The long-awaited August Bank Holiday weekend is here, and though I’ve no doubt you’re all super-excited to have an extra day in the weekend, if you haven’t yet worked out what you’re going to do with it there are a number of exhibitions taking places across the capital that are definitely worth a visit.

• Until 5th September: Maison Martin Margiela ’20′ The Exhibition, Somerset House, Strand WC2 Take advantage of the long weekend to see this major exhibition in its last week, and marvel at the influence of the fashion house headed up by the unquestionably talented avant-garde designer Martin Margiela.  Featuring photographs, film and installation alongside garments, this is one not to miss.  Book online: somersethouse.org.uk
• Until 22nd September: Vivienne Westwood Shoes: An Exhibition, Ultralounge, Selfridges, Oxford Street W1 Five decades of footwear designs from Vivienne Westwood are brought together in this unique exhibition at Selfridges, including the Pirate Boots that caused an eBay frenzy when Kate Moss revived them in the Noughties, and the infamous Super Elevated Gillie that caused Naomi Campbell to take a tumble on the catwalk.  Free.  selfridges.com
• Until 26th September: Grace Kelly: Style Icon, Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road SW7 A chance to see some of the dresses and other items, including Van Cleef and Arpels jewels, that made up the enviable wardrobe of silver screen star, and later Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly.  This exhibition is extremely popular, so book tickets in advance at vam.ac.uk
• Until 24th October: Horrockses Fashions: Off The Peg Style In The ’40s and ’50s, Fashion and Textile Museum, 83 Bermondsey Street, SE1 For those fascinated by the roots of mass-produced fashion, this exhibition is a must.  Horrockses produced high-quality, couture-influenced designs in large quantities yet still maintained an air of exclusivity – much like our ‘designer’ brands today. ftmlondon.org
• Until January 2011:  Fashion Fantasies: fashion plates and fashion satire, 1775-1925, Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, SW7 In the days before Mario Testino and Patrick Demarchelier fashion was illustrated rather than photographed, but, like ‘Worst Dressed’ lists now, was still subject to ridicule.  This exhibition brings together illustrations and satires from 150 years of changing trends. Free. vam.ac.uk
• Until 2012:  Enchanted Palace, Kensington Palace, Kensington Gardens, W8 An extraordinary exhibition combining the contemporary designs of such fashion stars as Vivienne Westwood and William Tempest with the magnificent surroundings of the State Apartments in a modern interpretation of the Palace’s history.  Discover the stories of the seven princesses through art and performance.  Book online: hrp.org.uk

There are few things as iconic as Dr Martens boots (they made it into Selfridges Forever Shop, after all), and over the Bank Holiday weekend you can pick up a pair for less at the Summer Warehouse Sale!

Taking place in the equally iconic location of Spitalfields Market, the sale will be held over four days, from 27th to 30th August, and will be open from 10am to 6pm every day.

Get yourself down there and snap up a bargain quick-sharp – classics like these won’t be around for long!

Dr Martens Summer Warehouse Sale, Unit SP1F, Spitalfields Market E1 6AA

Just a quick reminder that there are a couple of exciting things happening in the vicinity of Oxford Street and Regent Street today:  firstly, the Regent Street French Connection store opens its Frock Swap pop-up shop today.  Remember when we told you about the charity swapping event whereby you’d get £10 off a new French Connection frock if you took an old one to your nearest store?  Well, all those swapped dressses have been gathered at the Regent Street store and are now for sale at a tiny £10 each!  Amongst them are dresses donated by Cat Deeley, Holly Willoughby and some other famous names, so make sure you get down there as soon as possible to snap up your favourite.  And just in case you’d forgotten in the excitement, it’s all for charity too, and good causes Magic Bus and Kids Company will benefit from the event.

A brisk walk along Oxford Street to Selfridges will bring you to the second event opening today: an awe-inspiring exhibition of Vivienne Westwood’s shoes in the department store’s Ultralounge (lower ground floor).  Brought together in one place are some of the most famous shoes in history from five decades of designing by the Grand Dame of British punk style.  We’ll certianly be there to check it out!

Next month looks to be a busy one for fashion fans in London: not only is it London Fashion Week, but there are also lots of sample sales, vintage fairs and other events, not to mention Vogue’s Fashion’s Night Out which is set to  be bigger and better than last year’s inaugural event.  Listed below is a preview of what to expect, but as always we’ll be digging around for more details and more events, so save up your pennies and make space in your diary!

Sample Sales

• Thursday 2nd September – Sunday 5th September: Secret Sample Sale, Truman Brewery, Brick Lane; Entry £1 Expect to see a mix of fantastic labels such as Cavalli and Westwood and lesser-known names at up to 80% off.
• Thursday 9th September – Sunday 12th September:  Orla Kiely Sample Sale, Chelsea Old Town Hall; Entry £1 (for charity) Fans of Orla Kiely’s retro geometric prints can snap up a bargain – past sales have seen clothing, bags and accessories reduced by 70% or more.
• Friday 17th September to Sunday 19th September:  Women’s Designer Warehouse Sale, Islington Studios, N7; Entry £2 A legend amongst in-the-know Londoners, the Designer Warehouse Sale offers more than 180 brands reduced by at least 60%.
• Friday 17th to Saturday 18th September:  Rupert Sanderson Sample Sale, The Music Rooms, South Molton Lane Add to your shoe collection with Rupert Sanderson’s beautifully crafted heels at 60% to 80% off.
• Thursday 23rd September to Friday 24th September:  Margaret Howell Sample Sale, The Music Rooms, South Molton Lane Indulge in some of Margaret Howell’s impeccable tailoring at up to 80% off.  Also includes menswear, home and fabrics.
• Thursday 23rd September to Sunday 26th September:  London Fashion Weekend, Somerset House Now a regular fixture on the calendar after London Fashion Week, there are always some bargains to be had at up to 70% off – this year it has attracted names like Twenty8Twelve, Donna Ida and Angel Jackson.

Vintage Fairs

• Every Saturday:  Cabbages and Frocks, St Marylebone Parish Church, Marylebone High Street A regular market where you can find everything from high-end vintage to a gourmet lunch
• Saturday 4th September: Jumble and Pearls, The Horatia, Holloway Road Possibly the most fun you’ll ever have rummaging for a bargain, Jumble and Pearls is half party (with resident DJ) and half vintage and designer shopping.
• Sunday 12th September: Vintage Fashion Fair, Primrose Hill; Entry £3 A wide selection of vintage clothing and accessories from the 1800s to 1980s is always available at this regularly held fair.
• Sunday 12th September:  London Vintage Fashion, Textiles and Accessories Fair, Hammersmith Town Hall; Entry £10 before 10am, £5 after A huge fair that has been feeding the capital’s craving for vintage for more than 10 years.
• Sunday 19th September:  Frock Me!, Chelsea Old Town Hall Worth popping along to just for the fabulous tea room, Frock Me! is another long-running fair that Kylie has been known to pop along to.
• Sunday 26th September:  Clerkenwell Vintage Fashion Fair, The Urdang, The Old Finsbury Town Hall; Entry £4 Not only can you pick up a beautiful piece of vintage clothing here, you can also have it altered to your taste at the on-site Alteration Booth.

Openings, Launches and Other Events

• Wednesday 8th September:  Vogue’s Fashion’s Night Out Following on from last year’s successful event, FNO will consist of hundreds of events across London, with many brands offering one-night-only discounts and in-store entertainment, all in the name of shopping.  A fashionista’s dream come true.
• Wednesday 8th September:  Launch of Browns Shop 24, South Molton Street To coincide with FNO, Browns opens its newest concept store, bringing together timeless pieces from the labels for whom classics are signature pieces – a one-stop-shop for the perfect wardrobe.
• Wednesday 8th September:  John Lewis Oxford Street relaunches its Womenswear floor Also joining the FNO party, John Lewis opens its revamped fashion floor with limited-edition pieces designed by the likes of Osman, Philip Treacy, William Tempest, Terry de Havilland and Alex Monroe.
• Friday 17th September to Wednesday 22nd September:  London Fashion Week, Somerset House Unless you’re lucky enough to have bagged show invitations, you’ll just have to do like the rest of us and loiter outside Somerset House for a glimpse of the impossibly stylish people that make the fashion world go round.
• Saturday 18th September to Sunday 26th September:  London Design Festival Celebrating design of all kinds, this festival is comprised of over 200 events in various locations across the capital, including several fashion-oriented events.
• Thursday 23rd September to Wednesday 29th September:  Origin London Craft Fair, Old Spitalfields Market Pick up a unique piece of jewellery or fashion accessory at this fair which celebrates craftsmanship in the UK and beyond, and gives you a chance to meet the people who make your purchases.

We’ll also be publishing a round-up of all the fashion-related exhibitions that are opening, closing or continuing throughout September and updating you on all the news and views as we get them, so check back soon!

Growing up, Benetton was somewhere people went for brightly-coloured sweaters, but as I got older I kind of dismissed it as a fashion destination.  However, it looks like I should go and give them a second chance, as the Benetton flagship store at Oxford Circus is due to relaunch this afternoon with a makeover and a whole load of fun and games for shoppers to participate in.

If you’re over 15, you can be dressed by the stylists and pose for a Benetton ad-style shoot which will then be featured on Benetton’s website and Facebook page.  There will also be the opportunity to meet the two UK winners of Benetton’s ‘It’s My Time’ competition, where ordinary people were given the chance to star in a Benetton campaign shot by the legendary Josh Olins – I say ordinary, but they all look like models to me!

If that’s not enough, you can shop exclusive promotions on must-haves whilst enjoying aperitifs and an in-store DJ AND the first 300 customers will receive a special goodie bag with their purchase – now if that’s not a reason to be forming an orderly queue, we don’t know what is …

Whilst I’m sure the brightly-coloured sweaters will be in there somewhere, there are some seriously hot pieces floating around in the autumn/winter lookbook and ad campaigns – I am particularly coveting the suede mid-heel hiking boots, which are surely the perfect everyday stomping-around-town shoe for people like me with an allergy to flats.  There are also some fabulous leather pieces, tailoring, prints, accessories and some super-cute Fairisle-type knits which are perfect for the snow-bunny look as seen on the D&G catwalk.  Looks like it’s definitely time to give Benetton another chance!

The official re-launch event is open from 4pm to 8pm today at the Oxford Circus Benetton store.  Enjoy!

Benetton, 255/259 Oxford Street, London W1B 2ER

A gown from Matthew Williamson's Autumn 2010 collection

We’ve been quiet for a while, and we’re sorry if you’ve been rocking in a dark corner somewhere without your sample sale fix!  But to make it all better, here’s a peace offering:  the Matthew Williamson sample sale starts at noon today!

Shimmy on over to Westbourne Grove to pick up past-season pieces from the ready-to-wear, beachwear and accessories lines at up to 70% off.  Find Williamson’s signature embellished and kaleidoscope-printed gowns and draped minidresses at a tiny fraction of their original price, and if you’re heading off to the closing parties in Ibiza soon, you’ll definitely be wanting some super-glam swimwear, so why not head over to grab a beach-ready bargain?

The sale opens at 12pm today until 7pm this evening, and is also open from 10am to 7pm tomorrow.   There will be a £1 entry fee but, as we’d expect of one of our fave Brit designers, the proceeds will all go to charity!

Matthew Williamson Sample Sale, 20th Century Theatre, 291 Westbourne Grove, London W11 2QH

The Desiree dress from Minna's AW09 collection

Three London-based eco-concious labels are joining forces for a fabulous sample sale starting this afternoon.  For a seriously chic dose of upcycled, recycled and ethically-sound shopping, head on over to the Goodone studio in N1 between 4pm and 10pm for huge discounts on past season stock and samples, as well as up to 50% off the retail price on personal orders of Goodone’s new autumn/winter collection.

Goodone do amazing things with waste fabric and leftover product, as well as upcycling discarded t-shirts and the like.  Check out the video on the About section of their website for a visual explanation of their mission, and a few scary truths about the waste created by the fashion industry and its consumers: if that doesn’t make you want to buy their sustainable pieces, then a quick look at their past, current and upcoming collections certainly will.  We’re coveting the body-con crochet dress and Aran knit bomber from their Autumn/Winter range (which will be available to order this evening with big discounts).

Minna is another label noted for minimising waste and using ethically-sourced fabrics, and this evening you’ll be able to find their pretty, hand-embellished dresses and blouses at minimal prices too.  Finnish designer Minna Hepburn also creates a range of gorgeous little girl’s clothes and whilst we’re not sure whether they will be on sale this evening, you can buy online at Minna’s website and these pieces are just to cute not to!

Nina Dolcetti is the brainchild of Cordwainers graduate Elisalex do Castro Peake, who designs all her shoes to use offcuts and waste leather as well as eschewing environmentally-unfriendly chrome tanned leathers in favour of ethically-sourced vegetable tanned hides.  Everything about a pair of Nina Dolcetti shoes is carefully considered, with heels constructed of sustainable cork and wood, and recycled leather used for the soles.  And as if that wasn’t enough, every pair is handmade in a small factory right here in London town, so by buying these shoes you’re supporting local industry too!

If you like your fashion with lasting feel-good factor, get on over to Southgate Road, N1 from 4pm this afternoon to snap up some amazing ethical pieces with huge discounts.

Goodone Studio, Studio 1B, 2-4 Southgate Road, London N1 3JJ 

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All above images © Avril Jones

At the heart of the King’s Road, Azendi‘s second central London location is a more relaxed counterpart to its high-gloss sister over at the Westfield centre, so it fits comfortably in amongst the variety of stores to be found in the surrounding family-friendly shopping district.  With a mission statement declaring the brand’s desire to “combine passion with attention to detail, creativity with fine workmanship, and modern design with elegance”, Azendi looks set to win the hearts of the discerning shoppers in the Royal Borough.

Though the name is still fairly new and exciting to Londoners, Azendi is not a brand determined to be the ‘next big thing’.  This, their twentieth store, opens in their twenty-first year of trading: clearly, the company has been built slowly and carefully with the intention of being around for years to come.

That feeling of longevity is, perhaps, key to Azendi’s entire ethos.  The design of the new King’s Road store is neither too modern nor in any way old-fashioned, so no potential customer feels excluded by highly-stylised displays or stuffy, traditional jeweller’s windows.  The grid-like wooden shelving in the windows offers a glimpse at a good cross-section of Azendi’s products, all clearly priced and named, and it’s a refreshingly simple approach to jewellery presentation.  Inside, the clean, elegant theme is continued with well-lit glass cabinets allowing a look at pieces from several angles; warm, neutral decor and an inviting seating area.

The King’s Road Azendi is not as big as the Westfield store, so no space has been wasted but it’s not overcrowded either.  It is uncluttered and easy to move around without feeling as though you’re encroaching on other customers, though there was a small, ever-changing knot of people gathered at the Shaun Leane and Stephen Webster displays on the opening day.  It’s a welcoming environment that is helped no end by the knowledgeable and immaculately presented staff, for whom nothing is too much trouble.  Our motley crew of writer, photographer and mildly-stroppy three-year-old were given every assistance, be it having jewellery brought out of the cabinets to photograph or chocolate to placate an increasingly-disinterested toddler.

Azendi’s own collections are, simply put, contemporary classics.  Specialising in small, intricately crafted gold and silver charms and pendants, and semi-precious stones in simple settings, Azendi offers jewellery with a timeless quality at a price point accessible to everyone.  You won’t buy something from Azendi because it goes with this season’s dress/shoes/bag: you’ll buy something from Azendi because you’ll wear it every day, forever, but you won’t have to remortgage your house for it.  The Forbidden Fruit collection, for example, is finely wrought in solid sterling silver and nine carat gold and prices start at just £35 for a pair of bitten apple stud earrings.

Many pieces have been chosen with an eye to personally-meaningful presents, such as the Birthday Stones and Birthday Flowers collections, and the Blissed bead charms which offer an almost limitless source of gift options if the bracelet or necklace is added to each year.  Individual style is further encouraged in the shape of Azendi’s signature Stacking Rings, which are hand-made to order with your choice of semi-precious stone and band, but cost from only £95.

The King’s Road draws shoppers of all kinds from across the capital and beyond and, apparently mindful of this, Azendi have chosen to present collections from two highly-desirable British jewellers alongside their own.  Shaun Leane’s colourful and delicate enamels and Stephen Webster’s gothic-tinged statement gems offer an interesting contrast to the simplicity of Azendi’s pieces, whilst maintaining the ‘heirloom’ philosophy that permeates every carefully-selected item across the store.  Of course these collections command higher prices, but it’s not often that these high-end designer pieces are found in an environment where one feels utterly at ease asking to have something taken out for a closer look.  There is no white-gloved pretension here, only a pleasing feeling of accessibility, providing an incentive to buy that one can’t … well, buy.

Shaun Leane Cherry Blossom Ring

It is perhaps testament to Azendi’s carefully-crafted reputation that the launch of the King’s Road store was not a flashy, overpublicised affair, but rather a relaxed, low-key opening with champagne and chocolate for customers and 10% off every purchase for the day.  With no fanfare, no balloons, no garish window slogans proclaiming the news, the store soon attracted a number of intrigued shoppers based on, as far as I could tell, a glance in the windows as they walked along the street.  They took their time to look around and engaged with the sales staff (who are all of the friendly-not-pushy type) and for the most part were still there when we left.

The only trouble with Azendi is that once you’ve been, you probably won’t be able to stop yourself going back.  I should know:  I’ve got my next visit planned already …

Azendi, 104 Kings’s Road, London SW3 4TZ.

Emma Cook Sample Sale

We are spoiling you today, aren’t we?!  If it’s not a hot pop up shop or a brand-spanking new jewellery store, it’s the news that one of our favourite British designers, Emma Cook, is having a 2 day sample sale starting tomorrow.

And as if that wasn’t enough to get you excited, wait until you hear the details:  up to 90% off of items including show pieces and one-off samples AND a £15 and under rail – that’s cheaper than some of the pieces in Emma Cook’s recent Topshop collaboration!

Offerings will include archive pieces and Cook’s signature prints, fabrics and shoes, so there’s bound to be a few real gems in there, meaning you’ve got a chance to get your hands on some unique, never-to-be-repeated pieces of fashion history.

We love a kooky print on an easy, breezy silhouette, so don’t be surprised if you find us rifling through the bargain rail next to you!

The sale runs from 6pm to 9pm tomorrow, and on Saturday it will be open from 10am to 4pm.

Emma Cook Sample Sale, Look East Studio, Studio 1, Shacklewell Studios, 18 Shacklewell Lane, London E8 2EZ

Azendi opens 6th August at 104 Kings Road

Sparkly new shop alert!  Contemporary jeweller Azendi is preparing as we speak to fling open the doors of its newest boutique to the public tomorrow at 104 King’s Road.

This is Azendi’s second central London location, and if you’ve visited the store at the Westfield Centre you’ll know they offer an extensive range of women’s jewellery in gold and silver and semi-precious stones.  The new store will also boast pieces by British talents Shaun Leane and Stephen Webster (yes, that Stephen Webster, as beloved of Christina Aguilera, amongst others), making Azendi King’s Road more than simply a jewellery store: it’s a jewellery destination.

Azendi Stacking Rings, from £95

With such an amazing choice of sparkly things, you can be fairly confident that you’ll find something you adore at Azendi.  Having never quite got over our Carrie Bradshaw obsession we’re pretty taken with the nameplate necklaces, and we also love the stacking rings (left) that can be mixed and matched to suit your personal style.

Get yourself along to the store tomorrow for a glass of bubbly and a chat with the designers while you try on your favourite pieces and no doubt leave with one or two new treasures.

And for up-to-the-minute news on the team’s progress today, make sure you follow @KingsRoadAzendi on Twitter!

Azendi, 104 King’s Road, London SW3 4TZ