exhibitions

What: New York Fashion Now

Where: Victoria & Albert Museum
When: 17 April - 23 September 2007 Free admission, room 40

How does a designer go from being a relative unknown to becoming a tastemaker? New York Fashion Now explores the stories of twenty designers who launched their own labels in the five years between 1999 and 2004.

Key to the early success of some has been the focused support of the fashion press, retailers and manufacturers, as well as the funded design competitions that help the winners pay their bills.

I’ve been attending Pure London - now in its 10th year - twice a year for the past couple of years now and each time the exhibition which is popular amongst both local and international buyers improves significantly. Taking place from Feb 11- 13, with over 800 brands exhibiting and making better use of space, last weeks exhibition was a success. My aim was to find as many top quality brands ranging from clothing to accessories to feature on the site, as well as get inspiration from the catwalk and hear what Drapers had to say in their trend report.

As always Pure was packed, from visitors who attend the exhibition purely to satisfy their insatiable hunger for fashion -believe me it really is retail heaven! – to buyers such as Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and House of Fraser in search of new brands as well maintaining their relationships with existing ones. A fashion meat market, it most definitely is! Some exhibitors are inundated with visitors while others sit there eager for someone to visit, and all are instinctively trained to scan each visitor for importance within the first three seconds. Their eyes immediately dart to your badge to see how much effort is needed. Time is precious I guess!
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Paul Smith is delighted to be exhibiting the work of up and coming artist Benedict Radcliffe at Paul Smith’s Mayfair shop. Best known for his love of machines, engineering, graphic design and for his fascination with consumerism, Radcliffe will be displaying a new collection of work called ‘Modern Japanese Classics & Other Works’.

What: ‘Modern Japanese Classics & Other Works’
Where: Paul Smith, 9, Albemarle Street, London
When: February 7th - 16th 2007

What: Individuals: 20 Portraits from the Gap Collection

Where: National Portrait Gallery, London

When: 12 Feb - 28 May 2007

For more info visit npg.org.uk

(Image: Naomi Campbell by Steven Meisel, 1992 (c) Steven Meisel)

Already proving that 2007 will be her year, Kylie has managed to beat Kate Moss to Glamour’s top spot as World’s Best Dressed Woman. Runners up included Victoria Beckham, Rachel Bilson and Gwen Stefani….

And if you’re a fan of Kylie’s style both past and present, don’t forget her costumes will be on show at the Victoria & Albert Museum from 8 February 2007 - 10 June 2007.