UK’s fast-fashion brand QUIZ is trialling a new menswear collection

First there's QUIZ, now look out for QUIZMAN.

UK’s omni-channel fast-fashion brand – QUIZ - is launching QUIZMAN.com as a standalone ecommerce site to trial a capsule collection of fast-fashion menswear.

With the growing success of QUIZ’s occasion wear and dressy casual wear for women, QUIZ is launching its first ever capsule collection of menswear for men who want a transitional day-to-evening look.

The new capsule collection caters to the well-dressed man with a selection of items including shirts, blazers, denim, trousers and smart outfits to complement any occasion, according to the company's executives.

Sheraz Ramzan, Chief Commercial Officer at QUIZ added: “The QUIZ brand is increasingly recognised as a leading omni-channel destination for the latest looks at fantastic value prices. As the brand grows in awareness, we are exploring extending our offer to fashion conscious men with the exciting launch of this capsule collection aimed at men who want a tailored look for any occasion, whether that’s an important work meeting, a day at the races, a party or a night out. We look forward to seeing the reaction to this exciting trial.”

To support the launch of the menswear capsule collection there will be dedicated social channels where fashion savvy men can get their style inspiration and receive regular updates on the latest looks.

The collection has been overseen by QUIZMAN buyer Harry Butt, former buyer for menswear chain, Slaters.

The collection will be available online via QUIZMAN.com. 

Kodak & Lulu Guinness launch bag with a vintage streak

Though mini in size, this bag (measuring H 18 cm x W 13 cm x D 4 cm) with a retro rainbow face is a collaboration between two iconic brands: Kodak & Lulu Guinness.

Photos above and below: the Kodak X Lulu Guinness bag was a hit at the Summer of Love launch party in London. All photos: Courtesy of Lulu Guinness

While it will hold a compact camera as well as make up items and other daily essentials, it can be worn cross body or around your neck through the interchanging straps - perfect for summer festivals.

Made in black cotton, the colours and design of the webbed rainbow strap and rainbow lip are inspired by vintage Kodak film packaging. The archive Kodak emblem is discreetly positioned as hypnotic eyes.  It also features silver hardware, with a blue plastic coated zip for security.

According to the designer, photography played a key role in Lulu Guinness’ life from her late teens and has continued to influence many of her designs over the past 30 years. Lulu first came up with a camera themed collection for Spring Summer 2012. A collection close to her heart and a commercial success. When the opportunity to collaborate with Kodak came along it seemed the perfect fit to revisit Lulu’s longstanding captivation.

Online fashion retailers boohoo and boohooMAN in global partnership with iconic beverage brand Pepsi®.

UK fashion brands: boohoo and boohooMAN have collectively created a sportswear influenced capsule, amplifying the 2018 global Pepsi #LOVEITLIVEIT campaign to celebrate one of the world’s most beautiful games – football.  The  British brands have worked together to create a trend-led, innovative capsule collection intersecting and celebrating art and sport.

The collection, available in women’s sizes 6 – 16 and men’s sizes S – XL, is made up of matching track sets, loungewear and sports tops, targeting consumers who are as equally interested in fashion as they are sports. The featured designs are inspired by the artwork submitted by five emerging visual artists from around the world, spotlighted in the Pepsi collective campaign -- Argentina’s DIYE, Brazil’s Bicicleta Sem Freio, Germany’s DXTR, U.S’ Kim Sielbeck and UK’s Iain Macarthur.

Whether you like football or not, the final look of the collection surely will appeal to fashionistas for its bold silhouette and strong colours.  The complete Pepsi “Art of Football” Capsule Collection is now available globally for purchase on boohooMAN.com.

Samir Kamani, CEO, boohooMAN commented: ‘‘I am proud to say that on behalf of both brands, we are extremely excited to be working with a globally recognized brand like Pepsi, on such a large scale. This is a huge moment for us’’.

Natalia Filippociants, Senior Marketing Director, Global Pepsi Trademark, PepsiCo commented: “Football is the world’s game – and that culture and lifestyle goes beyond where and how we watch the game, to how we love and live the game. And that is where this fresh capsule collection plays. It brings the spirit and energy of football off the pitch and into lifestyle apparel and accessories.”

Official sketches of Meghan Markle's wedding dress and veil.

Congratulations to Clare Waight Keller, Creative Director at Givenchy, for creating such a beautiful and elegant bridal gown for the Duchess of Sussex - Meghan Markle on her wedding day to Prince Harry.  No doubt all brides-to-be have been taking notes.

Kensington Palace released the sketches of the dress and veil on their Twitter account stating that "The Duchess and Ms Waight Keller worked closely together on the design, epitomising a timeless minimal elegance referencing the codes of the iconic House of Givenchy,"

In the statement Kensington Palace also explained how the carefully designed 15 ft. floral veil included representations from all 53 countries of the Commonwealth. The veil also included two flowers of sentimental value to the couple – the California poppy, from where Meghan was born, and the Wintersweet, which is found in Kensington Palace.

Lace, the Wedding dress and Fashion Museum, Bath

There’s a certain Royal Wedding in Great Britain this weekend, you may notice, and once again much attention is focused on what the bride, and groom, and the royal family will be wearing.

A mannequin at the Fashion Museum, Bath, UK, wearing a woven silk wedding dress with lace embroidered silk net.
Photo by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect Global

Exhibits at the 2017 Lace exhibition, at the
Fashion Museum, Bath, UK.

According to the Fashion Museum in the historical town of Bath, lace was very much an important trimming featured on the wedding dress and as a veil of the bride, ever since the early 1800s.  Queen Victoria gave the trend a royal approval when she wore a white Spitalfields silk dress with Honiton lace at her own wedding in 1840.

Currently one exhibition that is of particular significance this year at the Fashion Museum in Bath highlights the strong link between royal women and their fashion.

One of the key exhibits there at the Royal Women exhibition is the 1863 wedding dress of Alexandra, The Princess of Wales.  It is described as an excellent example of a ceremonial object marking a key moment in both the life of Alexandra and Great Britain.

The exhibition spans four generations of Britain’s royal women, and explores how their royal roles influenced their choice in dress.

Royal Women is on at the Fashion Museum in Bath until 28 April 2019.

KARL LAGERFELD and ModelCo celebrate the global launch of their limited-edition colour cosmetics collection

(Photo by Julien M. Hekimian/Getty Images for ModelCo)

It was a romantically rosy affair inside the Hotel D’Evreux in Paris at the famous Place Vendôme on May 15th, where KARL LAGERFELD and ModelCo celebrated the global launch of their limited-edition colour cosmetics collection.

Click here for the Details.

Japan House offers a unique slice of Japanese culture in the heart of London

While many of us are still concerned about the uncertainties brought on by Brexit, one thing for certain is that London remains a top choice for cultural and creativity exchange between different nations. 

Japan House London which is due to open on June 22 in an Art Deco building on Kensington High Street, London, is a fine example of the continued strong standing of London as a global cultural centre.

As part of a global initiative led by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this unique set-up will certainly bring focus to the beautiful ancient country of Japan, the next destination for the Rugby World Cup 2019 and the Summer Olympics 2020.

The new Japan House London will be Europe’s destination for appreciating and understanding Japanese art, design, gastronomy, innovation and technology under one roof.  Accordingly, the two other Japan Houses in the world are located in Los Angeles and São Paulo.

To read in full, click HERE. 

Fashion and Sportswear brands take urgent action to utilise recycled material waste

SEAQUAL ™ changes plastic waste to filament yarns.
Photo © Lucia Carpio 2018

There is no time to wait and see with the critical problem we are facing on this planet after many years of not realising the damage that plastics, despite their amazing range of usefulness, have contributed to polluting our environment, our oceans, our cities, our countryside, and affecting the health of all living beings, ourselves, our nature and our wildlife.

The BBC nature programme Blue Planet II had driven the message hard and highlighted the immense urgency we are facing in one of their critically-acclaimed programmes hosted by nature guru and UK national treasure David Attenborough.

One shocking fact we have learned is that less than 50% of the 480 billion plastic bottles sold in 2016 were collected for recycling. It is indeed a responsibility of all of us to take action and tackle this irreversible global crisis.

Sundried sportswear made from
recycled plastics.

While politicians, activists and environmental agencies are reportedly taking action plans to promote recycling and minimising waste, many companies and brands are giving new lease of life to recycled plastic bottles by turning the waste into new ethical and environmental friendly products.

One such company is activewear brand Sundried whose sportswear range is made from 100% recycled materials including plastic bottles.

While helping to clean up the global excess of plastic bottles which would otherwise take thousands or even millions of years to decompose naturally Sundried are also reducing harmful emissions and water waste used to create new textiles.

Sundried was founded by personal trainer and triathlete Daniel Puddick. His goal was to create a brand that his children would be proud to be associated with in years to come.

Puddick says: "Being a parent makes you think about the bigger picture for the world, so business for me now is more than just creating a financially successful brand."

From the ten-piece pilot collection launched in 2016, Puddick has grown Sundried in size and together with his small team of designers have created sportswear made from recycled materials whilst ensuring a low carbon footprint.

Sundried activewear made from recycled materials
including coffee waste.

Sundried founder Puddick adds: "Creating collections made from recycled plastic bottles and recycled coffee waste has been a really exciting part of this journey and we are continuing to research the best, ethically-sourced materials available."

Fashioned from Nature exhibition - Victoria and Albert Museum, London until January 27 2019.
Photo © by Lucia Carpio 2018.

Of course Sundried is just one of many brands and designers who are all too aware of the plastic crisis and material waste.  Designs by the likes of Nike, Calvin Klein and Stella McCartney are on show among fashion specimens highlighting the close relationship between fashion and the environment at the Fashioned from Nature exhibition currently on at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London.  Forming an important of the exhibition is the forcus on practices in the fashion industry that threaten people, the lives and the environment.  Running until January 27 2019, this is billed as the first UK exhibition to explore the complex relationship between fashion and nature over the last few centuries, from 1600 to the present day.

Recognising that urgent action is required quickly to tackle marine plastics pollution, a Spanish company of textile fibres has recently unveiled its commitments to initiate a new eco-friendly yarns called SEAQUAL ™ filament yarn made out of plastic waste retrieved from the ocean.

Seaqual 4U was founded in 2016 to tackle marine pollution with as a starting point the recovery of plastic waste collected in the oceans and recycling them into a range of continuous and discontinuous yarns.

Its ingenious plan is to dredge then upcycle plastics from the bottom of the sea and turn them into fibres and yarns.  The company partners with some 400 fishing boats off Spanish coasts that help it to collect the plastic waste.

The company has thus set up a virtuous chain involving various stakeholders in the textile industry including spinners, weavers and brands. 

SEAQUAL ™  fibres is a real catalyst engaging the entire textile industry and thus inspire consumers to buy products made of sustainable fabrics made from recycled plastics.

New innovations from SEAQUAL ™ will include exclusive yarns in staple fibres for blending with other fibres such as recycled cotton, Tencel ® , viscose, wool, linen and will be available as both continuous and discontinuous versions in their natural ecru shade or dyed into different colours. 

RepAir is the first smart T-shirt that cleans the air around you.

A recent analysis by the BBC showed that nine out of 10 people in the world breathe in polluted air everyday, based on recent data released by the World Health Organization (WHO),  while the British Lung Foundation has also revealed that people in towns and cities across the UK are living with ‘dangerous levels’ of air pollution.

Thus it is remarkable to hear that a new technology incorporated into clothing can be utilised to combat air pollution.

Italian garment company Kloters has come up with its own smart T-shirt under the brand RepAir, which is described to be capable of cleaning air pollution using a unique technology.

According to Kloters, RepAir is a genderless cotton t-shirt entirely produced in Italy by trusted suppliers.  It utilizes “theBreath®”, a patented material, certified according to ISO, ANSI /AHAM AC – 1- 2002 standard, that captures pollutants including NOx, Sox, bacteria and unpleasant odours.

The RepAir t-shirts are available in black and white, are made in high-grade cotton with reinforced seams. Laboratory tests demonstrate that every T-shirt removes the pollution created in one year by two cars, says the company.

According to Kloters, “theBreath®” technology is based on a “three-layered system”, three active parts with different and complementary positions and roles.  It is the core of this technology, made of carbon mesh on a polyester substrate mixed with active nano-molecules, and its main function is to adsorb gassy pollutants, making the air cleaner and more breathable.   The activating nano-molecules block the impurities inside its fabric structure and prevent them from being released back into the environment.

The RepAir T-shirt features a micro-zip in which “theBreath®” is inserted in a zipped pocket and can be removed when the T-shirt is ready to be laundered.

Imagine if each of the 2 billion T-shirts sold in the world each year could clean the air around the persons wearing them, what positive impact it would have on our polluted world?

RepAir will be available on Kickstarter in May, while it will be sold in stores and on www.kloters.com starting from June.