Vogue Festival.

Before I crack on, apologies for the lack of posting, this final term of uni has been crrrrazy! There is much to catch up so I shall be making up for lost time! And, no, this does not count as procrastination. Not in the slightest...

 The last weekend of April was the Vogue Festival and to say I was excited is an understatement. I remember hearing about it before Christmas but it seemed like one of those too-good-to-be-true things. I couldn't have been happier when I got tickets to see Sir Paul Smith interviewed by Alexa Chung, Susie Bubble, Garance Dore and Anna Dello Russo discuss street style, Mario Testino being interviewed and Donatella Versace ending the entire event. I was going alone which was a little daunting but it actually meant I got to people watch to my heart's content and do things in my own time (I spent a lot of time mooching around, getting my makeup done by Dior makeup artists and having my own Vogue shoot done, but more on that later...). 

 Held at the Southbank Centre, as soon as you approached you were welcomed with a large 'Vogue Festival' banner and many a street styler posing for photos outside the doors. Upon entering the building I immediately felt a giddy rush of excitement at the buzz; the atmosphere was incredible, everyone was lovely, the attendees, including myself, were grinning from ear to ear and the whole event ran efficiently but was extremely relaxing at the same time. One wall featured Mario Testino's multicoloured shoot with Natalia Vodianova; the Vogue Braid Bar, Yves Saint Laurent and Dior makeup stands lined the other side. The Vogue photo shoot area was partially hidden by an exotic screen and the Vertu lounge looked sleek and luxurious. There was one wall near the Purcell room that was covered with Vogue covers throughout the years, visually stunning! Television screens around the room showed the stories behind the photo shoots with the likes of Cara Delevingne and Mia Wasikowska. Tucked into one corner was the Vogue Café, selling scrumptious sandwiches and muffins; on the opposite side was the Vogue shop, where one could buy a number of limited edition Vogue Festival items, from notebooks to sweatshirts to clutch bags, and all at pretty reasonable prices, I could barely keep away! 

The Vogue Wall: the perfect backdrop for a photograph

The Future Is Bright: print colours and prints were a popular choice

Take My Coat: statement coats were another staple amongst festival goers

Throw On A Jacket: from silk bombers to aztec denim to skeletal prints to camo 'Chanel', take your pick

Friends With Style: fashionable duos showing off popular trends at the festival

On the first day I was too in awe of everything to really take advantage of all the things that were on offer. On the second day I had a large amount of time in between talks, so what is a girl to do? WELL. I purchased the limited edition Vogue and Nails Inc nail varnish and got a free manicure from a lovely Nails Inc rep. Then I stopped by the Vogue Braid Bar and got a wraparound plait done, it looked so good and the woman did it in a heartbeat, I have no idea how! The Dior makeup stand was my next port of call. The makeup artist gave me a look off the catwalk with bright pink eye shadow with a smoky eye over the top. It wasn't the most obvious choice and I was wary of the pink but it looked fantastic! After befriending another girl at the festival, she convinced me to do the mock Vogue cover shoot. Real Vogue stylists and photographers were there, waiting to deck everyone out in Chanel and be photographed. The makeup artists touched up my makeup and I wore the most amazing shade of Chanel lipstick, (Rouge Coco, 79 Plumetis, I am saving up for it) and the best part was yet to come. I then got to touch and feel and hold real Chanel S/S13 accessories. It was fab-uuuuu-lous. There were the iconic Chanel pearls, the S/S13 lego bags, cat eye sunglasses, S/S13 gem encrusted cuffs, it was the stuff of dreams. I felt really foolish in front of the camera, I have no idea how models do this on a day to day basis, it is really daunting! However, I was wearing a string of Chanel pearls and I had Chanel ping pong bats in my hands, life could be a lot worse. 

The amazing wall displays; The stylish help desk team; The bar

The Vertu lounge; The Vogue shop; Fierce wall displays

Fashion and Personality

Sir Paul Smith interviewed by Alexa Chung 

"You can find inspiration in everything. If you can't, then you're not looking properly," declared Sir Paul Smith. This talk was about fashion and personality and who else could fulfill the concept better then the iconic British designer along side fashion muse, Alexa Chung? I walked away from this talk feeling well and truly inspired. Paul Smith's motto was "Look and see", he wanted to inspire us to observe the world around us, to not be afraid to do things the old fashioned way. "Remember those things called books?" he questioned the audience jokingly. Funnily enough, when discussing his opinion on technology and its takeover of everyday life he said that he still uses notebooks and doesn't have a computer or email. Throughout the talk I had been taking notes down in my notebook, I had looked up a couple of times and couldn't seen anyone else doing the same. It dawned on me that everyone was taking notes, but typing them out on their phones; I felt a bit proud that I was on the same wave length as Sir Paul Smith when it comes to doing some things the old fashioned way. 

Him and Alexa discussed many things, from his dream of being a racing cyclist to Alexa's suggestion of him kicking a puppy to counter balance how downright lovely this man is! She humorously warned him to keep it in his pants, to which is Paul responded, "Baggy pants" (a fun fact for you all about Paul's undergarments) and he joked, "She's born in the 5th of November, that's why she is so explosive." Paul's adoration for his wife was really touching, describing her as his personal style icon. The audience were treated to the story of their wedding day, the same day he was knighted as a Sir, no less! 

In terms of fashion, Paul offered an endless stream of inspirational and practical advice. "Fashion is about today and tomorrow. Nobody cares how good you used to be," were his words when asked about his successful venture into fashion. Longevity in this industry is a curious mix of foresight, enthusiasm and relishing the challenge constantly and unconditionally. Everyone can be famous nowadays, but "You need to be interested and be interesting." Him and Alexa agreed that developing a great sense of personal style was about knowing "Your body, know your personality and dress accordingly," suddenly things seem a lot less complicated! Sir Paul Smith is a hugely inspirational and talented man, however, above all he is down to earth, witty and genuine. One piece of advice seemed particularly significant, "Individuality has never been more important."

Mad About The Girl

Susie 'Bubble' Lau, Garance Doré and Anna Dello Russo

Each of these women have done wonders for street style; they are some of the forerunners of the phenomenon, propelling street style and fashion blogging into the spotlight. "Fashion was something to escape to and indulge in," Susie explained; photographing and blogging about her outfits was merely a way of expressing her personal style. Similarly Garance Doré's blog was more of a diary of her personal style than anything else, she wanted to document what inspired her, from art to other people's outfits on the streets. Anna Dello Russo wanted to break away from the cold, corporate look, allowing herself to indulge in her love of fashion and to not shy away from fresh, innovative fashion. Dello Russo became the subject of many street style photographers and as all three women proved, each look is completely different and each look expressed their personalities perfectly. Susie wore her hair in her trademark top knot bun, pairing it with very-on-trend neon hues with a Stella McCartney jumper and Six London shoes. Garance Doré oozed continental elegance a white silk shirt and white tapered trousers. In her typical statement style, Anna Dello Russo wore top to toe Saint Laurent, complete with some oversized headgear. 

Doré does not consider herself a street photographer and yet she has produced some of the best street style photographs. A lovely touch to her photography is that she ensures her subjects are happy and feel beautiful when she shows them the photographs she has taken. Street style blogging has "Become an industry in itself" Susie said, pointing out that when she first begun her blog the idea was novel. Dello Russo agreed, saying that blogging and street photography is the "New paparazzi" and it offers "A new way to look at fashion". It also nurtured the talent of people such as these three. Dello Russo revealed that she has one apartment just for clothes (what I wouldn't give to explore that apartment!) and she wanted to prove that the fashion industry was a challenge and a hard work, especially to her father who worked in medicine. Luckily Dello Russo, and the others, kept at it and their hard work has more than paid off.

With their impeccable knowledge of this angle of the fashion industry all three women offered great advice to budding bloggers. A general message was to create a blog purely looking for business opportunities; by all means that may be a product of the blog but it should primarily be something that the writer enjoys doing and isn't contrived. Susie advised that fashion blogging should be unique and honest, "Find a niche" as it is a lot harder these days to be original. Anna agreed, "Fresh eyes, be young, original voices" and Doré added, "Do something you really believe in, it's all about being very natural."

My World And How I Love It

Mario Testino interviewed by Lucinda Chambers

Mario Testino has been a longstanding inspiration of mine. I remember going to the National Portrait Gallery and finding his 'Portraits' book in the gift shop; the closeup of Kate Moss' face with eccentric eye makeup, Robbie Williams and his sparkly union jack print undies and Gisele frolicking in front of the camera, it was all quintessentially Mario Testino. 

Walking onto the stage to rousing applause from the audience, Testino took a seat on the sofa opposite Vogue's fashion director, Lucinda Chambers (who looked fabulous in a tie dye midi skirt, belted top and stiletto heels worn with ankle socks). "There's no choice in being who you are," he announced. Much like the other talks I had been to, Testino focused a lot on embracing your individuality. He exclaimed that he was attracted to things that looked different, so hey, dare to be different! If it's good enough for Mario...When asked about his uncanny ability to discover the next big thing, Testino said, "You cannot make people who are not talented." His images are so iconic that just being photographed by Testino is enough to put you on the map but the way he works his photo shoots is carefully thought out. Some of his advice to keen fashion photographers was to think positive, "Some things happen by accident - embrace them. My favourite subjects at school were algebra and logic: making a big problem into something small". As well as rolling with the punches and seeing where it takes him, Testino did also add that he makes a lot of decisions before each shoot; a curious mix of happy-go-lucky and preparation. Only Testino could think of that. 

Lucinda Chambers asked for his opinion on the digital age, whether it was a help or a hindrance, to which Testino burst into song, "At first, I was afraid, I was petrified" before going on to say that he embraced it and the freedom technology has offered. He advised that the best way to survive in this industry, whether it being as a photographer, blogger or designer, is to constantly update yourself. Testino is restless by nature, however despite his reinvented vision his photographs have never lost that Testino quality.

Much like Sir Paul Smith, Testino could not emphasise enough how important it is to be nice, "When you're nice, people like you and will want to work with you." However he did admit the drawbacks of that attitude too. When working with one of Vogue's top competitors (I'm going to let you guess which one) Testino did not move much within the magazine; he had become to reliable and thus never given the chance for promotion. Eventually he moved to Vogue who nurtured his talent and gave him the opportunity to expand his work. I think it is safe to safe he hasn't looked back since. Testino described Kate Moss as a walking photograph, labeling her as his favourite subject and his photo shoot with Princess Diana was his most memorable shoot. Testino finished with these immortal words, "Find who you are."

Donatella Versace: A Women Of Our Time

Donatella Versace interviewed by Lisa Armstrong

"I'm a very curious person" Donatella announced after she had strutted on stage to a rousing applause from the audience. She wore the tightest leather top and trousers that, really, only Donatella could pull off, with her signature platinum blonde hair. Having grown up in the beautiful city of Florence, she originally wanted to be a teacher; Lisa Armstrong jokingly evoked the image of Donatella, "Reading Dante in your PVC mini skirt." On the topic of PVC, Armstrong asked what Donatella wore around the house. Donatella shrugged nonchalantly, "This", she said simply, indicating her outfit. The audience chuckled appreciatively and Armstrong looked like she wasn't all that surprised. Donatella went on to describe her designs as clothing for "powerful women of the world." Versace's strong female identity was certainly present with the brand's latest campaign with Kate Moss and 90s campaigns with the likes of Claudia Schiffer and Cindy Crawford being projected above Donatella's head. 

Donatella described the internet as "The new house of fashion" and she fully embraces the digital world and the young talent brought with it. Christopher Kane and J.W. Anderson were just a few of the cool kids sat on the front row. She described how Christopher Kane taught her fractions and her excitement for J.W. Anderson's Versus range (it is really good). Going back to her own style, Donatella listed her typical outfit, "I wear heels, tight jeans...lots of stretchy material, fur, diamonds." This lady does not do things in small measures and she really worked her eccentricity and wit to get the audience going. She timed her jokes perfectly, interjecting Armstrong with the right amount of humour and sarcasm. When asked by an audience member what her proudest moment was, Donatella answered, "Being here, having you kids listening, interested, and asking me questions." She spoke openly about the loss of her brother Gianni; when asked how she recovered from his death and stood up to the role of head of design, Donatella said, "I carried on for Gianni. I found the strength not to disappoint", she wanted to carry on the legacy for him. 

She ended her interview by saying, "In today's world it is not based on perfect beauty but interesting, unique beauty." Amen to that Donatella! For someone who runs one of the most prolific fashion houses in the world, Donatella is incredibly in touch with her fans and admirers. At the end of her talk she agreed to sign the Versace t-shirts that had been on sale at the Vogue Shop. All proceeds went to charity and the t-shirts had been reduced from £90 to £35, I couldn't resist buying one and getting the chance to, albeit briefly, bask in her awesomeness. As one of the first in the queue I stood in awe of her as she gracefully took a seat and tested the gold pens she would be used to sign the t-shirts. I gushed like an idiot when it was my turn to get my tee signed, "Thank you so much for doing this" I said, waving to the room, "I'm so happy you're here" (yeah, I'm not a smooth person), "And you're so funny, your talk was amazing, it was so inspirational." She looked up and smiled at me, replying, "Oh, no, I wasn't funny, it was the audience, you guys were great. I loved the audience." I had to move along but I was grinning from ear to ear the entire way home. 

There was practically no rain, no mud, no wellies, a whole lot of pampering and enough charging stations to ensure your phone had enough battery to tweet and instagram everything that was going on. Now that is the sort of festival a girl could get used to! Until next year, Vogue!

My Vogue Braid Bar wraparound braid; My Dior makeup makeover

Chanel: the adventures of the mock Vogue covershoot

CLB x