My Year in Fashion 2015

So this year I managed to visit a variety of fashion events, exhibitions and shows in both the UK and abroad. Here's a round up of what I saw and loved in 2015.

January saw me applying to get into LFW shows in February and researching fashion writing courses. I was reluctant to go back to university for a Masters due to the cost, but I was determined to somehow get a job in fashion. Luckily things happened on that front this year!

My first LFW Week of the year in February saw me at a few presentations (Orla Kiely, Faustine Steinmetz) and drinking boatloads of coffee swanning around the beautiful Somerset House. I also enjoyed the Guy Bourdin fashion photography exhibition in the galleries there, a crazy rickshaw ride, and named fashion cocktails at the ME Hotel. Stand out shows were Mary Katrantzou, Ashley Williams, Giles and Christopher Kane.

I managed to get tickets for my sister and I to attend the opening day of Savage Beauty in March, I couldn't sleep the night before (I don't think I've ever gotten so excited about an exhibition in my life). It was amazing to see his work in so much detail, I wish I'd just got to see it twice. I especially enjoyed seeing The Cabinet of Curiosities and outfits from the Plato's Atlantis collection from SS 2010 (the Armadillo boots)! It was romantic, brilliant and moving. I also was happy to start blogging for Model and Celebrity Personal Trainer Dan Roberts on his fitness website! Exciting times!

I spent the weekend at the end of April in London attending my first Vogue Festival, and was  extremely excited to see John Galliano and Jean Paul Gaultier in conversation (with Erin O'Connor and Alexandra Shulman respectively) - these talks were informative, funny and moving. I loved the Chanel photo booth and getting my photograph on a Vogue cover, and even having one of my covers featured in Vogue (I took my friend's Barbie and dressed it JPG style, in the Chanel milk carton bag). 

Newcastle Fashion Week got revamped in May as NE1 Fashion Futures and it was world class. I attended excellent informative talks about the fashion industry by Henry Holland and Vogue Editor Alexandra Shulman, as well as the impressive end of year Northumbria University show at Baltic museum.

In June I had a bit of a rest and tried to recharge my batteries for the months to follow. God knows what its like when you're going to all four Fashion Weeks!

I was lucky enough to be invited to write about the fantastic Style is Eternal exhibition at the North East's very own French Chateau, The Bowes Museum in July. It was a truly memorable event, with Yves Saint Laurent's partner Pierre Berge in attendance! I wore vintage YSL and became a socialite for the evening! With music from the Northern Sinfonia. amazing food, a chance to look at key pieces from YSL's stellar ground-breaking collections and Hot Chip on the decks, this was definitely the highlight of my year in fashion! 

I spent most of August writing about London Fashion Week and up-and-coming designers chosen by Newgen and Fashion East to show at LFW. I love finding out about new designers and profiling them at Fashion Week. This year I met Ashley Williams and Claire Barrow at LFW Designer Showrooms and totally loved their fun collections.

My second LFW (SS 2016) this year in September took me to Soho in London - Brewer Street Car Park made for an interesting venue change from Somerset House. I got to meet more designers at the Designer Showrooms (I even met Zandra Rhodes) and enjoyed watching some shows outside. Stand out shows included Christopher Kane, Fyodor Golan, Giles and J W Anderson.

In October I visited this photography exhibition at the European Museum of Photography in Paris, which also featured some unfinished outfits by Alber Elbaz managed to be both fun and highly informative - I adored seeing the detail of his romantic gowns so closely and it made me quite giddy. Not long after this he stepped down as Creative Director of Lanvin (I remember I cried on the train when I saw it on Twitter). His fun, exuberant personality and work will be difficult to follow. 

I went through merry hell to get to Mademoiselle Prive on the last day of November (and queued for two hours) but it was worth it - an innovative, fun exhibition which immersed the audience in technology (an app was necessary to interact with large parts of the exhibition). The quintessential English garden entrance at the Saatchi Gallery was beautiful, there were crazy Chanel art exhibits, delicate gowns displayed on beams of white light, Karl and Coco Chanel's battle of wits in a hilarious film, and a sensory room full of fabrics.

After all this busyness I broke my damn ankle at the end of November and was pretty much out of action the whole of December - I was very excited to be accepted on the Mastered with Tim Blanks Fashion Writing course so am spending December researching and writing and challenging myself to push the boundaries! I'm very excited about 2016 and wishing you the best year ever!