Shoot Gallery: ss12

My penultimate shoot for Drapers. Womenswear ss12 Missoni.

Edwin ss12

For those whose nostrils flare with pleasure at the faintest whiff of petrol (and whose eyes blink with delight when met with a shirt woven in say... a secluded French mountain mill...) then the Edwin spring 12 collection is worth a look.


The brand remains obsessed with vintage for the upcoming season and continues to be inspired by the motorbike, the need for speed and the hard wearing, rugged aesthetic that comes with such pursuits. Denim highlights include the new ED55 - a slim tapered 55which comes with Japanese selvedge and the ED80 chino - a denim styled, 5 pocket stretch twill chino in a variety of colours.


A five option shorts program comes in lightweight canvas selvage and non-selvage denims, gabardine and camouflage fabrics while knitwear is all about shawl, and fine gauge Italian indigo dyed cottons. Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh! But the shirting is from French mountain mills, where everything is developed secretly on the premises from the weave to the dye.







Just in time for the mini-heat wave Russian ad agency Stoyn has launched these icon ice creams which are a) next level and b) come in tequila and vodka flavours.

House of Holland Pre Collection!

House of Holland has made the inspired decision to launch it's first pre-collection for spring 12. A commercial and lucrative move, with a stunning Peruvian inspired collection to back it up.


Belstaff bought


British biker brand Belstaff has been snapped up by Labelux, the same Swiss firm that bought Jimmy Choo last month. According to reports the Belstaff deal went down for a cool £97.9m and Labelux has plans to build Belstaff into a major international luxury brand.
Need this dress from Whistles

GFW 2011

I visited Graduate Fashion Week yesterday to see Caryn Franklin talk on the subject of diversity in fashion and to take in the latest in up-and-coming UK design talent.

As always it was totally heartening and here are some of the standout designers at the GFW stands. 

De Montford's Catherine Williams


Bath Spa university served up some beautiful garments inspired by the creative process of constructing the garment
One of the most interesting collections came from Melanie Roughsedge.
She had developed a brand and not just a collection. The brand Militum is based on men's heritage workwear and had true commerciality.
As did ROPE the brand developed by designer and marketeer Amy Thompson which offered a comprehensive and sellable label fit for any directional menswear indie

Draw In Light

Draw in Light is a new label discovered by Liberty last year and being sold in the UK market by agency Robinson Pfeffer. The product is lovely; raw printed silks and elegant silhouettes in rich autumnal tones - but it's the branding and press material that helped get this label noticed among the reems of crap that landed on my desk yesterday. Mainly because red paint had been blown onto the envelope so it looked like there had been a horrific accident at the post office.






It's fundemental that a holistic perspective is taken when launching a brand and that the message is seamless - from hem line to look book, press release and beyond - and the little, free crystal prism, with a note from founders Harry and Polly encouraging the recipient to 'Draw In Light', was a sweet touch.