Loopy for Lulu and Co.

So much has been said and talked about Lulu Kennedy's 10 year dress jaunt that I'm not sure what else I can add other than a big fat thank you to Lulu herself.  But just to recap, Lulu Kennedy, founder of Fashion East in London and in general the sweetest fairy godmother of London fashion you'll ever get to know decided to celebrate Fashion East's 10 Year Anniversary by re-issuing ten dresses from the Fashion East alumni's past collections.  Just to do another recap of Fashion East honour roll designers who have gone through that process of showing under the Fashion East umbrella‚Ķ Gareth Pugh, Jonathan Saunders, Marios Schwab, Lousie Goldin, Richard Nicoll, House of Holland through to the more recent names Meadham Kirchhof, Holly Fulton and Louise Gray.  The initiative also extends to menswear as well and obviously Steve is better equipped to extoll the work that Lulu has done on the menswear pushing front. 

Those are probably tedious recaps for those that know these tales well but I'm never sure how world-renowned Fashion East is on a broader scale when to me it's something that I've sort of grown up with in a way, something that alongside other facets of fashion, invigorated my own passion in finding young designers.  Back in the day when you really had to SEEK to find Fashion East coverage (sneaky passwords on Catwalking helped…), before I even knew who Lulu Kennedy was, it was already so clear that Fashion East represented the sort of emerging fashion that I personally wanted to know more about and delve into (this was pre-blogging days…) and if I was ballsy enough to want to sneak in a show, that would be the one for me.  Except I was chicken shit and geekily immersed in A-levels and UCAS forms…

The fruits of Lulu's labour as Lulu and Co. goes beyond the Fashion East remit and is now potentially a fashion label and production house that extends what Fashion East does which can only be beneficial to designers starting out who not only face exposure problems (problem solved if you're taken under Lulu Kennedy's wing…) but also production problems.  Yes, this is a pretty ten year anniversary dress bonanza but I'm interested in seeing where Lulu and Co. goes in terms of linking up with what Fashion East has built up over the years and what it can do for the future generations of Fashion East designers that will undoubtedly create more opps for Lulu and Co. to go out there with buyable product. 

Enough of the earnest talk though.  Seeing as there is a pic fest below, of course it's about the dresses though that Lulu and Co. have got out at the moment.  They launched physically in Harvey Nichols last week and now they're online on Matches Fashion.  You can go check out the cute vids where Bip Ling (sort of loving her blog…google eyes galore!) discovers more about the designers, the dresses and Lulu… I got to play around with the Holly Fulton, Jonathan Saunders, Lousie Gray and Meadham Kirchhoff re-issued, re-jigged gowns and dress (love how a lot of the Lulu and Co. dresses fall to the floor in dramatic fashion) but in addition, Roksanda Ilinicic, Gareth Pugh, Marios Schwab, Richard Nicoll, House of Holland and the now defunct House of Jazz have also contributed to the project.  There's really no messing allowed when it comes to frocks as direct as these – they sort of are what they are…but anyhow, sadly on me, it can never JUST be the frock… it's like a sick disease really…

Holly Fulton – Well, it can only be about those Art Deco prints which continue to be her trump card that gets everyone talking…

(Worn with Lacoste leather visor, vintage jacket, Topshop sheer tunic dress, Acne shoes)

Jonathan Saunders – I remember this A/W 07-8 collection well and it's all down to this gradiated block of silk chiffon that has a life of its own…

(Worn with Yokoo pom pom headband, Dries Van Noten jacket, Luella shoes)

Lousie Gray – I kind of have no fear of messing around with Gray's pieces and whilst the gown is supposed to be floor length, I took it up by tucking it into the issey skirt… loves me an extra fabric bunch…

(Worn with Steve J and Yoni P blue pleated jacket, Issey Miyake Pleats Please neon yellow skirt underneath, Nicholas Kirkwood shoes, Fannie Schiavoni chain bra)

Meadham Kirchhoff – This dress really REALLY needs to be looked at upclose with the seams that are left raw and bursts of silk tulle coming out from the shoulders and the sides as well as ruched all the way down the back. 

(Worn with vintage lace-bottom trousers, Atalanta Weller wedges, vintage Jaegar hat, Sou Brette necklace)