That is my much anticipated yearly trip to London, my fashion “olympics”, my greatest source of inspiration. I am a fan of any fashion documentary, I watch interviews with designers or anybody inspiring way more often that cute kitten videos on youtube so you can only imagine how great is to actually be in the same room with Isabel Marant or have a word with Alexa Chung about couture. It’s fabulous. This was my second year at Vogue Festival and even though I kind of thought that topping off last year’s line up would be difficult - they did prove me wrong. So how does Vogue Festival look like and what is it about?
The Talks
Major attraction of the festival usually are the TALKS. It includes the biggest names in the industry and that is where you listen to interviews with them, have an opportunity to ask questions and maybe later on have something signed. It was much more “casual”, despite few mega fans asking for selfies, nobody really got too excited about Alessandro Michele passing by. Ok, maybe with Kim & Kanye (oh yes, they were there) was a different thing, but I deliberately missed it, so I cannot tell. I was happy with my choice to attend talks with Derek Blasberg, Alexa Chung, Lauren Santo Domingo, Hannah Martin, Val Garland, Lisa Eldridge, Isabel Marant, Caroline De Maigret and Alessandro Michele. I missed the ones with Grace Coddington and Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana, but schedule was overlapping and unless you have one of those time-turners from Harry Potter - it’s still not possible to be in two places at the same time. Here are some snaps from "Alexa Chung's style clinic" talk:
Alexa Chung
Lauren Santo Domingo and Derek Blasberg
Alexa Chung
Workshops
That is the best investment you can make if you seek for advice from industry’s professionals. I had two of them - one about Fashion Video production and another about general work opportunities and what they are looking for when hiring. Each of the workshop was a 2 hour session with no more than 40 people divided into 5 groups where you had 1 mentor per table and they switched every 20 minutes, so you got to meet all 5 of them. It did have something in common with speed dating, but nobody was choosing anybody and there was no small talk. I’ve got to meet Susie Forbes (founding principal of Condé Nast College of Fashion and Design) and had a bit of a conversation about Multipotentialites - I really wish I could have a coffee with her every now and then - to get some inspiration and encouragement to get focused.
The Vogue World
When you see that second venue appears to be on East Albert Lawn in Kensington gardens - you get a bit confused, because there is no building there and you start to wonder where they’ll plug their massive amount of gadgets and keep everyone happy in their heels. Yes, they built one, temporary construction tent(if you can even call that), that was chic enough to hold Vogue 100th anniversary gala dinner packed with international celebrities from Kate Moss to Demi Moore. It had way more space than last year and was filled with everything you need for light makeover (hair, nails and makeup) or get a styling advice from Vogue team and put yourself on Vogue cover photoshoot. It is kind of perfect "girls day out" location.
Style
When you first arrive and see all that line of people waiting to enter the venue, the first idea that hits you is :“Ok, so there is the place where all the stylish people gather in London”. And it is kind of true and I thought I’ll fill my camera’s memory cards faster than first day would go to end, but here was a twist - the more you looked at every individual the more you noticed things, suggesting that this might be fake. And I am not the one to compare myself to any of them, because I’m also quite often “trying too hard”, but for some reason I can recognise those who dressed for the event, rather than put on something they would wear daily. There were some nice details, some beautiful combinations, but not always there was a genuine connection between the clothes and the wearer. There were so many new designer bags, so many Gucci bomber jackets and comfy loafers(because Alessandro is taking part at the festival, duh), some walking awkward in their skyscraper heels. But please do not get me wrong, there was still a lot to lay your eyes on, maybe I just felt a little better wearing my man repelling outfit (thank you, Leandra, for the term). Have a look at the gallery below, those were my favourites.
I went to the talk with Isabel Marant and Caroline de Maigret and I think I finally got my answer to the "why do Parisians look effortless chic" question, but more on that next time.
Sincerely,
Ieva
Liza Urla
Cristina Villarreal Fraile
Talina Naviede and Noreen Goodwin
Talina Naviede
PHOTOGRAPHY by Ieva Gedvygaite