Simone Rocha

"I've always wanted to design feminine clothes but I think what makes them cool is toughening them up with a harder edge" Simone Rocha tells Nylon, and it's true as demonstrated with her Spring 2012 collection. The first look was a plastic trench coat underlined with white lace, a tough exterior showing peeks of a softer side.

S/S 12

The show continued this way, featuring more plastic and lace to gorgeous tailored pieces and romantically relaxed dresses as showcased by Lady Gaga on the January cover of Elle.

January 2012 UK edition of Elle

As the daughter of John Rocha a designer with 25 plus years of experience it could be said that designing is in her blood. 

Born in Dublin, she moved to England to study at Central Saint Martin's college of art and design and proceeded to graduate in 2010. She then went on to to debut at London Fashion Week showing her S/S and A/W collections.

S/S 11

S/S 11

A/W 11

A/W 11

What makes Simone Rocha's designs stand out is the juxtaposition of textures, fabrics and the emotions evoking from her designs, for instance a chiffon dress styled with brogues makes a very feminine piece more edgy and wearable for the day or a tailored jacket with sheer sleeves in a contrasting colour, it's this mix of feminine and masculine designs colliding together that create hugely wearable pieces for the average woman with a bit of an edge. 

S/S 12

S/S 12

From her London Fashion Week debut Simone has gone on to design a capsule collection as part of Topshop's graduate designs. She has also featured as a store front window at Selfridges as their bright young things 2011. 

As well as getting recognition in the UK Simone is also gaining respect and praise from international stores with her designs being stocked in such shops as Colette in Paris. 

So what's next for Simone Rocha in 2012? 

Well first up is her solo catwalk show at London Fashion week the 18th February 2012. Then more international stockists, collaboration's and brand development, so keep your eye out for more from this girl because 2012 is looking to be her year. 

Never Fully Dressed

I've been meaning to write this post for just under a year now and I keep getting distracted, partly from work but also because I wanted to keep them a secret to myself. 

This post is about an independent clothing brand who, sell their wears at Portobello  and Spitalfields on their website and more recently on ASOS marketplace they have even had Fearne Cotton wear one of their pieces. 

I'm talking about Never Fully Dressed, of NFD for short. 

I first came across NFD, in 2010 when I saw them at Birmingham Clothes Show and desperately wanted to buy everything and have noticed them growing more and more in the past 2 years to the point where they got mentioned in the telegraph fashion section. 

Most of what they sell is one size only but they are over sized gorgeous drapes of fabric so you can't complain, from gorgeous chiffon frocks ready for festival fabulousness to metallic over sized tee's there is something for everyone in fact I dare you to go on their website and not crave and lust after if not one but several pieces. 

Never Fully Dressed

Oh and did I forget to mention...they also sell Jewellery, so get yourself over there or if you would prefer go to  ASOS Marketplace

Fashion Girl of the Week:

Amy louise is this weeks fashion girl and a very dear friend of mine, I have always envied her style, she always seems to put fabulous stuff together and is an amazing bargain shopper. 

"I wouldn't say I have a defined style, I take clothes from all over the place and make them my own, one man's rubbish is another man's treasure"

favourite places to shop- "River Island, Cow and the ebay vintage outlet and charity shops"

"My favourite outfit right now is my blue velvet shirt, high waisted black skirt and frill wedges with my beige chunky knit cardigan"

"I spend the most money on Jumper's and Shirt's AND tights! Endlessly going through them"

"The thing I like about fashion is the personal expression, the fact that some one could be wearing the exact same thing as you, but it all depends on the way you put it together and the accessories you wear that makes it so different" 

A big thanks to Amy- as you can see this girl has a unique style, she wears the clothes and makes them her own. 

Fabulous!

LFW Survival Kit

London Fashion Week is fast approaching and with many things on people's minds on one of the most hectic weeks in the fashion calender, I decided to do a LFW survival kit, just a quick piece about the essentials to take with you, to help everything run a little bit more smoothly. 

First things first the outfit, you want to be wearing something comfortable yet stylish after all this is London Fashion Week. The shoes you wear are to be considered massively, you want to be wearing some that are comfortable and easy to walk around in. 

The shoes pictured are from Forever 21 and personally I find wedges THE most comfortable shoe around without substituting style. Wedges add that bit of height and sophistication to any outfit.

England isn't famed for it's hot weather and sunny skies, so the best bet is to to wrap up warm, but you want layers in case all that running around gets you too hot. Open Cable knit jumpers (pictured is from topshop) are amazing because they are on trend and you can layer up different vest tops of long sleeve and short sleeve underneath to go along with the changing temperatures.

The harem trousers are from Dorothy Perkins and I chose trousers because I feel like they would be more comfortable then say a dress or skirt, also trousers especially tapered ones are very on trend right now so I was going for a comfortable yet chic look, that you can wear all day without feeling self conscience.

The colour palette I was aiming for is a mix of camel, nude and tan. This is a complete contrast to the acid brights we are seeing everywhere, I think what you wear should be understated chic, you should almost channel  Parisienne style but give it your own twist, for instance the mustard bag from Debenhams adds a quirky twist to this otherwise muted palette of colours.

You should mix your outfit up with small details to make it more original and personal to you. But remember to be comfortable because you will be running around in it all day. 

This brings us on to the bag essentials. 

The bag as stated is from Debenhams and is a satchel style, so it is on trend and a roomy bag without being too big.

In the bag there is a Filofax, which is there to write notes and important runway show times in for when everything is coming down on top of you this should be your life-line.

Make-up wise, you should pack a good concealer, the one pictured is Laura Mercier, this is to stop your make-up looking dull and tired, a simple highlight and cover up can freshen the skin up instantly.

Two essentials that I personally would be lost without is eye-liner and mascara, these two products can make eyes appear wider and brighter, great when it's early mornings all round.

Face wipes are a brilliant must have because not only do they fix make-up mistakes, but they freshen up your skin and can make you feel fresh in sweaty areas (if you get what I mean).

When running around your hair can become flat and lifeless, to combat this simply pop your head upside down and spray batiste dry shampoo on hair to give it more volume, stores now do a travel size spray so it doesn't take much room up in your bag at all.

Last but not least is perfume, you want to smell nice all day especially in an environment where you are mingling with different people, the perfume featured is Jimmy Choo's which if you haven't smelt yet, you really should because it's gorgeous.

Now you don't want to be taking a full bottle of perfume out with you in your bag for fear of it leaking or even worse breaking, so you can now buy travalo's which you simply pop on top of your perfume and pump the spray it then fills with the perfume and you can pop it in your bag and it lasts for 50 sprays, if you want to put a new perfume in after it's all gone just wash with water and use again. This little gadget is brill because it saves the hassle of having to buy a little perfume to take round with you. 

Top Tips

• Be Comfortable
• Wear comfy shoes
• Don't forget a pen or notepad
• Don't overfill your make-up bag
• Take a roomy bag to fit everything you need in but don't over pack
• Stay Fresh
• Drink lots of water
• Layer up 
• And remember to use your own individual style in everything you wear.