EXTRA! EXTRA!

The reason for the delay on this week’s blog is threefold; a rather busy weekend, starting work at 6.30am this week (necessitating a 5.15am wake-up alarm) and spending my Monday night this week not at home with the laptop and a cup of peppermint tea, but at my first Fashion Show. And it was in the ultimate spirit of My First..., as it was for the London magazine SuperSuper. So neon abounded, crazy make-up on the models (glittery 'taches for men) and guests (full-on clown faces), and unusual (to say the least) cuts, fabrics and details. Much of the evening was so 'fashion' that it made my brain hurt. As well as some utterly directional outfits (pea-green fur bodysuit, gimp masks and boys in heels that would have looked out of place in that peak of Nouvelle Rave, BoomBox) there were examples of promising talent there. Scott Ramsey Kyle's collection was a little OTT in its use of contrasting fabrics and neon for me, but did feature some well-cut dresses. Emma Bell's beautiful Quality-Street shiny fabrics and structured puffa jackets were a highlight; they may sound terrible, but were genuinely beautiful to see, and though the outfits jarred, individual pieces were beautifully made, and almost wearable. Dharma Taylor's menswear was very Shoreditch; a little gimmicky and made too much of putting your coat on your head. That is, if the just-released-from-borstal models didn't rip it off first. Finally Thomas Sels' dresses were a highlight, with one off-white striped, drop-backed creation really piquing my attention - it would have looked brilliant on a red carpet, on a Tilda Swinton-type perhaps. Interspersed between the clothes was video art, some terrible Art Brut-esque indie and a scene darling rapping about 'poached eggs' (actually pretty funny). Best of all was the soundtrack of eye-melting techno and b-more bass. We like. So an amusing start; last year I did promise myself I'd get to fashion week, so this is a good start, but next year I want to see some mens and womenswear that is both challenging and beautiful. SuperSuper show kids...and of course big thanks to the fabulous Katie for inviting me, and making it happen so successfully...