Autumn 2011

This post is part of Links à Mode: IFB Weekly Round-up

Happy Thursday, dear friends!

Everyone enjoying the 'heat wave' in good, old Blighty?

It's been a few marvellous days and I must say it's been great setting up home and tidying up the garden considering it's October in two days!

I've been reorganising my vintage clothing site and I hope to share it with you soon. Apart from that, I've been looking at photographs of Milan Fashion Week SS12 and it's been a fun-themed show. And as you probably already know, vintage is still on trend. I'll talk about it soon.

In the meantime, hope you like my inspirations.

Have a great weekend.

Baci,

Joy x

Image from footluxe.com

Love Burberry Prorsum's hues for Autumn 2011. As most of you will know, I can't bear monochrome palettes. I believe bright colours make the world a cheerful place. But that's just me.

Image via digitalartistdaily.com

Oh wait...I think Pantone agrees.

Image via frenchicandshabby.com

I couldn't resist including this photo. It should be a spring photo but there's no stopping anyone to use these lovely lanterns in the garden whilst catching the last warm days of autumn － especially this week in Britain. The lanterns seem to have Pantone's colours too.

Image via deardesigner.co.uk

Lay your softest rug on the front room floor. Put the fire on if you have one. Snuggle up on the sofa with your favourite blanket; reach out for your warm apple and cider drink on your side table whilst you read a book...

Life is good.

Image via sublackwell.co.uk

This book sculpture by Su Blackwell reminds me of a clear autumn night when you're just about to go inside a country house.

I love Su's art. She's the most prolific and leading paper sculptor in Britain and last year collaborated with Nicole Fahri. See the link here. For my friends in the US, you'd have seen her work on the Beringer 'Vineyard' advert in 2007.

Image via weheartit.com

Remember the fireflies in your back garden when you were young? For those who haven't seen them at all, fairy lights carefully placed inside a glass jar or old demijohn is close enough to the real thing. Prepare to be mesmerised...

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Is London Fashion Week Poor?

LFW SS12  From L-R: 1&2 Matthew Williamson; 3&4 Julien Macdonald; Photos via London Fashion Week

Hello my darlings! How's everybody?
Apologies for the 2-week silence. Now that we've moved back to England and that the Internet is back just 5-minutes ago, we're back to business. Thanks to all your messages of concern. Nothing untoward has happened. Just moved house 1,200 miles away and waited for Internet connection for a few days. I am really touched by your kindness.

Today is the last day of Women's Wear at the London Fashion Week (LFW) SS12 and there has been wonderful shows. As most of you would’ve seen live presentation or live streams, I won’t be talking about them.
I did receive an invite for Day 1’s Orla Kiely show but due to domestic constraints, I couldn’t come. So where’s this post leading to?
The other day, I happened to read a week-old article in the Guardian which talked about top models avoiding the London show due to poor pay. Worse, this morning, there is another related piece on the Telegraph (both articles below). Let me share what I think of it.

As most of you will know, I've only been fashion blogging since May this year. I love the process of gaining new knowledge on just about anything interesting. I'm just beginning to understand stuff about the fashion industry.

So let me continue.
A couple of months ago, when the unconfirmed details of designers showing at LFW were released, I had a quick look and made me ask "where are the well-known luxury brands?". Then I tried reading some more to find out if it's in fact traditional for bigger brands not to show in London.

There are two things I've recently found out: One, that LFW is known for its distinctively creative shows and new designers come to showcase. Two, big brands still prefer to show in Paris, New York and Milan. This begs another question: What's wrong with London? If top models are unhappy with their pay and the logistics of getting to London whilst trying to get cast for Milan (Milan show starts soon after London show ends), then it means something’s not right.

Some observers pointed out that if companies like Topshop and Tesco are major sponsors, then LFW gives off an impression that the event is not haute fashion. But then someone needs to sponsor a big event like this.

Mary Katrantzou SS12 at LFW today via Glam.co.uk

I don't personally know anyone working in the British Fashion Council (BFC) but I do know the organisation exists as an advocate of new and established British designers. I trust that they are diligently fulfilling their duties. It’s not an easy job and as British supporters we should also do our part to promote and spread the word about LFW’s unique, unconventional and fresh home-grown designers. Maybe then we’ll be at par with Paris, New York, and Milan. Then again, maybe we do not need to be at par with anyone. Maybe we just need to be different, to be truly great at what we do. It's comforting to know that several well-known designers have all studied in the UK's Central St. Martins College. Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Stella McCartney, Christopher Kane, Jenny Packham, Katherine Hamnett, Matthew Williamson, Bruce Oldfield, Riccardo Tisci, Mary Katrantzou are among a few of these big names.

How about you? What do you think of London Fashion Week? Do you agree that LFW is better or worse than Paris, New York and Milan shows? Is London being 'bullied' by the other three shows?

Read the Guardian article here and quite a controversial piece from Fashion Telegraph here.

Hope you're all well.

It's great to be back!

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