knit, p-urrr-l.

I've officially moved home.
Goodbye Newcastle, Hello Durham.
A whole one train stop further south.

Not that I'm stuck for things to do (blogging, reading, dancing around the house while the parents are at work, applying for jobs, continuing to update portfolio, start learning Italian again, revise German (maybe), sell things on ebay until I get a job, maybe unpack even though there's nowhere for any of my stuff to go, play with cat, etc etc) but one more to add to the list is wool-based fun. I do have at least one unfinished crochet project and now a new knitting one I 'aww-ed' over too much to ignore.

Crocheting involves this: clicky click - which, as you can see by the date, has been a long time coming.

Well, I started my own version (cream, navy and pale pink) last summer, and then 4th year happened, and I have a sleeveless and VERY SHORT dress at present which hasn't grown in any sense since about October. Must at least lengthen the skirt, even if I don't add sleeves...

The knitting project involves this much more recent post (from, err, today) and involves the 'play with cat' option from my above 'things i can do while at home and unemployed' list. I give you the catnip mouse.

HOW CUTE?!

It's for a good cause too, so in case you're sat at home and looking for something to do, maybe knit a mouse and send it to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home to give the cute balls of fluff something to do, bless 'em.

And for good measure, I'll make Tinker one too (though he's definitely not bored.)

resort.

all imgs from style.com

Quick resort roundup, non? I paid little to no attention to Resort this year (normally I look through every show every season but, yknow, I was busy), though I've seen a few collections on various blogs. I took some time to look through the labels I like, though, and pick out some looks I'm feeling.

3.1 Phillip Lim; ADAM

Love the shoes at ADAM more than any of the clothes (really hoping the multi buckle/pointy thing filters down to affordable level and the colour and cut of the trousers at Lim.

Band of Outsiders; Chloe

HOUNDSTOOTH JACKET. LEATHER SKIRT. That is all. Again, shoes at Chloe - the clothes were all nice enough but nothing too astounding - and thats two for two on the multi-buckle thing.

Givenchy

Great cut outs/shapes, love the colour palette and the mixed florals.

Alexander McQueen; Mulberry

Love the shapes at McQueen, and the cute pieces like this floral dress at Mulberry. Especially a fan of the leopard print shoes/ankle socks. SHOES AGAIN. QUELLE SURPRISE.

Proenza Schouler

It's really the colour palette at Proenza, which is gorgeous. I liked most of the looks and found it hard to pick one in particular, but this one's really cool.

full of Grace.

Just bringing this Guardian interview with Grace Woodward to your attention - I think she makes some great and very true points about the industry, particularly this run of questions:

Fashion is often perceived as a lowbrow, fluffy subject. Does that annoy you?

Fashion is art, and there are designers who are geniuses. It's highbrow. Are you saying Hussein Chalayan isn't a genius? I have felt demeaned when saying I work in fashion but that's only because people don't understand what I do. They confuse styling and fashion with the high street.

So what is the difference?

Fashion, in its purest sense, is about breaking rules. High street is a watered-down interpretation. I am a stylist, and style is neither fashion nor high street. Stylish people tend to shop the least because they aren't swayed by what's on-trend or in-store.

You're not a fan of Primark then?

I appreciate the high street but "fashion" for the masses is everywhere, like processed white bread. Everyone eats it.

The fashion industry is often accused of being run by interns. Do you agree with this culture of unpaid work?

I blame universities. They are taking 60-plus students on their fashion courses when there just aren't enough jobs out there. It's irresponsible because they end up interning for no payback. Why is there no accredited apprenticeship scheme with fashion houses, where designers get paid to impart a trade that makes you viable? I have thought about going to David Cameron about it. It's giving fashion a bad name.

You seem passionate about the ethics of the industry – what's your take on the body image debate? Do you resent fashion getting the blame?

Fashion magazines shouldn't have to bear the weight of the responsibility. It's a lazy observation, cultivated by the media. Like I said, we are trying to create a fantasy, not tell people how to look. I know it sounds like a flimsy argument but I don't think you can nanny people. It's a psychological issue. It's not fashion's fault.

head to toe.

Late to the party, but dammit, I've been blogging graduates - much more important.
The Topshop autumn lookbook came out a couple of weeks ago, and the images have been swirling around the Internet since. Topshop always do around 4 trends a season, accompanied by interesting names, and this seasons are no different - Psychobilly, Bavaria, Thrift and Glamrock.
Bavaria and Thrift are a little..."throw everything on", though there are some great pieces hidden in the melange, while Glamrock really does what it says on the tin (more glamourous than my usual style, very 'going out' and featuring very short skirts...) and Psychobilly adds an androgynous and really cool selection of pieces, which is something a bit different for the high street, and definitely my favourite of the trends.

Below are the looks I'd wear as is...

1//Psychobilly//chunky jumper (wonderful shape); shiny, skinny, cropped trousers

2//Psychobilly//leopard print boots. !!!. blues and reds and tailoring. wonderful.

3//Psychobilly//HOUNDSTOOTH TROUSERS. wahhhhhh.

4//Psychobilly//heels with socks, bodycon skirt, chunky cardi. yesyes.

5//Psychobilly//more animal print + chunky knits, plus awesome shoes

6//Psychobilly//leopard collar, leather pencil skirt. <3

7//Bavaria//the long and lean look will always be a winner with me. love the scarf under the hat.

8//Thrift//stripy calf length skirt; gorgeous colours

8//Thrift//i can live without the boots, but everything else? nipped in jacket, awesome bag, pleated shirtdress. aww yeah.

a brogue idea

RE: yesterday's post, I'm into flat shoes too. Maybe I'm migrating from feet to head? Not that interested in heels right now. All flats considers, but nothing too flimsy. And, actually, preferably something with a heel, but a tiny heel. A brogue heel, yknow? You'll see.

I bought these (Topshop sale, £10) the other day - they really need to be worn in but they're rather lovely and go with everything. I need my flats to be interesting, a shoe needs something if it hasn't got a heel.

Anyway, to fuel my need for flats, I set off round the internet. Maybe these 'monk brogues' from New Look [a mere £15 in the sale, and no, I've no idea what's 'monk' about them]?

Or these two-tone numbers from River Island? [£29.99]

Not exactly brogues, but ASOS have these less-than-ankle boot things for £28

BUT THESE - again, not brogues - from ebay (where else), which i missed out on by 50p and few minutes some days ago. Dream shoes.

They're orig from Office, so, yknow, if anyones got a pair of 5s (even 6s, whatever) kicking about, err, gimme gimme gimme.

Waaaaaahhhhhhhh. Suggest me some more?

headgear.

I'm pretty into hats right now, I think brought on by the hats I did for collection. Our tutors went a little headwear mental in the run up to the London show; encouraging most of the class to do some sort of head adornment. That, and the assortment of strange and/or adorable headpieces dotted about the other unis' shows... I was even watching a bunch of vintage numbers on ebay until i remembered i had no money.

Meanwhile, a new(ish) site of interest is asos marketplace, which is asos' foray into etsy-style sellers' shops. Great for little boutiques and new designers - the problem with etsy is that it's an American site, so everything's in dollars and not (I find) that non-US friendly, where asos is both British and has a lot of traffic - but not really helping the over saturation of vintage stores on the internet..

I hadn't checked out until recently when someone linked me (via Twitter) to Lizzie Lock's store there. In keeping with the first paragraph of this post, Lizzie's store, Lizzie Lock Millinery, sells (as the name might suggest) hats a-plenty, most with a vintage twist. You can find straw numbers and pins, trilbys and bowlers, wide brimmed and cloche style, and none of them are helping with my new hat fascination.

I've tried to search through asos marketplace, but it's hard to know which shops are going to be good (lots and lots of vintage stores!) and I got a bit bored easily. Any recommendations?

a very[.co.uk] angry note

If you're a regular facebook user and a fashion fan - and you're here, so I would assume both these things to be true - you might've seen very.co.uk's latest promotion.

The online department store is hiring! On facebook, that is. I'll let them explain themselves:

If you know a thing or two about fashion then enter Very.co.uk’s comp to be in with a chance of winning an amazing job for a year! If you win you’ll become one of our V-Team, and that means attending fashion shows, designing a collection, rubbing shoulders with celebs and sharing your style with the world! (Tell all your friends and share the joy – you might need them when you’re canvassing for votes!).

Just when you thought this competition could not get any better, you will be paid for doing it! Do you have enough votes to get the job?

That was enough to annoy me, but I could almost let it slide given that it just appeared to be a competition.

But then, recently (as you can imagine), I've been trawling job sites trying to find a job - something, anything that is a suitable job for me, and this - THIS - has been advertised as a legit job with a "click to apply" link taking you to the facebook page.

NO, VERY. NOT COOL.

If this was a legit job, and they were just using facebook to advertise the position, well, that would be fantastic. It is difficult to find entry level jobs in fashion, and well advertised jobs would be much appreciated, but not if the successful applicant will be the one with the most likes.

There is no screening process.

Anyone can enter.

It is basically a popularity contest.

In an industry which has TENS OF THOUSANDS of QUALIFIED people - not just this years graduates, but young designers all over the country - desperately searching for a job to suit them, I find it inconceivable that Very think it's fine to offer a position which includes 'designing a collection' to whoever has the most likes. A job is not a popularity contest, and this competition seems to be playing into the (apparently) widely held opinion that 'anyone can be a designer'.

GFW: The Gala Show

*drumroll*

yeah, it's the end. there are a lot of designers in this post here, so i've kept images to two per collection (unless i'm a big fan or something) - no one here has been included before. apart from Carl. obviously.

anyway.

ON WITH THE AWARDS.

International Award

called the winner here - and well chosen. Christina Economu mixed prints - really clashing prints - with gusto and pulled it off. great shapes; love the purple and white check. the other two nominees, Cindy Warsono and Wang Li Xuang, both did knitwear (womens and mens respectively).

Christina Economu - Instituto Marangoni Paris - WINNER

Cindy Warsono - La Salle Singapore

Wang Li Xuang - Instituto Marangoni Milan

Visionary Knitwear

again, called it (i should set up a side line in fashion awards prediction). i mentioned Wonjee Chung briefly in the Notts review and enjoyed her rather 3D collection a lot - some really wearable pieces (that first chain-motif dress really got me) and some really show-y pieces too. Charlotte Waters' was a really textural collection; while Genevieve Davroy (great name)'s menswear was different and had really great cuts in the non knit pieces (those trousers!)

Wonjee Chung - Nottingham Trent - WINNER

Charlotte Waters - Salford

Genevieve Davroy - Kingston

Catwalk Textiles
i was 3 for 3 at this point and feeling cocky (it was swiftly downhill from here), but Dominique Kral's collection managed to include fantastic knits and complicated pattern cutting as well as amazing prints (the triple attack was likely what clinched it) as well as working a McQueen vibe. Shirana Chavda's collection also had a McQueen feel - the really vivid animal prints in beautiful colours made it hard for me to choose a favourite in this category, actually, and the shapes and layering are fantastic, and so they get 4 photos each. Meg Cornwall, meanwhile, showed feminine shapes in icy tones with streaks of rich red - fantastic in it's own right and definitely deserving of the nomination, but with some seriously stuff competition.

Meg Cornwall - Bournemouth

Dominique Kral - Northbrook - WINNER

Shirana Chavda - De Montfort

Gold Award Nominees

i'll let you run through, and you'll find opinions near the end...

Rose Dent - Manchester

Jungo Kuroiwa - Epsom

Rachel Cogley - Birmingham

Marissa Owen - Central Lancs - WOMENSWEAR WINNER

Felix Chabluk Smith - Edinburgh - MENSWEAR WINNER

Jaskiran Hare - Kingston

Rory Longdon - Nottingham Trent - GOLD AWARD WINNER

Ume Sacraine - De Montfort

CARL! CARL! CARL! CARL! (yes, him again) - Northumbria (wooo!)

Lyudmila Lane - Rochester

i think you can tell which were my favourites - whether you were following my tweets religiously or can count the images, really...

i'd wear pretty much everything in Rory Longdon's collection. and any collections to come. in fact, if he could come and be my personal dresser, that would be just great.

in terms of interest and innovation, i think Marissa Owen was a good pick for womenswear - not the collection i would've picked (Lyudmila Lane, if you're asking - the cut on the back of the first jacket, in particular, is stunning), but i appreciate the skill and the sheer volume of pattern clashing, certainly. but for menswear, although i found Felix Smith's collection great - well made and wearable; the kind of clothes i'd like to see a man in - i'd also seen it before, whereas Rose Dent's was fun and fresh and Carl's stood out; something no one has really seen in menswear before.

i found a few collections were a little derivative, but fun - there were more than shades of Margiela and Comme des Garcons, certainly - but the show as a whole was fantastic. a huge congratulations to all who got to the gala, all who i've written about this past week, and all who showed at GFW and beyond.

if GFW taught me anything it's that i could see and report on shows all the time. SUCH FUN. and below, to prove i was there, some shots from gala show 1 - the only ones which weren't blurry and horrible....

all imgs above from catwalking.com

all imgs below my own...

Cindy Warsono//

Charlotte Waters closeup//

Rose Dent shoes//

Jungo Kuroiwa shoes//

Rory Longdon back views//

Lyudmila Lane closeups//