Joanne Hynes / Helen Steele AW/11 collection - Hair and Make-Up

A special post is well deserved to the talent behind the hair and make-up at the Joanne Hynes / Helen Steele AW/11 show - 'Les Guerriers'. Thanks again to you all. x

Let's start with the hair. The original inspiration for the hair came from Irish dancing braids and the free flowing mane of a piebald pony. Combined with the talent of Toni & Guy's tress tamer Pinar, the result was a rope style plait matted out into a mohawk. Very 'guerrier'!

The illustrious Jo Frost headed up the AOFM team at the Vauxhall Fashion Scout show with a clever combination of coral lips and eyes set against punchy pink cheeks and alabaster skin. Think Galway girl does  glam rock!

Inside Style - Seasonal Surge Disorder

Inside Style - by Annmarie O'Connor - featured in The Dubliner -  Feb 24

Seasonal surge disorder. I think I have it. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that most people in fashion suffer from this unofficial condition. Let me explain. It’s technically spring but it still feels like winter. Floral crop tops and ditsy tea dresses cavort wantonly in window displays despite it being too cold to wear them. Although international designers are currently previewing autumn winter designs, I’ll be damned if I can find a cosy jumper on the high street. To cap it all off, every other press release that finds its way into my inbox is telling me it’s Easter. Go figure.

Fashion being nature’s early adapter has even found a buzzword – transitional wear - for such style limbo. This clothing sub-set is often overlooked for its outwardly functional appearance, but as my mother would say ‘when all fruit fails, welcome haws.’ Hence the perennial popularity of wellingtons and parkas long after the power supply has been turned off at Electric Picnic. It’s a bit like a circuit breaker - these sensible basics keep one grounded in said seasonal surges. Reassuringly practical.

What I cannot fathom however is the recent rash of hybrid clothing. If I were a betting gal, I’d say there was a mighty big hedge somewhere with a row of shearling-lined sandals (they exist!), cropped capes, leather shorts and non-committal midi skirts in the offing. It’s not that I can’t appreciate the entrepreneurial nous of a semi-conductor garment (although I draw the line at furry flip flops); it just seems like a sheer waste of energy.

Granted puffas, YakTrax and thermal vests aren’t exactly rising mercury must-haves but a back up of merino wool crew necks never did any harm I say. Only recently I spotted a two snugly but spring-appropriate sweaters in a Grafton Street retail establishment. Within days they were replaced with cropped shirts and striped skater skirts before I even had a chance to extract my credit card from the bottom of my bag (a.k.a. Pandora’s Box; pit of despair; valley of no-return).

It’s either nothing or in between; what ever happened to having it all? I’m just a simple gal with a few simple needs (excluding my shoe collection); looking to replenish my cashmere stocks. Someone please give me a heads up and while you’re at it, tell me what month we’re in.

Joanne Hynes / Helen Steele AW/11 collection - The Footage

Video footage of Joanne Hynes / Helen Steele AW/11 collection -  'Les Guerriers'

compliments of Arkle Sparkle

Inside Style - Travelling Light

Inside Style  by Annmarie O'Connor - featured in The Dubliner - Feb 17th

Travelling light – it’s just not my style. Although I’ve mastered the art of a 20kg flight allowance, it just feels wrong; especially when packing for London Fashion Week. My wardrobe is by nature excessive and I refuse to be cordoned in by such limitations. I’ve even gone as far as to purchase one of those 17-pocket jacket inventions to help overcome these wanton weight restrictions.  Handy little contraption – pity it doesn’t come in snakeskin or brocade.

That being said, I’ve decided this season to at least try the whole ‘capsule wardrobe’ shtick and see how far it gets me. Not far it would appear. My suitcase lays splayed on the bedroom floor, zipped jaws akimbo, ready to swallow enough outfits to rival Mariah Carey and Cher on a Vegas hen night.  And still, the capsule remains empty.

 It would appear I’ve been beset by option paralysis, incapable of those executive decisions demanded of a stylist. In my career defence, these are my babies. From the vintage gems I’ve nurtured and cherished, to those well-fought eBay finds and a shoe collection as ample as it is random; I can’t bear to leave anything behind. Let’s face it; you never know when a marabou shrug or feather-trimmed trousers will come in handy.  But I digress.

It’s times like these I wish I had an assistant to do the fashion math and make those cutbacks. As a mommy, I’m too close to my kids.  I can’t hear that my coveted rust Carvela platforms don’t go with the colour palette or that there isn’t enough room in the case for another Joanne Hynes leather jacket. Those are words too cruel. Even the click of the luggage lock sounds like a death knell sealing my fate. Drama as you can see I do well; austerity not so much.

Another option is to simply rent a clapped out VW Winnebago and drive to London. It would be like a Partridge Family road trip complete with platforms and tassels (hey the ‘70s are so now). The kids will have plenty of room in the back which can also double as a walk-in wardrobe. Separation anxiety be damned! Ah, sometimes inspiration hits you at life’s most critical intersections.  Now, if only I had a driver’s licence…

Joanne Hynes / Helen Steele AW/11 - Les Guerriers

The Joanne Hynes / Helen Steele collaborative label launched this season at London Fashion Week with its inaugural AW/11 collection entitled 'Les Guerriers'.  Drawing inspiration from the West of Ireland, pirate queen Grainne Ni Mhuiel (Grace O’Malley) and Steele's frenetic paintings, the result is a celebration of bravery; celebrating the empowerment of art fashion. It's been an enormous honour to style this collection and to interpret the vision of two inspiring and fearless women. Enjoy the show shots below - all by photographer Brian O'Sullivan.

Inside Style - Secrets

Inside Style by Annmarie O'Connor -     as featured in The Dubliner - Feb 10th 

 I’m not great at keeping secrets. The strained expression on my face is a dead giveaway that something is up; or that I’ve been using the Athena 7-minute Face Lift. As the latter is no secret, the former usually lands me in hot water. Thus, I’ve been keeping a low profile and avoiding Facebook lest my trigger finger inadvertently puts a hole in my poker face.

Finally I can spill the proverbial beans; I may even fling them wantonly whilst skipping along Grafton Street. This season I’ll be styling the Joanne Hynes / Helen Steele catwalk show at London Fashion Week – a huge coup for Irish fashion and this new creative colloboration label.

As news goes this is big, so you can imagine my utter despair at having to keep this under my baker boy cap until details were finalised.  No telling family, no telling friends, no telling colleagues, no telling. As a journalist and professional talker this wasn’t just a challenge; it was a feat of untold willpower.

When solicited as to whether I had ‘any news’, I stuck firmly to a standard issue of “Nothing. Why?” accompanied by a look of beggaring belief.  Queries regarding my plans for London Fashion Week received similar treatment; often an indecipherable “Pffff...” followed by a lolling head shrug.  I knew that keeping up such pretence had a shelf life which would reach its expiry date sooner rather than later should a glass (or three) of wine make its way into the equation.

Thus, my social life reached a sudden impasse. Excuses to avoid social outings ensued, and I found myself counted amongst the ‘off booze for January’ brigade much to my own chagrin. I felt like Neo in the Matrix when Agent Smith makes his lips disappear – only without a bug embedding itself into my residual self-image.

Once confirmation reached us that the show would be going ahead at the Freemason’s Hall in Covent Garden on Thursday, February 22nd at 11:45am (Plug? What plug?); the pressure was off and I could yak in manner of a proud New Yorker.  And so it goes. I am yakking and shall continue to do so well after the much-anticipate runway reveal. There might be no stopping me. Gasp! You’ve been warned.

Fitting Model Needed for London Fashion Week

This photo shows a dressmaker and model at the Maison Schiaparelli at 21 Place Vendome.
Photographer Syliva Salmi
© Bettmann/CORBIS

Fitting model needed for London Fashion Week. No experience required.

ABOUT
Joannes Hynes is an Irish designer in her inaugural show season at London Fashion week.
Joanne Hynes is a Central Saint Martin’s graduate whose designs have been worn by Daphne Guinness, Roisin Murphy and PJ Harvey. 
Joanne began her own label in 2004 and has become known for her edgy and brave aesthetic fused with couture detailing.

DUTIES
We are looking for models to participate in our London Fashion Week fittings, showing with the organisation Vauxhall Fashion Scout.

REQUIREMENTS
Measurements: Bust: 31-33inches, Waist: 24-25.5inches,  Hips:33-36inches
Height minimum: 5'10’’
Requirements: Previous modelling experience would be an advantage but not essential. This would suit someone who is looking for experience. Models need to be LONDON-BASED and available attend fittings from Feb 15th -18th. Hours will not exceed 8 hours a day. Would be prepared to look at two models who could work a day or two each.

TO APPLY
Applicants should send a full length picture of themselves along with their bust, waist, hip and height measurements to iblogfashion (AT) gmail (DOT) com

CLOSING DATE
10th February 2011

Inside Style - Coffee Colours

Inside Style - by Annmarie O'Connor - featured in The Dubliner - Feb 3 

Cream is the new camel. This is the mind-blowing fashion edict which has trickled down from the international catwalks. The Pantone Colour Report also touts tobacco, rust, beeswax and honeysuckle as hot hues. Mix them all together and you’ve got yourself a caramel macchiato (without the calories).

Although I can appreciate such poetic nuances (I’m a closet Keats fan); my inner New Yorker yearns for some straight-talking. The moveable feast of fashion can be challenging enough without adding further ingredients to the ROYGBIV equation. What’s more, I don’t possess adequate chutzpah to approach any sales assistant with the words ‘Is this available in nutmeg?’ or any other spice for that matter.

Has fashion become so micro-elitist that wearing brown just isn’t enough?  Or is it transmogrifying into a Starbuck’s culture of self-appointed epithets? Both it would appear.

“Since when has buying clothes become such an ordeal?” moaned a friend recently. “Since scarves became ‘snoods’, camel became a colour and treggings gate-crashed the party,” I sniped. “I feel like my mother when she tries ordering a coffee in Starbucks,” added the addled pal. “There should be a fashion menu for the early-adapters and those who still relate to clothing as coffee – black or white.”

This acerbic exchange got me to thinking. Maybe a two-tier system isn’t such a bad idea? Imagine how simple shopping would be: trousers, skirts and shoes on one side; carrot legs, midi swings and clog wedges on the other.  Or perhaps a complimentary translation guide could be doled out for style tourists?  It would certainly spare the panic of realising those high-waited flares are not toffee as suspected but, gasp, nougat!

Then again, there’s always the clever (albeit sneaky) approach of wearing only black.  Coco Chanel’s infamous endorsement has gone a long way in saving harried souls from falling into the trend trap whilst keeping them illusorily slim and at the ready for any function (or funeral).  Whilst a similar white edict could work for spring/summer 11, its potential to modify Celtic skin into that of a corpse is well-documented.

Sartorial stratagems aside, the fashion patois will continue to evolve with each season, demanding we either adapt or suffer in kind. “Espresso?” balked my friend. “What ever happened to dark brown?” “Dark brown died peacefully in 2010,” I confessed,  “leaving  behind chocolate truffle and wintery pepper.” R.I.P.