I skipped day 3 to do some work. And went straight to day 4. Pheeewww.. day 4 was hard. Very tiring. I am very grateful that I chose to wear flats instead of heels. Went to 5 shows today. I could have seen 7 shows, but for some reason and distractions I ended up going to 5 (3 shows I ’sneaked’ in without a ticket!). First one was Bora Aksu at The natural History Museum. Again I sat at the back and could not get good pictures. from what I saw I can tell you one thing though: the leather vests rock! I love them! Especially the ones with whip looking straps attached as very unique details. The structured form of the vests were contrasted with a lot of ruffles and layers of delicate materials with a very feminine cut. Here are photos of some interesting guests.

Second show was supposed to be Armand basi at the Banqueting hall, which I very much wanted to see, but I ran into the face hunter (check out his blog at facehunter.blogspot.com + his picture below), or rather the face hunter ran into me, and we spent too long taking my pictures. So no entry. It was not a wasted trip though, as I took some pictures to show off here of the crowd.

After that I went straight to the off schedule show of Peter Pilotto. Hmm not really my taste. A more urban traveler look with a slightly tie dye hippie vibe. Not loving it. To be fair, there were some structured jackets which would be wearable.

The next one was Jens Laugesen. I was really happy that I could get in. And the show was great! I loved the androgyny look and the way he plays with streamlined structures and silhouettes. Nice! I’ll post some pictures I got of the show (not very god I’m afraid, I need a better lens and proper flash! plus steadier hands obviously) and also one guest who caught my eye.

Next to the shows in East London! As I did not have tickets, the only clue I had was the postcode from the online catwalk schedule. Fortunately the face hnter was nice enough to share his schedules with me. And I was happy to hear that Mr. Nicoll is holding his show at the Spittalfield Church. Wow my first show in a church! well.. actually my first time inside a church in London (Sss..son’t tell my mum!) Beautiful show. The surrounding actually accented the puritan looking outfits. Models with top hats reminiscent of the puritan hat with huge velvet bows strode past. Big bows were also the center point of some blazer dresses which I would love to get my hands on. I can just imagine them with a striking fluorescent tights underneath, hmmm.. Another favorite is the puritan bib short dress in a peculiar shade of blue. Yes, as you wold expect the whole collection was mostly a palette of black and white with the occasional blue. Others worth mentioning are the fabulous suits with tuxedo style lapels. Well structured with just the right touch of femininity. Below, a snap shot of the show and some guests along with one guest of the House of Holland show which I did not manage to see.

To end the night I went to the Fashion East. The first designer was Noki by JJ Hudson’s urban cowboy and cowgirl nomads. The clothes look like a collage of colorfull discarded clothes, urban artefacts and the like, weaved together for some sort of costumey sci-fi movie feel. Very entertaining I must say, especially when the first model when she walked in with her breasts exposed and with a horn in her mouth and out her head. Next came David David by David Saunders. He played with geometrical optical illusions patterns in multicolor, with just the right modesty to stop ot short of becoming too kitsch. Last was Louise Gray with her combination of simply cut shifts, cute detailng (like the four culticolored pockets on a black dress) and combination of dark and bright colors color. Unfortunately, the pictures are really bad. Sorry.. I know I could have taken some pictures from the official stie, but I prefer to use my own pictures.

As I registered quite late (one week only before the shows!) I did not get many invites for the shows. But I went anyway to Jasper conran to see if I could get in. However, no such luck. But I did manage to take a couple of shots of the guests. Unfortunately, I did not see many with a unique style. Or maybe they went in already, hmm… anyway.. Oh wait! Is that Erin O’Connor I see?

My first day at the London Fashion Week A/W 08-09. As I registered a bit too late, I only managed to score 7 invites. The first fashion show I went to was BACK by Ann-Sophie Back. Honestly, this is the first time I have heard of Ann-Sophie Back. I’m sorry to say, but back home British designers are not so popular. But from what I saw, I like!! My interpretation of the theme was seeping over at a friends house and having to dress up for party the night after. You see girls wearing boy-cut over-size blazers over dresses and tops with (it seems like) random pieces of lingerie sewn on the sleeves, hems, collars, and any other place you can think of. Interesting ideas, definitely.

However, if you are expecting to see pictures of the show itself, I am sorry but I could not get close enough to the stage to get decent ones. I will post one just for the sake of it, though. I found that the guests were more interesting to take pictures of. As you will see. Enjoy!

Quoting from WIkipedia, collective memory is a term coined by Maurice Halbwachs, separating the notion from the individual memory. The collective memory is shared, passed on and also constructed by the group, or modern society. The debate was taken up by Jan Assmann, who wrote Das kulturelle Gedächtnis (The Cultural Memory). More recently scholars such as Paul Connerton have extended the concept to include the human body as a site for the collective processes of retention and propagation of memory. Pierre Nora’s contributions to the role of place and spaces of shared memory (the “lieux de memoire” that we all inhabit) are also significant.

The human body as a site for collective memory is an interesting concept. I wonder also about clothes. Fashion as a collective memory. Hmm.. need to research more on that.

Discomfort through staring eyes
A dismantling of the self through others gaze
an experiment to create affect?