Fashion Week Autumn 2011
September is all about fashion. With ‘fashion week’ making it’s way around the globe, the start of Autumn offers the public a sneak preview of the trends that will be gripping us in Spring / Summer 2012.
Fashion Week begins in New York on the 8th September 2011 where designers synonymous with the Big Apple, like Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan and Michael Kors will take to the catwalk. The following week it’s London Fashion Week. In the grand setting of Somerset House, Vivianne Westwood, PPQ, Mulberry and other great names in British Fashion, will share their vision for the fashion landscape in 2012. Next up is Milan, with Italian stalwarts like Prada, Gucci and Armani dazzling an international audience with their high fashion jinx. Fashion Week then makes it’s way to the French capital of Paris, where designers such as Dior, Celine and Chanel will wow the packed aisles with their spectacular threads. Tokyo and LA are on the schedule for Fashion Week this Autumn, however the ‘big four’ remain – New York, London, Milan and Paris.
Now’s the time to book your tickets for the various shows and start thinking about your outfit choices! Shade Station is here to help ensure you accessorise for the occasion! With our fabulous selection of cutting edge jewellery, beautiful watches and designer sunglasses, you’ll be spoiled for choice and undoubtedly the best accessorised bod at Fashion Week!
London Fashion Week 2011
With London Fashion Week (LFW) beginning this week, the capital is gearing up for a massive fashionable love in. Designers, models, editors and other fashion folk are prepping themselves for countless nights of lost sleep, gallons of bubbles, vodka and coffee and most of all, the wonderful, fabulous new clothes and accessories to hit the catwalk.
Hot off the back of New York Fashion Week, where Big Apple designers such as DKNY, Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors wowed fashionistas and celebrities, London Fashion Week is considered the freshest and most exciting of all the shows. Known for discovering and celebrating new designers, LFW, is a sure fire way to consolidate a new brand and ensure plenty of column inches in magazines and websites across the world. Designers like Mark Fast (famed for his oversized models last year and of course his knitwear), Christopher Kane and Louise Gray have all found fame in recent years by showing at LFW. Newbies - Cassette Playa, Nancy Van Ostren and Sarah Baadarani are among this years hopefuls who are eager that their show at LFW will help them reach a wider audience and importantly give them access to the top fashion buyers.
Established labels like PPQ, Betty Jackson, Mulberry, Vivienne Westwood and hot royal favourite, Issa London (Kate Middleton’s designer of choice) are all on the LFW 2011 schedule. So there’s a real mix of fabulous old and young brands to watch.
With catwalks all over the Capital in the next week, London is an exciting and vibrant place to be. The chances of running into a top model, designer or celebrity is naturally increased and the number of related fashion events and parties, in store and bars, are rife.
Clearly this is a time to be looking your very best! Fashion forward and on-trend is the order of the day…. So get those stylish threads and designer sunglasses at the ready!
Introducing BCBG Max Azria Watches- The Hollywood Favourite
BCBG Max Azria is a fashion brand that has become quite the hot favourite and is hugely popular on the LA trend scene with a number of celebrities and style icons loving the chic fashion flavor it has to offer. BCBG Max Azria was also one of the first shows to kick off the recent London Fashion Week.
The brand was founded in 1989 by designer and business expert Max Azria who in the first stages of his career, spent 11 years designing a line of women’s wear in Paris. Knowing that his designs would be popular in America, Azria relocated to the United States and launched Jess, a series of new concept retail boutiques which brought the true essence of Parisian chic to American women.
In 1989, Azria wanted to expand his product lines and thus BCBG Max Azria was launched; a lifestyle brand geared towards the modern woman, designing and producing a range of clothing and accessories which combined Parisian chic with all American spirit and a strong hint of European appeal. BCBG Max Azria watches are part of that collection and are designed to embody the sense of highly trend style that represents an exciting, ever changing and dynamic lifestyle. BCBG Max Azria watches have only just been launched in the UK to celebrate the fact that the brand has enjoyed a successful 20 years in the fashion industry and we are incredibly excited to have the collection soon arrive to Shade Station!
So what makes these watches so sought after? Well, you can certainly see why BCBG Max Azria watches are a firm favourite in Hollywood; with expressive and creatively designed models, these are watches that make the ultimate style statement yet are highly versatile and never failing to impress. Some watches incorporate aesthetic features such as sleek white or black leather straps complimented by uniquely shaped and detailed diamante embellished dials. Others have exquisitely and vibrantly coloured ruched straps for an added feminine touch. BCBG Max Azria watches are highly varied as the brand strongly believes that the watches are like jewellery pieces – each with a unique personality and serve a functional purpose but add just the right touch of decoration and wow factor to your look.
Ultimately BCBG Max Azria watches represent the ever changing and evolving style of the modern woman and aim to design watches to suit every style personality. We’ll let you know as soon as this super trendy new brand hits our shelves but if you want to be alerted as soon as they arrive, all you need to do is fill in your email address here.
See in Summer 2009 with Tom Ford
Fashion trends come and go but there are certain accessory staples that will always be on trend. Sunglasses are one of them and even overtook the popularity of the bag in 2008. Every guy and girl need an ultra cool pair of shades to see in the spring and summer months and with London Fashion Week fast approaching, we are certain to see some stylish frames adorning the faces of the fashionistas to hide those late night party eyes.
Tom Ford sunglasses are sure to be one of those brands that we see in between (and probably during) the shows and are the perfect accessory to complete your wardrobe this summer. Glamorous, chic, and statement style is what Tom Ford is all about and a pair of his frames will ensure that you get noticed. Not only stylish but equally as functional, all Tom Ford sunglasses are hand crafted in Italy with exceptional attention to detail.
So what exactly is it that makes this brand so desired? Quite possibly the fact that every fashion loving celebrity owns a pair, of course! The various shapes available, particularly the oversized range, exuberate sophistication and drama and will instantly transform your dressed down jeans and t-shirt into an A list look. The famous ‘Whitney’ style has been updated for 2009 into a range of other female name inspired versions, including the ‘Simone’ style; a gorgeous black vintage style frame with bamboo effect arms. The
‘Yvette’ style with a gold frame and pearlised cream arms is definitely a personal favourite and epitomises the definition of glamour. Of course, there is something for the men too, and the Tom Ford James Bond range as seen on Daniel Craig in the most recent film ‘Quantum of Solace’ definitely give that sleek 007 vibe to your look!
Other celebrities who favour Tom Ford sunglasses include our very own Colleen Rooney, Paris and Nicky Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt. Tom Ford is absolutely one of the must have sunglasses brands this season and the great thing about his styles are that they never go out of fashion and will see you through many summers (and late night parties!) ahead.
London Fashion Week Round-up… Spring/ Summer 2009
Just like Christmas for the little ones, everyone and anyone in the fashion industry eagerly await to take their coveted seat at one of the most important events of the year… London Fashion Week! Whilst us mere mortal fashion addicts anticipate those in the Prada heels and designer outfits to report on their fabulously glamorous time from the front row and the ‘who’s who’, ‘who wore what’ ‘what to wear’ from the world of London fashion.
London Fashion Week is without a doubt one of the most exciting fashion weeks in the world… as the influential Lorraine Candy, Editor of ELLE UK, said herself “New York is slick, Milan is sexy and Paris is chic, but London is all about the new.” Every year London Fashion week sizzles with an air or unpredictability, and this year was no exception. From the hottest up and coming designers to the models of the moment and the new trends for Spring/ Summer 2009, London Fashion Week offered us it at all!
Ok we’re only just making the move into Autumn/ Winter 2008 and have yet to purchase that all-important winter wardrobe, but it’s always good to know what’s coming around the fashion corner. So here’s a round up of Spring/ Summer 2008 as brought to us from London Fashion Week…
There’s no mistaking that both London’s new and established generation of designers clearly made their mark upon the trends for Spring/ Summer 2009, with each and every designer’s collection successfully demonstrating a strong undertone of their unique independent and creative flair.
Christopher Kane highlighted his experimental approach to fashion, bringing us a close encounter of the dinosaur kind with a highly contemporary collection of chiffon and leather pieces adorned with stegosaurus-style scales.
Giles Deacon brought the 1980’s smack-bang into the future with his confident use of black, white, silver and primary colours running throughout a noticeably 80’s inspired collection of pencil skirts, dresses, skinny jeans and ballgowns. In comparison, Louise Goldin’s visionary collection of 3-D knitwear was nothing less than futuristic.
Staying true to his French roots, Charles Anastase added a hint of Victoriana to LFW with his delicately layered pieces, and other global influences could quite clearly be seen amongst Paul Smith’s collection. One of his best yet, the London designer brought us a wonderful mix of folkloric prints and North African tones.
Julien Macdonald surprised us all with his minimal use of bling amongst his sleek collection of tailored separates and column gowns, whilst John Rocha maintained his signature style in keeping his familiar Celtic references.
Although a slightly safer and more feminine collection than ever seen before by Dame Westwood, it worked. And of course, the shock tactics were out in full force with the gratuitous topless model!
London Fashion Week round-up
While most people have begun the hunt for the perfect winter coat and boots, there’s a certain sector of society that are onto the next season without giving autumn/winter 08 another thought. That’s because last week London was transformed from capital city of the UK to fashion capital of the world, thanks to London Fashion Week.
Running for six whole days, the fashion pack flocked to hundreds of shows presenting the new spring/summer 09 collections. And although we lost some of our designers to New York (Alexander McQueen, Matthew Williamson- ahem), there was still the likes of Paul Smith, Vivienne Westwood, Giles Deacon and Julien McDonald to fly the British fashion flag. Lighting up the stage with the latest creations, fashion week isn’t just about the clothes; it’s about what trends we can expect from the designers next season, and that doesn’t just include the cloth and thread that binds the outfits together. It’s about the entire package – from hair to make-up, shoes to bags, jewellery to sunglasses- even the soundtrack plays its part in relaying the designer’s inspiration and defining which target market they’re appealing to.
As you’d expect, one area that particularly caught our eye were the accessories, especially those of the sunglasses variety. Continuing to make an appearance on the catwalks were coloured frames with House of Holland intertwining flora and flowers around the upper rims of lime green and pillarbox red frames which, when combined with the rounded lenses, made them look a little John Lennon-esque (despite the rest of the show having a more 80s feel). Olanic also looked to be taking their inspiration from the 80s era with bright detailing in red and white and some creative designs in monochrome with rim-free lenses and winged frames. Over at Betty Jackson, black and white was also a popular choice for frames, which were presented with paler lenses and then worn propped at the end of the nose á la school teacher. Elsewhere, Todd Lynn showcased Linda Farrow sunglasses, Topshop Unique opted for blue-tinted lenses, and Ashish teamed up with accessory brand Tatty Divine and fashioned mirrored sunglasses into hair-bands and necklaces for a totally different take on the trend – genius.
