Style & Then Some interviews Jasper Garvida|Bloomsbury Wedding Open Day

Our contributor Katy Spry should now be a familiar name – she swapped blogging for fashion interrogation when she met LFW stalwart Jasper Garvida.

They say you learn something new everyday but during my week reporting for Style & Then Some it was more a case of being schooled in style at every single event and the Bloomsbury Wedding Open Day was no different.

For starters I now know that not only is the Bloomsbury Hotel near Covent Garden, London a beautiful place to stay, it’s also a very popular wedding venue (see BlondeKatie’s full report on that). I also learned that high end fashion designer Jasper Garvida has immersed himself in all things white and innocent for his new Bridal range. We had the pleasure of meeting the man himself at the event and having a chat about his bespoke bridal service.

“I’m more of a perfectionist than the brides!” he jested. Garvida’s genuine passion for finding a lady her perfect gown became apparent straightaway: “If they’re happy, I’m happy, that’s the main thing!”

Born in the Philippines, Garvida’s family later moved to Canada when he was very young and it was there he discovered and was able to salvage his own mother’s wedding dress from the sixties. Despite getting damaged along the way he was able to repair the gown, which had great sentimental value to his parents – no doubt the early catalyst and inspiration for him going on to create a wedding dress collection.

Other influences of his are fifties lingerie and the more quirky wedding attire from days gone by. Top of his list, Bianca Jagger’s famous Yves Saint Laurent suit she wore to marry Rolling Stones frontman Mick back in the seventies – which incidentally, Garvida has updated in a new design.

Garvida’s aim is to make your “fantasy dress into a reality.” He achieves this by creating an interview type scenario where he meets with the future bride in a bid to dig deep and get to the bottom of what exactly it is that she wants. It could be seen as an interrogation almost – the designer wants to know when the big day is, the location, month, time of day and where; he is that thorough.

The information gathered will allow him to provide his customer with 6-10 sketches of possible dress ideas. If that sounds full on, don’t fret as Jasper’s warm demeanour is enough to put any bride at ease – so much so that I found myself tempted to divulge the type of dress I’d like and hear his recommendations despite not having a ring on my finger, or even a man for that matter.

To find out more about the Jasper Gavida bespoke bridal service visit his website.

                                              Model: Maria Tokmakova, Photography: Pandora’s Thoughts, Makeup & Hair: Monica Mao

Sarah Howe – Private Lives at the Foundry Gallery // Strike a pose, there’s nothing to it

Style & Then Some is having a little outing on Thursday evening to a private view at the Foundry Gallery in Chelsea (if they let us in the borough looking like we do). And it’s not for just any young, talented photographer that we would make the trek – we can’t wait to see Sarah Howe’s shots of burlesque dancers posing in their own homes, after hours.

Sarah went to New York with her co-conspirator in photography Magnus Arrevad after they won a competition but couldn’t afford to go over to see their work. Instead, they made a pact to go and create something new. “It just so happened that on the night before we left we met a New Yorker in London named Joe who was heading home,” she says. “We met up the following evening at one of the burlesque shows he produced in Brooklyn.”

The exhibition which runs from 26th March to 10th May is titled Private Lives in part because Sarah wanted to capture the stage personas of the women brought back into their personal spaces. Sarah is interested in “the way people construct their identities. In burlesque this is obviously exaggerated and extended.”

And the dancers themselves? Hands up if you’re surprised that they made for interesting subjects. “I was really blown away by all the girls. They were driven, creative and strong women. Jenny (pictured) was one of the most thought provoking acts but they all held down nine to five jobs, made their own costumes and performed at night,” she says.

Private Lives is Sarah’s first solo show and after taking the exhibition to the US, she’s on the lookout for artists to collaborate with. The exhibition at the Foundry Gallery is free entry but you can buy one of the gorgeous exhibition guides, designed by graphic designer Tom Peet, with images and quotes for £3.

See more details on the Facebook page for the Private View this Thursday 22nd March.

An evening with Mary Katrantzou

I was so pleased to hear that Mary Katrantzou was triumphant at the British Fashion Awards last night, taking home the New Establishment Award. I was particularly pleased because not only is Mary one of my favourite designers but I got to meet her last week.

I was very excited (quite overexcited, truth be told) that I was invited, via Alice from RunninginHeels.co.uk, to see Mary in conversation with Libby Banks, Editor of style website MyDaily.co.uk. The event marked the announcement of Katrantzou as the site’s latest contributing editor, following the likes of Christopher Kane and Dannii Minogue. You can read my write up of the interview over on RunninginHeels, but here I thought I’d share with you a few snaps I took on the night.

The first ever ‘MyDaily presents’ evening, the event took place in a room at the top of the very cool Kettners champagne bar in Soho, which was kitted out with images from Mary’s latest collections and a couple of beautiful frocks.

This is the ‘Harp Hazard’ dress, which you can win (minus the train – it’s more versatile that way Mary said, after an audible sigh from the assembled bloggers) if you enter a competition over on MyDaily.

Mary and Libby talked for almost an hour, covering everything from how Mary started out in fashion (she originally wanted to be an architect); what she thinks of celebrities wearing her clothes; to her collaborations with Topshop. Check out my list of choice quotes.

I always imagine that amazingly talented designers will be icy cool and won’t deign to speak to lowly bloggers like me, but speaking to Mary after she was really friendly and chatty. I thought I’d try my luck and pitch for a writing gig by offering to write the blog on her soon-to-be-launched new website when it goes live. Well, you’ve got to take advantage of these ‘networking’ opportunities haven’t you?

My very stylish week part 1: A model interview

A visit to Selfridges for a clothing launch and a private view at the new Somerset House exhibition made for a rather fashionable few days for me last week. Stay tuned for more about the exhibition later this week.

Last Monday I took an extended lunch break (my boss is super nice like that) to pop over to Selfridges on Oxford Street and, in my capacity as London correspondent for Melbourne-based Fashionising.com, interview Australian model Jess Hart about her fashion range Neon Hart. With a five minute photocall and a fifteen minute interview scheduled I thought it would be over in a flash but, as usual with all things fashion, they were running late and I ended having to leg it back to the office way later than intended. I had a go at being a fashion photographer with a borrowed SLR too, the results of which you can see here. What do you mean I shouldn’t give up my day job?

Jess was discovered at the age of 15 in a model search competition run by Australian teen magazine Dolly. Now 24, she hit the big time a few years ago when she appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and modeled for Victoria’s Secret – that’s right, she has an amazing body. She also has great style, in that tomboyish, resident New Yorker kind of way, and put her eye to good use by collaborating with an Australian retailer to create Neon Hart. Jess was in London to launch the range here, available exclusively at Selfridges.

Click here to read my full interview with Jess Hart on Fashionising.com

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