PFW Haute Couture 2015: Three French Greats

Chanel

A Chanel catwalk show at Paris’ Grand Palais is always a must see and once again Karl Lagerfeld did not disappoint! The theme this year was a Chanel garden that blossomed as a Chanel gardener circled it with a watering can. The show started with a few bold coloured 60s suits, which were quickly replaced by many updated versions of the iconic Chanel Tweed suit, with lots of midriffs on show, large mesh hats and crystallised floral beanies. The collection then moved from modern tailoring to flowing, loose and, most importantly, floral dresses.  This is by far my favourite part of the collection as I’m a sucker for transparent/mesh material and I loved all the flowers – perfect for SS15!

Il faut toujours regarder le défilé de Chanel au Grand Palais et encore une fois Karl Lagerfeld ne nous a pas déçu! Cette année le thème est un jardin de Chanel qui fleuri quand un jardinier l'encercle avec un arrosoir. On commence par quelques costumes de couleurs vives de style années 60. Ensuite, on bouge vite à plein de versions du costume tweed iconique de Chanel, cette fois plus moderne avec des hauts qui montre l'abdomen, des gros chapeaux en filet et des bonnets en laine fleuris. Au final on bouge des looks ajustés et moderne aux robes amples, flottantes et fleuries. C'est sûr que je préfère cette partie car j'aime trop du tissu en filet/transparent et tous les fleurs sont parfaits pour printemps-été 15!

Jean Paul Gaultier

A cloud of dry ice surrounds a beautiful bride who kicks off the Jean Paul Gaultier couture show wearing a gorgeous white strapless mesh floor-length dress with a split right up the front revealing high-waisted silk knickers. Then come the wedding guests sporting looks of different styles, colours and fabrics to make this collection as varied as any wedding party would be. My particular favourites are those mixing black with cream tones and using a range of materials from lace and mesh to satin. Of course, I particularly enjoy the bringing together of classic tailoring and beautiful girly pleated dresses as well. An absolutely stunning collection from a haute couture pro.

Une nuance de neige carbonique entoure une belle mariée pour dresser le décor du défilé couture de Jean Paul Gaultier. Elle porte une robe longue en filet blanc sans bretelles avec une déchirure devant qui révèle des culottes taille haute en soie. Ensuite, il y a des invitées de mariage dans des looks de style, couleurs et tissus différents pour permettre une collection variée comme serait une vraie fête de mariage. Mes looks favoris sont ceux qui mélange du noir et de la crème en utilisant une gamme de matières de dentelle et filet à satin. Bien-sûr, j'aime bien les belles robes plissées qui emprunte aussi le look ajusté. Une collection divine d'un pro en haute couture.

Christian Dior

This is what I call a truly modern couture collection. Creative Director Raf Simons is daring, bold and has designed outfits that a young fashionista can relate to. From printed technicolour catsuits to 60s style mini dresses and full A-line ballerina skirts; this collection has everything. I absolutely love the printed plastic transparent raincoats, having been lusting over for them years. Looks like Simons got the Lagerfeld memo, or vice versa, when it comes to embellishments for SS15. This collection is covered in sequins, showing that sparkles are not just for Christmas - hooray!

Voilà c'est la vraie haute couture moderne. Directeur Créatif Raf Simons est osé, audacieux et a crée une collection à laquelle la fashionista jeune peut relier. Des combinaisons en motifs technicolors aux mini-robes de style années 60s et des jupes longues et pleines comme une ballerine, cette collection est parfaite. J'aime trop les vestes de pluie plastiques transparentes en motifs, évidemment vu que je les kiffe depuis des années. De plus, c'est comme Simons a reçu le mémo de Lagerfeld, ou vice versa, concernant des embellissements pour printemps-été 15. Cette collection inclus plein de paillettes, montrant qu'elles ne sont pas que pour Noël - hourra! 

Izzie x

Image sources: Vogue and Telegraph

PFW: What I Wore 2

Motel Shirt Dress (c/o) / Doc Martens / Topshop tassel socks / Boutique backpack / Mac 'So Chaud' lipstick

Location: Palais de Tokyo, Paris

For Sunday of Paris Fashion Week I sported the tailored monochrome look with red Mac lips to add a pop of colour. When I first received my Motel package of goodies for fashion week I was worried this shirt dress was going to look huge but I love it! It's actually really flattering (read: I can hide any food I have just scoffed) and comfortable. Lewis maintains it looks like a lab coat but he is full of silly things to say about fashion.

I toughed up the look with my trusty Docs and these cute tassel socks from Topshop! The paps and street style photographers went mad for this look, which was really exciting and overwhelming! What do you guys think?

Izzie x

PFW: Cédric Charlier X Petit Bateau

On Friday night I was lucky enough to go to the capsule collection launch of Cédric Charlier X Petit Bateau at the Palais de Tokyo. Belgian designer and former Artistic Director at Cacherel, Cédric Charlier collaborates with French children's wear brand Le Petit Bateau to create a dynamic collection, featuring the iconic Petit Bateau stripes, of course. The clothes pay tribute to the art of movement, which is demonstrated in the beautiful installation images and contemporary dance show with the dancers wearing the collection. Stripes are one of my massive weaknesses, I think I have bought about 5 different striped tops since being in Paris, so I loved the collection. The quality of the clothes is excellent, being made from thick, soft cotton I can imagine it would be very comfortable to wear!

Keep checking back for more Paris Fashion Week posts throughout the next week and follow me on Instagram for instant updates!

Izzie x

Paris Fashion Week Street Style

During Fashion Week the streets of Paris became full of stylish people. Don't get me wrong, Paris does usually live up to its reputation as being a very chic city but last week you could just tell that fashion was in the air. Being the capital of course there are some more edgily dressed people in here but generally the French are quite conservative when it comes to fashion. So it was a breath of fresh air to see all of the fab styles and looks at Paris Fashion Week and here are my favourites...

The trainer trend is in full flow and I am so on board! I spotted lots of girls at Fashion Week sporting Nike, New Balance and slip-on trainers. I got chatting to the girl on the right and she works for Cosmopolitan Finland! I really loved the layering of her outfits as well as all the different textures!

To my delight, pastel colours made an appearance on the streets of Paris, showing that the dark colours of winter are behind us. The great thing about pastel colours is that you can either wear one statement piece or they look great all together! I mixed pastels and winter burgundy in my PFW outfit, which you can check out here.

Despite the gloomy sky, I saw lots of bright and neon colours! These skirts look great and I think the ice cream lolly jumper is fab! (Haha Fab, geddit?)

Although I'm not sure I could pull them off, I love long coats! The girl on the left has such an effortless with the different shades of black and grey topped off with bright pink lipstick and a gold chain. I'm also mad about the socks-in-heels trend, which is going on in this transitional period. 

I think these accessories are great! I love the look of a see-through bag but the safety conscious part of me would always be worrying about a thief spying something they wanted! This mesh backpack is good because it doesn't give too much away. I love the 90s inspired neon turquoise plastic bag - makes me think of inflatable backpacks!

I just had to include this picture because it's a great photo and I love her sequin neck!

So these are the best dressed of Paris Fashion Week, look out for my post on the weird and not-so-wonderful looks from the fashion capital of the world.

Izzie x

Issey Miyake AW14 at Paris Fashion Week

On Friday I was lucky enough to attend the Issey Miyake AW14 show at the Espace Ephemère in the Tuileries gardens, which was the perfect setting for the show to come. The show was entitled Rhythmatic Forest as the collection is inspired by the pulse of forest life and the plants within it.

The show started with a guitarist and singer playing enchanting and hypnotic music at the top of the catwalk where from they continued to play for the entire show. Then came the models, dressed in simple clothes and carrying intriguing semi-circular coloured handbags. They stopped, opened the bags flat on the ground and produced a circular dress or jacket, which they then put on. This was scene 1 entitled ‘Tree Ring’ where the clothes were all designed to transform into compact circular shapes when placed on a flat surface. Just amazing. 

The rest of the collection included lots of layers, textures, curves, metallic colours and a hell of a lot of pleats. The clothes looked fabulous on the catwalk because as the models walked, the clothes bounced and rippled beautifully thanks to the pleats. It was an amazing show and I’m already excited for AW14!

Izzie x

Vendredi dernier, j’ai eu la chance d’aller au défilé d’Issey Miyake pour voir sa collection d’automne-hiver 2014-2015. Le défilé a eu lieu à l’Espace Éphémère Tuileries qui était le cadre parfait pour ce qui viendrait. Le titre du défilé était « Rhythmatic Forest » car sa collection a été inspirée par la pulsation de la vie de forêt et les plantes à l’intérieur.

Le défilé a commencé avec la musique captivante et hypnotique joué par une guitariste et une chanteuse. Elles l’ont joué de la tête du podium et elles ont continué de jouer pendant le défilé entier. Ensuite les modèles sont entrés, habillées en vêtements simples et elles portaient des sacs à main colorés semi-circulaire fascinants. Elles ont arrêté, ouvert les sacs à main et les mis plats par terre. Ensuite, les modèles ont produit des robes ou vestes circulaires des sacs et elles les ont mis. Cela était la première scène qui était intitulé « Tree Ring » et tous les vêtements peuvent devenir les formes circulaires et compacts quand on les met sur une surface plate. Magnifique !

Le reste de la collection a inclus beaucoup de couches, textures, courbes, couleurs métalliques et plein de plissées ! Les vêtements étaient super sur le podium parce que comme les modèles marchaient, les vêtements sautaient et ondulaient dans une belle façon grâce aux plissées. C’était un défilé magnifique et je suis déjà enthousiaste de la saison automne-hiver 2014-2015 !

Bisous, Izzie

Paris Fashion Week - What I Wore

Vintage coat / Vintage skirt / eBay top / Vintage hat / Doc Martens / Boutique backpack

(All vintage from Kilo Shop)

Today I headed to a few Paris Fashion Week shows and for my outfit I mixed Winter and Spring colours. I wore matching burgundy Doc Martens and hat with my pastel mint green coat and a peach coloured skirt. Yes, the skirt is actually a petticoat I guess but I'm channelling the underwear as outerwear vibe and I think it works. What do you think?

I was super jealous of all the LFW blog posts that I have read recently so I'm glad I can report from the Fashion Week of my adoptive home city! I spent the day taking street style snaps for Motel Rocks and attended the Issey Miyake show, which was amazing! Look out for blog posts on these soon!

Izzie x

Aujourd’hui je suis allée aux défilés de Paris Fashion Week et j’ai mélangé des couleurs d’hiver et de printemps pour mon look. J’ai porté des bottes Doc Martens et un chapeau bordeaux coordonné avec mon manteau vert pastel et une jupe couleur pêche. Oui, j’imagine que la jupe est, en fait, un jupon mais c’est la philosophie des dessous qui se portent dessus et je pense que cela marche. Que pensez-vous ?

J’étais tellement jalouse de tous les articles de blog sur London Fashion Week que j’ai lu récemment que je suis ravie de faire des reportages de Fashion Week de ma ville adoptive ! J’ai pris des photos ‘street style’ pour Motel Rocks and je suis allée au défilé Issey Miyake, qui était magnifique ! Mes autres articles de Paris Fashion Week vont arriver bientôt !

Bisous, Izzie 

Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture SS14: Chanel

Paris Fashion Week is in full swing and yesterday was Chanel’s Haute Couture show at the Grand Palais so I thought I would take myself down there to check out the looks being showcased by the most elite of the fashion world. To sum up, furs, black and the occasional strange headpiece.

The atmosphere was completely different to what I experienced when I went to London Fashion Week in September. In London the courtyard of Somerset House was full of edgy and bang on trend bloggers hanging around trying to get snapped. I was actually hoping to see some of this happening outside the Grand Palais but it was mainly paparazzi, television crews and the odd blogger, most of whose style did not grab my attention. Perhaps I was at the wrong show for this, or perhaps there will be more of this in the ready to wear week in February.  

 (Photos from vogue.fr)

Chanel’s Haute Couture collection is amazing. Any designer who puts their models in couture trainers and a bumbag is a winner in my eyes. The clothes are beautifully intricate and elegant. I love the tight waist lines with loose fitting crop tops over the top – a style which I’m sure will be re-created by the high street shops in the coming months. Bravo Karl!

What do you think of the Chanel collection?

Izzie x

Paris Fashion Week battre son plein et hier Chanel Haute Couture était au Grand Palais. Alors, j’y suis allée pour voir les looks des plus élites du monde de la mode pendant qu’ils arrivaient. En gros, ils ont porté les fourrures, le noir et un bandeau bizarre.

L’atmosphère était complètement différente à laquelle que j’ai trouvé à London Fashion Week quand j’y suis allée en septembre. A Londres le cour de Somerset House est plein de bloggeuses hyper tendances qui veulent qu’on leurs prend des photos. En fait, je souhaitais voir cela dehors du Grand Palais mais il y avait surtout du paparazzi, des équipes de télévision et des bloggeuses sporadiques et leurs styles n’ont pas vraiment pris mon attention. Peut-être ce n’était pas le show pour cela ou peut-être on verra plus pendant la semaine de prêt à porter en février.

La collection d’haute couture de Chanel est magnifique. Un créateur de mode qui fait porter ses mannequins les baskets coutures et une banane est top aux mes yeux. Les vêtements sont merveilleusement complexes et élégants. J’aime bien les tailles serrées avec des hauts courts – un look que les magasins de centre ville recréeront  dans les mois qui viennent, j’en suis sûr ! Bravo Karl !

Qu'est-ce vous pensez de la collection de Chanel?

Bisous, Izzie