Chanello

Ah, fashion. My great love. My escape from the quotidien.

You've been overlooked recently what with some terrific music opportunities and my attentions turned to whether full-belly or demi-belly maternity jeans are the most snug and offer maximum coverage - rather than what's exciting and progressive.

Temporarily neglected, perhaps, but never replaced. I still get the same giddy sense of excitement when I clap my eyes on some magnificent fashion. This time it was Karl Lagerfeld, and his Chanel Spring/Summer 2016 Couture show in Paris, that had my heart all a flutter.

Cara and her puppy Leo on the FROW, the new breed of supers in Gigi, Bella and Kendall-form and an entirely recyclable wooden eco-structure on the Grand Palais complete with manicured lawns and a lily pond were all good and well, and perfect Insta-fodder. But for me it's the clothes. Always the clothes.

The collection featured a muted and elegant palette of ivory, my absolute favourite colour taupe, mushroom and navy. There were dirndl skirts and a more voluminous take on the Chanel bouclé two-piece suit we all know and love (AND REALLY WANT BUT WILL NEVER HAVE) with a classic fitted jacket and over-sized elliptical sleeves. Models, including Edie Campbell and Lindsey Wixson, wore stunning dresses pared with billowing capes twinkling with rhinestones and some had sleeves embellished with feathered bees and applique petals.

For me, the show stopper was worn by Kendall Jenner, a floor-length sculptural black gown with elegant lace layers that showcased the shoulders.

Accessories included wooden-soled wedges, a nod to the surrounding eco-structure, and hair beautifully rolled into a style that was, apparently, inspired by a Picasso sculpture. Makeup was dramatic with double liner in an elaborate shape.

Glittering, enduring and classy.

A world away from maternity jeans, but comfort must prevail. For now...

Bradley Theodore exhibits in London

One of the things I love, and always have loved about this majestic city is how day turns seamlessly into evening with fascinating consequences. London's inky nights often throw something your way you couldn't have predicted in a sleepy haze at 6am that morning.

Last night was a case in point. I thought post-work Thursday would serve up a long overdue dinner in Granary Square with two of my very special friends. Instead, I found myself gazing up at the work of celebrated New York City street artist Bradley Theodore and his bold, vibrant images at Old Brompton Gallery, SW5.

Hobnobbing with a medley of photographers, artists and curious art lovers (and some RIDICULOUSLY good looking people may I add) I cursed myself for (a) not giving my overall appearance a bit more thought as I tugged at my Whistles skirt nervously and (b) my self-inflicted participation in Dry October.

So, the artist. Described as 'Jean-Michel Basquiat meets Banksy', Bradley Theodore is already well known in the US for his unique murals in the heart of New York that match key elements of art and fashion, and popular with fashion bloggers who understand the benefits a good 'wall scout' can bring. He is particularly eminent for his murals of fashion heavyweights Karl Lagerfeld and Anna Wintour rendered as skeletons, and has also turned his hand to cover art for albums from the likes of Wu Tang Clan.

The purpose of last night's exhibition was to provide London with a re-creation of all the murals Theodore has produced in NYC. I really loved the vibrancy and boldness of his work, the brilliantly thick strokes and the cobalt blue, navy and primary colours that popped and projected from the canvas. The cadaverous appearance of his subjects is both sinister and beautiful. Using the skeleton as the inner life force of his subjects is his signature and he explains, “There is no deeper delving into your psyche than the very structure of your body”.

My highlights were murals of Kate Moss, Grace Coddington and Diana Vreeland although really I couldn't take my eyes off any of them.

Theodore believes his audience themselves should be the reviewers of his art and so he goes out of his way to make his art available for all to see in the streets of international cities. He demonstrates his commitment to bringing art to the public by inviting people into his art studio to immerse themselves in the creative process. He also conducts live paintings in cities including New York, Los Angeles, and Paris. We had the pleasure of chatting to him last night, and he was charming and down to earth.

As I made my way back to the East End, I reflected on what an interesting, inspiring, if not completely sober, night it had been. Thank you Bradley Theodore for bringing your fashion-influenced work into my life. Thank you London for coming up trumps again.

(Oh and next time Nicola, as you carelessly fling on something for work don't forget you never know what a London night will bring... )

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*Theodore Bradley's solo exhibition is at Old Brompton Gallery from 15-30 October 2015.

Revisited: Chanel - The Little Black Jacket Book and Exhibition

'It has become the symbol of a certain feminine elegance, nonchalant and timeless, which means for all time'.

Karl Lagerfeld

Back in November 2012, I visited the Saatchi Gallery in London to see The Little Black Jacket: Chanel's Classic Revisited Exhibition by Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld.

The book is Lagerfeld and Roitfeld's reinterpretation and celebration of Chanel's iconic little black jacket. Over 100 beautiful black and white photographs of Lagerfeld's favourite muses filled four expansive rooms at the Gallery and the pictures, in black and white portrait format, were taken by the designer himself and styled by Roitfeld, stylist and former French Vogue editor.

The exhibition was lavish and impressive and I can remember studying each photo very carefully, and with the due absorption that it deserved to soak up every detail. Each photo, whether of a man or a woman, captured the individual style and personality of its subject, all wearing the iconic Chanel black jacket. A range of accomplished models, actors, singers, rappers, fashion editors, and designers are styled with their own individual flair.

The exhibition, and the beautiful book of the same name with Roitfeld gracing the cover, celebrates the versatility and classic endurance of an inimitable item, designed for women but worn by men also.

If I am ever lucky enough to own my own Chanel Little Black Jacket, I will definitely take inspiration from one of these stunning shots.

A girl can dream...

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I Only Want You to Love Me

This afternoon, on a crisp Autumn day in London Town, I paid a visit to the Miles Aldridge photographic exhibition, I Only Want You to Love Me, at the beautiful Somerset House.

This stylish and thought-provoking exhibition provides a retrospective of Aldridge's work and coincides with the publication of his glossy book of the same name published by Rizzoli. Aldridge was born in North London and his father is the graphic designer Alan Aldridge. He studied illustration at Central St Martin's and after a brief stint directing pop videos, he fell into fashion after sending some of the photos of a model girlfriend to British Vogue and they contacted him (as well as her). He started working almost immediately and has shooted for noted fashion designers such as Karl Lagerfeld, Yves Saint Laurent and Paul Smith.

Women and colour are Aldridge's main obsessions and this is arrestingly clear in his work. The photographs are visually beautiful, highly stylised and feature women posed in what on the surface appear to be traditional roles (secretary, housewife etc) but when you look deeper under the surface there is a sense of disturbance. The colours are deeply saturated from sugary candy pinks and beige to shocking magenta and verdant green and the composition is incredible.

All images shown in the exhibition are featured in magazines, the majority in Vogue Italia, and Aldridge's longest and most creative collaboration is with Editor-In-Chief Franco Sozzani who featured his work in a piece named Home Chic for Vogue Italia in October 2011 and Home Works in March 2008. In addition to the beautiful large-scale photographic prints produced throughout his career, visitors can see hand-drawn storyboards, drawings and polaroids that offer an intriguing and intimate insight into Aldridge's creative process.

The exhibition challenges the mind and polarises opinion. On the surface the technicolour images appear rather artificial, and the cinematic influences of David Lynch, Douglas Sirk and Alfred Hitchcock are apparent throughout. The photographs, however, are controversial - in my personal opinion, some of the shots seem to empathise with the models and others objectify and degrade them, leaving you wondering whether Aldridge actually likes women at all. The accompanying narrative to the exhibition suggests some of the models may seem indifferent and show emotional ambivalence, but in fact Aldridge wanted to present them in a state of contemplation and with a sense of hopelessness. Undeniably, some of the exaggerated prints are exploitative - a head pushed down on a bed, unnecessary exposure of the models bodies and them posed surrounded by broken bottles and plates in a suggestively violent scene.

Yet, whatever your opinion there is no mistaking that the prints provide striking, highly stylised fashion images with a powerful impact. Not to be missed.

To me, the great moments in Hollywood are close-ups of a woman's face, thinking, and she's just realised that her whole world is wrong.

Until Sunday, 29 September

Embankment Galleries East, South Wing, Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2R 1LA

http://www.somersethouse.org.uk 

Tickets: http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/book-tickets/8d7b98b9-1438-4cec-9904-65d3dad2246b