Catherine Walker fashioner designer to Princess Diana has died

Catherine Walker, fashioner designer to Princess Diana died on September 23, at the age of 65. Apart from designing couture fashion for notable women such as Joely Richardson, Shakira Caine, Darcy Bussell, and Queen Noor of Jordan, she designed more than 1,000 outfits for Diana.

Catherine Walker avoided too much public scrutiny during her career. This is so unusual for a someone in the fashion world that her evasion of fame may have garnered her more attention than her admission to it. She hardly ever gave interviews and did not display her fashions on the catwalk. Her no-nonsense approach to fashion kept her at its pinnacle of the business for a long time.

Catherine did not like the undue trends in fashion and did not give into them. She said that fashion was fast moving, but uniform at a time when a trend is in place. She said that she designed clothes to give real style to women. In 1990 she won an award for British fashion Designer for Couture and followed it up with another the following year for Designer of the Year.

She was reclusive and hardworking. After undergoing cancer surgery in 1995, she opted for a motorbike to help her relax, went on a specific health diet. She was a founding member and passionate supporter of the charity Breast Cancer Haven.

Catherine was French born and learned English while living above a butcher’s shop in London. Her PhD led to work for the French Embassy and the French Institute.

She started studying fashion at night school after the death of her first husband, John Walker, left her to raise two small daughters. During the day she would sell clothing form a basket. The popularity of her handmade clothes led to the opening of her own shop in 1976 and finally, the founding of her fashion label, Catherine Walker and Co. Ms. Walker is survived by her two daughters.

DesignerWomen.co.uk – High end ladies designer clothes

Designer Women owner Susan Turner with Victoria Beckham who’s designer jeans range has featured in the Designer Women boutique in Scarborough.

Browsing through Google, as one does, I happened upon a website called Designer Women – a ladies designer clothes store with a difference. Designer Women specialise in high end, in demand designer labels from some of the top names in the fashion industry, including Vivienne Westwood, Roberto Cavalli, Armani and Nougat London. However, unlike many online fashion stores, as well as being able to purchase all the hottest looks in designer womens wear straight from the catwalk, you can also keep up to date with all the latest fashion news, gossip and trends with their fantastic fashion blog.

With over 20 years of experience in the fashion industry Designer Women’s origins are from a small ladies clothing boutique based in Scarborough North Yorkshire. The boutique still serves the local fashionistas to this day, but owner Susan Turner knew that many women preferred to shop for their designer clothes from the comfort of your own home – and so the website was born.

When asked about the inspiration for the site Mrs Turner said “The type of customer we see at Designer Women varies, yet each individual has the same defining reason for visiting and that is to ‘feel good look great’. We wanted to create somewhere where women could come and browse the latest musings in the fashion world, keep up to date with the latest trends and then purchase the very clothes they have just been reading about.”

We gave the DesignerWomen the once over and found the site easy to use, professional in it’s layout and appearance and packed full of the latest fashion news and some truly stunning ladies designer clothes. A quick browse through the websites online fashion shop reveals a wide collection of the latest designer clothes, shoes and accessories all available for you to add to your virtual shopper bag at the click of your mouse. Ordering is safe and secure, thanks to PayPal, and delivery is fast and efficient. Couple that with flat low rate postage fees and a simple, no-hassle returns policy and this website delivers the complete package.

In short, if you like ladies designer clothes then DesignerWomen.co.uk is right website for you. They have some of the hottest ladies designer labels featuring many both well-known designer brands as well as many up and coming new designers. Collections are updated each season, featuring the very best ladies clothes, shoes and accessories produced by the world’s top designers and seen worn by the worlds top celebrities.

But ‘hey’, don’t take our word for it! See for yourself by visiting the Designer Women website and you too can catch up on all the latest fashion tips and trends for the coming season and even treating yourself to a designer dress or the Vivienne Westwood shoes you’ve had your eye on for some time!

Beth Ditto, not your usual Paris catwalk model

The catwalk show at Paris Fashion Week on Saturday had a bit of a different perspective than the average, in fact hugely different. Beth Ditto, the American ‘Gossip’ singer and performer of major proportions (U.K. size 28) opened Jean-Paul Gaultier’s show with a bravura a cappella number, and closed it with a turn on the catwalk in one of his specially designed creations.

The punk rock singer is known for her flamboyant and unapologetic appearance on stage, and she made quite an impression as she strutted her considerable stuff on the runway. Her performance ended with Gaultier’s congratulations and presentation of a glass of champagne and a bouquet of pink roses.

The show on Saturday was Gaultier’s collection of spring/summer ready-to-wear creations, and it was described as “exploring the contrast between XXL and XXS”. However, only one other model was actually a ‘plus’ size; the rest were in the svelte to skinny range. The usual size of ‘plus’ models is about 14.

At present, Beth is getting ready to launch another collection for Evans, a leading U.K. designer of clothing for larger sizes. She has said that the fashion industry discriminates against large women, and “if anyone understands what it’s like to a woman who’s subjected to body politics, it’s a [deleted] model.”