The River Island Fall 2013 Collection is a Serious Trend Extravaganza

May 6, 2013

River Island AW13 1

River Island presented their Autumn/Winter 2013 collection to press, last week, and I was completely blown away by the selection of eye-catching designs on offer. The fall line-up is split into seven key trends: Mash Up, Bauhaus, Modernist, Supernova, Workhouse, Mono and Teen Spirit.

As always, there are plenty of runway-inspired looks to buy into (Supernova is very Balmain), and the mix of print, colour and texture will keep fashion daredevils happy. The collection also features some great work-wear options, which came as a surprise to me. Here I’ve pulled together a handful of my favourite looks so you can start compiling your wishlist:

River Island AW13
River Island AW13 3

I’ll be investing in the leopard print knit [above], the fabulous pointed-toe heels and the oversized orange coat [pictured after the jump]. The ‘Teen Spirit’ and ‘Supernova’ trends photograph brilliantly, so I’m sure we’ll see plenty of the designs in editorials, come September, but I’ll definitely wear bolder designs with classic wardrobe staples. See more below….

Click Here to Continue Reading

Exclusive: WIN the Showpiece Georgia Hardinge for River Island Dress

April 15, 2013

Georgia Hardinge River Island Dress

After I featured Georgia Hardinge‘s Design Forum collection for River Island, last week, a few of you got in touch to ask about the one-of-a-kind dress Georgia made for the promotional video. The design isn’t for sale and has been on display in River Island‘s Oxford Street store for the last two weeks. But now Georgia and River Island are very kindly giving you the chance the win the dress. Yep, that’s right, it’s not going off to one of Georgia’s celebrity fans or into a museum… it will instead make itself at home in the wardrobe of one lucky Coco’s Tea Party reader.

The dramatic dress was created especially for the River Island Design Forum video, which debuted at London Fashion Week’s Fash/On Film festival, in February. British model, Ben Grimes [pictured wearing the dress above], starred in the film – so the dress is a sample size. If you’re a UK 8-10 you could wear the gown yourself (I think it would be great for a fashion-forward bride), but if not it would look fabulous as a piece of fashion art. Enter to win the dress below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

- To enter sign in using your email address or through Facebook. And then follow @cocosteaparty, @river_island and @hardingegeorgia on Twitter.
- The competition is open to all – it doesn’t matter where in the world you live – and entry closes at midnight on Monday 22nd April 2013.
- The winner will be chosen at random and River Island will have the dress delivered to you. Please note the dress is coming from London, so delivery time will be dependant on the location of the winner. Good luck!

Image by Owen Richards
Posted by Filed Under: Giveaways, River Island

Georgia Hardinge On Her River Island Collaboration, Dressing Beyonce and Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien’

April 8, 2013

River Island have been rolling out hit design collaborations faster than you can say “I want that dress” recently. First up was the blogger design project (which I had the pleasure of taking part in), then they joined forces with Rihanna, and last week their latest Design Forum collection hit stores. For Spring 2013 River Island have teamed up with British designer, Georgia Hardinge, who’s already a favourite with Florence Welch and Beyonce. The 14-piece collection takes inspiration from sculptural, 3D shapes, which sounds difficult to wear, but all of the designs are actually very versatile. I caught up with Georgia on the day of the launch to talk about the collection and her celebrity fans…

Georgia Hardinge River Island Collection
The one-of-a-kind showpiece (not for sale) | The printed neoprene dress, £80

Georgia on her partnership with River Island: “Everything about this collaboration has been so amazing. I worked with such a big team, and I never get to do that because I’m a one-man designer and just have one assistant who works with me full time. It’s really nice to see the collection in the shop. I came in initially and I was taking pictures and the security guard was like ‘no, no taking pictures!’”

Georgia on the inspiration behind the collection: “With this collection I wanted to make a 3D sculpture 2D. So all the clothes fit around the body but from far away it looks like there’s pleating and it’s 3D. It’s inspired by H.R Giger who is a set designer, sculptor and surrealist artist – he did the film Alien. There’s a little bit for everyone in this collection: you have the shorter dresses for a younger market, pieces for day and for night. My favourite is the printed dress [above].”

Georgia Hardinge
The latest River Island Design Forum designer, Georgia Hardinge

Georgia on dressing Beyonce: ”It was such a great surprise to see Beyonce wearing the print leggings, as I didn’t even know that she’d purchased them! She bought them from one of my stockists, Curve in LA, and I only found out when I was looking online. It’s always so nice to see people you admire wearing your designs. I’m used to lending clothes but it was especially flattering to see Beyonce invest in a GH piece for her wardrobe!”

Georgia on designing for the Victoria’s Secret show: “In 2011 I did three bespoke pieces for the Victoria’s Secret show. Charlotte Stockdale was the stylist that season and she gave me five themes and I had to do different designs. You could do anything – no design restrictions at all! But you have to be careful. You can’t make anything too heavy or wide. The models have to be safe and they [Victoria's Secret] don’t want to hurt them. David Beckham has insured his feet and J.Lo has insured her arse, so the models are probably all insured somewhere.”

Georgia Hardinge River Island
Shop the CTP Edit: Leggings, £30 // Mini dress, £80 // Shoes, £50 // Maxi dress, £70

To celebrate the Georgia Hardigne Design Form collection River Island created a breathtaking (but slightly creepy) film. Ben Grimes models the amazing one-of-a-kind showpiece and the video was directed by Alex Turvey. If you haven’t seen it already you must check it out – it’s pretty special! Find it on YouTube HERE.

Find the Georgia Hardigne for River Island collection in selected stores and online now. Prices £30 – £80.

Style Star: Lauren Hutton {Get The Look}

March 11, 2013

This week I’m introducing a brand new feature to Coco’s Tea Party, which celebrates inspirational fashion icons. First up is one of my personal style pin-ups, Lauren Hutton. The model and actress is the queen of fuss-free chic. In the 1970′s her natural beauty earned her the title “the fresh American face of fashion” and she’s covered Vogue more than 25 times! Lauren’s signature look consists of tailored separates, luxurious silk shirts and super cool hats. Now, at 69, Lauren is a constant inspiration for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen at The Row and still tops the Best Dressed lists when she hits the red carpet. Get a dose of Lauren Hutton style with the fabulous fashion buys below…

lauren hutton style
Get The Look – Lauren Hutton Style: 1. Trench coat by Burberry Prorsum // 2. Messenger bag by River Island // 3. Maxi dress by Issa London // 4. Blue twill trousers by Marc Jacobs // 5. Wool fedora by Topshop // 6. Single-breasted blazer by Mango // 7. Skinny metal watch by Marc by Marc Jacobs // 8. Pale pink camisole by Topshop

I’d wear the blue twill trousers, pale pink camisole and bright Mango blazer together – along with the Topshop fedora and Marc by Marc Jacobs watch – for a full-on Lauren Hutton inspired look. Which designs are your favourites?

All Lauren Hutton images from Pinterest

Hide & Chic: The March 2013 Edition

March 1, 2013

march 2013 hide and chic

OK, so March really snuck up on me this year! I was busy with fashion week, then got distracted by Jennifer Lawrence at the Oscars, and before I knew it February was coming to an end. So the Hide & Chic post is a bit of a last minute job this month, and I’ve probably overlooked some key launches by accident. But never mind, there’s still plenty here to get excited about – from Justin Timberlake’s music comeback (dude, what took you so long?!) to the haircut every fashion fan is asking her hairdresser for. Find out exactly what’s happening in March 2013 right here…

The 20/20 Experience: Justin Timberlake is finally making music again. Hallelujah! It’s been seven years (yes, seven!!) since JT released FutureSex/LoveSounds, but he’s back with a new album, out on March 18th. The 20/20 Experience features new singles, “Suit & Tie” and “Mirrors”, as well as 10 new tracks. Pre-order your copy now!

Mother’s Day 2013: Write it in your diaries now, ladies. Mother’s Day (UK) falls on Sunday March 10th. And instead of sending flowers, this year, why not treat your mum to a tin of iced biscuits? I think this limited-edition selection of flower-shaped biscuits from Biscuiteers, £30, is a fabulous gift. Especially if your mum loves to share…

Rihanna for River Island: You’ve seen the collection, compiled your wishlist and now it’s finally time to shop. Rihanna’s designs for River Island hit stores on March 5th, and there’s sure to be a group of diehard RiRi fans waiting in line. I’m interested to see which pieces sell out first. The yellow T-shirt dress, above, is my personal favourite.

The Fendi Baguette: Justin Timberlake isn’t the only one making a comeback, this month. The Fendi Baguette is also having a revival. A favourite of Carrie Bradshaw, the iconic shoulder bag is on-trend once again, and Matches have a great selection of Baguette bags online now. They don’t come cheap (a basic black design will set you back £700, and the beaded numbers are £2,000+) but they’re fashion collectables. It’s time to start saving!

The First Days of Spring: It will officially be the beginning of spring on March 20th, and I’m hoping for sunshine! I’m not sure how likely that is (I hate the unpredictable British weather) but I’m feeling optimistic anyway. Start shopping for new sunglasses now, just incase. I like the oversized cat eye frames, above, which are £10 at ASOS.

Oz The Great and Powerful: Disney’s prequel to The Wizard of Oz finally hits cinemas on March 8th. James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams all star in the 3D fantasy adventure. I’m most excited to see the costumes, which I’ve covered multiple times on Coco’s Tea Party.

Hide… Long Hair: Make an appointment with your hairdresser pronto, as the hot style of the season is the Karlie Kloss bob! After watching Karlie shimmy down the Burberry runway I’m even contemplating getting a crop myself – and I’ve been attempting to grow a hair bra (that’s hair so long it covers your boobs, FYI) for over a year.

The Rihanna for River Island Collection Rocks London Fashion Week

February 19, 2013

rihanna for river island 1

On Saturday evening the fashion pack congregated on New Oxford Street for the launch of the Rihanna for River Island collection. It was the hot ticket at London Fashion Week, and the line outside the show venue seemed to go on forever (a couple of Made in Chelsea cast members were spotted shivering in the queque). Once inside anticipation started to rise. How long would RiRi make us wait? Would she perform? And, of course, would her designs be any good?

The show eventually started just before 10pm (the invite read 9 o’clock, so Rihanna didn’t make us wait that long) and all our questions were soon answered. The Spring/Summer 2013 collection follows fashion’s current obsession with the ’90s. Think slip dresses, jersey crop tops, baseball caps, backpacks, double denim, spagetti straps and bomber jackets. So, in essence, it was everything we were expecting from Rihanna and River Island. Plus a whole lot more!

rihanna for river island london fashion week show

Rihanna appeared at the end of the show with her designer and collaborator, Adam Selman. She didn’t treat guests to a performance, but did look absolutely stunning in a Rihanna for River Island LBD. The 24-year-old beauty will perform at the Brit Awards, tomorrow night, so I wonder if she’ll rock one of her designs on the red carpet. It would be great promo!

And, with the Rihanna for River Island launch date fast approaching, a campaign starring Jourdan Dunn and Charlotte Free has just been released. Take a look at some of shots below. Jourdan is absolutely rocking it…

rihanna river island
rihanna river island collection

The Rihanna for River Island collection will hit stores on March 5th, with the Summer drop appearing in May. And you’ll also be able to purchase the collection in the USA and Japan from Opening Ceremony. Prices start at £18 and go up to £200. Do you like Rihanna’s River Island collection? Is it what you were expecting? Let me know…

Images courtesy of River Island
«Older Posts