So Dior.

Never one to disappoint, Parisian luxury label Dior has brought itself to Harrods for a short amount of time, in the form of an exhibition titled 'So Dior'. I exaggerate not when I say it is one of the most beautiful fashion exhibitions I have ever seen... 'Why don't I live here?' were the only 5 words I kept repeating throughout.  

Including a café, exhibition, window displays and a pop up shop, the entire project took over 18 months to create, and was apparently inspired by the brand's long term relationship with the London store. 

"This isn't a marketing tool, It's a transmission of couture. Customers look for more today, they want to hear about the brand history - they need to understand more. Harrods and Dior share the same goals, the same concept of luxury and the same level of service. We need to explain why and how we do what we do. I want people to understand the passion, the innovation and our commitment to excellence. When I come into this room, it works so well. Mr Dior is doing something - he is here." - Sidney Toledano via vogue.co.uk

The exhibition has taken over a fair amount of space on the fourth floor of Harrods. As you enter, you'll see a giant doll's house, no window empty. Dior fragrance bottles are to be seen everywhere, and elsewhere in the exhibition, you'll come across a variety of installations, which are all a bold representation of the brand. There is also a section devoted to the coveted Lady Dior bag, as well as an entire 'Fashion Theatre' that features miniature versions of Dior designs- all of which were re-created in the Dior Haute Couture ateliers. 
Dresses worn by Princess Diana, Elizabeth Taylor, Marion Cottilard, and others are on display, and visitors can also stop to watch various fashion films with archived footage, that discuss the history of the brand. The gorgeous dress worn by Charlize Theron in the J'adore Dior advert is also on display- surrounded by dozens of perfume bottles. 

From the toile's that show how a design is constructed, to the projection of today's Dior stars over dresses they have worn, there is no disappointment in this wonderful exhibition. It's open until April 14th, and I couldn't recommend it enough. You won't regret it; C'est tres belle.

<3

Miniature Dior creations in a theatre.

Dior toile's.

Dior in London!

SJP projection over a Dior dress.

Close up of the Dior dress worn by Charlize Theron in the
J'adore Dior advert. 

Dior doll's house.

Dior illustration.

Miniature Dior. 

Window display in Harrods.

Marium x

A/W'13 Fashion Month.

Fashion week is evidently the best week of the year that comes around twice a year, but much to my dismay, this season's collections for the coming winter weren't as riveting or exciting as I was hoping. It seems as though everything has already been done, and so designers were revisiting past archived collections to get inspiration. This of course, isn't a bad thing, but the minimalist theme that was seen throughout was in most cases, quite boring.

Despite my less than enthusiastic attitude to the fashion month as a whole, this isn't to say that there weren't the fair few shows that I absolutely fell in love with. We saw a considerably less amount of peplum, which hopefully means we won't be seeing it for a while... Unless you're a late adopter. The main trends that were seen on most of the catwalks consisted of a lot of fur, leather, oversizing and minimalism. Orange also seems to be THE colour to wear this fall, which is never a bad thing for me as it's one of my favourite shades...

New York Fashion Week, A/W13.

As usual, we were introduced to fashion week with New York kick starting the busy month. We saw subtle chic here, with 70s office girl at Marc Jacobs and contemporary futurism at Michael Kors. Galliano was also half of the genius behind the Oscar de la Renta collection, and his influence in the designs was apparent as we saw subtle hints of Dior. Proenza Schouler played up to the key theme of monochrome and oversizing, with big white coats over black leather trousers. Victoria Beckham, queen of minimalism, displayed various mid-length outfits with gorgeous silhouettes, while DKNY introduced orange in excessive amounts and taught us (in case we'd forgotten) how to layer.

DKNY

Marc Jacobs

Oscar de la Renta

Proenza Schouler

London Fashion Week, A/W'13.

Snapped on the first day of LFW by a
photographer.
Sweater- Brian Lichtenberg
Jeans- Topshop
Metallic heels- Topshop

London Fashion Week was perhaps my favourite of the month, not just because I got to go to a few shows myself (Zoe Jordan, KTZ, Bora Aksu, Felder Felder and Nina Nautsdal), but also because I felt it had some of the best shows that truly represented British style. My favourite label Burberry, with my favourite ever creative director (Christopher Bailey) did not let me down, with its cute collection of heart-adorned trench coats and use of rubber. Other favourite's included Mary Katrantzou, Marios Schwab, Julien MacDonald, Giles and Osman. The graphic prints and gorgeous silhouettes at Mary K led me to fall in love with what I think is one of her best collections to date. Giles is always one of my favourite designers at LFW, and his timeless collection was not disappointing. As a lover of all things embroidered with gold, the white and gold combinations at Osman all made for a perfect ready-to-wear collection. As for the shows that I attended, Felder Felder had to be my favourites, as the German duo introduced rubber trench coats and gorgeous berry tones.

Mary Katrantzou

Marios Schwab

Giles

Osman

Burberry Prorsum

Felder Felder

Milan Fashion Week, A/W'13.

Third up to showcase its genius was Milan Fashion Week. I absolutely fell in love with the perfect collection at Dolce & Gabbana, as I do every season. The crowns, opulent religious homage and stunning red at the end of the show was simply to die for. The amazing duo always know how to do accessories well, and this season was no exception; you can count on me to be rocking a crown this fall, for sure! The prints at Just Cavalli and opulent era-inspired collection at DSquared2 were more favourites of mine, with the gorgeous designs at DSquared2 appealing to my glamour-nostalgic self. 

DSquared2

Dolce & Gabbana

Gucci

Just Cavalli

Paris Fashion Week, A/W'13.

Last, and in some cases least, was PFW. This for me was the most disappointing of the four, probably due to the very tragic collection at Saint Laurent Paris (Read my blogpost on that abysmal show here). Dior and Balmain were my highlights for the week, while Elie Saab, Valentino, Louis Vuitton and Chloé also managed to capture my attention. Raf Simons at Dior is just proving to be a more and more potent decision as this season, he bought his genius to us in mixed textures by recreating and modernising old, classic Dior silhouettes. The jewel tones, with yet more mixing of textures and thick gold belts at Balmain were beautiful and didn't stray too far from the classics of the label. Valentino also brought to us some chic and romantic feminine pieces, whilst adhering to the minimalism calls of this season. 

Chloé

Dior

Elie Saab

Louis Vuitton

Balmain

Valentino

As i'm still getting over the tragic death of Saint Laurent Paris, i'd say there are definitely mixed feelings and decisions over fashion month, but the collections mentioned above give me hope that fashion isn't dying (thank fuck!).

For a full review of the shows I attended (excluding KTZ & Nina Nautsdal) check out my published articles on The Upcoming;
Zoe Jordan
Bora Aksu
Felder Felder
Morella Sassoon

Marium x

Ain't Laurent without Yves.

I hadn't planned on doing an individual post on any of the shows that were featured during the spectacular 'fashion week' month, but after the car crash we saw at Saint Laurent on Monday 4th at PFW, I simply couldn't resist... So yes, Saint Laurent, you get a special mention here on Anna Wintour's Heir, but unfortunately, it's not for good reason. 

YSL- Tuxedo Suit

Hedi Slimane. You take over at the helm of an iconic brand, and although we understand it may be hard to live up to Pilati's standards, I don't think anyone could have expected what we saw... All I ask is, was it a joke?

I think it is pretty fair to say that tragic is the correct word to sum up the collection. The atrocious catwalk looks resembled grunge high street; the type of clothing that you'd expect to find in the wardrobe of a 16 year old 'emo' girl (yes, I am being slightly stereotypical). In no way, would fashion lovers all across the globe have expected the legacy of YSL to be destroyed in a matter of seconds, with one catwalk show. 

After an astonishing, but not so surprisingly negative response from the public on twitter, many were quick to defend Slimane's actions, claiming it was his version of 'a tribute to 90s rock and roll' with his muse being Courtney Love. This may be so, but was it really the right move for Saint Laurent? The label, which is credited for its elegance, and creating the tuxedo suit for women? Definitely not. 

No other words aside from Vile.
- Saint Laurent Paris AW13.

The knicker shorts, checkered shirts and biker boots may well have been inspired by 90s grunge, but they were definitely not appropriate for a label such as Saint Laurent.  Since WHEN did denim skirts become a thing for the brand? I feel for Slimane, after being the target of many bitchy and nasty tweets, but he can't have had his head screwed on tightly enough when putting this collection together. It seems as though he must have forgotten which brand he was working for... Either that, or he intentionally planned on surprising us all with a horrific collection, just to wow us next season (please oh please let this be the case!).

Slimane's intentions may have been to bring about a new (positive) look for the brand, but after rebranding the name and the logo not even an entire year ago, i'd suggest he slows down before giving us any more surprises (and heart attacks). This collection is more of a collection of high-street garbage, but even then, Primark isn't even this bad. Though it may be a nostalgic step back into the 90s, Slimane ought to remember just who his client is, and more importantly, who he works for. 

I can now, with more assertiveness and assurance than ever before say that no, it most definitely ain't Laurent without Yves.

Marium x

Boo, you [brand] whore.

Brand whores, who likes them? The false pretension, making out as though you're a dedicated follower of fashion, when in fact, you like to wear pretty things that simply scream 'LOOK AT ME I'M DESIGNER'. These are the people who have much more money than sense, and to be fair, they're ridiculous. 

The way in which this blog post could be interpreted varies, depending on your point of view. I'm not accusing anyone and everyone who has a 'designer' product of being a 'brand whore', but there is a slight difference when you buy things for the quality, and when you buy things simply to prove to your 'haters' that you have money...

If I were to be honest, it could be argued that almost everyone who owns a labelled product is a brand whore, myself included. Be it a Louis Vuitton with the infamous print as clear as daylight, or a tartan patterned Burberry scarf, we all have items we desire that may be evidently designer. However, we would all by lying to deny the basic fact that we all want to out-do one another. For some (or most), this is done by purchasing goods that are evidently designer. Why we want to prove to others that we can afford luxury items is due to the idea of celebrity, fame, money, fortune and the portrayal in the media that 'money is eveything'. We try to prove to ourselves, as much as to others, that we can afford nice things, all enhanced by the media's constant highlighting of which latest designer a certain celebrity is wearing. Therefore, we feel that showing off that we can afford these (sometimes) overpriced items gives us some means of importance, and perhaps even some authority over others.

The majority of people who buy things evidently adorned with designer motifs, purely for the fact of showing off, are simply people who have been deprived of something or other in their life, and they therefore feel the need to promote themselves in this way to others. There is a huge, evident difference between fashion lovers such as myself, who admire the beauty of a carefully constructed dress with hours of genius behind it, and those who simply like to prove that they are able to buy pretty things worth a lot of money. The 'snobs' of the world, in a sense. 

It is perfectly normal to own a fair few items that are evidently of designer descent, but when that becomes your whole wardrobe... Well love, you need a slap and your credit card taken away. 

Marium x