Chutzpah's Weekly Barometer

A light hearted look back over the past week’s good, bad and indifferent including the “don’t even go there’s”.


LOVING

Harvey Nichols Windows - HN's ingenious General Store windows have managed to create an old style row of shops with the street sign, 'Fashion Walk'. Well done to HNs and great to see them back on track for show-stopping windows to rival Selfridges. A definite Knightsbridge must see.


Raf – FINALLY. We can all move on to the latest ridiculous rumour now (see below).

“Meta-luxury” – When ordinary luxury just won’t do. Strictly for billionaires, oligarchs, and the triple A-list.

Maarten van der Horst for Topshop – Dutch design wunderkind makes with the signature tropical prints over at Topshop, resulting in another crush-worthy collaboration. With bridal wear from Richard Nicoll to follow, this is possibly Topshop’s strongest season yet.

Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton at The V&A - Catch this retrospective of our Queen by one of fashion's legendary photographers. Until 22nd April. The exhibition celebrates Her Majesty in her differing roles as princess, monarch and mother and coincides with her Diamond Jubilee year. 

Memo Perfumes - This niche cult brand continues to captivate with its heady richness and intensity. Sold exclusively in Harvey Nichols, try out the newest fragrance in the range, Granada, with its full blown jasmine, orange flower, heliotrope, musk and vanilla. It's a riot of Andalusian overindulgence in a good way.

CR Fashion Book – Carine Roitfeld’s latest project, promising “new ways to be irreverent”, hits the stands in September. SCREAM!

Horrible Histories (CBBC) - One of the most original and funny series ever devised. As entertaining and informative for adults as it is for kids.

Chloe's new season handbags - Oh for a spare couple of grand for The Paraty (pictured at Netaporter), The Angie, The Jade or The Marcie. Beautiful styles, shades

Jack Spade – Reassuringly sturdy American menswear and accessories brand finally reaches our shores, with an initial outpost on London’s Brewer Street.

Margaritas - To quote 'Sex and the City' (on Cosmopolitans), why did they ever go out of fashion? A lemon, a lime, some triple sec, Cointeau and good gold tequila in a salt rimmed glass. Hmm.

Supergoop - Launching this month at Space NK, this cult American eco-friendly sun screen offers essential everyday protection plus an anti-ageing UV reverse damage complex.

HATING

Twincest – The high fashion version, shot by famously mucky photographer and Jared Leto obsessive Terry Richardson, is still rather icky.

Gieves & Hawkes – Purchased by Trinity Ltd, a listed investment vehicle majority-owned by Hong Kong luxury conglomerate Li & Fung, the company that dropped Richard Nicoll from Cerruti. With fellow tailors Aquascutum also reportedly up for sale, it seems that the buzz about British heritage brands has been rather short lived.

Aintree – The annual parade of gaudy frocks, nuclear tans, and skyscraper heels hits the racetracks, with this year’s entrants owing more to Grayson Perry than Grace Kelly. Forget Joss Whedon’s ‘Cabin in the Woods', the Aintree horrorshow will leave you with nightmares for weeks to come.

James Middleton’s novelty cakes – The third Middleton sister moves into the bored Fulham housewife baking industry. We’re much more interested in the reality show that stripping cousin, Katrina Darling (pictured right), is shopping round US networks.

Peter Andre and Fake Bake – So right it feels so wrong. The ex-Mr. Price takes time out from downmarket checkout mag confessionals to plug the tanning range.

Spring jackets – Someone forgot to tell British Summertime to bring the sun, leaving us shivering in jackets cropped at the sleeve and the waist.

Porn star boyfriends – We wonder what escort and adult film performer Harry Louis sees in global brand name and multi-millionaire designer Marc Jacobs?

Tommy Ton and Club Monaco – Don’t get us wrong, we love what Tommy does, but we’re no more likely to buy a jacket from a photographer than we are to buy a cake from James Middleton. 

Dumping in public – Airing your dirty laundry in a gossip rag is one thing, chucking your boyfriend via a public statement in Us magazine, like Anne Vyalitsyna did to Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, strikes us as a particularly low blow. Deeply unclassy.

A.P.C. and Aesop’s Post-Poo Drops – No, not a late entry for April Fool’s Day. *I know face*

DON’T CARE

Stefano Pilati to Armani – And so the fashion rumour mill trundles on, except this less-than-juicy morsel has been re-heated from speculation last year that the now-unemployed Pilati would be taking over at Armani when Uncle Giorgio retires. With recent pictures suggesting that the man himself is in rude health, and with the brand reporting ever increasing results, we can’t see Armani relaxing his hold on the reins any time soon.

Eco-warriors H&M – The fast fashion behemoth’s sustainability report made interesting reading this week, as the high street brand continues to re-position itself as the ethical consumer choice, yet only 7.6% of the cotton used is organic, and this season’s 'Conscious Collection' boasts dresses made from Tencel,  a fabric derived from cellulose manufactured using a petro-chemical solvent. Writer Lucy Siegle, in her book ‘To Die For’, makes a compelling case for changing the way we consume fashion. H&M's famous designer brand links seems to be masking the reality of its fast-fashion environmental impact.

Barometer compiled by Lee Clatworthy (@TeamChuztpah) and Katie Chutzpah.