HOM x Jonathan Saunders // SS 14

Today I managed to attend the HOM x Jonathan Saunders show and photograph it, I thought the show was really interesting mainly because of the lack of undergarment shows there are. I thought the show really showcased how different you can be with underwear.

 The main colours schemes worked with blacks, whites and primary colours which I think are perfect, they work together so well and it's great to see so many variants of undergarments from briefs to shorts. Obviously the shows easy on the eyes with male models on show, but they we're some really interesting designs, one of them being the yellow spotted shorts and also the white lined briefs.

I really enjoyed the show and thought that it was such a different show to most I've seen aside from shows such as the De Montfort Contour show which was basically a women's equivalent in terms of design. Overall I was really intrigued and interested by the show and I think we need to see more in terms of this type of show. 

Christopher Kane // SS14

When I found PPI had 51% of his company I was so worried that his collections would change and wouldn't be him and would be out of his control as I've seen with other brands.  But his new collection but I love it so so much! I think there's a really good balance and it all works together perfectly. 

I love this mix of line and colour running through out the collction, I think it's a perfect mix of graphics and colour and it really works in a really clever way. I think Christopher Kane always manages to create something that's really appealing and suitable for the time it's released, you can always be sure he'll deliver. One of my main loves of him is the consistancy which flows through his work.

I think the first image of the white face is definitely my favourite piece of the whole collection, I love it so much, the monochrome colour palette and the symmetry of it all. But the whole collection for me is ideal, I'd have it all. 

LC:M // Day One

It's finally time for London Collection's: Men. I wish I was attending but I'm sadly not but I've got something else planned tomorrow so that will be fun! Still thought I'd voice my opinion and thoughts, really pul out some of my standouts and favourites of the collections/designers.

//AGI & SAM //

So one of my main loves is from Agi & Sam, I saw all three of these looks and I love them, one of my main issues with menswear is a lack of colour, this totally challenging that. I think those colours are something to look out for especially the green, I think that this could fingers crossed be a start of a trend of colour with menswear. 

//MAN// 

 Bobby Abley - I love Bobby Abley's collection especially the patterns and styling with the crowns. I think all of the collection really works well together, the bird patterns simple without being just the right amount of 'cartoony' for my liking. Even without a huge colour pallette, the collection really just holds it's own.

Craig Green -  Since the 'wood masks' Craig Green has been someone on everyone's lips and I'm one of those people. I was really excited to see what Craig would bring to the table and it's an interesting one. I think his work always seems to have a real sense of mystery to it, especially when he covers model's faces and takes away that human personality. I love how he's dared to mix tie dye with blacks blues and whites and has a focus on layering in his work too.

//Jonathan Saunders//

Again seeing another return of a great green, there's more to come but I love this colour and this jacket, really enjoying green being featured in so many collections. It's definitely something I want to see more of, with some yellow would be ideal. I think this shirt is really clever too, I think having the gradual fade of pattern just looks so effective and smart. 

 //Astrid Andersen//

I love the use of whites running through the collection, it's definitely something I'd wear too especially the look above. Here we've got yet ANOTHER green, the colour is reminiscent of those beanie babies that were always a really weird 'rainbow' colour. But it works and I really like it, it stands out and catches your eye and if it's bright and grabs your attention that's fine with me. 

Well these are probably my main favourites of what was shown today, I'd also Kay Kwok was someone else who delivered an interesting collection. Featuring various sleeveless pieces and a square silhouette which really makes for some interesting yet stunning looks. I thought Topman Design had some interesting embellishment, although it came across very similar and I'm really unsure on the idea of black for summer.

Overall I thought everything presented today was really interesting and there's a few trends really starting to show already especially a lot of whites/off whites and that use of green seems to be reoccuring everywhere. Excited tomorrow especially since JW Anderson, KTZ and Katie Eary are all showing! 

Anti-Circus // Menswear

So with LC:M coming up obviously menswear is the talk on everyone's lips. But recently my attention was brought towards yet another issue which rears it's ugly head every time people show their newest collections, street style. 

I've made posts about this before, whether its neccisary or not. Do people dress to the extreme, is it an attention thing, should we just dismiss it etc etc. Last time I found myself defending the topic was when The Sunday Times launched an attack on people and it's happened once again. 

This time from Dazed, which if I'm honest I'm a little shocked about but here's the online post by Susanne Madsen //The Anti-Circus of Menswear//. So where to start with it all, honestly Susanne really  annoys me one by making comments such as 'you get a lot less bitchy' and yet her whole argument is  a bitchy rant about LC:M's streetstyle. 

Another interesting aspect about the whole thing comes from one of the people photographed in the photos, Ashley James Clark voicing his opinion on the whole matter //here// being someone that's basically the target of her whole argument I feel like his post is perfectly validated. 

He brings attention to the same sorts of things I would honestly, talking about how she refers to the street style crowd as clowns, expecting everyone to be toned down and LC:M being a more secret refined affair. Honestly why? Why should people have to justify style, when being in an industry such as fashion obviously you're going to have the unusual and different, it's a given.

Why can't men be a bit more interesting with their style, I for one and someone who thinks 90% of high-street is drab and wouldn't give it the time of day. Why, probably because men's fashion has been boxed off into a limited colour pallette and only luxury designers will touch a brighter colour. Not the only reason but one of many. She also mentions menswear making up 50% of the luxury market, talking about it's growth and how it's fashions best kept secret. 

Yet another why, if it's 50% of the luxury market would you want to hide it? Clearly its somewhere where there's profit which highlights a want and need for it too. Probably for some of the same reasons I prefer luxury over highstreet. If anything bringing attention to the collections is the main issue here. I think we need to focus more on the clothes and collections coming down the catwalk rather than the people attending the shows.

Crim3s // Interview

Less of a fashion post and more of a culture one, I really wanted to upload some of my favourites from our uni magazine! One of if not my favourite part of the whole magazine is the interview I did with Crim3s.

 I just love how it all came together and especially to have Crim3s who's music I love. I just thought it would be cool to interview them especially for people who've never heard of them.

If you've not checked out Sadie and Issac's music before you should now it's worth it and their new EP is amazing,  //Crim3s - Bandcamp// so check out their bandcamp and have a listen!

This is just one of my favourite sections but anyway the rest of the magazine is //here// so check that out for more too! 

Ravensbourne // Blog Mention

Really little but exciting thing Ravensbourne's post about Susie Bubble praising Ravensbourne students was posted recently and it mentioned a few blogs to look out for including mine!

Check out the post //here// !!

Even if a tiny mention it's nice to see someone mentioning my blog and calling it entertaining!

From hanging around GFW and seeing her posts it's so cool to see how much Susie Bubble enjoyed Ravensbourne's work and collections. I really do love how much positive press our graduates have recieved though it's great for all of them and our university too! 

Pre-Fall // The New Hype

One of the main issues I see people talk about surrounding fashion is time. Is six months too long, the time it takes clothes to be avaliable seems to be too long and we want more. Looking at smaller less publicised collections such as resort and pre-fall are they answer to this gap in the market? 

Erdem Pre-Fall 2013 

People regard pre-fall as a taster of what's to come later in the year but sometimes it's also a different outlet to express other ideas and creations too. Reading a blog entry from EDITD about pre-fall which you can see // here // suggestions as to whether delivery times also really appeal and help the market. This is especially clear with Net-A-Porter recieving massive amounts of stock mid June, so pre-fall actually being avaliable for pre-fall.

Michael Kors Pre-Fall 2013 

Michael Kors A/W 13-14

Evidently here some designers regard pre-fall as a different outlet to express something different and reach a wider market, obviously making pre-fall a great opportunity. In the EDITD post Katie Smith also mentions Karl Lagerfeld making a comment about his Resort Show 2013 saying it should be seen and admired as a "collection not a pre-collection". She then goes on to talk about how if you did have it as a preview it also allows commercial and high-street brands who have a quicker turn around to really monopolise before you release your collection.

With massive companies such as Browns spending 70% of its budget on pre-fall rather than waiting for a full collection, is pre-fall a way to counteract peoples complaints and concerns about the wait from presentation to delivery to brands. With so much focus on us being shown collections through live streams, blogging, twitter and various other methods which is a really fast quick instant process the idea of having to wait is the other end of the spectrum, waiting six months for clothes to be delivered to stores and then be online. Versace Versus//JW Anderson  had the right idea to actually put the clothes online instantly after showing them, really giving everyone what they want from a brand.

With such massive waits for clothing is there also an issue that we'll have forgetten about a collection when it's actually released?