Melissa Curry celebrates "Success" with inspiring jewellery

The bold designs of Melissa Curry's jewellery are inviting.  On display at her stand at the (just concluded) SCOOP International contemporary designer fair in London a couple of days ago, I felt the urge to feel and touch the colourful acrylic shapes.

  

Melissa encouraged me to experience the tactile and playful qualities of her designs.  Some look like pieces of candies, with mobile and adjustable pieces while others are tribal and provocative in their unique shapes and vibrancy.

But soon I was also intrigued to learn about another totally different collection which Mellisa launched a year ago.  

The quietly elegant range is called “Success”, designed as a gift for a woman who you want to inspire, encourage, or celebrate. 

According to Melissa, the "Success" range was launched when she had arrived at a personal point in time and it felt right for her to commemorate that special moment. 

In recognising that “success” carries a different meaning to the individual, the designer hopes the range – intended as a unique and timely gift for women and girls - will help the individual to celebrate important thresholds of the person’s life, be it a graduation, a wedding, a medical moment or a turning point in one’s career.  

The collection comprises bracelets and necklaces in sterling silver or rose gold. The Success amulet is modeled after gold and silver bullion, a bar of wealth and strength that reminds the wearer to care for herself and strive for her own independence and success.  Each Success piece comes in a small pouch accompanied by a Melissa Curry infinity tag, on which to inscribe a wish or hope.

The Success jewellery collection is also an emotive call-to-action and forms part of the designer’s campaign for women to share their own story on #Beyourownsuccess

Over a 1500 women have given or received Success since its launch, according to Melissa. The first three Success bracelets were presented to one of Melissa’s own greatest inspirations: the  First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama and her two daughters, Malia and Sasha.  Michelle Obama’s own personal strength and commitment to women’s success around the world, was inspiring to Melissa.  Another was Arianna Huffington, who also received a Success bracelet directly from the designer.

With Valentine’s Day and Mothering Sunday coming up, the Success range seems appropriate gifts to provide  encouragement and support to those special women who believe in their hopes and dreams and with to celebrate their own meaning of success in life.  

All photos by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.

British Fashion Council announces Designer Fund Shortlist and Fashion Film AW15 Winners

Image above (from ‘British Fashion Council, Shaun James Cox’ ) features designers, left to right:-  Mary Katrantzou, Michael van der Ham, Osman Yousefzada, Holly Fulton, Emilia Wickstead, Amy Powney and Sophia Webster.

These  designers have been shortlisted by the BFC/Vogue Designer Fund Judging Committee, and each was selected as they are in a strong position to develop into a global designer brand and represent the best of London's thriving fashion talent.   The winner of the award will be announced Tuesday 24th March 2015. 

The BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund provides one designer with a bespoke, high level mentoring support programme over a twelve month period, as well as a £200,000 grant to provide necessary infrastructure to take them to the next stage in their business.

The Fund, now in its sixth year is a legacy project from the BFC’s 25th anniversary celebrations.

Previous winners of the Fund are Erdem (2010), Christopher Kane (2011), Jonathan Saunders (2012), Nicholas Kirkwood (2013) and Peter Pilotto (2014).

This year the BFC has created an exclusive online video series, Designer Fashion Fund, which follows the application process, designer journeys, interviews with the judging panel and features the previous winners of the Fund. The episodes will be published over the course of 2015 and can be viewed at youtube.com/BritishFashionTV and Vogue.co.uk

Separately the British Fashion Council has also announced three designers who have received  funding to create fashion films to be presented at London Fashion Week.  They are Gareth Pugh, House of Holland and Jean-Pierre Braganza.

The BFC’s Fashion Film initiative, sponsored by River Island, supports both menswear and womenswear designers wishing to use film as a medium each season. Fashion Film provides funding and on-schedule screening opportunities at either London Fashion Week or London Collections: Men (LC:M).

Since its inception in February 2012 Fashion Film has helped fund designers including Christopher Raeburn, Eudon Choi, Jonathan Saunders, Mary Katrantzou, Nicholas Kirkwood and Sibling to work with directors and producers such as Ellen Von Unwerth, Matt Lambert and Nick Knight. For designers wishing to apply for Fashion Film please contact:
Laura Hinson, British Fashion Council +44 (0) 20 7759 1969 | laura.hinson@britishfashioncouncil.com

For more information on Fashion Film please visit: britishfashioncouncil.com/fashionfilm 

Ancient crafted footwear from Georgia

These unique hand-made shoes from the Southern Caucasus region of Georgia were not what I expected to find at SCOOP International held at the Saatchi Gallery in London earlier this week. They are from the Chiti brand and are handmade from virgin wool and natural dyes as they have been for a thousand years. They aim to appeal to lifestyle concept stores who would appreciate these unique footwear made by the Tusheti women.

As explained to me, these are meant to be worn around the house or out to the garden.  You can see the whole making process on their website: chiti.co.uk

London Edge lifestyle trade show offers wide range of fashion with an edge

Left and centre, vintage-style dresses from Collectif Vintage London; right, dress and matching bag from Banned Apparel.

Punk and rock style fashion from Queen of Darkness.

The London Edge lifestyle trade show currently taking place at Kensington Olympia West Hall in London, offers a wide range of fashion brands dedicated to youth-subculture and alternative fashion - from vintage printed 1940s-style dresses to experimental, mixing in punk, rock and grunge street fashion.

Printed sun dress from Voodoo Vixen.

Fruity-themed jewellery from Collectif Vintage London.

Six Bunnies' baby romper suit.

Bags from LoungeFly

Innocent Clothing's printed T-shirts.

Victory Parade's selection of printed dresses.

SwitchBlade offers a wide range of apparel and accessories for adults and children.

All photos by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.

Chinese sports brand to enter European market

One of China’s most successful sports footwear and apparel brand - 361° - is targeting the European market following successful soft-launches in the US and Brazil.

Owned by Yue Lei International, 361° (founded in Jianjing in 2003 and currently has more than 7,800 stores in China with annual revenues of over 1 billion euros), will be exhibiting its new spring/summer 2015 collection at the ISPO sports fair in Munich from February 5-8, where the company is a partner to the trade show’s annual Runner’s World shoe symposium taking place on the first day.

The brand’s portfolio includes sports shoes as well as sports apparel and functional wear for both indoors and outdoors.   Its 140-piece spring/summer 2015 collection comprises of running, training, trail and lifestyle shoes and clothing for men and women. The activewear brand is placing emphasis on its running division, and it is hoping that its highly specialised running shoes, such as the models Chromoso or Sensation, which feature three-layers in the middle sole providing enhanced stability and cushioning while offering featherweight comfort, will become its hero products.

According to the Chinese sportswear brand’s CEO Otto Lin, in addition to participating in Ispo, the brand is also sponsoring various sports events in Europe to create higher visibility to the consumer market, as well as supporting the Olympic Games and Paralympics in Brazil in 2016. The activewear label is providing the official torchbearer and others involved in front of and behind the scenes of the event with more than 100,000 outfits.

Traditional Crafts and Designs from Thailand highlight unique textiles and techniques

If you’re feeling the blues from the gloomy UK winter, there is a good chance that you are not alone.  A recent research from the Ukash Travel Money Prepaid MasterCard card reveals that more women across the UK suffer from the winter blues than men and are more than likely to book a holiday to combat the blues.   

How about Thailand which many consider to be a favourite holiday destination for that special place in the sun. But often we are attracted to the beach resorts and may not get to see the wide range of traditional craftsmanship available from the land of smiles.

A contemporary twist for traditional crafts.  Clothes by Nakarin Yano, Thailand's award-winning designer made in Chiang Mai in a village where natives are known as an "Ethnic of Happiness".

A recent exhibition of Thai Craft highlighted some of the design and innovative talents that Asian country has to offer.

The exhibition (held at Top Drawer earlier this month) was brought to London by the British Council in association with the SUPPORT Arts and Crafts international Centre of Thailand or SACICT.

Thai designer Prach Niyomkar established Mann Craft to preserve and showcase the unique indigo-dyed textiles and vegetable-dyed fabrics produced in the area of
Sakon Nakhon in Northeast Thailand.

Among the key products on show was a range of dyed and woven textiles in a large spectrum of blue tones as well as hand-painted fabrics using assorted natural dyes from Mann Craft.

According to Mann Craft designer Prach Niyomkar, the unique textiles are produced by local people in the area of Sakon Nakhon in Northeast Thailand, the centre of Thai indigo-dyed textiles where the craft has been produced for hundreds of years.  

Prach established Mann Craft  to support and preserve a weaving tradition.  Calling himself a dyer, he designs each piece and work with local weavers in order to achieve the desired effects.

From the Gemio brand are footwear made of hand-woven Thai textiles.  The shoes have special rubber soles which are said to be durable, super flexible and eco-friendly.  They are produced by the Seshaun shoes factory Akkarachai Techaweerapat which has been making footwear for four decades.

Larinn By Double P also showed laced up shoes made of woven natural-dyed fabrics sourced from the Thai Queen’s SUPPORT foundation mentioned earlier, and in support of weaving communities from the Northern Thailand region.  This brand was founded by two sisters to continue the family textiles tradition.

On exhibit also was a selection of handmade clutch bags from Pakpuraan featuring individually hand-embroidered patterns on leather. 

This was described as a new and contemporary application of the Royal Court of Thailand’s embroidery technique which normally serves religious and royal functions.

From Kaewwanna Natural Indigo were cushion covers and home textiles made from pure cotton yarns dyed in natural indigo known  as "Moh Hom", a crafted associated with Phrae in the North of Thailand.

Elsewhere there was a range of home wares, such as Varni's basketry made with “krajood”, a kind of sea grass from the Pattalung people in the south of Thailand; blue and white pottery and ceramic containers from Thaniya for holding their handmade aromatic products; contemporary designs from Pym jewellery and Maxima Creation; handmade silver jewellery from Agnsa from a village in Chiang Mai, and many more.

Next time you visit Thailand, seek out these unique crafts and products.

All photos by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.

Designers put their magical touch on hand-crafted jewellery.

Nature and animals are popular themes for many jewellery designers.  Here are a few featured at the new Jewellery and Accessories floor showcased at the Top Drawer London  fair last week at its new home at Kensington Olympia.

While admiring designer Amanda Coleman’s delicate handmade jewellery, I experienced an "Into the Woods" fairy-tale moment as her jewellery are whimsical and can take us into a magical world of playful scenes.

Amanda said she takes inspiration for her designs from her love of the natural world, all things miniature and the peculiarities of everyday life.

Equally pretty are Amanda Coleman's jewellery stands from which her magical jewellery are hung.  The stands are perfect complements to her jewellery.

Carved from birch plywood, as well as veneered mdf, cherry and walnut, each stand - which can be in the shape of a Big C featuring a woodland scene or in the shape of a Moose - and features an array of holes and hooks from which jewellery can be hung and displayed and these stands can be bought separately.  Perfect for the girl who has everything.

The hand-finished and hand-decorated jewellery from Mar Moo by Amanda Cope of Wiltshire are miniature works of art.  Amanda uses sterling silver, wood paper and clay for an array of necklaces, pendants, earrings and bracelets.

Each one - in the shape of a bird, dog or cat - is hand decorated so no two are exactly the same but are very similar.  Perfect for animal lovers.

Among its efforts to promote the new jewellery floor, Top Drawer London showcased two designers who were awarded as the fair's Fashion First “rising stars”.

Designer Clara Francis who taught herself the ancient craft of bead weaving, demonstrated her own unique style of bead-work at her stand .

Her designs are inspired by flora, fauna and a dose of pop culture thrown into the mix.  Among my favourites are her butterfly and star-themed designs.

This was the first time Clara had taken part in a trade fair having started her label over 10 years ago.
Using an average of 600 glass beads – ranging from 1.3 mm to 2.5 mm in diameter, Clara has created jewellery and accessories for wide ranging clients including Harvey Nichols and the Victoria and Albert Museum, and her designs have been worn by a number of red-carpet celebrities, including Alexa Chung, Victoria Beckham and Kirsten Dunst. 

Hard at work in her stand at Top Drawer, Clara was making a special bridal tiara for retailer Browns Brides.  “I have a delivery deadline to make and so I thought why not do them during the fair while trying to keep on schedule.”

“The bridal range started after my wedding a year ago.  I made for myself a star headwear which inspired me to develop more bridal designs, ” she said.

Designer Urvi Vora, a London College of Fashion graduate, started her unique Trousseau brand of bold and colourful jeweller.

Her stand at Top Drawer was a treasure trove of statement pieces.

Though London based, Urvi's one-of-a-kind pieces featuring ethnic influences are hand-made in India.  She uses semi-precious stones in various shapes and sizes, set in gold plated metal.

All photos by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.