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Showing posts with label Philip Armstrong. Show all posts

24/04/2014

Spring into Summer with Harvey Nichols



It's been a busy old spring and here I am slapping myself for not getting on here regularly again. Note to self: must try harder.

The reasons I've been so busy? Well, mostly work related to be honest. I work in PR and for some very nice clients which I'm either working on some interesting projects for, or I'm attending events as a result of and so on. Certainly can't complain.

It's been a whirlwind of networking dos, fashion shows, lunches and launches, but what I really want to to tell you about is the Harvey Nichols Spring/Summer 2014 fashion show I attended few weeks back.

Scaled back in terms of guest list in comparison to the past few seasons' shows, this time around the list totalled just 150 specially invited guests, clients and VIPs. It was also moved to a new venue - a so far disused space on John Bright Street. Small on the outside, once upstairs the space was large, open and although bare, very cool, creating a suitably spacious, urban setting for the upmarket store's highly anticipated show.

With London brother DJ duo, the Dixon Bros (one half of whom I went to University with), who also host a regular show on Kiss FM, on the decks, models strutted their stuff in the latest designers looks for the guests to peruse.

Six scenes featured within the show, showcasing the biggest trends for the new season:
Prints
Sports Luxe
Sheer and Pleats
Yellow
Tribal and Folklore
Evening

Mixed and clashing prints featured heavily throughout, with the colour schemes mostly brights.
Yellow was a major colour trend, in everything from flowing dresses to more structured shorts and suits.

My favourite items from the show - as always - were the shoes. In particular a fluorescent pair of pointed stilettos and a fab pair of yellow strappy Sophia Webster sandals (below).

Skirt - Philip Armstrong, sandals - Sophia Webster

Shapes in the womenswear collections reflected very much the theme of 'anything goes', as did the hemlines: short shorts, mini skirts and dresses, midi skirts (including a particularly fab electric blue one from the wonderful Philip Armstrong - above) through to long flowing pleated skirts.

Kenzo dress, Nicholas Kirkwood sandals, Deepa Gurnami headband

My favourite, which I unfortunately didn't manage to get a good shot of, was a beautiful long, red dress... well, you can't go wrong in red can you?

See below for a few more looks from the show:

Parker jacket, Parker shorts, Alaïa ankle boots

MSGM top, MSGM skirt, Jimmy Choo caged sandals, Jimmy Choo bag

Mary Katrantzou dress, Christian Louboutin shoes, Ray-Ban sunglasses

Markus Lupfer dress, Roland Mouret ankle boots
Proenza Schouler dress, Christian Louboutin shoes, Alexander McQueen clutch

Pinko jacket, Pinko shorts, Kenzo shirt, Christian Louboutin shoes, Gucci bag

Pinko blouse, Christopher Kane skirt, Aquazzura sandals

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04/09/2013

September means Style in Birmingham


September is always a good month for the style queens and fashionistas of Birmingham, and this year it's going to be bigger and better than ever.

We have Style Birmingham Live taking place towards the end of the month, the Bullring and its iconic Selfridges store celebrates its tenth birthday (which also makes me feel old as I was a student working in a store there when it opened)... but first up is something I always look forward to: the Harvey Nichols Birmingham Autumn/Winter Fashion Show.

Once held in store with just a rejig of space, the event keeps on getting bigger and bigger. It's now become so popular that the Spring/Summer show earlier in the year had to be moved to a huge space in the Old Post Office building within the Mailbox complex, where it will be held again this time.


Set to showcase the very best in designer collections, the catwalk event will be staged this coming Tuesday September 10 and will feature striking new season ranges from Christopher Kane, Kenzo, Stella McCartney, Gucci, Markus Lupfer, Christian Louboutin and Philip Armstrong.


Always an event that manages to pull out a few well known faces from the football world (and, of course, their 'WAGs'), for this event the luxury store has gone one step further, teaming up with Professional Player – the magazine delivered to all UK professional footballers. And quite frankly, they might as well - the number of Guccis and Louboutins these so-called WAGs - and no doubt the footballers themselves - are rumoured to splash out on, they'd be missing a trick if they didn't make it an official partnership!

Harvey Nichols have, incidentally, also recently announced their expansion plans for the Mailbox site, so the catwalk show should hopefully give us a taste of things to come.

Richard Vickery, General Manager of Harvey Nichols Birmingham commented: “This will be our biggest show to date in such an amazing venue.

“We are expecting the most exclusive front row yet – it certainly will be the event to see and be seen at.”

That's good enough for me! Roll on Tuesday!

INFO:
Tickets cost £15 and the evening will kick off with a Champagne reception at 7pm. Following the show, guests can enjoy an exclusive 15% discount in store. There will be a charity auction, hosted by TV presenter Nick Hancock, with money raised going to the footballers’ charity XPro.



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01/04/2013

Summer fashion: all bright on the night



I blogged recently about attending the Harvey Nichols (Birmingham) spring/summer 2013 fashion show - the annual, and increasingly well attended catwalk event that sees most of Birmingham's best trend setters, media and fashion pack seated side by side, cooing over the best the designer store has to offer.

This year was no different, aside from its move to a much needed, larger venue within the Mailbox complex.

So, what were the key looks on display for our summer wardrobes this year?

Keeping a light and airy feel to the season (here's hoping the sun decides to make an appearance) were a selection of all-white ensembles for both men and women, from the likes of Alice + Olivia (see jacket below), Roland Mouret, Alexander McQueen, Finders Keepers, Givenchy and more.


Much of the colour was a clash of brights - from tangerine hues to flourescent yellow, cobalt blue to scarlet, along with the ever returning (and my all time personal favourite) monochrome look.



Shapes for women ranged from cropped trousers and jackets, shorts suits and dresses ranging from short and structured through to long and flowing, with a range of textures from leather and luxe to satin and chiffon.


Details included over-sized bows, as seen on one of my favourite pieces of the evening - due to its rich colour and ultra flattering, un-fussy style - this beautiful blue dress by Phillip Armstrong:

Image courtesy of  Matt Ford Studio, Liverpool

Lace, embroidery and cut-out details also featured.

For men, as always the selection was much more limited - an issue many designers appear to struggle to overcome and no doubt due, in part, to the fact that it is not generally 'acceptable' for men to be seen sporting a skirt or dress - unless, perhaps, they're David Beckham and quite frankly, even he didn't manage to set that trend.

Limits aside, there were some bold slogans, illustrations and details on T-shirts and jackets, bold colour blocking that fit well with colour trends in the female collections and, as you would expect from the rails of Harvey Nichols' designer collections, some very sharp suiting. See below for a selection of my favourites:





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