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/

Customisation with Sex and the City’s Selena Francis-Bryden

Hi, I'm LCS student Stef Perez. 'Customisation' is a term I didn't really understand until being given my first assignment to customise a t-shirt on day one at the London College of Style. The queen of customisation herself is Selena Francis-Bryden, who has worked with Sir Paul Smith, Dolce & Gabbana and even designed her own range for high street retailer Topshop as well as designing creations for Sex and the City star SJP. She came in to teach a class on the different techniques of altering clothes and accessories to either turn them into something completely different or make them our own by adding embellishments. This didn't seem like an easy task at first, however with guidance from Selena and examples of how to use various bits that we all have lying around the house, I was able to take on the challenge. I customised a plain white t-shirt by cropping it and cutting sections out of the sides. I sewed on bits of old bath plug chains and bits of lace from and old top I had. I also used some old necklaces and cut them into smaller lengths to sew onto the shoulders. Lastly, I decided to tie-dye it and completely change the colour. Here's a photo!

Since then I've also managed to customise an old hat I was given in class, and turn it into a handbag.

Now I know never to throw anything out again. Instead I keep everything to re-use in various ways to customise. It's interesting that I look at all old clothes and accessories in a totally different light now thanks to Selena. Now I'm forever seeing things that are too big, or a little tatty and thinking to myself, 'that's ok, I can take this in, or add this, or cut this out and give it a new lease of life.'

Here's a useful website for tips on customisation:

http://www.mookychick.co.uk/diy_ethic/customise-clothes.php

And here's the link to Selena's website and blog so you can have a look at the other students' first attempts at customisation:

http://selenafrancisbryden.wordpress.com/about-selena-francis-bryden/

At LCS we have learnt that being able to customise at the drop of a hat is an important element to being a successful stylist and very often I'll be required to turn an item into something else. This is certainly a skill that I hope to develop further and a way to have some fun with old clothes. Selena kindly gave us all a signed copy of her book DIY Fashion, which gives guidance and step by step instructions on how to customise your basics into designer-worthy gear. Check it out on the Amazon website (and of course, at all good stockists). For those of you that have a creative fashion streak, go out, buy it and get cracking!