French-Armenian designer Charles Anastase at London Fashion Week

BBC: An eclectic show by London-based French-Armenian designer Charles Anastase ranged from rock-star leather to Pierrot-style make-up, with painted tattoos somewhere in between. (picture above - AP, via BBC)

Guardian (AP): "Anastase's autumn/winter collection was one of the day's hottest tickets. The French/Armenian designer who is based in London, showed eclectic ideas which included leather jackets, soft pastel draping and a top with drawn-on lips and the slogan "I'm in training don't kiss me". One model wore Pierrot-style make-up with a whitened face, another was painted with tattoos while some had bare faces except for a smudge of silver lipstick."

Grazia London writes about Charles Anastase's punk fashion statement: "Il Bottacio was heavy with fashion heavy-weights and hipsters to see what Charles Anastase, the French Armenian who decamped to London from Paris last season, would do next. Turns out he really arrived. Daisy Lowe, Pixie Geldof and an assortment of hip Parisian girls with almost chic dark circles under their eyes lined the runway. From the moment the first model stomped out in Marc Bolan T-Rex (or if you were born post 1985) platform boots, skinny legs encased in purple denim, you knew this was gonna be cool. And so it came to pass.

The collection was inspired by the idea that a bunch of cool, rebellious (French) teenagers had broken into a crumbling French Chateau and squatted it. While there they mixed their purple jeans, striped leggings, defaced biker jackets, cardigans and said muddied platform boots and trend-blended it with the contents of the Chateau’s wardrobes, as well as with curtains and blankets from the various bed-chambers. The result was a crazy clash of styles. [...]"

July stars provides some interesting bio details: "London born Charles Anastase was schooled at the French Lycée in South Kensington and is of French/Armenian roots. He credits his family for the success he has achieved and has stated that they are the most important thing in his life. Family and friends are apparently involved in everything he does. [...] He began his career as an illustrator despite having studied political science. [...] His army of fans include Alexa Chung, Yasmin Sewell, Beth Ditto and Kylie Minogue among many others. [...]"

*photo of Charles Anastase - via London Fashion Week