The New Smart-Casual

The varsity trend has been around for a while and is now starting to tackle its way into smart-casual officewear. Trainers are being teamed with smart jackets, dresses are featuring stripe trims and socks with sandals are no longer a sin.

Inspiration has come from DKNY's oversized shapes, Jeremy Scott's varsity separates and Pringle engineering innovative knits.

 

 

Outfit Building

 

 

1. Black longline duster coat, New Look, £34.99
2. Long bonded curve wrap skirt, Topshop, £34.00
3. Short sleeve shirt, Topshop, £45.00
4. Spoil sport slogan socks, ASOS, £3.00
5. Stan Smith Addidas trainers, Schuh, £67.00

Fabulous Fiction, Selfridges

'Once upon a time there was a shop named Selfridges, with the most enchanted windows in all the land'

 

This winter Selfridges celebrates the art of storytelling. Each window reveals a fantastical fairytale or children's storybook, each with its very own Selfridges twist.

 

From the cascading dip-dyed hair of Rapunzel to the not-so-ugly AF Vandevorst clad duckling, this is a high-fashion fairytale affair.

 

 

'The Masters', Selfridges

This autumn the Selfridges windows reflect their major creative project, 'The Masters' - "an exploration of the originators, pioneers and provocateurs that shape the fashion landscape".

The latest campaign celebrates 12 of fashion's most accomplished designers through exclusive archival pieces to bespoke fashion films. The film aspect is represented through use of retro film cameras as props in every window.

A cinematic thread ties the Masters' worlds together and are inspired by a film narrative or genre, from sci-if to film noir.

Each Master has created a signature piece or capsule collection that embodies their definitive aesthetic exclusively for Selfridges. Shop the exclusive collection now

The full list of celebrated visionaries as listed on www.selfridges.com are:

Azzedine Alaïa, The Master of Architecture

Dries Van Noten, The Master of the Eclectic
Jean Paul Gaultier, The Master of Expression
Jun Takahashi of Undercover, The Master of Subversion
Marc Jacobs, The Master of Mood
Oscar de la Renta, The Master of Elegance
Paul Smith, The Master of Inspiration
Rick Owens, The Master of the Elements
Roberto Cavalli, The Master of Glamour
Thom Browne, The Master of Showmanship
Stella McCartney, The Master of Modernity
Yohji Yamamoto, The Master of Defiance

 

Supermarket Sweep Turns Supermarket Chic

Chanel's AW 2014 fashion show saw Paris' Grand Palais turned into the world's glitziest supermarket complete with 500 Chanel-branded products in packaging designed specially for the show.

Models strutted through aisles pushing trolleys and carrying leather and good chain handled shopping baskets, emblazoned with the double C logo.

Debenhams took this idea but made it their own through use of striking colour blocking.

Escalators are lined with mannequins and supermarket props, grouped by the key trend colours of AW 2014.

Pastel

Berry

Winter Blues

What makes these displays so effective is that they can be shopped and invite the customer to interact with the display.

Furthermore, they pull together concession brands and own brands to encourage customers to explore collections they may not be familiar with, without having to traipse the entire shop floor.

Shop windows continue the colour blocking by stacking faux supermarket foods from floor to ceiling to create an impactful backdrop (e.g. Green: garden peas, gherkins, bay leaves and pesto). Mannequins are fitted in matching coloured wigs and dressed in garments tying into the colour theme.

 

 

Spring has Sprung ❀

Whilst the weather would have us thinking we are still walking around in autumnal drizzle, the transition  from fall to spring is emerging and retailers are trying their best to help us look forward to days when you can slink out of the house without first bundling yourself down with coat, scarf, gloves, umbrella etc etc...

Oasis have succeeded in making their front of store visual merchandising stand out with a pop of fresh citrus tones and the romantically phrased message and hash-tag:

"No matter how long winter is...

spring is sure to follow" #meltintospring

Topshop on the other hand seems to be playing it safer with a focus on their jeans range - some might say, the perfect transitional item.

ASOS have released their SS14 trends:

Art School / Gap Yeah / Freaky Florals / Logomania / Fondant Fancies / So-Cal 

Evening Standard's Duluxe Fashion supplement supported the emergence of ASOS's 'Art School' trend with their own 'POP Goes the Easel' editorial: