Les Mads

Australia Days 7 & 8

Following our entry about Melbourne here are our outfits from the second day in the city. The photos were taken between sushi stops, the search for sunglasses and sightseeing. Julia is wearing jeans by her new favourite label Sass & Bide, shoes by adidas, T-shirt & blazer from Urban Outfitters. I am wearing my new dress by Claude Maus, American-Apparel leggings and shoes also from UO. And as I've fallen in love with the puristic label, here's an insight into the rest of the collection. Layered looks, asymmetric lengths, very clear lines and unfortunately only available in Australia!

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Australia Days 6 & 7

As our Oz trip gradually draws to a close here is another insight into the past couple of eventful days.

For their ten-year anniversary, the two designers from Sass & Bide exhibited specially made artworks of their ten most important sources of inspiration in a warehouse in Alexandria, including pictures of Kate Moss, Daisy Lowe and Sam Taylor-Wood. The so-called "shine collective" showed a completely different side to the label. No models, just drinks and charity. Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton can look back on a successful ten years with their internationally renowned label, which they have meanwhile presented at Fashion Weeks in London and New York. My new favourite label is heading for expansion, which particularly pleases me as I see plenty of potential over here too. More details are sure to follow soon, but first of all, here are the individual close-up shots:

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Australia - Days 5 & 6

Can seven hours of power shopping be classed as an extreme sport? Our feet are certainly feeling the effects now... We started at 11am with Fiona from Hidden Secrets, who took us around Melbourne's best shops. This was followed by a tour of nightlife hotspots with Michelle, from the pocket format Bar Secrets guide. We then set out on our own to storm the shops and soon discovered that credit card limits are enemy number one. At Claude Maus we saw an outstanding material mix of silk and cotton, like this dress that is short at the front and long at the back, which I couldn't resist! More on the label to follow soon.

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Australia Days 4 & 5

Here's another round-up of our tales from down under!

Anna and Lucas from Romance was born showed their collection at the Sydney Theatre Company, which proved to be a perfect location for the show. The setting and the dramatically posing models were more reminiscent of a play in the theatre. It was more couture than wearable designs, in the form of spectacular robes, flower adorned heels and hairstyles from the 18th century. The audience showed their appreciation with standing ovations and the loudest applause we've heard in Sydney so far.

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Australia - Days 2 & 3

Here are some more experiences from the past couple of days:

The wine bar and terrace at the top of the Overseas Passengers Terminal (OPT) is the perfect spot to stand, sit, smoke, drink, eat and make small talk in-between the fashion shows. Our cameras were in overdrive snapping a cross-section of the above-average Australian wardrobe. And the beaming Aussies were more than happy to pose for us - hardly surprising considering the weather and beautiful surroundings!

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Australia Day 2

Australia Fashion Week was officially opened yesterday by brother and sister team Camilla & Marc, who showed a collection inspired by "Sex, strength and skin" and featured black zip dresses with contrasting golden details and cream coloured designs reminiscent of Stella McCartney. We didn't make it to the show in person but you can see all pictures and a video on Vogue. Have a look:

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Australia Day 1

After a mammoth 28-hour journey, we finally arrived at Sydney's Westin Hotel and once we'd had some much needed sleep, a bath and breakfast, we dived right into Rosemount Australian Fashion Week.

The first two shows are already behind us and we've already found a firm favourite with Jade Sarita Arnott, the designer of label Arnsdorf. We managed to get a shot of the only model we recognised on the catwalk. She was involved in the Vogue documentation last year - do you know who she is?

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Australia!

We are incredibly excited, full of anticipation, still cannot quite believe that the flight confirmations have arrived and it probably won't have sunk in on Saturday either: Julia and I are flying to Australia!

By invitation of "Tourism Australia" Les Mads, together with Scott Schuman and Garance Doré, will be taking part in the Rosemount Australian Fashion Week in Sydney from 27 April until 1 May; followed by a trip to Melbourne. A dream come true! Of course we'll be reporting flat out during the trip and from the Fashion Week, but we'd also love to hear all of your tips on everything we should see and do down under!

And before we get carried away typing even more exclamation marks, it's time to start packing - the first leg of the journey will take me to Berlin on Thursday and my suitcase is still empty...

Modelwatch: Dree Hemingway

Her name is no coincidence: the focus of today's Modelwatch is actually on Dree Hemingway, great-granddaughter of writer Ernest and daughter of actress Mariel Hemingway. And it's not just down to her famous surname, even if she doesn't deny that she gets more attention than other models as a result of it. It's more to do with the fact that she has a really good flair for her own style, a characteristic face and therefore the best requirements for a model career, although she used to study ballet and is actually aspiring towards an acting career.

She first caught my eye on Altamira, at the beginning of the year, although she looked really underweight. But new photos prove that she is back on track (putting on another five kilos certainly wouldn't do her any harm) and unless our eyes deceive us, she is also already the exclusive model of Halston and Givenchy - just half a year after signing a contract with Elite Models.

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Jeans jacket: Wood Wood vs Julia & Ben

80s vibe at Wood Wood, 90s at Julia & Ben - which one do you prefer?

Topshop: Store opening in New York incl. video

The New York branch of Topshop was originally supposed to open its doors last October, but after prolonged construction work the store on Broadway (on the corner of Broome Street), didn't usher in the American Topshop era until yesterday. At 11 o'clock, the fashion-savvy New Yorkers were able to storm the shop, after Kate Moss personally cut through the ribbon to the entrance.

But that makes it all sound a lot less exciting than it actually was: masses of stylish girls already began turning out in their droves at half past nine, there was a throng of street-style photographers, and we weren't only given free goodie bags, but also coffee, water, ice cream and other little treats. It's a good job we arrived early, as the queue seemed to grow by the minute, until it eventually stretched out all the way around the block. The countdown began at eleven, Kate Moss showed her face, made a short speech and amidst a burst of glitter the first shoppers dashed into shopping heaven.

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Berlin Fashion Week to be held from 1-4 July

The return of the Bread & Butter to Berlin was the hot topic of the day, after all, the organisers of the internationally renowned trade fair chose to schedule it from 1- 3 July - almost two weeks before the original date of Berlin Fashion Week. But the recently arrived press release now informs us that the Fashion Week will be held earlier than planned this year, from 1-4 July. Mmmm, what a coincidence.

This is what IMG boss Mia Guarnaccia had to say:

"For us, it was very important right from the start to find a common date with all protagonists of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin - everything else does not make sense." Nothing is mentioned about the Bread & Butter in the press release... It remains to be seen, however, whether the exact time overlap is actually a clever tactic.

Georgia May Jagger for Vogue Russia

A Brigitte-Bardot lookalike and the most beautiful of all the Jagger-Hall daughters is Georgia May. Last year we declared her a style icon, and now she is featured in an editorial in Vogue Russia. Matt Irwin, who lovingly calls her Gorge-ia, shot the pictures, which leave us hoping that we'll get to see a lot, lot more of her in the future. At just 17 years old, she already has feminine curves, breathtaking lips, the significant gap in her teeth and a high level of recognition value. You go girl!

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Complex Geometries Winter 2009

For our Labelwatch featuring Complex Geometries in November I hopefully asked their PR man Adam when a store would finally be opening in Germany. And now the expansion of the Canadian label actually seems to be in the pipeline, as I was informed just in time for the arrival of the new winter collection. This is very convenient as it also features quite a few oversize creations, which we would wear at the drop of a hat.

The name of the collection "...between good and evil" examines the conflict and co-existence of moral ideas and explores a diversity of references including toreadors, religious icons and ghostly apparitions...

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Interview with photographer James Mountfourd

In a short interview the British photographer James Mountford told us about his work, what inspires him and what role fashion plays in his photography. He displays his works on the blog Ihearthackney and more of his creative photographs can be seen on his website. We truly admire his work, have a look!

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New York Shopping: In the changing rooms

New York and I are reunited after half a year! Meeting my friends and being in my favorite city let me forget about the rainy and cold weather yesterday. Although spring hasn't hit NYC yet, it is definitely present in all the stores I went to. First to Urban Outfitters, which almost looked the same last year and was a little disappointing, then to Forever 21, a store I love and hate at the same time: most of the things look the way they are, cheap, and then you can find great pieces that look just like the clothes that they were inspired by. After that, I passed by a few vintage stores like Screaming Mimis and Metropolis. Here are some pictures from the changing rooms, have a guess what I took home with me!

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Another mag brings back the "cone bra"

In the new issue of Another Magazine you will find pictures of Lara Stone writhing around in the pointy bra and different variations of it, which was made so famous by Madonna. Last season Zac Posen also created a dress with in-your-face pointy cups and we are asking ourselves whether this could be a recurrent trend.

The classic bra has basically only existed since 1907, explains Fashion Era. Back then underwear is said to have appeared for the first time in American Vogue. In the thirties the company Maidenform (which still exists today) started manufacturing wholesale and generated huge turnovers during the Depression. Then in the fifties the so-called "chansonette bra" with the pointy cups was brought onto the market, of which around 30 million were sold. The cone bra only celebrated its great revival after it was part of Madonna's stage outfit by Jean Paul Gaultier.

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Ebay-Vintageshop: Noirohio Vintage

Vintage is the new black! Noirohio Vintage offers unique vintage pieces and is our new favourite store on Ebay. Also visit their blog!

Hot or Not: Creeper shoes

Every week we have a new style question for you. Today it's the Creeper shoes. The questionable footwear has appeared on several blogs and also in online shops over the last few weeks. Basically, they are trainers with a thick, all-round ribbed sole and a long history:

After the Second World War soldiers returned back to the London scene with the so-called Brothel Creepers, which they had worn in North Africa to help them adapt to the climate and their surroundings. In the fifties, the Creepers were popular amongst Rockabilly kids and then in the seventies they were sold in London at the Malcolm McLaren's "Let it Rock" shop, the former partner of Vivienne Westwood. From there they headed off in a rock direction, but the Creepers were also worn in the sub-cultures of Ska, punk and Goth. And today they seem to have made their way into the high-fashion scene.

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New online reading material: ANTLER Magazine

I have always had to touch and feel something in my hands. Editorials in particular simply don't look as good on the internet and fade far too quickly into obscurity. But I keep watching my subscriptions gather dust and my unread material piling up. So when such a pretty, informative online magazine like the Canadian ANTLER lands in my inbox, it seems I've been sold. Although I don't want to tempt fate, Antler is definitely worth a closer look: interviews, illustrations, vintage tips and little designer portraits are featured on 94 lovingly designed pages, some of which are dedicated to Isabelle in Hamburg from Bohemian Musings!

An insight:

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Blogwatch: Show me your wardrobe!

On "Show me your wardrobe" Stylist Jackie Dixon has made it her task to inspect the wardrobes of people on the creative scene and show pictures of the owners wearing five highlights each. Sort of like "The Selby" for wardrobes - and we think it's an excellent idea. The 30-year-old Dixon posts diverse updates and insights on her circle of friends and colleagues who live in and around London, every month.

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Trench coats are back: my favourites

It's not that trench coats really ever went away. But the Burberry party, which was thrown on Monday in honour of Christopher Bailey in New York and to which hosts Ed Westwick and Mary-Kate Olsen appeared wearing classic trench styles, really brought the important items of clothing back onto the scene. Julia was already on the lookout for the classic when we were in London, but finding the perfect fit requires time. If you still don't want to invest in a lifelong companion, you will of course also find one on a small budget. I've had a rummage through my wardrobe to see if my old trench coats are still wearable...

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CNN Revealed: Carine Roitfeld

Exciting! Only two weeks ago it was announced that the CNN series "Revealed" would portray Carine Roitfeld in its new episode. Half the fashion world pricked up its ears and waited patiently for exclusive backstage and behind the scenes material of the editor-in-chief of Paris Vogue. They've finally been broadcast and you can watch the entire episode here and now!

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Trendspotting: Big Shoulders

There was hardly an Autumn/Winter collection for 2009 that didn't show accentuated shoulders over the past few weeks, which is why we'll no longer be able to avoid shoulder pads or huge puffed sleeves. The 80s trend was already hinted at in 2007 at Gucci and Margiela, and there is an increasing focus on volume in the shops too. We've had a look at all of the collections online and compiled quite a substantial portfolio of big shoulders. So all you have to decide is which shape is the most flattering...

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Mini style icon at eight years old: Arlo Weiner

No, this snazzy little boy is not the young Chuck Bass. Arlo Weiner is eight years old, son of Mad Men creator Matt Weiner, and has obviously been inspired by the costumes of the series, which is set in the sixties. Arlo and his love of fashion came to the attention of American GQ, which has now taken a look at his best outfits. In this photo gallery, the young gentleman explains exactly what he wore when and why. Such as the red velvet suit he wore on Valentine's Day, the checked blazer he wears as an homage to Frank Sinatra, and how he has a penchant for mixing patterns and loves wearing bow ties...

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