BEST WISHES FOR A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2018

London Fashion Week Men’s 6th – 8th January 2018.

Craig Green, winner of British Designer of the Year - Menswear at The Fashion Awards 2017, in partnership with Austrian Crystal maker Swarovski, will show on schedule alongside British Emerging Talent Menswear winner Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY and nominees A-COLD-WALL*, COTTWEILER and Phoebe English MAN.

Also the BFC’s NEWGEN initiative will see London’s brightest emerging menswear designers showcase their January 2018 collections. Kiko Kostadinov, Liam Hodges and WALES BONNER will host catwalk shows whilst Nicholas Daley will host a presentation.

This season Per Götesson and Wood Wood are to show at LFWM for the first time while Alex Mullins, Edward Crutchley and MAN, the Fashion East Menswear initiative, will once again hold shows on schedule.

As last season, the main hub of LFWM is The Store Studios, 180 Strand, housing the official BFC Show Space as well as the Designer Showrooms.  As part of the Designer Showrooms, the DiscoveryLAB will be unveiled for the first time – an experiential zone for thinkers, makers and explorers across the landscape of technology, fashion, art and performance.

Tom Dixon to launch new SUPER TEXTURE textiles and accessories January 2018

Come January 2018, British interior design label Tom Dixon will launch its first ever collection of textiles named SUPER TEXTURE, as well as its most recent innovation in MATERIALISM room scents,  all to be officially showcased at the prestigious Maison & Objet Paris trade fair, , January 19-23 2018.

Continuing the exploration into the construction of cloth, SUPER TEXTURE dives deep into the weave, the knits and the knots, adding colour and extra texture to the SOFT and BOUCLE ranges.

Burgeoning adventures begin in print, in embroidery and in the hand tufting and looping of wool with young emerging talent to produce new families: ABSTRACT, PAINT and GEO. Three new colours are added to the existing range – Khaki, Wine and Electric Blue for a reinvigorated exercise in colour stacking.

Heat-affected CORK, and marble studded TERRAZZO provide stimulus for two new and diverse scents this season – Dark smoky wood juxtaposed with fresh zesty fig.   Brutalist and Primitive, these vessels offer a new sensory experience to the Materialism collection.

Also to be introduced is PLANT, a double headed vase designed for floral ecosystems, and a miniature edition of the SPIN table candelabra. Both exploit the process of making, "from the generous possibilities of molten glass to the heavy-weight iron materiality of British engineering."

Tom Dixon's new collections will show for the first time at Maison & Objet Paris, January 19-23 2018 and will land in stores worldwide from 19 January 2018.

Fashion Museum Bath to launch Royal Women exhibition in 2018

With the world’s most loyal royal watchers anticipating the society wedding of 2018 when UK’s Prince Harry will tie the knot with Meghan Markel, the Fashion Museum Bath  has timely announced that it is to stage a new exhibition in 2018, “Royal Women”, celebrating fashion worn by successive generations of women in the British Royal Family.

Fashion from the era of Queen Victoria are among the current exhibits at the Fashion Museum Bath.
Photo © Lucia Carpio 2017

The family tree exhibition will include clothing worn by Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and Princess Margaret, featuring items of dress from the Fashion Museum collection, as well as a major loan from the Royal Collection, lent by Her Majesty The Queen.

Open from February 3, 2018, to April 28, 2019, the “Royal Women” exhibition will examine their sartorial lives, looking at each woman’s unique style, the role they played within the monarchy and how that was reflected in their choice of dress.

Highlights include the wedding dress of Alexandra, Princess of Wales, a dress and cape made by Hartnell worn by Queen Mary to the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, and a grey silk satin ball gown worn by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

There are also a number of Christian Dior dresses as worn by Princess Margaret including a ‘Rose Pompom’ strapless cream silk chiffon day dress worn to Royal Ascot and a strapless black lace evening dress worn to a performance of Guys and Dolls at the London Coliseum in 1953.

Lace dresses have long been favoured by royal women, including 1950s style icon Princess Margaret and today's Duchess of Cambridge.  Photo © Lucia Carpio 2017 at the highly acclaimed Lace in Fashion exhibition
at Fashion Museum Bath in 2017.

Elly Summers, the exhibition curator, said: “The Fashion Museum is one of the world’s great museum collections of historical fashionable dress and we are immensely fortunate that amongst its treasures it includes dress belonging to members of the Royal Family; we are equally fortunate in the loan of key pieces from the Royal Collection.”

Dior's slogan T-shirt ensemble is Fashion Museum Bath's Dress of the Year 2017

Whether as a form of protest against social injustices or for raising awareness on special issues, T-shirts with messages and slogans have long been a favourite way for expressing one's opinions and beliefs.

As high-profile sexual harassment scandals around the world continue to make headlines, and women's role in today's society is evolving, it is very apt that UK’s prestigious Fashion Museum Bath (in the historical Roman town of Bath in Somerset) has named an ensemble from Christian Dior’s spring/summer 2017 collection, featuring a white  T-shirt with the slogan‘We Should All Be Feminists’ as its Dress of the Year 2017.  Traditionally chosen by a respected member of the fashion industry, this year's choice was selected by Sarah Bailey of Red Magazine.

An ensemble featuring a white T-shirt printed with slogan 'We Should All Be Feminists’ is selected as Dress of the Year 2017 at Fashion Museum Bath.  To complete the ensemble is a black wool jacket and black tulle skirt
and also a black knitted underwear.
Image from Fashion Museum Bath.

“I think a T-shirt, because it is so basic, is the easiest way to display your ideas. The slogan ‘We Should All Be Feminists’ takes over this blank space and plays with the political value of appearances,” said Dior designer Maria Grazia Chiuri who added she was honoured that her designs had been selected.

Paired with the T-shirt to complete the ensemble is a black wool jacket and black tulle skirt and also a black knitted underwear. 

Miss Bailey, Hearst Lifestyle group’s editorial director, explained: “I was very inspired by the appointment of Maria Grazia Chiuri at Christian Dior. She is the first female Creative Director in the history of the house and I admired the vigour with which she immediately started challenging the conversation around women, creativity and the gendering of genius. Her social media campaign (before we even saw any of her designs) #TheWomenBehindMyDress – heroing the petits mains in the Dior atelier – was brilliant, moving and completely on point.

The late Monsieur Christian Dior would be pleased as he helped to launch the Fashion Museum by allowing his first collection to be brought to England to be shown for the museum's benefit at the Savoy Hotel in London in April 1950.  

Councillor Paul Myers, Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic and Community Regeneration, said: “The ‘We Should All Be Feminists’ T-shirt ensemble is one of the most talked about fashions of 2017, by Maria Grazia Chiuri, in Dior’s 70th anniversary year. What a wonderful addition to the outstanding museum collection of historical and contemporary dress at Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Fashion Museum. We are most grateful to Sarah Bailey for her careful consideration and for making such an inspired selection for Dress of the Year 2017. Thank you too to Dior for so generously donating the ensemble to the Fashion Museum.”

The Dress of the Year Collection at the Fashion Museum began in 1963, when the museum was founded as the Museum of Costume. Since then, a leading commentator and expert on fashion has been invited each year to select an ensemble, or ensembles, from those shown by the world’s designers during international fashion weeks.

Fashion Museum Bath '2016 Dress of the year' by JW Anderson for Loewe.
Photo © Lucia Carpio 2017.

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Fashion Museum Bath's 2016 Dress of the Year was an ensemble by JW Anderson.  It comprises a cream mohair tweed knitted dress with a leather bustier that Jonathan Anderson designed for Loewe.  which came complete with a menswear ensemble.

© Lucia Carpio 2017

The Dress of the Year 2017 will be on display at the Fashion Museum Bath until January 1, 2019. It will be the 100th object in the Museum’s A History of Fashion in 100 Objects exhibition.

Blaze Wear’s Explorer and Traveller jackets use THERMOLITE® CORE technology

As many parts of the UK are plunged into deep winter with lots of snow these few days, it is essential to wrap up warmly and keep safe.

Just in time for Blaze Wear, the premium outdoors apparel and wearable heat technology brand.

Where fashion meets functionality, Blaze Wear’s Explorer and Traveller jackets have been made using THERMOLITE® CORE technology, an insulation designed for built-in lightweight warmth, comfort, freedom of movement and durability, ideal for the daily commute or a long walk in the country. As the temperature drops the outerwear also heats up at the click of a switch.

Revolutionary Tri Zone technology is seamlessly integrated into each garment with two panels at the front and one at the back, targeting your core which naturally distributes heat around the body.

The jackets come with an internal and re-chargeable battery pack with three different heat settings, cool, medium and hot. These battery packs have the added benefit of allowing you to charge your phone while you are on the go.

Blaze Wear has also developed a Heat Therapy range with advanced therapeutic deep tissue technology that delivers targeted, penetrating heat and provides effective relief from ailments such as Raynaud's, arthritis, muscle strain and general joint stiffness, aches and pains, says Blaze Wear’s CEO, Nick Bradley,

Ultra Violet is the PANTONE Colour of the Year 2018

Global colour authority PANTONE has announced that their Colour of the Year for 2018 is Ultra Violet, described as one of the most magical and decadent colours due to its "distinctive and complex purple shade that fascinates and intrigues” while conveying originality and ingenuity, 

Nuanced and full of emotion, the depth of PANTONE 18-3838 Ultra Violet "symbolizes experimentation and non-conformity, spurring individuals to imagine their unique mark on the world, and push boundaries through creative outlets."

“We are living in a time that requires inventiveness and imagination. It is this kind of creative inspiration that is indigenous to PANTONE 18-3838 Ultra Violet, a blue-based purple that takes our awareness and potential to a higher level,” said Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute. 

“From exploring new technologies and the greater galaxy, to artistic expression and spiritual reflection, intuitive Ultra Violet lights the way to what is yet to come.” Complex and contemplative, Ultra Violet suggests the mysteries of the cosmos, the intrigue of what lies ahead, and the discoveries beyond where we are now, said Eisemann, adding that the vast and limitless night sky is symbolic of what is possible and continues to inspire the desire to pursue a world beyond our own.

"The Colour of the Year is one moment in time that provides strategic direction for the world of trend and design, reflecting the Pantone Color Institute’s year-round work doing the same for designers and brands.”

Mylands Paint made-to-order and available only on the Mylands website and through their factory shop.

“As individuals around the world become more fascinated with colour and realize its ability to convey deep messages and meanings, designers and brands should feel empowered to use colour to inspire and influence. ”

Enigmatic purples have also long been symbolic of counterculture, unconventionality, and artistic brilliance. Musical icons Prince, David Bowie, and Jimi Hendrix brought shades of Ultra Violet to the forefront of western pop culture as personal expressions of individuality. 

“The Pantone Color of the Year has come to mean so much more than ‘what’s trending’ in the world of design; it’s truly a reflection of what’s needed in our world today,” added Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute. “As individuals around the world become more fascinated with colour and realize its ability to convey deep messages and meanings, designers and brands should feel empowered to use colour to inspire and influence. ”

Pantone, a wholly owned subsidiary of X-Rite, Incorporated, is provider of professional colour language standards and digital solutions.

Congratulations to ethical shoe brand Po-Zu! No. ONE again!

Ethical British shoe brand Po-Zu is once again ranked top of the ethical index for shoe & trainers brands for the 11th year.  Having passed their annual independent audit for another consecutive year means that Po-Zu comes highly recommended by The Good Shopping Guide.

Along with multiple sustainability awards, including Best Ethical Fashion Brand 2017, the brand has emerged as a true ethical and sustainable footwear, producing men and women’s vegan shoes and non-leather shoes, ethically handcrafted in Portugal in line with ethical and sustainable standards, using natural materials – including cork, coconut fibre, latex, organic cotton, pure wool tweed, and chrome-free leathers.

The brand’s foundation of ethical principles begins with its mission to change the trend for fast fashion and mass-production of shoes which is eating up resources and exploiting vulnerable workers.

This year Po-Zu also released a collection of official Star Wars branded footwear including a funky range of Rebel Alliance boots and shoes for men, women and children  who are fans of the popular sci-fi series.

British craft on show in Miami

BRITISH CRAFT – THE MIAMI EDIT 2017
Brought to you by The New Craftsmen and the Crafts Council

This amazing piece of furniture makes you want to just give it a big hug.  Called My Big Fat Sofa, it is by Charlotte Kingsnorth, a multi-disciplinary designer and industrial artist who reinterprets traditional materials and techniques to create unexpected forms and effects.  Kingsnorth has revisited upholstery methods to create My Big Fat Sofa, a biomorphic seat.

Charlotte is among a new wave of British rising stars and emerging talents in contemporary British craft who will be exhibiting this week at the inaugural FORM Miami, 6–10 December 2017. 

This international showcase  of British Craft brings 10 rising stars of craft in the UK to South Beach for a four-day exhibition featuring some of the most exciting emerging talents in contemporary British craft. These unique pieces are fine craft collectors' items, including furniture, sculptural vessels, artworks and installations, many of which are on display for the first time outside the UK.

"Referring to both the tactile and emotional qualities that craft evokes, this body of work by a selection of British makers demands the engagement of head, heart and hand. The innate tactility and sensorial materiality of craft is distinct and unique, and this presentation invites you to journey through and discover the pioneering processes these makers have employed to conceive this exciting showcase."– Catherine Lock, Creative Director, The New Craftsmen

Jewels in the colour of Christmas from Anabela Chan

Top: A playful in-between-finger Orion ring in 9 ct rose gold, hand-set with a trilogy of floating laboratory-grown created gemstones, including a princess cut ruby, heart-cut rose tourmaline and a pear-cut violet amethyst.

Bottom: Stunning Berry earrings in 18 ct rose and white gold vermeil with 18 ct gold earring posts, hand-set with laboratory-grown created gemstones including pear cut sky blue topaz, sugarloaf pink sapphires and cabochon royal blue sapphire drops with prong and pave-set white diamonds and a freshwater pearl.

All from London jeweller Anabela Chan.  

Photos from Anabela Chan.

Two spectacular light shows over Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour this December

Hong Kong’s famous picturesque Victoria Harbour with its magnificent skyline is set to be even more spectacular this December with the staging of two light shows – the new version of the internationally acclaimed nightly multi-media A Symphony of Light and the winter version of the Hong Kong Pulse Light Show – from 1st to 28th December 2017. 

Hong Kong skyline by night as viewed from Kowloon.

The two extravaganzas, best viewed from the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront in the Kowloon side, will brighten up Hong Kong’s Christmas atmosphere with dynamic lighting effects and the illusion of an wintry setting at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

The new version of A Symphony of Lights features dynamic rays of light sent out in rhythm from 40 buildings and locations on both sides of the Victoria Harbour. The new show incorporates a variety of exciting lighting effects such as coloured searchlights, lasers, and all-new beam lights sent out like a special fan-shaped lighting effect from the roof of the Central Government Offices and the Revenue Tower. Ten LED panels on a number of harbourside buildings are for the first time joining the multi-media show, displaying images and messages to encourage audience participation. 

The show is complemented by music from Asia’s leading classical orchestra the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, providing visitors with a thrilling and unforgettable sound-and-light experience. The 10-minute show begins at 8pm every evening. 

This is immediately followed by the winter version of Hong Kong Pulse Light Show - an 8-minute performance -   at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.  The 3D projection show begins with a snowstorm which covers the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in snow and ice and blows away the numbers on the Clock Tower, stopping time just before Christmas arrives. 

An ingenious dragon then sets out to find the missing numbers which are scattered across Hong Kong landmarks. The dragon eventually finds them and restarts time to save Christmas. During the show, the piazza is decorated with snowing effect along with glowing LED balls and a giant crystal ball. 

Photos © Lucia Carpio 2017