London Fashion Week February 2005 Written by Gail McClelland Stephen Jewkes

So it’s January in London, it’s freezing cold and everyone’s a bit too fat and poor to go clothes shopping properly. Having personally hammered my plastic-fantastics within an inch of their lives, I reckoned a bit of window-shopping seemed a sensible alternative to the real thing (for the time-being anyway). And where better to indulge in some virtual window-shopping than at the shows at London Fashion Week? Hurrah! This is definitely the next best thing to the actual cash-for-clothing habit.

London Fashion Week Photo: www.londonfashionweek.co.uk

Taking place in London’s pretty Battersea Park from February 13th – 17th, this event showcases some of London’s hottest designers and labels, with all of London’s fashion glitterati flocking along to admire and be admired. Battersea Park is just across the bridge from the very lovely and very pricey Boroughs of Chelsea and Kensington - the most famously fashionable and fabulous street in the area being Kings Road. I’m sure no explanation is really required here as to its popularity, but just to jog your memory - Sloane Square, Knightsbridge, Tiffanys, Vivienne Westwood’s notorious boutique ‘SEX’, ‘Boy’ and the birth of punk…I could go on and on. It is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting streets in London. Steeped in fashion history and littered with celebrities (and their dogs) sipping espressos (not the dogs)on the pavement in front of the many little coffee shops. It’s so fun to people-watch on this road. It always cracks me up to see all the uber-wealthy Chelsea children running about in their haute couture - without a care in the world. They are all so beautiful and flawless looking, I think their mothers must bathe them in Crème De La Mere. Err…yes sorry, my deep-seeded embitterment at not being born in some lovely Sloane-esq mansion still gets to me now and again. So yes, I can see why the powers behind London Fashion Week chose this area for their fashion extravaganza.

This year’s designers include: Clements Riberio, Eley Kishimoto, Betty Jackson, Paul Smith, Nicole Farhi, etc. Need I say more? So basically every bit of press worth its fashionable crust will be there, including some blaggers like me,who have managed to weasel their way in on chat and charm alone. Fingers crossed, if they don’t rumble me, I’ll tell all next month.

When I sat back and considered all the excitement surrounding the many established designers in London at the moment, I was inspired to start a search of my own for those who are in the process of becoming the next big thing. The fabulous fashion schools in London like St Martins, The Surrey Institute of Art and Design and The Royal College of Art seem to be very good at producing a yearly crop of first class designers, so they seemed to be the best place to start a search for the new darlings of design.

After a bit of a research, I tracked down a few of the particularly exciting ones and saw their work.

Rebecca Perry (BA Honors, The Surrey Institute of Art and Design 2004) - I love these pieces, there’s a definite air of Westwood/The Aviator’s hot forties glam in them. Very stylish, her designs are amazingly mature and creative. She obviously has the talent to create incredible couture fashion pieces that are sure to make a massive impression on the London fashion market. I would personally love a pair of those high-waisted trousers, but I think some work is required to gain the wash-board stomach required to carry them off!

Below are some of Rebecca’s pieces from her final show:

And Stephen Jewkes (BA Honors – Central St. Martens University of the Arts London) - I love Stephen Jewkes collection. His fashion designs have striking beliefs and statements behind them. His prints are quirky and very marketable and his ideas are very intelligent and contemporary. I find him to be a very complicated and talented designer. Watch this space…

Check out their full online boutiques at www.fashionfinders.co.uk
To order any of these designs, or for more info, please contact Diane Calliste: diane@fashionfinders.co.uk

THIS MONTH I ALSO…

…went to a very cool exhibition opening in lovely Hoxton Square.

It was Friday night and everyone was winding down from work and I was trying to figure out whether I should drag my skint and scruffy ass over to Soho to find a suitably nice Friday night bar or just go home and watch SATC re-runs with my Doritos, when my mate George calls telling me to step to it, and get over to this cool exhibition opening round the corner on Hoxton Square. Problem solved!

So I grabbed several colleagues and headed up to the party. The exhibition was in the White Cube Gallery on the corner of Hoxton Square. Hoxton Squre is pretty much the cornerstone of all things cool. The gallery is minimalist without being boring, and more importantly, it throws a mean opening. As we turned the corner onto the square, throngs of art enthusiasts spilled out onto the pavement outside the gallery. There were two artists work on display; Masako Ando and Mika Kato…I’m guessing they’re Japanese but who knows, this is Hoxton after all!

MASAKO ANDO	MIKA KATO 1

The pieces were really beautiful. They shone with a tackiness mixed with gaudy colours and intricate details. The results were stunning. Like huge china dolls, these surreal portraits stared down at us all with fabulous kitsch and poise. I loved them, lucky find.

In true White Cube style, some good-spirited soul had set up a free beer cart outside the entrance and was happily doling out free Japanese beer to get us all in the mood. Much fun was had by all! (Cheers George)