日本人のリーダーへ、

こんにちわ日本人のリーダーへ、

最近、このブログの情報を見ると、読んでる日本人がたくさんいるようだ。ありがとうございますみんな！面白いものや東京ファッションユーズについて何か教えてあげたいなら、どうぞ。英語がいい、日本語もいいよ。

ね、僕は日本語がちょっとだけ出来るので、意味が分かられなければ直して教えてくれてください。

じゃね！

ashley@blow.co.ukへ連絡して。x

CRISIAN & MCCAFFREY

Crisian & McCaffrey have arrived at BLOW. Take a look at their website for their full collection of super luxe women's footwear. With prices from £1,050 to £4,800 you better start saving now - but remember, amazing shoes are for life - so invest.

Crisian & McCaffrey shoes already have international celebrity stylists snapping at their heels so remember their name - definitely one to watch.

www.blow.co.uk

www.crisianandmccaffrey.com

press enquiries: ashley@blow.co.uk

OMG. LOL. YES!

At Urban Outfitters. £14 each.

MAGIC NUMBERS FOR DIANA VICKERS

Dress by Belle Sauvage.

Watermarks courtesy of Rexfeatures (thanks).

THEY'LL ALL BE SIZE 0 AFTER THIS

Copenhagen Fashion Week in Denmark will be breaking records next month.

Helena Christensen will be unveiling the world's longest runway - 5,000 ft runway (maybe literally - fingers crossed for a Boeing take-off as the finale) featuring over 500 Nordic brands and god knows how many models.

Strutting in stilettos for the best part of 20 minutes on a hot floodlit catwalk could be the next step in the Bikram 'sweat-for-long-enough-and-you're-bound-the-drop-the-pounds' craze.

We could be looking at other record breaking moments for 'most-mid-runway-model-collapses', 'most-wardrobe-malfunctions-per-minute' and 'biggest-synchronized-diva-fit-back-stage'. Exciting times for all.

If you're part of the styling or hair team on this show - we feel for you. At least with a front row 2 and a half miles long with a capacity for half the population of a small Eastern European nation, the show's PR team will be safe from 'DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?' eruptions runway side.

GOING DOWN THIS WEEK

Socks and Sandals

They're open toed for a reason - let your feet breath.

Gay Pride

Gay and proud - OK. Fumbling fags in boas, angel wings and bootcut jeans with flags tied round their necks? Stay at home.

Sunburn

If it's not OK on Kim Kardashian, it's definitely not OK on you.

PALOMA SAUVAGE

The delectable Paloma Faith wearing a SS10 Belle Sauvage showpiece dress whilst flailing giant orange marabou fans around wrapped up like a present with a giant green bow atop that fiery red mane. Snaps for Paloma everybody.

ashx

CHERELNETT

Who needs a premiership-partner when your hair is bigger than your face? Cheryl has entered the superstar mega-sphere by not only becoming the face of Elnett, but becoming the face on the can. Maybe it really is true what they say - the bigger the hair the closer to god.

Get it at Superdrug where it's their "fastest selling hairspray ever". Looks like she's on a post-Ashley one-woman mission to re-open the hole in the ozone layer - and we're 100% behind her all the way. Solidarity.

You've gotta fight fight fight fight fight for this hold. £2.91? Worth it.

Ashx

CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATES

It's come to that time of year again when CSM throws another few thousand young talents out into the art, fashion and design world. The exhibitions at Charing Cross and Southampton Row were as strong as ever this year (thank you Southampton Row for your free wine... textiles never looked so good) - and here's a sneaker of our fave from Performance: Design and Practice at the Back Hill exhibition.

Costume by James Barnett.

Over and out. Ashx

CARRY ON GLAMPING

Heard of glamping? You have now. The MacMillan 'Buzzword' dictionary defines glamping as "a luxury form of camping which includes expensive equipment, high-class faiclities, luxury food and drink etc". It's glamorous-camping at the end of the day (get it? clever eh?) Having trouble picturing it? Try this -

Thinking of camping it up and trying it out? Don't forget the following -

A picnic hamper to get Nigella Lawson hot under the collar...

Jimmy Choo for Hunter wellies (or just throw a couple of pairs of Louboutins in the back of the Range Rover - you probably won't be walking on much turf if you're glamping properly)...

A good old posh umbrella. We like these from London Undercover.

And last but by no means least - a good yurt. You can pick one up straight off the boat from Mongolia at Yurts direct. It's the only way to glamp.

Here's some other good places on line to learn more about glamping - and frankly - how could you not want to buy into that lifestyle. I'm sold.

Canopy and Stars

GoGlamping

Guardian guide to Glamping

Over and out. ashx

TREND - Blaxi Dress

Gothic, elegant, demure - the Blaxi Dress is proliferating the highstreet and looks set to stay. Wear it sheer with layers and a good bra for a day out in Dalston or in fine jersey with open sandals for brunch in Notting Hill. Versatility and the effortless chic of these glorified black tees is key.

warehouse £25

supertrash £55

asos £30

all saints £150

ashx

NEO MINIMALISM

Now we've got a BLOW Blog it's the perfect chance to give all those images that never make it to print a chance to shine. Here's a shoot from earlier this year by a good friend of mine Fan Hong Chang with photographer Simian Coates - Enjoy kids.

Shoes by Gemma Slack, Dress by Aminaka Wilmont.

Shoes by Gemma Slack, Dress by Disaya.

Dress stylist's own.

Blazer and trousers by Lina Osterman, Shoes by Gemma Slack

Cape and top by Gemma Slack, Skirt stylist's own.

Shoes by Gemma Slack, Jumpsuit stylist's own.

Top by Lina Osterman, Leggings stylist's own.

Photography by Simian Coates

Styling by Fan Hong Chang

If anyone out there has any amazing ideas for shoots with any of our clients here at BLOW please do let me know (ashley@blow.co.uk) and if it's something that sounds good we'll work on making it happen.

Ashx

Haute construction, house couture

The ‘drink me’ potion in Alice in Wonderland inspired Gwen Stefani to don a country cottage for her solo debut and the pliable metals, membrane structures, lightweight glasses and plastics used in building construction are creeping onto the catwalk and into the high-street season-on-season.

From House of Holland to skyscraper Westwood heels, fashion and architecture have walked side by side through the decades, being influencing and affecting one another in the name of innovation and style.

Cavemen built their houses (read tents) and clothes (read loincloths) from the same skins, so maybe architecture and fashion really are one and the same. When it comes down to it does it really matter whether it’s coat-as-shelter or house-as-shelter - at the end of the day it’s all shelter right?

We chatted with architecture graduate turned fashion designer Omer Asim for his thoughts on house and haute couture…

Fashion and architecture – what's the biggest difference?
Fashion designers can get away with show pieces and conceptual editors can put them into use, architects' innovative ideas are generally frustrated by killjoy town planners!

Do you buy this whole ‘wearable shelter’ thing?
Who can afford a mortgage these days.

How is your work specifically influenced by architecture?
It is NOT. Birds can build the most fascinating and intricate structures, I doubt they attended 'Architecture' school.

Any favourite buildings?
I like The Lloyd's of London. It functions as some sort of insurance brokerage headquarters! It is immaculately built inside out, you can see all the service pipings and guts of the building, a bit like Lanvin's artisanal raw finishes! Richard Rogers did a great job in propelling the propaganda that insurance and finance operates on transparency ;)

Least favourite?
I didn't bother to find out who built it, or what is it.

Would you ever return to architecture?
I don't know! Right now I'm doing fashion, have no plans to desert it.

(Dress by Omer Asim; Velour, styling by Alexia Somerville, photography by Nick Kelly)

(Dress by Omer Asim; Plastic Dreams, styling by Neil Stuart photography by Daniel O'Connel)

Oh yeah, and let's not forget the king of wearable homes - the humble snail (This one's called John... apparently).

Ashx

Fascinators are not only for Ascot!?

Interestingly enough in a country known for its hat fetish, hats are so absent day to day and seemed only reserved for events like Ascot and the occasional summer wedding. Should you be invited. Even so, I attended Mr. Hewitt’s (boyfriend) best friend’s wedding and hats and fascinators were surprisingly absent. How comes?

So I decided to do a little experiment and observation over the lovely summer weekend that just past. I decided to sport hats & fascinators and mix them into my everyday wear. Luckily I had easy access to a great selection of hats and I chose the talented milliner Nerida Fraiman. Yes, she is my client but she does colourful pillboxes, sequined berets and feathered pieces that I envision Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Kennedy Onassis or Louise Brooks wearing.

So I chose three hats and picked my outfits accordingly. On Friday, we went out to dinner on Broadway Market but started with a drink in the park. I wore bespoke Nerida Fraiman pleated leather heart shape hat, Zara printed silk jersey dress, Prada patent leather peep toes.

On Saturday we decided to picnic at London Fields. Now, non East Londoners who live in East London are known for their style. It’s quirky, right now a mix of 80’s & rockabilly, slightly trendsetting but also a race to out do each other in fashion forwardness. So I would have thought there would be some creative headwear going on, on such a hot sunny day. But no, all the girls were wearing the same hat. A Panama hat made of straw and with some coloured fabric band. Boring in comparison to their outfits and a total let down to their culture of hats. What’s up? Granted, I realized that this hat is clearly the summer trend, but come on East London. Step it up!

I wore Nerida Fraiman SS10 fuscia flower black net fascinator, St Tropez black bikini and Banana Republic cotton dress & Banana Republic gold sandals

My good friend Rania is on her way out and moving back to Austin. So for a night of drinking and dancing with the gals, I chose Nerida Fraiman AW10 black sequined beret with gold and black circle embellishment, Black Prada patent leather peep toes and Joyce Leslie LBD.

I have to say I loved the idea of wearing these little darlings on my head and am seriously considering integrating hats into my wardrobe. They drew a little bit of attention and as a girl in fashion, why not? The man at Sainsbury said my hat was brilliant. Mr. Hewitt’s flatmate loved it and said my big pink flower was great. And to my surprise I got no stares. I had the preconceived notion that people would look at me like I was either showing off or looking at me thinking “hey lady, do you see any horses racing around here?” But no, little girls in the park smiling at me but that’s cool.

LJ