James Franco X 7 For All Mankind

"Love is a beautiful thing. A powerful thing. But there are different textures to it. There's a range of emotion that goes beyond happiness alone. People like to pretend that part's not there, but that's the way passion is." For his third time directing 7 For All Mankind's campaign, James Franco looked to romance and the works of poet William Blake, setting the scene on a Californian beach, apt for the LA-based denim label. To keep with the times, the ending of the film will be determined by the brand's Facebook fans, which will be shown, along with a directors cut, in LA at the end of April. To read James Franco's interview with Dazed Digital click here, and enjoy the video above. 

Joanne Stoker

Yesterday, high street footwear label Dune announced its seasonal designer collaboration for 2013, shoe designer Joanne Stoker. Since graduating with an MA from London College of Fashion's Cordwainers in 2009, she has won the First into Fashion Award and the Footwear Friends Award, as well as being placed ITS International Competition in Italy. The former provided mentorship from sponsor Jimmy Choo which led to her setting up her own label in 2010. 

Stoker has become known for her architectural shapes and innovative use of materials stemming from a varied background in architectural model-making and textile design. Her Autumn/ Winter 2012 collection, Northern Heights, Wuthering Lights, (above) favoured the platform style and looked to gypsy travelers of North Africa for inspiration. Sharp lines and sleek curves sit side-by-side in every material imaginable, from foil-embellished suede to mohair stretch to perspex for the heels. Spring 2013 (below) was more feminine, incorporating more classic court styles and dainty details, but the inclusion of perforated metallic leathers and clashing prints meant it was no less unique.

Spring also saw Stoker collaborate with minimalist designer Eudon Choi and the more established Matthew Williamson. Having told Drapers last year of her dreams of becoming a household name, this collaboration with Dune looks like Stoker is realising her dreams.

Spring 2013: Showrooms

Fashion shows are exciting. Knowing you're witnessing collections for the first time in public, checking out new hair and beauty trends, looking out for this season's break-out model, listening to the new tunes the fashion crowd have adopted into their playlists... But one of my favourite parts of fashion week is the designer showrooms where collections are hung out and displayed close enough to touch. Feeling the fabrics, spotting intricate details lost on the runway, realising the beautiful shade of purple is in fact more of an indigo away from the catwalk lights....

I had the pleasure of getting up-close-and-personal with the collections of London designers at Somerset House, as well as at the British Fashion Council's showrooms in Paris. Take a look below for some highlights.

J. JS Lee

Palmer Harding

Simone Rocha

Simone Rocha

Christopher Raeburn

Sister by Sibling

Mawi

Erikson Beamon

Sophia Webster

Holly Fulton

Nasir Mazhar

Piers Atkinson

KTZ

NYFW S/S 2013

New York Fashion Week is back and in full swing. And with it comes the endless feed of party shots, street style snaps and of course, catwalk shows. I think New York is the fashion week I look forward to most- with Helmut Lang, Alexander Wang and Altuzurra being three shows I'm always excited to see. NYFW may not be over yet but my favourite shows are in so I thought I would share some of the looks that caught my attention...

Joseph Altuzarra's resort collection was an expertly-created combination of drape and masculine tailoring in an array of innovative fabrics- something that followed through to his Spring show. He got imaginative with tailoring, giving us the must-have piece of the season by putting vents in the sides of outerwear so that fully-fashion jackets could be worn as capes, no doubt inspired by the numerous shots of fashion folk hanging their blazers from their elegant shoulders. Drape slowly made its way into the sharply tailored looks through draped waistband sashes and softer peplums until down the runway came fully draped looks of sumptuous silks of cream and royal blue, golden trims, clusters of crystals, pailsey prints and scales of sequins. To accessorize the polished mish-mash of tailoring and drape, slick and playful, were some knee-high leather gladiator sandals courtesy of Gianvito Rossi.

Colour was also on the agenda at Helmut Lang, a brand known for cultivating a downtown cool its original creator would be proud of. Their resort collection, like Altuzarra's, gave us a hint at what to expect- the looser, boxier shapes reappearing again in place of the svelte body conscious silhouette and flattering draped shapes the label had perfected. That's not to say the show had lost its cool as the opening look proved- with its suitably slouchy, slightly Asian-inspired trousers paired with a relaxed, yet lean blazer in shades of pale apricot, clean white and subtle stone. The clean, almost minimalist vibe saw sportswear influences here and there, notably in the modern techno sandals, racy shorts and electric shots of colour which were actually inspired by creatures of the sea, as were the contemporary prints and jacquards, as well as the wet look fabrics. Leather and jacquard bikers, pleated shorts and sleek fabrics ensure that Helmut Lang won't lose its loyal fans despite their change in direction, but here's hoping they don't test their loyalty too far next time.

Once I saw The Sartorialist's shot of the Alexander Wang finale (below), I knew it was going to be an interesting collection. New York's cool kid Wang surprised everyone with glow-in-the-dark fabrics- certainly a way of making sure the show is remembered. Shapes started boxy like at many shows, with my favourite looks being those of the more fitted variety. But even the toned models couldn't look sexy in shapeless forms of the black and white that dominated the colour palette, only for some silver here and there. Lines were right-angled or nearly so, emphasised by the lines of almost invisible panels of fish wire embroidery that the Wang team created. Like at Helmut Lang, there were sportswear shapes aplenty which was a trend I didn't expect to outlast the Olympics. It was an innovative and experimental collection that was interesting to look at yet didn't quite evoke the sense of cool many fell in love with Wang for. Perhaps he knows it too- including Liberty Ross post-cheating-husband may have been a desperate attempt to get people's attention, albeit for the wrong reasons.