Clashing – AmeliasMagazine

Basso & Brooke a/w 2010 by Katie Harnett

Basso & Brooke by Katie Harnett.

I was running late for this show due to the evil evil cocktails at the Laden Showrooms website launch party in the concrete house at the end of my street. (It’s on sale for £2.2 million. Nuts. I’ve been in there and it ain’t all that: it’s like the interior of a multi-storey carpark.)

The rooftop view from the house on Bacon Street, rx complete with poncey rainbow fibre optic light display.

As I hurtled into the courtyard of Somerset House I passed a girl I haven’t seen since I left the University of Brighton back in the mid 90s, viagra dosage so I sort of waved, aghast, at her. Inside I sat down next to a sniffy man who I once knew vaguely long ago, and who literally turned his nose up at me, and then turned his back. I don’t think I did smell but I probably was a little dishevelled. Cycling has a tendency to do that. I only spotted one other cyclist at the shows over the entire week. Funny that. But I tell you, it’s by far the quickest way to get between venues. Addison Lee eat your heart out.

I turned to the man on the other side of me, recognising in him a fellow twittering fiend as we tapped at our iphones (everyone in fashion has a blackberry), although god knows it was very hard to twitter from the official BFC tents because there was apparently very little 3G coverage. C’mon folks, sort it out! We formed an instant bond and swapped twitter addresses and I found out he runs the website Not Just a Label, bigging up young designers. Now that’s what I like, a spirit of camaraderie! And then I looked over and saw that beardy glam man was sat opposite me (last spotted over at Charlie Le Mindu) and that alone would have made my day. I’d love to know who he was – does anyone know? He even smiled at me during the show when he caught me looking at him rather than the clothes, and it made me tingle it did! He had the most elegant poise which I do so love. A couple of paps came strolling past me muttering about how they couldn’t be arsed to snap photos of the only sleb in the front row, the girl from the Noisettes, who is clearly not famous enough to earn a decent paycheck.

Basso & Brooke by Katie Harnett.

Basso & Brooke by Amelia Gregory.

Basso & Brooke. All photography by Amelia Gregory.

On our seats were long elegant cardboard bottle carriers decorated in an exclusive Basso & Brooke print for the Turning Leaf wine company. These will no doubt make collector’s items in years to come so it’s a pity I have so much crap in my house already – where the hell would I display a wine bottle? Perhaps I could stick a candle in it and come over all studenty/70s? Or maybe not. But it did slip down easy, even if I had to lug it around for the rest of the day.

Basso & Brooke by Katie Harnett.

Basso & Brooke by Amelia Gregory.

The Basso & Brooke show was as fabulous as it always is – but there you go, give me a riot of clashing prints and colour and I’ll swoon at your feet. Slinky body-hugging dresses, over equally slim clashing or matching leggings were covered in their signature digital prints – once unique but now used by many a designer – made the models lizard-like yet glamourous. A tough call that one but it worked. What didn’t work so well was the way they all moved, arms splayed and hands held awkwardly out. I can only conclude that they were all chosen for their singularly inelegant walks, or that they were all told to stride this way. Why?!

Basso & Brooke by Amelia Gregory.

On leaving the show I bumped into my old college mate again, who was totally bemused by my presence at the shows. She was there purely in her capacity as senior designer at Monsoon “though I spend most of my time looking after my two kids these days.” She expressed surprise that I actually run Amelia’s Magazine, until she found out that I a childless. “Oh well that would explain it then. We used to keep those in the office for inspiration, I didn’t realise it was you.” What, not even with the prominent picture of me next to the introduction in every issue?

Basso & Brooke by Katie Harnett.

Isn’t it funny how people perceive you? (or don’t, as the case may be)

Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday March 12th, 2010 3:04 pm

Categories ,Bacon Street, ,Basso & Brooke, ,BFC Tent, ,Clashing, ,Foxtons, ,Katie Harnett, ,Laden Showrooms, ,London Fashion Week, ,Not Just a Label, ,prints, ,Somerset House, ,Turning Leaf, ,Wine

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Marios Schwab A/W 2011 by Gareth A Hopkins.

Marios Schwab was definitely the most friendly of the three Fashion East designers who came to Moscow with us: never underestimate the power of a simple smile my friends. He made the effort to chat with other attendees of the British Council initiative and we also spent quite a lot of time talking to his delightful sales agent Yiannis, site who sells the Marios Schwab collection through the Rainbow Wave showroom.

Marios Schwab A/W 2011 by Amber Cassidy.

As someone who predominantly works on the press side of fashion the trip to Russia was a really great way to find out more about other aspects of the fashion business, more about especially the importance of a good sales agent, and how many stockists is deemed a good thing: something which I gleaned from chatting with fashion consultant Toby Meadows and PR maestro Michael Salac of Blow PR.

Marios Schwab A/W 2011 Russia photography by Amelia Gregory
Marios Schwab A/W 2011, all photography by Amelia Gregory.

Marios Schwab is the most well known of the Fashion East designers and as such he had the prime late spot on Sunday 3rd April, and a gigantic catwalk in a much larger conference hall at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia. Due to some complications dealing with an all Russian hair and make up team the show ended up starting over an hour late, but we didn’t mind… by this point the whole British Council crew were getting on like a house on fire, and I had an interesting conversation with a girl who teaches oligarch children. Not sure where I stand on the ethics of teaching oil barren brats but how jealous am I? I would love to see inside those mansions.

Marios Schwab A/W 2011 Russia photography by Amelia Gregory

I imagine that even the most seasoned of designers might have baulked at the sheer size of the massive catwalk but the show worked a treat. Marios Schwab makes beautiful tailored dresses that manage to be both eminently clever and yet highly sellable. For this show the A/W 2011 collection was styled with slicked back hair and glossy bare make up, and if there was any trouble achieving these looks it wasn’t obvious in this incredibly confident showing.

Marios Schwab A/W 2011 Russia photography by Amelia Gregory

Using a palette of muted beiges, creams, russet reds, forest green, mustard and black, Marios showed exactly why the details are so important. Everything was finely considered, from the beautiful hip buckles to the beaded ribbing that emphasised a womanly shape on breasts and shoulders. He may be still in the early stages of his career but this is a man to watch. Charming, talented and destined for very great things.

Marios Schwab A/W 2011 Russia photography by Amelia Gregory
Marios Schwab A/W 2011. All photography by Amelia Gregory.