Sportswear Luxe.

 Considering Spring/Summer '10 trends.

Sportswear luxe? Jog on please!

Adidas have announced that their collaboration with Stella McCartney will run into 2010.

The sporting giant is pleased to continue what it calls “an inspirational partnership,” with Stella creating a range of products for running, swimming and the gym.

It’s all in aid of fashion’s latest buzz-phrase: sportswear luxe.

Or the biggest oxymoron if ever I heard one.

Paul McCartney’s youngest daughter reckons you don’t have to “sacrifice your style for sport.”

Pull the other one, love. There is nothing luxurious about sport.

Running on the treadmill for five hours listening to "Pump up the Jam: the workout edition" on repeat is not made any more bearable with a Stella McCartney label in the back of your vest.

In the gym you have sweat dripping down your face, your hair is tied back in a pony-tail and you’re face is redder than John Terry’s.

Designer clothes are not going to make the process of working out any more enjoyable.

According to Grazia however sportswear this season isn’t just confined to the gym.

Apparently we will all soon be traipsing to work in our jogging bottoms and Chloe two-tone heeled trainers.

Some things in life: Lady Gaga and Elton John, John and Edward, Russell Brand and Katy Perry, should never have been paired together.

Heels and sweat pants should be added to this list. Pretending that sportswear is luxurious is absurd.

A hoodie and an old pair of trackie bottoms are what you change into at the end of a hard working day and wear to slob out in front of Eastenders.

Not to a boardroom meeting.

Featured Items, All from Stella for Adidas: 
Organic cotton track top, $215
Wet-look nylon track top, $330
Studio zip-detail playsuit, $130
Yoga cotton track pants, $105
Fortasse canvas sneakers, $130

Written by Sarah Barns.

The Wish List.

What we NEED to buy in February.

Label Lust .

We want .. we need it .. we can't afford it .. we still buy it! 

Sacrifice nice food and plump for Tesco Value beans and have a beautiful wardrobe. Go on splurge … the loan is in !

The hottest trend of Spring/Summer '10 is underwear as outerwear and this demi sheer blouse would benefit from a cheeky glimpse of a sexy black bra. The Paul and Joe ivory silk blouse also adheres to this season’s monochrome look, with a contrasting black trim and neck tie. Delicate and feminine, the floatly silk fabric creates a garment that Coco Chanel herself would be proud of! Team with a tux jacket and skinny jeans for a chic and sophisticated, feminine look.

Continuing with the Parisian Chanel look, the nautical stripe returns for its annual strut down the catwalk . ASOS have created a new portfolio of catwalk collections, giving us designer wannabes something to drool over! Markus Lupfer, one of the designers detailed this week, is THE label for statement knitwear. He bring us this fabulous heavily sequined sailor knit dress. This is truly a fashion magpie’s dream.  The price tag may burn a very large hole in our Primark purse, but we can always wish …

Okay, let's bring ourselves down to earth… we cant afford either of the previous items, but a trend we CAN master on the student budget is ruffles and feathers! Spring is the season to be inspired by nature and with this silk skirt from RARE you can emulate the feathered look without facing the problem of malting.  

Careful not to go too crazy with the feathers, you’re not being cast in a musical at the Folies Bergère! 

TBA @ Urban Outfitters stands for "to be adored" , after having a quick browse through their debut work, I have fallen in love with their Spring collection. This Peter Pan collared dress complete with beaded detailing is quirky, yet uniquely feminine and in this season's hottest colour, a pretty peach, it embodies the youthful undertones of this years catwalk collections.

Written by Emily Spencer.

Catwalk Lessons: Giles Deacon.

A beginners guide to catwalk style.

I was lucky enough to catch Giles' catwalk show at the V&A recently, below are a few photographs that I took of the affair and a review of what I saw. I got to witness the ‘best of’ his work in action and an appearance from the man himself.

Who would have thought British Fashion Designer of the Year 2006 would have an unhealthy obsession with insects and reptiles? Think lizard prints, feather accessories and fluorescent woodland scenes splashed over seventies style anti-tailoring. It may be bizarre but from a converted boys school in Shoreditch emerges an amalgamation of style and the natural world.

His Spring ‘05 collection saw outsize wooden plaque pendants and beautiful feather hairpieces, a trend only now trickling onto the high street.

The A/W ‘06 collection has to be my personal favourite, with giant polka dots and graphic stripes, each girl was a vision in Lurex and holographic prints. Peach and grey thrown into a palette of fluorescent brights and teamed with giant yellow ‘banana’ headdresses (I really don’t think there is a more fashion savvy way to describe them) made for a delectable collection.

Classic Giles came in Spring/Summer ‘07 with the emergence of the mace bag: Deacon’s way of combining war weaponry and accessories. To some a political statement, to others simply an aesthetically pleasing hand-held delight (I am definitely in the second camp). Not quite as controversial, the next collection came to a climax with a dress based on a sea cucumber. Hard to visualise? Indeed.

Deacon’s controversial Bambi print inspired by The Sex Pistols’ ‘Who Killed Bambi?’ is now something of a cult classic and a lesson in how to make Disney print party frocks grotesque using just one well placed splash of gore. Something a little more wearable to be taken from the show were the nude knee highs that all the models were wearing, a great way to spice up a bare leg in Summer. 

Spring ’09 bought the infamous Pac-Man helmets and chalky faces while his most recent collection returns to his creepy crawly roots with arachnid print and colourful metallics, plus the extremely cute dinosaur shoulder bags. We shouldn’t want one, but we do.

Deacon’s next A/W collection promises plenty of surprises, with his pre-fall sneak preview featuring a preppy paperclip print. Whatever next?

Written by Viki Imrie.

Catwalk Lessons.

A beginner's guide to designer fashion.

Ski-slope shoulder pads? 

Fitted leather?

Super skinny acid wash denim?

All featuring on any sensible girl’s A/W wish list and all inspired by the designer of the season, Christophe Decarnin. Not ringing any bells? Well, he’s the brains behind Balmain. 

Everyone, from Heat magazine to Harper’s Bazaar is telling us, or rather ordering us, to sit up and take notice of this clever, clever man and judging by the rate at which the copy cat designs are flooding onto the high street it’s probably not a bad idea.

Those dramatic yet perfectly proportioned peaked shoulders are everywhere and best of all they are super chic, absolutely no risk of eighties throwback syndrome whatsoever. Excellent news.

The quilted leather waist skirt is perfection in garment form and the peaked shoulder tuxedo is a timeless cult classic, teamed on the catwalk with smart skinny trousers with a turn up and a pointy pump.

Decarnin has shaped the way we dress this season whether we like it or not. That leather biker jacket you tried on in Topshop? Inspired by Balmain. That body con mini dress with the embellished shoulders you lusted after in Urban Outfitters? Yep, Balmain again.

The pick of copy cat Christophe includes this dress (featured left) costing £19.99 from Ark and this skirt (featured below) is £35 from Topshop.

Repeat after me, Christophe Decarnin; it’s a name we definitely haven’t heard the last of.

  

Written by Viki Imrie.