Plastic Seconds: April 2012

Saturday

Ella Dror Pr Press Day AW12

So in the beginning of April I had once again the chance to go to an Ella Dror PR Press Day. I always grab the opportunity as Ella Dror PR represents some of my favorite designers and it is such a pleasure to see their designs up close. This time the event seemed really well organised and when I arrived I was immediately approached by a girl, welcomed and offered a gorgeous tea. The Swarovski Lounge was merrily decorated - by art director Alun Davies - with Easter themed touches and humorous details such as this naked Barbie doll on a pony...

One of my favorite bits was the hattastic installation displaying the designs by one of my favourite milliners ever, Piers Atkinson. I think this season's best design is the one with the lion soft toy - genius.

Piers Atkinson AW12 at Ella Dror PR Press Day photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Next it was great to see some Charilie Le Mindu! I urge you to watch the video of his AW12 collection on the homepage of his website, it is delicious fun.

Charlie Le Mindu AW12 at Ella Dror PR Press Day photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Bernhard Willhelm was a new discovery for which I am so pleased! This man is really really talented and this photo here does not do justice to his work - though I did like this neckpiece very much - so go over to his beautiful website to see the lush way in which he puts outfits together, the way he combines them with glorious hair and make up and also the way he displays his designs in the exhibitions section.

Bernhard Willhelm AW12 at Ella Dror Pr Press Day photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Another interdisciplinary designer represented by Ella Dror PR is Margot Bowman, whose illustrations give new life to old vintage items in a cool and quirky way.

Margot Bowman AW12 - on a Scussi Gianfranco leather jacket - at Ella Dror PR press day photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Margot Bowman AW12 - on a Balenciaga jacket - at the Ella Dror PR Press Day photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Also in terms of great new discoveries, check out these gorgeous shoes by recent London College of Fashion MA Footwear graduate Vivian Ying who also just did an AW12 capsule collection for Zandra Rhodes.

Vivian Ying SS13 at Ella Dror PR press day photo by Maria Papadimitriou

I have admired art director and set designer Alun Davies for quite sometime now and here are some of his props...

Alun Davies at the Ella Dror PR press day photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Of course I also loved Alex Noble's beautiful prints on yummy catsuits. I particularly liked his A3 fold out look book with images from a simple yet great installation, so I had to scan some of it and show you.

Alex Noble AW12 print at the Ella Dror PR press day photo by Maria Papadimitirou

page from Alex Noble's AW12 look book

Fred Butler AW12 designs were there too... but I have talked a bit about my love of them in my review of her presentation in Amelia's Magazine, where you can also see better images.

Fred Butler AW12 at the Ella Dror PR press day photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Other designs that caught my attention were Jaewan Park's face piece, playing with the form and function of glasses...

Jaewan Park at the Ella Dror PR press day photo by Maria Papadimitriou

...some very interesting headwear by Void Of Course...

Void Of Course AW12 at the Ella Dror PR press day photo by Maria Papadimitriou

...Kitty Joseph accessories...

Kitty Joseph AW12 at the Ella Dror PR press day photo by Maria Papadimitriou

...and jewellery by Aqua:-)

Aqua AW12 at the Ella Dror PR press day photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Friday

Sorapol London AW12 Catwalk Show at The Old Vic Tunnels

Recently I was quite excited, for quite a few reasons, to receive an invitation to Sorapol's AW12 catwalk show at the Old Vic Tunnels. The creative director of the brand is Daniel Lismore, the venue was fantastic - embarrassingly I had never been - and I knew it would be flamboyand and over the top, just the way I like it! I wrote a review of the show in Amelia's Magazine where you can read more about the atmosphere and the inspirations behind the show, but here I am posting the photos I took as theatricality does inpire me... A little note to say that the Thai designer Sorapol Chawaphatnakul is a buddhist so I believe the fur on show was fake. Boy George was there too!

Boy George photographing another interesting looking creature

All photography by Maria Papadimitriou

My London Fashion Week A/W12 with Amelia's Magazine!

I warn you this is going to be a bit of a beast... During February's London Fashion Week I had the pleasure and the honour to write again quite a few reviews of Catwalk Shows for Amelia's Magazine. Here I wanted to share some of the photos I took from the shows and presentations as I have to admit the photography is my favourite bit - I loooooove taking the photos and editing them. I find it quite thrilling and I hope to get better at it! :-)

My favourite was Fred Butler... I felt so lucky to be at her presentation and you can read my review of it in Amelia's Magazine here.

Fred Butler AW12 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Next favourite was the AW12 collection by super sweet Inbar Spector, her show gave me goosebumps... You can read my review of her show at the Vauxhall Fashion Scout that I wrote for Amelia's Magazine here and you can see the rest of the photos I took during the show on my flickr account here.

Inbar Spector AW12 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Another show I really loved was Dans La Vie. You can read my review in Amelia's Magazine here and you can see the rest of the photos I took on my flickr account here.

Dans La Vie AW12 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

You can also head over to Amelia's Magazine to check out my A La Disposition presentation review, my interview with eco lingerie label Charini, my review of Alexandra Groover's film presentation or my review of Satoshi Date's London Fashion Week exhibition.

I also went to Ji Cheng's first London Fashion Week appearance and wrote a review in Amelia's Magazine - you can also see the rest of the photos on my flickr account here.

Ji Cheng AW12 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Another bonkers fantastic show I was annoyingly late for was Fam Irvoll! - you can see the rest of the rather bad photos I took on my flickr account here.

Fam Irvoll AW12 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

The lovely Lako Bukia presented an uber metalic collection with wonderfuly strong make up - you can see the rest of Lako's collection on my flickr account here.

Lako Bukia AW12 photo by Maria Papadimitriou - with the fabulous Pandemonia in the background!

... and PROSE also showed some gorgeous and sophisticated pieces - you can see the rest of the photos from the PROSE show on my flickr account here.

PROSE Studio AW12 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Over at Ecoluxe London, who hosted me last year, I had the pleasure to meet the lovely lovely designer duo which is Etrala London - their clothes are so well made, quirky in a totally wearable way and I think they have a bright future. Once again at Ecoluxe I could not help admiring the raincoats Supported By Rain make out of umbrellas!

Etrala London photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Supported By Rain photo by Maria Papadimitriou

The Good Fashion Show which launched this year was a bit of a disappointment and unfortunately I had to write a rather negative review in Amelia's Magazine, but I did like this endpiece made out of bubble wrap!

Another slightly disappointing London Fashion Week experience but with perks was going to Kristian Aadnevik's show whose collection was not so much to my taste... BUT it took place at the Aethenaeum Club and I was allowed to go backstage before the show and see all the preparations which took place inside the South Library, which was quite a place to see!

And finally I got a snap of the lovely Pandemonia having a break from her busy London Fashion Week schedule in her favourite caf - what a lady, she even posed for me... :-)