JOB WHISPER OF THE WEEK

Now here is a job to drool over my fellow Champagnistas...

Lulu Guinness is looking for a PR and Marketing Manager

You will be responsible for raising Lulu Guinness’ profile by maximising editorial and feature press coverage in target UK and International titles, creating and managing UK and International events, driving the PR and Marketing strategy and managing relationships with editors on behalf of the brand. You will have experience working in house and will have excellent press contacts and proven PR and Marketing experience.

Interested? Please send your CV to nrathmell@luluguinness.com

And goodluck!!!

Loving you always,

Champagnista M

LFW: The Morning After- DAY 3???

I WAS HAVING SUCH A 'HOMER' MOMENT LAST NIGHT

Yesterday, I seriously suffered at work because of my fashion shenanigans the last couple of days. Admittingly my exhaustion is not so much about my champagne swilling ways but more about the fact that I am so used to getting my 8 hours sleep every night. I have turned into such an old woman- I now take pleasure in cuddling up on the sofa under a warm duvet and with a cup of tea at hand as opposed to before when I got a buzz from wearing my new shoes and dress out and returning home at 5am with a greasy burger in my hand.

So it is on this note that I must admit that the whispers you might have heard about the girl who gave up attending the Henry Holland’s after party for a home cooked meal and Holby City on the BBC are true. That girl was yours truly, so unfortunately I have no “morning after” tales to share with you except maybe about what happened in Eastenders last night.

Until next season my lovelies!!!

Loving you always,


Champagnista M

LFW: The Morning After- DAY 2

This morning I have a little war taking place behind my oversized black sunglasses, all because I decided to be the good time girl again last night- ohhh I am so naughty!

You are probably wondering what am I babbling about at such an early hour? Well the sins that my sunglasses were hiding this morning on my tube ride to work began last night at the BFC: London Fashion Week International Party. When we arrived at where the soiree was taking place- The Collection in South Kensington- there was a ridiculously long queue that I would not have stood in if you had paid me. So my LFW partner in crime and I ignored all those people silly enough to queue and walked right to the front with the confidence of a “don’t you dare stop me” strut. It was there that I quickly spotted a friend of mine- the fabulous Kim who does the International Press for the BFC- with a quick air kiss in my direction she opened the velvet rope and let my friend and I in.

As we walked down the colourfully lit runway-like entrance, we were papped by a photograph. He caught me so off guard that Lord knows that I now fear where that photo is going to re-surface- eeeck!

In entering the beautiful venue I was handed some yummy Dom Perignon- served exactly the way I like it, in a chilled glass and complimented with a slice of strawberry. Taking in the atmosphere I noticed that those attending where the exact same faces who attended the party last season - one of them even nodded their head in my direction as if “you again darling, looking fabulous”, and I must say I was.

This season I have been going out in the little floaty dresses I bought at Selfridges at the [whispering it] Sale in January. I have just been waiting for the opportunity to wear them, and London Fashion Week gave me the reason. Anyway enough about my dress, let me continue, so as we sipped and chatted to various people I found myself growing slightly restless as you do when you have more than one party to attend. So two glasses of champagne, 1 Cosmo and 3 canapés later my friend and I found ourselves in the back of a black cab speeding down Brompton road on our way to Matthew Williamson party at Mahiki.

Arriving we were a bit apprehensive because we had been there last night for the Select Model Management party, and every fashionista knows not to return to the scene of the crime so quickly. So hoping not to be recognised, I soon found that all that hope faded when the door person screamed when he saw me and demanded the red velvet rope be opened to allow us entry, that’s when I thought “damn you” because sometimes knowing the door people is not a good thing.

Once in and settled at our table, we decided it felt weird to be back, so based on that decision we literally sneaked out and as we jumped into yet another cab my phone buzzed. Opening the text, it was my friend asking me to come to Maddox as he had a table. Deciding that it would be good to see him we headed down there.

Twenty minutes later we were sitting at our friends table with Cristal in one hand and a sort of non-descript canapé in the other. By this time it was 11.30pm, and by 2am I was dancing bare foot on the sofa whilst my friend’s bodyguard held my handbag- a laughable sight I must say!

So Champagnista’s, those were the sins I was hiding behind my sunglasses this early morning on my way to work, and as for tonight do I dare go out again and make it LFW: The morning after- Day 3? Well maybe, because the idea of going to the House of Holland after party is quite tempting.

Loving you always,

Champagnista M

*PHOTOS TO FOLLOW*

LFW: The Morning After- DAY 1

Ahhhhh it feels like I have a steel band drumming in my head, but because I love you I will share with you the tale of the morning after and the shenanigans i got up to over the weekend.

I am afraid that Saturday is still a slight blur, so let me tell you about last night (Sunday) instead. I found myself at the tents attending a dear friend of mine’s show- Sado'- at around 8pm. Having attended her shows for the past 4 season's I am like a proud mama every time I see her latest collection. This was then followed by a quick dash in my four inch shoes to the other side of the tents to catch the Sienna Miller show ( see I barely remember the name of her label, or even her sisters name- bad fashionista- in my defense the day I remember her labels name is the day she has made it).

When I told people at work this morning that i had attended the show, their first question is “How was her collection? Really tell me the truth, how was it?” To be quite blunt it wasn’t bad, but it is most certainly not the kind of clothes i would go out to buy- sorry Sienna!

From there, a quick cab ride, hop and skip found us at the M·A·C Salutes party at The Hospital in Covent Garden. Here i schmoozed with the rest of them, enjoying the buzz of the party. 50 minutes later boredom set in, so leaving behind a half drunk cocktail i grabbed my friend, socialite Miss Layla Farah, hand and dragged her out. Waving down yet another black cab, we found ourselves driving at a scary speed to our next party- the Jaeger after party.

Arriving at Taman Gang on Park Lane, we whisked past security and where quickly taken to VIP. Sipping my cosmos i surveyed the room and liked what i saw. It was a mixture of fashion's classy set all mingling and making friends.

After 7 Cosmo’s and 11 canapés (Miss Conde Nasty would have loved the savory selection on offer), i decided that i needed to go to a place that was pumping and energetic, so off we went to the Select Model Management party at Mahiki.

Entering the venue I passed the model types who where all sipping some blue concoction that was being handed out by gold painted waiters- i expected no less. So feeling brave I grabbed one.

A couple of hours later i found myself dancing with the gold painted boys - and with the photos to prove it you know that I would post them but i would rather not (blush)!!! I blame my behavior on the lethal blue drinks, but damn they where good.

So those are my morning after tales, and tonight I am out again so we will see what stories i will be sharing with you...!!!

Champagnista M
(Aka the very exhausted Champagnista)

*PHOTOS TO FOLLOW

LFW: Today's Schedule

Today's schedule looks like;

9am LFW: Ossie Clark - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: BFC Tent, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7
Revived fashion label with Creative Director Avsh Alom Gur presents autumn/winter 2009 collection on-schedule for the third consecutive season.
www.ossieclarklondon.com

9.30am LFW: Mulberry - a/w 2009 presentation
Venue: Mulberry Showrooms, 40 New Bond Street, London, W1
Luxury fashion brand presents autumn/winter 2009 collection, the second season by Creative Director Emma Hill. 10 minute presentations take place at 9.30am, 10.30am, 11.30am, 12.30pm and 1.30pm. Invitation only. To reserve a seat, contact Violet.
www.mulberry.com

10am LFW: Luella - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: The Flower Cellars, 4-6 Russell Street, London, WC2
Fashion designer presents her autumn/winter 2009 collection on-schedule. The show marks the third consecutive season she has shown in the UK capital following several years presenting in New York. Sponsored by Revlon.
www.luella.com

10am to 7pm OnOff - a/w 2009 (day two)
Venue: OnOff the Science Museum, Level 2, London, SW7
Second day of catwalk and static exhibition. Selected on and off-schedule designers present autumn/winter 2009 collections on the catwalk and also exhibit; exhibition runs until February 24.
www.thedoll.org/onoff

11am LFW: Erdem - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2
Womenswear designer presents autumn/winter 2009 collection on-schedule with support from the BFC's Fashion Forward initiative.
www.erdem.co.uk

12.15pm LFW off-schedule: Pam Hogg - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: OnOff the Science Museum, Level 2, London, SW7
British fashion designer and singer presents her Hogg Couture autumn/winter 2009 collection off-schedule.

12.15pm LFW: Julien Macdonald - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: Banqueting House, Whitehall Place, London, SW1
Welsh fashion designer, known for his glamorous shows, presents his autumn/winter 2009 collection.

1pm LFW: Marios Schwab - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: Topshop Venue, P3 University of Westminster, Entrance on Luxborough Street, London, NW1
Greek-Austrian, London-based designer presents autumn/winter 2009 collection on-schedule with support from the BFC's Fashion Forward initiative.
www.mariosschwab.com

2.30pm LFW off-schedule: Olivia Rubin - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: OnOff The Science Museum, Level 2, London, SW7
Fashion designer makes catwalk debut off-schedule at London Fashion Week.
www.oliviarubinlondon.com

2.30pm LFW: Jasper Conran - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: One Marylebone Road, London, NW1
Established British designer shows autumn/winter 2009 collection.
www.jasperconran.com

2.45pm LFW off-schedule: Harriet's Muse - a/w 2009 presentation
Venue: Vauxhall Fashion Scout, Corner of Cromwell Road and Queens Gate, London, SW7
British womenswear label presents autumn/winter 2009 collection off-schedule.
www.harrietsmuse.com

3-6pm LFW: Maria Grachvogel - a/w 2009 presentation
Venue: The Hospital Club, 24 Endell Street, London, WC2
Womenswear designer presents autumn/winter 2009 collection.
www.mariagrachvogel.com

3.30pm LFW: Roksanda Ilincic - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: One Whitehall Place, London, SW1
Belgrade-born fashion designer presents autumn/winter 2009 collection on-schedule, sponsored by Barbie.
www.roksandailincic.com

4.45pm LFW: Louise Goldin - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: Topshop Venue, P3 University of Westminster, Entrance on Luxborough Street, London, NW1
Topshop New Generation-sponsored knitwear designer shows autumn/winter 2009 collection

5-8pm LFW off-schedule: Ana Sekularac - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: Aicon Gallery, 8 Heddon Street, London, W1
Brit designer presents autumn/winter 2009 collection off-schedule.
www.anasekularac.com

5.45pm LFW: Giles - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: The Dairy, 7 Wakefield Street, London, WC1
Renowned British fashion designer presents autumn/winter 2009 collection on-schedule. Aftershow party takes place in the evening; venue embargoed.

6.30pm Casio G-SHOCK & b Store - preview event
Venue: b Store, 24a Savile Row, London, W1
Watch brand and designer store preview their exclusive retail collaboration, Tokyo Calling. After party takes place at the Parlour at Sketch. Invitation only.
www.casio.co.uk

6.30pm LFW off-schedule: Nataliya Dolenko - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: Il Bottaccio, 9 Grosvenor Place, London, SW1
Central Saint Martins graduate showcases autumn/winter 2009 collection in London for the first time. Champagne reception takes place after the catwalk show.
www.nataliyadolenko.com

6.30pm LFW off-schedule: Untold - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: The Foundling Museum, 40 Brunswick Square, London, WC1
Designer collaboration presents autumn/winter 2009 collection off-schedule.
www.un-told.co.uk
www.blow.co.uk

7-11pm Beyond The Valley: Aztec Carnival - launch party
Venue: The Old Refectory, 12-13 Kingly Street, London, W1
Shop and gallery Beyond The Valley launches its autumn/winter 2009 collection; features debut fashion collaboration with guest designers The Broken Hearts.
Nicole Williams, Beyond the Valley 020 7287 3116 hello@beyondthevalley.com

7-11pm Fashion Fabulous London - book launch party
Venue: Sushinho, 312-314 King's Road, London, SW3
Tracy and Russell Rose organise party to celebrate the launch of their book Fashion Fabulous London. Celebrities (tba) will be wearing designers' clothes from the Top 200 Hottest Fashion Shops in London. Drinks and sushi will be served. Invitation only.

7pm to 1am FASHION.MUSIC.STYLE - 2nd issue launch party
Venue: Punk, 14 Soho Street, London, W1
Party to celebrate launch of second issue of bi-monthly magazine that highlights the latest fashion and music talent. Invitation only.
www.fashionmusicstyle.com

7pm LFW: Paul Smith - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: Claridge's Hotel, Brook Street, Mayfair, London, W1
Stalwart British fashion designer presents autumn/winter 2009 collection on-schedule.
www.paulsmith.com

7.30pm LFW off-schedule: Samia Malik - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: 222 Bethnal Green Road, London, E2
Designer presents autumn/winter 2009 collection off-schedule.
Samia Malik, Samia Malik 07870 219 714 info.samiamalik@gmail.com

7.30-9.30pm Matthew Williamson - LFW cocktail party
Venue: Mahiki, 1 Dover Street, London, W1
Designer holds event to celebrate his spring/summer 2009 collection coming into store. Invitation only.
www.matthewwilliamson.com

7.45pm LFW off-schedule: William Tempest - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: Vauxhall Fashion Scout, Corner of Cromwell Road and Queens Gate, London, SW7
Winner of the first Vauxhall Fashion Scout Merit Award shows autumn/winter 2009 collection off-schedule. This is the designer's first solo show at LFW, he showed his spring/summer 2009 collection as part of Fashion Fringe.
www.williamtempest.com

8-11pm Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones - private view
Venue: Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7
Stephen Jones hosts party during LFW and celebrates his Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones exhibition which opens at the V&A Museum on February 25 (see separate entry). Press view takes place earlier on the day between 10am-1pm. Invitation only.
www.vam.ac.uk

8pm Juice magazine - launch party
Venue: Mamilanji, 107 King's Road, London, SW3
First issue of Juice magazine (published December), which targets 'the young British male who seeks and lives a lavish lifestyle', is celebrated at launch party.
www.juicemagazine.co.uk

8pm LFW: Issa - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: BFC Tent, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7
Designer label shows autumn/winter 2009 collection on-schedule and closes the fourth day at LFW.
www.issalondon.com

8pm OnOff Presents... - a/w 2009 catwalk show and drinks reception
Venue: OnOff the Science Museum, Level 2, London, SW7
Designer initiative organises collaborative catwalk show, in association with Oli.co.uk, featuring this season designers Cecilia Mary Robson, q.e.d., Rachel Freire and Rozalb de Mura. Celebrity interview opportunity takes place at 8pm prior to the catwalk show, with celebrities including Jodie Kidd, Jasmine Guinness and PPQ's Amy Molyneaux and Percy Parker. Catwalk show at 8.30pm is followed by aftershow drinks reception at 9pm. Invitation only.

8.30pm to 1am LFW: BFC - International Party
Venue: The Collection, 264 Brompton Road, London, SW3
British Fashion Council hosts party to celebrate 25 Years of British Fashion. Event is one of the key networking events during LFW for UK and international press and buyers, designers, PRs and celebrities; invitation only. Champagne and canapés will be served.
www.londonfashionweek.co.uk
LFW International Office, event@londonfashionweek.co.uk int.press@londonfashionweek.co.uk

9pm to 1am LFW: Mulberry - party
Venue: Mulberry, 41-42 New Bond Street, London, W1
Luxury fashion brand celebrates autumn/winter 2009 collection, presented earlier on the day (see separate entry). Live music from Friendly Fires, DJs on the night include Mike Pickering and Hugo Heathcote. Invitation only.
www.mulberry.com

9.30pm to 1am Global Cool - party
Venue: Molton House, 43 South Molton Street, London, W1
Event hosted by charity which inspires individuals to reduce their carbon emissions by making climate-friendly activities cool and aspirational. Bash celebrates BFC's sustainable initiative estethica and eco-sustainable fashion. Since its launch in 2007, Global Cool supporters have included Sienna Miller, Josh Hartnett, Orlando Bloom and Leonardo DiCaprio. Strictly invitation only. RSVP to gclist@threepipe.co.uk.
www.globalcool.org

10pm 1 OAK & SAND - LFW party
Venue: Maddox, 3-5 Mill Street, London, W1
Party hosted by New York nightspot 1 OAK and Copenhagen-based fashion house SAND. Invitation only.
www.sand-europe.com

10pm to 3am London Fashion Week Party
Venue: Embassy London, 29-30 Old Burlington Street, London, W1
New girlband The Bangbangs host fashion-themed party during LFW. Invitation only.
Emilee Alexson, Alexson PR 020 8386 2366 / emilee@alexsonpr.com

Have a fabulous time my darlings!!!

Champagnista M

xx

OMG- My LFW schedule this season is going to be the end of me...!!!

London Fashion Week as officially started and this is how my schedule is looking:

TODAY (Saturday) I have pencilled in:

*9.30am to 7pm Simply Madonna: Materials Of The Girl
Venue: The Old Truman Brewery, London, E1
Exhibition of the largest private collection of stage and film costumes worn by Madonna. Features over 300 items, including the pink dress she wore for 1985's Material Girl video, the wedding dress from Evita and outfits worn in the promo clips for American Pie and Music. Private view takes place on February 20 and runs until March 22 so be sure to head down when you have a moment!

*12pm LFW: John Rocha - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: BFC Tent, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7
Internationally-renowned, Dublin-based designer presents autumn/winter 2009 collection on-schedule.
www.johnrocha.ie

*1.30pm LFW: Topshop Unique - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: Topshop Venue, P3 University of Westminster, Entrance on Luxborough Street, London, NW1

*5pm LFW: Armand Basi One - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York's HQ, King's Road, London, SW3
Design Director Markus Lupfer's autumn/winter collection is presented on-schedule.
www.armandbasi.com

*8.30pm LFW: Vivienne Westwood Red Label - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: Grand Hall, Olympia, London, W14
Grand Dame of British fashion closes the second day of LFW with a presentation of her autumn/winter 2009 collection.
www.viviennewestwood.com


TOMORROW- (Sunday) I have pencilled in:

*9.15am LFW: Betty Jackson - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: BFC Tent, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7
Established British designer opens third day at LFW and presents autumn/winter 2009 collection on-schedule.
www.bettyjackson.com

*10.15am LFW: Todd Lynn - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: Topshop Venue, P3 University of Westminster, Entrance on Luxborough Street, London, NW1
Fashion designer, showcasing at LFW for the fourth season, presents autumn/winter 2009 collection on-schedule.
www.toddlynn.com

*12.45pm LFW: Christopher Kane - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: Topshop Venue, P3 University of Westminster, Entrance on Luxborough Street, London, NW1
Winner of the Scottish Designer of the Year award at last year's Scottish Fashion Awards presents autumn/winter 2009 collection on-schedule with support from the BFC's Fashion Forward initiative.

*4.30pm LFW: Aquascutum - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York's HQ, King's Road, London, SW3
Luxury label with Michael Herz as Head Designer presents autumn/winter 2009 collection on-schedule.
www.aquascutum.co.uk

*7pm Met Pink Drinks Party
Venue: The Met Bar, Metropolitan Hotel, 19 Old Park Lane, London, W1
Mayfair hotel hosts biannual party, this season entitled as 99 Pink Balloons, to toast the 35 designers exhibiting at fashion showcase Pandora's Box a/w 2009 - see separate event. Champagne and canapés are served to guests. RSVP to Jo James at jo.james@como.bz.
www.metropolitan.como.bz

*8.15pm LFW off-schedule: Sadó - a/w 2009
Venue: OnOff the Science Museum, Level 2, London, SW7
Womenswear fashion label presents autumn/winter 2009 collection off-schedule.
www.sadofashion.com


*9pm LFW: Twenty8Twelve - a/w 2009 catwalk show
Venue: The Dairy, 7 Wakefield Street, London, WC1
Sienna and Savannah Miller's fashion label debuts at LFW and presents autumn/winter 2009 collection on-schedule. Invitation-only aftershow party follows.
www.twenty8twelve.com

*9pm Select Model Management - LFW party
Venue: Mahiki, 1 Dover Street, London, W1
Model agency celebrates LFW and the 81st Academy Awards.

I will be sure to report from the front line the fashion highs, treasures, and "omg did you hear..." !

Champagnista M

JOB WHISPER OF THE WEEK

It is that time of the week again, when we share with you the job whispers we hear and know that you will love!

Select Model Management are seeking someone just starting out in their career in the modelling industry.

They require a junior, to work in a fun, fast-paced environment as an assistant to the men’s division’s main board bookers.

The successfully candidate must have a keen interest and knowledge of fashion and the industry. Responsibilities will include; general admin, answering the phones, collating images from magazines that feature the models and ensuring the portfolios and the website are regularly updated.

You will also be trained to put the models on film and/or take digital images of them, so excellent communications skills are a requirement in this role.

Interested? Email Elizabeth your resume at elizabeth@selectmodel.com. Good Luck!

Champagnista M

THE LFW NEW GEN SCHEDULE

Don't miss the hottest designer talent that the capital has to offer. The NEW GEN calendar, below, covers all their activities for the week. The Exhibition at London Fashion Week opens today at 10am. Be sure to visit to see the NEW GEN collections.

Click here for printable NEW GEN calendar
Click here for complete list of NEW GEN contacts
Click here for complete list of NEW GEN contacts

Champagnista M

Canape of the week... Mango yoghurt poached egg ... treacle cake?

Where: The Langham Hotel
Drank: Joseph Perrier champagne
What: Spoons of treacle cake squares topped with mango and yogurt "poached eggs"

Bags or shoes? White wine or red? Sweet or Savoury? A girls little vices tend to always divide the camps like ying and yang. I'd always list myself as bags, white and savoury. No budging. Give me a Chanel 2.55 over a pair of Choos, a chilled glass of Chablis over the Cabernet and the cheeseplate over the chocolate cake. Dessert canapés? Don't touch the things (well a girl has to have some rules if she is going to keep her bum in her skinny jeans. Although, harem? Remarkably more forgiving on finger food indulgences). But as the trays of cubes of fois gras on sticks and fluffy mushroom pate on little rye discs were whisked temptingly past me, I was somehow drawn to the spoons. What was it? I was intrigued. And all in the name of investigative journalism, I was going to find out. It was love at first bite - as gooey mango 'egg' centres burst over the caramelly-cakey-creamy-yogurty goodness. I actually went 'Mmmmm.' Out loud. Mid-conversation. It was time to leave before I tried to marry the canapé waiter. Or a silver spoon.

Miss Conde Nasty

BREAKING NEWS: LFW to move to Somerset House

Fashion news just in from the horses mouth:

Friday 20th February 2009, the British Fashion Council announced that London Fashion Week will relocate to Somerset House, WC2 from September 2009. The BFC is celebrating its 25th year throughout 2009. During the past 25 years, London Fashion Week has had several homes including Natural History Museum, Duke of York’s, Battersea and Olympia.

This new partnership with Somerset House will see London Fashion Week, for the first time, located in the heart of London and will allow a new approach to be developed as a legacy for the 25th celebrations. Harold Tillman, Chairman of the BFC commented “Somerset House is a historic location that will provide a beautiful setting to this cutting edge international trade event. “We are pleased to be working in partnership with Somerset House to develop London Fashion Week’s profile and offer to designers, utilising the architecturally interesting spaces to make the venue our new home.”

Gwyn Miles, Director, Somerset House Trust said “Somerset House is pleased to welcome the British Fashion Council as a new cultural partner. London Fashion Week will take up residence here from September 2009, marking a major step forward in our ambition to make Somerset House a genuine creative space for London. Also in September we will be opening a major exhibition by SHOWstudio, opening up the world of fashion to a wide audience. We very much look forward to an exciting future working in collaboration with the British Fashion Council.”

Champagnista M

My Wellies, My Saviour

I have come to realise that i have been wearing my wellies a lot in the last couple of months. When i first bought them, it was because i was headed to Glastonbury where they were essentials for every festival goer. I had thought that I would only be wearing them that one time but for the love of my DVF dress was i wrong.

Following my return from the music festival I quickly put them into storage until the next festival season. I would never have thought that at the beginning of 2009 i would have found myself digging them out and giving them a big hug. This out of character behaviour was unfortunately due to the weather in London going arctic on us making wearing my usual heels outside mission impossible.

My wellies where first put to the test by the monsoon rains which found me trudging through the rain on the way to work, I was comfortable knowing that my toosties where toasty and dry. So when the snow came, i was again wearing my trusty wellies and walking quite happily whilst others slipped and fell as their shoes let them down.

So my wellies are truely my saviour, as they have kept my feet warm and dry, but do note that even though i have adorned my beloved wellies through the weather changes, i have also continued to carry my beloved heels in my handbag so i can do the switch at work, because trudging in wellies at the office is just not the way of a true fashionista!!!

Champagnista M

Whats your going rate?

THIS SEASON THE FRONT ROW WILL BE MORE CELEBRITIES THAN INTERNATIONAL BUYERS.

I was shocked to hear that our rather bumbly London Mayor, Boris Johnson, will be spending £40,000 on air tickets and hotel rooms as a way to tempt buyers to come to our LFW this season.

Has London Fashion truely come to this, where we find ourselves paying buyers to come and view our talented designers wares? I find it sad and slightly upsetting, because if i remember correctly it was pretty much just yesterday that they shortened our fashion week so as to extend the NY one, and now we are counting the pennies in our pockets just to see if we can tempt the buyers who have decided to snubb us this season giving the credit crunch as teh reason and offering them what pretty is a first class pass to LFW with no cost to them-puh!!! The £ is weak now, they should be flocking here!

Am i being too sensitive to the current situation? or even naive? because to me it is very much like someone leaving cash for you on the bedside table. Anywho, looking to the future, I must add that I look foward to the day that London becomes less of a stop over to Milan and Paris, but instead becomes the must go place for all international fashionista who will then find themselves cat fighting to get the best invites going. Ahhh a London Fashionista can dream, now i must go and book my Eurostar ticket for Paris Fashion Week!

Champagnista M

Bungalow what...

Tonight i found myself hub nubbing with the music elite at Bungalow 8 (aka St Martins lane Hotel).

It all began when my friend emailed me to say that she was in from Paris for a few days on business and that she would like to go out, and because i adore her i decided to break my rules of not going out on Monday and Tuesday and head out in my highest of heels and cutest of dresses.

Once we met and air kissed we made our way to the velvet rope and where immediately let in. Walking through the darkened corridor we followed the music and found ourselves entering the bar area- which was a quaint small area.

At first glance i realised how tiny it was which was shocking, because it is not like i havent been to Bungalow before, but when i last came i must admit I was slightly tipsy as it had been the 5th place i had "popped" into that night. So taking in the too cool for school crowd and the barely dressed waitresses, i ordered my usual- a Long Island Ice tea.

Once the drinks where in my friend and i caught up on our life stories and as usual i told her how i missed Paris and how London was just not the same, and she told me the reverse of how she loved London and Paris never came close- it is kind of our "the grass is always greener" ritual.

A few cocktails later we heard good music coming from below us, thinking it was the rather strong cocktails we were drinking we ignored it until i heard "billy jean" playing which i could never ignore so i found myself pulling the waitress aside and asking her where the music was coming from to which she replied "it's coming from downstairs where the dance floor is". I thought "God damn it thats more like it", and dragged my friend and my half drunk tipple down stairs to were Billy Jean was playing.

Once there, i found a spot and danced. I danced until i had a sweat brow. The music was super good that i could not believe it to the point i cheekily asked my friend to pinch me( which by the way she did- ouch) and all because London has recently been suffering from bad music syndrome, you know what i mean, the Ibiza type music that they always decide to play- ick!!!

Anywho, to round up my Bungalow 8 experience, i must say i enjoyed myself, because it certainly was the night that the 'DJ saved my life' with some fabulous music, so NY bungalow 8 watch out your nemesis has arrived.

Champagnista M

Back from Lebanon

Baalbek

I promise I will upload the pictures... Since I am the worst organized person in the world, I have misplaced my uploading cable, so till I find it, let me tell you about the end of this trip in another reality.


On Saturday night we went out to MYU in Gemmayzeh, which is the heart of Beirutian night life. Like Central, Myu has an inside design with a bulged fake ceiling, like a shelter against bombs. Art, architecture, fashion are an instant conveyor of history: in Beirut you see signs that the country is on edge of war everywhere.


On Sunday we took a car to the back-country: did I tell you how the coast line was beautiful or did I forget to mention it because of everything that needed noticing in the capital? When you look at it from the Corniche which reminds of the Promenade des Anglais over the Mediterranean, you can see blue grey mountains luxurious with rich forests, capped with snow, falling into the turquoise see. When you drive inside and pass these mountains, you enter a flat plateau hemmed in dry peaks, brown and ocher under the blue sky.


The political geography is instantaneous: Beirut mostly displays the blue flag stamped with a white star of the Party of the future (the liberal party), but the road in the back-country is scattered with green and yellow posters of the Hezbollah. There are not many towns and they are all quite small and derelict, but whenever you pass through one of them, among the shabby buildings standing all grey under the sun, there will often been one house, scandalously rich and new. It was built by an expatriate who went to work in Africa, made a fortune and came back to their hometown. The house is a sign of financial success and a proof of patry attachment.


Our first stop was supposed to be in Kasar, where they make one of the best red wines all coloured with the Middle-East sun. It was 10am so the fact that the vinery was closed andwe could not do any tasting almost came as a relief, considering we had ended saturday on a typical drink (well one or more): a vodka shot with tobasco topped with a green olive. Ooooh my stomach the next day!


We then moved on to Baalbek. How to describe it? I was inhabited 3000 years ago. It saw the Phoenician era, the Egyptian era, the greek era during which it was well-named 'Heliopolis' (city of the sun), the Roman era, and the North Arbic domination... and many others since. The archeological center is a patchowrk of all, it is a golden site, shining under the sun and breathtakingly beautiful in the midst of the flat plain immensity. We had a humourous guide who did not teach us a lot in terms of what we were visting, but kept making jokes for our benefit and the disarray of the two Australian women who found themselves with us. When he said he had six wives and Lana and I starting laughing out loud, they frowned, wondering, until he reassured them by offering the truth of his only woman and two kids called Andrew and Nathalie.


After the visit we went to to Anjar, which is one of the best preserved Roman cities I have ever seen: some of the houses' first floors are still standing, and the stones still display the gay colours they were painted in. During the Syrian occupation, it used to be the base of the Syrian intelligence services, because it is very close to the border.


So close actually... so close that if I had had my passport on me, I would probably have crossed over. Good thing I did not get a choice: Travelling is so dangerous: like alcohol, like ciggarettes, it makes you want more when you start on it. Such a fix when I begin I would never go back.


After Anjar we took the road back to Beirut. For a little while it was rally quiet, and when we arrived to the mountains we had to cross, suddenly everything turned crazy: after the commemoration of Hariri's death which caused a few confrontations in the capital, there were reactions in different places of the country. Chiite and police cars got attacked: we went through a place were something like an intifada was going on, cars glasses crushed with stones, trucks laying on the side, soldiers checking every vehicle. In our car, it felt oddly safe and troubled at the same time, even when a 4x4 ran into us at low speed in the confusion.


We finished with a cozy dinner on Hamra street at the bar of Le Rouge, a French-inspired restaurant where people from right and left wings hang out amix, which is rare in Beirut.


Then I took the plane back, head full of a billion of things I still cannot quite fathom.


Then bought 5 cartouches of Marlboro lights, like the bulimic-smoker I am, but come on, 13 dollars a cartouche instead of £60 pounds?! In Istanbul and Lebanon, the rule says you can buy 10. On my way back though, I got arrested twice and questioned on where I came from,, what I was doing in Lebanon, and I started wondering why: did I really look like a terrorist? Was it the plaids, the skinny black jeans and the red military jacket -did they have an apprahension about Peruvian-guard style?


At any point, when I arrived in London, I got pulled over in the 'nothing to declare' customs file by an officer who asked me 'are you coming from Beirut'? Since I had been transiting through Istanbul, I thought he was being rather insightful but played the game fairly. He asked me a few questions, and made me open my suitcase which was full to the brim of soap, loukoums and other Lebanese delicacies my flatmates would have killed me for not bringing back, and yes a few cartouchesof ciggarettes... Apparently you are not allowed to bring more than one back in Europe.


Thank God for the Dior Nude anti-ring foundation upon arrival after two hours of sleep, because there is no way this man would have otherwise told me he would give me the benefit of the doubt... and let me walk by with all the ciggarettes I had purchased so illegally.


Too many mezzes over there, I now need to go on a crash diet.


Champagnista V

3 Days to go...

Can you believe it my fellow Champagnista's, it is only 3 days left before the fashion elite come to London to judge our talents. So be sure to keep reading champagnista.com for the latest updates.

On that note here is the latest LFW news, right from the horses mouth:

LFW DEVELOPS HUB FOR FEBRUARY 2009

Friday will see the unveiling of a new look for London Fashion Week with both the catwalk and exhibition spaces housed in one tent on the east lawn of the Natural History Museum. This new format is part of a strategy to help visitors maximise their time in London.

THE EXHIBITION AT LONDON FASHION WEEKOpening this Saturday, The Exhibition plays home to some of the world's favourite and most sought after brands. New collections that have joined The Exhibition at London Fashion Week include a lingerie collective made up of six designers including Bordelle, Fred and Ginger and The Modern Courtesan.

KNITWEAR FLOURISHES ON LONDON CATWALKS
London is currently seeing an explosion of talented knitwear specialists: at Fashion Week, watch out for Louise Goldin and Mark Fast on the catwalk as well as Cooperative Designs and Craig Lawrence at the Exhibition.

TFL & DAISY DE VILLENEUVE COLLABORATION
Celebrated fashion illustrator Daisy de Villeneuve has teamed up with Transport for London to produce a fashion inspired design. The illustration celebrates London Fashion Week and 25 years of the British Fashion Council and is available as a special edition travel card wallet, a T Shirt and a mug. This eye-catching new work from London's "Queen of Cool" celebrates the capital's unique street fashion culture and features girls and boys from Ladbroke Grove, Tottenham, South Kensington, Kings Cross and Brixton.

When it comes to the schedule and tickets this season please take note of the following:

EVENTS SCHEDULE
http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/events

TICKET REQUESTS
Click here for designer press mail merge Click here for designer sales mail merge

Champagnista M

New York Fashion Week- REPORTING FROM THE FRONT LINE- by Danielle

Hello darlings,

This week i report to you from this week’s epicenter of the fashion world- Manhattan!

Like Champagnista M, I too transform into a child on Christmas morning when Fashion Week begins in the big apple. I used to produce and videotape my own fashion shows beginning at the age of 7, so you can imagine my feeling of pure excitement and gratification the day I attended my first Marc Jacobs fashion show!

After Christmas, fashion week is the next big event on the social calendar (well, besides Hollywood ’s award season, where I began writing to you mid-January, but we’ll return to that next week to give our thoughts on our favorite Oscar looks and those starlets who think recession dressing = no stylist).

Fashion week arrived in New York just in time to break up our cold New York winter, and this year has been absolutely brutal. Come mid-January, Mercedes-Benz ’s New York Fashion Week sponsor site is up in full form, and I start to organize my calendar accordingly.

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://mbfashionweek.com%2F

As text messages and emails begin to flood my ’in box ’ from dear friends in London and Paris who work the show circuit as do the invitations to the shows, the after-parties, and the pampering parties in hotel suites filled with lots of swag!

A couple important notes about this season’s fashion week- it marks the last year we’ll be walking through the snow in Bryant Park, which has always been a most convenient location for all of Conde Nast, as it’s down the street from the 4 Times Square headquarters. Lincoln Center will be the new epicenter of the fashion world in New York next year.

Secondly, fashion week began a bit later (everyone is happy, believe me). Last year Manhattan hosted all you jet-setting fashionistas from February 1st-8th. This year, festivities kicked off on February 13th.

Unfortunately, I must run to meet my friend in town from Russian Vogue, but I have some great gossip. I was at Charlotte Ronson’s after-party on Friday night at The Eldridge, sponsored by Smart Water. They had lovely and potent Charlotte inspired cocktails specifically designed the party, with cherries! Now the most important bit. I am not sure if it’s hit the UK papers, but there was some drama (of course) between sister Samantha who dj’ed and her lover, Lindsay Lohan. Stayed tuned. I will fill you in later!

Love, hugs and kisses from NYC

Danielle

NY FASHION WEEK FALL 09- "Through the Accessories Lens"

With New York Fashion Week up, up, up and away, it has marked the beginning of 4 gruelling weeks of parties, shows, and air kissing.

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I must say that when Fashion Week begins, I find myself excited like a child on Christmas morning, but mid way through i am ready to be at home grab my duvet and get comfortable on the sofa with a hot cup of cocoa and a dvd of Sex and The City.

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Why you might ask? Well it is very exhausting mingling with the fashion elite, but I guess someone has to do it.

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So back to New York Fashion Week, this season designers are choosing to send models down the runways adorning accessories that compliment their creations. It now seems that it is more than just what they are wearing but what they wearing it with- now celebs and fashionistas have embraced the need to accessorise and have beem spotted wearing their favourite pieces whilst sitting front row- how quick are trends to jump from catwalk to celebs?- and how great is that!

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Rag and Bone

Lela Rose

United Bamboo

Venexiana

Lacoste

Karen Walker

BCBG

Alexander Wang

Champagnista M

JOB WHISPER OF THE WEEK

With the credit crunch in full swing we at Champagnista World have decided to list job whispers that we hear about. Call it doing our part to help out those who are seeking a little something different or simply a career boost.

So this weeks "Champagnista Job of the Week" is:

Banana Republic are looking for the following:

PR Manager- Media Relations

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Following an internal promotion, Banana Republic are now looking for a PR Manager.

Reporting directly into our VP PR for Gap Inc. and working in close alignment with the Gap PR team, you will be responsible for raising Banana Republic’s profile by maximising press coverage in target titles, creating events for the British press, driving PR strategy and managing relationships with editors on behalf of the brand.

You will have excellent press contacts at a senior level, proven PR experience, ideally from a luxury background and a desire to succeed.

To apply and read full Job Description, please go to: http://www.gapcareers.co.uk/our_vacancies/vacancy_search.html?job_id=2524

Good luck!!!

Champagnista M

Champagnista in Lebanon - Day 5

Beware: Champagnista talking politics!

I wanted to go to Damas but it turned out it would take me 4 hours to get there and 4 hours to get back by bus, and I can't quite afford the $150 taxi trip. I have been dying to go to Syria for as long as I can remember, but maybe it is better this way: only one day to visit the oldest capital of Middle-East would be frustrating at best. Not to mention that people do not talk as many languages than in Lebanon, where a typical phone call would go something like this: 'Hi, ki fak? Tu es a la maison? Should we meet up at Dragonfly tonight? He, he, Masa el kheir, talk alter'. So since I don't speak a word of Arabic, I would probably end up lost in a souk without being able to find the way to the bus station.

Relations between the two countries are still strained: oddly enough, there are mini-buses that go from Beirut to Damas, and there is an Egyptian company that does Damas-Beirut, but there is no exchange and the two companies are not working together. As it is, the bus that comes from Syria has to go back empty from Beirut to Damas before doing the trip again.

There is a strong anti-Syrian feeling in Lebanon, at least in the community I have been staying with so far. Two main political movements here: the right wing movement, pro-American, very liberal, led by Hariri until he got assassinated in the 2005 murder wave. The other party is the Hezbollah: pro-Syrian, they have their own military militia and weapons and they pretty much control the South of the country, where they have been fighting against Israel from 1983. Whereas the right wing movement is ultra-capitalist and operates a system through which money is supposed to trickle from top to bottom, the Hezbollah is in immediate touch with lower-class people, building hospitals and schools and trying to provide them with the education the government is not giving them. I am not sure where the Christians are positioned exactly: if I dare a wild generalization, it looks like a majority of the Christian community were for calling the Syrian into the country when Israeli and Palestinians moved into the Southern border, in the hope to fight them off the fronteer. There are so many Christian communities though that a lot of people would probably scream at that. Most religious dissidences have their own militia, so that it is not rare to see civilians walking in the street with machine guns at their arm, in a demonstration of power to the rest of the population.

While the rest of the world was celebrating Valentine's day, today Lebanon commemorated the death of Hariri on the place des Martyrs next to the Grande Mosquee. The former prime minister was a businessman before he went into politics, and the people love him because unlike most political leaders he did not have blood on his hands from civil war times. Although the murder was never elucidated, it is common knowledge that his murder was commissioned by the Syrian secret services becaue he started to hold anti-Syrian talks. When I say the community I am staying with is very anti-Syrian, it is because although the murder theory seems to be common knowledge, Syrians are hold responsible for a lot more issues here: like the civil war (which took western and internal conflicts of interests as well), and diverse other issues, creating from an outsider's point of view the myth of a Syrian conspiracy in Lebanon. For certain people, Syrians are behind pretty much everything that goes wrong in the country from political murders to typing mistakes on restaurant menus.

Today was the 5th anniversary of Hariri's death, and while Loulou was giving an interview from a studio for a TV channel, I went to the place des Martyrs where hundreds of thousands of people were demonstrating, demanding the truth on Hariri's murder. 7 people were arrested so far. None has been charged with anything, and the international trial is going to begin in March. Hariri's son, who is now head of the Parti du Futur, arrived with pomp and circumstances on the platform from where he sent kisses to the crowd as if he were a rockstar... Not quite as charismatic as his father. There were families, Sunnis, Chiites, Christians, Druzes, and many more people who seemed to celebrate their former prime minister in a rather bon enfant atmosphere. Parents had three year-old-kids on their shoulders waving Lebanese flags in the air: political education starts early here, and it helps understanding why the Lebanese youths define themselves through their adherence to a political party and to a specific religious group. Towards the end of the demonstration, conflicts burst out between Hariri partisans and demonstration detractors, and apparently some people got rocket-launchers out but fortunately did not use them. I did not see that, but saw a few ambulances, and cohorts of tanks, and soldiers with machine guns and ribbons and ribbons of cartridges hanging from truch ceilings. The political heart of the city where the Grand Serail is (the Lebanese parliament), was completely locked out.

When I joined Loulou at the end of the day she told me that there were bombings in other cities. This country is always on edge. In the mean time it was 25 degrees outside and some people were bathing in the Mediterranean and sun bathing on the Beirut corniche, a bare 15 minute walk from the confrontations.

Should I feel ashamed to find this place so fascinating?

I am going to Baalbek tomorrow and taking the plane back at 3am on Monday morning, so it is likely this will be my last post from Lebanon. I will update you on the rest of the trip from London. Right now I cannot believe I am going back to grey, cold and humidity after all this colour, human warmth and blinding Mediterranean light.

Time goes at another pace here... There is always time.

Champagnista V

Get yourself a little bit of Boden!

Champagnista in Lebanon - Day 3

Third day in Lebanon...

Social rules of the high bourgeoisie in the country do not cease to amaze me: they have bent the how and hows of social awareness to an extreme point where you will pay $200 dollars to have a 'cool' mobile number (92-00-93) or license plate in four numbers: easily recognizable is a social necessity in this milieu.

However superficial it may seem, they have the strongest family values you could imagine: men are real gentlemen and will not let a woman go back home on her own after an evening out, nor will they let her pay for the bill anywhere. It is normal at 28 to still be living at your parents', and it is not to bring a girl or a boy home if you are not married, however free the rules can be if the parents are out or if you go on a week-end away. It is a strange mixture of social hypocrisy and true family strength.

Yesterday Loulou and I drove to Byblos with her cousin and some of her cousin's friends.
We first went to the Jeita grotto, which must be the widest grotto that exist in the world. Inside, the volume of the cave, the dim light and the silence remind you of the atmosphere in a cathedral, although warmer and more musical from a constant dripping ringing inside every wall. Thousands of years of water have carved stalactites and limestone formations in delicate shapes and diaphanous transparencies, and the spectacle today is magically luxurious and reminds you that however skilled, men will never manage to create something so remotely close in beauty. To go back down to the parking, which was a 10 minute walk, we took the only train in Lebanon (there used to be a line that went from Beirut to Damas but it was cut off during the war): a children's open train with a black and red locomotive. Disneyland in the forest-coated gorges of the Lebanese mountain.

We then went to Harissa (yes like the tobasco sauce), which is one of the highest and most beautiful sight-seeing points on the coast, protected by a giant satue of the Virgin Mary. Better not look behind the scene when you take the cable cars to go up the mountain: when we arrived at the top, the first view we had was on the control panel, which displayed two big red buttons, two big green buttons, and came with about 10 pliers and screwdrivers of varying sizes... Some kind of safety measure! The way down suddenly felt a lot more adventurous than the way up. At the top, you could see the whole of Beirut bathed in patches of blinding sunlight.

Then mezze at 4pm (I never saw such a huge quantity of food: I could have gotten an indigestion just from looking at it)... Best hummus of my life, I don't see how I will ever go back to the Tesco low-fat one...

And on to Byblos: Byblos is one of the oldest cities on Earth, it is dating from the Phoenician era and is the town that has been inhabited discontinually for the longest time in the whole world... and it truly has a biblical dimension with its narrow paved streets and tiled market arcades. You could have pictured a Bethleem scene in there.

Today was back in Beirut.

My first impression upon arrival was that it was impossible to walk anywhere in the city: there are not many pavements, and the traffic is terrifying. No one takes the red signals into account, people reverse on a high-way and take one-way streets the wrong side knowingly, and there is no respect for the pedestrian, so every time you want to cross a street you tend to sign yourself, pray that nothing will happen and dive in...

Lebanese people live a very sedentary lifestyle: they are quite americanized in this way, and they would not consider going from one place to the next by foot, even if it only represented a ten minute walk. I am the contrary: I go totally mad if I cannot walk anywhere, I tend to walk wherever I can in London because it is a breath of fresh air, it clears my head and helps me synthesize my thoughts. If I had to abide by the Beirutine rules on this one, I would go totally schyzophrenic.

I have done a big walking tour of the city today because Loulou was out on interviews: New city center, Hamra street, campus of the American University of Beirut, Gemmayzeh and Achrafieh. I feel like I understand it better now: defining a social space is such a key to understanding a people's mentality. The city is quite clearly seizured in two between the Christian and the Muslim districts, communities that do tend to live beside each other rather than intermix. There is intermixing of course, although since there is nothing like civil marriage in Lebanon and only the religious institution is recognized, all oecumenic marriages have to happen outside the country. Inter-religious weddings happen more between Muslim and Christian communities than between the Druzes and anyone else, because Druzes are not authorized to marry outside their religion. Apparently there are 17 religions represented in Lebanon, talk about civil wars...

From one street to the next, you will be able to tell if you are in a rich or a poor area, not by the luxury shops which are all concentrated in the new political center around the 'Place de l'Etoile', but because of the amount of buildings that have been restored after the war, the number of shops open in the streets, and the number of veiled or unveiled women: Chiites are the poorer and most conservative community, while Sunnis have pretty much embraced the western lifestyle.

People are warm and generous here: I don't know if it has to do with the size of the country which remains small enough that everybody can relate to each other in a much more natural way than in western metropoles, or because of the community sense they have been raised in. Fall and strangers will catch you, look at a map and they will ask where you need to go (and suggest you take a cab because it is at least 15 minutes away), carry two pizza boxes and you will have a man propose to take them to your car for you. Strange how the bigger a city is, the more estranged and lonely their inhabitants are going to become: it seems like such a paradox right now.

I would like to tell more about the lifestyle and the politics of this amazing country because I am pretty sure I am going to forget a million things within the next three days: the culture is so wonderfully rich here! but I am falling asleep so better crash in bed...

I don't know if it is the omnipresence of religious feelings here, the immensely peaceful church I visited today or the voice of the muezzins calling the faithful from their minarets, but at some point I could not help feeling that maybe people who believed were lucky: maybe they do not feel as lonely?

Anyway, too much thinking. Can't upload pictures the connection is taking forever, but will do an extra post when I get back to London on Monday and show you all.

Champagnista V

Introducing: Imogen Belfield

Champagnista World is thrilled to introduce the beautiful jewellery brand by Imogen Belfield.

Inspired by her surroundings, Imogen’s experimentalist jewellery takes influence from both architecture and nature combined - from the tallest building to the shyest flower. Delicate porcelain fragments are enrobed in the textured metals of bronze, silver and gold to dramatic effect, creating breathtaking yet wearable pieces. Pendants, rings and collars take an organic, creative twist at the hands of this skilled designer.

Creating casts from paper, plastics and even fruits, Imogen Belfield’s work is at once beautiful and challenging; modern yet classic, bold yet subtle.

A jewellery graduate from the Sir John Cass School of Art, Media & Design at The London Metropolitan University, Imogen’s work has won awards from the British Jewellery Association, The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths and South Square Trust alike. She has exhibited to great acclaim at the Islington Design Centre and the Structure and Function Gallery in Soho amongst others.

Leading on from her successful ‘Architectural Hors D’Oeuvres’ collection, stocked in the Burlington Arcade at Daniel Bexfield Antiques, Imogen Belfield is now looking to launch her collection for Autumn/Winter ’09- so with baited breath we wait!

Champagnista M

FASHION ALERT: Looking to embrace award season dresses at wallet friendly prices?

With the Award Season in its full glory, I am sure that some of you have been suffering a condition called "the red carpet urge" that has been plaguing fashionistas everywhere and has been mainly bought on by the OTT coverage by fashion glossies on the fantastic award dresses adorned by the Kate Winslett's of the world.

Even though the majority of us will never get to have a red carpet moment to rival the Golden Globes or even our very own Bafta's it still does not stop one wanting or having the need to feel special in a show stopping number.

So that is where http://www.goddiva.co.uk/ comes in.

It a website that is quickly becoming the go to for those looking to smoulder this season in a the perfect outfit. The glamorous dresses on offer are inspired by the catwalk and celebrity trends and are also easily affordable.

So why not treat yourself to a selection of beautiful dresses straight from the red carpet- ie. the BAFTAs- available now at www.Goddiva.co.uk. Remember my lovely fashionista's, just because the credit crunch has put you on a tight budget does not mean that your fashion desires must suffer. Let Goddiva.co.uk make you feel like the star that you are!

A word to ASOS.COM- your rival has arrived.

Champagnista M

Champagnista in Lebanon

Masa el kheir,
(it means good evening in arabic)

I arrived yesterday in Lebanon where I have joined a dear girlfriend of mine who moved here to work as a freelance journalist last autumn.

When I announced my holiday destination around, the main reaction was 'why?'

... well why not?...

In the 70's, Beirut had the best university in all of Middle-East, and it was supposed to be the 'Paris of Middle-East'. Although today, the peace is still quite precarious after 30 years of Syrian occupation, the capital of Lebanon is swiftly regaining its pre-war status.

I was worried Lebanon might not offer the true oriental experience I hoped for, and my first few hours in the metropole confirmed this trip was going to be totally different from what I expected.

Beirut is very exotic. It is the temple of a culture you could never find anywhere else in the world: it is a glorious mix, a condensation of contrasts and antagonisms. The three religions are present in this city where communities cohabit in conditions that tend to become less or more tense according to times. People, signalization panels and menu restaurants mix up Arabic, French and English in the same sentence, and policemen smoke in front of no-smoking panels in public spaces.

Some districts still bear the traces of the civil war: skeletons of bombed buildings stand, walls lacerated with bullet holes, baring the steel infrastructures that hold them in a fragile balance, right against the new center of the city whose skyscrapers and luxury buildings are raising in a brand new and almost obscene fashion.

There are soldiers, tanks and chek-points everywhere. Bimbos have to present their Louis Vuitton bag for inspection at the entrance of shopping malls, and street merchants their ID when they go up a street under military surveillance. The discrepancy between rich and poor is much more emphasized than in any western country: it seems like there is almost no middle-class, and while 80% of the population live on monthly salaries ranging from 100 to 400 US dollars, the rest spend their money like we Londoners crave for a glass of wine after a hard day's work.

There is a strong occidental influence, and women in the streets are polished and dressed in an almost Parisian way, but with this extra tan, this extra hair wave, this extra sparkle in the eye. This extra bling also, which shows itself unashamedly against the understated rules of European chic: girls will not hesitate to walk around a university campus with a Hermes Birkin bag at their arm.

Social status is everything for this fragment of the population: you exist through your designer brushing, your Cartier watch and your gold-woven Elie Saab dress. If your car has a scratch, you will borrow your parents' mercedes and their chauffeur until is is repaired and spotless rather than to show yourself so openly flawed at the door of an 'it' restaurant.

This obvious melange is scary, and exciting and fun: tonight we went to Centrale (picture below), one of the 'bars en vogue of the city', which looks part like a prohibition bar (especially because of the music), part like a bunker and part like an anti-atomic shelter. The space in itself is rather controversive, but the crowd that gathers there, if a little in your face, is very bon enfant and warm, and on a tuesday night, they party like there will be no tomorrow.

Maybe it comes from living in a country always a step away from going back to war.

This post is the first of a week's holiday and I will stop it here because there is (what is my idea of) a magnetic storm over Beirut: silence, no thunder, no lights striking the sea but the whole sky comes illuminated every 5 seconds, and the power keeps cutting so I might lose this text if I do not post it fast enough.

I have told about a millionth of today's experience, but I will put more in tomorrow.

Champagnista V