East end Girls

 girl I saw on Church St.  - 15/1/11

Balenciaga A/W 2011

Creative directors of todays large fashion houses don't have much time for the partying anymore. First there are the two main collections, then the cruise lines, probably the diffusion lines and now the more profiled 'pre' collections. Okey, it serves as a taster of what is to come but crikey! that is a LOT of work. So if you happen to be Nicolas Ghesquiere, Head designer of Balenciaga and a pretty talented man, who is constantly trying to subvert fashion' typical 'pretty me up' aesthetic, then sometimes you have to just blatantly pinch a look or two from a less glamorous part of the globe to cut yourself a break and get home early - Hackney for example. 
You would have to be a little slow on the style front to not know that  the East end has always housed London' more edgy creative scene due to cheaper rents, studio spaces and the on going art and music scene but it is fairly new to see an old Haute Couture fashion house sitting up and taking such acute notice. In fact it looks like they have been shopping here recently. Geek chic works well in Hackney but I'm rather chuckling at the thought of the Vogue woman walking around in a complete 'Look', at the cost of around £2000, when she would do just as well to visit Dirty Blonde on Church Street like 'Mary' in the illustration above and come away with about £1940 in change. It is nice to know that sometimes, in fashion, it pays to be poor!