AN ALTERNATIVE IDEA…

Posted on May 18, 2013 by vikkilondon

Dear all,

I have been away from the blogging scene for quite a while now because of a very exciting project that I have undertaken which is taking up a fair bit of my time.

At uni this term I am doing a ‘fashion consultancy’ unit which means that we become fashion consultants for a brand for around 3 months. Always up for a challenge, myself and my awesome partner in crime Aoife, decided to steer away from the norm (many students work with major high street names such as John Lewis, HOF, Dorothy Perkins etc), and work with a company that would really benefit from the project and had what we called ‘heart’…this is when we came across ‘The Alternative Limb Project’. (Massive thanks to my lovely friend Fran who originally told me about T.A.L.P!)

‘The Alternative Limb Project’ is a unique brand set up by the amazing Sophie de Oliveira Barata. As you will notice from the images below, she is one talented lady! She makes bespoke alternative limbs for amputees reflecting the wearer’s imagination, personality and interests. From a leg covered in sparkle, to an arm with a secret compartment in it, the possibilities are endless! When we first visited Sophie’s studio we were blown away by her work, and I think you’ll agree, it’s pretty amazing!!

The performer Viktoria Modesta (seen above with the speaker leg and on the red carpet) is a regular client of The Alternative Limb Project and wore a dazzling crystallised leg sponsored by Swarovski in the Closing Ceremony of the Paralympics!! (below)

I could talk for England about ‘The Alternative Limb Project’ and how amazing it is, but to prevent this post being solely writing why don’t you check out the webpage here or this really great article on CNN.

As part of our project we are researching into the markets that may be interested in The Alternative Limb Project, and with myself being a volunteer and strong supporter of Help for Heroes, we are doing a lot of research into getting wounded servicemen interested and involved.

At this point I ask you to consider if you know of anyone who is an amputee? If you do, please pass on this post!! Re-tweet, share on facebook, email it – whatever you want to do! We want as many people to know about The Alternative Limb Project as possible! If you are an amputee and you’re reading this, whatever your thoughts, whether you like the idea of an alternative limb or not, please click HERE to take a short survey and tell us your thoughts!!

Thanks for reading and I shall blog again soon to let you know how the project is going. If you want to know more or want to message me, I have added a contact form to the bottom of this post. Would love to hear what you think! Have a great weekend x

LONDON FASHION WEEK…

Posted on February 22, 2013 by vikkilondon

Hey everyone, I’m sure a few of you have been wondering why I haven’t yet commented on London Fashion Week?! Well it’s because this fashion week I wasn’t simply attending shows/watching live streams or hanging around celeb spotting, I was actually working on an amazing TV project that is now LIVE on Grazia!!

If you’re an avid fashion blog follower you may have come across the wonderfully talented Abi from www.abimarvel.com; well Abi is the creator and founder of a little something (massive understatement) called ‘The Apartment’. The Apartment is a creative hub for fashion bloggers to chill, catch up, and blog from during London Fashion Week. So this season at London Fashion Week, I was the Assistant Producer of a small mini-series on The Apartment, documenting what the bloggers get up to during one of their most manic week’s of the year!

We documented their thoughts on the shows they went to see, their crazy antics and hilarious personalities within The Apartment and basically just gave you a sneak peek into what actually goes on! I suppose I can’t really explain much more, you’ll just have to watch it for yourself!! I’m sure you will see some faces you recognise, such as Ella from Coco’s Tea Party or a glimpse of Sandra from 5inchandup, so check out the two episodes below and let me know what you think!!!

Episode 1:

Episode 2:

I had the most fun EVER working on this TV project and I’m so proud of the final outcome! Thank you to the amazing TV team Monica, Tom and Emily who made me cry with laughter every single day, they were the most amazing team to work with and they made it the best LFW that I’ve ever been part of!! Also a massive thank you to Abi for starting the whole thing, I met so many lovely people over the course of the week, and it was an honour to be working for such an awesome project. Hopefully see y’all next season!! x

Emily and I representing Team TV in The Apartment’s very own photobooth!!

p.s. shout out to Ngoni from www.iamnrc.com who is a super amazing blogger who made me giggle from the word go. Hopefully one day ‘The Ngoni Show’ will become a reality as she is awesome (and hilarious) on camera!! haha x

WHAT I WORE…

Posted on February 13, 2013 by vikkilondon

So I was just telling someone today how I’m not really a personal style blogger, more of a bit-of-everything kind of gal. However I couldn’t help sharing this outfit with you that I wore today. Ever since I bought this skirt from Urban Outfitters I have wanted to wear it every day (I have resisted though and managed to simply wear it every other day!) it’s such an easy piece to wear and an awesome print (completely on trend for this summer’s monochrome trend which is MASSIVE already!) Let me know what you think- and I may post a few more ‘what I wore’ pics as London Fashion Week approaches!! x

(Necklace – Topshop; Jumper – H&M; Skirt – Urban Outfitters)

LONDON COLLECTIONS: MEN…

Posted on January 13, 2013 by vikkilondon

Lace lingerie, hot pants, and frilled skirts, just what you’d expect from the…men’s collections?? From the 6th-9th January last week London showcased the men’s collections and there were some surprises in store. Menswear met womenswear during the catwalk shows as several designers used this opportunity to explore their brand creatively and show that menswear is definitely not dead, but constantly evolving.

It was J W Anderson’s collection that initially caught my eye. Frilled boots, frilled shorts, frilled dresses, frills were everywhere!! Not to mention the what-looked-like frilled rubber gloves!!

Then, thanks to twitter, I heard about ‘hotpants at Versace’ so I just HAD to look up the collection. Versace had more than hotpants though, Donatella dressed her gents in full men’s lace lingerie!

I think the quote below from style.com summed up this collection perfectly:

“Challenging conventional notions of sexuality was something of a Versace signature in the golden days. Donatella just found new ink for her pen.”

Finally, the other collection that really caught my eye in this theme of mens Vs. womenswear was the fact that Christopher Shannon chose to use a couple of female models within his menswear show!

So what do you think about all this gender confusion? I personally think that it’s great that menswear is being explored so liberally as womenswear has been weird and wacky for many years (think Alexander McQueen, Viktor and Rolf) so it’s time we sat up and paid more attention to the menswear collections. Who knows if it will ever make it onto our high streets but maybe one day? As the future style king maybe Romeo Beckham will surprise us in a few years in a frilled dress? His Dad did the sarong skirt a few years ago so maybe he will follow his lead?!! Leave a comment and let me know what you think! x

All catwalk images from style.com.

NEW YEAR…NEW YOU??

Posted on January 10, 2013 by vikkilondon

Happy New Year my dear followers! It’s been a while but I’m back in the blogosphere once again to bring you more ramblings about fashion, London and all the fun in between.

Every year in January we seem to hear ‘New Year, New You’ and other catchy power phrases all over the place, to encourage us into some type of personal life cleanse. Whether it’s eating better, getting fit, drinking less, this time of year it’s all people can talk about. I know you’re probably sick of it too, but I have to say that I’m one of those unfortunate souls that can’t help but get caught up in it all. I have just made plans with a close friend to start going running, my fridge is stocked with healthy meals and I’m determined to go to the gym at least 3 times a week (we’ll see about that one!) When it comes to getting fit, I find the magazines and adverts are great for that first initial boost and to get you dreaming about that Victoria’s Secret model body that you WILL achieve by the summer; but then there is nothing there to convince you that stepping into that cold London park in your old grey tatty joggers is actually a good idea, and in the past I have quite often ended up back on my sofa with a cup of tea!! SO what can you do to solve this dilema? Sweaty Betty. No that is not the unfortunate nickname of some scary muscular personal trainer, I’m talking about the clothes store. Since I have discovered the gorgeous sports wear from Sweaty Betty I just want to wear the clothes all the time and show them off, and what better way to do that then running round a park or showing off in a gym.

Let’s face it, men love gyms so they can flex their pecks and look at themselves in the mirror a lot without their girlfriends complaining, but why should they have all the fun? Move over gents, we need some mirror space please to admire our new floral printed capris while we work out! (Yes I did just say FLORAL Capri’s – they are AMAZING and in the SALE! Grab some now before they go!)

Whatever shape or size you are, feeling good in what you’re wearing will naturally increase your confidence and help you perform better. So if like me you have all these amazing ideas about getting fit etc and you’re not quite sure how to put them into practice, try spicing up your work out wardrobe and getting some bits that you really love. I know floral capris may be a bit too much spice for some but what about a new hot pink sports bra that can peek out behind your classic black tank top to just add a bit of personality to your look.

(Other colours available)

So give it a go and I’m sure you will feel inspired to take that first step into that park simply to show off your new gear…and suddenly, voila you’re achieving your goal! x

ARTS, ARTS AND MORE ARTS…

Posted on October 27, 2012 by vikkilondon

In the past 10 days I have been to three fabulous exhibitions, and from having a serious lack of culture in my life I am starting to feel slightly more cultured again.

The first exhibition I happened to stumble into, literally! It was the first solo London exhibition of Mr.Brainwash. For those of you who have seen the Banksy film ‘Exit Through The Gift Shop’ you will be aware of the name and the man behind it.

Thierry Guetta AKA Mr.Brainwash is a hard character to define. I suppose you’d generalise him as a graffiti artist, however the way I see it is he just mass-produces graffiti meets pop-art type artwork, and thrives off his connections to the world famous Banksy. HOWEVER, many believe that his overnight success and close link to Banksy could be because he is in fact another Banksy facade or joke, playing the art world?? I believe this definitely could be possible. Doesn’t the name give it away? His work is nothing exactly new or ground-breaking yet people are desperate to buy up his work? Have we been brainwashed into believing he’s more than he is? Hmmm interesting stuff Mr.Banksy…I wonder if we will ever find out!!

Next up, I visited The Little Black Jacket exhibition at the Saatchi gallery. A VERY different type of exhibition. It was iconic, elegant and everything that the classic Chanel black jacket represents. Each image was photographed by Karl Lagerfeld and styled to transform the same little black jacket into each individual’s personality. It was amazing. Each look was so different yet was made up of the same unique component: the Chanel jacket.

And finally, a massive thank you to the lovely Ted for accompanying me to the Tim Walker exhibition at Somerset House, that I was oh so desperate to see. As magical as I hoped it would be, the exhibition was like walking through some sort of fairytale dream world. Tim Walker has to be one of my favourite fashion photographers, he has such a unique eye and I plan on decorating my flat with as many prints/postcards and photos of his work that I can find!

So there you go!! London has been spoilt with artistic gems recently, I hope you have managed to get to see some of them too, and if not get down to Somerset House before the end of January for Tim Walker and the Saatchi before 4 November for the little black jacket!! Enjoy x

Some photos not my own.

A KNITWEAR LOVE AFFAIR…

Posted on October 10, 2012 by vikkilondon

So autumn has officially arrived, its time to get out those chunky knits, bulk buy the hot chocolate (and marshmallows) and prepare for the arrival of winter. Sounds slightly depressing doesn’t it; especially since everyone thought we were going to have an ‘indian summer’ – I swear they just say that every year? Anyway, I was not looking forward to the approaching winter season UNTIL I discovered Aubin & Wills and their beyond gorgeous knitwear collection.

I’m afraid to say until this past weekend I had never been into an Aubin & Wills, I was naive to think that as a sister brand of Jack Wills it would consist of the same kind of thing: branded hoodies, tartan print PJ bottoms etc etc. Yet little did I realise, Aubin & Wills is the much more beautiful, intelligent and timeless elder sister; who little sis JW can only dream of one day becoming (no offence JW, my sister loves you so keep doing what you’re doing).

From shirt dresses to lace dresses all the garments seem classic and timeless, but have some great feminine touches. However on this first shopping trip it was the knitwear that really caught my eye. All of the jumpers were SO soft, I just wanted to curl up in the changing room and hibernate in a pile of them!! Plus how could you resist this cute fox motif jumper (available in grey and beige).

I couldn’t leave without buying something, and whilst I couldn’t quite bring myself to splash out on a jumper so early in the month I did leave with this gorgeous scarf (and I shall be returning next month for the matching hat too!!!)

Trust me, go and check out Aubin & Wills for those winter warmers because I promise they won’t disappoint!! x
p.s. My scarf and I have been inseparable since the day I bought it, here’s some evidence of my knitwear love affair…

OH MISS PALERMO…

Posted on June 29, 2012 by vikkilondon

Oh Olivia Palermo, if only we all had your wardrobe…oh wait…that jacket…I HAVE IT TOO!!

Don’t you just love those moments! You buy something, then the next week a celeb/fashionista wears it and everyone’s desperate to get their hands on it; and FOR ONCE instead of being one of those, ‘IF ONLY I’d bought that…’ people you are a “oh yeh, good choice fellow fashionista chum” person. I have just had one of those moments seeing Olivia Palermo in this Zara contrast sleeve jacket. I bought mine a little while ago (I wore it for my WFW shoot as can be seen here) and NOW Miss Palermo is rocking that look too! Just thought I’d share this image with you because it is an awesome jacket, comes in handy on all occasions AND Zara have just gone into SALE!!! So keep your eyes peeled because this jacket is a keeper if you can get your hands on one!! Good luck searching! x

MADELEINE AYERS…FUTURE FACE OF FASHION

Posted on June 19, 2012 by vikkilondon

Madeleine Ayers – where do I start. She’s a talented designer, a blogger wanted by everyone from Graduate Fashion Week to Vauxhall Fashion Scout, she’s interned for numerous big names in fashion and now she’s entered the Elle Intern 2012 competition!!

The Elle Intern Competition is open to all current interns and gives 10 lucky winners the chance to take over ELLE UK for one month and put together their October issue. Sounds great I know, but I’m afraid the deadline has now passed and it’s time to show your support for your favourite applicants!

Maddy’s submission for Fashion Editor #ELLEintern2012

Maddy has applied for Fashion Editor and I know she would be incredible…just look at the mood board she submitted…this girl is good!

So Maddy is a dear friend of mine and I knew she was a serial intern…but I didn’t know she had done SO MUCH!!

“After my art foundation I interned with a small designer Monday to Friday at the start of summer, learnt how to pattern cut, use an industrial machine and style a shoot. I collated my saved money and moved to London to intern for Olivia Rubin, and have stayed in touch to this day. I have worked at London Fashion Week off and on-schedule every season since I arrived; firstly doing the standard heavy lifting and standing around, and then upgrading to the writing team where I had the opportunity to write show reviews, meet and interview incredible people…It was a dream, and it was achieved through never saying no and always being willing to get stuck in, regardless of how big or small a job is. The most important pieces of advice I have for an intern is to use your common sense, use it with a smile, a sense of urgency and never say no.

The next placement I took on was in my summer break, this time with designer Julian J Smith. It gave me an insight into how difficult this business is, and reminded me that however stressed I feel right now, after I graduate my stress levels will increase exponentially. I worked at Giles from just before Christmas up to April this year. Insane hours, insanely beautiful collections…A learning experience unlike no other and I hope to return. My latest experience has been one of the most incredible and memorable of my life. Graduate Fashion Week gave me opportunities I would never have even dreamt I would be able to experience at this point in my journey. It was also an incredible educational experience, and I don’t plan to stop anytime soon!”

WOW OH WOW MADDY!! And if that wasn’t enough as well as all these placements she has just completed her second year of a womenswear degree (which is a Monday to Sunday workload!!!) AND she has a 15 hour part time job in London’s most famous department store! She works incredibly hard, and is incredibly talented, so I think it would be a shame not to show your support for Madeleine Ayers.

Look at these amaaaazing illustrations by Madeleine Ayers!! She’s one talented chicca!

If you fancy hearing more from Maddy visit her awesome blog thegirlwithnowings.tumblr.com . She constantly inspires me with her amazing instagram skills and beautiful illustrations/designs.

thegirlwithnowings.tumblr.com

So Maddy, why should you be ‘Fashion Editor’ of ELLEUK?…

“I work hard, I learn fast, I listen, I have my own point of view, I know what is going on in terms of trends, I know what looks good aesthetically but also understand that truly original aesthetic perfection can not be achieved alone. If studying design has taught me anything, it’s that fast fashion can choke creativity. Designers are seemingly being forced to produce more, for less, in a shorter space of time to simply survive. But in reality, I believe that this isn’t true. I believe that people are simply being even more creative, and that’s what I want to prove to the world as acting fashion editor. I want to highlight the beauty being created in a story pertinent to the season. I want to highlight the household names, juxtaposed to the young London creatives as I believe in terms of quality; there is no differentiation.”

Support Maddy for Fashion Editor for #ELLEintern2012 by clicking here and liking her submission! Tweet about it too perhaps?! Or Pinterest it if you fancy!?! However you wish to support her, please do. She’s awesome! x

VIKKILONDON STYLING FOR #WFW2012…

Posted on May 13, 2012 by vikkilondon

Hello lovely followers, so its been almost two weeks since I last posted and I know a few of you have wondered where I have disappeared too!? Well, I have been planning this massive shoot that I was to be styling and directing for the Winchester Fashion Week magazine, and I have to say, all the stress and worries were definitely worth it. I can’t reveal the final images just yet but I thought I’d give you a quick insight into the shoot and show some behind the scenes action…

Location: THE ROOF of One New Change shopping centre. It took a lot of organising but I finally secured the roof as our location for the day, and it was incredible. I’m a regular to the roof however the rest of the team had never been up there before and their faces when they arrived to this were priceless…

The Look I was going for: Sleek, fierce, “lots of lines”. All of the clothes, designed and made by my dear friend Natalie Cheung, were fantastic to work with and a pleasure to style. The detail that goes into each garment is incredible. Watch out for this young designer over the next couple of years as she takes the fashion industry by storm!!!

The Team:

THE FABULOUS TEAM!!! (Image courtesy of Theo Williams)

From left to right: Theo Williams (Photographer extraordinaire!), Ivory Bella (MUA), Myself (Stylist/Creative Director), Amanda Renberg (Our gorgeous model from Sapphires Model Management), Natalie Cheung (Designer).

I feel so privileged to have had such an amazing team to work with so thank you all so much for making it the massive success it was! And also a special shout out to Hannah Bunnage and Ted Smith for being there as moral support during the shoot, we obviously couldn’t have done it without you guys either!!

Behind the scenes:

Ivory at work, creating the ‘fierce’ look I was after..(Image courtesy of Theo Williams)

Theo and Amanda working hard!

Natalie is a multi-talented lady and also assisted with the hair styling for the shoot!! (Image courtesy of Theo Williams)

(Image courtesy of Theo Williams)

One of my favourite behind the scenes images from the day…look at the crowd we had watching us at work!!!

Amanda’s gymnastic background came in handy when balancing on the hand rail…which gave us a great shot and relieved Amanda’s poor feet from those sky scraper heels!!

Amanda could definitely do ‘fierce’!!!

So that’s all I can reveal right now, but keep a look out for a post on here in June where I shall show you the amazing shots we achieved this weekend!!!

If you like the look of the shoot please do leave comments below, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Have a great evening everyone! x