London Fashion Week and my pink suit!

Hi everyone,

I flew to London Fashion Week in February for A/W17 and I have had so many problems with this post in regards to imagery and the first draft deleting that needless to say I am delighted it is finally live! I will be covering the shows that I attended, the collections and what I got up to.

I interned at the event last year and said that I would make it my goal for the following year to attend as a guest. A part of me doubted whether or not I could make it happen but sometimes you just have to power on, do your best and hope that it will all work out which thankfully it did. My first invitation coming through the post was probably one of the most rewarding feelings in my 2 years blogging and it felt like all the hard work was slowly but surely paying off. I received invitations to attend Han Wen, Katie Ann Mc Guigan, Ekaterina K and Minki. 

It was without a doubt one of the most last minute trips I have ever been on. I only found out on the Thursday at 12pm that I would be going the following day so from there it was a major panic in order to get everything booked – nothing like a bit of spontaneity! 

        

I left Galway at 2am on the Friday and headed off to Dublin airport. Needless to say I didn't sleep a wink the night before with excitement. A lot of people were amazed I was doing it all on my own but since I was a little girl I have been very independent (my Mother thinks a little bit too much) that I had no problem with it. I wasn't going to let the opportunity slip past just because I didn't have a travelling partner as such and I really enjoy doing things like that on my own - as strange as it may seem to some people! Any experience to travel on your own is a fantastic way to learn how to think on your feet, be socially aware, responsible and it opens you up to a new way of life. London is one of my favourite cities ever and every time I return, I fall in love with it a little bit more.

Once I landed, it was straight to the hotel to get changed for Friday's events. I was beyond tired when I lay on the bed that I had to give Minki's presentation a miss. I thought it made more sense to have a quick rest which would be of much more benefit for the rest of the trip. 

Ekaterina's presentation could be compared to the feeling of stepping into a fairytale. 

As I walked in there was an array of stylish people and what I love about London is the individuality - it makes me so happy to see people wearing what they want because they feel good in it and at the end of the day, that's what style is all about!

Ekaterina is a luxury womenswear designer who places a big focus on patterns and prints – my 2 favourites!

 Her aim is “to produce colourful, bold, yet flattering and wearable” clothing and that is why I love her work. The clothes hung beautifully on the models and there was a real bohemian vibe to the collection. After that I took myself off to Pizza Hut and it was delicious!

The following day I wanted to head to the LFW headquarters so that I could check out the streetstyle which is always so much fun and little crazy to say the least! 

    

I wore a pink suit from Penney's and couldn't believe the response that it received. There was street photographers taking photos of it and my shoes (also Penney's but old stock) so thank the Lord I had sunglasses on which hid my awkwardness from the camera's haha! I think the suit would also be lovely as separates but with the week that was in it I wore the two together as I LOVE a good two piece! 

  

The headquarters is also where the designer showrooms are located but I had to run as I wanted to give myself time to get to the first show and I was so excited but nervous at the same time as I didn't know what to expect. When I got to Freemason's Hall, it was exactly how I imagined it. The queue had already started and there was lots of security and photographers papping all of the style and those coming in and out.

Katie Ann Mc Guigan was first and she is an Irish designer now based in London so it felt really good to be Irish and sitting in the audience!

Her label "offers high end ready to wear working on the frontier of print design along side modern and graphic silhouettes."

  

 I would describe her AW17 collection as an eclectic mix of bold hues, graphic prints and show stopping silhouettes. It was amazing to see the show come together and I felt so honoured to be there.

Han Wen was that evening in the same location and there was a great buzz around his show. We queued for approx an hour (who said Fashion Week was glamorous?!) and then headed in to take our seats.

 The show started almost immediately and Han likes "to focus on making the details and the fabrication of his pieces unique whilst still maintaining function and meaning."

   

 Wen also "strives to create a balance between his passion for couture construction and wearable clothing." I have to say that I really enjoyed his show and how he presented the clothes. I got some amazing footage on my Snapchat so I hope that anyone following along enjoyed it.

It was an amazing experience and I hope to do it all again in September so the blogging game will have to be very strong between now and then. If anyone has any questions regarding interning at the event, don't hesitate to get in touch by snapping @thefashionchair, Facebook messaging or emailing thefashionchair@gmail.com

Talk soon,

Emma

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