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Fashion windows: London Harvey Nichols July 2010

Department stores in London always show the greatest collaboration of magic minds and skills on window displays and this time, Harvey Nichols has really stealed the show by putting a series of display of fashion and ‘objects’.

If you look close, the car is formed by thousands of horse shaped jigsaws as well as the number plate.

Totally in love with this Celine playsuit.

A dress by hundreds of clothing clips… …

… …and a grand piano by thousands of cassettes.

Pencils as a tree… …

notepads form a sofa… The imagination is beyond… …

Tags: Celine, Harvey Nichols

Be Square and Be There!

Back in March during Paris Fashion Week I had a blog about Phoebe Philo and Celine and couldn’t help showing my admiration of Phoebe’s credibility. So recently when I walked into Selfridges ground floor, again I was stopped by the big section of Celine handbag collection. The shop assistance at Celine section was very patient to show me one after another, even after I told her that there’s no way I would buy one in this couple of months, which I think it’s extremely kind.

The new It Bag is small and square and with a long strap… and is cleverly designed with a ‘stick-out’ buckle to press down to open, which is quite different from the traditional magnetic or twist-n-turn opening style. It has 2 different sizes and is made in almost any possible colour and material. The most interesting one is this one with a puzzled-looking surface. I had to request a further detailed explanation from the assistance.

It’s made of Shagreen and from Wikipedia explains it — ‘Shagreen is a type of leather or rawhide consisting of rough untanned skin, formerly made from a horse’s back or that of an onager (wild ass), and typically dyed green. Shagreen is now commonly made of the skins of sharks and rays.’ But it’s made sure that all skins are from farmed animals, which means there’s no rare or nearly distinctive animals being used. For example this one looks like a snake skin. It’s printed and stamped the 3D texture as snake skin, but actually it’s made of calf skin.

The collection is designed extremely thought-through. It’s been consider on some small details but so practical. This electric cornflower one is actually 3 zippy clutch bags snapped together, which can be separated and used individually.

Same detail is used on wallets — a little zipped coin wallet is clipped onto inside of a fold-up wallet — which can be detached and used like a little clutch on a night-out — and it’s contrasted either in colour or in a different material — for example the outside fold-up wallet is in washed black leather and inside zippy clutch is in brown sued. So clever, isn’t it?!!

There’re also some colour blocking leather totes. Orange on tan, black on tan, or most amazingly white sheep skin on black leather.

More pictures from Tommy Ton’s pictures during Paris Fashion Week can be found on Style.com.

Tags: Celine, Phoebe Philo

Viva Celine

With her hair loosely tucked at back, her T-shirt roughly rolled up on sleeves, and her smile mixing with a bit of tiredness due to hard working, all of these sketch out one of most influential designer, Phoebe Philo.

I’ve always admired her and would like to think that my taste has been growing up together on the same pace with Phoebe Philo. Since first time learning her modest suggestion of  only helping Stella McCartney’s Chief Designer role at Chloe, I knew this girl was not that simple. She took over at Chloe and delivered the super girlie looks, where you could find her own bohemia personal style.

I liked those girly peasant looks…

and those romantic folky looks…

Then the girl slowly grew into a woman. When she was pregnant, she simply wants to create some practical clothes for not only pregnant women, but real women, who do have a bit of tummy and a bit of curve. All women I knew were cheering the fact that she brought back the tunic and loose baby doll shift dress around 2007-8.

Then after a while of absence from fashion industry (in order to spend quality time with family and bringing up the new born kids) and with many people’s curiosity of her next place, Celine signed her up. Celine, the traditional french fashion house, has always been at the back of my fashion radar. But with Philo’s radiant personality and strong profile as a designer, Celine has successfully come back to top of the check list of every fashion insider.

Now, with a grown-up vibe, not only feeling from Philo but from myself and thousands of other late 20 year-olds, the minimalism is widely accepted again in this new decade. Women needs simple but sexy styles. High quality, strong, powerful and reduced. She perfectly understands, less is more!

Tags: Celine, Chloe, Phoebe Philo

Love like winter

I am absolutely in love with this editorial shoot from the latest edition of Dazed & Confused magazine. It was shot by Norwegian-Pakistani photographer Benjamin Alexander Huseby, styled by Katie Shillingford and features Hannah Holman and Antonella Graef.

Hannah in jacket by Celine, worn over hooded coat by Gareth Pugh.

More pictures after the jump.

» Read the full post

Tags: Antonella Graef, Benjamin Alexander Huseby, Calvin Klein, Celine, Commes des Garçons, Dazed & Confused, Emporio Armani, Gareth Pugh, Haider Ackermann, Hannah Holman, jil sander, Katie Shillingford, Kenzo, Todd Lynn, Valentino