can't get enough of that bora bora stuff

I know I"ve posted about Bora Aksu before, but I can't help it: I have so many other pale muted pastel frocks from his collection that I'm just dying to show you. Especially right now, when we can't go bare legged, this is what is floating my boat: flirty not quite sugary pastels: rather, pastels-with-a-twist. With black tights, leggings, a bit shredded, a bit tough to take away from the prettiness, give it an edge.



See what I mean: that mesh in the leggings? Is it just me? Why do I love this man's work so much?

now that you know nao, it's time to know noa

I know what you're thinking: that's easy for YOU to say.

But if you consider yourself remotely fashion forward, you've simply got to know Noa. She's the brains (AND the beauty) behind Brains+Beauty. She's pint sized, even for a 13 year old*. She talks more, and faster, than I do, which is a strange experience for me, karmically speaking.



It's hard to follow her thought process at times, but I know where she's coming from: she just thinks so fast and has to get those thoughts out of her head, to make room for the new ones pouring in. She didn't want me to shoot her nails as they were such a wreck, but I just felt that SOMETHING had to be imperfect about her look, and find it absolutely charming: it's so... 13, you know?



So even tho we've spoken & emailed countless times, I still didn't get it straight who exactly made her tights: they're either hand painted BY a friend, or hand painted by someone and a gift from a friend... the dress is the Real McQueen, and she showed me that she shortened it, which seemed blasphemous somehow - it's her mum's dress for God's sake! - but she said 'That's okay, I bought it for her.' HOW? Noa is THIRTEEN! What is it, babysitting money? Is she even old enough to babysit?



She does make me laugh tho. She told me 'everyone says I'm the British Tavi, which is ridiculous...' I mean, just like you could not invent Tavi, you couldn't invent Noa. She is a force of nature: a law unto herself.



Noa was showing me the construction of this dress: McQueen designed it so that it looks like a spine is running down the wearer's spine. I don't know why, but for some reason, that breaks my heart. That's when the tragedy hit me. I can't explain, but somehow seeing how this dress is made.. how could the same being that created this art, not want to live and live and live, to go on creating tomorrow, and the next day?



Oh btw, when I admired her coat - it's that kind of curly black fur like substance that reminds me of closely clipped poodles - I told her I used to have one from my step-grandmother, Martha, and stupidly gave mine away. She then proceeded to tell me how she was related to the coat on her back: something like her great aunt's ex boyfriend's mum. OH and in the middle of this impromptu shoot, the girl in the previous post appeared in the blue McQueen leggings: how wild is that.

I don't know much, but I do know this: Noa packs a ton of brains, and beauty, into such a petite package.

*EDITOR'S CORRECTION: Apologies. I got Noa's age wrong. In her own words:

"one correction hahaha I am 14! Turning 15 in less then 2 months :):)
When I was 13 I certainly did not wear eye makeup hahahha"

tribute, after jasper

You've probably seen photos of the wall that the BFC set up for Alexander McQueen. It was so moving, the way our messages covered each other, like cherry blossom petals, or snow, building up on the earth. This is Uthrasie, a model from the Jasper Conran show. Something about the light... it felt like a Norman Parkinson moment. She moved with the grace of a Russian ballerina.



You can see I'm on a kind of caramel roll here: in fact the past few days, I seem to be posting a lot of neutral tones. (That's bound to change: I go thru phrases).

And come to think of it: Jasper is also wearing a necklace with a trench: trend? Coincidence? You tell me. I saw him speak at the Hay Literary Festival, years ago, with his friend Ilse Crawford, I believe, and found him absolutely charming. I wish I'd seen his show, but was at the Welsh Designers Collective at the time. It looks lovely, don't you think? Ladylike, beautiful colours.. he keeps a relatively low profile, but is a quiet, shining star.



I think actually Uthrasie might be Russian, and I'm guessing her friend Melina is, too. I thought they said theyy were both in Jasper's show, but I don't recognise them in the photos, do you? But then again: everyone seems so much more grown up on the catwalk. All I know is, they're absolutely delightful girls.

the trench: classic, with a twist

Day Six of A/W 2010 London Fashion Week. They give the guys one day, to the women's five. If only architects would realise that we need the same proportion when it comes to toilet cubicles, we'd be all set.

This to me is the best look in a trench I've seen to date. And there is nothing the least bit feminine in the way he's rocking that necklace.

fluff

There was a girl in our school - a friend, actually - named Pam, who, in a sea of rich, thin, spoiled, beautiful girls, was particularly rich, thin, and spoiled (I remember, for example, her dad gave her an orange Porsche for her 16th birthday. She had the cutest boyfriend in the school, and when he accidentally totalled it, her dad simply gave her another one, also in orange: just a different model). She was still a perfectly nice girl, and, like most style icons, was shrouded in mystery because she rarely spoke. She had a bedroom so vast, in hot pink and lime green, that one of her walk-in closets, larger than some people's bedrooms, was devoted to just her handbags and shoes.



I thought of Pam when I met this sweet model, because Pam had a coat just like this one. Her brother brought it back from someplace exotic, like Afghanistan or Uzbekestan, and she was wearing it one time, in 'the city' (NY, that is) at a store like Bergdorf's, or was it Bloomingdales, and a buyer spotted her and asked to borrow the coat to copy it, and it became a whole line that season. Pam was that kind of girl.



Christopher Kane, as you're probably all quite aware by now, showed a lot of beautiful ethnic flowered embroidery, in his case on black (leather, knitwear), and of course, the other genius that is Christopher, Bailey, did some wonderfully unexpected turns with leather, Shearling, and fur, at Burberry. I mean, can we possibly get anything more perfectly yin/yang than this?



That same year, btw, I had that exact same mohair hat, in the same shade of beige. There was a girl named Maxine who couldn't have been more opposite to Pam. She nicknamed me Fluff and ribbed me mercilessly, but I loved that hat and wish I had it, still. Funny, the things you remember. Do you have a favourite item of clothing that has disappeared? Or, while we're at it: has any major department store copied your coat?

hot guy sets own hand on fire while waiting for catwalk show to start

Shot before Welsh Designers Collective, Sunday, (Day Three), London Fashion Week 1/w/ 2010. Don't try this trick at home, kids.

two heads are better than one

From the Basso & Brooke show, LFW, Day Five.

ashish look of the day: pajamawear as outerwear

Lounging around in bed on a sunny Sunday morning, relishing the down time before Mr. Dot drags my sorry ass across town to Spitalfield's (& hopefully, lunch @ the Luxe). Just still trying to go thru & organise & compress all these photos.. like eating too much candy, I'm feeling saturated from fashion week shots & need to shoot some civilians!!

But couldn't resist another Ashish shot. Today it has to be striped PJs, because that's what I feel like wearing out. Actually, I feel like staying in bed all day in our new crisp white sheets & duvet cover with big white embroidery Indian style flowers, drinking coffee & compressing jpgs. If you're in the UK, the Times is doing their special big Style section today, it's really quite good actually, altho, frankly, nothing we haven't already seen in our collective blogs. I counted four, no five, no, SIX mentions of MY phrase 'underwear as outerwear' and told Mr. Dot, who said, 'Well, you should have patented it.' But I didn't, so let's see how far today's phrase travels. You saw it here first, girls!

I wonder how this look would go down in Tesco.

No! Tell me more! (the edie/andy thing)

Cocktail party chit chat before... possibly Amanda Wakeley? All I know is, it was @ Somerset House, Day 5 (Tuesday).

It really is hard to believe this is still going in with this level of intensity in Paris, as we speak. With some of the same people. I honestly don't know how they do it. I'm just so enjoying this downtime, going thru my photos.. catching up with the new friends I made, and the old ones I neglected.

I still think nothing beats the look of a beautiful girl with very simple, short blond hair. Part of a long line of style icons: Twiggy, Mia Farrow, Edie Sedgwick, Kate Lanphear of course.. Agyness Deyn.. speaking of, have you seen that Agyness has hit the silver screen? Of course you have.



Actually.. at the same event, met this guy. He's got the Warhol effect down perfectly, but made it even better with an ironic faux leopard fur jacket. Love love love black + white striped tees. & Loving the whole Edie/Andy thing.

don't you know who I am? (shooting kate lanphear)

I can't tell you how many times recently I've seen on the streetstyle news twitter thing, a post titled 'Kate Lanphear'. And the funny thing is, she's not famous to most people. My husband, Mr. Dot, for one.

'Honey, do you know who Kate Lanphear is?'
'Kate Lanphear? No. Why?'
'Never mind.'



If you're reading this blog, I don't need to explain who she is. (Sorry: Mr. Dot was just asking me 'So who's Kate Lanphear.') I saw her @ LFW.. I think this was her Day Three outfit? She was running into the Somerset House tent thingy, and I ran up to her and, breathless, asked if I could take her photo. (I didn't mention that I joined the Cult of Kate Lanphear facebook group ages ago, and just discovered she's also got a fan club, too. I'm her 1863rd fan).



There isn't much of a story here, I'm afraid. She struck me as polite and ladylike. Her hair is blonder than I expected, somehow I thought it would be white. We didn't exactly have a conversation. In fact I don't think she spoke at all. Just stopped, posed, two clicks*, and she was off in her pixie like hooded platinum coloured coat and iconic black stiletto Loubs.

*Believe it or not, the first two are separate shots. They look identical but when I looked carefully thru her sunglasses (I wear the same ones btw) in one shot she's looking at me - but not seeing me, if you know what I mean - and in the other, she's looking away. But her head never moves. She was very still, for that brief moment. Very still, and serene. It was quite amazing actually.

Just saw a gorgeous shot of her on Easy Fashion (Paris Fashion Week). Boy does that icon get around.

mad men

This man was smart, in both definitions of the word, especially about men's fashion. Everything he's wearing is Savile Row, mostly bespoke. There were two of us shooting him, trying to be considerate of each others' space, but the photographer's head got in only this shot (hence posting it: the others were just picture perfect). Our 'model' gave me his card but I can't recall his name. I think it was Don Draper.

Mad Men's on tonight, BBC4! 10:00 p.m. Counting the minutes.

UPDATE: Found his card, just as coincidentally my blog friend and Style Crusader, Jen, reminded me she shot him, too, and has his card. His name IS Don!! Donalrd McFarlane, and he's got a quite good guide to British menswear: greatbritishattire.co.uk.

that's easy for you to say: aminaka wilmont

How could I have forgotten about Aminaka Wilmont? It was my very first show on Day One of London Fashion Week, and I loved it. Well, we're going to have to rectify that situation. But not now. It's late.

Okay, then. Just one shot.



Maki Aminaka Löfvander is Japanese and Swedish, and Marcus Wilmont is from Denmark. They could have called themselves Maki Marcus, but no, that would be too easy. But it's a name worth remembering, trust me.

pretty fierce

Fierce shoes @ the Unique show. I believe they're Rupert Sanderson: can anyone confirm?

. . .

Wouldn't you know it: Anonymous came thru again. WHO IS THIS PERSON? It's like my Fashion Fairy Godmother.

According to my Anonymous Source: "It's actually the "Piccadilly" by Rupert Sanderson for Karl Lagerfeld AW2009 runaway show. Electrifying stuff!

Look out for the shoes at the Karl Lagerfeld show on Sunday 7th. It's Rupert's 3rd season for Karl."

It's not just Anonymous, Style Slicker identified them as Sanderson, but said it's the Kit Kat. I'm looking at both and they don't seem to be either. I see his shop is near where I'll be on Friday, I'm going to go and get to the bottom of this. Watch this space, Kittens!

i am a kinder girl

As per yesterday ('red head'), more from Kinder Aggugini's show. You know how with a film, you never know it will really stay with you until after some time goes by? Well that's what's happened for me with Kinder. He is growing on me more and more. I mean, I LOVED his show at the time, but now, looking thru my photos.. so many powerful, diverse looks, but all the same voice.



These are so seemingly simple: black, or white. He's making such luxury out of what seems to be mohair, but it gives a texture like fur.. over pleats, but they're soft. And I love how he's paired them with bare legs and these lovely beige suede boots. And the HAIR.. this blonde model has a great kind of sixties bed head, but some of the dark haired models have these really severe geometric pointy buns, that look painted on. It's a stunning effect.



Everything he does has a perfect balance between masculine and feminine, hard and soft, luxurious and casual. (Actually Shini of Park & Cube put it best: 'powerful yet lyrical, borderline androgynous yet...acutely underlined femininity.'

And the details (like this little dotted ribbon trim, INSIDe, that's just revealed when it falls open).

Having had the privilege of seeing his show, I'm definitely a Kinder kind of girl.

red head

Speaking of redheads... I've been wanting to post on the Kinder Aggugini show since I saw him last Saturday at LFW. Everything about that show: the music, the set with his wonderful elegant props, the models, and especially, the clothes.. just absolutely perfect in every way.



Why haven't I posted sooner? Because I can't narrow the photos down! I love every look so much. I just love this guy so damn much, words can't express it. He is from 'Milan via Glasgow' and his work is so quirky-yet-worky, IMHO. Don't you just love that phrase? Unlike underwear-as-outerwear, I can't claim to have coined it: I read it in a Times piece (on another great talent, btw: Richard Nicholl), by an excellent journalist named Luke Leitch.



This is just ONE look. And it was hard to choose which shots. But that's the brilliance of blogs: I can always post more. After all, as Scarlett O'Hara so wisely said, tomorrow is another day.

Off to see The Lovely Bones with my man. Have a lovely Saturday, mon petit Chaufleurs!

life in the circus: nicola roberts @ topshop unique

After the Unique show: I thought this redhead looked familiar.. correct me if I'm wrong, but this is Nicola Roberts from Girls Aloud, is that right?



I love the electric blue of that stoic guy's tie. He's not there for the fashion, I'm guessing. I think it's Kevin Costner in the Bodyguard.



In the background, poor Olivia doing another interview, and that teeny tiny grey head at the top is Pixie, who was unwittingly blocking my view of the show. Bless her cotton socks.

unique pixie head pics (no one puts baby in the corner)

The Topshop Unique catwalk show in London was held in the basement of this fabulous white-painted space - a flower hall in Covent Garden. Fabulous space and wonderful crowd. The 'catwalk' snaked thru the crowd - which was vast - and was marked by these kind of wood chips. The models were styled as jungle animals (I can't stop singing 'If I were King of the Jungle' as I post this) and it was all just perfect, except this one head kept getting in the way of me getting good shots. After a while I just figured, screw it: I'll leave the good shots to the professionals, you'll forgive me if I don't post clear shots, and I just relaxed & enjoyed the show.



It wasn't til later - til the show ended and the REAL circus began - the media frenzy - that I realised that it was little Pixie Geldorf's head, blocking my view.



And tho I didn't notice it at the time, Olivia Palermo was just in front of me, on the left.. and I spotted some familiar faces across the catwalk aisle.. Kate Lamphor, who I'd just met & shot, at Somerset House..



and of course, the Sart, aka Scott, who I shot last summer: no one puts baby in the corner.

hot pink!

Before Jaeger, at the reception @ Somerset House, this girl in pink,* and her friend & colleague Lucy, of 'fashion me now', in vintage brown fur & tweeds, were the absolute stars for me, in a room that also housed celebrities.



*(Natalie Hughes, of Canned Fashion, as I've just been informed by the Little Curly Girl: I did think it was Natalie when we chatted but I so often get it wrong, and I didn't have time to write it down -and I don't trust my memory, I've met so many people this week!)



In fact I'd go so far as to say that those two trends: hot pink, and topknots, are two of my favourites of the week.



I love everything about this look: the perky retro sixties shape of that gorgeous soft cashmere looking coat, the way she's paired it with a greyish beigeish chunky jumper with just the right sleeve poking out, her eyeliner & thick lashes & even - can you see? - her griege nails. I wonder if she's got the last bottle of the Chanel 505 Particuliere? It's sold out, girls, but you can still grab it on eBay for a mere £44. Altho, with 8 days to go, that price could rise.

Both these girls, IMHO, have so got the 2010 quirky-yet-worky classic with a twist look down to a T.

deer in the headlights: olivia palermo @ unique

For those of you in America, you might not believe this, most of us in the UK haven't heard of Olivia Palermo. (But then again, until a few years ago, it was hard to believe you hadn't heard of Victoria Beckham). And as for the rest of the world, you might even be thinking, who cares.

The only reason I knew who she was is because I love following the Red Carpet Fashion Awards, and I'd often vote for her for best red carpet look. I was so curious I even looked her up on wikipedia. You see, we don't get The City here (if they did show it, they'd have to call it 'Oh By the Way There is Another City on the Planet Besides London').



Before we went into the Topshop Unique show, I was shooting people being fast tracked into the vast, amazing Topshop flower market venue. And I saw this girl who just radiated such beautiful niceness, entering alone and sans entourage (and also, surprisingly in hindsight, unnoticed), but when I shot her, my flash went off. She glanced up, startled, & we smiled and waved. I still didn't know who she was. The photo wasn't very good, and I'd probably have deleted it later.



But after the show, there was suddenly this absolute media feeding frenzy for a few people right in front of me: Peaches, for starts (or was it Pixie?) and Olivia. People kept asking me who is this girl and I'd try and explain. I was right next to her, just shooting her while she did the interviews, and man, it was scary as hell. I only experienced it for a few minutes, and it was exhausting. And, in the midst of all that madness, strangely lonely.

Finally, she was done. A minder was dragging her off, so I simply said:

'I didn't shoot you earlier because of who you were: I thought you were just a pretty girl.' She looked at me for a moment, one human being to another, as if to say 'thank you for not wanting anything from me.' She thanked me, smiled a real smile, and was whisked away.



(Oh and btw: she's in top to toe Topshop, of course. And those wood chips formed the catwalk that snaked thru the space: more on that in a future post.)

It is such a strange world. There were countless pretty girls in the vast room who escaped unnoticed and undocumented. True, she has an absolutely beautiful face: from a photographer's point of view, she is perfection, because she radiates something so pure from within. I've seen people put on that professional smile, but she truly smiles with her eyes.



It's funny, when you're in the midst of the storm that is a fashion week, you only later discover other people had similar experiences. I've been meaning to post this, and just discovered that Garance, too, posted on Olivia, and said something similar, but more succinctly, but it all boils down to the same things: it takes a special person to handle this kind of media circus with dignity and grace.