Hello ELLE Canada readers! It’s been a crazy, fun and productive couple of weeks here in the office with some amazing projects heading your way. Like a day of show and tell, let me fill you in on a new and exciting channel that we are thrilled to unveil.

I’ve been working to bring you a brand new channel called our “Editors Travel Guide.” It’s a new venture for ELLE Canada as editors from ELLE UK, ELLE France, ELLE US and ELLE Italy share the favourite hot spots in their respective cities. From London to Paris and Milan to New York City, the best fashion, beauty and lifestyle addresses are all listed for you in a one-stop shop on ELLECanada.com. Plus, we’ve got the best street style looks and tips and trends to help you look your best in each city.

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Emma Farrow, Topshop design director.

I met up with Topshop design director Emma Farrow at the Topshop show space at the Tate Modern just as she wrapped up a listen-thru of the music before the Fall 2013 show.

On the starting point for the collection: “We wanted to stick with a British theme, so we were looking at our urban heritage—but not really wanting to do country houses and National Trust.  It’s more about that real British girl, like Justine [Frischmann] from the band Elastica—she’s quite a tough girl but she’s really sexy and feminine. We started with her music, but some of the tracks were quite guitary with riffs, and it just didn’t work in the space.”

On the venue and the music: “This space feels like Blade Runner, but the industrial feel works really well for me. And the acoustics are so amazing here, but we were quite conscious that it’s a very monastic, impressive space. With the collection, it was very important that the music be uplifting, so we’ve got a very British theme. And the ’90s are still important so we were looking at the Brit Pop era. We’ve normally had all female vocals at our shows, so that was our brief to begin with, to keep it feminine. But actually, we made the change [the day before the show] to have the Smiths in, so we have these charming male vocals included at the end.” (The show also featured tracks from Brit electronia bands Beats International and Saint Etienne—both have female vocals.)

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It was a mob scene backstage at Burberry when Cara Delevingne was in the makeup chair.

We snagged two (just two!) minutes in the makeup chair with Cara Delevingne—Burberry It girl, London Fashion Week’s hottest model, and model of the year at the 2012 British Fashion Awards.

Delevingne’s top beauty advice for aspiring models:

1. Practise makes perfect. “Get the biggest heels possible and make sure you practise walking in them. A lot. I had to learn that the hard way by being laughed at [laughs].”

2. Take care of your feet. “Buy a foot bath spa thing. That’s always good. And Epsom salts to bathe in at nighttime.”

3. Keep it simple when it comes to skin care. Her go-to item: “Simple face wipes.” On facials?: “I haven’t had time.”

4. Most importantly, always ask for extra mascara. As Burberry Beauty artistic consultant Wendy Rowe finished up Delevingne’s makeup (a subtle, nod to the ’60s with a golden glow—more to come on that in the next post), Delevingne pouted sweetly and pleaded for extra mascara on her bottom lashes. “See, I can’t give special treatment,” Rowe replied with a coy smile before applying a few extra coats to Delevingne’s top lashes. “Oh, that little bit of mascara is all the extra!” Delevingne cooed as she ran off to hair.

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There’s lots of free food to be found at London Fashion Week—if you have time to eat it while running between back-to-back shows.  My first stop was the VIP media lounge at Somerset House, the home of London Fashion Week. It’s a little tricky to find—behind a white wall and velvet rope in the main show space—but once you enter, you feel like you’ve arrived in a cozy, modern forest. There’s a whitewashed fireplace (showcasing a whimsical tree with little birds), a backlit wall of painted trees, and bookcases filled with knickknacks like silver rabbit figurines (I’ve included some photos at the end).

I also munched on the free bags of gourmet popcorn that are constantly being handed out at the main venue—they can’t be avoided. And since it’s “under 100 calories” a bag, the fashion crowd can actually be seen eating it! (Plus, it’s a much yummier choice than the fibre/granola/breakfast bars which have become ubiquitous at NYFW and Toronto Fashion Week…) This bag is a sour cream and chive flavour, but I prefer the sea salt. Still on the lookout for the sweet chili version.

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 Christopher Raeburn, Fall/Winter 2013. All runway photos by Imaxtree.com.

It’s the tiniest fashion show invitation I’ve ever received. For his seventh namesake collection, British designer Christopher Raeburn (who also moonlights as the creative director of Victorinox), sent out thumb-sized bottles (complete with a cork cap). Inside each one was a little rolled piece of fabric with the show details—a true fashion-forward message in a bottle. How cute!

I caught up with Christopher after his runway show.

On the invitation

“The message in the bottle links to our naval theme for the season. We do unique invites every season—we’ve done everything from a toy parachute to fabric and texture-based invitations.”

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This striking yet delicate gold necklace – much like the desert flowers it’s inspired by – comes by way of London-based jewellery designer Alona Shelemy. Following the launch of her eponymous line, Shelemy’s Spring/Summer 2013 collection is rich in the colours (rose, yellow and pink golds abound) and splendour of a Middle Eastern desert at dusk. Can’t you just picture this gold Elise flowerbomb necklace (or one of the brass-finish cuffs or gunmetal pendants from the collection) as a regal finish to your night-out ensemble? You won’t have to – it just so happens the entire collection is available online.

Alona Shelemy Elise necklace ($230) at byalona.com.

I’ve been a longtime fan of William Morris prints. Just flipping through the whimsical textile patterns in the pages of William Morris By Himself: Designs and Writings (edited by Gillian Naylor) puts me in a good mood.

So when I had the chance to visit the famed Liberty department store in London recently, I was thrilled to check out all the William Morris-Liberty London Collection goodies: notebooks, pencils, trays, clothing, fabrics—and even shoes and bags, thanks to a new Liberty London-Dr. Martens collab.

My favourite item? This leather satchel done in a bold blue-and-green version of the famous Strawberry Thief motif that Morris created in 1883. Every time I look at the print, I picture the scene that inspired the pattern: Morris came up with the idea by watching thrushes steal strawberries from the kitchen garden of his country home in Oxfordshire. Now, with this bag, we can all have a little taste!

Liberty London x Dr. Martens Collection Large Liberty Satchel ($349.99, available at drmartens.com and at Dr. Martens stores across Canada).

If you’re lucky enough to be heading to London for the Summer Olympics—or anytime for that matter—here are some favourite spots from my short-but-sweet recent visit.

Where to stay

I checked in to the Belgraves, one of London’s swankiest new hotels. It’s the Thompson Hotel group’s first U.K. outpost, and it lives up to the brand’s cool-kid reputation. The Belgraves is intimate (just 85 guest rooms), eclectic, modern—and already attracting celebs. (Just a week before I arrived, ELLE Canada’s Kathryn Hudson interviewed Gwyneth Paltrow here—pick up a copy of our September issue to read her “What would Gwyneth do?” cover story.)

The hotel’s sunken “lobby” feels cozy and surprisingly private—more like the living room of your dream house than a public space. Select an art or design book from the coffee table or the library-style shelves, order a Moroccan mint tea from Mark’s Bar, and sink into the tufted velvet couch. (Careful here…you just might not want to leave the hotel!)

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 All photos courtesy of V&A Images.

When I was in London recently, I met up with Kate Bethune, assistant curator, textiles and fashion, at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. Kate took me on an insider’s tour of the Ballgowns: British Glamour Since 1950 exhibit in the V&A’s newly renovated Fashion Galleries.

Here’s an excerpt from our conversation as we explored the collection of show-stopping gowns by incredible Brit designers like Bellville Sassoon, Bruce Oldfield and Julien MacDonald to Gareth Pugh, Mary Katrantzou and Alexander McQueen.

Q: The timing is really great for this exhibit (May 19, 2012 to January 6, 2013) as it will be on during the summer Olympics.

A: Yes, that’s one of the reasons for having this exhibition. The lead curators Oriole Cullen and Sonnet Stanfill were very keen to put on a show that would be in line with celebrations like the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics. They wanted something that would tie in with the time that Queen Elizabeth has spent on the throne, so we start at 1950.

Q: Do any of the dresses in the exhibit have a really interesting backstory?

A: The difficulty with fashion exhibitions is to give a sense of life to the gowns, which don’t move when they’re on static mannequins. So when possible, it’s really nice to accompany the dresses with interesting stories. For example, there is a dress that Bellville Sassoon designed in 1964. It was given to use by Lady Jill Ritblat. Her mother purchased it for her, for a ball, and it cost £1,000 at the time, which was more than an annual salary. She actually wore it again for her engagement party because she loved it so much and she decided she wouldn’t find another dress that she liked as much. That’s one thing I love about ballgowns. People chose to wear them again and again—they weren’t just one-off pieces, they were timeless. When you look at the detailing on this gown you can see why: you’ve got embroidered teardrop shapes and from each one is suspended a single crystal which shines beautifully.

Q: The 1994 white Vivienne Westwood gown with the shredding at the bottom is a standout. I love how the exhibition notes say you are supposed to wear this with pearls.

A: This is Westwood’s take on the traditional debutante gown, but it’s done in her subversive style – very much deconstructed with the shredded skirt at the bottom. The court presentation of debutants came to an end in the late 1950s, so this exhibition transcends that and also tells the story of the transition of the ball gown and formal eveningwear from the ballroom to the red carpet and the catwalk.

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It’s been almost a decade since I tasted my first sip of elderflower-infused sparking spring water while sitting on a friend’s patio one summer evening. I love the clean, fresh, not-too-sweet taste and the subtle hint of lemon.

In Canada, it’s pretty easy to find Bottlegreen’s elderflower sparking presse at stores like Whole Foods and Sobeys. But I’ve found it’s getting tricky to snag a bottle of their delicious elderflower cordial—I love using the concentrate because I can control the sweetness.

So when I was in London for a few days recently, I was sure I could track down the cordial in its home country (Bottlegreen is a British brand). I was on a cordial hunt! But everywhere I checked, it was either sold out or, surprisingly, not carried. (I was shocked to discover that I couldn’t even get it at the famed food section on the top floor of the Harvey Nichols flagship in Knightsbridge!) Sadly, I flew back to Canada empty handed.

So here’s my plea to stores across Canada and beyond—please stock up on Bottlegreen’s elderflower cordial. I promise to drink it up!