" We all know the line from Forest Gump 'Life is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get' – welcome to last week in the fashion world...
Having finally emerged through my NY jetlag fog I was ready to slap on my identity tag again and rejoin the London rat race. I donned my favourite battered Converse and went to the opening night of 'Sneaking into Fashion' an exhibition of sneakers in London's Covent Garden. The beers and beats flowed as we journeyed through the visual CV of the sneaker; from an ancient gym plimsol to the crazy collaborations of Vivienne Westwood and Missoni in the present day. Sneakers will always be a wardrobe staple and this event captured the spirit of them; a fun, energetic party in the company of their perma-laid back friends.
One event down it was off to the busy night of the week. First stop was an art gallery in grungy east London. Over the last few months, an east London fashion mag has been searching for Britain's newest Emerging Artist - from painters to sculptures and videographers to performance art. Thousands of budding artists entered and had been whittled down to four finalists and I was invited down to the private view and winner’s announcement. The exhibition was beautifully curated and felt like a treasure trove in the midst of the drunk lunatics and puddles of vomit that decorate the streets outside. To be honest, I am not really 'down' with a lot of art but I’ll pass on one valuable piece of advice if you find yourself marooned in the art world - use the word 'subtext', a lot.
As the clock ticked 10pm it was time to join 'Lingerie London', a fashion celebration that couldn’t have been further from the event I was leaving, but first thing was first. I had to un-grunge myself and get glam. Don’t get me wrong I like getting dressed up but changing in the back of a cab is slightly less than ideal – particularly against the clock. Hitting every red light in east London did allow me a few extra minutes but also gave the passers by a show they weren’t necessarily expecting. With sneakers, lippy and the entire contents of my handbag flying around the cab and the Countdown music rattling around my head, my arrival probably wasn’t the most demure of the evening’s red carpet appearances. I fell out of the cab with as much swagger as I could muster and rushed to my seat at the runway show at London’s Old Billingsgate. Within minutes of sitting in the glittering halls amid celebs like Patrick Kielty and Chris O’Dowd, I was handed a fancy spiced Daiquiri and with the help of my Christopher Kane dress and vintage suede mega heels I felt my whole attitude and posture change as the lights dimmed and the show started. Abbey Clancy, Sarah Harding and Peaches Geldoff bravely strutted their tiny physiques down the catwalk in beautiful Agent Provocateur lingerie sets as hundreds of paps stuck their tongues back in their heads long enough to snap their pics for the splash of tabloids coverage the next day.
Often the fun of fashion is in the not knowing what you’re going to get. Yes we all have our favourites but when faced with a box of chocolates, how wrong can it really go? ..."
