Fashion Should Look Beautiful Always, No Matter What Your Size, Sex or Shape is....

Lets be honest size has always been an issue for the fashion industry, we all say 'size doesn't matter' but in this case it does, well has done for years and years!

Up until Alexandra Shulman put her foot down in 2008 and appealed for all sub-size zero models to be banned from all catwalk shows during Paris fashion week nothing could taste as good as skinny felt and that opinion wasn't exclusive to the couture world. Girls all over the world, and boys, pressure themselves to fit into fashion straining their bodies to become what you see on the runway.

I'd be lying if I said I have never been one of the thousands as I spent most of my youth dealing with eating disorder after eating disorder; all for my love of fashion and aspiring to be the next Kate Moss. My love have fashion has only grown stronger and stronger as I've matured, and I'm satisfied to say so has my appetite. The truth is, you can mold and taper a garment to fit as many shapes as you like, you can't taper your body. IT DOESN'T WORK OR LOOK ANYWHERE NEAR AS GOOD AS A HEALTHY SMILE!

The only reason I've brought this up is because we got our next brief at College today, I'm thrilled to bits and really excited to get stuck in. However, while I was sharing a few details with my friend Billy he shared a few details to do with fashion of his own... His difficulty to find fashion that fits basically. He's not a big guy at all, but neither is he what you find hung up in Topman's window, he is the athletic built British boy that pretty much most of our high street stores dislike or ignore. And I know this to be true because when I worked for retail on the high street sizing was obscene and a real issue.

I think since becoming a fashion student my attitude towards clothes and the way we look has really changed for the better. I have always been slim, it's a gene thing (my mum was a model in the 80's) but even I find it difficult to fit into All Saints denim! Our new brief is heavily based around design and it's something I've always been interested in and I like the idea of being given the opportunity to make luxurious, chic clothing for every size. Whether that be male or female, short or tall I want beautiful Fashion to be available to everyone. It's a big planet, we might as well all make an effort to make it look good!

Adele and Andre Leon Talley (Contributing Editor of American Vogue) are two perfect examples of how size doesnt matter, they're both gorgeous, extremely stylish and succesful people that aren't a size 6! But, sometimes skinny is sexy too! Tom Ford for example in my opinion (even though he is gay) is one of the sexiest men on the planet and on the girls team, the fabulous Alexa Chung, famous for her slight frame always looks amazing.

All I'm saying is, sometimes, it's not what you wear it's how you wear it!

Alexa Chung. Burberry S/S11

Tom Ford

Adele.

Andre Leon Talley (With Anna Wintour)

Spring 2012

I've never been a huge fan of the spring season, I'm hardly ever seen in light colours or shift like dresses so spring is always are hard one for me!

However, this year, I have to say I am so in love with nearly every designers collection!!!

Alexander McQueen never lets me down and I am over the moon to say he hasn't even come close to disappointment this season either! Valentino, one word: beautiful! And as for Louis Vuitton, well, I actually can't decide whether I have fallen madly in love with the carousel set design or the collection itself... They were both so beautiful, and you can never fault and appearance from Kate Moss really can you?!

But, the collection that has really inspired me the most this season is Jil Sanders collection, it reminds me of Jean Muir's 25th Anniversary collection that I've been looking at recently. I find Muir's work a lot like Chanel's in a way, its chic, timeless and has a real sense of effortless style to it and that's exactly what came to my mind when I was looking at Sanders show.

My favourite and I mean FAVOURITE ensemble is the one in the photograph below, I just can't fault any of it and if I can re-create it for myself I am going to! (Even if that means making the skirt out of a bed sheet!)

I think, especially when so close to London Fashion week its important to do a little extra research because it broadens your knowledge of past and present designers, as well as ones to watch for the future! I stumbled across Jean Muir in my local library when I was returning a book, don't know why she just looked like my kind of designer... And I can really see a lot of her influence in Sander's collection this year which was quite amusing.

As Chanel once said, "Fashion fades, only good style remains..." and it is so true, fashion repeats itself over and over as designers constantly have to look back to keep going forward, but, as long as you know what makes good style then you can't loose.

ANDROGYNY: Shoot #4 (NOT ON OUR BRIEF)

Model: Myself (Georgia-mae.)

Backdrop: Our Garage.

Photographer: Alexandra Allen.

Stylist: Georgia-mae.

I used my own set of braces and a plain white vest top for the wwardrobe, you can't see them but I am also wearing a pair of wide-leg pinstripe trousers which are a grey tone from TOPSHOP. (I live in those trousers!)

The point of Androgynous girls is that they never look pin prick perfect in a photograph unlike say a glamour model shoot, so the photograph hasn't been photo shopped, the only adjustment was that I changed the colour scale to black and white. I wanted to do this shoot because as an androgynous looking girl I wanted to bring to people's attention the fact that not every one has to look the same in society, especially in the fashion industry. I'm not saying I think all girls should banish fake-tan and there long flowing hair, not at all, I just think that sometimes people need to remember that everybody is different and can actually make quite a stylish statement with that in mind.

BEAU DE GARCONS

My second photo shoot threw college.  This is my adaptation of a love affair. I'm becoming far more comfortable behind the camera and hopefully as we go deeper into the course this will improve more and more. I got my inspiration from a number of places, one was a spread I'd come across threw my research by Grace Coddington called 'Spellbound'. As well as this I also looked into french love stories and films, Belle de jour was a huge inspiration as well as Joe Wright's Coco Mademoiselle Chanel short films.

The french author of Notre-dam Victor Hugo also gave me a little inspiration. 

Back to my spread now that I've given you a little background information, which by the way I recommend you have a look for all of the above as they're all equally as beautiful.

My story is about a successful couple living this blissfully happy life, yet not all is as it should be. The beau is secretly having an intense affair with a young fashion buyer, a complete contrast to his fresh and down to earth wife, she being very work orientated does not always have the time for him he feels she should even though her whole world revolves around how much she adores him, so, when she goes away on business trips and spa weekends he drops her off at the train station then rushes home to spend the next few days in bed with his other woman... the scary thing is, they almost get caught. A risk many people never think about taking when venturing into such a seedy scenario.

In my story I wanted to try and use the body language and facial expressions of my models (one of which is myself!) to tell the story as well as show the difference in characters with the clothes they wear. I also felt that changing the colour tone of part of the story to resemble the lack of emotion would be interesting to play with, affairs always seem very black and white to me, and mostly revolve around sex. It would be interesting to see if anyone else was to see what I was trying to achieve and finds it either a success or, sadly, a total flop. 

Hope you like it. 

Pinstriped Trousers

Everyone has a time in their lives or point in the year where you just wish you could hibernate, mine is between the months of November and January. Sadly, it doesn't look like this years January is going to be any different. 

I don't want to put you all on a downer or come across as some huge depressent, however, I am going to share a little bit more about myself and explain why I am no fan of the winter months.

  

My interest in fashion was born around 5 years ago, I met a boy who really opened my eyes and helped me to find who I was as a person. In 2008 the most awful situation occured and I am sorry to say, my dear friend, who I felt so fond of and could have told anything too in the world, the comfort blanket in my life, commited suicide totally unexpectedly. His anniversary is at the beginning of each November. 

Anyway, his relevance to fashion is this. What I remember most is that he always wore black pinstriped trousers. I was going threw a Tim Burton worshipping phase at the time too which did not help, but anyway, his black and white trousers more or less inspire the way I dress and design almost everyday. Black and white is  the perfect combination in my eyes, a bit like chocolate sauce on belgian waffles; it's just a match made in heaven!! This boy, who's name is Nigel by the way, is a huge part of my life jigsaw puzzle. 

If you ever are like me, and have the odd bad day or something like winter blues my advice is to never give up, when I was really ill with manic depression a couple of years ago, Vogue is something I used to occupy myself with, reading it in the waiting room of my therapist sort of sparked an interest, fashion made me feel normal and happier again. Whenever I read Vogue, I think of how ill I was, and Nigel etc. and it makes me realise how lucky I am and reminds me of all the times I would go and see Nigel and we'd flick threw pages together and forget the world. He always told me I had a natural talent when it came to fashion and good style and no matter what happened I was not aloud to give up on my dreams, he knew I never stuck to anything far too well!!! 

After he died, I spent a long time just hating the world and everyone in it, even fashion! Which was pretty intense for someone as young as I was. The only thing I had left were the memories, memories of flicking threw the pages of Vogue, talking about our future and how the smallest things can change it forever, ironic really. But these are all the things that whenever I am down or don't know what I want I think about, and it reminds me that no matter how bad things get, there is always someone watching you to remind you that it can only get better... Just like fashion! sometimes it fades for a while, but the good style always remains and will only get better.  

Thank you Nigel. I hope this little story inspires others just like you inspire me.