maxing it out

I quite like the clothes Laura Lusuardi designs for Max Mara which is why I was very curious to see what the shop on New Bond Street in London would look like.

When entering the shop I did feel a little lost at first. I found myself in the middle of a big room with all the clothes spread out widely and mostly only hanging along the walls.

The whole interior is kept rather minimalistic with light walls and some wood and glass elements joining on to them. Also the soft lighting and quiet music really create a nice and comfortable atmosphere. 

I definitely think the whole store concept goes very well with the classic and luxurious clothes Max Mara stands for and the layout makes it easy to overlook all the products.

The range in the shop includes womenswear, handbags and accessories like sunglasses or hats for example. Not only the designs but also the colour palette for the current season is rather classic and traditional. It ranges from the lighter shades like cream and nude to grey, beige or camel and then to the darker colours like navy, brown and black. Now and again a more daring item like a shiny metallic gold dress for example can be spotted between the rails as it stands out so much from the rest.

Watching the customers who enter the Max Mara store on New Bond Street I noticed that the majority definitely consists of elderly women ranging from perhaps something like 40 to 60 who are out for good quality and timeless pieces and don´t mind spending between 100 and 2000 pounds for a Max Mara item.

The label Max Mara was founded in Italy in 1951 and has since then been so successful that the products are now sold in 71 countries all over the world and I am sure their success will continue because people will always want some timeless and classic pieces in their wardrobe.

back from the future

When entering the Fornarina shop I immediately felt like I was in another world. The ceiling and walls are covered with light blue cloud-shaped plastic blocks which make you feel like you have been sent a few hundred years into the future. Being back-lit with LEDs they are constantly changing colour from blue to a red and then green. The exciting journey continues when climbing up the twisted steel and metacrylic staircase that takes you to another level constantly accompanied by lit up clouds carrying Fornarina products. As you are surrounded by mirrors at every point in the shop you loose any feeling for the actual size of it and everywhere you look the bright Fornarina pink does not let you forget where you are. The futuristic and modern feel is continued throughout with similar abstract shaped furniture and ways of presentation or lighting...and I must say although I was not wearing any form of bright pink clothing, sparkly shoes or pulling a shiny Fornarina suit case I was greeted very friendly by each of the staff members in the shop.

This only UK Fornarina store is located in 30/31 Carnaby Street in Soho, London. It was created by Giorgio Borruso Design who won first place for it in the 2006 ISP/VM+SD International Store Design competition for a specialty store with a sales area from 1500 to 3000 square feet.

Lino Fornari, whose father founded Fornarina in the 1940´s, wants his store designs to evolve from time to time and wants “to make each store a place that creates new relationships and develops new connections”.

The Fornarina range at the Carnaby Street flagship store includes womenswear, shoes, accessories, handbags, purses and suitcases. As they have currently got the autumn/ winter 2010/11 collection in the store the items range from light and heavy knits to fake fur detailed clothes and bright pink down jackets matched up with dazzling accessories. Of course they have also got a broad selection of jeans in different colours and washes for which they have become renown for. The prices range from about 30 pounds for smaller items such as a purse for example to about 200 to 300 pounds for items like a pair of boots or a coat. 

On the outside there are four big shop windows which make it easy to get a glimpse at the exciting store design and the trends that according to Fornarina every young woman should be wearing. Muted autumn colours like beige, brown, black are mixed with their typical bright and flashy colours like pink, red or yellow. 

The people who shop at Fornarina are definitely young women who like to wear body conscious clothes and bright colours that attract attention and also who apparently want to dress like Lindsay Lohan as she was chosen for their advertisement campaign... twice! Fornarina does not have an online shop but the fact that the homepage is connected to facebook, youtube, twitter and myspace shows that they are directly targeting the younger generation.

braided

jacket and bag by Esther Perbandt

Aleks, a friend of mine got shot for the German street style blog "stilinberlin" a few months ago...I think he looks great and totally loving the braided hair!

Lagerfeld x Hogan

Karl Lagerfeld designed a 6 piece spring/ summer 2011 collection for the luxury label Hogan. At first I was not particularly crazy about the pieces but I must say that they look a lot better in the short film "La Lettre" that Lagerfeld staged to go with the collection. I also really like it when designers collaborate and create something new by mixing their personal style or traditions. Starring in Lagerfeld´s short film are his constant companion model Baptiste Giabiconi and the beautiful but-maybe-not-so-talented-at-acting model Magdalena Frackowiak.

love pamela love

I actually want every piece from that collection!

finally turning 21

picture via kilkus.com

According to the Telegraph the successful US retailer Forever 21 is planning to open a shop in the UK. It´s going to be the first one ever in Europe and will be located in the Bullring shopping center in Birmingham! I´ve never been to a Forever 21 store but I know the clothes from the Internet and I´m sure it´ll be just as popular in Europe as it is in the US. The clothes are very young and always follow the newest trends so I think shops like River Island or Topshop definitely need to get ready for some American competition!

Haider Ackermann

Here are some images from the Haider Ackermann show which happened at Paris Fashion Week on Saturday! I really like the colour palette he used...especially the emerald green with different shades of purple. My absolute favourite though is the sleeveless black leather trenchcoat!A bit gloomy for spring/ summer but with the right colours and some nice soft fabrics it would look amazing!

abbey

via hanneli.com

I mean Abbey Lee Kershaw always looks amazing anyway but I must say I absolutely love her new hair colour. The way she´s matched it up with the nude colours of her outfit and the pink lipstick just looks perfect! I also quite like that she´s gone for some solid black boot-type shoes with it.

moving in with Acne

pictures via betterlivingthroughdesign.com and abhfya.com

One of my favourite labels Acne just recently launched its new furniture line at Liberty in London. The creative director of Acne Jonny Johansson reinvented the Nya Berlin sofa of Swedish designer Carl Malmsten by deforming the shape and using Acne´s characteristic materials like denim. My favourite though is the white chair. I love the minimalistic and modern feel of it. I definitely wouldn´t mind having that one in my living room!

 

bubble wrap

So here are some of the looks from the s/s 2011 collection from Sportmax. I really like the 60s inspired A-line dresses and the bright colours. My favourite look would be the white sleeveless shirt top with the sheer and linear elements and the matching knee length skirt with the triangle and round cut-outs with the coral layer of fabric underneath. Although there are a few looks from this collection that I really like I must say that in general there are just too many different elements going on. The colour palette seems very broad and the looks range from sportswear-inspired outfits over multicoloured, bubble wrap-like textured dresses to a clean white chic 60s A-line coat. 

lfw

some pictures I took at London Fashion Week...

Welcome to my blog tinted haze. I´m a 22 year old fashion design student and just recently moved to London from my homewtown in Germany. Loving fashion, art and music I hope this blog will be a place for me to live my passions and perhaps a place of inspiration for others.