Fashion in a Frenzy

Collaborative collections between high street stores and high end fashion Designers are big business, giving consumers a chance to own designer styles at a fraction of the price. But with collections selling out in seconds and items reselling online for often triple the original price, who are the real winners in what seems like a sartorial game of sport?

The Vampire’s Wife, H&M, 2020

Global fashion chain H&M first kicked off its now legendary annual tie ups with big shot fashion designers back in 2004. The debut was a collection with the late Karl Lagerfeld. These partnerships result in big bucks and enormous exposure for the brands. It was game on from that point, having a hot hook up every year since with names including Comme Des Garcons, Lanvin, and Isabel Marant. Other high street stores were fast to join the game. Gap got Valentino into their gang, Uniqlo teamed up with J W Anderson, and Topshop joined forces with Mary Kantrantzou, Christopher Kane, and their most powerful pairing; Kate Moss. The structure of these sell out collections is a winning formula. Whispers gather speed, sneak peeks appear, and excitement swells alongside massive marketing. A slow paced anticipation, is followed by a sprint to the launch date. Alarms set, queues form outside the stores, fingers hover over keyboards, like waiting for a starting gun to release the race. Shoppers hoping to get their own piece of the collection which -at least for that week- everyone is talking about. This huge hype creates hysteria at the high street stores. They no doubt know that every item will be a sLaM DuNk seller.

Kate Moss, Topshop, 2010

The collaborative collections all tend to be small, with star player pieces which by the time they go on sale, I’m a little sick of the sight of. The ad campaigns relentlessly run on TV, billboards and magazines. On launch day social media is flooded with successful shoppers flaunting their wares, like winners of a competition. Show offs. Do they really love that Giambatista Valli H&M dress we’ve seen five thousaaaand times on Kendall Jenner in the campaign? Or are they more chuffed with the fact that they managed to actually get one? Like a gold medal for the most dedicated fashion fan.

Lanvin, H&M, 2010

I really do love some of the collections. The multiple ones Moss has done with Topshop all have some pieces which make my heart skip a beat. The latest H&M collaboration with -lust worthy dress maker of the moment- The Vampire’s Wife, has some absolute darling dresses, and a stand out cape like many of Moss’ collections. But I can’t help feeling that the beauty of them, and that of wearing them, is a little overshadowed by just how damn overexposed they all are in the media. If I see someone wearing an item from one of these collections, rather than admire their style and think they look lovely, I’m more likely to think that they heeded the hype and fought to get their fashion fix. Or that they paid a fiercely inflated price to buy it from a reseller. The power of promotion.

Karl Lagerfeld, H&M, 2004

As with much new fashion, inspiration is drawn from original vintage looks. The pieces I adore most from both Moss and The Vampire’s Wife’s collections have strong similarities to items I have sold over and over in their original form through my vintage shop. Does the limited edition nature of these high street collaborations make the dresses collectible? Possibly, in many years to come, they are very identifiable and made in restricted amounts. I will always value an original vintage dress more though. These high street collections are still after all, mass produced to some degree, not one of a kind. The resale market for these collections is a secondary business in itself. Within hours of the items being on sale in the stores, online selling sites such as eBay and Depop are full of them, often at triple the high street price tag. The demand is so high that the value increases the moment it leaves the shop. But how long does it hold its value? Once the frenzy fades, are people still willing to pay so much? Prices get hiked so high that the Valli H&M dresses were reselling online for more than a dress from Valli’s own ready to wear label! Wowzie.

Valentino, Gap, 2010

Are pieces from these collaborations iconic, or just over popularised? The more we see something, and get told that everyone wants it, the more we feel an urgency to get it, and fast. People buy any size they can grab, regardless of whether it fits, just to be involved. This feels like fast fashion played out in a literal sense. Create a craving, build up to the release, keep it limited, and it’s guaranteed to be a very fast money maker. It’s a game, but who is the player here? These collaborations are a whole heap of fun and create some really beautiful fashion. But if they made more runs of each item so they weren’t limited stock, would we all still so eagerly hand over our money just to score a goal?

Vogue 100: A Century of Style

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This Monday I personally got my peepers on the Vogue 100: A Century of Style exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, goodness, so much beauty for my eyes to behold. Celebrating the 100th birthday of British Vogue, this is somewhat of an epic exhibition, I mean, maaan, where do you start when trying to curate an exhibition showing the highlights of 100 years worth of fashion and photography from the worlds most prestigious fashion bible? A magazine which has launched and defined the careers of so many models, designers and photographers. A hard task, the selection and editing must have been pretty intense. But this, is a stunning exhibition. Beautifully, simply and elegantly executed, with no gimmicks and no unnecessary pomp. It’s a big exhibition, I mean, it kinda had to be to do justice to the subject, but it doesn’t drag and it’s spaced to perfection so you can take in each image on it’s own whilst also enjoying the continuity and splendor of the exhibition as a whole; perfection. It gets busy and if it had been any busier we would have felt cramped but, it had a lovely atmosphere, all ages sharing the space together for an hour or two to soak up some mesmerizing talent and beauty. It is a little pricey, it costs £19 for a regular ticket which is definitely a little more than most exhibitions in the city, but is it worth it? Yes, I’d say it is, but only just. A few pounds cheaper would seem a better price. Shown in a reverse chronological order, we see the best images from the magazine now, and go all the way back, through the decade dedicated rooms, to it’s launch in 1916. My favourite section? It has to be the 1990’s room where we saw the start of Kate Moss’s career, the photography of Corinne Day and the familiar faces of Princess Diana and Posh and Becks in their heyday. My era. Loved it. Get yourself there before it ends on 22nd May and let me know your favourite era of this massive magazine.

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How To Find Your New Personal Style


collagemossSo, I LOVE fashion as you are well aware. I adore trying out new styles, replicating fashions I see on the silver screen and on famous faces. I think finding a new style can often act as a confidence booster. If you can find a way to change your look for the better, you’ll smile when you catch your reflection in a shop window and that, is a great feeling. Knowing that you’re confident in how you look and the way you dress is a feeling we all wanna piece of. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the type of impact this could have can change your life and the way you go through each day. Suddenly, you’ll find you have the self-esteem to approach new possibilities with an open mind and a sense of self. It’s a new year, it’s a little dull and quiet in January and so it’s an ace time to try something new before Spring arrives! Here’s some ways you can find a new style and look at a more brilliant tomorrow, yay! 

Go Shopping! – I know, I’m encouraging you to shop, ooops, but honestly, one of the easiest ways to find a new style is to hit the stores. There, you can try on lots of different outfits and see what type suits you best and which ones you’d be comfortable wearing. You could even think about hiring a personal shopper if you need a hand, or take along a super stylish friend for help as your Stylist for the day. Personal shoppers aren’t just for celebs these days y’know, and for an odd day trip they are quite price convenient. Of course, you have to make sure that you choose one with a certain skill and eye for trends, one that gets where you wanna go with your look!

Take Note From The Celebs – There are certain websites where you can find the style of different celebrities. Take the post I wrote about the girls in Scream Queens as an example. Although, unless you’re in your teens and have a lot of money to throw around I wouldn’t try to get their fashion style exactly! It’s important to think about the celebrity that you want to match the style of, no prizes for guessing who my most favourite style icon is! They really need to be your height, and you can check that out on http://heightline.com/ a fun website I found! A gorgeous dress that looks stunning on someone who’s five foot eight won’t look as glamorous on a lady who is just over five feet, you just have to play around with ideas and find what works for you. Of course, you can trick perception by choosing shoes with very high heels. It just depends on how comfortable you are walking around with these types of shoes on!

Try New Accessories – Alternately, you may want to try some new accessories and see what impact they have on your style. You know as well as I do that the right clutch or necklace can really make an outfit POP! You just have to try different types of accessories until you find the effect that you’re searching for, it’s a whole heap of fun to play!

Get A New Do – A new hairstyle can completely alter the way you look and is a great go-to when you fancy a new look. The right style could perfectly frame your face and even hide features you’re conscious of, a great new do can make you feel so good and can be a great face refresher! If you’re approaching forty you might find that your hair is looking a little thinner. But the right style can hide this fact completely, particularly if you also use bamboo oil products, just spend some time online finding tips. Do this, and you’ll be looking and feeling like your most beautiful self ever, whooopeee! 

Try some of these ideas to give your look a new boost, a little mix-up and a little extra ooomph, you’ll be gettin’ ALL the looks for being the lovliest lady of them all, and surely that’s something we all get a little buzz from! 

Kate’s Top Ten Fancy Dress Looks

With Halloween on the horizon and Pumpkins perched on every shop shelf, the style lovers among us think of only one thing…costumes; and how we’re gonna do it this year. We all wanna look good in our grizzly get up right? Well, one gal gets it right every darn time and looks as ace as ever in her witchy wares. Kate Moss never shies away from the chance to play dress up, whether it’s Jonathan Ross’s Halloween bash, an 80’s themed party, a masked ball or one of her own decadent parties; Miss Moss can be relied upon to bring out the very best vintage or designer look from her fashion repertoire. Kate keeps it cool and beautiful whenever the occasion arises, here’s her top ten fancy dress looks so far. k4k1k2k3k5k6kate-beautiful-damned-party-30th-2004k9k10Kate's Star-Studded Birthday

 

  1. Kate with Naomi Campbell in NYC, 1995
  2. At Jonathan Ross’ Halloween party, 2013, with Jamie Hince
  3. Day of The Dead, 2013
  4. Masked Ball with Pete Doherty, 2006
  5. Dressed as a Spider’s Web with Galliano, 1998
  6. At Fran Cutler’s 80’s themed party
  7. Kate’s ‘Beautiful and The Damned’ 30th Birthday party
  8. LFW 2013, with Jamie Hince
  9. Grease party, 2009
  10. On her 34th Birthday

Pssst…did you read my blog post about when I saw Miss Moss in the flesh? She definitely dazzles!

Kate, The Best British Bunny

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So, my favourite, Kate Moss, was the chosen cover girl for the 60th anniversary edition of Playboy magazine. And oh my, did she well and truly rock it. It’s pretty refreshing that, for such a prestigious edition, Playboy chose a British, 39-year-old who has no surgical enhancements, a bold move for a magazine that’s as American as Cheerleaders and is renowned for young, fake tanned and fake boobed girls. Go Kate! Sealing her status as a living Icon, Kate looked as effortlessley cool and beautiful as ever, this girl just gets better with age. Albeit that good lighting, great make-up and some expert airbrushing was used here, these pictures literally leave me spellbound.

The photography and styling is stunning. Shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, this 18 page spread is absolutely their signature style. More like a fashion shoot than a glamour shoot, these images are elegant and mezmerising. The colours are divine, with lush pinks and greens and the setting of a 1950’s bedroom, a real charm to the atmosphere. The images echo other photographers whose work I love such as Ellen Von Unwerth and Hemut Newton, the black and white tights image remind me of the Craig McDean shoot she did for iD magazine back in 2002.

Some gals may think Playboy is sexist and pornographic, I have always been a fan of the kitsch idea of Playboy in the 60’s, beautiful women being celebrated in beautiful photos, the images have always been pretty tame, there has always been far far worse depictions of women out there, in comparison, this magazine is pure sophistication. Women’s bodies will always be photographed, because, they are a damn beautiful thing, whatever shape or size. Of course Playboy tends to go for a certain type of woman, which is why I think the use of Kate, with her small natural boobs and untanned, unsculpted body is brilliant. Kate has chosen to do this, most of my generation has grown up seeing her naked in fashion magazines so there is nothing shocking about these images, she carries her usual attitude and dignity and, goodness, she looks amazing.

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