Blogging the trends

It used to be that fashion trends were created and crafted by the hugely influential magazine editors of Vogue, Elle and Marie Claire. It would take these editors’ years of graft and struggle to get to the top of the business and finally be able to have their voices heard and their opinions respected by fashion followers. As such they were revered and idolized as fashion gods, truly in the know. However, with the digital age upon us, today’s generation of young bloggers have the tools, access and information to create and promote their own fashion culture, to great effect!

Editorial coverage from the internet-empowered youth has grown rapidly, with bloggers such as Charles Guislain and Tavi quickly moving from unimportant outsider to fashion frontrunners, challenging the dominance of major editorials as respected authorities on taste and style. Their accessible and street level presence has created a new following and makes them attractive to young consumers. This new culture of blogging brings the power back to the street. For an industry that has long thrived on hierarchy and creating luxury through exclusivity, this underscoring and reversal of power has definitely thrown a spanner in the works.

Nowhere is this more prevalent than the street photography sites popping up on the Internet: allowing for an astonishingly rapid global exchange of trends. The Sartorialist, for example, has become renowned for showcasing the latest street level looks and fashions from across the globe, showcasing accessible, wearable fashion that appeals to all.

None of this was possible before the Internet. But as a result of this outstanding global communication tool, individuals are able to share their own thoughts and opinions, which are often remarkably self-aware and savvy! These bloggers are able to quickly interpret the latest catwalk looks and imitate them; creating mix-and-match ensembles that are incredibly fashion fluent and innovative.

This move towards blogging and sharing fashion looks online is allowing for exceptional young talent to really show what they are capable of, providing them with the freedom to express their creativity and fashion visions on a global stage. However, the Business of Fashion believes that this emerging digital fashion industry may make it less likely that anybody in the future will have as much consolidated influence as figures like Suzy Menkes or Anna Wintour do today.

www.kanchancouture.com

Image from www.cyanatrendland.com

The wait is over!

After a bustling opening night party, Kanchan Couture Bridal has now launched with a beautiful collection of wedding dresses in store for brides-to-be to try on.

The launch night was a buzz of journalists, wedding planners, supportive guests and soon to be brides, all enjoying the beautiful dresses on show in the Kanchan Couture Boutique. Everyone had their favourite dress as each of the four unique designs naturally appealed to different women. Kanch’s creations are designed with women in mind, with each dress crafted with perfect fit, contour and shape to flatter women of all shapes and sizes.

As well as the dresses on display, the launch night was the first time anyone was able to browse through the brand new Kanchan Couture Bridal website! The team at uforepublic has done an absolutely fabulous job creating this beautiful new website, which features the pictures from the first ever Kanchan Couture Bridal photo shoot! We absolutely LOVE the new website and the new pictures and we know you will too so make sure you check it out! www.kanchancouture-bridal.com

The final flourish of the night was provided by the 4 unique cakes also on display, which were inspired by each dress, created by Sweet Secrets. These mouthwatering pieces of edible artwork complimented the beautiful dresses perfectly. Guests were treated to bite sized chocolate and cheesecake delights from Sweet Secrets, finishing it off nicely with a wide selection of wines from Sip N Savour.

All together it was a highly enjoyable occasion and the perfect welcome for the new collection.

www.kanchancouture-bridal.com

Build up to the Big Day!

Kelly, Marketing and Events Executive at Kanchan Couture:

With our Bridal Collection launch night this week (Wednesday 24th March), I thought it was a perfect time for a reflection on the build up to the big day.

When Kanch first proposed the Bridal Collection to me I was thrilled. This would be my first opportunity to follow a collection and see its progression from initial idea to final release. And no matter who you are, Bridal-wear is something special so my connection to this collection was always going to be strong.

As well as the new dresses, the new brand and everything that came along with it had to be developed. The wonderful people at uforepublic made this stage really easy. Their beautiful and creative branding was absolutely perfect and we knew instantly that this was the start of something wonderful.

Putting together all the material for the website and getting the organization for the event sorted was the next challenge. The time and energy that goes in to planning and organizing the launch of a new brand and new collection is not something to be taken lightly. For us, our motivation came from the passion we have for this collection and the excitement of being able to play a part in making brides’ dreams come true.

We checked our calendar everyday for a week in the lead up to the first samples arriving! When they were delivered, we dropped everything and unwrapped them all, eagerly anticipating the beauty and elegance that was just waiting to be unleashed. The ‘wows’ and ‘awwwws’ quickly ensued, with both of us excitedly trying on each piece! I couldn’t help but chuckle at what followed as I realized that it was almost an exact replica of the scene in Friends where Rachel, Phoebe and Monica all get dressed up in wedding dresses and prance around the living room.

Next was the photo shoot, which has been touched on in a previous blog. Let me just re-iterate how much fun we all had on the shoot. The beautiful dresses were finished off wonderfully with hair and makeup to fit a princess.

As much as the journey to the aisle is a process of learning for the Bride, with passion and energy thrown in, our journey to launching this collection has been filled with the same excitement, energy and enthusiasm (with a healthy dose of learning on my part)! Ultimately we just want to provide Brides-to-be with dresses that they fall in love with…..

Make sure you come to our launch night on Wednesday 24th March at 6.00 to help us celebrate the start of the next stage of our journey.

The new website will be launched at the same time so check it out on Wednesday 24th March: www.kanchancouturebridal.com

Event Details

Location:
Kanchan Couture Boutique
4/F, 108-110 Wellington Street,
Central, Hong Kong

Time:
Press Launch - 4.00 pm
Open Launch – 6.00 pm

RSVP required: kelly@kanchancouture.com or 2117 1782

Flowers in bloom in the Parisian jungle

The streets of Paris next autumn/winter could prove to be an interesting and exciting combination of roses, urban warriors and trench coat clad women, according to the latest trends heading down the catwalks in Paris. While at one end of the scale there appears to be a movement towards toughened up drama in an urban jungle/warrior style, the complete other end of the scale brings enough flowers, frou-frou, chiffon and lace to put a garden party to shame. Christian Dior, Nina Ricci, Chanel and Giambattista Valli were all fashioning the ruffles and roses look this season and I for one LOVE this look! You will look great and feel feminine and fabulous.

While ruffles appear to be on the increase, so too does warrior wear. The urban jungle does not know what has hit it yet, as the women of tomorrow will be preparing for battle according to Hermes, Balenciaga and Rick Owens, among others. Designers have used fabrics so tough they look like protective casing, sharp angles and dark, defensive looking styles to bring out the warrior in all of us. As Vanessa Friedman from the Financial Times points out, “if life is a battlefield, these are the clothes in which to fight your corner”. I say game on!

However, the autumn/winter staple for any woman has to be the overcoat and this year’s catwalks did not disappoint. From New York to Paris, the camel overcoat has reined supreme as the item of choice among fashion designers this seasons, and, in complete contrast to the feminine ruffles explained above, the more men’s wear-inspired they are, the better. Be prepared for this look to hit the high streets with force next year.

We can’t wait for the drama to begin next autumn/winter!

www.kanchancouture.com

Backstage pass to bridal bliss!

With the launch of a brand new collection and brand, and with this being Kanch’s umteenth shoot, we wanted to switch the perspective and write this behind-the-scenes account from fresh eyes. New brand… new blogger! Having just started working at Kanchan Couture, Kelly wanted to take up the reins as queen bridal blogger and this is her account of the shoot!

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With clouds in the sky, drizzle falling and sub-zero temperatures (approximately) our dreams of a sunny photo shoot in a beautiful flower garden or warm beach were quickly thrown aside! A last minute decision was made to be more realistic with venue decisions and our boutique cum photography studio started to take shape!

As the variety of creative geniuses that made up our shoot team (including the fabulous and extremely talented hair and makeup guru and photographer extraordinaire, Angel and Joyce) gathered in our boutique, we eagerly awaited the arrival of the cakes and the muse, also known as model Shreya.

Anticipation was building as the cake team arrived to assemble the elaborate and beautifully crafted edible masterpieces and the model, with hair and makeup complete, changed into the first dress.

The whole process ran without a hitch and with perfect timing. Each dress looked more beautiful than the last and the cakes were extremely tempting! Kanch helped us hold back the urge to scoff down the entire 4-tiered cake by providing a hearty lunch of pizza and dough balls followed by delicious cupcakes!

We received quite a few stares and had a mini audience of budding photographers surrounding us at one point, perhaps the sight of wedding dresses caught people off guard. Personally I think it was the slightly odd combination of multi-coloured mittens, grey scawl and wedding dress parading round the backstreets of Central.

The afternoon’s festivities (ehem… sorry, hard work and exhaustion!) were joyfully topped off during the final shoot of the day when the fruit stall lady, commentating throughout the shoot, openly remarked that our model had excellent bone structure and great potential. Fruit stall owner and part time model agent perhaps!?! The day brought it’s fair share of drama, excitement and a lot of laughter and I am incredibly proud to have had the privilege of working with such lovely, talented artists.

To be among the first to see these photographs, make sure you RSVP to the Kanchan Couture Bridal launch night on Wednesday 24th March!

RSVP: kelly@kanchancouture.com or 2117 1782

- Wishing you all much bridal bliss, Kelly x

www.kanchancouture.com

High society is back in Milan

Milan Fashion Week is drawing to a close so it would seem the perfect time for reflection. The Autumn/Winter 2010/2011 collections have all be worth the wait. With fashion suffering in the hands of the economy last year, this season welcomes back high society with designers opting for plush, sexy, bold styles and materials. The omnipresence of fur played towards this high society, luxury feel, while also placing particular emphasis on sexiness. The Prada collection appeared particularly bold and sexy, with dresses with fitted bodices and ruffles delineated busts adding drama.

Designers mixed and layered leather, fur and wool on clothes and at times looked to draw inspiration from male wardrobes. Some of the stand outs this week include Dolce and Gabbana’s swish tailoring, Roberto Cavalli’s daring furs, and modern day ballet from Versus.

Despite there appearing to be a pick up in the economy this year, Ken Downing, fashion director at Neiman Marcus, made the point that it is still vitally important that the designer thinks of the women who can afford to buy the clothes going up and down the runway. In light of this, designers showcasing in Milan seem to have opted for an evolution of style and design, rather than a revolution. This could easily have resulting in cautious, safe designs but what has transpired was, instead, a bold mix of colour, fur and sexiness which has fired up womenswear and will hopefully inspire women to seek newness for their wardrobes.

Now we just have to wait a few months for the collections to filter down and come our way. But with it all looking this good, who's complaining!