THREE'S A TREND: SKROUSERS? SKIRTS OVER TROUSERS

Posted by Bethan Holt, Junior Fashion Editor at Large

They were made from scratchy nylon. I wore them with an embellished lilac top and sparkly hair clips from Claire's accessories. I felt good. I was 11 years old and they were skrousers, or whatever you call a skirt/ trouser hybrid. Mine came from New Look and were properly attached together so there was no making them just separate pieces. I felt awesome at the time, but soon afterwards consigned my skrousers to the "Regrettable/ Embarrassing" category in my own personal fashion history.

And yet, a glance at Dries Van Noten AW13 gives a newly glamourous slant to the item I thought would never see the fashion light of day again. Dries' jacquards, drop waists and feathers are worlds away from my young self's cheapo skirt over trousers styling but the idea is, in many ways, the same. A skirt is girlish while trousers, especially in an evening context, are cool and a bit unexpected. When the two combine, they form a silhouette which makes you not sure what to think. I think we like that, being a bit undecided. Dries's skrousers are very chic and lady like, as were the option shown by Alexander Wang as part of his debut Balenciaga collection. Then, thinking back to London, Marques' Alemeida did little pelmet denim skirts over super baggy frayed jeans. And there you have it, three's a trend. I know that other designers have done this too by now ( ACNE, Clements Ribeiro) but these three feel like the strongest anchors for the look. Whether we'll be brave enough to actually wear them again is another matter entirely. One thing's for sure, I'm still glad I haven't kept my old New Look jobbies but I would be more than happy to roadtest the Dries Van Noten version...

Dries Van Noten AW13

Marques'Almeida AW13

Balenciaga AW13

THREE'S A TREND: BIG JIGSAW CAMO

Posted by Bethan Holt, Junior Fashion Editor at Large

From the coolest store on the high street to the most talked about designer brand of the moment to exciting young designers, camo is set to be the big print of AW13...

CHRISTOPHER KANE

 WHISTLES

MARQUES'ALMEIDA

And just because.... It's the Harlem Shake, Army edition

SPORT INSPIRED: OPENING CEREMONY'S NEW ANNUAL

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Last night I finally got myself along to Opening Ceremony's pop up shop in Covent Garden. It was full of delectable pieces from familiar designers like Maarten van der Horst and Marques'Almeida but also introduced me to Norma Kamali and Chloe Sevigny's cute skater skirts and animal print knits. Struck with indecision, the only thing I came away with was Opening Ceremony's newly released Annual- a new book/ magazine hybrid which will be published in limited edition each year with a different theme.  In a no brainer kind of way, this year's is all about Sport.

The book, because really that's what it is given it's £20, is full of shoots where models do yoga poses in Carven, ride horses in Jonathan Saunders or renact forgotten Olympic sports like the tug of war wearing Band of Outsiders.  Embedded amongst these are profiles of young athletes, sport themed memoirs and interviews with inspiring sporty people. I know that leafing through its pages will keep me entertained for hours, plus it's a nice, offbeat reminder of what has been the most brilliant few weeks of Olympic and Paralympic sport. The annual is edited by Rory Satran, OC's head of online development and digital platforms. I thought that was interesting in itself- OC's digital co-ordinator heading up a big print project shows that the brand a. takes both media very seriously b. sees that there should be continuity between the two. In her editor letter, Satran says "Opening Ceremony is like a geeky fashion Olympics, with the original New York flagship as our home stadium.... The company takes its name from Baron de Coubertin's modern Olympic games" most importantly though "sport brings us together, and adds fun and meaning to our lives".

 "The Deep End" shoot is seductive and fresh and basically makes you want to plunge in and do 50 lengths. The images were taken by Zoe Ghertner and styled by Lester Garcia (who works with Jeremy Scott's). It is all about the contours of the body, the meeting of flesh and water and the kind of peace you get from gliding through the pool- well, that's what I got anyway. It reminded me that I really need to read Swimming Studies- reviewed here- a comprehensive look at the sport written by a former Olympic hopeful who still has a kind of love/hate obsession despite giving up her dreams when her family moved away from where she trained. I have heard many good things and am tentatively hoping it might be to swimming what Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is to running.

Anyway, here's a taster of Ghertner's gorgeous shoot. You can get Opening Ceremony's Annual online here.