Recently I found myself walking down the Kings Road in London, aimlessly peering into shop windows, not intending to buy anything. Yet I stumbled across this shop that I had never heard of before, Essentiel. The bright prints and bold patterns instantly appealed to me and I soon found myself stepping into the shop, becoming fully immersed. Little did I know that they had just opened their first London store on that day – I’m sure if I had come a week later their stock would have been depleted as everything in there was FAB.

Founded in Belgium by a married couple with a love for fashion, Essentiel clearly is made for those not afraid to wear bold, colourful and unique prints, including leopard, check and floral. It was so refreshing to walk into a shop which not many people knew about and see innovative designs. For once I wanted to buy the whole shop – a rarity for me. There are certainly Parisian vibes from the collection, with matching suit pieces and jeans with an edge. A stand out piece was certainly the grey checked co-ord suit with a flash of fluorescent green running through it (a colour that is very much in at the moment). Below I have collated some of my favourite pieces which I came across – the suits were definitely a stand-out and have been places straight on my birthday wish-list. Whilst I must admit that it definitely does not fall into the more affordable high-street price range, it lies somewhere between the likes of Sandro and Maje – something that I can just about deal with. Go and check it out!

Tab dedicated to prints

 

The perfect pairing of glitz and glamour with ethics and sustainability. The Green Carpet Challenge is a sustainability initiative that aims to amplify a brand’s environmental principles and reduce its carbon footprint. Through partnering with designers and creating red-carpet worthy outfits which are created by sustainable materials, they aim to raise awareness about the environmental issues associated with fashion. Importantly, it demonstrates how one can still be as fashionable on the red carpet whilst wearing something recycled or reused. Yet instead of merely creating a conversation about whether you went for a red or black sparkly dress, now your gown speaks about something which has a greater impact around the world. This is particularly effective as often whole articles are dedicated to scrutinising the dresses and tuxedos worn at award shows, events which GCC target.

One of the most recent examples was supermodel Gisele Bundchen’s Stella McCartney Dress at the UCLA Hollywood For Science Gala this year. The white dress was made from viscose that originates from a sustainably managed and certified tree in a forest in Sweden. It highlighted the fact that 150 million trees are cut down to create fabric every year.

The Green Carpet Challenge is also focusing on tuxedos too. Hollywood stars, including Bradley Cooper and Michael Fassbender, have delved into wearing OEKOTEX certified suits by Tom Ford which have little environmental impact as they are European spun and woven with wool. OEKOTEX labels confirm the human-ecological safety of textile products and leather articles from all stages of production.

The Green Carpet Challenge is certainly raising the awareness for sustainability and it is great how many celebrities are getting on board to start conversations.

Bradley Cooper (2013 Golden Globes), Gisele Bundchen (2019), Michael Fassbender (2016 Golden Globes)

The infamous annual Met Gala held by Anna Wintour is one of the most anticipated events in the fashion calendar. The charity ball is hosted in the MOMA in New York and marks the grand opening of the Costume Institute’s annual fashion exhibit. Every year the theme varies – previous ones have included China, Catholicism, Alexander McQueen and superheroes – and guests are expected to represent it in their dress code appropriately. Regardless of the plethora of past extravagant outfits, one of the most poignant themes for me was the ‘Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age of Technology’ in 2016. The exhibition focused on the dichotomy between handmade haute couture and machine-made fashion.

“Traditionally, the distinction between the haute couture and pret-a-porter was based on the handmade and the machine made…But recently this distinction has become increasingly blurred as both disciplines have embraced the practices and techniques of the other.” ~ Andrew Bolton, curator of the Costume Institute.

This collection highlights the importance of technology in the creation of fashion. Whilst I must say that I favourite the craftsmanship and anthropocentric detail in haute couture, the machine has enabled the mass production of fashion and increased its affordability. No doubt a focal point of the 2016 Met collection was the 2014 Chanel haute couture wedding dress which epitomised the cross over between by-machine and by-hand. The 20ft train included a hand-painted golden pattern, hand-embroidered pearls and machine printed rhinestones. The confluence of all three techniques did not diminish the beauty of this dress. We just must not let the machine overpower the precision and delicacy of the human hand in the foreseeable future.

Taylor Swift in Louis Vuitton

Lady Gaga in Versace, including a computer circuit board on her leather jacket

Emma Watson, Calvin Klein for Green Carpet Initiative

2014 Chanel Haute Couture Show

Last year it was head scarfs, this year it is hair clips and grips. I have selected a few of my favourites, but I think there is a general trend in having a hair clip with a difference. Not your normal school-girl black hair clip. Instead, think diamonds, pears and tortoiseshell encrusted hair clips.

The best way to wear these statement hair pieces is layered equally on each side (see Alexa Chung) or even wearing a few different varieties at once in your hair if you are feeling brave!

Last weekend I visited one of the most eagerly anticipated exhibitions of the year: Christian Dior: Designer Of Dreams at the V&A. The exhibition mainly comprimised of the dresses made by the House since its first haute couture collection on 12th February 1947 at 30 Avenue Montaigne, Paris. I was struck to find out that Christian Dior himself died just 10 years later, yet this is testament to how even though he was producing clothes for a short period, they had a lasting effect which still resonates today in Maria Grazia Chiuri’s collections. Indeed in the proceeding collections from Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Ferre, Galliano, Gaytten and Raf Simons, Dior’s infamous ‘New Look’ still exists throughout. This was the term adopted for Dior’s initial collection which was characterised by two stand-out silhouettes: Corolle (full skirts with petals of flowers) and En 8 (hip hugging pencil skirts). Both were distinguishable by the wider bust and nipped in waist. The Bar Suit became the emblem of the New Look being inspired by the Bar at the Hotel Plaza Athenee. The New Look was welcomed in western Europe as a refreshing antidote to the austerity of wartime and de-feminizing uniforms, and was even embraced by stylish women such as Princess Margaret in England (Dior designed her 21st Birthday dress).

Below I have attached a selection of my own photos taken at the exhibition. Some of my stand-out dresses were from the current Creative Director, Maria Grazia Chiuri’s collections. I believe that she has re-emphasised the femininity that is characteristic of Dior, whilst not straying from the New Look shape.

Princess Margaret’s 21st Birthday Dress (Christian Dior)

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “will I ever wear this again?”, and thrown a practically new item of clothing to the back of your wardrobe to never see it again until you are moving house? Well, this issue could soon become a problem of the past. My generation (Generation Z) are characteristic of not owning anything and using technology to hit peak efficiencies in operations, providing highly economical and efficient services (known as Uberisation). Examples include Uber whereby one could never have to own a car again to get around. Or Airbnb in which one can rent a house for a certain amount of time instead of having to own one.

We are increasingly seeing this trend emerge in the fashion industry. Imagine a time when you will not own any of your clothes, instead borrowing them and giving them back for someone else to use. Not only would this be more sustainable, but it would also avoid the problem of buying an item of clothing which you only end up wearing once as it is part of a short-lived trend. I have recently discovered two companies which are already providing a service similar to the one I describe: FrontRow and ForDays.

Front Row: Launching in July 2016, Front Row is an online platform which enables one to keep up to date with the latest designers and trends, whilst eliminating the need to purchase. They stock the latest runway pieces from brands such as Fendi and Chanel which you can rent for 5 days to wear to special occasions or snap for a certain Instagram post. Subsequently, these luxury brands are made more available to those who can’t afford the high £1000 plus price tags.

ForDays: This American brand has an environmentalist core to it. It works by choosing a t-shirt which you want from the website, receiving it, wearing it as much as you like and then once you are board of it you simply send it back and swap it for a new one. With your old t-shirt the company sanitises, brakes down and re-blends the material into a fresh, new yarn which is a blend of new and recycled fibers. Their zero waste approach has saved 300,000 gallons of water and 1,900LBS of waste in the process of making the t-shirt.

 

1. My Red Carpet Creation

My inspiration for this sketch came from the fuchsia pink that we saw so much on the red carpet this season, especially at the 2019 Academy Awards.

The dress would have a cowl neck line and the material of the main body of the dress would be satin in a fuchsia pink, almost in a slip dress style. A black lace would be attached to the slip in the leg. And of course the unique element to the dress would be sheer white balloon sleeves which are slightly cropped on the arms.