The British Fashion Awards 2012

Last night Giulia and I attended the 2012 British Fashion Awards at the Savoy Theatre in London. We were beyond excited not only because it's the fashion event of the year in the UK but also because it was our first time at any sort of award ceremony – unless you count school?
Even tough we knew that not everyone in the industry would interpret the black tie instructions quite so literally we jump at any opportunity of dressing to the nines. Giulia in a stunning Galliano gown with lace and ruffle details and me in a more expected outfit spiced up with my favourite new Lanvin flower pin.

It was an amazing experience sitting in the theatre and having all these amazingly talented and accomplished people in front of us. Our hearts stopped a little when, to kick off the awards, Nick Grimshaw and Gemma Arterton announced that Valentino – Legend – Garavani would be giving the British Style Award, which went to Alexa Chung for the third year in a row. We loved that Manolo Blahnik won the Outstanding Achievement in Fashion introduced by a lovely video of Anna Wintour, Grace Coddington, Angelica Houston and Naomi Campbell singing his praise. He received the award from Zaha Hadid, a favourite hero of mine!
Amber Valetta – we died again – gave Stella McCartney one of her two awards of the night: Designer Brand and Designer of the Year. They both look ridiculously beautiful last night. Less of a surprise was Cara Delevingne's award for Model of the Year. She literally rocked the stage with a shirt metallic number by Burberry, of course.
I was also thrilled to see J.W. Anderson win the Emerging Talent award for Ready-to-Wear. He is one of the most talented designers in London and a personal favourite. Jonathan Saunders, Roksanda Ilincic, Erdem and Nicholas Kirkwood all received awards for all their amazing work during this year. Kim Jones got the Menswear Designer award for his work at Louis Vuitton, another very well deserved one. One of the highlights of the night was the emotional moment of Louise Wilson, who won the Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator for her years of work at Central Saint Martins, where he has taught many of the best British designers.

See the rest of the guests and what they were wearing here. And click here for the full list of winners.

Images: Getty and Know Wear

Roksanda Ilincic FW12: "Cozy Luxury"
Style.com

One of the best feelings to have during a fashion show is surprise. There is nothing better than sitting in a room not knowing exactly what you're about to see. If the surprise is a good one you've got a winner. This is exactly what happened to me last September when I attended Roksanda Ilincic's SS12 show. I was completely in awe for its duration and even now can say it was my favourite show of the season.
So it goes without saying that I couldn't wait to see Roksanda's FW12 collection last February during London Fashion Week. I had great expectations, which can make the surprise go either way, Luckily the collection was another hit –ultra sophisticated and a breath of fresh air.
My favourite thing about it were the sportswear details like draw strings, hoods and sweatshirt necklines incorporated in luxurious evening astrakhan dresses with fur hemlines or exquisitely tailored tweed coats. And the women around me seemed to agree with me.
They were also very wearable clothes –something that Stephanie LaCava proved not only once but twice. The cocktail dresses with gathered details were perfect for work, a dinner or a party and the coats and jackets (the blue astrakhan bowler was a highlight) were just as versatile.
And to top it all off the music was simply perfect to accompany a stunning show.

The Best Music Tracks from London Fashion Week

Courtesy of Burberry, Style.com

*Listen to the songs by clicking on the different iPods.

Even though London Fashion Week is over and we're onto Milan I feel like it always takes me another week to properly digest everything I've seen at the shoes. Including the music. If you talked to my flatmate he could tell you I have been repeatedly streaming the same part of the Burberry show just to listen to "this song I loved". I could not, for the life of me, figure out who was it by. The same happened with another two tracks – one from Acne and one from Roksanda Ilincic. Thank God for mobile phone apps that can recognise songs! They have saved me a whole lot of effort.
Needless to say, I bought the songs off iTunes as soon as I made sure that I had got them right. My absolute favourite, 'Numb' by Marina & The Diamonds, just gives me goose bumps. I guess it's a combination of how good the song is and the memory of the velvets and rich colours from the Burberry Prorsum show.
'Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)' by The Shangri-Las, from the Roksanda Ilincic finale, really makes me want to dance and brings back the luxe sportswear and exquisite coats from the collection.
And from the Acne finale,  'Blue Monday 1988' by New Order, which even creative director Johnny Johansson could not resist shaking it to as he took a bow.

What Stephanie LaCava wore: LFW Day 4
KnowWear

Yesterday was a super crazy day in terms of shows, which is why I could not manage a post until today and why I unfortunately missed miss LaCava in the fashion mayhem that is the Burberry exodus. So I could not snap her fabulous outfit.
Gladly, we caught up today at Mary Katrantzou and later at Roksanda Ilincic (another two posts coming...) where she honoured the latter by sporting one of the tops from the SS12 collection that we saw together 6 months ago at the same venue.
Her hair was looking even more fantastic than normal and she had paired the bell-sleeved Roksanda top with a pair of Rag & Bone jeans that fitted her like a glove and her incredible pair of Ann Demeulemeester boots.
It was also sad to say goodbye to her but her Paris outfits, I am sure, will more than make up for it.


Stay tuned for all the London updates – it's so hard to keep up blog-wise as it takes quite a bit of time to edit the images for every post. But I will work my hardest to get everything live in the next couple of days!

Stephanie LaCava at NYFW: Get the look!
AllthePrettyBird.blogspot.com, Vogue.fr

I have to admit that during fashion week I spend just as much time (sometimes more) looking at street style pictures as I do the collections. It's just fascinating to see how people incorporate the previous season's collections into their wardrobes.

Stephanie LaCava is one of my favourites not only because she's such a sweet person but because her wardrobe choices are always so unexpected! SLC and I watched the SS12 Roksanda Ilincic show together in London last season and it was then that she fell in love with the bell sleeves. So I wasn't as surprised as I was pleased to see her in one of the amazing pieces from the collection. What I found super interesting is how she paired the top with a super short Miu Miu leather skirt from a few seasons back and a badass pair of Ann Demeulemeester boots. And that's exactly why I love her. There is an edge to everything she wears that we rarely see in anyone else but she manages to always look feminine.

Stephanie finished her look with a classic cream Chanel bag you might remember from my favourite picture of her taken in Paris by The Sartorialist a few years ago.

Roksanda Ilincic SS12 collection: A tulip garden
Vogue.com

I wouldn't be lying if I said that the SS12 Roksanda Ilincic show was one of the runways I was most excited to attend last September during London Fashion Week. And I wasn't alone –everyone I spoke to the day of the show was so looking forward to the show, which took place at a beautiful venue on Pall Mall.

The highlight of the collection was, of course, the volume. I can't tell you how many times I heard people talk about the "fabulous bell sleeves" over the next few days. And rightly so. There was something so interesting about the way these sleeves flowed in motion and how Roksanda translated this volume onto drop-waist dresses and full length skirts. Everything had a sort of organic architectural feel that was also super feminine. This made me think of tulips, which seem so rigid but are actually rather fragile flowers.

Having this said and bearing in mind my Rooney Mara post from yesterday it should come as no surprise that I was over the moon when I saw Mara at The Today Show wearing one of the white SS12 dresses. She already rocked a black jumpsuit from the Cruise 2012 line a few days ago. Some of my other favourite celebrity Roksanda moments include Keira Knightley and Isabel Lucas.

Fashion for Relief

Net-a-Porter Fashion for Relief collection do their bit to help Haiti by collecting money from keen fashionistas willing to spend some money to get their wardrobe ready for spring while helping others. soVIPzone's friend, MyFashDiary, was amongst the chosen bloggers to make her pick and be featured in Net-a-Porter's Fashion for Relief photoshoot. See the video here and go to MyFashDiary to see Tala's picks. These are ours.

Clockwise from top left: Linda Farrow sunglasses, Roksanda Ilincic dress, Céline poacher jacket, Sergio Rossi shoes. All available at Net-a-Porter here.

I'm off.