Blog Oscars: Will the Real A Brit Greek Please Stand Up

Hey guys how goes your week so far? I've just realised this is a blog post that's long overdue, and there are lots of lovely people in blogosphere I'd like to thank!
I was recently handed out my version of the Blogs Oscars, one of these being the "I Love music and your blog award" & also the "Versatile blog" award from the lovely & inspirational blogger (and athlete)- Naomi Addy from She got her own - Thank you so much koukla!
Also very, very recently I was honoured with the "Versatile blogger" award from Jadina of British Dreams & Yellow Umbrellas. Thank you poptart!

...and....a "Thanks for your gorgeous blog" via Ulia from View From Heels - Thank you beautiful, you totally rock!

I am always astounded when someone presents me with an award... Thank you for all your support readers, random visitors & anonymous invisible readers!


So here are a few random facts about myself... you'll have probably seen my "The A-Z of me - Tell me about yourself award" post over here but here are some new ones below!

• I'm not really one for having 'normal' photos taken... What I mean is that I nearly always manage to pull a silly face! So, who am I? Since many of you have wondered who the face behind this blog is... I guess I'll just share the one image with y'all!

ME & my love of cobalt...Bloggers, I salute you... for your support!

• I loved reading books as a kid and still do. I say bring back those crazy choose your own adventure books where you flip to different pages for different endings! They should do these for adults with love, career options, thrillers... like Sliding Doors but in a book! Currently engrossed in the Steve Jobs biography.
• ...and when books didn't feed me enough, I ended up growing up to these brilliant 80's tv shows like The A-Team, Knight Rider (tell me i'm not the only one who thought a talking car named KIT was super cool?), Roseanne, ALF, Married with children, Saved by the bell... Yeah, I'm not ashamed to admit they were cool! Currently addicted to Revenge & Hawaii Five-0.

Via Lonely Planet

• I love to travel, am fascinated with different cultures & have visited many places already, but with the world being so big and all, there are so many other beautiful places yet to discover. Some of you already know that I once had a run in with Mick Jagger in Ta Prohm Temple in Cambodia (where Angelina Jolie filmed Tomb Raider), years back... best day ever... also got to see sunrise at Angkor Wat and also run into some of my Aussie mates in a tuk tuk - such a beautiful place there!

via Pinterest

• I'm really good at shooting hoops... be it Basketball or Netball (I used to be Goal Attack). There's this game at the fair or games arcade which the mr. and I love to play... you shoot hoops and if you get over a certain score it gives you another game, but this time the hoops start moving... Don't know why but it gives me such a buzz scoring & hoops! I'm such a weirdo!!!

• This is such a bizarre thing to say but yeah, i've had this discussion with friends before...(maybe after a couple of bottles of vino or perhaps it was after watching 'ZombieLand'!)- in case of a Zombie Apocalypse, I would choose Selfridges to be my hideout/lair till things tide over (or till we get infected and turn into Zombies ourselves-ha!)! What's not to love about this place? There'd be security (burly men at the doors with shoot to kill commands), bathroom amenities, Entertainment, Fashion, Make up/beauty, restaurants/food, reading material... What a classy joint eh? Yeah, my bunch of friends are an exceptionally creative bunch, most working in fashion, advertising and whatnot, so conversations are never dull!
• Inventions: My bff's and I always like to talk about crazy inventions we would love to have in life... like a teleporting fridge/naughty cupboard! Or basically where you go "I've baked something amazing, you want a slice? - Ok, just chucking it in the cupboard for you now" - other person opens cupboard door and hey presto, slice of cake! This conversation existed for the pure purpose of friend torturing me with dim sum talk...which you cannot get over here and I miss it. I love my food, me.

Five Favourite songs: This is a bit hard since I listen to pretty much everything and lurve music. Perhaps I'll do my fave songs that are a great start to chillout Sunday.

• Cold Water music - Aim
• Since I left you - The Avalanches
• Anything by Jack Johnson
• La Ritournelle - Sebastian Tellier
• Anything by Pretty Lights - their website has free album downloads -last I checked, but donations are welcome - best albums being "Making up a changing mind", "Filling up the pretty skies" & "Passing by behind your eyes".

That was really hard! There are so many songs's that I'll just have to share next time on my Sunday posts!

Admittedly, the difficulty in receiving such awards is deciding whom to pass it onto. I'm big on sharing the love & since there are so many of you fantastic & super stylish Bloggers, readers, commenters (peeps on my sidebar/blogroll), I'm going to cheat and dedicate these Blog Awards to all of you!!! I know, it's cheating! But you're all so wonderful!

I know it's only Thursday, but still, I saw this on Pinterest and it kinda made me chuckle...

via Alyssa Peters on Pinterest

"I Want This Job": Luxury label Senior Womenswear Designer

Hey everyone!
Who's been excited & blown away by fashion week so far??? I'm loving everyone's highlights of either their fave collections and overviews of AW12/13 rtw... Pretty much fell in love with Jason Wu, Temperley, J Mendel... sigh. There's so much gorgeousness that makes me actually love the winter season more. Been catching up slowly with what the fash pack wore too over at Lee's blog - LeeOliveira & also Tommy Ton on style.com.

I've been dying to share this next "I Want this Job" feature for a while now, but since I can't exactly reveal who she works for (- I don't want her to get in trouble with PR/HR folks!), perhaps I can mention the prestigious luxury label is showing today at LFW. Today's feature is on Senior Womens Wear Designer & style maven Tanya. She is about to give us the low-down on one of the most-wanted jobs around!

Camille Miceli, Jewellery/Accessories designer at Dior via Nowness

What do you actually do?
I design a second line for a luxury fashion brand based in London. On a day to day basis I spend my time drawing, doing fittings, preparing research boards, communicating with our factories and product development team. I travel both internationally and in the UK visiting factories and fabric fairs. I am also involved in lookbook photoshoot, critical path planning and print direction.

What's your typical working day like?
See above. I start at 8.30-9am usually and have breakfast at my desk! I am away a lot and also work at home on days I have lots of sketching to do. I also tend to have meetings scheduled in most days for range planning, print direction, fabric sourcing, design hand over, fitting and sales & marketing direction, plus feedback. I try and eat lunch away from my desk and I tend to finish around 7pm ish.

What core responsibilities do you have as a Senior womenswear Designer?

• Critical path planning & range planning
• Direction for the season including concept and theme
• Print direction
• Mood and colour boards
• Designing the collection including detailed specs (aka flats: technical drawings of the garment showing stitches, measurements & info) for handover to the pattern and product development teams
• Fitting: both prototypes and production fits
• Fabric selection
• Trim selection
• Pricing structure ensuring fabric and CMT prices for for retail structure
• Strike off (product sample) approvals
• Trim specs
• Showroom set up
• Seasonal presentations to sales/ press
• Model selection/castings
• Lookbook styling and direction on the shoot

What are you working on at the moment?
I am currently working on RTW for SS13 putting together colour palettes/research boards and initial design concepts

Yohji Yamamoto's sketches in progress via Nowness

Does the preparation of a season's collection take a lot of time?
It should do but I often find I spend most of my time travelling and in meetings and increasingly spending less time actually designing the collection. I have recently taken on an assistant designer and that is helping to spread the load!

What do you love about this job & why is it so fabulous?
I love the fact everyday is different and I have control over my working day.

Is it as glamorous as it sounds being a designer?
Absolutely not!!! There are always great perks but the travelling and long days are exhausting and I regularly miss social invites as I am away!

Designer's Inspirational sketches for SS12 via Instyle.com

Do you design digitally or the old school way, sketches by hand?

The brand I work for favour the old school sketching by hand which works for me as I am definitely not an illustrator girl. I still illustrate my designs on the figure as I think it is really important to think about how they will move when worn.

When designing a range/collection, are you very aware of the competition and what's out there? Do you design with the The brands signature style in mind? What's going through your mind when creating something?

I am very aware of price points and what is happening in the market. I work on a second line and I think you have to be to make a collection successful as what retails well is often not the obvious! I have to make sure everything works for the brand identity but I am always informed by price/manufacturing constraints etc as well as wanting to create something new.

How 'hands on' are you in terms of overseeing samples get made to the final product being manufactured?

Very! See above, I am involved through to production sealer samples.

Emma Cooks research mood board, via Nowness

What piece have you been most proud of that you designed & have you seen anyone in anything that you specifically designed?
It is often the pieces you don't want to see! Amy Winehouse was photographed in one of her famous court appearances in a piece I had designed which greatly amused me and the rest of the team!!!

Have you travelled anywhere exciting with this job?
I travel quite a lot, mainly Tokyo, Hong Kong, China, Paris, Portugal and across the UK!

What's not so great about this job?
The fact I work on a whole collection which includes all product areas.

What do you do to get inspired when you have those blah days?
Sometimes you just have those days and you have to step away for a few hours! If not, I wander round Portobello followed by Dover Street or liberty!

Which trade shows, prediction fairs, fabric fairs etc do you visit/go to regularly?
PV Paris. (Première Vision - World's leading fabric & textiles fair held twice a year - I remember those horrid 4am starts to get to the Eurostar then having to spend all day concentrating on fabrics then catching last train back to London - tiring stuff!)

What (technical) skills are required to be a great Designer?
I think you have to know how things go together and have a wide knowledge of machinery and finishes. I don't think you can expect a good product at the end if you do not have a good idea how the process is achieved. The best designers I have ever met are technically very gifted too.

What's the career path like (Education - courses you took, work experience & training to get to where you are now)?
I did an art foundation followed by a BA at Kingston University in Fashion Design. From there I had several roles as design assistants at luxury brands in London before landing this role.

How did you find your dream job as a Designer?
Through an agency. Design jobs only tend to get filled through design agencies or word of mouth!

Would you ever like to set up & launch your own label in the future?
I don't think so. I think success is not always down to the amount of work you put in, especially when it comes to fashion, and I wouldn't want to risk everything for that. I also love working in a team so I would find it hard working on my own in the beginning.

beautiful illustration by Elisa Mazzone

What advice & what do you have to say to the next ambitious graduates or anyone, particularly for those hoping to follow in your footsteps as a designer?
Think about why you want to work in fashion. It can be incredibly rewarding but it is also relentless and cut throat. It is not the glamourous lifestyle most assume. You have to love clothes but more importantly the mechanics of how they work.

Huge thank you to Tanya for sharing this with us!
x.o.x.o

SexyBack: MadWalk 2012 -Fusing Fashion & Music Part 1

Sexy front & backs! Vicky opened the show in a white maxi dress, and had multiple outfit changes as shown. Loved both the girls in Celia Kritharioti Haute Couture (above right via Miss Bloom.gr) and their contrasting black and white ensemble by Deux Hommes.

Last week I attended one of Fashion & Musics most anticipated events in Greece's hip happenings calendar, courtesy of MAD TV.
It was such a grand and visually mind-blowing event as Designers and Music artists went all out at the MadWalk event by Vodafone. Since this was my first time going to this event, I really wasn't sure what to expect... especially since the venue was surrounded by an enormous carpark that was made entirely of pebble and stone.
Me: "Cr**" I was really hoping to A) not wipe out & B) not ruin my heels OR C) get my maxi dress caught on my heels, hence my maxi knot... It was also damn cold too and waiting outside for an hour really did not help!
Anyhoos, I had an smashing time! There's no denying that an amalgamation of music and fashion could produce such great vibes and a beautiful spectacle. Plus running into my blogger buds and meeting new ones is always fun, good times all round!

Ok, I thought I'd start you off with glam presenter and model, Vicky Kaya's outfits along with her co-presenters, Mary Sinatsaki and Greek Ken doll (he's actually a pop star) Kostas Martakis.

Vicky's super daring & also rather cheeky outfit by Celia K Couture, teamed with a pair of Loubs!

The event opened with Kostas Martakis (below) perforing his new song, "Endasi" which also features both Mary and Vicky - like Barbie dolls... The video reminds me of Clockwork Orange vs "je ne sais quoi" Can't put my finger on exactly what it was it reminded me of though! Mary Sinatsaki in her maids outfit...

Super talented Helena Paparizou pretty much kick started the event, whilst Deux Hommes
presented their collection.

Hello Katerina Stikoudi (model) - on the red carpet (via studio Panoulis) and serious outfit change for her performance with NEBMA. I love this velvety green number teamed with chunky necklace.

Greece's very own Barbie doll - TV presenter and model Doukissa Nomikou strutting her stuff in a cheeky outfit for Celia K couture. This was by far the naughtiest outfit of the soiree, and the rest of Celia's collection is nothing like this! More on that next time!

Loved all the dramatic openings and this was a fantastic and super sexxxy performace by Eleni Foureira (above and below)

Eleni Foureira presented Angelos Bratis collection

Legendary Greek singer Natasa Theodoridou opened Efi Papaoiannou's collection. I never thought I'd ever hear such a beautiful voice, no wonder she's so popular! Also loved the chess board set up for showing the collection too - more on the fashion front in Part deux peeps!

I have never seen so many camera's and phone's go off like it did when Sakis Rouvas - Greece's answer to King of Pop showed up on stage with a sexy army of dancers & performed "Bad Thing" with Nomi Ruiz.

A very Louis Vuitton icecream inspired setting for Midenistis ft. Demy, opening for Celia K couture! I'll have to share the actual fashion snaps in part 2 as there are way to many pics!

It was such a fun event! One of my other fave performances of the night was Ilia Darling & My excuse covering Rihanna's "We Found Love", who rode on a black carousel horse down the centre of the catwalk - amazing! So, what were some of your favourite looks? There were lots of OTT and racy outfits, far too many for my liking, but some of the designers collections were to die for... coming up another time peeps!

I know it's a bit late but I sure hope everyone had a Valentines Day filled with love and smiles...
I was utterly sick, not from OD'ing on chocolates or anything... I've only literally got my appetite back from a stomach bug and feeling ever so slightly human again! Saving myself for a chocolate induced coma on the weekend!

Ciao for now, beautiful people!
x.o.x.o

images: All property of A Brit Greek unless stated otherwise