Hill and Friends x Samaritans

Ex-Mulberry creative director Emma Hill’s own brand, Hill and Friends, has been a real favourite of mine since its launch.  The colourful leather hues and love of leopard print couldn’t be more my thaang, not to mention the trademark ‘winking’ twist-lock fastenings on each of their covetable bags – Errrrm… LOVE!  

So, if all of that wasn’t friendly enough, Hill & Friends are offering you 20% off their range of gorgeous emerald leather handbags, and a £50 donation from each purchase of either a Happy Green Shoulder Bag, Happy Green Satchel and Happy Green Clutch made (until the end of June) will go to the Samaritans.  

It feels sooo good to go green… 

“I have been engaged with Samaritans for some years and wholeheartedly support the service they offer. We are delighted to count Samaritans as an official ‘Friend’ of Hill and Friends.”  Emma Hill.

Shop the collection HERE. 

Samaritans is available round the clock, every single day of the year, providing a safe place for anyone who is struggling to cope.  www.samaritans.org

Shop TLC's Look...

All She Wants For Christmas 2016

It's THAT time again folks; The mad dash to buy your loved ones gifts and the mad hope that they in return take a look at this page (handily left open on their desktop, iPhone and iPad...) before using their own initiative and buying you anything...!  Hover over the items for their direct links. 

Above:  Missoma's beautiful Gold Half Infinity Rings look stunning stacked. (RRP. £65.00)

Above:  Bespoke womenswear label Tephi’s tailor made, personalized Tephi Garment Bag has made transporting your Sunday Best a whooole lot chicer.  With zipped compartments for your dresses and shoes, this is both stylish AND practical... #WinWin (RRP. £175.00)

Above:  Elizabeth Scarlett's distinctive embroidered Velvet Cushions, inspired by her many colourful travels, make beyond gorgeous additions to any home. (RRP. £55.00)

Above:  The Penmayne of London midnight blue Willow Fedora with a leather and guinea fowl feather – utterly chic. Have the silk lining initialed for that added touch. (RRP. £319.00)

Above:  The gift of some Bliss UK pampering and peace... I mean, the dreeeeeam.

Above:  The most beautiful addition to your home is a Feu de Beaumont candle. Each heavenly smelling candle (my favourite is Feu de Bois) comes with a gold-plated lid which can be engraved.  (RRP. £59.00)

LFW: Mulberry SS'14

After having sent out THE most adorable London Fashion Week tea cup invitations made by Wedgewood, Claridges was transformed into an English country garden, complete with fresh flowers, astro turf floors and a stuffed peacock, forEmma Hill to say “over and out” with her final collection as creative director for Mulberry.  Well known for bringin’ the brand’s sexy back, Hill emotionally commenced the show with an echoing voiceover from Sir Winston Churchill, ‘this House we have built together, brick by brick, stone by stone, this house we call home’ before blaring out ‘Our House’ by Madness as the models cue to strut.  Showcasing typically cheery designs inspired by the Sixties London, the models (including Cara Delevigne) wore wide-leg trousers, over-sized silhouettes and enlarged floral prints.  Turbo the British Bulldog wore a floral overcoat – expect one to adorn all the hottest dawgs next spring.

Above:  I am naturally always most interested in the new collection of bags swung on the catwalk, and alongside stripey Bayswaters and a midnight blue Willow, the Kensal, named after the brand’s London roots, was presented. The firey orange Kensal (below) instantly grabbed my attention (after my flame Bryn having being my constant companion for the last few months, I can’t recommend a mood lifting, bright bag for the summer more!) Emma Hill is leaving some very big shoes (and bags) to fill.

Below:  Alexa Chung with her pal Cara Delevigne at the Mulberry after-party.

Cara Delevingne for Mulberry AW'13

From the moment Mulberry’s creative director Emma Hill sawCara Delevigne at the close of the the Mulberry London Fashion Weekshow earlier this year, she was adamant that owlny the young, striking model star in the brand’s A/W’13 campaign. “Cara was the first name in my mind for this season,” Emma said, “she's beautiful, bold and British."  

Photographed by Tim Walker in the fairytale Shotover House in Oxfordshire, Cara posed with several owls and several hot new bags including the Willow and brand new Primrose.  All very British and all very cool.   

LFW - The Mulberry Willow

Known for its British eccentricity, Mulberry transformed Claridges into an English country garden for its SS'13 show.  With astro turf, a sprinkling of gnomes and pastel-layered cream cakes, the quintessentially English summer mood was perfectly captured.  With the world’s most perfect FROW, Alexa Chung, Kate Moss and Lana Del Rey, the scene was set for the sophisticated, 1970s inspired, softly coloured collection to be unveiled.  The star of the show was the latest addition to the Mulberry family, the Willow.  The tote bag comes in three sizes and has a detachable clutch (a clote?!) which makes it perfectly practical and suuurely (with its 2 for 1 allure), a more than justifiable purchase?!  Mulberry’s creative director Emma Hill said, “everyone likes something that you can take off or add on, well I always do.  I think it’s the kid in me that likes Transformer toys when you can turn something into something else.” 

With Mulbabes Lana Del Rey showing off her Mulberry Del Rey, and Alexa Chung clasping her Mulberry Alexa, did Kate Moss feel a little put out and pouty that the Mulberry Willow had not been named after her?  Her declaration after the show, whilst holding said black snakeskin Willow (below) would suggest as much, “I wanted this one to be the Mulberry Moss bag but it’s not, it’s the Willow. But I love this one because it doubles as a clutch. It’s genius.”  Keep those fingers crossed for next season Kate...

Vogue's Fashion Night Out, London 06/09/12

Fashion’s Night Out was initially created by Vogue and the Council of Fashion Designers of America as a way of encouraging fashionistas to hit the shops as the economic downfall kicked in. For real fashion lovers this day has become like Christmas… Well, if the North Pole were Bond Street, stockings were made by Mulberry and Santa was Alexa Chung...

Now on it’s 4th year, this global phenomenon (with events also taking place in Manhattan, Milan, Atlanta, etc) saw London’s biggest luxury stores throw open their doors after hours, inviting us all in to celebrate and shop with a glass of bubbly.  The whole evening felt like a stylish carnival, with live music blaring, show stopping outfits and fashion-friendly food from a Missoni ice-cream van, a Dak’s popcorn stall and a Hotel Chocolat pop up (apparently fashionistas and models will eat junk food – if its designer.)

I began my evening in Covent Garden where I visited the newly launched Ruby Ralph Lauren shop on King Street, the first to open in Europe.  The shop has such a fun and vibrant energy to it that I immediately got into the spirit of the night, having my pictures taken (below) holding their skull and crossbones tote and listening to great music spun by the gorgeous DJ Izzy Lawrence (above) wearing head to toe Rugby Ralph Lauren.

Next stop was the jam packed, unusually pedestrianised, Bond Street to visit Joseph where a dapper, suited and booted Henry Holland (below, in House of Holland) headed up a fashion Bingo competition.  The prizes were incredible and the cocktails were a plenty.

The epicentre of this most stylish of street parties was undeniably at Mulberry, where Vogue’s Alex Shulman and Mulberry’s Emma Hill held the official Fashion’s Night Out soirée. With goody bags, prizes, live music and a healthy dose of celebrites and designers (including Matthew Williamson, Roland Mouret, Laura Bailey and Daisy Lowe) queues to get in the shop were lengthy… to put it mildly!  Below (L-R): Joseph's Alex Eagle and her ah-mah-zing Nicholas Kirkwood shoes, and with my girlfriends Jessica, Emma and Lauren.

The official Vogue's 2012 Fashion's Night Out cotton T’shirt (top, worn by Edie Campbell) designed by London-based designer Jonathan Saunders in collaboration with The Gap, sold out at the Condé Nast Worldwide store in less than an hour.  The limited edition piece is now only available for you to own if you subscribe to Vogue (£19.99 for 10 issues) here.

The Designer Pudsey Collection

The iconic, yellow Pudsey Bear has been given a fashion makeover from 12 of Britain’s designers for Children In Need.

The little furry mascot has been transformed by Giles Deacon, Emma Hill, Jonathan Saunders, Erdem, Henry Holland, PPQ, Liberty, Patrick Grant and Kate Hillier using an array of different fabrics and patterns to create one off bears which will each be auctioned on ebay, helping to raise money for disadvantaged children within the UK.

How cute is this Pudsey on the left?! Designed by Mulberry’s Creative Director, Emma Hill, this bear was hand made in their Somerset factory in the finest Mulberry leather, “He comes in the same Soft Buffalo leather we use for our Alexa bag and his colour is classic Oak with Chocolate paws and mouth - two of the most iconic Mulberry colours!”

The bears are on display at Liberty London and will be there until November 19th.

For more information and links to auction pages click here.

Carry On Mulberry - SS'12

What's worth getting up suuuper early for on a Sunday?

An ice cream and pink lemonade breakfast?... Kate Moss?... A diddy liddle dog in a yellow Mulberry raincoat?...

ALL of the above?!

Yup… I JUMPED out of bed yesterday morning...

Considering my friends tease me that I often look sponsored by Mulberry (I own several of their beautiful bags... purses... keyrings... and yes, an oyster card holder...) I was thrilled to receive the quirkly ice-cream wafer invitation (above) to their S/S'12 Show at this London Fashion Week.

Once opened the invitation plays vintage ice-cream van music... LOVE!

After my pink lemonade and early morning brain freeze, I stepped inside Claridge’s on Day 3 of LFW. We were immediately greeted by giant ice-cream cones (above) and hundreds of inflatable wild animal carousel balloons (below) filling the whole entrance to the ballroom.

Creative Director of Mulberry Emma Hill (below centre) said this collection was inspired by memories of the Great British summer of the seventies and a Kiss-Me-Quick chic; ‘Donkey rides on the beach, sticks of rock and the glittering lights of the pier.’

We were soon transported back to this era with a retro, classic British seaside vibe (rain macs and all!) The music (including ‘The Sun Has Got His Hat On’) and the bright neon lights around the stage helped envoke a bygone era of British holidays to Blackpool Pier and Brighton Beach leaving us all feeling very 'Carry On Camping' and 'Ooh... I say!'

The models, with their enormous hair (styled by Sam McKnight and coloured with streaks of green – a hint of chlorine perhaps?!) at first elegantly strutted down the catwalk wearing floaty dresses and pleated skirts in a series of soft sherbet and candy floss shades and bright yellows (so far, so sunny...) but this was soon interspersed with more neutral, sandy and fudgey tones with a spectrum of greens through to midnight navy.

A more relaxed and American sports look soon appeared – hooded baseball jackets and running shorts fused together with a good dose of British practicality; superfine thermals and short rain macs - well, one must always be prepared!

A montage of safari, carousal animals was used on much of the collection - zebras, giraffes and leopards all making up the new, pretty 'Plastic Animal' print.

Eventually, inspired by the neon lit piers, a sparkling succession of gem encrusted, glittering dresses led us to the finale - the magpie inside me could barely contain itself.

Last, but CERTAINLY not least, we had the ever swoonsome Mulberry bags! Alongside the Alexa, Bayswater and Lily having been reworked in bright yellow patent, quilted girly pink, lizard print, and rhinestones, we also met the new girls on the block; the Evelina and the Effie.

Above: Posh Pier Girls - Two of my favourite looks in the collection.
(L) The Long Lace Raglan Dress in Pebbled beige Crepe holding the Cookie Lily
(R) the All Over Gem Dress in Pebbled Beige Double Faced Silk holding the Lily with Patchwork Gems

Snapping the FROW Mulbabes from my seat: (L-R) Kate Moss, Kristen Stewart, Romola Garai, Hayley Atwell, Harley Vera Newton and Laura Bailey.

Some well deserved applause for Emma Hill and her team.