Meadham Kirchoff AW11: Take a Cue from Kansas by Sophie Bew

London Fashion week typically conjures an unthinkable amount of stress, outrageously dressed ques, exhaustion and tiny food; not forgetting a lot of travel. But for the Meadham Kirchoff show today, I gladly walked and sat in excitement, awaiting the 30-minute-late start to the show. Anyhow, this presented a good opportunity to examine the morbidly kitsch riot shrines (pictured left), situated at each end of the catwalk. The mesh-fence mountains were littered with crosses, coloured candles and ambiguous scrawled messages “I am the lie that tells the truth”, whilst wilted tulips lay as mourning gifts for the front row guests.

J'Adore.. Dior

Ever since dropping into the Design Museum to see their recent 'Drawing Fashion' exhibition I have grown quite fascinated with Rene Gruau, the 1940s/50s illustrator for Christian Dior (on returning home I actually had a go at doing a fashion-ey drawing, with daft results).

Gruau has been described as a 'shy Frenchman' who brought back the art of fashion illustration; he was published internationally by the tender age of 18, working for several magazines in the 1930s before collaborating with Dior in 1947 and spawning the so-called "New Look"; it is probably this for which he is most recognized now.