It was great to go to London Fashion Weekend on Saturday (25th Feb) at Somerset House. Every year after London Fashion Week has been and gone and now Milan Fashion Week is in play, LFWeekend finishes the week with this extensive fashion shopping event. Here are a few snaps from our day:

Around 5 years ago Anita with AVFF introduced vintage to LFWeekend so it was great to see the vintage area expanded and curated by the talented Vintage by Hemingway design team. The Vintage Floor had a fab atmosphere with a gorgeous tea room in the centre where you could chill out and have tea and scrummy cakes by Molly Bakes.

Image via: Vintage Hemingway blog

It was interesting that although Chandran seamlessly infuses cultural references into his work with rich hues, exquisite use of fabrics and embellishment the collection somehow had an almost british war-time feel, with models sporting a series of forward and backwards vintage fringe roll hairstyles, flowing into a chignon tightly pinned at the back teamed with iconic red lips.

Image via Fahion156

A Beautiful and elegant collection see the video by Brighton Art below:

Awards Season is well and truly upon us and AVFF love to look at the styles and glamour of the formidable Red Carpet. This week started with the BAFTA's which seemed to raise the fashion bar high and then came the Grammy's where Brit Girl Adele did us all proud and we ended this week with the established Elle Style Awards. These leaves us hotly anticipating the Oscars and wondering what the stars may wear for 2012 ceremony.

With Valentines Day literally just around the corner why not treat a loved one (or yourself) to some of AVFF's hand-picked events and gifts we think are perfect for the season of love!...  we also have our very own valentines inspired giveaway, so be sure to read on to find out how to enter....

I was very fortunate last night (8 Feb 2012) to be invited to the preview of the hugely anticipated exhibition of the late Lucien Freud at the National Portrait Gallery in London.  We were joined by Kate Middleton who was on her first solo public engagement as the Duchess of Cambridge without her husband, Prince William, by her side. Kate has recently been become a royal patron of the Gallery.

Kate, who is a huge fan of Freud and had the gallery buzzing with excitement as we waited her arrival. The Duchess arrived looking confident, relaxed and beautiful in her Jesire coat dress and Jimmy Choo heels.  She was escorted around the exhibition by Sandy Nairne, Director of the Gallery and chatted to guests in her natural, comfortable and gracious way.

I really enjoyed the exhibition with my personal favourite paintings being the artist’s earlier work rather than his later work. I found Freud’s use of coarse hog’s hair brushes gave his portraits a harshness about them that gave his sitters a caricature look. His nudes of both men and women had me thinking about his relationship with both sexes and what his personal views were on this to depict them in the way he did.

This is truly a fantastic exhibition of 130 paintings, drawings and etchings, from the early 40’s to his death in 2011. Selected in close collaboration with the artist and drawn from public and private collections around the world and brought together for the first time in London – Freud’s fans are in a for a real treat  and won’t be disappointed.

Image Via Daily Mail Online: The Duchess of Cambridge shakes hands with Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt during her gallery visit

Image Via Daily Mail Online: The Duchess opted for a grey tweed coat dress by High Street label Jesiré - which had a large shawl collar and a black belt around her trim waist for her first solo engagement since joining the royal family.

Image Via Daily Mail Online: The Duchess completed her outfit with a chunky diamond bracelet and Jimmy Choo 'Cosmic' heels

2012 is shaping up to a fantastic year for art, fashion, photographic and textile exhibitions across the UK. AVFF picks our selections of the “must see” and to do in the next coming months and those to pop in your diary and to look forward to later in the year.

Henry Moore Institute - Leeds

Nice Style - The World's First Pose Band
14th December 2011 - 12th February 2012

A unique insight of ‘Nice Style’, a collaborative performance group set up in Maidstone in 1970 by British artists Bruce McLean, Paul Richards, Gary Chitty, Robin Fletcher and Ron Carr. The exhibition features photographs, posters, postcards and some previously unseen archival material.

Open: seven days a week from 10am-5.30pm, with the galleries and library open until 9pm on Wednesdays. Closed on bank holidays.

Travel: few minutes’ walk from Leeds Station Website: www.henry-moore.org

Image via Art Rabbit: Nice Style courtesy Paul Richards

M Shed - Bristol

An Eye For Fashion- Norman Parkinson Photographs British Designers 1954-1964
21 January - 15 April 2012

Spectacular and rare exhibition of the charming works of vintage fashion photographer Norman Parkinson. One of Britain’s most significant portrait and fashion photographers of the 20th century, this display showcases over 60 vintage photographs from the Angela Williams Archive, "this unique portfolio evokes a sense of glamour, beauty and timeless elegance."

Original 50s and 60s clothing from the museum's collection will also feature alongside.

Entry £5/£4 Entry free every last Wednesday of the month Wed 25 Jan, Wed 29 Feb & Wed 28 March

Open: Tuesday - Friday, 10 am - 5 pm , Saturdays, Sundays, Bank Holidays: 10am-6pm

Travel: 5 /10 minute walk from the city centre. Closet Railway Bristol Temple Mead

Website: mshed.org

Image via M Shed: Jean Shrimpton 'Plain Girl' 1963, wearing James Wedge © Norman Parkinson Limite

Michael Hoppen Gallery - London

Guy Bourdin
02.02.12 - 10.03.12

"Bourdin, born in Paris in 1928, was one of the most radical and influential fashion photographers of the twentieth century. His unique blend of surreal and erotic imagery filled the pages of international magazines such as French Vogue during the 1970s and also became synonymous with the revolutionary advertising campaigns for Charles Jourdan"

This exhibition showcases limited edition and rarely-seen before work of Bourdin - including a selection from his renowned series for the Pentax Calendar of 1980.

Open: Monday-Friday: 10.30am - 6pm Saturday: 10.30am - 5pm Sunday: Closed

Travel: Sloane Square, South Kensington (Circle & District Lines)

Website: www.michaelhoppengallery.com

Image (top) Via MHG- Guy Bourdin Archives, January 1978

Image (right) Via MHG- Charles Jourdan, Summer 1978

Fashion Museum - Assembly Rooms, Bath

Glamour
From 4 February and continuing throughout 2012.

"However fashion changes, Glamour will never go out of vogue" - Bill Gibb

A dazzling new display of glamorous evening wear fashion over the last 100 years, featuring twenty two show stopping evening gowns and cocktail dresses.

The exhibition includes highlights such as a vintage 1965 light purple silk satin gown with applied beads, sequins and silver thread embroidery by Norman Hartnell and a red Harrods dress with applied beads and sequins, ca. 1960s. Glamour, also features modern designs by Hardy Amies, Michael Sherard and Zandra Rhodes.

One dress to not miss is rising star designer Holly Fulton's dress from her 2010 collection which features her signature surface decoration and bold graphic design. A righteous collectable of the future.

Open: The Fashion Museum is open every day except 25 & 26 December. January - February  10.30 - 16.00, March - October  10.30 - 17.00, November - December  10.30 - 16.00

Travel: 20 minutes from Railway station, Bath Spa

Website: www.fashionmuseum.co.uk

Image via TFM

Victoria & Albert Musuem (V&A) - London, Porter Gallery

Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton:
Wed 8 February 2012–Sun 22 April 2012

In Celebration of the Queens Diamond Jubilee, a retrospective exhibition of one of the most famous and highly regarded royal and fashion photographers of his time Cecil Beaton. The V&A's extensive archive of Beaton's work including royal portraiture photography, some of which will be on show for first time along with personal letters, diaries and un-edited negatives.

AVFF cannot wait for this exhibition and celebrate all thing regalia.

Open: 10.00 to 17.45 daily 10.00 to 22.00 Fridays

Travel: South Kensington (Piccadilly, Circle and District Line)

Website: www.vam.ac.uk

Image via V&A: Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton, Gelatin silver print, Buckingham Palace, 1968, Museum no. PH.318-1987

Anita's Top Pick:

National Portrait Gallery

Lucian Freud: Portraits
Thu 9th February 2012 - Sun 27th May 2012

This hotly anticipated exhibition of one of the world's greatest artist, was produced in close collaboration with the late Lucian Freud. It concentrates on particular periods and groups of sitters, which illustrate Freud's stylistic development and technical skills. Works include personal paintings of the artist's lovers, friends and family, referred to by the artist as the 'people in my life'.

Featuring over 100 works from museums and private collections throughout the world, some of which have never been seen before.

'I've always wanted to create drama in my pictures, which is why I paint people. It's people who have brought drama to pictures from the beginning. The simplest human gestures tell stories' - Lucian Freud

Open: 10.00 to 17.45 daily 10.00 to 22.00 Fridays

Travel: South Kensington (Piccadilly, Circle and District Line)

Website: www.npg.org.uk

Anita is lucky enough to be attending the private view of Lucien Freud: Portraits - Review to follow soon.

Tickets can be pre-booked online: www.npg.org.uk/freudsite/

Image: National Portrait Gallery via Bloomberg "Girl in Bed" (1952) by Lucian Freud

While at NPG why not also see...

Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2011
Until 12 February 2012

The annual Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize is always thoroughly enchanting and a fantastic opportunity to experience 60 contemporary portrait photographs from gifted amateurs, talented young students and established professionals.

"Through editorial, advertising and fine art images, the entrants have explored a range of themes, styles and approaches to the contemporary photographic portrait, from formal commissioned portraits of public figures to more spontaneous and intimate moments capturing friends and family.

2012's competition attracted an incredible 6,000 submissions from 2,506 photographers. Many of the works are on display for the first time and include the five prize-winners and the winner of the ELLE commission.

More info here.

Sandra Lousada: Work and Performance

28 November 2011 - 20 May 2012
Bookshop Gallery
Free

This display celebrates Sandra Lousada’s fifty-year career as a photographer. It includes highlights from forty recently acquired portraits, including several that are illustrated in her book, Public Faces Private Places: Portraits of Artists 1956–2008, as well as recently rediscovered works and shown for the first time a series of contact sheets.

Work and Performance focuses on key aspects of Sandra Lousada’s early career, including her theatre portraits of Vanessa Redgrave and Joan Plowright, and film portraits of Tom Courtenay, James Fox, Sarah Miles, Rita Tushingham, and studies on the set of Tom Jones (1963). Figures from literature and the arts include Arthur Bliss, Lynn Chadwick, Imogen Holst, Richard Hughes and Laurie Lee. The display also includes picture stories for Queen magazine, including well known people with their dogs; Lady Epstein and Gilbert Harding. 1960s fashion is covered by portraits of Cilla Black, Celia Hammond, and Jean Shrimpton.

Image vis NPG: Jean Shrimpton by Sandra Lousada 1962 NPG x135425

Future Exhibits: AVFF's Hot Picks for 2012...

These are the ones to put in your calendar today… The Fashion & Textile Museum in Bermondsey has an incredible selection of forthcoming exhibitions this year and is well worth signing up to their newsletter to ensure you don't miss out on these fab shows:

Fashion & Textile Museum - London

The Printed Square - Vintage Handkerchiefs
22 March 2012 - 16 June 2012

AVFF adores vintage hankerchiefs so this exhibit is right up our streets...

"Vintage handkerchiefs have become a source of inspiration for contemporary fashion brands. With beautiful examples from the 1920s to 1950s, this new exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum celebrates early twentieth-century handkerchief design in a magnificent display of colour and pattern"

Image via FTM: © The Printed Square by Nicky Albrechtsen 2012

Fashion & Textile Museum
Designing Women: Post-war British textiles
16 March 2012 - 16 June 2012

Post World War II there was a flutter in the air and a new wave of contemporary design swept across the UK, by leading female designers such as Lucienne Day, Jacqueline Groag and Marian Mahler.

This exhibition is set to explore this movement and house over 100 works, including Lucienne Day’s Calyx pattern of 1951, featured at the Festival of Britain and move right through the 1960s & 1970s.

Image via FTM: calyx, 1951. Designed by Lucienne Day

Pallant House Gallery - Chichester, West Sussex

Peter Blake and Pop Music
23rd June 2012 – 7th October 2012

To celebrate the 80th Birthday of the legendary artist Sir Peter Blake, The Pallant House gallery is putting on A major exhibition of his most recognisable Pop Art work; bringing together important paintings, collages and prints from across his career.

The exhibition will also be accompanied by a display of works by Artist Pop Stars such as David Bowie, Bryan Ferry, John Lennon, Patti Smith, Ian Dury and their contemporaries

Open: Tuesday to Saturday: 10am – 5pm, Thursday: 10am – 8pm, Sunday/Bank Holidays: 11am – 5pm, Mondays: Closed

Travel: few minutes walk from Chichester Railway Station.

Website: pallant.org.uk

Image via PHG: Peter Blake, The Beatles 1962

Fashion & Textile Museum

POP! Culture and Fashion 1955-1976
6 July 2012 - 27 October 2012

Exploring the look, life and style of pop culture over a 20 year period...

"POP! will explore the impact of music, art and personality on the development of the fashion of the times. From the poodle skirts and embellished leathers of the rockers through to the Punk era, this exhibition will take in the cool styling’s of the Mods, the high baroque of Psychedelia and the kitsch glamour of 70s retro by designers such as Mr Freedom and Miss Mouse."

AVFF is excited to see fashions original and iconic designs from the likes of Mary Quant and Westwood/ McLaren’s infamous pieces from Sex. This exhibit is set to be a full on POP explosion and an immersion back into the world it once belonged.

Image via FTM:© 'Poster Dress '1967, designed by Harry Gordon

Victoria & Albert Musuem

Hollywood Costume sponsored by Harry Winston

20 October 2012 until 27 January 2013

A collection of the most wonderful and iconic costumes to have been seen on the big screen over the past century. From characters such as Dorothy Gale, Indianna Jones, Scarlett O'Hara, Jack Sparrow, Holly Golightly and Darth Vader.

We actually are counting down the days till this best dressed exhibition... this is definitely one not to be missed.

Tickets can be pre-booked online from the V&A website: www.vam.ac.uk

Image via V&A: Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale in 'The Wizard of Oz', 1939, costume designed by Adrian. MGM/The Kobal Collection