Naomi Morello (of Dirty Ramen blog) has been attending press days on behalf of Style & Then Some. Here’s her second guest post from the leafy Harvey Nicholls press day.
There is a little story I must tell you before I start babbling on about the Harvey Nicholls autumn/winter 2012 press day.
It was in precisely this store a little over a year ago that I attended the Vogue Experience, an event launched by Italian Vogue’s editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani to support and give advice to young aspiring writers/photographers/designers.
Aside from being a writer, I am also a photographer, and having the chance to show my work to one of my biggest inspirational figures was a dream come true. I, Naomi Morello, was about to get feedback on my pictures from one of the leading figures in today’s fashion industry. I felt a bit like Frida Kahlo when she showed her paintings to Diego Rivera.
On the day of the event, I got dressed, packed my laptop (I couldn’t afford to print my pictures), threw up a little, and headed to Harvey Nicholls. Long story short, Franca happened to think my work wasn’t absolute crap, and asked me to upload one particular photograph on Italian Vogue’s website. Two days later, I won a competition that saw my picture being displayed at the opening exhibition of the Vogue Fashion’s Night Out 2011.
So when S&TS asked me to attend the Harvey Nics press event, I accepted right away, glad to step once again into the place that gave me my first (and so far, only) fashion-related success of my life.
As soon as I stepped into the private room at the fifth floor restaurant, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Harvey Nichols had taken the autumn theme quite literally – the venue was packed full of crimson coloured trees and fallen leaves were scattered all over the wooden floor. At the back, a small bistro had been set up, with wrought-iron chairs and tables and a stunning bar entirely decorated with fresh magenta flowers.
The visual impact was stunning, but the collections offered some competition: Meadham Kirchoff, one of my favourite brands, led the way with an absolutely breath-taking burgundy fitted suit decorated with golden laurel leaves and baby blue ‘paint-drops’, finished off with a multi-coloured fur coat.
I have always been lovingly drawn to designers who take inspiration from art when creating a collection. That’s why Erdem left me in absolute awe: looking at the abstract printed garments reminded me of Jackson Pollock’s action paintings: definitely my favourite collection.
Being an avid collector (and wearer) of mens shirts, I fell in love with these two pieces by Alexander McQueen: the delicate colours of the hummingbirds create a beautiful contrast against the dirty white fabric, making it the perfect statement autumn piece. At least for me.
And finally, also on my personal menswear podium, Dries Van Noten definitely had cold British winters in mind when he designed these oversized wool jumpers, with colours that would brighten up even the greyest November day.
