It's Chriiiiiiistmas!

We've already taken a look at Christmas adverts this year, and now one of my favourite Christmassy thing..shop windows! Every year the big retailers spend a good year coming up with their concepts and ideas for their Christmas windows, I enjoy seeing what they've made and who's is the best! 


John Lewis

John Lewis have attempted to "wow shoppers young and old" , with their animal themed winter woodland windows. The store wanted to create inspiring displays to delight whilst still ensuring products remain the focus. They have done this by creating animals made of their products, which include a Dyson reindeer, a bear fashioned from furniture, a utensil rabbit and Turkey made from towels.

Harrods

The department store has chosen to go with a large steam train , 'The Harrods Express' for their festive window this year. Each window shows passengers in a different carriage of the locomotive.  Each luxurious carriage showcases the stores clothing, accessories and homewards.The carriages are complete with digital screens that show outside scenery and snow falling as if the train is actually moving.Apparently it took 500 hours to build and features an £80,000 dress by Ralph & Russo.

Liberty 

Liberty's Christmas windows this year show cartoon style explosions of gifts, with fairy lights blasting from the middle. This was inspired by the dazzling flash created from the pull of a christmas cracker. Gifts are displayed in the middle of the flashes on polished chrome shelves, whilst jewel-encrusted mannequins show off the party wear from this season. The store has kept with this theme and has a giant cracker bursting above their main entrance.

Selfridges

The Selfridges windows feature a giant bottle of Viktor and Rolf's Flowerbomb perfume and a host of other oversized Christmas gifts for this season, plonked on snowy mounds, surrounded by Christmas trees as though they have just dropped out of the sky, I love this window especially the giant tub of play dough thats pouring over the snow.

Harvey Nichols

Harvey Nichols' Christmas windows are colourful, glitzy and sparkling with light this year. They have used coloured bulbs to add a warm, subtle glow to the displays which feature mannequins dressed in the latest clothing from this season.The substantial amount of glitter, dangling snow flakes and brightly coloured stars give the windows a tacky christmassy feel, but thats not a bad thing! here they are..

My favourites this year are Harrods luxurious Harrods Express window display and Selfridges huge gifts on the snow window display, I can't decide which I prefer! What's your favourite festive display this year?

London Collections:Men

What a way to begin the year.. London Collections:Men returns in January from the 6th-8th! Keep your eyes peeled for more information on the event, including the schedule and the big one to watch this year!

King of Illustration

Antonio Lopez was a fashion illustrator who rose to fame in the 60's,his work appeared in Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Elle, Interview and The New York Times.

His work is described as intense,sexy and energetic.It sums up the glamour of the 70's and early 80's.

Lopez, who died of an AIDS related illness in the late 80's would have celebrated his 70th birthday this year. He is the subject of a show at Roland Mouret's townhouse, curated by East of Mayfair Director, Janina Joffe, to mark the anniversary. The exhibition will be showing previously unseen works that were commissioned by The New York Times and Interview.

Lopez drawing Jerry Hall, Jamaica 1975

MAC are also celebrating the anniversary by releasing a limited edition range of cosmetics featuring the illustrations. This just proves Lopez' fashion illustrations are just as relevant today as they were in the 60's and 70's.

The exhibition runs from 14-20 september at Roland Mouret's townhouse.There are not many opportunities to see the work of Lopez up close and personal, so this exhibition is one to attend!

Honor comes to London

New York based label Honor, has arrived in the UK. The label is said to be similar to Miu Miu, but more affordable. hmm not exactly affordable for a student, as the lowest price item, a silk blouse will still set you back £575! 

The brand was founded in New York in 2010 by designer Giovanna Randall and will be available via online department store Matches. 

According to Honor, they specialise in craft and refinement, and believe their elegant evening wear,intricate embroidery and the most luxurious of fabrics lend an uptown sense of sophistication.

I can see the similarity between Honor and Miu Miu, particularly the prints and use of embellishments.

What do you think of Honor?

Making Liberty

Later on this year channel 4 will be airing their fly on the wall documentary, making Liberty. A three-part series showing behind the scenes footage of the department store based in London' Regent Street. 

Channel 4's commissioning editor Emma Cooper said of the show: "Liberty is the last bastion of eccentric, eclectic design and is jam-packed with a wonderful cast of colourful characters."

Last year Mr Selfridge aired on ITV last year, a drama series based around the creator of Selfridge & Co, and the store as it opened. Perhaps Liberty is taking a leaf out of their book, by having their store on television they are promoting it, and as it will be broadcast this Autumn, its just in time for people to do their Christmas shopping. This will be good for the store which has been transformed in recent years from nearly going bankrupt to a commercial success story! The show is also expected to be broadcast internationally so will encourage tourists to visit whilst in London. The store are hoping Making Liberty will bring new customers and encourage people that haven't visited the store in a while to return. As they believe they're " A brand that thrives on innovation and we have something for everyone."

Oxford Street for LFW!

Its already a shopping favourite, but this years Oxford Street is getting involved with London Fashion Week. Londons busiest high street is teaming up with the BFC to create Oxford Street Fashion Showcase, a festival of fashion and fun starting on September 1st and running for 17 days.

Oxford Street shops from Selfridges,Topshop, H&M and Gap will be offering exclusive experiences for customers during this time. Designers, such as Henry Holland, Mathew Williamson, and Alice Temperley have collaborated on 75 flags to decorate the street, featuring  images from the AW 13 collections. There will also be pop up events from stores taking place throughout the week. "The diversity of shops and cultural scene of Oxford Street and its surrounding area have been an inspiration to me since I started at Central St Martins in 1989- so it's great to see an iconic image from our runway show on an Oxford Street flag." ..explained Giles Deacon, who will be part of the festivities.

Can you beat a fashion blogger!?

 Over the last few years bloggers have really stepped up their game, with coveted wardrobes, thousands of followers and tickets to fashion week.. how would you like a day in the life of a fashion blogger!?  Well now you can be in with a chance thanks to style.co.uk. They have rounded up 5 fashion bloggers who have each given us a trend they will be wearing to London Fashion Week this September. All you need to do is sent in a photo of your individual take on the chosen trend, photos will be put into a gallery on style.co.uk, and the public will vote who wore the trend best. Anyone who wins the trend category will instantly win a pair of tickets to Vodafone London Fashion Weekend(22-25Sept) The winner of each trend category will then go head to head with the blogger who chose the trend and another vote will take place. Everyone who beats the fashion blogger will win a share of £1,000 to spend at Oxygen Boutique. So can you out style a fashion blogger!?…

These are the bloggers and their chosen trends..

1.kelly Morris from 'what-shesaid.com' -Forties

2.Kristin Knox from 'theclotheswhisperer.co.uk' -Heritage

3.Laetitia Wajnapel from 'mademoisellerobot.com' -Sixties

4.Ella Gregory from 'cocosteaparty.com' -Winter Florals

To enter, send a snap of your take on any of those trends to beatthefashionblogger@stylist.co.uk stating which trend you've chosen in the subject line. or tweet your snap to @StylistMagazine using the hashtag #beatthefashionbloggers.. You can enter as many categories as you wish and send any number of photos in..Good Luck!!

London's shopping meccas!

Oxford Street can take a big step back as Regent Street and Conduit Street are about to gain a lot of recognition with the arrival of some new stores that are set to turn the two streets into shopping meccas!

Regent Street has already had an exciting time this year with the launch of H&M's highly anticipated store 'And other stories' in March which has been a huge success. Now American label J Crew is coming to London! J.Crews flagship store on Regent St. is set to open in early November,with two smaller stores, on Lamb's Conduit St. and South Kensington's Brompton Cross also opening in the Autumn. This will be the first time the brand has opened stores outside of North America.  Apparently the label is going to be celebrating the opening of its London stores with festivities starting at the South Kensington store,followed by Lamb's Conduit Street, with a finale party in the Regent Street store! The brand previously opened a pop-up shop at Central Saint Martins in May to introduce the brand in the city.

Luxury retailer Dior, which opened its first store in Conduit Street, is returning to the street 60 years on, and have signed a ten year lease on the three floor, 3,300 square foot store. Dior will pay £308,500 pa - the highest rent to date on the street. The new store will be in addition to the current Dior shop on Bond Street. Head of central London retail, Anthony Selwyn has said "Its arrival will galvanise Conduit Street and we expect to see several major brands take space in the location during the next 12 months." ..Sounds exciting!!

London Collections: Men

London Collections: Men will be an event between 16th-18th June this summer, showcasing the most prominent names in menswear, including international designers, Britains acclaimed designers and up and coming talent in fashion.  Dylan Jones, Chair of London collections: Men, announced in New York, that after years of showing in Milan renowned British brand Burberry will be moving their menswear show to London. Burberry will be showing on Tuesday 18th June, this is great news as it celebrates London as the city of menswear.

The event will showcase collections from our iconic British designers such as  Paul Smith, Alexander McQueen, Jonathan Saunders and Savile Row designers Richard James and E.Tautz.
The event will also be a platform for up and coming designers to showcase what they have to offer. The MAN show will take place on Sunday 16 June and is presented by Topman and Fashion East and will be showing work from three of London's emerging designers to watch!

Another iconic show will be a presentation from the tailors of Savile Row at Lord's Cricket Ground on the afternoon of Monday 17th. Boris Johnson, Mayor of London will also get involved with the antics by hosting a celebration of menswear in London on Tuesday 18th June, this will include a look at the history of menswear in the city and its heritage. What a week for London!

Vauxhall art car boot fair

Vauxhall Art car boot fair will be celebrating its tenth anniversary this year . It is held in Brick Lane and isn't your regular sunday morning hum drum bootsale affair.Head down and bag some out of the ordinary bargains on Sunday June 9th, and get yourself involved in the fun by playing pass the art parcel, just like the children's game, but you could win your very own masterpiece by the likes of Peter Blake or Tracey Emin! Plus all the proceeds will go to the Just For Kids charity. 

Head down to Brick Lane Yard to experience British eccentricity at it's finest!

Just £5 to enter the bootsale but it sounds like a good day out to me!

Does French fashion have to originate in France?

 French fashion is recognised as classic and chic. A reason people buy from french brands is to buy into this authentic timeless style. But does French fashion have to originate in France?

Phoebe Philo who agreed to take on the job of creative director at Celine in 2008, provided that London would be the base for herself and the design team instead of Paris, brought the studio to England to stay close to her family,and commutes to french headquarters in Paris regularly. Philo believes there's something rich about the combination of London and Paris and insists one wouldn't work without the other. 

Creative director of Yves Saint Laurent, Hedi Slimane renamed the fashion house and relocated headquarters to Los Angelos, but will this change the French feel of the brand? I think it will, you only have to look at the A/W 2013 Saint Laurent collection  that it overtly california-grunge inspired. It has been said Hedi will be Hedi and Saint Laurent will be inspired by his love affair with California and it's rock n' roll subculture. So maybe French fashion does have to originate in France as I think your surroundings will influence your designs and the look of the brand.