Fashion stylist
The Fridja Steamer
I met Ben Fridja at London Fashion Weekend. He had a very colourful stand of delightful steamers. A good steamer is a stylist’s best friend and I just wanted to know what made Ben get into this steamy business.
Talking Shoes with Mechante of London
An Interview with Deborah Lyons of Mechante of London.
An Interview with Verónica Moncho Lobo
In March of 2011, Verónica Moncho Lobo launched her own boutique in London’s Belgravia on Elizabeth Street . What's next for her?
The Return of Salon Evening with Luella Bartley
“We all care about fashion, culture and literature and we want to elevate the debate about these things we love – which, too often are dismissed as trivial and superficial (fashion) or excluded from the canon for being ‘domestic’ (female fiction).’ -Pamflet
Alice Palmer - The One to Watch
Alice Palmer is the one to watch. Her work is somewhere between Missoni and Issey Miyake. She’s taken knitwear to a whole new level!
The Art of Being By Elizabeth Emanuel
The designer Elizabeth Emanuel may have been off your fashion radar for the past decade but she’s back and showing at London Fashion Week!
Business of Fashion Takes You Behind the Scenes with Natalie Massenet
What was most interesting about seeing Natalie Massenet is her attitude - so many Businesses lose focus about their customers and their employees, focusing instead on their business, their bottom line.
Elle Collections
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I’m always excited to see the new Elle Collections and of course I’m always happy when one of the designers I work with gets a mention in it!
Designer Watch - Nancy Van Ostren
Nancy Van Ostren wanted to be a designer since she was 6. Her influences were Barbarella and Flash Gordon!
200 Independent Stockists - Charming!
An interview with Sue Hadi who is the Marketing Director for Charming. Charming have just launched with their first season (ss10) and have already racked up over 200 independent stockists!
Dazed & Confused founder Jefferson Hack speaks with the Business of Fashion
Dazed & Confused founder Jefferson Hack speaks with the Business of Fashion
Is sustainable fashion the ultimate luxury? Angel Jackson - The true it bag!
Angel Jackson is the ultimate luxury bag: you buy it because you love it and you enjoy it more because it’s eco friendly.
London a la Mode - UK Emerging Talent
London a la Mode is a pop up showroom representing UK emerging talent.
Prophetik - Sustainable Fashion On Trend
London is fast becoming the centre of sustainable fashion. With designers like Ada Zanditon, Nina Dolcetti, Junky Styling, Edun and People Tree leading the way, it’s not surprising that eco designer Jeff Garner of Prophetik, from Tennessee, is showing at Vauxhall Fashion Scout.
Anna Lou of London
An interview with Anna Lou of London, who started selling in Portobello market in 2004, and now has over 200 stockists!
Vauxhall Fashion Scout Announces Merit Award Winner for AW10
Vauxhall Fashion Scout announces Merit Award winner for AW10 - Hermione de Paula!
F.Tape - Online Fashion Resource
Trying to figure which photographer or stylist for your next look book or campaign can be a difficult task. F.TAPE is fast becoming a one stop shop to find your Oniline Fashion Resources.
Isabella Oliver - Growing their Business
An interview with Vanessa Knox-Brien and Baukjen de Swaan Arons of Isabella Oliver 365.
Bionda Castana - Luxury Shoes for All Seasons
Natalia Barbieri and Jennifer Portman: “We also offer our buyers a range of 30 different fabrics to choose from when it comes to them buying the collection for the up and coming season. This allows the possibility for our stockists to hold exclusives in various colour ways which gives them all a competitive edge and provides an extensive offering to the final customer.”
Lady Double You - Stealth Wealth Footwear - Recession Proof
Michaela Wenkert has work with Mulberry, Hobbs and Bandolino/Nine West Group all before starting her own stealth-wealth footwear brand - Lady Double You.
An Interview with Jasper Garvida
Jasper Garvida is one of those designers who is kind and gracious. You know he’s going to be around a long time. I recently styled his lookbook, video and his show at On¦Off during London Fashion Week, and had a chance to interview him afterwards:
An Interview with Ada Zanditon
Ada Zanditon is an ethical fashion designer and she’s showing at London Fashion Week. She interned with Alexander McQueen, Jonathan Saunders and Gareth Pugh before developing her own luxury eco womenswear collection.
Rakish Heels adds E-Commerce to their Website
Rakish Heels adds E-Commerce to their Website. An interview with Iona Jones of Rakish Heels.
Interview with Stefán Orschel-Read Couture Menswear Designer
Stefán Orschel-Read is a luxury menswear designer. I love that you see so many inspirations in the clothes from Dandy, Punk to Goth, creating a unique refreshing style. This menswear collection for Autumn/Winter 2008 was inspired by Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, Quentin Crisp and the Belle Epoque.
Louis Mariette & Reality TV
How does being on Britain’s Next Top Model influence your business? You become a house hold name - but does it make a difference?
In Web Retail Image is Everything!
When I’m looking at an online shopping site I expect two things - usability and good images. I don’t care if they are mannequin or model shots as long as the quality is there.
Basso & Brooke, Obama & The Pre-Collection
“Pre-collections are so important to offer the buyers an earlier delivery slot prior to the main collection, we wanted to find a balance between fantasy and reality, it gave us the opportunity to explore a more accessible and easy wardrobe for travel, parties, holidays.” Basso & Brooke
Victoria Holt
Victoria Holt has only been in business for two years but she’s already exploring every possibility of building her brand. Over the past 18 months the Fred&Ginger London line has launched a Bridal Lingerie Collection, an online boutique, developed a men’s underwear line and is carried in Selfridges. How has this young women manage to create a brand in such a short time?
Motasem Wedding Dresses - Stylish...and Re-wearable!
I love shopping for a dress for a special occasion - the event just seems more fun because I’m wearing a new dress, but I’ll wear that dress over and over again just creating more memories. I don’t really like the idea of wearing something just once, so why would I wear a wedding dress only once?
An interview with Suzannah Crabb
“I really believe in on-line, and am becoming an expert in all aspects of e-tailing.” - Suzannah Crabb
It's smart business when a designer does a t-shirt
I think it’s smart business when a designer does a t-shirt because there are so many people who’d like to own something by a designer but can’t really afford it, but sometimes even owning just a t-shirt let’s join the club.
Vogue-on-Vogue
Living in a major fashion capital has so much to offer and it’s important to take advantage of it.
The Fashion Business Club
FBC is a business-focused members club, created on the basis of bringing bright-minded fashion professionals together at an informal venue to listen to inspiring speakers, learn and do business together.
Interview with Claire Collins creative director of violetmaylondon.com
What gave you the idea for Violet May?I was a business woman working in the online space running a web design & development agency so I had all this technology to hand- my PC, my Palm pilot etc and nothing fabulous to put it in- I looked for stylish, gorgeous items and no one was really doing anything. So the idea for luxury carry-wear for the boardroom was born. We started out with laptop bags and as our range has developed we are moving more into the lifestyle ...
Brands could learn a lot from rock fans' loyalty
Their bedroom walls are covered in posters and their ringtone plays their favourite song.
New fashion websites despite the credit crunch
It seems like a new trend as last month the Daily Mail launched their fashion site powered by online retailer Koodos.com.
Catwalks, cakes and other tasty things
Many designers know who their customers are and they are seeking out more traditional and direct ways of communication with them. The trunk show is back - really it was never gone but it was always available to the loyal private customer.Lots of boutiques do trunk shows or in-store fashion shows. I’ve been to several trunk shows at Browns and Caroline Charles has been doing in-store fashion shows for years. Recently I attended a trunk show at the Dorchester for Sonia Rykiel.
Niche clothing companies show 40% YOY online sales growth
The data has been compiled from retail websites where year-on-year data is available. The bottom line is that online is performing well overall, even though the high street is suffering.
Online shopper behaviour
The data, compiled from over 60 e-tail websites over a three month period built on the same platform all using Google Analytics, studies where visitors land on websites and what actions they take.
Support industry designers
Vauxhall Fashion Scout recently had their first salon evening for the designers showing at their venue during London Fashion Week. Koodos.com chief executive Miriam Lahage was the guest speaker and she gave the designers a lot of insight to the business of fashion. She discussed topics like with the changing economy how can fashion survive, the relationship with buyers and developing a wholesale business. Miriam is constantly finding ways to support new designers: Koodos.com is featuring ...
The 'mystery' of search engine optimisation
SEO specialists can have retailers spending fortunes on search engine optimisation, when a few well-targeted investments will work, backed up by a lot of the single most important activity - getting (good quality and relevant) links from other websites to yours. Even a site that only executes partially well on the list below will do well.I was prompted by a piece in the E-commerce Guide and here’s the top ten, which I generally accept and recommend. Concentrate on getting ...
Celebrities and fashion
The general public has become more aware that celebrities are paid to wear certain dresses, show up at certain clubs and promote certain items, and none of this seems to affect the celebrities’ status or take away from the brand. For the most part I don’t think the public loses faith in a brand or a celebrity if money’s exchanged - I think we’ve just come to expect it: it’s how things are.
What is the New Couture?
You walk in, you’re offered a cup of tea and you feel welcome. Harriet’s Muse is one of these designer shops, and they’re a great example of a growing trend for custom made garment, which they like to call “New Couture”.
