Belated Tuesday trend post- Sports Luxe!

In light of my new format, I feel like it's time to start blogging again, despite it being mid week!Unfortunately I was unable to do a trend post on Tuesday as I was at Graduate Fashion week(which you will hear all about in my Sunday review), so instead I'll do the trend post I had written for Tuesday as well as a #thursdaythrowback. The trend I'm choosing this week is sports-luxe as this seems to be what I gravitated towards in Tuesdays' outfit choice. As I recently (over) indulged myself with a post payday shopping trip, I can show you the outfit I'm actually wearing as opposed to the outfit I wish I could be wearing, which is quite refreshing change!

Bomber jacket: Monki (£25.00), Midi rings: Topshop (£12.50), Cami top: River Island (£14.00), Trainers: Monki (£30.00), Joni Jeans: Topshop (£36.00).

I became temporarily obsessed with Monki on my Saturday spree and purchased this scratchy paint effect bomber for only £25.00,which fits in perfectly with the sports-luxe trend and the current artsy/painterly textures trend.They also have a high neck bodycon maxi dress in this exact same print which I am just dying to get my hands on, if it's still there next month I will definitely be purchasing it! I also bought myself my first pair of trainers!A ridiculously colourful set combining blue leopard print with neon coral strips and a lime green base, these trainers are definitely a little "too much" which is absolutely perfect for me!Ironically I bought the trainers with every intention of joining the gym....alas I became so carried away with feeding my shopping habit that I can now no longer afford to join said gym this month...ironic n'est-ce pas!?
I also absolutely have to mention my new jeans!!!Jeans shopping is normally an activity I do when I'm not in a good mood as it generally deflates whatever positive feelings I might have. That was until I found these Joni jeans in Topshop. Yes, I am aware that this sounds like a shameless advertising plug but seriously these jeans are AMAZING!!!Not only do they do them in petite lengths so shorties like me can wear them without having to roll them up 5 times/cut half of the leg off,they also have so much stretch in them that they can fit around my bum without being baggy on the waist. What more could a girl want in a pair of jeans!To finish off this look I added a selection of colourful midi rings and some white nail varnish- because you can never look too 90's....although I did hold back on wearing my lime green scrunchie!


It turns out that I had chosen a good day to turn up to work looking like an absolute Hipster, as I was given a free ticket to go to the Graduate Fashion week 2014 awards ceremony and catwalk show at the Truman Brewery in East London. Stuart Peters gives a Visionary Knitwear award to one creative graduate each year and, as the Junior Print designer of their knitwear department I was fortunate enough to get to see the show. It felt very strange to return to Graduate Fashion week as the last time I went I had attended as a new graduate trying to secure a job. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I would be working for the knitwear company which sponsors Graduate Fashion week. It's a running joke in my family that knitting(along with baking, cooking and cleaning) is not my forte- in fact every scarf I have ever attempted to knit has ended up taking on a triangular form, goodness knows how I pick up so many extra stitches. 

Left: Me and my 'sponsor' ticket for the Awards show, Right: A close up of the "prompt"(lies!) show start time.

Anyway, enough about my lack of knitting skills and onto the graduate who was actually awarded the Stuart Peters Visionary knitwear award- Rebecca Swann from Nottingham Trent University. Swanns' monochromatic chunky knitwear collection wowed the judges and I can't wait to see the collection she comes up with for ASDA, I anticipate that it will be full of cosy chunky knits to snuggle up in!

Rebecca Swanns' collection. This photo does not do her work justice at all but I will track down some better photographs and include them in my Sunday review.

The reason I am briefly mentioning Graduate fashion week here and not waiting until my Sunday review is due to the popularity of the sports-luxe trend amongst the graduate collections! Below I have made a quick collage of images from the catwalk collections at the awards ceremony. Sheer bomber jackets, performance fabric, neon colour schemes and foil like garments all added to the sports-luxe feel of the collections. I will of course include a proper review of the Graduate collections in Sundays post, when I have pulled together some better photographs!

Left to right: Naomi Valentine, Keziah Newlove, Holly Jayne Smith, Stephanie Chesworth, Camilla Grimes, Veronica Peduzzi-Davis.

The sports-luxe trend has been increasing in popularity for several seasons. Championed by Prada and DKNY in their S/S 14 collections, the trend now appears to have a mass following. Not that I'm complaining, I have been loving the fresh white backdrops, the neon pops of colour and the graphic prints. As long as we don't return to minimalism, I'm happy!

S/S 14 collections, left to right: Prada, Tommy Hilfiger, Phillip Lim, DKNY.

The appearance of sports brands like Lacoste and Tommy Hilfiger on the catwalks has increased our love for the sports-luxe trend. Recent collaborations between renowned sportswear brands and designers/retailers have brought sportswear to the forefront of British fashion. 

In the past year we saw collaborations between Stella McCartney and Adidas and another Nike and Liberty trainer collection(The first began in 2011) . We also saw high street giant Topshop rocket the appeal of sportswear through their collaborative collection with Adidas. There are also rumours regarding  a collaborative project between Mary Katrantzou and the company(Adidas), set to be released to the public in November of this year. It looks like this prestigious sportswear powerhouse is set to blur the boundaries between fashion and sports attire. 

Back on the catwalk the Sports-luxe trend continued to pick up pace throughout the A/W 14 collections. Consistent throughout all 4 main Fashion weeks(New York, London, Milan and Paris), this trend was adopted by the like of GILES, Miu Miu, Marc Jacobs, Ashish and Kenzo.

A/W 2014 collections, left to right: Iceberg, Miu Miu, BCBG Max Azria, Jil Sander, Ashish, Opening Ceremony, KTZ, Christian Wijnants, Phillip Lim, Kenzo, Giles, House of Holland, DKNY and Stella McCartney.

The transition of a micro trend to a macro trend revolves, in my opinion, solely on timing and the social atmosphere. As a generation we seem to be obsessed with celeb culture and so once a brand has a celebrity on board, the mass appeal for the brand increases tenfold! For A/W 14 Marc Jacobs made the controversial decision to announce Miley Cyrus as the face of his brand, which conveniently was extremely sportswear orientated. DKNY featured Rita Ora in their runway show, also a sports themed collection. The press at Miu Miu made a huge deal about Rihanna(who also fronted the SS14 Balmain campaign) choosing to sit on the FROW of their runway show-ever a fan of hot pants and a string vest Rihanna is renowned for championing sportswear with a sexy edge. With all of these clever designers sending us subliminal messages that if we buy from their collection and jump on the sports-luxe bandwagon we too can have the same style as Rihanna, Rita and Miley. The subliminal messages obviously worked as the fashion conscious society have all become seemingly obsessed with this trend.

Top left: Marc Jacobs ad campaign featuring Miley Cyrus, DKNY advertisement including Rita Ora and an ad campaign with Rihanna for Balmain. 

As the new cruise/resort collections for 2015 are being revealed, we are seeing that the sports trend is continuing and, if anything,become stronger. Bomber jackets, foil dresses and trainers seem to be taking over both on, and off, the runway. 

Cruise/Resort 2015 collections, left to right: Christian Dior, Veronica Beard, Emporio Armani, Reed Krakoff, Sonia by Sonia Rykiel, MM6 by Maison Martin Margiela, Just Cavalli, Max Mara, DKNY and Missoni.

Although I love the freshness of this trend, I'm going to have to really increase the intensity of my excercise routine and decrease my calorie intake to ever be able to wear Lycra hot pants and a crop top outside of the house!