Award Season is in full swing and unlike the Golden Globes, which was a sea of beige fishtails, last night's 2013 Screen Actors Guild Awards was all about the navy. Marion Cotillard, my favourite red carpet chéri (above), looked utterly sensational at the SAGs in a stunning Dior satin gown, complete with a tied bow sash and pocket detailing which kept the look fresh and modern. Below (L-R): Other navy red carpet beauties included SAG award winner Jennifer Lawrence in a tiered Christian Dior Haute Couture dress, a mermaid-like Amanda Seyfried in Zac Posen and Nicole Kidman in Vivienne Westwood.
Golden Globes 2013
I have made no secret that I LOVE award shows. I am thrilled that people from all areas within the film industry are annually rewarded for their often extreme and valiant attempts to entertain us… But mainly, I just freaking love seeing all the pretty frocks on the red carpet. The fashion at last weekend’s 70th Golden Globes may have seemed a tad disappointing to some in comparison to last year’s more glamorous turn out, but I for one actually really appreciated the more fresh-faced actresses wearing simpler, cleaner silhouettes giving the typically bejeweled and fishtailed crowd a run for their money.
My two favourite looks of the night were those of Thandie Newton (above, in Giles Deacon teamed with I'd-sell-my-granny-for-this-pair-of bubblegum pink heels) and Marion Cotilard (below, in custom-made Christian Dior by Raf Simons accessorised with a leopard print clutch). Both actresses wore unconventionally shorter cut dresses than we are used to seeing at these Tinseltown ceremonies , and both looked beautifully modern, unfussy and surprisingly natural in a sea of Veronica Lake hair and embellished tulle.
Several red carpet trends (which in turn, usually indicate what will be 'coming soon to a cinema high street near you’) were very clear for us to see – alongside a bizarrely large amount of black dresses (luckily made more interesting with varying degrees of pretty gold embellishment, as seen below) I noticed the following styles having their moment;
1) Peekaboo Cutaways
As seen in abundance on the SS’13 catwalks, cutaway styles and peekaboo detailing is a mehejour trend for this year, one that was shown in all it’s glory a the Golden Globes. Below (L-R): Peepo! Emily Blunt sparkling in Michael Kors, Nicole Kidman and Kate Hudson looking utterly regal in Alexander McQueen and Kristen Wiig in Michael Kors.
2) Fifty Shades of Red
From scarlet to ruby, from ox-blood to tomato, all the colours of the red rainbow were well represented on the matching carpet. Below (L-R, Clockwise): Ben Affleck's Argo-rgeous wife Jennifer Garner in Vivienne Westwood, Clare Danes in vibrant Versace, Zooey Deschanel was fairy-tale cute in Oscar de la Renta, girl-of-the-moment Jennifer Lawrence dramatic in Dior, Naomi Watts in Zac Posen and Marion Cotillard looking aDiorable.
3) It's Just, A Little Blush
The Red Carpet made many an actress blush last night, with a bevy of beauties choosing nude tones. Below (L-R): Kerry Washington Wow Wow’s in Miu Miu, Meghan Fox in Dolce & Gabbana, Anne Hathaway elegant in Chanel, Amada Seyfried ethereal in Givenchy.
4) Backless
Rather than strapless, this year's red carpet was all about backless... Just perfect for that 'looking over my left shoulder' pose. Below (L-R): Naomi Watts posing in Zac Posen, Jessica Chastain in Calvin Klein and Julianna Margulies being Pucci Perfect.
5) Fishtailed Fancies
There was lots of swishing and wiggling with beautiful mermaid tails a'plenty at this year's Golden Globes. Below (L-R): Taylor Swift looked amazing in Donna Karan Atelier, Amy Adams in Marchesa and the always perfect Jessica Alba in Oscar de la Renta.
6) Brits Abroad
Say what you want about their outfits, and a couple of these choices have indeed had some critics on the fence, but the Brits are all about non-traditional, fashion-forward style. Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the… Carpet. I salute you ladies. (Below L-R): Dotty for Rachel Weisz in Louis Vuitton, cream of the crop(tops) Sienna Miller in Erdem, Thandie Newton in Giles Deacon and a lady(Mary)like Michelle Dockery in Alexandre Vauthier.
7) Jolie-ing
An odd trend but a trend nonetheless! Angelina’s awkward right leg thrust at last year’s Oscars obviously had a resounding effect in Hollywood with several actresses at the Golden Globes also putting their best foot (far too) forward for the cameras. Below (L-R): Eva Longoria in Pucci, Lea Michele in Elie Saab , Halle Berry in Atelier Versace, Rosie Huntington-Whitely statuesque in Saint Laurent and Heidi Klum in Alexandre Vauthier.
When Bad Dresses Happen To Good People...
Unfortunately there are always some ladies who just… get it wrong. This year, I think the worst dress was worn by Jessica Chastain (below). Usually on all the 'Best Dressed' lists, the Golden Globe Award winning actress wore this saggy light blue dress by Calvin Klein.
Jessica's style travesty was closely followed by Halle Berry (in Atelier Versace - very nineties J-Lo), Lucy Lu (this Carolina Herrera dress is too big with too complicated a print for the red carpet) and Eva Longoria (just too chesty and too leggy in Pucci – pick just one).
'Kiss Me, Kate' Press Night at The Old Vic
Last week I was invited to the press night of ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ at The Old Vic. Directed by Trevor Nunn, this all singing, all dancing, high octane performance, stars the impossibly brilliant Hannah Waddingham and Alex Bourne. The famed Broadway show, considered to be Cole Porter’s best, follows the story of an on/off couple performing in a low budget stage production of William Shakespeare’s ‘The Taming Of The Shrew.' This vibrant show (which also includes a gorgeous tap dancing Adam Garcia) has wonderful 1940’s costumes, lots of romance, gangsters, laughs, and of course, brilliantly sassy songs - Hannah Waddingham’s ‘I Hate Men’ was hysterical! I was left totally jazz handed and on a real high for days following this show… Although meeting THE Kevin Spacey at the buzzing Old Vic Tunnels after party may also have contributed to this!
Below (L-R): The picturesque Old Vic, and with Adam Garcia at the Old Vic Tunnels.
'Kiss Me, Kate' at The Old Vic - Tickets Here, until March 2nd 2013.
Kate: The Kate Moss Book
Rizzoli have released a Kate Moss coffee table book featuring a collection of photographs, chosen by Kate Moss herself, spanning the supermodel’s lengthy 20 year career. Edited by her ex-boyfriend Jefferson Hack and close friend Jess Hallett, contributing photographers include Hedi Slimane, Juergen Teller, Terry Richardson, Mario Testino, Corinne Day and Karl Lagerfeld, to name just a few! The 488 page book, which will be on EVERY fashionista’s Christmas list this year, is a ‘highly personal and complete retrospective of Kate Moss’s career, illustrating her evolution from girl to supermodel to photographic icon,’ which is also reflected by using 8 different covers (below) depicting this transformation. This book is the ultimate roundup of the ultimate British supermodel. Dear Santa…
Below (L-R): Kate Moss attending a book signing wearing SS'13 Marc Jacobs, attending her book launch at 50 St.James Street Mayfair.
'Kate: The Kate Moss Book,' RRP.£50.00
(Currently available here from Waterstones for RRP.£39.50)
The British Victoria's Secret 2012 Invasion
Last night Cara Delevigne (above) and Jourdan Dunn (below right) joined fellow Brit, and seasoned Angel, Lily Donaldson (below left) at the 17th Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, at the Lexington Avenue Armory, in New York. Walking alongside international beauties Miranda Kerr and Adriana Lima, the gorgeous young trio did us all proud this side of the pond, strutting their hot stuff amongst the usual abundance of feathers, sparkles, wings and hairspray. With performances by Rihanna, Bruno Mars and Justin Bieber (who seemed particularly enamoured by the stripy striking Cara!) this year’s extravaganza was divided into four sections: Circus, Dangerous Liaisons, Pink is Me and Calender Girls.
Adding force to this year’s Victoria's Secret British invasion, for the first time all of the Angels wore high heels created by the same label - British designer Nicholas Kirkwood.
Below: Brazilian Angel Alessandro Ambrosio wowed the audience whilst wearing pink orchid wings and the diamond encrusted ‘Fantasy Bra’ – a steal at a mere $2.5 million.
And just when I thought I couldn’t adore Cara Delevigne any more, she arrived at Heathrow to fly to New York for the VS show wearing… a tiger onesie. Running around the airport, Cara posed for Jourdan Dunn's iPhone underneath her polished Burberry campaign beauty shots in the Duty Free section. The models immediately instagrammed the shots. I love.
Wahaca's Day of the Dead Festival at the Old Vic Tunnels
Last week the delicious ‘street food’ chain Wahaca brought Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations to London, holding a brilliant four day Dia de los Muertos festival in the depths of The Old Vic Tunnels. The extremely emotive and vibrantly visual festival is an annual holiday celebrated throughout Mexico to honour and remember loved ones who have died.
With a traditionally painted face (above, with Jessica Pownall) which left me resembling a little zombie-panda, I indulged in the tantalising Wahaca tacos and far too many jasmine margaritas which fuelled my exploration of the vaults where an array of spooky artwork, macabre films and a hypnotic puppet show by the Theatre of Dolls awaited me. FANTASTIC music was later provided by Rodrigo y Gabriela, a Mexican duo whose vibrant energy was completely contagious, followed by the Communion DJs who both guaranteed (perhaps alongside the copious amounts of tequila served) a dance floor filled with skeleton-faced revellers dancing with wild abandon. An unforgettable night.
Above (L-R): Theatre of Dolls and photography by Graciela Iturbide.
Above: With the Director of The Old Vic Tunnels, Hamish Jenkinson.
Happy Heidi Halloween
Heidi Klum has become synonymous with Halloween after years of wearing THE best costumes found outside of a film set each year at her star-studded party every October. However, the supermodel has cancelled this year’s 14th annual celebrations after the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. Heidi posted this photograph of herself (below) in New York, all wrapped up and wearing wellies, on Twitter saying, "Hope you and your loved ones are safe after the storm. Cancelling my Halloween party... postponing to a haunted Christmas."
With Heidi already having excitedly tweeted pictures this week from her Cleopatra costume fittings (left), impressively designed by Martin Izquierdo, I have decided to celebrate Heidi’s dedication to Halloween by posting some of her other amazing costumes… Happy Halloween Everyone!
James Mylne: Vintage Vogue
Last week I attended the opening night of artist James Mylne’s ‘Vintage Vogue’ exhibition at the Rook & Raven Gallery. I was really intrigued and excited about this exhibition as James Mylne, 31, creates all his art using BIC Biros..!! Each piece of James’ work takes huge levels of concentration (mistakes cannot be rectified) and can take hundreds of hours to complete. I had to see it to believe it and the results blew me away; a room filled with beautiful and photo-realistic portraits from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Heaven. Stylish icons have been brought to life with BIC Biro on backgrounds of bright spray paint. The Audrey Hepburn images were naturally my favourites but I loved the elegance of the Coco Chanel (right) and the Steve McQueen drawing is just undeniably cool (below.) I can just imagine stationary cupboard bills soaring in offices all over London after this exhibition...
Above (L-R): Recreating 'The Audrey' pose with Vika Skyte, Celina Teague and Gayle Wyn Pugh, Izzy Lawrence with Ed Glover, Hugo Speer and Vivienne Harvey.
James Mylne: ‘Vintage Vogue’ is on at Rook & Raven until October 31st. Entrance is free.
The 48th Notting Hill Carnival
My favourite day to attend The Notting Hill Carnival each year is on the Sunday, traditionally known as Children’s Day. I find the atmosphere on this day always more relaxed… That is, if you could ever find thousands of feathered, sparkly, face-painted children, a multitude of banging steal drums, and around one million revelers attending Europe’s biggest annual street party, at all relaxing...
Whilst weaving my way through the streets (crocodile style!) with my friends, I saw this boy (below & top) balanced perfectly on a Pay and Display metre, dancing to the resounding sound of reggae music being blasted out from a nearby soundsystem. Super impressive!
The Chanel 'Little Black Jacket' Exhibition Comes to London
Chanel’s latest photographic exhibition, ‘The Little Black Jacket,’ inspired by a coffee table book created by Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld, will soon be hitting our very own shores after huge successes in Tokyo, New York, Taipei and Hong Kong.
The iconic ‘Little Black Jacket’ was first designed in the 1950s by Coco Chanel and has undergone several transformations and reinventions since. Karl Lagerfeld believes firmly that style is not a result of the garment you wear, but how you wear the garment, and this exhibition shows the versatility and timelessness of this iconic jacket. With 113 ‘friends of the House,’ including models, stylists, actors, designers and musicians, all photographed adapting the classic jacket in unique and modern ways their very own individuality and inimitable styles are highlighted.
Photographs include Lily Allen wearing the covetable tweed jacket as a cape, Claudia Schiffer wearing hers with a white apron, Alexa Chung teaming hers with cut off Daisy Duke shorts and SJP creatively wearing her jacket as a crown!
Eek! I'm SO excited!
Running simultaneously with the exhibition, window displays in Chanel's boutiques across London will present a selection of jackets from the latest collections.
The highly anticipated book, ‘The Little Black Jacket: Chanel's Classic Revisited by Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld,’ will also be available worldwide in bookstores this autumn.
October 12 - October 28, 2012
The Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York's HQ, King's Road, London, SW3 4RY.
Admission will be free.