a girl never forgets her first time

My first experience was last September. The 22nd, to be exact.



I had met a girl from Paris named Kristin who told me about it. I told her I wasn't invited and she said, don't let that stop you, don't be scared, just go for it!



There was quite a large crowd queuing downstairs, & obviously I wasn't on the list, but I told someone that Kristin sent me & she said to talk to Mshzshash and tell her Schmzshws sent me (I didn't understand a word she said with her elegantly foreign accent) but I went upstairs anyway, somehow found Mshzshash, the secret password worked, and I was in. In the first row, in fact.




There was such a vibe in the crowd.. it was just such a buzz, but also kind of scary. I felt suddenly shy.



Then I saw my new friends Rhiannon and Leila. They clearly had done this before.




It all happened so fast: I had no idea, somehow, all these years, I thought it would last longer. It was, however, far more exciting than I could have imagined. I can't explain: it was just really emotional. And at the end, I cried, but in a good way.





It was such a relief after, everyone felt it. Absolutely exhilarating!



And it just left me wanting more.



I was inspired to write about my experience because The Photodiarist just had her first, last night, with Narciso Rodriquez, in NY. Who was your first with, and how was it for you? If you haven't had one yet, who would you like to be YOUR first?

All shot during & after the KTZ fashion show at London Fashion Week, September 2009.

fashion forward

Got my London Fashion Week registration sorted while in Miami, and now I'm musing: what will the big trends be?

Looking back while looking forward.. I just can't imagine that anything could live up to my first Fashion Week last September. For starts, it was so hot & sunny, and fashionistas were melting in their furs & boots, so we had to get creative & mix little frocks and bear legs with great shoes (not me: I was running around in ballet flats: it's the only way I can shoot). I had such a fabulous time. I just hope the weather is good, as I'm shooting people in the outdoor courtyard. Fingers crossed.



I wonder if we'll see much of the underwear as outerwear trend off the catwalk.

Speaking of.. it's funny, I'm still finding that phrase everywhere in the UK. Magazines, newspapers.. I know I said it before and someone chastised me that I couldn't have possibly invented the trend - which I SO did not - but I'm pretty sure I coined the phrase. @ least, I thought I did! I might have subconsciously picked it up, but I can't find any evidence of the phrase before I posted it last spring. Alas, if only one received royalties for phrases.



After flying in from Miami, I was hanging out @ home in my new purchase: cream coloured men's thermal underwear (top & bottom) from Target. I was going to go out in it - accessorising with boots & bracelets, of course - when my husband, Mr. Dot, said I can't because I'd get 'arrested'. Apparently they're arresting women for wearing pyjamas to Tesco. What next? Will they start incarcerating girls sporting satin bustiers at PR events? Or silky slips @ art launches?



What do you think will be big this spring? Do you think the peep toe bootie/big wedge silhouette will still reign supreme?

Shown here from top to bottom: KTZ catwalk, All Saints window in Spitalfields, boots @ Somerset House, September.

fashionistas

@ the KTZ show in September. There are so many shots I still haven't shown you! (Not to mention, recent street shots that are queuing up).

And the funny thing is, I keep looking for other things & then finding something I'd forgot all about. It's a bit like shopping my closet, only different.

cat walk

I'm very into definitions @ the moment, as you might have noticed. This is one of my shots from my first ever catwalk show, KTZ, at LFW (I also appear to be really into initials, too).

Was thinking last night as I was falling asleep, I wonder what cats have to do with catwalks. So here's the wikipedia definition:

. . .

Catwalk floor is a narrow, usually elevated platform used by models to demonstrate clothing and accessories during a fashion show. The term probably derived from catwalks [3] that connect adjacent buildings. In fashion jargon, "what's on the catwalk" or similar phrasing can refer to whatever is new and popular in fashion.

A catwalk is also known as a runway, especially when it is not elevated.

. . .

Which still doesn't explain the cat part. And this one was not elevated, so I guess it was a runway. And yet, they weren't running. And I was sitting right there in the front row: this isn't shot with a telephoto lens. Which was very exciting, and great fun.

The KTZ collection was inspired by the American cartoon 'Galaxy High', 'fusing 50-ties retro Americana with very high tech, futuristic fabrics and finishes on very modern silhouettes.' Perhaps it was simply because it was my first catwalk/runway show, but when it ended, I burst into tears. In a good way.

glamour

Backstage after the KTZ catwalk show.

Thinking a lot about glamour these days, perhaps because that was a theme in our shoot on Friday, and also because.. well, there's never too much glamour in one's life, is there?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it thus:

glam·our
Variant(s): also glam·or \ˈgla-mər\
Function: noun
Etymology: Scots glamour, alteration of English grammar; from the popular association of erudition with occult practices
Date: 1715
1 : a magic spell
2 : an exciting and often illusory and romantic attractiveness ; especially : alluring or fascinating attraction —often used attributively

(Here's a bizarre coincidence: we've been to the Llewelyn Peninsula, in Powys, Wales, this summer. For the first time. And it's very.. magical. Still, I have no idea what it's doing in that definition!)

So: what's your definition of glamour?