Prada AW13

Would it be dramatic to say that this boot is the best thing to come out of fashion month? Everything is so on point, the style, the point where the boot meets the ankle… Everything.

Thank you, Miuccia!

Christian Dior AW13

So we’re now into Paris Fashion Week after a very uneventful week in Milan. I’m never really excited for Milan but this season it’s seemed duller than usual.

Today was the Christian Dior show and I was intrigued into what Raf would exhibit this season. Although I wasn’t too fond of his first collection for Dior I’ve gradually came around and I really liked the SS13 collection.

This collection was such a breath of fresh air. The silhouettes of the collection are to die for, over the top yet so simplistic! Something I really liked from this collection was the bustled knitwear at the waist, giving such a flattering look to the outfit. The bright bold red jacket was my favourite look, the way it was styled was so simplistically - genius.

I’m so looking forward to the rest of Paris Fashion Week with Louis Vuitton and Chanel as the grand closing to another fashion month.

Topshop Unique AW13

After an absence from the blogging world I thought I’d get into it again with a series of mini blogs about fashion week, of course.

Topshop Unique unveiled their new Autumn/Winter collection today at their Topshop Show Space situated at the Tate Modern. They whole collection screamed relaxation but with a splash of glam! The collection is probably my favourite of the London Fashion Week shows so far, even if it is only 3 days in!

Something that I was particularly in love with was the soft A-Line skirts. The mixture of textures and colours throughout the collection was spot on and the different lengths gave a good transition of daywear to evening.

What is everyone else thinking of this collection, yay/nay? And what’s your favourite collection been so far?

A Week In The Life...

I've not blogged in 4 months or so, so I thought I'd get into it again. I decided to do a personal post this time. I'm such an avid Instagram user (my Instagram: mrconorwoods) that I thought I'd create a recollection of my past week.

1. Last Sunday I was looking on asos.com and I came across this fab tshirt from Cheap Monday so obviously I just had to get it!
2. Henry's Coffee House in Dundee is the go-to place for an amazing chai latte! Seriously, so good.
3. Here's another one of my buys from the last week, Vogue On: Coco Chanel. Not only is it a great read but amazon are selling it for half price! Also editions on Alexander McQueen, Elsa Schiaparelli and Christian Dior!
4.  Friday was such a sunny day in Dundee, I love the winter sun.
5.  I recently got a new hair cut, deciding that I'd go for a shorter look. It's such a low maintenance style, it's great!
6.  A quick pic before going to see the new Twilight movie! The movie was pretty decent actually...

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Favourite Campaigns of Fall/Winter 2012

Another season and another series of exciting advertising campaigns. I absolutely love flicking through my fashion mags and seeing all the latest collections captured beautifully for everyone to see. As my last post of Spring/Summer favourites was so popular I thought I'd do the same with the Fall collections.

Louis Vuitton 

So as I was going through the new edition of Vogue UK the first campaign I came across was the Louis Vuitton collection. Although I wasn't all that keen on the collection at first I have come to really like this collection. I love that the atmosphere from the images can strike different feelings from the show and make me see the collection and pieces differently. The campaign gives me a hint to the 70's but also a  throwback to Victorian times, probably due to the old steam train set. It's deffo one of my faves this season!

Louis Vuitton photographed by Steven Meisel.

Louis Vuitton photographed by Steven Meisel.

Prada

Another campaign that caught my eye when going through Vogue was Prada. It was the deep purples and oranges that done it for me, again calling me back to 70's with the patterns reminding of wallpaper that you'd find back then. I also loved the link between the straight lines of the collection and the flooring, giving the whole collection a geometric and futuristic feel.

Prada photographed by Steven Meisel

Prada photographed by Steven Meisel

Alexander McQueen

The last campaign I'm in love with this season is the Alexander McQueen shoot. I love the soft background in each photo, allowing each piece to take centre and to be the focus. I also like the contrast of the geometric shapes of the background to the soft shapes and textures of the clothing.

Alexander McQueen photographed by David Sims

Alexander McQueen photographed by David Sims

Alexander McQueen photographed by David Sims

Leave a comment telling me your favourite campaign this season!

Christian Dior Couture F/W 2012

Hello all, I'm back! So I've been absent from the blogging world for the most of 2012 but I'm ready to get back into it and I thought what better way to get into things than a quick fashion post.

Today was - as many of you fashion followers will already know - the unveiling of Raf Simons first collection for Christian Dior. There has been a mega buzz about this collection due to the long awaited announcement of the new creative director that would proceed John Galliano. 

It looked promising from the start with a beautiful runway - the rooms adorned with flowers from floor to ceiling in an array of vibrant colours. But once the looks started coming through I just knew I didn't like it. Of course there were a few pieces that I loved but as a collection I felt as though it felt flat. What irked me the most was the lack of flow through out the whole collection; it just doesn't seem like a collection. There was such a mixture of looks there and I felt like there was no clear direction with what he was doing. 

Although he didn't real impress me with this couture collection I'll save my judgement until after a few collection when hopefully he'll get into the swing of things.

‘Electra Heart‘ Album Review.

So most of you already know my adoration for Marina and the Diamonds, having previously seen her live and loving almost every song that she puts out there. It’s been 2 years since her debut album ‘The Family Jewels’ and she’s made quite the transformation! Not only has she made a dramatic change in appearance but also musically, yet still hanging on to Marina’s quirky and refreshing sound.

 The new album is very synthesised and electronic, having the likes of Dr. Luke producing a couple of songs. Although you might think of typical pop songs when thinking of Dr. Luke, having worked with Katy Perry, but the songs are not overproduced and still have a hollow and organic vibe, a vibe which is stretched across the whole album. Overall, ‘Electra Heart’ is turning into my favourite album of 2012 so far (Born To Die is still killing it on my iTunes though…)

Bubblegum Bitch - 3.5/5

Primadonna - 4/5

Lies - 5/5

Homewrecker - 3.5/5

Starring Role - 4/5

The State Of Dreaming - 4/5

Powell & Control - 5/5

Living Dead - 4.5/5

Teen Idle - 4/5

Valley Of The Dolls - 4.5/5

Hypocrates - 4/5

Fear and Loathing - 5/5

*Bonus Tracks*

Radioactive - 5/5

Sex Yeah - 4.5/5

Lonely Hearts Club - 5/5

Buy The Stars - 3.5 /5

As a side note, I would also like to take time to appreciate Marina’s 50’s and 60’s look that’s she’s pairing with this campaign. I’m especially loving the archetype structure to the whole campaign and the Americanised feel to the imagery. It’s just all to much for me really… I think I’m going to her tour in June and I cannot wait to see the setting and all the costume changes! She is just killing it lately!

Here’s a performance of ‘Primadonna’ on the Graham Norton Show from last week:

Killing It.

After the Autumn/Winter ‘12 McQueen show on Tuesday I went on the net to look up some reviews. As i was scrolling through them all I stumbled across an interview with Sarah Burton on Interview Magazine, by none other than Sarah Jessica Parker. The interview was divine but my eye was taken to these beautiful images. I am totally obsessed with Sarah Burtons work for McQueen and this has to be my favourite photo shoot showcasing the SS’12 collection. There’s something so empowering about Alexander McQueen clothing - as mentioned by Sarah Burton and McQueen himself - and by using the gun and the mysterious lighting it emphasises this fact. A woman in control.

Interview can be read here.

Photography by Fabien Baron.

Milan Fashion Week - A/W ‘12

This post has been well and truly overdue considering MFW finished nearly a week ago. I was going to completely scrap the whole post and not do anything for Milan as its my least favourite fashion week and does absolutely nothing for me, however, there were a certain few things from a couple of collections that I did like. 

The vibrant patterns from Prada really intrigued me as they reminded me of wallpaper from the 60’s with the geometric patterns and the oranges and muddy browns. Although I didn’t like the collection as a whole there were definitely a few pieces that I did like, that being this chic handbag. The sunglasses were also a must have - obsessed!

Prada

One designer I do look forward to during MFW is Jill Sander. I love their simple aesthetic, which is oddly something that I usually don’t go for. As this was Raf Simons’ last collection at Jil Sander he made a very demure exit with soft pastels paired with vibrant reds and deep blues. Something that I was interested in was the bouquet of flowers encased in glass boxes, it summarised the whole collection: natural colours with clinical cuts. It also reminded me of the film ‘Beauty and The Beast’ when the rose is caged in the bell jar.

Jil Sander

Last seasons collection at Moschino was amazing and although this collection was kind of similar it didn’t stop me from totally falling in love with it. It was the ‘Spanish bull fighter’ meets the ‘American cowboy’ look. The leather pieces running throughout also gave the collection a rock gleam. This was probably the only collection from MFW that I liked entirely.

Moschino

Paris Fashion Week is totally underway and a post will be up soon!

Oscars 2012.

I’d say sorry for not posting but I’m not. I’ve had so much work from school this past week that I’ve had next to no time to look at any shows from Milan Fashion Week. It also doesn’t help that it’s hardly my favourite fashion week…

Anyways, once I saw pictures from the Oscars last night I knew I had to make a post. At first I thought about doing a whole selection of ‘best dressed’ but there was no competition. Both Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow stole the show, outdoing the rest of the film industry.

Although she wasn’t nominated, all attention was firmly on Angelina as she sported a black strapless Versace gown with a thigh-high split. Although this would immediately putting me off the dress, Jolie really works that, something that Rihanna has been trying to do at award shows lately but failing dramatically…(shaaaaaade). 

A complete contrast to that of Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow went for a white Tom Ford dress and matching cape. I think the cape is what does it for me, the slimline silhouette gives a real class and sophisticated look. The overall simplicity and purity of this gown gave her an angelic glow on the red carpet!