Last Saturday evening I was lucky enough to be invited to the Raffaele Ascione presentation at Vauxhall Fashion Scout. For anyone not familiar with this part of London Fashion Week, this is basically a great opportunity for great new design talents who don’t yet have scheduled shows, to exhibit their collections either through catwalk show, presentation or exhibition.

Ascione’s debut solo collection was an exciting and dramatic presentation featuring bold colours, interesting lines, exquisite lace detailing and some truly unique accessories. There was a level of detail in his work that made it obvious why he had been head hunted at Max Mara where he was based for a year, and has also worked with more familiar design names Gareth Pugh. (You can read more about Ascione’s bio here) It was so refreshing to see some new talent from a young London based designer. After years of watching the live streams from all the big guns, this truly was a breath of fresh air. Bold make up and sleek hair enhanced the drama, and his accessories cleverly complemented the garments. My particular favourite were the oversized clutch bags (which I’ve since discovered were made from actual Indian rugs) and the gold and black circular earrings. See images below, as I’m sure my words are not doing this beautiful collection the justice that it deserves. However, one thing is for sure – this name is definitely one we’ll be seeing in the future, and hopefully on the main Fashion Week show schedule.

Up until this season, my previous experiences of London Fashion Week basically involved streaming live shows at home whilst sat in my pyjamas and eating chocolate hobnobs or sneakily at work when I was supposed to be doing something with spreadsheets. However, this year I decided to “get involved”. I set out to head down to where some of the big shows were taking place and try my hand at some street style snaps. Easier said than done. Let’s just say I wasn’t the only one. Nevertheless, after a delayed start and some awkward blogger battling moments, I managed to get a few great pics and meet some lovely people. Yes, they can exist in the cut throat world of high fashion! Two ladies I must give a personal mention to are Juliana and Maya from Brazilian brand Isolda who have just brought their label to the UK. I was lucky enough to bump into them twice during Fashion Week and both times they were more than happy to pose for photographs and talk to me about Isolda. The collection features beautifully printed silk separates, and exquisite accessories. You can look at the current range on their website here. If you appreciate luxurious quality garments and beautiful prints you will love this collection.

Unfortunately being a complete nobody in the fashion industry meant I couldn’t actually get tickets to any shows BUT I was fortunate to get invited to 2 wonderful presentations – twenty8twelve and Raffaele Ascione. I’ve got a more detailed write up of both presentations that I will post over the weekend, but in the meantime, for something a little lighter see below for my first experience of London Fashion Week in photo form…