Super Style: Givenchy Mens S/S2015

Sleek. Stylish. Monochromatic. Givenchy. The Spring/Summer Mens 2015 show by Ricardo Tisci for Givenchy was yet another fantastic collection, packed full of amazing pieces presented in the only way Tisci can. Every model wore sheer caps (a little like a school dinner lady!) with custom made trainers that crept up towards the knee or sat snugly on the ankle. There were tailored suits all in black and white, a theme which ran throughout the collection with dappled floral prints adorned on almost every piece. Men even wore mini skirts over shorts with bright white stripes over the shoulder panels and sides of jackets. If I was a man, this would be my go to collection for next summer, I mean who wouldn't want to rock some of Tisci for the world to see.

However, it was the four supermodel names that stole the show, literally. Isabeli Fontana, Adriana Lima, Irina Shayk and Candice Swanepoel, arguably the most beautiful models in the world, walked alongside the men in equally stylish clothes. I loved Candice's short mini dress with clever black straps holding it up, as well as Isabeli's floral black suit, reworked with a more urban twist by wearing it with trainers. With a feline flick of eyeliner across the eyes and nude lips to compliment the overall look, make up artist Pat McGrath certainly did a great job with these dramatic and bold make up looks, which was snapped eagerly backstage by Irina Shayk and Isabeli Fontana for Instagram. In fact, social media was really at the forefront of this show, with a number of models, designers and celebrities Instagraming the latest Givenchy collection for their eager followers to marvel at.

What I adored about this collection was the beauty of it, even though it was a mens collection. It was sharp, neat and carefully constructed with all the looks complimenting each other perfectly, following on from the last amazing Ricardo Tisci collection at the fall 2014 womenswear show. Tisci seems to just be getting better and better, with a host of celebrity followers including Kim Kardashian who had him make her beautiful wedding gown. With followers like that, anything is possible for this fashion house, made famous in the 1950's by Audrey Hepburn who worked closely with founder Hubert de Givenchy on many of her movies. The house has developed and changed so much over the years, with designers Alexander McQueen, John Galliano and Julien MacDonald all holding the position of creative director. However, it is Tisci who has really identified with the brand and pushed it into the forefront of luxury fashion. And looking at this latest collection, things are only looking up...

Dolce & Gabbana S/S 2002 - Gisele

I love Dolce and Gabbana, which you would know if you read my blog a lot! From their style, to the catwalk collections, to the passion and historical influence they include in every single garment they create, Dolce for me are just amazing fashion designers with a unique twist in modern Italian fashion. This ad campaign shot my Steven Miesel in 2002, captures the Spring/Summer collection of that year, featuring a young Gisele as the model of choice. With a simple Italian village as a setting and dusty, worn down roads surrounding it, this campaign captures the essence of Sicilian culture not only thorugh the clothes, but through the lighting, poses and overall style Gisele brings to the photoshoot. Looking back into fashion houses' histories and past fashions is something I enjoy doing, to witness the changes made to trends then and now and how the industry has evolved over the years. This has to be one of my favourites, and you can even take a look at some of the detailed mood boards the fashion duo based their ad campaign on with original sketches too! Bellissimo!

Valentino: Pre Spring 2015 Collection (+ some job advice!)

This week hasn't exactly been great for me. Put it this way, I started the week with 2, well paid, fashion based jobs, and now only three days later....I am jobless. Yes. I am not going to go into details but lets just say, I shed some tears, okay a lot of tears! But if anything, this experience has taught me that everything happens for a reason and perhaps this very bad and devastating change is in actual fact a good thing. Nevertheless, the bottom line is the world of fashion does not allow mistakes and is so fast paced that there are literally lists of people waiting for you to slip up and take your job, ruthlessly. Trust me, for all those people who want to go into fashion, you've got to be prepared to work hard and be pushed back many, many times with a ton of disappointments along the way. I'm still young, 18, yet this massive setback has thrown and upset me considerably, so much so that I even considered what actually drew me to work in a fashion based environment. I love fashion, and I have dreamed for years of working within the industry and I will NOT let this setback plague me for the rest of my life, even though it is pretty heart wrenching! What's more, I like many of you understand how hard it is to break into the fashion industry or in general, even secure a job. It is tough, and I am with you people who struggle everyday to find a job, any job that pays the bills.

Well, enough about me and my depressing life. Even though it was the Mens Collections in London this week, I want to focus on the amazing Valentino pre Spring/Summer 2015 collection which was pretty, relaxed and chic. From the pastel colours to the loose silhouettes, this was quite a traditional and Italian collection with homage to past Valentino shows. Over the past couple of seasons, Valentino has just become better and better for me, with new and exciting ideas which appeal to larger audiences and more stylish customers. It's fair to say, I am a fan and this collection defiantly cheered me up for about 20 minutes while I scanned through the photos which will appear in the brands catalog. I like pretty things, and this is probably one of the most delicate and ornate collections Valentino has ever produced for any pre-collection, so I take my fashion hat off to them!

Take a look at the Pre Spring/Summer 2015 Valentino collection, and be inspired for sunnier climates and sense of exotic wonders! And if you're, like me, looking for a job, don't give up! I'm going through it with you, buddy!

Red Carpet Style: Nicole Kidman

Nicole in Lanvin

Every month, theFASHIONbox features a best dressed celebrity, who always manages to look great on the red carpet. With new movie Grace of Monaco hitting cinemas at the moment, it only seemed right to honour the great style of Nicole Kidman, who plays Grace Kelly in the blockbuster movie. Kidman always looks stunning at awards ceremonies, festivals and a-list events, with her pale skin, striking hair and elegant height which allows her to carry almost any dress well. Kidman is truly worthy of best dressed of the month!

Nicole Mary Kidman was born in 1967, Hawaii with a deep love of acting and performing. Her break through role was in the 1989 thriller, 'Dead Calm,' followed by 'Days of Thunder' in 1990, 'Far and Away' 1992 and 'Batman Forever' in 1995. But it was her role in Moulin Rouge opposite Ewen McGregor which really captured our imaginations, as she sung and acted her heart out, earning Kidman a second Golden Globe award. Other amazing movies like 'Australia,' 'The Hours' and 'Cold Mountain,' have firmly established Kidman as a respected actress with a special talent. Her love life has also been of considerable interest to the media, with her high profile marriage to Tom Cruise and then to current husband, Keith Urban who she has two children with. I admire Kidman for juggling motherhood with her career, while at the same time making sure she's a good wife with immaculate dress sense.

From the Cannes Film Festival to the Academy Awards, Kidman always looks stunning. In 2013, Kidman graced the Cannes red carpet in a beautiful Giorgio Armani gown as well as an equally exquisite Valentino ballgown. Her Christian Dior gown, which respectfully showed only Kidman's ankles was also a stunner as was her L'Wren Scott sparkly dress at the 2013 Oscars. When Nicole collected her Oscar, her black gown by Jean Paul Gaultier was on everybody's lips as it delicately swept over one shoulder and flowed elegantly behind her as she walked up to collect her Academy Award. Absolutly iconic. Kidman has a slender, athletic frame with wonderful, luminous skin so many styles of dress look amazing on her. She favours
light, pastel colours in Grecian designs which flatter her curves, while clever tailoring accentuates her tiny waist and endless legs. One of my favourite dresses Nicole has ever worn was the 2012 Golden Globes Versace studded gown. With mermaid like qualities and sexy gold studs, Kidman looked amazing with her hair loosely styled around her shoulders. I also love the cocktail gowns Kidman favours, giving a much more grown up and elegant feel to whatever ceremony she's attending.

Nicole is also a favourite amongst the fashion elite, with a usual spot reserved on the front row at Paris Fashion Week. She has fronted campaigns for Chanel (if you haven't seen the Chanel perfume ad, you need to check it out!) and Jimmy Choo while she counts Karl Lagerfeld and Tom Ford amongst her famous designer friends. Kidman is a fashion icon, who I like many women across the world admire for her tasteful and flattering sense of style. What will Kidman wear next? Well, you can be certain it will be something very, very fashionable!

A Handsmade Tale... in Vogue

When I'm feeling a little down or creatively unmotivated, I know that looking at beautiful photos will cheer me up immediately. Especially any photo spreads from American Vogue, styled by Grace Coddington, like this one I thought I'd share: 'Handsmade Tale'. Shot by famed photographer, Patrick Demarchelier for the October 2008 issue of Vogue Magazine, this beautiful photoshoot is stunning as it captures the iconic Parisian couture houses and an array of their extravagant work, each piece a luxury, iconic design that will form part of a very rich womans wardrobe. With Russian Supermodel, Natalia Vodianova posing alongside the seamstresses and creators of the elegant gowns, Vogue visit the Chanel, Dior, Givenchy, Gaultier and Valentino work rooms to bring the magic of Haute Couture to life. And brought to life they are!

You can't help but just let your eyes roam over the photos, taking in each and every detail and the whole setting that compliment the clothes so well. Like couture, Demarchelier focuses on every nook and cranny, providing us with the perfect pictures that will forever be part of the Vogue archives. Couture for me has always been very special. My Great Grandma once owned a vintage Chanel handbag. Yes, I was very impressed when I found out too! Yet it disintegrated so much over the years it was no longer fit for use (extremely sad.) Yet, Couture will last you a life time. Now, my Great Grandma could not afford couture, a lot like most of the population, but for the women who can, these handmade, made to measure pieces will last a lifetime and then some. Every sequin is sewn by hand, the material is of the finest quality, only a small number are made and the customer is never disappointed with the final outcome. That's what makes couture so special. From Dior's glamorous dresses with full skirts and cinched in waists to Valentino's dramatic red bombshells, perfect for the red carpet; you can just tell couture apart from the normal ready to wear collections.

This photoshoot, captures some of the most iconic designers and pays homage not only to the identity of the fashion house, but to the staff who work long hours to create quality and perfection. I absolutly adore the monochrome Christian Dior photo, with the staff strategically positioned outside the ornate Dior headquaters. Understated and speical, I could just stare at it all day, from the dresses laid out on manequins on the pavement to the two happy seamstresses leaning out of the window. Everyone expresses love for what they do, and their process in the creation of high fashion. The Givenchy homage is also fantastic, with the bright pink balloon separating the Natalia and the five seamstresses. 

I can't imagine what it would feel like to wear a couture gown. I mean, could you? To feel that luxury on your skin and to know that it was made for you, and nobody else. This photoshoot is incredible, and shows that we should all respect the world of Haute Couture and protect its identity. It would be such a shame if it disappeared altogether...

Get Hippy with Hipanema!

I know I might be a little late with this amazing brand, but for those of you who don't know what Hipanema is, let me tell you. Flying home from Spain last weekend, I casually flicked through the on-flight magazines stuffed into the small pouch infront of me. Amongst all the over priced designer goods and weird holiday souvenirs, I stumbled across a page dedicated to the Brazilian fashion label, Hipanema which specialises in accessories; bracelets to be precise. But these aren't just any old bracelets. Capturing the colourful spirit of Brazil and the old tradition of making friendship bracelets, Hipanema was born, making hot and fun bracelets adorned with coloured threads, cute messages, shells, ribbons and metal decorations. From that moment on, I caught the Hipanema bug.

However, for those of you on a budget, these bracelets are not particularly cheap. The cheapest I found on their website was £46 while the most expensive spanned to over £90. Nevertheless, they are timeless pieces that are just right for summer which is why I have ordered one and it is currently on its way to my house! And of course, with the World Cup engulfing every nation at the moment and Brazil taking the spotlight in a couple of weeks, it's about time we all got into the Rio spirit and endulged in a culturally uplifting piece of jewellery. Have you been persuaded yet?

For more information on Hipanema, visit their international website at http://www.hipanema.co.uk to check out their magical creations. Who knew something so simple as a friendship bracelet could generate so much excitement!

http://www.hipanema.co.uk

Happy Birthday Marilyn Monroe!

 

If Marilyn was alive today, she would have been 88 years old. An iconic woman, a dedicated actress, a smart and intelligent lady, Marilyn Monroe will always go down in history as one of the most interesting, photogenic and beautiful women of all time. Her mysterious death and troubled later years, such as her battle with depression, her three failed marriages and a miscarriage all show just how tough and brave Marilyn was, to continue her life under media scrutiny in the spotlight of the world. From her most famous movies like 'Some like it Hot,' 'Gentleman prefer Blonds' and 'The Seven Year Itch,' to her status as a sex symbol and fashion icon through her womanly curves and sense of style, favouring tight fishtail gowns, bright red lipstick and dazzling jewellery which captivated our hearts and minds. She was the first woman to star on the cover of Playboy magazine, the first successful comedy actress in Hollywood and the most photographed woman of all time. Personally, I salute this woman for what she stands for: Intelligence and courage, valour and dignity in everything she put her mind to. All these years later, Hollywood has still never managed to find another Marilyn and I doubt they ever will. Ms Monroe is an icon, and so join me in wishing her a very Happy Birthday today!

Here are some of the most famous photos of the movie star...

And last but not least, a drawing I did in pencil of Monroe: