Jewellery set with stones and magnets for well-being.

Looking well and feeling good is the motto for a good life for many of us.

Whichever way, new to the UK market is Magnetix Wellness, a German brand of designer jewellery that not only look good on but can help to promote well-being too.  There is a wide range of designs for women as well as for men, children and even our pets (and of course their owners too).

The brand was founded by Dr. h.c. Petra Doring and the individually designed pieces are embedded with jewel stones such as Swarovski crystals and pearls, Cubic Zirconia and magnetic elements to help alleviate muscle and joint pain that one might endure in daily life.

According to Kate Bunney, marketing director based in Yorkshire, each piece of Magnetix Wellness jewellery or product includes one of the most powerful magnets in the world - neodymium magnets - which help tackle minor aches and pains, increase energy levels and reduce stress and depression.
Even for those who do not wear jewellery, the brand has a Power Heart device the size of a large coin that is flexible to use.  It is equipped with the extra strong magnets and a counter plate thus one can "attach" it to any piece of clothing or a bandage and place it anywhere where it is needed.  Accordingly, the device will work its therapeutic magic against the centre of pain when it is in contact with skin.
All photos by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.

Osprey London's new flagship a treasure trove of leather, fashion, home and lifestyle products.

British brand Osprey London’s new flagship store on Regent Street in the capital is a shopping destination that features an eclectic mix of leather goods, accessories and unusual lifestyle products.  

Apart from the craftily made leather bags that the brand is known for, and timeless fashion accessories such as silk scarfs, cashmere knitwear and jewellery, there are unique furniture, decorative hand-made gifts and bespoke designs.  Many of the products would not be out of place in a taxidermy shop or a museum even.  Some may allow your mind to go travel a bit when you learn of the stories behind them – where the inspiration came from, how or where the product was conceived and made. But ultimately it feels like a thoughtful home filled with treasures found or sourced from different parts of the UK and around the world indeed.

To celebrate the new store, which was officially opened on April 4^th, is the launch of an exclusive range of ladies’ bags.  Founder and designer Graeme Ellisdon’s new Equestrian Leather Collection is made from opulent Vachetta leather and features saddlery-inspired Italian craftsmanship. 

The new Equestrian Leather Collection.

The new collection takes pride of place in a distinctive display in the new 5000 square foot store in a Grade 2 listed building.  Situated merely a stone’s throw from Piccadilly Circus opposite the Lilywhite’s store, the new two-story space was previously occupied by Barclays Bank since 1923. Designer Graeme and his wife Alex have created a unique space that is true to the spirit of the building.  

As the brand’s diversifying product portfolio that includes bespoke furniture, fragrances and candles, the range now also embraces a selective range of food products spanning from olive oil to apple juice, honey and condiments, the shop includes the Saddlery Café in the lower ground floor, a hospitality concept that first originated in the brand's St. Albans location in 2011. There are seating areas in spaces that were the former bank's vaults. Surely you are encouraged not just to visit and shop but linger and chill out in this lovely store.

To see more pictures of the Osprey London flagship, click HERE.

All photos by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.

Superdry launches Premium Collection and Premium Lounge

Superdry AW 2014

The British brand Superdry known for its authentic and vintage inspired logos on applique Tees and fleeces, hoodies and granddad tops, lumberjack shirts, denim jeans, quilted jackets and mountaineer inspired parkas, has launched a Premium line which delivers modern cuts and clever detailing. 

Superdry Premium draws together targeted collaborations with home-grown designs and luxurious limited-edition lines that celebrate heritage and design.

The Superdry + Timony Everest Sebiro collections showcase men and women lines that draw from tradition.  

Note the opulent detailing that  upscale casual classics with bespoke beading, sequin embellishments.

While still reeling from their fashion show held earlier in the year during London Collections: Men, Superdry launched its Premium Lounge in the lower ground floor level of their flagship store in London’s Regent Street, the new home to their Superdry+Timothy Everest tailoring and the Premium Collection.  

The Art Deco lounge was built in 1929 and was originally a barber shop.  The elegant space has been restored to reflect the opulent feel of the Premium Collection.

James Holder, Brand and Design Director, comments,"This unique space, which is steeped in heritage features, reflects the quality and timeless design of Superdry's luxurious, limited edition lines."

In addition to the Premium Lounge, the Premium Collection is also found in selected stores and on the Superdry website.

All photos by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.

Swarovski's new Skull beads rock.

Image courtesy of Swarovski.

The human skull is an intriguing shape.  With the biker’s leather jacket continuing to be a key wardrobe staple, and metal spikes and studs playing very strong roles as embellishments in today’s fashion, the skull motif fits right in place.

One of Swarovski’s latest crystal beads from its Spring/Summer 2015 collection is in the shape of a human skull.  The new Skull bead was inspired by the decorative symbols of Mexico’s Day of the Dead, according to Swarovski, but one can think of other influential figures in the world of fashion and art from where inspiration may be drawn, such as Alexander McQueen naturally, and Damien Hurst.  Both have featured the human skull famously in their work.  

At a recent presentation event hosted by Swarovski Elements in London last week, a demonstration was also made to show how simple elegant bracelets can be made by stringing together two skull-shaped crystal beads and a series of round Crystal Pearls which come in various shades.  Swarovski’s Crystal Pearls are a perfect replica of genuine pearls, explained the Austrian house, as they are similar in weight and behaviour.  Both adjust to the temperature of the skin and are resistant to rubbing, scratching, perfume, perspiration and UV light.  

While you can also go to the Swarovski website (click HERE) for instructions on how to create the Sparkling Skull Bracelet, here below is a step-by-step guide that any beginner can follow.  In addition to the Swarovski beads, you will need glue, a piece of transparent stretchable beading cord ( Ø 0.5 mm, 40 cm), a beading needle, and scissors.  

The version shown here differs slightly from Swarovski’s original shown in their website as it also features an extra bead being inserted between the two skull beads to give the skulls more prominence.  And by doing so, a butterfly motif is also formed.
Step 1:-  Cut a 40 cm length of stretchable beading cord, and string together seven or eight Swarovski Crystal Pearls (here 10 mm Crystal Bordeaux Pearls are used), and two Crystal Skull Beads (13 mm Crystal AB).  Make sure that the skulls face at opposite direction (as shown) and then seven more Swarovski pearls – adjust the number as needed around one’s wrist.

Step 2:-  Take both ends of the elastic cord and loop them over-and-under one time,  as if you're tying shoe laces. Repeat this process, but this time, loop the ends over-and-under-twice.  Finally pull the ends tight to complete the knot.

Step 3:- Place a small amount of glue directly on the knot. Thread the ends together and insert them back through one of the Swarovski Crystal Pearls using a beading needle.  Also place a small amount of glue on the elastic cord directly after the knot (approximately 5 mm) before pulling it tight into the pearl. Cut the excess cord off.

And Presto! 

For other design ideas, go to Swarovski Element's "Creat Your Style" web-page.  Click HERE.

Photos by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.

Heal’s unveils first own-brand fabric collection since 1970s, and coordinating home accessories range.

Zandra Rhodes' Top Brass 2 design features her signature pink colourway for Heal's
newly launched own-label fabric collection. 

This design above is by British designer Zandra Rhodes.  Entitled Top Brass 2, it was originally designed in 1963 for the British furniture and home furnishing store Heal's and was created while Rhodes was still studying at The Royal College of Art London.  The medal motif was inspired by a David Hockney painting and the bold colour palette is representative of the Pop Art period.  Rhodes is one of the designers whose designs are featured in Heal's newly launched own-brand fabric collection.

Cressida Bell’s decorative Trees is richly detailed and heavily influenced by the 1930s and 1940s trends.

While Heal's stocks a number of top designer brands, including the likes of Missoni, Marimekko, Osborne and Little and Ralph Lauren,  now, for the first time since the 1970s, Heal’s has launched its own fabric range, championing design talents both from the UK and the European continent.

Pia Benham, Heal’s Head of Fabric & Design comments: “As part of the relaunch of Heal’s historic fabric department, we wanted to extend our current fabric offering. We hope the new collection will help further strengthen our fabric department’s position as the destination for unique and exciting designs, a place that can inspire our customers and enable them to make their homes a beautiful place to live in. We also wanted to inject fun and excitement into our Heal’s fabric design once again, by working with established as well as emerging designers – in the same way we did in the 1950s and 1960s.”

Lady Jane by Petra Börner is designed to resemble a scattered bouquet of rough cuts from the garden. The idea was derived from horticultural images taken from vintage books. 

Tea Time design by the late Diana Bloomfield reflects the 1950s period in which it was first designed. 

Cloud by Emily Patrick, based on one of the designer’s own paintings, a sky study, features her strong brushwork creating a tranquil painted effect

In addition to fashion designer Zandra Rhodes, the line-up includes textile artist Cressida Bell, figurative painter Emily Patrick, textile expert Paul Vogel, silk weaver Ottilie Stevenson, from the archive of the late Diana Bloomfield (with the help of her daughter Julia and her graddaughter-in-law Linda), as well as French illustrator Malika Favre, Swedish textiles designer Petra Borner, and Danish designers Hvass & Hannibal.

Hvass & Hannibal’s Herbarium uses the forest as its main theme for a distinctively Scandinavian feel.

Malika Favre’s exotic Peacock Flower is a bold, geometric interpretation of a floral theme. 

While the designers ingeniously use colour and patterns to highlight their individual style, some have been inspired by Heal’s heritage for this exclusive collection, others have taken ideas from vintage sources, drawing inspiration from fabric archives, or take inspiration from decorative arts, nature and even jewellery.   Geometrics and nature are popular themes. 

To design this Zig Zag pattern, Ottilie Stevenson looked to Art Deco jewellery  in particular the shapes and lines created by the gold chain links of 1940s necklaces. 

A design from Paul Vogel’s Stripe series, inspired by Heal’s own archives but uses Spring 2014’s colour trends to give it a modern twist. 

Some of the designs are in 100% cotton hopsack, such as those by  Zandra Rhodes’ Top Brass 2, Hvass & Hannibal’s Herbarium, and Malika Favre’s Peacock flower, others are in a cotton/linen/nylon mix.

Many people probably do not know that Heal’s has been going for more than two centuries.  Presently with six stores in the chain selling a wide range of furniture, lighting, interior furnishing, homewares and garden products, Heal’s started out as a feather-dressing business.   Its flagship has been at the Tottenham Court Road location in London since the mid 1800’s , and today it also sells its products on-line.
To coincide with the launch of their own-brand fabric collection, Heal’s has introduced a coordinating home accessory line, Heal’s 1810, to complement the new offering.  Named after the year in which the company was established, Heal’s 1810 includes kitchen textiles, trays, cushions and stationery, all of which feature selected patterns from the new fabric range.
Pia Benham adds, “It’s been a wonderful journey working with all the designers on our new fabrics, and we loved their designs so much that we decided to go further with some of the patterns and apply them to home accessories. As such, we have produced a whole new collection around those patterns, and that’s exactly how Heal’s 1810 came about.
“We wanted to give our customers different options to incorporate those patterns into their design schemes, whether it be using our new fabrics for soft furnishings and light upholstery, or introducing Heal’s 1810 accessories to their homes for a simple style update.”

Butterflies are all the rage for Spring.

Oversize clutch in soft supple leather with laser-cut butterflies from British brand Sampson & Christie.
Other designs from the new range also available on the website.

Flora and fauna, and the garden theme are much-favoured for fashion inspiration this Spring, but it's the butterflies that are causing all the rage.  

A Clipper - blue subspecies (Parthenos Sylvia Violacea) as seen in Butterfly in the Glasshouse,
at the RHS Wisley, Surrey, UK.

The fashion store Fenwick (on Bond Street in London) is launching a Beauty in Wonderland promotion on Monday March 17 until 30, with a garden setting of blooms, butterflies and bees to showcase their event, but setting my heart aflutter recently was the Butterfly in the Glasshouse event at RHS Wisley Garden  in Surrey recently where visitors could experience exotic butterflies flitting and floating among tropical plants.

A Malachite (Siproeta Stelenes) as seen in Butterfly in the Glasshouse, at the RHS Wisley, Surrey, UK.

At Swarovski, the Austrian house for producing crystals for fashion and accessories, crystal beads in the shape of a butterfly are among the newly launched shapes for Spring Summer 2015.

Here are a few examples of how with the use of the butterfly-shaped crystals with other shapes, a designer at Swarovski has created geometric decorations to add a new dimension of luxe to denim shirts and everyday T-shirts.

Wildlife and Swarovski photos by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.