>> If you’re a true Disney aficionado, then it’s not just the saccharine colour schemes, the happy clap-trap songs and love-and-beauty-will-prevail sentiment that gets you going.  You have to love the villains, the weird and the truly potentially tripping-on-something vibes that Disney films can give off.  And so in Coach’s latest collaboration with Disney, in continuation of their tie-up with the most American of icons, things develop into a “Dark Fairy Tale”, and predominantly centre around the older and for me, most haunting films – Snow White & and the Seven Dwarve ..read more

>> The weather is flip-flopping about, undecided between spring and summer.  Enter the non-wooly looking, unexpected placement of Merino wool in spring summer collections, as exemplified by House of Holland’s wave-fuelled pieces.  Their presence is prompted in part by pirate radio waves, the rooted beginnings of Mike Skinner’s breakthrough album Original Pirate Material (which titled Holland’s SS18 collection) and  also by surfer’s waves as seen in the seaside slacker silhouettes.  The primary takeaway though is a wool Prince of Wales check that marks a collaboration ..read more

The last time I was at Hyères was exactly a decade ago.  Back then on the blog 1.0 I enthused and gushed about this annual celebration of grassroots fashion and creativity, nestled in the Robert Mallet-Stevens designed Villa Noailles.  It was the novelty of seeing seeds of young graduates in fashion and photography flourish quietly away from fashion’s epicentres in an environment so convivial (the sun! the palm trees! The copious amounts of rose!) that seduced me and yet somehow it’s taken me this long to return. Hyères International Festival of Fashion and Photography in its 33rd ed ..read more

>> Longtime Style Bubble readers will know about my Uniqlo fixation, dating back to when the brand first landed on these shores to provide me with the eye-soothing layers that would balance out the cray.  Their design collaborations have always erred on the side of unexpected – from Undercover’s Jun Takahashi to Carine Roitfeld to J.W. Anderson to the latest announcement of Tomas Maier, who will work on Uniqlo’s Life Wear concept.  Marimekko though is the latest collaborator to apply their Finnish flair prints to a special edition Uniqlo Life Wear collection, and is a desi ..read more

There’s talking about Chanel haute couture.   There’s seeing it from afar on Style.com (rest in peace…).  There’s going to the shows, and being swept away by the set, the music and the magic of it up close in the showroom.  Then there’s the ateliers, seeing the custom made forms of the couture clients and the work of the petite mains, who are not just mere hands at work but craftsmen and women characters alive and passionate about their task, be it in the workrooms of flou or tailleur.  Then there’s the on-the-brink of demise, but eventually rescued and revived métiers d’ar ..read more

>> The cherry blossoms are trying to pop out but snow still fell.  Perfect opportunity then to break out with one of the key “long-life” pieces from Coach’s SS18 show, which was the weirdly weather appropriate shearling jacket inlaid with that iconic square face on the back as part of the wider Keith Haring collaboration that landed in stores a month ago.  I say “long-life” because as per the cannon of Coach’s outerwear in the Stuart Vevers era, they stand the test of time.  And not for the dull reason of “oh it’s a classic” but rather because the balance between quir ..read more

There are few instances at fashion shows, where you get to clasp your hand at your breast, audibly sigh and murmur noises of satisfaction without looking like a complete lunatic.  Thankfully at Valentino’s latest S/S 18 haute couture show, I wasn’t the only one.  To my right were a group of American clients, ready to splash their cash.  “I’ll take one of everything please,” said one.  I couldn’t tell whether she was being serious or not.  In any case, I was of course seething with jealousy.  Because of all the couture shows I’ve seen in recent memory, this was the ..read more

It has been bubbling up to a boil in industry circles for a while now.  When will a Weinstein-gate equivalent for the fashion industry burst forward, implicating photography greats Bruce Weber and Mario Testino in allegations of sexual abuse on shoots towards male models.   It was in the pipeline for so long that at one point, Steve, (my partner who works at i-D) and I would ask each other casually at dinnertime, when this NY Times story was going to break, along with when the council tax bill was going to arrive.  It’s finally out there and the darker underbelly of t ..read more

 You’re either are the type of person who is into customising or someone who just wants everything handed to them readily designed.  If you fall into the first category, then the options can sometimes feel limited, particularly for leather goods.  An initial here.  A monogram there.   Stamped on a hand tag or one pre-designated area of a bag or wallet. Coach’s customisation service began with that standard monogramming service, albeit with an ultra extensive range of emoji motifs (my current very useful card case holder bears a silver unicorn courtesy of Coach).  ..read more

Fashion month has been and gone and I have plenty to say on the collections (skip to end if you want an explanation on the scant blogging) but first up, a time-sensitive call to go and discover, admire and enthuse in a gathering of fashion talent that is collectively standing for SOMETHING other than just more “stuff”. Sarah Mower needs no introduction as an inimitable fashion writer as well but her work as a tireless champion of young fashion designers, and particularly for British talent is something that perhaps goes unnoticed in the public sphere.  Her nurturing of talent through one ..read more