LFW: House of Holland SS'14

With a catwalk covered in fluffy purple clouds and a FROW filled with the coolest cats in town (including Alexa Chung, Pixie Geldof and HARRY STYLES – a name I can’t even read without hearing 100,000 girls hysterically screaming it!) this could only be the setting forHenry Holland’s forthcoming House of Holland SS’14 collection.

I once worked under Henry’s instruction at a teen fashion magazine and still remember how fun he was even all those years ago, with such real creative vision, once hand decorating, sequin by sequin, a pair of heels he had found in a vintage shop for a photo shoot we worked on with a teenage Poppy Delevigne.  I am always excited to see what tricks Henry will pull out of his hat and this show did not disappoint.  In the an ode to Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 ‘Romeo and Juliet’ the collection merged the idea of the chola girl gangs of the nineties with the Mexican Tybalt-style feuding boys in the film. With brilliant bright colours, fun flowery designs, kitsch sunglasses and religious tattoo designs, the designer explained the designs were "really a love letter to that film."  I really loved the orange floral sleeved white trench coat! Oh… did I mention HARRY STYLES was there?!!

Vogue's Fashion Night Out, London 06/09/12

Fashion’s Night Out was initially created by Vogue and the Council of Fashion Designers of America as a way of encouraging fashionistas to hit the shops as the economic downfall kicked in. For real fashion lovers this day has become like Christmas… Well, if the North Pole were Bond Street, stockings were made by Mulberry and Santa was Alexa Chung...

Now on it’s 4th year, this global phenomenon (with events also taking place in Manhattan, Milan, Atlanta, etc) saw London’s biggest luxury stores throw open their doors after hours, inviting us all in to celebrate and shop with a glass of bubbly.  The whole evening felt like a stylish carnival, with live music blaring, show stopping outfits and fashion-friendly food from a Missoni ice-cream van, a Dak’s popcorn stall and a Hotel Chocolat pop up (apparently fashionistas and models will eat junk food – if its designer.)

I began my evening in Covent Garden where I visited the newly launched Ruby Ralph Lauren shop on King Street, the first to open in Europe.  The shop has such a fun and vibrant energy to it that I immediately got into the spirit of the night, having my pictures taken (below) holding their skull and crossbones tote and listening to great music spun by the gorgeous DJ Izzy Lawrence (above) wearing head to toe Rugby Ralph Lauren.

Next stop was the jam packed, unusually pedestrianised, Bond Street to visit Joseph where a dapper, suited and booted Henry Holland (below, in House of Holland) headed up a fashion Bingo competition.  The prizes were incredible and the cocktails were a plenty.

The epicentre of this most stylish of street parties was undeniably at Mulberry, where Vogue’s Alex Shulman and Mulberry’s Emma Hill held the official Fashion’s Night Out soirée. With goody bags, prizes, live music and a healthy dose of celebrites and designers (including Matthew Williamson, Roland Mouret, Laura Bailey and Daisy Lowe) queues to get in the shop were lengthy… to put it mildly!  Below (L-R): Joseph's Alex Eagle and her ah-mah-zing Nicholas Kirkwood shoes, and with my girlfriends Jessica, Emma and Lauren.

The official Vogue's 2012 Fashion's Night Out cotton T’shirt (top, worn by Edie Campbell) designed by London-based designer Jonathan Saunders in collaboration with The Gap, sold out at the Condé Nast Worldwide store in less than an hour.  The limited edition piece is now only available for you to own if you subscribe to Vogue (£19.99 for 10 issues) here.