London’s 2013 Vogue Festival in association with Vertu just finished this passed weekend, and all of fashion’s biggest names were there to dish out their best advice. With a line-up that included Cara Delevingne, Victoria Beckham, Donatella Versace, Michael Kors and more, it was a fashion lover’s dream weekend. Here are some of the highlights and best tidbits of advice from fashion’s biggest names.
Cara Delevingne:
Fashion’s most in demand model-of-the-moment rolled up to the Vogue Festival in an all black suit but remained loyal to her quirky street style by finishing off the outfit in silver trainers. She revealed some surprising information about the pressures of being on the cover of Vogue.
“I mean I’ve worked with these guys a lot, but obviously it’s something that’s such a big deal and I just wasn’t prepared. I felt like I’d started modeling again.”
Victoria Beckham:
Victoria Beckham spoke about her life as a mother and transition from pop star to designer. She made it clear that family always comes first and kept the audience entertained with her sharp wit and insight into her life as a hard-working designer.
“I’m nice! Everyone thinks I’m going to be a cow. I understand it actually. I think the same when I see the pictures.”
On her struggle to break into the fashion industry she says,
“At the beginning there were a lot of raised eyebrows, from those who could raise their eyebrows. When I started, I did one-on-one presentations, I’d talk for hours to people who didn’t even speak English. I think a lot of people probably thought, ‘Shut up, stop going on about a bloody grosgrain waistband!’ But I’m really grateful to the industry.”
She emphasizes the importance of family, which makes sense since her 14-year-old son Brooklyn and her parents were in the front row supporting her.
“My children are my priority and always have been. I’m up early in the morning doing spelling tests and math quizzes before the school run, then up late with a baby and a 14-year-old who refuses to go to bed- Brooklyn. I’ve got great people who handle my schedule and everything does revolve around the children. If there’s a parents’ night or an Easter bonnet parade or a nativity play, whatever it might be, then I plan everything around that.”
As the talk ended, Beckham ended it on a gracious note saying, “Thank you so much to everyone that came, I didn’t expect so many people. If you’d told me how many, I might have got up and sung a song. Now that would have been a worry.”
Donatella Versace:
Donatella Versace closed day two of the festival and spoke with the Vogue contributing editor, Lisa Armstrong, about her fashion career.
Addressing her brother, Gianni, who passed away in July 1997, she says, “I was a rebel, Gianni was a rebel as well. I was never satisfied, I’m a very curious person. Gianni always told me to be fearless, provocative and daring.”
On her style and personal beauty regime, she reveals that she prefers the basics.
“My style is not that big. I wear heels, tight pants and I wear diamonds. I stopped working with a personal trainer as he wouldn’t let me smoke. I’m not like this genetically, I use tons of cream and take care of my hair and skin.”
Like Beckham, Versace ended her talk on a touching note saying, “Right now, having you kids in front of me asking these questions, this is my proudest moment.”
Michael Kors:
American fashion designer, Michael Kors, headlined day one of the event and proved himself to be one of the funniest and most talented designers in the industry.
On his early beginnings and first memories of fashion, he says, “I think it started when I was five and my mother was getting married again. I told her there were just too many bows on her dress. My grandmother disagreed buy my mother thought I had a point and took them all off. The dress remained timeless- although she didn’t stay married.”
He kept the audience entertained with his light humor and self-deprecating remarks.
“Can you believe what I looked like? I won’t even tell you what size jeans I wore. I started out as Macaulay Culkin and then turned into a young Christopher Atkins.”
“I used to hate it when someone said something was ‘nice’. I mean, ‘nice’! I wanted ‘spectacular’! But over the years I have learned that one person thinks sushi is divine and another wants a hamburger. Not everyone wants the same menu.”
Proving himself to be likable and personable, he speaks about his out going personality within the fashion industry.
“I’m not one of those designers who just pops his head around the wall after a show- I have never understood why people sometimes think that to be stylish you have to be sombre and serious. In fact, I’m in full celebration mode afterwards- I feel like I’ve just given birth after a show. I’m joyful and ecstatic.”
The Vogue Festival in association with Vertu was the place to be this past weekend and provided a weekend’s worth of fun, fashion activities and advice to help festival-goers receive insight from the the biggest names in the industry.