The Place to Be

LFW in Date Squeeze

London Fashion Week appears to be in the grip of Major Fashion Player Syndrome. Where else in the world can you get your fix of so much raw talent? Here’s the evidence:

1) The Uber NewIf LFW is about anything at all, it is the discovery of the new. And this

Peter Can Report by Lauren Cochrane

Photography by Emma Hardy

Report by Jenny Dyson

season, the debate will rage as to which new knitter will be the most talked about. In the red corner, hot off the CSM college catwalk, we give you Simone Shailes. In the blue corner, is Hyères Festival de Mode winner, Sandra Backlund. So new are these knitters, they’re not even catwalk status yet – hunt them down in the exhibition and marvel at what they can do with wool.

2) The New OrderSafely back from her Bruce Weber W mag jaunt in Miami, Danielle Scutt is leader of what shall henceforth be known as The New Order. These are designers

‘Look at me!’. Maude, pictured far left, is very excited as today is Sunday and she is wearing Charles Anastase, a newcomer to LFW. Doris, Maude’s long suffering friend, allows Maude her fashion moment. ‘Yes dear,’ she says turning towards the runway and yawning.

The fashion world has Tim Walker to thank for Peter Jensen turning to womenswear. “Well, I don’t know if it’s entirely his doing,” laughs Jensen, whose show is later today. “But Tim shot the first small womenswear project I did for Italian Vogue.

London Fashion Week kicks off today and while all eyes may be on the catwalk, all talk is on the reports of LFW being forced to reduce down to four days.

“For a number of years NY designers have wanted to move its dates to a whole week later,” chief executive of the BFC Hilary Riva says. New York, as many will remember, moved before London as it was keen to lead the four cities in order to be seen as the trendsetter of each season. But showing so soon after the end of August – when the Milan factories shut down – plus Labor Day when the US shuts down for the first Monday in September causes a bottleneck in sample production and a weak day in the middle of NY’s schedule.

Despite attempts to negotiate a compromise during a meeting in Paris with representatives from the four fashion capitals on January 24th, 2007, a difference in opinion squeezed LFW into a four day event. “The squeeze is not ideal, but we are in

I thought it looked nice so I carried on.” His spring/summer 2009 collection, based on a muse as always, channels Jodie Foster in four favourite films – Freaky Friday, The Hotel New Hampshire, The Accused and The Silence of The Lambs. It’s a selection of characters that allows Jensen to move from a sweet shift dress illustrated with

a sixties-style hotel, to leopard print high-waisted skirts nodding to The Accused and wide-legged trousers perfect for The Silence of The Lambs’ Clarice Starling. Add the debut of a cheaper basics line called Rabbit, a collaboration with Julie Verhoven on a series of illustrated pieces and regular collaborations with the likes of Topshop and you can see how

Jensen has developed great sales along with great press. His brand is sold in 22 countries around the world and, like all cult labels, it’s huge in Japan [where it is available in over 30 stores]. “I don’t think I’m a cult figure but I do have a hardcore following,” muses Jensen. “The aim is to quietly build up a devoted fanbase.” Mission accomplished.

LONDON, SuNDay 14th September 2008 www.londonfashionweek.co.uk Issue • 1

L o n d o n F a s h i o n W e e k

DailyWelcome

Welcome to the new look Daily broadsheet, the chic big sister to LFW’s Daily RUBBISH, bringing you all the scoops, news and views straight from S/S 09’s fashion front line. Got a story? Email us: newsdesk@londonfashionweek.co.uk.

Report by Rebecca Lowthorpe

The fashion world is going wild about Peter Jensen

who live it and love it and don’t apologise for it. Team leaders: Louise Goldin, Henry Holland, milliner Nasir Mazhar and cobbler Nicholas Kirkwood.

3) The New EstablishmentWith some 16 shows a day – counting those on and off schedule – the week is seething with must-see designers. With so many great names to choose from, we narrow it down to those who must surely now be known as the nouveaux-establishment: Marios Schwab, Christopher Kane, Erdem, Roksanda Ilincic and Todd Lynn. Do NOT miss.

4) New Old FavouritesOne word: Giles. His show will no doubt be stellar. Of the same generation, is hot-ticket Luella, back from NYC for the second season. Alice Temperley also returns from NY, hopefully bringing with her the kind of upscale looks she’s been promoting out there. And finally, Westwood’s Red Label. Vivienne will, no doubt, demonstrate to all of us how it is possible to still be a design genius at the age of 67.

Rebecca Lowthorpe is the fashion features director of ELLE

Spot the ReferenceCompiled by Becky Davies

Gagging to know the inspiration behind designers’ S/S 09 collections? Look no further than The LFW Daily’s crib sheet – a guide to all things previously obsure, now extremely fashionable.

ToDD Lynn The Day of The Locust (1975) starring Karen Black and Donald Sutherland. A

dark view of Hollywood in the late 1930s | Eltham Palace and its pet lemurs, - it’s like stepping on to the set of a Poirot movie | Ma rc e l Du c h a m p ‘Nu d e Descending A Staircase’ - the motion of the mechanistic nude with its superimposed facets.RIcHaRD nIcoLL Eccentric Professionals | Late 1950s/early 1990s aesthetic resonance | Bourgeois sportswear .HoUSE oF HoLLanD Beverly Hills 90210 – The original 90s TV series. | My auntie’s garden | Dalmatians.PaUL SmITH Ethnic bohemianism mixed with languid

glamour | Orientalism and its effects on the Western world | Sarah Moon’s romantic, surreal photographs in muted colours.LoUISE GoLDIn Remote sensing | Satellites | Science.SInHa–STanIc Paintings by Peter Doig, and his recent exhibition at Tate Britain | East End teddy girls - a past fashion genre, which is now becoming a continuous study for us | 1950s couture with a rock n’ roll edgeEmma cook Party dresses | Rainwear | Big tops.JULIEn macDonaLD Helmut Newton - a constant reference | White Mischief’ - Greta Scacchi

negotiations and without this, things could have been much worse,” Riva says. “We could have lost our slot completely as there is no contractual agreement between the four cities as to who shows when.”

Unlike New York’s CFDA, Paris’s Federation Francais and Milan’s Camera Della Moda, each of which are industry bodies with membership and elected chairs, the BFC is a quasi charitable body working on behalf of the industry and its designers. “It’s true, we are the one city without a membership body representing its designers.” Whether this could have made a difference is a moot point for Riva. “The BFC has not acted with any less zeal in trying to resolve this despite not being a membership organisation.”

Riva assures none of these organisations deliberately want to damage London, they are following through the demands of their members, many of which

Maude & DorisA Fashionable children’s tale for grown-ups. Created by David Longshaw, story by Jenny Dyson. Photography by George Bamford

Report continues on page 2

To view The London Fashion Week Daily online go to www.londonfashionweek.co.uk

KrentcilPencils

Gone with the window

Introducing Faran Krentci l ,

American at large

Report by Becky Davies

Once I lived blissfully in my high-fructose American bubble, craving Marc Jacobs mouse flats, Carrie Bradshaw mismatches and Converse low tops. Those are all still great, but – well, to me they feel like empty clothing calories.

That’s because I’ve discovered the spirit of British fashion, and

In the world of visual merchandising, LFW is prime time for retailers to champion the fashion talent that best chimes with its store’s identity. Ergo Harvey Nichols’ windows include frocks from some of the hottest names in British fashion - Erdem, Chris Kane and Marios Schwab – reconfirming the store’s reputation as the home

its bold and brazen commitment to all forms of originality makes me never look back. New Yorkers call that essence “eccentricity” but really it’s more like courage – to wear what you feel, to not give a fig, to care more about being you than being what fashion dictates you should be.

Luella Bartley helps you regress to the schoolyard while still holding onto your sex appeal (and as far as Luella’s concerned, your sex appeal is massive). Henry Holland wants you to declare your crush literally on your sleeves; Louise Goldin says, f*** this, show your body – and do

of high fashion. Elsewhere, the cutting edge store Browns Focus is planning a playful toy soldier themed window with Sergeant fashion major Henry Holland. According to Erin Thompson, Selfridges’ Head of Visual, her windows don’t just simply tap into the store’s DNA for supporting with young British talent, they also act as a protest banner to stop the squeeze on next LFW. “During the London Collections, our front windows are always about fashion,” she says. “Given that LFW is under threat at the moment, we think it’s really important for Selfridges to be celebrating British talent.” And so say all of us.

Marios Schwab knows he is about to get depressed. It is two weeks before his Spring/Summer 09 show, one of the most important presentations on the London Fashion Week schedule. The machinists have just started on the collection at his East London studio, meaning Schwab has had to allow other hands to become involved in the work. “I get really annoyed and frustrated, because the first time you see the clothes, it’s a disaster,” he says. “I remain an outsider when I hand the pattern to the cutter. Then when I see the first toile fitting, my real self awakes and I start to work on them intensely. That’s when I come into the game. Some machinists cope and some of them can’t.”

That process of frustration-fuelled work happens to Schwab every season, and is one that is reaching fever pitch right now, with 31-year old Schwab showing his seventh collection tomorrow. Of Greek and Austrian parentage, Schwab studied fashion in Berlin before becoming an MA graduate of Central Saint Martins. He has since won Best New Designer at the British Fashion Awards in 2006, and is now stocked at

stores like Dover Street Market in London, Barney’s in New York and Maria Luisa in Paris. The collection that will be shown tomorrow is decidedly under wraps: we meet nearby the studio, not in it.

Schwab is a slight young man with a calm, considered voice, characteristics that consolidate this intensity. What doesn’t square with this is the end result: his dresses are tight, vivacious, assured, and unexpectedly fun. The labour of the process does not weigh down his designs. “The final garment is a world apart,” he says. “When you start seeing the first outcomes in toile, you get really depressed. I have an idea that seems simple on paper, and the way I want to have it constructed is quite difficult for people to understand. It takes time. The couple of weeks before the show are very, very intense.”

For some designers, this intensity could be stifling, but with Schwab he understands that the turmoil is a necessity. “The whole creative process is probably the best part of the collection,” he says. “I know I’m going to get really frustrated and annoyed, but we have such a lovely team, and they become your family because you never really leave the studio. Everyone around me shares the same emotions that I do.”

Outside observers witness this every season. “He makes it look effortless when it’s actually nearly killed him,” says Lulu Kennedy of Fashion East, where Schwab made his LFW debut in 2006, and who often buys dresses direct from the designer. “He’s manic about it being as perfect as it can be. He understands women’s bodies and whenever I go to visit him he just takes over – he goes at you like Edward Scissorhands. It’s sexy, but it doesn’t look slutty.”

At the centre of Schwab’s work is the way the garments themselves are made. “It’s very much about construction,” he says. “This is the major drive that I have in making clothes, to give them a percentage of exaggeration without ridiculing the purpose of the garment. It can be an exaggeration in the way you portray the body, but without it being too suffocating.” Many see his breakthrough collection as Spring Summer 08, where the constructed rolls of fabric that looked peeled back from the body were undercut with some extraordinary prints of thermal imaging and fibre-optic photographs.

Keeping his work personal has been very important to Schwab, who last season made an extreme but important decision just weeks before his show. “I was working on a collection that was more commercial,”

Interview by Charl ie Porter

he says. “But four weeks before Fashion Week I decided just to scrap it and start all over again. It felt like it was wrong. You should just do what you really want to do.” Schwab went on to show one of the most lauded collections of the entire season, an uncompromising view of hobble-length dresses that had been slashed to reveal fabric beneath. Schwab’s show was eventually picked as one of style.com’s Top 10 compiled from all the major fashion cities. “Sometimes it has to be more creative, because people have to learn your language. Some people take it the wrong way, but at the end of the day, it’s my vision, and that’s what it’s about. Otherwise, why would I be a designer?”

Schwab is at that stage in his career where he has proven his talent, but his business is still nascent. Decisions he makes now will have implications long into the foreseeable future. Which is why his turn away from commerciality is so interesting. Some designers would see growth to mean entering the rat-race of placing as much importance on selling pieces as on the catwalk show. The pressure to do so is particularly strong in this era of commercial and pre-collections, and particularly troubling for young designers who barely have the budget to even stage their catwalk show. “Sometimes I’m asked why we don’t do a pre-collection, but people need to realise that cash flow is different for us,” he says.” I get one chance a season. If I had a pre-collection I could do commercial pieces, but I’d rather go full out for the show, which is actually the purpose of what we do.” Schwab is aware that in the short term this may cost him some clients, but in the long term he believes it is in his best interest. “Maybe the buyers are going to buy from me in three years time instead of this year, but at least when they do they’ll know what I’m talking about. I don’t want to narrow my creative input to sell more now, rather than building up my vision or name.”

One thing Schwab is convinced about is his commitment to London, which goes some way to square the circle of his designs. For all his intensity, Schwab has relish for life in the city, and all the enjoyable idiosyncrasies that it entails. “I really like London,” says Schwab, who first moved here ten years ago. “It all gathers together. I live here, I like going out, and I really like the fact that this is where I design the collection. Why should I go somewhere else when I get inspired by the city?”

This season, all eyes are on what wonder boy Marios Schwab will do next.

LONDON, SuNDay 14th September 2008LONDON, SuNDay 14th September 2008 www.londonfashionweek.co.ukwww.londonfashionweek.co.uk • 0302 •

Mad about the Boy

LFW’s THE DAILy CREDITsCreated by Jenny and the Cat Club

Editor Jenny Dyson

Consultant Editor Cat Callender

Advertising/managing editor

Jana Dowling

Distributions manager Briony Hoare

Editorial assistant Jessica Hannan

Production assistant Aislinn Dowling

Reporters Jo Craven, Becky Davies,

Lauren Cochrane, Faran Krencil,

Antonia Whyatt, Georgia Dehn

Ph

oto

gra

ph

y b

y Ta

ra D

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it in neon. In America, that spirit of screaming hearts belongs to the glorious cult of rock ‘n roll. But here it belongs to fashion – you can’t hide your essence in your iPod ear buds; it’s got to come out of your closet.

I’m 27 years old and I’m not a Guinness. I can’t spend tons on every outfit and I don’t want to look like a total twit, and you get that. Before Mary Kate and Ashley showed the United States of MySpace how to mix their Chanel and their Hanes in the same boudoir breath, you Brits were all living it, every day on the streets. And a grateful nation

(mine) thanks you.Just don’t hold it against me

if I’m still wearing my Converse with the new Stella McCartney dress I procured especially for LFW – I may have traded apple pie for sticky toffee pudding, but hey, some things never change

xoxo Faran Krentcil

Faran Krentcil, NYLON Magazine editor and American at Large

Today’s schedule has been created exclusively by

illustrator ROB RYAN

Design Nick Steel and Sofia Leverbeck

at Harrimansteel and George Wu

Printed on recycled paper

by Guardian Print Centre , Rick Roberts

Way, stratford, London, e15 2GN

Published for the BFC by RUBBIsH

020 8965 7469

With thanks to Ocado

for feeding LFW’s

The Daily team

news Flash! Don’t forget ToPSHoP Unique Show is today at 13.45

For further information and important facts, please refer to the key below:www.londonfashionweek.co.uk

The BFC Tent: Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, SW7

TS: TOPSHOP venue, P3 University of Westminster, Luxborough St, NW1TOPSHOP will show Unique on Sunday 14th September On Schedule shows: www.londonfashionweek.co.uk Off Schedule shows: www.blow.co.uk

On/Off: Royal Academy of Arts, 6 Burlington Gardens, W1: www.thedoll.org/onoff

Vauxhall Fashion Scout: Cnr Cromwell Road and Queen’s Gate, SW7 Schedule correct at time of printing - for updates contact the Timeline - 020 7942 3900

are global brands with massive marketing budgets.

Faced with this date change, the BFC organised a meeting in June this year to consult with designers to gauge opinion on the options available to London. The meeting, according to Riva, had a strong attendance from designers and PRs relevant to LFW.

“The options presented were either shifting LFW to July and January after couture to a pre collections slot, or fighting the date squeeze,” she says. According to Riva, all present

agreed the best option was to retain current position and fight for more space. “The BFC is in no doubt that having a shorter calendar is going to cause us problems,” adds Riva. “The ideal would be five days for us, with New York ensuring that no major advertisers show on the final day allowing British based journalists to return to London for the start of London Fashion Week. In the current economic climate, if we are forced to condense the shows, we need to work even harder to make it viable for designers, sponsors, everyone.”

On the upside, “many of our international visitors will fly in for maximum four days. Buyers and press have increasing pressure on their budgets and time, particularly with the commercial pull of pre collections and would like all fashion weeks to reduce in length. I feel confident a shorter London can work. However, it needs a different approach. It could see two-tier schedules for on and off schedule designers, as well as more presentations similar to those given by Mulberry.”

The BFC will invite designers to meet post Paris to collectively plan for February’s Fashion

Week. Style.com’s Sarah Mower and champion of the new guard, while displeased by the squeeze, is not phased by it. “Many of the big stories happen in London,” she said. “However, in the squeeze, there will be severe competition among the commercial brands to have all the good slots. We cannot de-prioritise our stars and the new.”

The Communications Store’s Daniel Marks, PR to Richard Nicholl, Todd Lynn, Jonathan Saunders, Versace among other labels, sees the squeeze as a wake up call to all of London’s designers. “The key is we all

need to pull together,” he said. “Designers are so isolated in their need to build their own businesses, they just don’t have time to think about what we stand for as a group, and nor do they have the money. It’s crucial the international fashion weeks see and appreciate our talent. There isn’t a design team in the world without a British designer. Going to four days is neither a plus nor a minus, we will make it brilliant because we have that talent and diversity.”

Ctd from page 1

To view The London Fashion Week Daily online go to www.londonfashionweek.co.uk To view The London Fashion Week Daily online go to www.londonfashionweek.co.uk

KrentcilPencils

Gone with the window

Introducing Faran Krentci l ,

American at large

Report by Becky Davies

Once I lived blissfully in my high-fructose American bubble, craving Marc Jacobs mouse flats, Carrie Bradshaw mismatches and Converse low tops. Those are all still great, but – well, to me they feel like empty clothing calories.

That’s because I’ve discovered the spirit of British fashion, and

In the world of visual merchandising, LFW is prime time for retailers to champion the fashion talent that best chimes with its store’s identity. Ergo Harvey Nichols’ windows include frocks from some of the hottest names in British fashion - Erdem, Chris Kane and Marios Schwab – reconfirming the store’s reputation as the home

its bold and brazen commitment to all forms of originality makes me never look back. New Yorkers call that essence “eccentricity” but really it’s more like courage – to wear what you feel, to not give a fig, to care more about being you than being what fashion dictates you should be.

Luella Bartley helps you regress to the schoolyard while still holding onto your sex appeal (and as far as Luella’s concerned, your sex appeal is massive). Henry Holland wants you to declare your crush literally on your sleeves; Louise Goldin says, f*** this, show your body – and do

of high fashion. Elsewhere, the cutting edge store Browns Focus is planning a playful toy soldier themed window with Sergeant fashion major Henry Holland. According to Erin Thompson, Selfridges’ Head of Visual, her windows don’t just simply tap into the store’s DNA for supporting with young British talent, they also act as a protest banner to stop the squeeze on next LFW. “During the London Collections, our front windows are always about fashion,” she says. “Given that LFW is under threat at the moment, we think it’s really important for Selfridges to be celebrating British talent.” And so say all of us.

Marios Schwab knows he is about to get depressed. It is two weeks before his Spring/Summer 09 show, one of the most important presentations on the London Fashion Week schedule. The machinists have just started on the collection at his East London studio, meaning Schwab has had to allow other hands to become involved in the work. “I get really annoyed and frustrated, because the first time you see the clothes, it’s a disaster,” he says. “I remain an outsider when I hand the pattern to the cutter. Then when I see the first toile fitting, my real self awakes and I start to work on them intensely. That’s when I come into the game. Some machinists cope and some of them can’t.”

That process of frustration-fuelled work happens to Schwab every season, and is one that is reaching fever pitch right now, with 31-year old Schwab showing his seventh collection tomorrow. Of Greek and Austrian parentage, Schwab studied fashion in Berlin before becoming an MA graduate of Central Saint Martins. He has since won Best New Designer at the British Fashion Awards in 2006, and is now stocked at

stores like Dover Street Market in London, Barney’s in New York and Maria Luisa in Paris. The collection that will be shown tomorrow is decidedly under wraps: we meet nearby the studio, not in it.

Schwab is a slight young man with a calm, considered voice, characteristics that consolidate this intensity. What doesn’t square with this is the end result: his dresses are tight, vivacious, assured, and unexpectedly fun. The labour of the process does not weigh down his designs. “The final garment is a world apart,” he says. “When you start seeing the first outcomes in toile, you get really depressed. I have an idea that seems simple on paper, and the way I want to have it constructed is quite difficult for people to understand. It takes time. The couple of weeks before the show are very, very intense.”

For some designers, this intensity could be stifling, but with Schwab he understands that the turmoil is a necessity. “The whole creative process is probably the best part of the collection,” he says. “I know I’m going to get really frustrated and annoyed, but we have such a lovely team, and they become your family because you never really leave the studio. Everyone around me shares the same emotions that I do.”

Outside observers witness this every season. “He makes it look effortless when it’s actually nearly killed him,” says Lulu Kennedy of Fashion East, where Schwab made his LFW debut in 2006, and who often buys dresses direct from the designer. “He’s manic about it being as perfect as it can be. He understands women’s bodies and whenever I go to visit him he just takes over – he goes at you like Edward Scissorhands. It’s sexy, but it doesn’t look slutty.”

At the centre of Schwab’s work is the way the garments themselves are made. “It’s very much about construction,” he says. “This is the major drive that I have in making clothes, to give them a percentage of exaggeration without ridiculing the purpose of the garment. It can be an exaggeration in the way you portray the body, but without it being too suffocating.” Many see his breakthrough collection as Spring Summer 08, where the constructed rolls of fabric that looked peeled back from the body were undercut with some extraordinary prints of thermal imaging and fibre-optic photographs.

Keeping his work personal has been very important to Schwab, who last season made an extreme but important decision just weeks before his show. “I was working on a collection that was more commercial,”

Interview by Charl ie Porter

he says. “But four weeks before Fashion Week I decided just to scrap it and start all over again. It felt like it was wrong. You should just do what you really want to do.” Schwab went on to show one of the most lauded collections of the entire season, an uncompromising view of hobble-length dresses that had been slashed to reveal fabric beneath. Schwab’s show was eventually picked as one of style.com’s Top 10 compiled from all the major fashion cities. “Sometimes it has to be more creative, because people have to learn your language. Some people take it the wrong way, but at the end of the day, it’s my vision, and that’s what it’s about. Otherwise, why would I be a designer?”

Schwab is at that stage in his career where he has proven his talent, but his business is still nascent. Decisions he makes now will have implications long into the foreseeable future. Which is why his turn away from commerciality is so interesting. Some designers would see growth to mean entering the rat-race of placing as much importance on selling pieces as on the catwalk show. The pressure to do so is particularly strong in this era of commercial and pre-collections, and particularly troubling for young designers who barely have the budget to even stage their catwalk show. “Sometimes I’m asked why we don’t do a pre-collection, but people need to realise that cash flow is different for us,” he says.” I get one chance a season. If I had a pre-collection I could do commercial pieces, but I’d rather go full out for the show, which is actually the purpose of what we do.” Schwab is aware that in the short term this may cost him some clients, but in the long term he believes it is in his best interest. “Maybe the buyers are going to buy from me in three years time instead of this year, but at least when they do they’ll know what I’m talking about. I don’t want to narrow my creative input to sell more now, rather than building up my vision or name.”

One thing Schwab is convinced about is his commitment to London, which goes some way to square the circle of his designs. For all his intensity, Schwab has relish for life in the city, and all the enjoyable idiosyncrasies that it entails. “I really like London,” says Schwab, who first moved here ten years ago. “It all gathers together. I live here, I like going out, and I really like the fact that this is where I design the collection. Why should I go somewhere else when I get inspired by the city?”

This season, all eyes are on what wonder boy Marios Schwab will do next.

LONDON, SuNDay 14th September 2008LONDON, SuNDay 14th September 2008 www.londonfashionweek.co.ukwww.londonfashionweek.co.uk • 0302 •

Mad about the Boy

LFW’s THE DAILy CREDITsCreated by Jenny and the Cat Club

Editor Jenny Dyson

Consultant Editor Cat Callender

Advertising/managing editor

Jana Dowling

Distributions manager Briony Hoare

Editorial assistant Jessica Hannan

Production assistant Aislinn Dowling

Reporters Jo Craven, Becky Davies,

Lauren Cochrane, Faran Krencil,

Antonia Whyatt, Georgia Dehn

Ph

oto

gra

ph

y b

y Ta

ra D

arb

y

it in neon. In America, that spirit of screaming hearts belongs to the glorious cult of rock ‘n roll. But here it belongs to fashion – you can’t hide your essence in your iPod ear buds; it’s got to come out of your closet.

I’m 27 years old and I’m not a Guinness. I can’t spend tons on every outfit and I don’t want to look like a total twit, and you get that. Before Mary Kate and Ashley showed the United States of MySpace how to mix their Chanel and their Hanes in the same boudoir breath, you Brits were all living it, every day on the streets. And a grateful nation

(mine) thanks you.Just don’t hold it against me

if I’m still wearing my Converse with the new Stella McCartney dress I procured especially for LFW – I may have traded apple pie for sticky toffee pudding, but hey, some things never change

xoxo Faran Krentcil

Faran Krentcil, NYLON Magazine editor and American at Large

Today’s schedule has been created exclusively by

illustrator ROB RYAN

Design Nick Steel and Sofia Leverbeck

at Harrimansteel and George Wu

Printed on recycled paper

by Guardian Print Centre , Rick Roberts

Way, stratford, London, e15 2GN

Published for the BFC by RUBBIsH

020 8965 7469

With thanks to Ocado

for feeding LFW’s

The Daily team

news Flash! Don’t forget ToPSHoP Unique Show is today at 13.45

For further information and important facts, please refer to the key below:www.londonfashionweek.co.uk

The BFC Tent: Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, SW7

TS: TOPSHOP venue, P3 University of Westminster, Luxborough St, NW1TOPSHOP will show Unique on Sunday 14th September On Schedule shows: www.londonfashionweek.co.uk Off Schedule shows: www.blow.co.uk

On/Off: Royal Academy of Arts, 6 Burlington Gardens, W1: www.thedoll.org/onoff

Vauxhall Fashion Scout: Cnr Cromwell Road and Queen’s Gate, SW7 Schedule correct at time of printing - for updates contact the Timeline - 020 7942 3900

are global brands with massive marketing budgets.

Faced with this date change, the BFC organised a meeting in June this year to consult with designers to gauge opinion on the options available to London. The meeting, according to Riva, had a strong attendance from designers and PRs relevant to LFW.

“The options presented were either shifting LFW to July and January after couture to a pre collections slot, or fighting the date squeeze,” she says. According to Riva, all present

agreed the best option was to retain current position and fight for more space. “The BFC is in no doubt that having a shorter calendar is going to cause us problems,” adds Riva. “The ideal would be five days for us, with New York ensuring that no major advertisers show on the final day allowing British based journalists to return to London for the start of London Fashion Week. In the current economic climate, if we are forced to condense the shows, we need to work even harder to make it viable for designers, sponsors, everyone.”

On the upside, “many of our international visitors will fly in for maximum four days. Buyers and press have increasing pressure on their budgets and time, particularly with the commercial pull of pre collections and would like all fashion weeks to reduce in length. I feel confident a shorter London can work. However, it needs a different approach. It could see two-tier schedules for on and off schedule designers, as well as more presentations similar to those given by Mulberry.”

The BFC will invite designers to meet post Paris to collectively plan for February’s Fashion

Week. Style.com’s Sarah Mower and champion of the new guard, while displeased by the squeeze, is not phased by it. “Many of the big stories happen in London,” she said. “However, in the squeeze, there will be severe competition among the commercial brands to have all the good slots. We cannot de-prioritise our stars and the new.”

The Communications Store’s Daniel Marks, PR to Richard Nicholl, Todd Lynn, Jonathan Saunders, Versace among other labels, sees the squeeze as a wake up call to all of London’s designers. “The key is we all

need to pull together,” he said. “Designers are so isolated in their need to build their own businesses, they just don’t have time to think about what we stand for as a group, and nor do they have the money. It’s crucial the international fashion weeks see and appreciate our talent. There isn’t a design team in the world without a British designer. Going to four days is neither a plus nor a minus, we will make it brilliant because we have that talent and diversity.”

Ctd from page 1

To view The London Fashion Week Daily online go to www.londonfashionweek.co.uk To view The London Fashion Week Daily online go to www.londonfashionweek.co.uk

LONDON, SuNDay 14th September 2008 LONDON, SuNDay 14th September 2008www.londonfashionweek.com www.londonfashionweek.com04 • • 05

<AquaAs in the 157 year old British brand aquascutum and the bluey hue that forms the foundation of its S/S 09 presentation on Tuesday. Inspired by the Rothko exhibition opening later this month at the Tate Modern, Aquascutum’s latest offering of urban utilitarian pieces comes in varying shades of sky, sapphire teal and cobalt.

The

Fas

hion

able

A-Z

of L

ondo

n

<Zaha HadidYou have no doubt already heard about the much anticipated collaboration between architect Zaha Hadid and Brazilian jelly shoe meisters melissa. If not, you must have been Zzzizzing. With a party to celebrate this week and the first limited edition pair on sale at – you guessed it – DSm, witness fashion’s further foray outside its own gene pool for the most exciting design statements.

<VivienneWestwood’s compilation album catwalk Breakdown launches in the Selfridges Wonder Room tomorrow. Featuring 16 of Viv’s favourite tracks including Great Balls of Fire by Mae West and Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers, this is definitely one you’ll be cranking the speakers up for.

<B-MoviesTatty Devine’s Attack of the Fifty Ft Jewellery collection kick starts a B-Movie moment this week. Next up, artist Lucy Butler creates a window installation inspired by The Attack of the 50ft Woman, in matches’ Notting Hill. Finally, cult film director John Waters’ standup show This Filthy World hits London this Thursday. Brilliant.

<SipThere’s nothing like a cocktail to lift the spirits after hours of catwalk-gazing. Depending on where you end up post show, allow us to wet your appetite: the amber, created by Bistrotheque’s genius cocktail specialist Vilius Kadunas. The Fashionista, created by the may Fair in celebration of its status as the official place to stay during LFW. Finally, an entire cocktail menu reflecting the collections of Basso & Brooke, Charles Anastase, Marios Schwab and Louise Goldin has been crafted at St Martins Lane’s Light Bar. Pace yourselves people.

<PersonalityFun, friendly, mates with supermodels, now on the telly, fashion’s most charming Henry Holland is fast becoming a personality. This week, his big champions are Levi’s for whom he has customised six pairs of 501s launching as part of his House of Holland show. Post-show, Hen’s making a personal appearance at Selfridges on Wednesday. Autographs, anyone?

<Xmarks the spot, or rather, multitude of spots peppering the ultimate anti it-bag created by comme des Garcons. The polka dot bag is more whacky district nurse attaché case meets 1970s TWA airline bag than anything you will ever see on a WAG. Best of all? The matching pencil case and oyster card holder. Yours for around £150. Whoopee! www.doverstreetmarket.com

<ComplimentaryGrab an afternoon tea this week at Aubaine on Brompton Road and receive a complimentary Bliss ‘manicure In a Bag’ voucher worth £81. The bag, redeemable at the Bliss Spa on Sloane Avenue contains: Glamour Gloves; Glamour Glove Gel; a nail-nourishing cream and an Essie nail polish. Tea starts at £22.

Lupfer As in markus, is something of a whizz when it comes to knits. He is presenting a collection crafted entirely out of jersey for his namesake S/S09 label. To view by appointment only: 020 8525 5544. Also look out for his third season collaboration with armand Basi one showing this Wednesday at noon. <OMG

You heard it here first. m.a.c’s latest product range, ‘overrich’ anticipates the 80s revival M.A.C’s UK director of make-up artistry, Terry Barber is predicting for S/S 09. “It’s a response to the return of the supermodel,” says Barber of the oxidized-metal hued eyeshadows. “They’re very inspired by the meticulous beauty aesthetic that 80s supermodels encapsulated.” www.maccosmetics.co.uk

<FragrantPut the kettle on. Driven by her love of tea, perfumer Lyn Harris has created a fragrant range of brews. Swing by her miller Harris Bruton Street store - where her tearoom opens on September 20th. If you can’t wait till Saturday, nip down to Nicole Farhi’s Bond Street store where ‘Tea at nicole’s’ will be available during LFW only. www.millerharris.com

<Massivemulberry is on a roll thanks to its new designer Emma Hill. Her signature? Supersizing design details. Think magnified rivets normally found on jeans, now displaced onto bags such as the Joelle; blown up popper fastenings on leather jackets and oversized squishy clutch purses.

JaneWe’ve all been following what our favourite high street lady did next. Now’s your chance to snap up what Shepherdson has been reserving for a special Whistles stock drop during LFW: zingy watercolour floral shifts; oversized duffle coats and wool crepe one shoulder cocktail dresses. Get a wiggle on or live to regret it. www.whistles.co.uk

<RocksLouise Gray has extended her line to embrace jewellery while Luc kieffer, fresh from collaborating on collections for Yves Saint Laurent and Louis Vuitton, launches his eponymous collection of jewels, Resin D’etre. It debuts this month exclusively at Selfridges. Prize for the most quirky take on winter’s trend for statement jewels has to go to Kate Baker. Her reworked vintage necklaces truly ROCK!

<UndergroundAs in on the down lo. Just over a week before LFW kicked off, it was still little more than a rumour that model Ben Grimes and former pattern cutter at Richard Nicoll, Lily Parker would be debuting their LP.BG collection. Revolving around party clothes for party girls, it’s inspired by the designers’ first fashion purchases bought as teens back in the 90s. Watch this space. info@wearelpbg.com

<HattersHats off to the most talked about titfer creators of the week. New Gen winner nasir mazhar is holding a presentation on Tuesday at noon at Hoxton Square bar and kitchen. With styling by Nicola Formichetti and fans including Madonna and Kylie this is not to be missed. Also look out for Piers atkinson’s witty Mickey Mouse baseball caps chez Noki.

DorothyChanneling the Wizard of Oz’s ruby-slippered heroine, Gareth Pugh’s a/w 08 collection paid homage to Dorothy meets er, Predator while Luella teamed winter party dresses with Wicked Witch of the West hats. Not just a style obsession, Amy Winehouse’s new album samples the theme song of The Wizard of Oz. Her favorite character? The Wicked Witch of the West.

<WhiteningAs the US fashion fraternity has known for eons, the ultimate fashion credential is a set of sparkling pearly whites. Ensure yours are shining bright in time for LFW with the help of Swissdent’s Whitening Brush. Resembling a chic lip-gloss, this pocket-sized whitening pen removes stains and whitens teeth. Available from Beyond Beauty at Harvey nichols. www.harveynichols.com

IllamasquaFormer installation artist turned make-up supremo, alex Box launches her new unisex make-up brand Illamasqua, exclusively at Selfridges this week. Having collaborated with Gareth Pugh and Alexander McQueen, expect bonkers colour combinations and a refreshingly experimental approach to beauty. www.selfridges.co.uk

<Y (Yummy)Last season it was gastro pub grub. This week the Topshop Showspace café at the University of Westminster is paying homage to that great British institution, the greasy spoon. Expect bubble and squeak, prawn cocktails, and beer-battered cod and chips to be chalked on the specials board. Lovely jubbly.

<Nadja Every season, nadja Swarovski sprinkles her sparkling fairy dust over some of the hottest collections. To celebrate ten seasons working with Giles, and issue two of Swarovski’s bi-annual magazine ROCKS, Nadja is hosting R=ROCKS, this Tuesday. Never one to do things in half measures, ROCKS comes in the form of a hefty coffee table magazine full of fashion images belonging to Swarovski-sponsored designers. www.swarovskisparkles.com

<Killernatacha marro’s killer heels are of the colourfully cartoon-like fetish variety. Not for shrinking violets, fans include Goldfrapp, Grace Jones and Grayson Perry. For those after a feisty Betty Boop platform heel, hotfoot it to Marro’s shop or clock her designs tiptoeing down the runways at charles anastase and ossie clark this afternoon. www.natachamarro.com

Top floorIconic London tower centrepoint is about to become a snazzy hangout thanks to this week’s hard hat opening of members club Paramount. Housed on the top three floors and boasting toptastic views of the capital, the Tom Dixon-designed interior will feature a top floor wrap-around champagne bar.

<QUIFFAttention hair crisis sufferers: super-duper hairdresser James Brown will be based in Topshop Oxford Circus offering consultations and a choice of A/W styles for this week only. “The messed up chignon with a middle parting is my favourite. It is effortlessly chic and cool without looking like you’ve tried too hard,” says the man responsible for Kate Moss’s mane. www.topshop.com

<ExclusivesLondon fashion stores have upped their retail USP with a host of exclusives: nicholas kirkwood and Roland mouret have designed exclusive pieces for Browns; ossie clark has designed one of its signature dresses for matches, and Selfridges is the exclusive stockist of Sophie Hulme and alexis mabille, formerly of Hedi Slimane and Galliano fame.

<GalleriesWhether it’s Roksanda Ilincic’s first full scale runway show in the Sir Norman Foster-built Albion gallery in Battersea, John Rocha’s gallery-environment show [complete with Francis Bacons hanging on the walls], or the private view of ‘Cut Flowers by Robin Derrick’ at The Old Train Depot in SW8, galleries are the hot places to gather this LFW.

Compiled by Becky Davies

To view The London Fashion Week Daily online go to www.londonfashionweek.co.uk To view The London Fashion Week Daily online go to www.londonfashionweek.co.uk

LONDON, SuNDay 14th September 2008 LONDON, SuNDay 14th September 2008www.londonfashionweek.com www.londonfashionweek.com04 • • 05

<AquaAs in the 157 year old British brand aquascutum and the bluey hue that forms the foundation of its S/S 09 presentation on Tuesday. Inspired by the Rothko exhibition opening later this month at the Tate Modern, Aquascutum’s latest offering of urban utilitarian pieces comes in varying shades of sky, sapphire teal and cobalt.

The

Fas

hion

able

A-Z

of L

ondo

n

<Zaha HadidYou have no doubt already heard about the much anticipated collaboration between architect Zaha Hadid and Brazilian jelly shoe meisters melissa. If not, you must have been Zzzizzing. With a party to celebrate this week and the first limited edition pair on sale at – you guessed it – DSm, witness fashion’s further foray outside its own gene pool for the most exciting design statements.

<VivienneWestwood’s compilation album catwalk Breakdown launches in the Selfridges Wonder Room tomorrow. Featuring 16 of Viv’s favourite tracks including Great Balls of Fire by Mae West and Tchaikovsky’s Waltz of the Flowers, this is definitely one you’ll be cranking the speakers up for.

<B-MoviesTatty Devine’s Attack of the Fifty Ft Jewellery collection kick starts a B-Movie moment this week. Next up, artist Lucy Butler creates a window installation inspired by The Attack of the 50ft Woman, in matches’ Notting Hill. Finally, cult film director John Waters’ standup show This Filthy World hits London this Thursday. Brilliant.

<SipThere’s nothing like a cocktail to lift the spirits after hours of catwalk-gazing. Depending on where you end up post show, allow us to wet your appetite: the amber, created by Bistrotheque’s genius cocktail specialist Vilius Kadunas. The Fashionista, created by the may Fair in celebration of its status as the official place to stay during LFW. Finally, an entire cocktail menu reflecting the collections of Basso & Brooke, Charles Anastase, Marios Schwab and Louise Goldin has been crafted at St Martins Lane’s Light Bar. Pace yourselves people.

<PersonalityFun, friendly, mates with supermodels, now on the telly, fashion’s most charming Henry Holland is fast becoming a personality. This week, his big champions are Levi’s for whom he has customised six pairs of 501s launching as part of his House of Holland show. Post-show, Hen’s making a personal appearance at Selfridges on Wednesday. Autographs, anyone?

<Xmarks the spot, or rather, multitude of spots peppering the ultimate anti it-bag created by comme des Garcons. The polka dot bag is more whacky district nurse attaché case meets 1970s TWA airline bag than anything you will ever see on a WAG. Best of all? The matching pencil case and oyster card holder. Yours for around £150. Whoopee! www.doverstreetmarket.com

<ComplimentaryGrab an afternoon tea this week at Aubaine on Brompton Road and receive a complimentary Bliss ‘manicure In a Bag’ voucher worth £81. The bag, redeemable at the Bliss Spa on Sloane Avenue contains: Glamour Gloves; Glamour Glove Gel; a nail-nourishing cream and an Essie nail polish. Tea starts at £22.

Lupfer As in markus, is something of a whizz when it comes to knits. He is presenting a collection crafted entirely out of jersey for his namesake S/S09 label. To view by appointment only: 020 8525 5544. Also look out for his third season collaboration with armand Basi one showing this Wednesday at noon. <OMG

You heard it here first. m.a.c’s latest product range, ‘overrich’ anticipates the 80s revival M.A.C’s UK director of make-up artistry, Terry Barber is predicting for S/S 09. “It’s a response to the return of the supermodel,” says Barber of the oxidized-metal hued eyeshadows. “They’re very inspired by the meticulous beauty aesthetic that 80s supermodels encapsulated.” www.maccosmetics.co.uk

<FragrantPut the kettle on. Driven by her love of tea, perfumer Lyn Harris has created a fragrant range of brews. Swing by her miller Harris Bruton Street store - where her tearoom opens on September 20th. If you can’t wait till Saturday, nip down to Nicole Farhi’s Bond Street store where ‘Tea at nicole’s’ will be available during LFW only. www.millerharris.com

<Massivemulberry is on a roll thanks to its new designer Emma Hill. Her signature? Supersizing design details. Think magnified rivets normally found on jeans, now displaced onto bags such as the Joelle; blown up popper fastenings on leather jackets and oversized squishy clutch purses.

JaneWe’ve all been following what our favourite high street lady did next. Now’s your chance to snap up what Shepherdson has been reserving for a special Whistles stock drop during LFW: zingy watercolour floral shifts; oversized duffle coats and wool crepe one shoulder cocktail dresses. Get a wiggle on or live to regret it. www.whistles.co.uk

<RocksLouise Gray has extended her line to embrace jewellery while Luc kieffer, fresh from collaborating on collections for Yves Saint Laurent and Louis Vuitton, launches his eponymous collection of jewels, Resin D’etre. It debuts this month exclusively at Selfridges. Prize for the most quirky take on winter’s trend for statement jewels has to go to Kate Baker. Her reworked vintage necklaces truly ROCK!

<UndergroundAs in on the down lo. Just over a week before LFW kicked off, it was still little more than a rumour that model Ben Grimes and former pattern cutter at Richard Nicoll, Lily Parker would be debuting their LP.BG collection. Revolving around party clothes for party girls, it’s inspired by the designers’ first fashion purchases bought as teens back in the 90s. Watch this space. info@wearelpbg.com

<HattersHats off to the most talked about titfer creators of the week. New Gen winner nasir mazhar is holding a presentation on Tuesday at noon at Hoxton Square bar and kitchen. With styling by Nicola Formichetti and fans including Madonna and Kylie this is not to be missed. Also look out for Piers atkinson’s witty Mickey Mouse baseball caps chez Noki.

DorothyChanneling the Wizard of Oz’s ruby-slippered heroine, Gareth Pugh’s a/w 08 collection paid homage to Dorothy meets er, Predator while Luella teamed winter party dresses with Wicked Witch of the West hats. Not just a style obsession, Amy Winehouse’s new album samples the theme song of The Wizard of Oz. Her favorite character? The Wicked Witch of the West.

<WhiteningAs the US fashion fraternity has known for eons, the ultimate fashion credential is a set of sparkling pearly whites. Ensure yours are shining bright in time for LFW with the help of Swissdent’s Whitening Brush. Resembling a chic lip-gloss, this pocket-sized whitening pen removes stains and whitens teeth. Available from Beyond Beauty at Harvey nichols. www.harveynichols.com

IllamasquaFormer installation artist turned make-up supremo, alex Box launches her new unisex make-up brand Illamasqua, exclusively at Selfridges this week. Having collaborated with Gareth Pugh and Alexander McQueen, expect bonkers colour combinations and a refreshingly experimental approach to beauty. www.selfridges.co.uk

<Y (Yummy)Last season it was gastro pub grub. This week the Topshop Showspace café at the University of Westminster is paying homage to that great British institution, the greasy spoon. Expect bubble and squeak, prawn cocktails, and beer-battered cod and chips to be chalked on the specials board. Lovely jubbly.

<Nadja Every season, nadja Swarovski sprinkles her sparkling fairy dust over some of the hottest collections. To celebrate ten seasons working with Giles, and issue two of Swarovski’s bi-annual magazine ROCKS, Nadja is hosting R=ROCKS, this Tuesday. Never one to do things in half measures, ROCKS comes in the form of a hefty coffee table magazine full of fashion images belonging to Swarovski-sponsored designers. www.swarovskisparkles.com

<Killernatacha marro’s killer heels are of the colourfully cartoon-like fetish variety. Not for shrinking violets, fans include Goldfrapp, Grace Jones and Grayson Perry. For those after a feisty Betty Boop platform heel, hotfoot it to Marro’s shop or clock her designs tiptoeing down the runways at charles anastase and ossie clark this afternoon. www.natachamarro.com

Top floorIconic London tower centrepoint is about to become a snazzy hangout thanks to this week’s hard hat opening of members club Paramount. Housed on the top three floors and boasting toptastic views of the capital, the Tom Dixon-designed interior will feature a top floor wrap-around champagne bar.

<QUIFFAttention hair crisis sufferers: super-duper hairdresser James Brown will be based in Topshop Oxford Circus offering consultations and a choice of A/W styles for this week only. “The messed up chignon with a middle parting is my favourite. It is effortlessly chic and cool without looking like you’ve tried too hard,” says the man responsible for Kate Moss’s mane. www.topshop.com

<ExclusivesLondon fashion stores have upped their retail USP with a host of exclusives: nicholas kirkwood and Roland mouret have designed exclusive pieces for Browns; ossie clark has designed one of its signature dresses for matches, and Selfridges is the exclusive stockist of Sophie Hulme and alexis mabille, formerly of Hedi Slimane and Galliano fame.

<GalleriesWhether it’s Roksanda Ilincic’s first full scale runway show in the Sir Norman Foster-built Albion gallery in Battersea, John Rocha’s gallery-environment show [complete with Francis Bacons hanging on the walls], or the private view of ‘Cut Flowers by Robin Derrick’ at The Old Train Depot in SW8, galleries are the hot places to gather this LFW.

Compiled by Becky Davies

To view The London Fashion Week Daily online go to www.londonfashionweek.co.uk To view The London Fashion Week Daily online go to www.londonfashionweek.co.uk

LONDON, SuNDay 14th September 2008www.londonfashionweek.co.uk • 07

Le Geek, tres Chic!Two seasons are rarely the same at LFW. However, now in its third season, Geek chic is here to stay.

We are not referring to the bespectacled bookworms at Luella and Paul Smith, but the dapper squaddies

patrolling the LFW press lounge, braced for the cries of fashion folk in technological trauma.

Yes! The Geek Squad will not discriminate, whether it’s a dizzy intern who can’t find the ON button, or a dead-lined Ed about to see red. Refrain from

launching your laptop at your assistant’s head, call for the Squad and together we can turn this into

London Fashion Geek.

GEEKSQUAD.CO.UK. Official It men for LFW. Tune in throughout the week for Geek tips.

Jessica Hannan

Salut, fashionable copines. This semaine I will be bringing you all the haute gossip and pictures from fashion week’s fabbest soirees. From a super trendy knees-up post PPQ, to a tres posh ‘do’ at numero 10, plus many more fash bashes, all will be glamorously regurgitated the following morning on the LFW Daily party page so fast you will still be able to taste last night’s cocktails! Until then, air kisses all round. Xxx Miss Oui.

The BFC is planning a rumoured Christmas special double Album, inspired by the latest musical fashion collaborations, experts did not confirm today.

The seed was planted after Vivenne Westwood announced the release of her album Catwalk Breakdown, plus the news that Jean Charles de Castelbajac has recorded a song to be released on Galanter’s next album, Happy Fu.

Suggestions for tracks include BFC staff in chorus of Hark the Harold Angels, Oh Come All Ye Fashionable sung by the New Gen brigade, Henry Holly and the Ivy with a solo by Agyness and Oh, Little Town of Temperley-hem sung by this season’s NY defector, Alice Temperley and team. Basso and Brooke are rumored to be looking for a third addition to complete We three kings. “We’ve got lots of queens, but no king,” a ‘friend’ reported.JH

A bientôt Gareth!Boo hoo! Monsieur Pugh is running late for his Eurostar to Paris. We are tres excited for him to be showing across the channel, mais sacre bleu! We also espére beaucoup qu'il return toot sweet!

Help the dashing designer find his way from Dalston to the Eiffel Tower via Mandi Lennard's office, the Moët bar, and the hoards of fashion students living off coffee, croissant crumbs and crisps waving him off with patent leather hankies...

Colin Waxman

Miss Oui? Oui, c’est moi!

GREATEST* HITS

Break

RubbiSh ETiquETTEFeaturing guest agony aunt Colin Waxman, fashion PR/marketing strategist extraordinaire whose company Waxman Communications rules the roost.

TODAY’S DilEmmA:

Dear Colin,Post collections, what is the etiquette on where fashionable people should escape to for a week or two? We anticipate you sharing details on what you get up to.

Dearest Rubbish,Quite frankly the intrusion into my summer is a little much – but for you I suppose I can put pen to paper. I have managed to get rid of most of my house guests from the little shack I call home for the summer in Mustique - however there is one very tiresome client who refuses to leave….. still they pay well….. so needs must.

I am exhausted before, during and after the collections. These designers think the PR has to do everything for them. Find sponsorship, organize their shows, find celebrities, fight for their time slot with the BFC – I am quite surprised sometimes they don’t ask us to make the collection for them. Sometimes I feel my name might just as well be up there in lights. Last season a stunning little cashmere shrug I thought of for a client was a best seller. Was I thanked? Of course not. No royalties, no flowers, no nothing. I am feeling very bitter this season. I think it has something to do with these new pills I am taking.

Flying between the shows is made much easier as I normally hitch a lift on a private plane – everyone does you know – I know it is not very environmentally friendly but I have just had my garden in the country re-designed and planted with lovely silver birch trees – so I am sure I have off set my carbon thingy.

After the shows I am in Paris so it is a quick week at the Mayr clinic in Austria. Yoghurt for breakfast, lunch and dinner – a couple of colonics a day – and something green in a glass to drink at tea time. Of course it is all rather holistic – but there is a divine man in a nearby village who does a fabulous blue trout and new potatoes if needed. And Fortnums ships me a survival pack. But I should not be telling you all my secrets. God forbid I bump into anyone I know after fashion week.

FAsHIOnABLE FUn AnD gAmEs BROUgHT TO yOU By POP-UP PUBLICATIOn RUBBIsH mAgAzInE. WWW.RUBBIsHmAg.COm

IT’s WHAT EvERyBODy’s TALKIng!

*This is a silly story

Illu

stra

tio

n b

y M

att

Ble

ase

RUbbISH ADvERTORIAL

To view The London Fashion Week Daily online go to www.londonfashionweek.co.uk

LONDON, SuNDay 14th September 2008www.londonfashionweek.co.uk • 07

Le Geek, tres Chic!Two seasons are rarely the same at LFW. However, now in its third season, Geek chic is here to stay.

We are not referring to the bespectacled bookworms at Luella and Paul Smith, but the dapper squaddies

patrolling the LFW press lounge, braced for the cries of fashion folk in technological trauma.

Yes! The Geek Squad will not discriminate, whether it’s a dizzy intern who can’t find the ON button, or a dead-lined Ed about to see red. Refrain from

launching your laptop at your assistant’s head, call for the Squad and together we can turn this into

London Fashion Geek.

GEEKSQUAD.CO.UK. Official It men for LFW. Tune in throughout the week for Geek tips.

Jessica Hannan

Salut, fashionable copines. This semaine I will be bringing you all the haute gossip and pictures from fashion week’s fabbest soirees. From a super trendy knees-up post PPQ, to a tres posh ‘do’ at numero 10, plus many more fash bashes, all will be glamorously regurgitated the following morning on the LFW Daily party page so fast you will still be able to taste last night’s cocktails! Until then, air kisses all round. Xxx Miss Oui.

The BFC is planning a rumoured Christmas special double Album, inspired by the latest musical fashion collaborations, experts did not confirm today.

The seed was planted after Vivenne Westwood announced the release of her album Catwalk Breakdown, plus the news that Jean Charles de Castelbajac has recorded a song to be released on Galanter’s next album, Happy Fu.

Suggestions for tracks include BFC staff in chorus of Hark the Harold Angels, Oh Come All Ye Fashionable sung by the New Gen brigade, Henry Holly and the Ivy with a solo by Agyness and Oh, Little Town of Temperley-hem sung by this season’s NY defector, Alice Temperley and team. Basso and Brooke are rumored to be looking for a third addition to complete We three kings. “We’ve got lots of queens, but no king,” a ‘friend’ reported.JH

A bientôt Gareth!Boo hoo! Monsieur Pugh is running late for his Eurostar to Paris. We are tres excited for him to be showing across the channel, mais sacre bleu! We also espére beaucoup qu'il return toot sweet!

Help the dashing designer find his way from Dalston to the Eiffel Tower via Mandi Lennard's office, the Moët bar, and the hoards of fashion students living off coffee, croissant crumbs and crisps waving him off with patent leather hankies...

Colin Waxman

Miss Oui? Oui, c’est moi!

GREATEST* HITS

Break

RubbiSh ETiquETTEFeaturing guest agony aunt Colin Waxman, fashion PR/marketing strategist extraordinaire whose company Waxman Communications rules the roost.

TODAY’S DilEmmA:

Dear Colin,Post collections, what is the etiquette on where fashionable people should escape to for a week or two? We anticipate you sharing details on what you get up to.

Dearest Rubbish,Quite frankly the intrusion into my summer is a little much – but for you I suppose I can put pen to paper. I have managed to get rid of most of my house guests from the little shack I call home for the summer in Mustique - however there is one very tiresome client who refuses to leave….. still they pay well….. so needs must.

I am exhausted before, during and after the collections. These designers think the PR has to do everything for them. Find sponsorship, organize their shows, find celebrities, fight for their time slot with the BFC – I am quite surprised sometimes they don’t ask us to make the collection for them. Sometimes I feel my name might just as well be up there in lights. Last season a stunning little cashmere shrug I thought of for a client was a best seller. Was I thanked? Of course not. No royalties, no flowers, no nothing. I am feeling very bitter this season. I think it has something to do with these new pills I am taking.

Flying between the shows is made much easier as I normally hitch a lift on a private plane – everyone does you know – I know it is not very environmentally friendly but I have just had my garden in the country re-designed and planted with lovely silver birch trees – so I am sure I have off set my carbon thingy.

After the shows I am in Paris so it is a quick week at the Mayr clinic in Austria. Yoghurt for breakfast, lunch and dinner – a couple of colonics a day – and something green in a glass to drink at tea time. Of course it is all rather holistic – but there is a divine man in a nearby village who does a fabulous blue trout and new potatoes if needed. And Fortnums ships me a survival pack. But I should not be telling you all my secrets. God forbid I bump into anyone I know after fashion week.

FAsHIOnABLE FUn AnD gAmEs BROUgHT TO yOU By POP-UP PUBLICATIOn RUBBIsH mAgAzInE. WWW.RUBBIsHmAg.COm

IT’s WHAT EvERyBODy’s TALKIng!

*This is a silly story

Illu

stra

tio

n b

y M

att

Ble

ase

RUbbISH ADvERTORIAL

To view The London Fashion Week Daily online go to www.londonfashionweek.co.uk