Many big names have collaborated on the exhibition. I loved Stephen Jones’ hat designs in The Room of Englightenment, a room filled with statues of philosophers, theologians and scientists. His fabulous red apple hat by the statue of Isaac Newton was just one of the funky designs. As Stephen Jones was quoted as saying: “Great minds need great hats”

In another room the traditional royal throne was usurped by a woollen throne, handcrafted by local women,. Next door in The Room of Flight there was a beautiful Vivienne Westwood dress to represent the much-loved Princess Caroline. She died young, and London ran out of black cloth as the nation mourned. 

My favourite piece was a dress made by William Tempest ‘A Dress for dreaming of freedom’. Made from 1,000 origami birds, this dress represented the oppressive surroundings of the young Princess Victoria before she became Queen at the young age of 18 and thus gained her freedom. The origami birds are made from paper printed with the pattern of the Queen’s wallpaper, and the dress hangs over her room.

The palace was buzzing on the night, and I’d definitely recommend going on one of the Friday lates. The next one is 20 August.

www.hrp.org.uk

The Papered Parlour in Clapham, my local one-stop venue for all kinds of dress-/jewellery-/anything you can dream of making has reached the regional final of the Barclays Business Take One Step competition and is relying on a public vote to win a whopping £50,000!

The Papered Parlour, just off Clapham High Street, runs  a variety of workhops in all things crafty. The prize money would make a huge difference to the business so vote now at  www.takeonesmallstep.co.uk or text ‘Parlour’ to 87222.

Find out more about the Papered Parlour at http://www.thepaperedparlour.co.uk/

To the hoards in Paris Venus said: “Lace has never been done before in tennis, and I’ve been wanting to do it for a long time…the illusion of just having bare skin is definitely for me a lot more beautiful.”

Illusion is one thing, but little was left to the imagination. In saying that, while some might argue it’s too much, Iit seems inevitable and fun that fashion fan Venus should express her strong personality this way, and it’s a refreshing change to see something other than the uniformity of white on the courts. Why shouldn’t sports gear be fashionable? She wouldn’t wear it if it worsened her game, so if you’re going to win, why not win with style…

The innovative and intriguing fashion label has its roots in classic looks reinterpreted in radical and conceptual ways: the traditional trench coat with enlarged shoulders; a modern style dress printed with a trompe l’oeil retro tea dress pattern; or second-hand clothing fashioned into new garments (more common on our high street than the catwalks!) Maison Margiela’s ideas are evident on the high street now – as I type I’m wearing one of many items I now own with heavy embellishment on the shoulders, and the trend for underwear as outerwear has led to less pretty, but nonetheless clear references to trompe l’oeil.

What is also fascinating is the company itself: the acclaimed heads of Martin Margiela never reveal themselves, no interviews are granted and all quotes are delivered as ‘we’. Democratically all staff wear the same uniform white coats. This anonymity is reflected on the catwalk as well as the identity of models is concealed with hair brushed over their eyes, or more overtly with veiling covering their faces. Martin Margiela wants to let his fashion do the talking for him.

Theirs is a story worth telling, of a brand at once cutting edge and contemporary, but with full reference to the glorious history of fashion. The exhibition is full of lovely items from their collections, as well as a wealth of video footage. My highlight was ’A Personal Wardrobe’ in which Maison Margiela fans were filmed styled in their many favourite items – this featured two young women from London and Antwerp, and, more interestingly, an older man from Munich, who has been wearing the brand’s clothes for almost its duration, since 1989. The house is doing something right!

Runs until 5 September 2010, find out more here: www.somersethouse.org.uk/margiela

To be fair I don’t think I need to dress to impress in that 60+ men aren’t really my type – that’s if there are any men, is it only women who play bingo? I’m thinking of wearing something vintage-style on the basis that my noughties vintage-style clothes will probably reflect the wardrobes of the younger selves of the senior citizens who will be my fellow players. I might go for the 1940s style polka-dotted Cecily James dress I bought from Oliver Bonas last weekend… http://www.oliverbonas.com/p/CLOTHING_BYSTYLE_DRESSES/701761.htm Hopefully this will seamlessly fit in in the bars of Camden High Street afterwards too.

Now all that’s left is to get to know my Two Fat Ladies from my Legs Eleven!

While you’re deciding which colour dress to buy, or which shoes will go with your outfit, think about the questions they’ll be battling – on the one hand, is fashion a great thing, a form of artistic expression that anyone can enjoy, and something which is fun and makes us feel good? Or does fashion encourage us to judge by appearances, and lead to discontentment and at worse eating disorders?

Plus, more industry-wide issues will be explored -the environmental impact of our obsession with ”fast fashion’ and exploitation of workers in the third world.

It promises to be an interesting debate…

http://www.intelligencesquared.com/events/fashion-maketh-woman

Untitled 10 by Rowan Mersh

There’s a fine line between fashion and craft – on the one hand fashion is a craft in itself, while on the other fashion can be so outlandish it falls in to the realm of traditional craft and becomes an object for display that is not to be worn! At the opening of Jerwood Contemporary Makers at the Jerwood Space near Waterloo, the work of 29 ‘creators’ included an array of fashion-inspired objects.

These included Rotationalmouldedshoe by Marloes Ten Bhomer, a pair of mint green blockish polyurethane rubber and stainless steel stilettoes – the designer was wearing another pair of shoes from her range at the private view, proving they can be worn! http://marloestenbhomer.squarespace.com/online-boutique/)

Textiles also abounded: Kirsty McDougall,  co-founder of Dashing Tweeds and

Marcel by Flora McLean

Hills, has woven New Dandy, a lovely checked wool fabric; Ingrid Tait’s Romance was an innovative folk-inspired fabric, made from lambswool with needle-punched lace and diamante embellishment; and Karen Nicol’s embroidery, Scribble, was beautifully woven, featuring a forest of flowers and birds in its delicate pattern.

Rowan Mersh  is well known as a textile based sculptor whose designs are often seen on the Fashion Week catwalks and in the glossy magazines, and his Untitled 10 was on display. Fiona McLean’s Marcel (from Iconic Heads) was a striking bright orange wig, from the range of hairstyle hats made by her brand House of Flora (a tip for ladies who haven’t yet decided on their hat for Ascot!)

Disc-florets by Nora Fok

Jewellery also featured in the exhibition: I loved Nicola Malkin’s large-scale ceramic charm bracelete, My Charm Bracelet, as well as Nora Fok’s space-age style necklace Disc-florets consisting of hundreds of spheres made from knitted dyed nylon, with a shimmery-bubbly sheen to them.

See all this and more at the Jerwood Space from 16 June – 25 July

http://www.jerwoodvisualarts.org/appliedarts/

www.gfw.org.uk