STUDIO 325

Dior's first campaign under Raf Simons

What do you think of Dior's latest campaign? It is the first ready-to-wear campaign under the creative directorship of Raf Simons. Willy Vanderperre has shot Daria Strokous, Daiane Conteratio, Nicole Pollard, Anna Martynova and Marie Piovesan in a simple, minimal campaign reminiscent of Raf Simons work at Jil Sander and his own label.

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Labels: Dior, Fashion, Fashion Campaign, Fashion Collection, Raf Simons

Saint Laurent Spring 2013 campaign

Lensed by the brand’s creative director Hedi Slimane, Saint Laurent's latest campaign features Australian model Julia Nobis. The images are typically monochrome for Slimane, with androgynous silhouettes and boyish clothes. There is almost no difference from his recent campaign for menswear, which is how Slimane wants it to be- boys to wear womenswear, girls to wear menswear.

Slimane, previously head designer at Dior Homme, had been absent from the fashion scene since 2007, pursuing instead a successful career as a fashion photographer. He joined Saint Laurent Paris in March 2011 and debuted his first women's collection at Paris Fashion Week in October. His first menswear catwalk show for Saint Laurent will show in Paris in January.

You can also see his campaign for menswear here, which featured Dutch female supermodel Saskia de Brauw.

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Labels: Fashion, Fashion Campaign, Fashion Collection, Hedi Slimane, Saint Laurent

Petit Bateau x Carven

Carven has teamed up with France's beloved brand Petit Bateau to create a one-off capsule collection. I'm super excited for this collaboration, I love Carven's Peter Pan collars and playful prints, and I equally love Petit Bateau's cotton t-shirts and cosy knits. The Petit Bateau & Carven collection will be available to buy from December 6 in all Petit Bateau stores worldwide. Below is the campaign for the collection, which features model Anna de Rijk.

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Labels: Carven, Fashion, Fashion Campaign, Fashion Collection, Petit Bateau

Maison Martin Margiela with H&M launch party

Last night saw the launch of the much-anticipated H&M with Maison Martin Margiela collection. I headed down to Regent Street to suss it out, thanks to an invitation from British Vogue. I was prepared to get my elbows ready!
It turned out to be a surprisingly sophisticated affair, with beautiful waiters passing around endless champagne, white chocolate and raspberry sorbet lollipops, as well as stock replenishments. The most popular items seemed to be the Perspex-heeled shoes, shiny pink sweet-wrapper clutch bags and tailored jackets. The super cosy cream duvet coat stood stoically on the rack, many shoppers deterred by the steep price. For myself, it was a classic black tailored jacket that made its way into my shopping basket.

Labels: Event, Fashion, Fashion Collection, Fashion Launch, London, Maison Martin Margiela

J.W. Anderson for Topshop

I've previously never bought into the collaborations between top fashion designers and high-street brands: they're usually cheaply made or not as well-designed as the real deal. But, when I saw the J.W. Anderson for Topshop collection, I knew my luck had changed and I bought the blue striped dress and the box pleat denim skirt.

J.W. Anderson, or 27-year-old Jonathan (William) Anderson seems to be the new golden boy of the fashion world. Sponsored by NEWGEN since Autumn/Winter 2011, he has quickly become an emerging talent at London Fashion Week, single-handledly bringing paisley back into fashion and advocating for homemade British craft and manufacture. His first collection was launched just four years ago, with an ethos that has continued to his Spring/Summer 2013 collection this week on the Topshop runway: that is, a homage to classic design, be it a crisp white shirt or a Breton striped sweater, imbued with a sense of androgyny. In his own words: "It's always been about men borrowing women's clothing, women borrowing men's clothing. It's this idea of a homogenous wardrobe. I think that's modern, that is modernity now."

There is also an element of youth, punk and subculture, whether it's the tartan knits or black kilts, which make up J.W. Anderson as a brand. The Topshop collaboration isn't just a capsule collection, it is a whole way of living: from Anderson's recommended reading and music selections, to iPhone covers, J.W. Anderson pencils, notebooks and even sweets. As Anderson notes: "I love promotional products. I always loved that as a kid, like pencils with your name on. I went out to make a brand. I never went out to make a young designer".