Event: Future Fashion at Westfield London...

From Blogging about cycle style to uploading my outfits and accessories on Instagram, it's clear that combining fashion with technology is a love of mine. So, when I received an invitation from Westfield London to attend the digital focused 'Future Fashion' / 'We Are Fashion' Bloggers event on Monday, I was intrigued & simply had to go!

The concept of 'Future Fashion' is a digital celebration of the launch of Spring/Summer 2012 across both Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City. Across five zones, shoppers will be able to create their own looks and styles from SS/2012 using interactive touch screens (which I got a preview of) Tweet Mirrors & social media photo booths and 3D fashion shows.

The evening started off with Champagne & Canapés, followed by an informal talk on SS/12 trends given by Grazia Fashion Editor at Large (and the rather lovely) Melanie Rickey...

An introduction to the technology was given by representatives from Yellow-Door and Saint London...

... and then came the chance to create my own 'Style Board' on the interactive screen!

I LOVED the theme of the evening which was "East Vs West" style... as an East London girl, I gave my own personal spin on 'East Style' for me & created two looks for day & evening...

At 103", the screen is massive; it's like having the biggest iPad in the world as your virtual wardrobe! You have the option to navigate through 500 fashion items, and browse images from the trend-themed galleries. I like the fact it contains clothing / items from 700+ brands all housed by Westfield. After creating a 'Style Board', you name & save it, and it will be emailed to you. Very handy to have it as a  wishlist ("hint-hint" @ The Boy...) or as a reference point for a wardrobe remix!

There is a LOT to choose from, which is ace. Of course, I was like a child in a sweetshop and was hooked on it! Watching some of the other Bloggers in attendance, it appeared they felt the addiction too...

Even though I love keeping up to date with the latest trends, I enjoy wardrobe remixing far too much to stick to just one "look". This is something I feel is recognised in the concept of the interactive screens / style boards. If you're like me and you need the freedom to mix and match pieces from the high-street to high-end, this is fabulous. You can still cater to your own personal style and stir-it up the way you like.

The 'East Vs West' feel doesn't just stop at the event - as mentioned, it will be running at both Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City. If your a fellow "Eastie", you can catch the event at Stratford City from 4 - 9th April 2012. More information on the event can be found on the website: westfield.com/stratfordcity/fashion.


More photos from the event can be viewed in my Flickr Set.


I'd like to give a special "thank you" to the absolutely wonderful Megan and Isa who invited me to the event - it was a brilliant evening & you both have fantastic style ladies!

No doubt I'll be making my way to Stratford to have another go on the interactive screens and create more style boards... and add yet more items to my Spring/Summer cycling wardrobe!

Cover Girl: Cycle Style...

From an email I received from Horst A. Friedrichs back in May 2011 which lead to some amazing photo-shoots & meetings: fast forward to March 2012 and 'Cycle Style' the book has been published... with a rather familiar 'Lady' with a Pashley on the back cover... 

At the risk of sounding like a gushing mess, this is one of the best things to have happened to me! I was over the moon when Horst asked me to be a part of his project, but being the cover girl on the book has completely blown me away.

The book is beautiful, with its varied mix of London Cyclists across 192 pages. Horst has done such an amazing job on this and Prestel have produced a fantastic publication...

Some of my favourite cycling friends and style icons are in the book, including the lovely Fleur de Geurre with a red Pashley Britannia

... and it's also rather nice to say I'm in the same book as one of my favourite designers who embraces cycling with such passion... 

Mr Paul Smith! 

It has been a brilliant experience and of course, The Boy played a major part in all of this too. He came along to the Shoots, took photos for me to use on the blog and made a friend in Horst too, something which clearly didn't go unnoticed by the man himself... 

Seeing Ian being 'thanked' in the book was a rather special thing indeed.

With the official 'launch party' for Cycle Style coming up in a couple of weeks, it'll be fabulous to see Horst again, and meet-up with fellow cyclists in the book. Of course a blog post on that will follow, but in the meantime, get your hands on a copy of Cycle Style :) 

Team GB - The Stella McCartney / Adidas Kit Launch....

So, the Team GB Olympic Kit has been revealed to the world, in a launch at the Tower of London. The buzz surrounding the collaboration between sports brand adidas and designing powerhouse Stella McCartney has been immense... but it seems there have been more cries of  "off with 'er head!" at the Tower, drowning out any joyful reactions to the kit...

As pictures of it appeared on the official Facebook page from 11am this morning, the comments that began to flood in were initially of utter disapproval of the design. Ranging from the rather blunt "Really bad" to "the overall design is just rubbish", there was one recurring theme throughout the comments on there and other social media sites which kept on popping up;

"Where is the red, white and blue? Where is the British Flag?!"

The British public seemed to be in utter shock by the design - you might as well rename the initial reactions as 'TracksuitGate'... (cheers @SimonAlexTyler for that one!). As I was discussing with a friend on Twitter, it would appear most people were "expecting the obvious" of a largely white kit, festooned with the British Flag. The design clearly didn't go down that path, and I totally respect and admire McCartney and adidas for going down a more imaginative and creative route for this design.

As McCartney pointed out, the Union Flag was a prominent element of the design, which had been over two years in the making:

"... For me, it's one of the most beautiful flags in the world and it was important to me to stay true to that iconic design, but also modernise it and present it in a contemporary way." 

McCartney didn't "forget about the flag" or "not get the memo" as people have been saying online at the moment. The geometric shapes in the flag are just as iconic as the colours; the flag has simply been broken down, but is still present in the kit.

I have to admit to being slightly baffled by what currently feels like the general consensus of "how will we distinguish who our athletes are taking part in the cycling events?" If you're really asking that question, it begs me to ask if you actually know who our Olympic Cycling team are...

Perhaps the international response to the kit will be more positive, but I definitely stand by the kit and give a thumbs-up to adidas and McCartney for the direction they've gone in. You're looking great Team GB - go for it!

Fashion Thursday: Vulpine Bike Apparel...

The world of cycling fashion has a new face on the block, and it's certainly one to be excited about.

Long anticipated and much spoken about amongst the cycling scene, Vulpine Bike Apparel has launched -  and its founder Nick Hussey has brought something rather special to the market.
A true labour of love, Hussey states that Vulpine was "borne out of love and frustration"; his love for cycling which goes back to his childhood days and his frustration of cycling clothing being "stuck in a Lycra-warp for 30 years".

Being a leisure rider on my Pashley, I've never felt the need to dress in 'high performance cycling clothing' to ride, but the ethos of Vulpine (that clothing should work off the bike as well as on it) struck a chord with me, especially after having the chance to see some of the pieces up-close and personal...

With the performance characteristics of high-end sportswear, there isn't a touch of Lycra in sight; we're talking about garments made from the finest Merino Wool and incredible attention to detail from the stitching right down to the buttons and fastenings.

From what I've seen so far and with more designs to come (including a dedicated Women's range) Vulpine has a lot to offer. I'm especially impressed at how it blended in with my everyday wear. I love being able to mix and match within my wardrobe and it was easily achieved with the pieces I tried. Practical (digging the back pocket on the Top to keep my keys in!) and rather beautiful, I predict big things for Vulpine.

Website: Vulpine.cc
All photos by Paul Calver Photography

Fashion Thursday: Madness of Marni...

You know what I'm like when it comes to bold accessories: you can never have too many in your life... so when the Marni at H&M collaboration was announced, I was more than interested to see if their jewellery range would live up to the true Marni standard.

Those chunky bracelets, big statement necklaces, ribbons, wood, beads & acrylic magic... it was all there. The preview confirmed the capsule collection was gorgeous; and at a more affordable price, I had to have some of it. As I've been planning out my Spring Cycling wardrobe already (which consists of me spying random items I love and mixing them up with what I already have), throwing in some of the bobby-dazzlers from Marni would be perfect... the fact I could already see them going well with the black of the Pashley and catching the glimmer of the sun as I cycled through the city was indication enough of how much these were a "WANT".

Then came the Madness: actually getting hold of it. At home in my Sick Bed (yet again) there was no way I was going to make it to the store - even if I was in the rudest of health and could have cycled to one, it was not happening. The only thing for it was to go online. Having to be awake early anyway for a Docs appointment, I set my alarm to be up in time for the launch... well, I was up an hour before to make sure I could get online. Sat up in bed, MacBook Pro on lap and Lemsip in hand, I logged into my account... and waited. Everything was running smoothly - the connection hadn't fallen over & just as it hit 9am the store opened... I clicked and got THIS:

It didn't matter where you were, an orderly queue was to be formed. I had no idea that it was even possible to queue online! As I waited patiently* at my screen, I read through tweets of other MarniMadhatters like myself, some who had already swooped in and got theirs in store; the lovely @MsGolightly over in Rome who I bet queued in style & two new cycling friends on twitter @loisdesigns and @Kristy_Kristy who were first in the queue of their local H&M!

I have to admit, the idea of queueing to get onto a website was a tad ridiculous, but I carried on waiting anyway, while trying not to fall asleep under the heaviness of this rotten Cold. An hour and a half later (yes, I know!) and I was in. It was straight to the accessories and nothing else... and by the power of Paracetamol and a strong Index Finger, I got what I was after!

I'm over the moon with getting what I was after, but the pandemonium that came with it was insane. I take my hat off to those who actually did the proper queueing thing outside... now, I need to crawl back under my duvet, shake off this Cold and await delivery of my Marni.

*refreshing like a lunatic ;)