Insider Issues with the 'Fashion Outsider'

Less about what and more about why: the perfect equation for a conversation with blogger Susie Bubble.

The fashion blogging nation is growing every day heralding an array of media and fashion insider attention. Most recently the interest in internet cultures has manifested itself in the form of a seminar series at the London College of Fashion entitled ‘Fashion and the Internet’.
If you were able to attend the ‘Conversation with Susie Bubble’ with Dr Agnè s Rocamora on Wednesday 21st January, no doubt you would have thought it was worth cramming into the ‘intimate’ lecture room for the quite enlightening and entertaining talk.

Listening to the 25 year old Susie Bubble (a name given to her by classmates years ago, for ‘living in a bubble‘) it is clear that although her knowledge on the subject of fashion is extensive, her position in the market of journalism is one of uncertainty. Writing daily about anything new and exciting in the fashion world on her blog http://www.stylebubble.typepad.com/ she is a household name in the fashion world yet neither an insider or outsider in the industry. As Susie said herself, the internet “is like fast food. You can consume it all in minutes.” Susie details every movement infashion, but also her own personal movements, thoughts and ideas as well as outfit experiments.

So, with a blog that is part of the mass produced and untamed medium of the internet, the question is: can she be taken seriously?

“I received a message saying that 'I had no right to write or to be talking about fashion.' I looked up that HTML address and found out that it had come from Condé Nast.” Susie Bubble

Clearly not everyone believes that she has the ‘right to write’, but then again she is also invited to preview shows by Chanel; events that are only for bloggers, as well as invitations to Gucci’s UNICEF fundraiser and countless runway shows since she started her blog in 2006.

Voted ‘blogger of the year’ by Teen Vogue and featured in the Observer’s ‘most influential’ list, style bubble.com’s first-person-perspective musings may not enthral those in high places but does it matter when she has her number of hits exceeding 16,000 daily, ends up featured in top publications anyway and has a job at http://www.dazeddigital.com/? However, as she stated to Jefferson Hack ‘I’m somewhere outside the periphery of fashion.’ It is this periphery that all blogs seem to sit in, with the availability for anyone to publish their views on fashion however self-indulgent and with the prospect of a personal invitation to Chanel preview shows, why not blog? Rather than dissecting the content of Susie’s blog, the talk was more focused on why she blogs and what role they play in the fashion industry. To be honest though ,to warrant a talk in the first place, these internet pieces that multiply in the time it takes to refresh a page must make an impact. After all, you can never tell who is reading.

Don't miss out on the next seminars in this series at the London College of Fashion http://www.fashion.arts.ac.uk/5204.htm

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The view from the top

It seems only fitting that when discussing the attire of the USA's now most powerful woman, a few words from US Vogue's most powerful woman, Anna Wintour, would be more than appropriate to include:

"It wasn’t just that her choices projected a simpler, streamlined, more modern attitude, rejecting the ridiculous idea that the only way for a First Lady to dress is in the dreaded White House standard-issue uniform—the boxy, anonymous suit that always managed to look as appealing, and as comfortable, as armor. Instead, we have a woman who is as happy in newer, less obvious designer choices like Wu and Toledo (both, incidentally, Vogue/CFDA Fashion Fund finalists, which made my heart swell that little bit more with pride) as she is in J.Crew and the Gap. It’s inspiring to see our First Lady so serene and secure in her personal style."

(Wintour's full view can be read at http://www.style.com/vogue/clicktoview/2009/01/living-history/)

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Michelle Obama: Inaugaral Outfit

The question as to who will dress the first lady for her inaugaral outfit is answered as Michelle Obama enters the White House in a classic, conservative Isabel Toledo gold, yellow brocade shift dress with matching knee length over coat, teamed with teal pumps. Hope Greenburg, fashion editor of Lucky magazine commented that"It strikes just the right note for the occasion, special but classic. The silhouette is so 60's -- the sheath dress and a matching coat. It harkens back to Jackie, but the jewels around the neck make it today as opposed to looking retro." Today may mark a distinct change in American history, however it seems that Michelle Obama is holding on to classic lines and understated glamour with this design teamed with simple stud earrings, leaving the attention to fall solely upon her husband Barack. Her choice of the Cuban-born designer suggests that Michelle is linking with her husband in his desire to strengthen the relationship with Cuba.  She previously wore a black tunic dress from Toledo to a fundraiser in June 2008.
Whatever her perogative, I think she captures first-lady elegance wonderfully and perhaps we may see a new Jackie O style icon residing in the White House from now on, we can only wait and see.

Sometimes a breakdown is good for us!

The wild, racy nature of Vivienne Westwood's collections are taken down a notch in her recent musical debut. The Westwood 'Catwalk Breakdown' album is as romantic and unexpected as her S/S 09 collection. The classic lines of Billy Fury's 'Last Night was made for Love' are intertwined with the haunting melodies of Tchaikovsky's 'Waltz of the Flowers' and the classic harmony of Offenbach.

As Vivienne Westwood told www.vogue.com:
“Sometimes (the) music can just be sexy, it can let you relax, look at the clothes, put people into a fantastic mood. Then it might just have to swing back and lift you up to the final triumph of the fashion show.”

All too often the carefully selected pieces that the designers use for their collections are superceded by the clothes that they provide the soundtrack for. This album allows you to delight in the music without interuption. The CD sleeve is of course, classically Westwood where the disc nestles neatly between a quintessentailly Westwood pair of heaving bosoms and the iconic 'Campbell' platforms on the cover, it is clear that this album is a classic audio representation of Westwood's fashion in all it's audible glory. If that's not enough to convince then just buy it simply for Mae West's fantastically sassy 'Great balls of Fire' cover version. It's a perfect chance to own a piece of Westwood for under £15, what are you waiting for?

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Let your eyes girl be other Worldly...

Welcome to Mellow Fruitfullness you are all very welcome! This little site is dedicated to the snippets of fashion, literature and art that catch my eye, updating you on anything exciting going on in the busy city of London as well as around the world. Feel free to post anything that interests you, as it will most likely interest me too!