THE WEEK IN FASHION: DECEMBER 10th to 14th

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Just 11 days until Christmas and the fashion world is beginning to descend into festive silliness. However, there are several stories of note for us to catch up but before that we turn to in-depth analysis of Victoria Beckham shunning the Spices and the shocking new "megging" phenomenon...


It was supposed to be a mere premiere, the opening night of the latest instalment in the oeuvre of Judy Craymer. Yet it turned into a culturally significant moment as four members of the band formerly known as Spice Girls rocked up attempting to emulate the Girl Power they'd ignited nearly 15 years ago with glitter, botox, flesh on show and girly showing off. What was once so right (well, it was in my mind as a 9 year old) just became so wrong. That wrongness was only magnified when the fifth Spice, Posh a.k.a Victoria Beckham rocked up terribly late looking super chic in her white shirt and shrugged-on coat with her Burberry bedecked boys as companions. She eschewed the post-pop tragedy of joining in with the group posing and pouting of her fellow Spices and instead showed just how much she'd moved on and had created her own new brand of lady power. Lisa Armstong's take on the evening's significance is really spot on.

The latest big, searching debate in fashion is.... The Megging. Indeed, that is the Man Legging. It may seem an absurd notion to entertain right now, but stranger things have happened on Planet Fashion.  They could become the ultimate lazy boy move on from the tracksuit bottoms, much in the same way that leggings were for girls several years back. For further insight, read The Guardian's in-depth investigation. 

Working the Megging (image via telegraph.co.uk)

The AW13 NEWGEN recipients were announced this week. J.W Anderson and Simone Rocha get catwalk sponsorship while newcomers include a man whose does very classy footwear, Liam Fahy, and Paula Gerbase, whose androgynous tailored designs you can find out more about here.

Paula Gerbase designs

Lovely, luxurious Liam Fahy slippers

It's been yet another big week for Stella McCartney. Her brand was the most searched for on the internet this year, no wonder really considering every A-lister worth their salt has had a Stella turn on the red carpet not to mention the fact that every Team BG athlete was kitted out in McCartney kit for the games. To round off her phenomenal year, Stella held her traditional Christmas light switch-on at her Bruton Street store on Monday evening. The honour of switching on the festive display went to Vic Reeves and Paul Whitehouse who also sang to the assembled guests about being vegetarian.

Paul, Stella and Vic sport matching tweeds  (image via http://entertainment.topnewstoday.org)

Ok, so it's not strictly fashion- specific news but the ongoing difficulty of merging our Instagram and Twitter feeds is really to getting to those of us who want to show off lovely pictures of shoes/ handbags/ jewels etc. etc. The two social networking sites are having a number of disagreements which means that they have reduced their compatibility with one another. Find out the details here. And here's to a 2013 when we don't have to keep opening new tabs to see the latest pictures of people's latest fashion finds. Talk about #firstworldproblems.

We're missing out on gems like this thanks to the Instagram/ Twitter feud. Image via Tommy Ton 

Congratulations to Sarah Burton who picked up her OBE at Buckingham Palace yesterday. Burton is due to give birth to twins in February so obviously this makes a lovely story about her being a prine candidate to outfit Duchess Kate for her own pregnancy. Sarah did a lovely job on herself yesterday, going for a gold embroidered coat and simple black dress. Also at the palace was April Ashley who I have coincidentally been learning about in the book I'm reading, The Last Curtsey. Ashley was one of the first transexuals and has had a quite incredible life. She's now been awarded the MBE for her services to transgender relations.

April Ashley and Sarah Burton collect their honours at the palace (images via daily mail and style.com)

Spring/ Summer '13 is really feeling like it's getting underway, especially as the Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs campaigns have now been released. Of course, Ruby Jean Wilson stars in all the optical illusion imagery.

Images via WWD.com and Fashionologie.com

i-D's interview with Sarah Mower is inspiring; if you've ever had so much as a passing thought about a career in fashion then you will find a wealth of advice and very refreshing reality check right here. This one of the best wise quotes-

"You only get anywhere if you have to write – if you actually have to put something down on paper. If you’re driven. You have to be self-critical and write things over and over again, and redo it and redo it. It can take me three hours to write the first sentence."

Sarah Mower with her assistant Hannah Lambert (image via i-donline.com)

If you can't possibly stand another gallery of trinkety fashion gift ideas, then may I refer you to Colin McDowell's edit of the best fashion books to put on your Christmas list this year.

W: The First 40 Years is one of Mr McDowell's recommendations (image via highsnobette.com)

To round off our pre-Christmas Week in Fashion, we bring you two of our favourite celeb outifts of the week.

My long term girl crush on Kirsten Dunst has been renewed after she wore one of Dior's SS13 fabulously simple and chic navy jackets with the metallic, space heels. Meanwhile, Kanye West went for a leather Givenchy kilt when he performed at a Hurricane Sandy fundraiser on Wednesday. The high fashion piece has divided opinion and now has its very own Twitter account, we like it. Happy Weekends everyone!

Kirsten Dunst in Dior (image via stylite.com)

Kanye's Givenchy kilt