Holographic/Iridescent Fashion

One of the main trends that I like at the moment is the 'Holographic' trend. Many luxury fashion brands have recently sent models down the runway wearing eye-dazzling holographic and iridescent garments. These garments are not for the faint hearted, as they are sure to make the wearer stand out in a crowd. Here are some of my favourite looks from the catwalk, but if you do want to buy into this trend many high street retailers are offering smaller holographic items such as clutch bags, shoes and iPhone cases.

Milly - Fall 13

Jonathan Saunders - Spring 13

Burberry - Spring 13

Blumarine - Fall 12

If you do not want to dress head to toe in this trend, then these smaller items are the perfect way to embrace the trend. Wear a holographic bag or shoes with skinny jeans, top and a blazer for a more sophisticated look.

Proenza Schouler

Stella McCartney 'Falabella' Clutch

New Look

Cambridge Satchel Company

Miista

Esteban Cortazar

Cat Deeley - This outfit is a great example of how to wear this trend without going over the top

Do you like this trend? How would you style these key pieces?
Phillippa x

 

*Exclusive* Sold Print

Last year I sold one of my print designs whilst exhibiting at PrintSource trade show in New York. Since then, I've been regularly checking the company's website to see if I could spot my design on any garments. I can't begin to tell you how excited I was when I finally found it last month. To think that something I designed is now for sale in America is an amazing feeling and really puts the career that I have chosen into perspective. I'm not going to reveal the name of the retailer, but I will show you the garment. The colourways include: Pink and White Multi and the print has been used on a 'T-Shirt' and a 'Hooded Jacket'. Price range $32 - $46

Phillippa x

The Met Gala 2013

The annual 'Costume Institute Met Gala' took place at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City last night. Each year the gala marks the start of a new fashion exhibition at the museum, and is one of the biggest events in the fashion calendar alongside the Academy Awards. This year's exhibition is 'Punk: Chaos to Couture', which runs from May 9th - August 14th. As a fan of this museum and with a clear interest in fashion myself, I thought I would pick out some of my favourite red carpet looks from this event. Whilst there were many stunning dresses gracing the red carpet, I wish that more guests had embraced the 'Punk' theme.

 Miley Cyrus - Marc Jacobs - she fully embraced the spirit of punk with hair, make up and dress

Gisele Bundchen - Anthony Vaccarello Fall 13 - Metal eyelets work so well

Christina Ricci - Vivienne Westwood... the queen of punk

Lily Cole - Vivienne Westwood

Kate Bosworth - Balmain Fall 13

Morgan Saylor - Holly Fulton Fall 13 - the Homeland actress wore one of my favourite dresses from London Fashion Week

Dakota and Elle Fanning - Rodarte Fall 13 - The sisters have worn several Rodarte looks in the past

Kate and Rooney Mara - Delpozo and Givenchy

Ashley and Mary Kate Olsen - Vintage Dior and Vintage Chanel

Sienna Miller - Burberry - Studded leather jacket ...a Burberry classic

Anne Hathaway - Valentino - the Academy Award winner opted to wear her favourite brand

Brooklyn Decker - Peter Pilotto Fall 13

Haliee Steinfeld - Donna Karan Atelier - this dress is leather with safety pin floral bursts

Cameron Diaz - Stella McCartney - looking very regal

Jessica Biel - Giambattista Valli - Spring 13 Couture

Carine Roitfeld - Givenchy - she kept her look fun with the Givenchy Bambi print

Alexa Chung - Erdem Fall 13 - As a member of the British Fashion Council, Alexa wore a Brit designer

Jennifer Lawrence and Marion Cotillard - Christian Dior - No surprise that they both wore Dior as they are faces of the brand. Both looked flawless.

Which were your favourite looks from the Met Gala? Who do you think best embraced the spirit of 'Punk'?
Phillippa x

The Scarf Collector

I am an avid scarf collector. Fact. I predominantly wear block colour clothing and I also wear a lot of monochrome, so for me scarves are the perfect way to inject some colour and print into my wardrobe, but without being too overpowering. I have been collecting for them for quite a while now and the great thing is, they take up hardly any room in my closet because I store them in an old hat box. The first thing that attracts me to a scarf is the colour, then the print. They are of course lovely to wear, but as a surface designer they are a great source of inspiration. In addition, they are so versatile and can be worn in many different ways, even tied around a handbag. I love to scour thrift shops (and sometimes vintage shops) to see what I can find. I have found some beautiful 100% silk scarves for only £1.

I also save up and treat myself to new season designer scarves every now and then. It offers me the chance to buy into some of my favourite brands at a more affordable price. As a designer, I of course look to the runway for market research and very often the prints used on garments are also used for the accessories, as was the case with the print on the Matthew Williamson scarf pictured below.

Matthew Williamson Fall 09 - from Net-A-Porter

 

I usually go for scarves which have multidirectional prints, as this means that however I choose to wear them the print is still on show, but I still buy scarves with conversational and placement prints because sometimes a striking design is too hard to resist!!!

Emilio Pucci

Gucci

Liberty - The Scarf Hall in Liberty London is absolute heaven for any scarf collector. I was in the shop last month and found myself drawn towards new season scarves by Peter Pilotto and Mary Katrantzou, but somehow I managed to resist a hasty purchase. Below are 2 Liberty own brand scarves I have. The 'Peacock' print is the most iconic of all Liberty prints.

Scarf Wishlist - Surely the ultimate for scarf for any collector would have to be from Hermes? Renowned worldwide for their exquisite scarves, Hermes still uses traditional screen printing techniques to create their designs, which I truly admire. There are numerous articles and video's online showing this process at Hermes. See below for two creative Hermes Ad Campaigns.

Phillippa x

My Favourite Art and Design Books

I love reading art and design books, and recently I was craving some new design reading material so I purchased a few new ones. I have around 20 books on my wish list and over the next few months I hope to buy them all to add to my bookshelf. I thought I would show you some of my favourites.

Matthew Williamson is my favourite fashion designer - I love every single garment/print he has ever created, so of course I had to buy his coffee table book when it was released a couple of years ago.
'50 Contemporary Fashion Designers You Should Know' was only published at the end of 2012 and cost less than £10. As you can see from the image below, each designer has been profiled with images of their collections added alongside. The book includes new labels such as The Row and Victoria Beckham.

1950's and 1960's Fashion Print Sourcebook by Marnie Fogg. I love archive and vintage prints from these two decades. My dissertation was a study of 50's textiles and I have also written assignments about 60's fashion, so when I saw these books I knew I had to buy them. The books are split into sections, each about a different style of print in each decade. The images are also superb.

Etcetera and Nomad by Sibella Court. Sibella Court is an interior stylist and Creative Director from Australia. I love interior design, and originally I wanted to be an interior designer (perhaps something to do with my slight obsession with the 90's TV show 'Changing Rooms'?), before realising that interior design/styling homes is more of a personal project for me. These books are simply gorgeous. Even the way in which the pages have been styled matches the creativity of Sibella's own interior styling. The books look at the concept of sourcing items for your home from a variety of different places and collecting when on your travels around the world.

The Stylist Guide To NYC by Sibella Court and London Style Guide by Saska Graville. As I just mention, I love Sibella Court, so when I knew I would be living in New York for 3 months I bought her NYC style guide. It lists pretty much every antique/vintage shop in Manhattan, as well as high street retailers, flea markets, haberdasheries, and she even recommends the best places to eat. Very detailed maps are included. When I lived in New York last year, I visited lots of the places she suggested. The London Style Guide is the same format but has been written by the deputy editor of Red magazine.

William Morris: Designs and Writings. As one of the most influential English textile designers of all time, how could I not own this book?

Here is a snap shot of some of the other books I own including: 'By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop' by Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilkis. I bought this whilst in New York. It is the true story of the 2 entrepreneurs from Harvard Business School and how they founded the billion dollar 'Gilt Groupe' and subsequently launched the fashion website Gilt.com. A good read for anyone wanting to start their own successful fashion business. I also have the Lonely Planet Guide to California. I have always wanted to do a coast to coast road trip of America, so I have begun to buy the Lonely Planet books (which are the best guide books I have found). Hopefully, sometime in the not too distant future I will be able to live this dream.

The next books I would like to buy from my wish list are: Alexander McQueen: Genius of A Generation, Zandra Rhodes: A Lifelong Love Affair with Textiles, Yinka Shonibare MBE (one of my favourite artists), Botanica by Howard Schatz (stunning floral photographs), any of the books by the incredible photographer David LaChapelle, Couture Interiors: Living with Fashion by Marnie Fogg and the coffee table book by my favourite artist Anthony Micallef. I also hope to buy more books about art history: Pop Art, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, etc.

*If anyone knows where I can buy Pucci: A Renaissance in Fashion by Shirley Kennedy for less than £100 then please let me know. Its so expensive online.

Phillippa x

My Fashion Sketches

Recently I've been working on some new season fashion sketches. In light of all the new Fall 13 runway shows, and award season, I decided to create my own ready-to-wear collection. Even when I design flat prints, I always have a very clear picture of the style of garment I envision my prints being used on. I love seeing my designs come to life, and sketching is a great way to visualise this. The sketches have also made a welcome addition to my design portfolio and they have been a great to talking point in recent interviews. In total I have around 80 new sketches, all of which have been hand produced and they are all my own original ideas.

Phillippa x