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!
Alexander McQueen Sunglasses – Style with an Attitude
Stylish and Fierce Alexander McQueen Sunglasses
One of 2010’s greatest losses was Alexander McQueen who sadly passed away in February. However, in December 2010, McQueen’s work and extraordinary talent as a fashion designer was recognised at the British Fashion Awards, with the designer receiving the The Outstanding Achievement Award. In past years, this highly renowned award has been presented to the likes of John Galliano and Vivienne Westwood.
The British Fashion Council said that ‘This special award celebrates the achievement of a designer whose work has had an exceptional impact on global fashion’.
Alexander McQueen’s collections are highly prominent on the style scene and the range of Alexander McQueen sunglasses are a great representation of the designer’s love of a luxurious yet edgy approach towards fashion. The collection has a distinct sports luxe vibe with styles including the unisex AMQ4148 sunglasses, which are reminiscent of a sporty aviator but 
with the McQueen twist in the form of exquisite colour and texture detailing.
Alexander McQueen was famous for the use of skulls within his work and an array of his sunglass designs also incorporate this striking feature. The unisex AMQ4156 sunglasses for example, are a chic aviator style and the skull positioned beside by the hinge immediately makes the design more edgy and instantly recognisable as Alexander McQueen.
The Alexander McQueen sunglasses collection boasts intrinsic attention to fine detailing, exceptional craftsmanship and includes styles that look fantastic on both men and women, are universally flattering and will work with a number of looks regardless of how casual or dressed up you like to go. McQueen will always be remembered as one of the most influential, talented and respected designers of our time and the collection of Alexander McQueen sunglasses will remain highly sought-after and timelessly fashionable for many years to come.
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.
