London Fashion Week Calling
This week sees the excitement mounting in the capital for the renowned London Fashion Week (Friday 15th to Tuesday 19th February). Fashion’s biggest names will be crowding into the city to see what Britain’s best designers have to offer for Autumn/Winter 2013. From House of Holland to Mark Fast, Clements Ribeiro to Erdem, the fashion pack have plenty to be getting their teeth (or claws) into this coming weekend.
We’re looking forward to the round-ups of the Autumn/Winter collections in the glossies and on the top fashion sites - not forgetting the street style snaps of London’s best known movers and shakers who step out daily in ensembles most of us only dream of wearing. Street style is just one of the ways Fashion Week overflows with inspiration and excitement for fashion’s new offers. The schedule for the weekend sees catwalks from established, renowned designers, but also the top picks of dynamic new talent and graduates from London’s prestigious art and fashion schools.
On the topic of London’s top fashion colleges, Central St Martins lecturer Rod Judkins has compiled 57 tips on how to unlock the creative genius within, in his new book Change Your Mind. This little hardback is full to the brim with quirky graphic illustrations and insider knowledge on how to become more creative at work, at home and at play. Change Your Mind also shares nuggets of wisdom from some of the most creative people in the world - from Picasso to Paul McCartney, learn how experts of the creative industry keep their artistic juices flowing.
We couldn’t mention London Fashion Week without a mention of our author Jonathan Phang, who has worked in the fashion industry for over two decades. He has managed the career of models such as Jerry Hall, and you’ll also recognise him from his appearances on TV as a fashion expert - noticeably as a judge on Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model. As well as his fashion credentials, Jonathan has a long-standing passion for cooking delicious family recipes from the Caribbean. His new cookbook The Pepperpot Club, is a collection of his family recipes from the six races of the Caribbean, alongside which he recounts a childhood defined by tales of the homeland and his mother’s spicy aromatic cooking. Watch Jonathan’s trailer for The Pepperpot Club here and catch his cooking programme, Jonathan Phang’s Caribbean Cookbook on Food Network UK this Spring.
Whilst the rest of London are in full-frontal fashion frenzy, we certainly need some art and design inspiration to keep us up to speed with the city. That’s why we’ve been flicking through Le Snob: Shoes and Le Snob: Tailoring to swot up on our essential sartorial stats. And Sharmadean Reid’s much-loved book, The WAH Nail Book of Nail Art, will be an essential for all fashionistas this weekend. With all that jetting from one fashion show to the next, there’s no time for a Saturday manicure, which is why you’ll need Sharmadean’s DIY nail art projects to make sure your talons are looking suitably slick in time for the Vivienne Westwood Red Label show. Oh how we wish we could say, ‘see you there’!
