Make me look beautiful...

was the main desire on many women lips, as they admired the RTW collections of AW 2010. However, there were some designers this season, which seem to have completely missed this simple concept. Some pieces on the catwalk seemed to drown the models and cause them to look sizes bigger than they were. These photos show the problems this season and demonstrate the looks to be avoided. If these designs make the tiniest of models look corpulent, what chances do any of us have?

Matthew Williamson, an outstanding designer and one that normally understands the needs of a woman, is one of the designers that has created unflattering silhouettes this season. This fuscian pink jacket does not have a feminine form and gives the impression of a 'Herman Munster' silhouette.

The renowned Paul Costelloe suprised audiences this season, with his garment silhouettes appearing as though half of his models were pregnant. His women's outwear bulged around the front of the waist in a similarily unflattering print, leaving nothing but an uncomfortable look on the model's face.

The final unflattering piece was featured in Nathan Jender's collection. In the previous blog, I spoke wonders of his amazing talent in tailoring and cutting, but what was he thinking with this huge, unsightly coat? The hem ruched up around the legs with an over sized drawstring serves absolutely no purpose other than to cause the model to appear much larger than she is and it leaves us all reeling in desperation for our well-fitting Burberry trenches back.

I know fashion is to break the mould and to create new garment styles, but I do not think that these designs are going to cut it with women this season...or will they ever.

London Fashion Week

So as London Fashion comes to a close after a mindblowing week of wonder, it leaves everyone reeling in suspense as to what awaits us in Paris. Here I have shown some of my personal favourite highlights of the week.

Finally after a decade, Burberry returned to show at London's prestigious fashion week, and head designer Christopher Bailey did not disappoint! The pre-catwalk atmosphere was pulsing in anticipitation of what was to come, as A-lister after A-lister poured into the show. Military appeared to be the dominating theme for Bailey's collection, as his models were smothered head-to-toe in full on military garments. Aviator styled sheepskin jackets, khaki tailored coats, alongside navy uniform pieces all came together to form a sensational collection. Large gold buttons and collars seemed to stand out as the focus on many outfits.

Nathan Jenden may not have the same internationally acclaimed profile in the fashion industry as Burberry, but his collection was received with comparable enthusiasm. The entirety of his womenswear A/W10 collection screamed wonders, from his enviable cuts to his sublime fabric embellishments.

Along with military and tailoring dominating the AW 10 catwalks, Basso & Brooke continued with their passion of bold prints. Combining fresh colour palletes of blues, whites and greys with abstract prints undoubtedly brought the catwalk to life. Their collection and prints focus on what appears to be architectual themes.

Nathan Jenden's spectacular craftsmanship...

Burberry's military style

Basso & Brooke's eccentric prints.

Alexander McQueen

As most of you know by now, the amazingly talented designer Alexander McQueen sadly took his life on Thursday 11th February. He was awarded the British fashion designer of the year four times during his career. However, he was deeply devastated at the death of his closest friend Isabella Blow (pictured) in 2007 and never properly recovered from that. He then also lost his mother last week and it was believed it had all become too much for the designer to continue.

It is one of the saddest moments in fashion history, McQueen's design capabilities had no limits and he brought a fresh change to the fashion world.

Rest In Peace, now you are reunited with Blow and your mother Joyce in Heaven. Bless us from above, your name will live on forever and your creativity will always be remembered.

oXoXoXo

It's just a bag...

So I ventured into London last month on a fashion trip for store analysis and exploration for our current project. We started our

work in the renowned Selfridges store, shown here. The outside of the building is truly breathtaking, with its huge pillars and Grecian style architecture. Individual flags of various different countries, line the roof and ooze a sense of royalty. Customers are already infatuated with the store and that is solely down to the outside aesthetics. Little do they know what awaits them inside these solid walls.

Designer after designer, brand after brand light up the inside of the store. Christian Dior, Vivienne Westwood, Giles Deacon and Marc Jacobs are just a small taster of the luxury brands that wait in-store for customers to fall in love with. And wow, they definitely do not disappoint. The individual brand units are all smothered in amazing displays of luxury handbags, shoes, and purses. Anyone, even those who refuse to believe in fashion, would secretly admire the arrangements and have an absolute tinge of jealousy against the lady handing over

her credit card to purchase the shiny new Louis Vuitton handbag. So it comes to your turn, you gently run your hands along the finest pair of new Louboutins. You gaze in wonder at the Marc Jacobs handbag which appears to be staring back at you with puppy dog eyes, as if you have no choice but to buy it.

I personally would not say I am a slave to brands and designer names. From a young age I always knew a fashionable style could be achieved from charity stores and vintage stores. In-fact there was once a point when I vowed I would never need to buy into a designer label. But that has all changed now and seven years

later I find myself clasping onto in a new shiny Marc Jacobs bag (pictured). The first question that came in

to my head was; 'do you need this?' and as if the reply bounced off of a wall, I knew the answer to th

at straight away, 'Yes of course you do.' Therefore I bought the bag and happily walked out of the store with a glow surrounding me.

So surely that was that I had bought it, I would use it and that dilemma was now over?

Wrong.

Obviously I showed my family what I had bought, and they clearly felt the

same 'wow' factor as I had earlier in-store. This was, of course, until I revealed the price tag.

This made me re-think my maybe slightly expensive purchase for a split second, this was until I had a flashback of all my previous much more affordable bags. The strap that splits as you already have your hands full, the buckle that refuses to actually let you into your bag, or the general poor quality that just seems to make you want to hide your bag rather than show it off.

It was then I realised that buying into a somewhat more expensive brand is not a crime, nor a sign of weakness for caving into the fashion industry. It is a wise move, an investment into something that will last a considerably longer time than a cheaper purchase from a high street store. The remarkable quality of my new 'Marc' screams wonders and there is not one ounce of regret in me.