Caroline Issa's early summer essentials
As the UK finally starts heating up, I’m prepared for the new season of baring flesh, seeking shade and getting comfortable for long walks in the parks. Luckily there's a plethora of new brands and products coming into stores just in time for that long-weekend ice-cream break.
Fern Fans
Fashion PR Daisy Hoppen and Spanish textile-designer Amanda Borberg have decided to bring the humble fan into the fashionable spotlight. When paired with your favourite sunglasses, their beautifully shaded fans offer an air of mystery while practically cooling you off.
Crafted from birch wood and textured cotton using a selection of printing techniques, the fans come in three sizes, either boldly graphic or in pastel spring hues. I’d recommend going for the largest of them all. If it's good enough for Karl Lagerfeld... fernfans.com
The season's best new footwear
Alvaro Gonzalez has opened up his first boutique in the heart of Marylebone, a small treasure box of ceramics, antique Italian cabinets and most importantly, his Italian-made leather sandals paired with raffia, rainbow-coloured feathers and fun mini-pompoms (also available at matchesfashion.com).
Equally airy and alluring are espadrilles. My new favourites are beautiful, 100 per cent Hemp sandals from Ball-Pagès, a French brand whose name is familiar to any Ibiza devotee. Lastly, new satin and velvet slippers from Le Monde Beryl, a label founded in 2015 by friends Lily Atherton Hanbury and Katya Shyfrin who reworked the velvet Venetian slipper into a constructed, leather-soled shoe.
The statement spring t-shirt
Maria Grazia Chiuri’s "We should all be Feminists" t-shirts from her inaugural Dior collection kicked off fashion with a message for 2017, and Prabal Gurung’s autumn/winter 2017 show followed suit, acknowledging her (and Katharine Hamnett’s original) statement tees with subsequent slogans such as “This is what a feminist looks like” and “Femininity with a bite”. Needless to say, the t-shirts were an instant hit and Gurung has made them immediately available to buy on his own website and Selfridges. Keep cool while being on message.
