London’s been hot lately and all I can think about is copious slices of lemon in my iced Pellegrino and endless top-ups of chilled Limonata.

It’s also the season for cooling citrus fragrances that transport you to the breezy coasts of Southern Italy. Acqua di Parma is forever the go-to for such escapist olfaction. It has just released its new Bergamotto la Spugnatura Eau de Parfum* in a blue sculptural-capped porcelain bottle designed by architectural designer, Laura Gonzalez (below).

The fragrance is my kind of citrus. Using an ancient artisanal technique that releases the essence of the bergamot peel using natural sea sponges, it opens with an initial cooling blast of bergamot and grapefruit that’s softened by a dry down of vetiver and cedarwood. After the initial spritz, the longevity isn’t that strong, which suits me – London is already an oppressive fug of oud and intense rose at this time of year, so I prefer this gentle woody yet refreshing skin scent. (Also, am I the only person who sprays a single – but firm – cloud of perfume and not several pumps?)

Accompanying the EDP is the Acqua di Parma Bergamotto la Spugnatura Hair and Body Oil*, a more sensorial alternative to a perfume. I love the ritual of a body oil in summer, either in the morning post-shower or after sundown to use instead of perfume. And alongside Bergamotto, there’s the citrus-adjacent Blu Mediterraneo Fico di Amalfi Eau de Toilette* also in a new limited-edition Gonzalez-designed bottle, combining fig, citrus and cedarwood notes.

Or for the more gourmand-inclined, consider Acqua di Parma’s trio of delicious candles (below) leaning cool and milky rather than super-sweet; Sorbetto Al Limone*, Latte di Mandorla* (almond and iced milk – oh my!) and Granita al Gelso* (“mulberry and brioche with vanilla bourbon” – yes I’m drunk on the description).

Other citruses of note, some new, some older. Tom Ford’s new Taormina Orange Eau de Parfum* is as juicy and sexy as you’d expect, tempered with a sophisticated twist of spicy cardamom oil. FYI: this one has staying power. Loewe has upgraded its Aire Sutileza Elixir Eau de Parfum* under new creative directors Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez with a high concentration of essential oils for stronger potency (below). The new version has the freshness of bergamot and lemon, the sharpness of pear plus a warm, grounding musk note.

For me, Hermès colognes are frankly unsurpassable. Eau D’Orange Vert* and Eau de Citron Noir* are longstanding heatwave coolers, while their accompanying shower gels and soaps are essential duty-free reach-fors. Also for the shower, Arket’s Pomelo shower oil* is clean and refreshing with a side of cedarwood sweetness. And while not strictly citrus – but in the same outdoorsy summery wheelhouse – Dries van Noten’s new Basil and Hinoki Hand Cream* (below) is instantly uplifting, energising and comforting.

What about you? Drop your citrus faves in the comments…

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WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES:  Alex Katz Still Life with Lemons, 1955; Acqua di Parma x 3; Loewe; Dries van Noten
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links* and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here.

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Ding dong! It’s time for the semi-annual spring knitwear update. What’s new this time around? Ummm, not much; I’m still after the usual – short sleeve knits, merinos, and cashmere-mixes (100% cashmere is a bit too soft and pill-y for me, I’ve decided).

I guess new-ish to the rotation is colour. Tomato red, grass green and Celine blue to be precise, especially layered with white, cream, and ecru. Red cardigans are… everywhere! Thick like a jacket at B.B Wallace*, or lightweight enough for a shoulder-knot at Calvin Klein*. Alexandra Golovanoff’s tomato twinset (below) is a genius solution to looking smart on top if the rest of you is a bit scruffy (ahem) – although stocks are on the low side. In Paris, Rubirosa is the emporium to go to for kaleidoscopic knitwear and don’t miss the cult croc loafers. Also in Paris, Linda V Wright is your muse for colourful classic knits, and especially red, as demonstrated with her timely post here (hint: the clue is in the shop’s name: Crimson.)

Celine has the perfect cropped green sweater*, below (it’s giving ‘Girl in an Alex Katz painting’), while Sunspel’s cobalt men’s lambswool* is the colour of a cloudless Greek sky. And, not quite a sweater, not quite a tee, I love this Jigsaw sporty raglan merino top* (below).

I’m still hankering for the perfect vintage cricket white trousers but in the meantime, I’m eyeballing all the tailored white and white-adjacent long shorts. Yes, long shorts and knitwear is an incongruous mismatch but the kind of sartorial code-switching our weather demands of us, so you just learn to roll with it.

Massimo Dutti has the ultimate white linens* while COS has these in viscose with a razor-sharp crease* and further along the neutral spectrum, Polo Ralph Lauren has these linen shorts in camel*. These all go very nicely with a smart black shoe and sock combo. Everyone loved the Bode shoes in my April wish list post, while Church’s Shannons* are a mainstay (but expensive) or consider Macian’s English-made ‘Sophie’ derby for a slightly more affordable alternative.

I love the J.Crew styling that keeps cropping up on my Instagram (top and below – apologies for the screengrab quality but we keep it real here lol). Cream layers with a dollop of red that will look so good in the sunshine. I’m also thinking about a white linen dirndl as an alternative to shorts. It reminds me of mid-80s Honey magazine where they’d shoot two or three gamine girls on a windswept English beach in black and white, wearing like, a white knee length pinafore with nothing underneath, plus a big Joseph cardigan, black Church’s brogues and socks. Sigh… the things that stick in your head! A thick, semi-fitted or slightly loose cream cardigan or sweater (like this from Rohe*) would also suit this nostalgic vignette.

Major accessories aren’t needed here, but a tobacco suede bag* sporty eyewear and a simple watch or rustic pendant are always a good idea.

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WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: J Crew; Alexandra Golovanoff; Celine/Tommy Ton; Jigsaw; J Crew x 4; Mitchell O’Neil / Arena Homme Plus
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links* and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here.

A few snippets of digital ephemera and IRL recommendations I’ve enjoyed lately…

1/ Merch as clothing systems. This is a great read on the evolution of merch. (Anyone for a Palantir hoodie?)

“Which brings us back to peak merch. If the last wave was about identity as consumption – proof of taste, proof of experience, proof-you-were-there – this next phase feels more like identity as positioning. The shift isn’t that merch signals allegiance (it always has), but what that allegiance points to. Not scenes, subcultures or shared memories – but systems, ideologies and power structures that are much harder to decode.”

2/ HARVEY NICHOLS had a glow up a couple of years ago, but you’d never know it. The store and the buy look fab. All the grown up contemporary brands I like – Lemaire, Another Tomorrow, Wardrobe NYC, plus Calvin Klein, Lisa Yang, B.B. Wallace and Dario Vitale’s Versace – are here for physical try-on, as well as new beauty brands like Bob Beauté* and a Violet Grey year-long pop-up in the window. I’m here for this 90s beauty editor deskscape (top and below) and I love the Madame Grey Virgo astrology candle* – a subtle breeze of pink pepper, violet and musk. And there’s a vast selection of other lifestyle desirables on the ground floor – this Redduo jug and mug have been living rent free in my head for weeks (below).

But. The place is deserted! Maybe it’s not chronically-online-Gen-Z-friendly enough. Does it need a – can’t believe I’m saying this – Blank Street Coffee concession? An Erewhon pop-up? Knightsbridge is usually a magnet for Dubai transplants, but Harrods has cornered that market and Harvey Nichols clearly wants to court a fresh customer. Anyway. If you like having a well-merchandised store all to yourself, get there while it’s still quiet.

3/ I’ve been sleeping on the Waitrose Dish podcast with Angela Hartnett and Nick Grimshaw. But I’m fully invested now. Come for Louis Theroux (with Angela’s short ribs and rhubarb and pear crumble recipe) and stay for Gemma Arterton and the crab linguine. Unsurprisingly, Louis can’t help slipping into interviewer mode and he’s a massive foodie, so if Grimmy ever left, he could easily take over.

4/ ARTHUR ELGORT’S MODELS MANUAL – the movie. The Devil Wears Prada 2, who?! I’m (im)patiently waiting for the Arthur Elgort doc, Arthur Elgort: Models & Muses from filmmaker Warren Elgort.

5/ Corpcore comparisons. And in loosely related news, Arthur’s daughter Sophie Elgort has a great piece in the Financial Times revisiting her corpcore street style photos from 15 years ago and comparing them to now. I couldn’t help but wonder… if companies will start incentivising employees back to the office with carrot dangles of higher salaries or other perks (maybe they are already? LMK in the comments…). And if that’s the case, would dressing up for the office again feel like a desirable status grab, a symbol of being at the top of your game (or simply having a job at all), signalling being ‘worth’ the office real estate versus being a ‘wfh loser’? Read more here.

6/ Micro make-up. I still love my Chanel Les Beiges Water Fresh Tint foundation*, but I don’t love it coming off on my white tees. So, this micro make-up look piqued my interest and I like the look of the Kraum Micro Brushes (below). (H/T Emily Morello.)

7/ Fashion and the art school connection. This Shelley Fox interview is so detailed and fascinating. And relatable too. “The fashion students really dressed down and were probably scruffier than some of the art students. I think there is that connection – where Westminster used to be Harrow School of Art, Middlesex University used to be Hornsey School of Arts, Saint Martin’s School of Art, Kingston School of Art. I mean, they’re all art schools. I think that training, going back to the 1960s, the music, fashion photography, image making, the way of fashion coming out of the youth movement has kind of never left it. As I said before, not everything in the sixties was swinging but there was this movement where music and clothes were so interconnected.”

8/ Free the Alphonso mango! Lizzie Paton in the FT newsletter has unearthed the root of a mysterious mango shortage in London. No wonder I’ve not spotted a single box during what’s meant to be peak season!

9/ Siri Hustvedt, Ghost Stories. Finally, a last-minute addition. I was listening to Sam Baker’s podcast, The Shift and her guest was writer, Siri Hustvedt. I was aware of her new memoir and was interested to hear her talk about it. (Side note: I interviewed her wonderful daughter Sophie Auster for The New Garconne* in 2015. I wasn’t familiar with Siri and her famous writer husband Paul Auster at the time. But Sophie’s stories about them were warm and endearing.) While listening to the podcast, I was killing time in Waterstones and discovered a pile of Ghost Stories* – signed. It did indeed feel like a ‘sign’! I bought my copy and have been loving reading Siri’s musings on life, death (trigger warning: there’s cancer talk), companionship and much more to come, I’m sure. I guess you could compare it a little to Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking, but it’s really its own precious thing. A beautiful, contemplative nighttime read.

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WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES:  Harvey Nichols/Disneyrollergirl x 3; Arthur Elgort Models & Muses; Kraum; Disneyrollergirl;
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links* and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here.

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“We had lots of great times together. Neil was great fun to travel with. I travelled far and wide with him, from Sri Lanka to Key West. He could be difficult at times with a warped sense of humour that definitely appealed to me. I remember being in Hemingway’s bar in Key West [Sloppy Joe’s Bar] with Neil and the very wonderful Anne Boyd [fashion editor, The Observer]. There was a severe rain downpour and we were up to our knees in water, drinking margaritas. All in a day’s work. I loved my adventures with Neil. One of my first and favourite covers was for Honey magazine, November 1983 [above]. As far as I can remember, it was shot on a beach in The Hamptons. We had run out of clothes, so we used what I was wearing—my father’s old sweatshirt and my favourite white shirt. The sun was going down. Bang. Bang. Bang. Done. I still love it.”
Jeny Howorth, model, Neil Kirk in Vogue: The Supermodel Years

This new photo book featuring the work of Neil Kirk in 80s and 90s Vogue (plus a few other publications) is a gem. I consider him the English Arthur Elgort with his impossibly glamorous lifestyle shots of leaping leggy models in timeless 80s attire. Yes it’s unapologetically nostalgic but the familiarity (if you’re a certain age) is comforting.

We all (well, I) remember that exhilarating feeling of aspiration just beyond your grasp; the sense that you could maybe be Yasmin, Jeni or Yasmeen living your best life in an Armani skirt suit, wide-striding across a New York avenue in 4-inch heels while casually flagging a cab, glancing behind you as the wind whips your hair, always in a girl-about-town hurry.

The book combines full bleed fashion shoots with spreads of Polaroids, celebrity portraits and fantastic anecdotes from a cast of fashion royalty. I love Jeny’s story of improvising on the styling front. So very 80s and so very Jeny. The book is co-authored by Vivienne Kirk (Mrs Neil) and Iain R Webb and it’s available here* and here. Read more here.

WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Neil Kirk in Vogue: The Supermodel Years
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here.

CLICK HERE to get Disneyrollergirl blog posts straight to your inbox once a week
CLICK HERE to buy my book, The New Garconne: How to be a Modern Gentlewoman
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There’s a particular appeal to the general store. You don’t need anything urgently, yet the wares are such items that you could always do with stocking up on and you feel a sense of secure well-being at having that perfectly utilitarian stapler, milk pan, or toothpaste squeezer in your possession. A general store also satisfies your shopaholic impulses while tempering the dopamine spike with practical use as the end game.

Some examples I love: Jasper Morrison’s almost invisible shop at 24b Kingsland Road E2, where I bought my yellow steel stapler 17 years ago (below, a great example of an essential everyday object that brings joy). Morrison also designs saucepans, cutlery and even furniture for Muji, that temple of practicality, where I repeat-buy my cereal bowls, ‘right angle socks’ and 0.7 gel pens.

Then there’s the Manufactum stores in Germany and Austria. I can only imagine the frissons of satisfaction you’d get perusing the oak pen trays and Norwegian wool blankets in the vast department stores (where wearing parts and mechanisms can also be replaced). Think a posh, rustic version of Ikea.

And who doesn’t love a whizz round Labour & Wait (top) for a bottle brush or a tin of almond-scented glue? (Do not spread on toast!) I think that’s the crux of the appeal; it’s the magic formula of expected functional items x an element of surprise. And when you witness this in person, in a store that’s been lovingly stocked and merchandised with a personal touch, you experience the anti-Amazon, anti-convenience effect. Pleasurable, tactile and deliberately slow, it’s ‘frictionmaxxing’ in the best way!

Even in India, where you might say the local market is the ultimate general store, they’re opting for a more upscale approach. General Items in Bangalore sells decidedly un-basic kitchenalia and homewares like Tosha Jagad’s butter dish (below) alongside its own handmade salt and pepper mills to the type of customer used to browsing Dover Street Market or The Conran Shop.

My personal weakness is stationery and desk paraphernalia. Present & Correct is my go-to for extremely useful jumbo paperclips and smooth-papered desk planners. There’s simply no fun in buying this stuff online; the pleasure comes from touching the products IRL and imagining how they’re going to transform your life.

And that brings me to the latest offering from Parisian retail polymath, Ramdane Touhami. Brand new to Paris’s Palais Royal arcade is his delightful-sounding new venture, Papier Royal. With its mosaic floor and old-meets-new vibe, it’s a printed correspondence Mecca like no other. Celebrating the dying – but not if he can help it – art of paper correspondence, Touhami offers original fonts for monogrammed correspondence cards printed on a 19th century ‘pendulum stamping device’.

Proclaiming “sending letters is the next level of luxury” to HTSI, he also stocks pens at every price point, fancy envelopes, and all grades of pencil. And the store boasts its own postage stamps created in collaboration with the French mail service – how incredibly chic!

WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Labour & Wait; Disneyrollergirl; General Items; Palais Royale by Julien Liénard for HTSI
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here

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I said a few weeks ago that I didn’t think Michael Rider’s Celine would radically change the way we dress. I still don’t, other than I think he’s succeeding in shifting the tyranny of ‘quiet luxury’ into a more colourful direction.

And one key way he’s doing that is with the silk square scarf.

Formerly Hermès territory, the Celine scarf feels more sporty, vital and graphic. Hermès scarves can also be graphic but there’s often a lot going on in them. (Some have as many as 47 colours, requiring 47 engraving films, as I once discovered on an Hermès workshop tour.) My favourite Hermès scarves were always the geometric ones – I loved the Sugimoto (below), Josef Albers (below) and Natalie Rich-Fernadez’s Delaunay-esque ones of a few years ago.

While the traditional Hermès scarf could famously be styled in myriad ways (the brand produces its own illustrated scarf-tying cards and there are endless YouTube tutorials to be found), I think we still associate them with a somewhat conservative bourgeois image. The way the Celines were shown on the runway felt modern, effortless and not too thought out. And they work so well with the contemporary Celine ‘garconne‘ wardrobe of blazers, denim, trench, not to mention Miu Miu’s XL Harringtons and Prada’s reworked barn jackets. These are pieces we all have now (in multiples!) and a colour-saturated graphic scarf — or three — is an ideal ‘tool’ to lift them out of the everyday and utilitarian.

Jennifer Alfano demonstrates this sentiment well on her Substack, The Flair Index. I just had a look back at a double page spread from my book, The New Garconne* (published 10 years ago this autumn!) and I love how this lady — below — wore her scarf over her hair. (Photo by the amazing Vanessa Jackman — where is she now???) I had to fight so hard for that double page, but the ‘movement’ demonstrates what I mean about the graphic scarf energising or ‘lifting’ an outfit.

High street retailers have been quick to leap on the Celine scarf ‘trend’. It’s an easy and affordable entry point to an otherwise luxury look and so versatile. Mango* and COS* (below) are both ahead of the curve with the right colours and scale. But don’t feel sad for Hermès, I’ve no doubt the Celine scarf mania will have a lucrative knock-on effect on their silks too.

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WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: The Sartorialist; Hermès x Sujimoto; Hermès x Josef Albers; Sandra Semberg; The Sartorialist x 2; Sandra Semberg; Tommy Ton/Celine; The Sartorialist; Vanessa Jackman, COS
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links* and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here

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The clocks just went forward, so even though it’s still freezing, it’s officially spring in my world. To mark the occasion, here are a handful of new-on-my-radar fashion and lifestyle bits …

White jeans. I’ve outgrown all my Arket Rose Cropped jeans and they don’t seem to make them any more. I’m wearing Arket Snow* as a placeholder; they’re a nice straight cut in 100% cotton but could be a heavier weight denim and a tad wider in the ankle. (I got mine shorted at Blackhorse Lane in Berwick Street. Highly recommended as they did the job in half an hour while I waited and the service is always super-friendly. ) The alternative is B Sides Plein relaxed straight jeans in Claire, which is more of an ecru. I discovered the blue colourway via Alison Loehnis’s Instagram and while I like the 501-like fit, I’m not mad about the contrast stitching on the ecru colourway. The search continues…

Bode shoes. I can’t wait for Bermuda shorts season – as well as white jeans, I’m after a smart pair of white Bermudas* which I plan to wear with semi-formal footwear. Bode fits the bill in four ways. A T-bar ‘School Shoe’*, a ‘Verbena Shoe’, plus an opera pump (I’ve discussed these before) and the delightfully named “Theatre Shoe’ (below). I’d be happy with any or all, accessorised with black merino wool socks.

The Balenciaga Le City bag has been given a Pierpaolo Piccioli refresh. I wasn’t interested in the Le City the first time round; it was far too ubiquitous which put me off. The new moka (this season’s bitter chocolate) calf suede* version, below, has a timeless appeal though, which looks like it will weather beautifully. And bitter chocolate paired with white jeans feels fresher than an obvious black bag. All that said, I’m reminded I have a 2000-era apple red suede Balenciaga bag from the early Ghesquière years. I thought I’d sold it since I never have occasion to use it for fear of rain spots (#Londonproblems). But drier days are in sight and it would add a Celine-esque dollop of colour to my spring neutrals.

A ridiculously long belt. I’ve been after an unfeasibly long belt for ages. MHL has finally come up with the goods (below).

A simple but substantial tee. Recommended by Juliana Salazar, I like that this Still Here tee is cropped (so about right for my height), a bit boxy and comes in a range of colours (top and below).

A no-budge brow gel. I’m almost out of brow gel so I’m considering this offering from new-to-Harvey-Nichols, Bob Beauté* (below). As well as hold (without flakes or stiffness), it promises to boost growth and density. We’ll see!

Oddments ceramics. A stone’s throw from Harvey Nichols, I also discovered the whimsical Oddments ceramic homewares by Supergroup (aka Ian McIntyre and John Booth) for The Conran Shop in Sloane Square. This pen (or snack!) tray – would add an appropriate level of spring optimism to a dull desk or coffee table.

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WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Disneyrollergirl; Bode; Balenciaga; MHL/Margaret Howell; Still Here x 2; Bob Beauté; Oddments/Disneyrollergirl
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here

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Two important London exhibitions have just opened, both celebrating influential female designers in fashion and textiles.

Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art at the V&A Museum (until 8 November 2026) is vast and brilliant, a survey of the incredible originality and collaborative spirit of Elsa Schiaparelli. Displaying clothing, fragrance, jewellery, accessories, furniture and costume design from the 1920s to the 1950s, highlights of her audacious, art-leaning designs include fur cuffs, egg minaudieres, a hat that thinks it’s a shoe (designed with Salvador Dalí) and an evening coat designed with Jean Cocteau’s illustrative facial profiles that double as a vase of pink silk roses (above).

While Schiaparelli may be famous for such surrealist statement pieces, there are also examples of more everyday wear, such as trousers for women (unusual at the time) and the early female-empowerment suits with ample ‘cash and carry pockets’ to replace the need for a handbag during wartime. I also love the pair of golden-winged tortoiseshell hair combs and the room full of sculptural buttons.

My other main highlights are the huge 1953 collage of Place Vendome and 1940s perfume ad illustrations by Marcel Vertès (can’t believe I’m not familiar with his work). The collage demands a good few minutes of close inspection to spot fun recurring motifs like lips, eyes and the hand-drawn Schiaparelli signature (I never noticed before that the S and C are intertwined, like two other famous designer initials).

The perfume room also shows how innovative Schiaparelli was with her perfume bottle designs – decades ahead of her time. Again, she enlisted her artist friends to collaborate on packaging, such as the example below for Le Roy Soleil, a limited edition of only 2,000 Baccarat crystal sun-stoppered bottles designed with Salvador Dalí.

The show is supported by Schiaparelli the brand, so there’s a fair amount of modern-day input from current creative director Daniel Roseberry’s collections. So faithful is his interpretation of Elsa’s codes and ideas, it’s sometimes hard to separate his contemporary offerings from some of her circa 100-year-old designs. That’s not necessarily a criticism, just an observation.

Fashion designers were in constant dialogue with artists in that era, which possibly led to more risk-taking and innovation. In fact, Schiaparelli emphatically considered dress designing as an art which in itself is quite telling. Today, the reality is that designers are more concerned with the bottom line and keeping investors happy at the expense of risk and creativity.

On to Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell at the Fashion & Textile Museum (until 13 September 2026). Spring is the perfect time to launch this assault of Colour! Pattern! Print! as the title so fittingly sums up. From the first display recreating the hands-on textile studio, sketchbooks, poster paints, brushes and swatches to fabulous room sets, vitrines of Liberty prints, an early Yves Saint Laurent ready-to-wear design, and yards and yards of painterly repeats and florals, the work of sisters Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell is immediately energising and uplifting.

Sarah Campbell, who is still prolifically producing work for brands like Anthropologie and West Elm told me about the importance (and sheer joy!) of the physicality of painting with actual brushes and paint in the digital age. She’s someone who is constantly informed by nature and movement; designing with a cursor just isn’t as fulfilling.

Witnessing the breadth of Collier Campbell’s output, it’s hard to think of a known print designer from the last 30 to 40 years whose work is as recognisable as theirs. Since the 1990s, we’ve been trained to think in terms of minimalism, quiet luxury and Scandi cool, with shades of taupe, navy and grey marl the signifier of (that much debated subject) ‘good taste’.

But with the latest season of international fashion houses championing optimistic gouache colours as a foil to the world’s otherwise gloomy outlook, I wonder if a new generation of fashion designers might be encouraged to embrace hand-painted and printed textiles again, if not as a somewhat radical act against the A.I. slopification of design, then for the pure, messy, unpredictable fun of it.

WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES:  Schiaparelli evening coat designed by Elsa Schiaparelli and Jean Cocteau 1937 London, England; Schiaparelli egg-shaped leather, chrome and enamel minaudiere 1935/Disneyrollergirl; Jean Cocteau x Elsa Schiaparelli embroidered jacket/Disneyrollergirl; illustration by Jean Cocteau/Disneyrollergirl; Schiaparelli hair combs//Disneyrollergirl; Collage by Marcel Vertès x2//Disneyrollergirl; Perfume illustrations by Marcel Vertès x3//Disneyrollergirl; Schiaparelli Le Roy Soleil bottle designed with Salvador Dali//Disneyrollergirl; Fashion & Textile Museum Colour! Pattern! Print! x 6/Disneyrollergirl
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here.

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I loved reading Lucy Maguire’s recent Vogue Business story on the changing face of fashion PR. 13 years ago I wrote a similar feature for BON Magazine on the changing face of PR and fashion weeks in the (then) new social media landscape. What’s funny is how things have changed and how things have stayed the same.

At the time, ‘Oscar PR Girl’ (aka Oscar de la Renta publicist Erika Bearman) and ‘DKNY PR Girl’ (aka publicist Aliza Licht) were major influencers alongside Kelly Cutrone, a notoriously ball-breaking New York PR who had her own U.S reality TV show. I remember cold-emailing Kelly to ask if I could send over a few questions. I heard nothing until my phone suddenly rang one lunchtime and a voice at the other end bellowed, “Hi, this is Kelly Cutrone. You wanted to talk to me?”  As I was in the middle of something else and didn’t have my notes in front of me, I innocently asked if I might call her back the next day. “NO, THAT’S THANKSGIVING!”

Eek. I had no choice but to grab my laptop, find my questions and press Record. She was an absolute dream, unfiltered interviewee and my favourite quote from her was the insight, “All of a sudden you would come back from your fashion show and your client would be like, ‘who the fuck is ‘Melanie Sunshine’ and how did she write this review of my show?’ At one point, a meeting was called by [New York Fashion Week organisers] IMG to decide ‘what do we do about these people called bloggers?’” (I think I might post the transcript on here in another post.)

Here’s the article, originally published in BON Magazine in 2013.

Here’s some not so breaking news: the fashion industry is in flux. A succession of never ending global fashion weeks, the seasons are shrinking, designers are bounced from atelier to atelier and there’s a new type of fashion editor in town. Nowhere are these changes more evident than in the fashion publicist’s office. In fact, it could be said that fashion PR itself is undergoing a major re-brand of its own.

Not so long ago, it was all so clear-cut. There were PRs, they had clients and their remit was simple; to get stories out to a select and manageable group of trusted press. To the uninitiated it looked like one delicious long canapé-fest of launches and white-gloved soirees; a members-only club that only the chosen few were privy to. But in a more open and information-hungry world, the job description, the messaging and the messengers have changed. The once-closed circle of media has widened to include infinite numbers of bloggers, social media stars and other influencers, and – guess what? – they all want a front row ticket to the show.

“PR was always slightly tarnished with this superficial inauthenticity and lots of long lunches, says Daniel Marks, director and partner of London-based agency, The Communications Store. “But there are very tangible things that we’re working with now that are about driving traffic into store and driving traffic online.” PR agencies like The Communications Store and its global contemporaries KCD, Karla Otto, PR Consulting and Starworks Group are exploding the flaky Ab Fab myth of their industry and reestablishing its serious business credentials. As luxury fashion has become democratised and brand awareness more diverse and global, the old school editor-courting PR model is looking rather quaint. While relationship building is still important, power PRs are beefing up their roles, resulting in a merging of storyteller meets gatekeeper meets brand strategist. “The term PR and public relations is somewhat outdated now,” confirms Marks, who includes Versace, Net-a-Porter and Christopher Kane among his clients. “When you’re creating campaigns that really work, you’re integrated from a communications perspective right the way through the business. We are brand building and communication.”

“PR today is about creating a story so good that others want to tell it,” agrees Daniel Saynt, whose company Socialyte manages a new generation of digital media messengers whose influence on consumers equals that of traditional glossy magazines. Saynt and his ilk have played no small part in this evolution of fashion brand awareness. Those two major game-changers of fashion – globalisation and the World Wide Web – have transformed it into the hyper-connected industry of today. The new wave of media influencers includes bloggers, street style stars, It girls and a whole swathe of global celebrities from China, Russia and Brazil. Then there are those tastemakers with a foot in both old and new media camps, the Anna Dello Russos and Derek Blasbergs for example, who represent their print publications as well as their own digital ‘brands’. How are PRs controlling the message across such a diverse group of media? With varying degrees of success it would seem.

“PRs have a larger scale of media, including social media, to use to spread a message now,” says Rachna Shah, senior vice president of KCD. “It shouldn’t mean a loss of control of the message, but more opportunity to reach different types of audiences in more ways.” While the American brands and PRs embrace the collaborative model of communication with their shiny social media platforms and blogger outreach programmes, in Europe, some luxury houses are still wary of opinionated media, preferring the old school gatekeeper approach. “Often these are family run companies who can be resistant to change,” says Alex Shah, director of press and marketing at Premier Model Management, who has also managed PR campaigns for global fashion brands. “Their thinking is, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Witness the power struggle at Hedi Slimane’s debut Saint Laurent womenswear show last September, when bemused editors and critics were shunted to standing position while friends of the brand snagged the front row seats. This us-against-them scenario became more inflamed when journalists were sent detailed instructions on what could and couldn’t be published while others were asked to edit their tweets. To the undermined press it felt like a lack of appreciation for their roles, while at the same time showing a heavy-handed PR attitude that was out of touch with the times. “If it is about a power struggle, then both sides lose,” says Rachna Shah. “The role of PR is to develop a relationship with the media where they are servicing the brand and at the same time the press.”

Alas, this industry fracas have become all too public. In the past, such insider spats would have formed the basis of canapé chitchat, something to raise eyebrows over the mini burgers at a product launch, and then swiftly relegate to fashion folklore. Not so these days, when every fashion faux pas is magnified under the glare of social media and dissected on news sites like Fashionista.com. The result is the arrival of a new type of PR, in which the PR machine itself is the focus. Famous Twitter personalities like Kelly Cutrone, Erika ‘Oscar PR Girl’ Bearman and Aliza ‘DKNY PR Girl’ Licht operate more as ‘door openers’ and ‘eye openers’ than gatekeepers, talking directly to consumers while watching the reactions to their brands and steering the conversation. How did we arrive at a place where the facilitators – whose primary role is to promote others – are being celebrated themselves? Is it weird for the PR to be the star?

“People can’t help but be attracted to the mystery,” says London-based PR and brand consultant, Mandi Lennard, an early adopter of social media whose own email signature lists no less than five personal blogs. “PRs are usually in the background making things happen behind the scenes. That’s what people always want to know. Everyone always wants what they can’t get access to.”

For anti-elitist PR Kelly Cutrone, opening up that access was her lightbulb moment. By joining the dots of radio, TV, books and social media, the now-standard always-everywhere approach has given her and her clients a broader, mass market reach that they can control. “I started thinking less like a fashion publicist and more like a communicator,” says Cutrone, whose PR company People’s Revolution found fame on reality TV. “I could see what was going on with my own brand and it really changed the way that I thought about working with my clients.” The strategy also works for Erika Bearman, whose multi-channel thinking has repositioned Oscar De La Renta for the next generation of New York society girls. Ditto Donna Karan’s senior vice president of global communications Aliza Licht, who via her genius Twitter persona (420,000+ followers and counting) has flipped the role of PR on its head. “I don’t think it’s weird that DKNY PR Girl is a star,” says Leah Chernikoff, Executive editor of Fashionista.com. “She was at the forefront of giving brands a personal voice on social media. It worked! Certain social media platforms have a younger following which means brands can create a younger, aspirational audience of future consumers.”

The allure of high fashion has always been built on dreams and fantasy. For so long a private, insular industry, it was forever about that show you weren’t invited to, the couture gown you couldn’t afford and the velvet rope you could only dream of crossing. PRs of course were wholly responsible for the grand illusion but in 2013 the industry is a different beast.

Thanks to the celebritisation of fashion and reality TV shows like The Hills and Project Runway, the veil of secrecy has slowly been lifted and fashion has become a spectator sport that reaches well beyond the immediate industry. Its superbrands now regularly spread awareness through links with the art, sport and entertainment worlds, whereby associating with Lady Gaga or David Beckham means exposure to a vast new audience. Meanwhile, Gucci and Louis Vuitton sponsor luxury sporting events, while Prada’s patronage of the arts boosts its image as an intelligent, innovative company. Yet it’s the million dollar biannual shows that whip up the most excitement and attention. Forget the old idea of fashion shows being a mere trade vehicle; today they’re considered mass entertainment and they give PRs the means to construct elaborate worlds around their brands, spreading a pin sharp, controlled message to all. And nothing beats seeing a spectacular show in person.

“There’s no substitute. To truly appreciate a show you really have to be at it,” says Godfrey Deeny, editor at large and fashion critic of Le Figaro. “There’s no greater show in the world than Chanel or maybe Prada. And there’s a reason for that. These companies are cleverly run – they’re highly respectful of the designer’s vision.” For Deeny, the extreme attention to detail of these million dollar extravaganzas, which then translates across a brand’s stores and advertising imagery, more than justifies the monumental show production costs. A fashion show is about more than simply displaying the clothes; it’s a brand’s statement of intent. “With a brand like Chanel, possibly the most successful fashion brand of them all, if you look at their shows, the very pieces off the runway are literally taken and put in flagship stores all over the world,” he says. “For example, with the Chanel sci-fi show, the stalagmites, the very crystals from the catwalk were put in store windows and ad campaigns. It’s totally on-message.”

Point taken. These days, the show spectators are less interested in the individual pieces shown on the runway than the overall spectacle. Looking at clothes you can’t yet buy has limited appeal and traffic to catwalk coverage on websites has slowed as fashion watchers are more enthralled by the sideshow of ‘real’ street style, celebrities and ringside action. Like the YSL hoo-ha, another off-runway story of the S/S 2013 shows was ‘slap-gate’ – the physical clash between a miffed editor from Jalouse and Zac Posen’s publicist Lynn Tesoro. These are the scandals that PRs would rather didn’t make the headlines of Fashionista.com and Grazia Daily but nevertheless we all hear about as they happen and revel in the drama. In today’s Truman Show-like goldfish bowl, PRs are tasked with balancing the push-pull of fantasy versus reality, where what’s shown as ‘behind the scenes’ is really only the faux-real version. Thus shows have become a two-tier event in which the press are given their essential access – front row, backstage, show notes included – while the public gets the official live stream, Instagrams and ‘tweet walk’ previews. Or if you’re Diane Von Furstenberg, the Google Glass view of the walk down the runway. One way or another it’s still highly stage-managed and PRs are embracing it. “PRs love Twitter because we can control what’s seen, we only retweet the positives,” says Premier’s Alex Shah.

For those at the shows, the combination of tight schedules, PR politics, fragile egos and creative tension makes for a high drama environment. Fashion is a hotbed of insecurity and hierarchy where perceived status means everything and there is no greater slight than the dreaded standing ticket. “Contacts and relationships are absolutely crucial in my job and show season presents great opportunities to forge and nurture those relationships,” says Jo Elvin, editor of UK Glamour. “Where you’re seated is a reflection of how the magazine is viewed and the levels of respect it commands. This is why we care about it.”

At showtime, the seating chart is the bane of every PR’s life although – whisper it – it can also be a handy power tool against over-entitled press and bloggers. “Many of the PRs I’ve worked with don’t know what to do with bloggers at shows. They put more value on an editor from the Cleveland Chronicle or on a stylist from Top Model or some other reality show than a blogger who actually speaks to the consumer they’re looking to reach,” says Socialyte’s Daniel Saynt. “There’s definitely a level of snobbery. Fashion is high school. Honestly, where would the cool kids be if they didn’t occasionally remind you that you can’t sit at their table?”

“The front row is basically another red carpet, albeit one with a harsher pecking order,” says Glamour’s Jo Elvin. “If you want to be thought of as an influencer, as someone who matters in popular culture, then a front row seat for a prestigious fashion house is a great world stage these days.”

Which brings us to the rise of the blogger. The battle between old and new media is one that refuses to die but PRs have to accommodate both. Yet the feeling remains that most bloggers are still seen as blaggers, partly due to the mistrust caused by that original rogue element, the anony-blogger. “There was a sudden switch and the media became anonymous. And when the media became anonymous, nobody had to be held accountable any more,” says Kelly Cutrone, remembering the mid-2000s insider blogs like View From The Fourth Row, the acidic high fashion version of Gossip Girl. “All of a sudden you would come back from your fashion show and your client would be like, ‘who the fuck is ‘Melanie Sunshine’ and how did she write this review of my show?’ At one point, a meeting was called by [New York Fashion Week organisers] IMG to decide ‘what do we do about these people called bloggers?’”

The shift of influence from magazines to individuals has certainly highlighted the issue of trust for PRs. But while six years later, some still fear bloggers, others embrace their commercial value as a direct hotline to an engaged generation of brand advocates. Luxury consumers are younger and more mass and these new media players speak to them on their level. For PRs like KCD, the cream of these digital messengers have equal placing with the Vogues and Harper’s Bazaars. “There’s no straightforward ranking system, however there is a quality level of how any outlet covers the brand or product that matters,” says KCD’s Rachna Shah. “We look at print and digital. Print media still holds a value, there’s still an audience consuming fashion through magazines and I believe there always will be.” That said, some PRs aren’t convinced the independent voice of blogs will stay that way. “The power of PR means they’ll eventually be seduced by advertisers,” predicts Alex Shah. “The brands are the ultimate wielders of power and they absolutely control the media. Of course bloggers will feature their products favourably if there’s a big enough offer of advertising on the table.” Perhaps the balancing act of PR-pleasing while telling an honest story will present the next big challenge for serious bloggers.

For now, Le Figaro’s Godfrey Deeny, thinks many blogger-PR relationships are already a little too cosy. “Initially fashion PRs were quite scared of bloggers but they’ve grown to like them a lot because they’re not as independent as the old fashioned media,” says Deeny. “They’re very keen to be invited, they’re keen to be sponsored directly by the subjects they cover. Practically all the bloggers you look at when you go on their sites are publicly wearing the brands they write about. Some of them are literally paid to wear them, so the sense of them being independent media is already corrupted.”

But wasn’t it ever thus? PRs and fashion editors have always been on friendly terms, with magazine staffers routinely accepting perks – including juicy styling and consulting gigs – for ‘supporting the brand’. What’s changing then, is the scope for these perks to translate to cold, hard cash for brands. It’s that tricky straddling of fantasy and reality again, where the new media model is as much about driving clicks to tangible sales as creating the aspirational ideal. In fact, according to Socialyte’s Daniel Saynt, the top tier digital influencers are less like editorial journalists and more a new hybrid of brand ambassador and publisher. And they’re not necessarily all bloggers. “Digital influencers come in various forms and across different platforms,” says Nik Thakkar, director of fashion brand consultancy, Nephew London. “They can be bloggers, prolific Instagrammers, celebrity Twitter users and so on. Influencers shift perceptions, sell product and can be a brand’s greatest ambassador.” Which means brand awareness is not enough. As Rachna Shah puts it, “publicists must now also develop strategies that incorporate the needs of the marketing and sales vision.”

This also takes into account the much obsessed-about practice of gifting. Is it enough to throw a bunch of It bags at a group of A-list celebrities any more or is it now about the more commercial, sales-driven approach, where there’s a clearer return on investment? “For me, it has to be organic. If I discover an editor is a big fan of a client’s work, then it’s more about making a gesture by sending them something,” says Mandi Lennard. “If a new handbag has come out, and it’s sent to a handful of cool emerging talents, then that’s exciting as they are getting it before anyone else. It’s important for the brand to do this, as if they wait for it to hit the stores, then you get the mainstream being seen in it first, which pulls the rug from under any cool before it’s had chance to germinate.” Selective gifting appears to be key, a lesson no doubt learnt from past errors of ‘over-gifting’. “Remember the time when every editor had the same Mulberry and Anya Hindmarch bags!” confided one PR who declined to be named. “Overexposure can be really damaging. When that many people have the exact same bag, it’s clear they got it for free, and that devalues a brand and defeats the whole exercise.” Far better then for gifting to be more strategic, targeted to relevant influencers with proven audiences who can make the products work harder by leading to instant, trackable sales via their sites.

How far we have come from the days of straightforward shoots and editorial coverage. The future face of PR is looking at once more open, collaborative and human, yet simultaneously businesslike and sales-driven. The power PRs leading the industry are the ones who recognize the democratised new fashion consumer and understand how to tell stories that lead to those immediate sales. So can PR retain its creativity and romance? For now the answer is yes. “At the end of the day, we get to work with some of the most incredible creative talent in the world and the reason fashion is so compelling and intriguing is because of the magic,” says The Communication Store’s Daniel Marks. “As storytellers and as marketing partners, it’s something we can’t forget.”

WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGE: BON Magazine, 2013
NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here

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SS26 was the now infamous ‘reset’ season of mega designers taking up residence at new houses. The result is a broom-sweep of schloopy silhouettes in lieu of sharper cuts, bold injections of colour and a menu of fashion archetypes to choose from, rather than one or two overarching directions.

1/ PALETTE CLEANSER. One thing designers did agree on: this is a season for pure primaries in abundance. It’s a look that works really well on simple, architectural silhouettes which was especially clear at Jil Sander (below), Loewe and Celine as well as The Row (top). Just one piece can energise your everyday since primaries play so well against grey, beige and denim. The Loewe ‘Sports Walkman’ yellows (below) are pure summer holiday vibes and I love a red cardigan to offset khaki, white or grey. Vogue Italia market editor Marta Oldrini shows the way with her cardigan slotted through her belt (below). And if you haven’t tried Celine’s luscious Rouge Triomphe lipstick yet, this might be the season to do it.

2/ QUEER CODING IN MENSWEAR RECLAIMED. Super 8 film clips by Larry Stanton titled ‘Fire Island August 1975’ featuring sunbathing male bodies teased the Saint Laurent SS26 menswear show. Pyjama tops* messily tucked into boxer shorts and paper bag trousers (below) were an apparent nod to the subtle gestures of exposure of Fire Island’s 1970s queer codes while less subtly, Versace’s crotchy jeans and exposed flies by one-season-only designer Dario Vitale had TikTok critics clutching their Medusa pendants in horror. (The subsequent ad – below – put the undone flies front and centre.)

Elsewhere, Jonathan Anderson was a tad more overt. As the costumer for Luca Guadagnino’s 2024 film, Queer, he created (and wore himself) an exclusive Queer sweatshirt seeded to VIPs and movie insiders while for his JWAnderson customers he collaborated with artist Dean Sameshima on explicit ‘Anonymous Faggot’ and ‘Anonymous Trade’ sweatshirts. Not to be outdone on the overt exploration-slash-celebration of queer masculinity, collage artist Pacifico Silano teamed up with Acne Studios on its SS26 show set design and a T-shirt collab* (below) featuring his signature slivers of softcore collage imagery writ large. On a sidenote, two new books on my radar: Arthur Tress’s photo book The Ramble, NYC 1969 (below) takes us into the discreet world of Central Park cruising at a time when being gay in America was against the law. And Andrew Durbin’s The Wonderful World that Almost Was (great title, taken from an exhibition) follows the friendship-to-romance relationship of artist Paul Thek and photographer Peter Hujar from the 1950s to the 1970s (below). Pre-order here. Something all these examples have in common? A push back against the culture against inclusivity. I think it’s important to acknowledge it.

3/ VERSACE IS INTERESTING AGAIN. If a collection is polarising you can (usually) expect it to do well. While Versace SS26 (below) has only just dropped in stores, that’s almost a feat in itself. Online discourse following the announcement of Vitale’s departure from Versace seemed convinced it wouldn’t see the light of day, so far did it veer from Donatella-era Versace. My take is since Dario Vitale was ousted from the brand just a few months after showing his collection, this in itself could deem its place in history and thus its collectibility. Having seen it in store, the skimpy jersey singlets*, coloured denim*, striped polos*, slim baroque-print blouses and tanned leather bags* are the pieces likely to appeal to a younger, cooler customer. Not to mention the deco-style pendant necklace that opens to reveal a mirrored cigarette case-come-money-clip – swoon! The store staff are encouraging customers to shop across the men’s and women’s floors, to mix and match as they see fit.

4/ CHARVET-CHIC. One of the highlights of Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel debut: those Charvet shirts of course (below). Some were long and boxy, others cropped with sweet, discreet monograms and weighted down with signature Chanel chains. (They’ve been causing a frenzy in the Chanel Paris stores already, even at €3,900 a pop.)

The hysteria meant a fashion fillip for storied shirtmaker Charvet too. With the outrage online about Chanel prices, you can go straight to Charvet for a bespoke shirt starting at around £380 (plus the air fare to Paris). Or in the UK, Turnbull & Asser makes bespoke shirts starting at £395 but you need to buy a minimum of four (according to A.I). Here’s a look at the process from the vaults. The high street has capitalised on the Charvet-for-Chanel buzz with similarly styled cropped shirting* (below) and Charvet-alike silk spot scarves* (below). Hello & Other Stories and COS!

5/ & OTHER STORIES REDUX . On which note, & Other Stories* (below) has had a quiet revamp with much more fashion-forward silhouettes, photography, styling, casting and even poses. Its online presence was always a bit ‘off ‘for me in that regard (stores are much better) but this season sees an influx of Versace Jeans Couture-coded red denim, Celine-esque silk scarves, affordable trench coats and Katie Hillier-designed bags.



6/ ST GEORGE TEE. My T-shirt of the season is the St George Joshua Tree top (below), a soft cotton cap-sleeved made-in-Italy tee that’s a perfect ‘white slice’ under spring knits and sweatshirts. I’d prefer a dupe though as St George is part of the problematic Brandy Melville stable…

7/ PREPPY RE-REVIVAL. “In Tokyo right now, every vintage store has racks and racks of XXL ‘90s Ralph Lauren in rainbow colours. They wear huge Polo Ralph Lauren vintage shirts over a T-shirt with big silhouette pants.” W. David Marx (author of Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style) gave me the global lowdown on what’s preppy now for a recent Harrods magazine article. With everyone from Celine (below) to Dior (below) offering their take on preppy staples, my strategy is to mix proportions and to offset old patina-ed favourites with pristine newness. The oversized cherry red Polo Harrington* (below) has been on my wish list forever, which I’d like to pair with a fitted cable knit, mashed up boat tote and baggy chinos. I’m crossing fingers for a massive (and weighty) women’s chino to materialise from somewhere. Ralph Lauren showed a fab remake of the Annie Hall one at Vogue World last October – let’s hope it’s gone into production.

8/ FASHION ARCHETYPES. Not into prep? No worries, there’s a whole panoply of archetypes to tap into. Demna called it at Gucci. We’re not one person all the time, we’re multi-faceted, and SS26 gives us the means to cosplay with identities and character tropes. Wall Street final boss, Gucci “Gallerista”, Milanese fashion intellectual (Marta Oldrini again, below) you get the picture.

9/ JUDE FOOTWEAR. Fabulous footwear on my radar, Jude is well-priced, made in Portugal and features slightly fetishy silhouettes, elite hotel slippers and – my pick – an immaculate polished calfskin riding boot (below).

IN OTHER NEWS…

Alekos Fassianos is trending with a new show, The Dreamers at Herald Street Gallery, WC1 from 1 April-23 May. I also love this ashtray (below) from the Alekos Fassianos x Aime Leon Dore collab. WTF is Polymarket and why are people freaking out about its Substack partnership and ‘inside trading’ fears? Sarah Creal Beauty is coming to Sephora UK. Anyone for Tai Chi walking? Jack Davison’s Portraits 14-16 November of intimate gravure ‘mugshots’ at Cob Gallery in WC1 is superb (until 2 April). Everybody’s Londonmaxxing lol.

NOW CLICK BELOW TO SHOP THE POST (I MAY EARN A COMMISSION ON THE BASKET VALUE OF ITEMS BOUGHT*)…

WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: The Row SS26; Jil Sander SS26 x 3; Loewe SS26 x 2; Marta Oldrini; Saint Laurent SS26; Versace ad campaign by Steven Meisel; Arthur Tress x 2; Pacifico Silano x Acne Studios; The Wonderful World That Almost Was;  Versace SS26 x 3; Chanel SS26 x 2; & Other Stories; COS; & Other Stories x 3; St George; Celine SS26; Dior SS26 x 2; Polo Ralph Lauren; Bottega Veneta SS26; Gucci SS26; Marta Oldrini; Jude footwear; Alekos Fassianos x Aime Leon Dore

NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links* and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here

CLICK HERE to get Disneyrollergirl blog posts straight to your inbox once a week
CLICK HERE to buy my book, The New Garconne: How to be a Modern Gentlewoman
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