LONDON FASHION WEEK: AUTUMN/WINTER 2013

Can't wait for London Fashion Week next month! There's always such an exciting buzz surrounding the designer catwalk shows and The Exhibition at LFW. I've attended the fashion shows and exhibitions, in all their guises, since I started working on fashion magazines in the early 80's and I've watched LFW blossom into a huge global affair, since its launch in 1984. Today, London is internationally recognised as the place to watch for rising fashion talent, as well as being home to several major league players such as Burberry and Matthew Williamson. Our fashion colleges are second to none and have nurtured so many of the current leading designers working both here and internationally. So we should embrace our flourishing fashion industry and the fact that we are right up there with Paris, Milan and New York in the fashion stakes!

Models backstage at Erdem Spring/Summer 2013
Photo caption

TALES FROM THE DRESSING TABLE: FRAGRANCE

Is there anything more evocative than fragrance? In a heartbeat, just a trace of a certain perfume can transport you back in time. For me, Madame Rochas, Diorissimo and Miss Dior by Christian Dior, Caleche by Hermes and Je Reviens by Worth all instantly remind me of my mother and my childhood in the Sixties. I'd have to add the heady scent of Elnett hairspray to that list, too, as it was such a fixture on my mother's dressing table and she was forever spraying great clouds of the stuff around her head. I'll never forget the time she was in a rush and reached for the hairspray, only to realise, too late, that she was spraying her hair with a can of furniture polish. Her fabulous beehive, that had taken her ages to backcomb and perfect, slowly disintegrated into a soggy mess before our eyes. I'm pretty sure I got the giggles at that stage and was ceremoniously marched out of my parents' bedroom.

But back to the serious fragrances - it isn't only the wonderful aromas of the perfumes my mother wore that have stayed with me all these years, it's also the memory of the feel and the shape of the fragrance bottles. I so adored admiring and holding those beautiful bottles as a child. They were like artefacts; so pleasingly tactile and luxurious, and so different to my assorted bottles of 4711 toilet water and other, totally insipid toiletries, that I used to get for Christmas. 

Miss Dior advertisement from 1971, illustrated by Christian Dior's great friend, Renee Gruau.
Miss Dior was created in 1941 by Paul Vacher and Jean Carles
Photo credit

Q&A: FASHION ARTIST DAVID DOWNTON

I'm passionate about fashion illustration and I've always made a point of commissioning fashion drawings on the publications I've worked on. I love mixing illustration with photography for pace and contrast, and my favourite artists include David Downton, Mats Gustafson, Rene Gruau and Carl Erickson. I was over the moon to be given several of David Downton's beautiful fashion drawings a few years ago. They hang in our bedroom and are such a treat to wake-up to every morning! 

One of my treasured David Downton illustrations: Versace, 2006. Acrylic, watercolour and ink on paper
Private Collection/Picture caption

As a leading fashion artist and a regular at the Haute Couture shows in Paris, David's evocative images can be seen in Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and a host of international fashion titles. He recently published Masters of Fashion Illustration, a lavishly illustrated book that pays tribute to his favourite 20th-century fashion illustrators and also includes an inspiring portfolio of David's own unique work. The book is a true celebration of fashion drawing and also succinctly depicts how this engaging art form has changed and re-invented itself over the past century, with drawings by artists such as Bob Peak and Andy Warhol looking as relevant today as they did when first created in the 50's and 60's.

I've been fortunate to commission David to create fashion drawings and portraits over the years, including images of Cate Blanchett and Ralph Fiennes, and it never ceases to amaze me how, with just a few well placed lines, he can create such detailed and haunting images. Several of David's artworks included in the book feature in this post, alongside illustrations by some of his favourite artists. 

David very kindly agreed to contributed a Q&A exclusively to this blog, which reveals his favourite fashion artists, his preferred artists' materials and what's in-store for 2013. 

CHRISTMAS 2012

I can't believe how quickly Christmas has rushed by this year. It has been fabulous having all the family together and to have time to enjoy each other's company. We put the tree up early for once and decorated it in the usual white, silver and crystal. I've always preferred this colour way as it reminds me of my childhood in Sweden. We've added splashes of red and lots of other mad decorations over the years, especially when the children were younger, but always seem to come back to this colour combination.  

I asked our daughter if she was happy decorating the tree with such neutral colours while we were doing the tree this year, and luckily she said she loves it as it is. It will be interesting to see if she keeps the tradition going when she has her own home...

Our Nordic colour themed tree, complete with felted Toby, ceramic, vintage crystal and silver decs,
plus clip-on candle holders

CHRISTMAS MAKES: EMBROIDERY HOOP DECORATIONS

Spotted these inspiring handmade Christmas decorations in the window of a pub in Bermondsey Street, on a recent trip to London. The decs instantly combine the trend for handmade and vintage objects, while also reflecting the pub's hip, yet traditional atmosphere. A great project using heirloom pieces of lace and embroidery, your own sewing masterpieces or Charity Shop finds. I love the simple hand-painted and plain wooden frames and the way the light shines through the sheer fabrics. I'll definitely be making some of these for next Christmas.

A unique and simple festive display at The Garrison Public House in Bermondsey Street, London, that boasts
its own cinema room for relaxed Sunday viewing 

WANSTEAD VINTAGE FASHION & BROCANTE FAIR

Did my final vintage fair for 2012 yesterday and it was a really good day with a great turn-out. I've taken a stall at the Wanstead Vintage Fashion & Brocante Fair in East London several times over the years and it's always beautifully organised with a great mix of stallholders. Cary Whitley of LoveVintage, who runs the event four times a year, takes a lot of care ensuring that the fair offers a wide range of true vintage fashion, homeware and ephemera. Held in a traditional church hall, the fair is a great destination for anyone looking for vintage haberdashery, small pieces of furniture, menswear, unique frocks and collectable jewellery. There's also a cafe serving hot drinks, delicious home-made cakes and sandwiches on pretty mismatched bone china. 

Some images from my stall, including shots of 1970's BIBA loose face powder and a 1950's musical jewellery box

Cary pulled-out all the stops yesterday, ensuring that the fair had a steady stream of vintage lovers queuing to get in, including a lot of men looking for vintage menswear and Christmas gifts. 

HARTNELL TO AMIES: COUTURE BY ROYAL APPOINTMENT

There's a fabulous new show in London called Hartnell to Amies: Couture by Royal Appointment, that's perfect for anyone interested in fashion and photography, plus royal- and social history. Hardy Amies and Norman Hartnell, the two stalwarts of British Couture in the 50's and 60's, are currently being celebrated in a unique exhibition at the Fashion & Textile Museum. The show highlights the advent of British couture in the post-war years and in particular Amie's and Hartnell's influence in creating a highly elegant silhouette that attracted the royal patronage of the Queen and was instantly copied by forward thinking department stores and nimble fingered seamstresses. 

Another important element of the exhibition is the photography. The late Norman Parkinson's timeless images effortlessly depict this glamorous era and compliment the sumptuous couture pieces on show.

Norman Hartnell and models, British Vogue 1953
© Norman Parkinson Limited/Courtesy Norman Parkinson Archive