My London Fashion Week Experience 2016.

Today’s post is a little bit of a different one to break up the USA posts inbetween Disney and Universal. Last weekend was London Fashion Week, and despite attending London Collections: Men a few times before with work, this is actually the first time I’ve attended anything to do with Women’s Fashion Week. I haven’t gone completely crazy as I’ve been so busy seeing friends and family before I move back to Australia next week, but I’ve managed to squeeze a few things in and thought I’d tell you a bit more about my #LFW experience!

Last Friday it all kicked off when Edd and I headed along to the Individualism ‘Laced Up’ party at The Hospital Club. For me my favourite things about fashion week (whether it’s mens or womens), is the parties. You all know how much I love a good party, and the guys at Individualism are pretty good at them. Jemima and I went to their ‘Buttoned Up’ party a coupla years ago, and once again this one didn’t disappoint. Edd and I sipped on cocktails, mingled with others, and watched intrigued as a guy did illustrations of guests.

We then headed over to the K Swiss party at Tape, but stupidly we’d really done the parties the wrong way round – Tape was at full capacity and they weren’t letting anyone else in. The queue was round the corner and we just couldn’t be bothered to wait, so we went to Sketch for cocktails and then Byron for a burger. It was great. Apart from when Edd woke up with food poisoning the next morning from his beef burger, and I was totally fine with my chicken burger, haha! 

The next evening was my leaving party and the PA5H after party. I had my leaving drinks at Hotel Cafe Royal (a separate blog post will be up very soon), and then a large chunk of us headed up the road to Toy Room around 10pm for a pretty epic after party with the PA5H lot. It was epic. So, so epic. The after parties really are the best part of fashion week!

The Oliver Spencer show was Tuesday night, and was the very last show of this year’s LFW at Brewer Street Car Park. I took Emma with me, and so we met up after she finished work and headed over to join the queue in Soho for Oliver Spencer.

As most of you will know by now, I’m not really a ‘fashion’ person, I have more of a classic style and then I add key fashion pieces to my wardrobe each season. I went classic with my outfit for Oliver Spencer. Etta Tote from Anya Hindmarch, Cropped jacket from Ted Baker, Black jeans from Topshop, and a simple black shirt from Topshop. Shoes are my fave heels, they’re the comfiest heels you will ever wear, so classic and elegant, and just £25 from M&S…yes….Marks. And. Spencer (they say they’re wide fit but I have super narrow feet and they’re fine on me). Oh, and obvs my fave red lipstick to bring a bit of colour to the whole ensemble.

Unfortunately we weren’t special enough to have an allocated seat, so we had to stand, but the show only lasted about 15mins so this wasn’t really an issue, and actually it meant we had a great view of the show and didn’t have to peer over people’s heads!

The show was a great one, the collection was made up of relaxed tailoring and loungewear, true to Oliver Spencer’s usual style and silhouette, while the show included an afrobeats band and live buying option with Vero. It was pretty cool seeing the clothes on the runway, and then looking up and seeing the ‘buy now’ option straight away on the big screens and Vero app. The catwalk show was a collab between Oliver Spencer, British GQ, and Vero, and was definitely an interesting one.

After the show came the after party. Held at the Liberty store, it was a party of epic queuing (our own fault as we spent half an hour in Five Guys after the show, instead of getting to the after party straight away…), and epic music. Trevor Nelson was on the DJ decks, and David Gandy, Tom Evans, and Oliver Cheshire were in attendance (we stood next to David Gandy at one point and both almost had heart attacks).

 We finally got in after queuing for over an hour, and spent the night dancing to awesome music and sipping on Remy Martin cocktails. It was such a great night, and the perfect way to finish my #LFW experience! 

Milan and Paris Fashion Week Tips

London Fashion Week is sadly over for another year, but Milan starts this weekend and then Paris is next week. And if you haven’t managed to get flights yet or book a hotel or plan anything at all, I have a few tips!

Where to Stay – Palazzo Parigi Milano

This absolutely stunning hotel is pure luxury, and fully deserves it’s five stars. The rooms are simple yet sophisticated and luxurious, and very Milanese. There’s also a fabulous spa for relaxing in inbetween shows and parties, and it’s just a short walk or taxi drive away from Milan’s hottest fashion spots.

Where to Eat –  Il Salumaio di Montenapoleone

I dined at this restaurant on the recommendation from a friend, and was SO impressed. I loved everything about it, from the discrete and ‘secret’ backstreet location, to the incredible architecture, and absolutely delicious food. Make sure you treat yourself to the burrata and fresh pasta.

Where to Stay – Mandarin Oriental Paris

One of my favourite luxury hotels of all time, this is the ultimate ‘girlie’ hotel. There are cute butterflies and pink, purple, and silver detailing throughout the hotel, but in the subtlest places. The Mandarin Oriental Paris is located right in the heart of the luxury fashion district, so is the ideal haven for fashion week.

Where to Eat – Lunch at La Gare and Dinner at Hotel Amour

La Gare is the perfect relaxed lunch spot, while Hotel Amour in Montmartre is an ever so on-trend restaurant perfect for dinner. The steaks at both restaurants are incredible, and the cocktails spot on.

How to Get There

If you’re on a budget or an avid Avios collector then there’s always the usual Easyjet or British Airways route (and let’s face it, BA are gradually becoming a budget airline, but without the budget prices). However if you’re going with friends or colleagues and want a slightly more luxurious option, Air Charter Service are specialists in getting you straight from one runway to another!

Have you ever been to fashion week?

*This is a post in collaboration with Air Charter Service, however all experiences are my own