On Wednesday evening I was lucky enough to attend the
Grazia event in
Harrods new
Fashion Lab. Stepping off the escalator & into the monochrome chic room of wall-to-wall fashion, the huge new department certainly makes a big visual impact. We were promptly handed a glass of champagne & a welcome pack to explain the evening.
The people from
Black Score were in attendance & providing guests with their amazing signature illustrations in the form of temporary tattoos.
Having already eyed up the new Cara Delevingne illustration on a T-Shirt I went for the tattoo equivalent. I may have got a few raised eyebrows in the gym the next day, but I love the simple style of the fashion line drawing!
The girls both went for the Black Score makeover on My Little Pony.
In the welcome pack we each received a four digit code that was used to try & unlock the padlocks of six caged designer gems. I'd actually spied this beautiful Victoria Beckham jacket on a previous visit to the department & was a little bit excited to see if my code would set it free. Sadly not, but if it goes into the sale I may have to buy it as a Christmas present to myself...
Harrods waiters were constantly circling, handing out treats from each brand. These Ted Baker macarons went down very well amongst us all.
Our next stop was the
Bumble & Bumble pop up salon, we got a mini hair makeover & a bag full of samples to try from the makers of the cult product- Surf Spray.
A quick mirror selfie with our tattoos & newly styled hair.
One of the many items I fell in love with on the night, was this
Karen Millen leather jacket, the oversized faux-fur collar works some serious luxe factor into a what is such a staple, classic black biker. They also had some gorgeous dresses for the party season on display. I have my eye on
this colour-blocked velvet dress & also
this floor-length number.
After sipping some mid-week champagne, the
INVO coconut water stand was a welcome (healthier) discovery. I was given a couple to take home which made a lovely pre-workout treat the next day. I'm so impressed with this coconut water- it tastes fantastic, really fresh with a subtle nutty flavour. If you haven't liked coconut water so far, I recommend giving INVO a try as it tastes quite different to other brands I've come across. On a side-note the packaging is lovely too, completely hand-illustrated giving a natural beachy feel to the bottles.
After spending a couple of hours looking round the shiny new Fashion Lab, it really does live up to expectations. If you're are looking for a step-up from the high-street without going high-fashion (& high-spending) then you will find all the best contemporary labels here, fabulously stationed just meters apart.
To name just a few; The Kooples, Ted Baker, Zadig & Voltaire, Wildfox, J Brand, Pinko, Joseph & Whistles.
So amongst the capsule edit of ball gowns & crystal encrusted shoes, expect to find grungy leather biker jackets, perfect skinny jeans & ankle boots.
The atmosphere itself is very conducive to a happy shopping experience, the layout (being over 30 000 square feet) is very spacious & minimalistic, creating a contemporary, luxurious environment reflected in the style of clothes on offer.
There is even a very sleek new
Salad Kitchen discreetly nestled amongst all the fashion if you fancy a healthy pit stop.
Finally it was time to say goodnight, collect our bulging goody bags & head home.
Thank you for a lovely evening Grazia & Fashion Lab.
Harriet x
*all photos taken by me except the photo of the gold Karen Millen shoes which is the property of Josie at Fashion Mumblr & the #fashionlab T-shirt which was taken by Grazia UK.
