The Issa woman journeys to the romantic setting of the Garden of Eden for Spring Summer 2013. One of Kate Middleton’s favourite brands, the collection brimming with bright colours, bold natural prints and feminine dresses which offers her dreamy outfits to while away those leisurely balmy evenings in. Prints have been inspired by the all-encompassing tropical leaves and plants, dotted with dazzling, colourful flowers and exotic fruits, thanks to afternoons of endless sunshine. Spot the prowling tigers and birds flying overhead; a whimsical twist to Issa’s classic and flattering shapes.
Echoing the purity of the setting, come a series of long, languid chiffon and satin dresses. Playful knitwear dresses, which are key this season, feature in jacquards of bright neon colours with extravagant floral embroidery, dusted across halter necklines and hems. Vivid brights continue into coquettish eyelet cotton voile dresses and weave front dresses.
Slip into a vibrant, exotic leaf printed pyjama suit for a stroll through paradise, for the epitome of sleek chic. Iconic dresses remain in the collection, transformed this season by asymmetric draping and fold details which disappear into the waist band with the flattering fit the Issa woman has come to expect.
Never one to shy away from a love story, SS13 delivers a collection for the Issa woman to seduce in. The bright orange and pink hued party dresses, are ideal for cocktails at sunset. We see a dramatic turn after sun down, as she slips into a polished black halter or a beautiful embroidered cocktail dress and becomes truly irresistible.
Shoes glorious shoes. Who cares what they look like? Well, everyone actually. UGG Australia the makers of the shoes that are the most comfortable IN THE WORLD have branched out into different styles. I went to see their AW13 collection at Handpicked Media’s One Aldwych Hotel suite.
Alex showed my the collection. I was incredibly impressed. UGGs have not always been thought of as fashionable but even the most discerning fashionista would find something to love in the new collection. I love the knee-high blue boots below. I was also got a pair of gorgeous ankle boots. Check out Callum from Handpicked Media’s photo below. . They are so comfy and stylish. Top marks for UGGS.
The boots are very well made. The materials are gorgeous and the designs are on trend but also timeless. With winter coming in I might even buy myself some new winter boots. I love the lining inside the boots. Guaranteed to keep you warm.
Sure Maximum Protection has revealed that out of 640 official statues in the UK, only a measly 15 per cent of them represent women!
So they invited me to take part in a bloggers challenge. They asked me to put creative skills to the test to customise the ultimate female statue.
Years ago I won a number of art competitions and have always loved drawing. I have been too busy to keep this up and also never really did paint. I have always been creative though so I took the kit that was sent to me and got to work.
I immediately made a few mistakes but managed to recover well. I am annoyed at myself for allowing my creative skills to get rusty but I just decide to paint away and go where the artistic mood took me.
In the end I have a futuristic female statue. My statue has traits that I love in my fellow women: elegant, strong, caring, ambitious, smart, fashionable, individuality.
She’s different and cool.. She’s not perfect (blame her creator) but she carries it well and is all the better for it. She has kick-ass red lipstick and smile. What else could she possible need?
Sass & Bide returned to London Fashion Week after a year’s hiatus with an explosion of intricate seed beading, fluro dipped shells, contrast binds and flickers of diamante & metal form a rich tapestry of geometric detailing
The LOVESHADY collection explores an ethereal union of gender; a romantic journey where every masculine notion finds counterbalance & softness in femininity. Silhouettes are sharp & honest and contrast the soft flow of ethereal silks, while a monochromatic palette finds fever in hot hues & metallic accents.
This season’s VIP front row included;
Mosshart/ Twiggy / Poppy Delevigne / Kelly Rowland / Lara Bohinc / Miquita Oliver / Dionne Bromfield/ Leah Wood / Quentin Jones / Peaches Geldof / Jazzy de Lisser / Sara Brajovic / Tom Hooper / Willia Keswick / Portia Freeman / Francesca Versace / Jess Mills / Shingai Shoniwa/ Jasmine Guinness/ Lliana Bird
There are three words that always get me excited: “London Fashion Week”. In fact, the only thing that makes me more excited is Handpicked media’s London Fashion Week opening party. I went along to see New Look’s new range at the One Aldwych Hotel. After getting lost and being flustered when I arrived, the amazing Debbie from Handpicked (and blogger of the excellent Life Edit) handed me a glass of wine and I had a great chat with her. I also was happy to bump into the lovely Jessica from Look What I Got and Handpicked Head Honcho Krista.
New Look has always done fun and fabulous fashion, but in recent years New Look has really upped its game. The quality of the clothing is good and so are the designs. They are also collaborating with lots of cool people like Giles Deacon, and have even teamed up with Kelly Brook to design a great range of underwear. The bra Kelly was wearing a few days before was part of the range that we saw. For those dying to know Kelly is a 32E.
The new collection is just really fab. They also have amazing jewelery and shoes. I will definitely be popping into New Look again soon. I really liked the creepers below.
New Looks jewelery range was a big hit. We were all fawning over it. Some of it is quite bling but not tacky. We were told to help ourselves to some New Look knickers which lead to a lot of amusement when we were walking about with underwear in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. On the tube on the way home I got a drink from my bag and the knickers fell out and landed on the floor of a crowded tube. Which was a little embarrassing.
I had my nails done, drank wine, met amazing people and ate canapes. Ah, that’s the life. If only every day was a fashion week day.
The Paralympics has come and gone with a bang. Leaving Londoners a little bereft as the London Games 2012 draws to a close. It has been an exciting time to live in London. Great Britain got a total of 120 medals. 34 of those were gold. Personally I loved the guy in the paralympics advert who, after listing all of the injuries he had acquired, which included broken ribs and fingers, ended the conversation with “nothing serious”.
A peak audience of 3.2 million viewers were watched Channel 4’s Paralympics coverage when David Weir won his second gold of the 2012 Games in the T54 1500m. The Paralympic Games 2012 Tonight programme, from 7.30pm through to 10.30pm was watched by an average of 2.5 million viewers, 11 percent share of the audience.
The early evening coverage of the swimming from the aquatics centre peaked with 1.8 million viewers – averaging 1.6 million viewers, 10 percent share, between 5.25pm and 7.00pm.
Afternoon coverage peaked with 1.4 million viewers – averaging 824k viewers, 11 percent share, between 1.00pm and 5.25pm.
The Paralympics coverage helped Channel 4 record an all-day share of 9.4 percent – up +35% on the 12 month average for Tuesdays.
Seven weeks after Channel 4 launched the critically acclaimed ‘Meet The Superhumans’ Paralympic trail, its sound track had taken the UK music charts by storm and forged an unexpected collaboration between hip hop legends, Public Enemy, and leading British Parlympians.
Channel 4 launched its biggest ever marketing campaign in mid-July to promote coverage of the London 2012 Paralympics with ‘Meet the Superhumans’, a 90 second long film, set to the track, ‘Harder Than You Think’ by, Public Enemy and showcasing the abilities of some of the leading UK Paralympians as they prepared for the Games.
In the weeks that followed the video went viral and ‘Harder Than You Think’, first released in 2007 and never having appeared before appeared in the Top 200, suddenly entered the UK Top 40; currently at number four on The Official UK Singles Chart and number one on the Indie Singles Top 20 Chart. ‘Harder Than You Think’ is now Public Enemy’s highest charting single to date in the UK.
Now swimmer Ellie Simmonds, wheelchair racer Hannah Cockroft, blind footballer Dave Clarke and cyclist Jody Cundy are among a host of leading British Paralympians featured in a newly cut video by Public Enemy in tribute to the London 2012 Paralympics.
The video, titled ‘Harder Than You Think – UK Paralympics Version’, blends the herculean efforts of the Paralympians preparing for the Games – filmed by Channel 4 – with the original gritty street locations and hip hop sounds synonymous with Public Enemy.
Public Enemy’s Chuck D says: “These athletes are about self-empowerment and determination. Doing what they do….is harder than ya think.”
James Walker Channel 4’s Head of Marketing says: “Public Enemy are one of the greatest hip hop acts of all time. It’s a fantastic testament to the impact of the Paralympics that we have been able to introduce new fans to their music.”
A peak audience of 7.7 million viewers watched last night’s Channel 4 coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games closing ceremony. The full closing ceremony programme from 7.00pm to 11.10pm was watched by 5.9 million viewers, 26 percent share of the television audience.
Coverage of the final day of the Paralympic Games made Channel 4 the most watched television channel across the whole day – with a total share of 16.4 percent; versus 15.9 percent share for BBC ONE and 13.4 percent share for ITV1. Channel 4 was also the most watched channel in terms of 16-34s and ABC1s.
The closing ceremony was the second most-watched moment from Channel 4’s coverage of the 2012 Paralympic Games, after the opening ceremony which peaked with 11.2 million and Jonnie Peacock’s 100m T44 win on Thursday which attracted a peak audience of 6.3 million viewers – the biggest UK audience for live Paralympic sport ever. On the same ‘thriller Thursday’ David Weir’s T54 800m gold was watched by a peak audience of 5.5 million and Hannah Cockroft’s 200m T34 win attracted a peak audience of 4.1 million. Alan Oliveira’s victory over Oscar Pistorius in the 200m T44 on Sunday was watched by a peak audience of 4.4 million viewers.
Across the Paralympics as a whole, Channel 4’s coverage reached 39.9 million people – over 69 percent of the UK population. This compares to a reach of 20.5 millon for the BBC’s coverage of the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games.
Jay Hunt, Channel 4’s Chief Creative Officer said: “Last night’s closing ceremony was a suitably spectacular end to a fantastic London 2012 Paralympic Games and I’m thrilled that, over the course of the last eleven days, Channel 4’s coverage has engaged more people than ever before in disabled sport.”
Channel 4 released new research from BDRC Continental and YouGov over the weekend which showed that two in three viewers feel more positive towards disabled people as a result of watching coverage of the Paralympic Games.
Headlines from the research include:
Two thirds of viewers (65%) feel the coverage of the Paralympics has had a favourable impact on their perceptions towards people with disabilities.1
More than four in five Adults (82%) agreed disabled athletes are as talented as able-bodied athletes, rising to 91% among those who had watched Channel 4’s coverage of the Paralympics.2
Almost two thirds of Adults (64%) agreed that the Paralympics is as good as the Olympics, rising to 79% among those who had watched Channel 4’s coverage of the Paralympics. 2
Two thirds of viewers (68%) felt the coverage of the Paralympics has had a favourable impact on their perceptions to disabled sport. 1
Around two in three viewers (69%) said this is the first time they have ever made an effort to watch the Paralympics, while half (50%) said this is the first Paralympics they have ever watched. 67% said they watched more than they expected to.1
Since 2010, as part of Channel 4’s pledge to bring Paralympic sport to a mainstream audience and add authenticity, knowledge and experience to its programming, the broadcaster has invested over £600,000 in identifying, training and developing ten new disabled presenters and reporters who have played major roles in the channel’s coverage of the 2012 Paralympic Games. 80% of viewers enjoyed the fact that there were disabled presenters on screen in Channel 4’s coverage of the Paralympics and almost three quarters of the audience (74%) agreed that they enjoyed the matter of fact discussions about disability.
Building on this, Channel 4 has committed a further £250,000 across the next two years, to both support and develop the existing disabled presenters across a range of television genres and to continue to identify new opportunities for disabled talent on-screen.
Jump on to Facebook and pledge your name in support of Trilogy’s campaign. In return, they’ll donate $1* to the Borneo Orangutan Protection Foundation. Pledge your name here, it takes seconds: http://bit.ly/Q2utJ1
Orangutans are one of our closest cousins, sharing over 98% of our DNA. Like human babies, baby orangutans cry when they’re hungry, whimper when they’re hurt and smile at their mothers.
And they’re resourceful. Did you know that orangutans make umbrellas out of leaves to shelter themselves from the rain?
Deforestation of the orangutan’s natural habitat means the leaves that form such an integral part of orangutan life are swiftly disappearing. And our beautiful, intelligent cousins are rapidly heading towards extinction.
Trilogy has been supporting orangutans in South East Asia since 2009. With your support, over $40,000 has been raised to help the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation continue their vital work.
This year, Trilogy wants to hit the $50,000 mark. You can help – simply by pledging your name.
But don’t stop there. Spread the word. We’ll donate $1* for every person who pledges
The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation works hard to rescue and rehabilitate orangutans from high-risk areas and release them into wild, protected rainforest habitats. Your support will assist the Nyaru Menteng Sanctuary, which works hard to care for over 600 orangutans.
* New Zealand currency. Maximum donation $10,000. Campaign will run until 30 September or until 10,000 pledges have been made. Rest assured – we won’t share your name with third parties. Ever.
Thursday 6th September, 3.45pm V&A Museum What does it take to create something of note?
That is what Frost went to find out. Arts & culture commentator Peter Aspden and award-winning historian Bettany Hughes were a great match together. The bounced off each other perfectly. Peter noted iconic moments in history – Elvis Presley singing Hound-dog to an actual hound dog, Michael Jackson – and Bettany, just back from a trip to Albania funded by Lord Rothschild, certainly knows her stuff. Things I found out from her during the debate: it took 18 years to build the pyramids and they were made not by slaves as is popularly thought, but by citizens of Egypt for the gods.
While Peter said we should not be beholden to the past, Bettany said: “we live with the past, it is in everything we think and do”.
It was a lively debate with lots of good questions being asked. Chivas Brothers hosted the event at the beautiful Victoria & Albert museum. Chivas Brothers certainly know about good things taking time. Their whiskey takes 20 odd years to make. I saw one bottle which was thirty years old. They started making whiskey in the 1800s. They are now in the top 3 whiskey makers in the world.
The debate also raised the point that one of the reasons a 21-year-old whiskey is such a luxury is that the moment you drink it 21-years is gone.
If whiskey does not have an age statement then it is three years old, as whiskey has to be at least three years old.
Other things I learnt:
“Did you know that most of us only live for 800 months?” A.C Grayling.
