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ST FaShIoN Spring / Summer 2011

bright and beautiful

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CHLOE BOUTIQUES

152-153 Sloane Street

london SW1

SelfridgeS

400 oxford Street

london W1a 1ab

www.chloe.com

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contents 15

giampaolo sgura; giles deacon photographed

by sølve sundsbø/art + commerce

Spring / Summer 2011

70

66

Dress, from £1,537,

Halston. Gold

collar and cuff (left

wrist), both price

on application,

Robert Lee Morris.

Gold cuff (right

wrist), from £69,

Kenneth Jay Lane.

Shoes, £1,100,

Gianmarco Lorenzi

21 front row The minimal-maximal clash

at the spring/summer 11 shows could have

resulted in fashion confusion. Luckily, says

Sarah Mower, we were lef with grown-up

clothes with a sense of childish fun

26 coveted When it comes to haute footwear,

Miuccia Prada has achieved a hat-trick

with her mismatched, mash-up shoe

28 one to watch The simple, wearable clothes

with exquisite finishing Guillaume Henry

is creating for Carven are the talk of Paris

34 trend This summer will see an explosion

of colour bright enough to make even Paul

Gauguin shield his eyes

36 ballet The pas de deux fashion is dancing

with ballerina style this season is particularly

strong when it comes to flat shoes

38 sunglasses As sun-sensible as they’re

stylish, larger-than-life, statement shades

are still in the frame

41 artefact Paco Rabanne’s revolutionary

chain-mail bag gets a timely revamp

42 guide The seasonal keynote: a dress.

Choose from peasant, floral, Seventies,

Forties, lacy and more…

44 beauty This season, there’s a new take on

no-make-up make-up, thanks to high-tech

products that protect as they perfect

48 Yohji Yamamoto Three decades afer

overthrowing Western assumptions about

fashion, the Japanese master of the cuting

edge is celebrated with a V&A retrospective

52 accessories Construct your wardrobe with

building-block brights on a neutral foundation

56 the scarlet woman Bold shades of red

and orange clash and compete in a display

of feminine strength

66 the British invasion Despite the fall of

Galliano at Dior, home-grown talent is found

at major fashion houses around the world

70 let’s go round again The glamour and

decadence of disco is back. Don’t blame it on

the recession. Don’t blame it on the zeitgeist.

Blame it on the boogie

81 stockists The ST Fashion directory

82 heroine Explorer and adventurer Bonita

Norris explains how aviatrix and feminist

icon Amy Johnson inspired her

RALPHRalph Lauren Collection

R A L P H L A U R E N C O L L E C T I O N . C O M

View the Runway Show and go behind the scenes with the Ralph Lauren application on your iPhone™ or visit N O 1 NEW BOND STREET 105 -109 FULHAM ROAD 233 WESTBOURNE GROVE

contributors18

Kate Shapland is beauty editor of the Telegraph Magazine, and has recently

received an Achiever’s Award from the Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW)

organisation for services to the business. She has writen about beauty for 25

years, having started her career at Harpers & Queen. She is Heart FM’s ‘voice of

beauty’, edits The Leg Room blog, and is currently developing a career-long

product ambition that will launch in 2012. She and her husband, Ben Scot

Thomas, live in London and are looked afer by two black Scoties.

Bonita norriS made history last year when she became the youngest British

woman to climb Mount Everest, aged 22. Formerly a disability assistant from

Berkshire who had never climbed a mountain before, she has since become an

ambassador for the Global Angels Foundation, for whom she speaks to children

and teens about her Everest experience, and the benefits of taking on the great

outdoors. In this issue of ST Fashion Bonita talks about her heroine, the

pioneering British aviator Amy Johnson.

CoCo roCha is a Canadian model who was scouted by an agent at an Irish

dancing competition in 2002. Five years later she opened the Jean-Paul Gaultier

fashion show by céilí dancing down the runway – American Vogue dubbed this the

‘Coco moment’. See ST Fashion’s own Coco moment on page 70. ‘We had a wonderful

team on the shoot. I find it easier to move when photographers let me play my iPod

and Alex Cayley was gracious enough to do so. Hairdresser Rolando Beauchamp

and I had a good old time singing along to Eartha Kit and Shirley Bassey!’

Giampaolo SGuro is a photographer from Puglia, the most southern part of

Italy. He studied architecture at university for five years before making the jump

to photography, with a shoot for Italian Glamour marking his industry debut. He

has gone on to shoot for Vanity Fair and various editions of Vogue; as well as

photographing adverts for the likes of Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana and Cavalli. He names

Avedon, Penn and Meisel as his masters, and has just completed his first short

film for designer Francesco Scognamiglio. Giampaolo lives and works in Milan.

BarBara metz and eve raCine met as students while studying for degrees in

photography at the London College of Communication. Afer graduation, Barbara

set up her own practice and Eve went on to pursue a MA at the Royal College of

Art. It wasn’t until 2000 that the pair founded their eponymous photographic

studio, Metz + Racine. The duo are known for their ‘not so still’ still life

photography – see their renowned dynamism and sense of fun on ST Fashion’s

accessories shoots, throughout the magazine.

EDITORIAL

editor Joanne Glasbey

executive editor Peter Howarth

assistant editor Sarah Deeks

Chief sub editor Chris Madigan

Sub editors Sarah Evans, Tanya

Jackson, Gill Wing

DESIGN

Senior art director Ciara Walshe

Senior designers Dominic Bell,

Helen Delany

picture editor Juliette Hedoin

Creative director Ian Pendleton

FASHION

Fashion director Daniella Agnelli

Fashion assistant Aurelia Donaldson

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Hilary Alexander (Fashion)

Ruth Griffin (Accessories)

Kate Shapland (Beauty)

COMMERCIAL (UK)

executive director Dave King

publishing director

Toby Moore 020 7931 3350

director of fashion and luxury

Carley Ayres 020 7931 3328

COMMERCIAL (ITALY)

K.Media Srl

Via Cavalieri Bonaventura, 1/3

20121 Milan, Italy

+39 02 29 06 10 94; kmedianet.com

SHOW MEDIA 020 3222 0101

Ground Floor, 1-2 Ravey Street,

London EC2A 4QP

info@showmedia.net

www.showmedia.net

Printed by St Ives Web Ltd (stivesweb.com)

Colour reproduction by fmg (wearefmg.com)

ST Fashion is designed and produced by

SHOW MEDIA LTD for the Telegraph Media

Group. All material © Show Media Ltd and

Telegraph Media Group. Reproduction in

whole or part without written permission is

strictly prohibited. While every effort is made

to ensure the accuracy of the information

contained in this publication, no responsibility

can be accepted for any errors or omissions.

The information contained in this publication

is correct at the time of going to press.

On the cover:

Orange cotton

dress, £595,

Prada.

Photography:

Alex Cayley.

Fashion editor:

Mika Mizutani

ww

w.d

ior.

co

m

IllustrationJulia Pelzer

front row 21

The hemline crashed. Trousers strode in. Colour fizzed and shoes calmed down. Everybody started talking

about the Seventies, and – strangest sensation of all – actually started to have a good time.

These are the main points I took away from the spring shows, as simplistic as that sounds. Now

I think of it, the whole thing was really like watching a 28-day tussle between minimalism and maximalism,

which was molto entertaining. It ended in an unexpected set of results: good clean shapes, but garnished

The minimalist/maximalist

clash has reached détente,

says Sarah Mower: grown-up

clothes with a playful touch

adultcontent

Dress, £690, and

sombrero, £460,

Prada, spring/

summer 2011

The backlash

wasn’t angry

in any detectable

way – it was

sophisticated,

urbane, knowing

and playful.

Short was dead

with bold, delicious, decadent extras. Minimal-maximal. I know that sounds like annoying

fashion nonsense, but hear this: I, a woman of normal proportions and sensible age, came

away knowing what I want to wear. I liked what accessories were doing. I loved the fact

that it seemed no big deal that models of all ages were walking side by side in so many

shows. Most importantly, from the point of view of morale, designers suddenly came to

their senses and remembered that fashion should be fun.

On the minimal-modernist side, we have Céline, Botega Veneta, Calvin Klein and

the like. On the maximal-retro team, the heavy hiters: Tom Ford, who has re-emerged in

women’s fashion, and the mercurial Marc Jacobs both throwing us deliriously back to the

Seventies. And then, perhaps even more interestingly, there were the piggies in the middle:

the ones who zigzagged their ways to individualistic, bright, zingy stripes and paterns on

ultimately quite simple and wearable clothes; that minimal-maximal thing I was talking

about. I’m counting Prada, Jil Sander and Christopher Kane among the principals here.

Now, to work out why this huge surge of energy and innovation should have

unleashed at this particular round of shows, we need to cast our memories back to what

fashion people were going on about last autumn. OK – not hard. It was Mad Men and

the return of the bosom, you’ll recall. That dominated endless reams of discussion,

though I have to confess I didn’t see many of us going round in conical bras and circle

skirts when it came to it. The other thing was the reappearance of Phoebe Philo at Céline.

It was Céline-mania that really took off, causing a pandemic of beige tailoring and geting

every competitor really ratled, because fashion editors not only wrote so rapturously

about Philo, and endlessly photographed Céline clothes, bags and shoes, but actually went

out and spent their own money on them. The Philo

phenomenon was evident at the shows: every day

there were more women walking around wearing the

stuff – flaunting it in each others’ faces, in fact.

And I think this secretly really got to other

designers. It put a firework under them. Because

everyone was forced to take a position on how to

react to a collection that had celebratedly revived

minimalist daywear and the sort of clothes that

look good on women over 35. This must have been

a bit sobering for the hordes of labels still turning

out short, tight cocktail dresses suitable only for

a 6f 18-year-old – and even that was no longer

guaranteed, because suddenly, she was looking

ridiculously out of date.

So, for designers pondering what to do for

spring, there were only two paths to take: either

you used Céline as a guiding light while navigating

yourself into some kind of personal expression

along similar lines, or you decided, nope, you’d rage

against beige and all its works. Either way, Céline

was the catalyst. It got things moving, in a good way.

The backlash wasn’t angry in any detectable

way, though. It was sophisticated, urbane, knowing

and playful, and it referenced the Seventies – a time

only the seriously grown-up, such as Tom Ford (born

1961) and Marc Jacobs (born 1963), can remember.

Now, I think there’s more to this than the nervy

decade-hopping to which fashion is so prone – Forties

one season, late Fifies/early Sixties the next, then

Seventies. Although no one’s talking about the Fifies

or Mad Men this season, and the clothes in their

literal form didn’t get worn much, what has carried

over is that these were clothes for women, not

teenagers. Whether you were tempted to wear those

pencil skirts and dirndls or not, just looking at them

effectively pulled the hemline down. Short was dead.

Now there had to be another solution, different

proportions – but only if a woman could wear them.

I’m prety sure that’s how Ford and Jacobs

both ended up thinking about the early Seventies –

front row22

Silk/cotton dress,

£2,280, Marc Jacobs,

spring/summer 2011

the moment when the mini crashed, ‘midis’ came

in and, to avoid having to choose between the two,

women started wearing trousers instead. What’s

more, the escapist decadence of the time finds its

perfect parallel in the current zeitgeist.

The Seventies, of course, are Tom Ford’s

favourite decade – he ransacked them for inspiration

in his Gucci and Saint Laurent years – but this time,

he approached it by casting the fashion goddesses

of the era in his show. Marisa Berenson and Lauren

Huton, both in their sixties, walked insouciantly

alongside friends who included Julianne Moore

and Rita Wilson, both now in their fifies, as well

as Rachel Feinstein and Daphne Guinness, in their

forties, and so on, all the way down to the teenage

models Karlie Kloss and Joan Smalls. The clothes,

from the tailored three-piece trouser-suits to the

long, fringed dresses, were, if not pure Seventies,

then certainly an idealised version of it – and were

slung about with rock-crystal pendants and

bracelets, which I can guarantee will initiate a run

on jewellery of that period.

Both Marc Jacobs’ eponymous show and

his collection for Louis Vuiton were also Seventies-

inspired, evoking images of Grace Coddington,

Jerry Hall, Marie Helvin, Jodie Foster, and those

glossy magazine pages circa 1972 to 1977 – the

prolific period that began with glam rock and ended

with disco. Plenty of designers who couldn’t possibly

remember the decade had also picked up the vibe,

in all likelihood because they’d paid a visit to the

Yves Saint Laurent exhibition at the Petit Palais

in Paris last summer. Allusions to Saint Laurent’s

knife-pleated silk skirts turned up in collections

by Stella McCartney, Peter Piloto and Aquilano

Rimondi. In all three cases, the designers had used

the template to lengthen their skirts – but every one

of them had also put slashes in them, to show leg,

thus reassuring young women, who are so used to

having their legs out, that there’s no need to give

it up overnight. Combine the skirt with a tailored blazer, perhaps sling on a chain belt and

you have a modish, feminine look.

Detectable within this tendency is a pull toward the rich-hippy, Marrakech-bound

fantasy. It’s there at full throtle in Pucci, where Peter Dundas cut sexy, flounced swirly-

printed maxi-dresses, fringed suede shirts and flares. More subtly, it’s also embedded

in collections you’d never accuse of ethnic references. Preen used Islamic tile paterns

as inspiration for paterns on long, contemporary-style chiffon skirts and, even at Céline

– supposedly the home of all that is pure and modern – there were definite undertones

of Moroccan handicraf in shaggy waistcoats and, again, tile prints, which in this case,

appeared on silk pyjama pants.

But what if your goat is really got by the Seventies? What if retro in any form

annoys the hell out of you? Fortunately, there are plenty of designers who have no truck

with looking back – but they’re in a good mood, too. If I were looking for the antidote

to ‘reference’, I’d go straight to Prada and Jil Sander, where graphically cut dresses and

separates are saturated in vivid, eye-popping colour and ofen done up in cheerful broad

stripes of pink, orange, red, electric blue, yellow and Kelly green. Too much, you cry?

Oh, don’t be a spoilsport. As always, the way to indicate a knowledge of what’s going on

is to do it with an accessory. Something as small as a tiny clutch bag is enough. Make it

ice-lolly orange or magenta – something wild. Now that fashion’s back on form at last,

it’d be a pity not to take away a souvenir.

Sarah Mower contributes to Vogue and also writes the catwalk reviews for Condé Nast’s

style.com website

front row24

The clothes, from

the tailored three-

piece trouser-suits

to the long, fringed

dresses, were, if

not pure Seventies,

then an idealised

version of it

Leopard-print jacket,

¤3,570, and trousers,

¤1,330, Tom Ford,

spring/summer 2011

For all enquiriescontact Hermès on020 7499 8856

Hermes.com

Hermès ,contemporary ar t i san

s ince 1837.

Giant scarf

in summer twill.

When colours meet inspiration

WordsRuth Griffin

PhotographyMetz + Racine

Fashion stylist: Jane howard. ProP stylist: Vincent oliVieri

‘It’stimetobebold,’saysMiucciaPradaofthisseason’sdesigns.Andwhatbetter

waytodosothanwiththisvamped-upversionofherclassicMiuMiuMary-Janeshoes? Miuccia is fashion’s

greatest matchmaker, seamlessly combining eras and styles, textures and finishes to create something new and

startlingly different every season. these do just that, working fetish straps, the daintiness of a twenties dancing

shoe and shocking-pink leather in ways that are a delight to behold. they’re bold and they’re beautiful...

Ankle boot, £610, Miu Miu; miumiu.com

mélange à trois

coveted26

bigis betterAutumn hairstyles are an triumphs volume

WordsXXXXXXXX

one to watch28

‘I’m interested in creating effortless, fresh-in-spirit

clothes available at democratic prices,’ says Guillaume

Henry. The 32-year-old Frenchman is creative

director of Carven, the fashion-forward but affordable

label which has caused a buzz in Paris. He is quick

to state that the clothes are manufactured in

Hungary, not France. ‘Carven isn’t a luxury brand

and that’s why we can do that.’ Henry’s frank

admission defines revolutionary in a high-fashion

Paris obsessed with ‘made in France’. Yet he has

turned his honesty and talent into a magic formula

which avoids high street comparison and is worn by

hipsters such as Alexa Chung.

As Carven’s stiff white rectangular bags

steadily stream out of Carven’s new flagship store

on Rue Saint Sulpice into the elegant Lef Bank

area and beyond, esteemed fashion insiders are full

of enthusiasm. Net-a-Porter’s Natalie Massenet

says, ‘Guillaume Henry and Carven are part of the

must-know, must-wear commandments for any

stylish girl: shrunken short suits, boxy-cut jackets,

Carven’s Guillaume

Henry garners praise for his customer-friendly

simplicity, but there is magic in his clothes

WordsNatasha Fraser-Cavassoni

PhotographyMathieu Zazzo

mister normal

prim-lady blouses, bow-backed pumps.’ Averyl Oates

from Harvey Nichols describes ‘the simplicity of

pieces that flater the wearer without overwhelming’,

conjuring up ‘Parisian chic updated with unexpected

details’. And LVMH consultant Jean-Jacques Picart

explains Henry’s appeal: ‘Guillaume is normal –

which is exactly what we want right now,’ he says.

Tall and good-looking, with an angular face

and grey eyes that resemble the youthful Yves Saint

Laurent, Henry appears ‘normal’ but is too charismatic

to go unnoticed. When he strides into the sales room,

women suddenly smile and models hover eagerly.

Henry cannot resist troting through next season’s

collection, which is unavailable for months, pointing

out the versatility of a black crepe dress – ‘the neckline

can be worn two ways,’ he says – or a new line of

‘wearable’ preppy-inspired platforms and ‘the exquisite

hand finishing’ on a winter coat’s cuff; dresses and

coats being Carven’s winter bestsellers.

According to Carven’s owner Henri Sebaoun,

Henry has the right to such confidence. ‘Guillaume’s

first collection was in 2009,’ he says. ‘And now

Carven is available in 35 countries and sold in the

best boutiques such as Colete and 10 Corso Como.’

The fashion house was founded by Carmen

de Tommaso in 1945 – her vision being unfussy

sporty styles designed by a woman for women.

For the past 30 years it has been a ‘sleeping beauty’

brand, best remembered for its Ma Griffe scent.

Born near Dijon to a teacher mother and banker

father, Henry always wanted to design. ‘At eight,

I made clothes for my cat.’ Afer fashion college,

Henry joined Givenchy’s studio in 2002 and

three years later lef for Paule Ka, a successful

mid-market brand. At Givenchy, Henry says, he

learnt about the importance of ‘timeless quality’

whereas Paule Ka taught him ‘about the client’.

Both places prepared him for Carven.

Henry’s professionalism and lack of airs,

on the other hand, make him universally popular.

‘He doesn’t view himself as an artistic director who

ignores sales,’ says Sebaoun. ‘He realises he needs

to please both buyers and clients.’ Only women

work in Henry’s creative studio and although he

admits to being ‘occasionally obstinate’, he does

listen. Case in point, Carven’s rising hems. ‘Afer

the fourth time I heard the remark that they were

too short, I realised, OK, I am not Mary Quant!’

carven.fr

Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni writes for the International

Herald Tribune and Vogue

‘Nafea faa ipoipo/WheN are you GettiNG Married?’ by paul GauGuiN, used With perMissioN froM the rudolph staecheliN faMily

fouNdatioN, basel, sWitzerlaNd/the bridGeMaN art library; coNdÉ Nast archive/corbis; bettMaNN/corbis; 4 corNers iMaGes.coM

trends34

Colour floods the catwalks this season

as we prepare to embrace a vivid, bold new world

There’s a wave of colour coursing through fashion

at the moment so bright and so bold it could make

your retinas burn. The colour surge is fashion

shorthand for dynamism, bravado and, above all,

fun. And it feels so new, so exciting as – let’s face

it – we have been dressing in a sea of ‘serious’

stealth-wealth monotones in tune with our austere

times, and in utility-chic shapes. Fun has not really

been on the agenda. But now the energy has been

re-channelled towards a trend for simple, pure

designs but in all manner of colour combinations,

from head-to-toe hues to subtler saffron, jade and

ochre, bubblegum brights, and at the far reach of

the scale, glowing, punkish fluorescents. NB: black

is not in the line-up.

These shades have been applied with the

artfulness of Matisse or Gauguin in mesmerising

mixes that excite the senses – both the eye as well

as the mind. In the process of developing the

spring/summer collections, designers seem to have

become enthralled by exotic adventures. Many

have paid homage to Yves Saint Laurent’s

Moroccan retreat, the Majorelle Gardens, with bold

blooms and palms backdropped by brilliant blue

walls and desert backgrounds.

Saint Laurent was a master colourist,

ofen combining three colours in hypnotic mixes

of emerald, sapphire and bronze, or, of course, his

signature pink, black and orange. Other designers,

such as Raf Simons at Jil Sander, escaped to the

lab to pore over dye and saturation formulae,

concocting exclusive shades worthy of our

investment. The saturation – ie the strength and

depth of tone – is absolutely key. Luxury colour

creates a kind of halo; cheaper tones seem to

bounce from the surface.

Gucci’s collection had a decidedly retro-

glamour air as Frida Giannini cut slippery silk

satin into pyjama suits in peacock, emerald and

teal. Giannini finished the pieces with distinctive

accessories, such as gold leather tassel belts,

heeled sandals and clutch bags. ‘I was inspired

by a trip to Morocco,’ says the designer of her

choice of colours, which drip with a certain Studio

54 decadence. ‘Vivid colours, used with a relaxed

silhouete to evoke an exotic elegance.’ The

collection nods to a generation of women who

allthingsbright

Left: the vivid hues

of paul Gauguin’s

painting. Below,

from left: louis

vuitton, christopher

Kane and Jonathan

saunders, all s/s11

WordsHarriet Quick

thrilled in dressing like fireflies to literally dazzle

under then-novel disco-ball lights.

The sheer glamour synonymous with

colour is an aspect that Marc Jacobs amped to the

max in his Louis Vuiton collection, where

impeccably made-up models – all gloss lips, fine

denier tights and lacquered hair – slinked down the

catwalk in jewel-toned cheongsams. Jacobs

revisited the time in the late Seventies when we

were enthralled by orientalism both in interiors and

in fashion. Afer so much serious-minded fashion,

Jacobs revelled in the unashamed camp, glam and

gloss of the era. He talks about ‘strong, almost

vulgar colour combinations’ – by which he refers

to rich purple with orange and blue orchid prints

or lacquer red and sunshine yellow. These

combinations are rich with associations to play

with. I remember the oriental Eighties, falling in

love with the video for David Bowie’s ‘China Girl’

and finding an embroidered import jade green

cheongsam in a Chinatown store, a bright red pair

of stiletos and carmine red lips. In my mid-teens,

the effect was uterly sluty and therefore all the

more thrilling. In his own collection, Jacobs married

sorbet shades in gypsy dresses and Prety Baby

pieces like satin dungarees with orchid flowers

tucked behind ears. In short, exotic.

But colour can, of course, be highly

romantic. Take Salvatore Ferragamo’s gypsy skirts

and crop peasant blouses in jades, terracota and

ochre that win not only in the intensity of colour

but in the sheer expanse of gently pleated fabric.

Designer Massimiliano Giorneti even gives his

colours a certain pedigree and class in the naming.

He talks about ‘burnt sienna, sage, jade,’ which

imply Bohemian elegance.

How to make fluoros sophisticated and

wearable? Take a cue from Raf Simons, who

fashioned couture-style long evening skirts in

stand-and-stare fluoros married with simple white

T-shirts. Suddenly a bright orange evening skirt

becomes the epitome of elegance, not something one

would mistakenly buy in a jet-lagged haze. An

option for the office? Try his rich purple suiting

in featherlight immaculately tailored suits.

Some designers are natural colourists:

most effective when applied with wit. Who’d have

thought that Christopher Kane and Jonathan

Saunders, coming from grey, overcast Scotland would

have such a handle on hue? Kane applied bright

colour to conservative pieces – imagine boxy jackets

and kick-pleat skirts – but cut from shiny lace

leather. He trimmed a tatoo print-crepe with tiny

ribbon trims of fluoro ribbon. Kane remembers his

sister and friends going out in Glasgow in

screaming bright punkish neons as a teenager and

that sense of rebel undercuts his aesthetic; his first

collection on graduating from St Martins consisted

of neon bandage dresses. In February he won the

prestigious BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund 2011

award, worth £200,000.

Fellow Scot Jonathan Saunders cut his teeth

as a print maker and his subtle coloration of chalky

tangerines, limes, dove greys and blues is simply

breathtaking on his flower- and leaf-paterned

cotons for spring/summer. And it’s conveniently

easy to wear as well, in skater-style skirts and

box-fresh-look coton shirts.

Orange is one of the big ‘it’ colours for the

season. To be more accurate, a shade of tangerine.

It looks great with black (see the YSL tie-front

blouse and flippy coton skirt) and with glossy

tanned limbs. Orange is known to excite the

appetite and stir the senses, hence its prevalent

use in fast food restaurants and in salad garnishes

(carrots). In terms of what works with what, there

are no rules – be as bold as you want to go. Colour

can be a splash (try Miu Miu neon flash heels, or

jewels and bangles) a head-to-toe look such as a

silk T-shirt and skirt or an incendiary mix with

accessories to boot. Designer Louise Gray pulls this

off with aplomb with her artsy punky look topped

with fluorescent make-up. De trop? Try Tom Ford’s

lovely Ginger Fawn lipstick.

The fun to be had! Start with your favourite

colours, a box of crayons and some paper and play

until you find the combinations you like. It’s a fine

way to brighten up a day.

Harriet Quick is fashion features director of Vogue

Suddenly a bright orange evening skirt becomes the epitome of elegance, not something one would buy in a jet-lagged haze

Clockwise from left:

deborah harry at

studio 54 in 1979;

ysl s/s11; ysl’s

Majorelle Gardens

in Morocco;

Gucci and ysl,

ss/11; 1971

fashion shoot;

Miu Miu pink

bag, s/s11

a serious bun, and she’d scream at us. I’d

like to go back and do it again.’

Of course, for most, being a

dancer remains just a dream, but dreams

are potent things and it is this that Italian

luxury leather-goods label Tod’s has been

smart enough to recognise and tap into.

The bash in Beijing is being staged by the

luxury accessories house to celebrate its

recently signed partnership with Teatro

alla Scala and promote its wares in the

all-important new Chinese market.

‘We needed to find a way to

show exactly what “Made in Italy” means,’

explains Diego della Valle, president and

owner of Tod’s. ‘The emotion, passion and

commitment to keeping alive the skills and

traditions that lie at the heart of our culture

is unique. Our products are all handmade

in Le Marche, the traditional leather-working

region of Italy, this partnership illustrates how

artistry, attention to detail and creativity all

combine to create something very special.’

The solution came in the form of

a collaboration between Tod’s and a great

Italian institution. Teatro alla Scala,

coming to the point

Words Peter Howarth

After the success of Black Swan and the sight of roll-up pumps at after-show parties, ballerina style is prima

‘If I could’ve been anything, I would have

loved to have been a ballet dancer.’ It’s

not the kind of declaration you’d expect

from a punky 23-year-old with a nose stud

and tattoos. But Alice Dellal, model and

drummer in the rock band Thrush Metal is

a big ballet fan. ‘My sister got to work en

pointe, but I gave up. Dancers have to put

in so much work and effort. When I can’t

sleep, I watch clips of the Russian ballet

companies on my computer.’

We are in Beijing in a car travelling

to a performance of two principal dancers

from Teatro alla Scala in Milan, who are

presenting a new pas de deux created by

the theatre’s young choreographer,

Gianluca Schiavoni, especially for this

event. In the back seat are two more

members of Thrush Metal, and a straw

poll of these young women reveals that

ballet is something they all have in common.

Isabella Ramsay (guitar) studied it in

junior school, though she was a ‘massive

tomboy’, and Emma Chitty (bass) took

classes for five years: ‘Our teacher was

typically French and wore her hair in

36

Clockwise from left:

Ballerina styling from

Chanel’s S/S11 collection;

the Teatro alla Scala

workshop in Ansaldo,

Italy; prima ballerina

Sabrina Brazzo at the

Forbidden City, Beijing

DaviD Slijper/Trunk archive; STefano GuinDani; ellioTT erwiTT

One high street retailer reported that flats were outselling heels by three to one early this year

inaugurated in 1778, is the spiritual home

of ballet in Italy. The result of the joint

venture is a short conceptual film, An

Italian Dream, which interprets through

dance the actions of shoemakers. The

clever blend of art and artisanship is

something that transcends language and

culture – the Chinese celebrities and

press assembled in Beijing for the

screening and accompanying live

performance were clearly impressed.

There’s no doubt that ballet is

having a moment. As well as Darren

Aronofsky’s Black Swan, which has

costumes designed by Rodarte, both Chanel

and McQueen showed tutu-influenced

silhouettes and fabrics for this season.

You haven’t been able to open a glossy

magazine over the past few months without

seeing a fashion shoot paying homage to

the art. Even Lladró, the Spanish porcelain

manufacturer, has launched a collection

of miniature ballet-themed figurines.

But, of all things associated with

ballet dancers, it is what they wear on

their feet that seems to resonate most. In

Noel Streatfeild’s family favourite, Ballet

Shoes, one of the young heroines wistfully

spies on a class of older girls: ‘Pauline

watched the figures through the glass, the

rows of white practice dresses, and the

rows of pink canvas ballet shoes.’

Gianluca Schiavoni describes the

attitude of the ballerina to her point shoes

as being like a fetish, because the

connection is so strong: ‘It’s like a drug –

without them, you can’t do what you love

to do. You can’t do what is important in

your life. You can’t dance. The shoe is like

another foot, a continuation of your leg –

it is not merely a tool for the job. I have

seen many dancers cry because they

don’t have the right shoes.’

It’s something that anyone who

has spent hours perfecting first position

will recognise. Hollywood actress Marisa

Tomei, also in Beijing for the Tod’s event,

confesses to having studied the full range

of dance – ‘ballet, tap, modern, jazz’.

What’s more, she says, in her luggage she

has brought her beloved, battered Lanvin

ballerina flats to China. She takes them

everywhere, she says, not only because

they are comfortable, but because they

look like the real thing and remind her of

her time doing demi-pliés.

According to designer Jane

Winkworth, of ballet-pump specialists

French Sole, this is the appeal: ‘They reflect

nostalgia for childhood, when we all danced.’

But they also have their roots in rebellion:

‘In the late Fifties and early Sixties you

had Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face wearing

retailer, reporting that flats were outselling

heels by three to one in January.

However, Sarah Toner, a former

dancer with the Birmingham Royal Ballet,

who now runs a hugely popular class

called Fabulous in High Heels that teaches

women how to walk correctly in heels, has

mixed feelings about ballet flats. ‘If you’re

out for an evening in stilettos and your

feet start to hurt and you have a pair of

pumps in your bag to get you home that’s

a great idea. But a lot of women might

wear them all the time and I don’t feel

they offer enough support. They’re no

better than stilettos in that regard.’

Of course, habit can cut both

ways. Standing in the Tod’s store in

Beijing, with its circular tabletop display of

ballet shoes in every colour of the rainbow,

I ask Sabrina Brazzo, La Scala’s prima

ballerina, whether she wears flats off

duty. ‘No, I only wear heels,’ she says.

‘Because I have to wear these for dancing

every day.’ The grass is always greener…

Peter Howarth is executive editor of ST

ballet flats and Brigitte Bardot in the

same, with gingham shirt and cropped

trousers. They were leaving behind their

mother’s more formal style and high heels.’

Winkworth launched French Sole

in 1989 and is considered by many to have

popularised the style in the UK. In the past

five years, she says, it’s really taken off. ‘Of

course, Black Swan has reinvigorated

interest; Mad Men too – Christina Hendricks

wears them in a couple of episodes. Katie

Holmes, one of my best customers, has

worn them to play Jackie Kennedy in a TV

series. And, to be honest, I think women

are just sick and tired of heels.’

Certainly ballet shoes are the

anti-stilettos. At the Golden Globes this

January, Rollasole, so named because you

can roll their ballet pumps up for easy

carriage (they come with a free carry bag

for your stilettos) distributed gold and black

footwear to the stars at the after-show party

– Hayden Panettiere and Heidi Klum were

snapped sporting them. And perhaps it

was post-Christmas high-heel agony that

accounted for Peacocks, the high-street

Thisseason,theeyeshaveitintermsofboldnewcolours,shapesandforms.Take

Burberry’soversizedviolet-tintedshades,whileattheoppositeendofthescalespectrum,Ray-Ban’s

smaller,rotundspecs, owe more to John Lennon and the geek parade than Bianca Jagger at Studio 54.

Then there’s the downright kooky. Who better to take a pop at neon luxe than the whimsical Miuccia Prada?

Her curly-wurly frames might have been plucked from Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. Alexander Wang and

Stella McCartney take a more demure view. Frames follow a Fifties glam theme, sweeping upwards to mimic

cat’s eyes in classic tortoiseshell. No going incognito here.

Lucie Muir is a freelance fashion writer for Vogue and the Saturday Telegraph magazine

eye openers

Stingray-pattern ‘Jill Bordeaux’

sunglasses, £500, LouisVuitton.

Poppy-print ‘Jackie’ sunglasses, £90,

NicoleFarhi. Clear ‘Freya’ sunglasses,

£198, OliverPeoples. Blue and

black ‘Baroque’ sunglasses,

£190, Prada. Peach sunglasses,

£279, Cutler&Gross

sunglasses38

PhotographyMetz + Racine

WordsLucie Muir

FASHioN STyLiST: JANe HoWArd. ProP STyLiST: ViNCeNT oLiVieri

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Katy

Perr

y

chain reactionThe year 1969 was one of

ground-breaking events – Neil

Armstrong made a giant leap for

mankind, Concorde took its virgin

flight and Paco Rabanne

revolutionised fashion with his

pioneering space-age couture

collection. This was a range

so radical, even Rabanne dubbed it

‘The Unwearables’. Who could forget

the images of those chain-mail dresses

draped on the sculptural frames of

Audrey Hepburn, Jane Birkin and Donyale

Luna? With Le 69, the iconic handbag in

his spring/summer collection, Rabanne

is back with an intergalactic bang.

Modelled on the original Sixties design,

but a good deal more wearable than

those dresses of the same era, it has

been reworked in an exciting array of

21st-century materials – the incarnation

pictured is in metallic pink suede. And,

In recognition of its place in history,

London’s Design Museum has named

its forefather one of the ‘50 bags that

changed the world’.

Metallic leather ‘Le 69’ bag, £780,

Paco Rabanne; pacorabanne.com

artefact 41

WordsRuth Griffin

PhotographyMetz + Racine FASHIon STyLIST: JAne HoWARD. PRoP STyLIST: VIncenT oLIVIeRI

guide42

WordsClare Coulson

IllustrationsJulia Pelzer

PEASANT

The look The Milan runways were

packed with pretty peasant dresses

during the spring/summer shows and

they come in myriad variations: floaty

chiffons, crisp broderie anglaise, dressy

silks… At Fendi and Marc Jacobs, there

were ballooning sleeves on blousy

dresses while, elsewhere, designers

opted for a more light and fluid take

on the boho look.

Key piece With its gently scooped

neckline and pretty flower embroideries,

Alberta Ferretti’s floor-sweeping coffee

tulle take on this look is heavenly. If you’re

planning a laid-back Ibiza wedding this

year, this is the dress for you (£4,965;

albertaferretti.com, 020 7235 2349).

You could also try Asos’s floor-skimming

soft blush appliquéd cotton dress

(£45, asos.com) has a softly gathered

neckline and a roomy shape, making it

the perfect garment for those balmy

holiday evenings.

FORTIES

The look Yves Saint Laurent’s presence

will be felt widely this spring as designers

have plundered every corner of his

archive. But it was his ode to the Forties

that seemed to inspire Stefano Pilati,

who has created pretty puff-sleeved

below-the-knee dresses in pimento-red

or jade chiffon. It’s a decade that has also

inspired L’Wren Scott, Oscar de la Renta

and Roland Mouret this spring.

Key piece While some designers

boomerang each season across the

decades, Roland Mouret has always been

faithful to the elegant silhouettes of the

Forties. A prime example is the chartreuse

cap-sleeved calf-length dress (£770;

rolandmouret.com, 020 7235 5000) that

can be found at his new Mayfair atelier.

You could also try Temperley alumna

Sophie Cranston has some Forties-

inspired dresses in her summer Libélula

collection – including the raspberry Gee

dress (£310; libelula-studio.co.uk), which

has pretty layered sleeves delicately

edged with cream piping.

FLORALS

The look This season sees a major return

to bold print and some of the most

wearable depict rambling florals. At Dolce

& Gabbana, cottage gardens created

the centrepiece in a parade of flowing

maxi-dresses that finished the show,

while elsewhere designers opted for more

graphic takes on traditional floral prints.

Key piece Erdem’s gardenia print was one

of the season’s dreamiest. It’s stunning in

a long gown (£3,360; net-a-porter.com)

but the collection also includes a shorter

shape with a neat collar and gently

flared skirt (£2,100; erdem.co.uk).

You could also try Utterly romantic

and super-elegant, Banana Republic’s

pink silk goddess dress features one of

the high street’s most covetable floral

prints (£165; bananarepublic.gap.eu,

020 7758 3550). Wear it as it was on the

Banana Republic catwalk, with a tan silk

trench over the top.

Dresses are big this season: big, lacy, bright and floral

rockthe frock

DISCO

The look There are plenty of Seventies

disco-inspired numbers to choose from

this summer, from Marc Jacobs’s

slit-to-there halter-dresses to the

jewel-coloured jerseys at Halston

Heritage. Whichever style you choose,

just ask yourself this: could you have

worn this dress to Studio 54 circa 1978?

Key piece There is nothing wallflower-ish

about Marc Jacobs’s billowing chiffon

party dresses; his halter-neck silk gown

(£2,125; marcjacobs.com, 020 7399 1690),

cinched at the waist with orchids and

slashed to the thigh, is the ultimate

dress for serious party animals.

You could also try With its deep green

print and retro Seventies shape, Tucker’s

watermelon-print panelled silk dress is a

more subtle way to channel the spirit of

the Hustle (£319; tuckerbygabybasora.

com, 020 7734 1234).

Longer lengths continue to dominate this summer, with a chic new crop of maxi-dresses

POP COLOUR

The look Bold, brash colour is one of

this season’s most significant trends,

from one-tone dressing in Crayola crayon

primaries to the rather challenging

‘colour-blocking’ in which dazzling

shades are thrown together in one look.

Key piece Alessandra Rich has created

elegant, original, dip-dyed-lace evening

dresses in neon lime, tangerine and pink

or in draped acid-yellow silk (£1,485;

net-a-porter.com)

You could also try Spring’s pop colours

work best when they are worn in bold

shapes. Boutique by Jaeger nails the

trend with its bold vermilion dress with

fitted bodice and flared cupcake skirt

(£180; jaeger.co.uk, 0845 051 0063).

SEVENTIES

The look Longer lengths continue to

dominate this summer and the chic new

crop of maxi-dresses bears little relation

to its boho predecessors. Whether you

choose an ankle-skimming shirt dress or

something more slinky in silk jersey, focus

on narrow silhouettes and cinch your

waist with a contrasting belt.

Key piece Raoul, which launched at

Matches last season, has plenty of

elegant silk maxi-dresses with a vaguely

Thirties feel in soft colours, including

duck-egg blue, nude and black (£327;

raoul.com, 08700 678838).

You could also try With its fluttering

ruffles and sparse flower appliqué,

Oasis’s dusty-pink sleeveless maxi-dress

(£110; oasis-stores.com, 01865 881986)

is romantic without being sickly sweet.

Clare Coulson is the fashion features

director of Harper’s Bazaar

WHITE

The look If the LBD is a winter essential,

then the LWD is this season’s fresh,

cool alternative. Dolce & Gabbana’s

collection is almost entirely made up

of LWDs in silk, satin, lace and cotton,

while elsewhere there are endless

takes on this summer essential – from

cool cotton tunics to slinky jersey

evening dresses.

Key piece Francisco Costa’s white

silk-satin calf-length dress for Calvin

Klein Collection has a spaghetti-strap

belt and shoulder-baring halter-neck

that makes it feel so Nineties but so now

(£1,970; calvinklein.com, 020 7495 2916).

You could also try Dresses do not get

more clean-cut than Gap’s white

long-sleeved shift with a simple keyhole

detail at the back (£45; gap.eu,

00 800 0600 6666).

SHIRTING

The look Fashion’s ongoing flirtation with

boyish dressing has sparked a renaissance

of shirt-dressing, from crisp, dress-shirt

inspired tunics to more feminised

versions with dirndl skirts. Dries Van Noten

used the shirt as the starting point for his

collection, which includes white cotton

shirt-dresses with soft chiffon overlays.

Key piece Michael Kors’s laid-back

Californian-inspired collection includes

an elegant khaki shirt dress that

perfectly blends boyish style with a

more womanly silhouette (£1,750;

michaelkors.com, 020 7409 0844).

You could also try Club Monaco arrives

at Browns this spring with its brilliant,

all-American basics such as the deep

khaki Aileen cotton shirt dress (£129;

clubmonaco.com, 020 7514 0000).

LACE

The look Whether it’s the lace print that

is laser-cut into Christopher Kane’s neon

pieces or the delicate baby-dolls that

appeared at Collette Dinnigan and

Dolce & Gabbana, lace brings a shot of

youthful femininity to spring. Designers

used the material in all its variations,

from wisp-fine, almost vintage-looking

pieces to the bold floral lace that

appeared at both Marni and Valentino.

Key piece Valentino’s long-sleeved,

dusty-grey lace dress speckled with

gold threads is one of the season’s

most demure (price on application;

valentino.com, 020 7235 5855).

You could also try Whistles has a

cream, long-sleeved lace dress with

sweet scalloped hem and sleeves that

is pleasingly pretty (£175; whistles.co.uk,

020 7391 0956).

BALLET

The look With a touch of prescience, now

that Black Swan is the talk of the season,

ballet inspired Hannah MacGibbon’s

feather-light collection of plissé dresses

for Chloé. Many other designers have

opted for flared dresses that seem to

draw on dance, too. This look is all about a

fitted bodice and a floaty skirt in soft hues.

Key piece Chloé’s iridescent cappuccino

tulle dress (£4,680; chloe.com,

020 7823 5348), with its asymmetric

shoulder and ribbon-tie waist, sums

up this look perfectly – light, super-

feminine and, in short, a dreamy party

frock for summer.

You could also try Malene Birger puts

a fresh spin on the trend for almost-

weightless pleats and flowing, balletic

dresses with her pleated silk maxi-dress

in nude and lemon, with an eau-de-nil

sash (£869; bymalenebirger.com,

020 7486 0486).

Dare to bare this spring with a brand new spin on no-make-up make-up

the naked truth

WordsKate Shapland

beauty44

Kutlu/trunKarchive; fmg photography

‘Snow-bunny flush’, ‘shower-fresh face’, ‘boy-girl

beauty’ – tags are already rolling off editors’

keyboards to fasten to a look which, to the seasoned

beauty writer, was unarguably the most breakaway in

this season’s new collections: despite the newsmakers

– the neon lips (Jil Sander), the silver-foil eyeshadow

(Prada) and the Biba revival (Marc Jacobs) – bare-

faced chic stood out a mile this season for the way in

which it was brilliantly reinvented.

It appears every season – we’re used to seeing

the no-make-up make-up on the runways; it’s a safe

option for designers who are keen to keep all eyes on

the clothes. Invariably, though, it is always too fresh

to be forward-looking. This is the first season in

many that I can remember it being interesting and

impactful enough to make a proper directional

statement – and on at least three catwalks. Looking

at footage from Chloé, Lanvin and Anna Sui’s

spring/summer 2011 shows in particular, you can

clearly see the make-up artists have broken barefaced

out of its bland, overworked rut and re-spun it into

some quite remarkable looks.

With emphasis on the features, rather than

the colour on them, face-artists such as Charlote

Tilbury sought to use the neutrals to make the most

of the face – not always the way when fashion collides

with beauty – sculpting, illuminating and augmenting

with whites and beiges and the occasional dash of

black and mauve.

Tilbury’s ambition, for Chloé, was

a lit-from-within effect for the complexion via a sheen

rather than shimmer finish – a departure that could

be seen in the use of eye colour, too: make-up artists

for the Sportmax, Blumarine and Rag & Bone shows

dabbed flesh-coloured cream shadows over eyelids

to create a glazed finish that appeared to lif and

brighten the eyes when it caught the light. Where

shimmer was used to illuminate, it came from

bronzing powder – enjoying a bit of a renaissance at

Salvatore Ferragamo and Moschino’s shows, where

it doubled up as blusher to shape the face and make

skin look nicely flushed rather than tanned.

Tilbury described the look she did for the

Chloé runway as ‘handsome’ – which shows again

how different the new bare face is to its pastel-prety

original, though that is not to infer that the looks

were not feminine. Smart use of pale pink with

touches of black – usually a hard combo – made

Ferragamo’s models especially look sweet as candy.

But Charlote’s thoughtful use of eye make-up –

sepia tones up to the crease of the lids, a darker,

earth tone along the lower lash line and brow colour

to construct a shapely arch – made her girls look

ever so slightly androgynous and boyish, hence the

boy-girl beauty comparisons.

Shimmer was not excluded altogether from

the new bare face; it was just more refined and largely

concentrated on the eyes – none of that strobe effect

was visible on cheeks and temples. Out there with the

most liberal sprinkling of sparkle were Prada and

Anna Sui. At Prada, make-up queen Pat McGrath

highlighted the girls’ eyes with a flash of silver

shadow that was so fine it looked like foil.

Meanwhile, on Sui’s runway, the stunning gilt

eyeshadow glaze could have been gold leaf – a polished

technique that showed up again at Sportmax’s show,

although, this time, the glaze was a peachy red-gold

and applied beneath the eyes as well. What was

interesting about this use of shimmer, though, was

that it worked as part of a barefaced look – it didn’t

look unnatural or unwearable, perhaps because it

was so delicately done.

But even when a harder edge was introduced,

as with the black eyeliner at Christopher Kane and

Ferragamo’s shows, it worked neatly with the mood,

never looking out of place.

I believe this is chiefly a result of the current

superior bases make-up artists are now using: new

high-definition foundations that make skin look as

quenched as it does post-facial, and give an

airbrush-faultless appearance. The smartest of these

bases don’t just make skin look lit from within, but

actually do work deeper to boost its glow power over

time. So, while complexions get beter and beter, the

cosmetic effects are such that HD foundations make

it easier for everyone to wear less colour: the face-

changing possibilities of these miracles are liberating

and confidence-building.

This look could be seen as the antithesis

of those super-saturated brights we also saw on the

catwalks, but, intrinsically shaping and improving

in the way real make-up should be, it could also be a

building block to bright. So, if you prefer more colour

on your face and want an edge to it, just add a

luminous lip colour or smoky eyeshadow to your

repertoire and, hey presto, your seasonal make-up

wardrobe is sorted.

Kate Shapland is the Telegraph Magazine’s beauty editor

A new crop of high-definition foundations give skin an airbrush- faultless appearance

Your base

Dior Capture Totale

Serum Foundation

holographic light

boosters give a 3-D

glow and a

reparative complex

treats skin. £62, 020

7216 0216.

Le Metier de Beauté

Magic Lustre Cream

mix with eyeshadow

or powder blusher to

transform them into

coloured glazes.

£21, liberty.co.uk.

MAC Sunbasque

Sheertone Shimmer

Blush Just enough

shimmer and colour

to give skin a natural

flush either as base

or blusher. £16.50,

maccosmetics.co.uk.

YSL Velvety Peach

Créme de Blush,

£28, 020 7235 6706.

Your eYes

Bobbi Brown

Metallic Long-Wear

Cream Shadows in

opal and platinum,

£16.50 each,

bobbibrown.co.uk.

Shu Uemura Shine

Mystique Eye Colour

in ivy gold, £14.50,

020 7240 7635.

Smashbox Lash

DNA Mascara,

£18.50, debenhams.

com. Giorgio Armani

Smooth Silk Eye

Pencil, £17,

020 7201 8687.

MAC Cream Colour

Base in hush,

improper copper

and Shell, £13.50

each. MAC Eye

Brows in fling and

lingering, £11.50

each.

Your lips

Nars Lip Stain Gloss

Duo in turkish

Delight & Sayonara

and Stolen Kisses &

pampa, £21,

narscosmetics.co.uk.

Giorgio Armani Lip

Shimmer in no 22,

£20

Giorgio Armani

Rouge d’Armani in

no 101, £23

MAC Tinted Lip

Conditioner SPF15

in petting pink, £11.

builD THe looKBegin by creating a flawless base with one

of the new hD foundations. then use

bronzing powder in place of blusher to give a

healthy flush. next, add a little sheen to

cheeks and temples. used deftly, it can still

work as part of a barefaced look – just avoid

the strobe effect. Keep eyes neutral and

highlight with a glaze, and subtly define

brows. finish with a pink lip tint.

Cardigan Kenneth Cole

T-shirt Ted Baker

Trousers Karen Millen

Dress Day Birger

Scarf Dickins & Jones

Bag Ted Baker

Jacket Andrew Marc for Pied a Terre

Dress Ted Baker

Shoes and accessories available from a selection at House of Fraser.

FASHION COLLECTIONS BY

www.houseoffraser.co.uk

Parka Firetrap

Dress Linea

Cardigan Dickins & Jones

Jeans & Shirt Linea Weekend

Bag Ted BakerDress Supertrash

roberto frankenberg/corbis outline

With a major retrospective at the V&A this spring, fashion visionary Yohji Yamamoto, one of the world’s most influential and enigmatic designers, will at last be accorded the recognition he deserves

The question is not why is Yohji Yamamoto the subject of a major fashion retrospective at the V&A

Museum in London this spring, but what took so long?

For it is now 30 years since Yohji – always called Yohji, not Yamamoto, by fashion insiders

– along with Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons, stormed the bastions of French fashion. His

arrival was nothing short of shocking.

‘Shocking’ is an overused word in fashion, but, in March 1981, the front-row set were truly

appalled. They were already in a jumpy mood. The chill wind of President Miterand’s newly elected

socialist regime was blowing through the silken corridors of Paris fashion, where the moto is rarely

‘liberté, egalité, fraternité’. But at least they expected to be on somewhat familiar ground, to see

more of the coquetish frills and furbelows of the likes of Valentino and Ungaro. Instead, they were

confronted with oversized, flawed, monochromatic, flat-heeled, gender-neutral, asymmetrical,

shabby-looking clothes. ‘Is there a “yellow peril” on the horizon?’ thundered Le Figaro. Not a line

one could get away with now.

Although the first to be accused of ‘Holocaust chic’, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo

were not the first Japanese designers on the Paris fashion scene. Hanae Mori had established a

gracious reputation for neat litle suits, Kenzo had made his Jungle Jap shows into extravaganzas

and Issey Miyake had been showing in Paris since 1973. But the storm caused by Yamamoto and

Kawakubo didn’t die down; it merely got more fierce. By 1983, Le Figaro was still raging, telling

readers, ‘This miserable-ism is not for you. Neither are these patched garments, nor these new

49

Yohji:

three

decades

at the

cutting

edge

words Marion HuMe portrait roberto frankenberg

rags, nor these fabrics tied hastily as taters. Nor all

this funereal black. Nor the livid make-up of decomposed

women. This is a snobbism that presents the future

in a bad way.’

From the beginning, the British were more curious.

Joan Burstein of Browns and the late Joseph Etedgui

of Joseph were quick to see the possibilities of the new

wave. Browns later landed Comme des Garçons, while

the Joseph stores carried Yohji. British fashion students,

who, back then, would travel by coach and ferry to Paris

and beg, borrow or steal tickets to shows, were also

early fans. Some recall finding their way to Yohji’s studio

afer his first show and being shown textures and shapes

completely new in the West. British Vogue soon realised

this was the aesthetic of the future, praising the designers

of the ‘International East’ for their ‘noblesse oblique,

thunderstruck colour and marvellous new manipulations

of print and texture.’

Part of the savagery of the initial reaction from

the old guard must be atributed to the prejudice of those

just one generation away from war. As for Yohji Yamamoto

himself, he is defined by the circumstances of his birth,

to a widowed mother, who worked 16 hours a day to raise

him. In 1987, he said this in an interview with Sally

Brampton, then one of the UK’s leading fashion scribes,

now an agony aunt: ‘The reason my clothes are the way

they are is because I have given up. I desire nothing.

Some people try to relate that to Buddhism, but it has

nothing to do with it. It is hard to appreciate what I say

unless you were born in Tokyo in 1943, when World War II

was destroying everything. Success came just by chance.

I never wanted anything. Like most of my generation

in Japan, I didn’t want to do anything or be anyone, so

I started to help my mother in her dress shop. I hated it.’

A lifelong love of rock ’n’ roll might seem to have

sounded a lighter note (and led to a bizarre show in which

Top, left and centre:

From the YYF

collection, autumn/

winter 2007 and 2009.

Right: from the ‘Yohji

Yamamoto Dream

Shop’ exhibition,

Mode Museum,

Antwerp, 2006

male models walked to ‘Ain’t Nothin’ but a Hound Dog’

played on a bazooka), yet Yohji himself has been sombre

about ‘Americanisation’. ‘We were fed American products,

but, at a certain age, you start realising things. The question

for me was, who are the Japanese people?’ he has said.

‘It is very difficult, even for us, to find out.’

Nevertheless, as time has gone on, Yohji has

also, brilliantly and surprisingly, explored the aesthetic

of Paris, where he sets up home for several weeks every

season (and his mother comes too, to cook for him).

Having first fought against the richness of haute couture,

laterly he has subverted it. Who can forget his catwalk

bride (which will have pride of place at the forthcoming

exhibition) with a gown so huge it swept the notebooks

off the laps of those in the front row?

For all the memorable runway sensations, most

of Yohji’s creations are rather plain, ofen in navy and

industrial gabardine, which makes them seasonless.

The same women who would not be seen dead in last

season’s Prada happily boast of wearing 20-year-old

Yohji, which explains why there is so litle trade in his

garments on the vintage market.

What his clothes have always explored is

feminism. Never interested in coquetish appeal, his

woman is always strong, although, as he has concurred,

‘Most men do not like strong, independent women with

their feet on the ground. Men don’t want women to be

outstanding. When women try to be real people, there

is tremendous pressure against them. I’d like to say,

hang on, keep trying.’

To do so, wearing timeless Yohji is a pleasure.

The exhibition ‘Yohji Yamamoto at the V&A’ runs from

until 10 July at the V&A Museum (vam.ac.uk)

Marion Hume writes for The Telegraph Magazine, W, Harper’s

Bazaar Australia and The Australian Financial Review

50

‘The reason my clothes are the way they are is because I have given up. I desire nothing’

monica feudi, ronald stoops

00

bold expanses of intense tints were a highly visible theme

on this season’s catwalks. but if full-colour is too

extreme, combine bright accessories with neutral tones

photography METZ & RACINE fashion editor jANE howARD

colour blocks

accessories52

00

Rope and glory

Opposite page,

clockwise from top

left: Coral 55 denier

‘Dublin’ tights,

£10.50, Cette.

Purple, nude and

orange lambskin

and suede, natural

enlaced rope

platform ‘Tahiti’ shoe,

£1,115.00, Dior. Beige

leather clutch bag,

price upon request,

Valentino.

Pink and black

striped clutch,

£430, Prada

Beige related

Clockwise from top:

Yellow raffia wedge

shoe, £485, D&G.

Green leather bag,

£650, Miu Miu.

Powder medium

zip-around leather

shoulder bag, £1,150,

Céline. Beige beaded

leather clutch bag,

£390, Marni

Creator of the stiletto, master of the flat andinventor of the inward

Curving ChoC, shoemaker roger vivier was always

ahead of the Curve

words Marion HuMe photography paul zaK

00

Blue heaven

This page, clockwise

from top: Orange

‘Celeste’ wedge shoe,

£930, Hermès. Jade

leather belt, £250,

and citrus leather

belt, £275; both

Smythson. Blue

lambskin and

goatskin ‘Jigé Élan 29’

clutch, £1,850,

Hermès. Jade travel

clutch bag, £435,

Smythson. Pink plain

plastic bracelet,

£99, Marni

Tan alive

Opposite, clockwise

from top left: Lily

Pure Matt 50 denier

tights, £13, Falke.

Nude cotton

Spandex jersey

short-sleeve T-shirt

leotard, £24,

american apparel.

Opal patent corset

belt, £295, Burberry.

Nude leather

open-toe sandal,

£600, Versace.

Opal patent leather

elongated clutch

bag with strap,

£595, Burberry.

Rope necklace,

£199, Armani.

Fashion stylist

Jane Howard prop

stylist Vincent

Olivieri Manicure by

Katie Jane Hughes,

orlybeauty.co.uk

Model Eva Doll at

Premier

STOCKISTS DETAILS

ON PAGE 81

54

Diana Vreeland described her collection of Roger Vivier shoes as ‘a lesson in perfection’

00

Make an unforgettably draMatic entrance this

season with one of the catwalk’s strongest

colours. being well red has never been so iMportant

PhotograPhy alex cayley fashion editor Mika Mizutani

Sheer delight

Papaya cotton and

silk toile flammée

blouse with chiffon

back, £935; black

cotton canvas skirt,

£1,085, both Yves

Saint Laurent

Green goddess

Orange spice double

silk raso jacket,

£1,320; ortensia matt

satin drape strapless

top, £470; Indian jade

crepe romain fold

pants, £550; green

suede high-heeled

platform sandals

with laminated

python detail, £545;

all Gucci. Gold

bracelet, £315,

Giuseppe Zanotti

Design

Far vermilion

Tomato light wool

gabardine tied jacket,

£1,860; black fine

cashmere tied

cardigan, £1,120; and

tomato light wool

gabardine low-waist

pants, £930, all

Hermès. Black

vegetable calf

harness belt (around

neck and waist),

£669, Lanvin

Full on

Purple double face

cotton peasant

blouse with flower

appliqué, £970; red

double face cotton

waisted gathered

skirt, £885; and

leather belt, £395, all

Marc Jacobs

Red brigade

This page: Poppy

light washed satin

dress, £2,700;

cognac waxed

calfskin belt, £500;

and beige waxed

calfskin shoes, £590,

all Lanvin

Tangerine dream

Opposite: Orange

cotton dress,

£595, Prada

Knot waving

Orange silk top, £483;

and silk skirt, £1,500,

both Haider

Ackermann

Action station

Bicoloured silk crepe

jumpsuit, £2,190; and

burgundy sequined

belt; £630, both Louis

Vuitton. Black suede

105mm sandal, £740,

Yves Saint Laurent

Model Coco Rocha at

Storm Models

Make-up Karan Franjola

at Marek & Associates

Hair Rolando Beauchamp

for Bumble and Bumble

Manicurist Kiyo Okada at

Garren New York for Chanel

Production: Sarah Math

Stylist’s assistant

Antoine Seguin

STOCKISTS DETAILS ON

PAGE 81

band of hope and glory No matter where iN the world aN atelier is based, chaNces

are oNe of the UK’s maNy desigN taleNts will be at the helm.

feted by fashioN hoUses, coUrted by their accoUNtaNts

aNd fawNed over by goverNmeNt miNisters with aN eye

oN oUr gdP, british desigNers have Never beeN more iN demaNd

words JO CRAVEN ILLUsTrATIoN K ATE GIBB

Statuesque shoes in hand-printed suede, perhaps

inlaid with miniature mirrors – such extravagant

flights of fancy are the day-to-day work of Nicholas

Kirkwood. He hit the fashion scene a mere six years

ago, but has already been headhunted to be creative

director of Pollini, the luxury Italian accessories

label. He continues to design the fierce heels for

which he is known and, last month, opened his first

shop on Mount Street, London W1.

Kirkwood is just one among the latest

generation of British talent mopping up the cream of

the top jobs around the world. In Paris, Phoebe Philo

has the women’s fashion world worshipping at the

Céline altar, while, at Loewe in Madrid, Stuart Vevers

is breathing fresh air into another venerated brand.

And the list of home-grown creative dynamos goes

on, and by no means depreciates in impressiveness:

Giles Deacon has taken over at Emanuel Ungaro

and Jonathan Saunders at Escada Sport, and then

there’s Christopher Kane at Versus for Versace.

But what is it exactly that we’re doing so

right? The capital’s creative reputation certainly

plays a part. As Alexandra Shulman, editor of

British Vogue, puts it: ‘There’s something about

London that enables people to fly creatively – the

mix of tradition and innovation, the rich cultural

and social melting pot and our willingness to

embrace idiosyncrasy.’ Add to that the strength

of our fashion colleges, from the pupils of Wendy

Dagworthy – one of the founders of London Fashion

Week – at the Royal College of Art, to those of the

famed tough-love mistress, Louise Wilson, course

director of the MA programme at Central Saint

Martins, and you have a powerful blend.

Together, the influence of Dagworthy’s and

Wilson’s former students covers the entire fashion

Opposite, clockwise

from bottom right:

Christopher Kane of

Versus for Versace;

Giles Deacon of

Ungaro; Nicholas

Kirkwood of Pollini;

John Galliano, ex

of Dior; Jonathan

Saunders of Escada

Sport; Phoebe Philo

of Céline; Stuart

Vevers of Loewe

67

landscape, from the late Alexander McQueen to the

current crop. As Sarah Mower, the British Fashion

Council’s ambassador for emerging talent, says of

Wilson: ‘If you were to take away her ex-students –

Christopher Kane, Jonathan Saunders, Richard

Nicoll, Roksanda Ilincic, Louise Goldin, Mary

Katrantzou, Mark Fast, Danielle Scut and David

Koma – who would we be lef with?’ What’s more,

she credits those recent graduates with the

continued success of some of the world’s most

prestigious fashion houses, adding: ‘And where

would Lanvin, Céline, Balenciaga, Calvin Klein,

Acne and Louis Vuiton be, for that mater?’

This last is a point not ofen appreciated.

Stuart Vevers honed his skills in a number of

studios. In 1996, he was taken on by Calvin Klein

in New York, moving from there to Botega Veneta

in Milan before designing accessories for Luella,

then working for Givenchy and Louis Vuiton in

Paris and Mulberry back in the UK, and finally, in

2008, heading to Loewe, where he is now creative

director. That’s more than 10 years of learning on

the job: ‘I do think education has a lot to do with

why British designers are so much in demand,’ he

says. ‘London is such a style centre, with a proper

youth culture that you’re surrounded by when you’re

in college. Plus, it helped that I had a hunger to be

a designer, which set me on my way.’

Nevertheless, he admits to being saddened

by the lack of manufacturing in Britain, which means

most designers have to travel to work. In contrast,

the Italians and French can draw on a strong atelier

tradition and have maintained their cloth mills,

which has both sustained their fashion industry

and kept local crafs alive. ‘We’re known for young,

innovative designers in the UK, but there are so few

who make their clothes here that it’s like a cotage

industry compared to Italy or France,’ says Jonathan

Saunders. Vevers agrees: ‘At Loewe, the head of the

atelier has been there for 50 years, which means

I’ve learnt really different cultural references from

him. And that’s very precious – you feel you’re seeing

into the soul of the company.’

Indeed, one of the main advantages a British

designer working abroad has is their position as a

‘Being foreign

means that

you’re not

bogged down

by heritage

and history.

You can wipe

the slate clean’

cultural spectator, an outsider. ‘Being foreign means

that you’re not bogged down by a company’s heritage

and history, so you can wipe the slate clean and

start again,’ Vevers comments.

Yet none of the expats needs to fear geting

lost in translation in their international roles. Vevers

takes Spanish lessons twice a week – a far cry from

life in Carlisle, his hometown. Nicholas Kirkwood

commutes from London to a factory near Bologna

for Pollini, where he says he speaks ‘shoe Italian’ and

makes himself understood with sketches. In Munich,

meanwhile, Saunders uses colour charts and fabric

swatches when he can’t find the words.

Plucked from his graduate show by Donatella

Versace, Christopher Kane has designed for Versus,

the youthful arm of Versace, for the past three

seasons. The atelier in Milan could not be further

from the Glasgow of his youth or the modest studio

in Dalston, East London, from which he turns out

creations for his own-name label. No white-coated

seamstresses assist him here. Just 28, he has brought

Versus alive with his genius for cut and colour, and

his collections are showing to great acclaim. Louise

Wilson is a fan of his technical ability - a skill less

and less common among contemporary designers:

‘Today, everything is farmed out. Someone else cuts

the patern and someone else again supplies the

fabrics. But even if Kane had no help, he could still

make his garments. He has the talent.’ And Donatella

Versace is certainly clear why she hired him: ‘He

knows how to turn edgy and modern into reality.

He’s like my brother in that he understands how

to make a woman look great. I don’t have to say it

– he just knows. That’s the beauty of Christopher.’

Quite an endorsement.

It seems that, when it comes to making it

big abroad, British designers must tick the boxes

not only of youth and energy, ideas and skills, but

also self-reliance. As Gareth Pugh says of his time

at Central Saint Martins: ‘Louise trains her students

to be resilient. I thought when I lef college that

those would be the hardest and most stressful three

years of my life. I was wrong.’ Perhaps - but he was

prepared. Because these designers aren’t merely

creative figureheads, nor do they just get the job done.

They can do wonders for a brand and, in the process,

transform the entire fashion landscape. When Phoebe

Philo presented wearable clothes for women, she set

off a chain reaction, and, likewise, when Alexander

McQueen’s vision took hold, theatrical drama was

seen as the new way forward.

Of course, a prety dress brilliantly designed

is never going to be the full story. Fashion is first and

foremost a business – and never more so than in the

current economic climate. Céline’s no-doubt-healthy

profits will be reflective of Philo’s status as a style

influencer of the highest order. The girl can do no

wrong. One mustn’t forget, afer all, that it was she,

in her time at Chloé, between 2001 and 2006, who

designed the Paddington bag that was responsible

for the doubling of the company’s sales. Similarly,

Mulberry’s collaboration with Luella Bartley and

Stuart Vevers in 2002 culminated in the Gisele,

one of recent history’s most successful It-bags

– a feat Vevers is no doubt hoping to repeat with

his revival of Loewe’s Amazona bag. There’s good

design, and then there are good profits, and it’s the

later that pays the rent.

Giles Deacon is renowned for his atention

to the business process, which made him a very

atractive proposition to take over at Emanuel

Ungaro. It’s not beneath him to know how much

69

catwalking.com; derek hudson/contour photos;

rex features; sølve sundsbø/art + commerce

a buton costs and to work it into a business plan.

During his career-building time at Botega Veneta

from 2000; the launch of his own label, Giles, in

2003; and the savvy Gold collection he recently

created for New Look, he has always sweated the

small stuff – all that, while winning every award

going, including, in 2009, the highly prestigious

ANDAM Grand Prix. To Ungaro’s probable relief, his

feminine, draped frocks in subtle, neutral colours for

the spring/summer 2011 collection did much to erase

the traces of his much-criticised predecessor,

‘artistic adviser’ Lindsay Lohan, and restore

credibility to the label.

Geographical boundaries count less and

less in the world of fashion, especially these

days, when some of the biggest buyers of luxury

fashion are based in China and the newly emerging

economies and just about every brand you can buy

on Rue Saint-Honoré is also on sale in Shanghai.

But that makes it all the more salient that British

design talent still holds such sway all over the world.

The appointment to Escada Sport of a designer

as gifed with colour as Jonathan Saunders, for

instance, appears a perfect piece of international

matchmaking. His first collection is due out this

June, and looks set to be a wise investment on

the part of Megha Mital, the daughter-in-law of

Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mital, who acquired

Escada in 2009 and wants to reinvigorate the brand.

Today’s quick-to-pick-up-on-the-zeitgeist

politicians have also spoted the goldmine of home-

grown talent and are hurrying to avail themselves

of its spoils. Afer all, the rag trade’s worth to the

economy is a cool £21 billion. No wonder Minister

for Communication, Culture and the Creative

Industries Ed Vaizey was quoted as saying: ‘British

fashion has the talent, creativity and skills to rival

anywhere in the world. Our new and established

designers and fashion labels are internationally

renowned for their unique vision at the cuting

edge of this hugely important global industry.’

Not that Louise Wilson is impressed by mere talk.

She recounts a recent meeting with a government

official. ‘He told me that we’re a manufacturing

country. I mean, really, is he blind?’

That’s as may be, but one thing’s for sure –

even in these uncertain times, as long as Britain

keeps its cool, our designers will continue to conquer

fashionland at home and abroad.

Jo Craven writes on fashion for the Telegraph Magazine,

Stella and Vogue

Opposite, from

left: spring/summer

11 collections from

Versus (Christopher

Kane); Nina Ricci

(Peter Copping);

and Loewe (Stuart

Vevers); bag by

Stuart Vevers at

Loewe; Jonathan

Saunders at work

for Escada Sport

Left: Giles Deacon,

spring/summer 2010.

Below, from left:

Ungaro (Giles

Deacon); two looks

from Céline (Phoebe

Philo), all spring/

summer 2011

Over the decades, whenever the going gets tough, designers turn to disco chic to bring back the glamour and good times Photography Giampaolo Sgura Fashion editor Daniela Agnelli

let’s go

round again

Light relief

Left White jacket with

mesh details, £1,150;

white crepe de chine

top, £600; white

stretch canvas

trousers, £825, all

Gucci with adjuster

Burberry trousers,

STOCKISTS DETAILS

ON PAGE 81

Boogie wonderland

Previous page: Jumpsuit,

£1,180; belt, £520;

clutch bag, £1,610, all

Gucci. Amber and gold

choker, from a selection,

Lynn Ban. Hammered

gold ring (left hand),

from £66, Kenneth

Jay Lane. Rose-gold

ring (right hand), from

£2,154, Carla Amorim.

Gold cuff (left wrist),

stylist’s own, Halston.

Gold cuff (right wrist),

£193, Etro

Do the hustle

This page: Dress, £595,

MaxMara. Belt, £745,

Gucci. Shoes, £740,

Yves Saint Laurent.

Earrings, price on

application, Robert Lee

Morris. Cuffs, as before

Stayin’ alive

Opposite: Jacket, £445,

and trousers, £230, both

Joseph. Gold choker,

from a selection, Lynn

Ban. Ring, price on

application, Robert

Lee Morris. Shoes,

£845, Gucci

Le freak

Opposite: One-shoulder

dress, £1,135; gold cuff,

£193, both Etro. Gold

choker, from a selection,

Lynn Ban. Shoes, £1,294,

Donna Karan

Good times

This page: Top, £515;

trousers, £600, both

Chloé. Hat, £99, James

Lock & Co. Gold collar,

price on application,

Robert Lee Morris.

Gold cuff (left wrist),

from £69; gold V cuff

(right wrist), from £36,

Kenneth Jay Lane

Disco inferno

This page: Cape,

£5,300; jumpsuit,

£3,400, both Louis

Vuitton. Shoes, £795,

Gianfranco Ferré.

Silver choker, £2,500;

silver cuff, £580; silver

and diamond cuff,

£2,245, all Lynn Ban at

Dover Street Market

Ladies’ night

Opposite: Dress, from

£1,537, Halston. Gold

collar and cuff (left

wrist), both price on

application, Robert

Lee Morris. Gold cuff

(right wrist), from £69,

Kenneth Jay Lane.

Shoes, £1,100,

Gianmarco Lorenzi

Night fever

Opposite: Jumpsuit,

£1,220; belt, £270, both

Yves Saint Laurent.

Enamel earrings, from

£27, Kenneth Jay Lane.

Gold bangles; gold

bracelet, both price

on application,

Robert Lee Morris

Hot stuff

This page: Dress, £781;

belt, £194, both Diane

von Furstenberg. Gold

choker, from a selection,

Lynn Ban. White agate

ring, £177, Kara by Kara

Ross. Gold cuff (left

wrist), from £69; gold

V cuff (right wrist),

from £36, both Kenneth

Jay Lane. Shoes, £740,

Yves Saint Laurent

Stylist’s assistants

Aurelia Donaldson

and Olivia Kozlowski

Hair Enrico Mariotti

Make-up Jessica Nedza

Manicurist Ana-Maria

Model Jacqueline

Jablonski at Supreme

Management.

Shot on location at

the Standard Hotel,

New York

STOCKISTS DETAILS

ON PAGE 81

www.discovercottonusa.com

Embrace Nature. Choose Cotton.

PhotograPhy: metz + racine Fashion stylist: Jane howard. ProP stylist: Vincent oliVieri

A

American Apparel 020 7734 4477;

americanapparel.net

B

Borovick Fabrics 020 7437 2180;

borovickfabricsltd.co.uk

Burberry 020 7986 0582;

burberry.com

C

Carla Amorim at Astley Clarke

020 7706 0060; astleyclarke.com

Cartier 020 3147 4850; cartier.com

Céline at Browns 020 7514 0039;

brownsfashion.com

Cette at Tights Please

tightsplease.co.uk

Chanel 020 7493 5040;

chanel.com

Chloé 020 7823 5348; chloe.com

Cutler & Gross 020 7581 2250;

cutlerandgross.com

D

D&G 020 7495 9250;

dandgstore.com

Debenhams 0844 561 6161;

debenhams.com

Diane von Furstenberg

020 7499 0886; dvf.com

Dior 020 7172 0172; dior.com

Dolce & Gabbana 020 7659 9000;

dolcegabbana.com

Donna Karan 020 7479 7900;

donnakaran.com

E

Emporio Armani 020 7491 8080;

emporioarmani.com

Etro 020 7495 5767; etro.it

F

Falke falke.com

G

Gianfranco Ferré 020 7838 9576;

gianfrancoferre.com

Gianmarco Lorenzi 020 7493 2906;

egofashionbox.com

Giorgio Armani 020 7235 6232;

giorgioarmani.com

Giuseppe Zanotti Design

020 7838 9455;

giuseppezanottidesign.com

Gucci 020 7629 2716; gucci.com

Guess guess.eu

H

Haider Ackermann at Browns

020 7514 0038; haiderackermann.be

Halston halston.com

Hermès 020 7499 8856; hermes.com

House of Fraser 0845 602 1073;

houseoffraser.co.uk

J

James Lock & Co 020 7930 8874;

lockhatters.co.uk

John Lewis 0845 604 9049;

johnlewis.com

Joseph 020 7610 8441, joseph.co.uk

K

Kara by Kara Ross at Harvey Nichols

020 7235 5000; harveynichols.com

Kenneth Jay Lane at Harvey Nichols

020 7235 5000; harveynichols.com

L

Lanvin 020 7491 1839; lanvin.com

Louis Vuitton 020 7399 4050;

louisvuitton.com

Lynn Ban at Dover Street Market

020 7518 0680; lynnban.com

M

Marc Jacobs marcjacobs.com

Marni 020 7245 9520; marni.com

MaxMara 020 7518 8010;

maxmara.com

Missoni 020 7352 2400; missoni.com

Miu Miu 020 7409 0900;

miumiu.com

N

Nicole Farhi 020 7036 7500;

nicolefarhi.com

O

Oliver Peoples 020 7235 5000;

oliverpeoples.com

P

Paco Rabanne at Dover Street Market

020 7518 0680;

doverstreetmarket.com

Prada 020 7647 5000; prada.com

Prada at David Clulow

0844 264 0870; davidclulow.com

R

Ralph Lauren 020 7535 4600;

ralphlauren.co.uk

Robert Lee Morris

neimanmarcus.com

S

Smythson 0845 873 2435;

smythson.com

T

Thomas Sabo thomassabo.com

V

Valentino 020 7893 8092;

valentino.com

Versace 020 7259 5700;

versace.com

Y

Yves Saint Laurent

020 7493 1800; ysl.com

Blue and black baroque

sunglasses, £190, Prada.

Peach sunglasses,

£279, Cutler & Gross

stockists 81

Having the opportunity to break a record

is an incredible incentive. Amy Johnson

became the first woman to fly solo from

Britain to Australia in 1930, just a year

after she gained her pilot’s licence. Amy

knew that no woman had made the flight

solo before, and she thought, if I don’t do

this, someone else will, so why shouldn’t

it be me? Pioneers aren’t born with great

skill and unparalleled bravery, but maybe

they are born with a special kind of

determination. Selfishness even. I know

that from the moment I decided to climb

Mount Everest I believed I could do it. There

was no doubt in my mind. I would wake

up and tell myself every morning, I can do

this, and I will do this. I wasn’t a natural

climber, or more physically able than

anyone else, I just knew that if I worked

hard I could do it.

Amy Johnson was born in Hull in

1903, the same year Emmeline Pankhurst

formed the Women’s Social and Political

Union, and the suffragette movement

entered a new and more high-profile phase.

Having always harboured an interest in

aeronautics, Johnson convinced her father

to help her buy her first plane, a second-

hand de Havilland Gipsy Moth for £600,

which she named ‘Jason’ after her father’s

fish business trademark. Amy left Croydon

on 5 May 1930, and landed in Darwin,

Australia, on 24 May, not only a record-

breaker, but a celebrity too. The seed for

her status as a feminist icon was sown.

Setting her first record only two years after

British women were given the vote on the

same terms as men, she changed and

challenged conceptions about what women

should be, and what we could achieve.

Amy went on to set and break

further records, but her career was not

without calamity. She had several

near-misses, including a crash landing on

a flight from South Wales to America with

her aviator husband Jim Mollison, that

saw them both end up in hospital. They

divorced a few years later, and Amy joined

the auxiliary forces to help with the war

effort. It was on a routine delivery mission

from Blackpool to Kidlington, near Oxford,

that she met a tragic death aged just 37,

straying off-course in bad weather and

crashing into the Thames estuary. She

drowned before she could be rescued.

More than 80 years later, I am

following a path paved by women such

as Amy. Mountaineering is a very male-

dominated activity, and being young,

blonde and female didn’t necessarily

work in my favour. People were surprised

by me, and certainly didn’t take me

Bonita Norris became the

youngest British woman to climb Mount Everest last year – and she says she couldn’t have done it without the inspiration of pioneering

women such as Amy Johnson

seriously at first. And, of course, it was

very easy to dismiss me because at the

time I had nothing to back myself up. But

female mountaineers are pushing

boundaries now. It’s an exciting time.

I am hugely inspired by Amy’s

bravery and tenacity. There were moments

on Everest when I would hear ice falling

nearby, and the ground would shake

beneath me. In that kind of situation it

would be easy to let fear take over. I’ve

learnt to stay calm, and that panicking

only makes things worse. I have a constant

internal dialogue – telling myself to keep

going, to breathe slowly, that I know what

I’m doing and to trust myself.

Amy initiated a trophy that is

awarded to a child in her hometown of

Hull who shows exceptional bravery.

When I go in to schools to talk, I always

tell the students that if I can climb

Everest, then they can too. I didn’t start

off with exceptional skill, I had to really

push myself to do it. Amy wasn’t born a

talented pilot, but she had ambition and

drive and she worked at it.

Bonita Norris, 23, is currently seeking

sponsorship for a record-breaking expedition

to the South Pole with an all-British,

all-female team

Clockwise from

below: Amy Johnson,

aged 19, waving to

crowds in Australia,

after her solo flight

from Britain; flying an

air ferry in 1939

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