London Fashion Week

The second week of term brought London Fashion Week and the logistics of the trip meant it was not until I was actually standing outside Somerset House, camera in one hand The Daily in the other that I had a chance to really consider where I was.

At the age of about eleven I decided I was going to work in fashion at the time it was as imaginative as if I had said I wanted to be a power ranger (yellow obviously) yet as each year goes by I am amazed at this reality possibly drawing closer.

My course was sent to London to complete a project brief of research, styling and photography work as well as to visit various exhibitions with the advice to use our time to get inspired, get focused and not shop.

I am proud to say all of the above were achieved in five hectic days and I even managed to fit in two days of work experience with Louise Gray and Fashion Fringe.  Posts to follow.

 

I am surprised at how quickly I felt at home in London, riding the tubes and navigating my way about, though the iphone must take some of this glory. However it took longer to feel at home in the venues I have only known from the pages of Vogue. Wandering the cobles of Somerset House it took all my concentration not to fall never mind look as though I belonged among the cluster of the fashion familiars heading for the next front row, ipads in manicured hands.

By the third day I began to find my feet, and even relaxed enough to allow my canary yellow dress to attract some photographers. After several days of approaching stylish strangers as part of my Street Style project I found it hysterical and very odd to be on the other side of the lens, though cannot say it wasn’t fun; what dress doesn’t enjoy a bit of attention?

 

There is a lovely feeling of celebration at London Fashion week, whether you are a student, famous blogger or icon everyone is there for a common purpose and the fun emanates from this. Thanks to the wonders of social media we found ourselves at one of the Fashion Scout shows. These shows are always particularly exciting as the designers are new and fresh and the audience are willing them to be the next big name. We were at Tuhir Sultan’s show which was beautiful.

I didn’t know what I would take away from the slightly surreal experience. At times I felt I was looking into a world that was not quite real, as Kelly Osborn hopped from a blacked out car and Alexandra Shulman squeezed through the crowd darting into the Topshop Unique show- at times though it all felt very ‘ordinary’.

The most obvious thing about the event was its purpose. As I had only ever read coverage the press image was all I was aware of. The glamour and fun is definitely there but the press focus on this to attract and generate more publicity and build on the brand. When you strip back the cameras and late night private parties this is ‘a ‘military slick’ run event that attracts thousands of press and buyers from hundreds of countries assuring the nourishment of the thriving British fashion industry.

 

It is all too easy for the cynical (or just the unstylish) to dismiss it as a false or materialistic but what these five fabulous days do is reinforce the identity of the British Fashion industry.  The world that is responsible for maintaining the reputation for creative excellence, driving new and innovative talent and technology while also contributing £21 billion to the UK’s economy. It is brains and beauty at its finest.

London was undoubtedly still basking in the glory of games and the atmosphere was infectious. I visited the Tate, V&A and the Textile and Design Museum as well as iconic shops including Liberty, The B Store and Browns before finding the new McQueen store which was intimidating cosy, friendly and chic- as expected.

Feeling slightly drained I headed back on the train to Scotland, I didn’t want to leave but uni called and my feet had surrendered. The people who work in the heart of the industry work hard and the realisation of this hit home as a scrolled through the editors tweets about early morning flights to Milan. I had barely made it through five days and they do this for a full month twice a year. Do not think this has put me off, far from it. I now have fresh determination to work harder, learn faster and walk quicker – heels are no longer an excuse.