Givenchy Paris Flagship

The new look Givenchy flagship in Paris on the Faubourg Saint-Hornore was unveiled last week and marks the renewed contract of Riccardo Tisci as the Creative Director. The design was created with the help of architect Jamie Fobert, its space is minimalist and cuts clean lines alongside a warm old-fashioned heritage that Givenchy can always be proud of. 

American Apparel: from suburbia to the city

American Apparel has always kept a certain level of credibility amongst the trend setters, their cult advertising selling sleaze and sex from real people gave their brand an edge over the bland High Street copycat designs. This forward thinking was reinforced by the location of their stores, historically they chose urban suburbs in the throng of hip fashionistas, Hoxton in London and L.E.S in New York. However, their latest choice has seen them becoming more mainstream. Oxford Street in London is the home of M&S and Boots and now it sees a new face. Despite the increase they will see in footfall, they have weakened the brand and will see the edgy youth market slipping away from them, as the pretty young things search for something new no one has heard of...

Luella A/W 08-09

The witching hour is nigh and the hocus pocus comes straight off the catwalk at Luella's London show today. Luella's new designs are straight from the dark side of a fairy tale; the hair, the hats and the lace are clearly gothic inspired. However, some pieces are certainly wearable like the cute skirts that we are so akin to with a Luella collection. But will the front row's Alexa Chung and Lily Allen find them indie chic enough? We'll have to wait and see for the next opening of an envelope to find out...

Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster

So why did Ghesquière chose to collaborate with a celebrated French artist rather than a renowned architect? Gonzalez-Foerster's work transfers well into the brand's forward-thinking experimental values. Her work, Séance de Shadow II (1998) was recently displayed at the Tate Modern, London for the exhibition 'The World as a Stage'. When the audience enters the room it triggers light sensors which casts their shadows upon the wall, including them into the art itself. It highlights the people and makes them conscious of themselves, like actors feel upon a stage. This conscious use of light, and in subsequent work, moving images is a way of bringing the consumer into a user generated experience, they are creating the shopping experience rather than simply being part of something static, overall making them feel warm and comfortable in their surroundings.

Balenciaga Flagship Store, London

The new Balenciaga store is proving that fashion certainly can merge with art. Nicolas Ghesquière enlisted the help of French artist Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster to design a store thats concept reflects a modern art installation. A martianesq quality inside makes the shopper feel like they are buying the latest Balenciaga bag on Mars rather than Mount Street. Sounds and video images are affected by the shopper's movement in the store and likewise have an effect upon the shopper's experience.

"There has been this fashion lately for stores to reference a gallery and to create a white cube." Says Gonzalez-Foerster, "It is a very elegant system, but we wanted to go beyond that. We both thought there must be something else.”

See what you think at 12 Mount Street, London. Don't expect a huge white spaceship of a store, the outside Georgian townhouse looks relatively subdued....but step inside.

Marc by Marc Jacobs A/W 08

Marc Jacobs showcased his younger label yesterday in New York, unusually this time round it airs before his main collection which is due on Friday. The eighties, new wave accent is strong and the cuts and lines are voluminous so its not incredibly different from the trends we've just seen last year. But there are definately some wearable pieces, the dark glasses and beirets give a parisian jazz chic to the collection and there are key cute dresses and skirts which will definately translate all over the high street.

Abaete A/W 08-09

Ok so Laura Poretzky's latest collection isn't ground-breaking, and you won't stumble across something astronomical but that doesn't mean we can't like it. Sometimes its nice to see something you can wear straight off the catwalk. The cuts are sexy and feminine which isn't original, but who wants to wear rubber boots and spandex jumpsuits all the time anyway? Its ok to admit that a girl wants to be a girl sometimes...

Patrick Ervell A/W 08-09

SANNA: Sejima x Nishizawa

Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa are the collaborative architects behind the minimal, yet consistently stark buildings appearing in unlikely areas. Sejima and Nishizawa have been working together under the name SANNA since 1995, since then they have produced the Dior store in Tokyo, the Zollverin School of Design in Essen and the New Museum in New York. With all three SANNA have used an excellent degree of proportion with the surroundings and the materials of glass and concrete give a minimal yet intriguing aspect to the design. The New Museum is set in the Bowery, between Stanton and Rivington and as you walk towards it the contrast of shops selling restaurant supplies seems strangely odd, against the child-like glass building blocks stacked up on top of one another. 'The New Museum is a combination of elegant and urban', they say, and we can only agree that this seems to have been achieved impeccably.

Erdem @ The Shop at Bluebird

Erdem's S/S 2008 Collection for London Fashion Week is understated beauty. He was awarded the coveted New Gen Fashion Award last year and the sponsorship has clearly gone far. This young designer has progressed his work to achieve a wearable, femininity to a collection that can arguably compete with the likes of Stella McCartney and Chloe. It only seems fitting then that such a collection should be stocked in the superb Bluebird, with it's eclectic interior and bright space, the King's Road boutique is the rightful place to offer a young designer the chance to grow.

Richard Boll: Photographer

Winner of the Photographic Portrait Prize 2006, this is Richard Boll's entry for this year. More information can be found on his website. The Photographic Portrait Prize 2007 is currently on display at the National Portrait Gallery, London until 24 February 2008.

Colin Pantall: Photographer

New Puritans

These New Puritans are not only a hotly tipped band for 2008 but a look that is circulating the catwalk in a radical way. Puritanism in the 16th and 17th Century was an escapism from the church in search of purity. Simple dress and muted colours accentuated this. Interpreted for a modern look, Miu Miu amongst others have used the typical collars and cuffs but 'sexed' them up with a short hem line or luxurious fabrics. A juxtaposition to the true meaning of Puritan.

Marc Jacobs & Richard Prince

Louis Vuitton's Spring/Summer collection 2008 sees a collaboration between the esteemed designer and the fashionable artist. Jacob's has used Prince's art to embellish his traditional LV logo bag and dressed his models synonymous to the 'Debutante Nurse'. Can fashion become art?

Richard Prince

The New York Guggenheim's latest exhibition on Richard Prince, Spiritual America is an exciting portrayal of the artist's work. His appropriation art is appealing to the retro scensters, apt then that it should be housed in the revered Guggenheim. His controversial, yet alluring work looks at Americanism in a way that both embraces and mocks it. He draws upon popular culture and mixes the norms we are used to create something truly intriguing.