It’s Amsterdam Fashion week and it’s raining

Oh no! You carefully picked your outfit for the opening soiree of the Amsterdam Fashion Week tonight but now it’s raining! What to wear now? Get some inspiration from the outfits we spotted in rainy Milan, Paris, New York or London below.

It’s goodbye to London!

Hello London!

Highlights London Fashion Week SS2011

Though for years London Fashion Week was left aside a bit by the media, with the return of Burberry to the British capital that is changing. More and more brands want to show their new collections during London Fashion Week. And why shouldn’t they? London has a lot to offer and has quite a lot talent. London fashion is very hip and funky and really stands out in its own way.

Some of our favorite shows we saw in London were Matthew Williamson (who will be launching a new line soon), Burberry and Christopher Kane. We loved the colors and the special prints. We were blown away by the setting of the Erdem show and of course we’re very proud of the Dutch sisters of label Spijkers en Spijkers which is a big success in London too.

Matthew Williamson
For spring Matthew Williamson designed for a girl marooned on a desert island. The girl’s wardrobe had lots of nature-inspired shades (and prints) in it like khaki, beige and sand. The clothes, safari blouses and cargo pants, seemed perfect for the jungle as well. Yet Williamson managed to keep his collection feminine and city chic by adding corset-bodies and sheer airy fabrics.

Christopher Kane
‘Neon gets me going’, he said backstage. And we sure could see that. The Christopher Kane show was full of fluor fashion. Fashion-forward bright shades of green, pink, orange an yellow were used for more classic outfits. Like a sophisticated jacket of floral-printed lace of an Argyll-printed vest with matching top and skirt. Together with the funky prints, he introduced during the second half of the show, it felt like a very fresh new collection.

Paul Smith
We loved the Paul Smith collection, because his girls looked very tough and edgy. And even though they were wearing very manly clothes (suit jackets, blouses and ties), they looked sexy as hell. Highlight of the show were the sheer shirt dresses, the floral prints and the skirts combined with sweaters. Great styling!

Burberry
Burberry of course kicked of London fashion week with a dazzling show. The brand showed tough leather jackets combined with bright colors and tight leather pants. We would love to have every single studded jacket. And despite the staggering models in the super-high heels the show was perfection.

Peter Pilotto
Since it has become their trademark for their new collection Peter Pilotto and Christopher de Vos of course used digital printing. Only this time they took it to another level designing silk-screen prints and making them look three-dimensional. It looked spectacular on the lady-like dresses they’d designed. The Pilotto woman seemed to have grown up; changing her cocktail party dresses for column gowns and mid-calf skirts. Yet she’s keeping her sexiness and still feels comfortable. How wonderful.

Burberry Catwalk Fashion Show London SS2011

Fashion focus: all about Peter Pilotto

As London-based brand Peter Pilotto is becoming more and more popular each season, we thought it’s about time to focus on the brand and unveil it’s success formula.

Name of the brand: Peter Pilotto

Name(s ) of the designer(s): Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos

About the designers:
Peter Pilotto is half-Austrian, half-Italian. He focusses on the graphical aspects; the textile and the print. He always knew he was going to work in fashion; his parents had their own fashion store.
Christophe De Vos is half-Belgian, half-Peruvian. His approach is mainly architectural; he takes care of the silhouette and the draping.
The fact that the two designers criticise each other always takes their collections to another level.

Start of the brand: in 2007
Peter and Christophe met in 2000 whilst studying at Antwerp’s prestigious Royal Academy of Fine Arts. The label was set up in Antwerp initially but moved to London.

First collection: fall 2008

Peter Pilotto is sold in: 29 countries and has about 100 stockists

The Pilotto woman:  is a woman beyond the classification of age and style. She can wear the label with her own expressions.

Pilotto women:  Rihanna, Claudia Schiffer, Amanda Seyfried, Kate Bosworth, Michelle Obama, Jessica Alba, Sienna Miller

The clothes are: elegant, classy, wearable, chic, sophisticated, flattering, perfect for the female body.

Type of clothes: Peter Pilotto first focused on dresses but has added coats and shorts. The designers try to expand their brand with each season.

Signature: While many brands use floral prints, Peter Pilotto wanted to take it further. The brand uses prints like sunsets, fireworks, volcanoes, reptiles or reflections in the water. These prints, all originated in nature, are combined with soft sculptural shapes and elegant draping.

Remarkable: The winning formula of Peter Pilotto has worked for over several seasons. During the recession period in 2009/2010 the number of Pilotto’s stockists even doubled.

Awards:

• Topshop New Gen Award at London Fashion Week
• Swarovski Emerging Talent Award at British Fashion Awards
• Pilotto was hailed by Style.com as 1 of the 10 most promising talents, after reviewing his fall collection in 2008.

What to expect: Pilotto’s digital prints and beautiful shapes are improving each season. And since Peter Pilotto was able to grew during the economic crises, the brand will certainly be successful in the future.
We will definitely keep our eyes on these two talented designers.

Spring is in the air #3

Add some color and fun retro-items to you wardrobe. A nice bow or polkadot will set the mood. Here backstage at Luella Bartley.

The best of London Fashion Week FW2010

After a period in which British brands preferred showing abroad they’ve now come back to London. The city’s fashion week celebrated it’s 25^th anniversary last year and is again a popular fashion town. Some of the best British labels have returned to the London catwalks, including Burberry, Pringle, Matthew Williamson, Antonio Berardi, Jonathan Saunders and Clements Ribeiro. Luckily for London, cause Burberry and Williamson were surely two of our London Fashion Week highlights.

Christopher Kane
With the fall collection Christopher Kane presented he is bound to win another Collection of the Year award. The designer used black lace and leather embroidered (by hand!) with floral patterns. A crazy combination, at first sight, but after a few looks we started to like it. The skirts and dresses meant for young women were short like always, but never looked sleazy. Kane worked some Priscilla Presley looks into his collection as well. ‘From the time before Elvis got her hands on her’, he said. Even though Christopher Kane and his sister Tammy are only running the label for four years they’ve already achieved a lot. And we’re sure there’s much more to come. Now let’s just hope he won’t be taking too many extra design job like the ones for Versus and Topshop, cause he already has his hands full right now.

Burberry
Another successful British designer who is fully booked is Christopher Bailey, creative director for Burberry. Bailey oversees some 60 different men’s and women’s collections each year, including the Prorsum, Brit, London and Sport labels, plus children’s wear, denim, underwear, fragrances, home-wear and all the accessories. Plus he’s responsible for the design of the Burberry shops. But that doesn’t influence the great collections he delivers. His work even tends to get better. The womenswear collection for next fall was a highlight of the London Fashion Week. Not only was it the first show to be watched live in 3D, people could even buy the designs as they came down the runway by simply clicking the ‘Click to buy’ button. And there sure was a lot to love, the coats being the public’s favourite. They came by with military accents and in aviator style, shear ling lined with double collars. So the Burberry show was trendsetting in two ways: (1) The military coats will be a success next year (2) Other labels will soon broadcast their shows in 3D and will let their customers buy their clothes straight from the show as well. Just wait and see.

Matthew Williamson
A show we would have loved to see in 3D was that of Matthew Williamson. Although the man is known for designing bright young things for, well.., bright young things his fall collection seemed a little more grown up. Of course there were the multicolored mini-dresses but Williamson also experimented with a more mature look. We liked it. Romantic ruffles and drapery were seen on his sophisticated dresses. He used beautiful colors from icy grey and blue to warm shades of fuchsia, peach, orange and red. Colorful prints and sparkles gave the collection it’s Williamson-twist. We loved the designs, the colors and the more grown up look. The dresses we’re maybe a bit too dull for his on-and-off girlfriend Lady Gaga, but they are still perfect for his other young customers, like Sienna Miller and Jade Jagger.

Streetfashion London FW2010 Day 3

What are you wearing during the coming fashionweeks? Your Balenciaga-heels, your latest Marni-dress or that vintage YSL? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: London.

Streetfashion FW2010 London Day 2

What are you wearing during the coming fashionweeks? Your Balenciaga-heels, your latest Marni-dress or that vintage YSL? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: London.

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