Challenging works of art, catwalk living and Blogger madness…how we do the things we do…

There is always a lot of interest about what goes on when it comes to the creative industries: how we party, where we party, what we wear, who we met, where we went, what’s new? What’s in? What’s out?
And with show season upon us- Oscars, Brits and London Fashion Week all back to back, there is a lot going on and a lot to follow.

So how did we at Nadia Minkoff London do the things we do??

Our season kicked off on Feb 1st with the first preview of our AW2015 collection @Scoop International in the Saatchi Galleries at the heart of London’s Kings Rd. The chosen 100+ brands who get to exhibit, get to have sole access to the gallery which is closed to the public for the duration of the show and open only to designers and registered buyers. It really is a case of art meets fashion as the gallery exhibit stays put and we, the designers, have our collections ‘slotted’ around the art.
Expect the unexpected- last season there was a whole exhibit on the theme of death, yup I’m not kidding here, it was pretty heavy going.And this season? Well, all in all it was a fairly tame affair but there were some, how shall I say, rather alternative works of art to be managed…

Making a grand entrance at the Saatchi Gallery

 

 

Inside to a beautiful floral welcome

 

Hello cow…

 

Next London Fashion Week was here before we even managed to pause for a breather, the volume of fashionistas this show attracts these days is quite phenomenal, mental in fact as Central London turns into a catwalk on the official runways and also on the sidewalks. Friday Feb 20th was kick-off day with endless parties to attend. Us lucky girls from NM HQ celebrated with the lovely, quirky lot at Wolf & Badger, in London’s uber trendy Dover Street Mayfair. Beautiful clothes, beautiful people, great music, and a special choice of drinks

Party, party, Wolf & badger celebrating 5 years in business and London Fashion Week

 

and what will you drink?  an Arbikie vodka cocktail

 

Or raw pressed juice? how about coconut water with charcoal???

 

Finally, on Tuesday 24th it was time to wrap up, not before a Bloggers Love session in trendy Shoreditch. To say that we were mobbed is no exaggeration, turn out was definitely larger than anticipated, in fact there was a serious bottle neck which lasted the best part of an hour if not longer just to get from the front door to the main room. Hats off to all the lovely bloggers who braved the swarm and kept smiling and to the celebs who didn’t let it put them off.

The beautiful Jess Impiazzi of Towie and MTV fame seals the show for us with our new season Kensington clutch bag! happy, happy 🙂

London Fashion Weeks ends with a real bang at the Bloggers Love event

Some of you may have seen my blog post way back in March  where I was almost a complete novice to the wonderful world of blogging and bloggers.

Well, we’ve come a long way since  and were hoping for a great turn out at the Bloggers Love event on Monday Sept 15^th, the icing on the cake on what was already a busy London Fashion Week for us.

The event, held at the Penthouse in London’s Leicester Square was busy, bubbly, enjoyable, inspiring.. in fact it ticked all the boxes and more, so here are some quick snapshots of how our evening unfolded…

 

When you name is on the main board, and the view over London is that spectacular… you know you are in a good place 🙂

Our corner is ready and the venue is already packed

 

The catwalk is on, there are some bloggers with pretty impressive manicures and we have a visit from beautiful model and blogger Alisha White

As well as the  beautiful and talented girls from new girl band Vanquish who give us ( well, our bags actually) the thumbs up ( and our very own Sheena joins them)

Finally it is time for my two girls, Sawako and Sheena to wrap up, what a night!

 

 

It’s London Fashion Week again, how quickly did that come round?

Hard to believe it as it only feels like the last one was last month, but London Fashion Week sure enough is here again. We’re having a change of scene this time, NY fashion week is running at the same time and we shall be accessorizing the Nico Didonna show in the big apple. On the London front we are taking part in The Bloggers Love, London Fashion Week event at the Penthouse in Leicester square,  then it is off to Paris. And after this whirlwind, I shall be back at my desk, working on our Autumn/Winter 2015 collection. Yes,the roller-coaster ride of the fashion industry, or maybe I should say the treadmill, on which you have to stay firmly put!

 

PS any of you bloggers out there wishing to come to the Bloggers Love event pls email sawako@nadiaminkoff.com with your details,

x Nadia

Out & About: The Bloomsbury Set Event

Out & About: The Bloomsbury Set Event.

Thought I should share this lovely write up by Rhiannon Duffin with you!

Thank you Rhiannon, it’s great!

Nadia x

Catwalk report #2- so what did we show??

Well, on the clothing front Nico Didonna’s ‘Wrap, Protect & Conceal’ collection had been designed with flexibility and elegance at the forefront. Inspired by winter’s natural vigour, the collection, created with a vibrant and deep colour palette, asymmetrical designs and tactile pleating, embraced the female shape creating a sense of voluptuousness – Nico Didonna’s design trademark.

And as far as the accessories go..Nadia Minkoff London’s accessories were designed to enhance the collection without over shadowing it. Much thought had gone into the fine details and the colour palette to ensure a harmonious marriage of texture, colour and functionality.

Amongst the crowd and stylist pleasers were:

Pleated neck shift dresses with tailored wool jackets and structured, laser cut clutch bags

Light wool and jersey catsuits with zip fronts or halter neck ties, combined with laser cut oversized clutch bags and long,asymmetrical chain and crystal bead earrings.

Draped wool jackets with satin leggings and statement necklaces

Draped jersey evening dresses with thigh high split and crystal bead hoop earrings.

Pics to follow, we hope you like!!

Catwalk report #1: So, who was in the front row???

SO… who came to our catwalk and who sat in the front row then?? well, we certainly had a stylish crowd with some prestigious A list guests: Massimiliano Mazzanti General Consul of Italy in the UK, Maurice Mullen the Head of fashion and luxury goods of the Evening Standard, Thomas Heatherwick CBE, designer of the Olympic Cauldron and other spectacular creations (http://www.heatherwick.com/), conceptual artist and international Vogue favourite Pandemonia, socialite Nancy Dell’olio, glamour model Nicola McLean with footballer husband Tom Williams,  actors, stylists and lots and lots of lovely people! Yep, it was a good one!

Dream of seeing a live runway during London Fashion Week? well you’re in with a chance!

Yes, it’s official ! Nico Didonna & Nadia Minkoff London collaborate for the 3rd time during London Fashion Week, Feb 15th at The Bloomsbury set Event!

Cutting edge bespoke tailor and dress designer Nico Didonna  will be presenting his ‘wrap,Protect & conceal ‘ collection in collaboration with London based accessory designer Nadia Minkoff  on Feb 15^th as part of the Bloomsbury set event, during London Fashion Week.

The duo who have collaborated for the past 2 seasons are looking forward to hosting their third collaboration, in the heart of Central London to an estimated crowd of 500 guests which will   include 150 press.

The ‘Wrap, Protect & Conceal’ collection has been designed with flexibility and elegance at the forefront. Inspired by winter’s natural vigour, the collection, created with a vibrant and deep colour pallet with symmetrical designs and tactile pleating , embrace the female shape creating a sense of voluptuousness – Nico Didonna’s design trademark.

The accessories have been designed to enhance the collection without over shadowing it. Much thought has gone into the fine details and the colour pallete to ensure a harmonious marriage of texture, colour and functionality.

The Bloomsbury Set event, now in its 4^th season, is the brain child of affinity branding expert Stephen Mahoney and fashion consultant/journalist Cristina Polizzi. The emphasis is to bring together high quality designers and products, 2 daily runway offerings  and static show, in order to create a lifestyle event within London Fashion Week.

You can win 2 tickets and an opportunity to win  a Nadia Minkoff London Belgravia Crystal clutch by visiting Zoe Griffin’s ‘Live like a VIP’

Go on, it may well be you!

Another catwalk? already?

Seems no sooner you lay one season to bed the next one is already due. Anyone working in fashion will know exactly what I mean when I say that… indeed we’ve just ‘closed our books’ on our summer 2013 range, which I must add- we’re delivering into stores now despite the fact that in the UK it is winter, wet, cold and pretty miserable. We’ve already previewed our winter 2014/5 collection at Scoop Intl’, but ..on Feb 15th, is when it gets seriously serious, with our London Fashion Week catwalk – the pinnacle of every season. Are we ready? well, in fashion terms we are not doing too badly , at least on the organisational side we’ near enough have every things sorted: venue, models, hair, makeup, music, sponsors. No doubt we will find some last minute changes required but we’re doing pretty good. As for the collection? well- not doing too badly here as well. Our key colours are sorted, so are our key pieces and now we are are working on the fine details, the smaller pieces that make it all come together. And hopefully it will..  that is all comes together as planned and even better on the day. Will keep you posted right here on our progress and on the big day itself.

 

From catwalk to high street

It must be obvious by my lack of posts since our London Fashion Week catwalk that I’ve just not had the time to write, so much so that I actually feel like I have writers block today when in fact- I have so much to say!

The press have been very kind to us this time round, we are loving the attention and the interest which, we seem to be receiving daily, our press page for Sept is nice and full and October looks very promising too!

But the nicest part of it all, as a designer, is seeing how our catwalk creations translate from the runway to the high street. At Nico Didonna’s shop you can now treat yourself ( and yes, it is a treat) to one of his amazing catwalk creations complete with our Nadia Minkoff London accessories.  One of the oldest and most established UK brands have bought some of our  catwalk statement pieces for their stores, soon to hit their shelves.It’s a real move for them from very classy to very trendy!

We are currently working on a range of bespoke catwalk inspired pieces, very glamorous but we think timeless for a fantastic new  website. And our on website is getting ready to embrace our AW2013 range including a whole section of our catwalk one off’s!

That said, our next LFW catwalk is scheduled to take place in Feb 2014, so work on our Winter 2014 collection will start in earnest by the end of this month. Always one step ahead, that’s the name of the game.

Photos: Nico Didonna AW13 collection with Nadia Minkoff London accessories

Scenes from a catwalk…

So, Saturday Sept 14th was our  ‘D-day’ , catwalk day at London Fashion Week. Stressful at the best of times, we endured a last minute change of location due to unforeseen circumstances, which made this one twice as stressful. But as the guests took to their seats, the press to their stand and the models turned on their charm and grace, it just seemed to flow. Tailored dogs tooth suits with flared trousers and over sized clutch bags, flowing kimono style chiffon dresses with mini retro bags  and  lots of pearls. Next, the full length cowl back evening dresses with half crescent earrings and statement chokers, and see through sequined palazzo trousers with classic tote bags. It’s now a case of sending the images to the press and the buyers and seeing which of these looks will work their way into the mass market next summer and into our wardrobes!