Today just about everyone has a clothing line or design partnership. The fact that the Kardashians have transcended beyond America to sell their label Kardashian Kollections in Dorothy Perkins in the UK is a prime example of that. You'll be pleased to know, though, that the latest murmurings of a celebrity-brand partnership is actually a good one.
According to Vogue UK, Adele might be in talks with Christopher Bailey about working on a bespoke plus-size line for Burberry Prorsum. On the face of it the news sounds a bit far-fetched. After all, while the whole trend of celebrity partnerships has reached saturation point, these collaborations tend to be with high street retailers rather than luxury brands. But the move does make sense. Burberry is a big supporter of British talent and who is flying the flag quite like Adele right now? And besides, a fashionable plus size line is definitely missing.
Burberry have always been a favourite of mine for their fall collections, especially with their emphasis on great outwerwear and mixed textures, but their S/S12 collection was especially strong.
Tapping into their British heritage, the collection featured exclusive fabrics developed in London and produced in English mills. As we saw Kim Jones do at Louis Vuitton, the brand really separated themselves for the current penchant for fast fashion by involving over 100 tailors in the contructions of each look. With all that said, you can imagine my delight when these images hit my inbox yesterday. The images feature Cara Delevigne alongside Eddie Redmayne sporting the latest collection in their S/S12 campaign shot by Mario Testino.
Fall is always Burberry's season, something which is hardly surprising considering that the brand are known for their outerwear. Christopher Bailey is the master of experimenting with rich tones and fabrics to update the brand's classics and yesterday's show was no different. Outerwear often came with herringbone prints; corduroy popped up on trousers; cropped jackets came with fur collars and skirts and dresses came in suede.
A handful of jackets came in the blanket styles that we saw a lot of in New York and were a welcomed departure from the jackets with oversized pockets that often felt too heavy. Peplum, which was the shape of choice at brands like Vera Wang last season, dominated the collection and appeared on dresses and skirts and the shape was also created on jackets cinched at the waist with belts with bows or fox head buckles.
The collection featured the knit tops with dog and owl embroidery which appeared in the menswear collection last month, and puffa jackets looked as good as they did for men too and came in a similar cropped style but this time in brown. If you're still not convinced about the puffa jackets, don't worry because the quilted coats teamed with skinny belts were equally good.
Eddie Redmayne, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Mario Testino
As always today's Burberry Prorsum show was a star studded affair. The usuals like Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Kate Bosworth sat alongside new additions to the front row gang like Wil.i.am and model Jessica Michibata.
Whether your attending in person or watching their livestream in the comfort of your home, the Burberry show is a must see and it's not just about the clothes.
If there's any show at London Fashion Week that brings in the big names, it's Burberry and yesterday was no different. The usuals like Mario Testino, Anna Wintour, Sienna Miller, Lily Donaldson and Rachel Zoe were joined by Kanye West, Ellie Goulding, Gemma Arterton and Burberry Body face Rosie Huntington-Whiteley on the front row.
The lack of a gap between the end of London fashion week and the start of Milan has not worked for two reasons. Firstly, editors have had to rush from a full day yesterday and fly to Milan first thing this morning for shows. The schedule has also allegedly affected the model line-up for shows last night in London.
According to sources, models booked to walk for Gucci today were required to be in Milan last night, preventing them from walking in the Burberry Prorsum S/S11 show yesterday. Burberry favourites like Lily Donaldson, Abbey Lee Kershaw and Freja Beha Erichsen were notably missing but the brand did manage to secure Jourdan Dunn who has made a full comeback to the runway after giving birth early this year.
Since 1961, Ken has played loving boyfriend to his female plastic counterpart, Barbie, and over the years we've seen him stand willingly and supportingly in her shadow - watching her play a supporting role in Toy Story 2 & 3, be made into art by none other than Andy Warhol, walk the catwalk at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week and even sign a contract with Christian Louboutin. After waiting so patiently, it seems Ken's time has come to shine as the plastic heartthrob is not only following his girlfriend's lead with a role in Toy Story 3, but he also appears in an editorial for Esquire UK.
According to the magazine, Ken enjoyed the shoot - "It was beyond personal shopper, and each designer was highly sensitive to my masculinity. Quality design really suits me!" Quality design indeed, Ken models some of the latest designs from Burberry Prorsum, Prada and Gucci in the shoot, which was styled by Catherine Hayward and shot by Matthew Donaldson. Editor in chief Jeremy Langmead joked that working with Ken was great as there were "no tantrums," although his plastic body meant there wasn't much variety between shots.
