ISABEL MARANT: THE HOTNESS CONTINUES

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

Isabel Marant is one of those designers who has kinda been blinkered to her success for years, but on purpose. She doesn't really want to know about the fashion world and all that. She knows a certain kind of girl/woman loves her clothes, but she keeps to herself, and is famously anti the Internet. The first online retailer she worked with was Net-a-Porter but she only joined them last year, ten years later than everyone else, and only because Natalie Massenet and Holli Rogers politely stalked her until she gave in.

This portrait comes from an excellent Australian fashion magazine called Russh

Now it seems the British public have politely stalked her and she has given in again - it was announced today that on a date in the near future Isabel Marant will open her first London boutique at 24 Bruton Street, on the same run of shops as Maison Martin Margiela and Stella McCartney. Cue a lot of happy Twitterers this morning, including me.

Though the reality is I could only afford one item a season, and I would have to really, really love and want to get a lot of wear from said item as Marant is not cheap. According to one report, the lease is costing £750,000 over 15 years, or £50 grand a year. Judging by my calculations that means Isabel Marant needs to sell 51.55 pairs of her new knee high fringed boots at £970 (see below, with the gorgeous pocahontas fringed dress that has a waiting list at Matchesfashion.com) to cover that off. That won't be hard, fashionistas are positively drooling over her latest Navajo inspired collection. A cosy patterned Navajo jumper is one of the most popular pieces (patterned knitwear is having a major high fashion resurgence for Autumn) and on waiting lists at Liberty (where stock goes on the shop floor, Thursday).

Tunic £1190 from www.matchesfashion.com (image via Catwalking.com)

Isabel says things like "I don't belong to the generation of spending time on the internet," (she is 44) and "My collections remain very personal, even if there is a certain evolution within my design. I’m trying to cultivate the cosy, elegant attitude that is always mine." And the most interesting: "I'm quite anti-consumerist. Its difficult for me to be a designer in an industry I don't like."

THE boots, also available in cream

This introverted attitude clearly works for her, as Isabel is producing massively successful collections. In fact for about the tenth season in a row, Isabel has got a very desirable, trend-setting, sexy and and popular collection on her hands. This shot of french Vogue Editor-in-chief Emanuelle Alt wearing another suede fringed tunic from the AW11 collection popped up online yesterday. Lets not forget Alt used to be the brand's stylist and Alt's husband, Franck Durand, is the artistic director of the Marant company.

How divine does Alt look in this? (Via stylecaster.com)

So now onto the pieces that have got the fashion-lovers in a tizz of acquisition. Of course I can see exactly why, but I'm not going to get swept up in it all (she lied..)
THE ESSENTIAL MARANT/ AW11