A/W 2012 – Page 3 – AmeliasMagazine

Amelia’s Magazine | Edinburgh College of Art: Graduate Fashion Week 2012 Catwalk Review

Graduate collection by Farah Saffari

Edinburgh College of Art always have much to offer at Graduate Fashion Week. Weird and wonderful, expert craftsmanship, innovative use of materials and new silhouettes, Edinburgh always seems to make it appear dazzling effortless.

They were all wonderful, frankly, but here are some of my favourites:

Jacob Birge

All photography by Matt Bramford

Jacob caused a striking stir as the show’s opener, featuring futuristic shapes and wide brimmed visor hats. Industrial colours lifted dresses, which were more like armour.

Raj Mistry

Graduate collection by Raj Mistry

Raj’s expert menswear collection really stood out. He married sportswear with engineered shapes with luxurious materials for outerwear; zips and drawstrings in contrasting colours were nice details.

Farah Saffari

Graduate collection by Farah Saffari

A whimsical approach to fashion was the mainstay in Farah’s collection, inspired by nature and, probably, the beach. Cropped tops, translucent layers and piped waists resulted in mermaid-like creatures rather than models.

Colin Oliphant

Something about Colin’s relaxed tailoring for men that also worked on ladies really stood out; it was simplicity at its best. Subtle lapel-free jackets with crew necks were worn over collarless shirts in muted colours, and a collection like this is always welcome amidst a sea of designers who try to push the boundaries a little too far.

Ainslie Hogg

Juxtaposed to Colin’s subtle collection (above) came Ainslie Hogg’s weird and wonderful experimentation with material and shape. It was the kind of collection, akin to Michael Van Der Ham, that shouldn’t work but completely does. Materials of various textures and densities were combined in hap-hazard fashion to create striking ensembles.

Katarzyna Krzywania

I simply loved Katarzyna’s hooded overcoats with contrasting geometric shapes.

Dan William James Prasad

Graduate collection by Dan William James Prasad

Dan’s menswear was a perfect blend of old and new – a sort of updated period novel hero with contemporary, aesthetic fabrics in the place where tweeds and heritage fabrics might be. High-waisted trousers and structured jackets featured in this richly-coloured collection.

Katie Bremner

What’s not to love about Katie’s ethereal world? Her fringed frocks in garish colours, embellished with hearts, added both fun and thought provocation to the show. Not a collection for the supermarket, but for the fashion-forward at the very least.

Marie Leiknes

Pages from Marie Leiknes‘ graduate collection sketchbooks

Marie creates new silhouettes from marvellous knitwear in vivid colours. Millinery had an Eastern influence, whilst the garments themselves featured triangular wool formations and contrasting colours.

Riona Horrox
Riona might have looked to 1990s hip hop for inspiration for her premium menswear. Oversized coats with digital prints were decorated with wool trims or worn with hoods. Orange and copper highlights glared from a general colour palette of black and grey. Riona went on to win the Menswear Award at the Gala Show yesterday evening (more to come on that soon) – and quite rightly so.

Louise Bennetts

Louise’s collection consisted of parachute-like dresses and capes in varying shades of orange – warm tones that brought life to paler structures. Layered translucent materials created interest, and bold black lines that divided up the garments added yet another dimension to this highly polished collection.

Emma Hardstaff
Emma closed the show with her collection of dreamy quilted numbers with vague digital prints, some of which were disguised with translucent fabric. The prawn-like head pieces, whilst attracting attention, were a little unnecessary – but it was a collection worthy of closing the show nonetheless, and gained much deserved recognition at the Gala Show. Bravo!

Three cheers for Edinburgh, as always! Hip Hip…

Written by Matt Bramford on Thursday June 14th, 2012 6:10 pm

Categories ,2012, ,Ainslie Hogg, ,catwalk, ,Colin Oliphant, ,Dan William James Prasad, ,Earls Court Two, ,ECA, ,Edinburgh College of Art, ,Emma Hardstaff, ,Farah Saffari, ,Graduate Fashion Week 2012, ,Jacob Birge, ,Katarzyna Krzywania, ,Katie Bremner, ,knitwear, ,Louise Bennetts, ,Marie Leikes, ,menswear, ,Michael van der Ham, ,Raj Mistry, ,review, ,Riona Horrox, ,Womenswear

Amelia’s Magazine | Fashion East and NEWGEN Menswear Installations: London Fashion Week A/W Presentation Review

Sibling A/W 2012 by Gabriel Ayala

The Fashion East and NEWGEN installations were a riot of colour, innovation and design again this season. I always have the best intentions on menswear day to see everything – the schedule is quite thin in a morning and leads you into a false sense of security that you can casually amble around taking in every designer in your stride. Serenity soon turns to chaos about 1pm though – the installations open, they’re rammed, and all of a sudden there are back-to-back catwalk shows dotted around town.

So in typical Matt stylee I raced around the installations in between shows, juggling my camera, a glass of plonk and a bunch of handouts in unison. Here’s my whistle-stop tour of both the Fashion East and Newgen designers:

Christopher O’Brien
Christopher O’Brien‘s name wasn’t one I’d heard of before, but I was captivated by his devilishly good looks and, more importantly, his A/W 2012 collection. His innovative crinkled cotton in white, navy and aqua across jackets and shirts really stood out.

Kit Neale

Kit Neale A/W 2012 by Krister Selin

In a separate room, Kit Neale‘s presentation was one of the highlights. A mixture of models stood and sat across wooden platforms, wearing Kit’s weird and wonderful digital-print fabrics. Matching jackets and trousers came in garish patterns, styled with scarves and backpacks. Across the room, a video of models performing karaoke to Elvis hits in front of a sparkly curtain played – one of my favourite digital presentations of this season.

Dr Noki’s NHS
In typical Noki fashion, his two models were adorned in all sorts of recycled materials: back-to-front New Era caps (a Noki staple), faces covered with t-shirts and comic book illustrations, which had my pal Gareth A Hopkins – Amelia’s Magazine contributor and comic perv – proclaiming that he was on trend long before Noki was; a fact I wholeheartedly agree with.

Sebastian Tarek
Lovely, lovely shoes.

Sibling

Sibling A/W 2012 by Gabriel Ayala

On menswear day I find myself desperate to see what Sibling will present each season. Last year’s fairground-inspired collection bowled me over. This ‘Marked Man‘ collection drew inspiration from ‘the relationship between a protective matriarch and her beloved – but wayward – son’. Queue glittery knits, tattoo imagery, a bleeding heart motif – this design trio certainly know how to interpret a theme. My favourite pieces were those that carried the leopard print knits – just incredible. To accompany their presentation, Sibling produced a stunning video installation that featured three models behind bars. Three screens acted as contemporary prison windows, where guests could sit opposite, listen to white noise down phone lines, and generally absorb the atmosphere. It was pretty affecting stuff. The three screens worked as a whole, with models moving between windows and animations occurring at the same time. Even visiting children enjoyed it.

T.Lipop
I’m a big fan of T.Lipop‘s contemporary sartorial splendour and this season was no exception. A fashion expedition – models wore contemporary tailoring and were styled with ice-cold beards and eyebrows. There’s a full review of the T.Lipop catwalk show to come soon…

William Richard Green
Last but not least, William Richard Green gave the modern man more ways to mix up his wardrobe. Jackets displayed expert craftsmanship, adorned with large white buttons, reworking classic staple items into statements for A/W 2012. An inimitable mix of wearable pieces and conceptual items (overcoats teamed with polkadot trousers and New Balance trainers), garments in this collection are sure to become future classics and I’d gladly wear any of it.

It was pretty exhausting – not least because one had to manoeuvre around Champagne gluggers like an assassin just to take a photograph – but it’s always worth it.

Written by Matt Bramford on Tuesday February 28th, 2012 9:58 am

Categories ,A/W 2012, ,AW12, ,Christopher O’Brien, ,Dr Noki, ,Fashion East, ,Gaarte, ,Gabriel Ayala, ,Gareth A Hopkins, ,Kit Neale, ,Krister Selin, ,London Fashion Week, ,Marked Man, ,Matt Bramford, ,menswear, ,Newgen, ,NHS, ,Sebastian Tarek, ,Sibling, ,Somerset House, ,t.lipop, ,William Richard Green

Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with fashion designer Ramil Makinano

Ramil Makinano‘s Graduate Collection illustrated by Milly Jackson

I first saw the weird and wonderful work of Ramil Makinano at the Toni&Guy Hair Show during London Fashion Week last month. The show, which I very much enjoyed, was all about hair as you can imagine; the clothes were selected to compliment the hairstyles and were pretty basic. That is, except for the final pieces. Vibrant colours and odd shapes flooded the runway, and as a result of my review, Ramil got in touch to introduce himself. I couldn’t wait to find out more about this unique designer.

I met Ramil on a chilly Monday evening at Bar Music Hall in Shoreditch. It had been hard to pin him down, and I was about to find out why. Born and raised in the Philippines, Ramil moved to London fifteen years ago on a nursing scholarship with the NHS, despite being thoroughly passionate about fashion from an early age. ‘It was a good way to move away,’ Ramil told me as we took a seat with our beers. ‘I was interviewed in Manilla, and was one of the first few people to be brought over by the NHS.’ Ramil’s passion for nursing and inevitable need to fund his collections still see him working at St Thomas’ Hospital at weekends.

Ramil Makinano‘s Graduate Collection illustrated by Maria del Carmen Smith

After 8 years working as a nurse after qualifying in London, Ramil decided to return to his desire to become a fashion designer and had naturally heard of the world’s most famous fashion school – Central Saint Martins. By this time Ramil had obtained British citizenship and secured a place on the foundation course, professing to the degree specialising in print.

It was whilst studying at Saint Martins on a sandwich course that Ramil undertook placements with some of fashion’s greatest talent, experiences that he remembers very fondly. Internships at Matthew Williamson, Elisa Palomino and Diane Von Furstenberg allowed Ramil to fully explore his penchant for print. As I rub my hands together hoping for some juice on these fashion figures, I’m only slightly disappointed when Ramil has nothing but great things to say about the designers. He tells me a story about Von Furstenberg calling all the interns to the rooftop apartment of her 14th Street studios for lunch. ‘We were just sitting there, having lunch, on the roof, with Diane Von Furstenberg. It was INCREDIBLE!’ he exclaims. He attributes his successes whilst studying to course lecturer Natalie Gibson. ‘I owe her so much,’ he tells me, ‘she’s an incredible woman.’

Ramil Makinano‘s Graduate Collection illustrated by Estelle Morris

We move on to talk about Ramil’s breathtaking final collection that I saw at the Toni&Guyshow and that he presented during the CSM presentations in the summer. He digs out his portfolio and comes across a little nervous when talking me through it. ‘I feel like it’s a job interview!’ says Ramil. I feel like Diane Von Furstenberg for a mere moment, and I’m not complaining. Ramil’s inspiration for his collection came from two disparate sources – Medieval armour and Margaret Thatcher. Well, not that disparate when you consider satirical cartoons of the Iron Lady in Medieval garb, I suppose.

Pages from Ramil Makinano’s sketchbooks

His obsession with colour, texture and the aesthetic properties of materials is all over this collection. It’s fascinating to see where a designer started with their research and where they finished; where the collection has come from. Ramil leafs through page after page of design inspiration; vibrant patterns, sketches of Thatcher, photocopies of Medieval source material, grabs from movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars. His journey began at the Tower of London, and it is the armoury he saw there, with its bold silhouettes and sense of purpose that inspired Ramil so much. Throw in a powerful woman like Thatcher and you’ve got a seriously ambitious collection on your hands. ‘I didn’t want it to be serious, though,’ Ramil informs me. ‘I wanted to keep it playful; to be fun.’ Even the hardest-nosed critics would have trouble not finding any fun in this set of outfits.

Shapes in the collection are visibly inspired by the curves and sculpture of armoury, constructed from neoprene using techniques Ramil created himself. These are presented in a variety of bold colours, and the ensembles feature playful, almost childlike, prints of rockets and spaceships. It wasn’t a easy task by any means. ‘I had to make at least 8 toilles per garment,’ Ramil explains. ‘I am always seeking perfection.’ We discuss the surge in digital printing. ‘I do like digital prints, but I prefer traditional methods. I spent hours in the studio matching colours, testing colours – I like the interaction between fabrics and dyes that you don’t get with digital methods. I spent my whole student life in the print room, but I have no regrets. It’s not glamorous either, it’s dirty work!’

Ramil Makinano‘s Graduate Collection illustrated by Milly Jackson

So who does he admire? ‘Matthew [Williamson] and Diane [Von Furstenberg] especially – people who are successful in fashion but have their feet firmly on the ground.’ He also likes labels that continue to employ traditional methods – only Eley Kishimoto and Zandra Rhodes, he believes. What else does he get up to? It’s a pretty packed week, researching Monday to Friday and nursing at the weekends. ‘I love London galleries!’ he tells me, ‘because there’s so much to see. The Design Museum, the V&A, the National Gallery – they are all so wonderful.’ He try to persuade me to get a National Trust membership, one of his favoured possessions.

Pages from Ramil Makinano’s sketchbooks

He tells me he’s a ‘child of the MTV era’ and finds much inspiration in the graphics of music videos. It was an MTV show, House of Style, and Style with Elsa Klensch, that are amongst his earliest fashion memories. He tells me ‘I used to fight with my brother all the time because Elsa Klensch‘s show was on at the same time as American Basketball!’

So what’s next for Ramil? He’s currently researching his next collection – A/W 2012 – which promises to be ‘something completely different.’ It will most likely be print-based, but that’s all Ramil can tell me at this stage. One thing he is certain on is that he’s staying put here in London, and currently applying to various fashion bodies in the hope of a debut solo show during fashion week next September. I look forward to seeing his name on the schedule.

Photographs courtesy of Ramil Makinano

Written by Matt Bramford on Friday October 28th, 2011 5:11 pm

Categories ,2001 A Space Odyssey, ,A/W 2012, ,American Basketball, ,Armour, ,Armoury, ,Bar Music Hall, ,catwalk, ,Central Saint Martins, ,CSM, ,Design Museum, ,Diane Von Furstenberg, ,Eley Kishimoto, ,Elisa Palomino, ,Elsa Klensch, ,Estelle Morris, ,fashion, ,House of Style, ,interview, ,Iron Lady, ,London Fashion Week, ,margaret thatcher, ,Maria del Carmen Smith, ,Matt Bramford, ,Matthew Williamson, ,medieval, ,Milly Jackson, ,MTV, ,Natalie Gibson, ,National gallery, ,National Trust, ,NHS, ,print, ,Ramil Makinano, ,shoreditch, ,Star Wars, ,textiles, ,Toni&Guy, ,Tower of London, ,va, ,Womenswear, ,Zandra Rhodes

Amelia’s Magazine | Ashish: London Fashion Week S/S 2013 Catwalk Review

Ashish S:S 2013 by Charlie Rallings
Ashish S/S 2013 by Charlie Rallings.

This season Ashish decided to buck the trend for extravagant prints and steer clear of his usual riot of colour and pattern to produce a sobre S/S 2013 collection inspired by a mix of estate chic and 90s grunge. Girls in shiny white trainers wore their hair piled high on their head with that most stylish of hair accessories, the scrunch. Round glasses completed the look.

Ashish S/S 2013 by Geiko Louve.

Ashish SS 2013 Sept 2012-PHOTOGRAHY by Amelia Gregory

xAshish SS 2013 Sept 2012-PHOTOGRAHY by Amelia Gregory

Ashish S:S 2013 by Charlie Rallings

Ashish S/S 2013 by Charlie Rallings.

Colours were unashamedly downbeat… steel greys, copper and creams mixed in with denim. Dungarees were worn hanging lopsided as were shirts with a subtle scatter number print. An over sized asymmetric trench and white work shirts hung low, mixed up with loose one colour sequin maxi dresses and polka dot chiffon. Even glitz took on an everyday wearability as a zip top track suit. The show opened with the statement I’m Serious emblazoned on a baggy sweat top and ended with Tres Fatigue on a t-shirt. Quite what Ashish was trying to say this season I have no idea, but despite the break from the norm it was as stylish as ever.

Ashish SS 2013 Sept 2012-PHOTOGRAHY by Amelia Gregory

Ashish S/S 2013. All photography by Amelia Gregory.

Ashish S/S 2013 by Isher Dhiman
Ashish S/S 2012 by Isher Dhiman. A year ago flowers reigned supreme on the Ashish catwalk.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Saturday October 6th, 2012 9:16 pm

Categories ,Ashish, ,Charlie Rallings, ,Geiko Louve, ,grunge, ,I’m Serious, ,Isher Dhiman, ,lfw, ,London Fashion Walk, ,S/S 2013, ,Sequins, ,Tres Fatigue

Amelia’s Magazine | Belle Sauvage: London Fashion Week A/W 2013 Catwalk Preview Interview

Belle Sauvage A/W 2013 by Laura Hickman.

The Belle Sauvage label was launched in 2008 by design duo Virginia Ferreira and Chris Neuman, who are based between London and Luxemboug. Combining avant-garde silhouettes with intricate digital prints, their signature look is sleek, sophisticated and feminine. I caught up with the designers in advance of their London Fashion Week catwalk show next week.

Belle Sauvage A/W 2013 by Harry Williams.

You’re known for your amazing digital prints: what training do you have?
Virginia studied Fashion Design (Diploma course) at the London College of Fashion and Chris has an B.A in Media Design and an M.A in Arts (Filmmaking).

How did you both meet and decide to work together, and what is the process behind the creation of each collection?
We met in Argentina and them moved to London to finish our studies. The initial idea was to combine both of our talents and interests. Apart form the designing, Chris goes on drawing the artwork for all of our labels and both designers now create four collections a year. Next to our two labels we also provide design concepts and artwork through our third line Vicious East mainly sold in Japan and China.

Belle Sauvage A/W 2013 by Karina Järv.

As we work on so many collections a year the design process is quite organised. We always start on the main line Belle Sauvage. It has the least compromises regarding design as it is high end Ready To Wear and targets fashion forward thinking individuals. We then adapt the design to the diffusion lines, keeping the markets, audience and budgets in mind.

How do you work between London and Luxembourg?
We do all our professional work in London. This goes from sales meetings to sampling. As we manufacture in Spain and Portugal apart from the U.K we have to move around quite a bit and find it great to have a relaxing home in Luxembourg to calm down form time to time.

Belle Sauvage A/W 2013 by Sara Gelfgren.

What made you decide to present your collection in London?
We started the brand in 2008 in London and were grounded in the new upcoming designers. We had our first press agency in London and that is really where everything started. London Fashion Week is really not that important in terms of sales but it is a good place to present your new collection. London is really about the crowd. We love the fashion people in the city, and are happy to be part of it.

For A/W 2013 you have drawn inspiration from the gothic to the baroque to the renaissance, including motifs of tigers and dragons: where did you look for imagery and ideas?
You can find both motifs in Asian philosophy. They are opposite symbols and we liked the idea behind it as we love both creatures. As we have baroque influences in the line, we see it as the Asian counterpart of our western world.

Belle Sauvage A/W 2013 by Laura Hickman.

Trims are an important part of your designs: how do they fit in with your more tailored and sleek fitting aesthetic and how do you recommend that customers wear/style your designs?
Fur and trims have a decorative element, which is very persistent in baroque aesthetics. The A/W 2013 line has a very wearable approach. We truly believe that the current lines in fashion look for a minimal approach and actually work with the body shapes instead of imposing too much volume or construction. We use fake fur apart from sheep.

It’s been awhile since I went to a Belle Sauvage catwalk show: what can we expect from the new season?
You saw our A/W 2010 collection. The collection is of course different but the spirit and attitude is the same. We have a very clear image on the Belle Sauvage woman. The style changes but the attitude stays consistent.

Belle Sauvage A/W 2013 by Marianna Madriz.

Belle Sauvage can be bought online at Shop Belle Sauvage. The brand takes to the catwalk on Friday 15th February 2013 at Freemasons’ Hall. Watch out for our review of the show!

Belle Sauvage AW 2013 preview
Belle Sauvage A/W 2013 preview image.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday February 8th, 2013 12:09 pm

Categories ,A/W 2013, ,Argentina, ,Belle Sauvage, ,Chris Neuman, ,Fashion Design, ,Fashion Scout, ,Freemasons’ Hall, ,Harry Williams, ,interview, ,Karina Jarv, ,Laura Hickman, ,London College of Fashion, ,London Fashion Week, ,Luxembourg, ,Marianna Madriz, ,preview, ,Sara Gelfgren, ,Vicious East, ,Virginia Ferreira

Amelia’s Magazine | Bernard Chandran: London Fashion Week A/W 2012 Catwalk Review

Bernard Chandran A/W 2012 by Scott Nellis.

Normally Matt Bramford insists on covering Bernard Chandran so I was a bit of a newbie to his catwalk show, attended by such luminaries as…. Keisha Buchanan, formerly of the Sugababes. Not perhaps someone that I would have pinpointed as a fan, but she was overheard saying that this is her third Bernard show so she is no doubt better acquainted with his work than me.

Bernard Chandran AW 2012 - photo by Amelia Gregory Keisha

Bernard Chandran A/W 2012 by Lo Parkin.

The show began with a double act – two models in white, black and shades of charcoal grey striding out to an incongruous Junglist soundtrack. Their hair was set in sleek forward facing Victory rolls and pale grey tinted eyebrows combined with bright red lips to give an elegant feel. All the emphasis was on the throat, with extravagant folding collars standing high on the neck. This look was repeated throughout the collection: appearing as a design detail on a calf length quilted coat, or as jewelled neck pieces – the main adornments for silky evening dresses.

Bernard Chandran AW 2012 - photo by Amelia Gregory

Bernard Chandran A/W 2012 by Cruz.

Midnight blue satin, black velvet, delicate lacy materials, sequin embellishments – there was beauty in textures here, mainly in dark shades befitting an A/W collection. Transparent and sheer pieces in muted nude, dusky rose and chocolate tones lifted the colour palette but it was a beautiful belted coat dress that really caught my eye: it featured what looked like a spattering of metallic car body paint across the front – whitely gleaming against the black ground under bright catwalk lights.

Bernard Chandran AW 2012 - photo by Amelia Gregory

Bernard Chandran A/W 2012 by Janneke de Jong.

Sparkling clutch bags echoed the heart like designs of neckpieces, and a particularly beautiful red jewelled neck piece paired with a black pants suit drew gasps from the audience. I imagine that once detached this could be worn as statement jewellery to perk up any throat in appealing style.

Bernard Chandran AW 2012 - photo by Amelia Gregory

All photography by Amelia Gregory.

I’m not sure that Pandemonia (seated front row in lurid pink latex) will be taking much inspiration from Bernard Chandran for next season’s look, but this was an undeniably adult collection with great saleability – perfect for elegant ladies who desire a unique designer twist.

<a target="_blank" href="http://www.vimeo.com/37026902" rel="noopener">http://www.vimeo.com/37026902</a>

Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday February 24th, 2012 5:37 pm

Categories ,A/W 2012, ,Bernard Chandran, ,Cruz, ,Fashion Scout, ,Freemasons’ Hall, ,Janneke de Jong, ,Keisha Buchanan, ,Lo Parkin, ,Pandemonia, ,Scott Nellis, ,Sugababes

Amelia’s Magazine | Bernard Chandran: London Fashion Week A/W 2013 Catwalk Review

Bernard Chanrdan AW 2013 Rosa and Carlotta Crepax Illustrated Moodboard
Bernard Chandran A/W 2013 Rosa and Carlotta Crepax, Illustrated Moodboard.

Due to a seating mix up and a late arrival no one for Amelia’s Magazine was well placed to take photos at Bernard Chandran. Perched at the mouth of the catwalk I had a great view of the models’ amazing winged eyes and some interesting cut out backs, a nod to the 90s that has been increasingly popular on the catwalks this season.

Bernard Chandran AW 2013-photo by Amelia Gregory

Bernard Chandran A/W 2013. All photography by Amelia Gregory.

There was a real element of sports luxe to this collection, which began with tight fitting panelled dresses in jewel colours, the lyrca stretched from the high necks into hoods and over a flat visor. Embellishments came in the form of beading and painterly washes of colour in digital prints on A-line shift dresses, billowing blouses and boxy shirts. I particularly liked the loose plaits that held together uncovered hair: a look which has been popular on many catwalks for A/W 2013.

Bernard Chandran A/W 2013 by Jihyun Park.