Ralph Lauren + Beaux-Arts

Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts school has housed some of the most influential designers of today, from Valentino to Givenchy and well-known impressionists such as Monet and Matisse. It is a hub of creativity and innovation in fashion and art.

Trend: Camo

The camoflage trend seemingly always makes its rounds every few seasons. Be it traditional, neon or with a feminine twist it's a pattern that never goes out of style. It is a paradoxical thought that to stand out next season, wear camo, but with the new takes on the military staple, it's hard not to.

Jonathan Saunders

Make it British!

"Made in Britain" has been a buzz-phrase floating around for some time now, especially after Mary Portas' Kinky Knickers which meant the coveting of fashion made in the UK. For some of us, this was outrageous because there are plenty of wonderful British independent lingerie brands that she seemed to be undermining by saying there were absolutely none. Whereas Mary didn't really do her research on the matter, the British manufacturing of fashion is now becoming stronger and will hopefully overthrow cheap, unethical manufacture in the UK.

RIP Bert Stern

The first I had heard of Bert Stern was through the iconic "The Last Sitting", a collection of photographs of Marilyn Monroe in the lead up to her untimely death. My mum, a big fan of Marilyn has the book displayed with her other Marilyn books on our cabinet, and I distinctly remember feeling very drawn to these images. Marilyn, who was viewed as a vivacious and beautiful women, was now shown to be self-conscious and unhappy with her image. The red marks drawn all over the images -which were unusable at the time and undoubtedly Bert Stern was incredibly cross with this act - represented how Marilyn and all women under the eye of the media feel a pressure to be perfect.

Paris Couture Week: A Reflection

In a world where we're increasingly becoming more used to fast fashion, it is nice to have a little break and venture into the world of couture once in a while. Whereas us students could probably not even afford a thread on the garments, there are others out there splashing £80,000 on a dress.

The clients of couture love the shows as it gives them an opportunity to actually wear their lavish garments, as for the most part the only people who have an occasion to wear these are huge award-show winners like the Oscars. Paris Couture is now becoming more of an event than ever, with parties being held in the designers houses, the clients can dress up as they please and not look out of place. 

It seems that this idea of dressing up becoming a sparse occasion has taken it's toll on couture, which is less about ball-gowns now than it would have been 50 years ago. Whilst this might be disappointing, it really shows how times are changing and perhaps dress is becoming more casual. I have noticed it in my everyday life, it's quite rare to see a woman in heels.

Besides this, couture is still exciting and a wonderful event! Here is my round up of pieces:

Shopping Mecca

There's plenty of new arrivals this year for acclaimed shopping streets Regent Street and Conduit Street.  The first J Crew outside of North America is set to be placed on Regent St this year, being a favourite of Michelle Obama and a very fashion-forward, casual brand. It will be located on 165 Regent Street, previously home to Burberry. It will be interesting to see the reception that this American brand receives in a very British street. The CEO says "If you can't make it there, you can't make it anywhere".

Another exciting store opening is Dior on Conduit Street. There is a lot of buzz behind this new addition due to the sheer volume of rent to be paid! For ten years lease on the 3,300sq feet, Dior will pay £308,500 a year, which is the highest rent to date on the street. It is expected that many other luxury brands will follow suit, and Conduit Street will soon become another well-known shopping location.

LFW SS14

London Fashion Week this year will be running from September 13th until the 17th, and will showcase the spring/summer 2014 collections. This year, the British Fashion Council has announced nine of London's greatest up and coming designers who will be sponsored to have their spot in Fashion Week. The designer support initiative is called NEWGEN, which is currently sponsored by Topshop and is one of the worlds most internationally recognised talent identification schemes. 

These are the lucky designers who have been picked to be sponsored this year:

Catwalk Sponsorship

J. JS Lee

AW2013

Abercrombie & Fitch: Homeless Chic?

The whole Abercrombie & Fitch hoopla is rather old news now. If you've been living under a rock or perhaps lost inside the darkened maze that is the A&F store then I'll bring you up to speed: Mike Jeffries, CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch made the comment that they target the "cool kids" and "attractive" people, and that he doesn't wish anybody otherwise to shop at his store. Also, no fat people allowed as they only cater to those under a US 10. (Hello? Mike, frankly you're not very attractive nor thin, and copious amounts of plastic surgery hasn't helped.) He's since apologised for his harsh words. But there's still a big amount of backlash coming from the American public as well as celebrities.