Fashematics: Why I am I always the last to know?

Well I just came across Fashematics for the first time. Why am I always the last to know about these things? Apparently this has been going on for at over a year and a half now, and I have been painfully oblivious to this hilarious blog. If you were also left off the memo about ‘best blogs to sneakily look at while at work’, allow me to introduce Fashematics, the blog that takes two simple images to recreate a fashion designer’s latest collection. I feel it is my duty as a fashion blogger to keep people informed of cool fashion things, but unfortunatley I failed on this front. Anyway, better late than never as the saying goes. It’s a simple theory really, [something funny] + [something funny] = [Latest designer fashion].

“The initial idea for Fashematics came about when Jonathan Zawada was talking with a friend about Bernhard Willhelm’s costume for Bjork on the cover the Volta album. Zawada’s friend said it reminded him of Grimace from McDonalds, Jonathan said it looked like a hotrod with a fancy paint job. The rest, as they say, is history.” Quote fron Ponystep

Kind of one of those ideas you wish you thought of doing first. Above is their take on the inspiration behind Christian Diors Fall 2008 Ready-To-Wear show, which gave me a big giggle, but seriously, theres like a over a years worth of content on you to spend the rest of the afternoon chuckling about, so clicky click on over there and have some laughs at a plethora of fashion designers expense.

Jimmy Choo AIDS Awareness campaign ‘You, Your Shoe and 72’

Just had word from the lovely team over at Project PEP who are running a fantastic new Jimmy Choo campaign to raise awareness for AIDs that I just had to share and help spread the word for.

Jimmy Choo has designed a limited edition collection in support of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and will be donating 25% of net sales to the Simelela Rape Centre in South Africa. The money goes towards providing a HIV-preventative treatment called PEP, and counselling to victims of rape. In conjunction with this, they have also launched a photo competition, in which anyone can enter a photo inspired by the theme ‘You, your shoe, and 72′ for the chance to win the first prize of 7 pairs of Jimmy Choo shoes and 2 handbags, plus over 100 exclusive Jimmy Choo prizes.

If you’re interested, go over and have a look at some of the images thus far. Theres some really creative and talented entries, no doubt due to the news that if you enter before the 26^th October you’ll be shortlisted for an exhibition at the celebrity launch event at Selfridges London on 29^th October. Tamara Mellon will launch the ‘PEP-Up Shop’ that night, which will display the Project PEP collection and the selected photo entries for 72 hours thereafter. If you don’t manage to think of an idea before then, don’t fret, as you still have until the 7th of December to enter your photo.

Alexander McQueen set to wow with live online fashion show

Missing Paris fashion week? Fear not fashionistas, because if your name somehow got left off the invite like ours did (sob) our favourite Alexander McQueen will be wowing audiences WORLDWIDE tomorrow night as he streams his Spring Summer 2010 designer fashion show live. Who needs to be sat in the front row of a fashion show when we can get up close and personal from the comfort of our own home?

Alexander McQueen, in collaboration with Nick Knights’  ShowStudio.com and supported by IMG, will deliver the collection, entitled Plato’s Atlantis, LIVE  from the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy on October 6 in a ground-breaking online show. Tune in at 8:15pm Paris time to catch an exclusive Alexander McQueen interview with Nick Knight at alexandermcqueenlive.showstudio.com.

“It’ll be like live theatre — at home,” said McQueen in an exclusive interview with WWD. “The audience at home is actually going to see more than the guests at the show. We’re filming from a load of different angles, and two big cameras will actually be a part of the performance.”

McQueen also said he was getting sick of runway snow snippets landing on YouTube and wanted to be in control of the illusion and narrative. While many companies such as Burberry, Twenty8Twelve and Michael Kors have all experimented in Live Streaming for the Spring shows, the McQueen show is promising to be something spectacular, mixing fashion with entertainment. They’ve already put up a clip show of McQueens iconic moments to whet your designer fashion appetite for tomorrow.

If you’d like to keep up with McQueen, you can follow his brilliant twitter updates at twitter.com/mcqueenworld. We can’t wait for tomorrow nights extravaganza and if you catch the show, let us know what you think!

Online Fashion Magazine Launch: Fashion Confidential

FashionConfidential.co.uk  has been on my radar for awhile now as a favourite online fashion mecca, but now I’ve discovered they’ve launched a new online magazine. I’ve been trying to cut down on buying fashion magazines over the past six months so to discover this new part of their website was a pretty exciting moment for me. Not only can I get my now get a bit of my much needed glossy magazine fix online, but I can get it for free, leaving me with more shoe money. It’s got everything you’ve come to expect from a high end fashion magazine, from great photography, great style, and a great ‘heads up’ on the latest fashion trends and how to get the look.

I first discovered their site when I was in what I like to call my “I must have a Marc Jacobs handbag for my life to be complete” stage and spent a many hours researching which bag would make my life most complete. I came across their designer fashion insider info  ‘style report’ blog after having a snoop around their handbags section and had made myself a regular visitor. I’ve long been a fan of the online mag at Net-a-Porter’s and not to mention the fabulous Asos’s magazine so was pretty impressed to see they’ve added a glossy to Fashion Confidential now. However, it makes me wonder if this is to be the future of the fashion magazine. So many amazing fashion magazines have had to close within the past few years that I wonder if online is a place the fashion magazine can truly thrive again without the restraints of printing overheads.

While nothing can beat that experience of opening up the latest copy of Vogue and seeing the printed version of amazing fashion editorials by the worlds greatest fashion photographers in your hands, there is something to be said about the currency, immediacy and interactivity of online fashion magazines. I love buying glossy magazines because even if I can’t buy everything inside them, I almost feel I have a little peice of them by having the magazine. Yet I love online fashion magazines because I can interact with them and they’re so fresh in terms of content. Does anyone else feel the same way or am I alone on this one? Either way, if you get a chance to check out Fashion Confidentials magazine, let me know what you think!

Spend or Save: Designer Accessories

Shoes. Handbags. Jewellery. Every woman has her vice when it comes to designer fashion. In an ideal world, money wouldn’t be an object and we’d be dressed (subtley of course) in head-to-toe well made clothing and accessories that give a nod toward the latest trends while incorporating classic style, designer gear and our own unique finishing touches. However, it’s not an ideal world so we have to make our fashion purchases with a bit of consideration, namely in the descion refered to worldwide in women’s fashion magazines as ‘Spend or Save’.

In my opinion, it’s better to scrimp on your everyday clothing, but spend good money on designer accessories that will last you forever. Although I’m shoe obsessed, my hard-earned pounds go toward designer handbags, every time. Practical as well as fashionable, designer handbags come in a variety of price ranges and with perseverance and a good eye, the more price concious can easily ‘bag’ a discount designer handbag.

Designer handbags come in all shapes and sizes, as well as constantly changing colours and styles. This makes them both desirable and able to be matched with all sorts of outfits to create a new look or update an old one. They say “you get what you pay for”, and designer handbags are often made from quality materials like buttersoft calf leather and strong metal hardware to ensure you do get your money’s worth for a strong sturdy bag. So for those that say “you’re just paying for the label” – in more cases than not you’re actually paying for quality as well.

I’d rather have a handbag for 20 years that I love that I paid a lot for, rather than continually replacing a new handbag every couple of months when they break. Sure, I have a variety of handbags – cheap, designer and vintage – but it’s those designer handbags that steal my heart and my pay check. Still unconvinced? Have a mosey over to ebay and see the price that a second hand designer bag goes for – you’ll be shocked to see that, if well looked after, they don’t lose much of their value so you can resell them in a few years and give them a new loving home, unlike the Primarini bag that doesn’t last longer than a month.

Celebrities are often seen with the latest must have it bag of the season, which are usually very expensive. This creates a buzz around the handbag and makes it very desirable, and results in a waiting list to obtain one and a wide range of ‘knock offs’ reaching the market. My advice is to steer clear of these, as after a few months it’s difficult to tell from a difference whoses got the real one and whose got a fake, and the fakes won’t last the distance. Look out for sales on reliable online fashion retailers who stock discount designer labels instead.

Other fashion accessories, such as hats and sunglasses, look good and have a purpose, but I think that designer handbags is overall the best fashion accessory that are worth spending a bit extra on to get the value and wear out of them in the long run.