With fashion-y friends and good fortune; I was invited to the Vogue VIP Night Out in Westfield London this past November and it was fabulous! I wanted to write a post and review of the whole event because it was, uniquely, organised by Vogue; which is such an elite in the fashion world, and as I learned on my course, making a move towards e-commerce to compete with most other fashion magazines that have positively exploited their readership and brand to open up new portals of revenue. Take, Monocle for example; although written by the dreaded Tyler Brulé (sorry, not a fan), he had a bright idea to turn his niche magazine into a niche shop.
So although it may seem like a small step, such 'Vogue' events (especially since located in Westfield and revolving around shopping) are the first baby steps towards 'Vogue' the brand as opposed to 'Vogue' the magazine.
Apart from its cultural context; the event was great fun. There were little area's with Fortune Telling, Yves Saint Laurent Makeup Artists would give you a makeover, free hand massage (which as you can see below I so 'reluctantly' indulged in, as if!), there was free champagne, strawberries, macaroon and 20% off in all stores! But most importantly to us girlies (my Condé Nast Girls), we took advantage of the 'Be Styled by Vogue Editors!' booth, where instead of us all getting styled, since we are Vogue Students, we instead had a cute chat about the event, if we were liking it, what they could do better and then had a fun group selfie (oh my god with Vogue Assistant-retail editor Tatiana Hambro!!!).
It was nice seeing these Vogue girls the day after we went to go visit their offices where they were buzzing and talking to us students about the event!
So here is what I got for free inside my wonderfully Gold, Gold VIP night out Vogue Goody bag!
(Thank you Vogue! Love it!)
This is the bag all the goods came in!
BY FAR the best treat; a free year long subscription to Vogue Magazine!
(Stupidly was too busy having a hand massage to pick them up but it's the thought that counts)
A cute little map of Westfield (lord I needed one) and of London!
A little booklet of all the treats we received!
A little Group Selfie for a competition
Free Champagne? yes please.
Me in a little Ted Baker 360 video competition thing where you tried on their goods and took a video of you and you are automatically entered into a competition
(I was mortified to find out while I was browsing in their store that my video was actually being shown behind me on a big screen; safe to say I made a swift exit stage left...)
Fabulous decor...
Grand entrance...
This was the Yves Saint Laurent Makeup Artists Beauty Bar
Discover your future only if you discover where the fourtune teller went for a cigarette break!
So much wonderful and very Vogue flower decor!
My elegant posture during a relaxing hand massage (cameo from Dina's strawberry and champagne!)
Obligatory but unnecessary DJ (sorry mate!)
Royal Ballet Dancer in the window of Hugo Boss; very surreal.
There was also an electric violinist in Ghost, and a royal opera singer in Jimmy Choo!
I hate to break it to you; but the alignment of the stars do not have an effect on your life whatsoever.
This is what I believe.
However this does not mean that I do not love to indulge in horoscopes.
I think that each and every Zodiac sign 'trait' mixed together is a grander judgment on traits we all possess.
For example; I luckily relate to Leo's given traits, which is my sign. But I also strongly relate to the traits associated with a Pisces and a Capricorn.
So whether you are a believer or not; here are my fashion Horoscope Predictions for 2015 so you can find out what street style look or item suits your whole personality or singular traits best!
"Mary Katrantzou and Davina Catt; The Industry Function Event" Was the wonderful evenings title...
A Cheesy Photo Op!
"Kat-rant-zou" my friend annunciated for me. "Kat-rand-zoo" I mimicked.
"RanT", she said; "RanD", I struggled.
Mary's last name isn't the simplest of names, but her designs aren't the simplest either!
The Greek designer started out her fashion endeavours by studying, (oddly at the time, but in hindsight makes complete sense) Architecture at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design), before then moving from the USA to the UK to complete her education in Textiles at CCM (Central Saint Martins)
Resume Aside: I really really liked her. She was so charismatic, and focused. She was well spoken and had so much to say it was like the words were bubbling out of her! (Which was comforting seeing as when I met her soon after; words were bubbling out of me!)
There is something about having passion for ones career mixed with girls' instinctual love for fashion: that just is the right mix of driven, happy.. obsession!
My mission of this blog is to share what I learned with you all: and what better way to share what I learned by letting you experience and watch it yourself!
It was funny watching the video and seeing various little cameo's of me chatting to Mary (see below).
Who in this shot was sharing with me her opinion on university preparation before going into the fashion world; and she believed that it was up to me to choose which university to go to because each on suits everyone differently. She also told me however; that experience in the industry has the potential to be more useful than a university degree..
Overall, it was such a fun night and I met so many interesting people who were part of The Industry.
The Industry is a fashion business members club that organises talks and is a place for young new entrepreneurs to meet and learn. Something I wouldn't mind joining once I start my career!
This is the beautiful brochure, and all it's contents, that we all received when we went to the fashion show. My favourite part of all of this was seeing the sketches just before seeing the show; it really brought the whole show together. So without further ado...
The little A5 folder of the brochure
Candice Swanepoel for Gilded Angels and Elsa Holsk for Pink University
The contents included a kind of masthead/credits; this one in particular is the model credit.
Alessandra Ambrosio for Exotic Traveler and Doutzen Kroes for Dream Girls
Lily Donaldson Fairy Tale and Karlie Kloss for Angel Ball
So the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was one of the most overwhelming, colourful, energetic and exciting events I have ever been to. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole event; however I have to say it is a completely different experience seeing the whole event in real life, dressed to the nines with all my friends, compared to on my laptop, on my own with a blanket and ice cream. If you think about it; Victoria's Secret make their money off of the CBS showing of the Fashion Show, not inviting 100 of us Fashion Students for free! So with that in mind.. It shouldn't have come to a surprise to me is that the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, as fun as it was, was first and for most atelevision production.
But more on that later, for now here are my close but crappy 3rd row clips, and my reviews on the Show!
Taylor Swift's Performance of Blank Space during the Dream Girls Segment
The Dream Girls section was my favourite! I love the song Blank Space (who doesn't) so I was already dancing in my seat; but once Lily Aldridge came out wearing the powder puff Angel wings and the baby blue teddy; it was just so feminine and cute! I loved it. All the other outfits in this Section were in the same vein; soft, feminine, and pastel lingerie; worked beautifully.
The one thing I should point out now is that the pastel colours of this section are what made it the best section for showcasing the lingerie; instead of overpowering the garments they flowed with and showcased them. But there was nothing I loved more than Taylor's glam dressing gown and bodice ensemble; the black lace and baby pink go together better than strawberries and cream. I want one!
Ariana Grande's Performance of a Medley for the University of Pink Segment
Okay so I don't like Ariana Grande.
I don't like her because: her music and style is really not my style; HOWEVER- her songs were so catchy I couldn't help but dance along. I love love loved the Pink high knee boots they made. Very Chanel AutumnWinter14-esque! The outfits were awesome but if there was on piece I could take home would be the Pink Harem pants; A* comfort and style right there. Digging it.
List of Things that Happened at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show that You Won’t see on TV!
1. Ariana Grande Getting Wacked by Elsa's pink fluffy graffiti wings!
Here are some A* funny pictures of Ariana's face after she got bumped.
But it wasn't as bad as some have made it out to be; but her singing definitely stopped/dropped during the minor bump.
But she made a nice recovery and kept on going.
Take a look:
2. The Various Big Sweaty Camera Men running after the models.
But mad respect though. Been there;
tough job running backwards with your eye in a camera lens!
3. Candice's Wardrobe Adjustment Shuffle and cheeky Taylor Swift bum slap!
After having just watched the show, I know that they took out the cute shuffle, but surprised and sad they took out the butt tap! It was so cute and authentic- such a pity!
