It’s that magical time again – when the beautiful and the beautifully dressed descend on London in a flurry of capes and stilettos to watch as the elite of British fashion showcase their new threads. London Fashion Week starts tomorrow with a flurry of gorgeous shows held across the capital, and we’ve rounded up the loveliest apps to help you blog instantly on the new season style, steal inspiration from the top designers and even shop the trends as the collections head down the catwalk. You can thank us at the after party.
THE DAY JOB: Apps for blogging/notes
Want to share that gorgeous bag you’ve just spotted at Mulberry or a snap of Alexa on the front row at Henry Holland with the world? Take your pick from a host of fab blogging apps which make it easy to upload pretty much everything. Post about your takes on the latest looks in a second with Tumblr, a super-simple way to update instantly from your Ipad or phone with pictures, videos and audio. Or get on to Blogsy, a fabulous drag and drop blogging tool for the Ipad – effortlessly add pictures and elegant touches to your Wordpress blog or Flickr album. Snapping the models as they sashay past or videoing that gorgeous Spring/Summer 12 collection is easy too: make it all look professional with Videolicious, which turns videos and photos into a mini-vlog, and Snapseed, which transforms even shaky camera phone pictures by changing the hue, brightness and contrast – we love the vintage setting. Noting down all the key looks you love is easy with Penultimate - this note app feels as fluid as writing on paper. We’re also big fans of Evernote, which allows you to record all your inspirations and ideas as well as saving snapshots, notes, and audio recordings on the go, and Dropbox, which stores your files and photos in a central location to access on your phone.
We’ll be keeping up with what Bip Ling and Susie Bubble think is set to be huge by checking the Reeder app, which keeps all our favourite fashion bloggers at our fingertips, collating their RSS feeds for instant updates. And when even blogging isn’t a quick enough fix of fashion news, there’s the fabulous Twitter app – watch out for us tweeting from the shows this weekend @companymagazine.
THE DESIGNERS
Just because you may not be on the Frow for every show doesn’t mean your fashion savvy has to suffer – carry the designers around with you instead! All the huge names have their own dinky apps packed with information, inspiration and exclusives for you to peruse at your leisure. Check out Dior for updates from the fashion house, makeup and dressing tips from experts and the latest video catwalk shows. Not to be outdone, Chanel wins the prize for most stylish app, with news, haute couture and Parisian chic all packaged in an achingly stylish black and white palette for you to peruse. Gucci goes one step further, creating a luxe, interactive and completely shoppable magazine – read about the designer’s latest collections and then buy the key pieces in a click. Bored on the tube? Catch up with the catwalk as D&G Fashion Channel Winter 2012’s app streams an exclusive live fashion show of the men’s summer collection just for Ipads straight to you, as well as a library of backstage fashion week snaps, and over at Diane Von Furstenberg, you’ll find collections, exclusive previews and a store finder.
The show that everyone went crazy for last LFW was Mulberry, and we’re predicting it’ll be just as gorgeous this year. The label’s app includes updates, shopping, catwalk stills for you to lust after and videos of exclusive parties. If you’re in need of something a little more arty, Stella McCartney's World is stocked with gorgeous photography by Stella herself as well as a glimpse into her upcoming exhibition with photos of her mother Linda.
When you’ve exhausted all those fountains of inspiration, you can put all your new trend knowledge to good use: Net-a-Porter Magazine’s beautifully designed shop-a-zine featuring exclusive editorial and video content – all clothes are interactive so you can click and buy in an instant. And when your wardrobe is full of new season beauties, you can figure out what shoes go with that top with Fashion Sketchbook, a grown-up take on styling your Barbie when you were small, using a huge array of clothes and makeup.
