Fantastical Fashions

Following my recent post on the recent resurge in vampire fashion, it caught my attention how much the stars of the hit film 'Twilight' dominate high end fashion labels. Kellan Lutz for example is the new face (and body!) of Calvin Klein mens underwear. Ashley Greene, having appeared on the cover of ASOS magazine also appears in countless coveted catwalk front rows seats. On the red carpet however, they can be seen in an impressive array of designer attire ranging from Pucci, Marchessa, D&G, Elie Saab and Valentino. Though their vampire identities may be fantastical, their fashion identities certainly aren't.

Welcome to the age of lost innocence

With media hype surrounding a new era of interest over vampires how could fashion not follow suit? Whether it was a leather cat suit worn by Lilly Cole at Hermes or a wimple-clad nun for YSL the subtext of this season was sex - and they aren't afraid of showing it!

Tickets Please!

Topshop Show'05

This year's Topshop Show is due to hit the abandoned Eurostar Terminal at Waterloo Station, London after year's of being held at the University of Westminster. The Terminal will also play host to shows such as Michael Van Der Ham and Richard Nicoll. The Fashion tribe will be fed and watered by Topshop's famous catering on one platform, whilst the show airs on the second.

The Eurostar Tunnel itself at the moment is playing host to West End musical 'The Railway Children' and is due to run over Christmas until January. The Tunnel has been converted into a roll apart stage, two platforms of tiered seating and numerous Yorkshire style restaurants and bar's to get into the vibe before the show starts. The star of the show? A full size steam train bought down the tracks inches away from the audience for that interactive experience - All Aboard!

The Railway Children

Gone with the costumes...

Having read through the news this morning I am left horrified that the 'Gone with the wind' costumes have been so badly preserved. The US Museum is trying to raise money to restore 5 of the most famous dresses worn by Vivien Leigh who played Scarlett O'Hara in the 1939 film. The goal is to raise $30,000 to exhibit the gowns all over the world to mark their 75th anniversary coming up in 2014. Film costumes aren't meant to last but these are amongst the most famous in Hollywood history and played a key role in one of the most classic films so deserve to be preserved so future generations can enjoy them. The centre, based in Texas plans to use the funds to restore the dresses, buy protective housing to ship them in and buy custom fit mannequins to properly display them for the 2014 exhibit. Save our history!

Quilting Quilting Everywhere...

Flicking throughthe latest Vogue (hypocrite?) I stumbled across the ad campaign for Balenciaga Autumn/Winter 10/11 and instantly fell in love. The use of what look like decorative box pleats to create a visual explosion of texture andskill is tantalising to he eye. Taking a closer look at these dresses seems to suggest that the texture is given by tiny diamond pillows, quilted onto the backing fabric which again, is mesmerising to look at. The fabric also demonstrates different types of typography to give the dresses added dimension. It's not surprising that these dresses were the finale to a truly technical and beautiful show by Nicolas Ghesquiere for Balenciaga.

The forever question?

I cant seem to make up my mind about Vogue. Is this a publication that fashion students say they like because its the right thing to say to impress those with a love of fashion, purely decorative? or is it actually a good magazine worth the £20 subscription for six months? My view is such; I love the photography in the adverts - but thats about it. Flicking through the magazine, the articles seem to start around half way in,and even at that, they aren’t very wordy. I’m of the mindset that Vogue is too built up in hype of what it actually is, a collection - a very beautiful collection of designer adverts and an aspirational lifestyle that most people just don’t and won’t have. However, at the end of the day, a budding journalist like myself would like to end up in the creme de la creme of fashion publications. So, Vogue - a fashion accessory? or hard hitting fashion journalism?

Vowing to be good!

Lets all be honest, being a fashion student without a regular blog is like Sarah Jessica Parker without her beloved Mac so from today i shall be a regular blogger! let's hope writers block doesn't kick in...