Designer Sighting: John Galliano (London, UK)

About a year and a half ago, I posted my recap on the Madeleine Vionnet exhibition in Paris, mentioning that John Galliano had been so enraptured by it, he had urged his entire staff to go see it. So it probably shouldn't have come as a surprise to me, when last week - a few days before it was to close - I visited the 'Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion' exhibition, only to bump into... John Galliano of course.

While I've sighted a fair share of designers and models before, there's always something wonderful about seeing them up close and far removed from the usual context of Fashion Week or some other random event. In this case, Galliano was impeccably dressed as usual and surrounded by only two of his colleagues/apprentices who were eagerly taking notes and admiring the different pieces along with their mentor who himself was noticeably taken by some of the more unique garments.

Galliano dressing down. I loved the jacket with the fur sleeves and the pin-striped trousers.

My favorite moment though, was when one of the staff who was visibly enamored by Galliano's style but had no idea who he was, went over, pointed to his braids and asked him if his hair was real or if he was sporting extensions (for those interested, he claimed the hair to be his own the last time he checked and that he wasn't a fan of the weave). Other than that, he spoke in hushed tones with his two consorts who ended up purchasing a few exhibition books among other things. Of course every designer is inspired by Rei, Yohji & Co., but it's nice to know that some really do take an active interest in learning more. Here's wondering how much of that will influence the next Dior or Galliano collection...

And I will be posting my summary on the actual exhibition in the near future, so stay tuned.

Sale Away with Nicholas Kirkwood (London, UK)

The venue of the sale: Swarovski Crystallized Lounge (images: Swarovski)

Sample sales can be a scary thing... for a shopper. But what if you as a designer show up to your own sale? I always imagined I'd be somewhere between amused and disgusted at seeing people pounce on my wares like they were life-saving, while elbowing fellow shoppers out of the way. But I never imagined I'd eventually see the creative mind behind a fashion label show up to one of these events - until last Thursday that is.

When news of the Kirkwood sale fluttered in my mailbox I was pretty hyped - and petrified. I had visions of queuing up for two hours only to fight my way to a pair of heels that weren't even my size (friends had reported such stories about the Alexander McQueen and Christopher Kane sales, which I missed as I was still in Paris). However when I showed up with a pal 20 minutes before the sale started, we were already allowed in and the swanky Swarovski Lounge was occupied by a mere eight shoppers. I guess few others had been cheeky enough to take a lunch break at 11:40...

So many shoes... I need more feet... And a view of the area when it got a little more crowded.

While I was arranging around a dozen shoes around me to try on, I noticed a nondescript guy with a shy smile helping the other SAs put out shoes and pile boxes. I recognized him instantly, but the thought seemed too bizarre. Things got even more confusing when more women streamed in to the sales area and Nicholas Kirkwood himself actually started fetching shoes for customers or rummaged through boxes looking for missing pairs. A few finally did recognize him and immediately asked him to sign their newly bought heels - which he obligingly did. At one point, when the room really filled up and SAs were running around like madwomen looking for footwear, he shook his head and slapped his hand against it, but all in all, he didn't seem all that fazed by the experience and chatted happily with acquaintances who had come to see him (and buy shoes of course). About an hour into the sale, it seemed he'd had enough - and I saw him sneak out the back exit.

Nicholas Kirkwood fetching shoes (left) and giving style advice (right).

Piles of boxes filled with shoes...

Shoe heaven. The heels span several seasons. Unfortunately I could barely walk in some of these.

The sale itself was excellent by the way. It did get very busy 30 minutes into the sale (when these pics were taken), but nothing I hadn't witnessed before. As some may know, I'm a huge fan of Kirkwood's statement heels, so seeing them go for high street prices was a dream come true. Even the FW10 collection was already available, including the pearl suspended sandals, and the incredible Rodarte shoes made an appearance as well - though most girls couldn't walk in them. If you missed the sample sale, don't worry, his shoes are marked down during the regular sales as well - but of course there's no guarantee Mr. Kirkwood will make an appearance then.

Nicholas Kirkwood was kind enough to sign a few of his shoes for customers queuing at the cash desk (left), which is where I found more heels standing in a row (right).

This isn't my pile, but it could have been... (left) and even the furry boot went on sale.

More eye candy including the famed Rodarte heel (lower left), retailing for 400 GBP (down from 2K I believe).

Kristin Scott Thomas, Alber Elbaz & Lanvin @ Printemps (Paris, France)

Printemps in holiday mode, plus a few spotlights for the event (source: Getty Images).

These days, you can't really eavesdrop a conversation or surf the web without hearing/seeing the word 'Lanvin' somewhere - particularly when it comes to collaborations. So when I heard that there would be yet another partnership with Lanvin, I wasn't sure if I liked the idea despite my love for the French fashion house... until I realized what it was: Parisian department store Printemps requested Alber Elbaz to curate four of its main store windows for the holiday season. Last year's windows, which I featured here, came courtesy of Lagerfeld (Chanel) and Galliano (Dior). As with previous displays, the current ones showcase a large number of dancing marionette dolls, representing Mr. and Miss Lanvin as they make their way through various rooms of a Chateau (the windows are aptly titled "Noel au Chateau").

The marionette dolls Mr. and Miss Lanvin, wearing... Lanvin of course (source: Vogue Paris).

To spice things up even more, the windows were unveiled during a grand ceremony on Wednesday (Nov 10). In attendance: British actress Kristin Scott Thomas (also a Parisian resident), Alber Elbaz and the CEO of Printemps. While I was clever enough to make it to the event on time, I was also stupid enough to bring a camera with a missing battery which was being recharged, so unfortunately I'll be presenting a few borrowed photographs and my partially blurry phone pics.

Alber Elbaz and Kristin Scott Thomas (in Lanvin) getting cuddly with Mr. and Miss Lanvin after unveiling the main window (top image: Dominique Maitre via WWD, bottom images: Richard Bord/WiredImage).

Kristin Scott Thomas on her way to the next window - she looked incredible by the way.

Kristin Scott Thomas checks out the Nina Ricci Christmas display (left) and joins Alber Elbaz for another Lanvin window.

But I did have a blast. While Kristin Scott Thomas and Mr. Elbaz were already on the red carpet, models dressed as French royalty in the style of Louis XVI/Marie Antoinette appeared in a horse-drawn carriage, along with another couple posing as Mr. and Miss Lanvin. A marching band accompanied this procession as they made their way to a very gracious Kristin and an Alber who seemed to get a kick out of seeing his creations come to life. After the first window was unveiled, the party moved on to the next few, then went in the store, where the celebrations continued in the Laduree corner.

More window gazing with Kristin, Alber and Printemps CEO Paolo de Cesare. This window also featured the most treats courtesy of Laduree (and yes, that's the back of Alber's head at the top).

French royalty and the Lanvin couple.

The entire group posing for a pic (top image: Getty Images), and my blurry artsy pic of Louis & co. passing me.

The models on their way to Laduree inside Printemps.

I won't post the actual windows yet, but stay tuned, as they will be featured on this blog soon. Until then, here's a short video clip of the event I found, courtesy of Printemps:

Nicholas Kirkwood, Pierre Hardy & FNO (London, UK)

Even though I was in London during Fashion's Night Out, I only caught part of it (towards the beginning) as I had a dinner date with my better half to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary. I figured ditching him to hang with designers, models and socialites probably wouldn't be the nicest thing to do. Nevertheless, I did see a lot of FNO related stuff happening on the day - mainly in the stores - as they were preparing for the event.

One of the things I was most looking forward to seeing, was the launch of Nicholas Kirkwood's first ever official shop space in Rei Kawakubo's Dover Street Market. I've been waiting forever for this guy to get his own boutique, but I guess this is the next-best thing for now. DSM has always had the best selection of his shoes and I was slightly bummed I would be missing the actual FNO event where the man himself would not only be present (fortunately I've met him before at the Browns Shoes opening) but unveil his first ever flats. That didn't stop me from checking out his shop-in-shop though and despite the fact that it was smaller than expected, there was still plenty of shoe goodness to look at.

Nicholas Kirkwood @ DSM (top image: DSM).

DSM had some other special edition items for sale for the occasion, such as the Comme des Garçons 'Play' Converse sneakers and a DSM Swiss Army Knife, but if you're like me and a bit of a shoe addict, you'll probably want to head either to the second floor (where you'll find the general shoe area) or the third floor, which is where the Kirkwood selection can be found.

Some of the eye candy I spotted. Love those boots. Not sure about the furry things on the lower right.

While I was perusing this bit, and getting slightly distracted by the newly revamped Lanvin area next to it, I noticed two French gentlemen out of the corner of my eye, chatting with a member of staff who was showing them something. I didn't pay much attention, until I headed to an area displaying Pierre Hardy's newest FW09 shoe and handbag range. It was only when I was trying to check the price of a stunning gold heel and the two men came towards the area, I suddenly realized that one of the guys was Pierre Hardy himself.

Monsieur Pierre Hardy and an associate, critically eyeing their own display.

He seemed delighted someone was checking out his collection, though I'm sure his delight faded when I decided not to buy anything. He and his colleague went straight to work, which involved them standing there, looking at the display for one minute. Then Hardy would go over, move a few shoes around, go back to where he stood before and they'd assess the layout again. This went on for a while and was fascinating to watch. I couldn't resist snapping a pic, but decided to leave after a few minutes before I started looking suspicious. Hardy is a genius though... those who aren't familiar with his line might know him as Balenciaga's official shoe designer and of course more affordable versions of his shoes can now be found in a special collaboration with Gap.

A selection of the Pierre Hardy FW09 collection (images: Pierre Hardy).

Pop-up stores seemed to be all over London when I was there and most of them were of the 'here's a Vogue display' variety (i.e. Topshop, Mango etc.). H&M previewed the Jimmy Choo collection later that evening, but the high-street store that made the best effort to bring something new to the fashion world was probably Urban Outfitters, who unveiled a pop-up store for upcoming indie designer and London College of Fashion graduate Simon Preen (not related to the 'Preen' label). Most of his designs came in a monochrome palette and involved a lot of leather, lace, lycra, shoulder pads and leggings, i.e. goth meets 80s. The collection officially launched on Monday, so there's probably more to come.

Simon Preen @ Urban Outfitters. The 'garter' dress (lower left) was one of the key items.

And just some quick impressions of the Alexander McQueen flagship's store windows as inspired by the FW09 runway. I know some hated it, but I personally thought it was refreshing compared to all the 'safe' shows everyone else did. Yes, I'm very biased towards McQueen. He also designed two special egg chairs for FNO in the signature houndstooth motif.

Windows at Alexander McQueen and the special edition egg chairs. The zip at the top is embellished with skulls (of course).

Unfortunately my camera died by the time FNO actually went underway - check out the Vogue UK homepage for extensive coverage. Everyone from Claudia Schiffer to Burberry's Christopher Bailey to Alice Dellal were in attendance. Browns probably had the coolest event, with designers such as Henry Holland, Hussein Chalayan and Marios Schwab to name a few, working away in-store at the cashier, as personal stylists or as visual merchandisers. Like most cities, there were special 'limited edition' tees on sale. The UK ones, designed by Vogue fashion director Lucinda Chambers, were pretty snazzy and only cost £10 (with all proceeds going to charity). They were still available the next day in most high street stores, so it's worth checking in if you're still looking for one.

The FNO Vogue charity tee as sported by Sienna Miller (left) and in the Emporio Armani window (middle, lower right).

But my favorite special edition of the evening came from Marni. This collection wasn't exclusive to London, but I thought it was a cute idea: three dolls and two bags were designed to be sold that evening, along with customized versions of the Vogue tee.

Limited edition Marni dolls, totes and customized Vogue tees.

I've since read numerous reports about the NYC event, but if any of you have your own stories to tell - regardless of which city it was in, please let me know! I'd also be curious as to how successful this was. Minds are divided regarding the London one - some SA's said their sales tripled, while others (including those of established designer flagships) said they didn't sell anything. I guess it probably depended on who was in-store that night and what each shop organized. In general, I think it was probably still a great idea though.

Garance Doré Exhibit @ Gap (London, UK)

Apologies for being a bad blogger again, though I did have a very good excuse (or so I think)... I was scurrying around London (sans Internet) taking pictures of everything I found remotely interesting - some are related to Vogue's Fashion Night Out - others completely random. I also got the chance to meet up with a fellow blogger, the fabulous Anna from Cocktail of Fashion who was kind enough to spare a few hours to hang out with me.

The three different limited edition Garance Doré tees. I got the one on the far right.

Before that, I had a bit of time to kill so I thought I'd check out the '1969' pop-up store Gap had set up near Carnaby Street to celebrate their 40th anniversary. As part of the celebration, they had invited famed French illustrator, photographer and blogger Garance Doré to curate an exhibition showcasing her drawings and images. In addition to that, Gap were making available three different t-shirts designed by Doré herself. The only downside was, these were limited edition items - only 69 pieces of each style were to be sold. Guessing they'd be sold out by the time I got there, I went anyway, if only to look at all the lovely sketches and wonderful streetstyle photos.

The upper level of the pop-up store selling special Gap items. Those denim booties were pretty cool.

When I finally found the place (it's not directly on Carnaby Street, but in Kingly Court), I was surprised by how empty it was. I was expecting a mob scene, knowing how large Doré's following is and even though many of the t-shirts had sold by then - many women bought 5 or more tees at once - all styles were still available. I took a quick peek at the other special edition Gap items, including pieces designed by Pierre Hardy or Pharrell Williams, posters and other denim gear which were already being tried on by eager shoppers.

Heading towards the exhibit...

The exhibition space was in the basement area and three walls had been covered in photos and drawings. There were also larger-than-life illustrations that could be found directly on the wall. Doré and staff members were still in the process of putting the finishing touches on dressing the mannequins and setting up the lights. Not wanting to disturb anyone, I started looking at the different walls. As with The Selby exhibition I had visited a while ago, it's always interesting viewing so much of an artist's work at once... presented as a group. I loved the larger drawings as well: seeing them in that size gave the impression they had come to life.

Overview of the two main walls. The writing reads 'why don't we do it on the street?'.

A brief introduction accompanied by one of the larger illustrations (same as one of the tees) and a mannequin modeling a shirt.

Doré had also scribbled a brief introduction on the wall, describing how Gap had asked her to join forces with them and the idea behind her blog. The adjoining walls showed a collage of her inspirations - probably the most interesting part of the exhibit if you want to catch a glimpse of her raw ideas. These contained anything from Vogue editorials to a copy of her favorite album.

Above: Garance Doré near the inspiration wall (close-up is above right). Below: more from the inspiration wall highlighting her muses.

As Garance was still in the process of working away, I wasn't sure if it was appropriate to approach her. But she gave me a big smile while I was hovering near her staring at the photographs, so I thought I'd give her a quick hello. I must say, I was blown away by how genuine, friendly and down-to-earth she was. She's every bit as beautiful, bubbly and outgoing as you would expect from her blog, but unlike those who let their popularity go to their heads, she was surprisingly humble. When I asked her how long she had been doing this (pointing to the walls) she at first misunderstood, and told me she had been gathering her illustrations and photos for three years, adding that she has a blog. She seemed honored anyone would actually be familiar with her work. I told her I knew all about her blog and that I actually followed it regularly. She thanked me profusely, almost hugging me and told me that hearing things like that always make her want to cry with joy. I gushed a bit more (I'm such a geek) and she seemed genuinely touched that I had taken time out to see the exhibit (I did mention I lived in Paris - she probably thinks I'm a stalker).

Garance hard at work.

I found out it had taken her three days, with very little sleep, to create the giant illustrations and collage the walls. She mentioned that not everything was done... the lights still had to be installed, but she said she'd be there for the entire day if I wanted to come back later. Unfortunately I didn't make it back that day, but I'm sure by then other fans and Garance Doré addicts found the place and managed to meet the fantastic woman behind the blog. I did take another quick look the next day, just to see the space set up correctly with all the lights. By then of course, both t-shirts with her sketches had been sold out, though the tank top was still available.

Another large illustration (right) which again could be found on one of the tees.

The London pop-up store along with the exhibit will run for 19 days and 69 hours - up to October 3, taking you right through London Fashion Week. Doré will make another appearance on September 21 (more details on her blog) and because of the high demand of her t-shirts, they will now also be made available at Colette (hopefully also online) and Gap in Paris. Unfortunately supplies will be limited again, but she's working on getting more produced. If you get the chance, pay the exhibit a visit or better yet, try to meet her when she's in town next.

And if for some bizarre reason you're not familiar with Garance's work yet (she's been deemed the French version of the Sartorialist and happens to be dating Scott Schuman), then check out her blog now. It also has better pics of the exhibit and of course the full scope of her amazing photos and drawings.

Address: Units G7 & 8, Kingly Court, London W1
Opening Hrs: Mon-Sat: 10:00-20:00, Sun: 12:00-17:00

Gap 1969 Homepage