Marithé + François Girbaud & Gerry Weber press day at the Soho Hotel

On 30^th April 2013 The Upcoming’s dynamic duo Elizabeth Finney and Alex White spent the afternoon in room 211 of the super luxurious Soho Hotel checking out some gorgeous new ’13/’14 designer collections and getting spoiled with celebrity treatments.

The new collections from leading French brand Marithé + François Girbaud have all been created with ecological and economical solutions in mind. Their new ACTLIVE collection blew us away with its level of versatility. Each jacket could be worn in a variety of ways depending on the weather or occasion. We saw an abundance of reversible pieces, detachable hoods, tailored pull-straps, rucksack- style straps if you get too hot and even a varsity jacket that could be worn upside down! Following in the vein of their aim, they have treated all the denim pieces in the jean collection with lasers, rather than the 200 litres of water normally required for this process. In addition to this, one piece that really impressed us was the Tent Gent Ciel (our overly-English pronunciations went down a storm at this point) which initially acts as a classic cut trench with a twist. However, it can be unzipped and turned into a gorgeous bomber jacket! Their work is practical, waterproof for the most part and extremely stylish, all whilst being very affordable.

From the Gerry Weber and Taifun collections we saw lots of prints and a strong trend of mixing them within one look. We saw wild fur prints but also discovered a few pieces with poodles, panthers or foxes trotting across the material. One favourite from this category was a particularly high street poodle jumper, pictured below. Simple and preppy – delicious! Aside from all our furry friends there was a great deal of very sultry and symmetrical prints, reminiscent of some sixties trends. We fell in love with the printed jacket & trouser sets as well as this BEAUTIFUL two-toned leather jacket from the Taifun collection. The Gerry Weber hand bag collection featured classic designs in modest colours and luxurious materials. Our favourite was the black and tan leather piece with a small decorative tassel! Finally, we were blessed to catch a glimpse of the new Gerry Weber jewellery pieces, which feature an array of simple yet stunning designs littered with teardrop pearls and sparkles.

Aside from the glorious array of clothing and accessories on show, we were treated to a facial from Beautopia UK and a manicure from Blossom & Jasmine. We were advised on how best to care for our body so that we can remain youthful and at our physical peak. I spoke with Anna Tsankova and Dr Uliana Gout about Beautopia, which is an innovative company that can bring a spa experience to your home. They offer a range of treatments, from massages and facials to non-surgical medical treatments. Anna explained that the company took a “bespoke approach” to these treatment plans, and that they help clients achieve a well-rounded plan, looking at diet, lifestyle, supplements, products and – if required – injectables. They use natural and organic ingredients, focusing on “the skin as an organ, not just a face”. The facial was absolutely incredible, so we can highly recommend the magical touch of Beautopia!

All in all we had a cracking afternoon, spent with lovely people, surrounded by beautiful collections and treated to impeccable products, in an extremely suave venue. Many thanks to the organisers and the best of luck to all the companies involved!

Elizabeth Finney

For more on Gerry Weber and Taifun, click here.

To check out the latest collections from Marithe + Francois Girbaud, head over here.

For more information on those scrummy spa treatments, head over here and here. Enjoy!