TIMUR KIM:

A fairly new face to the fashion scene, but fast growing in popularity, Timur Kim had audiences queuing round Freemasons Hall for a glimpse of his take on AW13. Focusing on dresses and skirts with the exception of two trouser suits near the opening of the show, Kim's designs were super feminine yet demure.

Using inspiration from his native Russia, Kim produced prints based on baroque patterns and ceilings at the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, even keeping a nod to the Soviet with his show invites, featuring caviar tins. These prints hark back to the sixties and seventies, featuring kaleidoscopic and floral designs, but updated for a modern wearer in more minimal cuts and shades of lavender, powder blues and browns with the occasional dash of pink and teal. The print on print trend continues within the collection  - however Kim steered clear of the print clash and instead paired dresses with jackets featuring not matching, but complementary prints.

Personally, the highlight of the collection was Kim's choice of fabrics. Light, fluid silks formed the basis for many of the garments, followed by more structured A-line skirts of iridescent taffeta paired with printed white T-shirts - all paired off with the interesting decision to forgo towering heels: the models wore flat masculine brogues. With this collection following on from his beautiful offerings for the last season, Kim is surely one to watch for the future.

Words & images: Laura Blair

RETROSPECTIVE

CUB Photographer and English Student Lloyd Ramos shares his utterly stunning

 photographs from the Retrospective Show at Bloomsbury Hall with us:

Vintage stores and designers including One of a Kind, Catherine Walker, Bruce Oldfield, Barbara Hulanicki, and Christies assisted in running this season's Retrospective Vintage Fashion Show. Breathtaking one-off garments were showcased on the catwalk in a show which looks at past collections in order to provide an inspiration for the present and future. A huge variation of garments from the 1920's to the 1990's (including garments from classic and iconic designers such as Chanel, Valentino and Dior) were displayed. The make-up was kept classical and chic so as to not distract from the immense glamour and beauty of the stunning clothing, with understated contouring and eye make-up the only prominent feature was the gorgeous coral red lipstick. The models' hair also adhered to the classically chic brief with a simple but elegant pony tail completing the look.

Words: Sarah Harrison

Photos: Lloyd Ramos

ZIAD GHANEM

Final year History student Elyse Clarke reports from backstage and the catwalk at Ziad Ghanem:

For someone who is admittedly too obsessed with make-up, for my first London Fashion Week experience to be Ziad Ghanam’s show was like candy to a baby. I knew that Ghanam favoured avant-garde make-up looks in his shows and his A/W 2013 show “Candy…. Darling?” proved to be no exception. Inspired by the actress Candy Darling, one of Andy Warhol’s ‘Warhol Superstars’, the heavy contouring, bright colours and fully painted faces that came down the catwalk were so refreshingly different to the minimal make-up that so often graces the catwalks. As fellow make-up junkies will attest, piling it on is half the fun and Ghanam’s team did just that.

Backstage the key makeup artist told me that the look they were going for was a very linear, contoured and bright make-up with an emphasis on the eyes and lips. While some models were given a relatively pared down look with a twist on the smoky eye, she said that Ghanam tends to lean towards an almost Drag Queen aesthetic for his shows (which makes sense given that I’m pretty sure a few of the models actually were Drag Queens!). Each model had different make-up but all had elements of the overall look of the show – serious cheekbones, eyelashes up to the sky and a great sense of fun. The products used to create these looks varied but there was a lot of Illamasqua and MAC Pro floating around, which is unsurprising given the range of colours both brands make, with MAC Pro especially specialising in body paint. Individuality was the order of the day, as many models came dancing down the catwalk to the 80s soundtrack, their own tattoos on display and their personal style incorporated into Ghanem’s show.

The hair again varied in its style. Some models had their hair scraped back into buns, with the crown of their head sprayed bright yellow or blue. Others had big bouncy curls and voluminous up-dos dyed baby blue and red, while others simply had their entire head painted. The bold colours in the make-up and hair reflected the use of colour in the collection and lent a theatrical and fantastical element to the collection that made it come alive on the catwalk.

A final highlight of the show was witnessing Made In Chelsea’s Marc Francis and Victoria standing awkwardly in the middle of the runway pre-show because there were no seats for them in the front row. After a few more minutes of tiptoeing around, while simultaneously maintaining their pouts, the MIC stars were finally given some front row seats. Unfortunately for Marc, it was a ‘two between three’ situation and he was piggy in the middle, which, as he would say, was “so not chic.”

While I may not be sporting these extreme looks across campus any time soon, the make-up and hair at Ziad Ghanam show was fun, vibrant and refreshing, and it really was a joy to watch.

Words: Elyse Clarke

Pictures: Elyse Clarke

EDELINE LEE PRESENTATION

Linguistics student Flora Bartlett photographed the Edeline Lee presentation:

BACKSTAGE AT FASHION SCOUT - LFW DAY 2: BERNARD CHANDRAN AW13

CUB Magazine Photographer and English student Lloyd Ramos goes backstage at Fashion Scout:

Clean lines were a strong feature within Bernard Chandran's AW13 collection: bold, dark eyebrows with perfect detailing were the prominent beauty focus, accompanied by nude lips and subtle contouring. The models hair was neatly slicked back into a centre parting with a thick French plait, this simplistic but effectual look only accentuated Chandran's exquisite collection.

Words: Sarah Harrison
Photos: Lloyd Ramos