Muubaa leather brand launch new shopping app.

British premium leather fashion brand Muubaa have launched their brand new mobile shopping app, just in time for their latest Spring 2014 collection now available on their website.
Check it out.
Note the bright fluorescent-coloured leather jackets very much on trend, as seen in image above.



And as seen on catwalk presentations for the season, pair jackets with a selection of shorts to replace jeans or skirts for a sports-luxe update - like the pedal-pusher seen here in crocodile-skin effect, or shorts shown below in ultra soft leather or textured effect.

People watching at London Fashion Week - what are they wearing?

Sure it has been raining cats and dogs.

And when it's not raining - the fashion pundits are out and about, to see and be seen.  Here a selection of pictures by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.

 Great for people watching.

Click HERE to see more.

It's London Fashion Week time. Guides in stylish ponchos give directions.

Yes, it's London Fashion Week time and the capital has been inundated with a lot of rain.  I mean lots of the wet stuff.
At the Somerset House - the main venue for the designers' showrooms - special guides are kitted out in weather-proofed ponchos - perfect for the weather - come rain or shine.

They are the American Express know-it-all warriors - stationed at the Concierge Hub, they provide answers to any questions one may have - from catwalk show times to venues and directions. The capes they wear are by British designer Christopher Raeburn, whose inspiration for the Autumn/Winter 2014 season comes from the Arctic, using British fabrics such as the tartan Hainsworth wool above.
Inside the building, designer Kate Sheridan shows she has a couple of weather ponchos to boost too.

Here Kate shows one in made in water-resistant British waxed cotton with Liberty print lining.

Another features a tartan waxed cotton with cotton moleskin lining.
Photos by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.

The A’s and B’s of desirable ladies’ footwear.

Why A’s and B’s.  They are the initials of two footwear brands that caught my eye at the new Platform premium shoe show in London earlier this week, which debuted at the Westbury Hotel.

First of all, A is for Air & Grace,  a new ladies’ shoe brand designed by Claire Burrows, who modelled one of her designs here at the show, as seen below.

These comfy ballerina are made with the busy lady in mind, that let them literally walk on air and look graceful.  That is because the shoes are designed with hidden technology to provide comfortable wear and make them stand out from other ballerina brands on the market.

Claire explained that crafted into the design of each shoe are layers of foam and thus the trademark: Tender Loving Air. Cut a cross-section of a Air & Grace shoe, and you’ll see that it has three layers of foam.  The top layer is made of memory foam tht moulds to the shape of your foot, while the lower two layers are slow-releasing form that provide cushioning, help to absorb shock and proper posture.  

The round-toed design of the shoe means there is plenty of room to wiggle one’s toes.    Just love these tender-loving details.  For more information, go to the Air&Grace website.

Now, B is for the brand Beyond Skin, designed by Heather Whittle.  Unlike Air&Grace, which is new to the market, Beyond Skin has been around since 2001.  

The Beyond Skin brand provides ethical footwear while working closely with factories in Spain and Portugal, using high quality faux leathers and materials with an eco ethos.   The designs are of signature use of prints and weaves – bespoke fabrics in bold colours glistening with metallic threads.

A new model shown at Platform is a platform shoe made with Italian fabrics of cotton / polyester and the sole is part recycled resin.  Another is made of “Dinamica” 100% recycled bottletop to create a faux suede.  The designs are to die for.

Newly launched for autumn/winter 2014 is their debut trainer, called Rocky, featuring a selection of key fabrics, like a camouflage inspired designs shown above.

The brand has already won many awards and for more details go to their website.  
Photos by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.

Valentine’s thought of the day:- Can Money Buy you Love?

It’s raining cats and dogs outside, and together with gale force winds, it does make this Valentine’s day in London quite un-romantic.

Image from Valtags - designed by Valentine Breton des Loÿs  - creator of the original
Valentine Tags.

But here’s the thought.  If you have money, can it buy you love? 

According to new research from Mintel, apparently love can be purchased.

Here are the figures.  The report has revealed that today, a lonely 7% of the UK have never fallen in love, but this rises to 17% of those with an income under £9,500 and decreases to just 4% of those with an income of over £50,000.  

If you want more figures ... the propensity to have never fallen in love decreases incrementally with income bracket - with 9% with an income of £9,500 - £15,499 claiming this, this declines to 7% with an income of £15,500 - £24,999, and just 5% with an income of £25,000 - £49,999. Furthermore, those with an income of over £50,000 were also most likely to have fallen in love five times or more during their lifetime, at 11% compared with an average of 8%.

Richard Cope, Senior Trends Analyst at Mintel, said:
“The fact that our research shows that money is equated with success in love is interesting because more of us are actually paying for dating services that promise to help us find it. Quite simply more money may equate to more social opportunities... and as a result more partners. We’re having more sexual and romantic partners during our lifetimes for a number of reasons. Connectivity has increased our availability, whilst taboos are breaking down. Amongst the young, celebrity culture has made whirlwind romances something to aspire to, and break-ups nothing to be ashamed of. We’re also seeing a new generation of sexually active seniors - liberated by Viagra and a social acceptance of divorce - coming back on to the market.”
Indeed, for those looking for love, using a free dating website tops the list of actions taken - some three in ten (28%) Brits have looked for love in this way - and for the first time this year this method has now drawn level with meeting through friends in first place - at 28%.

The remaining top five ways to meet someone in 2014 are: paid dating sites (12%), meeting someone at work (12% - down from 16% in 2013) and going to more events (such as art galleries and museums) at 10%. If you’re a straight man in search of love this Valentine’s Day, galleries and museums might be the way to find it - as women are more than twice as likely to choose this option (15% versus 7%).

“We’re seeing consumers increasingly looking at dating sites as services worth paying for and a number of factors are going to increase our dependence on systems rather than serendipity. We’re less likely to look to meet someone at work, purely because the very concept of ‘work’ as a fixed geographic location is itself in decline, with increasing numbers of us working independently or at home, whilst we’re being reared on the notion of our own individuality and the belief that we need tools and filters to find other like-minded individuals, rather than put our faith in supposedly hokey old adages like ‘opposites attract’.” Richard adds.

Topshop to provide digital experience for London Fashion Week

If you haven't got tickets to see Topshop's Unique catwalk show during London Fashion Week (to start on 14th Februry), don't despair.  Topshop will be live-streaming from the Tate Modern's Turbine Hall and give shoppers at their flagship Oxford Circus store a telepresence experience.

Topshop has partnered with 3D agency Inition to create the experience, while announcing that participants will wear specially commissioned head-sets to enter the 360 degree virtual world which will incorporate live feeds from the catwalk show, backstage and VIP arrivals.

Each participant will also be able to look around at the models walking down the runway and the celebrities they will be sat next to. Playing on the animal themed collection, shoppers in the virtual world will also see crows flying around the space and landing at their feet.

Sir Philip Green, owner, Arcadia Group said: “The TopshopUnique show is going from strength to strength; not only in terms of the collection but also in how we share this with our customers at home and in our stores, giving them an up to the minute runway show experience.

“This season’s live stream in virtual reality between two iconic London destinations, the Tate Modern and our Flagship store in Oxford Circus takes the idea of the traditional fashion show to a new dimension, as we continually look for new ways to engage, excite and involve our customers.”

The Topshop virtual experience will be available to customers on 16, 17 and 18 of February during store hours.
 Click here to learn more.

FTM's Artist Textiles - Picasso to Warhol - an exhibition for art and textile lovers!

Salvador Dali's screen-printed headscarf - Ballerina.

London’s Fashion and Textile Museum’s current exhibition – Artist Textiles - Picasso to Warhol – provides art as well as design lovers a treasure trove of textile designs by an array of 20th century artists.

Highlighting world renowned artists whose creativity had been extended from paintings and sculpture to textile design, from Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali to Raoul Dufy, Henri Matisse to Henry Moore, Joan Miro, Andy Warhol and Zandra Rhodes, and many more, this exhibition begins with works from the 1910s through to the 1950s and 60s, with displays of rare examples from leading art movements of the 20th century:- Fauvism, Cubism, Constructivism, Abstraction, Surrealism and Pop Art.

Read more ...