Yesterday Anna and I slapped on the lippy, added  a little MasonBentley number, clicked our heels and headed off to the Vogue Festival at the South Bank to hear the e-commerce oracle Natalie Massenet give a talk.

Loved the fact that the ad girls that I adore from Bottega Veneta were on the other side of the glass…their beauty was still illuminating..

Impressions? I have never been in such a large group of people where fashion was an over-riding obsession, it created a touchable energy I wished I could bottle.  In fact it would be easy to intimidated – I know I used to worry much more about failure – and maybe it’s one of the joys of growing older that you can to stand back, observe and place feelings within context from the memory bank.

It struck me – and I have to be honest here – that there was the lack of heart stopping visions of fashion that really floated my boat.  Everyone was all very very – there was neon, there was sheer, there was monochrome, there were see-through clutches..but surely if it’s been labelled a ‘trend’ you are following fashion rather than creating it?

For me great fashion has always had that element of unattainability – all precision cut, impeccably crafted, rich visual rewards with cleverness and innovation, Glamour, mystique and cool sophistication, beautifully crafted visions of perfection.  But I did’t see that..instead I saw the need for celebrity spread across clothes like landing beacons for transient moments of limelight and a little bit of me wanted to grow wings and fly away.

Maybe the fashion I lust after is elitist which is why it’s been sidelined to a corner? Maybe fast fashion, bright colours and basic material is the only way? We had hoped that Anna might get ‘papped’ in our Valentina dress..I still believe that quality shines. But it was disappointing when we saw that the only outfits being noticed were the most extreme…the towering platform heels, the tiny skirts, the bling…do they really represent what women want to wear? what makes them comfortable? cool? It feels very wrong when we don’t like good any more…that we don’t hold it in esteem.

The talk was great – I would give my eye-teeth to have a two-to-one with Natalie Massenet..if you want to see it for your self all her slides are available on Instagram at @nataporter_mystorysofar.  A huge amount of what she said completely resonated with us and our vision for the future.  We were inspired.

Then, on the way out..’Madame..Can we take your picture?’…Only USA Vogue!

As Steve Martin said…be so good they can’t ignore you…

Laters, Kate x