Vogue Festival Part One

Yesterday I was lucky enough to spend the day at the very first Vogue Festival. And what an amazing day it was!

With speakers from Tom Ford, David Bailey, Henry Holland just to name a few it promised to be a very insightful and interesting day.

It was split into morning and afternoon sessions so I'll do this post in too parts also (I have loads of photos!)

First talk of the day was the wonderful Diane Von Furstenburg

Vogue Editor Alexandra Shulman greets DVF

Diane talks about inventing the famous wrap dress

"role model for us all, with the best legs in the world" 

Diane spoke about start in the industry, how she turned her passion into a viable business and brand and doing this as both a woman in the 70's and with 2 young children at home.
She talked about her marriage to a Prince "this is where most fairytales end, but this is where mine started"

I found her so very inspiring,, she was smart and funny and you just feel a genuine love and warmth coming from her.

My favourite part of the talk was when she was explaining about being on the cover of the Wall Street Journal

"I was on an early flight one morning and I was the only woman on the plane," she said. "On the same day, I'd managed to make it onto the cover of the Wall Street Journal - which I had bought for the journey. There was a man sitting next to me on the plane and he kept staring at my legs and nudging me in the way someone does when they want to talk to you, but don't know what to say. So instead, the first thing he said to me was: 'Why would a girl like you be readingWall Street Journal?' I looked at him like 'you jerk'. I never said to him, 'look you idiot, I'm on the cover!' Of all the satisfactions I've ever had in my life, that was the biggest."

An amazing woman with such a great story to tell.


Next up was Fashion question time with a host of fabulous designers.  Christopher Kane, Holly Fulton, Mary Katrantzou, Henry Holland, Nicholas Kirkwood andRoksanda Ilincic. 

Designers take to the stage for Fashion question time.

"London designers maybe weren't taken so seriously before, but now we have viable businesses it's much better." 

The discussion ranged from starting out in this business, what advice they would give to anyone wanting to start a brand and how much financial backing helps.

This lead onto speaking about collaborations with both Henry Holland for Debenhams and Christopher Kane and Mary Katrantzou for Topshop. They agreed that these were a good idea. They helped people like myself and you maybe be able to get our hand on pieces by them, its gives them a cash injection for their own brand and be able to build that. They did also all agree that the collaborations would have to be something they wanted though and wouldn't just out their name to anything.

Henry was bizarrely asked how he does his hair! Apparently its a 4 step operation and only takes 4 minutes. Sea salt spray, hair dry, hair straighteners (he admitted this was the embarrassing part and then wax. There you go!



Then it was the one I had really been looking forward to. Mr David Bailey!

Poor Jo Ellison really had her hands full with Bailey!

"I never tried to revolutionise photography; I just do what I do and keep my fingers crossed that people will like it"


Bailey certainly didn't let us down. Extremely honest, never minding his P's&Q's. He had he room laughing within seconds. He was such fun, some of his amazing quotes!


"the only thing they can't teach you at art school is art"


"And Lord Lichfield, I mean, he only got into Vogue because he was a Lord. It wasn't his fucking photographic skills, anyway. Nice guy, but he was visually blind."  


"That myth of Bailey making models cry, I mean, they were usually lovers,"

"I had a terrible time with feminists in the Seventies," he said. "They hated me, those women. I think they hated everything."

"Do you think they didn't understand you?" Ellison enquired.

"No," Bailey replied. "I think they were stupid."


A lovely part at the end Bailey was asked who in the world he would most like to photograph "I would like to photograph every single person in the world"


You just cant help but very much love Bailey.