Pink Runway cocktail, with Pink Pigeon at CIRCUS

LFW has seen a week of celebrations and parties; on Friday I was invited to Circus in Covent Garden to try the extra special LFW Pink Pigeon cocktail. The venue is super exclusive and mimics the speakeasy bars of the prohibition to be found in New York. Initially we walked straight past, there is no sign or obvious entrance just a very inconspicuous brown door. Despite its plain exterior, Circus isn’t afraid of being in the spotlight and is often featured on TV, most recently in The Apprentice, when the winning team were treated to a special performance here.

I was amazed by the interior's glitz and glamour - it is an expansive space decorated luxuriously. Sequins flicker on the walls and silver balls dangle from the ceiling. In the main room a huge banquet table stands at which special guests may dine and for the extravagant acts to perform on, and around. We managed to catch one of the nine shows of the night, a talented and cheeky hula hoop dancer showing off his skills while stripping for the giddy audience.

The cocktail of the moment, named the Pink Runway and priced at £9.50, is made from Pink Pigeon Rum with chilli, grenadine, lime juice, pineapple juice & topped with ginger beer. It has been created specially for the trendy LFW crowd. Ten per cent of sales go directly to the Ethical Fashion Forum, a non profit organisation dedicated to the cause of a sustainable future for fashion. It is certainly a grown up drink with a warm vanilla taste from the sweet infused rum along with a fierce kick from the chilli and ginger beer. The lovely chief mixologist, who created this cocktail himself, came over to chat and talk about the different components and the art of cocktail making. He gave us a taster of the Pink Pigeon neat encouraging us to identify the flavours, which we got all wrong until prompted with the right answer, vanilla! We were also offered a delicious coconut and mango pudding to share while we watched the show.

This trip was a wonderful introductory taste of this lavish venue; I hope to return to Circus soon to report fully on the unique cocktails, exciting food menu and adventurous performing acts... watch this space!

Visit CIRCUS website here.

London Fashion Week, Somerset House

London Fashion Week comes around twice a year: February/March for the Autumn/ Winter collections and September/ October for Spring/ Summer. The incongruity with the current weather conditions makes this a little bizarre. On Saturday as the elite few watched the models showcasing the new summer clothes on the catwalk, the majority of us were getting drenched by the chilly September rain - summer and all the flouncy outfits it brings felt very distant.

As one of LFW’s bloggers, I was invited to attend Somerset House to explore the exhibition and take part in the fashion mayhem. I was immediately struck by how incredibly inventively everyone was dressed: velvet drapes, crazy shoes, beautiful bags, patterns and materials, accessories and garments of every kind - fancy dress that actually works and looks good. Photographers were out in force lining the cobbled square of Somerset House snapping away at everything and anything that moved!

We spent a good few hours walking round the exhibition, which showcases the work of some fabulous designers, old and new. My friend and I were in seventh heaven, frolicking in what felt like a giant dressing up box of goodies. Thank God the items weren’t for sale – I would have spent a fortune.

The accessory designs were the highlight for me, some so incredible that they’d complete even the plainest of clothes. Cleo B had an outrageous collection of funky shoes and footwear accessories - pom pom and diamond clip brooches to jazz up tired ballet shoes, as you can see from my photo. Colour was everywhere, and like a magpie I was drawn in by the glowing neon. Sarah Angold’s futuristic bracelets were lust-worthy as well as the beautiful bright hair accessories from Fred Butler.

In fact, there were numerous jewellery stalls: Tatty Devine with a particularly juicy array of head dresses and necklaces, and Zoe & Morgan showing off their beautiful gothic range. Clothes varied enormously in price and design; luxury handmade cloaks, retro inspired swimwear from Paolita and gorgeous silk shirts caught my eye.

I wore my favourite patriotic outfit, a vintage union jack dress, and after a trip to the paperself stall for some free paper eyelashes, I felt a little more fashion week appropriate. Hopefully my photos illustrate the qualities of LFW: fresh, innovative and exciting... fashion at its very best.

Visit the London Fashion Week website here.

Hot on the Highstreet Week 69

With London Fashion Week currently in full swing I thought I’d feature the work of a very special British designer as this week’s Hot on the Highstreet. As a member of this year’s LFW official press I have had an exciting juicy sneak preview of the Brit Fash Pack’s latest offerings, and there is much to be desired.

Christopher Kane is amongst the hot young established British designers showing at LFW this year. He studied at Central St Martins for six years before launching his own label when he graduated and has enjoyed success ever since. In 2009 he won the BFC British Collection of the Year Award at The British Fashion Awards. I have always been drawn to his unique use of colour and bold designs and this season is no exception.

It is his accessories that I am currently most intrigued by, neon purses, and aqua gel filled PVC clutches, they are fun and add a wonderfully wacky touch to a bland outfit, an injection of pop to a black evening dress. Priced from £295 upwards they don’t come cheap but they truly are one of a kind, and inimitable. Both are ideal for an evening out, and are fairly durable. The neon is made from laser cut leather, an intricate design that mimics lace. The PVC clutch filled with two different colours of aqua gel making it wildly innovative in its design. Buy Kane's accessories here on net-a-porter website.

Kane is definitely one to watch, and with his exhilarating use of bright colour he has got me hooked.