Five memorable parts to London Fashion Week

London Fashion Week is never without its memorable moments, and this show was no different. From the live Burberry broadcast to the celebrity-endorsed Topshop collection, this year didn’t disappoint in style or substance. Here, LUXE Models consider the five most defining moments.

Mulberry is back

It’s been over two years since we saw a Mulberry collection on the runway and its return was most-welcome. New creative director, Johnny Coca has rejuvenated the handbag range, an incredibly important part of the Mulberry brand. He managed to blend the English heritage of the brand with a creative, forward-thinking look. The assortment of bags, alongside a range of outerwear items including some wool felt coats ensured a truly-British feel to the collection.

Christopher Kane’s tribute to his late mother

According to his sister Tammy, Christopher Kane’s mother used to embarrass them when picking them up from school in a plastic rain hat. They suffered the loss of their mother last year, and Christopher Kane’s show this year began with a salute to her – some tied-under-the-chin rain hats. Kane made his debut show in 2006 and, a decade on, continued to use some of the traits in this show. The line between reasonably affordable novelty and luxury was apparent throughout.

Burberry innovation

At the London Fashion Week, Burberry invited Jake Bugg to play for their collection and streamed their show live across the internet. There was an element of David Bowie across the collection too, with the inclusion of Edie Campbell to open the show. As if that’s not innovative enough, Burberry have now claimed that their next show at London Fashion Week will be the start of a new era with clothes set to become available from the moment the show finishes. 

McQueen is still king

The latest Alexander McQueen collection was delivered by eight-month pregnant Sarah Burton, and it was spun out of dreams. The collection had style and substance in abundance, starting with pocket watches, black coats, eyes and butterflies before some beautiful sculpted leather which was painted with flowers by specialist floral artists. McQueen’s tailoring was one of his best abilities, and the late designer’s collection retains that key value. The tenderness and the technical expertise that Burton delivered is commendable, in the place where Alexander McQueen belongs.

Front row of Topshop

Topshop’s casting campaigns are a good place to start when looking for the latest up-and-coming ‘It girls’ and this show was no difference. Suki and Immy Waterhouse, Lottie Moss, GiGi Hadid and Karlie Kloss have been brought into the fold for the brand which has stores in all four corners of the world. The show referenced some British inspiration including Anne Boleyn and the Bard himself. Scenes from A Winter’s Tale showed up on a mini dress, while there were returns for the Chelsea boot and the little lace party dress, to name a few. Keeping a finger on the pulse is something that Topshop take seriously, and it’s expected that they will follow Burberry with the instant-release of fashion from the next show. 

Celebrating African Fashion

We recently saw African Fashion Week take over London. LuxeModels digests what is undoubtedly one of the world’s best glimpses of African Fashion.

Held at the Olimpia, this year was the fifth edition of the event since its inception in 2011. As well as those, there have also been at least ten events on the back of it held by third-party organisers including The Mayor of London’s Black History Month celebrations and the annual Africa Centre Summer Festival.

African Fashion

Upcoming designers have the opportunity to prove themselves at the event, with talent, creativity, and output all on display through the open-to-the-public event.

“It’s a conscious decision we made,” AFWL’s creative director, Sola Oyebade once told THISDAY. “We don’t go for the big names. We try to give a platform to young designers and help push their products out there. We’ve had top designers approach us, but told them, no, this is not your market.”

And the 2015 event was themed ‘Apprentice and Skill Development’ – it saw a plethora of young, aspiring designers join some more well-known stylists including Taiwanese Aimme Ku, who is flying the flag for Africa-inspired fashion in her native Taipei City. Nigerian designer, Needlepoint, was a favourite from last year’s event and was also in attendance with her new range this year. And the winner of the Mercedes-Benz Best Designer in Africa, Mary Martin, made her bow on the AFWL catwalk this year.

Big Fashion Designers

Victoria Michaels is one of the most sought-after designers in Africa. Her repertoire includes advertisements for Hertz Rent-a-car, Vodafone, MTN, Nexcafe, Da-Vica and Bela-Aqua mineral water.

Noella Musunka is also an international model and the founder of Malaika, a non-profit organisation which is aimed lives in her native Democratic Republic of Congo.

In the build-up to the event, she told the press: “It feels really great to be chosen as the Brand Ambassador for a globally acclaimed proudly African event like the African Fashion Week London… I’m particularly excited to be part of this grand platform that showcases the original African creativity, style and talent.”

“This industry has the ability to put Africa on the world stage and can provide for countless job opportunities on the ground and abroad, from local factories to international shops. It is time for the world to see the amazing talent that lies within Africa.”

It is expected that the African Fashion Week will be even bigger next year, with designers from all over the world taking inspiration from African cultures into their collections.

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Which Celebrities Have The Best Smile?

A new poll has revealed to Luxe Models which celebrities the British public think have the best smile. So who won the coveted title?

The celebrity currency

Many celebrities live on their looks. They use their hair, bodies, nails and even their skin to secure lucrative advertisement deals that boost their public profiles and line their pockets.

There’s arguably no element of a celebrity’s look that matters more than their smile. As Rochelle and Marvin Humes, ambassadors for National Smile Month said recently "there's nothing better than a genuine smile." A good smile is infectious; this is why it’s the ultimate celebrity currency.

British public votes on best smile

The ambassadors also said that "the best smile ever comes down to confidence – true confidence shines through, and this is what makes smiling infectious." The British public took this to heart recently when they voted in a poll sponsored by Wrigley’s to determine which celebrity has the best smile.

The competition was fierce. Hello Magazine reported that The Duchess of Cambridge was crowned the winner when it came to the girls. She was closely followed by Holly Willoughby, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini (who we’re still surprised didn’t win – she always wins these things.) and Julia Roberts.

Meanwhile David Beckham was the male celebrity who the British public thought had the best smile. He was followed by the hunkiest man on the planet, George Clooney, in second place and the man-who-just won’t-go-away (Olly Murs) in third. Honestly, we’re not sure if the British public got it right as far as Murs is concerned but oh well.

All you need is a smile

This proves our point about how far a celebrity can go if they have a good smile. With the exception of the Duchess of Cambridge, who can’t do commercial things because she’s a royal, every name on these lists is a staple of billboards, TV ads and pop up ads around the world. 

For more stories like this, be sure to stay in touch with Luxe Models on www.Luxe-Models.co.uk. 

Luxe Model’s Top Five Reasons We Love Kate Moss

Despite the lady’s own confusion over her enduring ability to clinch magazine covers, we just love Kate Moss here at the Luxe Models offices, and this week we write something of a love letter to the iconic model as we present to you our top five reasons why.

Discovered at the age of 14 in 1988, Moss became one of the infamous ‘supermodels’ of the 1990’s, gracing countless magazine covers and tabloid headlines because quite frankly, she has that ‘it’ factor that you need to make it in this industry.

But it seems the titan of modelling fails to understand why she’s as popular with magazine editors in 2014 as she was in 1994, recently commenting that “I don’t understand why I still sell magazines.”

Kate Moss is Awesome and here are Five Reasons Why!

Well we do Kate, and we think it’s utterly unacceptable that you don’t, so that’s why we’ve listed for all you readers out there our top five reasons why Kate Moss is so awesome!

1) Aging Fabulously: Whether you like it or not, modelling is an industry based on looks and Moss has managed to maintain hers impeccably as the years have gone by.

2) Bad Girl: Who doesn’t love a bad girl? The woman famous for popularising the dubious ‘heroin chic’ look back in the 90’s, Kate is never far from the headlines for her bad girl ways and even dated notorious bad boy Pete Doherty, co-frontman of The Libertines.

3) Star Connections: She’s got a celebrity rolodex as long as a runway and she’s not afraid to use it. Just this year she hit the headlines for accepting David Bowie’s Brit Award in his place, dressed in full Ziggy Stardust regalia. It’s just so unbelievably cool!

4) Show Us Your Brave: It’s universally known that Moss has the bravery of a lion and certainly isn’t afraid to use it, even if it results in a major fashion faux pas. We don’t like boring fashionistas, which is why Moss’ daring sense of style is so amazing!

5) Sense of High Street Style: She’s not just successful as a model, but as a fashion designer too. Her ranges for Top Shop are inspired and provide chic clothing for the average woman on the high street.

So hold your head up high Kate! There are plenty of reasons why you’re still gracing the front covers of magazines everywhere and it’s highly likely that you’ll continue to do so in another two decades time!

Luxe Models on Clooney's Engagement

Luxe Models are excited and at the same time heartbroken at the news that George Clooney looks set to marry human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin. And there we were thinking he was the last great bachelor!

US media has reported that the pair are engaged, though it’s a relatively new occurrence. Ms Alamuddin is a London-based human rights lawyer aged 36 while Clooney is a 52-year-old Oscar winning actor. They have been keeping the relationship very low key up to this point, though at the same time aren’t trying to hide it either.

Apparently this is real love for the pair and they intend to be together for a very long time! Well, we certainly hope so since they’re going to get married! E! News reported that the bride-to-be was spotted wearing a “massive” engagement ring when she was out to dinner with Clooney last week. They were dining with Cindy Crawford in Malibu.

The happy couple have also been spied on holidays in New York, Tanzania and the Seychelles over the last few months. The reported engagement has not been confirmed by Clooney’s people yet, however, after his agent, Stan Rosenfield declined to comment. He said he does not answer questions about the actor’s personal life.

Amal Alamuddin works for Doughty Street chambers and has in the past defended Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. She will be Clooney’s second wife after he was married to actress Talia Balsam from 1989 to 1993. 

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Luxe Models on Helen Flanagan's Latest Revelation

Luxe Models had a chuckle when silly model and actress Helen Flanagan has let slip that her footballer boyfriend of two years, Scott Sinclair will leave West Bromwich Albion FC later this year. She was busy gushing about the home they’re having built in London and said that Scott “breaks up” in six weeks’ time, and after that the couple will know where they’re headed.

Scott is currently on loan from Manchester City and had been keeping very quiet on the subject of his future career. Many West Brom fans had probably hoped he would stick with the team, though by the sounds of it, they’re going to be disappointed.

Helen revealed that the couple don’t know where they’re going but they will not be staying in Birmingham. While her line of work allows her to move around and work from wherever she needs to, she has said she understands that Scott’s work is not quite as flexible and she will happily move to be with the man she loves.

She also stated that the house they’re working on in London should be finished by Christmas. So could this mean a shift south for the pair? Quite possibly!

The former Coronation Street actress is well-known for making public blunders like this. Last year she tried to show her support for PETA, the animal rights charity, while also endorsing the use of leather products. She posted a number of pictures on Instagram, some of which showed her in a PETA t-shirt, while others showed off her huge range of designer leather handbags. She also posted a picture of herself holding a gun to her head in 2012 just after the Sandy Hook school massacre – not very clever at all, Helen. She later said it was the most stupid thing she’s ever done.

Luxe Models wonder if boyfriend Scott Sinclair will be able to see past her latest encounter with saying the wrong thing or if she’ll be taking a trip to splitsville! We’ll keep our eyes peeled.

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