Browsing Tag

London

fashion

Bedouin Studios X Houndsditch

Posted on November 25, 2017

It’s great that locally based brands are taking the #PLASTICfreeSEA ethos seriously. Andraya Farrag of homegrown brand BEDOUIN just took a jump into the world of swimwear, launching in collaboration with Lisbon-based, London-born brand, Houndsditch for SS18.

Houndsditch is an environmentally friendly brand that produces their collections using post-consumer recycled materials, including plastics that would otherwise end up otherwise polluting the oceans.

“I wanted to make buying swimwear as fun as wearing it,” says Andrew Young, founder of Houndsditch.

Their gorgeous hand designed prints, with exotic hints of flora and fauna are processed into fabrics, which are then used to make the custom-made pieces. Houndsditch’s production line is predominantly made to order, which helps to further minimize fabric wastage – a relatively new concept for the conscious consumers, but one which is making a mark.

“I couldn’t wait to join forces [with Houndstich] and create a capsule collection of swimwear that perfectly compliment and co-exist with the BEDOUIN SS18 RTW collection.” Farrag of Bedouin

Designed to be mix and matched with the ready to wear collection, the Bedouin swimwear boasts an overarching Cuban theme, whilst also influenced by the elements.

Exuding cool tones of white, wheat, shades of pink, green warmed up occasionally with a hint of orange and contrasted by black. Leopard, beetles, moths and fantastical foliage are interwoven into an array of multi-colored prints.

*Cover image shot poolside at Vida Downtown*

Travel With: Knomo London

Posted on July 23, 2017

Knomo London was introduced to me in Dubai, having recently landed in Virgin Megastore. Founded in London just over 10 years ago, Knomo means knowledge and mobility. The brand was designed to help you travel well, with a real focus on organisation, especially inside their bags. I’m a real hoarder in my handbags too, with about 400 items that don’t need to be there, I almost never find the time to go through it and sort it out.

I’ve spent the better half of the summer, travelling around Europe, between Italy, Switzerland and the rest traversing the lands around our family home in France. From race tracks in Bologna, to hiking in Lake Como and discovering Lugano’s many hidden gems, there’s been plenty of occasions where travelling light was of the utmost importance.

What makes Knomo more than just another travel bag… well there’s a few things that drew me in straight away, their sleek style and understand minimalism helped me imagine wearing one instantly. My travel accessories have always been predominantly a single handbag or over-the-shoulder bag, which make day-to-night transitions easier, leaving me more room in the case for clothes, (or bringing clothes back with me).

Not only that, their bags and organisers come with a padded technology section, designed for use with all our daily droppable gadgets, (…how many external hard-drives have I repaired now?) They are also super light weight, so walking round Rome – which is at least 4 hours of straight walking and tourist dodging – felt a lot easier not swapping arms every 30 mins with a heavy handbag cutting into me. Ok, so being asked whether or not I was a student in St. Peter’s Square in Rome, may have been backpack related, but having just turned 30, it didn’t feel remotely insulting at all…

See my favourite pieces here and if you’re heading out of Dubai this summer, I implore you to forgo the Birkin for the backpack, even if just for the ease of the airport alone!

Knomo Beauchamp 15″

Knomo Leather Beaux 15″

Knomo Mini Mount Leather 10″

Knomo Mini Beauchamp 10″

Fitness

Testing Out: Barry’s Bootcamp

Posted on March 24, 2017

Hailed as ‘the best bootcamp in the world’ (self-proclaimed of course) it’s going to raise some eyebrows. I’d personally not heard of the HIIT phenom that’s a London institution before it came to Dubai, but i was eager to check it out. Barry’s is a fusion class that combines a signature style of cardio which is all treadmill based and strength workouts which are floor based. It’s said to help burn up to 1,000 calories in just one hour, although you’ll have to work extra hard to accomplish that.

Barry’s is a great way to de-stress, burn off your lunch and generally get the heart pumping, with loud music, enthusiastic instructors and of course, plenty of muscle bound inspiration in the room too. I work out much better when i’m positioned in between other enthusiasts due to my slightly competitive nature ;).

The lights go out and a single instructor will guide a room of up to approx 50 gym-goers on two separate workouts, with half the room on the floor for 15 mins and the other half on the treadmill, swapping to ensure you’re keeping your heart rate up all the way through the class. It can get loud in there, but I found that the ear plugs at the door helped block out any distractions and allowed me to concentrate on my own workout better.

Barry’s pushed me but without me hating it half way through… granted I could have pushed a little bit harder on the treadmill (i’m not a runner), it was a happy sweat and a pat on the back rather than a shoulder strain and physical exhaustion that other bootcamps have had… the protein shake waiting for me on exit helped too!