Have a Vintage Weekend at the Southbank

If you are feeling nostalgic and will be in London this weekend, the Southbank Centre is the place to be and it looks like the weather will be great too in the capital.

Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway (the dynamic duo behind Hemingway Design) are bringing their award winning Vintage festival concept to the Southbank Centre over the 29th, 30th and 31st July 2011.
Taking its lead from the Festival of Britain (1951), there is no single focus in terms of creative arts. The festival will celebrate musical, fashion, film, art, design and cultural lineages, from the 1920s to the 1980s, and offer a glimpse of where we go from here.
There will be a Vintage Marketplace and Vintage High Street with music, catwalk shows, workshops, street entertainment, films, art and loads of Vintage experience for everyone to enjoy.
The 21 acre Southbank site will be transformed into a Vintage wonderland. All the wonderful clubs, bands, fashions, art, and design, film, shops, vintage retailers, dance lessons, makeovers, workshops will be there along with some cool new Thames boat party surprises.  The Hemingways started this concept last year and it was a great success.
You can buy tickets online or join many of their free events.
Go to their website to see the full programme by clicking HERE.

Travelling in Style

With all the travelling we do today, for business or holiday, it is all the more important to have dependable, durable as well as stylish luggage to keep our belongings safe and well on the journey.
It has been recently announced that Premium British luggage brand, Antler, has been praised by consumer magazine Which?

Antler’s New Size Zero case was the highest scoring product in the well-respected magazine’s Best Buy Suitcases feature this month, gaining an impressive 90% rating from judges.
The panel praised New Size Zero’s durability and ease-of-use, commenting that the case glides “effortlessly up and down ramps and across smooth floors, perfect for many airports”.
The Duolite rollercase by Antler was also named as a Which? Best Buy, with a score of 85% and top marks in each of the seven durability and handling tests. Judges praised Duolite’s “all-round good performance”, adding “vibrations caused by travelling on rough ground were absorbed and going up kerbs was an easy task”.
Another of my favourite in terms of design is Antler’s Liquis – reportedly one of the lightest hard-shell suitcases in the world (the large rollercase weighs just 3.8kg) – also scored excellently in the tests, gaining a mark of 83% from judges. This super-lightweight range has attracted celebrity fans including former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell.
Chief executive of Antler, David Benjamin, commented: “Which? is known to be a trusted source for unbiased consumer advice, so to have three of our products score so highly in their tests is praise indeed.

“We are thrilled that New Size Zero was named as the overall top performing case out of the 17 tested by Which?, and that all of our products scored top marks for durability. At Antler we have a robust testing procedure so that customers can be sure all our cases are of the highest quality and reliability.”



Antler's Liquis suitcases has an elegant design inspired by nature’s waterfall

Based in Bury, Antler, has been manufacturing premium luggage for more than 90 years.

Holiday market all packaged up - half of Brits prefer package holidays!

My husband and I enjoy being independent travellers when it comes to organising our holidays, because we like being in charge of the research, the planning and the flexibility as we had done on many trips such as the recent holiday to the Holy Land - Israel where there is so much to see and do, and good weather made it all very enjoyable.  

Sunset on the Galilee, in Israel.  Good weather and access to water are criteria for an ideal holiday location.

According to the market research company Mintel, six in 10 travellers  in a recent study (64%) enjoy the freedom and flexibility of independent holidays and around the same number (62%) see them as great for getting off the beaten track and away from the crowds. And when it comes to consumer perceptions of what constitutes a good holiday - unsurprisingly good weather tops the list, with 71% of consumers claiming this as an influential factor, along with access to a beach or pool (such as the "Sea of Galilee" of Israel in our recent visit) as well as high standard accommodations.

A camper- winnebago spotted in the Yosemite national park, USA.

The recent Mintel study showed that four in 10 (39%) agree with package holidaymakers that putting together your own holiday can be time-consuming and half (49%) say that there’s so much holiday information on the Internet now that is hard to know what’s reliable.
Mintel says when it comes to organising their holidays, it appears political unrest and company collapses have made their mark on the type of holiday taken - as nearly half (43%) of Brits now agree that package holidays ‘are a safer bet in the current climate’, according to latest research from market research and intelligence company Mintel.
Tom Rees, Senior Travel and Tourism Analyst at Mintel, said:  “The overall holiday market and overseas travel in general have been hit hard by the recession - in terms of both package and independent holidays. Consumer confidence is still low and as a consequence the recovery of the holiday market is likely to be very gradual.   However, the economic factors constraining consumer spending have made packages - and particularly all-inclusive holidays - increasingly attractive.”
“Taking an all-inclusive break allows holidaymakers to know exactly what they’ll spend before they jet off on holiday, something that’s become increasingly important through the recession and subsequent ‘age of austerity’. Some companies have decided to become all -inclusive only brands and this reflects just how popular these holidays have become.” Tom continues.
“The next few years are likely to see only slight further decline in package holiday volumes, in a sector built heavily around all-inclusive packages or exclusive tour operator products such as premium or bespoke family-oriented resorts. Underlying the market is a growing polarisation in the holidaymaker mind-set between the need for security, luxury and convenience on the one hand and freedom, independence and authenticity on the other.” Tom concludes.
However, it seems going on a package holiday does not necessarily equate to lethargy when it comes to choosing where to go and what to do.   According to the Mintel study, some 70% of those who have been on a package abroad in the past year state that going somewhere new is a key requirement compared to 65% of those who have been on an independent trip abroad. And while some 84% of overseas package holidaymakers see saving time and effort as an advantage of a package holiday – so do 66% of independent travellers, suggesting that some may be won over to packages by this factor.

All photos above by Lucia Carpio.

Texprint London announces top winners of textile designs

Barbara Kennington, chairman of Texprint, announcing winers of Texprint London 2011

Twenty-four textile designers, all new graduates from British universities and leading design institutes, presented their creative and unique work in print, weave, knit, stitch and mixed media to top industry experts and creative industries luminaries at the Private View event of Texprint London held yesterday at Chelsea College of Art & Design in Pimlico, London.  Among them, four graduates had won distinguished awards for the respective discipline.

Emma Shipley of Royal Colleage of Art has won the Pattern prize. Her unique print designs were inspired by her passion for colour, drawing and design, capturing the unpredictability of patterns in nature.

David Bradley from the Royal College of Art won the Body prize for best fashion fabric.
Hariet Toogood from the University of Brighton won the Space prize for the best interiors fabric.
Emma Shipley from the Royal College of Art won the Pattern prize, and
Chloe Hamblin from Chelsea College of Art won the Colour prize.
The announcement was made by Barbara Kennington (pictured above), chairman of Texprint, at last night's Preview event.

David Bradley's work was inspired by the illusion of movement in surface pattern, which won him the Body award for fashin fabric..

The panel of judges comprised:-

Stuart Stockdale - design director of the British women's and men's brand Jaeger.

Sue Timney - textile designer, interior decorator and stylist, and founder of Timney-Fowler.

David Shah - founder of View Publications which publishes the industry bible Textile View.

Orla Kiely - the creative force behind the eponymous interiors and fashion brand.

Sophie Steller - knitwear studio chief and head of creative development at SPINEXPO.



Karina Klucnika shows off her knit designs at the Private View event of Texprint.

Each of the winners will receive a cash prize of £1000 sponsored by The Clothworkers' Foundation and Liberty Art Fabrics.  In addition, they will be joined by six other finalists (chosen by Sophie Steller) to take part in the SPINEXPO Travel Prize. The 10 designers will travel to Shanghai, September 7 - 9 2011, to show their work at the exhibition of fibres, yarns and knitted fbrics at SPINEXPO.

Guests from the indusrtry admiring some of the designers' work.

Following the Shanghai trip, all 24 designers will present their work in September 20-22 2011 at Indigo, Paris, the textile design exhibition which is part of Premiere Vision Pluriel.  While at Indigo, the designers' work will be judged for the Woolmark Texprint Award in support of Campaign fo Wool, a new prize to recognise design excellence in fabrics created with 60% or more Merino wool.

Texprint London is open today where the work of the 24 designers are presented in a gallery-style set-up (for one-day only) at Chelsea College of Art & Design, Pimlico, London SW1P 4JU.

Texprint is a charity, not-for-profit and completely independent body that is funded by sponsorship for its work.  Each year it selects and mentors the best textile designers who graduate rom UK colleges in all areas - weave, knit, print, embroidery, mixed media - and presents them to industry internationally.  Texprint was started 40 years ago to estabish a link between those emerging from university and the industry.

All photos by Lucia Carpio.

Samantha Holmes launches Ecolux collection made with soft alpaca, bamboo fibre and Eco wool

Scottish designer Samantha Holmes has introduced a range halos, cuffs, stoles, trapper hats and slipper boots handmade and beautifully finished using authentic undyed Alpaca Fur.

Her natural luxury products are hand crafted by skilled artisans in Peru where Samantha Holmes helps sustain the livelihoods of small producer groups, family businesses and home workers.
Samantha, who works from home on the west coast of Scotland with her husband and two young daughters,
has emphasised the ethical and ecological roots of her product range this season with a collection of exclusive gifts and fashion accessories made with soft Baby Alpaca and Bamboo fibre. She has also introduced Peruvian EcoWool for a totally new slant for Autumn Winter 2011. 
Peruvian EcoWool is 100% natural yarn spun from purest Andean Highland wool in marled earthy colours. Samantha has designed a range of homeware and lifestyle gifts featuring slippers boots, slipper socks, sloppy snoods, cushions, throws, hotties and fur trapper hats, all in a rustic tactile chunky hand knit. The EcoWool has a soft finish, in part due to the fact that no bleach or dyes have been used in the production process. The fleeces used are variations of brown, grey and white and are skilfully mixed to create rich natural colours which will never go out of fashion. 
Samantha has combined baby alpaca yarn (70%) with bamboo fibre (30%) for natural, silky softness, lustre and drape for items such as her cardigans, shawls and scarves. The yarn lends itself perfectly to her babywear collection where softness is so important. The bamboo also makes the yarn harder wearing, so there is less pilling or bobbling. Uniquely renewable and biodegradable, bamboo is naturally strong and flexible, making it a perfect complement to alpaca fibre. Bamboo fibre is also ideal for babies and sensitive skins as it is naturally antimicrobial and grown free of pesticides.

Samantha Holmes launches her Ecolux Collection at the Harrogate Home and Gift  fair 17-20 July.

London Fashion Week Preliminary Schedule for September is Out

For those working in the fashion design and retail industry, the new schedule for this September's London Fashion Week (one of the trade's most important and prestigious events of the capital each season) has just been announced.

To go to the LFW website, click Here.

VENUES will include the following:-

BFC Catwalk Show Space: Somerset House, WC2

The Portico Rooms: The Portico Rooms, South Wing, Somerset House, WC2

NBR: Navy Board Rooms, Somerset House, WC2

East Wing: East Wing, Somerset House, WC2

The Terrace: The Terrace, Somerset House, WC2

TS: Topshop Show Space, TBC

TM: Topman Venue, Royal Opera House, WC2E 9DD

Fashion Scout: Freemasons Hall, 60 Queen Street, WC2B 5AZ

MBF: My beautiful City, Old Sorting Office, 21-31 New Oxford Street (on corner of Museum Street), WC1A 1AA

You can go online to register if you are from the trade, but tickets to catwalk shows and presentations are issued at the discretion of each designer.  Please contact the designer's press or sales contact directly for tickets. Contact information are listed on the LFW official website.

For Off Schedule Shows: http://www.blow.co.uk/

Macau - city of luxury lights and alluring effects

It is fact that Macau, the tiny enclave in the south-western tip of the Pearl River Delta bordering with Guangdong province of China, has now taken over Las Vegas as the casino capital of the world. 


Macau - the former Portuguese colony - is now the casino capital of the world.

The territory is one of the two special administrative regions of China (the other being Hong Kong.) But few will argue, after visiting the city, that its main income also come from tourists, especially those whose hard-earned cash are made in China.  The tourists not only visit Macau for its gambling but to experience its new range of luxury hotels, to be lured and astonished by their extravagant decor, lavish lobbies and flamboyant water features that can compete with the likes of the Atlantis in Dubai, and indeed Las Vegas.

The Venetian hotel lobby

The likes of MGM and Mandarin Oriental are already there.  New additions include The Venetian with its amazing architecture to mimick Venice of Italy.  Its shopping centre has its own canal, gondolas and interior sky.

The interior of the Venetial shopping mall.

Barely two months since it has opened, the new attraction is the Galaxy.  The main lobby that greets you before one ventures into the casino (the main feature of the hotels) is dominated by a amazing display of a light and sound show that is played at intervals throughout the day.

An extravagant display of lights and sound
marks the lobby of the Galaxy hotel in Macau.

Glass sculptures add visual dimension to the lobby of the Galaxy in Macau.

All photos by Lucia Carpio.

Beyond the Valley is within reach off Carnaby Street

In today’s economic climate, a fashion store needs to be more than just a shop.  It needs to be an inspiring space to entice the senses as well as capture the imagination of its visitors.

Beyond The Valley is a fashion brand and also fast becoming one of London’s leading destinations for design innovation. As a concept store at 2 Newburgh Street off Carnaby Street in London, it stocks products from over 50 new designers at any given time, and provides a regularly changing showcase of fashion, jewellery, illustration, wallpaper, design products and accessories. More than a store, Beyond The Valley is a creative space that hosts a rotating collective of new designers, unique events and gallery exhibitions. as well as supplying an innovative commercial platform for contemporary designers. Beyond The Valley’s own range pushes the boundaries of technology and fashion, mixing effortless style, graphic art prints and structured designs.

Beyond the Valley is the creation of Central St. Martin Graduates Kristjana S Williams and Kate Bonhote. Stockists include Asos.com, Farfetch.com, with the whole collection available in-store. Also being stocked on Far Fetch and Luisa Via Roma amongst others. New designers wishing to join them can contact them directly.

Peekaboo Vintage is the new black!

It seems our appetite for all things vintage continues to rule. 
Soon to come to London, from 29th to 31st July 11, is Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway's project of transforming Southbank Centre into a Vintage wonderland.  You may remember Wayne Hemingway as the founder of the Red or Dead label and is now a champion for eco designs and sustainable lifestyle.  Taking its lead from the Festival of Britain (1951), Hemingway's Vintage festival will celebrate musical, fashion, film, art, design and cultural lineages, from the 1920s to the 1980s.
You can go to http://www.vintagebyhemingway.co.uk/ for full details.


Billie Piper fronting for Peekaboo Vintage - 2 Ganton Street W1, London

Meanwhile yesterday after attending a couple of press events in and around Carnaby Street in London, I stumbled upon a new shop that sells vintage fashion.  Though you may say what so great about this since there are vintage shops all over everywhere.  But when I took a peek inside the "Peekaboo Vintage" boutique on Ganton Street, I was delighted to find a good selection of lovely vintage dresses, hats, scarvs, handbags, belts, costume jewellery, all in excellent condition.  The dresses are especially appealling, from Ossie Clark inspired clasics to Chanel style quilted bags to Terry De Havilland look killer shoes.  I even found a  frilly printed dress by Diane Freis the Australian designer who had run her fashion business in Hong Kong. 

‘Gone are the days when Vintage is about students rifling through rails of old clothes. Peekaboo is a luxury boutique which will think and edit for you to ensure you are inspired,' according to Michael Caunter who was in the shop explaining that he and his partner Emily Bothwell co-founded Peekaboo Vintage in 1991.  They were the ones who supplied vintage clothing to Top Shop and attained roaring success.  They recently re-launched their website (which I find refreshing and user-friendly) and they thought it was only natural to launch this first stand-alone boutique.  They hand-pick and source all merchandise from around the world and to celebrate the launch of the new store, Peekaboo Vintage enlisted top star, a fan and close friend, Billie Piper, to front the brand in wowing vintage fashion.  As you can see from the photos above and below, from coy and demure in a 70’s sheer flowing floral dress to screen siren, she portrays the Peekaboo spirit effortlessly.

‘I've always had a crush on vintage. It makes dressing up feel so much more eventful. Clothes with a story, a past is exciting in my mind. One-off pieces from another era, it just feels special.
I met Emily and Peekaboo through work and our friendship has developed over the years; very beneficial for my wardrobe. Emily started to dress me for various occasions, award shows and various shoots and now its a love affair with vintage. I can’t imagine a party without an Ossie or a vintage Biba. She sources the most delicious stuff and it just keeps coming. We're excited about working together on this campaign and who knows what the future has in store’ says Billie Piper.

Fashion is the world's most lucrative business.

Despite the huge rise in cotton and other raw materials prices, the profitability of the global fashion industry has reportedly been enhanced, according to the FashionUnited Top 100 index released at the end of June, thanks to the implementation of economies of scale, more efficient IT systems and state-of-the-art logistics. As a whole, the industry has performed with higher professionalism and quickly adopted new opportunities to remain competitive within an increasingly competitive market.


Mulberry's Polly Push Lock launched this summer.
A newcomer to the FashionUnited Top 100 Index, Mulberry was among the fastest growing business in the past year.

Reason for this extraordinary result is attributed to the fact that the companies listed in the FashionUnited Top100 have managed to expand successfully and to increase their market share. In total, the fashion market increased by an estimated 2.5% mainly because of a larger demand in the Chinese and Indian markets.
Listed apparel companies have seen their joint market value gone up by 32% over the past 12 months. This growth beats that of general indices like DOW Jones, FTSE, Nikkei and most others. The international fashion industry benchmark started trading at 1,000 exactly one year ago and closed at 1,320 the last of June 2011.

Taking into account that Dow Jones´annual growth of 26%, London's FTSE added 24% to its market value, while Nikkei grew 7% and Hong Kong-based Hang Seng´s a 10%, fashion has been the most lucrative investment over the past 365 days, as its representative index, the FashionUnited Top 100, increased by 32% in the past twelve months.

Top10 fastest growers in market capitalisation are:
+ 235% Fossil
+ 200% Lululemon Athletica Inc.
+ 179% Asos.com
+ 142% DILLARD'S, INC.
+ 130% Under Armour, Inc.
+ 119% French Connection
+ 119% Abercrombie & Fitch
+ 118% Yoox
+ 106% Hugo Boss AG
+ 106% Tiffany & Co.

As to mark its first anniversary, the international fashion index will wave farewell to seven of its companies and welcome other seven on board.
The Newcomers are:-
Prada, TOD´s, Gerry Weber, Mulberry, Supergroup, Cia Hering, Oxford Industries Inc, Genesco, Express Inc.
Note: Index' newcomer Mulberry went up by 660% over the past 12 months.
The Exit list includes:-
Gymboree, J Crew Group, Timberland, Sketchers, Crocs, Wolverine World Wide, Pacific Sunwear of California, Bulgari and Sanei-International.

The FashionUnited Top 100 index is a capitalization-weighted index gathering some of the world largest stock listed apparel companies. All listed companies specialize in the sale of clothing, whether in physical retail stores, wholesale or by e-commerce. They do not necessarily have to be the world largest ones, but the main stock listed firms located in those countries represented in the index with their own weighting based on market capitalization, which is calculated June 30th of each year.

Catherine Middleton's personalised bracelet is the talk of the town.

The Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine Middleton,'s outfits are of great interest to her fans and fashion followers not just in the UK but around the world.  Yahoo's Lifestyle page has also dutifully profiled her recent wardrobe as Kate's Canadian Catwalk by featuring the nine outfits she has worn so far - five days into her current official visit to Canada with her husband, Prince William - their first together outside the UK.  You can take a look at Kate's Canadian Catwalk by clicking HERE.

But if you look closely at many of the photographsof the Duchess you will notice that one of her favourite pieces of jewellery is a personalised gold charm bracelet with a dangling disc featuring her initial and the royal coat of arms.  See picture above.
To get your own version, you can go to Jewellerypersonalised.co.uk and get one that looks like this one shown below:-

Because JewelleryPersonalised.co.uk make all of their pieces in house, in their London studios, you can purchase your personalised bracelet from just £36.95.

The bracelets come in silver and gold, which of course can be personalised with your very own coat of arms (or any other meaningful symbol) and initials. Using advanced technology, the website will uniquely allow you to see your finished design before you buy.    

Paris trade fairs for lingerie and swimwear to be held 9 - 11 July

Attention swimwear and bodywear designers and buyers! The latest materials, technology and accessories for beachwear, along with those for intimate apparel and bodywear designs, will be a major focus at the Interfiliere and Mode City fairs to take place in Paris 9 - 11 July at the Porte de Versailles - Pavilion 1.
In fact, anyone working in fashion designs, including sportswear, would benefit from atending these fairs.

According to the organisers, the Beachwear and Leisure Forum will be a main attraction for textile designers as swimwear is on offer from more than half of the exhibitors and display tables will present materials and creative, technical prototypes.  Exhibitors from around the world, including France, Italy, Spain, Germany, the United States, Brazil and Columbia, as well as Asia, will be showing off the latest the industry has to offer.

Among the exhibitors, Hyosung, maker of the "creora" brand of elasthane, will be presenting their own Swimwear trends with new fibres and fabrics, featuring new fabrics from mills including Sofileta, Hyunjin, Pucheon and Hung Yen.  Hyosung will show off  the new creora highclo fibre for longer lasting fit thanks to superior chlorine resistance.  Also being launched is the Mipan aqua X fibres and fabrics for quick dry combined with UV protection.

Swimwear by Paolita - one of the brands showing at Mode City in Paris, 9 - 11 July.

There is also a General Forum to provide the main trend themes.  Under the title “Temptation”, a guide to the evolving trends will feature the following themes:-
Pumpkin princess: A romantic and poetic universe with pastel colours
Couture lab: A more graphic theme with motifs inspired by the Belle Epoque and the sixties in a contrasting palette built on reds, whites and blacks
The naturalists: An in-depth vision focused on an un-romanticized version of nature with flora and fauna motifs
Body make up: A theme dedicated to innovative materials and accessories

Exhibiting at Mode City is INVISTA, one of the world’s largest integrated producers of fibres and polymers, who will announce the extension of its LYCRA® beauty fabric certification programme, "The Science of Shaping™" at the fair.  This year, the platform enters new frontiers to meet the consumer desire for shaping with more comfort and style, with a wider selection of intimate apparel materials, ranging from delicate lace or ultra-lightweight fabrics to seamless garment construction technology. In an even more enlightening glimpse of LYCRA® beauty fabric’s potential applications in the industry, the programme extends into swimwear.

To prepare for and maximise your visit to Interfiliere and Mode City, you should read about some of the industry's latest developments highlighted in SIBILintimate.com, founded and edited by industry expert Jean-Pierre Adeline.  To go to this week's edition before the shows open, click  here.

Exhibition to celebrate Masters of Italian Style at London's Somerset House

Missoni illustration by Antonio Lopez A/W 1983-84 at the
Masters of Italian Style exhibition, on show in the Somerset House, London

 From today until August 14th, some of the most celebrated fashion brands of Italy are marking the 150th anniversary of their country by joining forces for an exhibition at  Somerset House in London. Entitled “Masters of Italian Style: Celebrating the Stories Behind Italian Fashion,” the  exhibition shows a selection of fashion images, illustrations and advertising campaigns from the archives of the fashion house of Giorgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Missoni, Salvatore Ferragamo and Gucci.  

S

Super Model Christy Turlington photographed by Peter Lindbergh for Prada S/S 1994.

Madonna as a 'domestic goddess' photographed by Steven Meisel for A/W 2008-09 Dolce & Gabanna.

Attending the opening preview last night, I realised that not only does the exhibition highlight the geniuses behind the "Made in Italy" brand, but also the creative minds behind the photographic techniques, the personalities of the subjects and the advertising art direction.  I was also taken on a memory lane through images of such well known faces of Kate Moss, Christy Turlington, Amber Valletta, and Isabella Rossellini who was portrayed in a series of black and white pictures by Steven Meisel fore Dolce & Gabanna.  One I liked particularly showed Madonna as a 'domestic goddess' also photographed by Steven Meisel for A/W 2008-09 Dolce & Gabanna.  A prima donna doing everyday domestic chores.  Very sexy!


Visitors at the Masters of Style exhibition.  Photo by Lucia Carpio.

The exhibition was curated by Colin McDowell, designed by Carmody Groarke and sponsored by Peroni Nastro Azzurro. Said Colin in the programme introduction: "Italy has always reasserted itself because of the uniqueness of its people: young or old, town or country.  Italians are exceptional for their attitude to life.  Their sensibilities are uniquely refined and have been so for  much longer than those of other nationalities."