Coverage Down Under

I just stumbled across a New Zealand website called Worldwear who have recently tracked me down and have some rather complementary things to say about the latest collection in their blog on winter knits, posted yesterday. They like it so much they even have a thumbnail of the Sycamore beanie on their homepage! I'm very flattered.

You can read the blog post here.

What do you think about when you're knitting?

Pitti Filati: big knits big talent

Throughout the duration of the show there was a competition, 'Feel the Yarn', set up as a collaboration between Pitti Immagine and Toscana Promozione who supplied Tuscan yarn to a selection of knitwear students worldwide. Their challenge was to come up with innovative designs using the yarns and all visitors to Pitti Filati were invited to vote for their favourite entry with the winner being announced on the last day*.

There was so much incredible work on display I can't possibly show it all, but here are a few of my favourites, with a few detailed shots for good measure:






First garment by Fan Jiang, of the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, second one down by Ge Bai, also from the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, above garment by Jieun Bae of Polimoda, Italy

*Unfortunately I wasn't there when the winner was announced, nor can I find it anywhere online! If anybody knows, please tell me!

Florence

I can't blog without including some shots of the beautiful city itself, that just wouldn't be right.

Pitti Filati: outside in

I have just got back from three days in Florence, at Pitti Filati. For the uninitiated, Pitti Filati is THE main yarn trade fair, held twice a year in a crumbling fort in the north of the city. This was my first visit, both to the show and to Florence and it was an amazing insight into the industry and, of course, great fun getting a bit of culture in.

I wanted to blog 'live from the scene', but for some reason I struggled to get a successful Wi-Fi connection anywhere in the city! So now I'm back, I'm going to give you a few of my highlights.

One of the first things I encountered when I arrived at the show on Tuesday afternoon was the New Mill stand. While they didn't have any suitable yarns for me to look at I absolutely loved their display. I've re-discovered a bit of a lost passion for gardening this summer so I thought it was pretty cool that New Mill had stacks of knitwear hanging between pots bursting with luscious herbs and other foliage.

Gardening and the outdoors was a bit of a theme: another stand having a bit of fun with plants and knits was Lane Cardate, with their chunky knitted pot holders and yummy looking herbs. In addition to those, the chill out area was covered in fake grass, with cut outs of sheep to keep you company and birdsong playing through hidden speakers. The free glasses of bubbly being handed out were pretty nice, too...

ASOS Marketplace shoot, AW11

We spent Saturday morning photographing the AW11 collection on Columbia Road in East London for ASOS Marketplace. It's deserted on a Saturday, which makes it perfect for a shoot.

My friend, broadcaster & journalist Kim Taylor Bennett, very kindly agreed to model the collection despite having had very little sleep (she had been busy watching The Killers alongside Prince Harry the previous night)! The weather was a bit overcast but managed not to rain (thankfully) and the light was surprisingly lovely to shoot with.

Keep an eye out for the collection on ASOS Marketplace, it will go on sale in late August/early September.

How to dress as a summer cyclist, according to Vogue...

Vogue.com did a piece back in May called How to Dress as a Summer Cyclist and I started to read it thinking it was going to be ridiculously impractical and unrealistic (this wasn't helped by the first image they used, see left - I mean, can you really see either of those models cycling off into the sunset after that shot was taken?!).

Whenever bloggers or magazines shoot girls on bikes they always look very 'fashion' - short shorts with diaphanous blouse and mega wedges. Great if you're getting papped, not so good if you're cycling around London trying to get safely from A to B.

Anyway, as I read on I saw that most of the girls Vogue had spoken to did actually have a fairly practical approach to cycling, with most confessing to having a preference for jeans & flats, with Agyness Deyn saying that her one MUST is to always wear a helmet. They may make you look like a total dweeb, but they're a necessity.

Whenever I'm off somewhere on my bike (and owing to my hatred of London Transport, I pretty much cycle everywhere unless it's tipping down with rain) I'm always in a quandary about what to wear. I'm far too lazy to wear one thing and change when I arrive at my destination which means that, while I love a pair of 5 inch heels and tailored shorts, you'll pretty much always catch me in jeans and flip flops when I'm on my beloved bike. And ALWAYS in a helmet!
[Stephen Meisel image taken from Vogue.com]