Anya Hindmarch Postbox Maze

On Saturday I headed to the Brewer Street car park to check out the Postbox Maze, an immersive art installation and a celebration of Anya Hindmarch's new Postbox Collection and the art of the written word. You enter the maze through an inviting red archway - the red is used throughout the maze and is made from a soft wool that covers the walls and floors.

The maze is a unique tessellated design created by leading maze and puzzle designer, Adrian Fisher and is inspired by the mural designed by MC Escher for The Hague Post Office. The Brewer Street car park is the perfect venue for an installation this size as well as being in the perfect location. The high industrial ceilings allow space and light and add to the drama.

Within the maze, visitors can discover readings of a series of letters written by notable people throughout history, such as Emily Pankhurst and Spike Milligan.

In the Postbox Maze cafe you can enjoy a cup of tea and postal-themed biscuits and cakes.

In the concept store you can shop a carefully curated range of stationery-related items, or sit and write a hand-written letter which will be posted for you. And last, but not least, you can view the latest range of stunning bags from the Anya Hindmarch Postbox Collection. I'll have one of each please!

Mary Katrantzou

London Fashion Week is now drawing to an end and I've been coveting some of the collections online. I'm always drawn to the designs of Mary Katrantzou who is a pioneer of print and colour. Her latest Spring 2018 collection was no exception, with a full spectrum of bright colours and floral prints. She often draws her inspiration from her childhood, growing up in the 80s and has used Lego influences, as well as painting by numbers and even a few crocheted pieces in her collection.

The stunning floral above has been combined with a sporty nylon rainwear fabric.

I love this form-fitting crochet dress above. Who said crochet couldn't be sexy?!

I always gravitate to bright colours and the outfit above uses all my favourite colours. I love the Lego-influenced skirt design and flamingo handbag.

The outfit above uses another traditional technique - quilting.

The outfits above and below use a fabulously overblown floral. I love the way that some of the florals are kept as black and whites to give the feel of painting by numbers.

Undressed

On Sunday afternoon I went along to the Victoria and Albert Museum to check out 'Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear'. It's a temporary exhibition which follows the evolution of underwear design from the 18th century to the present day, with over 200 examples of everything from everyday items, to the luxurious and custom-made. The exhibition covers the notions of the ideal body through the ages. The beautiful corset below shows how tiny the waists were expected to be!

The exhibition also highlighted how lingerie still influences the fashions of today. London Fashion Week is in full swing and several of the collections use underwear influences with a new twist.

Preen uses corsets in their Autumn/Winter '17 collection, but layer them over chunky-knit sweaters.

This beautiful camisole top from the V & A collection uses soft silk and delicate lace trim.

The Christopher Kane Autumn/Winter '17 collection also uses delicate lace as shirts and dresses, but pairs them with an oversize knit in pastel pink, or layers it with a dramatic white fur-lined coat.

 The silk and lace negligee from the exhibition, below, is just stunning in its delicacy and attention to detail. I love the v-shape that the lace creates.

Erdem used a similar type of lace and bias cut-style to create flowing dresses in shades of lilac in his Autumn/Winter '17 collection.

The example on the below right shows how large knickers have also been a part of underwear history, great for holding in the stomach area and contouring the body.

Large knickers were also represented at London Fashion Week, at the Anya Hindmarch Autumn/Winter '17 show, but they were more like baggy bloomers than body con fashion. She also included knitted play suits, all in a fabulous Alpine style.

The Undressed exhibition closes soon, and I recommend going along there before it goes.

London Fashion Week - Paul Smith

London Fashion Week is now in full force and yesterday Paul Smith had his Spring/Summer '16 show. He's not always known for his ground breaking collections, but this one stuck out as being something quite different to his usual style, with panelled, colour-blocked dresses in asymmetrical styles. He also used brush work and dip dyed effects, as well as animal print-inspired designs, all mixed up with a palette of bright red, yellow and blue. 

Paul Smith is still going strong 45 years after he started his business. If you want to learn more about him and how he works, check out 'Paul Smith:Gentleman Designer' on iTunes. It is an intimate and provoking portrait of the quirky designer and reiterates what a lovely man he is too!

I love the asymmetrical design of the outfit above, but also the two flashes of colour in the outfit - flame red belt and bright yellow chunky shoes. 

The sunshine yellow of the top above makes you smile and I love the use of accessories.

The sunshine yellow has been used as an insert in the dress above for a flash of bright.

I love the pretty top in this outfit. It's simple yet stylish.

Roksanda rocks

London fashion week is now in full force. I am sadly not attending any of the fashion shows, but I do like to keep an eye on what's going on. Roksanda's show was held yesterday and I am always stunned by her use of colour as well as the structure that she gives her garments. They push the boundaries but still manage to remain feminine and wearable. If only I had the lifestyle (and money) to be able to wear one of these gorgeous outfits!

Paul Smith Fall 2014

As a print designer I tend to veer towards print and pattern in the collections. Paul Smith's Fall 2014 collection stuck out for me, with its use of traditional paisleys and damasks in juicy jewel tones. The fabrics were feminine and soft, but the styling was very masculine, which I love!

Burberry Prorsum - clothes you could eat!

I couldn't resist mentioning the latest collection by Christopher Bailey for Burberry Prorsum Spring 2014 (yes Spring!). It looks good enough to eat, with its scrumptious ice cream shades and hot pink strappy sandals, and the delicacy of the Nottingham lace just adds to its appeal. It has inspired me to forage for the lace pieces I bought in India, many of which have not been used yet! Watch this space.....

London Fashion Week - Sass & Bide

Sass & Bide's collection was beautifully pared down, using only black and white with a fabulous vibrant yellow. In a few of their outfits they daringly used the yellow in a voluminous trouser shape or as a PVC top, but in other outfits the yellow was only used as an accent colour in the shoes, or as a vibrant clutch bag. This is how I see many of my clutch bags working - a flash of colour against a pared-down black dress.