Sunday, 7 April 2013

London Love.


Sorry I haven't been blogging as regular as usual, I've been a busy girl
visiting London for some amazing career opportunities.
 
I have family in London so I'm in the city quite regularly anyway but I can never get
enough every time I go. Any girl who loves Fashion & is visiting the city gets that exciting feeling of being London's very own Carrie Bradshaw; spending all day hopping on & off trains on the underground, sipping an expensive cocktail, falling in love in Liberties and hearing Big Ben tock - there's no better place.
 
Give me a year & hopefully I'll make the big move..
#FingersCrossed
 
For now.. Here's a few LDN pictures from some of my visits over the past month
 






 
See you very soon LDN-Town
 
#Love
HB
x


Wednesday, 27 March 2013

An interview with Kirsty Ward

Vogue has named her as one their "Designers to watch" Elle.co.uk has listed
her as their "Rising Star of 2011," she also worked for Alberta Ferritti in Italy and even Selfridges showcased her first season's collection in store for the "Bright young things" initiative; And the name behind such exciting success?
Jewellery and Womenswear designer Kirsty Ward.
  
I interviewed Kirsty Ward at her artistic studio in Camden, London on the 6th March 2013 with fellow photographer Lyndon March for an article for Exalt Fashion Magazine.

Kirsty Ward's Jewellery envisages a bold, contemporary and almost futuristic approach to decorative jewellery which has become the signature mark for her brand. By re-inventing the use of coloured aluminium, Kirsty has managed to touch upon the tribal tendencies that exist within the exposure of structured symmetry.
The collection has not had to rely upon an outer source for production, instead the pieces are all cut and hand made within the studio itself which allows Kirsty to create up to 250-350 pieces per season.

Kirsty Ward's womenswear collection presents a modern and sleek representation of the simplicity of fashion. The use of soft, neutral colours are complimented by the structured asymmetric shapes of the garments. The design simplicity of Kirsty Ward's womenswear allows the clothing to become an elegant backdrop for the embellished jewellery to model upon.


 
       

 
 
The success Kirsty Ward has achieved in such a short period of time from establishing
 her brand in 2o11 to the ever-growing success she is achieving today - has been nothing more than deserved. The most desirable aspect of the Kirsty Ward brand is the desire to
beautify something unappealing. By using the metallic materials that she has and seeing the influence of washer-women aprons from her apron shaped garments, it seems evident the talent Kirsty Ward has to beautify almost anything which has resulted in captivating the fashion world.
 
Below are my own personal photographs;
 










 
A special thanks to Designer Kirsty Ward for her time
 
Also, a big thanks to the Photographer Lyndon March who's Photography will be featured in the published magazine article.
 
And, finally a big thank you again to Exalt Magazine for the amazing opportunity.
 
The article of the Interview with Kirsty Ward will be published soon inside Exalt Fashion Magazine.
 
Check out Kirsty Ward today..
 
Clothing & Jewellery: http://www.kirsty-ward.com/
Photography (not featured on blog): http://lyndonmarch.tumblr.com/
 
#LOVE
HB
x
 
 
 
 
 





 



 



Monday, 18 March 2013

DODD Menswear Interview AW13 collection.

Re-inventing a clean, contemporary and structural vision to compositional clothing, DODD menswear has became the new talking point on everyone's lips this season; revealing a new age of British Menswear, the brand has rediscovered how to successfully produce clothing solely in the UK.
 
It was the 1st of March 2013 when I met the brand's founder and designer George Hudson and the label's PR agent Johnny Ridley in their London based studio at Peacock Yard for an interview for Exalt - a new upcoming Fashion magazine.
 
Joining me, was the Fashion photographer Jade Smith. There, we were both introduced to George's fifth collection; DODD AW13. 
 
 
 
(Images from DODD look book AW13)
 
The collection consists of luxurious fabrics such as Japanese wool, English pig suede and English cashmere all sourced from the North of the UK to Italy and Japan.
 
The time spent importing such high quality materials merely depicts the dedication enforced within this collection. The sleek, clean-lined tailoring of the elongated coats, soft knitted tshirts and suited trousers, are complimented with the simple but effective colouring of blues, creams, and browns.
 
Seeing the creative studio where the striking collection derived, the pattern twirls, scattered look-book images and listed ideas of an early AW14 collection all contributed to just how impressive this brand has fought to be.
 
 Revealing the hidden production secrets of DODD clothing, the response was not only insightful but impressive. It was inspiring to meet a designer so compassionate to create a new era for menswear clothing by testing both his boundaries and limitations with the use of luxurious materials. George's gamble to produce both high quality clothing while maintaining wearabilty has undeniably been achieved.
 
Below are my own personal photographs;
 






 
(George Hudson left, Johnny Ridley right)
 
A huge thanks to both George Hudson and Johnny Ridley for their time.
 
Also, a big thank you to the Fashion Photographer Jade Smith who's photographs will be featured in the published article.
 
And finally, thank you to Exalt magazine for the amazing opportunity.
 
'The Insight into DODD' article will be published soon for Exalt Fashion Magazine.
 
Check out DODD menswear today..
 
Fashion Photography (not featured on blog) http://www.jadedaniellesmith.com
Exalt Magazine: www.exalt-magazine.com/
 
 
#LOVE
HB
x
 
 
 
 

Sunday, 17 February 2013

Bringing Mac Back.. LFW!

The wait is over.. London Fashion Week is here! Yay! Already we've seen AW13 collections  from the Fashion greats & even Rihanna's showcased her first collection
for River Island..
 
But there was one Designer I was eagerly awaiting.. the return of
Julien Macdonald! A LFW regular, Macdonald's presence was missed last year
as he took a year out from LFW to focus on private collections for his London based clients.
 
Not only did Macdonald regain his status at LFW yesterday, he came back
with a collection more exciting and Fashion-forward then ever.
 The collection showed a fresh new and exciting side from the Welsh-born Designer,
his embellished designs combine a natural/animalistic presence touching upon a
 modern world of technological and metal references.
 
The 60's mini dress shape was re-invented by Macdonald balanced with an Art deco influence highlighting by the contrasting world of the twentieth century of nature vs technology.
 
Beetle Black
 



 
 
I noticed how Macdonald's Blue-black pieces in the collection reflect an insect transformation, with the hint of colours; yellow and blue.
Macdonald has used these colours to contour the body line exposing the bare 
human skin through the nude mesh. The cut of the embellishment captures the light
and, more importantly, the audience's attention. I love how the fine feather strands dramatise the theme of animal fur, skin and natural exposure, flattering the revealing mesh.
 
Feather Composition
 

 
       
 
        
 
             
 
 
 
 
Macdonald's approach to animalism has been approached with
such elegance, he subtly disguises the patterns of animal prints with soft
neutral colours on the base of the dress clutching to the curves of the body.
The care-free Feathers strands create dimension to the dresses, not only by
 the composition in which Macdonald has created, but by the horizontal movement of the feathers and how it contradicts against the vertical stripes of the animal base prints.
 
Earth, Wind, Fire & Water
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The warm vibrancy of colours Macdonald uses in these dresses derive from the
  inspiration from nature; yellow, green, blue and red, which are all
colours of the elements, bringing a sense of beauty and power within the collection. The feather exposure can also be reflected by the colour choices Macdonald makes.
What I find most interesting is how Macdonald has decided to excite these elegant,
designs by the sharp contrast of fierce structural embellishment that embodies
shard glass and shiny, metallic surfaces.
 
To me, the overall conclusion of Julien Macdonald, envisages a natural aspect to
fashion, the nude mesh exposes the naked bare skin allowing the dresses
to create the illusion that they are a component of the human body, and the dresses
and the human are one. The strong use of colour and animal references
Macdonald presents through-out the whole show re-connects a world from
 which we all derived.
 
The sharp blades of embellishment and the cold metallic, reflective surfaces
protruding out from the dresses highlights the reality of a natural world becoming one
that's imposed by a man-made threat.
 
I'm so happy Julien Macdonald has brought back his collections to the LFW
catwalk and more importantly how he has brought cultural importance to a world and
a catwalk that's ever changing..
 
Bring on the rest of LFW!
Can't get enough
 
#LOVE
HB
x