L’affaire at Coco Belfast

Today Coco Belfast hosted a celebration of local design talented in the heart of the city. I was very honored to be asked to show two of my latest creations. I love events like this because they show just how amazing local talent is in Northern Ireland, designers that showed included:

• Gordan Donaldson
• Una Rodden
• Nicole McKenna
• Katie Wilson
• Deimante Vuitton
• Reda
• Myself

The setting was great because it had a really intimate feel and you could really see all the gorgeous outfits up close and personal.

Pre-show we got to relax in the beautiful atmosphere of Coco with a glass of bubbly and a beautiful selection of canapes, all the while listening to relaxing french music.

   

Round one was Gordon Donaldson a local up and coming designer and also a classmate of mine ( well technically he is a year above me) I have always loved Gordan’s work and his choice of fabrics and prints today didn’t disappoint.

Next up was me, I just finished making these floral crowns yesterday and I am so happy with how they look with the garments, the colours really compliment the outfits, I will be doing a better post on my work very soon so expect better pictures then.

Next up Nicole McKenna another fellow classmate and her collection entitled Spoiled is a great mix of metallic, faux leathers and prints. The mirrored leather skirt is definitely one of my favourite pieces from today’s event.

Next up was Deimante and her mum showing that fashion definitely runs in their family. Deimante’s work was a beautiful mix of floral vintage with a modern twist. Just how beautiful is that gold nude dress on the stunning model Ella.

Katie Wilson

Katie Wilson

Katie Wilson

Katie Wilson- How incredible is this dress I just wish my photo was better

Una Rodden

Una Rodden

Una Rodden- I need this scarf in my life! 

Una RoddenKatie Wilson

Round 6 and 7 was Katie Wilson and Una Rodden. Una Rodden is an established local designer who I have had the pleasure to do a placement with in upper sixth, I have always loved her style especially her drapey dresses such as the beautiful emerald green number. Katie is another designer local to Belfast who actually works with Una Rodden, her style again is another of my favorites I feel like I could write a whole blog post about the gold heavy embellished dress again worn by Ella.

Overall it was a great event and I would definitely recommend if you are local to Belfast checking it out if they decide to repeat it because its a great afternoon out!

Also if you are looking for a great local restaurant for a bite to eat then I would definately recommend Coco Belfast:

http://www.cocobelfast.com/

 

 

 

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Feeling Inspired: Ginger and Rosa

For being someone who would class themselves as rather internet savvy it is only in the last two months that I discovered Netflix.Last night I was browsing through and discovered Ginger and Rosa, a Sally Potter movie released in 2012 which at the time I do remember seeing the trailers but it didn’t appear in any local cinemas and went to the back of my mind. I have included the trailer below and I urge you to watch it before continuing with the post so that the rest makes sense.

So naturally as you hopefully see from the trailer, this movie is visually amazing. As someone who is very into the visuals in cinematography this movie really caught my attention. Everything from the costuming, set designs and character depictions was for me breathtaking. I thought the movie was cast beautifully, I cannot wait to see Elle Fanning grow and develop into an adult because seeing as she was a 13 year old American during the filming , the fact that she was totally believable as a 17 year old English girl living post Hiroshima Ban the Bomb times.

The main focus of the film for me of course being that as I am a fashion student was the costuming, as soon as I saw Ginger and Rosa’s first matching outfits I was almost transfixed. Once I had watched the movie ( it is under 2 hours and a very easy watch) I immediately picked up my Fashionary and began to sketch.

One of the key items featured throughout the movie is the duffle coat. Both girls throughout up until a point dress pretty much identically and they both sport oversized long wool parkas, something which actually this last A/W 13 was a huge trend and continues into the new year. It is one of those staple pieces that we all should have in our wardrobes.

The oversized shirt , probably a men’s shirt which features heavily throughout.

I love the connection that is made through the very obvious similarities that are made between Natalie, Ginger’s mother played by the very so fabulous Christina Hendricks and Rosa Ginger’s best friend played by the up and coming Alice Englert.

Overall I would definitely put this movie into my top 20 movies ( I am a bit of a movie addict so I cannot narrow it down to below 20) I really love the characters, the imagery and of course the costuming which was done by Holly Waddington , her first time billed as costume designer.

I would love to know what inspires you, when was the last time you watched a movie that got you very inspired to be creative or to just think about something which ordinarily never crosses your mind.

Check out reviews and plot outlines on IMDB:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2115295/

New York Fashion Week: My favourites so far

Its that time of year again when all the big names and establishing designers launch their new collections, this time round it is the Fall 2014 ready to wear collections. For me I always have a preference to Fall fashion because I am very into layering and more recently big coats. SO far it’s just New York that has began the showcase but already we are seeing a lot of the key trends emerging on the catwalk.

One of my favourite shows so far was the Alexander Wang show, the only way I can think to describe it is a mix of safari, tech, alien, cowboys vibes which all mashed together just seem to really work.

Another one of my favourites was  the Derek Lam show, what I loved most was his mix of colours and layers. I am a very tactile person and the use of contrasting fabrics in this collection really appeals to my own design ideals.

 

MM6 by Maison Martin Margiela ( its there diffusion line) also showed a really love mix up of textures and fabrics. Also its no secret of my love for a bit of sheer and dark colours which this collection has in leaps and bounds.

Finally for the minute The Row. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have grown up and now produce a series of fashion lines, the most premium of which is The row. I cant help but love the Yeti outfit and the huge coats, perfect for the harsh Northern Ireland weather.

I am looking forward to seeing what else the fashion industry has to offer over the next few weeks. If you want to see all the shows yourself head on over to:

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/collections/F2014RTW/

for full catwalk rundowns, detail photos and FROW celebrity spottings