LLG in Grazia!

March 9, 2010 · 15 comments

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I promised that when Grazia came off news stand in the UK  I would post the big old interview that they did with  me in the London Fashion Week issue. Hattie Brett who had the job of interviewing me did a fantastic job of condensing well over an hour of my blather into a feature that, I hope, doesn’t sound like the ravings of a solipsistic idiot.

Of course, there are a few things that aren’t maybe as I would have stressed them, but there are no inaccuracies or errors, major or minor, over which I could have torn out my hair. Giving oneself up for press purposes is always a gamble, & I would like to thank all the lovely people over at Grazia, including editor Jane Bruton, for not taking the opportunity to make me look or sound like a complete twat. (You may, of course, differ in opinion, but do try not to be too mean in the comments.)

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Although Posetta would like a word with whoever ran the image with her bottom to the camera. (And I wish that my lovely Bionda Castana shoes weren’t almost hidden by the flowers!)

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Oscars 2010: Sandra Bullock by Chanel Beauté & Frederic Fekkai

March 9, 2010 · 9 comments

Sandra Bullock chanel oscars lipstick

As I mentioned on my Twitter feed & during my live blogging on the Oscars, I thought Sandra Bullock’s hair & make-up team knocked it out the ball park on Sunday.

With such a perfect old school Hollywood glam dress (by clever Marchesa), an updo would have been too uptight for the more relaxed 21st century.  Frederic Fekkai’s Adir Abergel got  her look pitch perfect with a simple blow dry & a little light curling with a 1 1/4″ curling iron at the ends.*

A bright pink lip turned out to be the strongest beauty story of the night, and arguably Sandra Bullock did it best. That’ll be thanks to Chanel’s Angela Levin, and a tube of Chanel Rouge Coco in Paris.

*HOW TO GET THE LOOK: Conditioned hair is very important for any sleek style. Abergel used Fekkai Glossing Shampoo & Conditioner, leaving the conditioner on for 15 minutes. He then rinsed and towel dried the hair. Then he parted the hair in a deep side parting. Adir recommends following the arch of your brow to choose where to part your hair. He then took a large Fekkai Extra Large Round Brush and blow-dried the hair completely straight, making sure the roots were flat. He then sprayed Coiff Sheer Hold Hairspray on to 2” sections of hair from roots to the end and used a flat iron to get a bone straight effect. To finish the look, Abergel took a 1 1/4” inch curling iron and lightly curled the ends of the hair for a nice slight wave , tucking the fringe behind the ear. To complete the look he added the Coiff Ultra-Light Finishing Creme to create a sleek finish.
Fekkai Glossing Shampoo (£18), Fekkai Glossing Conditioner (£18), Fekkai Extra Large Round Brush (£45) Fekkai Coiff Sheer Hold Hairspray (£16) Fekkai Coiff Ultra-Light Finishing Creme (£16) Available in the UK here & in the US here.

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Frederic Fekkai Femme Sensuelle

March 8, 2010 · 6 comments

When the publicist for Frederic Fekkai passed me his Femme Sensuelle shampoo, conditioner, hair spray and eau de parfum recently, telling me they were scented with Fekkai’s proprietary house blend, I snorted inwardly. Both at the name & the concept. (The eau de parfum is called The Scent of a Woman Revealed. Yes really.)

Traditionally it’s a no win: if a fragrance house brings out a range of complementary products to a perfume, then they often aren’t the hair products you’d choose to use: their main purpose is to be a carrier for the scent. And in my experience the scent of hair products with added fragrance is akin to loo cleaner.

However,  even though I think they are super-expensive, I’m very partial to Mr Fekkai’s hair products, so I suspended my snarky beauty editor side, and washed my hair with the Femme Sensuelle products. And, goodness, I am glad I did so. Not only does my hair have that trademark Fekkai gloss, bounce and thickness,* but it smells SUBLIME.

That’s because the fragrance with which the range is imbued was developed in Grasse, & is a heady neroli-heavy citrus musk layering which smells both of summer and, well, sex. No, not literally. But of sexy, gorgeous allure.

The top notes are neroli, lemon leaf and orange bigarade, with mandarin, bergamot, jasmine and fleur d’oranger middle notes and base notes of musk, amber, honey, cumin, birch and carrot seed.

After my meeting with the publicist ended, I sprayed a cloud of the eau de parfum around me, & walked downstairs to reception. Immediately every woman in the room asked my what I was  wearing, and I’ve had the same reaction from men & from women since. This is definitely a keeper. ( If I get it away from my mother who keep stealing it.)

Frederic Fekkai eau de parfum

I’m afraid that if you think Fekkai Products are wince-makingly expensive normally (around the £18/$23 mark for a shampoo), then you are going to faint with horror now. In fact, I suggest you shut down this page, & then go sit in a dark room.

Femme Fekkai Sensuelle Shampoo, £35/$45. Femme Fekkai Sensuelle Conditioner, £35/$45. Femme Fekkai Hairspray, £24/$30; Femme Fekkai Sensuelle Eau de Parfum, £60/$98. The range is available in the UK from www.spacenk.co.uk

*I gather that Frederic Fekkai were responsible for Kirsten Stewart’s great-looking hair last night at the 2010 Oscars. If they could make a silk purse out of her trademark lanky locks, imagine what they would do to yours.

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Live blogging the Oscars Fashion & Red Carpet 2010

March 7, 2010 · 10 comments

After a day of lunching, walking, babysitting, am now happily ensconced in the top floor bar of Soho House in London, fuelled by a continuous run of Americanos. This time last year I was in Soho House New York, front row with my closest NYC girlfriends, getting stuck into the Prosecco and conducting a manic three way tweet with Toby Young & India Knight in London. A lot easier for me to stay on the ball – I was in the right time zone.

This year it’s trickier – I’m in London, it’s midnight, and I’m at Soho House Londo, where unfortunately they have subscribed to Sky 1 not E! The UK’s Angela Griffin is not, shall we say, killing it on the red carpet.

I always thought an ability to string two words together was a pre-requisite for live reporting, but apparently not.

Still, so far we’ve seen multiple Oscar winner Nick Parks with a green wrapping paper bow tie, Mo’Nique in a tasteful cobalt blue Tadashi Shoji, her go to man for the awards season, (& the go to US designer for any woman who doesn’t wear sample sizes). Gabourey Sidibe is also in bright blue, this time Marchesa, with silver embroidery & an enormous grin. Love it.

Blown away by Sigourney Weaver in drop dead, knockout, I-want-to-be-her-when-I’m-sixty, one-embroidered-shoulder tomato red with black satin ribbon belt Lanvin, and Carey Mulligan in ravishing embellished black long Prada & black strappy sandals with newly blonde hair, with her mother who is KILLING it in black. Surely the chic-est mother ever on the red carpet.

Although I’ve just seen Jeremy Renner’s mother in a fab white shirt who looks equally chic. It’s refreshing to see so many family members on the red carpet: Lee Daniels (nom’ed for Best Director for Precious), brought his daughter.

Atelier Versace has managed to snag Demi Moore, who’s wearing  blush strapless silk organza paired with satin double-platform Versace sandals, and Elizabeth Banks (presenting) in a grey draped bodice & chiffon grey dress. They also dressed Melanie Griffiths, looking cryogenically frozen in strapless black beaded & sequins.

Zoe Saldana is  lovely standing in a jewelled bodice & super ruffled layers of purple Givenchy Haute Couture (shades of Reese in Ricci in 2006), but moving it reminds me of those  loo roll holder covers my grandmother had . Chanel has dressed Diane Kruger in black frills but I am fascinated that SJP is in Chanel Haute Couture.  WHY isn’t she wearing Halston? After all, she’s designing for Halston Heritage. (Also: SJP’s hair. Hmm…serpentine 60s back of head coils. All a little too theme-y)

Dries Van Noten has Maggie Gyllenhaal in strapless long & belted blue painterly print. She always takes the interesting route, & rarely gets it wrong. (Of course DvN did her wedding dress.)

Sandra Bullock is my new girl crush in champagne Marchesa, with that shiny swoop of perfectly groomed hair and fuchsia lip.

Sandra Bullock Marchesa oscars 2010

Elie Saab has Rachel McAdams in a grey/blue floral print chiffon strapless dress with draped bodice  & flowing skirt and Anna Kendrick in the most beautiful blush chiffon floor length frock. Possible contender for my favourite of the evening.

Scarily precocious Miley Cyrus is wearing a strapless satin bodiced, chiffon skirted Jenny Packham, (& looking like her hair was copied from granny) – as is Angela Griffin who has mentioned her designer way too many times. (It’s not all about you love.)

Penelope Cruz is beautiful & timeless in strapless claret Donna Karan Couture, & I love Kate Winslet in metallic sleek, strapless & sophisticated YSL, with a serious $2.5 million necklace from Tiffany & Co.

Armani Privé is not knocking it out of the park tonight: Jennifer Lopez is unfortunately zipped into a large pale pink prawn cracker (handy if she gets hungry later) , & Amanda Seyfried’s stylist apparently got ‘Oscar frock’ confused with ‘wedding dress’.

Meryl Streep looking fashion forward but age appropriate and very elegant in US Project Runway alumn Chris March’s white plunge front, long sleeved white dress. No hair in sight!

Kirsten Stewart is wearing midnight blue strapless Monique Lhullier. VERY surprising choice for grumpy goth Kirsten. AND she washed her hair. (Well, actually Frederic Fekkai got hold of her.) Hasn’t stopped her looking like a mardy cow/sulky teen in the audience tho. It’s okay: we get it Kirsten. You are a serious actress but lighten up for chrissakes.

Cameron Diaz working champagne tulle with metallic ribbon and gold paillette embroidery from Oscar de la Renta’s Fall 2010 collection. A perfect choice by her stylist:  for once she looks like a grown-up.

Nicole Richie covering up in silvery grey, heavily embellished, high necked & long sleeved Reem Acra. I know it’s late but I’m fixating on Charlize Theron’s floor length satin Christian Dior Haute Couture Spring 2010. There’s something very odd going on in the breast region. Mind you, easy way to get some press.

Along with Marchesa (who also dressed nominee Vera Farmigia in deep pink strapless ruffles), Calvin  Klein Collection are having a very successful night, spanning their potential markets: at one end roping in presenter Julianne Moore (and her husband director Bart Freundlich) in Francisco Costa’s custom antique white beaded strapless gown with crescent pleated detail & at the other dressing Zac Efron in Italo  Zucchelli’s clean tux. (They tell me they’re also getting Diane  Kruger out of her Chanel and into Calvin for the after parties, along with her partner Joshua Jackson, Rosario Dawson, Cote de Pablo, Zac Efron,  Fisher  Stevens &  Ryan  Phillippe.)

Accessories-wise, Sigourney Weaver & Meryl Streep are in Jimmy Choos, & Diane Kruger has an art deco style diamond Jaeger Le Coultre watch. Gabourey Sidibe wearing properly major Lorraine Schwartz bracelet & ring, Demi Moore in serious amounts of Van Cleef & Arpels, & Carey Mulligan in enviable Fred Leighton diamond chandelier earrings. Robert Downey Jr is in custom Oliver Peoples eyeglasses with blue lenses to match his Lanvin bow tie.

On the male front, James Cameron & Antonio Banderas are in Versace tuxedos, but Burberry has it nailed tonight. They’ve  dressed the entire (male) cast of Hurt Locker, along with Jake Gyllenhaal, Gerard Butler, Woody Harrelson, and Ryan Seacrest.  I think we can safely say that dressing Ryan and Gerard gets them first prize this year. Robert Downey Jr in Lanvin & sneakers, & Steve Carrell in Canali.

In the Tom Ford camp: Peter Sarsgaard is in his wedding tux. Bless. And Colin Firth – as if there could be any doubt he’d wear Tom Ford.

Beauty-wise, the bright pink lip looks like the strongest statement of the evening so far, as seen on Sandra Bullock, Vera Farmigia, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Cameron Diaz and Sandra Bullock.

So: Fashion trends: Strapless, frills. Shades of blue, silver & grey.

God I wish I’d bought my fleecy blanket. God knows how the people who wore EVENING dress to Soho House tonight are coping. Full on make-up & updos to watch the telly. Good on them, but really? I’m in cashmere comfort & brogues.

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Live Tweeting & Blogging the 2010 Oscars & Red Carpet Fashion

March 7, 2010 · 2 comments

Last year I live-tweeted the  red carpet arrivals & Oscars ceremony from the screening party at Soho House New York. This year I will be at Soho House London with friends to do the same again. Red carpet tweeting (& a little light blogging) will commence at 2300hrs GMT/6pm East Coast.

To those of you who wonder how commenting on red carpet looks fits in with my not-if-I-can-help-it- celeb policy on LLG, I  am extracting the explanation from the blog post I wrote this time last year after the 2009 Golden Globes:

“Given my profession, I do feel it behoves me to at least vaguely engage with red carpet fashion, even though it seems to me to be increasingly redundant to judge a woman’s fashion sense based on her ability to pay $10K to hire a stylist to wrangle dresses on her behalf. After all, the likes of Kate Winslet, Nicole Kidman or Meryl Streep are hardly fashion plates off duty. (And, frankly, why should they be?)

I don’t really care what the stars look like, but I am interested to know which designers are being represented on the red carpet. In the current fiscal climate it makes better economic sense for a house to dress a star and to see those pictures endlessly printed in the world’s media than to fork out hundreds of thousands on a one hit wonder print ad in Vogue.

Still it’s an extremely expensive business: several couture versions of a dress may be made in a designer’s Parisian atelier (as Theyskens did so successfully at Nina Ricci for Reese Witherspoon at the 2007 Oscars) and there is absolutely no guarantee that the dresses will be worn by the often capricious stars.

This is why many houses cut to the chase and just pay an actress to wear the dress. (Come on, you didn’t think the whole affair was anything less than transactional did you? The star pays the stylist, who brokers the deal, and the house pays the star  – & often the stylist. Everyone wins. Especially the stylist.)

I don’t think it serendipity that Armani’s patronage of the Sydney Theatre Company of which Cate Blanchett is Artistic Director coincided with the normally Balenciaga-loving star suddenly appearing in a series of Armani horrors at galas and Armani shows a few seasons ago. (I love that Cate Blanchett uses her stardom to such good effect for the community, rather than trousering the cash herself.)”

Photograph: Michelle Williams in Vera Wang at the 2006 Oscars

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Recipe: Chickpea, avocado, red onion, halloumi salad

March 6, 2010 · 17 comments

chickpea avocado salad

Simple, easy food…I draw the line at ready meals, and processed food (beyond pulses, & the odd Pot Noodle when desperate), doesn’t appeal to me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t cook when I’m running around like a headless chicken. I set a limit of twenty minutes for prep & cooking, and it’s surprising how much you can make in that time frame.

This is the salad that I eat all year round with a few variations, & I reckon it comes in at under fifteen minutes. It’s wonderful in winter because the crunch of the onion & the sharp tang of the lemon juice con your senses that spring could be just around the corner.

Best of all, it has just four main ingredients: (Shown below is plenty for two as a main course lunch.)

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Finely chop the red onion by making vertical slices, and then cutting across.

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I then chop it some more:

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Open the tin of chickpeas, rinse & drain. Peel and roughly dice the flesh of one avocado and mix it into the onion. Hands are good for this. Add the chickpeas to the avocado  & onions.

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Slice up a 2″ chunk of halloumi

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Cook it in a hot frying pan without any oil until it is browned on each side.

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Chop it up into bite size pieces. I always cook more than I need for the salad as I tend to eat quite a lot en route…

Grilled haloumi

Add the cheese to the onion, chickpeas s & avocados, along with a good squeeze of lemon juice, crunchy Maldon salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a dash of good olive oil – preferably the herby, grassy Greek stuff. (In honour of Kiki.)

Serve with lettuce leaves and pitta bread for scooping.

chickpea avocado salad

Of course you could substitute pretty much any kind of cheese for the halloumi, but think about the contrast of textures. A vegan reader asked about marinated tofu in this recipe, and I don’t see why not so long as it is firm or pressed tofu.

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London Fashion Week: Goodie bag giveaway RESULTS!!!!

March 6, 2010 · 4 comments

Richard Nicholl
Richard Nicholl AW/10
I was overwhelmed by the volume of entries to my London Fashion Week Giveaway. It wasn’t just because there were so many, but because you are all so informed, and took the time to think clearly about which designers inspired you for AW/10.

As far as fashion week favourites went, Burberry were the clear winners, followed closely by Mulberry. There were plenty of honourable mentions for the brilliance of Erdem,  Holly Fulton, Charles Anastase, Osman, Mark Fast & Vivienne Westwood too.

As there were so many entries that made me hoot with laughter, I’ve decided to give away some extra things, so there are four recipients in total. The items are listed here.

And so: the recipient of the main giveaway is:

Amelia of stylesponge.com who said:

It’s impossible to pick one!
Topshop Unique for their animals of Farthing Wood on CRACK concept. Making a mono-brow look good? not easy!
Meadham Kirchhoff for the WOW factor. Persian rugs and hot pink head scarves. Beautifully constructed.
Ashish for making me want to look like a hobo! Loved the colour and fabric.
Louise Goldin for beautiful shapes and structures, futuristic military at its best.

I LOVE LFW!

The recipient of the second box of duplicates is:

Siena Somers who said

I loved Fashion for Relief in aid of Haiti as I think it was great for the fashion industry. With celebrities from Ronnie Corbett to Kate Moss modelling, it not only shows that everyone can help make a difference but demonstrates that any sized person can walk down the runway. I went to this show at LFW last week as a youth reporter for DFID (see website) and I sat 3 rows back from the front where I had an amazing view of the fabulous designs of Alexander McQueen’s blue mini dresses worn my Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Pixie Geldof. I am sure that Lee McQueen would like to have known that the last piece he created was sold in a very good cause.

When the show ended I waited with my colleague trying to get an interview with Sarah Brown and saw a goodie bag had been left on the front row. I was going to pick it up but my conscience got the better of me, so I would love the chance to win this one!

And the recipient of the LFW/Mulberry cotton tote bags are firstly:

SisterMash who wrote a poem:

Christopher Bailey’s Burberry – Frank Sinatra inspired me to sing why…

Come fly with me, let’s fly, let’s fly away
If you can use some exciting views
There was a show in Pimlico
Come fly with me, let’s fly, let’s fly away

Come fly with me, let’s float in search of snow
In Burberry land there’s teddy furs
And Aviator chic destined to grow
Come fly with me, it’s a 3D ground-breaking show

Once you log on there, your credit card will be out
As you pre-order whilst models strut about
Once you get your order, you’ll be holding it so dear
You will hear, onlookers cheer Burberry forever

FROW wise, it’s such a starry day
Watson, Huntington-Whitely, Hudson and Danes
Not forgetting Twilight Kirsten’s pains
The collection’s perfect for a flying honeymoon, they say
Come fly with Burberry, let’s fly, let’s fly away!

xxx

and secondly, Jessica Ruston, who also wrote a poem:

Vivienne Westwood tops them all,
Her disco dandies hold me in thrall,
Tartan corsets and pirate boots,
Men in kilts and girls in suits,
Punky t-shirts with silken frocks,
Backcombed tresses and Argyle socks,
She’s Queen of London and the pick of fashion week,
Because she’s ballsy and bold, and never, ever meek.

Email me girls at libertylondongirl [at] gmail.com with your mailing addresses to claim your gifts, and thank you everyone for commenting. Lots more giveaways coming up on LLG….

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London Fashion Week: Antonio Berardi after party at The Corinthia Hotel

March 5, 2010 · 6 comments

Corinthia Hotel London

On the Tuesday of LFW I received an SMS from a charming publicist:
“Antonio Berardi drinks party hosted by Peroni & The Corinthia Hotel. Whitehall Place/Northumberland Avenue. Antonio is looking forward to seeing you there”.

I read it out to Lovely Daniel, my driver, and he frowned. We certainly know about Peroni – that’s the beer, and between us we should have heard of  The Corinthia. I started my magazine career on Condé Nast Traveller, & pride myself on my comprehensive hotel knowledge, and Daniel is a human almanac.

We thought about it some more as he drove me down the Embankment after the 10 Corso Como party at Liberty, and swung up before the Hungerford Bridge. All we could see at the appointed spot was scaffolding. Lots of scaffolding. Surrounding us were stately government buildings. Nothing that could possibly be a hotel. We drove around the block, keeping a weather eye out for the usual line of black cars, photographers, liggers & clipboard people that mark a fashion event.

Nothing. Not a sniff of a party. Wardrobe Slave & I decided to investigate on foot. Then we spotted a solitary guy, lurking behind a construction sign and muffled up to the ears against the cold. He waved us  50 yards down a walkway in the scaffolding, where a very cold publicist waited, hidden up some stone steps into a building site, and  then towards this door. (Sorry shaky ‘phone pics.)

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It opened onto this:

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It really did feel as though Alice in Wonderland was the theme of the week.  The wall mural was illustrated by Nina Chakrabarti and refers to the history of the site. Apparently we were standing in the old Hotel Metropole, opened in 1886 and,  in its heyday, London’s smartest society hotel. In disuse for years, the building has been bought from the Crown Estate and will open as the shiny, super luxe, five star The Corinthia in October this year.

Meanwhile, the owners carved out an entire pop-up restaurant from the carcass which was open for just three days during LFW.

Corinthia Hotel pop up restaurant

Extraordinary. Not as extraordinary as chef Massimo Riccioli’s apertivo though. We fell on them like ravening wolves fashion editors, food deprived since breakfast. (Haribo don’t count.) I remember something ambrosial from aubergines briefly touching my lips before being swallowed, gannet-like.

The bliss of being fed & watered during Fashion Week. Thank you Mr Berardi, Peroni & The Corinthia.

Antonio Berardi
Antonio Berardi AW/10 show.

Photographs: 1 & 4 courtesy of The Corinthia. 2,3 & 5 by LLG

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The 2010 Bloggie Awards

March 4, 2010 · 3 comments

I didn’t win Best Fashion Blog at the Bloggies this year, but really the point of this post is to say an ENORMOUS thank you to the people who nominated me into the shortlist, and who then went back and voted a second time for me to win when I made the finals.

I can say hand on heart that I never expected to win, being the blogging minnow amongst the five finalists. The Sartorialist, New York Magazine’s The Cut, The Cheap Chica’s Guide to Style and Cupcakes & Cashmere (the eventual winner) are all huge American blogs, so I feel very chuffed to have waved the flag for England amongst them.

Lots & lots of congratulations to Emily of C&C on her win, & here’s to next year’s Bloggies – let’s keep our fingers crossed that more of the amazing British  fashion bloggers get nominated!

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April Red magazine feature: The Mother Daughter Book Club

March 4, 2010 · 13 comments

It’s rather nice not being anonymous, because I can now direct my lovely readers, if they so wish, towards some of my journalism. This month I have a feature in British Red magazine of which I am particularly proud.

The piece looks at the literary connection between four sets of mothers & daughters, as exemplified in a particular book or novel. I wrote about the connection my mother and I share through Mary McCarthy’s The Group, and interviewed the others, who chose Aesop’s Fables, Anthony Powell’s A Dance to the Music of Time novel cycle and Delia Smith’s Complete Cookery Course.

We did a portrait shoot at my mother’s house, and gave the charming picture editor a sheaf of archive family photos. Imagine our pleasure when the issue came out on news stand this week and we saw the opener above.

So many of our favourite photographs.  Look! It’s me as an infant. Eating an ice cream and reading. Not a lot has changed then. And wasn’t my mother beautiful? Loving her Aquascutum mac – which lil’sis now wears. Anyway, to read the entire piece buy a copy of April Red!

04-03-2010 21_53_22

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