Snow SS11 Press Day: Joanne Hynes

Joanne Hynes is an Irish graduate of CSM who has been making waves with her designs across the water in her native Ireland.  Despite having dressed fashion celebs like Jacquetta Wheeler and Daphne Guinness I'm pretty sure you can only find her wares in Dublin right now, although I'm also guessing she'll be stocked in the UK soon since she was showing at the Snow press day.  Not all the pieces were really my kind of thing - a little bit too commercial or, dare I say it, sometimes frumpy - but there was something eye-catching about this black and gold bustier below and the one-shouldered sweep of fabric across the black lace dress.  The chunky jewellery is very different and actually quite wonderful - large statement pieces à la Marni, encrusted with gems, beading and threads galore.  I would be very happy with a necklace like that... 

xx
Duck

Snow SS11 Press Day: Violet Darkling

I was really quite excited to see Violet Darkling's jewellery at the Snow press office because I had come across them the evening before in Wolf & Badger and had completely forgotten the name, even though I had attempted to take some blurry (aka tipsy) photos on my phone.  For some, the rose gold tinge of these pieces might be a little bit tacky in its shininess, but for me (after maybe a month or two of hard wear to soften the sheen), these animalistic trinkets are gothic gems.  The skulls are a little reminiscent of McQueen jewellery, but the bears, tigers and organic additions help to carve out an individual look for the brand.  I shall certainly be heading back to Westbourne Grove sometime soon to give the necklaces and rings a test-drive...

Also stocked in Harvey Nichols.

Grrrrr
Duck
xx

Saints and Sinners

J W Anderson is a Northern Irish designer I have been following for quite a while now and who has been showing his menswear on the LFW catwalks since 2007 (and has more recently branched out into gear for the girls).  I find his darkly grunge/punk fusion of 90s styles with slightly more futuristic, maximalist looks very attractive, and he fits right into the London fashion landscape along with menswear contemporaries like Katie Eary and James Long, or womenswear designer Louise Gray.  His très cool combinations of tartan, embellishment, print and metallic hardware have attracted stockists such as the quintessentially London department-store Liberty or the up-and-coming Young British Designers site, and have led to a successful collaboration with Topman.  I have been coveting this synthetic ivory ring from his Autumn/Winter collection for a few months now online, but decided it was only sensible to try it on before I loosened the purse strings (oh who am I kidding, they were only hanging together by a thread anyway!).  And so somehow I found myself in Liberty's jewellery room, slipping this bad boy onto my finger, and moments later I was happily skipping out of the store, that iconic purple bag swinging from my hand...

For those of you know me - no comments on whether I should have gone for the SINNER option instead!

xx
Duck