Life’s not-so-little luxuries



People are being sniffy about the term ‘affordable luxury’. There’s no such thing, they insist – luxury is for the rich, not the wish-they-weres. Touchy much? Well I think there is such a thing – what do you call all the Chanel nail polishes, Hermes silk scarves and Smythson notebooks if not an affordable way to tap into the lifestyle of the rich and well-to-do?

Increasingly though, designers are catering less to the entry-level customer and more to their ultra high net worth clientele. How else to explain the new tier of uber-expensive fashion brands? Ahead of the curve as ever, Phoebe Philo started the trend with her spectacular – and spectacularly expensive – Celine reinvention. As well as rethinking the collection (an ode to stripped back trend-averse staples) she has completely repositioned the brand to sit alongside the likes of Hermes and Valextra, non-shouty stealth brands that appeal to the quietly rich. Her Classic Box bags hover around the £2,000 mark but who’s counting – they’re Celine!

Close behind comes Victoria Beckham who has matured from racy pleather leggings to her own range of Audrey Hepburn-like dresses and minimalist accessories. Her new line of keep-forever investment handbags clock in at £8,000 and the first drop sold out instantly on Netaporter.com. Meanwhile, Tom Ford’s new womenswear line straddles the price gap between ready-to-wear and couture. Those dazzling dresses we saw on the backs of Beyonce, Rachel Feinstein and Daphne Guinness? Anything from £3,000 to £22,000. Suddenly, affordable luxury is looking oh so very last decade. Who will be next aboard the top-tier gravy train?

[Originally published on Lystit.com]

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Facebook Deals vs Foursquare – OMG it’s iPhone pochettes at dawn!



The Foursquare vs Facebook Places battle is about to get serious with the European arrival this week of Facebook Deals. This steps hard on Foursquare’s toes – users who check in to bars/stores/venues with Facebook Places are rewarded with discounts and deals. Foursquare pioneered the idea by combining it with a point-scoring game and tips. I use Foursquare for checking in to restaurants where I can quickly consult the tips before choosing between the chicken and the fish. If you check in enough times, you become the ‘mayor’ which could be seen as gimmicky until you consider that the mayor gets special priviledges. At Debenhams Oxford Street for example, the Foursquare mayor gets free coffee whenever they visit (and even if you’re not the mayor, any Foursquare user can get free coffee if they check in on a Friday). Alas, we’re not at the stage yet where the mayor of Harvey Nichols gets a year’s supply of Balenciaga but one lives in hope.

Now that Facebook Deals has arrived, a whole host of stores are getting involved. Not surprisingly, many of the early adopters of Facebook Deals are also seasoned Foursquare users. Debenhams will launch its Facebook Deals programme by offering free Benefit mascara & makeovers on 14th February for the first ten people to check in nationwide (that’s a grand total of 1000 Benefit mascara and makeovers). Meanwhile Benetton has launched with a charity deal, donating 2 euros for each check-in to Architecture for Humanity throughout the month of February. No purchase required, you’re simply rewarded for visiting the store and communicating the fact to your Facebook network.

The question is, will these brands ditch Foursquare altogether for Facebook Deals? Benetton’s Head of Digital, Gabriele Lunati says,”Facebook Deals is a great way for Benetton to connect with the consumer who is actively shopping on the high street and will be used alongside the popular Foursquare.” I really hope Foursquare can hold its own against the mighty Facebook but let’s see where things are in 6 months time.

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DIARISE! Disneyrollergirl and Robin Derrick Q&A



Crikey this is turning out to be rather a busy week. As if outing myself and redesigning the blog isn’t occupying enough headspace, there’s also the small matter of the Q&A I’m doing with Robin Derrick, creative director of Vogue, at the Covent Garden Apple store this Thursday…

FYI: The Q&A starts at 630pm and will go on for about an hour – no need to book but it’s probably a good idea to get there early. See you there!

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Who is Disneyrollergirl?



The beginnning
Almost four years ago I started a blog. Working as a fashion editor by day and doing extra freelance writing by night, I still didn’t feel I had the opportunity to say what I wanted to say. On a mainstream magazine, fashion is about visuals, the few words you may write are headlines or rehashed press releases disguised as ‘news pages’. Yet beyond the obvious trend reports and new product launches, there’s a whole world of fashion that the average person doesn’t get to see. I decided to blog about it.

The middle
I didn’t set out to be an anonymous blogger but the fact that no-one was reading the blog and I hadn’t told anyone I was doing it meant I could quite easily write about anything and everything blissfully undetected. I would blog about press days, fashion shows and industry gossip quite hidden behind the veil of Disneyrollergirl. But as I started to enjoy blogging and engaging with other bloggers, it became harder to hide. At the same time, the teen magazine I worked on folded and I went freelance. I could blog even more as my hours were more flexible and the work more varied. The blog attracted some regular readers and PRs started to invite a few bloggers to their press events. Most of the time I was able to attend these press events as the real ‘me’ and still cover them on the blog.

Then something happened. Practically overnight, the fashion industry fell in love with blogging. Everybody wanted to engage with bloggers and invite them to their bloggers’ breakfasts, lunches and teas. Having quite enjoyed being invisible up until this point, suddenly the novelty of managing two identities wore off and I chose to out myself to a couple of PRs. As expected, one PR told another, who told another and soon the identity of ‘Disneyrollergirl’ was an open secret in the industry.

The end of part one
At the same time, I realised that blogging was developing into something bigger. In the journalism world, content and commerce were merging as online publications also became shopping sites and fashion etailers upped the quality (and frequency) of their fashion content. Bloggers were being courted and consulted by brands and some even had their own Youtube channels. I made the decision to redesign the blog to incorporate some more features and as the blog reaches its fourth anniversary, the new look Disneyrollergirl is almost ready to be unveiled (but alas, not quite). The blog content will continue as it always has done but of course, I can’t stay anonymous any longer!

So thanks for reading this far, I hope you’ll stay for part two…

Navaz x

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