Wee Birdy

Sneak Peek: Tracey Neuls + Sanderson shoes

Chintz has never looked so chic since London shoe designer Tracey Neuls got her hands on Sanderson's reissued vintage textiles.

This somewhat surprising collaboration between the British heritage wallpaper company, which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, and one of London's more avant-garde shoe designers will coincide with London Fashion Week next month.

Neuls' gallery-like Marylebone Lane shop (read my shop tour here) will be transformed into an eccentric English tea party, complete with a large-scale installation by sculptor Nina Saunders. And apparently birds will be involved - I await with baited breath!

Admittedly, I've got a soft spot for Neuls' rubber-soled shoes, as her mid-height heels are about as high as I can go with my rotten old arthritic toes. It hasn't been easy finding anything attractive I can actually wear, with season after season of increasingly vertiginous heels. So I can't wait to see what she's done with Sanderson's prints - her signature sculptural silhouettes combined with her penchant for dramatic contrast piping will give the chintzy florals a quirky edge. 

'Most Curious'
Footwear from Tracey Neuls
Sculptural installation from Nina Saunders
To celebrate Sanderson's 150th Anniversary
From 17 February 2010 to 30 June 2010
Tracey Neuls
29 Marylebone Lane
London W1U 2NQ
Click here for a Wee Birdy map.

Click here for more Wee Birdy shop reviews on Marylebone Lane.

London Fashion Week: Peter Jensen SS10

I really loved Peter Jensen's spring/summer 2010 presentation at the Institute of Contemporary Arts yesterday. Firstly, it was away from the catwalks (and the associated crowds, queues and depressing fashion hierarchy) and I watched the first half of the collection in relative solitude. Secondly, I've always enjoyed Jensen's playful take on the traditional runway show (see last season's Charlotte Mann backdrops), and this season was no exception.

Collaborating with artist Laurie Simmons, Jensen created pieces from his collection in miniature, and dressed them on tiny cut-out dolls. The miniature cardboard cut-outs were lined up along the mantle, where I later glimpsed Colin McDowell resting both hands and leaning right in to inspect them in detail. Detail is key here, as the tiny fabric garments were not just cut from real-size fabric - rather, Jensen painstakingly scaled down the fabric with tiny knits and hand-stitched embroidery.

The miniatures were shot in Simmons' dollhouse and then scaled back up to life-size portraits, which were dotted around the exhibition space. For the presentation, Jensen sent real-life models (with doll-like cut-out hair) to wander around the rooms and pose next to the cut-outs. 

The collection itself was inspired by '50s American classics, so there were lots of twinsets, swing jackets and shift dresses, which were rendered in technicolour glory (think buttercup yellows, poppy reds and bubblegum pinks). The dollhouse theme was further explored with Jensen playing with the sense of proportion and size through the use of giant ginghams, oversized watermelon bags and a super-sized ric-rac motif. It was unashamedly girlish with tulle skirts, ruffles and swan prints, and my, it was pretty.

Click here to view the full collection.

London Fashion Week: a bit of a blur

I got off to a bit of a slow start with London Fashion Week this season, due to a sudden and unexpected dash to the hospital to deal with a kidney stone (my husband's, not mine!). But once things were sorted (ouchy!), I headed to Somerset House yesterday to catch up on some of the shows. First up was Mulberry at Claridges, which had been transformed into a fairground attraction complete with carousel horses and hundreds of Tim Walker-esque balloons.

The lighting was quite low, so amateur photography was not at its best, but I actually quite like the bluriness in my photos as it captures the 'softly-softly' theme which was portrayed in the uber-femininity of the collection - from the models' wispy crimped hair to the soft puffed sleeves and the delicate pink bows. I also rather liked the fresh prints this season, which revolved around the carousel horse motif. (To see the full collection, head over to Style.com.)

Speaking of prints, I was captivated at Eley Kishimoto's show, where print and pattern collided and clashed in their trademark glorious fashion. Loved the teal and red geometric print on this smock dress...

But their signature charm and quirkiness was ultimately played out in super-sweet details like swan and deer acrylic brooches, crochet square necklines and slouchy socks. I love it when fashion has fun.

London Fashion Week: Rob Ryan for Elle

Loving this special limited edition cover by Rob Ryan for this month's Elle magazine. 25 artists and designers were commissioned to illustrate a poster to celebrate London Fashion Week's 25th anniversary.
Available from WH Smith.

Photo courtesy of Rob Ryan.

Wee finds: London Fashion Week round-up

Magpie's pickings from London Fashion Week:

Graphic-pop eyes and hands by Laura Mackness at Central Saint Martins.

Boys at Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony.

 

Everything at Erdem, especially the jewel-toned palette and luscious bell-shaped skirts.

Symmetric prints at Mary Katrantzou.

Simple, clean lines and pared-back minimalism at Osman Yousefzada.

Billowing chiffon '70s-style frocks at Ossie Clark.

Folky-Scandi details (and the cutest knitted headwear) at Peter Jensen.

 

Pearly Queen chic at Sinha-Stanic.

Sources: Style.com; Urban Junkies; Vogue.co.uk