Crochet Artist - Kate Jenkins

On a recent visit to an exhibition at the Barbican, I ended up in the gift shop (standard) and discovered the charming work of crochet artist, Kate Jenkins. Her work was on a series of greetings cards, but I loved her work so much I had to research her designs further when I got home. Kate's crochet art takes a unique and comical look at everyday objects and food, which I thought was just so fun!

 

Phillippa x



 

Peter Pilotto X Target and Acne X Liberty

Better late than never...here is a post about the recent collaboration between American retailer Target and Peter Pilotto, one of London Fashion Weeks biggest names. Target is fast becoming known for its collaborations with some of the most sought after fashion designers, including: Missoni, Phillip Lim and Prabal Gurung. These past collaborations have only been available in the USA, however the latest collection with Peter Pilotto was also available exclusively on Net-A-Porter, meaning the collection could be sold around the world due to the power of e-commerce. When the collection went on sale on the 9th February it became one of the fastest ever selling collections on Net-A-Porter...well who can resist a gorgeous printed dress? The collection, which featured dresses, tops, skirts and swimwear was all priced at under $79 - bargain! I'm a huge fan of Peter Pilotto and this collaboration was the perfect nod to his mainline collection but at an affordable price point.

Diane Kruger, Taylor Schilling, Dree Hemingway and Alexa Chung at the collection launch

Acne X Liberty

Acne recently teamed up with Liberty to design an exclusive collection. The Scandinavian brand known for their 'laidback' luxury, produced a collection of pieces with Liberty prints. Price range: £220 - £2700. Acne is known for their leather biker jackets, so naturally my favourite pieces in the collection are the jackets, I love the patchwork of Liberty prints in traditional paisley colours.



 

Phillippa x







Style - 'Slipper Flats'

One of the most recurring street style looks that I see on blogs, pinterest, etc is a classic shirt or tee, teamed with skinny jeans and a pair of slipper flats - an effortlessly chic outfit that always looks on trend, if worn well! I thought that in this blog post I would share with you a few of my favourite pairs which are easy to wear, look chic and yet have an element of fun to them as well.

 

Charlotte Olympia

A must have pair of shoes for a few seasons now, the 'Kitty Flat' is still as popular as ever. The latest design has the cat wearing a pair of sunglasses! I also love the 'Starsign' slippers with the starsign logo made of enamel and Swarovski elements, a perfect addition to any girls wardrobe. Prices range from £395 - £495

Stubbs and Wootton

I discovered this American brand whilst I was living in New York. All the girls with an eye for fashion wanted to be seen wearing a pair of Stubbs and Wootton slippers, and who can blame them? These slippers are a real talking point for their comedic embroidery motifs. Being purveyors of fine footwear, Stubbs and Wootton also offer a bespoke service so you can create your own slipper, choose from a number of different types of fabric and colours and finally have your initials embroidered onto the front.  This costs $900, but who wouldn't want their own custom made shoe? If you go to Manhattan you can visit the Stubbs and Wootton boutique on Madison Ave.

Chiara Ferragni

Famed fashion blogger, Chiara Ferragni, best known for her blog 'The Blonde Salad', has collaborated with several high profile designers on a variety of different projects. She launched her eponymous shoe line a few seasons ago. The slippers from her collection are priced at around £125.

Kenzo

Emblazoned with the now signature 'Tiger Motif' these slipper flats are priced at under £300

Alexander McQueen

Printed and embroidered with new season designs, and not to forget the signature 'Skull' motif. Around £500

Sophia Webster

One of the most talked about shoes designers of the past couple of years, these shoes are all about fun!

Phillippa x

 



 

Chanel A/W 14 Runway Space

In the past Chanel has brought us some amazing show spaces - a huge tweed jacket, a merry-go-round, an aeroplane and a Texan Drive-In cinema for example, with architects including Zaha Hadid designing the sets. This season for the A/W 14 show, a Chanel Supermarket was created inside the Chanel show space at the Grand Palais. Every item in the 'supermarket' was Chanel branded and models paraded around the aisles like they were actually grocery shopping. I thought the concept was fantastic and had to share with you some pictures from the show, along with some of my favourite sets from past seasons.

Chanel Supermarket - A/W 14

Previous Chanel Sets

 

Phillippa x

 

Paris Fashion Week - A/W 14 - Part 2

Chanel

Givenchy

Valentino

Elie Saab

Leonard

Louis Vuitton

Alexander McQueen

Pedro Lourenco

Giambattista Valli

Akris

Zuhair Murad

 

Givenchy and Valentino both featured dresses with butterfly prints. Valentino opted for twee butterflies, whereas Givenchy played with the scale of butterfly wings, both worked well but in different ways. I also loved the ombre colour ways at Elie Saab and the opulence at McQueen, with more fur than you could imagine!

 

This season also marked Nicolas Ghesquière's debut collection at the helm of Louis Vuitton. There were 2 or 3 prints and a lot of leather, crocodile skin and suede in autumnal colours. I really liked the collection as it had numerous pieces which would look super stylish worked into an everyday wardrobe. What did you think of the collection?

 

Chanel always pulls out all the stops when in comes to designing a set for the runway show, and this season was no different. So much so that I am going to put a new post on my blog tomorrow about the fantastic vision created for the setting of the show.

 

So this post pretty much concludes my round-up of all the A/W 14 shows from NYC, London, Milan and Paris. I hope you have enjoyed looking at the collections and I hope you have picked out some key pieces which you are eyeing up for the season ahead...I know I have. You can follow my 'Runway Favourites' board on my Pinterest page for a more extensive look at the collections, as I have images on there which are not on my blog. My pinterest page is 'PhillippaDesign'.

 

Phillippa x

 

 

 

Paris Fashion Week - A/W 14 - Part 1

As the A/W 14 shows draw to a close in Paris today, here is the first part of my PFW highlights.

Dries Van Noten

Christian Dior

Balmain

Nina Ricci

Manish Arora

Emanuel Ungaro

Chloe

Miu Miu

Paul and Jo

Andrew Gn

Colour palettes of fuschia and yellow were present at both Dries van Noten and Dior - a colour combination which I love. The silhouettes and voluminous dresses at Dior would look stunning on any red carpet...and I have to mention the shoes, a classic pointed court with rubber detail.

I always love Balmain, and this season was no different. Olivier Rousteing delivered another statement collection including leather pleats in khaki colours and rope details with a nod to safari chic. I can't finish this post without showing you the shoes from Miu Miu. A waterproof heeled rain boot with a screw for a heel. Comfortable?...i'm not sure, but they sure look cool!!!

I'll be posting part 2 of my PFW highlights on Saturday.

Phillippa x