Prada presents: A Therapy

I love it when high fashion and humour come together. From last year's brilliant Lanvin video to Prada's latest short film: A Therapy, which has been released today, what's better than seriously well dressed laughs?

          

Directed by Roman Polanski

Starring Helena Bonham Carter, Ben Kingsley

Fashion Film: Anna Selezneva in Santa Sangre

I found this whilst browsing NOWNESS.com, and I love it. Super-sexy, super model, Anna Selezneva stars in this short film by Swedish director Axel Lindahl. The piece is inspired by Spanish matadors which is reflected in the styling by Kate Sebbah.

          
Pieces featured: Vintage velvet tasseled collar by Amarcord; encrusted tight trousers by Manish Arora; gloves by La Crasia; and boots by J. Mendel

The Kills 10 year anniversary: The Last Goodbye

You may remember from numerous posts like this one and this one, that I have a slight girl crush on Alison Mosshart of The Kills and after seeing this, it's only further confirmed. Their recent single from album, Blood Pressures; The Last Goodbye is a far cry from their regular sound but I like it. The nostalgic piano and haunting tones of Mosshart's voice on the track are simple and evoke emotion.

On to the video. Actress Samantha Morton directed the piece set in an old photobooth and filmed to the style of an old 35mm in black and white. The slightly innocent, uncomplicated track is echoed in the video and it captures the duo's ten year collabouration and friendship.

                

Visuals

I stumbled across this clip the other day (ah the joys of browsing the web during the weekend), it's the opening titles of the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and it's pretty schweeet.

           

The track is pretty good too. Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and composer/musician Atticus Ross' cover of Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song is pretty great but here's the original for those that prefer the old school...

                               

Great Scott These Are Cool...

Firstly, HUGE apologies for being such a bad blogger recently. I've just been so busy with work that something had to give! Anyhow, I'm back and have I got a treat for you.

Being a mega fan of the Back To The Future films you can imagine my excitement when I saw that Nike are producing the Nike Air Mag trainers from Back To The Future 2. They are not self tying (yet) but they are so friggin' awesome it's unreal. If that wasn't good enough, proceeds from the 1,500 pairs being auctioned on eBay will benefit the Michael J Fox Foundation.

I'd literally do anything for these.

            

             

                             Now if someone could just invent the hoverboard we'd be sorted.

Hannah Marshall SS11

The super cool (and a personal favourite), Hannah Marshall has showcased her SS11 collection in a short film shot by Rankin. Check out the video by clicking on the below image and try not to drool over the beautiful use of black on this sensual and minimalistic collection. LOVE.

SHOWStudio.com brings together babes & beats...

An already dearly missed friend who has recently left London for the Big Apple (hello Chris), sent me a link to something really cool and really fun yesterday (generally in my industry these two don't always go together) but photographer and film maker Barnaby Roper has managed to create something that is both.

Using Eniko Mihalik as his model and Keegan Singh as the stylist this wonderful idea has been brought together and shown on SHOWStudio.com.

Rather than flicking through pages of a magazine Roper invites you to create your own fashion editorial film by clicking different buttons to put together various clips and sounds, you can record your film and share it.

Want to have a bit of fun with babes and beats at your desk this morning? Check it out here...

Through the looking glass...

We have seen re-workings of our favourite childhood fairy tales turn into major Hollywood blockbusters in the past year. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Chronicles of Narnia and recently Tim Burton's latest master piece; Alice in Wonderland (which I saw in 3D last night- go see it!). On a separate project from this blog I have been exploring the reason behind why fantasy and fairytale has become so popular in recent times. I feel it's the day-to-day pressure of modern life, or maybe the strain of the economic crisis we faced last year, something is turning us into dreamers and causing the urge to find escapism.

This need of escapism is translating into other realms of life such as television (I would never have guessed Dr Who would have come back with vengeance), reality TV is taking a downturn and this optimistic approach with good winning over evil is even affecting what we wear.

The catwalks for SS10 have shown a girlie fairytale vibe from pretty dresses to muted tones and candy colours for womenswear and top hats, beige, bow ties and pocket watches for men.

Gingham check and floaty fabrics from Christopher Kane

Ditsy florals and ankle socks at Ralph Lauren

Mad Hatter inspiration from Kinder Aggugini

Tiny 'drink me' bottles from Balmain

Mad Hatter chic at Kenzo

Beige at Jill Sander

I'm loving this trend and the quintessential English tea party feel that I'm getting from it. Now, all I need to find is a rabbit in a waistcoat and a gingham check picnic blanket and I'll be ready for summer.

An Unlikely Style Icon...

I recently stumbled upon an image of of Glenn Close as Cruella De Vil and realised how on trend she really is! Sharp tailoring, animal print, monochrome, feathers, short two-tone hair and of course the staple of the season; extreme shoulders. All put together with an air of Dynasty thrown in, evil or not she has style I can get on board with!

I have added some of my favourite looks for your viewing pleasure, brace yourself for inspiration...

Buy the style of one of the best dressed women in the world...if you have a few thousand to spare!

For three days, starting on December 8th, Audrey Hepburn's clothes and accessories will be auctioned at The Royal Opera Arcade, Pall Mall, London in the biggest ever-sale of the actress' clothing.

Hepburn's style was classic, subtle and chic. It is no wonder that women the world over have for years, and will for years, look to her for inspiration. She adopted a 'less is more' attitude when dressing which oozed class and style. With this she had an innocent and slightly vulnerable side to her which created the charming yet delicate persona that created an icon.

Due to her close friendship with Hubert De Givenchy the actress had some iconic pieces, with the designer creating many of her film wardrobes. Obviously with this, the auction is Givenchy heavy (not that this is a bad thing!). Here a few of the fabulous pieces on offer for those who have a few thousand saved up for a rainy day...

Givenchy, Haute Couture evening coat, estimated at 800 to 1,200 GBP

Givenchy, Haute Couture cocktail dress, worn to promote 'Paris When it Sizzles', estimated at 8,000 to 10, 000 GBP

Givenchy, Haute Couture ball gown, worn in 'Love in the Afternoon', estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 GBP

Givenchy, Haute Couture cocktail dress, worn in 'How to Steal a Million', estimated at 15,000 to 20,000 GBP

Hmmmm, perhaps I will need to watch Hepburn's 'How to Steal a Million' to get some pointers so I can have a piece of the auction action!

The September Issue...

For anyone interested in fashion seeing the long awaited film 'The September Issue' will be the highlight of the viewing month.

I saw it last night and loved it. I have completely fallen for Grace Coddington who was portrayed as a hopeless romantic, still stuck in a place where longing for beautiful imagery is all that counts. She was endearing and broke the mold when you see her dressing models at shoots and being actively involved in everything she puts her hand to.

Anna Wintour was far less fierce than expected and came across stern yet somewhat gentle at the same time, (who knows what the portrayal would have been like before editing!). Celebrated as the woman who single handedly brought the world of fashion and the world of celebrity together years ahead of anyone else, her vision and thought process seemed concise and direct. Hearing her speak of her family and seeing footage of her in her home with her daughter, somewhat shattered Wintour's 'Ice Queen' image.

Editor-At-Large; Andre Leon Talley was fabulous, popping up occasionally in outlandish outfits. His air time included a tennis lesson in which he was decked out in Louis Vuitton!

All in all it encapsulated the highs and lows of putting together the most important issue in a magazine's year, fantastically. It wasn't pretentious or over glamorous, held the attention and confirmed even more how much I love this industry!

J'adore Coco...

Seeing as my nick name descends from the lady herself it seemed quite apt to do a post on her. Coco Chanel is by far the one person I would love to share dinner and chats with. Creator of one of the most famous and influential design houses in the world it is a wonder that 1982's Coco Solitaire is the only film to have been made about her life...until now. This year sees 3 films coming out about this self made woman. The first being Coco Chanel, made for American television. The second is Coco Chanel & Ignor Stravinsky which closed this years Cannes film festival and the third is Coco Avant Chanel (Coco before Chanel). It is the third that excites me the most. A biopic of this woman's life and the build up to what she did for the fashion world. A pioneer for 'girl power', Coco Chanel was an orphan from a very poor background. She worked extremely hard for all she achieved and this is why her rags to riches story will be one of the most entertaining.



Coco Avant Chanel trailer

To celebrate the film's release vintage fashionista's favourite website- Queens of Vintage challenged it's members to join a 'fashmob'- a fashion orientated flashmob. People were asked to meet at St Pancras Station, London (the porthole between London and Paris) dressed in their finest Chanel or Chanel-esque attire. The first 15 Chanel types to arrive got a gift. Unfortunately I couldn't make the 6pm start so missed it but to have seen all these impeccably dressed women, celebrating the life of one of the greatest women to have ever lived would have been fabulous.

I have been wearing my Chanel 2.55 all week in awe!