A Fashion Tale

Once upon a time in a not-so-faraway land called London, lived a beautiful young designer named Emma. 

In her studio, located high above all the hustle and bustle of the east end streets below, Emma worked day and night on her new collection. But this wasn't just any collection. This was Emma's signature collection and everything had to be just right.

One day, as Emma finished yet another piece for this highly-anticipated new body of work, an idea struck the lovely blonde girl.

"I know!" she exclaimed from behind her sewing machine. "Instead of showcasing at London Fashion Week, I'll do something even bigger... even better. Something new.

Something revolutionary!"

Excited by her idea, Emma quickly consulted her partner Jeanpierre. "I think you're on to something," said JP, sipping from what was probably his thirteenth cup of tea that morning. "Yes, Emma dearest, let's create a video. The finest fashion video in all the land!"

And so they got to work. First they needed to find the best, the brightest, the most brilliant production team possible. "How about Creative Nation?" suggested JP. "Brilliant!" exclaimed Emma. 

Of course it was brilliant. With the company's past clients including names like Nike, Coke, E4, Dunlop and Audi - they would surely do e.g. proud.

Next, auditions for the fairest ladies were held. Gorgeous girls from all over the world flocked to Emma's studio, but only a lucky few would be just right.

It was a hard decision for Emma and JP. "But they're all so stunning!" said JP. "Yes, you're right," said Emma. "But I have such a good feeling about these five. They simply MUST star in the video."

And so, the beautiful Annaliese, Ilona, Jo, Eryna and Natasha were all recruited, making up the fabulous five that will represent this most fierce new e.g... collection.

The day of the shoot is fast approaching. Next weekend to be exact. It will be a sinister and sexy

day, indeed. The weary and faint of heart need not apply. 

A Spitalfields lot transformed into a fashion battlefield . Erotica, bondage and sexual tension run amuck... oh my!

The shoot will be well documented for all to see. Sorted, a glorious photographer, who has worked with the likes of O2, the Telegraph, Tatler magazine and Mixmag, will be on site. Not a sexy moment will pass without the click from his expertly-handled camera. 

And those ever-so-alluring moments will be made all the more tantalizing by New York makeup and hair stylist Rachel Wood, who has worked on some of the most divalicious projects to date. 

"She's lush," said Emma excitedly. She's worked on nearly every magazine you can name - Look, InStyle, Grazia, New - the list goes on! Not only that, Wood has showcased her skills on ITV, UK Style, UK Living and appeared in not one but FOUR episodes of last season's hit show Coleen's Real Women.

And so, Emma and her team continue pushing on towards the date of the big shoot. It will be a day to remember. And a day to definitely read about on this blog soon.

To Be Continued...

Emma recommends...

Emma has taken some time out of her busy sewing schedule to fill us in on the best bits of London town - in her lovely opinion, of course.

So, while you're anxiously awaiting the release of her new collection (which, by the way, has new pieces being added each day it seems!), make sure you visit some of these hot spots. Maybe we'll see you there....

Best Pub:

Ok, this is a tough one. With a pub literally on every corner in this city, it's not easy to choose. BUT quantity does not always mean quality, and if it's quality you're craving than Emma recommends you visit Grapeshots Wine Bar in east London.

According to Emma, drinking in Grapeshots will have you feeling like you're in the midst of a Charles Dickens novel. The staff is lovely, the decor is lush and the ale is served in solid silver tankards! Not too shabby.

The pub is located just around the corner from our studio. The exact address is 2-3 Artillery Passage, Broadgate, E1 7LJ.

Apparently it's still an untapped amazing drinking hole in London, so take advantage of this insider information before the masses catch on.

Best Restaurant:

When Jeanpierre isn't whipping up something truly scrumptious in the e.g... kitchen (yesterday's noodle prawn dish was legendary, JP), Emma likes to venture out to a restaurant called Imli in Soho.

You'd think with Brick Lane just a hop, skip and strut away from the e.g. pad, Emma would opt for Indian food there, but nope, Imli is the place to park if you're in the mood for spicy curries, etc.

The restaurant boasts a variety of Indian tapas to tempt your tastebuds. Emma says Imli puts an exciting twist on Indian cooking - offering beautiful sauces, wicked cocktails and a Goan pork that is simply to die for.

And the curry is good... "like... REALLY good", says Emma.

I'm convinced.

The restaurant is located at 167-169 Wardour Street

in Soho - W1F 8WR.

I googled the place and TimeOut London has given it a five-star review! I suspect after this blog hits the netwaves, those stars will be climbing.

MMmmmmmm.....

If you visit either of these delicatable places, please let us know about it. We'd love to hear what you thought. Agree or disagree with Emma - let's hear it!

Ok, I'm hungry. Time for lunch. Bye for now!

L x

Stitsh

We don't do this very often, but we wanted to draw your attention to a fabulous style site that everyone should definitely be bookmarking.

Stitsh is not like your regular style spotting website. 

I love visiting street style sites. They're a great place to gain inspiration and see what people from all over the world are sporting this season. 

But often, I'll visit these sites, see an item I MUST have and then realise I'll never own it because I have no idea where it's from. No amount of Ebay searching will ever land me the look.

This is why Stitsh is so wonderful. The staffers down at Stitsh actually do the hard work for you, by finding out where the fashionistas and fashionistos bought their amazing clothes and then providing links to online shops where you can purchase it for yourself.

Brilliant.

Scroll through their UK and US galleries and you'll see what I mean. Like what that girl is wearing in Manchester? How about the woman in New York City? Click the picture and viola, you're free to shop to your heart (and your wallet's) desire.

Check it out: http://www.stitsh.com/

Happy shopping,

L x

e.g.'s... Next Top Model

It's been a busy day in the e.g... studio. The new collection is nearly complete and all the looks are coming together beautifully.

We've had some models in all last week, interviewing for the collection video. We start shooting very soon!

But, to see the new pieces in action today, we had a lovely and talented model called Annaliese come in to try them on and pose for a few pictures. She's a natural! So bubbly and full of energy.

With all this modeling action happening, Emma couldn't resist getting in on all the action. She was posing behind the camera. Luckily I caught her:

We loved having Annaliese in the studio. So, I conducted a little Q&A with her. Behold:

Q: Hi Annaliese! You're gorgeous. Where are you from?

A: London - that's an easy one!

Q: How old are you, darling?

A: 22

Q: You seem familiar. Where would we people know you from?

A: Probably Britain's Next Top Model. I was a contestant on the most recent cycle. It was great for exposure, but it's definitely not what it looks like on tv! More about entertainment than actual modeling. But it was fun.

Q: What are your career goals?

A: I have a lot! I would actually love to be a television presenter and host a national tv programme. I always say I'd love to steal the T4 girls jobs. But I love modeling too. I want to be on the cover of a successful magazine. I really love catwalk too. Hopefully someone will give a 5'7" girl a chance to walk the catwalks! I've mainly done commercial work.

Q: We've had some models in all week. They look perfect and we're starting to feel bad. Do you have any guilty pleasures?

A: Definitely - mine would have to be cheesecake.

Mmmmm! We agree.

Sadly I can't publish any of the photos taken from today. BUT, soon all will be revealed so stay tuned! I'll let you know closer to the day when you can check back for all the new looks.

Until then - keep posing!

L x

P.S. Annaliese is part of Oxygen Model Management in London. Gorgeous!

Facebook us!

Have you heard of this little website called Facebook? It's pretty great!

If you have a moment, would you be ever so kind and come and visit our page? And, why not, while you're there, become a fan?

Lots of new things are coming and we want to make sure you're kept in-the-know.

Click, click, click: e.g...on Facebook

Big kisses,

Lori

Bloomin' good weekend

Mmm, it's summer.

I'm writing this post from my desk in the studio. The window is open, the sun is shining (granted I did need to use my umbrella whilst walking in this morning, but nevermind that).

It's important to take advantage of these lovely days, even if you have a much-anticipated new collection coming out in a matter of weeks.

Emma decided to bask in the warm(ish) weather this weekend and managed to creep out from under the sewing machine long enough to enjoy the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show just outside London.

She joined her lovely parents and good friend Amelie, whom she first met while working with McQueen, at the show. It looked lush.

Speaking of lush, meet Amelie:

The show is put on by the same group behind the Chelsea Flower Show, so we all knew it was going to be grand.

According to Emma, the show lived up to expectations. Gorgeous flowers at every corner.

Look how happy:

Apparently, Amelie was quite the savvy shopper - bargaining with vendors for the cheapest price imaginable for a chocolate-scented plant. Sadly, Amelie left without the plant. Probably cheaper on Columbia Rd, she thought, which is what she told the vendors! Bless.

Their hands weren't empty for long though. They did make a couple important purchases at the event. Actually, make that three important purchases, coming in the form of large glasses of rose wine. Mmm.

Emma's gorgeous mum guards the goods:

All in all, it was a fabulous weekend. Very posh.

Now it's back to the collection. Rumour is that models will be making their way to the studio tomorrow for casting of the collection video. Oh la la! It will be like a an episode of Britain's Next Top Model in here, I'm sure.

Brilliant.

- L xx

Teen Minutes

Happy Monday everyone,

I thought I would start the week off with a lovely feature article about Emma recently published in Teen Minutes magazine. 

It's a delicious Q&A and we're loving the layout. Check out the whole issue here: http://www.teenminutesmagz.com/

-L x

Shoreditch Shenanigans!

A few members of the e.g. crew decided to take over your local friendly fetish night at the Hoxton Lab in Shoreditch on Thursday evening and luckily for us (unluckily for some of those captured) some photographs were taken.

Hurrar!

Bare in mind, these pictures were taken after many, many pints.

First up, Emma with design assistant Victor. Is it just me or does it look like Victor has something very important to tell Emma? E seems intrigued... yes, intrigued, or slightly frightened.

After filling Emma in on whatever it was that seemed so urgent, Victor made a new friend! We have no idea who this lovely chap is but we are LOVING his ensemble. That drink looks refreshing too. Is it cocktail hour yet? Hmmm...

The entertainment for the evening was great. As Emma put it, the music was like poetry with a little electronica flavour mixed to a rockin' dance beat. Sounds good to me!

And finally (and just because I can), I'm sneaking in a picture of Emma with the myserious and ever-so-elusive Jeanpierre (whom I suspect will delete this the moment he lays eyes on it).

Jeanpierre, if you're reading this, please don't take this photo off. You two look stunning! And for all those readers who are lucky enough to read the entry before this photo is deleted, well, bravo to you.

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

L x

Fashion156

The gorgeous website, www.fashion156.com, has captured one of our tailored jackets beautifully, haven't they?

x

It's coming...

The latest e.g... collection is nearly ready to make its fabulous debut. I don't know about any of you, but I'm dying to see it all come together.

I've been snooping around trying to get a sneak peek for all of you. I've only caught rare (and might I add totally sexy) glimpses of a few items.

I've been sworn to secrecy, but I can fill you in a few things to hopefully appease your hunger until the launch in a few weeks time.

Emma has been working for months on her latest designs - collecting inspiration from all sorts of places. It's been a true labour of love.

Her partner JP was able to grab this snap a while back. It's the lovely Emma assembling cutouts of everything that went into the S/S 2010 collection. So what do we see? Squint a little, zoom in... wooo! Do you see what I see? A little playful bondage, a couple cheeky nude shots, lots of black and white. Oh la la.

A running theme? Strong women. The new collection will be staying true to what the brand represents - edgy women who aren't afraid to embrace their masculine side while remaining feminine, sexy and, well, lets just say it, stunning in every way. That's the kind of woman I want to be! Emma's designs will help you get there.

According to Emma we're going to be seeing lots of silk. Lovely 100 per cent silk. Keeping with the edge, she's thrown in a little leather for good measure. Lots of structure, loads of style - that's the name of this fashion game.

The Creative Nation video I told you about briefly in the last blog post will start filming in a couple weeks time. That means by the first week of September I won't need to tease you any more and you can indulge in all the latest e.g... items from the comfort of your own computer chair.

So, watch this space!

I'll be on set during the filming and will make sure I fill you in on all the exciting things happening in studio.

Until then,

L x

Additions at e.g...

Greetings lovelies! I hate to disappoint but this is not Emma. Rather it’s the newest addition to the e.g… studios. Me! Lori. Hi there.

Fear not – I haven’t hijacked this blog. Well, actually, I have. BUT it’s all done in peace and for the sake of all you e.g... fans who are chomping at the bit for more updates.

I’ve been begging for more updates too, so I’m taking matters into my own hands. I’ll be reporting live from the studio as much as possible - giving you all the juicy updates and insider knowledge from behind-the-runway.

Emma and her team are running around like crazy making sure the Spring/Summer 2010 collection is bigger and better than ever (which, by the way, I’ve seen a sneak preview of and it’s sexy!). Emma’s hands are too busy stitching to be typing. This is where I come in.

I’ve been in the studio for about two days now and I’ve already caught fever from how smoking hot the newest collection is going to be. Not only that, e.g... has come up with a very clever way to make sure all you fashionistas are included in the collection launch.

Starting next month a production crew will be in the studio shooting a short film which will document all the latest designs. It’s going to be dead glamourous and I can’t wait to see how it all comes together.

The folks behind the lens have worked with some of the largest brands in the world. Seriously. They're known as Creative Nation and check it out, they've worked with Coca Cola, Channel 4, Nike… need I say more? Not too shabby. AND it will all be ready for you darlings right before fashion season kicks off in September.

To help make the collection an even bigger success (which I have no doubt it will) Emma has brought on Felicities – a fab PR agency who specialises in helping emerging designers get their trendy boots through the doors of the fashion industry (and trust me, security is tight at those doors!).

But before all that, please check out my new twitter feed @inside_eg to really keep in the know. I’ve also organised a fan page on Facebook for e.g… where you’ll be able to see sneak previews of the collection and satisfy your insatiable hunger for all things fabulous in the world of e.g... fashion. Delicious!

Speaking of delicious, JP has just cooked up some wonderful concoction in the kitchen and I’m dying to try a bit. Must dash.

Speak soon

Lori xx