Probably one of the best things about being in this line of work is getting to know the fashion industry behind the scenes. We started out when I was just 27, but designers can start out a whole lot earlier. They start with an idea, these ideas turn into designs, designs turn into samples, samples then are tailored, tweaked and perfected. Once these samples are just right, they are shown to buyers and it’s time for selling, and that’s probably the exciting part, and probably the hardest.
Polly King Showrooms is a vehicle for young and not so young designers to show their work to buyers all over the globe. This particular showroom was held in the Bastille district of Paris. It looked like this…
An amazing bunch of people were showing their creations.
Even though it would be easy to go through each of the designers, here are some of my highlights.
The first one I’d love to talk about is a girl called Vicki Murdoch at Silken Flavours. This is her homepage image, pretty striking, even if only for the exposed nipple factor.
Vicki bought her F-1000 steamer way back in 2010 when she started to make turbans! From there she’s done some amazing things with silk. Amazing if you like brilliant patterns, awesome cushions and, er, exotic birds, which I do.
Next up is another of one of our East London neighbours, Hermione De Paula, aka Mia. She excels at ‘unusual hand painted floral prints with a twist’, and she does it pretty well I think (mind you so does Vogue and about a billion other amazing publications).
Her stuff again is super delicate, so she’s been using her Kate for a few years now. What a character…
Lastly here’s an amazing brand you might want to know if you like your denim. MIH, or Made In Heaven, started way back in 1969. Self confessed ‘effortless, understated and cool’, i’d have to agree.
Iconic and very British, they re-launched in 2005 as MiH by Chloe Lonsdale, goddaughter of the original founder.
People don’t tend to think about denim when using a steamer, but if you don’t want that horrible shine (like if you’ve ever tried to iron your suit trousers, and failed), avoid the iron and use a steamer.
It was a great venue full of good stuff, good luck to everyone involved, hope you sold loads! Here’a a few more pics. Thanks to Polly for getting us involved.
Lastly here’s a pic of two Parisienne models showing you exactly how not to use a Fridja garment steamer. Cheers girls.
