Zoë Boomer

Zoë Boomer created the Zoë Boomer label in April 2006, when a boutique in Ireland requested to see Zoe’s collection for their shop.  Zoë had two weeks to design and make a mini collection to show them and thankfully for her they bought every item.  She then spent the the next year making collections and one off pieces for the boutique and then the label started to progress and expand. Zoë had moved to London in 2002 to pursue her love of Fashion and Design and now creates her collections from her studio in Putney. During her degree course at the London College of Fashion, Zoë represented the UK at the International Student Design Awards 2004.

Zoe Boomer - Up and Coming Designer

Inspiration & Ethos

It was in art college that Zoë realised she had a flare for designing. Having always loved fashion, she excelled in every fashion project she worked upon and got accepted into London College of Fashion. After graduating Zoë got a job as a stylist assistant, for a top London stylist, styling for London and New York based fashion publications, working at London Fashion Week and styling for Natasha Bedingfield (now a dedicated fan of the Zoë Boomer label).

Zoë’s ethos is clear “I design for women who love fashion, are stylish, who appreciate fabric and quality. The label is known for its simplicity, and stable pieces that don’t date. For me inspiration comes often when I don’t expect it, generally I don’t always have a theme in mind – which probably goes against designers rules but it seems to progress and turn into a theme”.

Zoë designs garments she loves to wear; clothes that combine simplicity, style and luxury and transform effortlessly from daytime urban chic to sassy evening glamour. Sourcing fabrics from Italy and France, picking shades and textures she likes and then playing with them, draping them, to see how they hang which then leads to a design starting point.  Zoë explains that she finds inspiration from everywhere she might be, such as reading a magazine and an image jumps out, or in a shop. “Recently I was in Croatia for a holiday and my husband and I were sitting having a coffee in Dabrovinik old town, watching people walk past us and the buildings really inspired me”.

The Collections

Zoë uses the best silks and silk-chiffons to create collections that bring together romance, opulence and elegance but with unstructured minimalism. Zoë’s work is perfect for those looking to emulate unpretentious glamour but want to feel beautiful in amazing clothing made of luxurious fabrics. Her collections feature chic daywear all the way through to elegant evening attire.

Spring/Summer 2010

Day Dresses

Candy Maxi Dress – hitting the spot for this massive summer trend, the Candy Maxi dress combines hot summer prints with great length to give you an outfit that can take you from the beach to a garden party simply by teaming with great accessories.

Candy Maxi Dress, by Zoe Boomer

Leani Mini Dress – hit the pastels and soft tailoring trend this summer with this sublime double lined length pale blue silk dress. Perfect for summer weddings, cocktail parties or a night in the hip new bar in town.

Leani Mini Dress, by Zoe Boomer

This is one of Zoë’s favourites “they are stunning on and fit so well. I have yet to see it not look good on someone”.

Tops

Snow Drop navy, silk Halter neck – perfect to team with skinny jeans and some pale gold wedges for a structured but flowing, put together look.

Snow Drop Halter, by Zoe Boomer

Leani pearl white silk top – this is a great top to wear with some cigarette trousers or a grey pencil skirt – a sleek look for the office.

Leani White Silk Top, by Zoe Boomer

Evening Dresses

Stun the crowd with these gorgeous, simple but elegant edgy evening dresses

The Lucy Dress with swarovski crystals: Chiffon and swarovski crystal floor length strapless dress. Simply gorgeous, this flowing material will make you feel elegant and sophisticated.

The Lucy Strapless Dress, by Zoe Boomer

Lucy - Strapless silk chiffon dress.  Silk chiffon strapless floor length dress. Beautiful with long hanging necklaces or a Zoë Boomer vintage belt around the waist. It’s a WOW dress!

Lucy Floor length dress, by Zoe Boomer

A select number of pieces from the label can be bought in the boutique at www.zoeboomer.com and a full list of stockists can be found here.

Recently actress Laura Michelle Kelly (Sweeney Todd & Speed of the Plough with Kevin Spacey) donned ZB dresses at press calls and VIP events. The label is working tirelessly to make its mark on the international fashion scene with agents in London, Ireland, Vancouver and LA. The entire collection is hand stitched in Ireland, London & Liverpool and Zoë herself keeps a close eye on all aspects of production personally approving every single garment created.

Lady M Presents discussed with Zoë how she goes about developing a collection;

“Every collection needs a certain amount of tops, dresses, jackets etc. This helps to put the collection together and helps to narrow things down as sometimes I might have lots of ideas for tops, but need more dresses so I will either stop designing the tops or see how I can turn the concept into the dress. Sometime the designs won’t work in production and if I don’t like them when their being made up as a sample, I will cut them. The easiest way to decide what is featured is seeing how it sits with the rest of the collection. If something doesn’t go or you can’t wear it with anything else in the collection, it will be cut.

Predicting trends for me is a natural instinct which I guess as a designer, it is in your nature to think ahead. As we work a year ahead, you get very tired of what is out currently and start to think of something different. What is going on in society, movies, music all shape trends. When the war in Iraq first started there was a lot of military influences in collections. Also a very basic way of predicting is at present Maxi dresses are huge but next year they won’t be, hem lines for next summer will start to rise again.”

Whats the most rewarding part of your work? What is your greatest accomplishment so far?

“There are two parts of the job I find very rewarding, firstly when I go into a shop and see my clothes being sold beside some great labels that I love. I always get so excited and have a silent proud moment. The other is seeing my collection on the catwalk or on images after a photo shoot. It is so exciting seeing an idea in you’re head and then become real for everyone to see.

My greatest accomplishment I think this year anyway was being selected for the British Designer Collective Shop in Bicester village. It was such an honour to have my clothes sit beside labels such as Julien McDonald,  Todd Lynn, Emma Cook and my picture making it onto the Vogue website, that might not seem like that exciting but as a student in fashion I used to say one day I will make it into Vogue and to have my picture in it for me was a special moment.”

What’s next for Zoë Boomer?

There a lot of things in the pipeline for this up and coming label, Zoe Boomer will be a lot more accessible for everyone in the UK and will be in a lot more boutiques in London very soon. There are some exciting Zoe Boomer fashion videos that will be released throughout the year. Available to view on the website soon is the latest one, filmed at the Sex and the City 2 premiere.

We await the Zoë Boomer Autumn/Winter 10 Collection with eager anticipation. Zoë herself is very excited about it, “there are two garments I am so excited by and can’t wait to wear them. They are the Lu Lu Jacket and Feather grey cardigan – I know I’m going to wear these ALOT!”.

Zoë Boomer –  combining naked simplicity and purity of form with opulence and style.

In the world of fashion where online purchases “have increased by a massive 461% over the past 5 years alone” (Latest research from MINTEL Oxygen), having a captivating, strong fashion focused website is a must.

Tara Lacey

Tara Lacey Online Boutique was founded by Tara Cowland, who is passionate about women using fashion and style to make themselves feel great.  Tara Lacey’s aim is to be the home of “online luxury fashion, selling an array of women’s brands both new and established, from all over the world. We specialise in beautifully designed clothing, stunning accessories, stand-out swimwear and statement jewellery”. The online boutique is created for women of all ages who do not want mass produced clothes but also don’t want to ruin their bank balance trying to find them.

www.taralacey.com

“The feeling you get when you dress in something new, I want our customers to feel that sensation even on the fourth time of wearing it.”

Nowadays with so many cheap collections in high street stores and online discount sites, it is difficult not to get immersed in the world of ‘throwaway fashion’. But it is important to invest in key, unique pieces that may be more expensive but will still be stylish and in a great condition seasons later.

The History of www.taralacey.com

The Tara Lacey online boutique came about when Tara was studying Fashion Promotion at the London College of Fashion. It was then that Tara realised her passion for retail buying, and with inspiration from the success of companies such as Net-A-Porter and ASOS, Tara knew she wanted her own business and to be selling brands from around the world. Tara quickly realised that there was “a market for women who do not want to wear the same clothes as everyone else and do not always look at the label”. Online boutiques have become very important in the fashion world, Tara describes them as “a unique haven, that offers a capsule collection, I love that the owners always know their customers well. If you find a boutique you love. You know you will always love.”

In order to source the very best brands, Tara visits various trade shows in London, Paris and Barcelona, “looking for brands that not only appeal to me but I can picture other women liking. Firstly I look for design – I like clothes that you can wear over and over, so quality is very important. I tend not to go for well know brands as there are sites that offer them, but if I really like some pieces I will include them.”

Brands featured on the site include the ever fabulous Darling, Pink Label London and Nicola de Main.

The Collections

Popular brands on the website include Tavan & Mitto, Nocturne and Aguaclara for bikini’s, but mainly people go online to purchase dresses from the fabulous range that Tara Lacey stock. There is a great range of dresses, tops for the office or for an evening event to team with trousers and skirts. Also a remarkable array of jumpsuits, knitwear, jackets and swimwear, everything you could need for your summer wardrobe or that capsule holiday collection, all in one place. The website also features exquisite jewellery from Fiona Paxton as well as bags from Sam Ubhi and Lillifi.

Key Pieces for S/S 10

Nocture Snakesking Jumpsuit – 100% silk, harem pants jumpsuit offering an alternative to the regular jumpsuits as this design is ruched in all the right places. Team with killer heels for a night out on the town or with embellished flat sandals for a relaxed lunch at your summer hideaway.

Nocturne Snakeskin Jumpsuit

2Love Tony Cohen Caramel cotton shirt dress - perfect for the day into night transition – think Ibiza pool party, chilled out bbq in the country or simply something light and relaxed for a day shopping with the girls. Accessorise with black french pumps and a giant shoulder bag or maxi clutch and you have a bang on trend outfit.

2Love Tony Cohen Caramel cotton shirt dress

Utility Chic from Bllack Noir - Bllack Noir make style effortless. Favourite pieces featured include Bllack Noir Jersey top with leather belt and Bllack Noir Silver studded jersey top, which is a modern twist on this season’s sequins and sparkle.

Utility Chic from Bllack Noir

Tara Cowland’s Favourite’s:

“From my collection I have a few favourites, Juliette Offenbach – who creates great dresses she has a great eye and all her dresses fit the female body perfectly and Tavãn & Mitto – the Canadian duo whose designs are classic, tailored and flattering.”

Tavãn & Mitto Sand Loose Fitting Dress hits the pastels/nude trend perfectly. Its gorgeous, sumptuous fit is a contemporary twist on the safari trend and is the ultimate day dress.

Whilst Pink Label London’s black sequin dress hits all the right notes for the summer party season and is a stunning, more sophisticated way to wear sequins.

Pink Label London Black Sequin Dress & Tavãn & Mitto Sand Lose Fitting Dress

Tara’s big tip for Autumn/Winter collections this year is Leather, “I think its going to be a bit more gothic but sexy”.

Tara Lacey has been nominated for best online boutique at the Sheer Luxe awards, you can vote for them here

At the time of going to press an online sale is occurring at www.taralacey.com and keep your eyes on the competitions page for some great offers.