Tuesday 31 July 2012

Auraley London a stylish Luxury kids Nightwear brand is really taking off....





Auraley is an exciting new brand of children’s luxury sleepwear for 
children aged 2 to 8. 

Auraley is the only British brand focused exclusively on luxury children’s sleepwear, filling a much needed gap in the market for beautifully styled, quality sleepwear for children, manufactured using the highest quality sustainably sourced, wonderfully soft and luxurious quality fabrics

The label is a London-based luxury brand and the Auraley team is fiercely proud of it. 

Auraley is the brain child of successful City lawyer, Kate Bennett Rea. Kate had always dreamt of combining her love of creative design with her entrepreneurial spirit.  
It occurred to her in 2009, upon the birth of her children, that there was no reason to delay making her dream a reality. The seeds of Kate's vision for a new luxury sleepwear brand for children started to take shape and germinate over the next three years, culminating in the launch of Auraley on 1 November 2012. 



Auraley will feature in Bubble London’s June mail out and magazine and will have a stand from the 16th and 17th June at this premier UK Children's fashion trade event and fair in the Business Design Centre London. 

Kate is also being featured as Mumpreneur of the month in Mumpreneur.

As well as the Middle East proving to be a good market for us the Auraley team is very excited to also announce that we have just secured two large orders from South Korea and Japan who love the Brit Classic style and quality Auraley offers.





Auraley Spring/Summer 2013 Collection is available at Auraley’s Online Boutique 
(www.auraley.com) and is being sold in exclusive London boutiques Jou Jou and Lucy and Bigoodi and soon other high end Children's independent London Boutiques to be announced later.







Exclusive Holly Fulton A/W 12/13 show collection interview for Plastik Magazine - out now


Holly working with her team 2 hours before the show
Finishing touches 

Matrix like surface pattern design with a signature deco reference

Dressing one of the models ..

Love this dress.....looks like the hem is hot and on fire...

The show in progress

Turquoise suit


Mini PVC print over dress...

This interview was done in February 12 at London Fashion Week - I got exclusive access back stage where I interviewed Holly and sat 2nd row to see her brilliant show, I am looking forward to seeing her Spring Summer offering in September..........

Holly Fulton Interview
Feb 2012

1) You studied at the RCA –tell me more about your time there…
I loved my time there, it was a very creative and formative experience and a welcome introduction to London and the design world.
2.) Is your family background fashion based or creative ?
My father is a town planner, my mum worked in publishing then as an architecture librarian
3) You love the 1960s – where does this come from?
My mum kept all her magazines and wardrobe from this time, I spent a lot of time in my childhood browsing and playing with these items. the simplicity and strength of the design has always appealed to me.
4) Where do you get your inspiration?
Everywhere, there’s a lot of exciting stuff to see out there! I love art deco, pop art, aboriginal and outsider art, my collection of stuff, lots of things down to the people you see in East London .
5) What of your achievements are you most proud of?
Starting my label from scratch and keeping it going for 7 seasons now. It’s been hard but we are still going!
6) Have you thought of branching out into Home interiors?
I am always interested in furthering the application and breadth of products available under my label but am keen to do this at a manageable and realistic pace-one step at a time for an emerging label makes sense to me!
7) Where are your clothes made ?
All in London in the UK , its important for me to be able to monitor that quality of what we are producing in person and keep tabs on the manufacturing.
8) Where do you see your label in 5 years time?
Hopefully still running! and based in a larger studio with lots of large windows. I'd like to grow my team in line with this too and broaden our range of products even further.
9) If PPR or LVMH approached you would you be interested ?
Never say never although I am keen to keep hold of what I have built myself from scratch
10) What age group buys your clothes?
A wide range, the feedback I have had is that the pieces have quite a broad and timeless appeal which is a huge compliment for a designer.
11) Where are you stocked worldwide?
In around 20 stores internationally- see website for details
12) China and India are important emerging markets – are you having
success over there?
China is good for me, I am keen to go there and broaden awareness of the label. I have no stockists In India currently but again, am keen to venture into that market.
13) What was the most exciting fashion moment you have had since last
Season?
Realising the collection just in time, its always exciting when you see it lined up just before the show and get to see if what you had visualized in your head has worked.
14) What is your favorite band or music choice at the moment?
Dizzee Rascal
15) How do you fill your spare time ( if you have any!)
There is not much to be honest, I love my work and a lot of time is spent drawing if nothing else! I love a lie in bed, films, galleries and a good car boot sale.
16) The large signature necklace is an important part of the Holly Fulton
look, have you been approached by H & M to do a diffusion line for
them yet? If so would you want to do it?
No, I have not. it is important to choose your collaborations very carefully and I weigh everything up as and when they come along. I have no problem doing High Street projects though it’s nice when we are asked to collaborate, as a lot of stores will borrow heavily from new designers work, whereas they could collaborate and show the industry more.
17) When did you start including handbags?
I have done handbags since I started with AW09, shoes I will leave to the professionals for now
18) I see from your past A/W collections that you do coats, is this proving a success?
Yes very, we have done coats since AW9/10/11
19) Who of your contemporaries in the industry do you admire most at the
moment ?
I love Sister by Sibling, they are a great trio of designers and I want to wear all of it at once.
20) What advice would you give to a student deciding to do an MA in
fashion and starting up their own brand?
Make sure you are ready, you have to be very focused and prepared to give up what many deem as a normal life to make a label work. You have to truly love what you do to put in the time and effort required to get it going and keep it going!
21) Is there anything you would change about London Fashion Week?
I would make it a bit later, I always need more time! But I love the frenetic energy and buzz of London so probably best to leave it as is.
22) What is the best bit of advice you ever had?
In fashion Shows don't matter, sales do. In life treat others as you would like to be treated yourself.

Copy and Photos Schelay - Please credit

Saturday 21 July 2012

Perfekcija 'The Perfect White Shirt' in New York

On Ellis Island wearing a Perfekcija white shirt - See the 'Freedom Tower' in the background 


I love a well styled, crisp, white cotton shirt. My quest to find a good one lead me to discover Perfekcija.
I took two of the Perfekcija designs out to New York recently...
click here to see where I wore them......





Monday 9 July 2012

LFW Spijkers en Spijkers A/W 2012/13 Vauxhall fashionscout























I was not quite sure what to expect from the Spijkers en Spijkers A/W collection sponsored by Fashionscout. Pronouncing their name was proving to be a bit of a conundrum requiring experiment! From the Netherlands the blond blue eyed twin sisters have been working as a team with great success. Building an innovative instantly recognisable style is not an easy feat in the competitive fashion industry. Launched in 2000 their partnership has gone from strength to strength. Called ‘Birds of Paradise’’ the name the Dutch give to eccentric colourful people and inspired principally by the fascinating story of Edie Bouvier Beale and her fall from being a socialite beauty to a recluse living with her mother in their dilapidated Grey Gardens Estate in fashionable East Hampton outside New York. The collection had all the verve, innovation and quirkiness we would expect from Miu Miu. Known for their use of graphic detail and outstanding use of colour the Spijker en Spijker woman is kookey, confident and bright. The ‘old money’, Ivy League glamour was represented with good style breadth and excellent garment category coverage from tops, skirts, jackets, elegant trouser suits, day dresses and pretty cocktail dresses with a vintage 1920s ‘Great Gatsby Twist’ style twist with pretty scalloped hems and matching wave deco style tailored bodices. The eclectic but very wearable clothes would look perfect on Carey Mulligan’s gamine figure.  Fabrics included silk dupion, silk satin samudra, silk wool blends, crepe de chine, printed wool maple and striped wool jersey crepe to add an eclectic flavour. Flamoyant accessory details of Ostrich and bird feather trimmings and exotic bird embroidery added the finishing touches to this impressive collection. These girls are talented with a big T. There was a real buzz back stage after their show as I waited in line to congratulate them.
http://www.spijkersenspijkers.nl/ 

A version of this can now been found in Plastik magazine- out now internationally in all good news agents and Selfridges in London.https://www.facebook.com/plastikmagazine

Words and Photos Schelay McCarter pls credit