Look what i got my mits on- Burberry Aviator AW10

For my shoot for Moda today... Yes, GET JEALOUS! Wish i could keep it.

And it fits me like a dream.

Shearling watch...

AW10 models had barely turned their heels at the end of the runway and everybody is already at it. Of course with me being the ultimate keen-o, I acquired my (vintage) shearling oversized (delboy-ish) jacket two seasons in advance taking immediate inspiration from Prada and Burberry and it seems shearling will be the thing of AW10

@ Jaegar

@ Dr Martens

*cant remember where i took this photo*

@ Kickers

I am still yet to find my favourite shearling shoe... And then of course, i pose a question- "Can one do double shealing...?"

Packing for fashion week... Footwear

After compiling a never ending to do list yesterday, time seemed to have crept up on me and it was one hour shy of midnight and I still with no idea what i was packing and which looks i will be 'sporting' (or 'guying' as my mum would say).
Now i remember (painfully) vividly from last year that Milan in January is snowy and wet, very similar weather to what we have been experiencing of late but 5 times worse (if that is imaginable). The mistake i made last year was packing wholeheartedly for fashion and shunning comfort (some people might believe this is the only way to do fashion week...). My naive reaction to wholeheartedly celebrate fashion extended to the fact that i (subconsciously) forgot to/didn't pack any flats. I know, what was i thinking...? Picture this: me trudging the long streets of Milan, 5 feet behind the rest of my team, in sleet and wet conditions, running 10 minutes late for the Alexander Mc Queen show, getting my beautiful Stella McCartney heels ruined. But picture this for every show and every day for Milan and Paris fashion week.... Not only did my tottering pace drive the rest of the team mental having to stop for me at every block for me to catch up, but i now see what a Fashion no-no it was! Not only the fact that i had to borrow a pair of flats from my other male team members- namely a pair of battered size 11 Converse.
Any way, that was my first fashion week in Milan, i am older and wiser... This year calls for some more durable shoe wear... I am thinking DMs, amazing in all weather and will stomp me from one show to the next...

Practicality aside, here is a selection of other footwear i will be taking with me this season:

Burberry Prorsum AW09- My most recent addition to my collection

My (official) other sensible shoes this season

Mirror heels from Office

Show off some thigh...

I am about to begin my trudge to the airport, bon voyage, see you on the flip side!

x

Burberry Prorsum SS10 pre-show prep...

Excuse 2: My-Wardrobe.com

So, as one of my excuses for slack blogging recently, this one being shooting for My-Wardrobe.com, I give you my recent offering to the menswear style feed:



GREAT BRITISH HERITAGE

Celia-Jane Ukwenya, Fashion Editor at Buckstyle, explains why this will play a big wardrobe role this season

Great British Heritage. I am sure for a lot of us, this conjures up images of muddy boots, long walks in sparse fields, watching the Polo, and stuffy well-to do toffs playing croquet on the lawn - “Tally Ho, Pip Pip” and all that! Yes, before the tune of “land of Hope and Glory gets too loud, read on…
In the months leading into winter “Great British Heritage” will mean a whole lot more than that, with key elements creeping into your everyday attire. The catwalks were awash with garments mirroring this theme; Lou Dalton with her embellished chunky knits and cord riding trousers and Moschino with their claret colours reminiscent of old English public school uniforms. Vivienne Westwood’s show was awash with a major gardening and great outdoors theme, with Burberry reiterating its classic Burberry tartan in their collection. This trend is all about turning away from casuals such as denim. Think durable waxed cotton jackets and coats to the style of Barbour’s Olive Classic Beauford jacket. Cord blazers worn in the traditional navy and tan like this Tobacco cord Sports blazer by Polo Ralph Lauren or pushed to the extreme in punch packing pink, green and red corduroy trousers (think eccentric Englishman). Traditional British fabrics such as tweeds and herringbone will be key and integral and can make the look more directional. Great British designers such as Burberry (new this season to my-wardrobe.com), Paul Smith, and Grenson will be taking centre stage. Team traditional navy, beige and stone colours with strong clashing patterns like a flash of tartan or a plaid print.



Here, this stone Burberry pac-a-mac trench coat is put together with a Polo Ralph Lauren plaid shirt and a classic straight leg chino also by Burberry, rolled up at the ankle of course for that relaxed English county walk feel. Finish the look with these Grenson brogue style ankle boots and this navy dog print scarf by Paul Smith.

All clothes available at My-Wardrobe.com

More great excuses to come!

Video & Interview -Backstage at Burberry Prorsum

Video filmed and edited by me...




Congratulations on the show and congratulations on your MBE…
Oh, thank you very much
How are you feeling after the show?
I am feeling very good, I am literally running to London tonight because I am moving tomorrow morning, so there is a lot going on, but it’s a lot of fun.
What was the starting point for designing this collection, did you have a type of man in mind or a character or theme you were designing for?
Not really a character, I liked the idea of starting the show with rain and ending on sunshine, so I started with the waxed coats and quilted jackets, and ending all all the soft pastel colours, I wanted it to end in a really joyous way
The colours were a real strong point, as well as the pastels you showed primary colours in the sportswear pieces…
I wanted to intersect the whole show with Burberry Sport label which I launched about 9 months ago. I am just so excited about it, it just felt like the right moment to do something on the runway for it, with all the bright reds and cobalt blues.
So will you be pushing the sport element a bit more?
Yes, its something I love and I have got a big exciting project I am working on at the moment and launching next year.

Milan fashion week...Overview

Apologies for the lack of posting, even though i did promise lots of blog posts while in Milan. I have been having technical difficulties with the internet connection to my room. Dont ask. It has been extremely annoying, cutting out mid-blog... Highly frustrating. So what i have got here are highlights of the last 4 days in Milan. I am off to Paris later today and am quite excited about it all. Had a really good sleep last night and i am now re-invigourated and refreshed and ready to tackle the next 6 days of non stop fashion... The internet situation should be a whole lot better in our Parisienne apartment (finger crossed). If anyone knows a way of blogging from my iphone or an app to down load, please let me know, would make my life whole lot easier. There has been online twittering from myself and the Buckstyle team here, so keep up to date on there too. Hope you have had a look at the Buckstyle website and seen all that we have been up too. In addition to reporting, I can now add camerawoman and film editor to my CV! I now go under the name of Celia Speilberg.... Ha!

DAY 1
First day in Milan, and things are looking good! Such a brilliant show at Burberry and managed to get an interview with Christopher Bailey! Interview will be up on Buckstyle is up now, go read it here... I only had a few minutes with him, but he was so sweet. The show had a real summer feel, with pastel colours mixed with bold primary coloured sportswear. Knits were lights with straps across the torso and ruched detailing in the macs and blazers. Amazing rucksacks too, very well executed. I shot some behind the scenes videos backstage at the show also which is available here.

My day 1 outfit

The Les Hommes show was brilliant too, a very Lawrence of Arabia feel with an emphasis to detail on the trousers. Lots of sheer, ruched, drop crotch brilliance... and a fantastic black sequined trouser number. I filmed and edited a video also on Buckstyle.com, find it here.

The designers (Tom Notte and Bart Vandebosch) of Les Hommes following our interview

The night ended up with a fantastic party called "Punks Wear Prada". I tell you i have never seen so many models in one place...Model Ash at Punks Wear Prada party

DAY 2
A jam packed day of press appointments, shows and presentation. Plus more ticket arrivals... Prada the most exciting yet. Neil Barrett, Car shoe, Churches, Sergio Rossi, Diesel and the stupendous Alexander McQueen. At Sergio Rossi and Churches there was an emerging trend of using foam like material on the soles as supposed to the traditional leather or rubber soles.

McQueen showed a presentation and a short film this year(Watch a clip of the short film here on Buckstyle.com), opting out from a grand runway show, something i have grown to love and sometimes prefer. You get a really detailled look at all the garments, in a more relaxed atmosphere, with the PRs on hand to explain ideas and inspirations. The collection did not let me down... Absolutely amazing collection. Based on paint splatters and with a somewhat workwear feel. Paint splays prints, hand painted and hand-drawn patterns on blazers and shirts, frantic and kinetic splatters on jeans and hats. Bloody brilliant.
Lots of the familiar faces of the Milan fashion week crowd present at the brilliant outdoor location, McQueens Milanese showroom.
Later we went to the famous Frankie Morello fashion week party…. To much fun… Amanda Lapore, half naked Milanese models on stage, and more models. One of the best parties I have ever been too!My Day 2 outfit for MFWAmanda Lapore at Frankie Morello party

Beautiful sporty gladiator sandals at Sergio Rossi

Paint splattered shorts art McQueen
Painted seam blazer at McQueen

A burnt car at Diesel...

Prada invite

Elliott and Steve discussing the importance of fashion in our lives

The Duomo

DAY 3

The third day saw the Moschino show today and the long awaited Prada show. The Moschino show revealed newspaper prints and floral prints, the show had a nice atmosphere. The Prada show was at 7pm, and the invite that came to the Buckstyle team left all of us wandering what he theme might be. The invitation showed an enlarged script with some unknown prose on it and the walls of the show had similar text on the walls.The show was a suprise to me for a SS show. Muiccia choose sombre and dark colours as opposed to the brighter shades we had seen in other shows. Grey i feel will become a popular colour in suiting in SS. The collection showed deep Vs in shirts and raw edges on shirts. Tank tops and lots of suits. Click here for the video i filmed and edited.

After the show we were treated to drinks at the venue some perculiar black bread with cheese canapes. Me not been a fan of cheese and my wheat intolerance meant that it was not at all enjoyable. But Steve and Elliott could not get enough of it. Canape recipe to come on Buckstyle.Elliott and myself discussing the joys and woes of fashion in our lives after Prada show

My Day 3 outfit

DAY 4
The Dsquared show like last year was a fun production, this year based around the idea of camping and the great outdoors, with the set resembling a campsite with tree trunks and tents. This seemed like a transition to the mountaineering trend we saw in some of the AW09 catwalks last season. Lots of models in shorts, plaid on garments, backpacks, protective ponchos and most importantly, tight speedos. Mmmmm! The show ended with rain (part of the production)... I did film some of the show, i will try and get that edited as soon as possible and post on here. In the mean time, have a look at the show report here.

We bumped into this lovely fellow after the Dsquared show, no it is not Elliott dressed as an egyptian.Day 4 outfit

Woolrich Woolen Mills followed the Dsquared show with a chat with Daiki Sazuki, the creative director of Woolrich at the showroom presentation. He talked about his inspirations for the collection been the surf culture from the past decades in America. He himself is a keen surfer referenced 1960s surf culture and drew inspiration from outfits they wore then. A recurring pattern within the collection had this nautical image of a ship and ropes:
The clothes were very wearable, catch the show reports and Top5 on Buckstyle later today...

Trends i picked up on in Milan include:
Shorts and crop trousers are here to stay with shorts getting shorter
Bright primary colours
Rucksack and backpacks everywhere
Grey in suiting
Foam soled shoes

Will keep you updated on all the fashion week going ons... Ciao, the next time you here from me will be in Paris... Bon Voyage to me!
x

Fashion Mozzie Bait in Milan- Day 1

Greetings from Milan, or as they say in Milan: Ciao Bella's. We got of our very quick and relatively stress free flight at Malpensa Airport yesterday and were immediately hit by the wall of heat and humidity. It is so warm out here it is ridiculous, but ridiculous good... I think I packet to many jeans and not enough shorts and skirts (Not counting my 2 leather skirts I packed for obvious reasons- slight sweat + leather= sticky).
Last season the weather was the total opposite: Snow, sleet and rain everyday. Things are looking up. After a short trudge to find out hotel our Milan fashion week could truly begin. Here are a few photos from last night...

AMAZING or what? A mini triple pack of Prosecco*! Perfect for the parched and tired Buckstyke trio.
*Or as the Buckstyle team refer to it... Prosexio

The biggest pizza you have ever seen, i am not joking, Steve and Elliott ordered one each and they were approximately 50cm wide each. I settled with calamari and prawns...

The most ornate taps i have ever seen in a restaurant.

Steve, Elliott and i opening out huge stack of invites on arrival at our hotel. The hats are not a brave move in moving fashion forward (or backward), they are the personalised invites from Dsquared. Cute huh?

In the picture above you can not see the HUGE mozzie bites i have encountered on my body. I feel like mozzie bait! Fashionable and stylish mozzie bait! Great! Right i am off to the Burberry Show now, think we have an interview with Christopher Bailey.... Exciting! Watch this space...

Ps- I didnt mention the crazy monsoon style weather we experienced last night, it started raining all of a sudden and i meant really really raining! Huge droplets and the thunder and lightening and more rain. I did feel at that point, that 'that' Carolyn Massey cape would have come in more than handy...

Behind the scenes: Burberry's Emma Watson Campaign

Now i am sure this is no new news to most of you reading this and you have all seen the amazing pictures of Hermione Granger aka Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame. I think this is one of my favourite Burberry campaigns yet, followed closely by the Agyness Deyn campaign of a few seasons past. At just 18, she exudes a youthful sophistication in all the pictures and holds her own well, dominating the pictures with her beauty. I do find it a little weird been a fan of someone 5 years my junior, but i do think she is brilliant, and deserves this. Emma was joined by an all British cast for this campaign. I am sure you would have seen the pictures in several places but here are some behind the scene pictures from the shoot. Shot by Mario Testino with creative director Christopher Bailey on hand on location in Westminster, i think you will agree, thought the AW09 collection was not as exciting as past Prorsum collections, this campaign is certainly beautiful.
Click images to enlarge