Aqua

Last Thursday saw the London launch of British fashion label Aqua's new store just off Carnaby street in Central London which I was thrilled to be invited to.

Overseen by Blow PR, the 2-storey flagship store was bursting at the seams with an enormous audience of guests and a queue around the block which included recording artists, designers, DJs, PRs, journalistis, stylists, and other industry insiders.

With a warm and personable welcome into the store, a champagne reception, portions of traditional fish & chips being handed out, and in-house DJ Lady Lloyd supplying the tuneage, the atmosphere was certainly electric and the staff's energy was seriously contagious. You could really feel the pride, excitement and hard work that had gone in to the launch and the collection itself.

Fish & Chips

London party girl and DJ, Munroe Bergdorf and Myself.

Catching up with Aqua's designer Ryan Holliday- Stevens and Brand Manager Laura Taylor

(wearing a floor-length Aqua creation, of course).

Recording artist Paloma Faith

Celebrity stylist Chris Léger and jewellery designer Dacey Hutton

And now - to the clothes!

A jumpsuit Tyra would be proud to wear.

The collection is a perfect blend of modernity and sophistication. This brand is exciting, fashion forward, beautifully made and yet still very wearable - a hard feat to accomplish when trying to stand out.

Aqua has established itself as a brand to watch and the brand's success is only going to snowball from here on in. I managed to get a sneak peek behind the scenes to look at future designs, mood boards and cuttings made by the designer and I can assure you that there's lots more creativity and innovation to come in the approaching seasons. (I, understandably, got into quite a bit of trouble for taking pictures backstage, but I assured the team that the pictures are for my eyes only - sorry!).

Aqua's ability to remain simple and classic whilst still being progressive and current will ensure it's future success, and it's desirability will only increase as the brand blossoms and continues to grow.

For more information visit - www.aquabyaqua.com

(Event pictures, courtesy of Rob Low. Pictures of clothes taken by me).

AIU Graduate Show

This weekend I attended a rather glitzy affair near Regent's Park. It was the American Intercontinental University's Graduate Fashion Show. The venue was stunning, with a welcoming champagne reception and exhibition on up-and-coming local media businesses.

The show, although not ground-breaking, definitely showed promise and innovation from the student designers.

Fatema Al Fardan's models sported an array of metal head pieces and face masks, with heavy draping and flowing material - clearly influenced by Eastern religion and culture.

Other designers that caught my attention were Lulu Vasquez who's collection sprang the terms "Harlequin", "Lady Gaga" and "S&M" to mind.

Amber Simon's collection harked back to old China and the Forbidden city. Her historically inspired garments combined sumptuous antique-looking attire with subtle but modern techniques. It was tradition meets innovation and a very cohesive collection.

The stand-out collection for me however came from Michelle Teckchand. Her modernisation and glamorisation of simple, classic sportswear somehow uplifting. Models were seen carrying gym bags, tennis rackets and walking with their arms adorned with iPods. With plenty of draping, stretchy material and even the odd Adidas style stripes on some garments, teaming your gym clothes with jewellery and heels may soon become de rigueur.

Cardboard Love

I recently stumbled across the website cardboardlove.com and I've become somewhat addicted. Both innocent and romantic the charming little notes left by the creator for their partner are simple and so endearing . On making the website they say "In general, I am a pretty negative person. This project has been a chance for me to focus on the positive for a change." - a mantra that highly resonates with yours truly.

Here are some of my favourites from the website -

Fade To Grey

Finally managed to get round to watching the BBC docu-drama "Worried About The Boy" about Boy George's rise to fame and drug-fuelled demise.

I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it, the music, the styling and photography were beautiful. It seemed authentic and unpretentious. It also made the song "Fade To Grey" by Visage get stuck in my head for an obscene amount of time, which was surprisingly enjoyable.

A New Romantic revival please?

I also realised that I'm slightly in love with Douglas Booth, who played George.

I read somewhere that he's 18 years-old which is mildly horrifying, but he looks older... so it's ok.

Don't push.

I can't remember where I found this image,

but I need these door handles in my life.

Obamarama

Dear Michelle Obama's stylist,

Well done.

Fashion In Motion

Last week I interned for the production team over at Bacchus PR. I was a dresser for the Fashion In Motion exhibition at the V&A Museum, and worked four Osman Yousefzada shows and had a blast. Osman was so courteous and grateful too!

My models were Paige Young and Tokumbo at Models 1 and Rachel Blais at Premier Model Management who were a pleasure to work with. (Particularly Rachel, who sneaked away with my friend Amy and I for a good old bitch about life and to discuss yoga, Japan and shoes, of course).

Below are some cheeky snaps I managed to take on my BlackBerry. Excuse the quality, the lighting was awful, my BlackBerry doesn't have a flash, and I was in a rush.

The runway

The accessories table with neckpieces, headpieces and sunglasses.

A £1500 sequinned straight jacket that I had to dress on Paige.

The stone-studded blue suede platform wedges that everyone wanted to take home.

Walking around the museum I was taken aback by the architecture.

Living in the V&A would be pleasurable.

Gimme Mohr

The inclusion of Cole Mohr in my previous post got me hungry for more - enjoy.

LoveFool

Dries Van Noten's Spring/Summer 2010 Menswear collection was just a little bit to die for. I managed to find THE cardigan (shown above modelled by Cole Mohr) in Selfridge's, one left in my size, retailing for a mere £235.

Ouch.

I thought to myself "Well perhaps if I try it on, I won't like it, at least then I can put it out of my mind". It of course not only fitted me perfectly, but turned out to be everything I wanted and more.

Below is a candid snap of myself wearing it in the changing rooms of Selfridge's... the only reminder I have of myself wearing something of that calibre.

(Excuse the awkwardly drawn smiley face and the scribble. My face decided to look like a foot in the picture).

A lust for trust.

Lauren Conrad once said about Los Angeles -

“Living in this town I've realized one thing....like everyone and trust no one”

- the same can most definitely be said about London.

Here's some shoe porn to liven the mood, anything that combines fashion and romance is worthy of my attention.

The start of something new.

In September of 2009 I moved to London (for the second time) to study Fashion Public Relations at the London College of Fashion.

After a.... turbulent few months I have found myself at a standstill.

I got swept away pretty badly, pretty quickly. I had relationships that weren't good for me, and was part of a social scene that wasn't exactly the healthiest. I completely lost my sense of self. I have therefore, decided to document my progress, kind of a road to recovery. I have also decided to dedicate this blog to sharing my two greatest passions in life - fashion and love.

I have realised recently what is truly important in life, who and what I need. I feel that with my recent epiphany, I am on the brink of something positive. Too much shit has happened to me the past few years and I can just feel something good on the horizon which is why I think now is a good time to start a blog, something I've been meaning to do for quite some time.

I'm just another hot mess trying to get back on track.

Wish me luck.

Jack.