In today's blog I thought I'd share my fabulous finds at this week's Scoop International Show. Launched in 2011 it's an industry fashion fair for boutique labels held at the Saatchi Gallery in London's Chelsea.
Scoop prides itself on being fashion forward and nurturing creativity. This year it promoted Belgian designers, hoping to find the next Dries Van Noten, Raf Simons (Dior's new creative director) and Martin Margiela - all Belgian home-grown talent.
Featured designers included Antwerp-based Nathalie Vleeschouwer, 'queen of the jersey dress'; she is known for her signature prints and vibrant colour palette. Essentiel is another hotly tipped label from Antwerp, designer Esfandiar Eghtessadi debuted a quirky youthful collection - think geek-chic. The city also boasts design duo Vicky Vinck and Katrien Strijbol, of acclaimed label Just In Case; their Spring 2012 collection is soft and romantic with exquisite embroidered detail.
Brussels was represented by Rue Blanche, a chic and understated womens-wear label; meanwhile mother and daughter design team, Mooiloop, focus on bright prints and colourful feminine dresses. Did you know in Belgium a tank top is called a Marcel? Well you do now, and the Fabuleux Marcel De Bruxelles is just that, a label that specialises in basic tees and tanks.
The Belgians formed only a fraction of the Scoop show, with over 200 different brands exhibiting. Pieces that caught my eye in this edition were tailored dresses by Goat, a British brand apparently worn by Kirsten Dunst and Gwyneth Paltrow. I particularly liked a coat dress with placket fastening which was the epitome of sophisticated glamour.
In contrast the pared down simplicity of the Scandinavians featured strongly at the show, with designers from Sweden and Norway. Swedish designer label By Malina had some gorgeously romantic hand-printed silk maxi-dresses.
Accessories were bold with the collar necklace still a firm fashion favourite. Here is my edit from the show:
I fell in love with a skull cuff by Nicholas King, an emerging fashion favourite who has worked for John Galliano and Donna Karan. He specialises in creating bold hand-made resin jewelry, his directional pieces have appeared in Vogue, Vanity Fair and Harpers Bazaar.
Nocturne, a London-based label stocked by glam-net.com, had some stunning collar necklaces;
a statement necklace by a Roman design team, Luxury Fashion, also caught my eye.
L.A. designer Gillian Julius's cuffs looked amazing - chunky yet feminine glamour. She told me her new collection features rose gold tones which is going down a storm with fashionistas in the Middle-East. She will be sending me an image and I will post it up pronto, soon as I have it!
Last but not least I came across Hanky Panky, a New York label who create fun, sexy lingerie. With a strong celebrity following which includes Beyonce, Rihanna, Angelina Jolie and Cameron Diaz; the label claims to produce the world's most comfortable thong. The team kindly gave me a sample - I will road test it tomorrow and give you an update!
If you want to see the images of my picks from the show visit my blog www.glamyou.co.uk.