Deja vu?

I'm nostalgic for the reign of the Supermodels.

Dress Me Up!

Topshop's Oxford Circus never ceases to amaze me. 

Throughout December, their 'Dress Me Up!' section plays hosts to an amazing selection of dresses donated by fashion’s elite. From a Burberry dress donated by Freida Pinto and Jourdan Dunn's stunning Herve Leger, to Peaches Geldoff's Dolce & Gabbanna and a dress designed and worn by Naomi Campbell; the idea is that you can go along and hire one of the stunning pieces for the evening for just £40! (All proceeds go to charity).

MJ - In the closet (feat. Naomi Campbell)

Smells like Marc Jacobs.

OK so about the origins of Grunge and how it came into the fashion forefront... In the late 80s, a bunch of musicians started to form bands in the Washington state, escaping the gloomy weather in their garages.

The music tended to be influenced from punk and the hard rock of the 70s.  

It wasn't until Nirvana's second album "Nevermind" and in particular the first single from the album "Smells Like Teen Spirit", that the scene was catapulted into the mainstream. 

Of course grunge was extremely anti-fashion. The music reflected the unhappy mood of America and Europe's children ("Generation X") and the clothes were further validation of the "we don't care" youth attitude. The messy hair and clothes were intended to counteract the image of plasticity that MTV sold.

When Marc Jacobs designed a SS '93 collection for Perry Ellis, stylizing grunge, consumers were shocked and rejected it stating "you cannot charge $1200 for a dress that looks like it was bought in a second hand store". Subsequently, Jacobs was fired by the Perry Ellis Company despite tremendous editorial support from fashion critics who felt that the look was significant - it showed women they didn't have to dress in a certain style. They had choices. 

Perry Ellis SS '93, Marc Jacobs AW '06

Unfortunately, by embracing the look, the fashion critics killed the anti-fashion trend and with Jacobs' firing, grunge suffered a backlash. On the musical front, the bands that had started the movement rejected it's new associations with the fashion world and with the untimely death of Kurt Cobain in '94, grunge too was pronounced dead. 

I feel their has been a slight resurrection of late.

London Fashion Week

London Fashion Week had some lovely surprises in store as usual.

For Spring Summer '09 I thought there would be a real step away from the Modern Romance themes of SS '08. However, with the likes of the Luella show (welcome back) and Emma Cook's collection again showing fragility and subtleties in light, floaty fabrics such as chiffon and silks; fresh sorbet & neutral colour pallets (I particularly loved the rose colour presence, it looks like romance is a non-mover. Ruffles and lace are still present though not as obvious and it looks like bows are eventually being played down (though still present).

Luella

Emma Cook

Also holding a strong presence was the return of the 80s with power-dressing particularly present in Topshop Unique's collection. Jumpsuits (this time more dressed up and one shouldered) held strong AGAIN as well as head scarfs and fetish-style statement shoes. 

Can't wait!

Notably, Naomi Campbell also hosted her 3rd 'Fashion for Relief' with money raised going to the White Ribbon Alliance. The occasion drew more attention this year due to the appearances of celebs on the catwalk - notably Cheryl Cole who received the biggest applause of the event.