Men have a rough deal in the summer, with sartorial options generally being a variation on the leg length of their shorts and trousers. To remedy this, I have tracked down some fashion houses that have extended their summer offerings. Although not quite as exotic as the seashores, starfish or shell patterned womenswear available, for SS12 men can get their hands on some not to be sniffed at threads.
If lounging by the pool and nestling nicely with the seaside styling, I would recommend investigating D Squared for a sun worshippers paradise. With tiny orange swimming briefs, gladiator sandals and big shades, you can just imagine beckoning a Greek waiter for some more pina coladas, or, for the tactile, asking him to rub in some more sun oil!
Unsurprisingly, D & G is also spearheading a selection of bold prints fit for city breaks, but still with a nod to fun in the sun rather than limited to espressos and art galleries. Coupled with ripped jeans and trilbies, this will probably appeal to the cooler older brother, rather than the reckless hedonist.
Kenzo, Margiela and Miyake are also offering variations on blue, from azure to navy, and coupled with orange, lime or white, the tropical holiday can be interpreted in the city and beyond. If the marine scene is up your street, you can’t go wrong with Cavalli were you can find loose pleated trousers, a wee bit of stripe and laid back cotton blazers- great for a stroll on the marina- just a tiny bit more St Tropez than Eastbourne.
If nautical isn’t your thing, you can get funky with the sequins on the Birds of Paradise collection from Givenchy – definitely not for the wallflowers as the mini kilts, bermuda shorts and bomber jackets all come emblazoned with giant plant and leaf motives.
Tropical parrot greens and the extroverted Hawaiian shirt mean that a dash of fun can be added to a daytime look. With printed polo shirts making an entrance, the summer all-over print is looking pretty hot. If you are looking for a more sporty playful look, head to General Idea, who have mashed preppy styling with acid colours to create a perfectly wearable palate.
It takes a strong woman to name her collection Amore Della mia Vita (Love of my life).. But there is no denying that designer Francesca Marotta will break some hearts with her AW12 collection.
Showing in the grandiose surroundings of the new My Beautiful Fashion venue at Goldsmiths Hall; The gothic architecture and dramatic scenery set the pace for the beautiful, earie, yet wearably romantic pieces that were shown.
The models acted the parts of Sicilian widows, lovers, sisters and mothers as they sashayed in combinations of leather, silk, wool and lace. With thorny hair styling, coupled with commissioned jewellery by Milko Boyarov, the green, blue and red phosphorescent statement pieces stepped up the game and sparked a bit of youthful colour into the predominantly black collection.
Blatantly sexual, the see through lace is bound to be a hit on the red carpet, and I can see Lady Gaga or Jessie J in the finale dress and headpiece. But Francesca has something for the off duty sex siren too, and included chunky knits coupled with trousers, cosy overcoats and several little black dresses. All defining femininity by drawing attention to the waist, wrist or a splash of lace on the leg.
As her last collection was glamorous and ready to wear, this one too contains many commercial pieces, my particular favourites being the trouser suit, lace shirt and big knits. Subtly sexy and no doubt will make the wearer the love of anyone’s life!
Perhaps it’s because this is such a special year for the UK, with the Olympics and the Queen’s diamond jubilee, that designers have been touched by our rich history in the AW collections. This is a great time to be in London, and the designers at February’s AW12 fashion week certainly agreed.
Major trend for AW is turning back time to the traditional. Checks, dogstooth and tweed were showcased at several big players, with the heritage brand Burberry and of course, Dame Viv, holding the flag high.
This was also adopted by Corrie Neilson, and KTZ who did a take on the 2012 kilt; Clements Ribeiro and PPQ who also dipped their toe in the plaid water and flashed accessories as opposed to full looks at their shows.
Corrie was my first glimpse of the tartan trend at her packed out show at Somerset House on Friday; She chose to champion her Scottish ancestry by using bold black, white and red tartans coupled with billowing trains, as well as her trademark peplum waists and ladylike necklines. Although it sounds extravagant, it is altogether wearable.
Kokon to Zai was all about the layering; Belts, necklace, berets, legwarmers, clutch bags, earrings and bling… the amount of detailing that went into this show was phenomenal and I loved it! The menswear and womenswear had the usual punky androgynous feeling, with boxy jackets for both boys n girls. Pieces were defined by belts, heavy shoes and the occasional sprinkle of sparkles.
Opening the show with all-plaid black and white looks, the designer layered different sized tartans over one another creating an artistic array of oversized shirts and wide-sleeved, bomber jackets for men, alongside long skirts paired with wrap around blazers cinched at the waist with heavy leather belts for women. It was big checks over little checks over medium checks. Red and yellow also made an appearance, coupled with contrasting linings, and my ultimate favourite was the sophisticated red tartan sequined twin set.
More traditional tartans were spied at Clements Ribeiro and Vivienne Westwood Red Label, who used blue to shake hers up a bit. As one would expect from Ms Westwood, this was far from the norm- big was beautiful!
On the Burberry stage, we were transported back to the country estates, complete with tweed caps and cord in subdued tones- olive, burgundy, plum, mustard and brown. All you need to complete this look is a small pair of Miss Marple reading glasses.
With so much to choose from, it’s almost a shame we have to endure SS…! But I am actually looking forward to the Mulberry and Holly Fulton ice cream tones for spring, so actually the tweed can wait!
London-based Stylist, Writer, and Editor Sara Darling is one of fashion’s media butterflies, turning her hand to styling at an early age, before being asked to contribute to several publications including International Life magazine, Disorder magazine, and Beige, and then eventually co-founding her own fashion title 55pages as part of the 55Factory. When she’s not dressing celebrities such as Alex Zane or Ellie Goulding, styling for fashion editorials or music videos, Sara’s writing for magazines, or helping produce fashion shows. Fashion Monitor’s Emily Cater catches up with the busy bee to find out how she does it all…
You’re a Stylist, Writer and Editor, how did it all begin?
I have a background in media, with a degree in Media & Communications, and I got my first job at Face magazine, starting off as a receptionist there and then becoming a Fashion Coordinator. Through that I fancied trying styling but at the time I couldn’t afford to go freelance as I had a full time job.
Now I’m freelance, I do style a lot. I style for celebrities, commercials and music videos outside of fashion editorial but I also contribute to some magazines regularly, I’m Fashion Editor of 55Pages and International Life magazine, and now do a lot for Beige magazine, so there’s quite a lot going on. I also write which led on from styling really through my relationship with PRs. I get random enquiries and jobs now I’ve been doing it a while, which makes it quite exciting so this afternoon for example I’m doing Alex Zane for the Sherlock Holmes premier, to be honest things get thrown at me quite often now!
Tell me how 55pages came about?
Well, I work a lot with Christopher Sims who’s a Photographer and Producer and I’ve shot with him loads, we get on really well. He’s got a studio called 55 studios and we use a lot of the same team so we thought why don’t we work together, and we christened it from there as the ‘55factory’. We had loads of ideas for shoots and we have a lot of designer friends so we thought we’d make a fanzine called 55pages.
We’re on the third issue now which we’re finishing shooting for tomorrow. It’s going to be just twice a year, though it might be more in the future, we’re looking into funding now.
Are you more drawn to music styling or fashion styling, is there one you can be more creative with than the other?
Yes I mean I love doing people, in music. But with models… they don’t answer back! (laughs). I love editorials, you can be as creative and as wild as you like, especially if you’re working with the right magazines. With music you have egos to attend to and you have to work alongside their publicists and agents, there’s a lot of other people involved. You’re more in control when doing magazines so I probably prefer that.
Is styling instinctive to you or is it something you have to plan and research heavily?
It’s quite instinctual actually, it depends on the client obviously and there’s always some research involved but when I get a job I tend to know where to go, I think oh that PR would be great at that. My job is to know who’s got what. In terms of magazines I have ideas all the time, I always have ideas for shoots. Invariably I like to get them placed first so I’ll contact the photographers or the publication and see if it’s feasible, and usually because now I’ve done quite a lot they’ll say they’d love to see it so I go and shoot it and then they take it which is great.
Tell me about your schedule for fashion week, are you working with any shows at all?
I go to as many shows as possible, I will be covering them for 55pages and Fault magazine too, so usually I attend as a writer. In previous season’s I styled Saffron Knight’s show, though she hasn’t shown in a couple seasons now. This season I’ll be working with The Good Fashion Show working on the production and styling, so that’ll be good. In terms of shows, I like to see both big names and smaller known designers, obviously with the big ones, you get the big production and atmosphere, and I love to see what labels such as Mulberry are up to, but I also love to see the next big thing, so it’s great going to off-schedule shows under Vauxhall Fashion Scout. There are some really big talents which deserve to be given a chance.
So, which designers are you looking forward to seeing this season?
Always Vivienne Westwood, I love her…(pauses) I like menswear day especially as I work with a lot of menswear designers, J. W. Anderson is great. Francesca Marotta, I’ve worked with her before so it would be great to see how she has developed. Mulberry and Sass & Bide I love, also the Blow Presents presentation is brilliant so I’d love to catch them. If I could choose any designers to work with I’d say Jayne Pierson and Pam Hogg, I love edgy, cool designers like that. Other favourites are Topman Design, Acne, Katie Eary, Eudon Choi, and JENA.THEO.
With nearly ten years in styling, what has been the most memorable shoot you’ve ever done?
Oooh, well I shot in Cannes a while ago that was amazing. It was while the festival was on, and it was in this busy street where we had this amazing model posing, she was really tall and dressed outrageously, it was really cool. Lots of paps were taking pictures of her too, it was mad. I’ve also been to Marrakech and to New York for fashion week, but I don’t generally travel too much. I’d love to do a lot more really!
Where do you get your influences and inspiration from?
Everywhere! Definitely from people on the streets, and even venues, I can be somewhere and think I’d love to do a shoot here, or this would really work with a 1950s style. Especially during LFW, even if you aren’t at a show and are just people-watching around Somerset House, people really dress up and look amazing, it’s so inspiring! London fashion is so diverse and interesting, people really push the boat out. It can be a bit like a circus, but it’s just really fun, so many people are photographed and then it’s in blogs and magazines and it filters down onto the high street and becomes fashionable. Seeing the shows and the people at Somerset House is very influential, it just gives you an idea maybe, which then comes to life.
Where do you see the future of styling going?
I think it’s going to get a lot bigger, and a lot more people wanting to go into fashion will want to get into it. Its one of those things where anyone can get on board, you don’t have to be qualified to be a stylist. It’s about confidence, and getting contacts, that definitely helps, because I don’t think anyone can just ring up and ask to borrow something, you have to build those relationships. In terms of the future of it, everything is a lot more digital, you have these fashion shows live streaming and a lot of films shown online. Aqua, for example have done films where you can buy things seasonally from the film online which is great.
Have you got any exciting projects for 2012, what are you currently working on?
Well I’m working with The Good Fashion show as Head Stylist at LFW which is really exciting, then I’m off to Paris with the 55Pages team. Following that I’m shooting a handbag campaign for Jack French in Italy, and then potentially in the US on his QVC sales and print campaign. I’ve also got shoots planned for Homme Style and Papercut magazines, so lots going on!
if you havent seen it yet, pick it up in selected goodie bags around LFW or via the website http://www.55factory.net/55pages/
As Fashion Ed, I think its well cool!
what can i say, if you didnt see the show, you missed a spectacle! i did 25 models in thirty different designers and i can still speak. phew. cant wait to see the video. watch this space…
Only two months in, and ive gone and only gone and got myself an agent!
Check me out on Models 1 Creatives- looking forward to working with a whole new level of creative talent!
I can safely say that I am very much looking forward to spring! After a snowy February weekend, I am daydreaming about wearing light, comfortable dresses in pastel colours and dancing off to the late light evenings…!
I could dress entirely from the White Tent label, which has just been introduced to me, and looks like it is going to be a firm favourite. Founded in 2007 by Evgenia Tabakova and Pedro Noronha-Feio who crossed the “fashion barriers” and graduated from Central Saint Martin’s and the London College of Fashion respectively. And their Russian and Portuguese descents, fuses the wearable luxury that is so often neglected.
Also important to the pair is the social responsibility behind the construction of the clothes; They are constantly searching for innovative materials and use organic and recycled yarns; Their philosophy is keep the business as sustainable as possible, and they have been able to work with their manufacturer closely in Portugal to create employment and training opportunities.
Comfort is a key factor in the design of their collections, and SS12 features fluidity, oversized jersey and understated details and a flash of metallic, to keep it interesting. Altogether this results in a nonchalant, slouchy look, which is right up my street. The separates can slip in easily to any wardrobe, and the new collection will be available on Asos from the end of March.
