Newcastle Fashion Week.

As you may or may not know, this week is Newcastle Fashion Week. There are many fashion themed events being held in the city, and tonight, was no exception.

I was invited to attend a talk from Elizabeth Walker at Northumbria University and I was massively looking forward to it. She talked to us about her life, her career and Fashion in general. she had such an amazing and inspiring life, and told us all about the places all over the world that she has travelled to, making me envious of the places she's been!

Liz Walker

During the talk she outlined how she started out at ballet school, before deciding that a career in ballet wasn't what she wanted, as it was "too much hard work and not enough time for boys!" She then applied to art school, and for those of you also in this position do not give up hope, it took her two attempts at applying, so just keep at it!

The first magazine she worked at was 'Harper's Bazaar' which was then called 'Harper's Queen', and from here she told us about all the people she knows in the industry, people whose work I greatly admire such as Mario Testino, David Bailey and Anna Wintour, and how life on fashion magazines isn't always as glamorous as it seems! (She told us that we shouldn't even think about having friends or a social life during fashion weeks!)

She told us about how she didn't really want to take the job at Marie Claire, but that "Jobs are like boyfriends, the less you want them, the more they want you!" and so she took her career to Marie Claire, where she worked for eighteen years, before freelancing at the Telegraph and The Times.

Throughout the talk she was funny, and charmed us the entire audience, who hung on her every word. She graced us with many anecdotes about her career, including one where Manolo Blahnik wore a pair of stiletto's because: "If you girl's have to suffer for my art then I should too!"

She has released 'The Style Book' and is currently working on a second book 'The Pattern Book'. It is available to buy in several countries, including The UK, Spain, France, America and Japan.

This was such a fabulous talk from such an inspirational fashion legend. we also had the chance to feel like VIP's with our very own 'Reserved' Seats and free Jubilee style cupcakes, courtesy of The Great British Cupcakery! I could get used to these freebies!

Red Soled Shoes.

Tonight sees the launch of the long-anticipated (by me anyway!) exhibition of the work of Christian Louboutin. The exhibition, which takes place from tomorrow (01 May) until July 9th at the Design Museum in London.


When I first heard about the exhibition I was very excited and instantly started planning my attendance the last time I was in London, but I was over-eager and got the dates very wrong! However, I may still have the opportunity to attend and if I do, I will take that opportunity and run with it, possibly dragging my family along for the ride! (Much to my Dad's dismay....)


I have spent the last hour eagerly following the live tweets of the launch courtesy of Elle and Grazia and looking at Pictures on Vogue's website. I need to start saving for my dream pair. 


Every fashionista will appreciate Louboutin's work, and most people I know see them as being a work of art rather than just a shoe. From the Iconic, trademark Red soles, to the individuality of every one, the designer himself sees the shoes as special, but has said that one of the difficulties of the exhibition is that the shoes are being viewed as objects and not being worn. "When I am designing it starts from a sketch but is never complete until the moment of seeing it on someone's foot," he says.


Donna Loveday, the curator of the exhibit, wanted to explore the designers inspiration and background story when she started the exhibit twelve months ago. "When we started I knew that women adored his shoes," said Loveday, "but we wanted visitors to come away with an understanding of how he designs, what inspires him, and to look at his work in progress."


Below are some of my favourite shoes being featured in the exhibit.
Pictures courtesy of Vogue.com