Charlie France and Jacob Coupe

Charlie France and Jacob Coupe were two ubiquitous English faces at London Fashion Week. Charlie France opened the Wintle show that I attended and Jacob Coupe closed the show. They were both held on exclusive in Milan:  Jacob Coupe for Prada and Charlie France for Burberry, and were both exclusive for Hugo Boss in Paris.
They also appeared in almost every show on the menswear day and even in a a few womenswear shows such as House Of Holland, Pringle Of Scotland and Burberry.

After opening the Prada show in July, Jacob Coupe, a personal favourite of mine, walked in every notable show in London Fashion Week and has been clearing up in print with editorials for 10 Men magazine and Dazed and Confused. I think he is one of the most exciting new faces from Prada in a long while. His masculine and edgy looks stand out from some of the more classical and feminine looking models of today, particularly at the Prada SS10  show where every boy was transformed into a character out of a film noir. Charlie France is a good example of classical looks, which goes to show why Burberry chose him to represent the FW09 collection and Jil Sander to walk the show exclusively last season.

I can't imagine how successful they will become in the upcoming FW10 shows and the major campaigns they will appear in for the SS10 season.

Gucci SS10: Natasha Poly and Ryan Kennedy by Mert and Marcus

Elongated and refined. I really loved the Gucci SS10 women’s wear collection shown in September. And I think this campaign presents the collection wonderfully well.

The tropical setting gives the effect of wealth and luxury, a dream world which is always perfectly encapsulated in a Gucci campaign; maybe not quite last season’s though.

 This campaign feels very sensual and, in some ways, sexually suggestive, especially with the third shot of Natasha in the white dress with the male counterpart, where the sexual implication is much more overt. It feels as though Frida's vision for Gucci was much more submissive to a man's desires, whilst Tom Ford's vision was much more about the woman being in control.

 The intense blue backdrop of the Palm Beach setting works as a gentle contrast with the white and grey tones of the collection. I particularly love the windswept shot of Natasha in the evening look worn by Anja Rubik in the show.  I’m excited to see what perspective they’ve gone for with the long black bondage dress on Lily Donaldson. And who better than Natasha Poly, with a longer relationship with the Gucci brand than Sasha Pivovarova with Prada. She embodies wealth and luxury perfectly, all that Gucci stands for.

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Julien Macdonald SS10

(I am very late with SS10 runway reviews given that in about two months, the FW10 menswear will be shown, here gives...)

Julien Macdonald is one of the most exciting shows at London Fashion week. So being able to attend the show was incredible, and it was my  first eva show! My friend who was with me, asked me a couple seconds before the show if this was a dream come true..I said that would be the day I am front row at Prada. Well you never know?

The setting was absolutely beautiful. It was a little French garden in the Lawrence Hall. It didn't seem to relate to the clothes but it was still very impressive. The Lawrence hall is a massive, rustly old hall which is often used for examinations and car shows. The team at Julian Macdonald transformed a drab old hall into a french garden with pine trees, greek statues, fountains and even down to fake grass for a fashion show venue. Rightly so, the Evening Standard magazine named it as one of the best runway show venues in London.

In a soundtrack of La Roux and Donna Summer, which the audience absolutely  loved, (as you may notice, the guy in the first video is clearly loving it)  the collection played around with the idea of technical sportswear and glamour through tailoring in  streamlined shapes and iridescence with the mixture of textures such as snakeskin, patent and silks. I found that there were many heavy references to Balmain through the collection , particularly in the jackets and Ranya Mordanova's first look which was reminiscent of the outfit on Eniko Mikhalik in the Balmain FW09 show.

I loved the last mermaid-like look on Alla Kostromicheva. I remember seeing the dress on Cheryl Cole on the X Factor and  it looked out of place and reminded me how some runway pieces are hard to translate from a  models height and frame to the average person's.

Julien Macdonald has always designed wearable yet innovative clothing, which is quite a contrast from some of the more experimental couterparts of London fashion week, who only until now have been forced to give in to the economic climate.

The press before the show, looking quite calm here then stressed  the next.

Outside Burberry SS10

Trying to get into the Burberry show proved to be pointless and impossible. The venue was absolutely packed and even if you looked as if you worked in the industry, wore a runway look directly from a show that was shown five daysago or was dripping in Cartier, not that I fitted into any of those categories, you weren't allowed in. Unless you had your invitation, silver card, your name on the list and ID....

Backstage at Tim Soar SS10

At the other end of the room were other models arriving and getting their hair and make-up done for the Tim Soar show, which was to show at the following hour.

Cole Mohr

Josh Beech

Joseph Culp

Rob Moore walked for Roberto Cavalli in Milan and  Dunhill in Paris among others.

Robbie Wadge

                                                        Jerome Wyviens

Eliza Cummings

Backstage at Wintle SS10

On the Menswear Wednesday I attended the Wintle show. After the show I managed to get in backstage and photograph some of the models without getting noticed and chucked out.

Jacob Coupe. Prada opener and exclusive, Hugo Boss exclusive. He closed Wintle too.

Alex Dunstan

Robbie Wadge

Matthew Hitt. It's amazing how his career is still going strong since opening the Jil Sander SS08 show and appearing at Prada.

Everyone's favourite: George Barnett.

Lasse 'can you just take the picture?!' Pedersen. I would have really liked to know if he was in any relation to Louise Pedersen, but I figured not to ask..

Jil Sander SS10 exclusive: Jamie Conday.

Daniel Hicks and Jamie Conday

Jonas Kesseler. I was pretty nervous to take this picture. I think Jonas could tell because he patted me on the back and smiled at me just about when he was about to leave. A lot of other models did that. So sweet.

Ty Ogunkova

Newcomer, Thomas Penfound.