Does every end lead to a new beginning??

Now, this is the first post which is coming straight from my phone! Couldn't wait to get home to write about what I'm feeling at this point!

Two and a half months passed by in a click.. That's what I'm feeling now! Where? At a place we call The VATICAN.. The London headquarters of the heritage luxury fashion label, Burberry! Yes, my resume shines with the presence of Burberry on it. I've touched, handled and worked with the Spring Summer 2011 collection samples before the ramp saw it, before Vogue saw it, before the world saw IT!! Christopher Bailey was a part of my day to day conversations and not just a mere occurrence in magazines or internet! Like, "Christopher might come down to the showroom to choose the jackets for the Milan show", or "Christopher is just back from New York and is looking for that particular shoe for the walk through!!" Whoa..

Source: www.burberrycareers.com

And today I am very close to saying goodbye to this prestigious institution.. I'm heading towards the end of my work contract! :(

I can't forget the first day when I stepped into this Vatican, elevated with thrill and excitement; the first time I set foot in the showroom, gazing at the accessories wanting to pinch myself to believe and be assured, "Yes its true, I am looking at the Spring Summer 2011 collection, one full year in advance!!" 

The amplifications of my heartbeats, when my hands first browsed through the Bible: the look book for the season went beyond control. My eyes sparkled when I was issued an ID card on a Burberry header! I so don't want to give it back.

Excusez moi for the bad image quality!

The Visual Merchandising, the mannequins, the Prorsum, London and Brit, the fabrics and trims, the ambience and music, a chance to flip through the Look Book on the fancy iPad, only cried out LUXURY! Wait, luxury doesn't end here, a first hand experience on helping the Prince and Princess of Bahrain shop for this collection (which hasn't even hit the ramp, leave alone the stores), who not only bought Burberry for themselves but also for their unborn baby...Ahem! Does anyone have a better example of luxury? ;)

THAT is the Vatican aka HFH!

Well, in a nutshell, everyone who's making a living from and for fashion will yearn to be associated with a label like Burberry. I only dreamt of being a part of maybe Burberry, Dior, Chanel or Prada before I came to London and let's be honest, London will seldom let you down! You get what you dream of!!

Confession: I don't want to say Good Bye, maybe bubye for now sounds much better. See you soon HFH (that's how the infamous Burberry, HorseFerry House is addressed!) ;)

Much Love 

DG for CC
x

Fashion Topics

La Mode, Movida and more..

What?

A private fashion show featuring young, upcoming designers. A debut of sorts.

Where and when?

Movida – A prestigious Celebrity and Private Members Nightclub in the heart of London i.e., Argyll Street, off Oxford Street. Thursday 17 June 2010.

Movida

Why?

Well, it’s important to applaud and encourage budding talent!

What did CC wear?

(Now don’t roll your eyes. This is an important question! You’ve gotta be well dressed if you’re invited to cover the event. Also, we like them shoes, around which we plan our outfits *winks*)

CC, Outside Movida

What was CC’s opinion of the show?

(Are you surprised we feel the need to express our opinion? Well, that’s our job, innit?! Also, that’s what we were invited there for!  *Wide grin*)

The venue worked. It was the right backdrop for a young, vibrant show (although the *ahem* slightly expensive drinks did shake us up a little bit). The compere worked. She provided the right amount of humour and spontaneous wisecracks that the event required. It also helped that she was dressed to kill! The music was the clear winner again! They always get it right. Always.

The models required some fine tuning. But then, when have we been satisfied with the models. *sigh* Bring back the Jesse Randhawas and the Bhavna Sharmas!!

Anyhoo, getting back to the fashion aspect of it all. The designers deserved a pat on their backs for a complete collection (shoes, makeup, hairstyles etc al). The show started with a boom and out walked the models in cupcake printed tutus and balloon shorts and pretty dresses. 

Chantal Gibbs-Jones

Chantal Gibbs-Jones

The collection was cohesive in terms of theme and infused some humour into the clothes. Of course, if it weren’t for the show-opening model, it would have lacked that zing. She came out with an air of arrogance blended with innocence. Good job girl! Chantal Gibbs-Jones, the designer took a bow amidst thunderous applause. Wish the cupcake print was used in a more creative way though. The collection left us asking some questions. Although overall, great going!

The rest of the evening gave us the chance to witness some innovative ideas and some unsuccessful attempts. A special mention has to be made of Kerry Knowles. Now this young lady, the recipient of several awards including Best Womenswear Designer of the Year 2007 at the UK Urban Fashion Awards, blew us away by her concept. Her collection (called Permutation) revolved around the concept of clothing that could be worn by women and men, with certain changes in the way it’s worn.

Kerry Knowles

Kerry Knowles

When the collection was introduced, we were all intrigued and started craning our necks to see what we were in for. We weren’t too disappointed with this one. Extremely interesting and she appeared to have given it a lot of grey matter. There were male and female models to do complete justice to the theme. After all, we had to see how a man’s vest could be worn by a woman or how a skirt would find place on the male form! So thumbs up! We like you Kerry!

The other designers showed lingerie and more womenswear collections.

Leeanne Ripley-Garret

Leeanne Ripley-Garret with her finale ensemble

Rae-Emily Smith's "My Fair Lady Lingerie"

All in all, a compact, well organized evening of drinks, fashion and lots of networking.

Much love,

CC

CC's not-so-clandestine narcissism

CLANDESTINE’S DAY OUT AT THE IPLFW – Volume 3

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Yes yes…before you wear a stunned expression at the sudden realisation of the Clandestine Cigarettes as to the third (and final) volume of the IPLFW series, let me just say it is you who prompted this delay. Our throats are sore from asking for comments on the blog. Our fingers refuse to type out “read, comment, follow” any more and our minds can’t seem to come up with any more ways of saying “comment on the blog please!” Instead, we get comments and feedback and reviews and mails in our Facebook inboxes and email ids *rolls eyes*. What good is that, I ask! Anyhoo, since my brain is growing cobwebs from not having written in eons, I decided to end my hibernation and finally brighten the CC page! So here goes, the grand finale of the IPLFW trilogy!! Woohoo! And I can proudly say, it is definitely worth the wait.

Presenting…a rendezvous with GayatriKhanna, Rocky S and LinaTipnis!!! Yes, we met them. Yes, we touched those beautiful clothes. Yes, they gave us a minute of their precious time (actually 30) and took us through the tedious, yet fulfilling process of getting their designs ready for the IPLFW.

Here are excerpts from the Gayatri Khanna and Rocky S interviews and a short review of the understated elegance of Lina Tipnis’ show.

Gayatri Khanna

A simply clad lady walked past us and it took us a minute to realise it was the lady herself! The humility was refreshing (especially since some of the young guns have an inexplicable air of arrogance!). We walked up to her, introduced ourselves and found her to be extremely warm and friendly. All we had to do was ask to be shown a couple of samples and that happened to be the equivalent of an “open sesame” to the entire range of the season, complete with inspiration, mock-ups, fabric detail and design team orientation! Whoa!!

So her collection was a wonderful mix of deep tones and prints that were variegated and experimented upon through use of motifs and surface ornamentation techniques. Divided into three segments based on main print ideas, the range consisted of fantastic permutations and combinations of the dominant motif. Therefore, a geometric motif in a tessellation print was turned and twisted around. In certain places, the lines were picked up with sequins and beads, in other cases colour variations added the necessary highlight. Orange and brown, red-burgundy-black and finally purples were the main stories.

A Beautiful play of colours by Gayatri Khanna; psst.. That is Gayatri herself showing CC each garment!!

Cut-work, drape, play of seams and surface technique experimentation were the selling points of the show. What stole the show, however, was the use of pure silk jersey. Aah! The lush feel of the fabric!! I felt like resting my head against it and letting it take me into a deep, peaceful slumber! Kudos to Gayatri Khanna for refusing to bow to the market dynamics which most designers fall prey to. When one doesn’t let costs threaten the quality of the design, one is indeed on the right path. (Pardon the sentimental discourse, but I get a little carried away when it comes to garment detail). Ms.Khanna is famous for her “western” designs, but what was commendable was how effortlessly she blended her roots with her inspirations. The result? A stunning collection that was the perfect representation of an Indian designer’s work in the “west.”

Cut-work tunic by Gayatri Khanna 

It was a pleasure to meet you Gayatri! Keep up the sincere work :-)

Rocky S

What comes to mind when you think of Rocky S? Funk, jazz, confidence, Bollywood and femininity with an underlying desire to cross over to androgyny? His collection lived up to all these expectations and managed to surprise at the same time. A cool dude that he is, his collection reflected some of his charisma and brought out the subtle glamour of the movie world he so proudly belongs to. Utterly approachable and yet slightly intimidating at the same time, Rocky was extremely enthusiastic about the idea of his work being written about by the Clandestine Cigarettes. He gave us detailed answers  to all our questions and also shared his contact details in case we had any more questions. What a darling! (The next time please give us a free dress, Rocky!)

So Rocky’s collection revolved around the “authentic quintessence of lavishness”. In his own words, the collection was “an affluent zenith of rich and sumptuous lehengas, graceful saris, chudidhar kurtas with a modern twist and lavish sherwanis”. It was quite evidently based on varied inspirations from around the world and very quite well received from what we could see. One more season at the IPLFW, and it will be lapped up by the buyers.

Rocky was apparently approached by Idea Weavers (the event coordinators) and by his own admission, instantly agreed to be part of it. And why not? The perks are fantastic global exposure and the chance to spread your wings in the international market. Plus since there is a huge demand for Indian clothes in the so called “western” world, this is a wonderful platform to connect with them on a personal level. Good thinking Rocky! And given a chance, he would love to participate in London Fashion Week as well. Who wouldn’t! Think of all the buyers under one roof!

So thumbs up to Rocky S for a successful stink at the IPLFW! Good going man!

Lina Tipnis

What a show! What a collection! Made us forget about the pathetic models and the completely immersed our minds in the Turkish delights that the range was inspired from. 

So with Istanbul as theme, one would expect yawn inducing details, a predictable palette and a tired-looking range of blues and whites. But she took Istanbul and turned it around on its head. What followed was a refreshing array of gaucho pants, draped constructions stitched into place, small, fine detailing, beautifully placed embroidery and surface ornamentation and a cool summer palette consisting beige, off white, gold, teal, brown and of course turquoise with red accents. Gold criss-cross patterned footwear added the perfect finishing touch to the simple, minimalistic collection. It was much admired and extremely well received by the London audience. It had to be! It was a wonderful end to the perfect day at the IPLFW!

We left from there assured of a good future to the Indian fashion industry in the “west”. The new designers showed ample promise; the veterans paved the way for a secure place in the London market. Here’s to being invited to more such events!!

Much love,

CC