Maarten Van Der Horst for Topshop!

Since his graduation from Central Saint Martins last year, things have gone from strength to strength for young designer Maarten Van Der Horst. After having being picked by Fashion East weeks after his graduation the designer has expanded like a nebula to the point where high street mecca Topshop have charged the young designer with creating his own capsule collection to be sold online and in their 5 floor megastore on Oxford Street.

To step away from the standard crop of press shots featuring the next young, Bambi-limbed fashiongals, Van Der Horst has chosen a pretty mack way to get his clothes stuck inside the minds of the fashion community. Eschewing your standard 6ft2 glamazon, he has asked friends and collaborators, amongst them style blogger and This Seasons' Favourite Suzie Bubble, Editor Alexander fury and stylist Anna Trevelyan to model his brand before its release in time for its release in a seies that is exclusively diffused onto Dazed Digital.




When asked why he had chosen this select group Van Der Horst is surprisingly frank: 


"London is an incredibly difficult and gritty city to live in. For me, living here has always been about survival. As a student I was often homeless and crashed on people’s sofas. Everything is expensive and as a young designer you're often drowning in invoices. So much keeps you worrying at night. The support and love you get from people means so much – that’s why I wanted to photograph them! Cause in the end, its all about love. "


With this sweet sweet story in mind, check out the shots here.

...You also have time to snap up one of the final Topshop pieces here.


;)

Mango Delights with New Touches

This season has brought many innovative things for spanish superdesigners Mango.

They have just brought out an interesting and Very well crafted collection which appeals to the discerning high street shopper, and looks as if it could have been made by a much more expensive fashion house than the fair Mango itself.

This collection is called TOUCH. it features the holy trinity of handbags, belts and shoes in a range of fantastic colour choices.

I wish I could just snap them all up...

Help yourself to their menu of selections below:

Theysken's Theory re-shoot for Barneys= A Tale of 4 Cities

It's called a Tale of Four Cities.

London, New York, Paris and LA...

These are four very significant places for Belgian designer and perennial fashion darling Olivier Theyskens andas part of his Spring Summer 2012 Collection monsieur himself was asked by Barneys New York to choose four friends, acquaintances, crushes, one from each of these metropoles, and to design an outfit specifically for them!

The result is this thoughtful and utterly delectable shoot. From fashion industry, Sex-and-the-City-esque PR contacts in New York, to the spirited and unconventional Japanese Parisian artist, I found his selection, and the resulting shoot which reflected it, to be pretty fascinating.

First up, New York... chic fashion blogger Emily Weiss has been cherry picked to star. With her 'smart, driven, positive energy' Theysken has moulded a look based around the contrast between a feminine and fashion forward dress with the masculine blazer, a look which he describes as 'very New York'.

 Emily Weiss

Next, a familiar form on the horizon; Pop's Next Queen Sky Ferriera rounds up the youth market by lending her face to the LA part of the campaign. Miss Ferriera has been awarded a floaty, lace based ensemble to capture her 'bohemian' charm, an LA woman 'like the Doors song'.

I honestly thought she looked so good brunette!

Hello London- Here at This Seasons Daydreams we are very proud of the choice of Caroline Issa to represent the British capital. This smart, savvy and dynamic Mondern Woman's outfit has been created as such: "pairing the classic British tailoring of her pants with the bohemian style of her knit... that’s so reminiscent of the Camden town flea market."

 Smile and wave, you are wearing a custom Theysken's outfit made In Your Honour...

Enfin, and in my opinion the most intriguing of the four, we have Parisian-based artist Yi Zhou. I fucking love the creation that has been styled for her. Theyskens has rightly described it as "straight and strict but with an utterly modern, cool twist". He forgot to include "utterly addictive" in the list.

 

She has to lie down from all the awesome.

If you wish to get hold of these you may have to wait until they turn up in the planet's chicest thrift-stores...alternatively you could always head over to the website of a luxury retailer such as Barneys and see what results are thrown up from the search string 'Theysken's Theory'. 

Happy hunting, or simply dreaming, if like me your youth far, far surpasses your riches. 

@ least ambition knows no limit;)

Nicola Formichetti Gets his Freak on for V Magazine

sometimes Dior does something right

Despite sacking it's former illustrous director, leaving him to get on with his own eponymous label, Dior has made an interesting and foresighted call in casting cult actress Mila Kunis as the star of it's latest ring of ad campaigns.

 

 The Black Swan actress reposes in a hotel room with an array of the fashion houses' luxury products to very good effect, which does great things in order to advertise the various handbags and pieces of couture that have been lucky enough to be included in this advert. 

 The Kunis effect is a sure departure from the label's traditional history of casting classic beauties (often French actresses, like Kunis' predecessor Marion Cotillard), and I think it really works- the label is reaching out towards another sexier and more daring demographic of women and this reflects really well for the label itself.

It's one of the first significant signs of the green shoots we've been waiting for since the departure of ex-head of house John Galliano in 2011. 

Another even more significant green type of green shoot could be the bouquet of flowers addressed to a certain Mr Raf Simmons which arrived at the brand's Paris HQ not so long ago.

We hold our breath...

we likin' chillstep

Florence by Karl Lagerfeld

I think these fit into the Seasonal Spirit.


Take a look at Karl Lagerfeld's haunting shots of Florence Welch from the Machine.

Not only does this shoot give good face, but the girl will be singing at the opening of the Harrods Sale on December 27th at 9AM (Harrods Door 5). If you're in the area drop by, it could be a little late Christmas gift ;)


Merry Christmas.

Paris' Hidden Vintage Treasures

Paris is a city where you'd expect to find a lot of beautiful clothes... but for the discerning (and sometimes value-concerned) fashionista, the question of what remains when you step away from the delights of luxury stores on the Champs Elysees or high street hits on Rue de Rivoli can seem pretty daunting if you don't know where to look.

Luckily, as a lover of all things vintage who happens to have made Paris her home, I have made it my mission to scout a few of the best vintage stores around the capital for the perusal of the online community. In short the upshot is, if you're in Paris don't miss THESE...

1. TILT Vintage, 7 Rue de Rivoli, Paris

Looks can be deceiving- this shop may seem small from the vantage point of the Hotel de Ville across the road, but step inside and you will discover that it is bursting with fresh and desirable vintage pieces worthy of London's Brick Lane or Los Angeles' Rosebowl. 

 Providing all the classics such as fur coats and wool jumpers, as well as some funked-out accessories (like these trippy sunglasses) Tilt will not disappoint you (and probably won't break the bank neither).

The view from the back of the shop ;)

2. Richie's Vintage
56 rue Jules Vallès, Marche Aux Puces, 93400 Saint Ouen

This delightful store can be found hidden deep within the legendary March aux Puces de St. Ouen, in the North of Paris (19th Arrondissement, Metro Porte de Clignancourt). A rich and vibrant collection of international vintage, you can find a great selection from wonderful everyday bargains to that extra special evening something (see the bodice below which I had great trouble resisting)..... 

Monsieur Richie himself...!:)

3. Lina from Paris...rue Jules Vallès, Porte de Clignancourt, Paris

Facing Richie's but casting a completely different vibe to it's neighbour, this charming brocante-style vintage stall is really one of the highlights of the flea-market.
In the ten minutes I spent outside, I found Rykiel Homme, unique bijoux, felt hats garnished with old feathers, ball gowns worthy of Belle and authentic military wear, to name but a few things:)
Featuring a range of beautiful and unique clothes on aloof and characterful mannequins, this stall will reveal more to you the deeper you dig.

The proprietor, Lina, adds to the experience too...her unique look provides a refreshing balm to the typically tired Chic Parisians you tend to see stalking the streets of the capital...

Watchful mannequins preside over the vintage treasures.....

A dress worthy of the débuantes of the 20's... If I can't find an occasion to wear this in the next few months, I will consider myself a failure...:)

You wanna doctor's bag? Medicine not obligatory...



4. Les Merveilles de Babellou
Marché Paul Bert dans Le Marché aux Puces de St.Ouen, Stand 13, Alleé 1 et Stand 77, Alleé 6...

Step inside this well presented chest of top quality vintage treasures, ranging from Yves Saint Laurent, to Chanel, to Dior, and you will not be disappointed.
Evocative of a lost golden age of couture, the delights of Babellou will have you dreaming back to a time when Dior's New Look reigned supreme and sophistication could be found on every Parisian street.
Although nowadays the story is not so different, with specimens such as these on offer you could really create a magic wardrobe (provided you have the time and money.) As expected for true vintage pieces, these do not come cheap but as long-term investments they are worth it (though I think you'll need good luck in trying to choose...)

Quel beau chapeau!

....so with these in mind, happy vintage searching next time you're in Paris ;)

h&m versace love, round 2

The new collection Versace for H&M, coming into stores the 17th November, was announced by this stunning, cute video which really paid homage to the Versace attitude...

Set inside the crazy house of mad designer Donatella, the clip featured Lion Girls strutting in their cage, a conveyor belt of golden beauties designed to take a playful swipe at the idea of mass production of garments... and most importantly, it did a great job of showcasing the beautiful line of clothing which is now on offer in les magasins H&M around the globe.

These earrings are probably the part of the collection I'd be most likely to search out...for financial reasons as well as their beauty :)

Pumped with internet-based hype, I descended on the H&M in Forum Les Halles to see what was on offer. Cue numerous changing room flirtations with some luscious picks from the new collection...!!!

This bomber was made of a velour-like material and was printed with the classic house of Versace Greek print. It's certainly a statement piece and is cut in a fitted, cropped style. You can play safe with it in black, or go a little more extrovert like the model here in clashing it with other bold prints. I loved it but not my favourite piece. Retail price £129.99.

My "favourite" piece was in fact probably this. A fierce, well cut, interesting little party dress, resplendent with fringe details and a heart print that paid homage to ex-creative director and Versace founder, Monsieur Gianni Versace.

It was a pleasure to wear, really flattering and with a great feeling against the skin. At £149.99 it will remain on my wishlist for now but who knows what the future holds for us both? Surprises could arrive ;)

The third item I swiped to flirt with was the classic, much lauded silver chainmail dress. Whilst it looks very seductive on the hanger, you really do need a belt to suck in the seductive silver curves which appear so nicely in the ad campaign. At £299, the dress is not a far cry from the prices commanded by Versus, Versace's highly successful diffusion line with Christopher Kane.

Overall, I'd recommend you go check out this collection with yout own eyes- there are plenty of piece here that could add some crazy, sexy Italian flair to your wardrobe. Merci, Donatella...