Tuesday, September 20, 2011

KATE MOSS LOVING WITH LONDON FASHION

Supermodel Kate Moss shows her delight at Mulberry's 'lovely' London Fashion Week show

Last updated at 8:57 AM on 19th September 2011

Kate Moss and Kristen Stewart made up a stellar front row as British brand Mulberry unveiled an accomplished catwalk show at at Claridges hotel this morning.

Kate and Kristen, along with fellow front row guests actresses Romola Garai and Hayley Atwell and model Laura Bailey, laughed as a model in a raincoat stepped onto the runway walking a dog wearing a matching outfit.

Kate, wearing a Mulberry stonewash denim shirt tucked into jeans and a black trilby, hailed the show 'absolutely lovely', before heading backstage to congratulate Mulberry creative director Emma Hill, who in turn named the supermodel 'her ideal customer'.

One of a kind: Kate Moss hailed today's Mulberry show 'absolutely lovely', and in turn was branded a 'true English icon' by Mulberry's creative director Emma Hill

'Kate's a true icon,' said Hill. 'She's well-loved, beautiful, enduringly edgy, classic, funny, smart, creative, stylish, iconic and truly one of a kind.'

The show, a lighthearted celebration of British summertime (plenty of rain macs then) came on the third day of what is widely being branded London's most successful ever London Fashion Week.

The quintessentially English show gave Mulberry a chance to showcase the very best of its next season accessories, giving us a flavour of what's to come for next spring/summer - namely, plenty of new versions of the new Mulberry star - the Tillie.

Impressed: Model Kate Moss, centre, in hat, with actresses Kristen Stewart, third from right, and Romola Garai (second right) during the presentation of the Mulberry 2012 Spring/Summer collection

Perfect guest: Kate Moss looked pleased to be at the show, and smiled and applauded the highlights

'We've gone Tillie-tastic!' laughs Hill, referring to the buckle-up satchel set to take on the Alexa for supremacy.

'I've been inspired by the classic British seaside,' she added. 'We're recreating a Seventies summer of fun for the new season.

'I've also been inspired by donkey rides and ice cream on the beach, sticks of rock and the glittering lights of the pier, seaside shenanigans and kiss-me-quick chic, as well as the classic Englishness of rolling meadows, bright summer flowers such as pansies and nostalgic Scouts' and Brownies' uniforms.'

It's about the nostalgic fun of Carry On Camping to the quirky English habit of enduring the beach no matter what the weather, raincoats and all.'

Day to night: The show, was a lighthearted celebration of British summertime

High flyer: Mulberry's creative director Emma Hill (pictured) was named as one of fashion's most influential people, in a survey by a women's consumer magazine

The show is the cherry on the cake for the brand, who this month celebrate 40 successful years in the luxury goods market.

More so than ever of late, the brand has been flying high, revelling in A-list endorsement and enjoying ever-more elevated brand status thanks to soaring global interest.

Just last week, Mulberry's creative director Emma Hill was named as one of fashion's most influential people, in a survey by a women's consumer magazine. The Fashion Power List, published annually by Red magazine, names the the industry leaders who shape our wardrobes and make British fashion a global success - and put Hill on a par with Jimmy Choo chief executive Tamara Mellon and Alexander McQueen's Sarah Burton.

Hill was the creative brain behind the Alexa handbag, named after Alexa Chung and partly credited with Mulberry's recent stratospheric rise in sales.

As well as this morning's catwalk collection, Mulberry will also host a presentation this afternoon, with fashion's elite set to attend.

Mulberry creative director Emma Hill was inspired by rolling meadows and bright summer flowers

The show featured floral, feminine designs and models wore stacked wedge shoes in various shades

Singer Kelis leaving the Mulberry after-party at Claridges last night

Singer Eliza Doolittle attended the Mulberry after-party at Claridges last night

Mulberry held an after-party at Claridges last night, attended by singers Kelis, left, and Eliza Doolittle, left

Gucci sparks row as it forces top models to ditch London shows and fly to Milan early

Gucci sparks row as it forces top models to ditch London shows and fly to Milan early

Gucci has been accused of 'stealing' top models from London Fashion Week shows, throwing the event into turmoil.

Models who had already been booked for shows in London were forced to pull out and fly to early castings arranged by the Italian design house in Milan.

A number of high profile shows at London Fashion Week were affected by Gucci's decision, with the Monday show's hit by the decision including Todd Lynn, who lost 10 of the 19 models booked, Erdem, Michael Van Der Ham, Temperley, Aquascutum and Louise Grey.

Wielding power: Todd Lynn lost 10 of their 19 models when Gucci forced girls to pull out and fly to Milan early

Carole White, founder of Premier Model Management, weighed in on the issue, telling the London Evening Standard: 'Gucci did the trick that they’ve been doing for the last two seasons, calling girls into Milan for pre-casting. It’s disrespectful.'

Shows had already been plunged into crisis at the beginning of London Fashion week on Friday, when Marc Jacobs' New York show ran so late that models missed the last flight to London and had to be pulled from Friday's shows.

Many took the decision to pull out of the London timetable and instead focus on Milan.

Gucci creative director designer Frida has been criticised for disrespecting LFW

Modelling agencies have accused the British Fashion Council, which organises London Fashion Week, of poor scheduling.

Ms White said: 'If the people in power don’t do something quickly then all the hard work everyone’s done in London could be undone.

'London has the most incredible talent and we’re wasting it with rubbish scheduling.

'The people who do the scheduling have a duty of care to the models — they’re not cattle.'

Nick Burns, from Star & Co which casted for Todd Lynn and PPQ, added: 'The upshot of all this will be that models will stop coming to London altogether because it’s just not worth it.'

Caroline Rush, chief executive of the BFC, said: 'Historically, there have always been challenges regarding models in London.

'Over the past year, we have invested time in developing direct relationships with model agencies to better understand their challenges.'

Gucci spokesman Robert Triefus said: 'We’re constantly in touch with London Fashion Week and I have a very open dialogue with Caroline Rush.

'We have not changed our scheduling for three years, and the issue on this occasion is that Marc Jacobs’s show was delayed. Maybe it would be appropriate for London to sit down with New York to see if it could be shortened to help with scheduling.