Emerging Fervour

After wondering around the hundreds of stands (we have some amazing designers to share with you by the way but for later.. too much to tell you first!!).

We watched the fantastic catwalks shows yesterday and some top tips from the show in terms of what to look out for in AW10. The key message coming through was that trends are evolving from the season before as opposed to big shifts. We are not ready to give up what we love from SS10 but what we are seeing is a tougher more masculine edge to the clothes.

Firstly it’s all about fashion being USEFUL… sounds like a sensible word  but its all to do with simplicity and practicality but expertly designed clothes. We are wanting wearable garments that fit our life. So how does this translate into our lifestyle?

For work its all about soft tailoring, bold and strong grounded colours but bought to life with almonds and mints. Jackets are all about pleating and wadding and watch out for the colour linings! The must haves for AW10 are tuxedos with and pencil skirts.

We’ve been told about some amazing sales, perfect for a bit of early Christmas shopping… for myself!!

Yesterday the dress, today the flip flop!! I’ve come across Lindsay Phillips and her Switchflop at Pure London exhibition and couldn’t understand why this has not been broadcasted yet. It’s such a clever concept.

Her footwear concept evolved from a high school art project. Amazed by the response, Lindsay began designing functional flops with colorful straps, each adorned by a unique button. Her idea evolved when she realised that by using Velcro she could create one shoe with many straps–unlimited choices with minimal effort. This simple, yet brilliant innovation was the birth of SwitchFlops.

By now there are over 1,000 ways to personalise your style, check out the website which lets you pick your type of shoe and your straps.

And the best bit? Imagine how little space they need!!! I’m seriously struggling with storing my shoes and this would help greatly, just need a storage space for the straps.

Watch out for the ballet flats this autumn/winter. With 3 shoes and 12 interchangeable snaps there is certainly enough choice for every taste.

Nathalie’s so on top of organising our trips to online marketing and fashion shows (I reckon it’s the Swiss in her). Yesterday we went to a Pure Womenswear show in Olympia, which featured emerging designers and seminars. Here are the highlights…

People
Lots of beautiful people wearing beautiful clothes. I loved it. We met some pretty cool designers who were happy to chat to us about their new lines and everyone was enjoying being there – doing the thing they loved.

Seminars
We started off the  day by listening to a WGSN Trend presentation. We listened to how they’ve identified 4 emerging trends:

1. Grunk (mix between Grunge and Punk, strong anti fashion statement, distressed denim, 90′s tough leather, metal work)
2. Spaceadelic (pixillated patterns, celebratingthe imperfect, lo-fi digital techniques, oversized printed tees)
3. Freedom Folk (soft focus – think 70′s records, embroidery, handcrafted accessories, colourful flowers and shapes)
4. Duluxe Noir (Synthetic fabrics. strong silhouettes, think Lady Gaga, wet look nylons)