CRAIG LAWRENCE SS12 AT LFW: A TUMBLR

Posted by Fashion Editor and Fashion Junior at Large

The FashEd and I hit the Portico Rooms again this afternoon for Craig Lawrence's presentation. He added to a seaside fixation which a number of designers have homed in on this season- Daks was English riviera chic this morning with some cool 50s cinefilms of Brits hitting the beach and old school diving competitions. We know that Mulberry is going to be 70s seaside tomorrow, and that Holly Fulton was inspired by a trip to Margate this summer.

Lawrence's twist was a lot more subtle- the witty documentary style photographs of Martin Parr began his journey to the beach, where he then took sand as a starting point for the colours and textures of his knitwear. "The pastel shades were inspired by the ice cream shades of beach hut," he said post-show.

Craig worked with stylist Katie Shillingford to create his layered up looks. For her part Shillingford told Lawrence to "knit up a storm. I wanted him to make as many piece as possible to build up a rich layering story. What he does is so beautiful. We wanted to concentrate on creating sellable looks so people can create their own looks."

Craig worked with Swarovski to create metallic elements, which Craig said were iinspired by "the crushed shells you see in the sand at the beach."

We are seeing lots of skirts spilt up the front

Amazing shoes by Natacha Marro

Amazing slashed leather bags and sliced iridescent swimming caps by Steven Doherty

Craig's Mum, Pauline.

The FashEd chats to Craig backstage. "Basically I've been in a room for four months working on these techniques. The inspiration was different kind of lace. I usedc

Photos: Fashion Editor and Fashion Junior at Large

ELLA DROR AND HER ARMY OF FASHION CREATIVES

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

The newly founded Ella Dror PR held their AW11 press day on Wednesday at the St Martins Lane Hotel, to show off the new collections from their select group of creative clients.

Charlie de Mindu was on hand with a pop-up salon, busy creating his signature hairstyles, and there were an array of inspiring collections on display from young designers such as Craig Lawrence, Sorcha O Raghallaigh and up-coming milliner Piers Atkinson.

Craig Lawrence AW11

 

Sorcha O Raghallaigh SS11 shot for Dazed and Confused

Piers Atkinson AW11 (the lookbook, below, took my breath away) 

The powerhouse team behind this dazzling display are two young people who are making their mark on the fashion world in their own unique way. Allow me to introduce Ella Dror and Ashley Smith.

 

Ella and Ashley shot by Morgan White, for the Piers Atkinson lookbook, produced by Kim Howells

Ella, with her sunshine-yellow hair and unique style, is an instantly recognisable figure. She graduated from London College of Fashion, and began her career at fashion PR agencies, and whilst working as a showroom manager, she met Ash. They quickly formed a close working relationship and a friendship that is clear to see! For the past year, both of them had been working for the fashion project Machine-A (last summer, the Fash Ed and I went to the launch of Craig Lawrence's collection for the unique Soho boutique).

Ella Dror

Having already built up connections with three designers, Ella and Ash decided to go it alone and set up their own agency, Ella Dror PR, just months before Fashion Week in February. In fact, two weeks before LFW was due to kick off they "didn't have an office, or email account, and were working from Starbucks, as well as planning presentations and exhibitions for 6 designers." However, they pulled off said presentations with aplomb and are now devoting themselves to nurturing the careers of their clients.

As Ashley explains, "the reason why we started (Ella Dror PR) is because there's not really anything else out there that properly supports young designers and emerging brands. We both have the right experience in this field and most of our clients are personal friends; so once we made the decision to do it everything came together really quickly."

One of Ella Dror PR's most exciting clients is the creative collective House of Organza, who are a group of designers working within different disciplines, all to a central theme. The collective is formed of Alun Davies, Patternity, Pins London, Atalanta Weller, Fred Butler, Craig Lawrence, Piers Atkinson, Gloved Up, Noki, Judy Blame, Kim Howells and Lyall Hakaraia, all of whom work together to support each other's creative endeavours.

 Work by Yves Klein

This season they have taken inspiration from the idea of the Muse, with fashion figure Mr Roy reacting to the work of artist Yves Klein, providing the designers with their starting point. They are set to launch the work that has been produced on this theme very shortly (Fashion Editor at Large will have the full details, stay tuned.)

It is obvious to all that come into contact with them that Ella and Ashley are full of excitement and passion for the new developments with Ella Dror PR, and that they genuinely care about actively encouraging creativity. They are an inspiration to anyone working in this crazy business!

Images: Catwalking/Chris Moore, Dazed and Confused editorial by photographer Anthony Maule and stylist Katie Shillingford, Ella Dror, Yves Klein