Havaianas @ BBB

By now, I think we all own at least a pair of lovely Havaianas flip-flops! The brand had a strong presence at BBB and you couldn't miss the enormous flip-flop flowers at the entrance of its space, going all the way up the fake grass hill covering its special, secret room.

The secret room was an area where only selected buyers were allowed in, by invitation only. The reason? It was a very private showroom of Havaianas' new project for SS 10. Letting you into a little secret: next year and for the first time, the brand will extend beyond flip-flops!

I was allowed some pics from the regular line, so here's what to expect flip-flop-wise:




In case you did not know, Havaianas sandals were created in 1962 by Alpargatas, a traditional Brazilian company of footwear and apparel. The inspiration was the japanese rice-straw sandal, Zori.

Back then, success was instant and a thousand pairs were sold per day. Today, this number has risen to 460 thousand being sold worldwide, per day (!)

Seen on feet on the street or on the catwalk, each new collection features new shapes, colours, prints and ornaments inspired by the latest fashion trends. (from the BBB Brand Bible)

Ever wondered how they are made? Here's a fun clip showing just that:

Firetrapped

It was almost like bumping into an old friend from London. First I noticed the decorations, a couple of hundred voodoo-like dwarfs. (I wanted to take one home for some reason) (I did not do so)

Then, I noticed it was Firetrap.

I did not take any pictures of the line, since it was for SS 10, therefore still under wraps for the vast public. However, here's what it will be all about, according to the Bread & Butter Brand Bible:

SS 10 sees FIRETRAP explore a 'lost and found', 'mix and match' approach where Americana meets English eccentricity. The mood continues to be dominated by the darker elements of Rock'n'Roll, here fused with the confident use of bold colours. 80s inspired asymetric blocks of colour clash with classic summer-time prints to create contrast.

The attitude for womenswear is softened slightly for summer-time with garments loved and laundered rather than distressed and distroyed - a mixture of thrift store finds in new shapes and playful proportions, toughened up by zips, studs and workwear detailing.

- Firetrap is a UK founded brand , established in 1993.
- There are 1,500 retailers selling Firetrap worldwide at the moment.
- Firetrap's mission is to act as a mirror to London's unique style and attitude - creating their very own brand of London-ism.

Entering Bread & Butter

This is a personal video I shot whilst entering the notorious BBB. It is definetely worth checking the official one too though, here (select "Review Movie" under the player). It was all so perfectly organised and so accurately themed, I am lost for words.

Back in the '30s, Tempelhof used to be the most frequently visited airport of the time. During the second world war, it served as a Nazi base and after 1945 it was passed on to the US air force. As BBB puts it, now they have "kissed the old beauty back to life".

I have a think for knitting, so you can imagine my excitement seeing this at the entrance (and random staircase handles and other parts inside). Although I did not verify this with the BBB staff, this looks like the work of Knitta.


The visitors had to "check-in" to enter, pick up the BBB bible from a running conveyor belt, staff was dressed as air stewarts/esses and the theme was complete with real planes next to the exhibition area. As you are soon to see, BBB was a real take-off...

Street Style Heaven

If there is one, then it must be Berlin. Nine out of ten people in the street were worth taking pictures of. Whether it was cool or chic, they seemed to wear whatever suited them best. They must have it as a module at school, what can I say...

Fancy going to a concert?

Competition

Win a* free entrance to Paul Weller's much anticipated concert this coming Tuesday, 14th July '09. (*single invite)

All you have to do is send me your full name at aleccarox@windowslive.com , subject "Weller", by this Sunday (12.07.09). Winner to be announced on Monday;)

Stuff on Paul Weller, here and here.
Stuff on his dress-sence, here.

And...
The one song I'm dying to listen to under the summer, starry sky of Athens:

Discovering Darimeya

Well Peaches Geldof, Keisha from the Sugababes and Kate Moss have done it first, a long time ago. Better late than never, I present you Darimeya, based in London and established in 2003.

In Premium, I had the chance to meet the Korean designer behind the brand, Nicky Lee Inthsorn. To my surprise, her assistant was Greek, Fragiski (pictured right).

The collection is a sweet mix of short dresses, so special they caught my eye from the other side of the room. Nicky gave me a mini interview, especially for you:

Alecca: What is the theme of your collection?
Nicky: (smiles) Alice in Wonderland! The inspiration comes so naturally each time. My last collection was themed "Cupcake" after someone brought over some delicious cupcakes in the office.

A: What fabrics do you use?
N: I use silk-satin, soft jersey and mixes of wool. Pure wool gives you knots after washing so I prefer fabrics that are a mix of wool and acrylic. I decorate with buttons, frills and lace. I also do my own prints.

A: Isn't that expensive? Don't you get copied?
N: It is, but we do our best to keep our prices to affordable levels. We sell in Topshop basement you know. Yes we get copied. At the moment we are in court with three companies. One way of avoiding copy-cats is by placing our logo discreetly on every print (see pictures).

A: Do you sell anywhere in Greece?
N: Yes we do! (she showed me a short list, I noted "Lalika" in Athens and "Nati-Mati" in Thessaloniki)

However, you can check out Darimeya online too, here. The prices are affordable indeed and from time to time there are some yummy sales on.

Thank you Nicky & Fragiski, it was a pleasure;)

Exhibition...maze

The exhibition sign could not have made it any clearer: girls and boys ...and what seperates them.

Entering Premium

Images from Premium, Berlin. Premium was an exhibition of up-market firms, showing collections for SS 10. Amongst brands I came across were Burlington, DKNY, JC/DC, Nice Things, French Connection and Sooo...! by Katerina Alexandraki. Details & discoveries, in posts to follow.

Long wa(y)it to Berlin

Taking it from the start. I thought I'd never get to Berlin this time, I swear. My EasyJet flight was delayed by two and a half hours and in the end, it was just us left, haunting the airport and the announcement boards, fingers crossed we'd eventually fly. That night I arrived at my friend's flat at 5.30 in the morning and I tell you, it was quite a mission to wake her up. However, I arrived.

Staying at Kreutzberg, a very arty neighbourhood that could be described as a mix of Athens Gazi, Psurri and Exarhia, I had breakfast facing some not so fashion-friendly messages. However, Kreutzberg is not only fashion friendly, I'd say it's actually the area where the latest trends are born.

Boy qeueing ahead of me for a train ticket. Could not miss his R.I.P YSL tote bag.

I am back

Or Ich bin zurück if you like. Forgot you not. It's just that so much was happenning in so little time, I had to save posting for my return. And here I am with tons of material to share, really soon.

In the meantime, this is a photo taken outside Premium exhibition in Luckenwalder Strasse. I was lucky enough to be sharing this experience with two seriously creative people, fashion designer Dimitris Kaidantzis and costume designer Marli Aleiferi. The first was there charging his baterries before diving into his SS 10 collection and the second had just finished the filming of the Greek movie "Four Black Costumes" by Renos Charalambidis and was escaping. This is so fresh, will tell you all about it in a future post.

Hummel was having this very clever promo, taking pictures of visitors infront of this huge jacket worn on a street sign. Agreeing to have your pic taken meant 30% off your next purchase, but we did it anyway 'cause the jacket was so imposing and also the promoter was fun.

-Man, you can dress a small team with all this fabric...
-He! Indeed. You can dress it using the fabric for the hoodie alone! Now smile.