Diary of an Intern

Recently I managed to secure some intern experience with the British institution that is Marks & Sparks ( Marks and Spencers to you non-UK folk).
It was an interesting time to be working with them as it was to be a make-or-break week for them. The company has recently welcomed style director, Belinda Earl, on-board to try and revive it’s flailing reputation as a fashion destination. It was during this week that the A/W press show would happen where the fruits of her labour would be judged. And judged it was; almost overwhelmingly positively. But more of that later!

Firstly, the dread set in! What does one wear on a fashion internship?
True to form it consisted of all my staples – black, leather, black…although I did try and add in the odd splash of colour… it is summer now after all.

Friday’s Outfit:

Strap Back Slip Dress from TopShop

Shaggy Jacket/Cardigan from Silence & Noise

Trilby Tweed Heel from Clarks (the comfiest heels I have ever worn! And my mother would be so proud with the heel size!)

The internship consisted (as most do) of me running around on errands for the rest of the team. It seemed I had landed a pretty stressful week to be interning as their were a few high profile meetings coming up for the team I was working with in relation to their Oct/Nov and Dec/Jan 2013 collections. There was a lot of running about the building, collecting samples from seamstresses, chasing samples at the pattern room, running to haberdasheries, labelling, more labelling, ironing, more ironing, some more labelling…along with photographing pieces, fittings with models and of course, photocopying (it’s not all glamorous you know).

The highlight of the week (apart from their canteen…seriously, I could talk about the food for days) was being able to attend the A/W 2013 Press Show at Malborough House. I headed down with a couple of the designers from the Limited Team to have a look. The press had gone wild for the show during the week so we were really eager to see how it had all come together.

The highlight from the show was definitely the ‘Modern Elegance’ collection which could give my favourite, Zara, a run for their money. “We are raising the bar in terms of taste, style and quality,” Earl said. Beautifully tailored, sleek styles with a fashion edge, it was far removed from the ‘frumpy’ image that M&S clothes have been landed with of late. My favourite from this range was the white, asymmetrical coat – perfection.

The Best of British

(In love with this suit and the styling on it. Swoon!)

Other highlights from the show:

All in all it was a great experience and really gave me an insight into the ins and outs of working within the fashion industry. Although I’m not sure if fashion buying is my calling per se it confirmed to me that I do want to be within the creative fashion industry in some way.

I’d also like to thank Julie and Rachel once again.

Print – A/W 13 Runway

Continuing their in-depth look at trends from the AW13 runways, Fashion156 are dissecting the print trend.

With digital versions having taken storm over recent years, we want to explore the other avenues that print has to offer. Digital print originally developed in London and has since then being hijacked by the high street, because of this designers have had to develop the trend further, in order to bring print to new and fresh levels. Designers have been drawing away from the digital and progressing into alternate forms of print. Fashion156 have picked up on this progression and we have made print our theme this week to explore further. The catwalks this season demonstrated that many designers have altered their silhouettes to break-up the traditional prints, some have experimented with paint strokes and typography and some have kept it simplistic – this new print trend is not just about pattern, but about styling and production. At Claire Barrow, John Galliano, Claire Barrow, Gareth Pugh, Maison Martin Margiel, Shaun Samson, Tsumori Chisato, McQ, Vivienne Westwood and Sonia Rykiel we saw both delicate and bold brush strokes imprinted on a medley of fabrics giving the impression of painting and stencilling.

Read more: http://www.fashion156.com/daily-blog/#ixzz2TrjRBr

Extracurricular activities

You may have noticed I’ve been a bit quieter on the blogging front this past months.
It seems there just is not enough hours in the day to fit everything in these days; from work, to friends, socialising and doing side projects…or ‘extracurricular activities’ if you will…to enhance the C.V.

Apart from this blog I’ve also been contributing as a fashion writer with Amor Magazine. You can check them out here: http://amormagazine.co.uk/ (@amormagazine)

I’ve also been doing the blogging and social media activity for The Future Vintage ( TFV ).
They’re a great, unique creative bureau that discovers and promotes fresh talent within the world of fashion and creative arts. Their range of services includes PR, Consultancy, Brand promotion, Event management, Online Presence and Publishing. I really love what they are doing and stand for so working for them is a dream.

You can check them out here: http://thefuturevintage.co.uk/ (@_TFV_ // @TFVmagazine)

Last, but by no means least, I’ve just received an email from Fashion156.com offering me to come on-board in a ‘Fashion Ambassador’ role. What does that mean you may ask? Don’t worry, I had to ask them too.
Fashion156.com – The magazine that showcases and supports new emerging talent and places it alongside the established. Basically being a ‘Fashion Ambassador’ is all about getting people aware of their great work, content and what they’re up to!

You can check them out here: http://www.fashion156.com/issue/the-london-fashion-week-aw13-review-issue-2/#6 (@fashion156)

They have amazing coverage of everything from Accessories, Architecture, Beauty, Couture, Photography, Designers, Music and so much more!

INTRODUCING FASHION156CREATIVE TALENT – PAULINA OTYLIE SURYS/ 20.08.12

Read more: http://www.fashion156.com/daily-blog/introducing-fashion156creative-talent-paulina-otylie-surys/#ixzz2S80Ga0nW

So stay tuned for more great content coming to you through the blog from Fashion156.com!

Flower Power

Ahhh summer time… the smell of freshly cut grass, bbq’s and if you’re anything like me…portaloos. Yes summer for me means festival time. So far we have tickets for Field Day, The Great Escape, Longtitude and the Gentleman of the Road tour… and a maybe few more depending on line-up announcements.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t lucky enough to attend Coachella (damn my bank account) but I have been loving all the style photo’s that have been flooding the blogosphere as they are providing me with so much festival fashion ideas.

Currently I’m trying to get my hands on a floral crown. Floral crowns are an undeniably good festival look, evoking hippy vipes and they also act as a great hair cover-up if you’ve been camping and haven’t braved the showers.

Victor & Rolf

Earlier in the week it was announced that avant-garde design duo, Victor & Rolf, will make their return to the Paris haute couture shows after a 13 year absence.

The Chambre Syndicale – the French governing body of designers – voted in favour of the fashion house returning as a member of the couture calendar at a meeting held on April 22. The Dutch pair are renowned for their over-the-top, theatrical shows so they truly a perfect fit for the couture shows. We cannot wait to see what they have in store – but until then, we’ll share some of our favourite fantastical pieces from the two.

The New Icons

‘The New Icon’ Collection from H&M has launched this April. The collection has been inspired and styled around 4 of the hottest new names in the modelling world: Joan Small, Daphne Groeneveld, Lindsey Wixson and Liu Wen.

Meet the icons who have inspired the new collection with their “style and personality”.

The collection is inspired by the off-duty style of the girls themselves in an attempt to allow us mere mortals to create our own off-duty model look. The collection itself boasts a lot ethnic detailing, lace and tassels. But it’s the gorgeous leather jacket, cream tote and jewellery that we have our eyes set on!

Pop on over to the H&M ‘New Icons’ site to find out more about the collection and the girls themselves; they have behind the scene snapshots , playlists, interviews and great styling tips of ways to wear the range from the models who inspired them!

http://www.hm.com/gb/thenewicons?cm_mmc=Newsletter-_-20130411-_-thenewicons-_-GB#feed/55

We want your wardrobe

Oh dear gawddd! Our love for Elizabeth Olsen is reaching next level. How is it even possible to be that effortlessly beautiful and nonchalantly cool? As you may have guessed,by the surname and similarity, Lizzie Olsen is the younger sister of twins Mary-Kate and Ashley. In fact their luxury fashion label ‘Elizabeth and James’ is named after her and her brother. But this girl is receiving rave reviews due to her own credits, slowly becoming the indie movie favourite.

Elizabeth Olsen has a wardrobe we would LOVE to raid. I just love how schizophrenic it is (and I mean that in the best way possible); one day she’ll be rocking a hippie, 70’s look…the next day it will be all Swedish minimalism chic…the next day she’ll be doing 90’s grunge.

And did we mention her hair? She is my hair inspiration for this Summer – natural, dark blonde, beach waves. Perfection.

Pink makes the boys wink

So apparently it’s Spring. I say ‘apparently’ because I haven’t seen any sign of it yet. I thought I glimpsed a sign of it last week with the sun making a cheeky appearance…but alas the winter coat, hat and scarf came out of retirement very, VERY prematurely.

But in an act of defiance I have decided to stick my ‘two fingers’ up to the weather and rock the Spring/Summer 2013 beauty trends regardless. There’s a saying out there, “Lead and they will follow”…well I’m hoping that if I start leading, Spring and Summer will start to follow and grace us with their presence.
Some of the beauty trends seen at the Spring/Summer 2013 catwalks were big, statement ‘Look at Me’ eyes from Chanel, Christian Dior and Dona Karen; to 90’s grunge looks from Phillip Lim, Mario Schwab and Versace; to the swinging sixties looks from Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton and Moschino.

However, I’m going to delve into the ‘Pretty in Pink’ look that also ties in nicely with another trend spotted on the catwalk: neon. The vibrant pink shocks of colour were the antithesis to the grungier, vampy looks that we were seeing. From statement neon fuchsia pink lips seen on Giles’ girls, to the indigo berry stained pink lips seen on Dries Von Noten, to the more subtle sugar shades of bubble-gum pink seen at Bogetta Veneta and Oscar de la Renta – pink was definitely the lip colour of the season!

My favourite way to rock the pink beauty trend was the vibrant colour pop look as seen on the Giles catwalk. This look works perfectly no matter what hair shade or skin tone you’ve got! All you need to do is find the perfect shade and make sure to keep it matte -we don’t want you to be mistaken for some 80’s Barbie! One thing I also must stress, in order to not make you look cartoonish or like a Nikki Minaj wannabe, is to team it with barely there make-up and bed hair.

My favourite beauty brand for lips is Mac. My favourite shade from these colour maestros’ for rocking the Giles look is Mac’s lipstick in ‘Candy Yum Yum’ shade with the Mac Lip Pencil in ‘Embrace Me’.
If the thought of bright Barbie pink lips send you into a state of dread and fear…do not worry! There are more subtle ways to rock the trend. Why not try Mac’s cult favourite ‘Snob’? It’s a more toned down shade that works great with a dark smudgy eye look. Alternatively, the ‘Plinky’ shade produces a sweeter and more sophisticated colour similar to that seen on Oscar de la Renta.

The pink lip is fun, feminine and flirty! This look is a breath of fresh air that will help you get into a happy, summery state of mind…for when the summer eventually arrives.

Foot Fetish

Rupert Sanderson jacked in his job in advertising to learn how to make shoes. A risky decision yes; but it has definitely paid off. His luxury designer shoes can be seen on the pedicured feet of the rich, famous and fashionable.

Rupert says his design philosophy is simply ‘less is more’. He avoids augmentation and over dressing the foot and instead concentrates on the perfecting line, volume and material to flatter and lengthen the leg, and make women feel sexier. His inspiration comes from the materials themselves; from the sensual curve and silhouettes of the lasts and heels, to the quality and finish of the best leather and fabrics.

Want to find out more about the man himself and his insight into the luxury fashion world? Well you can!

Rupert will be giving a talk with Vogue executive retail editor Emily Zak on April 18 at Selfridges in celebration of the store’s ‘Shoe Carnival’.

The event – which is entirely complimentary – includes a glass of Champagne and starts at 6pm. The talk begins at 6.30pm. To register for tickets email: shoecarnival@selfridges.co.uk.

We’ve registered for our tickets, so hopefully we’ll see you lovely lot there!

Say it ain’t so!

There have been reports surfacing today that my high-street fav, Zara, are guilty of producing their clothes in ‘degrading’ Argentinian sweatshop conditions.

Zara is a Spanish retailer that has stores all over the world and are currently producing some of the best pieces on the high-street. I can regularly be found spending all my wages in their stores or desperately pining after their gorgeous clothes.

The investigation, which was conducted by Argentina’s health and safety watchdog found that the mainly Bolivian employees were made to work for more than 13 hour day and could not leave the factory without permission.
“We found men and children who lived in places where they worked,” said Juan Gomez Centurion (Head of the Health and Safety Watchdog). “They were not registered and they were living in terrible conditions. They had no official documents and were held against their will, they were not allowed to leave their workplaces without permission.”

Zara released the following statement this morning:

“We are surprised by the allegations being made by La Alameda. Based on the limited information we have received so far, the workshops in question do not appear to have any relationship with our approved suppliers in Argentina.”

“We are keen to work with La Alameda to understand the substance of their allegations, but we have received no contact from them regarding these claims, nor have we had any contact or complaint from the Argentinian authorities.”

“Inditex (parent company) has a zero tolerance approach to any infringement of labour regulations, and our Code of Conduct requires all suppliers to comply fully with all local laws. Our 60 suppliers in Argentina have been regularly audited, with more than 300 audits carried out by Inditex in the last two years.”

We really hope Zara sorts the situation out so we can go back to buying their beautiful clothes without feeling guilty!