A RISING STAR! British Jewellery Designer, Katie Rowland

SP - Since the launch of Katie Rowland's Jewellery in 2007, how has the business succeeded?

K.R - It has grown at a completely unexpected rate! last year was particularly busy, crazy! I have won several awards (Coutts New Designer Award, the Sonama-Cutrer Design Award and the Lonmin Design Innovation Award for Platinum) ,Worked with ON/OFF (promotion of new talent in association with LFW), and invited to show and sell at Jewellery Week, where i was amused at the amount of wealthy, glamorous women purchasing knuckledusters!

I had a from Cheryl Coles stylist requesting to use her jewellery! (Other Celeb fans include Paloma Faith (recently seen wearing Katie Rowland on Jonathon Ross, much to her surprise) Dannie Minogue, Tali Lennox, Noel Fielding and Daisy Lowe.)

I have been approached by Agent Provocateur, have now collaborated and released a well received capsule collection with the company and then ontop of all that, I am now officially a proud member of The British Jewellers association!


S.P - Would you change any decisions that have been made towards the development of your business?

K.R - I would have definitely payed more attention to the marketing side of things, or even have hired some one to market the product/brand for me. Also I found the building of contacts and mingling is absolutely vital.


S.P- You have been up for many awards within the last two years, Which has been the most important for you?

K.R - All are pretty important and have equal meaning, however being approached by ON/OFF was a big spring board in launching the brand into the industry.


S.P When did your interest in Jewellery design begin?

K.R - I have always had an interest for jewellery ever since I inherited a box of costume jewellery when i was a child. Even at the age of 9, i would use to pair tracksuits and big blingy statement jewellery. I also remember seeing a magician on the tv as a child which became a huge inspiration for my later creations.

You wouldn't have thought that I was originally interested and trained at degree level in Graphic Design as I thought a career in Typography would have been more my thing!

It eventually all fell together for my final project where i wanted to incorporate typography and fashion and so the concept of my unisex 'rotation rings' were born.


S.P - How would you describe your creations and own sense of style?

K.R - They reflect on my current personal relationships/emotion/events in life. I also believe that the are timeless and collectable, high fashion, playful, sensual, provocative and tongue 'n' cheek.


S.P - Where do you get your inspiration and influences from?

K.R - Self experiences and emotion. I believe it’s important to have an absorbent ‘sponge’ brain as inspiration is everywhere, on the bus etc, anywhere!



 
S.P- What types of materials do you use in your Jewellery collections?

K.R - I Like to use experimental metals and source stones from India. I also work with Ethical concerns so all the production is based in the U.K.


S.P - How long does it take on average to create one of your pieces?


K.R - Can vary. A couple of months on average, but not all designs for a collection are taken all the way through to production.


S.P - How does it feel to see celebrities wearing your creations?

K.R - It’s so crazy! I’m like ahhh I designed that! Just the other day I was watching Johnathon Ross and Paloma Faith was performing and I spotted one of my bracelets. Got straight on the phone to my mum! Also was on the bus earlier and spotted someone wearing a piece of my jewellery, that was just as exciting!

S.P - Whats your advice for anyone wanting to get into this field of the industry?


K.R - GO FOR IT! Make sure you work manage areas of PR and marketing well as this is vital in making you brand grow. Seek out ways of support and willing mentors.Apply for as many internships as possible, experience is key!

Concentrate on designing beautifully and with innovation.

S.P - If there was anything in the British jewellery design industry that you could change what would it be?


K.R - People are reluctant to embrace CAD and are slow to recognise new concepts, which can make it hard for new designers to breakthrough. I also think that Designers should collaborate more.

S.P - Where do you sell your jewellery other than, www.katie-rowland.com?


K.R - Catwalk genius.com

· Johnny Rocket

· Selfridges pop up store

· Machine A (new concept store )


In 3 years time Katie would like to have seen her brand grow, be involved in more collaborations and be working with a big Fashion House (ultimate goal). Hopes to bring out a feminine mens range!

When Art becomes Fashion with Piers Atkinson's creations

 PIERS ATKINSON

  Now I am not usually one to be inspired by hats or accessories but when i passed Piers Atkinson's stall at LFW my heart skipped a beat and my imagination ran wild. With Alice in Wonderland in mind, I stood there mouth wide open gasping at the floral artistic creations that can retail from £400 upwards!



The Riches of The Earth are bought to life as silk flowers, greenery and tendrils climb over precious metals, gold plated studs and sparkling crystal. Honey, Cream and 24 Carat Gold straw fez hats sit aside Moss, Appe and Gilt saucer berets. These key colours are accented splashes of Dusty Pink, Fuchsia and Rose Red. England's pleasant green works as a backdrop colour to the blushing pinks of Japan's cherry blossom, Mediterranean bougainvilleas or the rich hues of Chinese Camila's. A global celebration. A celebration that was sitting in front of me in the Exhibition hall of LFW. 

It wasn't until Atkinson himself came over and started explaining the inspirations behind this outstanding collection that I decided to stop staring, close my mouth and start acting like a sophisticated 'stuck up' woman that LFW was full off.  Atkinson was soon in full swing explaining his collection which he called 'La Belle Au Bole; which to us means Sleeping Beauty in French. He tells me that the exotic designs unravel a two small tale's which go like this,



The Garden of Eden of 'Adam and Eve' is given a Clapham Common make-over in 'Adam and Steve' and ten whisked off to the modern day Elysian fields of Hollywood in 'Franky', and then straight back down to earth in the 'Dalston II' a fuchsia fusion of shocking pink leather, vignettes in tiny models makes figures and Andrew Logan jewels.

The other tale was alittle more romantic. Frances answer to Sleeping Beauty, 'La Belle Au Bois', does a turn in florals and diamante, wieling and false eyelashes while the handsome, and devilishly horny, moustached prince (or is he actually the Green Man?), slashing through those red,red roses, is certainly thinking of more than a kiss to wake his bride-to-be.........



This collection from Atkinson still holds his signature sense of humour but yet it is still as ripe for an outing at the Royal Ascot as much as the society wedding, a spin on the dance floor or for a day when you want to look more like GaGa rather than the girl next door!

Check out his website - www.piersatkinson.com

My favourite collection at the LFW Exbition - BOLONGARO TREVOR

BOLONGARO TREVOR - 

S/S 2011

Bolongaro Trevor is a contemporary Mens & Womanswear collection by British designers Kait Bologaro and Stuart Trevor.



For their S/S 2001 they took inspiration from the Victorian era, fantastical world of botanical artistry, natures curiosity and the zoological society of London for the scientific study of animals in 1826. Taking in all these different topics of inspiration they have managed to create a collection, that for me stood out from the rest of the exhibitors at LFW.



 
A hard thing to achieve when so many of you, with the same ambitions, are compact into such a small space.

 

With garments featuring French tea dyed lace, Indian wood block printing and African hand woven lacing, its hard not to fall in love with their exotic creations.
A bigger plus is the way they have tailored their clothing with unstructured fabrics, over-sized willow dress’s to having clean cut shapes and fitted jackets. Even their attention to detail is fascinating.

There is alittle something for everyone.

CHECK OUT THEIR SITE - http://www.bolongarotrevor.com/

Oscar De La Renta, Ready-to-wear??

Last night it was the god of Fashion, Oscar De La Renta's, time to show us what he is made of at New York Fashion Week. Showing his new collection for Spring/Summer11, I couldn’t wait to see what cuts, colours and fabrics he had in stall for us!

The music began; the room went quite and out came the glamorous models in beautifully cut suits in pastel colours with a hint of floral print. A-Line skirts and fitted chic jackets, it reminded of the New Look that was created by Dior in 1954, bringing back femininity by embracing curves. The only downside I saw at the beginning stages of the show was that all the garments resembled something I would see Victoria Beckham wearing. Not a good resemblance to have in the fashion industry!


As the show progressed the clothes became little looser with jumpsuits and flowing dress's in soft, light fabrics only to show a hint of curves at the waist where a belt would be neatly fastened. Thin leather belts to bring in waists seem to be a hit for yet another season. Even thicker, more attention grabbing belts showed a few times!

The models still kept their chic, New Look  jackets on for most of the show combined with slouchy trousers, jumpsuits and the must have A-line skirts. A brilliant coat for the chilly spring evenings that lay ahead.

All was going well for the designer (except for the Victoria Beckham look) until he bought out his evening dresses to the stage. What a disappointment they were! Starting of beautifully with dress's that were ready for the Oscars, he had the crowd hooked with anticipation to see more. More then came out and got drastically worse! First up of the horrid designs was a lime green dress, a colour that even the most beautiful person in the world couldn’t pull off. Next a dress which looked like the model had found some tulle lying around and decided to tie it round her neck with her over ruffled dress! Another to come was a pastel pink dress that looked like it had been through a paper shredder and then sewn together. A man at this level of design should not have created the ultimate dress that was shown! A shocking dark green fabric with floral print in a cut that had no resemblance to the rest of the show. If that was not bad enough he decided to add a pastel pink shawl/jacket that needed to be in a Couture show not in Ready-to-wear and certainly not combined with that awful dress!


What started out as a very promising show by Oscar De La Renta ended up looking like a jumble of designs that he threw together at the end as he did not have time to concentrate on the final pieces. Or he found old designs from previous collections that were not shown (for a reason) and decided to fill his collection out abit more.
O well Oscar, you have next season to amaze us with :) i'm sure you will make it up to us for the few mistakes you made!

Skin advice for the cold Winter months

Pale and tired looking skin seems to be a problem facing many men and women during these grey, cold winter months. Even though we cleanse, tone and moisturize its very difficult to get young, fresh glowing skin that's blemish free.
We tend to spend millions of pounds, as a nation, on obsessive skin care products or high-cost medications yet we still cannot seem to achieve that fresh-faced look.

Sometimes we need to go back to basics by swapping our high-end market products for a healthier lifestyle and disciplined cleansing  habits. By modifying our daily routines a tiny bit with the following tips. i can guarantee that you will see some improvement and you will be able to add flawless skin to your best quality list.


1-DRINKING LOTS OF WATER - 2 liters a day is the recommended amount but if you wish to check how much is the right amount for you, then the most simple way is to check the colour of your fluid excretions. The clearer the better! By not drinking enough fluid it can show signs of dehydration in your skin, which makes it look dull, grey and lifeless. Also, did you know that crankiness and tiredness can be the first sign of dehydration?

2-EAT HEALTHIER - By looking after your insides it will show on the outside, as they say, ' Beauty is not only skin-deep' ,( a true saying. ) By avoiding foods such as fatty take-aways and other oily meals, that often make your face break out, your skin can become less greasy and prone to blemishing. Processed foods such as: chocolate, biscuits, actually anything that tastes good, needs to be cut out of your daily diet and only introduced back in on a rare or special occasion. By eating your 5 a day within a balanced diet, you will see process fast as your skin will be having the vitamins and hydration it needs. Many people completely unaware that they are lactose or wheat intolerant. I am the prime example of this one, as i suffered with breakouts for years. I tried every medication and product there was only to gain no results and for my doctor just to put it down to stress. It wasn't till my father mentioned about being lactose intolerant that i decided to test his theory out, so for a month i swapped all diary based products for soya ones, within two weeks my skin had calmed and my blemish's were disappearing. Within a month my skin had not suffered a breakout and i was a million miles away from my acne prone skin.

3-CLEANSE, EXFOLIATE, TONE AND MOISTURIZE. A simple daily routine that should be carried out by all men and woman. By selecting a gentle skin cleanser that works with your skin type, cleanse in a circular motion. Following, twice a week, with an exfoliant. Over using exfoliant can damage that skin, so twice a week is more than enough to get rid off the buildup of dead skin cells. After exfoliation concludes toning, use an astringent or toner to tighten the skin and remove any left over makeup or dirt. Finally let the toner dry naturally and and a moisturiser to help protect the skin from dryness. If you suffer with oily skin then reduce moisturizing to only four times a week.

4-AVOID TOUCHING YOUR FACE. Avoid touching your face with your fingers or objects like your mobile phone or dirty makeup brushes. These are some prime examples that collect sebum and skin residue.
Avoid touching your face with your fingers or leaning your face on objects that collect sebum and skin residue like the telephone receiver. Touching your face can spread the bacteria that cause pores to become inflamed and irritated. To keep bacteria at bay, wash your hands before applying anything to your face, such as treatment creams or makeup.

5 -DON'T TOWEL DRY - let your skin dry naturally as this helps to tighten pores. Drying your skin with a towel only causes the pores to stay open and lose its moisture.

By following the daily skin care routine along with drinking lots of water, exercising and protecting your skin from sun damage, you should soon notice positive results. Maintaining discipline and adhering to your goal to achieve healthier skin make the actual task at hand so much easier to accomplish.



Photography by Aimee Marie Jackson 


<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/1989888/stevey-paris?claim=dugnq8h8v3k">Follow my blog with bloglovin</a>

Interview with Avant Garde designer GEMMA SLACK

It's 9am on a sunny (yet blistering cold) Thursday morning and I'm already sitting in my office with a coffee and interview questions to hand, ready to speak to the predominant up and coming designer Gemma Slack. The girl who caught my eye due to her Avant Garde designs which draw similarity to Gareth Pugh, Hussein Chalayan and Alexander McQueen. An outstanding talent to have at such an early stage in the stepping stones of the fashion industry.

Gemma Slack was born and raised in Sheffield, moving to London to cultivate and enrich her creativity. With a love of fine art and sculpture Gemma engaged herself in an art course at the eminent, Chelsea college of Art and design. Whilst there she started to take an extraordinary interest in the female form, which lead to her tutor encouraging her to try fashion design. In doing so an anomalous fashion designer was born into the industry. Gemma starts by creating paintings and sculptures which she then modifies into garments. 'All my work has the same thought pattern. I research ideas and its then not until the later stages of development that I choose what form it will be, whether it's fashion, fine art or video.'

By using this same thought process Gemma used it as an inspiration for her latest Spring/Summer10 collection 'My most recent collection looks quite scatty but the central theme was about transformation and the interesting concept of somebody forming personality when wearing various garments. For example at a previous show a first time model was telling me how nervous she was about going down the runway, that was until she put on one of my jackets and gained pure confidence strutting her stuff showing the garment to it's full potential. Another way of explaining would be for example Superman, without his cape he is an average man but with it he transforms into a superhero. Another side of inspiration was Rebecca Horns work on extending the body form.' It seemed like quite a strange concept to design a collection on to me but speaking to Gemma made me realise that most of her work always relates back to the female form and body structure, which shows itself within her garments. Talking about influences and designs I asked Gemma what she thought would be the main trends of 2010, her answer? (As sincerely as you can get at that time in the morning) 'I don't know really, I don't genuinely follow trends. I go by my influences and creative mind, but I am sure that leather corsets and metal dress's will definitely be in!'  As for London's style Gemma summarizes 'London always has a certain base even when there are massive trends that sweep through. It is completely different from many other city's as it has it own unique style of mini trends that vary from place to place.'

Gemma has had a tough time starting in the industry and, after hearing her story, she can certainly be considered as an inspiration to all artistic designers. Without any funding, she managed to produce her first outstanding collection independently out of her bedroom, using hard earned savings from part time bar work. Only recently has she been able to afford her own studio to constitute her Spring/summer10 collection and one voluntary student to help on next seasons (which, I may add, I can't wait to see!). I asked her about advice for anybody looking to get into that field of the industry, she answered very honestly, 'actually make sure you want to do it, there are many ups and downs to think about. Also make sure you have money! It's such an important point, but without it you will struggle and it will be an extremely long and windy road. You will need persistence and a great group of friends around you, as I have found out whilst working in the studio at 3am ringing my friends telling them I cant take it anymore!! They were always there to push me and make me realise that it's my dream and ambition'. Being persistent in what she does makes Gemma Slack the extraordinary Avant Garde designer that she has become and her hard work combined with an extraordinary drive is certainly beginning to paying off.  She is London Bug's designer of the month for many reasons but it is ultimately her pure ambition and drive that makes her stand out, combined with her astounding Spring/Summer collection which certainly has taken my breath away. Her well constructed, unordinary pieces will be in your wardrobe must haves for century's of fashion to come. From Leather corsets to edgy dress's, these are garments that are requisite for standing out from the crowd and looking like a true fashionista.    

Unpublished Interview with Betty Jackson

BETTY JACKSON INTERVIEW
'BUY QUALITY, NOT QUANTITY'


Betty Jackson, the woman who bought femininity back into fashion with
garments made to liberate the female form. Starting her career by working
alongside design legends Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell, its not a surprise that
she has become an international success. The London Bug managed to pull her
away from her hectic work schedule to talk about her label and inspirations.

S.P - It's been nearly 30 years since you launched your own fashion label, what's the
secret in staying so successful?
B.J - No idea! Except that we love what we do and I think that’s quite
important.

S.P - How does it feel to have received an M.B.E and a C.B.E from Her Majesty the
Queen, for doing something you have passion and drive for?
B.J - It was a huge honour... Both times! And it’s always a thrill going
through the gates at Buckingham Palace.

S.P - How did you get into fashion design and know it was the right career path for you?
B.J - I knew when I went to Art College that I had found the creative
space I wanted to be in and fashion and textiles was the obvious choice
for me.

S.P - How did excepting Debenhams offers to create Betty Jackson's Black for their designer range help your career?
B.J - The Betty Jackson Black range allows us to reach a customer that we
wouldn’t necessarily reach with our main collection, so that’s already a
good thing... Plus they have stores throughout the UK, so we get
great distribution. We are careful, however, to keep the collections very
different from our own label so as not to confuse people, but we feel
very positive about the relationship.

S.P - If there was one thing about British fashion that you could change, what would it
be and why?
B.J - Buy quality not quantity.

S.P - How would you define London's style?
B.J - Very inspirational.

S.P - If you had to choose a British fashion designer to work alongside, who would it be
and why?
B.J - I’ve worked for myself for so long now, I’m not sure I could do a job
share!

S.P - How did the launch of your S/S10 collection go?
B.J - It wasn’t bad at all.... Considering we were in the middle of a very
serious recession.

S.P - What was your main inspirations for your S/S10 collection?
B.J - The women in a Jean-Luc Godard movie walking through Shanghai.

S.P - How successful has your S/S10 collection been so far?
B.J - We sold it well at wholesale, but it hasn’t hit the shops yet so we
have to wait for the retail reaction.

S.P - With A/W10 collection being shown this month, how have you coped with the
pressure of making sure everything is ready and up to the standard that is expected?
B.J - It’s what we do each season.

S.P - What was your inspiration for A/W10 collection?
B.J - This season’s collection, and in particular the prints, are heavily
inspired by the work of Turner Further inspiration for the collection
has come from the colours and textures of ceramics and lace, and
the richness of Arabia!

S.P - What advice would you give to anyone wanting to get into the fashion industry?
B.J - Love it to death!

S.P - Where can The London Bug readers buy your clothes?
B.J - From our flagship store in Brompton Road London, and in stockists
around the country.