How Nike won gold in the fashion Olympics with Martin Lotti’s Volt shoe



At a press event at the Nike athletes’ hospitality suite at the British Medical Association, I was told that there are secretive corridors at Nike HQ, where its genius geeks experiment in their out-of-bounds labs. Performance materials, electronic fitness monitoring equipment, future fashion hero products, they’re all thought up and figured out here, possibly years before coming to market. (more…)



Buy it now: August fantasy shopping list



As a self-confessed knitwear addict, aw12 is looking most exciting – may I draw your attention to Rochas and Acne for starters? I’m also happy to see so many kilts and mid heels appearing – possibly the after-effects of our Jubilee summer. For the August-to-September transition, I like this Chanel ‘Holiday’ nail polish – an optimistic all-year-round shade that looks like summer in a bottle.


ABOVE LEFT TO RIGHT:
TOP: Astley Clarke earrings, £40; Asos bag, £75; Rochas cardigan, £705
MIDDLE: Chanel nail polish, £18, Burberry Brit kilt, £232; Valentino shoes, £409
BOTTOM: Acne jumper, £190; Kenneth Jay Lane earrings, £49.99; PAM bag, £69



Quote of the day: Essie Weingarten



“If the colour fits, wear it”
Essie founder, Essie Weingarten on Into The Gloss

I loved reading Weingarden’s soundbites and stories. Did you know you should wait two minutes between each coat of nail polish? Me neither. She also had this observation of European beauty consumers; “In Europe, as far as color is concerned, women are a little more sophisticated. They like a lot of green.” Er, what did I just post about three days ago? Oh yeah, Estee Lauder’s new green-black polish. Essie has nail colours that are still going strong since the very early days. Bordeaux (a wine red) and Ballet Slippers (pale pink) are 31 years old and Fiesta (colour-matched to a favourite raspberry pin cushion) is 30 years old. Read here for more.

Main image: Into The Gloss