Vogue Festival 2012

So as you might know from my rambles on twitter, I was lucky enough and was able to attend the very first Vogue Festival this past weekend. I have my mom and sister to thank for that. Being the “unaware of anything that is going on person” that I am, I didn’t even know about this event until my mom started talking to me about it. She accidently came across it while looking through a magazine while on a plane to San Francisco. Thank heavens she went on that business trip!  The events comprised of 4 different sessions spread out through Friday and Saturday. I have to admit, the event was well worth the 75 British pounds per session, although most would probably agree with me in saying, it was still quite expensive to obtain tickets. So, a huge thanks to my gorgeous sister for helping to pay for it.

Outfit - Day 1
Pants, Bag, and Necklace: Topshop
Blazer: Zara
Grey Scarf: H&M
Shoes: Keds

I wouldn’t describe this event as a festival, but rather a series of talks by industry heavy weights. A fashion industry seminar, if you will. It took place at the Royal Geographical Society in London.  At around 8:30am I arrived for the 9:00am registration and I was happy to see that there weren’t too many people, as early as me, waiting for the doors to open. 

Once inside the first doors, my first instinct was to whip out my camera and take photos of everyone’s outfit. A bit tricky though, too many big of a crowd to be successful. So, instead, I got my wristband and went straight into the festival to see what I would find. They had three stalls in the first area for people to enjoy. The first was a hair stand with amazing stylists from “The Atelier” doing beautiful curls and quick up-dos, and wash-out dyes.

Then there were “Armani’s” top make-up artists giving the latest season’s sultry smoky eyes. Last of the stalls was what seemed to be the most popular. ‘Red My Lips’, as it was called, with beauty experts giving the perfect shade of red to suit your skin tone. I admit this was the first one I went to. “129 Sisley” was chosen to best suit me, and I did love how it looked. I’m not much of a red lipstick girl, well I never seemed to think it suited me, but I’m definitely going to get a stick of this shade now.

A very popular cover photo shoot was also taking place in the next room. You could line up to get your full make up done, be given some great designer accessory, and pose for a Vogue cover mock up. You could then purchase the print out photo for £5.

They also had a little Vogue shop set up to purchase some of the different Vogue books they have published, and of course the official Vogue Festival 2012 t-shirt designed by Mulberry.

To start off the Festival was one of my personal favourites, Christopher Bailey, from Burberry, in conversation with British Vogue editor-in-chief, Alexandra Schulman. Once they sat down a video was played, showing the essence and vibe of Burberry. I was love, love, loving this video for some reason. It had been accompanied by a wonderful piece of music, as well, which totally defined it.  Actually, the music was so loud that you could feel the bass, and it was literally as if you could feel the intensity of what the Burberry brand is.

Christopher was a natural with talking about his inspirations, and the brand.

“Fashion is so much more than clothes, it’s architecture, communications, and art. ... It all starts with a feeling, whether it comes from a piece of music or a photograph. Then from there we start choosing a color palette that suits that feeling, and then some swatches. It’s not until then that we start sketching.”

With Alexandra asking him about how he managed to take the brand to where it is today, 

“Before I came, it was just a company. I was able to turn it into a brand; it just needed a little passion and attention.”

The next talk was given by Alex Brownsell, co-owner of Bleach hair salon, Hanna Hanra, editor of The Beat magazine, and Jaime Perlman, Vogue creative director and editor of Testmag.co.uk, revealing the secrets of their success. This took place in a smaller room at the venue with first come first serve to whoever made it quick enough before it filled up, and, unfortunately, I didn’t make it in time.

Industry insiders were up next, taking about their amazing careers. Lucinda Chambers, British Vogue fashion director; Matthew Williamson, designer; Marigay McKee, chief merchant at Harrods; and Russell Marsh, casting director, took turns talking about their journey to where they are today. My favourites from this were Lucinda and Matthew.

Lucinda telling us how “a cigarette” got her first job at Vogue and about all the disasters they went through during shoots.

"The first (disaster) was the first trip I ever went abroad for. I had seen this place called Nadak in the National Geographic - it's in a rural, very remote part of India and very difficult to get into and also to get out of. I thought that this would be a wonderful place to take Cindy Crawford and Patrick Demarchelier. Of course, they wouldn't mind sleeping in tents with the make-up artists or not having any running water... They didn't, but I wouldn't assume their good nature again!"

"Then there was Emma Watson's cover shoot. A US train driver stole the luggage, carrying hundreds of thousands of pounds-worth of couture. So the shoot started with me finding a pair of sunglasses in my bag -picture one -and Emma wearing the assistant's hat - picture two.”

My favourite quote being, “You have to be a bit bonkers to be a fashion editor”.

Matthew was quite the character as well. The only one not to have prepared any notes for what he was going to say, you could really see how much he really loves what he does. My favourite part was when he started talking about the first time his stuff appeared in Vogue. 

“Jade Jagger called asking if she could have the skirt, and there was Joseph on the phone to her discussing prices. I didn't know who he was talking to, and then he wrote her name down on a piece of paper so I could see, and I just grabbed the phone from him and said ‘You can have the bloody skirt… Just take it!’ ”.

Bringing session 1 to an end was Nigella Lawson, food journalist and broadcaster, in conversation with Kirsty Young, television presenter, about women and food. Nigella was frank and very likeable, talking about her views on women’s relationship with food, and not thinking you deserve to eat certain things.

"If you order what you feel you should have, rather than what you want, it just means you're going to start eating somebody else's chips."

"I remember reading that Elizabeth Hurley had said 'it's either the size 6 jeans or the cookie jar' - and I remember thinking 'well she wants the size 6 jeans and I want the cookie jar - fair enough, we're both happy.”

The first part of session 2 was the great duo Dominico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. In discussion with Alexandra Schulman, they spoke about the three things at the core of their life and their designs; Amore (love), Famiglia (family), and Italianita (being Italian), with three beautiful videos to go along with each one. They also spoke about why their decision to end the D&G line, thoughts on underage models, and how Madonna was the first celebrity to wear the brand.

"When we decided to do it, the people called us crazy - but we needed to do it. Chanel has one label; Gucci; Vuitton, why do we need D&G? People call Dolce & Gabbana 'D&G', it is the symbol for Dolce & Gabbana, there's no need for us to have two labels."

"People say models are so young, they're so skinny, but Mr. Balenciaga used models at 16 and that will never change. People say they are skinny, but there is a difference between skinny and sick. If someone is sick, they're sick. It's not because of fashion. If I have flu, I have flu; it's not because I work in fashion."

"We went to see her (Madonna) on the Blond Ambition tour, we were big fans. We were watching the show - she was wearing Jean Paul Gaultier then - and I said to Domenico 'Imagine if one day she wore Dolce & Gabbana.' Then we picked up the paper and there she was, in one of our dresses."

For the next talk, taking us through their customizations of an American Apparel sweatshirt, were designers Louise Gray, Mark Fast, Simone Rocha, and Dr. Noki.

Then it was a discussion on Too Young? Too Old? Does Fashion Have an Age Limit? This was a panel of Lisa Armstrong, deputy fashion editor Sunday Times, Mary Portas, retail expert, Laura Bailey, Vogue.com blogger, Edie Campbell, model, Anne Robinson, television presenter, and Pixie Geldof, model and socialite.

"There is an obsession with youth and not necessarily with beauty," Mary Portas said. "Often, the face doesn't go with the fashion. Your legs are a sexual currency for youth and cleavage is a sexual currency when you get older. It's somehow inappropriate to see a teenager with cleavage."

The last talk of the day was Stella McCartney in discussion with Kate Hudson. This was a huge surprise to me. I had no idea Kate Hudson was going to be there until about an hour before while I was on the phone with my mom, telling her about the speakers of the day. How is it that she seems to find out about these things and I don’t?

Kate really is very personable and seems like she could be anyone’s best friend, which I loved. Stella and Kate have been friends for years and it showed through the discussion. I loved the story they told of when they first met, and Kate’s response to Stella designing the Olympic outfits for the UK.

"We met at the VH1 Fashion Awards," Hudson said. "I saw her - she was so cool - standing in this doorway with Keith Richards."

Stella, "It was over 1,000 pieces," she explained. "We designed everything they wear. For all the disciplines."

"You might be responsible for wins and losses," Hudson added with a smirk.

Outfit - Day 2

Dress - Dorothy Perkins

Cardigan - Forever 21

Shoes - Topshop

Saturaday morning was here was it was time for round 2 of the festival. I tried to arrive as early as I did the the day before but this time the line to get in was literally around the corner! Once they opened the doors though we were moving quite quickly so it wasn’t too bad. I had been checking twitter all Friday and that morning to see what everyone was saying about the event, and to my delight I saw that Susie Bubble said she was hopefully going to attend today. Yay, so I was trying to look out for her from the moment I went in. 

 The first guest of the day was Diane Von Furstenberg. From the moment she entered you could tell she owned that stage, and was going to be a great speaker. She was indeed. She wasn’t in discussion with anyone but rather just stood on stage and took us through her life and career; from her first job at a print factory in Belgium to where she is today, and even how she came up with the iconic wrap dress. My favorite quotes of the event definitely came from her.

“Belgium is very boring. Maybe that’s why we have so many exciting designers from there.”

"At first I couldn't believe it - I mean how dare he assume I wanted to marry him. But, of course, half an hour later I was very happy."

“The wrap dress was everywhere. Soon we were doing 25,000 a week… that’s 50,000 sleeves!!!”

"I was on an early flight one morning and I was the only woman on the plane. On the same day, I'd managed to make it onto the cover of the Wall Street Journal - which I had bought for the journey. There was a man sitting next to me on the plane and he kept staring at my legs and nudging me in the way someone does when they want to talk to you, but don't know what to say. So instead, the first thing he said to me was: 'Why would a girl like you be reading Wall Street Journal?' I looked at him like 'you jerk'. I never said to him, 'look you idiot, I'm on the cover!' Of all the satisfactions I've ever had in my life, that was the biggest."

“So, I sold the cosmetics line. By that time the kids were teenagers and when you have teenagers, you love them but you don’t like them. And they don’t like you either. So they went to boarding school and I went to Paris.”

“We’re a love brand, not a luxury brand.”

“We have a lot of vintage because I’m a vintage.”

“I designed some rooms for Claridge’s, my favorite hotel in London. But now that I am in London, my rooms are booked.”

After that was a talk with the amazing photographer, Tim Walker. This was in the same small room that I didn’t manage to get into the day before, so I ran to try to get a seat. Of course I didn’t make it in time, but it turned out because of popular demand they were going to have a second Tim Walker talk right after the first. Everyone immediately lined up to see him, which literally went through the whole venue, around the room and into the café area. So glad I was able to get in, it was really inspiring. Tim and ex-Vogue fashion editor, Kate Phelan (now at Topshop), took us through some iconic shoots like Lily Cole in India for the July 2005 issue and Sasha Pivovarova in Northern Russia for January 2007 issue. He also showed us some of his scrapbooks of sketched out shots and reference imagery for every shoot. I was also surprised to hear about how he shoots entirely on film and that doesn't rely on any sort of artificial light, reflectors or flash guns. That truly is incredible. 

Once he finished a small crowd formed around him to get autographs and photos. I of course was one of those people. Tim Walker being my all time favorite photographer ever, I had to get a chance to say hi. As he started taking pics with a few people, he then asked what exactly we each wanted so that he could accommodate people accordingly. I told him I just wanted to ask him a few questions and he seemed happy to answer them. With a photography project coming up for my university work, I thought I might ask him for a bit of advice and let him know my idea for the brief assigned. As he was giving me the advice I couldn’t help but think how this was probably the greatest moment of my life so far. I then took a quick photo with him and was on my way. By that time I had already missed most of the next talk but at that point I wasn’t too bothered having spent a good 10 minutes in conversation with such an amazing talent.

That talk was with young British designers such as Nicolas Kirkwood, Mary Katrantzou, Christopher Kane, Roksanda Ilincic, Holly Fulton, and Henry Holland.

The next was another great photographer and legend, David Bailey. The most candid of all the guests, he was open and vey frank going off on tangents from the question asked at every opportunity.

As I was waiting for the first talk to begin was looking around the room when I saw Susie Bubble walking in and taking a seat. I was so excited that I actually got to see her, so of course like the stalker fan I probably came across as, I asked her if I could have a picture with her. She was very happy to and did the same for about another 5 girls standing behind me. Thanks Susie! 

Now for the first of the last session, and what probably drew the biggest crowd; Tom Ford. With constant banter and flirtations with both Editor in Chief, Alex Schulman, and the audience, everyone in the room seemed to be captivated by his charm.

Tom Ford: “You're not wearing my nail polish.”

Alex Schulman: “No, it's Chanel.”

Tom Ford: *Looks at audience and shrugs* “I was reading your book.”

When Alexandra commented on how open he was about his sexuality he retorted:

 "Have you ever slept with a woman?"

This was followed by a quick and prompt “No” by Alex.  

When it was turned to the audience I quickly put up my hand to ask a question. I wanted to hear his thoughts on the having to put out a collection on set dates every year in time for fashion week, and whether or not he finds this restricting as a designer.

“Sure, I would love to produce whenever I wanted, of course. Fashion also doesn’t need to change as often as it does. Sometimes a lot of people still like what they saw from previous collections. But unfortunately we live in a world that has a constant turn over and stores need to be changing stock to give costumers something new to look at.”

Another customization walk through was next; this time with designers JW Anderson, David Koma, James Long, and Christopher Raeburn.

I then went in to hear a Q&A discussion with models Eva Herzigova, Lily Cole, Natalia Vodianova, and Jourdan Dunn. Giving constant advice and words of wisdom throughout there were a few hysterical moments.

Jourdan: "I've learnt to accept my flaws - I hated being skinny and lanky growing up. I think I'm fine now so I've decided that no one can tell me otherwise. OK I'm skinny - what's next, let's move on!"

Natalia seemed to be the lighter hearted from the group being more candid with her thoughts.

“Come on guys, it’s better to be skinny than fat.”

“If you all work out and eat healthy then you can look like us too.”

Jourdan was in totally hysterics, caught with the giggles for most of Natalia’s bold statements.

Pointing to Natalia, Jourdan stated “I love this girl; she’s my kind of chick.”

On the difference between what it was like to be a model today and it used to be in the supermodel era Natalia added “No one parties anymore”.

Jourdan looking beautiful in a head to toe Burberry outfit.

To finish off the whole event was a panel discussion regarding the red carpet. This was held by photographer, Richard Young, actress Joely Richardson, vintage dealer, William Banks-Blaney, and stylist and designer, Rachel Zoe. They went through memorable red carpet moments such as Elizabeth Hurley’s infamous safety pin dress, to Rachel’s proudest red carpet styling. One thing I strongly agreed with was their thoughts on black tie. Both Richard and Rachel believe that black tie and the time of the gown is slowly becoming less prominent. If people start dressing slightly more casual for the Oscars, then where are we ever going to see beautiful princess like gowns again?

At the end they asked the audience to choose their favorite from 5 images that Vogue holds as the best red carpet looks. Gwyneth Paltrow's Tom Ford number , worn to the 2012 Oscars, emerged as a clear winner with almost all of the audience’s votes.

Even though I greatly enjoyed The Vogue Festival and all the guest speakers and activities, I still want to give me thoughts on how it could have been improved. I was very disappointed in the organization of the event. Each talk was straight after each other,not giving anyone time to be able to visit some of the great hair , make up, and photo-shoot stands that were there. You would have basically had to choose between seeing   one of the talks or going to the stalls. And if you were like me and was there for the full days, you couldn't even get lunch without having to miss out on a talk. This was quite frustrating. One other thing they could have changed was the talks that took place in the smaller room. During each session, there was 1 talk that took place separately, in a smaller room, which they made first come first serve. During this time there was no other main talk going on, so why not just hold these in the main theater like all the rest so everyone could be able to attend. We didn't pay £75 pounds to miss out on anything.

I do hope that Vogue does continue to hold this event every year, as I it is a great way to get an insight into the views, and lives of industry heavy weights. 

This is the official Vogue Festival t-shirt, designed by Mulberry. Being the owner of a few Fashion Night Out t-shirts, this one is for sure my favorite of industry event clothing.

   

Here are the Vogue TV's coverage of the event

Catch me at the festival at 0:20 and again at 0:30 

Also check out the great fashion of all the festival goers in my street style page, The Studded Streets