Blogging is Best

Young fashionistas find fame from the front row online

Blogging is the hip new thing. OK, so it might not be brand new - officially ten years old this month, it's ancient in internet terms. And it's hardly exclusive - anyone can (and does) do it: there are 10 million active users on the Google-owned Blogger alone. But a clutch of high profile bloggers have recently been getting much mileage out of their cyber writing skills.

I'm thinking in particular of the diminutive 13-year-old fashion blogger, Tavi Gevinson, hailed as "the true star of New York Fashion Week" by The Guardian. The barely-a-teenager went down a storm skipping school for front row seats at all of New York's hottest shows, having her picture taken alongside hipsters like Katie Grand. Hell, even Vogue blogged about her blog.

Special mention also goes to the Los Angeles Times journalist Booth Moore who tweeted from London Fashion Week that London is the only place you'd see someone walk out of the gym in sweaty clothes and directly into the pub. But of course. And being a Pret addict (every lunchtime, without fail) I especially liked her lament at the lack of a Pret A Manager in LA.

If further proof that blogs are big right now were needed take a look at the cinema listings. Out this month is Julie and Julia, a film based on the book based on a blog detailing one woman's quest to cook Julia Child's (think Delia Smith) recipes - at a rate of (almost) one a day for a year. I'm thinking Sadie's Column is a catchy title for a book deal/film script (well, if a school girl can do it...).

So, in my quest to take my blog further than this here webpage I thought it only right to invest in a Burberry coat. Why? What possible relevance could this have to writing, you may well ask. A cold snap in the office, is it? Not exactly. In the interests of creating the best blog ever - all film/book deals welcome - this week's column is dedicated to the hottest ticket in town: London Fashion Week. And the indulgent designer jacket purchase? It's in honour of Burberry's return to LFW, of course. Any excuse, really.

This season, Burberry ditched Milan for London as LFW celebrated its 25th anniversary. And it wasn't the only top designer to reappear for the landmark birthday. Matthew Williamson also returned to London, having shown in New York for the last five years (except for a one-off show in London in 2007 for his label's 10th anniversary, celebrated with a little help from Prince and marked by a dedicated solo show at the Design Museum). Williamson didn't disappoint with a dazzling show, celebrity studded audience and enough sequins to keep all the Strictly Come Dancing contestants in costumes for the entire series.

There was a strong showing from best of British labels like Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Luella and Twenty8Twelve (aka Sienna and Savannah Miller) who all helped celebrate 25 years of London Fashion Week. The patriotic vibe was upheld by a black, grey and white union jack fluttering over LFW's new home at Somerset House. But the whole of London was catwalk as shows took place at venues as various as Claridges' ballroom, Lawrence Hall at the Royal Horticultural Halls and, erm, a disused dairy in Bloomsbury.

London was very much the inspiration for Sienna Miller - a girl almost as much in love with the city as I am - who was heard saying: "My biggest inspiration is driving through London, people really aren't afraid to be themselves here. It's a really inspirational place to live and design in." Hmm, maybe it's because she's a Londoner...

Adding to the glitz and glamour were the A-list-attended after parties - equally as important as the catwalk action. Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue, hosted a party at Le Caprice while Sir Philip 'Top Shop' Green took over The Ivy for a dinner attended by Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Kelly Brook and Anna Wintour, editor of US Vogue. Wintour, usually a notable absence at LFW, watched Christopher Kane's show - whose ex-employee, Donatella Versace, was also in the audience, which just goes to show exactly how brightly his star burns in the fashion firmament right now.

The 27-year-old designer revealed his gingham Lolita-inspired, sexy yet innocent collection and stole the show with journalists variously hailing it as "the one nobody can bear to miss" (Vogue), "breathtakingly sophisticated" (The Times) and "both wholesome and fierce" (WWD).

Another young designer making the headlines was Canadian Mark Fast who waded in on the thorny issue of models' sizes. In an attempt to prove that his body-conscious (ie leaves you feeling hideously self-conscious) clothes could be worn by anyone - not just the usual model types - he sent three size 12-14 models down the catwalk.

Fast made all the headlines but he was one of eight designers chosen for All Walks Beyond the Catwalk, a Friday night show at Somerset House backed by the British Fashion Council and organised by Caryn Franklin to promote models of all sizes. Something I hope we see more of.

The debate continues as to whether he proved his point or not (I can't say that loosely knitted dress on a 'normal' sized girl had me rushing out to buy one) but it's good to see some curves on the catwalk. Seriously, if you saw one of the rake-thin catwalk models in the street you'd stop and stare, not at their captivating beauty but because - with gangly limbs, jutting hip bones and exaggerated height - they simply don't look like everyone else. It's a shame designers don't design for 'normal' people but at least some are prepared to speak out on the subject.

There's no disputing Fashion Week is a kind of madness. Frocks, flesh and fabulousness flashes past in a whirlwind week, punctuated by what feels like eternal periods of waiting around for shows to begin. All that aside, there's a madness to the inaccessibility of it all - the top designer gear is out of reach, price wise, for most mere mortals with statement pieces costing thousands of pounds.

But its importance is in the trickle-down effect. Who can forget that brilliant line in The Devil Wears Prada when Meryl Streep tells Anna Hathaway's character where the exact shade of green her rather ordinary M&S type jumper originated from. And the high street fashion stores and supermarkets are completely shameless about their rip-offs of the most on-trend designs hitting the shops at knock-down prices, er, right about now.

The designers themselves are also on-hand to help us get with the latest gear - even if we can't afford couture - helpfully creating diffusion lines. This year, Williamson's collection for high street store H&M sold out and he also does an on-going line at Debenhams which is brilliant for this kind of thing - Jasper Conran, John Rocha and Ben de Lisi are just some of the others I always look out for in their Oxford Street store. TK Maxx is another good tip for all you bargain hunters out there - top names like Alexander McQueen, Luella and Armani are all stocked at brilliantly discount prices. Oh and that Burberry jacket? Confession time: TK Maxx for £69.99, you can't wrong.

Going to the Dogs

The Save Our Stow campaign opposing the much-lamented loss of greyhound racing at Walthamstow Stadium following its closure last year is showing signs of success. Local newspaper Waltham Forest Guardian reports that 'behind the scenes' talks have seen "progress between the owners and potential buyers". The track was one of the last bastions of a very British way of life, the charms of which have been captured in a photographic exhibition charting the last three months before the stadium closed. The exhibition at Vestry House Museum is complemented by once-a-week screenings of 'Just Another Day', a documentary about the track on The Big Screen in Walthamstow town square, shown every Friday from 12.30pm to 1pm until 2nd October.

Tube Travel Numbers Down the Tube

The news this week that commuters made 190,000 fewer journeys a day in August - the largest drop since the late '80s - came with a thinly veiled threat of above-average fare increases. Groan. Never mind the fact that London already has the most expensive tube system in Europe with its £4 cash fare for a single journey in the city centre. Amid talk of 'tough choices', 'reduced revenue' and 'huge pressures on our budget' mayor Boris Johnson couldn't resist a pop at former mayor Ken Livingstone saying: "We are still paying the price for those decisions". Transport for London blamed the recession and job cuts.

National Theatre set for £50 Million Makeover

Plans are afoot to redesign and improve the National Theatre with £50 million earmarked for the "very ambitious plan" in the words of artistic director Nicholas Hytner. Improvements are intended "to open the building up" and include a learning and participation centre as well as a new foyer and bar. The scheme will also feature environmentally friendly, energy saving elements. Architects Haworth Tompkins have been tasked with the sizeable project, the firm already responsible for the modernisation of the National Theatre Studio which re-opened in November 2007. The Young Vic and the Royal Court theatres in London are also their work and judging by these - and the theatre bars in particular - the revamped National will be something to look forward to.

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