Our Great British Style: Cath Kidston, Luella…
Oct 29, 2008 fashion
I have a new favourite day of the week. Tuesday. Not only does it bring about the end of Monday, but all my favourite things seem to fall on that particular day, Look, Grazia, This Mornings ‘fashion feature’….it’s the one day I really allow myself to kick back and relax, my mid-week ‘weekend’….and now the pleasure is even greater, thanks to the awesome programme ‘ British Style Genius’.
I’m hooked – It’s such a wonderful celebration of our talented designers, enviable high street and inspirational attitude to style. I believe last nights episode was the best yet!
‘By Royal Appointment, The Country Look’ focussed on our Monarchy’s influence over Great Britain’s signature style and the stories and influences behind iconic items of fashion.
Heritage is a huge trend for this season and who knew that Helen Mirren sporting a Barbour in ‘The Queen’ would spark a surge in sales of the coat in New York?
A favourite British designer of mine is Cath Kidston, whose whimsical prints merge classic and nostalgic with a modern edge. Kidston marries beautiful, fun, vintage prints with practical objects and homewares – an attitude to design that is innately British! I first noticed her designs a couple years ago when I saw the Cowboy Cream Wallpaper hanging in a boutique changing room… I loved the print so much it actually made me broody!
I am currently saving up for the Strawberry Breakfast Set (sixteen pieces) – it reminds me of the china my Nana owned – I associate the print with Devon and cream teas…that really is the genius behind Cath Kidston, her prints evoke an emotional response, a reminder of something that is both Great and British, like the sea side or our gorgeous flora and forna.
It is perhaps Luella Bartley who’s influenced me most though. I adore her designs – the way she uses floral prints without being too prissy, mixing hard materials with soft, exaggerating our British eccentricities, creating “the kind of clothes you can get drunk and fall over in”. She somehow makes ‘Sloney’ look ‘so me!’
Distinctive, creative, edgy and fun, in short, our British Style is genius.
Tags: british, british style, cath kidston, designer, designer prints, fabrics, fashion, kidston, luella bartley
