far

BCBG Max Azria

Frida Gustavvson

Arizona Muse

Julija Step

Arizona Muse

We're definitely going to be covering it all up for A/W 11/12 if BCBG is anything to go buy! Very unstructured, flowing shapes. Designers are still loving the bright and neon shades seen in SS11 but with a warmer tone for A/W 11/12

Alexander Wang

Katlin Aas

Julia Nobis 

Alla K

Jourdan Dunn

Frida Gustavsson

It is no secret that Alexander Wang is one of favourite designers; everything he creates is so sexy, strong and wearable. Absolutely loving the jackets with fur collars and the knitwear...and on a beauty note, I am a fan of a strong brow...great to see them executed so well on the catwalk. Great casting for A/W 11/12...a return for Katlin Aas and Alla K, who both perfectly personify Wang's cool-girl attitude.

Victoria Beckham

Daiane Conterato

Sara Blomqvist

Anabela Belikova

Janice Seinen

VB's 5th runway collection moves away from her usual second skin dresses, and embraces a more colourful palette for A/W and an unstructured (!!) tunic dress. Christian Louboutin created the beautiful footwear for the show and VB showcased coats for the first time - the mackintosh style belted coat is my favourite piece for A/W 11/12 so far.

All images © Style.com