Look Magazine Show

Hannah Farrer, Look mag intern and dresser for the day at The Look Show at Westfield Stratford City!! Lil bit excited! J
Ok . . . so the last few weeks have been a bit manic, in a good way. I started at The London College of Style and started interning for my fave high street fashion magazine, Look. It looks like I started at the right time as myself and a few other girls at the mag got asked if we wanted to be dressers for the Look show. We were all very shattered from a full week at the office 9-5, but couldn't really say no, so off we headed on a very early Saturday morning to the newly opened Westfield Stratford City, which was exciting for us all anyway; we wanted to go for a cheeky shop but nope! No time!

We arrived and all got given a Look pass card, with Front of House on the front, we all felt rather spesh!! J Walking around with them on display, haha!

The atmosphere was great backstage as we each got given our own model to dress, the heat was a bit much at times as the venue started to fill up, and when I say fill up, there is no way any more bodies could have squeezed into Westfield that day, you people are crazeeeeey!! I think if I had come to go shopping, I would have taken one look, turned around and gone back home, it must have been taking people about 10 minutes to walk to the very next shop! I like shopping to be relaxing, and that felt like a cattle market! SWEATY!!!!

Back to our models; I expected hello or what's your name...the first thing my model said to me was "I feel really sick". Oh god! She's gonna throw up all over the clothes I've just steamed, panic! No don't panic, its fine, sit her down, offer water n all that. She wasn't sick, just didn't talk to me very much, oh well! I did the job I was asked to, with her being rushed into each outfit, but she looked hot whether she felt sick or not!

We found out that Sarah Harding was going to be leading the catwalk, so everyone seemed to have their eyes peeled for her, I couldn't believe how tiny she was, but looked very confident leading the way in a statement Mango dress to start us off.

I was most impressed by Dionne Bromfield who opened the show with her new single 'yeah right', what an amazing voice for a young girl, she's definitely one to watch! Amongst the guests were Kelis, Alesha Dixon, girl group Parade and Kimberley Wyatt, all looking luverly! A great day with the girls but boy was I glad to see my bed!! 

Punky Pixie

My sisters have commented that they're envious when, shopping with me, as they scan rails of clothing or peer into clothes store windows, I constantly mutter "I could make that". Most of the time I just use it as an excuse to show off how now I can analyze how to make clothes, their patterns etc. Heck, I think my whole 'I could make that' attitude even started at an early age; I remember watching toy commercials, longing for the amazing play sets for my dolls, but instead of begging my parents to buy 'em for me, I thought 'heck, I'll make it myself '; I'd look at the catalogue and construct the toy out of blocks and paper: my Barbie Dream Ice Cream Parlor was way cooler than anything Mattel came up with!

It recently hit me that even though I've looked at these trends, just how much I'd love to try and make an exact replica of that item, something that's uniquely mine (and saves me a pretty penny while staying with the trends), that I've never actually done it.

So, I'm going to find a trendy piece, research the creator's process, and repeat it, only with my own ingenious (though most likely completely amateurish) way. I really am part of the hands-on creative culture today. Anyone can buy a top from H&M, but you know how more amazing that feels is wearing something you created yourself and how great it is to show it off, knowing it's unique and unlike anything else?

While cleaning my room, I came across some flyers I'd picked up at London Fashion Week this spring. Amongst them I found the postcard from a jewellery stall entitled Little Glass Clementine.

Clementine James is unlike most jewellers today. Her approach; she takes on commissions from clients who bring in a collection of items they consider precious (lockets, antiques, stones, chains etc.) and creates amazing necklaces from them!
Looking through her website I loved her work: how each piece is so unique, and almost nostalgic that a necklace can hold so many precious memories for a wearer. It reflects my own personal styling, how I choose a certain piece then base the rest of the outfit to support and highlight it.

I'm really intrigued by this 'Frankenstein' approach, taking bits and pieces from different things and making something new out of them. So I thought I'd take a stab at it. Yes, I know, I have zero experience at any jewellery behind my elastic bands with beads on them from when I was five.

I scoured my boxes of jewellery: any pendants, beads, chains, anything I genuinely always have; a locket from my best friend growing up, some interesting pendants from Portobello Market, stuff I've always said I'd wear, but haven't.

I took the thick gold chain from my 'Alice' necklace, that I love but honestly always been annoyed at how much it jangles, and used it as a basis. There's a cool charm bracelet that my sister handed down to me, that again, whenever I wear it becomes so distracting! Not very daring, attaching the bracelet at the centre on the chain, but it sure made a great jump start into the project. From then, I began binding the two chains together with framing wire. Once the charm bracelet was attached, I added the rest: lockets, a plastic crystal my grandmother used to wrap a gift once, anything that went with the color scheme. I tried using Clementine's technique of winding wire around little shells and stones, but they didn't hold.

Here's my final result-and I gotta say, for a first jewellery project, it's not half bad! I was glad to stick with a gold tone, to give it a more antique look, and the shades of the various pieces go great together! I think I may have some ideas for what I'm going to be giving my sisters for Christmas...

Customization

My first day of LCS finally began, and what a wonderful day!  Celebrity stylist and founder, Wendy Elsmore, started the day with introductions and then went through our summer assignments.  Our first guest lecturer, Grace Bank, editor at V Style Magazine, stopped in and gave us a run through the online magazine.

After lunch our customization lecturer arrived and we were each given an every-day, slightly frumpy garment.  Selena Francis-Bryden who has customized for Dolce&Gabbana, Sex and The City and many others, introduced us to a "waste not, want not" kind of DIY throughout the afternoon.  I was given a very maternity-esque purple top and I quickly snipped the sleeves, re-stitched the hem by four inches to make it a bit crop and added some trim flair and vintage flat beads.  We were assessed and then given copies of Selena's book. Tomorrow starts at the V&A with the Yohji Yamamoto exhibition.  xx

Before...

After

Wendy Elsmore, Selena Francis-Bryden & Hanna discussing her garment

Prada

Cult cool Miuccia Prada has placed her one-to-watch stamp on this season's soon-to-be most sought-after faces, by casting six relative unknowns in her forthcoming autumn/winter 2011-12 campaign 

Frida Gustavson, Ondria Hardin, Dorte Limkilde, Kelly Mittendorf, Antonia Wesseloh and Julia Zimmer are this season's chosen ones, photographed by Steven Meisel in the latest collection.

Having launched the careers of models Lindsey Wixson and Sasha Pivovarova - as well as one of the world's highest paid models, Vogue cover girl Daria Werbowy - the Prada campaign is an indicator of future fashion stardom.

And not one to miss out on casting superstar actor's of distinction, Tobey Maguire is Prada's new menswear campaign face for autumn/winter 2011-12, shot in New York by David Sims. 

'A great supporter if the Arts, Miuccia Prada has inspired a culture of creativity that is woven through every aspect of her company, from her collections, her campaigns, to every design detail in her stores,' Maguire said. 'I have such admiration for her artistry and I'm thrilled to be a part of Prada's fall campaign.'

Made famous by his role as the unlikely hero, Peter Parker, who becomes Spiderman, Maguire is set to return to our screens in Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby next year. 

 Prada. 

Real beauties

Italian Vogue have gone curvy. The June issue is brim full of luscious spaghetti eating curvaceous beauties shot by Steven Meisel. Listen to Dame Jenni Murray interview editor Franca Sozzani on BBC Radio 4s Women's Hour. It might not be the end of size zero but could be the beginning of an interesting co-existence on the fashion pages... 

Hugh Style

Past student Mr Hugh Metzger has been out and about strutting his styling stuff at Vstyle online magazine. We thought we'd share in his success and show you what being determined and learning with us can do. Hugh was asked to film some hot summer tips for various body shapes for the Vstyle online readership. Check out the videos here, just choose ‘Style for your Shape’ from the menu on the right. A burgeoning talent no doubt!  

Love for Swan

I’m going to share my love for the film Black Swan starring Natalie Portman, who is the new face for the “Miss Dior” perfume. The campaign shot by photographer Tim Walker is amazing – he is my fav photographer, absolutely incredible, every photo is magical.

After wanting to see this film since it first hit the screens in January I have finally got around to watching it. The film is a new take on the original Swan Lake, and after doing ballet for many years, I have seen many interpretations of Swan Lake, and also danced in a show based upon it too! However, Black Swan takes a more thrilling plot, much more up my street.

As the delicate white swan lead needs to figure out her sub role as the black swan she struggles with her underlying need to be perfect, as the plot unfolds we see her lose her mind as she becomes more like the black swan, Odile. The twisted movie has a dark and sinister tone, it is gripping, one to watch. Rodarte’s designers for the film, Laura and Kate Mulleavy used a love for horror films to inspire its wardrobe – the result; awe-inspiring, dramatic pieces. 

The trend of ballet could be seen throughout the catwalk at LFW. Ballet is having a huge influence on style. Hannah MacGibbon’s ballet-influenced SS11 show for Chloe, with its pretty yet minimalist aesthetic was one out of many which can be seen to show a ballet influence. There were no prints, no complexities, no heels just an air of pure femininity. The colour palette didn't deviate far from what you'd expect of the modern Chloe girl: nudes and crisp whites. 

From,

Vikky Ivie

What a Success at LCS!

I have to take this last blog of mine to specifically applaud the LCS staff, program and other students in the course. We are onto our 9^th week of class and looking back on all that we have learned and everything that we are learning about right now is just jaw dropping. So if any of you are looking at applying for the course, getting ready to start come summer, or just looking at this blog for the first time, definitely stay tuned, you’ll be amazed at the amount of things that are learned in a 12-week slot of time!

This past week was yet another insightful lecture at the London College of Style as we learned more in depth what it takes to be a personal stylist and some valuable tips on good ways to start getting to know the clients, organizing wardrobes, and we were actually given a hands-on detailed assignment to “wake up” the wardrobe of a friend, relative or neighbor. I, naturally, chose a classmate turned good friend, Hugh Metzger as my project for the week. We went through Hugh’s extensive wardrobe, detangling the good from the bad and it was actually a really fun process! I even got a pose or 2 out of him and a little catwalk strut for the pieces that looked great on.

Hugh during the “wake-up” wardrobe process

Aside from this project, we also have our final photo shoots coming up where we get to choose the themes of 2 different outfits. Though I chose two pretty tricky themes, I’m pleasantly surprised with the results! Now I’m just crossing my fingers that they both look just as good on the model as they do off! 

Photo shoot outfit #2
(inspired by Vivienne Westwood A/W 2011/12)

Photo shoot outfit #1
(inspired by Julian Galliano A/W 2009)

Confessions of a Customizer

At LCS, I’ve really enjoyed learning that there are endless possibilities within the fashion biz that are right at the tips of our fingers. I came into this program assuming I wanted to do two things with my life afterwards: fashion editorial styling and fashion writing. However, like many other of my fabulous classmates, I’ve come to learn that there’s SO much more depth to the styling industry than I thought and thus came my revolution.

Wendy, Jason and the rest of the LCS team are so great in that they really help us to discover what we want to do with our lives; expressing what regions within the fashion world that we show a knack for and pushing us to explore those areas deeper. One area that they have built up my confidence in is my ability to customize.

Now, I never realized how pertinent customization skills can be within the fashion industry, more specifically, styling, but I have really started to become more fascinated in taking a piece of clothing that was once an absolute horror, and turning it into something useful. It all started with Selena Francis-Bryden- the stylist for SJP’s infamous character on Sex and the City- having us customize a white t-shirt which I just added a little bit of lace onto and cut off a sleeve, and it has slowly evolved into creating a pair of colorful beaded shoes, a 1940’s themed hat that I used for our last photo shoot, and now, I am currently the proud parent of a once-was button-down top turned fur vest that I will be using for my final photo shoot.

First Project

Customized hat in use for photo shoot

Shoes I customized for a class customization assignment 

I thought I’d give you all a view of what I’ve come to discover and love, thanks to the program- I honestly don’t think I would have ever figured this out about myself otherwise! 

If this is something you’re interested in, I highly suggest checking out Selena’s book DIY Fashion: Customize and Personalize or the U.S. stylist turned author, Erica Domesek’s P.S.- I Made This.

Back of vest

Front of vest 

Excessive Accessories

Picture of a stand at Portobello Market

I have really become more creative with and enjoy the use and amount of accessories. At LCS, we have been learning how accessories can really make or break an outfit and the amount worn always matters too. Yeah, for editorial shoots you are bound to use an exaggerated amount of accessories (so we’ve learned first-hand) however, excessive accessories are also a big look hitting this spring and summer and some of the high street shops have really done a brilliant job in creating certain looks solely through their accessories. You could wear a completely plain outfit and still create a certain theme through the amount and type of accessories you wear!

Personally, being new to the London area, Portobello Market is one of my favorite places to find accessories because of the array to choose from! Some are so ethnic looking while others are antiques and still there are costume pieces as well. However, if you don’t have the time to rummage through the piles upon piles of things Portobello is notorious for hoarding; some of the high street stores are doing a fantastic job with the different themes that are big right now through their jewelry.

Bright colors are a big thing for spring through color blocking as well as the neon look and 70’s style and right now Topshop has a fantastic number of collections that appeal to all of these looks- I’m loving the feather accessories they’re mixing with turquoise, brown and coral for the more bohemian 70’s look, and the royal blue bangles  and fun brightly colored costume rings are fab!

Another one of my favorites right now is River Island’s 70’s-themed scarves and sunglasses and don’t even get me started on the vintage jewelry at Urban Outfitters!

Leigh x

Fashion as the Arts

Greetings all! My name is Leigh Loosbrock and I am yet another LCS fashion student learning in this glorious city of London, as the out-of-country traveller. I’m from the states- Chicago, Illinois- having ventured out of my American bubble solely to attend LCS and have had the most fantastic experiences through learning here.

One of my favourite parts about this course is the staff’s ability to get all of the students to think outside the box and find new places where we can gain inspiration for our projects, our photo shoots, and even ourselves. They have truly done a great job in building up the confidence of all students to experiment with new looks, colours, and ideas and push us to really dig deep to find our creativity.

With that said, one of the most fascinating yet conventional places where I’ve been getting my inspiration from are the window displays and visual merchandising techniques of retailers out here. With the amount of sourcing items, fabric shopping, and rummaging around that I’ve been doing for the course, I’ve had the opportunity to get sick of shopping, but I have to say, it never gets old on the streets of London because of the retailers impeccable ability to catch the eye with their visual merchandizing techniques and window displays. They make the most interesting creations out of materials and props that, to the average human eye, would make absolutely no connection to fashion.

Granted, this could have to do with the fact that I’m from the states, and our high street stores have yet to reach that level of serious artistic ability through fashion, but seriously! Some of them are surprisingly crafty and I have to admit, they have really helped to get my idea pot brewing!

Image in Topshop: a 2-story dress made out of clothes pins

Image of window display at 7 For All Mankind- a dress made out of a bunch of jeans

Westwood in Wonderland

Hello all!  It’s Leigh here, ready to share my enthusiasm for how absolutely fantastic the fashion scene is out here in London-town. With the conclusion of London Fashion week, I can no longer keep my excitement in for how absolutely brilliant all of the collections were for autumn/winter 2011-12.

  

To no surprise, Vivienne Westwood has remained loyal to the fantastic eccentricities behind her London name, yet again creating one large masterpiece out of her Women’s RTW Red Label collection. Apparently Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland inspired her, but Westwood’s translation of its whimsical characters is SO much more abstract and interesting. With a combination of animal prints, checkers, plaids, argyle, a wide array of colour and make up literally splashed onto the models faces, her autumn/winter collection showed absolute genius and inspiration- to me at least!

I’ll admit, some of the combinations made the models simply look like a posh-homeless cult, while others looked like royalty pulled out of a Picasso painting with oversized, tilted crowns (and I’d like to add- made out of their hair) and extravagant cape-coats with vibrant colours. However, all seemed to share the Joker look from Batman with clownish make-up: one painted on raised eyebrow and smeared lip colour.

Check out the detail put into each outfit- she didn’t miss a beat from head-to-toe!

VB Reigns Supreme

So far this week I (Mr Hugh Metzger) have introduced you to the excitement I’m having at LCS, meeting some incredible people, my sister Haz and little snippets of myself.

You all still need to know about one of my real style icons: Mrs Victoria Beckham (I will call her VB for short). I have loved Victoria for years now, I seem to have always seen something different in her to what the media (and I guess most of my friends) see. She has a sense of vulnerability and insecurity that most people interpret as moody, unhappy and generally quite stuck up.

Love her or hate her, VB is a true definition of somebody that is a real fighter, has determination and has fought through so much negative attention to finally become recognised as a fantastic designer who understands clothes and fashion. She’s living proof that you have to work extremely hard to get where you want. 

I mean OPRAH WINFREY has worn one of her dresses. As well as loads more celebs. 

Victoria has been in New York for fashion week to show her autumn/winter 2011-12 collection and was so excited to say she has shown her 100^th dress. It wasn’t only dresses; she has a fab range of handbags and has collaborated with the master Christian Louboutin for her debut shoes designs.

The collection is bang on trend with much looser fabrics and more movement, also the colours are much brighter in rich sunset tones. As you probably all know VB tends to love very structured clothing but she has said: 

“As I’ve become more confident, in my own skin, I realized I wanted to give women the freedom to be more comfortable”. 

I have noticed with her own style that she has started wearing slightly less fitted clothing at times (even before she became pregnant, so it’s not just to cover a baby bump!)

VB is incredible at juggling her family and career but she is never one to complain. She has finally got her dream job and I really hope her career will develop so she can prove to the media that she didn’t need to have the best singing voice after all.

Here is my favourite piece from the A/W 2011/12 collection.

 

Ozzy Screams Style

Hi, Hugh again. I have decided to introduce you all to my amazing friend Ozzy.  

Ozzy is incredible and has been extremely influential in encouraging me to get into styling, We met when I was working in Selfridges last year, of course Ozzy was buying fabulous clothes such as a gorgeous Chloe blazer if I can remember rightly while I was styling hair for ghd.

Oz graduated from The London College of Fashion last June with a BA (Hons) degree in fashion promotion.

He has such a unique style and is so personable, (even if his Balenciaga man bag was a bit intimidating! HaHa!) Ozzy’s plan was to work in fashion PR, but like many things in life he kind of fell into assisting stylists. I’m sure his incredible blog, gorgeous charm and the contacts he has met during the last few years have helped.

Ozzy and I have a lot in common; we both adore Victoria Beckham and wish we could wear towering Loubs (Louboutin for short.). I say adore but Ozzy would of course say J’adore.

His really inspiring blog and time at London College of Fashion it have given him the chance to attend many press days and fashion shows. I’m still waiting for my invite Mr! He’s off to Mulberry next week. That’s another great love of his.

Ozzy has assisted many top stylists in the Industry including Aradia Crockett who styles for The Sunday Times Style and has worked on various editorials including work for Burberry and Abercrombie and Fitch. Anna Trevelyen is another, who’s work includes styling Lady GaGa and Scissor Sisters. (OMG!!!) Oz has also worked for other stylists such as David Bartlett and Natasha Wray. Pretty incredible considering he is only 22. Not afraid of hard work Ozzy is driven and determined and is just starting out in styling his own projects and has invited me along to go and observe a shoot, I’m really excited. WATCH THIS SPACE. Ozzy is going to go far: I really believe he has what it takes.

Pretty In Pink

Hi I'm Hugh an LCS styling student and this is my second blog to share with all of you! I had such a great night last night. It was my sister Harriet's 22^nd birthday and we went out for a meal and of course a boogie!!

Leigh Loosbrock a great friend from LCS who lives in Chicago when she's not studying in London, came up and had the chance to experience a suburban town where I live, Welwyn in Hertfordshire. She loved it!

I don't want to bore you with the details of the night, with people you don't know but I wanted to introduce you all to my FABULOUS sister and her great style!
Harriet just 22 is a true definition of glamour. She is always immaculately made up, tanned to the max with perfectly styled hair (thanks to me, ha ha! I'm a hairstylist too). She adores fashion and knows how to dress her tiny size 6-8 frame really well.

I guess I would describe Harriet as extremely outgoing, honest and always up for a laugh! We are really good friends, which I know may sound a bit cheesy, but it's true! Harriet or Haz as I call her, is the person I go to even as an up and coming stylist myself for her honest opinion on what to wear and whether things suit me, I feel sooo lucky to have a great sister who I can always rely on and never ever fall out with.

I had to share these photos with you of Haz who has recently become addicted to shoes! As if her shoes and clothes don't get her noticed enough she has recently bought a new car, a Fiat 500 in shocking pink, not everyone's cup of tea but the perfect car for her! It's very similar to the Barbie Fiat that was created to celebrate the toy's 50^th Birthday. Check out their site and the amazing colour combos at http://www.fiat.co.uk/ Even the Carvela shoes she wore for her birthday matched the car! Check 'em out at www.kurtgeiger.com/carvela Oh yeah, and also take in her amazing Blackberry cover – AMAZING!

To customise yours, log onto http://www.pimpmyphone.com/

Radiohead – King of Limbs launch

Have been waiting for the new Radiohead album for ages............now it's here!!!

Really love "Morning Mr Magpie"

Oliver Goldsmith

Hi, I am Hugh Metzger and I am currently studying at the fabulous London College of Style. Wednesday at LCS was truly inspiring!

I have recently just started wearing glasses and it has taken a while to get used to it! All my friends and everyone at LCS say they can't imagine me not wearing them now! This meant today was really exciting for me as I met the amazing Claire Goldsmith of British eye wear company Oliver Goldsmith and her very friendly PR manager Zoe Cosby. They came to introduce us to the company. Claire is the granddaughter of the legendary Oliver Goldsmith who revolutionised the world of spectacles. Zoe's roll in PR is to make everyone aware of the fabulous store in Notting Hill, London where she works and to raise awareness of the brand.

Oliver Goldsmith has been a family-run business for over 80 years, (that really is incredible!) with all manufacturing still taking place in the UK. The company became iconic because Oliver wanted to make spectacles a fashion statement and something unique for everyone. Audrey Hepburn, Michael Caine and Lady GaGa are a few celebrities who have made the glasses iconic.

Unlike other top designer brands, you can actually visit the store and have your own frames created from the expert bespoke service with your name engraved inside or choose from one of the iconic frames and have that fitted perfectly for you. (How amazing! I am desperate to get down there!) Not only will you get the best pair of glasses or sunglasses but the downstairs of the store is made into a little museum where you can look through old archives and personal letters to Oliver himself.

Claire Goldsmith explained to us that she decided to put her own mark on eyewear design and re-introduce to the world, in 2005, the fashion story and some of the most iconic sunglasses from the private family archive.

CG is definitely going to be future Vintage!!!!

Check out the amazing website! http://www.clairegoldsmith.com/