That Spring Summer Feeling calls for a Wardrobe Cleaning….

…. approaching the end of February brings muggy days and warmer temperatures (well with global warming these days you cannot guarantee it will not snow tomorrow); hopefully spring is in the air. And with this comes a change of wardrobe, its time for that wardrobe clean out!!!
Not only with this help me to see what it is that I really will be wearing, what does not fit anymore but also how many hours need to be spent working off all those inches put on during the season of eating also known as Dewali, Christmas, New Year and Chinese new year.

On my latest project, Kanchan Couture has collaborated with Miele, yes that’s right Miele the German luxury home appliance brand. At first a lot of people seem to look confused at the collaboration but once explained it makes perfect sense. Miele have come out with a “Perfect Garment Care” concept, which can be used to wash very delicate silks and printed fabrics.

It is a two-week exhibit to promote fashion and wardrobe for real people, am giving some talks thus have come up with a few tips I thought worth sharing

5 tips to recession proofing your wardrobe

_Start by doing a WARDROBE STOCK TAKE, it is said that women only really wear between 20 to 30 percent of their wardrobe. Set aside everything you love, have worn recently and know you want to keep. Everything left should be tired on and examined. Classify your wardrobe into sections – Basics, Classic pieces, Fads, Evening wear what ever is convenient to you

_Pump up the power of the accessories, use your scarves, jewelley and pieces differently, buy small but impact full items. Try a new lipstick color

_Think like a fashion editor, mix and match high street with designer pieces, look on-line and in fashion magazines for inspiration

_Try layering items in a way you normally would not and look to dress your classic pieces up using a fresh eye

_Learn how to properly care for your garments (Miele has launched a great product which can use used to wash silk, for optimal results to be used on a miele washing machine)

5 key trend for Spring / Summer 2009

_Recession chic ~ dressing easy, ankle crop pants, the classic summer dress in a bold color, its all about how your accessorize this summer

_Butterflies and bold prints ~ butterflies symbolize many things hope of resurrection, reminder of ethereality of life, symbol of beauty, femininity and the ability to be ever changing

_One shoulder ~ sensual look to your back and shoulders and indulge in back-less fashion or the one shoulder trend

_The Sophisticated Trench ~ not only is it a trench for the rain anymore but it has now been upgraded to a trench dress, worn both as a dress and as a trench in a luxe silk and satins

_Color, Color, color ~ with all this talk of recession and depression color plays a big role this year bringing freshness and a new beginning so put on some color, color, color.
Some images from our session and opening night at Miele Studios:




…I’ll leave you with fond memories of that spring summer feeling, it reminds me of spring in London and waking up to my roommate blasting Jill Scott.
For more details to sign up to a session:

http://www.kanchancouture.com/200903Events.aspx



www.kanchancouture.com

..The only moment we have

Usually sitting down to write the blog at the end of the week is a stress-less experience but for the last few weeks I have found myself feeling uninspired, continuing to put it off for another day. A long hard ponder later I came to the discovery that it was my chosen topic – Couture shows 2009.

Season after season patiently waiting to see what Galliano’s going to throw at us this year (he never fails to disappoint leaving us this season with romantic femininity from the old masters), What Lagerfeld is cooking up (he leaves us to ponder the beauty of the color white with intricate detailing) and what La Croix is going to “overload” us (he over stacked our imagination with layers of jewellery) with – each day waiting for the show images to come online, reading what our style guru’s are saying about the happenings at the show. Although I enjoy this on my own suddenly having to write about it, felt a sudden pressure, thus I decided to keep this as a personal ritual…and moved on to write about flowing and living in the present moment.

Talking to friends all around, it seems the world is wrapped up worrying about tomorrow, what the economy will bring, why they have family problems, why they cannot get along with their boyfriend/ girlfriend, what people are saying about them etc..I understand this is terrifying but I truly believe that life is perfect; you are never given more than you can handle and in the end it always seems to work out. No outcome is better or worse it is all just a matter of perception. Being human I too worry about how my business will survive in these times, what the next step is etc etc etc ..but then I look to the moment and focus on the present, as it is really all we have.

Now you might wonder what all this has to do with running a fashion business …well for me my moment of presence, where time and space do not matter, where life is perfect and my being is truly in the moment always seems to be backstage of a fashion show.

About an hour before light, camera, action…I find my heart’s pace quicken, people running around asking what to wear, what order they need to go in, the loud motor of the hairdryer, the paint palettes of the make-up artists ...the precious hours all dissolve into a short moment before the girls are out on the catwalk and it is soon all over…then it’s back to plotting a way for that kind of “present moment” to strike my life again.

For now…leaving you with images of Kanchan Couture’s Fashion show, Feb 20th Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong.








Thanking my hair and make-up sponsors: Heidi from Soie, Kenny Pau, BIG Events in putting the event together, California for the venue and the lovely models! Thanks Thanks Thanks !!!

Chocolate Couture

A dear friend of mine and chocolate expert Francesca was launching her own chocolate label in Hong Kong and asked if I would be interested in collaborating to come out with a line of Chocolate couture. Immediately this got my mouth watering and eyes sparkling. I had this idea run through my head in December just before Christmas but could not find the right collaborator and now it had just fallen in my lap! So we were on a our…….

The collaboration includes a series of ladies nights at L’atelier de Kanch and the launch of the ‘Chocolate Couture’ gift, for a modest but fabulous indulgence. We had our first successful night on the 4th of Feb at the L’atelier and then moved on to putting together an event for the press
and our VIP customers at M1nt.

The evening was filled with chocolates, champagne, beautiful Spanish red wine, a fashion show and lots of laughter.







The chocolate Couture gift, a box of 16 Delicious Swiss Hand Made Pralines Presented in a Limited Edition, Hand Printed Silk, Bag for only $338 HKD.
Contact us at info@kanchancouture.com for more info.

Luxury doesn’t come much happier than this!

Incredible India

Every trip to India brings a new exciting experience….its always an intense mix of colors, sounds and smells. On every motorbike, Auto-Rickshaw, bus and car women are adorned in bight colors and rich silk….truly beautiful!


This trip I spent my time visiting factories in search of new factories and suppliers who could offer high quality production along with a good price.



Image Above: A screen printing house, this is the table they use to print on, it is rubbed down with wax which helps the fabric stay in place



Image Above: The table is then lined up with hinges which the screens sit in and paint is mixed up to the colors that will be used on the print.



Image Above: The same factory also has a block printing department




Image Above: The fabrics are air dried on this after printing and dyeing

Oh how I love India...