London Fashion Trends of 2015

It's always difficult for a woman to keep up with all the new trends, colours and styles, and it’s especially tricky to dress when living in London. Nowadays, the city of London encourages people to be creative and unique, and not follow other peoples styles. However, when you’re out for the entire day in London, you have not only look stylish but also be dressed practical for every occasion. Whilst in London you have to think about the perfect all day outfit because in an average day in London it could be seen in many different periods of the day: work, lunch, shopping and even clubbing. Wearing a flouncy dress with high heels can seem like a good idea for a summers day in London, but after one hour’s walking it will be a disaster, which is a daily challenge when you don’t have time to get home and change clothes after work. Fortunately for all of us, London is a capital where you can be edgy-cool, that’s why it is an ideal city to experiment with new and unique looks.

It’s also the perfect time to think about new and fresh fashion trends that are currently taking place in London for spring/summer 2015.

London is a huge city, meaning there is many different trends depending on the places you are going. For example Camden is a place where you will witness extremely alternative and quirky styles worn by both 'hipsters' and 'goths'. You will also witness people wearing copious amounts black eye-liner (even the boys) and an influx of body piercings and tattoos. It’s all about burlesque style in this area of London, one of the most popular pin-up ladies Dita Von Teese influences many styles and outfit decisions in Camden. The result of this will be bold colours, frilly skirts, fish net tights and bright lipstick. And to complete this intriguing look, add a tight corset. Let’s be realistic, this strange look is not for everyone!

The T-shirt is a reliable source for all occasions. But don’t go too fast, it’s not just the simple and comfy t-shirt in cotton. As we are moving into summer, there will be a flood of shiny colours, shapes and textures. We are even seeing an influx of some t-shirts that have been shredded or ripped, paired with blazers, chunky jewellery and practical high heels to create a versatile and stylist great.

In Notting Hill, there are a lot of vintage stores with endless designer wear from the likes of Bottega, Christian Louboutin, Prada or Helmut Lang. This area is a great place for all fashionistas who love both vintage and luxury brands. A good thing to know when you are wearing vintage clothing is style one main vintage piece at a time so not to over do the look.

And if you don’t really like to wear second-hand clothes or shoes, go for a military style jacket with retro t-shirts that have a vintage look.

The perfect accessory to have this season is John Lennon glasses, super-trendy and versatile for the summer months.

For all girls, a fedora hat is a must have accessory for this year. We are witnessing more and more styles every season, but black and grey are the easiest to wear for most occasions. It really is an accessory not to be missed!

It’s the return of the midi! In nearly every shop on Oxford street from Topshop to Zara, we are witnessing a lot of midi dresses and skirts. Brands are calling these skirts the “tea length” skirt. The midi is quite difficult to wear and it’s not for anyone, however, if you wear it with the right accessories and for the right occasion, you will look as glamorous as ever!

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Selfie Stick: New Trend Not to Be Missed

Nowadays, trends come and go extremely quickly, and the big trend of today is the selfie stick. In other words, it’s also known as the “narcissi-sticks”, because it’s meaning more and more people are taking photos of themselves, and transforming phone images into photo-shoots.

In case you haven’t yet heard of the selfie stick, it is nothing more than a metal stick device with Bluetooth inside that can be paired with smartphones. Now, everyone time want to take a selfie, you can position your mobile phone in a selfie stick and have a new interesting perspective for a photograph.

The main purpose behind this new trend is ultimately to take better shots, including a wider background, amazing angles and obviously is a lot more stable to take multiple photographs.

This trend has taken off across the Globe, and especially across a number of Indian cities.

Everywhere you go, touristic places or even in the street, you will now see people using their selfie stick smiling and giggling, to take a group photo. This trend also means you now don’t have to stop and ask someone in the street to take a picture of you and your friends!

This concept is extremely popular in India, and especially at Indian weddings, as you can now take wedding selfies with more people.

In the beginning of this new concept, some retailers began to sell the product in their stores, both physical and e-commerce, such as Amazon and Flipkart. But now, you can find these sticks almost everywhere.

Some people have said that this trend began in the extreme sports community, because of similar devices for the GoPro camera, and others said that it was born in Asia.

However, the selfie stick can’t be used in some places like museums and other touristic places. It has been banned in Britain’s National Gallery (London), at Palace of Versailles (Paris), at Rome’s Colosseum and even in different museums in the US. For the major part of them it is because of the objects on exhibition inside museums and a question of security.

In Brazil, the selfie stick is also banned in soccer stadiums, because during rival games people have been known to act out and use the selfie stick as a weapon to fight other people.

Amazon India Fashion Week AW 2015 Grand Finale Highlights

Amazon India Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2015 has come to an end. Famous Indian designers were present at this big event. In total, this year, there were 25 designers like Tarun Tahiliani, Ritu Kumar, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Raghavendra Rathore and many others. But the favourite part of this India Fashion Week edition was the 25th Grand Finale, where all the designers from the event were there to celebrate Indian heritage.

For the Grand Finale, all designers shared their collections with a specific theme “Crafts of India”. They gave us a fantastic show by offering us their inspirations from Indian history and Indian culture.

Big names of Indian Fashion like Manish Arora, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Rina Dhaka, Abraham & Thakore, Manish Malhotra, Sabyasachi and Wendell Rodricks came together at the end of the finale show. We saw the Indian designer Bal starting the party mode. All others designers, and even models joined this fun side at the ramp, during the final show. 

About the collections showcased at the Grand Finale, we saw a lot of creativity, originality, innovation, and style mixing Indian and Western fashion. The main clothes were dresses, sarees, gowns, lehengas, suits, sherwanis and jumpsuits. Different styles were embellished beginning with a western collection, deep colours of daylight, ethnic beauty and lots of rich Indian bridal wear. 

We also caught a stunning view on the stage, of the silhouette of a dome with little dolls and mirrors held up by white dresses. It was a real gift for Indian fashion lovers to see how Indian heritage was reflected in the show.

Amazon India Fashion Week’s Grand Finale began with Wendell Rodricks’s collections - a beautiful orange dress with bold and edgy garments. While Varma’s models on the ramp, wore turbans and outfits with a shimmery effect.

Pankaj & Nidhi's collection offered to us, a completely different style with geometric inspirations and florals in all their dresses. For the first time, these two Indian designers were very happy to showcase their collections during a finale show.

Gaurav Gupta wanted to bring the idea and statement of “unity and diversity” in his collection. It was important for him to send this message to everyone and added “We are one big family”. 

This year, Amazon India Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2015 was once again a real success. Having as the main sponsor, the most well known online portal, Amazon, certainly boosted the importance and publicity of the five-day fashion gala.

Overview of Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2015

We will start with The Grand Finale of Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2015 by renowned Indian designer Anamika Khanna, who is easy to recognise with her signature style of ivory and black. Two years ago, at Cannes Film Festival in 2013, Anamika styled Sonam Kapoor in an ivory net sari, that received a huge amount of attention.

Anamika Khanna's collection theme this year at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2015 was “The Sculpt”. She created this line to play with fluidity and sculpting of contemporary silhouettes. The collection was eclectic, quirky and edgy.

Throughout her collections, she always uses black and ivory as a signature style, as she has done for her Lakme Fashion Week Grand Finale collection. But she has also incorporated subtle pink, gunmetal, and  deep blues into her outfits. She has kept a traditional design style throughout the collection, but had also added very modern and stylish silhouettes and styling. Due to many years of experimentation in fashion, Anamika always experiments with new styles, to make a woman feel both sexy and elegant.

Anamika Khanna understands that nowadays demands for Indian clothing is now international. The Indian designer wants to create clothing that has an Indian style but can be worn by international clients, and also because she has demands of her collections from all over the world.

Let’s have an overview of her Summer/Resort 2015's edition: Throguhout the last 15 years of this event, it has showcased India’s rich culture and given a platform for all new Indian designers. And again, this fashion show was a step forward for Indian Fashion. We can see that some new Indian designers were also present during the entire event, some of them showed unique creations and extravagant themes.

For this Summer/Resort 2015 edition, the Gen-Next show collections were a spectacular mix of innovation and creativity. Some of these designers include the likes of Ankit Carpenter, Kanika Goyal, Manish Bansal, Alan Alexander Kaleekal, Salita Nanda and Priyanka Ella Lorena Lama.

The overall event was extremely impressive and lead to a lot of success with buyers who attended the event: "The overall response from the buyers and international stores has been extremely positive for us. We have opened conversation with a number of them. We got enquires from Aza, Malgaadi, Ogaan, Creo, Minerali, Amaara, Vyoum, Solo Look, Sade and Iness" Karan Berry and Leon Vaz of the label Karleo, told IANS".

For this edition, they were 163 registered buyers, 120 Indian and 43 international. This is very difference from the beginning of Lakme Fashion Week. Purnima Lamba, head of innovation at Lakmé has stated that the event’s progression was immense.

At each Lakme Fashion Week, there is always a day for Indian textiles. This year, it was on the day 2 that the designers promoted Indian textiles. During this day, big names of Indian Fashion like Raghavendra Rathore, Anita Dongre and Sabyasachi Mukherjee contributed to showcase traditional Indian textiles.

83 designers participated at this edition of Lakme Fashion Week, all the new designers but also all the Kings and Queens of Indian Fashion that included Tarun Tahiliani, Krishna Mehta, Suneet Varma, Manish Malhotra, Raghavendra Rathore, Kiran Uttam Gosh and Shivan & Narresh. And we can’t forget the two international names; Natalie Jolliffe head of Miss Bennett London with her mix of outfits for young women and Tom Tailor with his casual line.

Besides all these big names of Indian designers showcased at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2015, also saw a huge presence of Bollywood stars, such as Arjun Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapur, Tamannah Bhatia and Shradda Kapoor, who all looked fabulous on the ramp.

Different Techniques Used to Create Unique Indian Textiles

Just found this infographic and think that it is really interesting! 

A brief explanation:

This infographic gives you an idea of all the different techniques, used to create Indian textiles employed for Indian fashion clothing, and the places they come from. It takes you through India to discover the indigenous Indian textile crafts and the specific region where they are employed. Did you know that these age-old crafts and their techniques continue to be used by fashion designers to create beautiful Indian fashion? Discover a lot more that will awe-inspire you by taking you on a journey across India and Indianfashion. Hop on board the Strand of Silk Journey Map at strandofsilk.com > strandofsilk.com/journey-map.

The Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2015: 15 years of Fashion

Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2015 is finally here! All was ready, the stage, the lights and the models. We will observe carefully and catch up some of the newest talents and styles to hit the runway.

This year, Lakme Fashion Week will reflect the completion of 15 years of the bi-annual event. In total, there are 83 designers and 15 sponsors that will be in this Summer Resort 2015 event. The big names of India's fashion designers will include Manish Malhotra, Tarun Tahiliani, Suneet Verma, Raghavendra Rathore, Krishna Mehta, Shivan & Narresh, Kiran Uttam Gosh and Wendell Rodricks.

All the Bollywood leading ladies from Sridevi to Deepika Padukone already made a beeline to attend the opening show of Lakme Fashion Week. We have witnessed Bollywood diva Kajol in a lovely floral dress design by Indian designer Sabyasachi. She completed her look with simple bun, nude heels and turquoise chandeliers.

Deepika Padukone was also wearing Sabyasachi, a beautiful floral printed dress in a berry tone with a bright red clutch, and looked absolutely gorgeous. Fashionista Neha Dhupia also attend the event, wearing a simple pretty beige tunic

This 5-day gala began yesterday with the opening show with Sabyasachi. As the Indian designer loves the 70’s decade, he wanted to combine this era with his signature in his collection, creating a distinctive 70’s vibe.

Here are some remarkable photos of Sabyasachi’s show at Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2015:

All eyes will be on The Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2015!

Feminity Takes a New Turn - Milan Fashion Week

For Paglialunga, creative director at Jil Sander, a woman who now wears men’s clothing as everyday wear, is becoming completely normal.

“You need to know what to add on to make it more confident and elegant,” he adds.

Roberto Cavalli is a prime example of this; his amazing collection for next winter is extremely sexy and sensual, with mini-dresses under fur-lined overcoats embellished with diamonds accentuating the waist.

Few do striking red carpet gowns with more flare and femininity, and his newest stand out creation comes in either a stylish halter neck style top or with feminine floaty sleeves. The double-tone gown blends from soft blue to deep purple, and even blue into autumnal rust that creates a gorgeous array of sunset hues.

Roberto Cavilli and his wife Eva Dueringer, the two main forces behind the company gave a quick hand gesture to the crowd after the Fashion show instead of their usual finale catwalk strut. Soon, Cavalli will finish his final process of talks to sell a major part of the brand he founded into one of the world’s most popular brands, but for the moment, the role that he will have in this ownership isn’t very clear.

“We will make announcements as soon as we have news or something to communicate,” Daniele Corvasce, CEO, recently stated about Cavalli’s role in the company to The Associated Press, but also that she knows that he will stay the founding shareholder.

Ermanno Scervino is renowned for playing with gender identity throughout his sensual designs. Scervino showcased creations such as macro black and white hounds tooth prints for his dress and coat designs. He also showcased a stand out coat with an asymmetrical shawl collar, including a jacket and skirt outfit with a dainty sequined black top.

Until now, the use of hounds tooth print has never seemed so pretty!

Eva Herzigova is one of the breath-taking models that smiled for the cameras. She’s walking for Pucci designer Peter Dundas in a long black dress under a stunning velvet jacket with zodiac signs.

“In fashion we are so busy managing everything we do. We can’t always control things and sometimes wonderful things happen when you can’t control them,” Peter Dundas said. He really wanted to bring something new to his collection, which is where the idea came for a unique Zodiac-themed show.

Within his Milan Fashion Week show, Peter Dundas created a magical world with long legged models showcasing velvet pants teamed with bags with fringe detailing. His psychedelic collection also included mini-dresses with black and white optical patterns. An innovative collection not to be missed!

Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi's collection was more urban and somber than usual. One of the main creations was a deconstructed suit, aswell as jumpers and coats decorated by interesting areas of metallic eyelets and silver sequins.

Discover Celebrities' favourite styles!

An artistic show for contemporary Indian textiles at Devi Art Foundation

For those who often attend of Indian Fashion weeks, you will probably be aware of the phrase "reviving ancient Indian textiles". Meanwhile, a Baluchari bustier or a Kimkhab sari dress being showcased on the runway may seem a slightly futuristic and non-traditional in comparison. Nowadays, we are now seeing ancient crafts being fused into the contemporary 21st century through radial and unique ideas.

Mayank Mansingh Kaul, Sanjay Garg and Rahul Jain have recently organised talks at Devi Art Foundation, Gurgaon about Fracture – Indian textiles,  showing a wide range of hand-made Indian textiles that have been introduced in a modern context.

The Devi Art Foundation showcased a variety of items such as a series of Indian clothes and silk thread cloths presented as a futuristic sculpture in 3D. All of these works have been part of a project that gathers together a plethora of hand made Indian textiles from across India.

“Though, in India, textiles are such a visible concept, there are no museum quality masterpieces” said Mayank Kaul, all these textiles were ordered between 2000 and 2014. “We wanted to discuss and deliberate what contemporary means in textiles today and what it means to break away from tradition” he completes. 

Here is a variety of creations that are exhibited in the show:

Fashion designer Rimzim Dadu, chose to use another original material such as silicon rubber sheets shredded to thin yarn which he displayed as a given the length of a sari. This textile piece showcases a stunning pattern that looks like the Jamdani weave. The material is graceful and light as a feather, and the stretched yarn brings an undulating pattern.

To represent earthly silhouettes, Shaikh Mohammad Hussain used block print on cotton to illustrate nine concentric spheres. We can see the work of two different views, nearly every sphere differs in pattern. When observed from a distance, it just looks like a repetition of sphere, all thisis  to remember the diversity of these textiles and patterns.

Astha Butail created 'Yoking of the Felicity', this installation takes inspiration from the Rigveda, where cloth has great importance. The artist constructed the piece in a contemporary way, by changing a simple product into a three-dimensional format, crafted from the loom itself.

Top 2015 Tips and Trends for Indian Beach Weddings

Beach weddings are becoming more and more popular, and we can definitely understand why! A light fashion filled suitcase, tanning necessities, and flowers in your hair, what more could you want! But it’s not always that simple, with a number of beach events it’s hard to know what bridal Indian wear to select to suit both the event and the destination.

Here are our top 2015 tips and beach wedding trends:

What to wear to the beach:

Swimsuits are a must for a beach wedding, and 2015 is all about going all-out with your swimwear choices! Think Fringing, bright prints and sexy cut outs. If you are not completely comfortable bearing all in a minimal swimsuit, team with a flowing kaftan or light jacket for the perfect layering technique.

Further to the cover-ups, kaftans and floaty jumpsuits in bright and sunny tones make for a perfect combo when it comes to beach wear. Go for simple prints or all block colours so not to over-power your outfit.

What to wear to the cocktail wedding party:

This can be tricky, as you want to dress to impress but also want something that is both easy and comfortable to wear. Go for sheer materials or glamorous sparkles and you are sure to stand out. Opt for a mid or full-length outfit for a classy and glamorous look.

What to wear to the brunch:

The day after you may be dealing with a bit of a sore head, but if you dress to impress no one will know! Opt for soft  cheerful colours and floaty styles– the loose maxi dress is coming back for 2015 and creates an effortlessly elegant look!

Now here’s the tricky bit, what Indian bridal wear to choose for the wedding:

For the bride: Opt for fresher and brighter tones than a traditional Indian bridal wear colour palette which normally comprise of deep burgundy, gold’s, and dark greens, and go for sunny hues such as yellow and bright reds. Opt for subtle and pretty embellishments to stay perfectly in synch with the beautiful and chilled landscape.

For the friends of the bride: Opt for more contemporary Indian bridal wear like classy palazzo pants with pretty tunics, simple and subtle full skirted lehengas teamed crop tops, elegant and light gowns and sheer saris in bright colours, for elegant and comfortable looks. Add fun and quirky turbans and fresh flowers to your hair for that exotic beach look!

Sources: Vogue India

Anita Dongre: A Powerful Fashion Businesswoman

Anita Dongre is nowadays one of the most famous Indian Designers. She built an authentic fashion empire with three design labels: her signature label Anita Dongre, AND, Global Desi.

Recently, she has been nominated for the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award by Ernst & Young. 

How did she become a businesswoman of Fashion?

Since, she was a child, she always wanted to become a designer in the fashion industry. She used to spend time in her grandmother’s house in Jaipur and she was seduced by Rajasthan with these colourful markets, architecture and the people. The place created an impact on her and a love for design and fashion. Just after graduating from SNDT College in Mumbai, she started supplying ready-to-wear to small stores in the city.

Then, she began to create a collection of clothes that she really liked. Obviously, the collection resounded with the young women who were open to experimenting with new outfits: western outfits. However, like every new designer, she encountered some problems with the shops that she supplied to - a lot of them were not open to the concept and the collections. So, she decided to start her own business. This Indian designer began to work at home designing for friends and supplying to little shops until her father offered her the possibility to start a small factory of her own which had grown more and more.

For Anita Dongre, the most important was creativity because it means constantly re-inventing and innovating herself and her creations, while keeping her signature design aesthetic. Her ideal fashion design is understated elegance and always offers the consumers “accessible luxury” inspired by Indian things and techniques, and by Rajasthan.

To succeed, she always stays organised, creative, and runs her fashion labels like one would run a corporate business - taking into account that fashion is very dynamic, with new trends and new styles coming every day, so she has to be a step ahead in the game. Also, another important key of success for her is to be passionate about what you do and to remember that creativity is constantly work in progress.

Anita Dongre has been successfully doing it right by opening a flagship in Mauritius and expects to realize her dream project - to move the brand headquarters to a bigger facility in Rabale, Navi Mumbai. This would make her company the first Indian fashion house to have its own centralised production hub.