Amelia’s Magazine | London Fashion Week A/W 2010 Catwalk Review: Belle Sauvage

Belle Sauvage. All photography by Amelia Gregory unless otherwise stated.

It’s always good, approved I find, to get talking to the various freaks I photograph at fashion week. So there I was, taking an artfully staged pose of a boy channelling a New Romantic Michael Jackson (I’m sure there’s nothing like a death to bring on the best types of homage) when we got into a little conversation. “Are you a blogger?” he asked. “Why yes, I suppose I am, I said,” giving him my card. “Ohhhhh,” he went. “I know you – you’ve taught me. You came down to Epsom and gave us a lecture recently.”

Looking HAWT at fashion week gets you places…

I congratulated him on actually making an effort to get out to the fashion shows and he bemoaned his classmates, many of whom obviously weren’t inclined to blag it into the shows or maybe just didn’t possess his particular kind of panache. He told me had tickets for Mark Fast. Really? “Nightmare,” he said like a seasoned pro, gesticulating to the crush outside the venue before being whisked straight to the front of the queue by his mates. You see kids, if you dress up and make an effort to look FABULOUS, you get automatic access to all the best bits of fashion week. Mark Fast eh? I was refused tickets for that show dear readers. “Sorry we are oversubscribed so cannot accommodate you,” was the abrupt response from one Charlotte Delahunty (who she?) Unless, it appears, you are an ambitious student of mine. In which case you will be accommodated. I talked to Mark at his stand over at Somerset House and in person he proved to be very lovely, but it is the press bitches that control the gates to the shows and it pays to know these people. And they know it. Unfortunately I’m not very good at sucking arse. Sorry, I mean, being polite and charming (unless I genuinely like you). Story of my life really – but that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t recommend making that little bit extra bit of effort to get along in fashion if that’s where your future lies. The future lies with the ambitious. Go out there, make friends and always, always dress fabulous.

Belle Sauvage runway. Photography by Tim Adey.

Belle Sauvage by Maryanne Oliver.

Check out those armoured shoes. Won’t get into any trouble in those, no siree.

Belle Sauvage high hair and close plaits by Maryanne Oliver.

But back to the shows. Belle Sauvage is the baby of designers Virginia Ferreira and Christian Neuman. They’ve only just starting showing at London Fashion Week and there was a good crowd piled into Victoria House to see what they’d cooked up for their new collection. They have already made a bit of a name for their strong digital prints, and on this score they did not disappoint. Fritz Lang Metropolis inspired kaleidoscopic shapes were splattered across leggings and short shift dressings. A large face stared ominously back from oversized slouchy knitwear. Huge protected shoes, spiked and plated shapes emphasised the ever-present armoured theme, as did the severe back-combed mohawks and high swept eyeliner – making the models appear alien-esque, cold and untouchable as they strode down the runway to an industrial sound track. Belle Sauvage class themselves as a “boutique” brand and retail at a reasonable price on websites such as ASOS. It’s not easy to marry catwalk edginess with commerciality – especially at this price point – but Belle Sauvage seem to be making admirable headway. Other brands would do well to watch and learn.

Belle Sauvage ALIENS. Photography by Tim Adey.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday March 3rd, 2010 7:06 pm

Categories ,ASOS, ,Belle Sauvage, ,Blagging, ,boutique, ,Christian Neuman, ,Digital Prints, ,epsom, ,Fritz Lang, ,Leggings, ,Mark Fast, ,Maryanne Oliver, ,Michael Jackson, ,New Romantic, ,UCCA, ,Victoria House, ,Virginia Ferreira

Similar Posts: