Wednesday, 13 October 2010

The hills are alive.....with a sound of 'does this come in my size?'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beyond the Valley

2 Newburgh Street
London
W1
t: 020 7437 7338
Who else finds the Oxford Circus experience a less than bleak one?
Who else is tired of the same mundane high street shop names being repeated 3 times  sporadically inbetween Belgium Waffle shops and Carphone warehouses?....I mean does the world need another TopShop, H&M and dare i say PRIMARK!


Had your fill of high-street goodness at Oxford Circus? Want something cool and edgy to add to your ensemble? Then run, don’t walk, to Beyond the Valley, just a hop, skip and a jump away over on Newburgh Street, just behind Carnaby Street.

 
I first came into the 'know' with this shop by mere chance , after stopping a chap who evidently had  unique style . He literally oozed 'cool' and 'individuality'.

When asked to explain his ensemble which consisted of  a lion head hat (with actual ears and eyes and tiger mane almost like the lion king poster), an Icelandic funky knitwear jumper and gold rubber brogues....he simply uttered 'Beyond the Valley' and catwalked at speed away whilst i watched his outfit in awe lol.


In retrospect i should have taken a photo...but since i didnt this is the best way to envision it!





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(The hat was like this )













































Beyond The Valley  is a London shopping highlight, with an energetic fusion of fashion, homewares, accessories, jewellery, books, zines and art. With a gallery space in one of the front rooms, the store holds regular exhibitions that showcase the work of young and upcoming designers and artists. In fact, the owners of Beyond the Valley are all Central St Martins graduates themselves, so they’re in a good position to foster and nurture new talent.

 5 years since its launch, Beyond the Valley concept store has  a reputation for being innovative and being a fantastic showcase for avant garde designers to springboard into reputable careers within the industry. The store .its label and  its customers all emody diversity and an alternative fashion scene. It is obvious the creators are fully aware of trends, yet are not simply following what 'vogue' is telling them to...they create what interests them.The creative Directors are Kate Bonhôte and Kristjana S Williams and as a design team they are  very well known for collaborations with new talented artists, keeping the range diverse and ambitious. Which certainly has paid off having been voted  one of the top 100 UK Coolbrands for 2007/08/09/10. Alongside them in this years listings are well-respected brands such as Vivienne Westwood, Aveda, Nokia and Aston Martin.


Mundi Designs, as well as other indie labels including Makin Jan Mar, Starstyling, Vita Vass, Celia Sorenson and Alexandra Groover. Beyond the Valley regulars Yuko Yoshitake and Australian label Life with Bird are a welcome inclusion to the range, as well as their own house label which combines edgy and affordability, with prices starting at £35.















Stockists include Asos.com, Farfetch.com, with the whole collection available in-store.
products



(full range including concessions can be found on the Beyond Valley  website)   tp://www.beyondthevalleystore.com/home.aspx





For those with a love for quirky-‘n’-cool jewellery, there’s Miss Bibi’s covetable (but pricey) tiny gold stiletto earrings (£208), chandelier necklace (£188) and ornate gold frame brooch (£144). At the other end of the price scale, there’s a delightful glazed porcelain thunder cloud brooch from Me Me Me for £28. Don’t miss Zoe Morgan’s playful perspex jewellery and Bow Belle’s adorable bow brooch and necklace.



Beyond the Valley accesories popped up in  Mary Katrantzou Spring 2011 Ready-to-Wear!
The chandelier necklace amongst many other pieces from Beyond Retro supported her recent 'Interior design' inspired garments during London Fashion Week.

 





















Having  over 50 new designers at any given time Beyond the Valley provides a regularly changing showcase of fashion, jewellery, illustration, wallpaper,design products and accessories.
This season Beyond the Valley continues its fascination with nature and opposites with Cosmic Tropicalia; a collection rich with signature pieces. Embroidered cowboy shirts mixed with oversized tops and bold graphic ‘Knitted Animal’ cotton knits.
Silk and chiffon are the backdrop for fantasy landscape prints such as ‘Tropical Cannibalism’ and ‘Ink Forest’. Colours are strong and plentiful, enhanced with exclusive English tweeds, denims and Italian trims. National dress from India and Eastern Europe inspired the shapes, allowing folklore silhouettes & a hint of the 70s. Whilst an opposing structural element mused on a Texan Housewife has the final say.



There are some definate must haves and next seasons trends appearing in the collection......have a butchers



 
 
Coloured Knits with fun prints are in Next season   Giles Deacon ss2011 show was full of it(see bottom left) and this trend is also adopted in Beyond the Valleys Knit (see bottom right).
Must Have for next season?....I think so :)







Print has definately been a key trend for next season judging on the Collection shows earlier this month.
Mary Katrantzou  (Above right) is definately instigating this clashing maxamalist print trend....and this is also adopted in Beyond the Valley in this digital print shit(above right)

Multi-coloured silk shirt from Beyond the Valley featuring an all over flamingo and sea digital print with stand up collar and concealed zip fastening to the front. The shrit has a a black thin cord running from the shoulder to the sleeve with elasticated detail to the cuff and hem.




Digital Print shirt £ 180.00:





Beyond the valley above  using  digitalized Houndstooth print similar to next seasons Gareth Pugh (below). Balenciaga and Balmain also have used this print in there collection!


Digital print top:
Black and white silk dress from Beyond the Valley featuring an all over digital print with tiger face detail. The top has short sleeves with a loose bow detail at the neck.



Zoom in of  Next seasons must have print!










The use of traditonal Mascluine fabrics are coming back having been seen in  Brioni, Celine and also Stella McCartney. My favourite piece of on trend menswear was this Tweed blazor with an on trend 'missoni'esque zig zag print

Tweed blazer

£ 345.00
Rust colour wool tweed blazer from Braille featuring a contrasting green zig zag trim around the middle. The blazer has a single button fastening, two front jetted pockets and a chest pocket.









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