London Fashion Week SS08 Day 1

If you are expecting a full week of show coverage from me, alas, this will be very sketchy indeed seeing as I logged onto my holiday allotment system at work to find a big fat zero staring back at me under the column of ‘Days Left to Take’.  Oh well, by the power of extended lunch breaks, leaving work a little early and with one of the main show venues being just two minutes walk from work, I shall get to see SOMETHING. 

Good thing that Day 1 began on a Saturday then but it also did mean a lot of explaining to the boyf….’Well…there’s this show… so I’ll have to meet you later…’.  Feeble, poor excuse….. However, you won’t find me choosing fashion over the other half, seeing as I skipped the usual party routine (the SHOWStudio ‘The Replenishing Body’ installation at Beyond the Valley was the place to be…. it did look like tons of fun though according to Ms. Pernet).  Instead, I toodled off to have sushi and see Atonement (yes, I wept a little at the end…).

Of course Ms. Pernet belongs to a category beyond that of a ‘blogger’ but I saw others there as well such as Rollergirl, Ondolady and Michelle from My Fashion Life (first time I met her but she is LOVELY!).  I must say it’s reassuring to be with fellow bloggers, to discuss those issues that few LFW attendees will understand.  I also remarked that I still feel very unsure of myself at London Fashion Week.  The issues relating to bloggers being at fashion week is something that seems to be cropping up more and more and I hope Jeannine at The Coveted will be discussing this more on her new blog Independent Fashion Bloggers

Shows watched: Ben de Lisi (really a lot better than I thought it was going to be and a little bit like ‘Wow…. is that really Ben de Lisi?’  Unfortunately the show experience was marred by Tara Palmer Tomkinson’s presence in the front row which meant incessant papping and flashbulbs nearly blinding me as I was about two rows behind her…), Bora Aksu (BEAUTIFUL…see below!), Unconditional (again, pics below.  I vastly preferred the menswear pieces to the womenswear and there was an overriding theme of ‘Green is the New Black’ eco-warrior)

Wearing: Please don’t ask what I was going for here.  A lot of black and a bit of yellow?  I just really wanted to wear the Acne Dress, the Patrik Rzepski ‘chaps’ and the H&M yellow tights.  It’s all a little funny together but hey why stand around LFW looking preened and poking fun at people’s outfits (those types are always present…) when I will gladly let people poke fun at me. 

Bora Aksu’s show was an autumnal palette of olive, mustard, aubergine, deep scarlet and grey all transplanted into the new season (why the distinctive shift to pale colours anyway….?) in floaty chiffons, knots, thin knits, pleats and some leather accents.  Wanted to put the video up because they also used my favourite Broken Social Scene song in the soundtrack…

What is LFW without snapping showgoers.  The number of streetstyle photographers for various magazines/websites seems to have doubled this year, hence why more outfits have also been taken to the ‘this is worn to BE seen and snapped’ level.  I loved various elements of these… the vintage billowy white shirt picked up in Paris, the deconstructed black trench, the simplicity of coloured opaques and black and the mad-cap outfit from Bernhard Willhelm…

I was also wondering when the Prada socks would turn up in public and of course they did!  Though the girl’s shoes and bag were excellent, I wasn’t sure about the gold lurex jumpsuit…. tanned thin bod did help the cause though. 

Here is Gretchen who works for Harpers Bazaar in Kazakhstaan (did you know there was one?  I didn’t either…) and two things that jumped out was her skirt (pom poms!) and her unique headpiece, from last season’s Duro Olowu collection, created by the milliner Jeffrey Portman. 

There was also a lot of subtle silver, most fantastically worn by Skin from Skunk Anansie in her waxed silver jeans, further making me blubber inside for my own desire for waxed silver jeans…  I also couldn’t help but want to touch this sweater, worn by a girl who came all the way from Uruguay.  It looks like it should be crackled rigidness but it is completely soft and fleece-like and is by my new found favourite Argentine – Trosman!  This is an attrocious picture of Erin O’Connor but honestly she looked beautifully serene in her silver long dress and she insisted on sitting five rows back just to be with her group of six friends instead of demanding front row clearance for her.  Gotta love that…

Back to the Unconditional show… I did want to show my love for their menswear and I so wanted to sneak the boyf in as he too is a big fan of Unconditional.  The colours, the cutting, the simultaneous simplicity and complexity.  Superb stuff for any guy wanting to add some subtle interest to their wardrobes.  However, most random attendee of the show was…..Ziggy from Big Brother….(eh? what? why?).  The womenswear was not quite there for me but I did love the idea of pastel chiffon, transparent loose leggings as a feature.  What is my obsession with hoisery/legwear?  Anyhow, once those roll in, will be trying them on.  The message was very ‘green’ and ‘grow your own vegetables’ and ‘get back to our farming roots’ type thing.  Except that I kill every plant I come into contact with…. not good…not good at all….

21 comments

  1. That girl with the red tights is perfect! She just oozes “I just threw this on” kind of cool.

  3. Ziggy from Big Brother? Its now generally accepted for the Z List to turn up to bad film premieres, but Fashion Week? Really, what is the world coming to..
    No I didn’t know about the Kazakhstaan Harpers Bazaar either, but she looks so fantastic. Undoubtedly my favourite show go-er with that headband.
    It is a rather interesting discussion about the blogger attendees, because this will obviously become more common, and I think bloggers will soon be as influential as the Eds. So did you, Roller Girl et al get tickets because of this, or through jobs? Its an interesting one.
    Just about to post your interview by the way (sorry for the lonnng wait!)
    S xx

  4. This looks like so much fun, the silver jeans are superb, why is Ziggy allowed in there…arrgghh! he does my heading. There’s so much on today, I hope you get to see at least PPQ and Gareth Pugh and give us all the gossip, Im really looking forward to see what they come up with. I like what you’ve one with the yellow tights, I got the the same as well but wasnt sure what to where it with, got any ideas? I was thinking of layering it with my white lace tights and see if I like it. Hope to see more of your coverage on the LFW. XX

  6. i really love your outift here, even if you’re not sure. the chaps work so well – i couldn’t visualise how they would work before, but here they perfect the outfit!

  7. I really really adore this one (your outfit)! Maybe *because* it’s just black and yellow. Inspires me a lot. Perfect.
    Have fun at LFW!

  8. Ha ha, just found out one of our girls was sat with Ziggy for the Unconditional show and she was giving him fashion advice.
    The random nature of people turning up for things is really mad this year. Kirsten Dunst at Nicola de Main, Aaron Eckhart at the opening of the Diane Von Furstenberg shop… it’s almost more fun to play spot the random than it is to look at the clothes!

  9. sounds pretty awesome!
    But i have to agree, why Ziggy?! At least if z listers are getting in, then surely it can’t be long until its a free for all?! She says…hoping!!
    This will be embarassing if i’m wrong but are you on facehunter?!
    x

  10. Hi Susie!
    You really do a fantastic job blogging! I think your blog is at the same time one of the most interesting as one of the most enjoyable ones. Kudos to you!
    My blog: http://www.citylifeantwerp.com, next time you come to Antwerp and need a guide…
    Jolijn

  11. Susie! You’re on Facehunter.
    Okay, maybe that’s not a surprise to you as an eclectic layer-er during London fashion week, but I think it’s rather exciting to see Yvan uploading you.

  16. Hey Susie,
    It was great meeting you at LFW too, yep seeing Ziggy there was a joke. Thanks for the heads up.
    Ondo Lady

  17. Hey Susie,
    how are u? 🙂 I think you look a bit like a cute bumble bee in that picture! lol 😛
    I am just amazed at how many wonderful cloured tights you have! If you have the time, could you mention to me where I might be able to get some good opaque tights if you live in Asia? 🙂
    p.s. I was also wondering if you might be able to add me on your blogroll, you prob get bombarded with these kind of requests, oops and sorryz… but I love your blog so much! I’ve added you on mine too! at
    http://fashion-tidbits.blogspot.com/
    Luv, Heather_L

  19. Thanks so much for the add! 🙂
    Well, I’m currently situated in Seoul, Korea…still on the hunt for those perfect-nice-feely tights….:P

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