AND: here's an edited video version of the runway show from Elle UK, which has the beginning of the soundtrack (SO emotional), but doesn't show the 2nd and 3rd songs: orchestra-renderings of Guns'n'Roses Sweet Child of Mine and Britney Spears' Toxic (love it). Oh well. (Can't make the bloody video fit into the posts' column either - but I think at least the clothes are pretty visible).

The show

I thought I would've been able to be more active over here the past days - but working for B&B (for Basso & Brooke, not Bed & Breakfast) meant no time for eating/sleeping/scratching-one's-bum or blogging for that matter. But it was absolutely worth it. We worked in a very small but very friendly and passionate team (not in that sense, you silly). The boys are every bit the design wizards they're now so famous for, the clothes were stunning in a very grown-up way, the show was as smooth as it could be (I had seen the looks from so many angles so many times that by the time we were backstage I had memorized every single stitch - some poor dressers looked slightly scared when I came over to their allocated rails).

I'm not sure the boys were worried about it, but I kept thinking that the collection looked so gorgeously bright, so expensive-looking, SO RICH (it channels Louis XIV, for god's sake), that journalists would immediately label it wrong for the moment - surely this is not the most recessionista-chic collection?

Or is it?

The wrong in the picture inevitably was me (as usual). In a interview for Grazia, Chris brilliantly summarized it all: "You've got your jewellery your belt your top your skirt - all included in one dress." - which was interpreted as "Now, if that isn't creative credit crunch dressing, we don't know what is!" Hah!

In sum, I feel it was one of the best experiences I have ever had (hopefully not the last): you don't expect to meet so many nice people in this kind of environment, and I have nothing but compliments and admiration for everyone that got involved (or showed up briefly).

So here is some of the moments (*all pictures by Robinson Barbosa).

the rails
"No, that's not real fur, it's a print, darling"

You become a bloody cobbler, if needed to. Damn big footed models.

Stephen Jones (who made the head pieces... I know, right?!) and Chris Brooke

"Can anyone hand me a ladder, please?"

Bruno Joinha

"So, what's your star sign, Stephen?" Ana & Julia: all my gratitude

And my favourite looks:

In the next few days...

So, London FW is around the corner, and there's loads of cool stuff going on this side of the pond - which will be all over the press, so no need for me to say anything of the big fishes.

As for me, this is the first Fashion week I'm being actually active. From tomorrow I'll be working backstage for these guys: hail the MASTERS OF PRINT! I'm like, over the moon with excitement! Still don't know any details (and even if I knew, I can't really tell you before the show, which is this Saturday.) Nonetheless, I will probably keep posting bits and bobs in the next few days (if anyone is actually reading this blog, heh.)

*Basso & Brooke S/S09

Then, Friday night there's the Young British Designers: Mapping Future Fashion Private View at the V&A, (sorry, facebook link only), which is curated by LCF MA students, and which will feature the guys above, and another one of my favourite, Ashish, among others.

Monday I'll be attending the Maria Grachvogel show at The Hospital members club (or "The Hospice" as the staff likes to call it), which promises to be interesting, as she is making a comeback after a 5-year break from the catwalk.

The same night there's the Fashion.Music.Style magazine 2nd issue launch party at Soho club Punk (which comes in handy, as I wanted to see what all the fuss is about that club, with all the Geldofs and Moss of this world stumbling out of their doors completely off their faces... must be fun).

And, of course, there's the Independent Fashion Bloggers Dress Up Soireé (which, sadly, I'm not a member yet due to my novice status... :( ) at the Last days of Decadence in Shoreditch. Should be super fun, with freebies for best dressed blogger and other things. It's also on Monday, which will be a total stretch.

RSVP to mellerobot@gmail.com by February 20th

Phew!