Young girls look up to Cheryl Cole or Cat Deeley and that is a pretty narrow prescription of existence. We want to show glamorous women in other industries, it doesn’t always have to be dour women doing cerebral activities. It is possible to use your brain and want to wear Jimmy Choos and have great eyelashes. In this country there is an attitude ,or a snobbery, that suggests that women can’t do both, which I would like to see change.
”
Adele's October cover of British Vogue was my favourite from the magazine last year but sadly, it didn't go down well. Despite the singer breaking records for her albums, the same isn't true for her ability to shift magazines.
'Adele is the most popular woman in the world. but one of the worst sellers we've ever had,' Alexandra Schulman revealed yesterday. 'If find there has to be a relationship with the person on the cover that goes beyond how they look. Our most successful cover was the millennium issue - which didn't have anyone on it, but acted like a mirror so you could see your own reflection.'
It was mind-blowing. I just remember thinking it was this incredibly beautiful diamond that had been kind of trodden into the dust a little bit. It had been overlicensed, it had been disrespected … It hadn't been given the love it should have been. There was no life and soul in the products. Products need a beating heart, and I just knew there was so much potential there.
”He told Alexandra Schulman at the Vogue Fashion Festival
I feel very grateful that, at the time I started having sex with men, I didn't even have a bikini wax and men were lovely. Now I just think: how terrifying to be a 20-year-old and feel that you've got to be perfect and hairless and immaculate and that it's really awful. I would never have got undressed.
”She told the Observer
Image via Mulberry
Mulberry always have a strong front row but the front row line up at their show this morning was particularly interesting. After Rihanna made an appearance at the Stella McCartney presentation last night, many assumed that she would appear at Mulberry today but instead, all eyes were on Lana Del Rey.
In a twist of marketig genius, the brand dropped a press release first thing this morning announcing that they have created the 'Del Rey' bag in the singer's honour, which they confirmed would debut at the show. Naturally then, it became pretty clear that the 'Video Games' singer would be in attendance and that she was. Sporting the white ostrich skin bag, Del Rey sat front row with Pixie Geldof and rapper de jour, Azealia Banks.
The 'Alexa' bag named after Alexa Chung made sense. Whatever you think of the presenter, her innate sense of style is undisputed and more importantly, it is quintessentially British which matches Mulberry's heritage. Del Rey on the other hand seems to have catapulted to fame over night simple for being an antidote to the pop songs we haven't been able to get a break from recently rather than for anything else. While her debut track 'Video Games' was everywhere last summer, her album continues to get panned by critics and Alexandra Schulman was forced to defend choosing her to cover British Vogue's March issue earlier this month. It therefore begs the question - why would Mulberry honour a celebrity who doesn't have a strong link to the brand and whose credibility is the subject of much debate?
What do you think?
Since dropping her debut track 'Video Games' last summer, Lana Del Rey has been everywhere. While her face has appeared on just about every magazine over the last few months, her debut album continues to get panned by critics internationally. The controversy surrounding her sudden rise to fame had Alexandra Schulman feeling the need to defend her decision to book the singer to front British Vogue's important March issue
Now, the singer fronts the latest issue of T magazine. Like all of her other cover shoots, she looks good but her current stardom begs makes you wonder - is she a legitimate musician or just a pretty face or 'skinnier Adele' as the magazine writes.
What do you think?
Emmanuelle Alt; Anna Wintour
Gucci always know how to throw a good party and yesterday, it was all about celebrating the opening of the Gucci Museo in Florence. The opening comes as the brand celebrates it's 90th anniversary this year and the venue will play host to pieces from the Gucci archive along with contemporary art installations and an icon store. Everyone from Poppy Delevigne to Charlotte Casiraghi attended, all wearing Gucci, but stragely Florence Welch wasn't there.
Our hat goes off to British Vogue for opting for a model to front their big September issue rather than going down the celebrity route to ensure circulation numbers. But surprisingly they're not the only ones as Harper's Bazaar and Vogue Australia also opted for models for their September issues.
Freja Beha Erichsen was the model of choice appearing in a sequin Dolce & Gabbana dress shot by Mario Testino, marking the first time since 2008 that someone other than Kate Moss has bagged the magazine's September cover.
It's a big week for Christopher Kane, the newest winner of the British Fashion Council/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund. Kane and his sister/design partner, Tammy, will receive a £200,000 cheque and "director-level mentors across the industry."
How did Kane manage the win? He had to present a business plan to judges such as British Vogue editor Alexandra Schulman and Browns' Joan Burstein, and beat out competition including Jonathan Saunders, Peter Pilotto, Charlotte Olympia, Nicholas Kirkwood, Osman Yousefzada and E. Tautz. Not an easy job - but Kane has swiftly drawn criticism (in some circles) for his win, since he already counts the likes of Anna Wintour and Donatella Versace among his mentors.
This is the second year for the BFC Fashion Fund, which took its cue from the CFDA Fashion Fund in the US. For the UK competition, last year, Erdem Moralioglu won top honours.
