Pre-Show Party!

More details of recent MODO antics coming soon, but first,

The 2010 MODO Pre-Show Party!

MODO Pre-Show, 25th November 2010, The Collection, Brompton Road, Chelsea, SW3, 7.30pm-late, £5 entry, Tickets from CSC reception. ID required on entry.

Come! Come! Come! Come! Come!

 

We'll have a mini-fashion show (amongst other excitements), including an exclusive sneak peek at some of this years designs!

See you Thursday!

Michaela xx

MODO Events: October 28th-November 5th 2010

Hello!

It's been a little bit quieter at MODO this week, but still filled with lots of exciting news!

On Thursday we held the second of our designer's meetings. If you're thinking about designing for MODO now is the time to get in contact with us, and start seriously planning your collection. Over the next couple of meetings we'll be meeting and choosing our models, and beginning to put our moodboards together - start collecting pictures now!

Monday saw the Emergency General Meeting unanimously elect Aminat as our new treasurer. Aminat has been tirelessly doing this job for months now, and it's great to see her finally recognized by the Union and the rest of the society. Congratulations to her!

The lunchtime craft circle continued this week, we had a nice gossip and all got lots of knitting done - Hooray!

Tuesday saw a double booking in terms of MODO events, firstly we held the second of our Give it a Go classes - Beginner's Knitting! This class was a sell out for the second year running, and will almost certainly go in the MODO books now as an annual event. Tube strikes on the day meant that not everyone was able to attend, but those that did had a great time.

I have to say I felt very proud to get all of these people knitting in 2 hours! The class was a resounding success; not only did we make it through all of the skills I'd planned to discuss, we even had time to talk about some more advanced techniques. MODO now have a number of spare knitting needles and balls of yarn, come along to Craft Circle every Monday 1-2pm in Bloomsbury Rehearsal Room and borrow some needles and yarn yourself!

Tuesday evening also saw the first of our Model Workshops. This session aimed to help our newly selected models improve their skills and more specifically improve their walk. As we have so many former models on the MODO committee this year we were able to offer a wide range of advice, and as these pictures show, fun was had by all.

That's all for this week, as it's reading week next week you won't be hearing from me until the week after. Have a lovely mid-semester break, and see you soon!

Michaela

London Favourites

We all have the good fortune of living and studying in London and so readily available to all of us are some of the best shops, cafés and fashionable establishments in the whole world. As an introduction to some of the MODO recommended places in London I thought I’d start by telling you about some of my favourite places in London.


VV Rouleaux:
“The Chanel of ribbon and trimmings shops” Red Magazine

VV Rouleaux is the place to go for all your ribbon needs. As a ribbon obsessive myself I love this shop. I don’t think you’d be able to find such a wide range of ribbons and trimmings anywhere else. They stock everything from the perfect black velvet ribbon to the most adorable sequin birds. Not quite sure what you’d do with those but they are certainly very cute.

For locations see here

Selfridges:

The department store for anything and everything you could ever want. Despite the high end labels and their extortionate prices you never feel out of place or as if you shouldn’t be there which means that it is a great place for wandering and mooching around. They also stock Topshop and WHSmith so you can do your normal shopping here and still walk out with their eponymous yellow bags.

Topshop:
Needs no introduction, just visit their Oxford Circus shop, you will fall in love several times over!

Urban Outfitters:

Lots and lots of peter pan collars there at the moment so that makes me very happy. A successful mix of men’s and women’s clothes, boutique brands and home ware. Originally from the US they are now spreading throughout the UK and they now have three stores across London.

East End Thrift Store:

Home to the infamous ‘fill a bag jumble sales’ where you buy a bag and fill it with as much as you can. They also stock a huge and varied selection of vintage items at really reasonable prices. It’s quite out of the way and difficult to find but well worth the search. Find it here.

Beyond Retro:

Perhaps the best known vintage shop in London but it has earned its reputation for a reason. Its two stores in London are crammed full of weird and wonderful pieces. They also have great displays; I’ve even seen a cat in their scarf box before.

Hummingbird Bakery:
Hummingbird Bakery brings American cupcakes to London; their three stores stock delightfully sweet and beautifully decorated cakes, cupcakes, brownies and pies. They even have a daily cupcake giving you the perfect excuse to visit again and again. Their cute pink and brown décor is adorable and makes every cupcake a relaxing and enjoyable experience. Although be prepared to queue if you go to their Portobello store on a Saturday.

Comptoir Libanais:
Comptoir Libanais is a stylish and modern Lebanese café, offering delicious Lebanese food at an affordable price, in bright and colourful surroundings. You can choose between meze, wraps, and tagines or perhaps all of them! And make sure you try their halloumi bread; it’s cheesy, salty and absolutely delicious. Also, they have an unusual selection of lemonades, which are all delightfully refreshing; my favourite is the pomegranate and orange blossom.


Let me know your questions and queries about London; where to go and what to do. Or if you know of some great places in London then tell me all about them as there is so much of the city I have yet to explore.


Love Rachel

STLYE FINDER ON LOCATION

Last week SF helped out on a Pi Fashion section photo shoot of coats in Regent's Park. We were lucky enough to borrow items from several high street stores and even luckier to have such gorgeous models wear them for us. SF helped borrow the clothes for the shoot as well as styling the outfits and shots but enjoyed most persuading the male models to wear a male cape...albeit with little success!

Be sure to grab a copy of Pi magazine's next issue (out 23rd November) to see the photos in their printed glory. Until then, enjoy a sneak peak of the shoot...

(please note SF's photos posted here are poor quality and in no way represent the incredible work you will see in next Pi by their photographer Ray who will no doubt be shooting Vogue covers by December)

STYLE FINDER WISHES YOU A HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

A mention must go to the most fabulous and inspired Halloween costume SF saw this year..... KARL LAGERFELD 

(and where else would one have seen this other than at the Harvey Nichols Fifth Floor Perriet Jouet bar Halloween Party where SF dressed as a nightmare pantomime Sleeping Beauty and drunk Smashing Pumpkin cocktails served out what other than than a hollowed out pumpkin with dry ice seeping through the holes!)

STYLE FINDER

Greetings again Fashionistas!

Here is a couple more looks I forgot to include in the last post that perpetuate my adoration for all things Wintery gracing the catwalk that is UCL....

 WHAT? Nodding to Marta's excellent post Whose coat's that jacket? , check out this fabulous coat - furry on the inside... duffel on the out! AND it is from a charity shop near Regent Street for only £45

WHERE? Outside Bloomsbury Theatre

WHAT ABOUT ME? To get duffed up in Duffle, try this New Look one for girls or for men check out Urban Outfitters; this or this

WHO? Harry, 2nd year Archaeology student

WHAT? These darling little boots

WHERE? Gordon Square, on SF's way back from the gym

WHY? Bringing together harmoniously shearling, hiking and ankle support (no mountains necessary!)

WHAT ABOUT ME? The pictured shoes (worn by Emma, first year History of Art student) are from Office... Here are the closest resemblance we could find on the office website: try these or check the site for similar styles

COMMENT AND SEND US YOUR UCL STYLES!

love SF x

Whose coat's that jacket?

In the 10 rules of winter dressing,  Guardian editor Jess Cartner-Morley tells you to 'wear a proper coat'. Not a parka, apparently. The whole article lists a bunch of lush and dramatically expensive stuff, despite clearly wanting to appear sensible and present some core wardrobe additions in this season. 'Proper coat', according to Cartner-Morley, 'does not have to mean an expensive coat. It means a grown-up coat that doesn't make you look like a slobby fourth former on a field trip. The Jil Sander collection at Uniqlo has some beautiful tailored wool coats for around £100 (...)'. Actually, all the +J coats are about £150 (and some men's coats £200). However, Uniqlo minus Jil Sander has a bunch of nice coats, and  I guess for the quality fabrics (it's all wool, tweed, and faux fur) £60-£80 is not awful for a coat which you are likely to wear every day for the next few months. Still, I will never forget once getting two fantastic winter coats on promotion in Beyond Retro for £17 each.

Uniqlo coats

Cheaper and greener ways of getting a buff coat include trawling through second hand and charity shops on the outskirts of town, crossing your fingers that half of London hadn't already trawled through them last week and bought all the good stuff out. But you could also raid your own wardrobe (or that of a friend or relative or anyone else who'd let you) and see what you can find there. Planet Green had this awesome article on updating your winter coat with links to appropriate craftster tutorials:

"There's no need to purchase a new jacket when you can perform a little wardrobe magic on a jacket you already own. With a little cropping, painting, embroidery or sewing, your jacket will look better than new!

1. Crop it!
Make your long dowdy coat short and sassy with a little creative scissor work.

2. Paint it!
A denim jacket is the perfect canvas for a colorful painting. Trim your artwork in coordinating ribbon for a great finished look.

 
3. Resize it!
Transform your saggy baggy coat into a form fitting jacket. Beautiful!

4. Applique and embroider it!
Here's another great idea for your denim jackets: make an applique from thrifted t's, and embroider a favorite quote.

5. Add details!
This jacket looks completely different with the addition of a zipper, collar, and cuffs."

Possibly a much better example of all of these techniques combined is the work of a young local UCL designer Kate Ross, whose label Trash of Camden is all about upcycled jackets and jumpers:

"Trash of Camden aims to use recycled fabric/found objects/old trash in order to produce customized second-hand jackets, jumpers and other clothing. There's nothing off-the-peg here.The aim is to create fun and wearable hand-made items that are guaranteed one-offs. This is the ultimate in recycled, reinvented and re-worked clothing."

Trash of Camden stuff is the sort of classy DIY aesthetic of contemporary sustainable fashion: none of its style is compromised because of the materials used. Objects that would otherwise be discarded get a new, glamorous life. All pieces evoke a SEX era Vivienne Westwood, though definitely updated with more modern influences, not all harking back to punk. The pervasive leopard print (aka the new denim, in the words of Cartner-Morley) gives a very current trend-conscious impression. All pieces are unisex, which is a rare feature with emerging designers who, however experimental, like to specialize very quickly in set gender conventions.

Aside from jackets and jumpers, Trash of Camden also produces jewellery (subline Crap of Camden), and future plans include customized footwear. A selection of products are stocked in Philip Normal's Happy Shack, shop units 920/921 in Camden Market, an insanely awesome shop packed with labels like Charles of London, Tatty Devine and Red Mutha. Kate is always keen to accept your trash, so if you have stuff you want to donate, email trashofcamden@homail.co.uk. She also takes personal commissions, and all items are unique one-offs.

Lastly, on the topic of upcycling: Upcycle it! blog is looking for your upcycling stories for a publication due out in January:  “Upcycle it! – the handbook” with upcycle manuals, workshop reports and articles.

They are looking for submissions about:

• Upcycling
• How to think through the creative process of upcycling
• Opinions and thoughts about trash – how is it to be a trash collector? How can you store it, live with it, and what can you do with it?
• Cradle to Cradle and production processes
• Energy efficiency – calculating the resources when remaking trash, when is it not sustainable to recycle trash?
• Sustainability
• Consumerism and anti trash lifestyle

Check out the submission guidelines over at the blog, and if you have any experience with upcycling, let them know!

Comment away on the topic of coats! And maybe even post pictures!
Sustainably yours,
Marta