26.07.2010- Fashionista Magazine

You may remember a little while back I blogged about having some pieces I'd written published in the official magazine of Graduate Fashion Week, Fashionista. The magazine was given out free to all those who attended Graduate Fashion Week in June and was put together by the lovely Emma (who you can follow at The Dressing Up Box.) It is now available to read online (how very technological!)

Fashionista Magazine

The two articles I contributed are the Fashionista Fresher's Guide on page 17 and Grace Kelly: Style Icon on page 43. You can also read more at fashionistamag.co.uk, where you can also sign up to daily fashion updates, just by clicking on the subscribe button in the top right hand corner.

Happy reading!
x

13.06.2010- Fashion Spotlight- Victoria Geaney

Victoria Geaney is a recent graduate of the University of the Creative Arts, Epsom, who has just shown her designs at Graduate Fashion Week and had work placements with Julien MacDonald and Erdem. Her collection is inspired by the iconic Charlie Chaplin and Federico Fellini's film La Strada, and focuses on humour and laughter, incorporating menswear as womenswear and oversized tailoring. Her work in this collection is innovative and fun, and, in Victoria's own words:

'The collection features oversized mens tailoring garments such as a Hunched sleeve tailored coat (as though the wearer is stuck in the motion of laughing forwards), a trouser-skirt with the skirt made to look like a shifted around pair of trousers with a turned-up cuff, and a deconstructed waistcoat made to look like tails but attached to the bottom is the bottom of a tailored coat: therefore producing a humorous twist on traditional tailoring garments.  The gloves provide further comedy, made to look like hands with attached knitted fingernails creating more trompe l'oeil in accessories.  There is a lot of humour and fake or trompe l'oeil to the collection, like hunched sleeve knitwear and and elongated trousers made into a jumpsuit.'

I really love the way that Victoria has taken conventional materials such as wool and tweed, giving them a really youthful, vibrant dynamic through her use of colour and detail, for example with the buttons on the waistcoat/coat. I also really like the way that she has experimented with line and silhouette in her tailored pieces, and the concept of the collection really shines through in her work (I just adore the Chaplin-esque red bowler hat). As well as working really well as part of a conceptual collection, there are also some pieces which stand out as being extremely versatile and wearable as part of an everyday wardrobe, such as the trousers, tailored shorts and impeccably cut white shirts. Above all, I really admire the way that Victoria has created a collection which is simultaneously fun and functional and, with a graduate collection as strong as this, I'm sure the future is looking extremely bright for her. 

Victoria has also recently been selected as the only British finalist for the What's More Alive Than You! Fashion and Art Competition, for which she has designed a shoe collection based on 'natural forms and the local environment', using digital floral prints on eco-friendly or recycled materials. To find out more visit: www.wmaty.com. 

To view more images of Victoria's Graduate Fashion Week show, visit: catwalking.com.

(Image credit: Christopher Moore at catwalking.com, www.wmaty.com. )

09.06.2010- Disco, disco, disco!

Yesterday at university I had my last assessment of the year, believe me three hours of writing an exam paper is quite long enough! All of my projects for the year are finished now too, and I found out yesterday got an A for one of my theatre history essays, which made my day! So no more exams for me (fingers crossed), and only one more year of uni left until I have to think about becoming a grown up. Today I spent the day in London with my mum, shopping, lunch and made a trip to the theatre, a pretty perfect way to celebrate the end of term. Then this weekend my best friend's dad is having a Hollywood themed  birthday party, giving us all the perfect excuse to dress up. My outfit is top secret until the weekend, but I'll hopefully pop some pictures up so you can see my trying my best to be graceful! Then I've only got about three weeks until I jet off on a much needed holiday, a fortnight on a Andalucian beach is exactly what I need after the last few months. 

Also, some exciting news which I think I can finally share with you without fear of jinxing it! About a month ago now I was contacted by the lovely Emma Griffiths from Fashionista Magazine, the education magazine produced for distribution at Graduate Fashion Week, and was asked if I would be interested in contributing some writing to the 2010 edition of the magazine. This was such an unbelievable honour for me, as well as a brilliant opportunity to have some of my writing published. Graduate Fashion Week is happening as a type (my best friend, Sarah, of City Girl's Fashion Box, who has also had work published is enjoying the after-show party right now!) and Emma is very kindly posting me a copy of the finished magazine so I can see my work in all its printed glory. I'll share as soon as possible, but am so so grateful that I was given this great opportunity, it really does mean a lot. And, yet more exciting news which I think it's finally safe to share, I also managed to secure a week of work experience with The Stage Magazine in London at the beginning of September, so that should be another great opportunity to get some hands on experience and add to my C.V.

All in all, the summer is shaping up to be pretty fantastic so far, I'm just hoping the English weather holds out! How about you? Do you have anything amazing planned for the next few months?

(Image credit: fashiongonerogue and Fashionista Magazine @ GFW.)