Mango in Moscow: The Spring/Summer ’11 Show

As those who follow me on Twitter will know, on Wednesday evening I was thrilled to find myself in Russia for the Mango Spring/Summer ’11 fashion show.* To celebrate their enormous expansion plans this year (they are set to open in excess of a new store each day, with Russia and China firmly in their sights), Mango marked the occasion with a big soiree in Moscow to showcase the collection that’s about to hit stores. Set in a huge, grand atrium just off Red Square, with equal parts beautiful clothes and beautiful people (we sat directly opposite Olivia Palermo and her boyfriend), the production (never mind the location!) just about outdid all the shows on the official London Fashion Week circuit.

I know that on here I mostly go on about Chanel and Mulberry and afternoon tea at ludicrously expensive places around London, as though I’m some kind of aristocrat who’s the goddaughter of Marc Jacobs. But as I am sadly neither (and instead fund my expensive designer habit with a normal political advisor’s salary), I scour the high street as much as Bond Street for fantastic everyday pieces to mix with the fruits of said expensive designer habit. And amongst a sea of chains with dubious quality control and ethics, Mango stands out as one of the best. While you won’t find any groundbreakingly new looks in here, they do excellent ‘inspired by’ versions of the best looks of the runway circuit, translated in a wearable way. More importantly, the quality is excellent for the price you’ll pay, and they have remarkable ethics (it’s still a family-owned company, and it shows in their super-happy HQ team, whom I met in Moscow). Next time you find yourself on the hight street, do go and have a peek; I was particularly enamoured with the white linen blazers, the chiffon maxi skirts, the floaty blush-hued dresses (just made for long summer days spent picnicking in the Cambridge countryside and floating down the river on a punt with a basket of strawberries), the boxy leather bags (incredible quality for the price).

And as for the soiree itself? It really was the most spectacular night. After the show, we sipped (probably too many) mojitos and scoffed macarons as a swing band** played, and afterwards decided to forgo our car back to the hotel so that we could take one last stroll through Red Square  – simply spectacular illuminated at night – back to our hotel.

So tell me, do you have any go-to stores on the high street?

Love, Miss B xx

* And yes, jumping on a plane and being whisked off to Moscow for 48 hours for a fashion show felt just as exotic and exciting as it sounds…
** Two words which always put a smile on my face

Briony was thrilled to be in Moscow as a guest of Mango