Now in its ninth season, the BFC/Monsoon supported Esthetica showcases a growing number of designers who are committed to eco fashion. This fashion week sees the largest venture to date, including an installation from RCA graduate Christopher Raeburn, jewelry from Leblas and Made By The People, and ready to wear collections from Ada Zanditon. The most recent addition to the ever increasing line-up is Camilla Welton, who has shown at Stockholm Fashion Week and presented her collection in Paris. The designer’s lack of formal training is combined with a passion for sustainable fashion, and the resultant aesthetic – discreet yet dramatic, simple elegance tempered with a hint of mystery – is both unique and inspiring. Offering bespoke ‘eco-couture’, Welton challenges perceived stereotypes of sustainable fashion, as practicality sits alongside comfort and style. Pieces from the Fall Winter 2010 collection are named after various goddesses, including Freyja (associated with love, beauty and fertility), Diana and Gaaia (Greek goddess personifying the Earth), emphasizing the strength and integrity that Welton perceives for her wearers.

All images via camillawelton.com

With the countdown to fashion week officially under-way – this week see’s the much anticipated Fashion Night Out, and the start of the New York shows – we look for inspiration. And where better to look than the streets of London, and its eclectic fusion of youthful cool, tinged with an edge of unexpected finesse? The ladylike elegance advocated by Celine has surprising relevance, culminating in caramel color palettes and tan accessories, whilst the timeless appeal of grunge comes imbued with a distinct prairie twist, and pretty paisley patterning. Not to be out-one, the boys continue to challenge expected notions and stereotypes, as boiler-suits take the workwear trend to the next level, badges and accessories adding a playful individualism. Whilst we’re mulling over our fashion week wardrobes, it’s important to note that the event represents work as much as play…so rest assured we’ll be regaling you with the finest shows, street style and emerging trends over the next few weeks. This season, we’re happy to announce collaboration with Fashion Monitor, whose dedicated LFW micro site will ensure our post-work party schedule is fuss-free.

Thom Browne’s shrunken schoolboy tailoring was accompanied by gold foil encrusted lips, adding a futuristic sci-fi flair to the collection, that was introduced under astronaut suits. Recalling the glossy sheen of Thierry Mugler’s iconic creations, the lips were paired with gold rim glasses and a glistening raven streak, projecting the designers other-worldly creatures to Outer Space. The style could easily be translated to womens beauty, and we have a sneaky feeling the girls might be more willing to embrace a vision of intergalactic beauty.

Last Friday the V&A celebrated their ongoing Grace Kelly: Style Icon (hurry if you are yet to visit, as it ends on September 26) exhibition with a series of events focusing on retro Hollywood glamour. Make-up artists from L’Oreal and hair stylists from Daniel Hersheson were on hand to create authentic Fifties make-overs, that were the perfect start to create amazing photographs in Fraubaun style. In the garden the hands-on entertainment continued courtesy of Sally Elford’s screen printing workshop, which offered the chance to print limited edition 50’s scarves, in the style of Grace and Marilyn…although we were somewhat distracted from our creativity by ‘Whisky in the Jar’, an inventive Fitzrovia Radio Hour performance using original scripts and live sound effects. Meanwhile, Daisy de Villeneuve gave a drop-in master class, creating a portrait of Grace Kelly in make-up…with so much to see and do it was impossible to fit everything in…although we managed a turn on the red carpet before proceedings ended. Well who knows when the chance will next arise?

See more images here.

Adding a vivid color splash to Barcelona Fashion Week, Alexis Reyna’s collection featured models smeared with neon paint. Echoing the playful scribbles and paint-splattered surfaces within the collection, cheeks lips and brows were highlighted with pink and yellow accents. Hair was rainbow colored, the result of spray-in dye, culminating in a laid-back take on modern beauty. Perhaps taking inspiration from Craig McDean’s iconic shoot for Interview magazine (February 2010), which featured drawn-on eyes and soft pink dyes, or a subtle update on the prevailing fascination with grunge couture, the visually arresting style is not for the faint at heart. Whilst the look may be easy to recreate, the jury’s out on how many will embrace the aesthetic…fear of associations with a pre-schooler may deter the majority….

Drawing influence from the bard, Nom de Plume evokes a romantic spirit for Spring Summer 2011. Oversized neck ruffles, voluminous shirts gathered at the cuff and oversized hats completed with a flamboyant plume of feathers create suitably dramatic silhouettes that borrow directly from the Elizabethan era. Frock coats are detailed with gold buttons, promoting an air of authority and luxury, complemented by oversized lace shirts and authentic hoses. Debuting the collection at Copenhagen Fashion Week, Nom de Plume translates directly from Latin as ‘penname’, Alberto Naseli an important  figure in the early development of the commedia dell’arte in Italy. The opulence of the red runway reiterates the drama of performance and theatre, the designs taken straight from a costume drama.

A consequence of the omnipresent recession, and evoking the spirit of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, several menswear designers have embraced the plight of the vagrant, revelling in a make-do and mend mentality. Simon Rasmussen continued an aesthetic initiated by Vivienne Westwood’s Fall Winter 2010 collection, which saw models accessorised with shopping trolleys, wearing mis-matched attire. Rasmussen created puffas stuffed with plastic bags, fashioned oversized wraps from quilts and embellished loose fit jackets with found ephemera – from CDs to newspaper, plastic cups and unwanted kitchen utensils. Boxing shorts were worn over double layered shell-suit trousers, paired with a rough and ready patchwork coat and an oversized necklace created from a bricolage of treasure, culminating in a floral telephone. Warm and cosy fabrications – including gray marl jersey – protect and shelter against the hazards of the street. Excess layering and relaxed silhouettes promote creativity, and reinvigorate the grunge cliché.

Unable to turn down an invitation to a Royal Palace, we were more than delighted to attend The Wild Boy’s Ball at Kensington Palace last Friday. Bedecked in our finest attire, including elaborate masks embellished with feathers and sequins galore, we explored the Enchanted Palace exhibition (for those of you yet to attend it comes highly recommended) and all its intricate curiosities, including Echo Morgan’s cabinet, Boudicca’s revolving dresses and Jonathan Saunders’ intricate origami paper dress. For those who had forgotten their manners, and arrived in less suitable sartorial flair, attendants were on hand to aid in the creation of appropriate costumes and delicate white roses to present to your dancing partner of choice. Outside in the gardens Palace gossips was rife with tales and rumors from the monarchs of yester-year…we heard of Kings, who had been inappropriately approached in the Orangery and plenty of other unmentionable talk. Entertained with authentic music ‘conducted’ by Troylus Searll (of Last Tuesday Society fame) we danced on the grass until our feet were tired, our silk slippers in tatters. For those tardy readers who may have missed their Royal engagement, be sure to check for upcoming events, which will continue as Kensington Palace is refurbished.

Whilst numerous designer explored notions of the Great Outdoors for Fall Winter 2010 (Unique’s modern Narnia utopia being a case in point), Moonspoon Saloon took the inspiration a little more literally for Spring Summer 2011. A reaction against stereotypical notions of clean and minimal Scandinavian fashion, and a simultaneous embrace of the natural wonders of the land, clumpy platforms and thick-soled creepers were decorated with pine-cones, twigs and various other wonders borrowed from the woods. Sprayed in vivid pinks, orange and cobalt blue, the finished footwear resembled those art and crafts projects we always favored in primary school. As nature collides with the man-made, these woodland nymphs come fashionably attired in sweeping leather layers and plenty of black; it would seem there is still room for the proverbial fairytale, albeit one that comes with a very modern interpretation.

Emerging, alien-like, on a catwalk bathed in ethereal golden light, Nakkna presented a vision of other-worldly beauty for Spring Summer 2011. As the focus moved to Stockholm, Spring Summer is, perversely, very much focused on summer, eschewing transitional styles in favour on sun-drenched glamour. The labels signature aesthetic, which encompasses clean shapes devoid of unnecessary embellishments, was manifested in loose maxi-dresses trail across the floor, billowing sleeves nodding to a discreet Seventies inspiration and super-short shifts , that nodded more to the Sixties. Simple scoop necks and gently textured silks gave a new definition to minimal fluidity. Successfully fusing the avant-garde with the commercial, Nakkna hints at the famed Stockholm eclecticism, whilst presenting wearable pieces that are the perfect attire for a long hot summer.