Ri-Ri for River Island

It's definitely been a tumultuous couple of days for Rihanna since she debuted her River Island collection during London Fashion Week on Saturday so apologies for this post being a bit behind the times. She used Jourdan Dunn and Charlotte Free to showcase her first ever collection. Other featured models included Tao Okamoto, Ataui Deng and Bambi Northwood Blyth.  I LOVE the name Bambi #justsaying

At the after-party following her fashion show, the singer slash designer got a bottle thrown at her by a heckler outside the club, which resulted in her bodyguard getting his leg injured and RiRi getting a bloody scrape on her knee, poor love.

Now, the reviews for her collection are in and let's politely say they are mixed.  Tom Sykes of The Daily Beast called it "a horror show," saying:
"Rihanna's show was a tiresome, underwhelming and uninspired marketing exercise. The clothes were hideous and without an ounce of panache or style between them. It was like Fright Night in Kmart."

On the other hand, Elle magazine was rather kind, with fashion editor Anne-Marie Curtis saying:
"The collection is an ode to all things high fashion. Think Eighties Norma Kamali meets Alexander Wang luxe sportswear. From fluid jersey dresses to sweatshirts to all-in-ones and varying length skirts almost exclusively in a navy, black and white palette, there are myriad options here for even the most discerning fashion eye. Stand-out items include a black jersey column evening dress, a brilliantly cut bra top, a navy cropped sweatshirt, and a properly fabulous denim jumpsuit."

I'm just going to point out that Rihanna is the April cover girl for Elle, so maybe this isn't exactly an unbiased review..Good and bad reviews aside, however, RiRi's laughing all the way to the bank!  The range lands in stores on March 5. Let me know your thoughts...

I heart Tartt - Bookworm

A new novel from Donna Tartt, author of The Secret History, is due to be released later this year. This is BIG news. Her last book, The Little Stranger was over ten years ago and she had another ten year gap before that with The Secret History. Both were received to huuuge acclaim. Suffice to say this lady takes her time and the wait is always worth it.

Little, Brown in the US have signed up the new title, The Goldfinch, with a release date of 22nd October this year.  In the UK, the book has not yet been sold. Bloomsbury, which published her previous two books, confirmed it is “in conversation” for the novel according to The Bookseller website.

The Goldfinch is described on the US Amazon site as “a haunted odyssey through present-day America”.
The summary reads thus: “A young boy in New York City, Theo Decker, miraculously survives an explosion that takes the life of his mother. Alone and determined to avoid being taken in by the city as an orphan, Theo scrambles between nights in friends' apartments and on the city streets. He becomes entranced by the one thing that reminds him of his mother: a small, mysteriously captivating painting that soon draws Theo into the art underworld.”

If you haven't read her other two books, hop on it, you won't be disappointed. Also there is a fabulous (and rare) interview with Tartt on The Guardian website here.

Barbie and Ken 4 EVA

Yes Valentines Day is a whole load of hokum BUT it's a great opportunity to tell everyone who you love how you feel. True, if that's the only day of the year you do it then there's clearly issues but I send cards to EVERYONE - Mother, friends, little bro and the Boy (obvs). Again, do we all really want flowers, chocolates, a barbershop quartet?? OK, maybe a little bit. If you're going to buy into the whole shebang, I think go all out and the collaboration between the fabulous Real Flower Company and..ahem..Barbie.. have made that possible.

In their own words, "We are so delighted to have been invited to follow in the footsteps of  Dior, Burberry, Commes des Garcons, Channel, Louboutin, Louise Gray and a host of other designers in being asked to create an exclusive design for the iconic Barbie. Our brief was to create a Valentine’s bouquet for Barbie and we hope that we have fulfilled Ken’s wishes that it conveys how he truly feels about her."

Barbie and Ken officially broke up in 2004 after 43 years of bliss together. However, it was Ken’s 50th anniversary celebrations in Paris last year that rekindled their relationship and makes this Valentine’s day a very special one. Ken says “It had to be the ultimate bouquet. I can’t risk losing Barbie again.”  Good luck to them I say and boys, buying flowers is never a bad idea. I'm tempted to buy these for myself.

Totally Ducks for J W Anderson

Wow, I'm good at wordplay (see earlier Anderson update for his previous collection). Well, like Arnie, he's back for Topshop Spring Summer and unlike Mossy before him, hasn't lost any of his momentum yet.  His first range back in September was the store’s most successful designer collaboration to date, taking his cool, boyish aesthetic and making it totally accessible and, for my money, Jonathan William Anderson has done it again.

Famed for blurring the gender lines (both his men’s and women’s collections have included frills and tube dresses), this is a man whose fearless approach to androgyny has captured the fashion world’s imagination.

This new collection builds on his design philosophy, with key pieces and details influenced by his main line – a denim kilt, structured ruffles, midi-skirts and fresh, modern incarnations of the trench.

Anderson explains: “The collection puts a twist on basics and reaffirms the silhouette, with a slight element of kink. It’s a lot slicker and more modern than the previous season. It’s about the girl becoming a lot stricter, while keeping the JW Anderson DNA.” A DNA which is brave, pioneering and exactly what modern fashion should be all about.

Launching in stores and on topshop.com on 15 February, so don't splurge your paychecks just yet! See the full selection here and a few favourites of mine below x