As my alarm went off for 4.30am and my cab arrived for 5 , I couldn't believe that a year had been since my first LFW and that this one year anniversary was going to be better than ever! First up for this season was a project I had spent the week working on! I was assisting Sarah Cobb on the styling of the first show of the season - Paul Costelloe. We had spent the days following the show at Paul's studio doing model castings and preparing every last detail for how the show would look. From deciding that the models should have burnt-candy floss pink wigs to me running around London over the course of 2 days in the hunt of the perfect pair of oatmeal tights only to have that idea scrapped and replaced with burgundy! Alas Friday morning came around and as Day One loomed I made my way to Somerset House in the dark hours of the early morning to prepare for the fashion circus that was about to roll on into London Town...
As time passed the models arrived and made their way into hair & make-up and before I knew it we were 45minutes pre-show and backstage was a flurry of hair & make-up artists running around adding finishing touches. Myself, Sarah & Paul's team trying each look onto every model switching outfit choices & the seamstress finishing off details on the garments till literally the 
very last minute. Amongst all the mayhem my morning started with a touch of celeb when Janice Dickinson entered the room , camera crew in tow! I saw Janice last season at Julien McDonald and remember thinking how funny and charicature like she is - a larger than life character to say the least! Suddenly her publicist came across to me asking for the Stylist as OK Television & Janice Dickinson would like to interview her, "Sure I'll just grab her" and as I dashed outside to steal Sarah away from her ciggie break she said "No , i'm not doing interviews you do it Deni..." , with those words I nervously shuffled my way backstage in front of the camera to then be interviewed by Janice Dickinson. "What's your name young man..." and with that question the next 2 minutes felt like a blur, bright lights in my eye a camera and microphone in my face and one of the most intimidating women in fashion was treating me like an absolute darling. "Honey you should come to L.A & be my stylist" she concluded & with that we exchanged a hug & kiss & posed for a quick pre-show snap (notice the lippy on my cheeks!
Before I could even register how surreal the situation was it was almost show time. Having spent the last season of LFW attending shows I had almost forgotten how amazing the rush & anticipation of being back stage was. Before I knew it the show had begun , music thumping we began dressing and undressing the girls (and boys) in and out of their outfits in time for the runway! As the last look hit the runway & Paul went out for his bow and overwhelming feeling of satisfaction & relief came over me and suddenly the 3 days of running around like a crazy man and working 15 hour days suddenly paid off - it was truly a great moment as he came backstage to roars of applause and cheer from his staff , models and the production crew! Post show Janice Dickinson came around backstage and gave me a big hug "You're great young man you're going to be a big star some day" ... what do you say to that, thank you was all I could come up with. Alas there's no rest for the wicked and as I left the tents at Somerset House I made my way by foot over to the Savoy Hotel for the next show of the day - Maria Grachvogel.
As I entered the beautiful ball room of the Savoy Hotel and took my 3rd row seat I was immediatley taken in by the beauty of my surroundings...and then the show begun. To describe the collection in one word , fluidity comes to mind. Maria's signature beautifully cut silk, draped itself down the runway in the form of dresses and amazing high waisted trousers often finished with interesting harem style draping. Digital prints made an impact as did fur & lace details completed finishing touches to what was an overall beautiful collection & great way to kick off LFW...
As the afternoon moved its way swiftly into early evening it was back to Somerset House and the main tent for the Aminaka Wilmont show where I was joined by fellow fashionista Melanie Tong Fashion Assistant at the Sunday Times Style - what never seems to suprise me is that the fashion world is almost a parallel universe in itself in which everyone know's everyone and they're all there for their one great love - FASHION! As the show kicked on it was becoming apparent that digital prints are back for another season in a big way , as almost every look that came down the runway featured an abstract digital print in hues of nude , blush and purple - toughened up with leather jackets and the return of the shearling aviator with a cascade front to die for! Altough the collection was by no means revolutionary it was extremley commercial! 
Suddenly day turned into night and I got my way back into a cab to go meet some fabulous friends for a pre-show drink. A vodka & lemonade after (and still no solid meal all day - just no time) and it was onto one of my favorite shows of LFW , FelderFelder known for their signature rock chic look the Felder sisters use studs & leather like no one else and I couldn't wait to see what they had prepared for us this season. After pushing and shoving for 45minutes my bestie Charlotte and I finally made our way into the venue and took our seats the music began to thump over the sound system and I was immediatley buzzing in my seat as I spotted Marina (from the Diamonds) and Jodie Kidd front row and then the first girl made her way out...
The show begun and amonst the art-school style craft feel and slight victorian silhouette the only thing that really drew my attention was the colour pallette (love a bit of green mixed in with steel grey) and some lovely tailored trousers , other than that the star studded front row including Nicola Roberts & Kimberz Walsh was more a topic of conversation than the show itself
A quick costume change later for Miss Whitmore and it was time for the show of the evening and my favorite way to end Day 1 of LFW - the PPQ show! Dressed in John Galliano (by me) the devine miss Whit' made her way into the tents to a flurry of flashing lights and an overwhelming amounts of "Laura , here , just a quick photo please" - this by far has been my favorite styling moment with my darling friend - has anyone ever looked this good in bodycon satin - amazing!
As I took my seat behind Laura and the celebrities flowed in - think Paloma Faith, Nicola Roberts, Jamie Winstone to name a few. As the lights went low the anticipation and buzz in the air was so prevalent it was as visible as fog , the crowd was ready for the PPQ party to conclude the first night of LFW with a bang! Nicki Minaj's voice blared over the speakers before Lil Kim's 'Lighter's Up' opened the show - one of my all time favorite hip hop tunes as the first look took centre stage I found myself singing and dancing along to the track with the guests surrounding me. The hip hop posse that we were , knew every last lyric and the fun collection of fun party dresses with a tailored edge whilst the gorgeous models heads were adorned with cute kitten ear hats - it was everything you expect from a PPQ show - a fucking fun time with sexy clothes!
as Laura and I made our way out the tent I stopped for a moment to realise that 6 months ago I met this girl to discuss working together and now she is one of my best friends! I feel truly lucky and blessed to be surrounded by such an amazing passionate young woman - it makes me smile!
As time passed the models arrived and made their way into hair & make-up and before I knew it we were 45minutes pre-show and backstage was a flurry of hair & make-up artists running around adding finishing touches. Myself, Sarah & Paul's team trying each look onto every model switching outfit choices & the seamstress finishing off details on the garments till literally the very last minute. Amongst all the mayhem my morning started with a touch of celeb when Janice Dickinson entered the room , camera crew in tow! I saw Janice last season at Julien McDonald and remember thinking how funny and charicature like she is - a larger than life character to say the least! Suddenly her publicist came across to me asking for the Stylist as OK Television & Janice Dickinson would like to interview her, "Sure I'll just grab her" and as I dashed outside to steal Sarah away from her ciggie break she said "No , i'm not doing interviews you do it Deni..." , with those words I nervously shuffled my way backstage in front of the camera to then be interviewed by Janice Dickinson. "What's your name young man..." and with that question the next 2 minutes felt like a blur, bright lights in my eye a camera and microphone in my face and one of the most intimidating women in fashion was treating me like an absolute darling. "Honey you should come to L.A & be my stylist" she concluded & with that we exchanged a hug & kiss & posed for a quick pre-show snap (notice the lippy on my cheeks! Before I could even register how surreal the situation was it was almost show time. Having spent the last season of LFW attending shows I had almost forgotten how amazing the rush & anticipation of being back stage was. Before I knew it the show had begun , music thumping we began dressing and undressing the girls (and boys) in and out of their outfits in time for the runway! As the last look hit the runway & Paul went out for his bow and overwhelming feeling of satisfaction & relief came over me and suddenly the 3 days of running around like a crazy man and working 15 hour days suddenly paid off - it was truly a great moment as he came backstage to roars of applause and cheer from his staff , models and the production crew! Post show Janice Dickinson came around backstage and gave me a big hug "You're great young man you're going to be a big star some day" ... what do you say to that, thank you was all I could come up with. Alas there's no rest for the wicked and as I left the tents at Somerset House I made my way by foot over to the Savoy Hotel for the next show of the day - Maria Grachvogel.As I entered the beautiful ball room of the Savoy Hotel and took my 3rd row seat I was immediatley taken in by the beauty of my surroundings...and then the show begun. To describe the collection in one word , fluidity comes to mind. Maria's signature beautifully cut silk, draped itself down the runway in the form of dresses and amazing high waisted trousers often finished with interesting harem style draping. Digital prints made an impact as did fur & lace details completed finishing touches to what was an overall beautiful collection & great way to kick off LFW...A can of Diet Coke (ultimate LFW essential) and a cab ride later (a luxury I continued to allow myself all week) and it was off to the Jean Pierre Braganza show to see what this young talented designer had in store for London this season. As I took my seat next to follow fashionista Lucy Williams InStyle fashion assistant , we chatted Nicki Minaj & twitter before the show began! As the first look came down the runway - it was very apparent that the 80s were back in a big way. Shoulder Pads , oversized mannish style blazers and dramatic hair and make-up, the power woman we lusted for two seasons ago seemed to be creeping back onto fashion's forefront in a collection that consisted of a mostly grey black & red colour scheme, including sequins , transparency and stripes...
As the afternoon moved its way swiftly into early evening it was back to Somerset House and the main tent for the Aminaka Wilmont show where I was joined by fellow fashionista Melanie Tong Fashion Assistant at the Sunday Times Style - what never seems to suprise me is that the fashion world is almost a parallel universe in itself in which everyone know's everyone and they're all there for their one great love - FASHION! As the show kicked on it was becoming apparent that digital prints are back for another season in a big way , as almost every look that came down the runway featured an abstract digital print in hues of nude , blush and purple - toughened up with leather jackets and the return of the shearling aviator with a cascade front to die for! Altough the collection was by no means revolutionary it was extremley commercial! Suddenly day turned into night and I got my way back into a cab to go meet some fabulous friends for a pre-show drink. A vodka & lemonade after (and still no solid meal all day - just no time) and it was onto one of my favorite shows of LFW , FelderFelder known for their signature rock chic look the Felder sisters use studs & leather like no one else and I couldn't wait to see what they had prepared for us this season. After pushing and shoving for 45minutes my bestie Charlotte and I finally made our way into the venue and took our seats the music began to thump over the sound system and I was immediatley buzzing in my seat as I spotted Marina (from the Diamonds) and Jodie Kidd front row and then the first girl made her way out...Every look seemed better then the previous. Sequinned cropped leather jackets trimmed with what appeared to be faux-goat hair (or is it faux?) metallic silver trousers and studded cuffs as far as the eye could see the Felder sisters proved yet again that their rock sensibility was right on the money! I left the show feeling and inspired and ready for the night ahead! It was time for a quick costume change pre the evenings last two shows and I removed my striped jumper and replaced with a vintage silver metallic shirt & bow tie to tsjuz up my leather trousers for what promised to be a rock-star Friday night LFW opener! I soon made my way over to Tom's Bar at Somerset House to meet my darling clients and best friends Natalia & Laura for a pre show drink and then we made our way to the tents for the Bora Aksu show. As we entered I was blinded by paparazzi only to realise that , oh yeah my friend/client is kinda famous hehe and like a true proffessional Laura flashed her million dollar smile for the adoring lenses! Styled by moi - she rocked a Missoni body con dress complete with her signature leather jacket & new favorite Manolo Blahnik for TOUS necklace! Watching her amongst the paps made it seem so surreal!
The show begun and amonst the art-school style craft feel and slight victorian silhouette the only thing that really drew my attention was the colour pallette (love a bit of green mixed in with steel grey) and some lovely tailored trousers , other than that the star studded front row including Nicola Roberts & Kimberz Walsh was more a topic of conversation than the show itselfA quick costume change later for Miss Whitmore and it was time for the show of the evening and my favorite way to end Day 1 of LFW - the PPQ show! Dressed in John Galliano (by me) the devine miss Whit' made her way into the tents to a flurry of flashing lights and an overwhelming amounts of "Laura , here , just a quick photo please" - this by far has been my favorite styling moment with my darling friend - has anyone ever looked this good in bodycon satin - amazing!As I took my seat behind Laura and the celebrities flowed in - think Paloma Faith, Nicola Roberts, Jamie Winstone to name a few. As the lights went low the anticipation and buzz in the air was so prevalent it was as visible as fog , the crowd was ready for the PPQ party to conclude the first night of LFW with a bang! Nicki Minaj's voice blared over the speakers before Lil Kim's 'Lighter's Up' opened the show - one of my all time favorite hip hop tunes as the first look took centre stage I found myself singing and dancing along to the track with the guests surrounding me. The hip hop posse that we were , knew every last lyric and the fun collection of fun party dresses with a tailored edge whilst the gorgeous models heads were adorned with cute kitten ear hats - it was everything you expect from a PPQ show - a fucking fun time with sexy clothes! as Laura and I made our way out the tent I stopped for a moment to realise that 6 months ago I met this girl to discuss working together and now she is one of my best friends! I feel truly lucky and blessed to be surrounded by such an amazing passionate young woman - it makes me smile!...now as they say, after the show its the after party and so we went , myself and my fabulous friends from the Cosmopolitan fashion team to the new SKY BAR at the Millbank Towers , not yet opened to general public we were the first crop of London to see the elite new hot spot! We froze for 45 minutes in the cold but once in the Belvedere flowed and the talents of the amazing
Clare Maguire took to the stage. Soon to be joined by Miss Whitmore we danced along to Rihanna in a mixed crowd of designers, models, fashionistas and celebrities till the wee hours of the morning and at 2.30 I made my way home to a kebab and some much needed shut eye after exactly 22 hours of non stop action! The rest of my LFW adventures coming soon xoxo Deni
Clare Maguire took to the stage. Soon to be joined by Miss Whitmore we danced along to Rihanna in a mixed crowd of designers, models, fashionistas and celebrities till the wee hours of the morning and at 2.30 I made my way home to a kebab and some much needed shut eye after exactly 22 hours of non stop action! The rest of my LFW adventures coming soon xoxo Deni
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