Designers with the most dresses in the V&A

Shortly after Christian Dior premiered his spring/summer collection in 1947, the editor of Harper's Bazaar approached the designer, shocked, and said. "Why, Mr Dior, it's such a new look". The name stuck.

A total of 29 Dior dresses, spanning 33 years, are on show in the V&A's esteemed textile and dress collection, an achieved challenged only by Yves Saint Laurent, who has 26. (Even Chanel, covering twice the number of years, only manages 14).

Having your dress displayed by the V&A is, of course, the equivalent of being inducted into the fashion hall of fame. "The piece must be virtuosic - made to the highest standards of design quality, and show an exceptional degree of craftsmanship," says Eleri Lynn, a curator at the museum. Among the more famous pieces to be immortalised by the V&A are Yves Saint Laurent's black trouser suit - "Le Smoking" - from 1966 and all nine inches of Vivienne Westwood's "Super-elevated Ghillie" platform heels, which were too high even for Naomi Campbell: she tottered and fell while wearing them on the catwalk in 1993.

Source: The Times Magazine

Vionnet: Resurrection

Resurrecting the French house of Vionnet was never an easy task. Sophia Kokosalaki and Marc Audibet have had a stab, and now Rodolfo Paglialunga, previously at Prada, tries his hand. The original Vionnet aesthetic - Grecian drapery, bias-cut and exposed shoulders - remains but the designer has brought a fresh modernity, with many of the pieces wearable in different ways. Harrods, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols have all snapped up the collection. From £600.

Source: Telegraph Fashion News

Kate Moss launches 'Vintage' fragrance

Last month Mossy launched her fourth fragrance, Vintage, a 'fruity floriental', designed by Olivier Polge (son of famous Chanel 'nose' Jacques Polge). Behind the perfume's genesis is Moss' love for vintage fashion - and she admits that among her most treasure possessions are dresses by Madame Grès and lamé pieces from the Thirties.

With the fragrance, Moss opted to highlight the glamorous side of vintage. The scent’s bottle, for instance, was inspired by her love of Art Deco design. The heavy glass bottle’s smoky hue is a nod to a vintage ring belonging to Moss.

“The imagery is modern, but it’s vintage,” said Moss, referring to the scent’s advertising, which was shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott. In the ads, Moss is pictured against a mirrored backdrop reminiscent of Vintage’s bottle design.

“Everything I’m wearing, apart from maybe the shoes, is vintage,” said Moss.

A very glamorous jumble sale...

There are jumble sales and then there was Selfridges' Really Really Great Garage Sale in aid of the charity Mothers4Children.

The event, which took place yesterday lunchtime, took over the first floor of the store's car park and had 45 stalls selling items donated by celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Tamara Mellon and Lisa B, manned by the likes of David Walliams and Trinny Woodall.

By the time the stalls opened at noon the queue was 800-strong. Items for sale included a stunning Roland Mouret dress (pre-owned by Davina McCall) and a pair of Dame Shirley Bassey's glittery platform shoes. All show-stoppers!

Charity Swishing Event

On Saturday 19^th September 2009 Juno Says Hello Ltd held its very first event! We organized a swishing party at the award-winning Jerusalem Tavern in Clerkenwell. For those who are not familiar, swishing is a form of eco-friendly and sustainable style - a quick a fun way to swap your way to a better wardrobe.

Everyone brings clean, presentable clothes that are lurking unloved in their wardrobes, and other girls fall in love with them and give them a good home.

Swishing RULES:

1) Everyone must bring at least three items of quality clothing
2) You will hve an hour to browse before the swish opens.
3) No item may be claimed before the swish opens.
4) As soon as the swish is declared open, everyone may take what they want.

Everyone has to play nice - no scratching, spitting or fighting!

Thank you so much to everyone who came. It was a lovely day and we managed to raise £450 for a very good cause: Look Good Feel Better - the cancer support charity that helps women manage the visible side effects of cancer treatment.

London's oldest specialist fashion bookstore

RD Franks, founded in 1877 and located just off Oxford St, is stocked with a mind-boggling selection of books and magazines from around the world, not restricted to, but specializing in the fashion sector. Publications are imported from countries such as Italy, Germany, Japan, and USA.

For the curious, R D Franks is also a supplier of ‘advanced trend information’. They stock a range of Trend Forecasting Books filled with colour palettes, texture samples, fabric patterns and shapes. These do not come cheap, but are small bibles for all designers.

Their equipment section covers areas such as pattern blocks, dress stands, mannequins and fashion figure templates for illustration. It doesn’t matter if you’re popping in for something in particular or if you are looking to get lost in a wonderland of magazines out of the cold winter rain. RD Franks is a magical cave for those with a creative mind.

Vogue: The September Issue

R. J. Cutler's compelling documentary The September Issue, is a fascinating, eye-opening and often playful peek into the inner sanctum of style, following editrix Anna Wintour and her team as they assemble the September 2007 issue of American Vogue.

Although it's difficult to comprehend why a woman so preoccupied with image and control would permit cameras into her world for nine moths, it's not hard to see why it was Cutler who persuade her. Big, bearish, red-haired and, he admits, far better groomed now than he was before he entered Wintour's orbit, the film-maker is respectful of her achievements and careful in conversation. Questions about everything from Wintour's relationships to whether she ever has fun are met with a cautious "It's not for me to say".

Cutler says, "Nobody can put on an act for nine months. This is Anna Wintour. She is extremely economical in the manner in which she communicates, She doesn't waste a second of any day as far as I can tell. I once asked her if I could come to her house to film her hanging out. She said: 'I don't hang out'."

Also featured in the film is Grace Coddington, Vogue's creative director. With her wild red hair and explosibe enthusiasms, she seems the antithesis of Wintour's groome froideur. It is the spiky relationship between these two difficult, brilliant women that drives the film.

Source: Wendy Ide for Times2