Review: Haute couture by Natalia Fedner

If you are a TV addict like me you might have come across Natalia Fedner before. For those of you who don’t know her – I don’t understand what are you doing with your lives -, she has been a contestant in Lifetime’s show ‘Project Runway: Under the Gunn’ (I don’t want to spoil the show so I won’t say which position she got). But anyway, what I wanted to tell you about is her grandiose talent as haute couture designer.

© Photo by Giuliano Bekor. Model: Amanda Adrienne

She has recently launched her 2014 haute couture collection which consists on a series of dresses and gowns made of silver, French silk tulle and hand spun Agora. And how would she put these materials together? Well, that is why I have waited for the Fashion Revolution Day to tell you about her: She knits!

Taken from Natalia Fedner's Instagram (link at the bottom) 

Whenever I hear the word “knitting” my thoughts go to thick woolly clothes that keep you warm during winter and those scarves and jumpers grammas make. I love both of those things – And I’ve even started to knit recently – and I was waiting for some clothes inspired by tradition and my favourite season. Needless to say that I was thrilled the first moment I put my eyes on her final work, for not only she had captured what I expected but had also taking it a step further to create haute couture – which I am not generally a big fan of.   

© Photo by Giuliano Bekor. Model: Amanda Adrienne

Her collection, called Empress’s New Clothes, could not have had a better name, for they are garments that an empress would wear. Defined by her as a collection “inspired in part by the mood of Hitchcock’s ‘Vertigo’: there is great strength in things that may appear weak or fragile”, her gowns makes model Amanda Adrienne look stunning, with elegance and delicacy yet with an aura of strength to it, as she is attending to a glamorous event in Paris.

The photoshoot, by Giuliano Bekor, captures the astonishing garments screaming power and fragility at the same time. These pieces of art become alive in the most pure old Hollywood glamour, making very easy for anyone to imagine Liz Taylor, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly or any other fabulous star wearing it.   

To me, it is the ultimate hard and soft collection, because it far from the usual leather and silk collections. This is hard and soft in its pureness. Taking material like silver and thick thread to create something delicate like glass and full of amazing details is not an art, it is magic. No wondering why Shakira has already purchase of of Fedner’s creations!  

© Photo by Giuliano Bekor. Model: Amanda Adrienne

If I had to mark her creations it would be a 15 out of 10 because this collection is beyond anything I have seen before. I can foretell her career in the fashion industry will be at least as spectacular as her debut collection and personally, I cannot wait to see what else she has prepared for the world to see.  

For more Natalia Fedner (I know you want to see more) visit: http://www.nataliafednerdesign.com

Or herTwitter account: https://twitter.com/NataliaFedner

Instagram account: http://instagram.com/nataliafedner

Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/NataliaFednerDesign

Photographer: Giuliano Bekor : http://giulianobekor.com/photography

Model: Amanda Adrienne: https://twitter.com/AmandaAdrienne

Fringely bohemian: Kate Moss for TopShop

English mode Kate Moss has decided to collaborate once again with Topshop on a SS collection after a four-year hiatus. This new collection described as ultimate hippie chic with a hint or rocker style has multiple tasseled, beaded, sequins pieces that work sometime well, sometimes not so well.  Apparently, the collection comprises four style stories: balearic dressing, pyjama dressin, cocktail hour and tailoring noir.

Maybe being away from the designing world for four year has taken its toll on Kate Moss, for this collection, to me, seems a try to comply too many ideas that don’t work together neither with the current fashion. It’s bohemian and represents summer but it doesn’t quite get to the chic way people like Florence Welch are.

 The collection, that will be available in all Topshop stores and online from April 30^th, gives a vibe of bohemian style mixed with vintage-like pieces. Kate Moss might have tried too hard to put her ideas into this garments, which is appreciated but maybe a little bit excessive. I have the feeling that I have already seen these clothes before as something Phoebe Halliwell would wear in the middle seasons of Charmed, and it is maybe too soon to revive the 2000’s style. 

Liked: 

1.       Flirty dress with floral pattern (or any of the other short dresses) is perfect for Spring.

2.       Long white dress and its short version (for those who don’t have a supermodel legs length) are great for day and evening occasions, very chic and full of boho style.

3.       A country reinterpretation of the little black dress which adds movement and a fun aura to it thanks to the long fringe from the neckline to above the knee.  

4.       Short jump suit, elegant and sexy with transparency on the top part. Easy and chic for an evening event.

5.      and  6.  A handkerchief blouse and riveted shorts to wear at the festival season.

Disliked: 

1.       One shoulder maid-of-honor-like dress.

2.       and 3. Long dresses with spaghetti straps. This screams to me 2003. It’s something Hale Berry or Christina Aguilera would wear to a Red Carpet event back in the early 2000’s

4.       Leather waistcoat. The problem with these pieces is not its design but its versatility. Asking a customer to spend £250, especially in a TopShop store where the target audience is young people, in a garment that can be worn in counted occasion is not very acceptable.

5.       Brown shorts. Maybe I’ll change my mind about this one, but on this first peek to the collection they look to me like some sloppy bad-fitted brown shorts. 

The 40-piece collection will be available online and instore at Topshop, as well as Nordstrom, Nordstrom.com and Net-a-porter.com from April 30^th onwards. 

Sophie Ellis-Bextor at the Birmingham Institute

                After three years since her last tour, British singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor started last night a new adventure in the U.K. as part of the promotion of her new and self-published album Wanderlust, miles away from her previous albums, leaving electronic music out.

The event took place at the Library in the Birmingham Institute, a venue which holds up to 600 people. This was the perfect setting for Ellis-Bextor’s new sound. And crowded to the full the show began at 8:00pm with the supporting act, a dream pop band from Brighton called ‘UsBaby Bear Bones’, and after a half-an-hour show, this talented band retired to leave the stage to the British singer. 

Bextor bursted in stage along with the musicians that also recorded the album: Gita and Rosie Langley as backing vocalists/violinists, Seton Daunt at guitar, Sophie’s husband and member of British band The Feeling,  Richard Jones at bass, Phill Wilkinson at drums and Ed Harcourt, who co-wrote the album, at keyboard.

The show started with the same song the album does, Birth of an Empire, maybe as a metaphor of the singer starting something new in all the senses. The song, with a strong sound of violin, was followed by other new tunes from Wanderlust such as Until the Stars Collide or its second single of the album, Runaway Daydreamer, which allowed the English singer to show her powerful vocals, sometimes hidden under remixes and electronic sound.

In this first part of the show, wearing a short red dress customised for her where Wanderlust could be read at one side along with other symbols, she sang the songs from her new album, giving the sensation to the audience that the album was in fact, playing. So much vocal perfection and precision made everyone forget that it was indeed live.

This more relaxed section also included some old songs such as I Am Not Good at Not Getting What I Want from her 2003 album Shoot from the Hip, and she surprised everyone when she decided to bring back from the late 90’s a song by her former band theaudience called A Pessimistic Is Never Disappointed.

                During this first hour of great music she also had time to speak with the audience about the concept of this new album and what it meant for her to break with a big record label.

                She promised she would make us dance, and so the second part of the show began. With her band playing an unrecognisable music, Sophie poped up again in stage, now wearing a tunic-like green dress with sequins on the neckline, to sing a non-stop mash-up of her old classics Take Me Home, Groovejet, and Murder on the Dancefloor mixed with line from 2001 hit Lady (Hear Me Tonight) by the French house dou Modjo.

                Presenting her 2009 dance single Heartbreak (Make Me a Dancer) as her final performance, the audience went crazy jumping and singing along.

                When everyone left the stage we were still there clapping for more, and so, Sophie Ellis-Bextor accompanied by Ed Hartcourt carrying an acoustic guitar, performed When the Storm Has Blown Over, only illuminated by a single spotlight in the most tender moment of the evening.

                It was a totally worth it show, and Sophie Ellis-Bextor, as usual, looked stunning.

                She stayed for a while after the show to sign, and I quote, “whatever you want me to sign”. And even when she got a guy from the audience asking if she would sign his Victoria Beckham album, she said yes. This is how awesome Sophie Ellis-Bextor is. 

Become a bag designer on a boring afternoon

Have you found yourself with nothing to do on a Sunday afternoon? Fear no more, my friend, I have the perfect solution for you!

                Since Longchamp introduces its “Le Pliage” line of bags, a collection of foldable travel bags made of vinyl and leather trim, in 1993 a great number of updates have been made to this bag, being the chance for a customer to personalise the colours of this stylish bag the latest.

Catherine Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge wearing a Le Pliage.

But, a little bit of history first to get in the mood:

Frenchman Jean Cassegrain inherited the family tobacco shop in 1948, and start covering the mundane pipes with leather, creating a luxury leather item that became very popular. He founded then Longchamp (“long field” in French), after a Parisian horse race track he used to walk by everyday, as a leather company.  Longcham eventually expanded to purses, accessories and other leather goods, culminating in 1993 (as said above) with their most popular creating since leather pipes, Le Pliage.

The best definition of this bag, for those who don’t know it is its own name: Pliage is French for “fold”, which is exactly what this purse can do. It is a very spacious and resistant bag perfect for traveling that you can store anyway you want once its purpose is completed.

The Le Pliage bag is available in a great variety of colours in its classic version of a canvas surface accented with leather on both handles and top flap,  and since 2012 a new all-leather version of the bag is acquirable for customers.  And there are several reasons for Le Pliage’s popularity amongst teenagers as well as adults. Its utility and spaciousness makes the owner of this bag being able to keep close a lot of useful items like laptops, notebooks or whatever you can need for school/work; that added to its versatility, since the bag can be used for almost any occasion. The quality and style of the Le Pliage is recognized worldwide and there relies its popularity even between celebrities.

Both versions of the bag: Le Pliage Cuir and Le Pliage Nylon can be personalised in this web app Longchamp launched a while ago, making shopping for a bag an exciting game.

Getting there is easy: Just go to longchamp.com and the app would appear in top right corner under “LE PLIAGE PERSONALISED”. Click it and enjoy multiple options to create your own personal Le Pliage.

The first thing you must choose is the model of the bag, as I’m personalising Le Pliage Cuir, the options are clutch, Bag size S (25x23x16cm) Bag size M (32x28x17cm) and Bag size L (40x31x18cm).

After that, it’s time to choose the colour of the main body of your bag among eight pigments: orange, pink, lemon-yellow, camel, indigo, black, vermillion and taupe.

  Le Pliage Cuir gives you also the option of choosing a colour for the flap, handles, tabs and shoulder strap within the eight before mentioned.

The final step to a complete personalisation of the purse is choosing the colour of the lining (dune, night blue, fuchsia, citrine or vermillion) and to embroil a small message of 3 (if you place it in the lateral part of the body) or 4 words (if you decide that the flap is a better place).

 In case you decide to go for the Le Pliage Nylon, the characteristics are similar, it just leaves less space to choose colours since this classic version only allows to choose two colours for the canvas body of the bag.

It is a great app even if – like me – you don’t want to buy a bag. It’s fun, easy to use and it helps you understand how colours work together better. You can even create popular culture inspired bags like:

Kill Bill, Iron Man, Barbie

(For more Longchamp visit http://uk.longchamp.com/)

This post is dedicated to my friend Lorena Gosende, who let me know about this app and whose sense of style is austounding.

On How a Trend Can Save Lives: #nomakeupselfie

For the last few weeks, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have been flooded with pictures of women without makeup under the hagstag ‘#nomakeupselfie’ in order to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Not many people seem to know the origin of this trend... It's been reported that the idea began when American author Laura Lippman tweeted a “nomakeupselfie” in support of Kim Novak who had been criticised for her appearance at the Oscars.

University of Birmingham student, Freya Bell.

Right after that, the trend of taking a “selfie” without makeup spread like wildfire. It seems to have been at this stage when Cancer Research UK took the opportunity to revive an old social media campaign they had launched back in 2013: ‘Dare To Bare’.

This previous campaign encouraged women to get sponsored to go to work, do social activities and go on nights out without their makeup on.

Now in 2014, the #nomakeupselfie trend raised £8 million from text and online donations as of the 25^th of March in just six days. This money will be used to fund clinical trials and to undertake research for more effective treatments and tests for cancer.

Cancer research is not only seeking for a cure or for the extension of life, but also to improve the quality of life for those who currently suffer from cancer.

Nevertheless, the campaign has come under some scrutiny. For instance, some have noticed how people have missed the point of the campaign and haven't donated any money.

I asked some students at the University of Birmingham if the message to donate money for breast cancer research seemed to have been forgotten as the campaign went viral, and the answer was mostly yes. This seemed to be because the idea of empowering women was so strong that it eclipsed the fundamental message.

Even so, should this also be seen as a criticism? To me, it's a win-win situation. Whether a woman's picture wants to show “donate money for cancer research”, or “I’m a woman and I’m being empowered”, or both, the important thing is that these pictures are contributing to something good.

However, for me, the shocking thing is that it takes such a campaign in order to prompt people to donate money for good causes.

I have been told by a student that to be seen without makeup is such a big deal nowadays, and so maybe this is another aspect of the campaign - to show that it's okay for women to go out fresh-faced.

Scarlett Johansson for Vanity Fair

In the early ‘Dare To Bare’ campaign, women had to do daily activities without makeup, and even though most of them wanted to look their best, as pointed out to me by some students, no proof of it would last for other people to know that they did it.

By contrast, the #nomakeupselfie campaign obliges women to post pictures on different social networking sites for all their friends to see and where it will last for a very long time.

Recently, celebrities like Scarlett Johansson, Kate Winslet, Julia Roberts and even men (Brad Pitt, Martin Scorsese...) have taken part in a photoshoot for America's Vanity Fair where it seems they aren't wearing any makeup and most certainly have had no added nips and tucks courtesy of Photoshop.

Also, actress Gwyneth Paltrow posted a makeup-free picture of herself on Instagram to raise awareness of the water-providing charity Drop4Drop. I have not seen any criticism for these, and in general, it seems a shame to criticize a campaign that started out as a trend and that later became a fundraising hit.

From Gwyneth Paltrow Instagram

The only criticism I could make after doing the proper research for this topic is about a counterpart campaign I have found, #cockinasock, where men wear a sock over their genitals in order to raise awareness for testicular cancer.

I am not saying that this is a stupid campaign, raising awareness for testicular cancer is of course extremely important. But by creating a campaign like this, aren't we categorizing cancer by gender?

For me, I feel a joint approach would be more effective. The creation of this second campaign makes transgender people invisible in cancer research terms.

And like Albus Dumbledore once said “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided" ;)

Text BEAT to 70099 to donate £3 and post a #nomakeselfie, a #cockinasock picture or do whatever you want, but please, donate.

(As publised at RedBrick Newspaper http://www.redbrick.me/2014/04/nomakeupselfie/)

Australian Attitude for Jimmy Choo pre-fal collection

The new Jimmy Choo pre-fall campaign has launched with Nicole Kidman as its face. This is the 4^th consecutive season the Australian actress has worked with the brand.

Nicole Kidman for Jimmy Choo pre-fall collection

This new campaign shows a slender and young version of Kidman. The 46-year-old mother-of-four appears wearing the Jimmy Choo buckle boot, the Anna python bag and a crotch-skimming white blazer in the picture released by the London-based high fashion house.

Nicole Kidman for Jimmy Choo cruise collection 2014

                The stylism of the photoshoot is intended to give Kidman a natural and fresh look, probably after last year’s campaign for S/S 14 was highly criticized for an excess of photshop which made the Oscar winner look like a Barbie doll. Maybe Choo’s marketing team have still a lot to improve in this field since the snapshots of the pre-fall campaign does not show the same Nicole Kidman that appears in the video made for it.

     

                Even when ‘The Railway Man’ star said that she had enjoyed working with Willy Vanderperre – the photograph who shooted the campaign – some media dared to insinuate that the body presented in the pictures was not hers.

According to Sandra Choi, Creative Director of Jimmy Choo “Nicole embodies the tougher attitude and rebellious glamour that is key to the Pre-Fall collection’s aesthetic”, so what is point of photoshoping her?

 The use of of it only distortions what she is, a beautiful and glamorous Hollywood star. Stop the age-shaming. 

Nicole Kidman for Jimmy Choo pre-fall collection

(© All rights reserved to Jimmy Choo)

For more Jimmy Choo visit: http://www.jimmychoo.com/

'Heritage Collection' by Burberry

Since Thomas Burberry gave this new design to an officer’s raincoat the in 1879 many revisitations have been done, and now Burberry, in hands of Christopher Bailey, is back with a new collection.

© all rights reserved to Burberry 

The Heritage collection takes the classical trench coat and give us three different version of it: the Sandringham - slim and tailored to the body and fitted in the waist -, the Kensington – a modern and less fitted waist and double breasted with four buttons – and the Westminster – the most classical version featuring raglans sleeves.

© all rights reserved to Burberry 

Available for both men and women in three different colours (honey, stone and black), Burberry brings back the old British elegance from the 20^th century surrounding it by a military aura. This timeless piece is perfect for any season, guaranteeing anyone who owns one safety against the typical windy and rainy weather of the British Isles. Made of the same fabric Thomas Burberry used back in the 19^th century, the British brand adds some details such as the belt loops on the shoulders, the decorative flap on the chest or the mini belts in the back of the neck.   

© all rights reserved to Burberry 

Also in the same collection a great variety of wonderful cashmere scarves can be found to match this timeless coat, and as Emma Watson said “You can’t go wrong with a classic trench and a pair of jeans”. 

© all rights reserved to Burberry 

For more Burberry visit: http://uk.burberry.com/