Oscars 2011: The Magpie Dress Awards

Fashion Weeks, Smashion Smeeks... Who cares about the fashion of the future, when the fashion of right now was being displayed in its full glory last night at the Oscars.

Possibly the largest fashion date in the diary, the Oscars serves up the creme de la creme of the movie world and the most delectable red carpet designers in the world.

So, without further ado, here are my favourite dresses from the Oscars 2011:

Hilary Swank in Gucci Premiere

I'm not normally a huge fan of Ms Swank, but last night she stood out a mile in this gorgeous feathered gown. I adore it, totally, utterly, completely.

FYI Maribou feathers are going to huge come AW'11 so Hilary really is ahead of the trend with her layer upon layer of Ostrich feather.

Hailee Steinfeld in Marchesa

It is only slightly sickening that Hailee (unfortunate name) is just 14 years old, but kudos to the young'un. She co-designed her dress with the girls at Marchesa...and I think they all did a bloomin' good job! I think the 1950's style of this dress is incredibly pretty and perfectly youthful for such a young Oscars nominee.

Mandy Moore in Monique L'Hullier 

Some may find this a little boring, but I couldn't leave Mandy off my list. She really does look gorgeous in this gown. Sequins and net are what make up the majority of this dress - such a simple idea, such an effective outcome.

 Gwyneth Paltrow in Calvin Klein Collection

I 'umm'd' and 'ahh'd' over Gwyneth's dress choice A LOT, but in the end decided that I did like it. The molten gold is really quite eye-catching, while the simple cut of the dress tones it down. A very clever number methinks.

Cate Blanchett in Givenchy Couture

 What a sophisticated choice! Cate has opted for a completely atypical Oscars dress - she's ditched feathers, sequins and lace, in favour of something much more 'fashion'. I'm a huge fan of the pastel purple and think the cut is simple stunning on her.

Mila Kunis in Elie Saab

For me, Mila can do little wrong. I love her understated Elie Saab number. The lilac is a beautiful shade and the overall look is very sophisticated. With such a small frame, layers of net would have swamped her, so I'm thankful she went for something a little less ostentatious.

Scarlett Johansson in Dolce & Gabbana

Bravo Scarlett! One of this season's hottest trends is lace and Ms Johansson has gone the whole hog by donning herself in the fabric head to toe. The risk has paid off as she totally rocks this look - plus the cut-out back is ultra sexy.

Sandra Bullock in Vera Wang

I always keep one eye out for Sandra. She always goes for classic styles and she always wows! The red of this dress is bright enough to stand strong against the red carpet and with her dark locks and fresh face, she looks the epitome of a classic beauty.

And the award for most beautiful mother-to-be goes to...

Natalie Portman in Rodarte

If I look like this when I am pregnant, I'll be one ecstatic woman. Natalie just glows in this aubergine gown. I am so pleased that she is embracing her pregnancy and not trying to hide it. Go Natalie!

Alas, not all of our A-listers scored so highly. There were, as is usual, a few fashion flops:

Jennifer Hudson in Versace

Eugh! I do not like. At all. I hate the shimmer of the dress (it cheapens it), I can't stand the frou-frou-ness of the train (sleek would have suited her much better), and the halter-neck is all wrong (her boobs look like floating devices).

Florence Welch in vintage Valentino

Florence looks like death. The pale dress, the pale skin, the un-made face and hair... This is the Oscars darling, not a Halloween party.

Michelle Williams in Chanel

I hate to be mean about Michelle and more-so, about Chanel, but this dress is just so wrong. Michelle looks incredibly top-heavy - which is amazing because she is so slight. There's also something to be said for leaving some things to the imagination...

Well, that's more than enough excitement for one Monday morning. All this glamour while I am sitting here in my 'house clothes' is leaving me feeling quite wretched. Off to the gym I go...

London Fashion Week AW'11, Day Five

Day Five is finally here...hoorah! Not that I don't love Fashion Week, but five days of running around town in silly heels, drinking only champagne (water has not passed my lips, which is actually rather silly as my skin now looks like that of a teenage boy) and smiling constantly, takes its toll.

Today was a busy day, so just as well that I dressed comfortably. Not!

Vest: Primark (keeping it real)
Jacket: Vintage
Necklace: Butler & Wilson (amazing, but I actually have cuts on my neck from the weight of it!)


Trousers: Yves Saint Laurent
Shoes: Christian Louboutin
Bag: Chanel

And today shows were:

MARIOS SCWHAB

I've always been a fan of Marios Schwab...and he didn't disappoint. He might have played it a little safe with an homage to all of his previous seasons, but I thought it was a great collection. There were simple, flattering dresses, statement cover-ups and great details (bondage buckles being my fave!).

I love this coat. It reminds me of the coats he sent out a few years ago - I took them all the way to the glaciers of New Zealand to shoot them for Grazia. Anyway, I want this coat please.

The dresses may be simple, but they are tailored to perfection

AQUASCUTUM

Aquascutum is all about the coats and this season there were lots of them. I really like the fact that there was a more youthful feel to the collection. I've been scribbling the same words in my notebook all week: deconstruction and reconstruction (looks like Tim Blanks at Style.com has been copying my homework because he's only gone and bloody used my ideas in his show review!), and boy was that phrase appropriate here today - take the herringbone coat with the puffy gilet attached on top as an example.

I found some of the layering a bit too much, but then, you don't have to buy a whole look. I still believe that an  Aquascutum coat is an investment for life.

A sporty edge

Classic meets current

 Over-layered?

Love, love, love the blue gloves with fur detail - so fun!

High-impact outerwear

ROKSANDA ILLINCIC

Just stepping in to the salon (definitely not just a room) at the Roksanda show, was like walking in to a slice of bourgoise history. Gorgeous!

After a series of more casual looks, Roksanda showed off her real strength - beautiful dresses. Slinky, sexy and red-carpet perfect, there were yelps of delight all over the place.

Thigh high slit? Check. Maribou feathers? Check. Clashing colours? Check. 

Lust-factor? Check, check, check!

Trousers: The new dress?

I.N. 

L.O.V.E.

MEADHAM KIRCHHOFF

Now, it's quite hard to comment on this show. It was amazing, but I couldn't possibly tell you what the clothes were like. The choreography of the models' walk was simply stunning. Rather than sending out the models one-by-one, they all marched down the catwalk together, entering, leaving, entering, leaving...and then gone. Just like that.

It must have been the shortest show ever. I was so engrossed by the march that I could barely pay any attention to what the models were actually wearing.

Uber-stylist Tamara Cincik summed it up perfectly: "Ashkenazi Salem"...I'll let you have a think about that one...

ASHISH

Well, it probably comes as no surprise that I am a HUGE fan of Ashish. A man after my own heart, he's as big a fan of sequins as I am! I loved this collection and felt he'd really come on in leaps and bounds after last season's cowboy-McDonalds efforts.

Of course the announcement that this was the final show of LFW had the audience in a fabulous mood, but we were positively skipping after the fun and lightness of Ashish's work.

A sequin tribute to Chanel - I have never felt love quite like this before! 

 Lilac tartan in sequins? Who'd have thought that work so well?!

A hop, skip and a jump later, I was quaffing Moet at the My-Wardrobe party at Sketch - a totally chic soiree celebrating the website's re-launch, which you can see right here.

And that, dear readers, sums up my London Fashion Week.

 That's a lot of shows!

London Fashion Week AW'11, Day Four

Day Four was, thank god, a much more relaxed day. I spent the day hunting around the LFW exhibition for some fab fashion finds...oh yes, and I made a little detour to the Giles show.

Today, I went for something a little less classy than yesterday.

I teamed my Henry Holland suspender tights and D&G gold sequin string vest, with my very old H&M chunky knit, my fave Mawi necklace and my Dune thigh-high boots. I spent most of the day pulling down my skirt and pulling up my tights...I think I'm too old for this look!

GILES

Giles opted to show at the Royal Courts of Justice - having already been there the night before, it wasn't quite as spectacular as the first time round... LFW does spoil you!

The show - had I been able to see any of it, I might be able to comment. Even though I was seated in the second row, I was right at the far end and the rather dim models didn't seem to make it half way down the catwalk before turning around. Dur!

From what I could see, there was definitely an emphasis on all things Victoriana...meshed with some very current trends - i.e. double length skirts, hair (of the goat variety), bows in the hair (of the on-the-head variety)... White shirts were made to look particularly sexual, pulled back hair with pretty bows came across as rather fetishist and the booties could easily have stepped out of a Victorian brothel - oh to get in to Giles' imagination!

Oozing sexual femininity, these are all items I'd love to have hanging in my wardrobe

THE EXHIBITION

Here are the goodies I found at the London Fashion Week Exhibition:

Erickson Beamon had me drooling over this dramatic piece...

...while AKong wowed with this gorgeous collar...

...and it was love at first sight with this fur sleeved coat from Hotel Particulier...

 ...but who wouldn't love this multi-faceted cuff from Sarah Angold Studio...

...and these designs from Shao Yen are most desirable.

 

Day Four ended with an early night and cup of Options. Bliss.

London Fashion Week AW'11, Day Three

Abject apologies for the delay in these posts - LFW has left me a shadow of my former myself and I have only just summoned up the energy to sit down with my laptop!

So, Day Three. What did it bring? Osman, Vivienne Westwood and Temperley - a very exciting day! This rather exciting day required a rather jazzy outfit:

I chose this pale blue silk ruffle dress cinched in with a patent belt, both from Jaeger, a vintage black sequin blazer and my trusty Louboutins. I can't quite get my camera to show my clothes in their best light though :-(

Anyway, to the shows we go!

OSMAN

As the creator of all things minimal, Osman Yousefzada always cuts a clean line...and this season was no exception. For me, it's all a bit too simple, but I can see how it works. With mainly whites and blacks making up the base palette, it was a relief to see some splashes of colour: orange, pinks, turquoises, lime greens...

It's not for me, but I do like it - am also quite excited that A/W'11 will bring lots of wide-leg trousers.

An orange explosion - too much?

Colour blocking is here to stay

 My favourite look from the collection

VIVIENNE WESTWOOD RED LABEL

Walking up to Viv's venue of choice, The Royal Courts of Justice, was pretty awe-inspiring. What a fantastic place to host a show - and how ironic that it would be Ms Rebel herself hosting her show in such a law-abiding place!

The show was the usual mix of randomness and chopped up clothing. You either love it or you don't. I think I love the spectacle and I'm sure I'd be able to hunt out a few good separates in there.

 

The Dame herself...

 Another Dame... Mr Boy George ambled in a little too late - there was nowhere for him to seat, so he had to STAND at the back. Oh my!

TEMPERLEY LONDON

From one beautiful venue to another. Alice Temperley chose to display her collection (and celebrate her decade anniversary) in the atrium of the British Museum. Can I just say WOW! It was simply stunning.

The collection was equally as stunning - for the most part. There were some gorgeous lace numbers, some sexy sparkling options and some very beautiful cover-ups. BUT, there were also some strange satin frocks - v unflattering and cheap looking - and some horribly wrong fan-shaped gowns. Where she was going with those I am not sure, but what was good was great, so bravo!

 Temperley at her best

Sexy, sophisticated and stylish

The setting of this very dramatic show

The perfect end to a busy day.

London Fashion Week AW'11, Day Two

Having frozen my bottom off on Day One, I decided that Day Two required serious reinforcement, hence this get-up:

I accesorised my Aquascutum trench coat with Great-grandma Alice's mink stole and my Balenciaga sky-scrapers. Hidden underneath was my fuchsia pink Lanvin number...and under that, my very sexy Marks & Spencer thermal vest.

Anyway, let's get down to the shows - you probably wouldn't catch this lot in an M&S thermal vest (more fool them!):

BERNARD CHANDRAN

A colour explosion hit the catwalk at Bernard Chandran. Fuchsia, scarlet and tangerine dominated, lifting my rain drenched spirits. Tulip shape skirts, bright red sparkling lace and laser cut tops were the other highlights.

 Seems like more is more this season!

 Does Spider Man have a cape? Well he does now. 

 Clearly Spring/Summer's colour blocking isn't going anywhere. Hoorah!

A bright pink Maribou feather coat - yes please! What a fantastic statement piece.

The other thing I loved about this show was the fab make-up. Upper lip pink, lower lip orange. Genius! I shall be trying this out VERY soon!

BELLE SAUVAGE

Apart from the fact that we were all frozen in this venue (even the M&S vest wasn't powerful enough), the Old Sorting Office was a great setting for a fantastic show. Techno geometric fabrics were manipulated in to simple, yet very effective, dresses.

 Perhaps the rebel's answer to Ascot? I loved this start to the show - very dramatic.

Hope you can see this pic clearly - great form-hugging dresses that are sexy yet sophisticated.

And ladies - the shoes were AMAZING!  Vertiginous wedges complete with fur, spikes, chains and buckles. Once again, more is more.

JOHN ROCHA

Texture was the name of the game here. Twisted, knotted and plaited, the fabrics were manipulated within an inch of their life...in a good way. With a gothic air, as is usually the way with Rocha, the looks were pretty dramatic. I particularly liked the shimmering crochet and bright red numbers (red seems to make a lot of appearances - it's definitely my early bid for colour of the season).

Try untangling that one!

BRYCE AME

Dramarama today! Bryce Ame was making statements left, right and centre. Futuristic headgear and sculpture was punctuated by some quite wearable pieces actually. Probably not my own taste, but I could definitely see some of these pieces working well.

Dressing as a rhino is going to be huge come Autumn/Winter 2011. Seriously.

Which pop star will be first to bag this structural piece?

 

After a day of back-back shows, I squeezed in three parties - yes THREE. Not quite the old woman I thought I was! Olivia Rubin at Jalouse, Belle Sauvage at Sketch and then Piers Atkinson at Franny's. All good fun.

Right, the plan was to also catch up with Day Three, but my beau has just returned from a rather debauched stag weekend in Bratislava (his own), and is now a shadow of his former self. He needs some urgent TLC. More posts to follow once I have got him on the mend!

Good night!