>> So this will come off as a little bit like I'm worshipping to upper echelons of fashion houses given that I have YET to write a jot about London Fashion Week and the first post that's non-outfit related happens to be about err…. Burberry Prorsum. Yesh, it's egg-citing and all, yes, the venue was naturally grandiose and yes, it was celebby galore (Agyness Deyn and Victoria Beckham having a natter in the front row…). Not that I'm going to recap the night in celeb spottings. No, in fact, the most excited I got was when I got to the afterparty at the BEAUT-iful Horseferry Road headquarters and they had set up four macs for bloggers to blog, tweet, Facebook etc etc. The reality is that everyone, bloggers or not ended up checking Facebook and the room became a sort of pseudo VIP room as Carine Roitfeld, Victoria Beckham and Christopher Bailey were hanging out there.
Still, the excitement of seeing that Burberry had pre-empted bloggers' needs and provided the means to blog at an afterparty where you could be sloshing grapefruit cocktails (see below) and smearing canapes all over the shop is quite a sight.
I'm not sure how many bloggers (only saw Stevie of Discotheque Confusion and Disneyrollergirl) invited to the show and party and I'm sort of semi involved in the communications between bloggers and Burberry and also, not at the same time seeing as my invite came via work. However the fact is that this was a strategic move on Burberry's part to involve bloggers and after coming back from New York where it was literally blogger frenzy (actually specifically, it was Tavi frenzy… ), this last show of London Fashion Week sort of confirms my growing my suspicions of the changing attitude of huge fashion houses/brands that may have started with that Chanel press trip yonks and yonks ago… still not holding my breath for blogger outreach programmes from the likes of Givenchy and Balenciaga though…as always, Paris is still very much old-school to the book and perhaps I quite like it that way.
And the show? Here comes the tricky part… not to sound like you're brown nosing someone who has bestowed you a hot ticket. Of course, the crux is that no blogger is ever obliged to post about something and especially if they don't like it but hey presto, Bailey delivered a pretty amazing collection that even from fifth row, could be appreciated for its range of fabric textures, a feature that Prorsum has always pushed. I loved that the trenches were that were ruched and knotted all over the place so that it became more than just a piece of outerwear but could also morph into a dress. There's also a mad silver tinsel covered trenchcoat that will probably be shot to death in editorials…
So on the ball the Burberry peeps are with us bloggers' insane pre-occupation with posting things quickly and promptly (not demonstrated by THIS particular blog, mind you….rectification is in order!) that I've already received some images etc etc…
The cascading tinsel finale…
Sounds amazing! Look, there’s Anna and Grace!
I do sort of like that Balenciaga and Givenchy are old school when it comes to the invitation of bloggers but I sense that they will eventually have to give in. I sense a lot of fear from these french luxury companies in general, its weird, its like they think the internet/blog world will ruin their world of “luxury” when in fact the internet has nothing to do with ruining it in the first place-I remember Cathy Horyn talking about this in more detail…..I guess they think that the more elusive they remain the more “special” the brand seems. I don’t know its completely up for debate. I would still like Balenciaga the same with or without the bloggers.
I am wondering if that is an alcoholic beverage, if thats so its pretty much the same thing I do everynight to unwind. Drink 1-2 cocktails while surfing the net…
Sounds awesome! I’m glad bloggers are going to fashion shows!
So unbelievably jealous right now…
Ahhh, glitter 🙂 I also love the fact that the model that walks past at about the thirteenth second of that video is so brightly lit that she looks like a while silhouette. And a party where you can go online is my kind of party.
Ooh, am such a Prorsum/Bailey fan! This collection seems to contain quite a few elements from Spring 2008…G O R G E O U S ! ! !
xx
I am so jealous! But I managed to watch the show live thanks to Vogue UK. Streaming a show live to air is another great way to really appeal to fashion lovers and bloggers around the world that don’t have the means or invites to attend shows. So many thanks Mr. Bailey!
I didn’t turn up, couldn’t be a***d to go. I stayed home and watched the live streaming with a cup of tea. The show was amazing…give credits to the production team.
i love the word echelon… its nice to say. but emma watson’s face kind of aggravates me
xx
wow! sounds so fantastic and its very neat that they set all that up for bloggers and guests!
I really love the video too thank you for sharing! I am really loving the music the used nice
glad you had a fantastic time!
that’s awesome that they had computers to blog at, it’s a pertty clever idea. and that silver tinsel…yum.
anyone know who the music is by in the video?
I love fashion shows and about Emma cool………she looks stunning…
It makes sense for fashion to become more blogger friendly. Bloggers probably do as much for designers as regards publicity as regular press at this stage. Or maybe it just feels like that because of all the blogs I read! Saying that I’d probably die of shock if I ever got an invitation to anything myself!
Lucky you Looks like you had a good time!Need to check the collection out since I been so lame these days.
That’s so funny they had mac’s there for you, very very cool. You do live the life Susie, my mind boggles as how unphased you are by all the celeby presence….I’ve only ever seen Pauline Quirk and Robert Lindsey in my life! But then I guess you’re becoming rather famous yourself these days.
The fashion show is fabulous I love the snowy runway. It’s a very creative idea.
It’s a successful fashion show. It’s a gorgeous collection.
Susie, hope you’re getting some well earned rest. On a completely different subject, I am about to go to Paris and remembered your recommendation for Mama shelter. Just wanted to check, did you find the location central enough? i.e. could you get to the centre, good places to go out etc pretty easily? thanks for any advice
sounds amazing!
xoxo
I’m just so in awe of the collection: everything was a hit. It was nice to know that someone was delivering considering some of the other collections from earlier this. Loved the trench/dress on Anna Selezneva
Zhenya: http://www.fashionflesh.blogspot.com
Wow, you got to hang out with Carine and Victoria? Did they watch what you typed while you blogged? haha
-meream
I’m not convinced that fashion houses are reaching out to bloggers, except for bloggers who happen to work in the fashion industry already, who may well have potentially been on invite lists anyway because of their jobs, with the fact that they have blogs merely being a handy added extra, with exceptions being made for a tiny number of celeb bloggers like Tavi, Fashion Toast and BryanBoy.
I may be wrong, but that’s just how I perceive things. And this really isn’t meant to be directed at you, because your blog is amazing and you’ve got such a following I’m sure you’d (quite rightly) get invites to everything even if you didn’t have the Dazed job, and obviously your blog came first too.
I mean, I’m not even saying loads of smaller bloggers should be invited to shows, parties etc. because that wouldn’t make sense, but it would be nice if fashion PRs actually bothered to, say, answer emails, image requests etc. from smaller blogs for a start (instead of just inundating them with grainy, low-res ‘media alert’ images because x celeb wore x brand’s watch to the premier of x – and then wondering why they’re not getting the blog coverage they want); many don’t yet understand that it has to be a two-way process. I just find it a bit rich that lots of fashion types seem to be trumpeting on about how they’re reaching out to blogs at the moment when they’re still missing the point, and still sticking very much within their comfort zone. If anything has changed it’s that more people who work in the industry now have blogs, not that fashion PRs are widening their reach to beyond.
http://hapsical.blogspot.com
Maybe you didn’t see many bloggers because you ignore those who say hello to you at these type of events.
Susie you pretend you are humble, but boy have you changed and become a bit of a stuck up little brat.
So very very disappointed in you and speaking to other bloggers I’m not the only one who has been ignored after merely saying hello to you.
Remember where you came from and who put you were you are.
^ this seems a little unlikely..
^^Ignored by Susie: I’d like to know when you or other bloggers came up to say hello…. if you’re talking about anytime in the last two weeks, the truth is, the past two weeks isn’t really the best time to come up to me anyway because I’m basically sleep deprived, hungry or just plain groggy….I’ve had to stay up writing, chasing photographers, downloading, uploading and transcribing… I have spoken to quite a few people this week and when people say hello, I do say hello back.
That said, I don’t think I’m the best person to speak to complete strangers anyway… what do I say to other than ‘Thank you for reading my blog…?’ That isn’t ignoring someone, that is literally, my own social awkwardness…what else do I say…?
If I have lost a few readers because I happened to be tired, groggy and not feeling like my normal self, then so be it… I’m sorry if you felt you were ignored but it really wasn’t my intentions… I can give you witnesses to prove that I’m not a complete bitch if you wish if that makes you feel any better?
^^Also, it sounds like you might be a blogger – why not reveal your email/URL????
lol i love the “enthusiasm” with which Anna Wintour applauds.
no worries,no french fashion house will ever stoop to that level.
backstage ….bloggers ARE servants-they eat and work FOR FREE in the kitchen for their masters.
they should have invited some real chav instead of u flumpy mainstram midgets, burberry owe them ;lol
it really does make me sad when you apologise for not blogging and seem to be receiving some slack for a slow down of posting- but that’s not surprising! coming from a standard behind-a-computer-screen fashion week watcher, i love your posts and don’t listen to simply jealous haters!! do they not think you have a job and a life?! i got an email invite from burberry and couldn’t believe my eyes, might that have been something to do with you if you are helping them out? if so, thank you! not that it isn’t extremely painful to hear the celebs at the party, not to mention see footage of the actual show. when reading all these blogs i sometimes have to remind myself that i have never been to one show or even seen a model in real life, so i really appreciate reading all your content. and as a blogger, if anyone ever approached me suddenly, i would certainly be a bit shy and put on the spot, not all smiles and friendship like a few mean commenters seem to think you require to be. hope you’re having a relaxing week before paris!! i will read the rest of your posts tomorrow!
Anouk: I don’t know what to say other than…errr….?
Hapsical: They did ask a fair few bloggers though that AREN’T in the industry… but yes, I agree with you in that it’s still a slow slog towards getting fashion PRs’ attention…images especially need to be addressed as I think these should be standard assets available to bloggers and journos alike… but again, I think this is changing… time will tell!
Selina: Thanks for not chastising for my slow LFW post and NO, it wasn’t down to me that you were invited but their own internal research into blogs… you of course deserved to be invited…. (why weren’t you there incidentally!)…. and yes, it is tiring to keep making excuses for myself that I am just a human being…. but there you go, I still feel the need to self-defend because there is this self-embued sense of responsibility…
I love Victoria Beckham (in a platonic, adulatory way). Did you get any photos of her?
Amazing, I love these style, dark color is very cool.