Lanvin for H&M - Fashion Show

Following on from my previous post, take a peek at the Lanvin for H&M fashion show...

The magic of Lanvin...

I have to admit that I'm not normally overly interested in the collaborations that H&M do with designers. There, I've said it. I can now hear fashionistas out there aghast at this comment, but these diffusion lines seem so watered down & far removed from the actual philosophy of the designers names that are printed on their labels.

I'm always disappointed with the fabric quality, the skimpy shaping of the clothes. I don't want to buy something at an over-inflated price just because it's loosely associated with a particular designer. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against high street clothing in general. Far from it, 99% of my wardrobe is high street & probably 50% of that is from H&M.

The point is that I want to buy & covet an item of clothing, wherever it's from, whatever it's price, knowing that the best possible fabric & fit for its price point has been achieved. So there you have it, my rant is over...

...Now I'm going to completely contradict myself & say that so far (I've yet to see it in the flesh) I love the forthcoming Lanvin for H&M collection. I hope that I'm not going to be disappointed on November 23rd once the range has launched in store...

You can check out the entire collection at vogue.co.uk but here are my favourite picks.

For the love of Chanel...

I can only describe the SS11 Chanel show as spellbinding.

Some may think this is an over dramatic term, but the monochromatic theme & ornamental garden surroundings were amazing! I found myself lusting after almost every look, although I must admit I felt that the shoes were a let down. Transfer those heavy soled sandals onto a less leggy mere mortal & they've got fashion disaster written all over them.

Even the invitation ticks every box in my style stakes with its black ground & gorgeous loose camellia print.

And so to the clothes. Here's a selection of my favourite looks, which by the way took a while to compile, as I spent a significant amount of time battling with myself narrowing down the selection!

All images courtesy of style.com.

I just love the wearability of these looks.

I love the combination of the textured knit mixed with the smooth satin collar & sheen of leather in the first image. Plus the cobweb draped chain necklace is stunning. Just the right amount of Rock Chic.

How amazing is the slinky draped chain necklace of the second image? It adds an edge to the tonal tweed, which is set off perfectly by the silver sequin trim. I'm picturing myself now wearing this look, albeit minus the shorts. Swap these for a fab pair of dark indigo skinny jeans & I'm done.

And so to the amazing chunky knit dress. Great subtle 1950's shaping combined with a 1980's sweater dress style ribbed hem. What's not to love? Finished off with an iconic quilted clutch, perfect.

And finally, another classic textured tweed jacket giving a nod to the 1950's.

Any post of mine wouldn't be complete without a reference to print. I love the leather jacket, mixed print pussy bow blouse ensemble of the first image & it's finished off perfectly with a printed clutch.

The smoky, ethereal print of the second image adds a lightness to the collection. I also love the double cuff styling, which lessens the overt femininity.

The clean camellia print blouse is accented brilliantly by the textured tweed cropped jacket of the next image. The final image somehow reminds me of the turn of the 20th century. This look is toughened with the addition of chain tassel earrings.

This final group showcases some of the amazing evening looks from the show. A perfect red carpet dress, I can instantly imagine the first outfit on Diane Kruger. I love the heavily beaded bodice combined with the light, feathered, fairytale skirt section. The gothic overtones of the second image are offset by the lightness of the lace making up the dress.

I had to include the babydoll tulle embroidered dress, as it's finished off with one of my favourite things, a satin bow!

All I have to say about the last image is that it's pure 1950's negligee, but it works in Karl Lagerfeld genius style!

The look of SS11

I did intend to write this post much sooner, but due to dongle issues in Lincolnshire (too tiresome to got into detail!) it's been delayed a little.

I love looking at the new season catwalk shows, I get caught up in the momentum of it all, thinking I'll just watch one more, which turns into two, then four, then five follow in quick succession. It's addictive, but as a Winter clothes lover, I don't usually get a huge adrenalin rush from the Spring/Summer shows. However this season I was nicely surprised by my reaction to some of them.

So here's a selection of some of my favourite looks that'll be filtering through next Summer.

All images courtesy of style.com.

Simplicity...

I'm normally instantly drawn to vibrant, strong colours & prints but seeing these soft & muted colour palettes of the SS11 catwalks felt like a breath of fresh air. Everything looks so pure & fluid, exactly the right tonic to welcome in the Spring.

I love the combination of chalky pastels, in particular the perfect balance of soft coral & blue hued greys at Elie Saab. The simplicity of the shapes at BCBG & Chloe are totally refreshing.

Colour & quirkiness...

Of course I found enough vibrant colour to satisfy my need. I love the continuation from the AW10 collections of a look consisting completely of tones of red. This works to great effect with feminine frills at DKNY & with what I can only describe as simplistic drama at Lanvin.

I also love the confident colour blocking at Gucci & Issa & the perfectly clashing English rose & gingham prints at D&G.

I've purposefully not mentioned the Chanel collection as I think it warrants a post all of its own...

For the love of Sonia...

I've recently spent time looking through style.com checking out the latest looks from the SS11 catwalk shows. I must admit that I still get pangs of excitement seeing what's coming next down the runway. At least now I don't need to examine every look in detail & formulate a plan of what to incorporate into our next ranges (for those of you who don't already know, I was a womenswear designer for 10 years). Instead I can just peruse at my leisure.

I happened to follow a link on twitter to theSonia Rykiel show in Paris. As a lover of colour & print she's long been a favourite of mine & I wasn't disappointed. Before I share my thoughts on her latest show, I want to post a few pics of her new home collection, all of which is on my lust list!

I love the depth of colour, the combination of a floral print with stripes, in fact I love everything about this covetable range!

Now back to the catwalk...

The Sonia Rykiel show provides a light hearted quirkiness & always makes me smile, which must be a good thing...

These are some of my favourite looks from the show. I love the beautifully balanced cinnamon, coral, black & white colour blocking, the perfectly clashing red & fuchsia stripe combination, the teal & green blocking...And I especially love the oversized striped bag. I'm a bag addict, I admit it!

The vaguely Asian hats are a new take on the perennial Sonia Rykiel hat obsession, which I like. They're given a twist with the chunky beaded cord & tassels, an accessory which pops up elsewhere for SS11, but more on that later...