Inspiration – Stylitz

The bold and the downright beautiful

Published on April 28, 2017April 28, 2017 by Alicja JasnikowskaLeave a comment

This week I was lucky enough to be invited to the wonderful Fashion & Textile Museum on Bermondsey Street for the launch of the Gudrun Sjoden exhibition ‘Four Decades of Colour and Design’. I am quite ashamed to say that despite all my years of living in London (and many hours spent on Bermondsey Street) I had never actually been inside this beautiful, multi-coloured Zandra Rhodes owned tribute to fashion. But now I have and it does not disappoint. Accompanying the bold artwork, was a deliciously colourful breakfast of rainbow lattes, flower-filled granola pots and goat cheese and red pepper muffins. I mean… how can you resist when food looks this pretty?!

Breakfast is served:- Juice shots, muffins and granola from Ethos. Rainbow lattes from Black Box Coffee

Gudrun’s work will be displayed alongside the current long-standing Josef Frank exhibition. Both Swedish-based designers are renowned for their use of bold colour and print, with designs translated onto textiles and interiors, and both have a strong affection for watercolour as a medium. This pop-up exhibition celebrates Gudrun’s 40^th anniversary, alongside a beautiful hard-back book detailing her years at the forefront of Swedish design. You can view her working process, her inspiration and examples of her playful, childlike prints. When I observed that her patterns are akin to childrenswear, a member of her team described Gudrun’s rhetoric as being – ‘Why stop dressing like a child once you become an adult? Everyone should enjoy colour and print no matter what their age.’

Some watercolour artwork and designs from the exhibition

Gudrun’s mantra remains ‘clothing for women who dare to stand out from the crowd’ and she is her own finest advocate. A cross between British fashion institutions Mary Quant and Zandra Rhodes, with a dash of Cath Kidston, she embraces colour like no other. On meeting the designer, I am drawn to her bold hues, warm smile and sunny disposition, all of which belies an incredibly strong woman who spends her weeks running the business and her weekends ‘painting til she goes to bed’.

The inspirational Gudrun poses in front of one of her prints and outside the colourful Fashion & Textile Museum on Bermondsey Street.

She has won several entrepreneurial awards, received a royal medal from the King of Sweden and has stores all over the world. Despite four decades in the industry she remains true to her concept of ‘comfortable, colourful clothes in natural materials with a Nordic design influence.’ The use of organic cotton and sustainable eco-friendly fabrics has always been of immense importance to Gudrun and her love of travel and exploration – such as her recent visit to India to explore traditional craft techniques – often influence her designs. Here are a few fabulous extracts from her recent book:

If you feel inspired and fancy a trip to the boldest museum in London to view a plethora of multi-hued textile designs you’ll need to be quick. Both shows end on 7^th May, which gives your precisely 9.5 days to get yourself along to this fabulous tribute to colour and print. Just be sure to wear something yellow. Or fuchsia pink. Or cobalt blue. Who needs grey anyway? I would much rather view the world in Gudrun Sjoden and Josef Frank Technicolor!

Above: Prints from the current Josef Frank exhibition at Fashion & Textile Museum, 83 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3XF. http://www.ftmlondon.org. Ends 7th May 2017.

Open Tuesday – Saturday (11am – 6pm); late night on Thursday (until 8pm); Sunday (11am – 5pm). Closed Monday. Tickets for exhibition: £9.90 (adults), £7.70 (concessions), £6 (students). Children under 12 are free.

For more information about Gudrun and to view her collections go to http://www.gudrunsjoden.com/uk.

Main holding image: Seb Higgins

Stars, sleeves and copious amounts of colour at London Fashion Week AW17

Published on March 3, 2017March 4, 2017 by Alicja JasnikowskaLeave a comment

First of all Happy Friday everyone. Only a few more hours until you can break free from the shackles of the office and let loose for two whole days. If, like me, you find yourself a little distracted on a Friday afternoon, perhaps I can interest you in a little melange of fashion to carry you through until home time.

If you caught my post on Wednesday you will know that this season I am actually planning three blogs about London Fashion Week. I have already covered all the selfies with my last ‘What I wore’ piece. Today I will show you what I saw on the AW17 catwalks and tell you a little about the labels that I loved this season.

FASHION SCOUT – ONES TO WATCH

Ones to Watch is always a great way to start Fashion Week as it highlights some of the newest talents breaking through. By far my favourite of the quartet of designers showing was the gorgeous Krasimira Stoyneva, whose fringed statement jackets and star motif prints were a colourful crowd pleaser. Her signature use of synthetic hair is supported by her hashtag: #WearHairNotFur. Do not be scared this is not real hair or real fur!

https://krasimirastoyneva.com/

MARK FAST

The Canadian knitwear designer Mark Fast showed a bold and beautiful collection featuring a colourful clash of purple, fuchsia and orange fringed dresses, balanced by delicate, pastel feathered and beaded frocks. Renowned for his use of plus size models at previous fashion weeks, it was interesting to see the designer revert to the industry norm, allowing the clothes to be the talking point this season.

http://markfast.net/

PAUL COSTELLOE

Held at the prestigious Waldorf Hotel, the delightful Paul Costelloe show featured all his signature show stoppers – exquisite cashmere coats, metallic silk jacquard baby-doll dresses and a stunning sheer-print leather finale gown. A nod to the Tudor period came in the form of exaggerated bell sleeves and multi-layered ruffled collars and hems. Beautiful!

http://www.paulcostelloe.com/

EDELINE LEE

Eschewing the traditional catwalk and opting instead for a presentation, Edeline Lee showed her AW17 collection against a backdrop of raw brick walls and abstract hand-painted panels at the Oxo Tower Barge House. Inspired by the collage artist of the Dada movement Hannah Hoch, Lee’s strong play on proportion, cheeky feminist references and exquisite use of colour (think saffron yellow, muted aqua and brick red) made this one of my favourite shows of LFW.

https://edelinelee.com/

ASHLEY ISHAM

Always one of my favourites on the LFW Fashion Scout schedule, Ashley Isham didn’t fail to disappoint with a jaw-dropping medley of prints, statement ruffles, hand-beaded embellishment and oversized looping headpieces (is it a hairband or is it an earring?). I was particularly in love with all the bold clashing prints and the fab gold star jumpsuit.

http://ashleyisham.co.uk/

MALAN BRETON

By the time Malan Breton showed his gorgeous collection, my phone battery had died and my back-up rechargeable battery had also run dry. Fashion fail! However, the eye-catching metallic brocade suits, leather frilled dresses, velvet tux jackets and clever play on sharp masculine tailoring for women was definitely worth a mention.

http://www.malanbreton.com/

ASPINAL OF LONDON

A strong presentation of all the styles that we have come to expect and adore from Aspinal of London. Next season’s new additions include a kooky Breakfast at Tiffany illustrative print and, channelling fashion’s obsession with customising and monogramming, their fabulous Mini Trunk can now be emblazoned with your favourite phrase or initials. Magic!

https://www.aspinaloflondon.com/

CLIO PEPPIATT

A favourite of Kylie Jenner, Lady Gaga and Lena Dunham, the presentation by 24 year old South London based Clio Peppiatt was a far cry from the usual catwalk parade. Here models perched, chatted and danced around a cavernous space beneath The Strand in a youthful clash of faux fur, sheer embellished dresses, cheeky prints and Converse high tops. Kitsch, sassy and above all fun, this is definitely one for the cool kids. Oh and it featured my current colour combo obsession – bubblegum pink and red!

http://cliopeppiatt.co.uk/

ALEXANDRA MOURA

Portugese designer Alexandra Moura showed her collection at the glorious Banking Hall in the heart of the City. The grand location provided a fine backdrop for her oversized romantic ruffles and deconstructed tailoring. Half-worn, half shoulder-robed jackets featured underlying cross-body straps, which doubled up as rucksacks. These were juxtaposed by gorgeous gold lame jacquard prints, inspired by traditional Indonesian fabrics. The earthy brown, mustard, russet and cornflower blue colourway was stunning as were the gorgeous exaggerated sleeves (I smell an AW17 trend coming). A well-executed, beautifully romantic collection balanced by strong, masculine tailoring. I truly loved this show!

http://www.alexandramoura.com/1617/?lang=en

J. JS LEE

On the final day of London Fashion Week, I had the privilege of sitting FROW at the beautiful J. JS Lee show (another personal favourite of mine). Held at the main LFW venue – with it’s super-sized catwalk – the show was inspired by the childhood urge to dress up in adult clothing. This play on scale took the form of oversized tailoring, dropped shoulder lines, elongated lapels and cute knot detailing. All in a delicate colour palette of charcoal, pistachio, camel, rose and white. A delightful collection from a wonderful designer.

http://www.jsleelondon.com/

And that concludes today’s post about London Fashion Week. Please do let me know your thoughts and comments. And keep an eye out for this weekend’s post where I will give you the low down on the designer stands, with close up details of all the fabulous accessories. Enjoy your weekend!

With special thanks to Pop PR, Dust PR, Trace and Wolves London for my LFW tickets.

http://londonfashionweek.co.uk/ http://fashionscout.co.uk/

What I wore to London Fashion Week AW17

Published on March 1, 2017March 1, 2017 by Alicja JasnikowskaLeave a comment

So today I FINALLY settled down to write my post on London Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2017. While the fashion editors are now happily ensconced in Paris, the capital of couture (via a stylish week in Milano), I have been stuck in front of my computer trawling through and editing a ridiculously large number of images. So you’ll have to forgive me for the week long delay. In fact there are so many pics I would love to share, that I have decided to write not one but three blogs over the next few days. Lucky you 😉

Today’s will be a synopsis of my outfits for LFW, so get ready for some serious selfies people. Details of the shows I attended and all the gorgeous clothing I saw will follow later in the week, but for now let’s talk OOTD aka ‘outfit of the day’…

DAY 1 – FRIDAY – Channelling my inner Lagerfeld

On day one I decided to opt for a Chanel inspired look combining herringbone, a pussy-bow blouse and a bold faux-pearl necklace.

Pink coat, Dorothy Perkins; Faux-fur collar, boohoo.com; White pussy-bow blouse, Uniqlo; Herringbone dress, Zara; Sunnies, Jeepers Peepers; Necklace, car-boot sale; Bag, Oasis.

My gorgeous friend Davina and I enjoying cake at the Fashion Scout Ones to Watch show. Yes that is actual cake at Fashion Week. Hard to believe I know!

Dashing photographer Paul Allen and I posing in our matching herringbone monochrome outfits at The Waldorf Hotel prior to Paul Costelloe.

DAY 2 – SATURDAY – Savage Youth

On day two I had a number of shows to attend and also was planning to party in the evening, so I opted for multiple layers of floral embroidery, customised denim and my fave pink coat.

Pink coat and collar, as before; Denim jacket, New Look – beautifully customised by Pistache Artists; Floral embroidered dress, Primark; Ankle boots, River Island (available here): http://www.riverisland.com/women/shoes–boots/boots/black-leather-wide-fit-buckle-boots-698635.

A selfie with my lovely little sis Zosia who accompanied me to shows on Saturday. Twinning in our faux-fur collars 🙂

DAY 4 – MONDAY – Checks and tassels

After giving myself Sunday off (naughty I know) my ensemble on day four was a riot of colour – grass green checks, baby pink outerwear and a canary yellow bag.

Jacket and collar, as before; Checked dress, charity shop; Yellow leather bag, Hobbs; Over-the-knee tasselled boots, River Island.

Engraved 18ct gold plated pendant, by Hurley Burley from http://www.NotontheHighStreet.com (similar available now); Star studs, Forever 21.

NB. If your ears react badly to non-precious metal then the gorgeous jeweller Laura Gravestock has 18ct gold plated star earrings here: http://lauragravestock.com/shop-by-item/earring/dainty-star-stud-earrings-1177.html

Necklace, gift; Sunglasses, KG by Kurt Geiger.

DAY 5 – TUESDAY – Leather snake-print skirt and pumps

The final day called for flats and this tonal outfit was just the answer. I balanced a leather snake-print pencil skirt with an oversized Aran sweater and simple trainers. All topped off with a masculine 3/4 length khaki coat, which I found for £5 in a charity shop in Jan #winning

Vintage wool khaki coat, charity shop; Sweater, Mango; Leather snake-print skirt, charity shop; Trainers, Lacoste.

Yellow leather bag, Hobbs; Berry heart key ring, Aspinal of London (available here): https://www.aspinaloflondon.com/products/heart-key-ring-in-berry-lizard.

Necklace, gift from my sister-in-law (from Accessorize); Earrings, Topshop.

I was also lucky enough to get my hair cut by the lovely Toni & Guy team at London Fashion Week headquarters. They did a fantastic job. Thanks again guys!

BEFORE

AFTER

All in all I had the most fabulous Fashion Week ever. Please let me know your thoughts on all my outfits. Do you have a favourite? Are there any you don’t think work? And also watch out for my posts later in the week with all my images from the shows and a thorough synopsis of all the gorgeous designer stands.

Oh and one more thing… I also had the pleasure of meeting the astonishingly beautiful supermodel and photographer Helena Christensen at a Lights of Soho event. Life goal achieved!

Me and my fave 90s super, Helena Christensen

http://londonfashionweek.co.uk/ http://fashionscout.co.uk/ https://lightsofsoho.com/ http://toniandguy.com/

Exploring Nail Art with MoYou London

Published on May 2, 2015May 2, 2015 by Alicja JasnikowskaLeave a comment

Last week I went to a press day and a fab nail product caught my eye. This was a nail art stamping kit from a brand called MoYou London, and to cut a long story short it creates fabulous statement nails without the need for an artistic hand. This week they sent me a starter kit to experiment with and so experiment I did.

First of all get everything ready – the polishes you have chosen, your metal nail art plate (mine is from the Explorer collection), the scraper and stamping tool and also a bottle of nail varnish remover, cotton wool pads and plenty of cotton buds.

Next prep your nails with a clear base coat. Then apply your colour of choice (1 or 2 layers) along with a top coat as per your usual manicure. I used the MoYou London varnish in Silver Dust £8.99 on my accent nail and a pale pink on my other nails – OPI’s Miso Happy with This Colour £11.50.

Once dry you need to get ready to add the artwork. Make sure you soak a cotton bud in nail varnish remover before you begin. Choose the colour that you wish to use as your detail. I opted for Chanel Le Vernis in 219 Black Satin £18.00 and the MoYou in Silver Dust for the nude nails. Next add the varnish to the design of your choice. Make sure you use a generous amount so that it covers it entirely.

Next, and you need to work rather quickly, use your scraper tool to scrape across the surface of the metal plate removing the excess varnish. This needs to be done in one move, with the scraper held at a 45 degree angle. Be decisive and apply some pressure.

Now you need to lift the design from the plate and add it your nail. Again try to do this as quickly as possible so that the varnish does not dry. Firstly use your stamp tool to lift the design from the plate, then to apply it to your nail. You need to use a rolling motion to lift and apply and only go across once. If you go back and forth the design will not transfer cleanly. Use some pressure, but the key is nerves of steel and a steady hand. As you can see this one of mine isn’t entirely perfect but keep practising and you will get the hang of it.

Next (& sorry I forgot to take pictures of this stage as I was so busy stamping) you use your varnish remover soaked cotton bud to clean the excess varnish from your fingers. My design went all across the top of my fingers around my nailbed but it was easy to clean up with cotton wool buds. After each use you also need to clean the plate, stamp tool and the scraper with nail varnish remover. Finally when it is dry, add a top coat. This is not crucial but it means the manicure will last longer. Another note… if you are using a dark colour for your design (like my black varnish) then leave it a good 20 mins before you apply the top coat to ensure it doesn’t smudge all your hard work.

I did one hand at a time and let the left hand dry completely before I worked on my right hand. Being rather clumsy and also right-handed this one is always more of a challenge. I’m not going to lie, this does take some patience, practise and a somewhat steady hand, but I am not a manicurist and I think the results aren’t bad. This took some time, but if you are less of a perfectionist than me and aren’t taking pictures along the way it will be quicker. The below were my first attempts when I was deciding on colours. I only used one layer of varnish and stamped quite quickly and the results in some instances are even better! For the other nails I used MoYou London Orchid Chic £4.99 (lilac) and an old varnish called Fiesta from New Look £2.99 (neon orange). Both had the MoYou London Silver Dust for the design.

If you have plans to stay in with friends this bank holiday weekend or just fancy something a bit different why not try it out for yourself? Head to http://www.moyou.co.uk and pick up a starter kit for £29.99 (mine was from the Explorer range). This includes 3 polishes, 2 stamp plates, a stamp transfer tool, a scraper and the all important manual. Then all you need is some nail varnish remover and some cotton buds and you’re away.

For starter kits, nail art plates and polishes head to http://www.moyou.co.uk

While away an hour at Liberty London

Published on February 4, 2015February 5, 2016 by Alicja JasnikowskaLeave a comment

This week I found myself with an hour to kill between appointments in central London and rather than opting for the classic time filler (a whip around Topshop’s flagship store) I popped into Liberty’s. Eschewing the usual choice of the second floor fashion department, I decided to ride those gorgeous wooden lifts up one extra floor. And I am so pleased I did. The third floor houses all manor of fabulous things from adorable childrenswear to stylish gifts, trendy tomes to colourful fabrics. I loved it so much I spent most my hour taking pictures so that I could share it all with you. Here’s a little guided tour of what caught my eye…

It’s a Taschen fashion haven in the book department. The hilarious illustrated ‘Man Meets Woman’ by Yang Lin (£10) makes a great little gift.

Frames and crockery – from the colourful to the kitsch.

Fabulous retro phones and kooky clocks (Milk Bottle clock, £40)

Add colour and print to a games room with these classic sets.

Rory Dobner’s macabre letter tiles would bring gothic drama to a bathroom or kitchen (tiles, £39.50 each). I love the use of neon lighting in the store too.

Ditsy florals – the famous Liberty print adorns plates, aprons and kitchenware. Also check out the paper floral installation by Zoe Bradley (zoebradley.com)

Everybody loves rhubard and custard (Sweets, £6.95 a jar, Flowers of Liberty)

Get inspiration for this season’s 70s trend in the fabric department – a printed paradise. I love how colour co-ordinated these bold textiles are.

And finally (if you’re feeling generous) a little designer childrenswear to treat a mini one

So next time you have an hour to spare in central London or need to buy a unique gift for that difficult to please friend (we all have one) then you really should pop to Liberty London. What’s most amazing is the grand setting and stunning wooden interior. As a fellow shopper merrily remarked in the lift, ‘Ah Liberty’s! Couldn’t you just live here’. Yes, indeed I could!

Liberty, Regent Street, London, W1B 5AH. http://www.liberty.co.uk