Last minute Halloween Buys and ideas!

It's still not too late to get your last minute Halloween essentials! Here's a few quick ideas for you before tomorrow's fright night!


Keep it simple and skeletal with this 'ASOS Skeleton Cut Out Back Halloween Mini Dress' for £28.00. Remember less is also more and paired with jet black lipstick and dark eye shadow you will be looking gothic chic in no time.


Even if your just having a scary movie night in with a few friends or dressing up, you can still get in the Halloween spirit with this graphic ASOS Halloween Tank Top with Dracula Print for £20.00. Get one before it sells out. Remember ASOS premiere means you can still get next day delivery for tomorrow so get ordering!

  
Topshop devil or bunny ears. Both £7, remember your 10% discount for all students!

 
Just some more pieces taken from Topshop's website and store which can all be dressed up for Halloween. I am especially loving this A Nightmare on Elm Street Freddie Krueger styled jumper if your going for that extra creepy yet so on trend look this Halloween.

Or even channel Morticia Addams in all black everything with this Velvet Long sleeve Mini Dress from American Apparel. It is a classic piece and also perfect for your winter wardrobe!
 

Here are a few last minute make up ideas for you that can be created with fake eyelashes, body paint and eye shadow to leave your friends trembling with fright! Give it a go!


Skeletal Half Face


Big Bad Wolf vs Red Riding Hood


Flesh Eater

 
 Fake Façade



And if all else fails just whip out the red fake blood, rip an old white t-shirt or denim jeans up and your sorted! You can never go wrong with this look, trust me as a student, I am definitely promoting this low budget easy to do idea!

Trend Rebellion - The feminization of men's fashion.

In non-western cultures it can be noticed that for men to wear long length dresses or skirts, it is socially acceptable in terms of ones attempt to communicate their religion, culture or beliefs.  Specifically seen within African traditional apparels even though some sociologists e.g. Kenneth Clark or Ernst Gombrich have suggested the argument that fashion and clothing are not linked to culture at all.
 (Barnard, Malcolm, 2002, Fashion as Communication, Routledge; 2 edition)

 However, in western areas of the world, some individuals find it almost striking to see such feminine garments worn by males in public, especially in regards to everyday wear or even stage wear, and ignore the idea that certain men may be trying to communicate their identity openly, without the necessity of religion or rituals to do so. Scottish kilts however, still remains an important symbolic trait of the Scottish identity encouraging men to wear tartan skirts to represent the heritage of their Scottish society.

   
Masai Street Style, Photography by
Michelle Oberholzer in Cape Town, South Africa


Ewan McGregor classifies the kilt as the Scottish man's "dinner jacket" for special occasions.

 In this post I deliberately wanted to discuss a rising avant-garde trend that is occurring, which has seen men rebel against their masculine expectations in terms of fashion, and embark upon something rather socially expected to be women's trend. This is increasingly something seen within designer's collections over the past few years, on the runways for resort or ready to wear fashion.

For example, Damir Doma portrays iconoclasm by designing an edgy collection for his Spring/Summer menswear collection for 2016, repeatedly showing an acknowledgement of liberation, social changes and an acceptance of cultural diversity for male fashion. Doma is not the only designer who has taken on this statement trend. Designers such as Rick Owens, the godfather of brutal chic, is known for his extremely controversial ways of looking at both male and female garments and his explicitness through nudity. He does this intentionally to outrage the public, to communicate a message to his viewers that style is not about restrictions but about freedom for humans to wear what they want and to blur the lines of fashion to create androgynous values.  He definitely follows a judgement that skirts really are not just garments for women. Therefore, he challenges the dominant ideology for fashion and clothing by drawing attention to unnaturalness of male fashion, creating commodities for his audience. Craig Green has also been noted to take on this risky style on the runway which was seen specifically in his Spring/Summer 2015 collection. However, unlike Doma, Greens garments almost resemble pieces of abstract militaristic art.


Damir Doma Menswear Spring 2016 collection
   

Rick Owen's 2016 Spring Menswear collection



Craig Green Spring 2015 Menswear collection



Although this androgynous image has been fashions captivating chameleon for quite a few years now, along with male models on the catwalk, the male skirt is also being worn by popular rappers, singers and actors of the 21st century. Kanye West and P Diddy have both rocked the male skirt, translating true Scottish spirit on stage and Vin Diesel was also pictured flaunting a leather version of the apparel during the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2003. The male ideology of fashion is therefore becoming quite deceiving and misleading as it is becoming more frequent for these masculine men to wear skirts, even if it is in some cases devoted to Scottish culture. These men are definitely quite daring with their hit or miss fashion statements even if they fashion police are pulling them over for it!

 

In contrast, we are also seeing women do the same by embracing men's fashion. This dates all the way back to the 1930's, in terms of Yves Saint Laurent tailored suits and white shirts. The androgynous fashion has carried on right up until today in the 21st century as stars such as Tilda Swinton and Annie Lennox have become androgynous icons for women. Even designers such as Calvin Klein have furthered this trend by promoting an iconic women's line of underwear sets including boxers, replicating the male versions, but pairing them with a matching sports bra to maintain womanly silhouettes.

                                                     
Tilda Swinton - L’Uomo Vogue by Paolo Roversi, September 2008 (Right image top row)
Tilda Swinton channelling David Bowie in Vogue Italia 2003. Photographed by Craig McDean (second row)

Calvin Klein Women's Classic Logo Boyshorts and Sports Bra



Escalating this point further, in many advert campaigns, films and media we are seeing more transgendered narratives that relate to the idea of men swapping menswear for a more feminine look. The upcoming film 'The Danish Girl' based on David Ebershoff's novel, see's Eddie Redmayne take on the role of a male from Denmark in the 1920's who slowly embarks upon the transformative journey to becoming a woman. Although this point is more extreme than those I have made earlier in this post, I wanted to show that there are many different ways androgyny can be portrayed and through media and film, this theme has become quite determinately mainstream and melodramatic. Therefore, transgender is neither a fad nor a micro trend that some may ignorantly argue in favour of, but something we have been seeing for a long time now, over many decades, and more and more insight is being developed upon the idea.

Eddie Redmayne as Einar/Lili in 'The Danish Girl'

Thank you for reading,

as always,

Kate x

1960's: The Mod Monochrome Movement

Every decade has its own palette of colours. Whether it be the 1920's, renowned for dusty pinks and jade greens that showed off beading, embroidery and ribbon decorations, or the 1980's, where neon colours electrified the way people wore leg warmers and mini skirts. 

However, one question that is continuously asked. Is colour really that necessary? Coco Chanel famously said "black has it all. White too. Their beauty is absolute. It is the perfect harmony.”  She courageously states that there is in fact no need for colour to allow an individual's style to be so communicative and awe-inspiring.

 During the 1960’s, an era associated with bright, hot and crisp colours, a revamped trend hit society. A one painted with bold statement geometrics, famously promoted by designer Mary Quant, stripes, square prints and dog tooth patterns. This trend was the revival of monochrome, which highly influenced the birth of the mod sub-culture, at a time where society allowed youths to run free with their fashion tastes and identities. Therefore, these colours linked to events of the period, refining an image of a distinction and rebellion against colour.

 The 60’s saw style icons such as Twiggy and Jane Birkin publicize this monochrome mania throughout society with the use of press coverage, media, television and the industry itself. These supermodels arguably changed the perception of women’s fashion, by representing a new woman, who had authority and strength visually, and who said goodbye to the role of a stereotypical feminine housewife, and hello to a new sharp and sleek mid-20th century woman. Further influences such as the Opt Art fashion movement, photography, a new rage for pop music and fashion filmography all signified a new expressive fashion craze. This created a decadent revolution within politics and economics at a time where women and men’s fashion was beginning to blur and there was no turning back.

                                                      

                                                  

                                            

                                                   

Monochrome has been revived again during the past decade, seeing a rejuvenation of the black and white hue trend by designers Ralph Lauren, Christian Dior and Marc Jacobs.  
                                     

                                      

                                                          
                                       Marc Jacobs Spring 2013 Finale, New York Fashion Week

  Ralph Lauren Spring 2014 collection

                                                
                                             The 1960's fashion revisited by Christian Dior in 2013



Balmain X H&M

If there's one brand that's racing ahead of the game in terms of press coverage, building an army of the most dominating supermodels at this moment in time or dressing every celebrity/ reality television superstar that's topping your Instagram feeds, it's definitely Balmain.

I have never really been that big of a fan of Balmain. To me, it has turned into a brand entirely devoted to dressing the queens of Instagram-the Kardashians, and almost neglects the opportunity to attract any other audiences.  However, when I heard about the H&M Balmation collection, I was intrigued to see what Olivier Rousteing would design, to create an affordable fashion line for one of high streets biggest global brands in the world. (Whilst still maintaining both H&Ms and Balmain's brand identities). As anyone can probably tell you, I am one of H&Ms biggest fans. It is my go to store for both everyday wear and the odd statement piece for a dressy occasion. If there's one place you will find me, it will be in H&M's jewellery collection, fighting the temptation to purchase another pair of their gorgeous bejewelled pairs of earrings. So as you can tell, I had extremely high hopes for this collection!

 Anyway, back to the subject of the highly anticipated event that took place on Tuesday night at 23 Wall Street in New York. Rousteing transformed his raw venue of an old bank into a subway station to really set a narrative scene of busy New York for the event. The event saw the faces of the collection and those whom are notorious to the brand itself, such as Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid and Joan Smalls all strut down the catwalk, presenting Rousteing's new collaborative line for the Swedish label. The collection consisted of sequin jackets and silk tailored suits, paired with tapered trousers in luxurious scarlet red tones and midnight blues, to play on the theme of masculine women's wear and militarism within fashion. The collection, which was shown live on the social networking application, Periscope, also included emerald green dresses which were rhinestoned until there was simply no room left for rhinestones! So as you can imagine, so much effort and detail most have gone into each garment.
 One aspect I really do admire about Balmain, is their signature use of bold colours. Rousteing channelled true Balmain brand identity in his designs for the collection by flaunting his models down the runway in gorgeous electric blues and show stopping fuchsias. However, Rousteing still managed to draw attention to those on the catwalk, by pairing each garment with chunky leather fitted belt, to really outline the silhouettes of his army of models.
And that was just the womenswear! It's hard to believe that this collection, will cost only a fraction of Balmain's usual upper market prices when it goes on sale in H&M stores on the 5th November 2015.

Here are some images from Tuesday's event that I have picked out myself. These images, in my opinion are some of the most impressive and remarkable looks straight off the runway. Take a look below! 

Olivier Rousteing concluded the catwalk show

Adding on, celebrities and fashion icons such as Ellie Goulding, Alexa Chung and Coco Roche all also made appearances at the event in support of Rousteing, which even saw a surprise performance from the Backstreet Boys, concluding the star studded night with their greatest hits. 

Ellie Goulding (above)

The Backstreet Boy's performance at the after party.

Dior and I

When Raf Simons joined Christian Dior in 2012, as critic's state, he may not have been the obvious candidate, but who knew he would take the brand by storm, conquering the fashion world in a mere eight weeks, to produce an unforgettable Haute Couture collection.
As I watched the film documentary 'Dior and I', based on the run up to Simon's Haute couture fall-winter debut in 2012, it really occurred to me, that fashion is not just about expensive labels and the big names haute couture tends to publicize, but it is about true art and craft, empowered by determination and emotion. This is especially translated visually in the documentary, as you watch Simons passion and overwhelming attitude, come to light in the lead up to the show.

I really admired the aspect that the document captured, illustrating the fact that the Dior team all had significant inputs in each garment they created, allowing extended twists and human elements to be influenced within the designs, to really create something dynamic. Simons work really shone in the documentary which really caught his strive for success as he stands in the shadows of the legend Mr Christian Dior himself, who may have only been in his couture atelier for ten years, but still managed to create a fashion image so revolutionary.

The interior for Simons show at 51 Avenue de Lena Paris, France, flourished with blooming gorgeous flowers such as orchids and mimosas, portraying an abstraction of nature, to really embrace an image of rejuvenation, growth and a freshness to the label. Almost reflecting Simon's own journey, moving up in the fashion world, from ready to wear to haute couture. Also of course, the interior represented a Parisian tenderness to show off a purity of women's traditional fashion that Dior has intentionally captured for the past 69 years. The documentary spends time discussing the collection, which focused on the 1950s, expanding on silhouettes famously designed by Christian Dior such as the Bar Jacket, A line and the H line. Simon's romanticized the collection, experimenting with his sublime taste which is predominantly inspired by art, to break away from the minimalistic expectations he gained working in menswear at Jil Sanders. Each piece was either indulged in embellishment or powerful colours which were fixated and merged into abstract patterns on the surface of the material. Garments included cigarette pants mixed with classic ball gown dresses shortened at the peplum and traditional silks which were fabricated to present a painting by Sterling Ruby. Therefore, elements of both the past and future trends were combined, still allowing Simons to inject some iconoclasm to the collection by putting his own spin on certain classic pieces that were significant to Dior.

Overall, I really enjoyed watching the documentary based on Dior's haute couture. It really showed how continuous motivation and determination can achieve something so outstanding and hard work does pay off, regardless of what sector of fashion you are in or what in sector of study or work you are in.


   
   

 

Thanks for reading,

Kate x

That 70's Show (2015 trend)

The 70s- a time where society was indulged in bold colours and patterns, women were rocking platform heels and wedges, hippies were embracing bohemian trends through fringe and lace, and of course, a phase we can't forget, the creation of bell-bottom trousers, aka flares. The flares phase was one which can either be categorized as disastrous or to have completely changed the way we look at the structure and lining of trousers today.
 If there's one thing for sure, the 70's is a decade of fashion that brands love to regurgitate onto the runway, in order to merge past trends into a modern day style.

 The 70's saw style icons such as Jane Birkin influence bold statement pieces. For instance, the craze of denim jeans and hot pants burst onto the fashion scene, making the material cool through celebrity encouragement and press coverage. Also, Jimi Hendrix's continuous promotion of the 'Flower Child' saw the star flaunt tie dye designs and floral print jackets during his concerts and around popular celebrity events, primarily experimenting with colour to embrace the new face of rock and roll. In his book 'Fashion a Philosophy', Lars Svendsen's even makes comment in his chapter 'Fashion and Language' stating that "in earlier societies, dress codes were relatively stable". However, the 70's saw a boom of painterly fashion following on from the expressive and liberal movement of the 60's, in awe of post-modernism and allowing real subcultures to move forward, especially in regards to women's culture and fashion.

Examples of 70's fashion:

Therefore, as I looked further into the trend, I was then set the task on my university course to develop a Pinterest board based on 'trend awareness', which would be completely devoted to the 1970's era. The 1970's decade was the narrative, filled with different motifs and fashion garments such as the ones I have included at the beginning of my post. I also wanted to demonstrate how this trend has influenced today's market in terms of designer labels and High Street brands. Fortunately, this is currently proving to be quite a hit amongst Spring/Summer 2016 fashion, which has been frequently photographed and promoted during the recent Ready to Wear collection at 2015's Fashion Weeks in London, Paris, Milan and New York.

Here is few examples of my findings, which were taken from Pinterest, various blogs and online social mediums for certain brands which have been influenced by the 70's fashion vibe in the past year.

Starting with 1970's inspired fashions for 2015:
In 2015 designers took a step back in time, to a one filled with burgundy's, caramels, deep blues and oranges. Designers such as Prada, Louis Vuitton, Chloe and Yves Saint Laurent took on the 70's inspired look for their catwalk shows.

Harper's Bazaar magazine categorized these looks as the 'Nixon Era'.

Chloe Spring 2015 Runway

Prada Spring 15 Runway

Louis Vuitton Spring 2015 Runway

Saint Lauren Spring 2015 Runway

As we move into 2016 in a few months, although it is far from avant-garde, designers have maintained the same sort of theme within their collections.
Is this too much repetition of fashion or is the industry just nostalgic over past trends and wanting to develop the iconic look even further? Lars Svendsen (Fashion a Philosophy) goes on to sum up this question by stating that 'Like art, fashion has become ever more self-referential. It is created by previous fashions that can be affirmed or made fun of" therefore, risks and experiments are taken but industry still continues to recirculates.

Jil Sander SS 16 Campaign

Prada Resort SS 16 Runway

MSGM SS 16 Campaign

Gucci SS 16 Runway

Although high end fashions and premium brands seem to be portraying this style extremely well, it cannot go unnoticed that this trend is also featuring in and amongst high street labels, especially Topshop and Zara

Topshop Unique AW15 editorial 

Topshop Unique AW15 runway

Zara's Current AW Collection

Zara's Current AW collection

                              
                                                   Zara's Current A/W Collection

It can be seen that this trend has been recycled on the runway from SS 2015, right through to the upcoming SS 2016 range, for both high street and high end fashion. Predictably, this style is not planning on going out of season any time soon. Therefore, this is the perfect opportunity to hunt out them old stripy turtle-necks and denim dungarees to complete your look this fall.

A little something extra:
Here are a few editorials based on 70s chic fashion that I came across while reading the Volume 2 Autumn/Winter 2015 edition AnOther Magazine. Take a look and get inspired even more!

Article- Shine Bright like a Diamond (Shine Bright)
Photographer: Benjamin Alexander Huseby
Styling: Katie Shillingford