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Friday 1 June 2012

NEWS| Baartman's and Siegel featured in Prestage



Vauxhall Fashion Scout designers Baartmans & Siegel were recently featured in an editorial and interview for Prestage magazine. 

VFS caught up with the label to catch up and see what they've been up to since February:
Since LFW AW12- We have moved studios and are now CFE Venture designers-  Also we have recently returned from NYC with the BFC- London Showrooms, which was a really great experiance- to present the colelction to the USA press and market. Since returning from USA we have been busy developing our new Spring collection- expanding our leisure wear- and working on some new exciting projects for AW13. We are looking forward to the new London Collections:Men where we will be presenting our new collection on the 17th.

By Editor Cass Gowing
Follow her on Twitter, @CassGowing

Images from Prestage issue 4:

Photography:Amarpaul kalirai

Styling: Justine Josephs
Makeup: Sonia Bhgoal
Hair: Roxanne Attard
Model: AMCK

Thursday 31 May 2012

NEWS| E.Tautz amongst Fashion Forward Menswear Winners



The British Fashion Council (BFC) has announced the four menswear designers who have been awarded Fashion Forward sponsorship: Christopher Shannon, J.W. Anderson, James Long and Vauxhall Fashion Scout designer E.Tautz. The four designers will showcase their designers at the London Collections: Men which takes place in June. 

This is the first time that the Fashion Forward sponsorship has been dedicated to menswear designers, meaning that the three new winners will join James Long who was the first menswear designer to receive the accolade last season. 

"This is an important prize, and the previous winners' list reads like a roll call of London's brightest fashion talent," said E Tautz creative director Patrick Grant. "Menswear is tough and the competition have bags of cash, so support like this makes a big difference. It means a better collection and a better show, and that is all we are trying to achieve."

All four Fashion Forward winners receive valued support by the BFC as well as a cash prize to assist showcasing their SS13 collections.

Huge congratulations to E.Tautz from the whole VFS team!

Read the full report on Vogue's website


By Cass Gowing, Editor
Follow her on Twitter @CassGowing
Photography by Natalia Ilina

NEWS| Georgia Hardinge Lancome video



At the beginning of May we posted about the exciting collaboration between VFS designer Georgia Hardinge and beauty giant Lancome for the Diamond Jubilee and today is the launch! Georgia Hardinge has created these wonderfully royal images as part of an animation for Selfridges's LCD screens, watch the video exclusively on her Facebook page.  

Don't forget, as part of their Big British Bang event you can watch Georgia hand-paint the designs and even request for it to be personalised (taking place on May 31st - today! -  and June 7th). Read more about the Selfridges event here

By Cass Gowing, Editor. 
Follow her on Twitter @CassGowing

Wednesday 30 May 2012

EXCLUSIVE| Inside the studio of "One to Watch" Myrza de Muynck


Walking into Myrza de Muynck's studio having seen her soft, terry-loop sweaters, with their blush, gauze overlays, and intricate embellishments, you'd wander in expecting her surroundings to reflect the cotton-soft, femininity of her previous work. 
Unsurprisingly, we walk into a well-lit, well-tidied, flower-finished space; rolls of pastel coloured fabrics tucked neatly in the corner... but- again- we walked in with expectations mirroring what we'd seen walk down the runway, meaning we knew there was more to learn about the Dutch-born, CSM grad

A little riffling through annotated print-outs of 20s flapper-girls, and we find our first insight into the quirky streak the "Muynck Girl" is so known to have (look closely at the first image, and you'll see it too...), so we sat down to discuss who exactly the "Muynck Girl" is, whether she's ready to mature, and where she's likely headed next- starting with how things have developed since previous seasons...
... It's a follow-up of my previous collection; different, but with the same 'spirit' as before. It looks kind of... sweet, but it's not. It's still got attitude.

Is that the kind of girl in your head when design? She's feminine- maybe even "girly"- but effortlessly "cool" at the same time?
Well, I can see anyone wearing [the pieces] really- even an older woman- because it has that... light, feminine look. I've got some women I really like that I think about, but... [in my work], when I design, it's mainly me, I guess. I do really like Gena Rowland; she's really lady-like, but with this "young" spirit, and she's... a bit odd- in an interesting way. I also think about Diana Vreeland; she's an "odd" character too, and there's this... authenticity about her. Women like that. I like to think of them.

So, there's something about your girl that's different; slightly off-kelter, not your "usual" sort... 
Yeah, they have their own femininity. It's not your "usual", it's something coming from them.

Is this where the solid, intermittent blocks of red and leopard come into it- injecting, and enforcing that point of difference?
I chose the leopard because it has two readings: it is feminine in an "old-fashion" sort of way. [But] there's another side to it... it can have this... sort of "chavvy" feeling at the same time. So it has two elements that really fit with the casualness, and the luxuriousness of the collection. When you wear the pieces, you can interpret that in either way.

"Chavvy"...?
[Laughing] Well, the idea to have the shell-suit came from their uniformity, because- in a way- they're in a sort of uniform, but they're very authentic. There's something I really like about the idea of uniformity. Also there's this weird sort of "sexiness" [about them]; there are no inhibitions. They're just who they are. That's what I like about them, because they're not pretending.

Was introducing lingerie into next season's collection a way of subtly hinting at the "Muynck Girl" maturing, and injecting that sort of "sexiness" into your work?
I like the sexiness about the way you can style it into your look, like with the look-book image we did: the model has just a little beading showing through the [shell]-suit. I would really love to have a range.

The beading in the underwear, and  embroidery throughout most of the collection has become a sort of "Myrza" staple; is this something you think we'll always be seeing?
I think so. I really like the 1920s, because of they way they worked, and the beading really comes from that. They had this really beautiful, couture way of working, with beautiful embroidery. So, yes, I think it will stay.

We gather there's a lot to the Muynck girl, but then there's a lot to the real, everyday girl, and woman- ladylike or not- which is what there is to appreciate about every bit of Myrza's work. Yes, it's feminine, but it doesn't have to be. There are the leopard-block bottoms to cater to your inner- upfront- temptress, and there's the amaranth-pink, gauze-fronted sweater, should you have a day you're feeling "dainty". 
Myrza ties it up unknowingly with a statement made, walking us to the door...
I just like taking the sort of "cheap" feeling about [something], and making it into something really luxurious with beading... quilting... embroidery....

So, essentially, it's dressing something "up"... It's what girls do.


Interview by Sara McAlpine (@sara_mcalpine)
Images by Claire Pepper (@claire_pepper)

NEWS| Florence Welch wears Inbar Spector in latest video




It's unsurprising that the most theatrical of songstresses turn to Inbar Spector for their stage-wears, given the standalone presence of Spector's cascading tulle pieces. We'd encourage you to gaze out of the office window to imagine the powerhouse couple that is a best-selling female artist, and an Inbar dress, but the above video does the job of marrying the two images for you. 
Seen rehearsing, and in action for latest single, "Spectrum", Florence and the Machine front-woman, Florence Welch wore pieces straight out of the show at Freemasons, selected by stylist Aldene Johnson. You can see how famed photographer/ director, David Lachapelle instructed Welch to move in the dress by clicking "play" above, and also check out our "behind-the-scenes" Spector shots here.

Tuesday 29 May 2012

NEWS| Beyonce wears VFS alumni David Koma for comeback gig

 Beyonce images from Black Style Central

David Koma, SS12 collection by Christopher James

When Beyonce Knowles returned to the stage this weekend for her first live gig since she gave birth, she whipped her new figure into five different costumes. The one outfit which was on everyone's lips is the David Koma bodysuit. The black mesh leotard with geometric patterns is from the designer's SS12 collection. Koma, a VFS alumni alongside Hermione de Paula and Peter Pilotto, teamed the bodysuit with a peplum pleated blue mid skirt for his SS12 showcase last September, whereas Beyonce bared all with just a leather belt to accessorise.  

Cass Gowing, Editor
Follow her on Twitter @CassGowing

Monday 28 May 2012

NEWS| Joe Turvey featured in aMuse magazine's Fashion Power List


Featured in Dazed and Confused, Drapers, and picked by VOGUE's Jessica Bumpus as a Fashion Week favourite, Vauxhall Fashion Scout's Joe Turvey is proving there's truth to our claim that he's 'One-to-Watch'.

The London College of Fashion graduate has now also been featured in London 'free-zine', aMUSE, as part of their Issue 2 'Fashion Power List.' Sharing the list with designers Maarten van der Horst, Georgia Hardinge, and Henry Holland (seen here in Joe's designs), Turvey's appearance comes with the claim that the menswear designer is an "extremely exciting emerging talent"- a claim we'd say is on good authority, given that is was made by i-D's Fashion Editor, Elgar Johnson.

To see who else made the list, and to check out Issue 2 of aMUSE, click here.
Let us know who you think would make your fashion "Power List" on Twitter @FashionScout.

NEWS| Yasmin Kianfar listed 'Designer to Know' by Elle

Yasmin Kianfar's SS12 Collection from her website
Yasmin previous guest blogged for Browns, where she shared the workings of her studio

Following being featured by Vogue's as one to watch back in March last year, VFS designer Yamin Kianfar can now add Elle to her list of fans. 

The Brighton based designer has been featured in British Elle's 'Designers to know' column, the magazine interviews Yasmin about inspiration for her collections, the Yasmin Kianfar aesthetic and the future for the brand. The iconic fashion magazine describes Yasmin's 'cooly feminine' collections as "both of-the-moment and utterly timeless".

Yasmin's collections has been stocked in Browns since graduating from esteemed school Central St Martins in 2010, so why not view her SS12 collection here; her feminine cuts and futuristic tailoring make her a perfect choice for the summer months. 

By Editor Cass Gowing, 
Follow her on Twitter @CassGowing