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

Roger Vivier & some stylish friends celebrate the Prismick Collection
Courtesy of Roger Vivier

Last night I attended a Roger Vivier event at the brand's Sloane Street store to celebrate their fantastic Prismick Collection. I have been obsessed with the collection ever since I saw it for the first time at the SS12 press day. I love the art deco vibe of the collection, which feels super modern.

This time Roger Vivier presented a series of photographs featuring Fatima Bhutto, Jemma Kidd, Mary-Clare Winwood Fernanda Niven, Amanda Hearst, Marta Ferri, Harumi Klossowska and India Mahdavi with the Prismick collection shot in their favourite spots. Such a lovely project!
Jemma Kidd, Allegra Hicks, Tara Agace, Ortensia Visconti and Elizabeth von Guttman were amongst the stylish crowd that, very appropriately accessorised in Roger Vivier, enjoyed the delicious Bellinis, champagne and chic canapés.
I personally had a great time as you can see in my face! I can't remember what I was talking about but I look so passionate about it, don't I? – A really big thank you to the ever lovely RV team who always treat us so well!

Courtesy of The Communications Store

Last friday Jen Brill and Lauren Santo Domingo hosted a lunch at The Caprice in New York to honour Antonio Berardi. They brought out some of the coolest faces in town –Derek Blasberg, Giovanna Battaglia, Hayley Bloomingdale, Leigh Lezark, Nina Garcia, Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou and Imran Amed among others were all there.
What I love the most about this event is the fact that the guests were served fish and chips, which they washed down with Peroni beer. And I love that because Berardi is all about the marriage of his Italian roots with his British influences from Saville Row.
Antonio Berardi continues his long standing partnership with style brand Peroni Nastro Azzurro. They have collaborated in the past on many successful initiatives in the past such as Valigia Peroni and continue to support his catwalk shows.
I had a chance to take a closer look at his SS12 collection at the TCS press day last week and I was amazed by the shapes. They're not the kind of ostentatious dresses with feathers and embellishment that catch your attention. It's the shapes that seem so complicated in the flesh. Click here to see the pictures.

Courtesy of Tod's, Know Wear

Last Tuesday my friend Anna and I went down to Old Bond Street to celebrate the launch of Tod's Signature line at the brand's store.

We were welcomed by the most amazing drinks (peach bellinis!), which came in really pretty glasses. As we stood there enjoying the music from DJ André Saraiva, from Paris' Le Baron club, we nibbled on mini sardine pizzas, parmiggiano, breadsticks and cheese cakes –Harry's Bar has the best catering!

The place was really buzzing with super stylish people –Margo Stilley, Alexandra Meyers and Zoe Kuipers among others– most of which were already sporting the amazing bags and clutches from Tod's Signature collection. I especially loved Margo Stilley's very classic and feminine look and how she added a dash of colour with the red bag.

To top it all off Tod's got Dionne Bromfield to perform a short set of some of her songs. Anna and I really enjoyed all of them. They were very soul but upbeat, something in the line of Amy Winehouse.

All in all, a really fun and stylish event that put ended a work's day on a great note. There were even chocolate biscuits on the way out!

The Venice Biennale is about to kick off and so all the most stylish fashion insiders and socialites have headed to the city to enjoy yet another dose of fun and sunshine after Cannes.

Last night Roger Vivier and art magazine TAR hosted an event on the rooftop of the Palazzo Brandolini to celebrate the launch of the magazine's 5th issue.

Coco and Bianca Brandolini d'Adda were obviously there (Coco edits the magazine) as were Tatiana Santo Domingo, Eugenie Niarchos and Margherita Missoni, all wearing some of that colourful zig-zag I can never get enough of in the summer.

Also attending were Roger Vivier's creative director, Bruno Frisoni (in the picture with Livia Firth), the always spotless Shala Moroque and Industrie magazine's über-chic Editors-at-Large Alexia Niedzielski and Elizabeth von Guttman.

[Courtesy of Roger Vivier]

This morning I had an email from Tod's telling me about their Madrid store reopening, which made me quite happy. I remember walking past their shop on Calle Ortega y Gasset when I was a kid and asking my mum if I could have those shoes in the window. My mum, of course, didn't find very practical for a 6 or 7 year old to wear suede "gomini" so the shoes became a sort of beacon of what I wanted to get to.
Now, I don't mean to say Tod's changed my life or anything cheesy like that. But it's one of those fashion-related childhood memories that makes me happy. Almost as happy as the fact that the new design of the shop matches that of the brand's chic Old Bond Street store. Della Valle dragged out the coolest faces. My favourite Spanish designer, David Delfín, the most beautiful woman in the country, model Nieves Álvarez, and Quim Guitérrez, one of the most stylish Spanish actors around.

[Pictures courtesy of Tod's]

when Suzy met bloggers

Last night Giulia and I attended the launch of 'My Favourite Dress' at the Fashion and Textile Museum in Bermondsey. I have to admit much to my shame that, living in the area, I had never visited the museum. It holds beautiful 60's pieces and numerous vintage issues of Vogue. A rather small place that lacks space but certainly not charm. The presence of Suzy Menkes and Zandra Rhodes, who hosted the event and wrote the forewords for the book, gave the main room an air of excitement that, mixed with the white wine, turned into elation. To our fortune, Giulia and I had the chance of shortly chatting to Suzy, who was ever so sweet and seemed very grateful for our kind words.

[Pictures by Giulia]

I'm off.