sunshine on a rainy day

The Bridget Riley exhibition at Kettle's Yard is an absolute gem. If I'm ever cycling past and feeling down I pop in for a quick fix of bright colour and sunshine to perk me up again.

And if I don't have the time to visit the exhibition, there's always my Bridget Riley-inspired bookchair to make writing essays that little bit brighter...!

From this...

...to this:

pastel perfect

The pastel hues at Louis Vuitton reminded me of tea parties with fondant fancies, neopolitan ice cream and iced buns. I recently discovered a gorgeous website called Such Pretty Things full of beautifully decorated sweet treats - now all I need is a pretty dress courtesy of Mr. Jacobs, a box of Laduree macarons and some vintage crockery and I'll be picnic perfect. ♥

pretty as a picture

A number of designers were heavily influenced by artists this season. Van Gogh's Sunflowers and Starry Night were unmissable at Rodarte:

At Jil Sander, Picasso's faces came printed across knitwear as models walked down a catwalk covered with blocks of bright colour:

In the words of Oscar Wilde, "One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art."

seaside chic

This season, designers seem to have been splashing about in the spirit of the sea - blue hues, shell embellishments and mermaid styles abound.

Missoni's collection evoked ocean waves through vivid blues and exaggerated frills, topped with matching blue-rimmed sunglasses.

Salvatore Ferragamo and Emanuel Ungaro presented slick swimsuits paired with billowing silk scarves in dazzling shades of turquoise, indigo and aqua.

There were more gorgeous turquoise shades on show at Chloe:

Giorgio Armani's models were sent down a blue-grey catwalk wearing iridescent styles that shimmered like the sea.

Aquilano.Rimondi's models were like mermaids fresh from the sea, with hair still wet and beautifully embellished pastel blue and shell coloured dresses.

Dazzling blue embellishment and billowing waves of chiffon were also order of the day at Elie Saab:

Chanel's water nymphs had glimmering pearls in their hair and sparkling, dewy faces fresh from the sea, whilst shell clutches and translucent sequins and beads accessorized pastel swimwear and beautiful dresses.

However much I had fallen in love with Chanel's collection, Alexander McQueen's took my breath away. Freshly caught mermaids retained their sparkling nets over their faces and wore fishtail skirts and rippling corseted jackets in shades of coral, shell and sea blue. Absolutely gorgeous.