A YEAR IN FASHION

I don't know about you but for us at KC the year seems to have flown by..
September usually marks the end of the four fashion seasons while it makes room for the coming year. New trends, new styles, new controversy and new boundaries.

Everyone at our office loves reading the September issues, even though there isn't that much reading involved, its the perfect time to get a little bit of inspiration and ideas. I love the feeling of walking into my local book store and walking around all the sections before making my final stop- the magazine section (save the best till last) Its only my last stop because I know I'm going to pick up my chunky issue of September Vogue and possibly another publication if draws me in. I don't exactly want to hold a 500+pages of a magazine whilst browaing the rest of the store.

The September issues is the year book of fashion, a round up if you will of the trends that have come and gone and updates of the past fashion years stories. Although about 50% of the issue are adverts, fashionistas all over the world don't seem to mind flicking through endless ads because its just as entertaining as the rest of the magazine.

I would say there were a couple of things this year that stood out in the fashion industry. There was some controversy, starting with Alexander Wang's sweatshop debacle which involved a $450million USD lawsuit. Wang denied allegations of violating employee rights by denying bathroom breaks, working long hours, and general unfair treatment. However, recently the case was dismissed for reasons unknown by Wang said he was happy as the allegations had no truth.

Celebrity style lately has been bigger than ever with Lady Gaga leading the pack with her wacky, fearless and eccentric style. Lady Gaga has certainly tested the limits this year and has offended people with her outrageous and sometimes cruel fashion choices.

Kate Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge was also a style icon this year in which she wore some very affordable dresses that sold out in minutes online. Her sophisticated sense of style and natural beauty has inspired a wave of classic elegant style. A lot of sites have compared her to her late mother in law, Princess Diana for her influential style and taste.

I can't forget one of our fashion shows that took place last year in Malaysia for the Islamic Fashion Festival. It was such an amazing cultural experience and the fashion was so different and refreshing. We've had the most fabulous seasons and we've now created over 25 jewellery collections and are still creating of course! We've also got the jewellery fair coming up in the next few weeks so we are super busy prepping for that and tagging all the jewellery.
It’s a long process but totally worth it and Kanch and I are so looking forward to checking out the antique and vintage jewellery!

We'll be updating along the way so follow us for all the details!

Love, Petra

Enquiries: +852 2117 1782 | info@kanchancouture.com

KC | SHOP | TUMBLR | FB | TWITTER | BRIDAL

Kanchan Couture at the Hong Kong Jewelry Fair

So all week we’ve been planning and packing for the Hong Kong Jewelry fair and this time we’re exhibitors for the first time!

Luckily our new products from the Rock Star Collection and Fashion Charms had been finished just in time. Our Fashion Charms have been ‘in the making’ for a few months now and it’s super exciting to see them completed and ready to be worn!

As for our Rock Star Collection we had a few problems but everything came together just in the nick of time and they look amazing!

Setting up was really hectic, but things are more fun that way aren’t they? When you’re rushing to set up and the anticipation of what’s next is exciting.
Kanch and I had a lot of fun prepping our booth, which involved a lot of laughs, setting up our display and tagging all our new jewelry, which was tedious, but hey we got the job done.

My favourite part of setting up was retrieving our 300cm x 300cm poster and trying to put it up on our booth wall. Poor Kanch and I had to try and put up our XXL poster by ourselves but ending up cutting the edges off to make it fit and hey presto it did! How many fashionistas does it take to put up a poster? Just two haha

Fashion Charms Debut!

Our *new Rockstar Collection

It’s currently day 2 at the Jewelry fair as I’m sitting here writing our weekly blog watching hundreds of people from all over the world check out what the HK Jewelry Fair has to offer.

Kanch and I haven’t had a chance to look around yet but we’re going to try and look around today, as some of you know, the HKCEC is huge and usually hosts concerts when exhibitions aren’t being held, so you can imagine how big the halls are!

Stay tuned; we’ll keep you updated!

Love, Petra.

PS, if you're in the area come visit us! Booth #3F537

Enquiries: +852 2117 1782 | info@kanchancouture.com

www.kanchancouture.com | www.kanchancouture-bridal.com

The September Issues

I recently watched a documentary on Anna Wintour titled The September Issue which follows Anna's footsteps into creating a September issue at Vogue Magazine.

There is a lot that goes into a September issue, they typically have more pages, more ads and more features. Vogue 2007 September issue was expected to sell 13 million copies, which it did and also weighed over 4 pounds.

Now I was thinking if theres a certain month to get a fashion magazine this is the month! September is pretty much in the middle of the year and still features a ton of different products instead of your Summer/Winter only products.

I always used to read blogs discussing the importance of the cover of a Sept issue and the surprise of who was going to grace the cover of the most important issue of the year.

In 2010, stars such as Dakota Fanning, Gisele Bundchen, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Kate Moss, Lady Gaga, Elle Macpherson, Nicola Roberts, Emily Blunt and Halle Berry graced the covers of last years Sept issues.

This year, it is no different, the covers feature top actresses and models from all over the world, I haven't quite decided which issues I'll get but the Chinese Marie Claire looks so intriguing, especially how top Chinese model Sun Fei Fei is owning the shot without even trying. LOVE IT.

Will you be buying an September issue?

Jacquelyn Jablonski for Harper's Bazaar Spain

Natasha Poly for Vogue Russia
Cameron Diaz for Elle Czech Republic

Milla Jovovich for Elle Germany
Sun Fei Fei for Marie Claire China

Kate Moss for Vogue US

Marcelina Sowa for Harper's Bazaar Jewelry UK

Megan Fox for Elle Slovenia

Leighton Meester for Cleo Australia

"September is like the January in Fashion"

Kanch and i were also interested to see what the underground mags such as Pop, 032c, and Purple were doing for their Sept issue but they're not on the shelves yet so we'll have to see!

I wonder if any Magazines can outdo Vogue's 13 Million mark!

Love, Petra

Enquiries: +852 2117 1782 | info@kanchancouture.com

www.kanchancouture.com | www.kanchancouture-bridal.com

An exercise in re-branding

They say time flies when your having fun, and that is definitely true when running your own fashion business. This September will mark a big 2 years for Kanchan Couture, but it feels like yesterday when the first collection was launched.

With lots of sweat, love and labor Kanchan Couture has build up a reputation for designing luxurious women’s wear, participated in fashion shows around the globe, worked with high profile media / corporations and played an active role in the Hong Kong’s fashion scene….what an exciting two years its been. People tend to ask about the experience of running a business. And boy all I can say it that it is an incredible journey - no matter how much experience you have, I don’t think one can ever fully be prepared for the ride.

Before taking the brand to the next level, we have decided to do a bit of re-branding of ogo, website, printed materials etc so that the third year starts off with a big bang. Holger and Jane from uforepublic (www.uforepublic.com) are working on giving Kanchan Couture an awesome new look!

Apart from all the difficult decisions on what text looks best, what logo best represents the brand, it been a great exercise for me to reflect on what Kanchan Couture really stands for and what I want the world to see. After an intensive interview with Jane she came up with different ideas as to what it will all look like.

A creative brainstorm lunch and its all moving ahead in full steam…..I cant wait to the whole package together. That’s the beauty of the creative process….never static, always changing, wonderfully surprising!

Left: Jane from uforepublic

Watch out for Kanchan Couture this Septemeber!!!

A big thank you to uforepublic

www.kanchancouture.com