Mark Fast to design a Topshop Range

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Whether Mark Fast’s decision to use Plus Sized models on the catwalk at London Fashion Week was a stunt or not, it’s done him no end of favours. Now Topshop have recruited the designer to produce a range for them.

With his collection going down a storm, with help from added press coverage due to the whole Plus Sized issue, he’s landed himself a job designing for one of the biggest names in female fashion on the high street.

His ethos of designing clothes to flatter a female figure has done him a world of good and his combination of feminine and edgy clothing seems perfect for Topshop. I’ll be intrigued to see what he comes up with when his range hits stores in February of next year.

Plus Sized Models Cause Walk Out at London Fashion Week

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This week is London fashion week, and imagine the surprise that plus sized models have been spied gracing the catwalk showing Mark Fast’s collection.

Apparently the girls were friends of the designer, and had inspired the collection so were put on the runway. Even if it may only be by connection, nonetheless models who weren’t a size 4 or 6 or less were on the catwalk during London fashion week, with the world’s eyes upon them, and that can only be a good thing in my eyes!

However, Fast’s decision to use plus sized models didn’t go down well with everyone. According to the Daily Mail after “creative differences” arouse over the use of the fuller figured models, the stylist and creative director of the collection walked out just three days before the event, leaving Fast in an awkward position.

Fortunately, two freelancers came in to save the day and made sure the show went on without a hitch. I’ve got to say I respect Fast’s decision to stick to his guns and keep the curvier models in his show. Putting them there demonstrated that his clothes aren’t just for the slimmer models but can be worn by bigger women as well, which would have done him a world of favours, as opposed to buckling under the pressure to only use exclusively slimmer models.

[caption id="attachment_90" align="aligncenter" width="168" caption="Plus sized model on catwalk at LFW"][/caption]

So is this a sign of what’s to come? Fast has been working with Caryn Franklin, (presenter of The Clothes Show back in the nineties) on a project which intends to encourage designers to produce clothes and styles which suit different sized women, as opposed to the straight up straight down girls you universally see on the runway.

With support from designers such as Hannah Marshal, David Koma and Cooperative Designs, hopefully this initiative will bring about a flurry of plus sized models, and I hesitate to say plus because they mustn’t be any bigger than a size 14. But never the less, anything more normal and realistic than the current clothes horses will be an improvement.

Although designers argue that clothes hang better off skinnier models than they do on more curvaceous ones, this cannot be true for all clothes. And in half of the cases the opposite will be true. Some dresses need curves to cling to; others don’t, and if the people who will eventually be buying these gowns aren’t all the same size as the models, why not cater to the majority of women out there who are a little larger?

Nick Jonas Diabetes Conference

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Browsing through youtube earlier today I stumbled on some videos of Nick Jonas of Jonas Brothers (or Jo-Bro) fame speaking at a Diabetes Press conference in Washington D.C. from Monday morning to raise awareness about childhood diabetes. Turns out that Nick was diagnosed with diabetes in 2005 and has been doing lots of charity work to raise awareness of the disease, and give support to other young people diagnosed with the condition.

Talking as a diabetic diagnosed when I was 8, way back in 1998, I think he’s giving out a very positive message. In the press conference he talks a lot about how he struggles with the disease on a day to day basis, having to check his blood sugar levels 12 times a day, and how he wanted to use his position in the media to turn something which is really quite negative, into something positive by giving support to other young people who are struggling with the disease.

Whilst I would consider myself to be have good management of my diabetes on a daily basis and a flexible regime which doesn’t affect my life too much, I admit that I am guilty of not giving it the attention it deserve sometimes, possibly because of lots of the misconceptions there are about the disease.

I’ll often avoid telling people about my diabetes, with lots of my oldest friends not knowing and slyly slipping out to take my injection. The reasons for my reluctancy to talk about it are because of the misconceptions about the disease. I assumed that if I told people, rather than being able to help me if it were to be go wrong, they’d assume that I got the disease because I was over weight or had an unhealthy lifestyle. (It was actually more genetic from my Grandfather)

Hopefully Nick Jonas will be able to use his fame and presence in the media to be able to educate people about some of these misconceptions, and give other kids with the condition the confidence to be more open about it, not to be embarrassed or let it hold them back in any way.

Part of his work for this cause is the “Nick’s Simple Wins” web site, where young diabetics are invited to send in a 30 second video showing how their diabetes hasn’t hindered their ability to be creative or slowed them down in any way. As well as donating lots of money to the cause and selling a dog tag he designed with half of the money going to the Change for Children Foundation.

To my knowledge he’s the only person in the media who openly talks about his condition, and when I was younger, if there were someone like him giving a positive message about the disease I think it couldn’t helped. He also comes across incredibly well, talking to thousands of people and journalists at the press conference extremely well, given that he is only 16 years of age.

Sequins

Yes, sequins appear to be everywhere at the moment. From the catwalks of Balmain and Gucci, on celebrities including Lindsay Lohan wearing a pair of Gryphon gold sequinned shorts and  Amber Le Bon modelling a pair of sequinned harem pants for River Island. Jessica Simpson's wearing a Gucci sequinned jacket on the cover of America's Glamour magazine, they're just EVERYWHERE!

Sewing Machine Sales Increase 500%

Recessionista: A person (usually female) who manages to look fashionable during a period of economic hardship by being more prudent with her money to still be able to wear the latest looks. E.g:

“Wow, that dress is gorgeous, how did you afford that after you lost your job?”




"Well, I am a recessionista.”

It looks as if in these times of the credit crunch and when every penny really counts, savvy fashion lovers are turning to a more DIY approach to getting the latest looks on a shoe string budget.

Lots of retailers have been reporting an increase in sales of sewing machines, with Tesco’s sales growing by 198% compared to this time last year, and sales of Argos’s cheapest machine have risen by a whopping 500%

It now seems as if home economics teachers and your grandma aren’t the only ones with sewing machines. Possibly attracted by the prospect of being able to replicate designer labels at home on the cheap, or being able to customize clothes from the high street to stand out from the crowd, everyone seems to be putting their sewing skills to the test to create unique clothes for a fraction of the price.

However, it’s a very difficult skill to master. Having endured textiles at school, even managing to get an entire GCSE in it (A*, might be a hidden talent) let me tell you, making anything from scratch which is wearable is very time consuming and requires a great deal of patience and dedication, which is maybe where I fell short.

My opinion would be that rather than trying to make something completely from scratch, possibly adding unique flourishes to items from the high street would be a better plan to save you money, create something which stands out from the crowd and show off your creative side.

Photocredit: Dynana

Agyness Deyn pays hommage to Michael Jackon in Terry Richardson shoot

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Since Michael Jackson’s passing the high street has been in-undated with items paying tribute to his signature style. From his trade mark loafers to vests and tees, die hard fans can now wear their feelings on their sleeves (literally).

The latest to do so is Agyness Deyn in a shoot for Septembers issue of Harper’s Bazaar. Photographed by celebrity photographer Terry Richardson, the shoot sees Agyness dressed up in the style of some of Michael’s legendary videos, including a version of his red get up from the Thriller video and his trademark white glove.

They do say that fashion industry is reflective of the current world mood, and this seems to be the perfect example of it. The cynic in me wants to suggest that it’s just retailers and Agyness trying to “cash in” on his death, using it as a way to promote themselves. But for the moment I’ll reserve judgment and say that Michael Jackson will be sorely missed by people all over the world, and if you want to pay homage to him across your chest, go for it.

I think that Agyness does manage to pull of Michael’s look successfully, in a way I couldn’t image more curvaceous stars like Beyonce being able to. Maybe it’s because of her rather androgynous figure and look, but I think her look shows that in the same way naturally curvy women are praised for not falling fowl of the pressure to be skinny, a woman with no curves who could be criticized for being un-feminine, seems comfortable in her skin despite it not being subject to same type of admiration the likes of Scarlet Johansson and Jennifer Lopez receive.

Photocredit: Terry Richardson for Harper's Bazaar

Teen Choice Awards 2009- Miley Cyrus Pole Dance?

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Last night the Teen Choice Awards took place in Hollywood, with anyone who’s anyone attending and playing host to its fair share of controversies, including a spot of pole dancing from young starlette Miley Cyrus. The big winners of the night included Britney Spears, Twilight and Miley herself, who won a total of six awards.

Miley’s performance has yet again landed her in hot water with the P.C. brigade after a pole was used as part of her routine during her performance of Party In the USA. I’d like to stress, the performance looks to me to be as un-raunchy as possible. She’s hardly doing moves you’d expect from your standard pole dancer and it seems more like she ‘danced with a pole’, as opposed to ‘pole-danced’.

Miley is no stranger to controversy, after she appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair with just a sheet covering her modesty, and pictures she’d taken of herself in her underwear were leaked onto the Internet, with parents claiming that she wasn’t a good role model for her young fan base.

In my opinion it seems like she’s done absolutely nothing wrong or worthy of controversy at all, merely putting together an entertaining performance that happened to include a pole. And if any parent is worried that their child is then going to go off and get a job as a pole dancer to try and emulate the star, they should first question their parenting skills before they lay the blame at Miley’s door.

Critics have also been quick to suggest that her performance was part of a plan to market the start to an older audience and to lose her ‘Disney’ image, which doesn’t make all that much sense. Miley’s on to a good thing with her legion of devoted young fans, she’d be a fool to try and alienate the very audience who got her where she is and I’d hope she (or her management) would know when she was on to a good thing, which she certainly is given her massive celebrity status.

TUC Propose Ban on High Heels

The TUC, Trades Union Congress, have proposed that high heels should be banned in the workplace as they pose a threat to health and safety and are sexist. They’ve even has the audacity to suggest that female workers shouldn’t wear heals which exceed an inch to avoid injuries and the development of long term back and foot problems.

The only thing sexist I can see about heels is the suggestion that women would be unable to do their job properly wearing them, and they lack the sense to not wear a pair of shoes which cause them pain or prevent them from doing their job.

Granted, seeing a waitress in a pair of stilettos, or a factory worker teetering in her Manolos would be impractical, but for the majority of office workers will only take a few hundred paces around the office in the day, so a pair of heels can’t possible affect their ability to perform their role, nor can it affect their health.

Heels have long since been a staple of the female’s wardrobe and far from being a symbol of female repression; rather, they represent female empowerment and the ability to take on males in the work place.

For shorter women, adding an extra inch (or five) in height gives them the confidence to walk with more pride and be more assertive, allowing the wearer to give the illusion that they are in charge and should be taken seriously.They elongate body, causing you to arch your back, lengthen your legs and stick out your bottom, resulting in, for many, a reminder of your femininity, which is handy in a workplace dominated by men.

As well as being used as an empowering tool in the workplace, the high heel is also a status simple for lots of women. Anyone flashing a red sole, trade mark of designer Christian Louboutin, is bound to get admiring glances, that’s a woman who knows the importance of good shoes!

A shoe is an item of beauty and wonderment in itself, and it’s something that men will never be able to comprehend. So until a man can truly appreciate what it’s like to wear a pair and experience the feeling of which Manolo Blahnik said, “You put high heels on, and you change.” Maybe the TUC should spend their time at least trying to do something useful, rather than debating the pros and cons of a woman’s footwear choice.

Photocredit: Lauren Close