Chanel 31 Rue Cambon

The hotel where we stayed in Paris was was very, very close to the oh-so famous first Chanel Boutique. It's no secret that I'm a huge Chanel fan so I'm preety sure you can imagine my excitement the moment I realised where I was. I mean, seeing the actual place where Coco Chanel designed and presented her collections? How awesome is that? 

Back from Paris

Yeap, I'm back although I wish I could stay in Paris for another week/month/year!

In Paris

Currently blogging from Paris where I'm spending the weekend. Wearing my brand new Benetton top, Zara skirt and those trusty Ray-Bans of mine.

H&M Conscious Collection - Interviewing Catarina Midby, H&M's Trend Coordinator and Spokesperson

Sustainability is one of the biggest trends in the fashion industry right now. Customers slowly start taking ecological criteria into consideration when shopping and many brands (even the most successful Fast Fashion ones) have introduced "Green" collections. H&M was one of the first mainstream brands that followed this route but stirred controversy a couple of years ago after it was accused of using Non Organic Cotton in one of their Organic Collcetions*. Now, the brand comes back with the Conscious Collection for men, women and kids that has been produced using enviromental adapted materials.

Catarina Midby, H&M's Trend Coordinator and Spokesperson was kind enough to grant me an interview regarding the collection. So, before we move on to the Q&A's I would like to publicaly thank her for the time she spent to answer my questions.

Why is the Conscious Collection different than the others? 

H&M: Our Conscious collection reflects our most forefront products on fashion and sustainability. Right now, it’s all about greener materials so this collection is made with organic cotton, Tencel and recycled polyester.

What is the biggest challenge when it comes to designing and producing a green collection for a mass audience?

H&M: Today, it’s about finding the right fashion qualities with more sustainable fibres at the right price and quantity. But in the future, a green collection may be about garments produced in CO2 neutral factories, or made from waste materials or… The criterias for our Conscious collections are a moving target.

The average consumer would probably say that the main problem about eco-friendly designs is that most of the times they are not fashionable and they are much more expensive than the non-green products. Do you believe that the Conscious Collection will satisfy those customers?

H&M: Yes!

Consumers seem to be skeptical after non organic cotton was said to be found in one of H&M’s Organic Cotton Collections. Could you please tell us a little bit more about the materials that have been used this time? According to the press release they are «greener». Does that mean that they are 100% eco-friendly?

H&M: We say greener because there are no materials that are a 100% sustainable. There is always some impact producing materials and garments. We have used organic cotton, recycled polyester (from post consumer plastic) and Tencel.

A sustainable collection is definitely a step towards ethical fashion. At the same time, as far as I am concerned H&M has very strict rules regarding the supply chain working conditions. Does the company have a plan on adapting more ethical processes when it comes to the production and distribution of the H&M products and if so could you please give us an example? 

H&M: We are always looking for ways to improve and when we update our Code of Conduct or Chemical restrictions list – or our Code of Ethics for that matter, we communicate in on our website and in our CSR report.

The Conscious Collection hits the stores on the14th of April (2 days before my Birthday that is!)

(Images Courtesy of H&M)

Celebrity Skin - Dramatic Discipline @AXDW

There is one thing I instantly fell in love with from the very first moment I found out about Celebrity Skin: The way Dimitris Strepkos and Eleni Barla play with volume and frills. One year later and it remains my favorite element of their collections.

The Anatomy of an AXDW Outfit

Here's a typical AXDW outfit of mine. Choosing what to wear at such events is always tricky. You see, there's a lot of things that should be taken into consideration like the fact that I should better not have a jacket with me (as it will probably get lost) and that I spend A LOT of time on the floor trying to take some proper pics. Now, I do understand that this wouldn't be a problem if I were a normal person who doesn't hate wearing pants and flat shoes but well, I guess that's just typical me! 

Anyway, this outfit turned out to be preety good. The sweater was warm enough so that I didn't have to wear anything on top (although I finally took my ASOS trench with me), the skirt was comfortable and the opaque tights made sure (or at least I hope so!) that not everybody in the room saw my panties (just saying)!

Special Thanks to Nelly for taking my pic!

Antoine Antoniadis FW 2011/12

Antoine Antoniadis is a Greek-French designer, currently living and working in Paris.  Although he is very young (27 years old, to be accurate) his show stood out during the first day of AXDW. It was probably because of the techniques he used and the coherence of the collection. His designs are very classic, surprisingly elegant and mature, Parisian chic at it's best in a few words. I have to admit that there is something really intimidating about those structured jackets, the extraordinary capes, the beautiful coats, and the handmade accessories but it was definitely the hand-knitted leather that made the difference. I'm officially a fan!

Well, I couldn't resist posting these shoes. Are they amazing or are they amazing?

Official Antoine Antoniadis website here

Chara Lebessi FW 2011/12

Chara Lebessi is one of those few designers I'd trust for an open back or very, very short dress. Once again she remained true to her simple yet cute and ladylike designs, the feminine fabrics and sexy elements. Well, if I were a little bit taller and much thinner I could definitely see me wearing most of these clothes.

Stelios Koudounaris FW 2011/12

 Feminine meets masculine, meets the 80's. Black, grey, blue and nude hues, semi-sheer dresses and edgy styling for Stelios' Koudounaris FW 2011/12 collection. 

(Obviously it's FW 2011/2012 not FW 2011/2011. Blame it on the lack of sleep!)

Miltos @AXDW

Miltos is an AXDW regular and I have to admit that there's something really impressive about how loyal his customers are. Anyway, this collection was all about 50's inspired clothes, splashes of color, beautiful polka dots, ladylike ruffles and cute bows mixed with contemporary details and cuts and the traditional show-finale extravaganza. 

This was supposed to be a FW Collection but obviously it's the SS one. Anyway, here's the show finale on video:

.Lak

On Wednesday my boss a.k.a Eleni Stasinopoulou and I found ourselves at the .Lak show. Since I was on Stylista.gr duty I've already written a report here so I won't repeat the whole thing. I have to admit though, that being there was so much fun! As for the clothes, they were wearable but with extreme details that gave that extra something to the collection. In other news, I think I'm developing a serious addiction to platforms (aren't those yellow ones cute?)

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