After months of preparation, invitations and a very busy Sunday, plus the aftermath of packing, moving, sorting and sleeping, we say goodbye to our Fashion Week fun for another season.
True love - our guests and their animal balloons
Kelis and her adopted animals!
We say goodbye to the retro ice-cream van: see you again soon!
It’s not just the beautiful collections that make a Fashion Week show, it’s all the trimmings as well. Our creative teams transformed the show space into a seaside and posh-pier-party, inspired by the Spring Summer 2012 collection.
In the spirit of seaside fun, the subconscious mind of fashion legend and Mulberry’s show stylist Edward Enninful takes a short break for a jolly good chat with our guest blogger Jenny Dyson.
What can you hear?
Pardon?
I said, what can you hear?
White noise.
Shut your eyes and what do you see?
Eek! It’s so dark in there. I see pitch black.
What’s on your shelf?
Books, mostly involving photography.
Which bits of the brain do you use the most?
The creative side, I suppose. For instance, I’m here at Mulberry and I’m loving the girl Emma [Hill, Mulberry's Creative Director] has created for Spring/Summer 2012. I’ve styled all of the shows since Emma joined Mulberry and while I have loved every collection, this is her best season yet. The Mulberry girl is well travelled, she loves to have fun, to experiment, she loves quality, she loves concerts … she’s a girl’s girl.
What’s behind you?
[turns around and looks] Wall.
What’s in front of you?
A vision in the form of Sam McKnight’s assistant Sammy, who is working the perfect David Hockney look today, backstage at Mulberry. [“I get asked if I’m channeling Boris Johnson quite a lot,” Sammy reveals...]
What’s beside you?
[Rolls his eyes as if I am a total wally] You, Jenny Dyson!
What’s above you?
Weeks and weeks of shows coming up.
What’s below you?
The amazing Breakfast Room Restaurant at Claridge’s, which j’adore.
Where are your worries?
Funny you should say that, I went to a chiropractor just yesterday and it seems I keep them all in my shoulders and neck…
What is your idea of happiness?
A good fashion magazine [laughs hysterically]. Is that too shallow?
What is your favourite place?
Home. For me that’s New York and London. Home is my sanctuary. I also love the South of France. I mean I really love it. St Paul de Vence is heaven on earth.
Describe your perfect room:
I do love this Claridge’s Ballroom we are sitting in, surrounded by powder blue and splendor and giant ice creams and balloons. Where could be better?
What shape is your mind?
Squidgy. It changes shape, like silicone.
What are your hobbies?
Running, every morning I run for 45 minutes to an hour; reading books and watching movies.
What do you collect?
Old coca cola bottles and photography books.
Playtime is…
When I’m not working. Mind you, work for me is playtime too.
If I were an animal…
This is gonna sound so cliché… but I would love to be a black panther.
THE END
Edward Enninful is the fashion and style director of W Magazine.
The talented British actress Romola Garai spoke to guest blogger Jenny Dyson at our Spring Summer 2012 show.
What’s your take on Mulberry’s new collection?
I absolutely love it. It’s so fun and playful. The Sixties mood, the tweedy sportswear, the colour and humour, and the lollipop coloured bags!
How important is fashion to you?
As an actor, if the costumes are wrong it really throws you off. As a woman, clothing is costume. You adapt your clothes to your state of mind and the way you want to be perceived. When I’m preparing for a new role, the collaboration with the costume designer is so crucial. When I was working on The Hour, my character was originally written as uber-glam. I felt quite strongly that wasn’t right; she was a woman working in a very male environment, not wanting to draw attention to herself, so in the end my wardrobe was much more prim. I feel a bit suspicious about 1950s costumes. I think if movies and television series turn into fashion parades they become too self conscious.
Talking of consciousness, it’s time to delve into yours. What’s behind you?
Probably a giant inflatable donkey.
What’s above you?
The enormous Claridge’s chandelier!
What’s below you?
The hot pink carpet I just spilt lemonade on and tried to pretend Brix Smith-Start’s dog weed.
What’s beside you?
You are!
Where are your worries?
Still in bed.
Where are your fears?
On my laptop.
Who is with you?
My sisters. I have one older and one younger. They are always in my mind.
What is your idea of happiness?
I suppose it would be a pie.
Where is your favourite place?
Shropshire.
Describe your perfect day.
Bed, food, sex, food, bed.
What shape is your mind?
The shape of a cupcake.
What do you collect?
Books.
What colour are you most drawn to?
Pale pink.
Do you have recurring dreams?
I sometimes dream I’m at home and everyone I know is having a party in the street outside, but I can’t find the keys to my house to get out. They don’t know I’m there. And I really want to go.
As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
A writer. But I tried it recently and discovered I was not very good at it!
Playtime is…
Reading on my bed maybe with a hot chocolate. I’m currently reading the Life of Montaigne by Sarah Bakewell and it’s very gripping.
What is your earliest memory?
Trying to make a friendship bracelet.
If you were an animal, what would you be?
Probably a guinea pig.
THE END
Among her many secret plans and movie projects, Romola Garai starts filming series two of The Hour imminently.
Romola and Jenny chat pies, the 1950s and inflatable donkeys
We welcomed guests back to Claridge’s for a London Fashion Week party, encouraging them to get in touch with their retro inner-child on nostalgic grabber and pinball machines as well as enjoy our grown up slushie margaritas with a mini burger or two.
Inspired by seasides and the Great British Summer – here are a few of our favourite looks from the Spring Summer 2012 catwalk.
Our London Fashion Week show guests entered through an inflatable jungle of animal balloons at Claridge’s Hotel.
Kate Moss
Kristen Stewart
Olivia Palermo
Laura Bailey
Romola Garai
Harley Viera Newton
Hayley Atwell
Erin O'Connor
Brix Smith-Start
Our retro ice-cream van parked outside Claridge’s this morning (tempting the chefs out of the kitchen) and has now headed over to our Bond Street store.
Claridge's head pastry chef Nick Patterson in the retro ice-cream van!
Ice creams at Bond Street!
