English Eccentrics during London Fashion Week

English Eccentrics return to the catwalk at London Fashion Week. Photo by Chris Moore

“There are a lot of big girls missing!”
“Why?”
“Because Marc Jacobs is holding them all in New York”

This is typical of a fashion week conversation. The above took place yesterday between my show director, John Walford and I.

An innocent bystander might imagine the evil Marc Jacobs pointing a gun at a group of large women quivering in a deserted warehouse with bound hands and gagged mouths:

“OK no one gets out of here alive until I say so!”
He mutters, through tight lips clamped to a cigarillo.
“I want all you big girls here, none of you get to see London OK?”

Bearing that in mind, it is with some trepidation that my stylist Jo Phillips and I attend our second casting.

“With a tuchus like that? No way”
“Pigeon toed!”
“Too thin!”
“Too short! Her card says 5’ 10” but she’s TINY”

This last aside was about a young woman of at least 5’ 8”, welcome to the mad world of casting.

When you want to book a model you can’t confirm her immediately, you have to put an option on her and see what the agency have planned, so it all gets very last minute.

Meanwhile you have to have a team of brilliant needle women on hand to fit the models when they do eventually make it to the studio.

Model on stage in Dali inspired surrealist dress. Photo by Chris Moore

On Saturday we still only had 8 out of 14 girls confirmed, I was a bit frantic, but by Sunday afternoon we had confirmed and fitted all 14.

My show, Miss Magritte Met A Vampire, was based on surrealism, with references to Bunuel films and Magritte and Dali painting. The gothic imagery appeared later on in the show after some pieces inspired by subverted school uniform.

Every day pre-show, a new piece of fabric we’ve designed comes into the studio. The last was the most amazing, an all over hand-beaded and sequinned piece with a digital clock print and gold metal work.

The hand-beaded gold clock print

We made the clock print into a cute playsuit for the show and the same print with the embroidery into a three quarter length dress.

Our show day was brilliantly sunny, we arrived at the Vauxhall Fashion Scout location, in Baden Powell House, with all clothes, accessories and lunch for our teams 4 hours before our show was due to start.

As models arrived they were whisked into hair and make up by brilliantly professional teams from Toni & Guy and Nars respectively. Hair was designed by Raphael Salley; he created a 1920s highly shiny style with waves on the foreheads and tiny coiled buns covered in laser-cut cog wheels and other surreal images.

Raphael Salley's clock inspired hair design

Make up by Jane Richardson of Nars was school girlish and doll-like, shocking pink blusher, high on the cheekbones and eyelashes glued to the curve of the eyelid, rather than the lash line, with shiny eyelids.

Astrid being made up by Nars. Photo by Jennifer Balcombe

We sprayed the show venue with ‘Eccentricity’ the scent of our new candle, and had a projection of the candle box image on the back of the runway. Louise also sprayed the models with the new scent as they walked onto the runway.

During a show the fashion team, stylist and designer are all backstage, checking each outfit on each girl, so we never really see the show as it happens, but have to wait for the DVD and photos.

Me backstage. Photo by Sarah Ho

Among our audience were the actresses Maureen Lipman and Kate Magowan, (wife of John Simm), actor Cristian Solimeno, writer Kathy Lette, and two original Eccentrics, Judy Purbeck and Claire Angel, they all enthused about the show.

After the show the English Eccentric team and several of the audience mentioned retired to the Met Bar for masses of champagne and some nibbles. Jo Phillips and her assistant the lovely green-haired Dan joined us later and introduced us to the Met Bar’s lovely Raspberry martinis. Cristian S is studying contemporary dance so he showed us some of his new dance moves, and we all discussed surrealism in the movies late into the night.

All over, we can all relax after the Fashion Week show