New Louis Vuitton Maison on Bond Street

Wednesday 26th May…

Today I went to view the new Louis Vuitton Maison on Bond Street before it’s Grand Opening on Friday 28th May.

The store was designed by architect Peter Marino, the Maison ranges over three floors and encompasses 1,500 square metres of retail space at the junction of New Bond Street and Clifford Street. In keeping with Vuitton’s long-standing commitment to the Arts, there is a library showcasing the best of British contemporary art and bespoke commissions by artists Anish Kapoor, Chris Ofili and Gary Hume.

The store is AMAZING (aside from walking in to the most delicious lemon meringues)!!!

The windows are something special, I love the Chesterfield padding, the multi-coloured fox tails and tribute bags, the monogram covered mannequins, and the LV woodland creatures!

When you walk in you don’t know where to look or where to go first. Do you go right and look at the huge trunks and luggage…

Or do you make a left to be wowed by the Womens Accessories…

The LV planets in the ceiling actually rotate! And look at the floor…

The accessories are of course super cute, and the presentation is immense…

Just past this section there’s a life size statue by Takashi Murakami that rotates…

Next up is the Bag Bar!!!

With a display that moves…

Swing right to the sunglasses (I’m a sucker for sunnies), the ceiling moves up and down. Tall people will feel like they’re in an Indiana Jones film…

I love these heads, it’s like they have their own personality. I thought they were going to start talking to me, the fashion version of ‘Return to Oz’!

The ‘Leo’ wall is next, the now iconic leopard print scarf comes in 5 colourways, 4 of which are limited edition…

There’s also a wall of moving scarves!

There’s a working sculpture on the Mens floor buy Michael Landy…

and if you look up there’s luggage decorating the intricate detailed walls…

There was a poetry reading upstairs on the Womens by Charlie Dark and others to promote the collaboration of a book with Chris Ofili.

The Louis Vuitton New Bond Street Maison will be open to the public on Friday 28th May, marking the most important date in Louis Vuitton’s 125-year association with London.

Here’s what the celebs thought of the Maison and LV…

Noel Clarke’s ‘4321’ Premiere

Tuesday 25th May…

Robinson Pfeffer Showroom visit and Noel Clarke’s ‘4321’ Premiere!!!

Today I spent the day with Ashley Madekwe, we made early afternoon trip down to the Robinson Pfeffer showroom where we saw some great Australian brands that will be breaking into the UK fashion scene any time soon.

Our faves were:

Sosume – we were lured by the jersey!

Stolen Girlfriends Club – some of the collection is a lil Wang-esque and the jewellery is super cute!

Tina Kalivas – inspired by totempoles

Lucy Hutchings – Fashion forward jewellery with some She-ra esque pieces

Beau Coops – Amazing footwear brand, on point with their collection

After the showroom visit we headed back to Belsize Park to get ready for the premiere of Noel Clarke’s new film ‘4321’ starring Emma Roberts, Ophelia Lovibond, Tamsin Egerton, and Shanika Warren-Markland as the leads.

4,3,2,1 - World Premiere - Inside Arrivals
Cast from L-R: Emma Roberts, Ophelia Lovibond, Noel Clarke, Tamsin Egerton, Shanika Warren-Markland

Organised as we are we ordered the taxi early, we hmm’d and ahh’d about whether we should go for Addison Lee or Swiss Cars. In the end we went for the latter as we had, had a bad experience with the former before. By the time the taxi came, I still had the mad dash before I left the house “have I got everything, let me rub that last bit of lotion in  my legs, I can do my boots up in the car” I’m sure you know how it is. Even though we had called the cab to arrive to us an hour before we needed to be there, he took the most ridiculous route and got us stuck in traffic for hmm about 20 mins!!!

We had a car pass and all for us to hop out the car straight onto the red carpet, alas we had to jump out on Piccadilly and walk the rest of the way braving the wind in our hair and up our skirts! When we did finally push through the crowds it was great, fans and paps alike were screaming Ashley’s name for autographs and photo ops. I got caught in the background of one of them as Iddo (the boy, as she so affectionately calls him) told me as soon as we got home 😀

4,3,2,1 - World Premiere - Red Carpet Arrivals
Ashley on the red carpet (me in the background)

After the screening we made our way to the after party (via McDonalds, both having Quarter Cheese Meals one plain, one no pickles or onions, coke and still fanta). We did a lap to look for Noel to congratulate him on the film, couldn’t see him on the fist lap so we went to the bar for a cocktail. Spotted Noel after 5mins who quickly ushered us to the VIP area, where we spoke with actress Ophelia Lovibond (who is lovely), met Noel’s wife (complemented her on Clarke Jr. who makes a cameo in the film) and were offered mini burgers (which we couldn’t take advantage of due to the earlier McDonalds!)

4,3,2,1 - World Premiere - Inside Arrivals
The lovely Ophelia Lovibond

After writing this, I realise that I should’ve taken pics of absolutely everything! I love visuals! Oh well, on to the next one…

Polo in the Park

On June 4th, 5th and 6th 2010, for only the second time in nearly a century, Hurlingham Park in London will thunder with the hooves of world-class polo players in the World Polo Series at MINT Polo in the Park. More than 32,000 spectators will attend the weekend spectacular and pack the stands to cheer Team London to victory as they fight to defend last year’s historic win amongst a total of eight fully professional teams.

Left to right: Henry Brett, Jodie Kidd, Jack Kidd, Kirsty Craig

MINT Polo in the Park is the new Twenty20 style spectator-friendly format of the traditional game that took the nation by storm with 2009’s inaugural tournament. The new style was created to highlight the high-octane and exciting family friendly sport of polo and showcase it with world’s first fully-pro tournament.

The event is a full weekend of entertainment, with central London’s first every jousting competition, stunt riders from famous Hollywood blockbusters, military displays from the best of our Armed Forces and finally a number of ‘skills’ events from the polo players, including penalty shoot-outs and the longest-shot at goal.

We joined the team at Hurlingham Park last week to experience Polo for ourselves, the verdict – WE LOVED IT!!! There are a few rules and regulations as there are in any sport, but they’re easy to follow and remember, our instructor likened it to driving a car and the rules of the road.

Practicing on crates

I’ve ridden a horses before but never played Polo, holding the reins in one hand whilst trying to hit a ball with a long stick with the other was a totally new experience for me. I did get used to it after about 10 minutes, it made me want to get back on the horse, literally.

As we loved the experience so much we wanted our readers to see what it’s all about. We managed to convince the organisers of the event to give us some tickets to give away to our readers! We are offering 10 pairs of  general admission ticket to come and see the action live on Friday 4th June at Huurlingham Park, Fulham.

General Admission Tickets Include:

· Entry to Hurlingham Park

· Access to the pitchside bars

· Access to the Luxury Village

· Access to the Food Market

· Access to the Veuve Clicquot Champagne Garden

· Access to the Pimms Bus

· Access to the Kids Zone

To be in with a chance of winning all you have to do is answer this question:

Who is the model/expert Polo player pictured above?

a) Kate Moss

b) Jodie Kidd

c) Linda Evangelista

Email your answers to info@freakdeluxe.co.uk

Winners will be informed 30/05/2010

Tribute to McQueen

Our friend, lover, and mother of our favourite Pom, Butters; Kristen Knox has written a book paying tribute to non other than British designer Alexander McQueen R.I.P.

Kristin Knox is a successful international fashion blogger and journalist. She attends all the international Fashion Weeks on behalf of her blog, theclotheswhisperer.co.uk, and has also reported back for a variety of  publications including the  FT Weekend, GLAM UK, and Fashion Confidential. Beyond editorial, this New Yorker turned Londoner works as online social and media consultant for various prestigious international brands and is currently amassing an impressive portfolio of runway photography.

More than just a ready-to-wear designer, McQueen’s vision eclipsed the sphere of the fashion industry and reached into that of the artistic – his infamously over-the-top runway spectacles resembling a new kind of installation art more than a conventional catwalk show.  More than just a visionary, McQueen’s exceptional tailoring skills allowed him to execute his avant-garde vision in a way that was both believable, accessible yet inconceivably beautiful. He was a friend to many in the industry and an inspiration to an entire generation of young designers and creatives.

His will be the legacy of a genius, and A&C Black’s new book, through its carefully captioned 125 iconic images – from his first show in 1997 to his final Fall/Winter 2010 catwalk collection – tells the story of his career, from drawing on walls as a child in London’s East End to the high flying catwalks of Paris in such a way where the designer’s work speaks for itself, telling the story of its own genius.

Alexander McQueen: genius of a generation is a must-have buy for fashion lovers everywhere, and a beautiful keepsake, showcasing the dramatic and spectacular work of this fantastic designer.

Alexander McQueen, Genius of a Generation is published by A&C Black on 7 May 2010, priced at £19.99 paperback. ISBN: 9781408130766.
Available from all major booksellers, or to order direct visit www.acblack.com.

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