Hello lovely readers, for a little while now, I’ve been keeping a secret and today, I’m beyond excited to share my news, that a shoot I styled back in April is featured in You & Your Wedding magazine and hits stores today, yippee!!

Working alongside a great team which consisted of the super talented photographer Eddie Judd, florist Zita Elze, cake maker Elizabeth Emporium, caterer Kalm Kitchen and located at a fantastic new wedding venue  Millbridge Court in Surrey I think together we’ve been able to offer brides a bright colour alternative for their wedding day, that they might not have considered.

My inspiration behind this shoot was Pantone’s 2015 colour, Tangerine, a juicy, energizing shade that provides a bright pop of colour without being jarring on the eye and in that I set out to create an orange grove of colour with greenery and scents aplenty.

The focus became the jaw dropping hanging floral blooms and fruit mixed with low vases full of flowers. With vintage touches of cream and gold, I combined old world romance with the natural beauty of outdoors and the result was ‘Tangerine Bloom’.

And here is just a little look at what we created that day. But I will shortly be showing you some more of the gorgeous images, explaining in detail my inspiration and thought processes behind the shoot.

In the meantime you can pick up a copy of the You & Your Wedding magazine thats on sale now (17th September) and look out for news on a more detailed feature online by You & Your Wedding that will follow after.

Credits:

Creative Direction & Styling: Pierre Carr

Photography: Eddie Judd

Venue: Millbridge Court

Hello lovely readers, for a little while now, I have had to keep shtum about some really exciting news. I still have to wait till next month for it to come into fruition but today I just wanted to share a little snippet and wet your appetite.

Earlier this year I felt inspired to come up with a styled bridal reception shoot featuring bright colours that most brides would shy away from and enlisted the super talented photographer Eddie Judd and brand new Surrey wedding venue  Millbridge Court in Surrey to help create something special. Other talented suppliers were brought on board including florist Zita Elze and her team (who you can see with me below) and the amazing Kalm Kitchen.

Here’s a little look at what we created that day and obviously I would love to show you more – but I’m afraid I can’t. However, I’m thrilled to be able to tell you that this shoot will be featured in the next issue of You & Your Wedding and as is on sale on 17th September. There’s not long to wait and I look forward to sharing more with you very soon.

Credits: Eddie Judd Photography

Hello lovely readers, “fashion is a big bubble and sometimes I feel like popping it.” Those are the words from remarkable designer Alexander McQueen and gives you a real taste of what awaits you at another extraordinary exhibition at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.

Savage Beauty really is something else, from McQueen’s 1992 MA graduate collection through to the unfinished A/W 2010 collection, you’ll be treated to a parade of designs that are presented with as much drama as any of his catwalk shows.

The exhibition is split into a number of sections, giving a real structure to the show. I loved ‘Romantic Nationalism’ that highlights how McQueen often used his family history; particularly his Scottish ancestry, which he admitted, meant ‘everything’ to him. The immaculately tailored tartan dresses, the tweeds and furs combined with antique, aged lace from a 2006/07 collection would still look great today given our adoration of all things country but when combined with a bird’s nest headdress adorned with Swarovski gems, you’re faced with McQueen’s bold, almost unnerving use of natural elements in his designs.

This compelling and fascinating mix continues – a tulle and lace dress that would look stunning on a bride is finished with a veil held up by antlers, another dress is covered with razor clams and the famous Sarabande from McQueen’s S/S 2007 collection used real flowers that withered and died as they fell onto the catwalk. That said, there are other dresses that you could wear right now to an event or special occasion and look fantastic. As wild as some of the designs are, there’s a commercial, wearable vibe running throughout the show.

However, this exhibition has an edge as indeed all of McQueen’s work had – he didn’t design to appeal to everyone and he was not afraid of using erotic, fetishistic and sadomasochistic elements in his designs. “I find beauty in the grotesque,” he once said. “I have to force people to look at things.” There aren’t many designers who would present their collection, dubbed ‘the Asylum show’, as the set was a huge mirrored box. This isn’t pretty fashion. It’s assertive and brave in every sense of the word.

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty runs until 2^nd August at the V&A in London and an additional 12,000 tickets have just been released for around-the-clock opening from Friday 24^th –Sunday 26^th July and Friday 31^st July until the final closure on Sunday 2^nd August at 11pm. Booking is absolutely essential for this exhibition and you can secure your ticket online.

Credits:

All images copyright of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Hello lovely readers, its summer time and I have gone exhibition crazy. This week is Audrey Hepburn and just a mention of her name conjures up a whole host of thoughts – from her legendary film roles to her work with UNICEF and those endless, timeless photographs of her on set or on shoots. She is sophisticated, playful, glamorous and understated. In short, Audrey Hepburn is the type of woman that we’d all like to be.

So, the National Portrait Gallery’s fantastic new exhibition Audrey Hepburn – Portraits Of An Icon – is a must-visit attraction for the summer holidays. Film stills, vintage magazine covers and the most wonderful selection of material accompany the images on show by famous photographers such as Cecil Beaton, Terry O’Neill and Norman Parkinson from the Audrey Hepburn Estate. It’s not an exhibition to rush through, it’s one to savour.

Audrey Kathleen Ruston was born to a Dutch mother and an Anglo-Irish father in Brussels in May 1929 and it wasn’t until 1939 that the family changed their name to Hepburn. In 1941, Audrey began ballet training at the Arnhem Conservatory until 1944 when the war destroyed the family’s home and the Conservatory. Audrey was so malnourished during the winter that followed that she was never strong enough to fulfill her ambition of becoming a prima ballerina but she did secretly dance to raise money for the Dutch resistance – “the best audience I ever had made not a single sound at the end of my performances.”

Stardom beckoned in a post-war world and Hepburn appeared in her first film role in 1948 before starting to film the famous Roman Holiday in 1951. From there, and the subsequent Oscar, Audrey Hepburn become a global superstar and this brilliant exhibition follows every moment of her life. It’s enchanting and intriguing and altogether inspirational.

We all know Audrey Hepburn as the beautiful star of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Funny Face and My Fair Lady among many many others, it’s perhaps her humanitarian work that is as much a part of her legacy as anything she filmed over the years. As a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, Hepburn travelled extensively and often admitted that the work affected her deeply. “I have a broken heart,” she once said. “I feel desperate… I want people to know that the largest part of humanity is suffering.”

It is perhaps the range of images and artifacts on show that make this such a captivating exhibition. The beautiful red-carpet images, the jaw-dropping fashion photographs, the humanitarian stories that tug on your heart strings and that face, the intelligent, delightful, caring, serious face of one of the most amazing women of the twentieth century that you just can’t ignore. Audrey Hepburn was unique and the National Portrait Gallery displays that to perfection.

As Audrey herself would say, the happiest girls are the prettiest girls, so prepare to be beautiful because this exhibition is guaranteed to make your soul sing with joy.

Audrey Hepburn – Portraits Of An Icon runs until 18^th October at the National Portrait Gallery in London. You can buy your tickets online and I really recommend that you book in advance for this super popular exhibition. A series of lectures, workshops and screenings of some of Audrey Hepburn’s most famous films accompanies the exhibitions so again; check the details and book online.

Credits: All from National Portrait Gallery, as per notices on the images themselves.

Hello lovely readers, its great to be back and I am so excited to let you know about some new styling services that I am offering on my blog that you can take advantage of. However I have to clear a few things up first!

When most people think of stylists, they think of two things; a personal stylist that goes through your wardrobe and tells you what colours and styles work for your shape and shade and takes you on a shopping spree to make amends. Otherwise its the celebrity stylist that picks out designer clothes for their clients to wear at red carpet events.

Well I am neither of those as I tend to work as an editorial and brand stylist. In a nutshell as an editorial stylist I work on photo shoots for magazines and music videos where I am in charge of the clothing, accessories and the general look of the models and the location. I sometimes have a say on the team (i.e. hair and make up artist) I would be working with but once the concept for the shoot is finalised I pull together all the clothes and items for the shoot choosing the items the model will be wearing on the day and arranging them on the model as the photographs get taken.

I work with PRs, designers and brands and have also taken on the responsiblities of an art director, where I’ve had to choose and direct the theme of the photo shoot and as a result, direct the entire team.

As for brand styling I essentially work with brands to showcase their items in the best possible way. This means I get involved with a collection at the end once most of the garments have been designed and help to tie them together for a shoot. Essentially helping to create great imagery for the business to use for promotion.

I love what I do and I wanted to create the opportunity to work with you  my lovely readers whether you are a business or would like to have a make over and benefit from a stylist like me. Thats why I have created three new services.

The first is all about props. As you may know having a theme, whether its  colour related or a style when you are planning a wedding or organising an event helps to pull lots of elements together. So if you are after props and other special items – I’m your girl. For me its not about having my own stock but its about knowing the best places to go and source and provide them for you to make your special event extra special.  Take a look here for a little more information.

The second, if you have a milestone event or birthday coming up and want to show yourself in all your glory as well as having great images to boot why not let me and my team make you over. Take a look here.

And finally if you are a small or established business that would benefit from a new look book to show off your designs and would like some great editorial images of your brand to promote your business come and have a chat with me. Take a look at the service here and examples of my work here.

Well thats it, I hope you feel inspired to get in touch and I look forward to hearing from you very soon.

Credit: Inslee Haynes

For those of you who are in the UK, Mother’s Day is just around the corner. If you still are on the look out for something different from the norm for your mother or that very special person in your life, why not head to Etsy for a great variety of gifts.

Have a fabulous Mothering Sunday x

Credit: BeCreative

Hello lovely readers, this is just a quick post to let you know that I have finally succumbed and you can now find me on Instagram. Oh boy!!

While I get to grips with it, what you’ll see will be pictures from the blog reminding you I have a new blog post up, probably what I am up to work wise and anything work related stuff that I think will inspire you.

I’ll be frank, Instagram for me is something I’ll have to work on, so don’t expect to see images coming out of my ears. But I can say that this will be another way you can get to know me, leave a comment and make me feel like there is someone out there, listening (smile).

Just to remind you who I am, the face behind this blog –  here is my mug shot taken by the lovely Eddie Judd. You will be pleased to know that despite this being a fashion and red carpet blog you won’t be seeing images like this of me on Instagram but I thought I would put them up to let you know that this fun, loving person behind this blog would love to hear from you so follow me at Pierre Carr here and lets build a relationship.

Credits: keepcalmomatic.co.uk, Eddie Judd Photography

This week I was all set to do a review of New York Bridal Market, the bi-annual trade event where brands showcase their new collections to buyers. However I discovered that a children’s fashion shoot I styled and art directed in August 2014 was being featured in Junior Magazine (a family lifestyle website which features glorious children’s fashion), and I couldn’t resist sharing some images and discussing my creative process with you.

Deciding to do a children’s shoot has always been a passion of mine partly because I have a little one of my own and enjoy the endless dressing up options a little one brings. But more importantly the fun, creative process you can have styling and art directing children. So when the opportunity arose to do both and work with one of my favourite children photographer’s Eddie Judd I jumped at the chance.

For me as a stylist and art director, the creative process always starts with a concept and I remember seeing this gorgeous editorial image above from Vogue Paris for their Children’s supplement issue and got inspired by the Swiss Alps backdrop and the adventurous fun of the shoot. I then set about putting together a moodboard that depicted the mood I wanted to create. 

With fun and adventure as my inspiration above it was then a case of finding a gorgeous open space that would give me the feel of the Swiss Alps even though I was based in London, England. Luckily I do not live far from the countryside in Surrey and was able to find some great locations. I decided on Box Hill featured below which is renowned for its great scenic views and history.

With location and inspiration in tow it was now about finding the right models and designers. I’m pleased to say I had four stunners (below) provided by some lovely yummy mummies who were quite prepared to loan me their children on an extremely wet August afternoon to create some of the gorgeous images below along with finding designers who were willing to provide me with their AW14 collections to feature.

If you like the outfits that the models are wearing you will find from top left to right the Alice dress from Tails and Tales, Dolce and Gabbana black wool dress and cream collar shirt from Childsplay Clothing.  On the bottom Greca jumper and shorts from La Coqueta, with the two Orion dress from Miller and pink recorder from Monsoon.

Full details and more images of the shoot can be found on Junior Magazine here and and I look forward to sharing more of my shoots and the creative process with you very soon.

Credits: Benoit Peverelli, Frosted Productions.com, Eddie Judd Photography

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