PANTS!

The delightful people at cool heritage brand Fruit Of The Loom are confirmed as official sponsors of February 2011's A LA MODE event and will be providing some very exciting goodies for all the lucky guests at the event! I enlisted the help of a man who is very picky about his pants to test Fruit Of The Loom's men's undercrackers to see how the hold up and whether he would buy them.

So the pairs come in packs of two in some very spunky colours! I personally love the bright green - very fetching and adds a splash of colour to an outfit - and the white pair balances it out for more formal occassions.

My model, Mr Picky, is not one to wear just any old knickers and he likes to know he will be supported from all angles in his pants. He loved these Fruit of the Loom pants and has informed me he will definitely be purchasing them in the future! He loved the colours and the size and shape and was delighted by how sturdy and comfortable they were. The waistband has a subtle imprint of the logo which he liked as it meant they were not plain but was not glaringly obvious branding like certain other brands or pants. My model gave these pants 10/10 all round and is now pestering me for tickets to the show for more! Cheeky beggar....


Fruit of the Loom pants (which also come in womens designs) come in a wide range of colours including Black and Pink, Blue and White, Stripes and ed and Black.

Fruit Of The Loom will be sponsoring LGN Events off-schedule London Fashion Week show kicking off on February 18th and 19th 2011

Check out Fruit of the Loom products by clicking here

See the full line up and more info on the A La Mode show by clicking here

All press and buyers wishing to attend the event should contact Sarah@lagenevenorth.co.uk to apply for tickets.

INTERVIEW: REHMALI

Birmingham-based young designer Maria Rehmali will be showcasing her debut collection at London Fashion Week in February. I managed to squeeze myself into her very busy schedule to find out how she gets her inspiration and why she decided to become a designer - check it out below!

Hi Maria! To kick off, can you tell us a little about how you set up the Rehmali brand and what inspired you to become a designer?

At a young age I did not know what I wanted to do, going through college and university, I noticed that fashion was always a big topic more than your final year exams!

Everyone I had noticed had a unique dress style, I knew then I wanted to apart of this culture. As I was always complimented on the way I had always pulled together an everyday outfit,  I decided to go into styling.

 I started to style in a major well-known fashion retailer as a personal stylist; I had many customers coming in through the door from the wealth and fame to just everyday professional customers. They were all seeking my knowledge and expertise in creating a lifestyle for them in the way they would like to been seen in the public eye.

My own creativity to design has come from my clients. There was always something wrong with a cut of a garment or not liking a certain aspect of an outfit etc, so I decided to take evening classes and increase my knowledge of fashion design. From this I had started my Rehmali label.

What is your favourite piece you have designed so far?

 

As I create a collection there is always a special garment that you would call your ‘favourite’, all my pieces are unique and each has their own spark!

I have do have a favourite piece which I am currently in process of putting together.

How exciting! So whose style do you admire?

I don’t have a certain style that I follow but I feel that Oliva Palermo has a great trend sense and a great fashion eye. I admire people who don’t have stylist and can pull garments together themselves, and this is really fashion!

But I do admire designer such as Armani as his a great talent and a believer in his creation.

If you could dress any celebrity, who would it be?

As my designs are very vintage Hollywood but with a modern twist and a hint of film festivals, I would like to dress Sophia Lauren and Audrey Hepburn. With regards to modern celebrities I would like to dress Victoria Beckham, Angelina Jolie or Megan Fox as I feel that they do still carry on the old Hollywood glamour.

Your designs are very classic - how would you describe the “Rehmali woman”?

The Rehmali woman is a powerful, strong minded woman who knows what she want and goes for it, She is very diverse and unique and stands out from the crowd - and always looks fabulous!

Where do you see the Rehmali brand in 5 years time?

In 5 years time I see Rehmali will have on-schedule fashion shows in and out of Europe, also I will have opened stores either in or out of Europe.......

But it does not stop there!

What are you looking forward to most about exhibiting at A La Mode?

At the show I am looking forward to meeting the LGN Events team and also the press and buyers which will help me to make lasting relationships and expose myself and my brand. Also, I am looking forward to showcasing my collection to all of London!

Maria Rehmali will showcase her exciting new collection on the first day of London Fashion Week, Friday 18th February, as part of LGN Events eagerly anticipated off-schedule event A LA MODE. 

Check out the full lineup of the show here: www.lgn-events.co.uk

INTERVIEW: Flik Hall

 I caught up with Flik Hall last week to ask her a few quick questions about what inspires her and how she goes about designing pieces for her collections. She's a very talented young designer and, being home-grown talent, I couldn't pass up the chance to pick her brains on where those ingenious patterns and textures combos came from! Check out her story below...

You use an awesome mix of fabrics in your work - I love the combination of hessian
with leather! How do you find which materials work best with each other and what are
you planning on experimenting with for your next collection?

The materials that I use each season depend very much on what has inspired my work and
the effect I want to provoke. I find it interesting to work with material that are unorthodox
or foreign, those with a purpose perhaps more commonly associated with something other
than clothing; or materials that we don’t get to see used very often - used in an unexpected
way. It’s more exciting because it’s about discovery and the unfamiliar. I’m currently more
inclined to choose fabrics that oppose each other in their qualities and characteristics. I love
to choose fabrics that look would be perceived as awkward together when in conception,
but combined in a configured way really work for each other. I love leather at the moment
because I’m finding it so versatile and dynamic and amenable to the ideas that I have. For my
next collection I am continuing to work with leather but with new twists!

What has been the highlight of your fashion career so far and what are you looking
forward to?

I would definitely have to say the shoot for my first collection ‘Scope of Time’. Although
I have been much more excited by more recent things, for me when you actually see your
clothes work as a piece of art for the first time....apart from in your imagination that has to be
the strongest memory.

I love the dolls arms on your SS11 collection! Where do you get your ideas for the
prints you use?

I took imagery from looking into the lives of Mexican families and the composition of
alters that they display in their homes. The alters would appear chaotic but seemed very
beautiful to me at the same time. Many of the alters are juxtapositions of items such as family
memorabilia, a white horse, dolls, cords, religious paintings and even sweet corn. I became
particularly interested by alters that were present in the home in memory of children that had
died. They would be filled with dolls of all description in various outfits, some bigger and
smaller than others. I was fascinated by the interesting spaces shaped in-between the dolls
which was what led me to experiment with porcelain dolls arms for my print. Much of the
colour palette was inspired by the state the walls had been left in the home during various
hurricanes. The hessian I used in the collection is a fabric that plays a great part in their lives
used as table clothes, clothing and even as bags for collecting sweet corn.

Do you dress in your own designs? If not, what sort of style do you adopt?

IRIS APFEL

Yes, I do wear my own designs, all of the items I design I resonate with. Sometimes part
of my inspiration is thinking about what’s not out there; or what is, but improved upon or
expanded upon (subjectively). I think that although it is important to know your market,
having enthusiasm for a garment you would love to wear yourself brings about a much
stronger piece.

I think that style is a continuous evolution so if I was to attempt to categorize my style
it would be an inaccurate description very soon. For the moment I would say I am quite
unbounded and flamboyant, how I dress communicates who I am from day to day.
Whose style do you admire?

I love Iris Apfel, her style; attitude and vision are so unique; she is one of a kind and totally
exotic! I also really admire Francoise Hardy’s effortless elegance.

Flik Hall moved to London following her school years and moved into Hackney soon after. She enrolled at Central St Martin’s college where she pursued her options, and quickly developed her curiosity in fashion design. Flik Hall discovered and developed a love for print design in particular. She then left college to take placements with various designers such as House of Holland and Giles Deacon, where she engaged in all areas of the design studio. During her time there, she began setting up her own label. She launched her first season SS10 “Scope of Time” soon afterwards.
Flik Hall’s work is brightly hued where the garments movement and print takes centre stage. Employing a wide range of prints nothing is quite what it seems in Flik's work where contrast is key. Flik’s SS11 collection, “Mannequin Parade”,  is a showcase of Flik’s signature aesthetic of bold silhouettes and captivating prints.

Flik Hall's work is available to buy on Not Just A Label.com

Check out Flik's website  by clicking here