Roland Mouret brings pre-collections trend to London with resort show

London got its very first taste of the resort phenomenon on Thursday morning as Roland Mouret presented an intimate catwalk show of mid-season clothes in his townhouse-cum-HQ-cum-shop in Mayfair. While other designers have chosen to present their pre-collections at strategic international points on the retail map – Chanel in Dubai, Céline in Beijing and Louis Vuitton in Monaco – Mouret became the first designer to show his commercial collection in London to a small group of editors and buyers, and he hopes others will follow suit in the coming seasons. He said he hoped to "open the doors for great British designer collections to be showcased here".

Resort, cruise or pre-collection (all are essentially the same thing, a collection between the main autumn/winter and spring/summer shows) are becoming increasingly important in the fashion calendarand are now beginning to compete with the main shows for attention and industry standing.

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Naturally the clothes shown by Mouret emitted the body-conscious, restrained glamour that we expect from the Mouret house. This time there was, in the words of the designer, a "south of France-slash-London" flavour to the collection, with folded scarfdetails at waistbands, cropped tops and capri pants reprised in fluoro peach and aqua; zips and structure realism meets Riviera optimism. The standout piece was a monochrome jumpsuit with Mouret's trademark bandage structure providing the back view. They were clothes which you can imagine hanging in the plush carpeted changing rooms of the Mayfair store, which is, of course, exactly the point; these clothes will account for 70 per cent of Mouret's retail sales and represent the commercial point of view of the brand.

It isn't really the trends that matter here (although they will become actual street style if your street is Bond Street, you favour a sleek silhouette, and your credit card is platinum) it's more the fact that showing a resort or cruise collection on a catwalk has become a trend in itself, a trend that London is now part of.

It isn't a move that all designers are enamoured with. Tom Ford told earlier this week that cruise catwalk shows missed the point. "The fact that cruise is now shown with these giant productions means it's no longer what it was supposed to be, which was clothes that were maybe not strong enough to show but were your real bread and butter; the clothes that women wanted to wear. But now that they're being shown, they'll have to be amped up, and women won't want to wear them any more," he said.

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However Mouret's resort show, with its downplayed salon-like atmosphere, was without pretension. He admitted that pre-collections are "what makes my company exist because they are relevant in my customers' wardrobes". The designer also pointed out that for him this trend within the industry of spotlighting resort is reminiscent of the moment when Yves Saint Laurent moved from showing only couture to showing ready to wear as well in the 1960s. "It's that same transition. The ready to wear shows are more the image of the designer in terms of craft and mentality and the pre-collections are what we are living with."

What shall I give my friends as they turn 30?

Buying presents for people is easy: you just give them what you'd like yourself. Admittedly, this can lead to some unlikely combinations, but I'm sure my father will hugely appreciate the Twin Peaks boxset he's getting for his 75th birthday this summer.

This is why getting presents for girlfriends' birthdays should be especially easy. Not only is giving them something you want pretty much a guaranteed winner – they're your friends so chances are you have vaguely similar tastes – but it also, more importantly, lets them know what you would like for your birthday so they can then reciprocate in kind. They say that to give is better than to receive; I say to give is great, but if it ensures you'll also receive, everybody wins.

Beauty products are some of the easiest presents to give, and the most fun to receive, because they feel like a treat. I agree that makeup is a bit tricky, and can feel weirdly intimate, but the most successful presents I've given this year have all come from Charlotte Tilbury's brilliant new makeup line. I know I bang on about these products all the flipping time, but that's honestly because they're brilliant, and that is why God put me on this planet, folks: to impart to you good people my honest opinions about beauty products. I'm like the beagle going down the mineshaft of Space NK.

These cosmetics make especially great presents because Tilbury has cleverly categorised all of her products into seven different looks: if you know your friend would like to look like Sophia Loren, you buy her products from the Dolce Vita look; if she would like to look like Jennifer Lopez, you buy her ones from Golden Goddess. I'm not really into dividing women up by types – partly because I've never met someone who is entirely one type, partly because I'm not the human embodiment of a woman's magazine – but I have to admit these categories are quite handy when it comes to present-buying. The best products to buy as gifts are my favourite thing in the whole range: the Colour Chameleons. These clever little eye-colour sticks are not only excellent, they're also labelled by which eye colour they suit and whether they're for day or night, making them especially easy gift-wise. These have become my standby birthday present for my favourite female friends.

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Moving to beauty products in general, avoid hair products, moisturisers or perfumes. Hair products insinuate that the giftee has a bird's nest nightmare that needs taking in hand; moisturisers suggest that the person looks ancient (especially if it has tedious, nonsensical phrases like 'anti-ageing' all over the packaging), which no one needs to learn on their birthday; and perfumes are just too subjective and personal to give to someone else.

But bath products are always good birthday presents, mainly because they will probably come in handy the next day when the birthday lady is recovering from her party hangover. Ren's body scrubs are my favourite products from the brand: the Moroccan Rose Otto Sugar Body Polish is perfect for the friend who sees self-indulgence as a human right, while the Guérande Salt Exfoliating Body Balm is for your more ascetic friend, whose idea of a luxury holiday is a refreshing hike through the Austrian Alps.

Bath oils are great, too, because they're lovely, but people rarely think of buying them for themselves, unless they've got almost painfully dry skin like me. Jo Malone's look and smell the most luxurious, but they're slightly more than £30. For cheaper but still really nice ones, go to Origins and Burt's Bees. Laura Mercier's bath products smell so delicious it's hard to resist eating them, and I'd recommend getting the bubble bath or body scrub over the scented body creams, as the latter verge on being perfumes.

Finally, I know scented candles have become a bit of a cliché, but when they're good, they're great, and Diptyque ones are great. The mini ones are only £20 and they last for yonks and I've never met anyone who wasn't pleased to get a Baies Diptyque candle. If you want Diptyque but want to be more original than a candle, the brand's solid perfumes look charmingly vintage, although their appeal lies more in how they look than their actual efficacy. (Diptyque's Smoothing Body Polish, incidentally, is not only out of your price range but completely rubbish. Walk straight past that, ideally towards the Laura Mercier counter.)

Ultimately, Fiona, I would say just don't worry about it too much. In my recent birthday experience, what the birthday woman remembers is that you turned up to her party and were awesome, not what present you gave her. In fact, I've heard it told that some birthday women get so, shall we say, carried away with the birthday spirit that they mix up all their cards and thank everyone for the wrong present the next day. So, really, you could give her a bottle of Radox and claim the Chanel handbag came from you and she'll be none the wiser. Then she'll think about what a great friend you are as she spends the next day soaking in her Radox bubbles.

Activist and CFDA Honoree Bethann Hardison on Her Quest for Diversity in Fashion

It’s been over two months since the CFDA announced that it will honor Bethann Hardison with the Founders Award on June 2, but she’s still in a contemplative mood. “I always knew that I could make a difference,” she says of her more than five decades promoting diversity in fashion. Her work as an activist has ranged from the accidental (modeling alongside Pat Cleveland and Alva Chinn in the now historic Battle of Versailles) to the strategic (campaigning for the representation of black beauty in 1980s fashion advertising.) And her influence has notably permeated the runways, advertising campaigns, and magazine editorials of the past two years, from Malaika Firth reclining in a moment of glamorous repose for Prada’s game-changing fall 2013 campaign to the wave of fresh new model faces of color—Cindy Bruna, Binx Walton, and Riley Montana to name just a few.

The move towards change reached critical mass last September, when her Diversity Coalition published an open letter that called for the fashion councils in London, Milan and Paris to do more to promote diversity on the runways. “I knew this was possible because I was talking to fashion people, who aren’t a closed-minded group. I believed that I could make a change because I believed in them,” Hardison says, noting that the real work is just beginning. “If model agencies can seek to find more girls of color and have more girls to submit, the better the chances of more models of color getting booked . . . Activism has to remain active.” We caught up with her to talk about fashion’s exciting new moment—and its future.

What is your earliest memory of fashion?

The word fashion didn’t exist for me until the last ten or fifteen years. I grew up when it was called the apparel business, in the Garment District. My first job in the industry was with a button company called Cabot. The man who hired me thought I was dressed too well. This was a factory. He worried about my clothes getting splattered with paint. They supplied custom buttons to various houses that made suits and skirts, and so he would send me out to meet with designers to show them the samples. That was the beginning of me going into the inner sanctum. And then I went to work for Marty Gutmacher, a dress company at 1359 Broadway, and later Ruth Manchester, a junior dress company. I remember the addresses. That’s how important the Garment District was. You remember where people were located because that’s how it was divided up: the lower end, the juniors, and the upper crust.

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How did you enter the world of modeling?

It was with a senior executive at Federated, the company that oversaw all the shows for Macy’s. I was taking the dresses from Ruth Manchester to them to consider for a show. And I said, “If you want to have a good show you’ll put me in it.” He was like, “What’s your name?” He later called and said, “I want that girl in my show.” And that was the beginning. I went to Sweden to model for a while, and then I went to Ibiza. Life began to take hold in a different way, but I always kept a full-time job because I never thought I could make enough money. Eventually, Willi Smith thought I would be great for Stephen Burrows who hired me to be his showroom girl.

And then there was Le Grand Divertissement à Versailles.

Yes, and I almost didn’t make it, because each girl had to have three designers who wanted her to be in the show. Halston said, “If no one takes you in the end, I’ll put your name down.” But I wasn’t a Halston girl. So it was Anne Klein, Oscar de la Renta, and Stephen who chose me.

What did Versailles mean to you and the eleven other models of color who were cast in the show? Did the night feel historic?

We never thought it was historic. We were so busy just trying to get through the show! [laughs] It was a lot of pressure. And it was also hard because I knew they were counting on me since I was known to be a good walker. But I was also a good model. There were six or seven of us who got written up in the papers all the time—they called us the Black Stallions.

During your days modeling alongside Pat Cleveland and Alva Chinn for Stephen, was race and diversity a conscious thought?

We were always conscious of being of color. I’m coming off the Civil Rights Movement. You’re hearing “black is beautiful.” And we always had a lot of people of color in advertising in Ebony, models like Richard Roundtree and Helen Williams. But that was more commercial. We were more in the fashion apparel business. And through the black is beautiful slogan,we began to sense that advertisers were seeking something different. And along comes Naomi Sims. Halston was coming up and so was Giorgio di Sant’Angelo [both used many non-white models]. Arthur McGee. Jon Haggins. It was such a stylish, interesting time—artists finding buildings downtown that were being abandoned, in a part of town we all called South of Houston, which became known, of course, as SoHo. It was a different time. Did we think black and white? Yes, we were conscious of race and the way we looked. But if you had style, you were it.

When and how did you transition into the agency world?

It was 1980 and I had done a lot. I didn’t want to walk down a runway ever again. So I went to work for Click Models and helped them develop the company for two years. We helped change the industry. Click was extraordinary. We had a different vision about what we wanted to see. We weren’t getting the girl or boy next door. We were finding kids who were interesting. And we were helping to build the brands of Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein because we had Bruce Weber. By 1984 I had started Bethann Management. I needed to pull away to pursue my own destiny.

When did you begin speaking out about diversity?

Well I did it when I was at Click. But it was much easier to do it on my own. I would hear people say things on the phone: “I just want you to find me one great black girl.” And then I would begin educating them. To me, that wasn’t activism. It was just educating. When I started the Black Girls Coalition in 1988, people thought it was activism, but I really just wanted to celebrate the girls.

There has been noticeable progress since you formed the Diversity Coalition. What was the tipping point?

I think it was the letter itself. And Miuccia Prada started to move it along. She’s the leader in all of this. She was already beginning to show girls of color seasons before—and then that ad, with [Malaika Firth] sitting on that chair with that tweed coat on. That was a major visual moment. It changed things. Other people started to feel better about casting these girls. And from there you began to see other girls in advertising. That’s when I thought, Okay, okay.

Were there any runway moments that stood out?

I like that Céline has embraced black girls on the runway. And there was Burberry, a house that used Jourdan Dunn before it was even popular. And then what Gucci did with Joan Smalls.

Of the younger generation of models of color working right now, who do you find to be the most inspiring and promising?

They’re all promising to me. I love Riley, Binx, and Cindy. They all have such promise. We have so few, but we need many more strong models of color to be competitive.

We’re all familiar with Yves Saint Laurent’s dedication to promoting a wide range of beauty. Of the designers working today, who has picked up that baton?

Zac Posen. He’s like the old-school designers in that he believes in the model. He will take a girl who hasn’t been hot in over two years and he’ll bring her back. You can tell that this is his idea and not the casting director’s.

Where were you when you first found out about the CFDA award and what was your initial reaction?

I was with Naomi Campbell waiting for her to do an interview with Diane von Furstenberg at Sirius Satellite Radio. When Diane told me I was quite stunned. I hugged Diane first and then just went to Naomi and really wept. I was moved because this revolution is about a philosophy, a point of view, a stance. It’s changing how people think. It’s not an easy thing to do. I felt like the revolution was being acknowledged.

Remembering Louise Wilson, Central Saint Martins' Legendary Professor

The sudden loss of Professor Louise Wilson, OBE, has left dozens of London designers inconsolable this weekend, as well as the many more she taught who populate the design studios of New York and Paris. “Without Louise I would not be here,” said Christopher Kane yesterday. That simple emotion is echoed over and over by the alumni who have had their talents forged in the furnace of Professor Wilson’s critiques in her Central Saint Martins office. “Louise had a special talent to see right inside of us all,” said Mary Katrantzou, who recalls the terrifying utterance directed toward every newcomer who quaked in front of her desk: “Impress me.”

Wilson was famously hard to impress. She had seen and retained it all about fashion, since she herself has been a childhood reader of her mother’s Vogues, and then graduated, a few years after John Galliano, from the then Saint Martins School of Art in 1986—the high clubbing/fashion/music years of which she took full advantage. No reference escaped her and no plagiarism was tolerated, but what drew Wilson to persist was the possibility that some new flash of originality would eventually materialize from within her students’ brains. Anyone who expected her to serve up creative orders on a plate was in for one of Wilson’s famous slap-downs. A politer variant was her declaration: “We don’t know what we want, but we know it when we see it.”

Laziness could make her irate. “I’ve seen Louise drop-kick a mannequin across the studio when she was frustrated with a student’s work,” said Richard Nicoll, “And there are a plenty more stories like that.” Once, a student was expelled from her office at such velocity that his scarf was slammed in the door. The professor continued her work late into the evening and was surprised to see a figure huddled on the floor outside. He had been too afraid to knock and ask for his scarf back five hours earlier.

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Nevertheless, what drove Wilson was, as she said, the “privilege” of being around youth. Her lasting friendships with the designers she really rated was her reward. “She would tell me everything like a mother would—if my hair looked shit, if she liked something I did. I found her very ‘mother-y,’ ” said Roksanda Ilincic. Self-laceratingly, Wilson would never boast or make assumptions about her entitlement to invitations, yet she could easily have laid claim to being the generator of what is being dubbed the current "Golden Age" of London fashion. Two dozen of the women’s and menswear designers who show in London are alums of Central Saint Martins’ MA program, including: Kane, Katrantzou, Jonathan Saunders, Ilincic, Nicoll, Marios Schwab, Simone Rocha, Thomas Tait, J. JS Lee, Michael van der Ham, and Marques’ Almeida. The success of the first generation of new professional British designers who sell globally at a luxury level is linked directly back to the visionary who saw each person as an individual and had no taboos or snobbery about what constitutes fashion. London Fashion Week became characterized by variety, energy, and surprise for onlookers, and for the ones inside it, there was the unique London-community camaraderie amongst those who were driven to define themselves by Wilson.

What students saw when facing their professor was not just her impassive, black-clad, all-seeing presence, but the pin board behind her desk in her office, famously covered with show invitations, thank you notes, and quotes she liked. That wall was testament to how so many people adored and relied on her over 22 years as the MA course leader, including Alber Elbaz at Lanvin, who was one of the beneficiaries of the fact she became an unofficial matchmaker between houses and graduates. “The people Louise sent me were always the best, always the ones who have stayed. I loved Louise,” he said.

Accolades and recognitions came her way. In 2008, she was honored to receive the Order of the British Empire for Services to Fashion and Education from the Queen, and in 2013 was almost as gratified to receive a happy birthday shout-out from Kanye West at his gig at the Hammersmith Odeon. Her current students, also there, cheered on, boasting “Happy Birthday Louise Wilson!” on the student. West had petitioned her as a student, coming to see her at the college with plans for his line. She was not unduly impressed, and sent West away, though since the fanship also ran the other way, (Wilson loved rap, Motown, African-American music and culture in general), the professor and Yeezus formed a funny, good-natured, mutual admiration.

Wilson leaves her Ghanaian partner, Timmi Aggrey, and their 23-year-old son TJ. They, and the wider family of fashion she created, are deeply mourning her today. Current students at Central Saint Martins are planning a vigil in her memory tomorrow.

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Calvin Klein's Next Chapter: The Legendary Designer Teams Up with Harlem Village Academies

When designer Calvin Klein visited Harlem Village Academies on a speaking engagement back in 2012, he was following in the footsteps in of some seriously high-profile supporters: In the ten years since it was founded, the school’s outstanding success has attracted the attention and praise of everyone from President Obama to Oprah. With a network of five charter schools from elementary through high school level, the academies are pioneering a new and progressive model for public education against all odds; while students from the local community often enter the system behind grade level, HVA consistently ranks number one of all public, nonselective high schools in New York for college enrollment. “I’ve spoken to groups of CEOs, to students at prestigious universities such as Cambridge, and yet those audiences are often intimidated when it comes to question time,” says Klein. “With the fifth graders I spoke to at the Harlem Village Academies, that certainly wasn’t the case. And they didn’t take their eyes off me once during the speech—they’re just so ready to learn.”

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Impressed by the dedication of both the pupils and the teachers he met that day, Klein continued his involvement with the school. And when Deborah Kenny, the school’s trailblazing founder, approached him for help reimagine the visual identity of the academies for the tenth anniversary—from the uniforms, to the website—the legendary designer’s answer was a resounding yes. “Whether it’s a collection of clothing, a fragrance, a business, or a school the thought process is the same: there has to be a point view, and the message has to be consistent,” he says. “The Harlem Village Academies has a 91 percent graduation rate, which far exceeds the New York City high school average, and they needed imaging that would reflect their achievements.”

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He enlisted the help of longtime collaborators like creative director Fabien Baron to forge a new vision for the school: Not limited to the traditional coat of arms, they also created a modern configuration of the schools’ initials, and the sleek logo sets the tone on the landing page of the newly relaunched website. “It was quite a challenge, because every comma, every word means something,” says Klein who took almost eighteen months to perfect every aspect of the redesign. “And of course when it comes to design, I need lots of white space!”

Perhaps the most exciting part of the project, though, was giving the school’s uniform and gym clothes an entirely fresh new look. Having grown up in the nearby Bronx, Klein has an understanding of what it means to be a young scholar in the city where the preppy dress code of private school don’t apply. The minimalist crisp white polos, sporty crew-neck shirts, and tailored jumpers speak to his legacy as one of the founding fathers of American sportswear and a distinctly New York state of mind. “Many live in Harlem, and the culture of style, music, and sports is very familiar to them. It’s instinctive,” he says. “For me, it was important that the uniforms were cool, as well as being appropriate and affordable.”

With his former wife, photographer Kelly Klein, on board, he set about organizing a fashion show and lookbook to present to Kenny and deans. The response was rapturous—not least amongst the pupils. “I’ve spent my life with clothes and trying to make people feel good,” says Klein who is giving each child at HVA a set of the new uniforms in time for the fall semester. “It’s all the more wonderful to be able to do that for schoolchildren too.”

Do we abandon our pregnant friends?

When a friend tells you she's pregnant, 'overwhelmed with joy' is the correct response, bar mitigating factors like being sixteen. Bursting into tears is bad, and yet that's been my response - twice! - when close friends told me they were pregnant. My first thought? 'I've lost them!' My first words? 'So happy for you!'

They saw through my 'happy tears' and assured me nothing would change. But of course things change (they should!) so in my mind I'd already granted them 'friend-leave' for the next 2-4 years.

Six months later I was amazed - amazed! - to get an angry email re. my callous indifference. Turns out what I called 'being understanding' they called 'abandonment'.

It felt like a great divide had opened up, not only in life stages, but also in understanding. So, in the interests of bridging that gap, I surveyed new mothers to determine what's really needed, and 'abandoning friends' to find out why we really do it. Here are the scientific results:

We don't speak 'Baby':

"When friends get pregnant, it's like they suddenly have a ticket to a faraway place called 'Babyland' whose language and customs I can't understand. There, they bond with others who also speak Baby. It won't matter that they're bogans whose kids have weird names, or rich vegans with Baby Mozart - Babyland veterans bond in the trenches of long nights and runny poo. While I stay home, thumbing the brochures."

And yet sometimes our friends need not to speak Baby.

"I love catching up with child-free friends because they don't give you expert lectures on breastfeeding, sleep patterns, immunisations, and controlled crying. I'm so sick of saying 'I'll try that, thanks!'"

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We feel inconvenient:

"My friends with babies are stuck at home, desperate for adult company, but catching up is always on their terms; 'Day works best for me' 'Can you come over here? Pram, etc.' When we do see each other, they're all 'TELL ME ABOUT THE OUTSIDE WORLD!' but then they're so distracted I feel like I'm just one more thing taking their attention. I totally understand, but I'd rather just leave them to it, then pick things up further down the track."

We might be a little bit jealous:

"When my friends had babies it introduced a power imbalance. I was envious, but that was tempered by relief when they complained about how hard it was. Then I felt a little bit superior because I could say 'yes, that sounds difficult, now I'm off overseas,' while privately thinking 'you should have known what you were getting into."

And guess what? They know we're jealous, and want us to get over it.

"My fears were that the friends who really wanted kids wouldn't want to see me anymore. However our friendships were never founded on children, so you just accept that when we catch up with our kids in tow, sentences will be interrupted by spew or poo or demands for babycinos, but the content of our discussions shouldn't change."

We feel guilty talking about frivolous stuff:

"I feel petty talking about current affairs or my job to friends with babies because they're now responsible for a whole human being. My stuff feels unimportant by comparison."

And yet new mothers often spoke of the challenge in identity that came with having children.

"Since I had my kid, I feel shy about seeing people," said one. "I want to say witty, breezy things, but what comes out of our mouth is 'xyzblah' because I'm tired and out of practice. I feel like I'm meant to offer something socially, but I can't."

And this: "I have to initiate social engagements because I think my childless friends believe I'll always have a child attached to me, and that my identity is now 'mother'. Our identity isn't through our children. I can still talk about other stuff."

Babies can be boring:

"We're get that you don't want to be defined by being a mother. So by the same token, please understand that we're your friend - not your child's. Don't take it personally."

Yes, you'll get the odd glutton for punishment who loves kids' birthdays, for the most part if we choose to shower your child with attention, it's only because they tell great jokes and their head smells nice.

And we were right! Abandonment is ok ...

"Early on, don't invite us to anything in the evening because it'll make us sad when we can't go."

"For the first six months, your pituitary gland doubles in size and floods the body with oxytocin. It makes everything other than the baby seem very far away. Looking back I wish I hadn't had so many visitors."

... but only for the first six months:

"I've been hurt by friends who now dismiss us as only daytime friends. People assume we can no longer go out in the evenings or breach the 3km radius boundary of our homes."

Should we treat our friendships like a marriage?

Some marriages and friendships are conditional; 'this is how we do things'. Someone once said that in the best marriages there are always several smaller marriages. For that, you need room to move - even if that means the occasional time-out. But in my experience the great relationships are not based on shared circumstances say, but on a deep appreciation and enjoyment of the other's point of view. And that doesn't change when they get a 'Plus One.'

Charles James Then and Now: An Artistic Interpretation

Not everyone at last night’s Met Gala knew the story of Charles James—not by a long shot. “He’s a new person for me,” admitted Hailee Steinfeld, who was utterly adorable in Prabal Gurung. “He’s someone I don’t know. I’m 25!” laughed a Michael Kors-clad Ming Xi when quizzed on the couturier. The evening’s DJ, Diplo, referred to Charles James: Beyond Fashion as “Fashion and the Thingamajig.” And when we asked Katie Couric about James, she jokingly replied, “I think he’s from the forties, isn’t he? Don’t ask me any more hard questions!” However, while not everyone was familiar with the details of James’ career, most everyone had seen the iconic 1948 Cecil Beaton photo, which features eight women in pastel James gowns. Or, as Hedwig and the Angry Inch‘s Lena Hall called it, “that Cecile photograph.” She made up for the slip with her charm, and by looking divine in a Jamesian Zac Posen number. “I’ve seen that photograph a lot. In fact, I think my mother has it on her wall. So when I saw that, I was like, ‘Oh, I guess I know more about him than I thought.’”

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Gala chair Aerin Lauder had an even more personal story about the famed snap. “I own the Cecil Beaton photograph, but I didn’t know much about [James] before working on the event for a year.” It would seem many a starlet and socialite looked to said image for sartorial inspiration—so much so that we were able to re-create the photograph with some of the ladies from yesterday evening’s red carpet. Here, for your viewing pleasure, we give you a modern-day mockup of Beaton’s photo, starring TV chef and girlfriend to Governor Andrew Cuomo Sandra Lee’s gargantuan dress (a questionable blend of a James ball gown and his Butterfly design), Hall, Amy Adams, Katie Holmes, Liu Wen, Sarah Silverman, and more. You’re welcome.

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22 Stages Every Girl Goes Through In Primark

There's no denying that something comes over you when you enter Primark. Who knows if it's thought of buying leopard print thongs for £2.00 or heels for next to nothing, not forgetting the wall of arm candy waiting for you in the accessories section. We've identified the key stages every girl goes through when faced with the Primark shop.

1. The hurried run walk

One doesn't walk into Primark. Oh no. One hurries. You can see the seven letter sign in the distance, you pick up the pace, you even look behind you to see if you can overtake the slow walker and before you know if you're walking like your legs don't belong to you anymore.

2. The basket dilemma

Ah, the question of all questions. If you get a basket will it cast a bad omen on your shopping spree, causing you to go home... empty handed? (shock). Unlikely, this is Primark after all. Or will you fill it with everything in sight? We've got a fair bit of experience now and here's the inside tack - ALWAYS go for the basket.

3. The grab

No, we're not talking about a Big Fat Gypsy dating ritual, we're talking retail. The grabbing stage usually happens right at the beginning, when you're overcome with unnecessary excitement for all those cheap clothes. Before you've even looked at the jelly shoes they're in your hand and you're stroking them uncontrollably. Then you're picking up tees by the dozen. The key here is not to panic. You can always throw down your basket in the shoe area and casually amend your madness.

4. You lose your friend to knitwear

Everyone knows that to tackle Primark you need some serious moral support, that is, until you step foot in the store and it becomes a solo conquest. Oh, and good luck trying to get signal. No matter who you enter the store with, once you're through the doors you won't find each other again for hours.

5. You buy in every colour

For the gym, for the summer, for the hell of it! Who needs an excuse when the tank tops are £2.00 a go? We’ll have it in pink, red and blue oh and black. Just because!

6. The boyfriend challenge

As if filling your basket for one person wasn't enough, you decide to browse the men's section for other-half buys. Even if he doesn't like loud Hawaiian shirts it's ok. Because it was cheap.

7. The decider

At some point you'll be torn between two items but then you remember where you are and it's a no brainer. Just get both! That would never happen in Topshop.

8. Question time

When the adrenaline wears off, you suddenly become very unstable about your decisions. You have a conversation with yourself that usually goes something like this: "Is it nice? Or nice for Primark?".

9. You mark your territory

Wanna beat the nice girl out of you? Head to Primark. Whether you break out in full blown fisticuffs or just exchange evils over the pile of pants, you’re guaranteed to experience confrontation of some kind. Just make sure YOU get the last pair of built-in fake bum Spanx.

10. The complication

Something always goes wrong. Someone faints from the heat, the security guard sends you on your way for holding a Coke can (no drinks in Primark, WTF? It's 100 degrees), the lift breaks. You're in hell from start to finish.

11. The helpful shopper syndrome

Admit it. You're only folding that polo neck back on the pile because the shop assistant's watching you like a hawk. As soon as her back's turned. Boom, throw and run, throw and run #guilty.

12. You veto an item

We'd happily go into Topshop, Zara and Miss Selfridge and pay £40.00 for a top but £20.00 for a cardigan in Primark? No. Chance.

13. You call it Primani at least once

We've yet to find someone that doesn't do this. We don't know where it came from or why we do it. But we just can't stop.

14. The jewellery trance

You've never liked tacky, huge, overly sparkly bling before but... something's happening. Oh, no. It fell in the basket. Just walk away before the shame takes over.

15. You get THAT feeling

Just when you thought your deal of the bargains couldn't get much better they go and put a gorgeous red line through the price tag. Break out into star jumps? We would, but man alive it’s too hot at Primarni (see).

16. You CBA with the changing rooms

17. The queue

If you're lucky enough to have survived up to this point you've got two options. You either duck and run or get stuck in. If you join the line you know you're gonna lose at least an hour of your life. If you go home, you've shopped for nothing. Suck it up, prepare to sweat and remember the returns queue is way worse.

18. The trolly dash

It’s those last minute till point sales that really get you. You’re over joyed to have reached the finish line so you grab everything you think you need. Socks – in the basket. Hair bands – chuck em in. Peckish? Don’t worry we’ve got a multi-pack of Mentos to see us through.

19. The casual convo with the till guy

So what if calling the shop assistant by their name makes you feel good? You've just bought an entire new wardrobe for £90.00. If ever there's a time you're allowed to be overly-happy and stalkerish it's now. Embrace it.

20. The damage

£90! How did that happen? Well, you did just just buy five pairs of shoes, ten tops, three pairs of shorts, a couple of maxi dresses, a statement necklace, a new duvet cover, pillows, pjs, sunglasses and a rose scented candle. All under one roof. Amazing.

21. The wrong size

It's that horrible feeling. When you approach the exit and realise the size 12 you picked up is actually a size 20. Hello, what was the point in the green sticker then? Oh well, it'll do for bed.

22. The exit

You feel pretty smug with your receipt in hand but that doesn't last. That funky smelling brown paper bag tears and turns to mush in the rain and you leave a trail of Haribo behind. Cheers Primark! Until next time...

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