No Comments / Mar 22.12 / Editorial, Styling Tip / by The Heartful Shopper

Dominique Lucas – rose gold gorgeousness jewellery inspiration…

I came across some images of rose gold pieces by Dominique Lucas a few weeks ago, fell in love and decided to do some digging on this lady and surprise, surprise it appears she’s yet another Brit crush… Honestly it’s not deliberate, I don’t do it on purpose. I don’t know why it is that right now just about every fashion muse I have is British, maybe it’s to do with all the Brit-Celtic bits lurking about in my gene pool that makes the aesthetic so appealing to me!

So then, Dominique is a Brit who in fact started out studying a medical science degree. But she was also doing apprenticeships alongside master craftsmen in Florence and Mexico whilst studying and ultimately she decided that this was in fact her calling in life. Lucky-clever-poppet for getting to pick between a career in medicine or design and of course once again proving that life is never fair and sometimes nauseatingly so: pretty, brainy, creative. Nuff said.

The rough and wrought nature of her pieces really appeals to me and in particular these pieces which are from some of her previous collections… I feel like none of them would look amiss on a biker and in amongst folds of black leather and drapey t-shirts or dusting the knuckles of said biker chick. Which by the by is one of the new retro trend I see resurging at the moment, a throwback nod to the 1960s American biker gangs.

Her new stuff has the same sculptural quality to it but the designs and casts are rather more fanciful and entitled “Juniper Berry Collection”… And she’s already establishing a bit of a celebrity following by the likes of fellow Brit rapper M.I.A. (she who is most famous for the song “All I wanna do is take your money” from the “Slumdog Millionaire” soundtrack) and who donned the gold lion cuff seen above in her infamous appearance at this year’s American Super Bowl alongside Madonna (her finger flip gesture did not go down well with Middle America it would seem), see here for pic…

And if you liked all of the above you might also fancy her detachable shoe jewellery which she showcased at last year’s London Fashion Week and which I came across on Pretty Portobello . I do. I heart it all very much…

No Comments / Mar 19.12 / Clothing & Product, International Designer, Trend / by The Heartful Shopper

Of Matthew Williamson’s AW 2012 London Fashion Week Showing and other British greats…

Matthew Williamson is one of those typically British male designers- by that I mean akin to the Paul Smiths and Julien Macdonalds of this world – who sort of quietly tick along being prolific and impressive designers, creating collections that year-on-year achieve an impeccable standard of cohesive and creative vision, standard-bearers for the art of very British tailoring and style… These men are unlike the Stella McCartneys and former Alexander McQueens of this world, who are fortunate to have a meteoric rise to fame, whose collections are either received to great critical acclaim or tank miserably, who are forever in the public eye and on just about every fashion portal you can conceive of…

The Matthew Williamsons and Paul Smiths and Julien Macdonalds of Britain have a presence that is not an assault on the fashion tastebuds but rather like the a delicious, palpable and lingering taste of creamy chocolate in the mouth. Their contributions to the British Fashion Industry when viewed over decades is immeasurable and great, so I suppose it’s not so surprising that the Paul Smiths of this world receive honours like “The Outstanding Achievement Award 2011″ at the British Fashion Awards… Or that the Julien Macdonalds of this world receive OBEs from the Queen in 2006. No it is not so surprisingly at all, in fact, and I believe that Matthew Williamson is someone who will undoubtedly go on to receive just such recognition…

Here then is his Autumn Winter Collection for 2012, presented at London Fashion Week last month – no arguments from me that the silhouettes of the cigar pants and shifts are nothing revelatory or progressive (though they are on trend) – but then I don’t think Matthew would necessarily aspire to be that category of designer… So let’s talk about the colour palette that he’s played with instead which is simply sumptuous to my mind – the gleam of burnished metal tones of bronze and gold and pewter against the brocade style fabrications with fabulous pops of teal, turquoise, cerulean blues, flaming tangerine and deep purple aubergines and then an occasional and irreverent little splash of neon bright is masterful. Or let’s talk about those wonderful tessellated-honeycomb patterned skirts and shifts… Somehow he manages to weave all these seemingly disparate and discordant notes into a beautiful and harmonious collection. A collection that is cohesive, creative, classically feminine yet with deliberately modern quirks. In short a signature showing from Matthew Williamson. I heart it, don’t you?

No Comments / Mar 14.12 / Clothing & Product, International Designer, Lady Stuff / by The Heartful Shopper

Les “Incroyables”… Marc Jacobs et Louis Vuitton

Penning a little note on the house of Louis Vuitton is just about the only way to kick off a Monday morning methinks and especially since “incroyable” Artistic Director Marc Jacobs celebrates 15 years at the helm of this inimitable house of French luxury, in 2012… This season, over and above the Paris Fashion Week showing of the ready-to-wear colllection, an extraordinary exhibition at Les Arts Décoratifs, dedicated to Louis Vuitton and Marc Jocobs, has been unveiled (Highlights from the opening party can be viewed here).

Now “incroyable” is an apt word to describe Marc Jacobs because it fittingly encapsulates the man-legend that is Jacobs and apt too, because it alludes to the reason for his success as the creative behind this brand. “Incroyable” is a French word and it means incredible but also a “fop” or “dandy” i.e. a man who is preoccupied with or vain about his clothes and manners… Jacobs is the lauded creative that he is today because of his visionary design but surely too his genius must find its’ roots in a fastidious attention to clothing details and an air about him that speaks to a bygone era of manners, all of which is embodied in his person.

The fifteen year collaboration between the House of Louis Vuitton is more accurately a 100 year posthumous collaboration between two kindred spirits: the living legacy of another incroyable of the 19th century whose work has been a testament to the tradition of luxury and master craftsmanship, namely Louis Vuitton himself, and Marc Jacobs whose work will undoubtedly endure for the next 100 years. And in particular I will be sure to get my hands on a copy of the exhibition book which will surely become a prized collector’s item on many a fashion heart’s bookshelf.

I have selected a smattering of images from the exhibition that will run from March until September 2012, in my upcoming trip to Europe this year it will be my mecca, as indeed it must be for any other other lover of clothes – offering up an opportunity to commune with two great lovers of fashion, past and present…

No Comments / Mar 12.12 / Editorial, Fashion News, International Designer / by The Heartful Shopper

Michael Angel Resort 2012 – Ancient Egypt inspires a thoroughly modern collection…

The first thing that that sprang to mind when reading the name Michael Angel, was that famous Italian Renaisance sculptor – Michelangelo… Now clearly any comparisons to one of the greatest artists of all time would be meaningless, but there is still something pretty great about this collection.

For inspiration Michael delved in collections of 1920′s photographs of Alexandria and personal family photographs. He’s examined his heritage; a once decadent civilization revisited through understated embellishment. By using technology and new fabrication and printing techniques he’s created a range that is a nod to the advancement of the Ancient Egyptians but that is quite futuristic.

He’s used digital printwork imagery of rich gold gilded walls, floor plans of Ancient Egyptian temples and time-worn family photographs. When teamed with the added element of pleating techniques there is an intriguing and distorted intricacy to the imagery. The silk has been sandwashed which gives the fabric the quality of parchment and silk crepe de chine appears in sunray pleated skirts. He has stitched down the pleated double organza to give lean, expansive lines to the modern column dresses. One of my favourite looks would be the drape, shoulder cut-out dress with pleat detail that is teamed with a canvas-panelled bomber jacket.

By opting for shades of ochre, straw and oat and coral accents, he has used linen in a novel and surprisingly modern way. And there’s a plethora of fresh and utilitarian pieces within the collection that would work superbly in a capsular wardrobe (like some of the reversible shirt dresses)… All in all – very progressive and inspiring.

All images courtesy Fashion Inquisitive

No Comments / Jan 31.12 / Clothing & Product, International Designer, Lady Stuff, Trend / by The Heartful Shopper

Off to a sun-dappled, bouganvilla-draped, Gucci-kissed place in the Med – the Resort 2012 campaign…

It’s always a surprise how inspiration for a blog post strikes – sometimes it’s a conversation, some days it’s spotted in the shops, most days it’s a trawl through the web and some days it just opens up in your lap. Literally. Glancing through last month’s UK Elle and the very first page it falls upon is the Resort 2012 Campaign for Gucci. And at this moment with summer literally oozing out of every pore in Cape Town, it felt right – the image staring back at me transported me to a place that if I weren’t in my hometown would feel just as good. A place of white-washed walls, berry-coloured bouganvillas (one of my absolute favourite flowers of all time amongst frangie pangies and proteas), turquoise and jade coloured seas and and glorious sun.

Also I’d just yesterday reread an article I’d saved on the history of the design house; it’s beginnings being leather goods in 1921. Founder Guccio Gucci drew inspiration for his label from time spent working at the Savoy Hotel in London which is, undeniably, the equestrian/English aesthetic-vibe about Gucci. Yet… Somehow… It’s all still very flourishy and Italian…

Back to the Spring-Summer Resort 2012 Campaign which was shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot and features models Karmen Pedaru (of Ford Models who has worked with everyone from Christopher Kane, to Dries Van Noten, to Chloe, YSL, Chanel, Donna Karan, Mc Queen… etc, etc, etc) and Lenz von Johnston (of VNY Modles and who has worked for McQueen, Moschino, Prada and Calvin Klein). Like I said, the campaign transports one to a beautiful, sunny world and though I’m not sure one would be wearing a black, ribbed poloneck jersey in such balmy temps, who am I to question such a replete vision of European Summery goregousness. I HEART the slickery-scraped-back-buns (also featured in Bottega Veneta’s resort 2012 campaign); the shock of vermillion red lips. I HEART the bold colour-blocked separates the waisted shorts, the chintz-style prints and the next-favourite-animal-print-trend: zebra. All in all very HEARTABLE wearable indeed.

No Comments / Jan 26.12 / Campaigns We Heart, Clothing & Product, Guy Stuff, International Designer, Lady Stuff / by The Heartful Shopper

Banged out jewellery from Aandra Neen is my Sunday evening flirtation.

This is my new jewellery perve… Literally spent a few hours hunting for pics of these gorgeous pieces by sister duo Phoebe and Annette Stephens. The background to the brand Aandra Neen: hailing from Mexico City, they produce their pieces alongside an artisanal community and they come from a longish line of artists and creatives. The word hewn springs to mind when describing the metal work – i.e. cut or shaped with hard blows. Nothing delicate or pretty or intricate about these pieces. Rough, authentic, bold and substantive would be my take on them. Dare I say it even tribalistic and African, though according to the artists themselves their influences are Egyptian and Bedouin-inspired. I guess the Egyptian bit makes sense – I could see a North African desert beauty adorned in one of their brass, copper or nickel neckpieces. Yet somehow despite their quirky beauty they have real appeal to the most unlikely of fashion-lovers (spotted a pic of Michelle Obama in one of their pieces in my huntings). But ultimately, I just reeeeeally HEART them.

No Comments / Jan 22.12 / Clothing & Product, Fashion News, Guy Stuff, International Designer / by The Heartful Shopper

Something in the water the Brits are drinking – Peter Pilotto splish splashes into my fashion heart.

It can’t have been an easy decision for the panel of judges deciding the winner of the Emerging Talent Award for the British Fashion Awards 2011. And dare I say it, personally I feel that Peter Pilotto may have been as deserving if not more so of the award… Clearly, these two brands share an attention to and love of fabrication and textiles and clashing prints, both are redolent with energy and vibrancy and both share a similar and progressive silhouette. Personally I think that the silhouettes of Peter Pilotto’s are a smidgen more sophisticated. But perhaps the panel thought that ultimately Kantrantzou’s textile design represented something new and that hadn’t been seen before, whereas Pilotto’s ethnic-geometric prints were less so. Maybe that was the deciding factor in their vote, I don’t know, I’m simply hazarding a guess here.

At any rate, I think that Peter Pilotto (half-Austrian, half-Italian) and Christopher De Vos (half-Belgian, half-Peruvian) created a range that is extremely wearable and extremely desirable and should certainly do well commercially.

The designers met whilst studying at Antwerp’s prestigious Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the year 2000. Pilotto focuses on textile and print and De Vos concentrates on silhouette and drape. Their vision of womenswear “embraces both new and classic perspectives on elegance. Otherworldly prints combine with soft sculptural shapes to form the handwriting of the design duo, something which evolves and is explored each season as opposed to being reactionary.” HEART it.

Images courtesy of Fashion Inquisitive, sourced from Go Runway.

No Comments / Jan 12.12 / Clothing & Product, International Designer, Lady Stuff / by The Heartful Shopper

Mary Kantrantzou – a Greek lass who’s brung a bit of splendour to prints…

Mary Katrantzou is another winner of a British Fashion Award 2011, who I am going to mention on my blog – others include Tabitha Simmons (Emerging Talent Accessories) and Stella Tennant (Model). Mary won best Emerging Talent – Womenswear last year and is part of a brave new guard of truly exciting and visionary young designers in Britain at the moment.

She is yet another graduate of Central St Martins and has free-lanced for the likes of Bill Blass, clearly all her credentials are in order… Even if they weren’t though her collections are – I thought it only apt that my first post of the new year should be something riotous and full of colour and verve. Mary’s London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2012 showing rides the trend in brights and her collection seems to spring off the runway – nodding to all the typical cliches of spring with floral prints her pieces are anything but conventional or prosaic. They are AWESOME. The end…

Pictures taken from Fashion Inquisitive; courtesy Go Runway

No Comments / Jan 11.12 / Clothing & Product, International Designer, Lady Stuff / by The Heartful Shopper

Isn’t she loverly – Sarah Jessica Parker owning a feathery Louis Vuitton number as only she can…

On any other celebrity this look may have gone ary, but on the loverly Miss Sarah Jessica Parker it looks positively fab and dreamy. I can clearly hear the strains of Stevie Wonder as I type. L O V E this shade of pink and wisps of ostrich plume. It’s almost if she has her own smoke machine hidden in her drawers and she’s stepping out of a cloud of smoke for her moment in the limelight. It’s totally theatrical and thrilling and dare I say, a bit diva-ish and if I could I definitely would! She’s wearing look 45 from the Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2012 collection, at the Seventh Annual UNICEF Snowflake Ball in New York City (November 29th, 2011).

No Comments / Dec 02.11 / Clothing & Product, Fashion News, Lady Stuff, Style Icons & Cover Stars, Trend / by The Heartful Shopper

Reflecting on the art of gift-giving this December…

Something popped up in my inbox yesterday which caught my eye… It’s the festive season but it’s also quite an important month for South Africa as the COP17 summit in Durban draws to a close. There’s a real sense that everyone is engaging with and starting to think about ways that they can make a meaningful difference in an individual capacity to the plight of climate change. The mail that popped up in my inbox got me thinking about how I’m going to spoil the loved ones in my life this festive season. It’s true for South Africans but it also holds true for anyone everywhere.

This time of year Asian factories are kicking into super-drive so that we can have access to monstrous piles of cheap gifts. Of course this has ramifications for South African labour (the less the stuff that’s made locally the less workers we need) and the carbon footprint of transporting these goods to our shores is also something to consider… So this year perhaps you want to take a different tack, be at the forefront of a new trend in gift-giving and consider some of the tips that I received in my mail:

“This year South Africans will give the gift of genuine concern for other South Africans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by South African hands. Yes, there is plenty.

It’s time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper?

Everyone — yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates from your local hair salon or barber?

Gym membership? It’s appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some health improvement.

Who wouldn’t appreciate getting their car valet’d? Small, South African owned car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates.

Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plonking down the cash on a Chinese made flat-screen? Perhaps that grateful gift receiver would like his driveway fixed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or roof waterproofed and painted.

There are a Gazillion owner-run restaurants — all offering gift certificates. And, if your intended isn’t the fancy eatery sort, what about a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint. Remember, folks this isn’t about big National chains — this is about supporting your home town South African with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.

How many people couldn’t use an oil change for their car, truck or motorbike, done at a shop run by a South African working guy?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a local cleaning lady for a day.

My computer could do with an upgrade, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.

OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people are great. They make jewelery, pottery, knitted stuff, Teddy Bears, paintings and home preserves etc.

Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theatre.

Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

Honestly, people, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese lights for the house? When you buy a R50 string of lights, about fifty cents stays in the community. If you have those kinds of bucks to burn, leave the mailman, trash guy or babysitter a nice BIG tip.

You see, Christmas is no longer about draining South African pockets so that China can build another glittering city. Christmas is now about caring about us, encouraging small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. And, when we care about other South Africans, we care about our communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn’t imagine. THIS should be the new South African Christmas tradition.”

Happy 1st December in the build up to the festive season! x

No Comments / Dec 01.11 / Editorial, The other side of Fashion / by The Heartful Shopper

Ach mein Gott! These shoes by Tabitha Simmons have made me come over all foreign…

If I could, I would. Seriously, the entire Tabitha Simmons Spring Summer 2011 collection would be nestled in clear perspex boxes in my wardrobe. I really, truly heart these beauties… The craftsmanship is self-evident and I don’t think I’ve come across anything quite as breathe-taking since Nicholas Kirkwood perhaps… However the two are world’s apart. Kirkwood is bold and directional and ground-breaking in design whereas Tabitha seems to represent a centuries-old heritage of shoe design – the techniques of leather-weaving make me think 19th century or older, yet somehow, they’re still fresh and beautiful and modern. Style.com reckon she’s one of the season’s Top Ten must-have items and I tend to agree…

No Comments / Nov 28.11 / Clothing & Product, International Designer, Lady Stuff, Online Shopping, Trend / by The Heartful Shopper

So much more than just a pretty face… Model Sasha Pivovarova designs for The Gap.

Sasha Pivovarova Sleepwear for The Gap

I hate to admit but on occasion I can be a little green-eyed monster. Especially when I hear about an uber-talented and successful lady-model… Why can’t they be content with just their good looks, noh? You know the Giselle Bunchens and Kate Moss’s of this world. Well, here is another a beautiful young thing to join their ranks: enter Sasha Pivovarova. She’s graced countless Vogue covers: UK, Russia, Paris, Koroea, Portugal, etc. She’s a successful a artist. And now she’s bringing her worlds of art and fashion together in a seamless collaboration for The Gap. She’s created a range of sleepwear in cotton which feature some gorg etchings of dreamlike creatures and figures (no doubt penned by herself) in cute little French-knicker-style briefs and vests and tank-bras. Super-cute and super-perfect for stockings and which you can order from The Gap directly and get delivered to SA! Wonderful

No Comments / Nov 28.11 / Clothing & Product, Fashion News, International Designer, Lady Stuff, Online Shopping, Style Icons & Cover Stars / by The Heartful Shopper