Jack & Jones Footwear x Tuan Le Launch Party

There are three things I can virtually guarantee when I attend a party as a blogger: 1) I will make liberal use of the open bar; 2) I will dance like nobody is watching; 3) I will surprise myself by how well I can still take photos after several glasses of wine. And a Shoreditch soirée hosted by menswear label Jack & Jones was no exception to such antics, especially when accompanied by my partner-in-crime.

 

The party was in full swing when Maddy and I arrived at Hackney House, which had been outfitted for the launch of the brand new "Fusion" sneaker collection, an exclusive collaboration between Jack & Jones Footwear and renowned sneaker designer Tuan Le. Proudly displayed around the event space, the stylish sneakers gave an air of streetwear supremacy with their distinctive wedge soles and futuristic aesthetic, as if commanding the way forward for sneakerkind.

It was only fitting I wore the "Fusion" sneakers to their own launch party - mine in a minimalist colourway of a black leather upper and white rubber outsole, the two materials fused together by a leather welt. Between taking full advantage of the bar and taking full advantage of the photo booth, Maddy and I hit the dancefloor, where I was genuinely astonished to discover the sneakers had passed the ultimate test for every pair of shoes I own. I wasn't just able to dance in them comfortably, I could dance in them amazingly, a quality which had previously been exclusive to my Cuban heel boots.

steventai SS17

The steventai presentation is always a curiosity. Staged at the Elms Lesters Painting Rooms, previous sets have included a bright and colourful, bunting-adorned classroom for SS16, followed by a 1940s living room - complete with vintage floral wallpaper and a cross-stitching nanny - for the subsequent AW16 showcase. All the while, the bespectacled young models epitomise Canadian designer Steven Tai's take on the awkward, nerdy girl.

To showcase the new SS17 collection, the presentation space was transformed into an artificial garden brushed with Gypsophila, and the models perched playfully on wooden swings. At a glance, the collection feels light, airy, and modestly elegant - in an Edwardian "Sunday Best" sort of fashion, albeit remaining fairly contemporary. The muted colour palette of white, greys and dusky blue draws our attention to details in the texture and fabric, from pleats and pussycat bows to ruffles and roughened hems.

ROBERTS | WOOD SS17

 

Katie Roberts-Wood, award-winning graduate of the Royal College of Art, presented the debut collection of her ROBERTS | WOOD womenswear label in September 2015, after winning the Fashion Scout Merit Award. In the remarkably small space of a year, Katie has become one of London's most exciting young designers, with her label stocked internationally by the likes of Club 21 and Dover Street Market.

The SS17 collection, presented this season at the BFC Show Space, maintains the delicate structures and ethereal aesthetic that is characteristic of the ROBERTS | WOOD brand. Ruffles and frills of prodigious scale are a predominant feature across the collection, bursting from translucent ensembles of white, navy and peach. Alongside these, dresses of characoal grey fabric are tied with oversized ribbons of the same material to create striking silhouettes. The overall look touches on the avant-garde, yet it remains soft and feminine.