Amelia’s Magazine | London Fashion Week A/W 2014: Somerset House exhibition stands report

Jo Hayes Ward jewellery

Before I finish my coverage of London Fashion Week for another season here is a quick pictorial round up of my favourite exhibition finds… gathered from the exhibition space at Somerset House and beyond. At the main stands I only managed to get around the first floor, where I found lots of great jewellery, as always. Jo Hayes Ward goes from strength to strength with her amazing CAD designed jewellery – despite giving birth to her second child just three months ago. These kinetic earrings and pendant have fine articulated parts so that they twinkle beautifully when you move.

Cleo Mercury collar

Cleo Mercury silk scarf

Cleo Ferin Mercury makes colourful accessories with a playful edge. Her decorated collars offer a quirky alternative to wearing a necklace, and I love this shaped silk tiger scarf.

Alice Cicolini rings

I first noticed Alice Cicolini jewellery last season, but had the opportunity to meet the designer herself this time round. This talented lady is also an art curator and a mum; I absolutely adore the unique way she combines precious gems and colourful enamel, designed by herself and made by artisans in India. Sadly I didn’t get a good photo myself so the one above is taken from her website.

Imogen Belfield necklaces

I particularly like the new gem set Imogen Belfield jewels. Just check out that multi-layered chain!

Rachel Entwistle flint bracelet

Rachel Entwistle’s collection was full of desirable pieces such as the silver flint bracelet shown above.

Lily Kamper necklace

Lily Kamper continues to impress with her art deco inspired perspex jewels. New for this season: resins that look like marble, ombre colourings and inlaid sapphires. Lush.

K2 knitwear design

There were many familiar designers in the showrooms but I made a few exciting new discoveries including K2TOG or Knit 2 Together, a designer with a ‘waste not want not’ attitude and one of Estethica‘s Emerging Talents. Central Saint Martins graduate Katie Jones upcycles old aran jumpers with the application of bright embellishments inspired by European folk art. Very cool.

Over on the NewGen stands I was also very impressed by the work of South London based Irish designer Danielle Romeril, who has found a way to combine normally unrelated fabrics to create her own interesting silhouette with lots of tactile detail. Definitely one to watch in coming seasons: I apologise that I did not get a decent photo of this one either, but do take a peek at the video of her collection above.

Beautiful soul display LFW

Over at the Me Hotel I admired the pretty display by Beautiful Soul, part of the Felicities PR presentation.

George Styler knitwear

Finally, it was great to see the work of George Styler up close at the new designers installation at Freemasons’ Hall. Read my review of his catwalk show here.

Next up: finds at the off schedule Off Strand show at the Hoxton Gallery.

Categories ,A/W 2014, ,Alice Cicolini, ,Beautiful Soul, ,CAD, ,Cleo Ferin Mercury, ,Danielle Romeril, ,estethica, ,exhibition, ,Felicities PR, ,George Styler, ,Imogen Belfield, ,K2TOG, ,Katie Jones, ,Knit 2 Together, ,Lily Kamper, ,London Fashion Week, ,Me Hotel, ,Newgen, ,Rachel Entwistle, ,Report, ,review, ,Somerset House

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Amelia’s Magazine | London Fashion Week AW15 Exhibition Stands Report: Jewellery

Imogen Belfield jurassic ring
After nearly 20 years of attending London Fashion Week and supporting emerging designers the British Fashion Council denied me a press pass for the exhibition stands because I forgot to register online (it went to spam mail). After conferring with a manager upstairs I was told that my website was ‘not influential enough’ to warrant a pass and I should reapply next season, which is pretty galling given the amount of time I have spent promoting designers in Amelia’s Magazine over the past decade, many at the start of their careers. The only way I was allowed in was to drag a designer out from the stands so that I could be allocated a plastic wrist band as a visiting friend. Thanks for the show of appreciation for all my hard work BFC!

Jewellery has become a major fixture at the exhibition stands, so there is loads to report on. Read on if you love jewels as much as I do.

Imogen Belfield
Much gratitude to the lovely Imogen Belfield for leaving her stand in the Rock Vault to sort me out with an exhibition pass. Her new collection is amazing as ever, featuring rough diamonds, black diamonds and an array of new fine metals as well as solid gold pieces designed to appeal to her Far Eastern markets. Her chunky Jurassic ring (at the top) is chock full of rough diamonds. Yum yum! Read my first interview with Imogen Belfield here, we’ll be doing a catch up Q&A soon.

Alice Cicolini
This season Alice Cicolini (read more in this round up here) showcased a concise new collection named Summer Snow, featuring fine quartz crystals which spin on the inside and outside, with precious gems such as tourmaline and sapphire in the centres. So different and beautiful.

Ornella Ianuzzi
Also in the Rock Vault I was wowed by jewellery from Ornella Iannuzzi for the first time. These opal cage earrings feature a beautiful round gemstone that rolls around inside a gold shape inspired by the Platonic Solids. Find out more about Ornella in my upcoming interview.

Goddess Aviator goddess aviator
This gigantic Goddess Aviator showpiece by art jewellers Yunus and Eliza is not for the faint hearted! What an awesome piece.

Shimell and Madden
We first met Shimell and Madden way back in 2011, so it was nice to see them now doing so well – I love the new collection, featuring these unusual cabochon garnets and finely set diamonds.

This is what they do! Stratus rain earrings dancing away at Rock Vault

A video posted by Jo Hayes Ward (@johayesward) on


Jo Hayes-Ward has not let a new baby get in the way of her prolific output, first profiled in Amelia’s Magazine in 2010 – creating swathes of new designs in her signature building block style. An inspiration to us all! These earrings dance so beautifully, as shown in her video. Just imagine them in the ear! Magnificent.

Beth Gilmour
Beth Gilmour is a Cockpit Arts based designer, I absolutely adore her Dichroma Collection, featuring bi coloured gemstones set in similarly toned metals.

Lily Kamper
Lily Kamper enamel pendants
Moving on to other rooms… Lily Kamper has also been busy creating a vast new collection, including this glorious pendant in her colourful Art Deco style. Also new for this season are new abstract enamel initial pendants, which she began sketching out last season.

Kattri pendant
This bold pendant comes from the new Assymetry collection by Kattri – find out more about designer Amanda Gerbasi in my recent interview here.

Ruifier face pendants
So sweet and unusual: these gem face pendants are by Ruifier, which is the new jewellery brand from Central Saint Martins graduate Rachel Shaw. Her distinct pieces feature precious gems in layerable designs that marry wit with luxury.

Alighieri
Alighieri is Dante inspired jewellery from Oxford University graduate Rosh Mahtani, who set up her brand in 2013 with no formal training but a burning desire to translate her love of literature into jewels.

Eshvi bracelet
This bracelet by Eshvi showcases the brand’s individual aesthetic, featuring chunky resin shapes in bold designs.

Brooke Gregson constellation pendants
Brooke Gregson is another designer who is new to me. The American designer works with some fabulous boulder opals and her Astrology collection is such a unique and wonderful idea.

Ros Millar rings
These gothic rings are from Ros Millar, also based in the Cockpit Arts studio, and whose work I admired a few years ago at the Treasure Jewellery Show.

Kirsty Ward
Kirsty Ward necklace
It’s always a joy to catch up with Kirsty Ward, especially since she hasn’t show at London Fashion Week for a few seasons. As well as churning out a full collection of clothing her jewellery range has also grown hugely since she first started out with Fashion Scout. I absolutely adore her unique statement pieces.

Only Child necklace
Over with Black PR I discovered these serious druzies on a chunky gold chain by Only Child.

Gina Melosi
Designer Gina Melosi (discovered last year at the Off Strand showcase) specialises in ethical jewellery, creating distinctive looks such as this raw beehive geometric design on a necklace.

More from the stands soon…

Categories ,Alice Cicolini, ,Alighieri, ,Amanda Gerbasi, ,Assymetry, ,Astrology, ,AW15, ,Beth Gilmour, ,Black PR, ,british fashion council, ,Brooke Gregson, ,Central Saint Martins, ,Cockpit Arts, ,Dichroma Collection, ,Eshvi, ,Exhibition Stands Report, ,Fashion Scout, ,Fine Jewellery, ,Gina Melosi, ,Goddess Aviator, ,Imogen Belfield, ,jewellery, ,Jo Hayes-Ward, ,Jurassic, ,Kattri, ,Kirsty Ward, ,Lily Kamper, ,London Fashion Week, ,Millar, ,Off Strand, ,Only Child, ,Ornella Iannuzzi, ,Oxford University, ,Platonic Solids, ,Rachel Shaw, ,Rock Vault, ,Rosh Mahtani, ,Ruifier, ,Shimell and Madden, ,Summer Snow, ,Treasure Jewellery Show, ,Yunus and Eliza

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Amelia’s Magazine | Royal College of Art MA Degree Show 2012 Review: Textiles

RCA show 2012 Carlo Volpi 1

RCA show 2012 Carlo Volpi 2

Moving on from Goldsmithing, Silversmithing, Metalwork & Jewellery into the Textiles space Carlo Volpi’s colourful work not only appealed to me visually, but also plays around interesting themes. He is a male who knits so in some of the designs he draws elements from stereotypically male domains, such as football or boxing, and reinterprets them in a comical, slightly camp way, further mixing in Pop Art, Comics and Superhero inspirations – what’s not to love.

RCA show Lily Kamper

Lily Kamper’s perspex pendants were beautifully bold and bright too.

RCA show 2012 Lily Kamper and tariq.m

Tariq Mahmoud’s footwear from the Fashion Menswear Programme featured perspex heels also by Lily Kamper.

RCA show 2012 Emma Cowie

It would have been lovely to see on the catwalk the oversized, intricately surfaced designs by Emma Cowie.

RCA show 2012 Sophie Waterfield

The same goes for Sophie Waterfield’s collection, which has a great combination of pastel colours and eye catching embellishments, like the fringing seen here.

RCA show 2012 'Envoyé de Mon Lapin Jaune' by Tania Grace Knuckey

From the work in the Textiles department which related to interior design, my first uber favorite was Tania Grace Knuckey. These theatrical chairs have been embellished with fabrics in various ways to create fun seating. To anyone like me who likes up-cycling I imagine this is really quite inspirational.

RCA show 2012 'Untitled' by Alexandra Palmowski

My second favorite was almost the extreme opposite. Also chairs by Alexandra Palmowski but this time orderly decorated with neoprene and printed canvas.

Images courtesy of the students and additional photography taken at the show by Maria Papadimitriou. Read Amelia’s review of the 2011 Textile graduates here for mor inspiration. Next: best of Ceramics & Glass.

Categories ,Alexandra Palmowski, ,Carlo Volpi, ,Emma Cowie, ,fashion, ,Graduate Show, ,knitwear, ,Lily Kamper, ,MA Graduate Show, ,MA Textiles, ,Maria Papadimitriou, ,rca, ,RCA Show, ,Royal College of Art, ,Sophie Waterfield, ,Tariq Mahmoud, ,tariq.m, ,textiles, ,Woven Textiles

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