Louis Vuitton spring 2014: The Ad Campaign

So Marc Jacobs is moving on and Louis Vuitton has a new creative director. For his final Vuitton campaign, Jacobs has brought in fashion royalty to pose with the iconic Vuitton handbags. Models Giselle and Edie Campbell star alongside Sophia Coppola and Catherine Deneuve. Shot by Steven Miesel, these stunning photographs capture the essence of Jacobs work at Vuitton and show how much he will be missed at this iconic French fashion house.

So here are the pictures in all their beautiful, fashion glory...

You can call her Queen Bey

 Once again, Beyoncé has set another set of records with the release of her new visual album, titled Beyoncé. It became the fastest selling album on iTunes EVER, selling approximately selling 828,773 in just a matter of days. After only three days, it reached the number one spot not only on the American Billboard Album chart but in numerous other countries. As for the songs, Beyoncé has bared her soul on this album with a new, mature sound and clever lyrics. ‘Blue Ivy’ is one of the most beautiful and honest songs on the album, and shows Beyoncé's clear adoration of her baby daughter, as she serenades her to ‘Hold on forever to me.’ Beautiful.

Another highlight on the album and future hit is ‘Drunk in Love’ featuring Jay-Z. This song has the ability to become another ‘Crazy in Love,’ with Mr and Mrs Carter showing the magic that results when two of the most talented musicians team up. My personal favourite track is ‘Pretty Hurts,’ the opening song of the album. The powerful base line and smooth vocals Beyonce delivers is a foot tapping, slow jamming hit which you can easily get carried away to. And the music videos are divine as well, all with their own individual and sometimes personal touches, which is most evident in the beautifully, loving video for ‘Blue Ivy,’ where you see Beyonce walking along the beach clutching her baby daughter close to her chest. And to think this was all kept under wraps for months....

Beyoncé is amazing, and that's all I have to say.

Rihanna for Balmain Spring 2014

Pop singer, Rihanna has become the latest celebrity to front a major fashion campaign, this time in the form of Balmain spring/summer 2014. Described by creative director for Balmain, Olivier Rousteing as an 'icon,' Rihanna brings her own sense of style and swag in the latest photographs in the ad campaign and practically sizzles in front of the camera. 'In front of the camera, she makes you feel like she is the only girl in the world', Rousteing continued as he welcomed the pop diva to the French fashion house. The campaign was shot in New York by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin with Rihanna's own stylist Mel Ottenburg helping with the styling on set.

The spring summer 2014 collection is one of Rousteing's finest, with the classic Balmain boxy shapes and silhouettes taking centre stage. Romantic pastels were hardened with hounds - tooth prints and leather skirts and trousers. Feminism clearly was the main message of the collection, with Rousteing experimenting with the knee length skirt, tweed cardigans, feathery hems and tight belts - daring to squeeze everything in for the new year. Reminiscent of Chanel, this coming season looks to be very grown up with Balmain's woman channeling pretty pastels and three - piece suits. 

Rihanna and Olivier Rousteing have known each other for a while, with Rihanna even posting pictures on Instagram showing the latest custom made pieces, Rousteing designed especially for her. RiRi is also regularly seen sporting Balmain garments while out and about, so this collaboration looks like it's one of friendship as well as business (there's no doubt Rihanna's endorsement will provide a rise in sales for this Parisian fashion heavyweight.) Balmain and Rihanna = A match made in fashion heaven! 

'The Girl who Lived in a Tree' - Alexander Mcqueen Accessories f/w 2008

How stunning are these headpieces from the Alexander Mcqueen Fall/Winter 2008 show!! Titled, 'The Girl Who Lived in a Tree,' this collection focused on elaborate accessories and womanly beauty, featuring models such as Natasha Poly, Raquel Zimmermann,Sasha Pivovarova and Lily Donaldson... What a show!

Watch the show for yourself.  - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_AU_JEjpl4 

Chanel Metiers D'Art: A Texan Extravaganza!

Line dancing, a barn yard setting, cowboy boots and the return of the poncho! The Chanel Metiers D'Art 2013 fashion show in Dallas, Texas was indeed an extraveganza with a supermodel line up and an A-List front row, including Kristen Stewart who Karl Lagerfeld has confirmed will be the face of the Chanel 2014 campaign (very exciting!) This was one of the best Metiers D'Art collections that Lagerfeld has produced, capturing the essence and style of Texan culture.

And now about the clothes, for they were wonderfully American and an ode to all things country/Western. There were influences of both cowboy and Red Indian dress, as Lagerfeld aimed to establish Chanel's mark on traditional American fashion. Models, which included Joan Smalls, Lindsey Wixen and Georgia May Jagger, wore painted feathers in their hair, aztec-print ponchos, tan cowboy boots and checked shirts, certainly getting into the Tezan feel. Fur coats, denim jackets, stripy scarves and brightly woven cardigans in buurgendy, cream and navy blue. Lagerfeld also brought in the classic Chanel suit and gave them a Texan makeover with tassled boots, neckties, oversized jackets and woolen tights, adding to the American feel. Small, black bowler hats adorned with feathers were paired with beautiful chiffon skirts that billowed out as the models stalked down the catwalk. Towards the end of the collection, the romantic atmosphere which eclipsed most of the show dissapeared as jeans, working shirts and denim dresses took theur stand, relfecting the working Texan woman, who spends her days on the ranch. Yet, Lagerfeld made these rougher clothes look undoubtly elegant and chic, by adding accessories such as the across-the-body bag and delicate bracelets.

Last year we had references to the Scottish highlands and their tartan kilts, for 2011 it was Bombay style all the way for the Chanel Paris/Byzance collection and so this year it was only fitting that Lagerfeld jump to another continent to take his inspiration to new extremes and high fashions! This was a feast for the fashion eyes and packed filled with totally wearable clothes which wouldn't look amiss on the ranch or in a posh Parisian cafe. Absolutuly divine. This is Texas done the Chanel way.

Chanel Metiers D'Art

Every year Karl Lagerfeld presents his beautiful, elaborate Chanel Metiers D'Art show. Expect beauty, tailoring and Chanel iconography on only the best clothes, displayed upon a catwalk that will be decorated of course, in true Chanel style. This year the Metiers D'Art show will take place in Dallas, Texas... maybe a little strange but past venues have included a Scottish castle and a London auction house. Just in time for Christmas this show promises a sense of magic and high end fashion, mixed with Karl Lagerfeld's stamp on this iconic fashion house.

Personally, I love the annual Metiers D'Art show, with my favourite year being the 2011 Paris/Byzance collection held in Paris. Lagerfeld is a genius, we all know that. However, this year he did something extraordinary, by mixing Middle Eastern cultures with the Chanel staples such as the suit, tweed jackets and the iconic pearl necklaces. The outcome? A beautiful show, full of wonder, extravagance and an array of models dressed head to toe in sparkling, white creations with jewels and precious stones encrusted into dresses and coats. Lagerfeld also used Indian models throughout the show, as well as a catwalk based on the British Raj in India. Guests sat at gold tables which had miniature trains running along them, delivering food and drink to the likes of Anna Wintour and Diane Kruger. You'll have to watch this show to believe me! It was gorgeous and I would love to see Lagerfeld looking more at different cultures to influence his collections because when he does... they are amazing!

So, what to look forward to today? Who knows, what Lagerfeld will conjure up but it will be sure to be extravagant, divine, Parisian chic! Let the show begin...

 

D&G design the Claridges Christmas Tree

Every year, the famous London hotel Claridges invites a designer to create their huge Christmas tree which takes pride of place in the lobby. Dolce and Gabbana were the chosen designers this year, with their beautiful, bright creation which was opened this week. Pixie Lott and David Gandy were just some of the celebrities who attended the tree 'premiere' in true Italian, D&G style. As Domenico Dolce and Stephano Gabbana are my favourite designers and I'm feeling quite Christmassy at the moment, I decided to share these wonderful Claridges trees with you, which will hopefully get you into the Christmas mood too!

For 2012, Kally Ellis designed the tree for McQueens, a London floral company. 2011's tree was by the one and only, Alber Elbaz which featured cartoon dolls, pink decorations and a lot of fun! John Galliano took the honour for his 2010 tree, entitled 'Under the Sea,' which looked as though it had come straight out of Ariel's underwater Kingdom. And for 2009, Dior designed their version of the tree, basing their ideas on the bare, crooked trees seen across the winter period, tipped with snow and looming high into the sky. Enjoy these magical creations...

Here is the 2013 tree by Dolce and Gabbana:

And from previous years...

So you want to go into fashion...

We all make assumptions. We all make judgements. We are somtimes blinded by prejudice. For example, when you were a kid, what was the job that everyone wanted to do when they grew up? A singer, a footballer a doctor...that was considered the norm, a dream infact. Now, skip to the teenage years, when you started making important decisions about your future. What were the cool (important) career choices then? A lawyer, a chemist, an economist... basically the intellictual jobs that benefited society and the world we live in. Well, what about fashion? What if you stood up in class, raised your voice and declared you wanted to be respected womenswear designer showing at London Fashion Week every season? This was just one of the reactions I received at 15 when I stated my vision, 'Awww thats so cute!' Why is that 'cute'? You don't laugh at the kids who want to be doctors or call them 'cute,' so why has fashion got this dreamlike, bimbo stigma attatched to it. For someone who dreams of becoming a fashion journlaist, (not a designer!), it drives me insane.

Lets look at Anna Wintour, one of the most influential, smartest and hard working people in the industry. She has gained so much success and honour yet she admits in The September Issue DVD, her siblings find her work extremelly 'amusing.' Why? Because apparently fashion is for the stupid, who only care about clothes, make up and pretty, little girl things. 'No woman wanting to be taken seriously would enter the fashion industry,' is the message I seem to receive when talking to friends and collegues, when infact this industry contributes $300 billion dollars per year to the global economy, providing millions of jobs for people and dressing the majority of the worlds population in the latest fashions and designer wear. I think that sounds pretty serious, don't you?

And another thing. People are scared of the industry. 'Fashion is the hardest job to get into,' 'You have to be willing to do whatever it takes to get to the top,' 'People who work in fashion become zombies, working for free for evil editor dictators.' Sound familiar? People are happy to diss fashion and write it off as being impossible for mere mortals like myself, but people DO make it. There are so many new oppertunities now with internet shopping, social media, emerging brands and designers, interactive magazines, international fashion weeks...there are jobs, you just have to know the right people and believe in yourself. Fashion is not for the faint hearted, but if you love it, go for it. How many people can say that they love their job?

All I'm moaning about here is me not being taken seriously, and every human being wants to be taken seriously. People laugh at fashion. I've experienced the sarcasm and haughty comments on my career prospects all my life and I've learnt to realise that people just don't understand how vast and important this industry is. People see fashion as walking into Topshop and doing some shopping. You and I both know that that's not true, but there's no point trying to explain as we'd be here forever, and people don't have time for fashion, right?

Grace Coddington: Styling to Perfection

There is no other fashion stylist like Grace Coddington. Fact. Nobody can mix romanticism, enchantment, love, beauty and an overall fashion story through clothes the way Grace can. One of the most beautiful fashion editorials Grace has styled has got to be the couture spread featured in American Vogue for the famed September Issue 2007. This shoot in particular, features the modelling talent of supermodel Raquel Zimmermann photographed by the legendary David Sims in the extravegantly rich, Grand Trianon in Versailles, France...The perfect setting for a couture shoot. Zimmermann dazzles in dresses by John Galliano for Dior, Armani Prive, Chanel and Jean Paul Gaultier, styled to perfection by Coddington. This is without a doubt one of Grace's most alluring, beautiful fashion spreads, highlighting exactly why she is celebrated throughout the industry as a top stlyist and right-hand woman to the Ice Queen herself, Anna Wintour.

Take a look at David Sims beautiful photographs for Vogue and breath in the pure, fashion beauty...

 

 

 

http://www.vogue.com/voguepedia/Grace_Coddington