Fashion Society

JULIA DEVILLE

2011-01-19T09:18:00.002Z

This Melbourne based, Kiwi designer creates hauntingly delicate taxidermy jewellery using small animals from mice to birds. Her mission is to express the fleeting nature of life, and to preserve something after it has deceased, in turn letting each animal to live on to create new beauty. It might sound creepy to wear the immortalisation of little kittens and deer's with jewels in their eyes, or mice and birds as broaches, but her pieces are original and beautiful. For the faint hearted the wing broaches are an easy starting point, the vivid colours, and fragility of feathers will make you feel you have a life fluttering at your breast, without the reminder of its origin. In fact, she is an animal rights activist, using only animals which have died of natural causes, and really sees her work as honouring lost life. As a gold and silversmith technician, her work is of fine quality, exhibitions in both London and Paris confirm this. But is her combination of these more traditional elements with materials that were living jet and taxidermy which give her work its special edge. DeVille is fascinated with the Victorian aesthetic to communicate mortality in the Memento Mori period of the fifteenth-eighteenth centuries, their mourning jewellery and methods to sentimentalise death with adornment. She sees her work as a reminder of our own mortality, and as a celebration of even the shortest life.

POLLY MORGAN: an accidental artist

2011-01-17T09:10:00.004Z

Polly Morgan in her studio, Photography by Pal Hansen

British artist Polly Morgan, one-time Shoreditch barmaid and English literature graduate, lives and works from her in East London studio in Bethnal Green. A one-day taxidermy course on a whim was the starting point to a fully-fledged artistic career stuffing dead animals.

This is not your normal taxidermy. A lovebird looking in a mirror; a magpie with a jewel in its beak; chicks standing on a miniature coffin; a cage held aloft by vultures; and pheasant chicks suspended from balloons. It is still life art, with the animal as subject. Morgan explains that by seeing the animals out of context it encourages the viewer to look at them as if for the first time. That as we get older and jaded, because we’ve seen it all before, she aims to create a sense of magic. For Morgan, animals are like paints would be for a painter or clay for a sculptor. She wonders whether it will become more of a conventional medium. Or, on the other hand, whether she and her taxidermy are a trendy fad. But what is clear is that her work has become more experimental and she is further exploring the possibilities of the animals. Her work is becoming bigger in scale and more abstract and sculptural. She is growing confidence in her accidental profession.

She was first persuaded to show some pieces at a friend’s bar opening in 2004. Then again cajoled, she sowed at a friend's stand at the Zoo Art Fair. Her work – a rat curled in a champagne glass – was sold before the fair even opened. With some luck perhaps, this early work caught the attention of Baksy, and in 2005 he commissioned her to produce work for his annual exhibition Santa’s Ghetto. She then went on to exhibit at similarly high-profile shows, such as Jay Jopling’s White Cube. And she has collected some influential and supportive friends, Dinos Chapman and Noble & Webster, and equally influential fans, Kate Moss and Courtney Love.

Her prices now range from around £300 for a quail chick's head on a wire, to £85,000 for the large-scale Departures (the cage held aloft by vultures), which she sold to a German collector last year.

The thirty-year-old had her first solo exhibition, Psychopomps at the Haunch of Venison at the end of last year. However, she is currently showing a selection of her exquisite and dark pieces at the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester, in exhibition Contemporary Eye alongside such company as Damien Hirst, the Chapman Brother and Jeff Koons.

AWARE: Art Fashion Identity

2011-01-14T17:49:00.011Z

This third season of contemporary art at the Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington Gardens, examines how artists and designers explore the nature of clothing as more than just a protective, functional garment. It explores clothing as a method of communication, as a marker of identity, nationality, status and aspiration, and it touches on social and political issues such as globalisation, the environment, displacement and conflict.

The exhibition includes work by 30 leading international artists and designers, and runs in four sections. ‘Story-telling’ acknowledges the role of clothing in the representation of personal and cultural history. ‘Building’ covers the concept of clothing as a form of protection, referencing the portable nature of modern life. ‘Belonging and Confronting’ examines ideas of nationality, displacement, political and social confrontation and tensions created as new cultures and traditions fuse. The final section ‘Performance’ highlights the roles that we play in our daily life.

There is a great variety, with some exhibits successfully achieving a strong and thought-provoking message. For example Palestinian artist Sharif Waked confronts the difficulties faced by his people and the complexities of the political situation in the Middle East with his short film Chic Point (2003). He plays on the glamour of a catwalk, but each and every piece reveals flesh; cut-out tee-shirts, cropped suits to reveal the midriff, shirts un-buttoned back and front, ‘I heart New York’ with the heart cut out and shirts that can fold up like a blind. Baring flesh as a fashion statement is contrasted with images of Palestinian men being subjected to body searches. The sense of identity and dignity, and the way in which the removal of clothing can lead to the loss identity and dignity is a strong message. Film footage of Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece at Carnegie Recital Hall, New York in 1965, works with a similar theme, although with a rather different purpose. She sits motionless and expressionless, inviting the public to cut strips from her clothing. Scraps of fabric fall to the floor, and her body is revealed. It is closely in tune with the second-wave feminist movement that began in the 1960s, exploring women’s emancipation from the constraints on their identity represented by clothing.

Dai Rees’s Carapace: Triptych, the Butcher’s Window (2003) is also a successful piece. It features three leather garments hanging from meat hooks, based on 1950s dress patterns which are reassembled to look like carcasses. They invoke sides of beef painted by Rembrandt and Soutine, but they are also are surrealist objects, and are reminiscent of Francis Bacon. And Hussein Chalayan’s commission, Son of Sonzai Suru (2010), inspired by the 300 year old Japanese tradition of Bunraku puppet theatre, is also strong. A beautiful dress is surrounded by black ghostly figures. It is intended to make the viewer think about the way our ideals of beauty can be controlled by contemporary puppet-masters who control the media, and how our perception of the value of fashion is managed by its presentation. Another seminal piece is Yohji Yamamoto’s Femme Collection, Autumn/Winter 1991–92, a wooden framework moulded into the form of a dress. It clearly articulates Yamamoto’s desire to regain respect for clothing and promote women’s independence. It suggests a human skeleton, an architectural structure and armour. It recalls the constraining corsets that women used to wear but its robust appearance asserts the strength of the person that might wear it.

However, despite some wonderful individual pieces, the exhibition is not a success in total. There are too many fillers and many of the pieces didn’t deserve or need their accompanying text and interpretation. For example Susie MacMurray’s Widow (2009) is a beautiful dress, which when you look closer is made of pins and leather. This is an obvious contrast of beauty and aggression; the perhaps pretentious text assumes the viewers stupidity. And the encouraging name of the exhibition is little addressed. Helen Storey’s dissolvable dress, made of an experimental enzyme, is slowly lowered from a scaffold into water over the course of the exhibition, and disappears. Perhaps it is an anti-fashion statement, commenting on the transient nature of fashion. But what does this really tell us of relevance to identity?

But the topic, Fashion, Art, Identity, is a highly worthy one. The links between identity and fashion are of great human interest. And it is generally recognised that art and fashion are naturally moving together in many ways since the shift in both disciplines over these last decades, so it’s of importance to see an exhibition dedicated to it. Much of this exhibition is insightful and though provoking. Even with its problems it makes us think about the relationship between fashion and the dilemmas of modern society.

Susie MacMurray 'Widow' (2009)

Yohji Yamamoto Femme Collection, A/W 1991-92

Hussein Chalayan 'Son of Sonzai Suru' (2010)Yoko Ono 'Cut Piece'

Aware: Art Fashion Identity. Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts, London
Starts 2 December 2010 until 30 January 2011

Contact: 0844 209 0051 or www.royalacademy.org.uk

Gullivers Travels

2010-06-15T10:13:00.010+01:00

A series inspired by Gullivers Travels

Photographer Ian Harding

Styling Ella Pearce Heath

Hair and Make-Up Joella Butler

Model Amy

Some Pretty Things

2010-06-03T16:39:00.012+01:00

Both shoes by Rob Goodwin of London

Who the hell does Daphne Guinness think she is?

2010-03-25T07:27:00.006Z

The Honourable Daphne Guinness appears in many guises: heiress and socialite; film producer; designer and perfumer; model; philanthropist; and fashion icon with an enviable collection of couture. Her blonde and black skunk-like hair is to be seen at every party, premier and couture show that counts. But what does this madcap, glamorous, British-eccentric actually do?

‘Ideas’ is her answer: ‘collaborating with people’ and ‘being the midwife to their brilliance’. But in order to do ‘collaborations’ and ‘ideas’ it must help to be as well connected as she is. Guinness counts photographers David LaChapelle and Steven Klein as friends. She was close to Isabella Blow and Alexander McQueen, and used to move in the same circle as Andy Warhol. She was brought up holidaying every summer at a Catalan artist colony, where the likes of Salvador Dalí, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray and Richard Hamilton were regular guests. This bohemian world of creativity, Dali’s lobster pool, or Studio 54, has coloured her fashion choices and given her a unique (if slightly experimental) persona.
Her most successful collaborations have included a silver glove designed with Shaun Leane (fulfilling her obsession with armour). A range of 5 white shirts with Dover Street Market and a perfume, ‘Daphne’, in collaboration with Comme des Garçons (the company's president, Adrian Joffe, too is an old friend). To have, what she modestly calls ‘a bit’ of money (her divorce settlement from Spyros Niarchos was reported, although never confirmed, to be in the region of £20 million), must only help further.
But it would be unfair to say all she did was connections and money. Her more recent projects have seen her move from the ‘midwife’ to the director. The short film she produced in 2006, ‘Cashback’, with the fashion photographer Sean Ellis, received an Academy Award nomination. ‘Mnemosyne’ a short film to accompany her perfume beautifully explored the visuals of scent. ‘The Phenomenology of Body’, 2008 project for which she was director and producer, was a well received film exploring changing aesthetics and the politics of fashion. On a revolving turn-table a Grecian goddess, Joan of Arc, Marie Antoinette, a Fifties housewife, a suffragette and the Burka conveyed the ever-shifting use of fashion in the constriction and liberation of women.
The vast collection of couture she amassed during her marriage to Niarchos is now serving to help her help others. In 2008 she auctioned 1,000 of her designer pieces, raising a little over £100,000 for Womankind, a charity that deals with the political and domestic abuse of women worldwide. She was a model in Naomi Campbell's Fashion For Relief show, raising funds for mothers in Haiti in 2010. She will exhibit 80 to 100 pieces, including Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Azzedine Alaia and Comme des Garçons at F.I.T.'s museum in September 2011. Guinness likes to share her success.

With a penchant for neck-ruffles, hats and veils Daphne Guinness is a woman of many talents. Her eclectic and far reaching interests, literature, classical music and art, have come together to create a wholly unique fashion icon and patron.

Chainmail Champions: Heavy Metals Steal the Spotlight

2010-03-19T09:00:00.003Z

February 1966. A scene of scandal and sensation erupts. In an overnight triumph, Paco Rabanne revolutionised the norms of fashion design. ‘Twelve experimental dresses which could be produced in contemporary materials’ saw a cast of all black models dance to Pierre Boulez’s avant garde masterpiece Marteau sans Maître, and hailed the arrival of a pioneering modernist.

Luxury design was created outside the realms of luxury fabric, as Rabanne rapidly advanced the use of new materials and technology. Heavy rigid steel sheets soon moved into flexible forms of chainmail. Scissors were replaced with pliers. Knitting, an essential technique in chainmail, with the word itself derived from the French word ‘maille’ for knitting, was done with needles the size of broomsticks. Or a blowlamp was used in place of any needle at all. His designs were worn by the style leaders of the day, think Jane Fonda, Brigitte Bardot and Audrey Hepburn. His costumes for the 1966 film Who are you, Polly Magoo and for the 1968 film Barbarella confirmed chainmail as a groundbreaking trend.

A long time has passed since his revolutionary actions of the late sixties, and now it’s time for a new generation to reclaim metals. Take note: with Donatella Versace donating chainmail to Christopher Kane in 2007, and Vogue Italia’s November 2009 feature, Fashion Gone Strong by Emma Summerton, chainmail is making a return to stardom.

From Cavalli’s AW09 flowing, sheer dresses adorned with chainmail panels to Versace SS10, where pastels, geometric prints and super-fitted minis met slinky chainmail. From Marios Schwab’s chainmail tanks, collared tees, cuffs and collars to Christopher Kane’s chainmail bibs, bodices, breastplates and dripping accessories at Versus. Industrial materials proved they could be as sexy as the sheerest of organza or the shortest of thigh-skimming minis.

Gareth Pugh has taken the trend a step further for AW10, with draped fine chains, rich in movement and medieval character coating his hard edged collection. Worn as Pugh would have it, chainmail is a trend for the daring. But for the less fashion-brave there are chainmail accessories aplenty and so options are endless. Pair with lace, chiffon or a simple cashmere jumper to epitomise effortless cool; or accessorise black ripped skinnys and peep-toe biker boots to make a grunge statement. The multi-faceted influences of chainmail – military history, medieval knights, romanticism and gothic subculture – are overt enough for you to wear them minimally. Isabel Marant’s slim chainmail scarf or a piece of chainmail jewellery by Danni Jo, Eddie Borgo or Lara Bohinc are all resolutely wearable. A piece by the Vogue-hailed ‘New Crusader’ and current NEWGEN winner Fannie Schiavoni will make the most of the simplest white tee. On a high-street budget, chainmail belts are available at Topshop.

If a trend is worthy of Lady Gaga, Susie Lau (AKA Style Bubble), and self-assured rocker Noush Skaugen, it is surely one worth taking note of. But Fannie Schiavoni is resolute that chainmail is not just for fashion royalty, saying her pieces can be worn ‘by someone that has a strong sense of personal style, but she's not a show-off. She buys one strong piece of clothing or accessory each season and pairs with her otherwise subtle wardrobe’. And with most pieces made from stainless steel, brass, or platinum plated brass, with relief, I can promise you won’t have to carry the weight of a medieval Knight. Elle’s Avril Mair says ‘unconventional decoration is key for spring/summer 2010’, and chainmail is the zenith of this. Nothing will feel quite as empowering.

New Horizons

LISTEN TO: Pierre Boulez Marteau sans Maître (The Hammer without a Master) Paco Rabanne’s 1966 soundtrack and a landmark in musical modernism.

READ: Morte D'Arthur: King Arthur and the Legends of the Round Table by Sir Thomas Malory, Oxford University Press, £8.99. Lose yourself in the Arthurian legends of chivalry, the Holy Grail, Lancelot and Guinevere.

SEE: The Bayeux Tapestry, depicting the Norman conquest of England, where soldiers strip the vanquished of their prized chainmail. The original is in Normandy, but if your budget doesn’t extend to France, a replica is on show at the Museum of Reading, Berkshire.

VISIT: The National Army Museum. The museum offers group talks, examining one thousand years of armour and weapons from the Museum’s extensive handling collection.

WEAR: Fannie Schiavoni’s shoulder piece, the epitome of the chainmail trend. £230 at Kabiri, Browns Focus and 127 Brick Lane

WATCH: Jane Fonda in Barbarella and soak up Paco Rabanne’s innovative costume design

Steven Meisel - The Godfather of Fashion

2010-03-17T21:45:00.002Z

State Of Emergency

Vogue Italia September 2006

Photographer: Steven Meisel

Model: Hilary Rhoda

Of all the flawless, lustrous images in the sphere of fashion editorial, something about Steven Meisel has lifted him from the realms of ‘fashion photographer’ to a position as the ‘Godfather of Fashion’. Over the past three decades, Meisel has made the careers of numerous ‘supers’ with his gift for polishing a rough diamond; he has defined eras of fashion; created advertising campaigns for every desirable luxury brand; and shot every cover of Italian Vogue since 1988. His work has long been the best example of perfect hyper-reality.

State of Emergency, Vogue Italia September 2006, is one of his most controversial fashion spreads to date. In true Meisel style, he offered a contentious new perspective to contemporary debates on terrorism, horrors of torture and excessive use of force.

My favourite of the series depicts model Hilary Rhoda, smoky-eyed and glamorously-dishevelled, in a shocking red dress, pinned to the floor by a perfectly polished toe-capped brogue-clad foot. Look a little closer, though, and you notice, this is no normal glossy image of a sensual brunette, draped with her back arched in luxury clothes. She, (although you would never know from her beautifully pained expression and the eerily staged stillness of the image), is being arrested by two perfectly clad policemen. Ones baton is jammed at her breastbone, his riot shield provocatively pinned between her legs revealing the inner thigh. The other looks over her, arms astride her shoulders, in a deeply unsettling move. The street, with its perfectly controlled blast of sunlight sweeping across looks like cardboard; an empty movie set facade.

Meisel is never one to shy away from a difficult topic. His work is often violent, uncomfortable and sexual. The series transforms this violence and subjugation into highly sexualised images, hidden behind the protection of fashion editorial. But, as a piece of social satire he successfully highlighted the issue of excessive force. And that’s all in a day’s work if you’re Steven Meisel.

Cutting Edges

2010-03-16T12:15:00.007Z

Some behind the scenes documentation from a hair magazine shoot. The delightful and super-talented Craig, our hair-stylist for the day, wanted to work with textures inside confined structures - taking a little bit of inspiration from Viktor and Rolf SS10. Whilst I wanted to play with 'Double Denim' by adding some 80s colour and some grungy attitude. Denim is trapped in an 'All American' 'Ralph Lauren' typecast, but there are so many more ways to wear it.

The final images for the magazine.

Photography Ian Harding

Styling Ella Pearce Heath

Stylists Assistant Liv Tickle

Hair Craig Chapman

Make-Up Joella Butler

Models Gia and Christina @ Zone

Recommendation-Beauty is in the Ordinary: Van Gogh and His Letters

2010-03-11T11:03:00.007Z

Last week I found myself with an hour to spare before my next appointment. A café for a non-coffee drinker held little appeal, but my current, slightly emotional (please note drastic under-exaggeration) state did not lend itself to sitting conspicuously alone. Stood unprotected against the pouring rain with an increasing pile of cigarettes butts accumulating at my inappropriately Stella McCartney-clad feet, I was craving a sanctuary. Through the suited purposeful legs I looked up and saw a poster for the Van Gogh exhibition currently showing at the Royal Academy of Arts.

If asked to make a trip especially, and to spend twelve pounds which really should have been going towards a new umbrella (but probably would have in reality gone towards a lace bodysuit which ‘I couldn’t live without’), I would have said No. Van Gogh’s landscapes, peasants and hay stacks, potato peeling, sowing and reaping have always seemed too far removed from ‘real’ life in London. In his portraits I have always recognised the startling use of colour and the resulting emotional impact. But still, probably thanks to a love of German Expressionism, it was never on the same level a Max Beckmann, Otto Dix or George Grosz could produce. But, with the Academy conveniently located just two minutes away, and my chicly-starched blazer balanced on a rain-damage knife edge, with reluctance I joined the queue. Five minutes later, where signs all around declared a two hour wait, I was in.

The collection is the largest of Van Gogh’s work to be shown in London for 40 years. It comprises 65 canvases, 30 drawings and 40 original letters, mostly written to his brother Theo. The aim of the exhibition was to bring together, in as many cases as possible, the relevant letter, sketch and final painting, whereby Van Gogh’s voice almost talks you through the works. These letters, which really make the exhibition, reveal a deeply personal insight into his intimate, swirling thoughts. You are privy to surging highs and lows of emotions, which are expressed in colour and movement.

His subject matters may be humble, but he treats and reveres them as the most precious things on earth. Van Gogh shows us that the beauty in life is in the ordinary and it’s everywhere. Before, I only saw potatoes.

I walked out of the exhibition with a new optimism. If you don’t see this exhibition you might miss something that can change how you look at the world and the people in it.

The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters, is now showing at the Royal Academy of Arts, Burlington House, Piccadilly, http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/. To book exhibition tickets telephone 0844 209 1919 or tickets are available at the Royal Academy Ticket Office on the day of your visit. Entry £12

Fannie Schiavoni AW10: Body Armour

2010-03-09T10:48:00.017Z

The new autumn/winter 2010 collection by Swedish-born Fannie Schiavoni has definitely lived up to my high expectations. She sent the look book over just before she was due to show as part of the NEWGEN exhibition at London Fashion Week, and I have been patiently waiting to post. Pieces from past collections have appeared on the likes of Lady Gaga, or on the pages of Vogue, and played a major role on Noush Skaugen’s soon to be released album I styled. The success of her collections every season lies in a balance of tough structural metal with soft draping and flowing lines. She says of AW10 "this collection doesn't have a concept or single strong source of inspiration. I take inspiration from all over the place; old factories/architecture, movies, landscapes, Swedish culture and handcraft, Ingrid Bergman, Fever Ray, the architect Todd Saunders and even my mum". Autumn/winter 2010 is a natural development from past collections. She has added depth and richness of texture. You see again the shoulder guards, braces, metal gloves and layered chain necklaces, but with the addition of metal petals and soft wools in a muted palette. In doing so the pieces become more wearable, for a wider market, who Fannie says ‘is someone that has a strong sense of personal style, but she's not a show-off. She buys one strong piece of clothing or accessory each season and pairs with her otherwise subtle wardrobe’.

The options are endless: pair with lace, chiffon and simple cashmere jumpers to epitomise Scandinavian effortless cool; or with black ripped skinnys and peep-toe biker boots to make a grunge statement. Or layer up against bare skin in the style of Lady Gaga. These pieces will slip into your wardrobe with ease. And nothing feels quite as empowering to wear as Fannie’s chainmail.

Fannie Schiavoni is stocked at Browns Focus, Kabiri and 125 Brick Lane.

Fashion and Cinema: The Duchess - Political Activist, Fashion Icon

2010-02-25T11:28:00.010Z

There is a strong relationship between fashion and cinema. All films need clothes. But if handled well, the fashion of a film can define an era. Designers respond to films every season. So I thought I would start taking a look at some iconic fashion and film moments, where two come toether perfectly. So starting with The Duchess, starring Keira Knightley, based on the bestselling biography by Amanda Foreman, tells the story of eighteenth century society beauty Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire.

Georgiana, (pronounced George-ay-na) long suffering wife of public adulterer the Duke of Devonshire, was a remarkable character. In a male dominated society where women were passed from father to husband, and when women’s suffrage was still a century away, she is credited with shaping the profile of the Whig Party. As she comments to her new husband early in the film, ‘you [men] have so many ways of expressing yourselves, whereas we women make do with our hats and dresses’, she was one of the first to recognise the power of imagery. Her ‘hats and dresses’ created a fashion icon copied by women of every rank in society, but most importantly conveyed political messages to the masses. She hosted parties pulling together figures from the realms of politics, literature and art. But the show and spectacle, her new ‘style’ to be revealed, was as highly anticipated as the politics.

Michael O’Connor, who won an Academy Award and a BAFTA for Best Costume Design, brought her daring and imagination to life with historically modelled costumes. Perhaps one of his best was produced for Georgiana’s speech in support of future Prime Minister Charles Grey, with whom she had a famous affair resulting in daughter Eliza. The costume was based on a soldier’s uniform, a statement of masculinity as she stepped out of wifely duties; a frogged jacket over a long riding skirt, with fox tails falling from a plumed hat. O’Connor also captured Georgiana’s use of political colour, in this instance the buff and blue of the Whigs. Just as with savvy modern politicians wives, whose clothes and colour choices are scrutinised in the media, Georgiana recognised it as accessible imagery for the public. O’Connor’s only reinterpretation was in remoulding the rounded meringue shapes the curvy woman of the time preferred into slimmer shapes more suitable for Knightley, and the modern waif aesthetic.

Georgiana continually pushed boundaries, specialising in giant feathered headdresses or hats, and three-foot-towers of hair decorated with ornaments; ships in full sail or an arrangement of stuffed birds and waxed fruit. The oversized black hat portrayed in Gainsborough’s portrait was widely emulated. She made outrageous fashion desirable, no different to the modern Daphne Guinness or Lady Gaga. As the original public relations manipulator, Georgiana skill was in creating drama and anticipation, and knowing when to wear what.

Images from The Duchess, 2008

The Duchess pained by Thomas Gainsborough, 1787

High On Heels

2010-02-19T15:51:00.009Z

High On Heels, a DJ collective, wear leather pieces by young designer Gemma Garnham and sparkles by MissGuided, all shoes by Zimo. It was a great shoot, so thanks to everyone on the team for all their hardwork.

High on Heels

Photography Davide Bozzetti

Styling Ella Pearce Heath

Stylists Assistant Hattie MacAndrews

Hair Sofia Sjoo

Make-Up Samantha Ariano

On location at Whisky Mist

Fashion Moment - The Trench Coat

2010-02-15T09:00:00.000Z

The trench coat emerged from the battle fields of the First World War, and has endured a transformation across the last century. Years have passed, but still it has not reached a final state. When in 1914, Thomas Burberry was commissioned by the War Office to design a more practical coat to replace the heavy greatcoat, he would probably not have believed what we would see a century later. For what was a practical and necessary waterproof garment, made from the newly patented Gabardine fabric, to protect soldiers in the field, is now a mainstay of fashion, and finds itself as a classic icon of style.

Over the last century the trench has encapsulated many movements. It has been elegance and sophistication; think Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's or Humphrey Bogart's Rick Blaine from Casablanca, who wore the Aquascutum ‘Kingsway’. But it has too been rebellion; worn in the sixties by the Mod, in the late seventies by the Punks, and then rediscovered as a feature of heavy metal and Goth fashion trends. In the eighties it was the uniform of any power dressing woman, wearing them outsized in a sign of masculinity.

And now, the trench coat is having a new fashion moment. Burberry returned to the iconic coat for his Spring/Summer 2010 Collection and Christopher Bailey proved how relevant it still is to modern fashion. It appeared shining, encrusted and sparking, in gold and silver. The palette of nude and beige, with a hint of pastels, spot on for the season. They were feminine, with tulle draping and rouched shoulders, but still carried the classic chic of the past. The trench, and Burberry, is back, in a blaze of metallic confetti.

Bailey wasn’t alone, as reworked trench coats appeared at Spring/Summer 2010 shows from Philip Lim to Marc by Marc Jacobs. They were cropped at Dries Van Noten; full length at Aquascutum. Sleeveless at Celine, turned into a dress at Sportmax. They were the epitome of luxury at Loewe, belted shut and cinched at Oscar de La Renta, and oversized and open at Charles Anastase.

This season, it seems everyone has had a say on the trench coat. It may be a classic staple, but there is nothing simple about how it has been treated this season. However you choose to wear it, the trench coat is here to stay.

Mario Testino

10 Things a British Girls Needs in 2010

2010-02-12T09:00:00.007Z

1. Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream
Not only is this the best lip gloss and moisturiser, but it’s also amazing for sunburn emergencies

2. A herb garden
The environment has never been so fashionable, but if grown in a beautiful pot herbs serve as a chic kitchen accessory

3. Miu Miu satin platform sandals [1]
Daisy and swallow prints that have the tongue-in-cheek attitude necessary to survive the cold months before spring finally arrives. Until then, wear with pretty pastel socks

4. Fannie Schiavoni chainmail
Choose between the draped dress, a bustier, a glove or bespoke shoe embellishments. My designer of the moment
5. An eccentric hobby
Stamp collecting, knitting and vintage cars are all good options. It gives you that ‘je ne sais quoi’ necessary to get ahead in 2010
6. Open toe heeled boots
For months you have tried to resist the impracticality of peep toe boots, but these pairs by Alexander Wang [2] and Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy [3] are too good to miss

7. Gold, glitter and crystals
Try a Prada crystal dress [4], or pile on the jewellery as seen at Lanvin [5], accessorise your pastels with a crystal belt, or go the whole way with Burberry Prorsum’s jewel encrusted coat [6]. It’s a more feminine interpretation of AW09s power sequins.

8. ‘Tomato’ red lipstick
The shade of the season, done best at MAC or Chanel

9. An Army jacket
Whether it be oversized and dressed-down, as seen at Alexander Wang [7], Aquascutum and Chloe, or chic and tailored, as seen by Loewe [8], Marc Jacobs and Oscar de la Renta, or shouldered and sequinned by Balmain [9], it’s the jacket of 2010

10. A Best friend who tells you how amazing you look good even on a bad day

An essential and invaluable asset

[1] Miu Miu, http://www.miumiu.com/

[2] Alexander Wang, http://www.alexanderwang.com/

[3] Riccardo Tisci for Giverncy, http://www.givenchy.com/

[4] Prada, http://www.prada.com/

[5] Lanvin, http://www.lanvin.com/

[6] Burberry Prorsum, http://www.burberry.com/

[7] Alexander Wang, www,alexanderwang.com

[8] Loewe, http://www.loewe.com/

[9] Balmain, http://www.balmain.com/

Ada Zanditon

2010-02-11T09:00:00.003Z

In a recent post, Digitaria (*EDIT* newly named MACHINE-A): Opening a dialogue between fashion, art and politics, I shared a little teaser on Ada Zanditon; an innovative, luxury, ethical designer. She has been hailed as a rising star, and with internships at Alexander McQueen, Jonathan Saunders and Gareth Pugh, awards for creativity, widely acclaimed graduate and debut collections, and the honour of being handpicked as one of Vauxhall Fashion Scout’s Ones to Watch she has a distinguished foundation. It is with eager anticipation I await her show at London Fashion Week.

Her debut LFW Spring/Summer 2010 ‘Colony’ collection, supported by Vauxhall Fashion Scout, highlighted the Colony Collapse Disorder, based on the book A World Without Bees by Alison Benjamin and Brian McCallum. The technique, architecture and drama of her previous graduate collection were still evident, but the over-exaggerated 3-D sculptural statements were interpreted into far more wearable pieces. In a translation of the hexagonal cells of a honeycomb and the co-operative nature of the networks of hives, her collection showcased architectural networks of three dimensional hexagons, exaggerated geometric prints and intricate pleating. Using fine, sheer and delicate fabrics, and peeks of flesh through geometric cut-outs and bared midriffs, the structural formations were balanced into soft, feminine pieces. A palette of red, royal blue and dove grey ensured there were no cliché references to the typified black and yellow bees.

But Zanditon is set apart from her contemporaries by her added layer of mission, saying ‘the first thing [she] thinks of is the concept behind the collection, whether this be weather patterns or bees’. Often she takes the principals of biomimicry (an emerging discipline that studies nature’s best ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems) as a starting point for the design process. She is also committed to an ethical business on all levels; using organic and natural fabrics, sourced from ethical and reliable manufacturers and lining her dresses with cutting-room floor scraps of linen and silk organza. A third of our food crops are pollinated by bees, and so a worldwide phenomenon causing honeybees to die en-masse really is a concern for the whole world and by bringing this to the forefront of fashion she aims, and hopefully will achieve, to ‘stimulate consciousness and not just spending’.

But what really sets Zanditon apart is how she synthesises these ideas with great design. Looking at her collection you wouldn’t see ‘ethical’, as it is entirely removed from the stigma of ‘hempy-eco-fashion’. The success of her work is the strength of her ability as an innovative designer. So, now I just can’t wait for her AW10 show.

CAGE - Georgia Hardinge

2010-02-10T09:00:00.000Z

A few months ago I posted on Georgia Hardinge’s sculptural and highly acclaimed Spring/Summer 2010 collection. Her aesthetic, which centres on ‘moulding design techniques to create an art piece of lasting purpose’, is note worthy. As are her pieces, which although are innovative and thought provoking, are still entirely wearable. This season the French designer is launching her Autumn/Winter 2010 collection with the short film ‘Cage’, which will be screened at her London Fashion Week exhibition at Somerset House, running 19th-21st February.

She has sent over some preview stills from the film, where her focus seems again to be on structure, shape and for. It does not disappoint. Her trademark exposed boning, cage formations and thick shapely embroidery sensually exaggerate and map the female form. The unconventional shapes and geographical arrangements, achieved by pleats, intricate folds, and multi-dimensional layering are wearable but still progressive. The bold colour palette of black with a shock of bright blue adds yet more structure and form to the collection. It is brave and her strength of mind shines through.

She already has a prolific CV; first she trained at Parsons Paris School of Art and Design, where she won the ‘Golden Thimble’ award for best graduate collection, she then founded her label in early 2009, aged 25. She has created a one off collection for Samsung’s international commercial and taken part in ‘All Walks Beyond the Catwalk’, July 2009. The latter a new project set up by Caryn Franklin and Erin O'Connor, challenging the expectations of fashion imagery by showcasing a variety of age, shape and sizes of model. This also included designers Mark Fast and Hannah Marshall. Her first collection was shown with ON/OFF at London Fashion Week in September 2009.

‘Cage’ is in itself a work of art which joins the fields of video and photography, with music and fashion. ‘Inspired by the strict and structured construction of Hardinge's designs, ‘Cage’ explores the relationship between creative and realistic elements of fashion’. Prepare to be amazed.

Model: Alina Zaharia @ Elite Milan
Director: Sarah Piantadosi

Designer: Georgia Hardinge

Producer: Romain Choay

Make-up: Thomas de Kluyver

Hair: Roku Roppingi

Editor: Roman Rappak

Trend Report - The Flak Jacket

2010-02-09T11:46:00.015Z

Military is a recurring trend which has reappeared every few seasons over the past decade. But for Spring/Summer 2010, it has not only dominated the shows, but has arrived in a new guise. Gone are the ornate embellishments of past seasons – epaulettes, buttons, braiding and gold, perhaps more a show of pomp and celebration – and instead it is now pared down in a minimalist array of khaki, olive and beige. This season, it is all about the Flak Jacket.

There is a style for everyone. Capture minimalist downtown cool with Alexander Wang. It’s strong and clean, but holds onto that rebellious, dressed down vibe so central to his aesthetic. Sportmax and Celine also show pared back, minimalist attitude; the 4-pocket olive Celine jacket a perfect piece of effortless chic, but with a little less youthful rebellion. Or go for draped sophistication at Max Mara - military for the grown-up. Rag and Bone, with British military at their roots, provide a perfect addition to the wardrobes of festival-goers. Aquascutum too seizes this back-to-basics youthful approach, with a focus on oversized army-surplus. Then see strong tailoring at Oscar de la Renta and Loewe. This is not ‘muddy fields’ military, but rather ‘ultimate luxury’ – fabrics are rich and thick, and delightfully bold. Marc Jacobs also showed a take on the chic tailored flak, choosing to belt them shut, adding a note of grown-up seriousness to the tiny ruffled skirts beneath. At Balmain, the flak fulfilled their sexy aesthetic, dressing down skin tight leather; military goes rock-chick. John Galliano embellished his with jewels and clusters of flowers made from film gel; military goes luxe.

Perhaps this new focus on the army-surplus basic is born out of our perpetual state of War. Or perhaps out of our unstable and uncertain economic times. An item, designed by the Wilkinson Sword company for RAF pilots in the Second World War as protection from bullets and flying shrapnel, seems the ideal form of body armour fitting for our modern times. We crave a tough, strong utilitarian statement in order to take control. Where the denim jacket, a previous attempt to steal the ‘outwear of the moment’ crown from the leather jacket, failed the flak might succeed. The breadth of possibility, shown by designers this season, far outreaches that of its denim counterpart. It is also a symbol of masculine power, and strength of attitude. However you choose to wear it, this message will not be lost.

Rag and Bone SS10

MaxMara SS10

John Galliano SS10

Sportmax SS10

Alexander Wang SS10

Aquascutum SS10

Oscar de la Renta SS10

Loewe SS10

Celine SS10

Balmain SS10

Marc Jacobs SS10

All images from Style.com

A backstage pass...

2010-02-02T23:01:00.003Z

Just a glimpse of the Run Baby Run shoot yesterday, looking fierce in Rick Owens.

Run Baby Run Cover Shoot

2010-02-02T22:19:00.001Z

The Run Baby Run cover shoot team, starring the beautiful Noush Skaugen! Behind the scenes action captured by photographer Ian Harding!

Miksani AW10

2010-01-25T16:45:00.006Z

Just another little sneaky peek at an AW10 Look Book. This one was for Miksani, a rapidly growing ethical brand. We wanted to take this season a little more grown up and a little less girl next door.

Photography: Greg Funnell

Styling: Ella Pearce Heath

Hair and Make-Up: Lucy Friend

Komodo AW10 Sneak Peek

2010-01-20T13:03:00.004Z

Just a little preview of some of the Komodo AW10 Lookbook images.

Komodo AW1o

Photography: Claire Pepper

Styling: Ella Pearce Heath

Hair and Make-Up: Joella Butler

Barbara I Gongini - Regular, Irregular and Pieces

2009-12-04T08:30:00.009Z

All images by Julie Helquist

Barbara Ì Gongini caught my eye when putting together the pieces for Noush Skaugen’s album shoot back in September. Now not only do I find out Gongini is yet another young designer committed to sustainability, but also one who believes in interdisciplinary co-operation with other artists within music, photography and film. She describes the SS10 collection, which is at this stage is 70% sustainable, by saying ‘it has a wide scope within the three segments Regular, Irregular, and Pieces; Regular is the basic, timeless and conceptual series, directed at both segments. Irregular and Pieces include moderate as well as ultra-feminine preludes, with great shape-diversities placed in the latter part of the category.’ This is then enhanced by the muted colour palette which moves from light to dark, restricted to black, white, grey, sand and blue. In fact, just to view the Look Book (below), due to this progression throughout the collection of shape, style and colour, is amazing alone. It is very Nordic in feel; raw, edgy, gritty yet very simple. However, it would not be out of place in London, and I would happily own every piece in this collection.

Her Press Release states the SS10 Collection is a correlation between functional clothing and shape-experiments, with multi-functional clothes and recycling as the two main ingredients in the construction, seeking to broaden the usability of each item, thus promoting the sustainability. I think, with particular reference to a correlation between functional clothing and shape-experiments, she has been highly successful. The multi-functional aspect, wearing pieces in a number of ways, is also another interesting approach to sustainability. As part of ‘Next Generation: Bright Green Fashion’, a collaborative project organized by the Creative Forum Copenhagen and the Berlin-based designers’ network CREATE Berlin, a forum where ten young and talented designers present their vision of sustainability in fashion design, Barbara is helping to build an international creative network. It aims to share knowledge in the field of fashion design and to access new potential markets and to discover ways of implementing sustainable designs into existing and future collections. Their ultimate goal is 100% sustainable products.

Trompe L'Oeil

2009-12-03T10:37:00.004Z

The Oasis Designer Collaboration, this time featuring London College of Fashion student Rosalind Keep, is in stores from 7th December. The collaboration aims to support emerging British textile and design talent graduating accross the country, giving them a platform to launch from. Rosalinds collection features oversized tees and racer back vests working with the rather witty trend for Trompe L'Oeil - literally a 'Trick of the Eye'! Great fun. Comme des Garcons, below, also worked Trompe L'Oeil for AW09.

Image thanks to Vogue.com

Lucy and Bart Stalking Fashion

2009-12-02T16:16:00.005Z

Great interview by Dazed and Confused with Lucy and Bart, who work on what they call an 'instinctual stalking of fashion'. Fashion fringe art installation like I've never seen before, definitely worth reading the full interview.

Elena Garcia - Fairtrade Fashion

2009-12-02T08:30:00.001Z

Look out for Elena Garcia, a luxury Eco designer, whose creations are resolutely feminine. As a member of the Ethical Fashion Forum, along with the pretty amazing Christopher Raeburn and Rani Jones, Elena sees that designers and business owners quite simply have a responsibility to preserve our world. In fact I believe it is thanks to these ethical roots that her design are as innovative and unique as they are. She blends daring design, traditional techniques and luxurious Eco-friendly textiles. Expect sheer, softly draping exquisite fabric, perfectly frayed or delicately appliqued detail and an innovative use of wool and other unusual textile embellishments. By working from the confines of sustainability she pushes her imagination and creativity further, and the results are magical.

Photographer Martin Dagucci
Stylist Ella Pearce Heath
Make-uo Joella Butler
Hair Chelsea De Main

An interview by Hattie MacAndrews

2009-12-01T19:12:00.005Z

I was recently interviewed by Hattie MacAndrews and this is the final piece she has just sent over!

Ella Pearce Heath

Stylist. Journalist. Thinker.

Compelling. Petite. Passionate. Ella Pearce Heath has been inflicting her British sense of style upon rock’n’rollers, classical beauties and influential designers all around London. Having styled the likes of Noush Skaugen, winner of the Rising Star category at the Download Music Awards and Escala the electric string-quartet for the final of Britains Got Talent on ITV, Ella’s thirst for styling hasn’t gone unnoticed. Having got into the industry through working with ‘bands and musicians and making wacky clothes to shoot with a photographer friend’ her clients have evolved to include publications such as the Financial Times ‘How To Spend IT’, J-FW Magazine, Vanity Fair and the Daily Mail.

Training at the Royal Academy of Music for three years seems like an unlikely origin; from a musical marvel to a conversant stylist. It was recognising something in the industry that is often easy to overlook that ensured Ella stuck to her belief in fashion as an ‘art form that can reflect our society in a way that many other parts of the arts cannot.’ Clothes became an interest ‘Because not only are they objects of beauty worthy of admiration and a route of identity forming transformation, but they are also part of a multi-million pound industry across the globe that cannot be ignored’. Holding an awareness surrounding the importance of fashion within our society has not only influenced Ella’s style and aesthetic, but the people she works with too.
The look that Ella creates, both for her clients and herself, is ‘British Eccentricity’. Drawing inspiration from everyday life to create looks that are fresh and exclusive, ‘I’m inspired by everything around me – nature, architecture, art, literature, cultures, politics, history, tradition and probably most importantly, people with a unique voice that aren’t afraid to stand out and go against the mainstream’.

Certainly not one to suppress any sense of creativity, Ella delves into the deeper depths of fashion through her writing (www.ellapearceheath.com). But which does she prefer, styling or writing? ‘I think they need to go together, how can I write effectively if I don’t work hands on in the industry. Similarly, how can I style without understanding the wider cultural implications, and having my own theory on beauty. I couldn’t pick between them.’ Unlike many ‘Fashion Journalists’ today, Ella doesn’t just write for the sake of writing. Nor has she succumbed to the ease of writing about ‘must-have items’ and celebrity trends. She writes about the role of Fashion in Society ‘because you can’t fully understand anything until you place it in its context’. Constantly scouring the city for fresh designers untainted by the artistic restraint of sponsorship, it was Ella who recognised Fannie Schiavoni as an emerging new talent before she was acknowledged by the likes of Browns and Tank Magazine. But why choose to use young, unrecognised designers? ‘Because they often are still in the position to place the aesthetic, a unique voice/message and forward thinking at the forefront of their collection as they haven’t yet been compromised by the buyers need for ‘2 of this in 3 different colour-ways attitude’. Not to be misunderstood, Ella is of course aware of the importance of influential high-end brands such as Alexander McQueen, Lanvin and Iris Van Herpen, and her inspiration and admiration is still drawn by ‘Prada for innovation and single-mindedness, Stella McCartney for feminine simplicity and Antonio Berardi for amazing dresses’.

The next step for Ella is preparing the Look-Book for Komodo, an ‘ethical, hempy and hand-made’ brand. Individuality and artistic exploration are both equally as important as sustainability, influencing Ella’s belief that the future of fashion ‘must move away from celebrity; collections by non-designers just trying to make money or boost their fame etc are just a gimmick. True fashion is an art form, and this needs to be recognised’. How can the effects of the recession be seen in Fashion? ‘I think it has bred a new wave of designers who realise we aren’t infallible as a society or a people, and therefore has resulted in a rise of ecological and sustainable fashion designers who see a responsibility to our world’. It seems that Ella’s plans for the future are simple and to be honest, slightly understated , ‘I hope to make people think and to make beautiful images! Can that be a plan, even if it’s an ever so naive one?’ She’s headstrong, determined and knows exactly what she wants, and how she wants it done. Her ideal clients include Alexander McQueen, Gareth Pugh and Vivienne Westwood – who would be ‘pretty fantastic to work with, with all her rebellious attitude and strong opinions’. Perhaps there’s a little bit of Vivienne in all of us…?

Interview by Hattie MacAndrews, November 2009

Dare to Dream - Noush Skaugen

2009-12-01T16:48:00.005Z

Here are a few stills from Noush Skaugen’s official Run Baby Run video shoot. She, with her message of ‘Dare to Dream,’ is capturing everyone’s imagination. Noush has said in a recent interview with Kontraband:

"People need real music; life influences music and conversely music influences life." … It used to seem like it could change the world, like Dylan playing at the Martin Luther King Jr. 'March on Washington' or Woody Guthrie with his guitar labelled "This Machine Kills Fascism". But music seems like a long way from that now, it's at a weird place.

This inspiring attitude acknowledges the real relationship between the arts and society. It is important that, obviously in its place alongside a broad spectrum of all styles in music or art or fashion, that there are some voices that like Noush’s that seize on what is real. The series of bespoke ‘Dare to Dream’ t-shirts I made Noush for this video hopefully capture her spirit!

Read the rest of the interview at Kontraband.

Run Baby Run Video Shoot 2009
Photographer Ian Harding
Stylist Ella Pearce Heath
Hair and Make-up Joella Butler

Digitaria: Opening a Dialogue between Fashion, Art and Politics

2009-11-27T17:28:00.008Z

Photography by George Mavrikos

Look no further than Digitaria on Soho’s Berwick Street if you are seeking a bubbling environment striving to connect and create dialogue between fashion and the arts. But it is much more than just a space to host the Digitaria label which, designed by Eleftheria Arapoglou and Stavros Karelis, the Creative Director, aims to ‘create affordable, well tailored in house fashion...and to combine the world of art with fashion and politics’. At Digitaria London also expect a host of experiential things in this multi-purpose store-come-gallery space, ‘from sound installations and film screenings to gallery shows and what will probably be very strange performances by Theo Adams, Masumi Tipsy and, Scottee’. Digitaria plugs itself as ‘aiming to bring a fresh approach to the industry, combining fashion, art, music and performance to create interactive spaces you want to shop in’. It is an environment where they hope anyone can express his or her ideas.

Furthermore, with their buyer, Paul Joyce, Stavros also works alongside young talented designers to promote their collections. Their current protégée is British Designer Millie Cockton whose new label is called EUPHEMIA. Her work has already been featured in Dazed and Confused, and she is rapidly making a name for herself. Androgyny is strong in her work, but so is the notion of the ‘individuality of the wearer identifying with the pieces’.

Photography by Mark Cant, Notion July 2009

Photography by Toyin, Dazed and Confused, March 2009

They are also currently working with Ada Zanditon, who like many of the other designers they nourish, has strong ecological fundamentals. ‘She uses a range of organic and natural fabrics as well as innovative waste reducing and energy conscious solutions to create sculptural, elegant, desirable fashion.’ Furthermore, she doesn’t use leather or fur in her Ready-to-wear collections or accessories.

Photography by Paul Morgan

Digitaria recently held the Faroe Islands SS10 designer showcase, at which Pop note washed leather and stretched jersey pieces by Barbara I Gongini and chunky neon knits from Johanna Av Steinum as highlights. Barbara I Gongini, again a designer committed to sustainability, deserves a whole post of her own - but here's a taster to whet your appetite.

Barbara i Gongini AW 09

Digitaria is creating an exciting dialogue, connecting up fashion and art and politics; as Karelis says 'nothing exists without its meaning, however many people don't see the idea behind a creation, even though most of the time socio-political issues that affect us all are incorporated in fashion and art’. I suppose this is exactly what I regularly bang on about – to fully appreciate fashion, and to exploit all of its potential we must put it in its place in our society. However, I think it is also important that we start to recognise that, as Digitaria obviously have, sustainability is also a political issue that designers have a responsibility to commit too. It’s fantastic to see so many young designers (many of whom I will be introducing you to over the next few weeks) are seizing this opportunity, many under the guidance of Digitaria, and are using locally sourced materials and adopting a healthy attitude towards sustainable fashion. As these designers prove, it is highly possible for inspiring fashion and art to take up this challenge without compromising aesthetics or progressive technology and design. As Ada Zanditon says, she ‘pioneers creating and evolving a high end womenswear business with a common sense approach to sustainability…and a belief in business that treats people, planet and profit with equal importance’.

Komodo AW10 Team Meeting

2009-11-24T14:36:00.010Z

A sneak preview of the Komodo AW10 shoot team, Kelly and Jules from Foundation Agency, photographer Claire Pepper and hair and make-up starlet Joella Butler, in action. There were fabric samples, drawings, tear sheets and mood boards...but as of yet, no actual samples! We have a beautiful autumnal palette with bursts of purple, berry, red and mustard to work with. Classic tweeds, checks, wools and paisley paired with the original Komodo girl ethnic and laid back aesthetic, creates a well-traveled, chic, fun spirited and wearable collection.

I'm looking at some amazing shoes by eco designers Beyond Skin and Where, to sit alongside some vintage boots and statement chunky heels with socks. Jewellery by Made, and some amazing vintage and recycled pieces and feathers galore are going to take this collection forward from it's ethical roots. With the rise in interest in eco fashion, headed by Emma Watson's collaboration with People Tree and talk of a Leona Lewis/Stella McCartney shoe and bag range, this AW10 Komodo collection is in a great position to attract new attention and define it's place in the market. Watch this space...

Models 1 New Face Georgina Howard to be the face of Komodo for AW10

Image thanks to Models 1

Radiation by Invasion - Iris van Herpen

2009-11-23T21:16:00.011Z

Here's a little bit more art, this time by Iris van Halpern. Her SS10 'Radiation by Invasion' collection, was shown back in September at Blow PR Presents, where her work caught the eye of Harrods. She will now be the first designer to partake in the Harrods New Designer Platform, and an exhibition of her work will be showing at Harrods from today, November 23rd, until December 6th.

All images copyright Michel Zoeter

Georgia Hardinge - Artist through Fashion

2009-11-23T20:03:00.012Z

Pretty much love everything by Georgia Hardinge, who says 'I believe that the highest approach of art awareness is through fashion. Enabling a large community to access my work.' Fashion is art, not a shopping list of what one must or must not wear and have and be. Her work consists of modern fabric sculpturing, 'accentuating the important features of the body, combining positive and negative space to meld both the delicate and structural as one'.

The Silent Revolution - The Shoot

2009-11-12T13:20:00.002Z

Photography by Ian Harding
www.ianharding.info

The Silent Revolution

2009-11-12T13:16:00.000Z

‘Art and cultural consumption are predisposed, consciously and deliberately or not, to fulfil a social function of legitimating social differences’. (‘Distinction’, Bourdieu)

The counter culture movement of the 1960s and 1970s has become as much a fashion movement as a political one. Forty years on the key fashion trademarks of the counter culture movement are still firmly established, and are open for re-interpretation in our current social context. Florals, denim, ethnic influences, tie-dye and that ‘Woodstock’ vibrancy of colour, texture and print, get the ‘signature look’. However, when viewed, rather than as abstract fashion pieces, but in a context of an era defined by the political conscience and social rebellion of a post-war generation, these signature 70s pieces become tools to convey a political message, both now and then, and the era had lasting social, political and cultural consequences.

Politically the counter culture movement encapsulated student rebellion across the Western world: protesting against the Vietnam War; the excesses of consumerism; the establishment; intolerance and racism; global capitalism and the giant multi-national corporations; and nuclear armament, all against a backdrop of the spread of Communism and violence and suffering in the Third World. A generation, socialized in a period of affluence, was no longer so concerned with material issues, but became what has been called ‘post-materialist’, looking for individual fulfillment, quality of life and self expression. As explained in Inglehart’s Silent Revolution, in 1977: ‘for the younger cohorts, a set of “post-bourgeois” values, relating to the need for belonging and to aesthetic and intellectual needs…take top priority.’ Original counter culture members saw themselves and their own lives as a way to express political and social beliefs and so personal appearance was at the forefront of their political expression. Clothes were used to make a political statement and to express an alternative way of life and an alternative sense of fashion to that of ‘the Establishment’. Woodstock in 1969, the famous festival of music and the arts, was a platform for this disaffection from the dominant culture, and a very visual symbol of the political empowerment of the young. As captured by Eric Hobsbawn in The Age of Extremes, the State was checked by an increasingly rebellious population with much more individualistic attitudes than ever before; it was ‘the triumph of the individual over society.’

The use of exotic motifs, now iconically linked to that era, were adopted by the counter culture movement out of concern for Western exploitation of the Third World in symbols of solidarity: leather accessories and the hippy head-band in the manner of Native Americans; the caftan; the PLO-style Arab headscarf; Afghan sheepskin coats; and long scarves from India. These were all worn in a sign of unity and as political statement pieces. Second-hand clothing – a statement of living on the margins of a capitalist society and of self sufficiency, demonstrating an opposition to the wastefulness of the consumer society – was also ‘in’. Self-expression through external appearance led to free and creative stylistic additions such as customising with bleach and tie-dye, Indian inspired batik, paisley, scarves and gold jewellery, patches and ethnic inspired embroidery, drawing on national dress from, for example, Greece and Turkey. Body painting became an art form as hippies adorned themselves with psychedelic patterns across their bodies.

Haute Couture went for the hippy utopia and the street fashions de riguer were sold in boutiques in Paris, LA and London. These eclectic influences from the street movement were seen in the collections of couturiers: Pucci’s 1960s interpretation saw geometric prints in a kaleidoscope of colour; Marc Bohan at Dior showed psychedelic patterns in 1967; and Missoni ran their iconic bold bright space dyed weave patterns. Vogue too acted to make the painted psychedelic prints a high fashion trend. The national dress (which we see interpreted in Yves Saint Laurent’s Africane collection of 1967), tunics (Halston, designer to the rich and famous of society, showed tunics and matching trousers to dress America’s real woman), florals (as shown by Kenzo in the early 1970s), and peasant style blouses and skirts (as shown by Yves Saint Laurent in his Russia Collection, 1976/77, and folkloric tops shown in Jean-Paul Gaultier’s 1976 collection).There was a rush back to nature, ‘a return to paradise’, with the inclusion of flowers and natural materials, (Biba, in the late 1960s, ran cheesecloth dresses with lace trims, layered sleeves, tied backs and tied cuffs), all further enhanced by ‘barefoot and braless’, Jesus sandals and long hair. This ‘back to nature mentality’ saw the 1973 ‘beige phase’ in high end fashion. The hippy preference for baring flesh, in conjunction with the sexual liberation of the era, saw the trend for sheer blouses over bare breasts arrive on the catwalks in 1968. The hunt for unique second-hand finds, such as a velvet jacket, were too, soon enough all copied, and, using this example, velvet flared suits suddenly flooded the market. Denim, and Levi Strauss, became the uniform of the un-conformist, it united classes and helped the wearer make a philosophical, political or fashion statement.

The fashion revolution saw young creative designers responding to these new attitudes, ‘they were lively, highly individual, inventive…and greatly concerned with the creation of “image”’. Inglehart’s ‘post-materialist’ youth led to, probably for the first time, designers reacting to and interpreting their street movement. Much is written on Yves Saint Laurent who found his source of inspiration on the street and captured some of the spirit of the times. Along with the collection specifically mentioned above, he added details from the hippies eastern influences; his 1969 collection, a patchwork and mix of patterns and outfits of romantic silk and organdie, was for the sophisticated hippy. Furthermore, in 1968 he launched his Rive Gauche range ‘named after the left bank of the Seine in Paris, a favourite haunt of students, intellectuals and existentialists’ – the new in-group. Yves Saint Laurent created antiestablishment fashion at high end prices for the super rich who ‘wanted their image to be as “anti—establishment” as it was beautiful’. Couturiers Emanuel Ungaro, Pierre Cardin and Audre Courreges similarly responded to these attitudes. Biba, the first high fashion and low price point brand designed by Barbara Hulanicki, showed the classless aspirations of the time, she targeted this new generation and Biba became the epitome of a style conscious idealism. It fulfilled the 1960s commitment to ‘live fast, die young and leave a beautiful corpse’. Mary Quant’s shop, ‘Bazaar’, run with her husband, celebrated youth and fun and bohemianism. It was an upmarket alternative that drew essence from the emerging group identity of young Britain. And thus, the anti-culture found itself to be the in-culture in the oxymoron of non-conformist fashion; by adopting a stylistic alternative the movement had remained firmly imbedded in a culture defined by style, and with this, ‘anti-fashion’ became ‘official fashion’ and lost its attitude.

The new demands of the post-materialist, post-Second World War youth, looking for individual fulfillment, quality of life and self expression, led to a changing role in fashion in our society. Now in our modern society ‘celebrity’ fills a similar cultural niche as the ‘political conscience’ did in the 60s and 70s. Through association with a celebrity one attaches themselves to all their transferable connotations, such as a particular social class or attitude or lifestyle or style. Furthermore, the anti-fashion of the 60s and early 70s probably changed the way we wear clothes forever. Where previously one bought a whole outfit, the new individualistic requirement of the trend demanded one took a little bit from here, there and everywhere, ‘mass produced clothing…mixed with clothes from past decades and other cultures’.

This was more than a political movement; it was a movement of the arts. As Oscar Wilde put it: ‘the artist is the creator of beautiful things’, but ‘all art is quite useless’. The 1960s saw the young united with a common objective, whether politically motivated, interested in popular culture or naively dreaming of a life full of peace and love. Their common objective, ultimately, was their image.

Sources
John Peacock, The 1970s
John Peacock, The 1960s
Charlotte Seeling, The Century of the Designer
Alwyn W Turner, BIBA: The Biba Experience
Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Preface

The Uniform

2009-11-11T16:51:00.002Z

Here's a link to an interesting piece discussing military uniform. Although it may not seem an obvious connection, uniforms, particularly military, are deeply related to the the issues of Fashion and it's role in society, and so is a topic I will be covering in some amount of depth over the next few months. For now, enjoy...

SS10 Round-Up: Fendi and Lingerie

2009-10-19T19:00:00.001+01:00

Fendi SS10 RTW
All photos thanks to Style.com

Throughout the 20th Century trends in underwear seem to have reflected the social climate and the role of women in that social climate. Whether the 1920s, where a post-First World War generation threw aside corsetry and foxtrots in favour of cropped hair and the Charleston, and squeezed into a ‘flattener brassiere’ or ‘bandeau’ to fit the androgynous straight lines and unfitted dresses of the period. Or the ‘New Look’ of the post-Second World War generation, where society embraced the corset as a historic form of luxury following years of rations and deprivation, and with this a celebration of the most womanly of shapes, the hourglass. Or during the rebellious years of the 1970s, a time rife with political demonstration and a new rejectionist counter culture, where the mass abandonment of traditional “undies”, namely the corset, suspender belt and stockings, signified a rejection of ‘ritualistic seduction’ as women declared ‘our bodies belong to us’ and women in the US famously burnt their bras.

For SS10 underwear has similarly been used by designers as a way to express their differing opinions on the women they dress in this current social climate. Jean Paul Gaultier liberated and empowered women, Dior celebrated sexuality as an object of admiration, and Dolce and Gabbana embraced the discourse between femininity and masculinity. Karl Largerfeld’s SS10 collection for Fendi displayed yet another aesthetic, where again underwear as outwear took centre stage.

Largerfelds’s romantic collection, all delicacy and fragility, showed Parisian lingerie along with the seasonal whimsical and wispy fabrics and colours. ‘Hyper-sexy’ was certainly not the attitude, even with the most revealing of underwear. Open jackets, sheer chiffon blouses and full length dresses revealed delicately feminine bras and little pantaloons. Shawl collars, ruffles on shoulders, scalloped edges, floral appliqué, vintage lace-edged bras, frill-edged bras, fringed trims and feathery collages of leather were Largerfeld’s details of choice. These details, and the use of sheer and roughed up fabrics and frayed edges, created a softness that felt very much more elegant than any other interpretation of the trend. The pale, almost washed out colours and the rough-hewn elements combined with the incredibly luxurious Fendi craftsmanship and attention to detail was the perfect balance of characters to keep the underwear perfectly ladylike.

SS 10 Round-Up: Dolce and Gabbana Looking Back

2009-10-16T18:00:00.000+01:00

Dolce and Gabbana SS10 RTW

All photos with thanks to Style.com

Dolce and Gabbana produced their first full collection in March 1986 with the presentation of their "Real Women" show. From here on the Dolce and Gabbana look, inspired by their Sicilian roots, became synonymous with overt lingerie ('the Latin temptress'), pinstripe suits ('the Sicilian gangster') and extravagant prints. It is the friction between these opposites - masculine/feminine, soft/hard and innocence/corruption -that has made Dolce and Gabbana so exciting for the past three decades. With the propensity for corsetry and sheer fabrics appearing on catwalks everywhere, underwear as outerwear has been the main trend to emerge for next summer. So it was no surprise that Dolce and Gabbana, for whom this style has always been embedded in their aesthetic, reclaimed the look, and, as Dior and Jean Paul Gaultier did, stamped their vision onto the world of lingerie.

The Dolce and Gabbana show, a 'tribute to the Sicilian way of life', saw the designers playing up their strong points featuring underwear and their signature corset, tailoring, print and elaborate lace. Sexy Sicilian women with tumbling bed hair pinned up with crystal barrettes squeezed into black lace corsets and bras. The camisoles, dresses, silk slips, skirts and shoes were all transparent, and crochet designs exposed traditional bodices and corsets beneath. Either body-con tops and waistcoats were cutaway at the front to reveal bras or bra straps peeked out from the top of dresses. Knee length and long sleeved lace dresses were worn sheer over black body stockings as though the model was caught halfway through getting dressed, or lace peeped from the hem-lines. Vintage style solid panelled corsets and big pants in black, white and nude, silk fringing and romper suits with pantaloon short shorts took you back to early Dolce and Gabbana. Their trademark red leopard print reappeared on a frilled flamenco dress which was slashed to the thigh, or mixed with clashing satin floral prints. So called ‘modern matadors’ walked the catwalk complete with shoelace ties, short hair, black jodhpurs, white shirts, cropped jackets and loafers, and of course the pinstripe masculine suits made an appearance.

In a final tribute to underwear, they replaced their traditional finale of ball gowns with a runway thronged with models in corsets as their dresses were whipped away to reveal 1950s style shape wear underneath. These were clothes that celebrated the hourglass figure, even if none of the models had them, and the eroticism of curvaceous women like Sophia Loren for whom the pair originally designed for. Their tried and tested mix of masculine tailoring with feminine corsetry ensured that the show achieved a modern reinterpretation of the Dolce & Gabbana woman and aesthetic.

SS 10 Round-Up: Jean Paul Gaultier's and SS10 collection 'The G-Spot'

2009-10-13T00:01:00.001+01:00

Jean Paul Gaultier SS10 RTW

Jean Paul Gaultier is a designer who knows no boundaries, and who has, according to Charlotte Selling (The Century of the Designer 1900-1999), ‘done more to extend the concept of beauty than many an artist, and has been a better spokesman for tolerance than most politicians’. It was to him Madonna turned for her 1990s Blonde Ambition Tour stage costume, for which he produced the iconic exaggerated conical breast bodice. In this move, he liberated the corset from the myth of its being a tool for the subjugation of women, and instead delivered a provocative display of Madonna’s free spirit, dominance and desire to be different. So, considering he practically invented the concept of underwear as outwear back in the 1990s, you couldn't’t expect this man, named by Dazed and Confused ‘the master of lingerie exploitation’, to ignore this season’s lingerie theme. “I wanted to get away from the increasing bourgeois understanding of fashion,” Gaultier told reporters after the show. “When I started there was a real desire to be individualistic and to mark our difference from one another."

This ethos can be seen in the collection. Where in comparison to Dior’s interpretation of underwear rich with femininity and romanticism, which bound and constrained the model both literally and figuratively with an image of sexuality for the man’s pleasure, Gaultier freed the woman to be wild and independent. His models had attitude and a rough and tough edge, with tribal and military and workman themes, often sending models down the catwalk in flat utility boots and workman caps. The conical breast bodice returned in a number of guises throughout the show: as the bodice of satin overalls; under green military skirt-suits and black trouser suits; as the bodice of a long peach dress and of a striped flowing maxi; paired with suspender belts and stockings and striped tights mimicking stockings; and in it’s most creative guise, as a tribal stomach piece.

Jean Paul Gaultier’s interpretation, as always, was entirely unique. Vogue.com comment that ‘to the initiated who've been following Gaultier since his Madonna days in the late eighties, it felt like territory he's explored many times before, and with a heck of a lot more subtly’. And to an extent this is true, the shape hasn’t changed, and neither has the ethos behind his work. But where I see the excitement of this collection is in how he dared to be different, and put his individual stamp back on underwear.

What Katie Did, who I posted on earlier this year in Vintage Undies, have been creating underwear inspired by these classic 1950s shapes for many years. I would highly recommend a trip to their Portabello Green shop, or Liberty where they are also stocked, if you want a more affordable route into this trend for SS10. Prices start at around £27 for the Harlow pointed bra. Whether you want to wear underwear as outwear as showcased by Dior and Gaultier, or just want something beautiful hidden underneath What Katie Did really gets the old-school vibe.

Madonna Blonde Ambition Tour 1990sMadonna Blonde Ambition Tour 1990s

Thanks to Style.com for all the catwalk pics

New Work: Run for a Million Music Video

2009-10-10T13:28:00.004+01:00

Noush Skaugen hit a million twitter followers today and to commemorate the moment we made a celebration renegade music video. The track, 'Run Baby Run' is the lead song on her forthcoming album Dr System, which we're hard at work on right now, but hope this bit of comedy wets your appetite!

'Run for a Million'

SS10 Round-Up: Christian Dior and Vintage Lingerie

2009-10-08T12:58:00.010+01:00

Dior SS10 RTW

Respect is owed to John Galliano this season, as it was he who entered the subject of lingerie at the top of the fashion agenda. Thanks to him, what was supposed to be one single article has rapidly expanded into a mini-series, examining the use of underwear in fashion.

Back in July, Galliano’s Dior AW09 Couture collection saw a full-circle back to Christian Dior’s first collection of 1947. Shown in a setting inspired by the original Dior salon on Avenue Montaigue, AW09 saw half-dressed models with one half of their body revealing stockings, suspenders, pointed bras, Basques, girdles, lace-trimmed slips and petticoats in pretty 1950s flesh tones, and their other half encased in waisted jackets, bubble skirts, padded-hip coats and full skirted evening gowns in an array of fantastical colour and print.

Christian Dior, whose first collection in 1947 emerged out of the rubble of the Second World War, and who remained the ‘dictator’ of fashion for the next decade, revived Haute Couture with his, as it was coined at the time, ‘New Look’. This oddly named ‘New Look’, which was more of a counter-revolution as women found themselves once again (as during the belle époque) dressed as sex symbols for men’s pleasure, demanded extraordinary foundations to reach this desired silhouette. The wasp-waisted silhouette was created by a construction of tulle and bone bustiers, cupped bras, shoulder pads, bust pads, hip pads, and taffeta slips with rosettes and rouches, all to enhance the curves. Dior became famous for this construction of heavy and constricting undergarments. Therefore, it only seems fitting that underwear should become as key to Galliano as it did to Christian Dior.

Where Dior AW09 Couture was strong, sharp and bright with a 50s movie starlet glamour, SS10 was 40s film-noire, probably finally capturing the real romantic essence of historical Dior. Where Galliano’s earlier collection was all tiny waists, structure, strength and vivid colour, SS10 focused on a more vulnerable femininity. The French lace trimmed petticoats and shorts, cami-knickers and satin teddies, baby doll dresses, fragile flowered chiffon dresses, vintage-esq full-length cascading satin, pleated silk cocktail dresses and transparent delicate fabrics with romantic adornments all brought this new aesthetic to the collection. Galliano’s dramatic edge is undoubtedly still on show, and his distinct creative aesthetic is conveyed through his use of contrasts (of texture, colour, fabric). For example, a structured corset is attached to a chiffon blouse and paired with delicate lace trimmed shorts, or dresses with lace uppers fall into lamé trains, or corseted uppers descend into waterfalls of chiffon ruffles or a lamé wrap dress is finished with lace trim. Galliano said he found the film-noire inspiration for the collection while thinking about Lauren Bacall, American actress and model, “[who] was a great Dior client; there are amazing photos of her in the salon with Bogart”. With this historical impetus he designed the wardrobe for his 40s femme fatale, complete with her side parting and red lips. Thus underwear arrived on the fashion platform.

Revisiting the original aesthetic of Dior’s ‘New Look’ Galliano has found the true Dior essence, fitting for the modern woman. Sometimes only by looking back can you move forward with a fresh outlook, and rediscover what your purpose is. Despite how it is commonly treated and understood, fashion is certainly not an a-historical phenomenon.

Dior AW09 Couture

All pictures with thanks to Style.com

SS10 Round-Up: Viktor and Rolf, Credit Crunch Couture

2009-10-06T19:26:00.035+01:00

A show is going to particularly grab my attention if a flamboyant, showstopping design duo claim to be making a commentary on society and its economic concerns. Viktor and Rolf say of their Spring/Summer '10 collection “it's all about cut-backs... Everyone has a response to the belt-tightening and recession. This is our version...We took out a chain saw and hacked away at excess, starting with the tulle." This ethos created a remarkable show of contrasts; we see beneath a frothy and whimsical exterior to a sombre wearability.

Finely gathered chiffon panels hold vertical shelves of tulle bursting out in bright purple or green. Gravity defying cut-out horizontal and diagonal slices reveal black and muted body skimming simplicity. Circular bites removed almost carelessly reveal rough layers beneath. A sombre tuxedo jacket or dress and city shorts appear behind girly and flamboyant tulle shapes shining over the top. Sharp V shaped black tux lapels, ever pervasive throughout, cut through softly flowing silk, chiffon and tulle in an array of pastel colours. Every piece represents a dialogue between extrovert joy and pared back sophistication, and so the show holds a dramatic conversation, where ultimately, for me, neither could exist without the other.

The mix of hard and soft, flirty and strong, light and dark, muted and bright, structure and free flowing, grown-up and childlike, and sharp and soft is utterly alluring. It takes some time to understand what you're really seeing, and even then you feel you don't quite know what this duo is saying. Is fashion imitating life in a vibrant discourse, or are they just having some fun?

I can, however, safely say SS10 is the season of some rather attention seeking celebrity endorsement. Emma Watson for Burberry, Lily Allen for Chanel, Madonna for Louis Vuitton, Pamela Anderson for Vivienne Westwood, Lindsay Lohan for Emanuel Ungaro and now Roisin Murphy for Viktor and Rolf. Always one to grab fashion headlines, she appeared wearing a pink tutu falling from her shoulders to her hips, (maybe to hide that she is heavily pregnant) and provided the live soundtrack with the debut of two new songs 'Royalty' and 'Demon Lover'.

Roisin Murphy for Viktor and Rolf SS10, Paris

The final most dramatic dresses showed great skill in construction, a mastery of creation, but I rather imagine, in the credit crunch collection, little expense was spared.

New Fannie Schiavoni Delights and the Blogger Chain

2009-09-23T11:04:00.011+01:00

Alice Palmer SS10 with Fannie Schiavoni, LFW

I think you might have noticed me harking on about Fannie Schiavoni, I believe I was one of her earliest followers, even beating Miss Style Bubble to the post, when I shot some of her grad collection back in January. As I posted a few months ago Fannie is making waves, stocked not only at Browns Focus, but now also at Kabiri. Fannie launched her SS10 collection last Saturday on-line by gathering together 6 fashion bloggers who simultaneously posted an image from her collection, in a self-named fashion chain. She also showed her collection alongside Alice Palmer, with Fannie Schiavoin's tough metals contrasting beautifully against bare skin, and the soft origami pleats and folds of fine jersey knits which draped weightlessly. Later this week I will be shooting some of the new collection for a major album shoot for Noush Skaugen, so I promise backstage pics over the weekend, and a full update on the shoot soon. For now, here are my favourite pieces from the Fannie Schiavoni SS10 collection.

Hermes Pour Liberty: design history

2009-09-19T15:31:00.011+01:00

Finally I had a chance to visit the Hermes Pour Liberty pop up shop which has taken over the scarf room at Liberty. Everlasting chic French perfection meets fashion forward cool, yet traditional British heritage, in what should make a perfect combination. It's a little like buying a limited edition print - I feel I should frame it and hang it on my wall!

Creative director of Hermès silk, Bali Barret, said of the collaboration: “For us Parisians, Liberty is the British icon. The idea for the collaboration was to create a fifty percent Hermès and fifty percent Liberty scarf in order to make a one hundred percent truly exciting hybrid collection of scarves and ties. Choosing to print our famous Ex libris on to the famous Liberty Tana Lawn classic flower print was the perfect solution”.It was reported that stylists would be on hand to explore different ways to tie each scarf, but I seem to have missed that; the extremely charming sales assistants unfortunately seemed to have no idea what to do with the scarves. I'm not sure this is exactly what the organisers had intended... Other events - including mini-fashion shows - will be taking place whilst Hermes is in-situ until 18th October so watch this space. The real perk, however, is the range of other Hermes scarves and accessories also on display, as it is fabulous to be able to touch and try on anything, unlike in any normal Hermes shop. I couldn't resist a few treats, so I left a very happy customer with the light blue and pink Liberty/Hermes collaboration scarf, a classic silk Hermes, and a beautiful gold Hermes scarf buckle to finish the look. So chic and Parisian!

See the Liberty Blog for more event details or visit http://www.liberty.co.uk/ for further information

Christopher Kane arrives at Topshop

2009-09-18T15:43:00.006+01:00

Crowds of shoppers queued on Oxford Street this morning as Christopher Kane for Topshop went on sale. They had good reason, this collection has all the Christopher Kane touches you would want, and the simple garments still have the essence of luxury without the massive price tags - at £40-£160 there's probably something for everyone. Mirrors, eyelets, gems and embellishments are a major feature throughout the whole collection. There is also a brilliant range of accessories such as the leather pouch bags with tiny mirrors and, my favourite, mesh and rivet details shoes and boots. In conjunction with his main line range success with the Gorilla print, his collection for Topshop uses a crocodile print which is fantastic, and with the t-shirt at £40, much more affordable than the £215 main line version. Shop the collection at Topshop online.Main line Christopher Kane Gorilla print

New York Fashion Week: Nicholas Petrou, SS10

2009-09-17T19:21:00.012+01:00

Inspiration for a major project looking at Superheros - just thought I'd share.

All photos by Andrew Yang, 2009

A Shared Aesthetic - continued!

2009-09-16T14:46:00.003+01:00

Another beautiful Minoan piece which I had to share

Ring, before 2000 BC, Gold

A Shared Aesthetic

2009-09-15T13:20:00.008+01:00

Minoan Bee Pendant, 1700-1500 BC, Gold
Alex Monroe Bee Pendant, 2001-2009, Gold

Craftsmanship, beauty and luxury; some of the words I most associate with the real essence of fashion. On a recent trip to Crete's Archaeological Museum the jewellery of the Neolithic and Minoan periods, 5700-1100 BC caught my attention. For, as far as we have come, these pieces of Minoan jewellery in front of me could have been entirely modern. This ancient display of fashion raises interesting questions into an ingrained value of aestheticism which we share as humans.

Neolithic pieces from 5700-2800 BC show abstract stone and clay pendants and charms. Late Minoan pieces, 1400-1200BC, show gold flowers, carved ivory, bangles, pins and rings, and vivid gemstone necklaces. Typical Minoan jewellery consisted of thin coils and chains of linked and plaited gold wire, and gold foil fashioned into petals and rosettes. Stamping and engraving were also common techniques used in the manufacture of Minoan jewellery, as was gold granulation and filigree. For me, the most remarkable pieces I have seen is the Minoan Bee Pendant, picture below. Taking this one example, jump thousands of years to the 21st Century, and Alex Monroe, leading designer of gold and silver jewellery, holds his famous Bumble Bee pendant at the centre of his collections, picture below. His collections too feature filigree pendants and charm bracelets. He too draws of the nature around him to produce jewellery inspired by flowers, leaves, birds and butterflies.

It is quite remarkable that our modern society still turns to the same inspiration, and still uses similar metal work techniques as our Minoan 'ancestors'. Could this be taken to suggest we have an ancient aesthetic ingrained in our modern society? The continuation of a shared aesthetic over so many thousands of years must teach us something about the history of fashion. Interestingly, and please do shout out if I'm wrong, I have never seen an article or fashion story looking at the art of the Minoans featured in any glossy. How can we in the fashion industry rule out such a section of our history, and what have we missed by doing so?

Counter Culture sneak preview

2009-09-15T11:09:00.003+01:00

A little something to wet your appetite! Full story up soon.

Floral Fancy

2009-07-24T16:31:00.033+01:00

Classic English florals: imaginings of the countryside, 60s hippie movement, innocence and childhood. No matter how one wears them, there is a certain unmistakable British charm. My barbies discarded their sparkling bikinis and neon sportswear in favour of tiny floral dresses, cropped jackets and flared skirts with little ribbon ties lovingly made by my mother. My christmas angel wears her pink and white flowered dress from an off cut of Liberty Fabric year in year out - and yes she really does look angelic. And now this summer fashion has gone wild for the 'Liberty Fabric' which is set to take over the world.

Liberty was founded by Arthur Liberty in 1875. He built it's reputation through innovative and trend-setting stock; imported antiques from the Near and Far East, arms and armour from Japan and China, and exhibitions of embroideries from across the world. Now, Liberty is both innovatively moving forward and looking back, paying tribute. A Retrospective Liberty Exhibition opens to celebrate the iconic fabric prints. A collaboration with Central Saint Martins students is set to reinterpret the archive of prints. Luella and Gap have produced collections based on the fabrics in the archives. For the second year running Nike have designed Liberty print Dunks and Blazers. Paris fashion house APC have launched a new Liberty Fabric collection; 1960s boho with 'a large dash of Soho summer'. 'APC’s John Touitou believes that ‘floral print fabrics are a totem for the 1960s’; in keeping with this feeling he has designed the collection to be authentically boho – nostalgia updated – to reflect the re-emergence of the Liberty Print.' Liberty of London’s Sloane Street boutique in celebration invited a special Cacharel collection to sit alongside the brand’s own, comprising a capsule selection of pieces reworked in their original 1970s Liberty print. The Kate Moss for Topshop capsule collection draws inspiration from Liberty’s fabric archives to create flirty summer dresses, perfect for the festival season. Papa d’Anjo also launched at Liberty in March with a range of childrenswear, all in Liberty print. This summer Liberty sums up 'British Cool'.

A few weeks ago I embarked on an exploration of floral print; the eccentric british look being central to my work. Below are some pictures from my first floral shoot. Here I've explored classic innocent florals; their softness and feminity. I was inspired by vintage pieces, the APC line Madras, and of course Liberty. The Topshop Liberty print shorts, and the Carcharel Liberty print visor were starting points for this story . Next week I'm going urban, with 1960s anti-war protests and student rebellion. I am set to discover how florals fit into our distinctly British look and culture.

Pictures by Claire Pepper 2009

Rags or Riches? charity shops revived

2009-06-22T15:48:00.002+01:00

Along with my love of ethical fashion you may have also noticed my love of all things vintage and charity. It all seems to have become all the more relevant for the times we find ourselves in; as Mary Portas states, a financial and environmental crisis like nothing we've seen before. So imagine my joy to find both of my treasures, ethical and charity, at the centre of a shift in shopping and the culture of fashion as a whole. (Admittedly I say all this regardless of the news of endless queues at Gucci on the opening day of the Selfridges summer sale, but I can't ask for everything to change at once now can I!)

Oxfam is in the midst of another overhaul - this one I feel more fitting than the upmarket Westbourne Grove shop of their last attempt - and stylist and designer Mrs Jones, AKA Fee Doran, is taking the reins. She's been customising the stock, turning whatever she can find upside down and inside out, producing pieces to buy in the re-styled Camden shop and online. This cumulated in a shop launch and runway show to preview her collection, followed up with workshops teaching participants to pull outfits together and customise clothes. The final twist is the Festival DIY tent, which kicks off at Glastonbury, to which I lent a helping hand last week.
Not only does this project ask us to give back to charity, an area which means so much to so many, but it also aims to improve us through teaching long lost skills and asking us to embrace our own creativity and talents. Fashion in its rawest form.

Along with Oxfam’s revival, which is well worth a visit, a lot of other charity shops are getting it right. Cast your minds back to one of my earliest posts on the re-launch of the Age Concern shop in Oxford – a stylists dream. And I’ve maybe mentioned before too, the British Red Cross on Old Church Street where there is rail upon rail of once worn designer pieces. Ben de Lisi regularly donates, but due to the affluence of the surrounding area on my last trip I also found Stella McCartney, Ralph Lauren, nearly new Manolo Blahnik, Nicole Farhi, and the list goes on, at bargain prices. You won’t find yourself trawling through crowded piles of used and unloved garments, as insiders - stylist, designers, fashion writers, musicians - have already discovered. The shop looks like any other on the high street.

At the same time Mary Portas Queen of Shops returned to our screens with a new series
Mary Queen of Charity Shops where she aimed to change the image of charity shopping. She’s also opened her very own charity shop in the Westfield Village, supported by Grazia, to raise the profile of charity shopping. Mary's Charity Shop has been a huge success, with celebrity endorsements and donations from numbers of high end designers and celebrities. She spotted this shift from, as she names it, 'greed to giving' which was happening at the same time as this economic meltdown. The it-bag, in-skirt, fashion media led 'must have this' and 'buy that now' attitude seems to have lost its momentum. With style icons shifting to Alexa or Peaches, with their individual style or Michelle Obama, with all her integrity and commitment to raising the profiles of young American designers, there really does seem to be movement towards a shift in our attitudes. In some circles of life many do still have the money to spend on high fashion, this will never change, but even Vogue ran a 'More Dash than Cash' high street editorial in their last edition, filled with customised pieces and unique character. But it's not just the financial question, the giving to charity, or recycling rather than filling landfills, but also a question of individuality and personal style. (An issue I feel pretty strongly about; I discuss in my first column for the City Butler Magazine, and also posted here back in May, Fashion as Identity and Knowing your Fashion Identity.)

So who are these initiatives aimed at? In the most recent Ageless Style issue of Vogue, fashion features writer Sarah Harris discusses the wonders and advantages of going vintage in her article Beyond Retro, but highlights the assumption that vintage isn't for women over 40. Vintage and charity might be fine for the young fashion brave, but does it really have a role in the wardrobes of all ages? Well as always, not every trend is for every figure and the same stands here: find an era that suits, for example 50's can only be flattering for the older or curvier woman. Or costume jewellery, hats and silk scarves are always an individual twist to an outfit, but mean you don't need to take the look head to toe.

So when wearing your nearly-new £60 Manolo Blahniks, and you’ve not only pleased your bank balance, had the act of buying from charity ease your soul, relished in your contribution to ethical fashion issues and the environment, you can also have said something about yourself and your character and individuality.

All things chain mail

2009-06-22T12:53:00.012+01:00

Just had my weekly read of StyleBubble to find a post on Fannie Schiavoni. I shot a few pieces from her chain mail collection back in January, totally loved what she was doing, and so I'm pleased to see her getting noticed! Great when good things happen to good people and all that! Below is the story where I featured Fannie's chain mail glove, shot by Martin Dagucci. Izzy at Storm had the most incredible face for the story, and gotta love those Shu Umera Lace lashes!

Wimbledon's Classic Gentleman

2009-06-16T11:07:00.065+01:00

For two weeks of the year all eyes are on Wimbledon, and it seems as much interest is provoked by the fashion as by the tennis. In 2006 Ralph Lauren was named the first designer in the history of The Championships to outfit all on-court officials, only adding to the luxury and classic style which defines both Polo Ralph Lauren and Wimbledon. The stars on court see their marketability soar from the right whites, and public support can grow from as little as that perfectly daring dress. The Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova are almost as well know now for their love of fashion as they for their tennis, and don't think the boys haven't worked this out too.

Yesterday Andy Murray revealed his Wimbledon 2009 look. Who would have thought the 'grumpy' anti-English star would be interested. But here we are, and Andy has teamed up to design his own outfit with Fred Perry, the classic British sports brand, and last British Champion at Wimbledon back in 1936. Is Andy trying to reconnect with the British public he ostracised a few years ago? By choosing this particular designer and it's classic look of a lost era Andy has re-branded himself as a British gentleman, and one who means business.
So I'm sure it is now with keen anticipation fans are waiting to see what Roger Federer can respond with this year. With his monogrammed blazers, logo sports kit, and this rather fetching cardi of 2008, he has successfully brought style back to the courts!

Graduate Fashion Week

2009-06-15T18:14:00.057+01:00

With all the furore of Graduate Fashion Week I haven't yet had time to give my report, so late as it is, here we go. At the Brighton Uni Show there was a distinct wearability to the collections; sharp tailoring with floating feminine twists, structure balanced with soft colours and draped fabric, muted palettes with just a splash of considered colour, and gentle materials with a streak of experimental detail. Clean lines and simplicity really were the order of the day, apart from a few notable exceptions.

Jessica Watkins collection, 'Take me to the Prom. I dare you' stood out with a wholly different aesthetic. Inspired by the culture clash of America, the Norths preppy sport look and the deep Souths ragged plaid shirts, Watkins produced a Luella-esk girly show filled with romance and delicacy, oversized pom poms, and vintage sports equipment. Will be shooting some pieces from this collection in a few weeks so stand by for some pics!

Rasmus Rhode's collection, 'Motorcycle Diaries of Albrecht Durer', won the catwalk collection prize which was presented by Julien Macdonald. Here though, even the studs and slightly creepy skull caps didn't dominate from the successful tailoring of modern and edgy suits and gentlemans coats.

Holly Maloney won the portfolio prize, presented by Avsh Alom Gur. Inspired by architecture and structure her pieces really stood out in the knitted textiles category. Claire Pepper shot the collection, so visit her website for the amazing results.

Kyo Young Lee's collection, in a beautiful muted palette, showed tailored jackets, skirts and dresses with a feminine side. Gathered, ruffled and flowing silks and chiffon's, and statement embellishments. I would love to shoot this collection.

Big shoulders ruled the catwalk in Carys Baily's sheer sophistication and in Catherine Gerard's classical forms with armoured detailing. Hoping to shoot pieces from these collections too!

Pictures all to follow!

Miksa LookBook

2009-06-15T17:16:00.022+01:00

Last week I styled the LookBook for designer Katie Weightman's ethical fashion label Miksa, with photographer Greg Funnell. The Spring Summer '10 collection is a fabulous mix of little flirty summer dresses, skirts and and playful girly prints, in a muted palette of cream, dove greys and blues.

Katie's ethical credentials are fundamental in her work, she uses organic cotton which is fair trade certified and the garments are made in a factory which adheres to strict fair trade working conditions. She uses vegetable dyes such as pomegranate, which cause minimum harm to the environment, or low impact dyes, which contain less water and chemicals than conventional dyes, and uses coconut, recycled and tagua nut buttons.

I wanted to keep the LookBook very simple and clean, no fuss in sight. Our model Jess had the perfect look with her scruffy hair and serene face, but that little hint of attitude! Katie was really keen we kept the look grown up, but the bow on the shoes and the floral jewellery I customised keep that uber feminine summer feel. I think this is the best Miksa collection yet, combining the feminine elegance of silk and draped jersey with little hippie crochet details. Below are my favourite pieces.

A Vintage Epic

2009-05-26T14:45:00.017+01:00

So I've been talking about this shoot for a while now but here are some of the final images; see my website for the full story. The first thing you might notice is the crimping which I shall defend before you can say a thing! Now, the photog was terrified of it (of course coming round to it as soon as she saw the first look) with thoughts of the 80's screaming through her head. But I think it makes all the difference: it's both soft and feminine yet still surprising and eccentric. Simply curling and back-combing really wouldn't have created the same textures, and would have been too soft and girly next to the vintage dresses. However as a word of advice, I would suggest leaving it for those with long hair after a rather horrible result on my own short hair!

On our first day of shooting our model was Remia at Select, who was, at only 15, just amazing. She has one of the most striking faces I've seen, and really pulled off the British Eccentricity of the shoot. I totally love her in this red dress, an original 1950's number from Vintage Vanity, with the flash of studds and the Guccia at Larizia heels.

Latitaie is a gorgeous new face at Oxygen who shot the second day of our story. I particularly love the amazing straw boater hat I managed to find in the British Red Cross shop just off the Kings Road. It's one of the best charity shops I've been to recently with a whole rack of Ben de Lisi, Stella McCartney, Nicole Farhi among many other labels. But that day the only thing for me was the boater which looks fabulous on Latitaie with the maribu stork. Then as promised is the image of the printed leggings, which had a whole post devoted to them last week!

Diamonds, pearls and precious stones

2009-05-22T18:18:00.057+01:00

My last shoot focused on vintage dresses which really needed toughening up and modernising. Just a few strong, statement pieces of jewellery was all it took. There are so many wonderful designers really pushing the boundaries, but here are just a few that I find particularly exciting.

Solange Azagury-Partridge, who describes her jewellery as 'talismanic ornaments layered with cultural depths...designs poised between pop art and ancient mysticism, irreverent and iconoclastic.' I would think she is best known for this Lips ring, but her other work is also inspirational. She puts this down to the fact she is self taught, so therefore has no preconceptions and can bend almost all the rules to achieve her single vision.

Rachel Galley, a Central Saint Martins graduate in 2004, is another of my favourites. Rachel says she 'draws her inspiration from intricate carved wood, bronze historic treasures, architecture, engineering, natural textures and objects found in our daily lives. She adds her own innovative twist with hidden compartments or containers, enabling the wearer to interact with their jewellery and adds bespoke, handmade fittings and clasps to give each piece her own signature finish.' Her work pleases me in a different way, it's intricate and personal, classic and elegant without failing to excite and remain modern and relevant. My favourite pieces are from the Memento Pillow collection.

Nathalie Melville, another Central Saint Martins 2004 graduate launched commission based fine jewellery brand in 2006. I've been lucky enough to know Nathalie, and to shoot her pieces a number of times. Her work is intricate and delicate, the pieces move with your body and are therefore a joy to wear. Her lace effect work, which is predominant in her collections, is beautiful, but her newest collection, Kensington Gardens, is moving forward from this. I can't just have one favourite so here are 3.
Alexis Bittar's first collections were inspired by 1920's depression era glass and by the Bakelite jewellery of the 1930's to create hand sculpted Lucite jewellery. His work is very sculptural and filled with statement pieces. Maybe each and every one of these designers deserves a full post to themselves in the future.

Fashion as Identity

2009-05-11T12:19:00.000+01:00

Fashion is so often denounced as fad, a splurge of money, whimsical fancy reserved for the vain and egocentric. But would Madonna have had the same success without her changing and evolving style and image? Would the PM be taken seriously if he turned up in a purple suit – no matter how expensive, sleek and tailored? Would Kate Moss have stood the test of time if she had left it all to beauty? And would Michelle Obama be hailed an icon of our time if it were not for her personal style?

In rather simple terms these decisions we make, every day of our lives, tell the outside world who we are, who we want to be and what we want to achieve. It can change you and promote you. We change ourselves for our environment – friends or family, work or the opera, the shops or a drinks party – and every time we change it’s because not only do we want to be accepted through how we look, but because we want to say something about ourselves.

But is fashion really only about external appearance? A superficial layer behind which we hide? Or does it go much deeper, to the very core of our identity, which shapes who we are? Can it nurture your soul and give you personal confidence for whatever circumstance you find yourself in?

Listening to Radio 4 I heard a thought provoking interview with Catherine W Hill, a Holocaust survivor. She described the removal of their own clothes and possessions on arrival at Aushwitz as the stripping of their identity. Loosing their external identity in essence took away their internal identity. She recounted how women would tear off a strip of their prison uniforms to create accessories, scarves and bows for their hair. This was an act of resistance, an act of reclaiming individual identity, personality and self-respect. An act of survival.

So is fashion really just about spoilt women, exquisite clothes, huge amounts of money and superficial vanity? The example from Auschwitz tells us all we need to know, I feel. Fashion is a deeply personal, deeply meaningful and even existential feature of our lives. It is an intrinsic part of identity.

Cecelia de Lisle

2009-05-08T15:33:00.000+01:00

Sunday brought another vintage fair; piles of vintage Chanel, Jaeger and Gerard Darel, all rather out of my price range however. But there was also a collection of hats, like nothing I have ever seen before and the most beautiful selection of vintage wedding dresses – all antique silk, lace and beading! The fairs regularly travel round the country, so I’ll keep you all posted on the next events.

My new vintage Dolce and Gabbana style jacket also got its first outing – I think it was received well! I went to see my best friend and singing sensation Cecelia de Lisle perform a set. She’s such an amazing talent, her first album is out now – I think on Itunes but I’m not good with these sorts of technological matters - and she’s also totally beautiful. We work together a lot, and here are some photos from a shoot I styled for her a little while ago.

Shoot Locations

2009-05-08T15:27:00.001+01:00

So here as promised are some piccies from the shoot recce. Think we’re going to come up with an amazing story here! Also, by some miracle of fortune, I found hidden away a selection of original 1920s and 30s dresses and accessories, and vintage stockings and undies in their original packaging – some still with their price tags on selling stockings for 12p! The pieces are so beautiful, and are going to be a dream to shoot.

Knowing Your Fashion Identity

2009-05-08T15:21:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow my amazing photographer, Claire Pepper, and I are off to the country to recce a possible shoot location which we’re both very excited about. Think Cotswold stone, apple orchards, barns piled high with amazing treasures and the beautiful English countryside! I’m sure I’ll have some lovely pictures to put up soon, so more on that next week.

But my next shoot is with another super photographer Martin Dagucci. We’re looking into the concept of identity, and the transformational process of ‘fashion self discovery’, which, at least in this case, ends in the realisation you actually look like everyone else. But it’s started me thinking can one successfully, uniquely represent oneself through fashion without being boxed, grouped or influenced by something, something which you may have never even known was there?

A recent interview with Pop magazine Hannah Murray, (Cassie in Skins) comments:

Those specs are very on trend.

‘Oh I don’t know anything about on trend. Someone did tell me they were a little bit “Kurt Cobain meets Marc Jacobs”. I pretended to know what they were talking about.’

Style bubble comments:

‘It’s clear she (Hannah Murray) has a very set idea of her own style, yet from this quote it seems she has an un-awareness of fashion as we know it…She’s drawn to sheer tulle things, dropped waisted sequined flapper dresses, excessive plastic accessories and vintage sailor tops…However, by wearing her dropped waisted sequined flapper dress she’s not trying to make a reference/allusion to this season’s John Galliano because she is unaware. She simply likes what she likes…At the end of the day, it is fundamentally about making ourselves happy with clothes and being drawn to garments in an explicable way.’

Hannah, of course, did not declare a desire to be unique, but with reference to this particular pontification, without fashion or trend knowledge, she has still managed to buy into high end fashion trends, set out for her by designers and fashion magazines she has no interest in.

Well anyway, I will keep you posted on the shoot, and any possible self-discovery I may find!

Vintage Undies

2009-05-08T15:11:00.000+01:00

My last shoot was a Vintage Undies story with a fabulous new face at Oxygen models, Pippa, and my partner in crime, photographer Claire Pepper. The pursuit of perfect vintage lingerie and vintage inspired pieces has led to the discovery of a number of fashion secrets.

But firstly, who could resist popping into What Katie Did, especially after all their press recently? (A full 5 page spread in the Sunday Times Style, Amanda Holden on the cover of Weekend Magazine, and even gracing the pages of Vogue). The store, tucked away in Portobello Green, is filled with beautiful yet reasonably priced pieces and is a great way to ease you into vintage styles. I shot the Harlow bullet bra and knickers for my story, but kept the bra unpadded, soft and feminine rather than pin up and sexy. The end results are gorgeous.

Also, check out The Girl Can’t Help it at Alfie’s Antiques Market in Marylebone. This is probably one of the best vintage shops in London, but that is definitely reflected in the prices. I fell in love with a £190 bodice with suspenders, (what these things can do for your figure), but made do with a 1940s prom dress which I customised into the most beautiful little satin bodice with netting skirt.

Maybe not so much of a secret was my next stop: Larizia on St John’s Wood High Street. Jackie, the manager, has a real eye, and one can spend hours drooling over YSL, Prada, Alexander McQueen, Miu Miu…I shot the bronze Gucci and the cream Balenciaga for this story.

La Magia, www.lamagia.com, is a real find, an online boutique selling a wide range of vintage inspired pieces, like the Little Minx ivory set (picture below) and Van Doren retro suspender belt, both of which I shot. And Vintage Vanity, www.vinta gevanity.com is amazing for original one off vintage pieces – sizing can be an issue, but keep checking the site and you’ll definitely find something unique and exciting.

I also called in some retro inspired swim-hats from Saratoga Fine Lingerie – my personal favourite lingerie shop. It’s in Oxford, but Ann, the owner, is so helpful that if you can’t make it that far she’s always happy to help. www.saratogafinelingeri e.co.uk

See my website, www.ellapearceheath.com to see the rest of the story.

Age Concern@183

2009-05-08T15:06:00.000+01:00

Last Saturday I went to the opening of a new Age Concern Original Retro store on the Cowley Road in Oxford. It was truly amazing! Gem upon gem stashed away in every corner – hidden under a rail in a basket of scarves I happened upon a vintage Gucci and a vintage Liberty – both of which I snapped up for a total of £30. Then the next box along was filled with mounds of vintage undies – some of you may have realised that I have a bit of a thing for them! They ranged from £2 - £6, including a vintage pointed bra in its original packaging. I also spotted an original straw boater hat – just as seen in the Marc Jacobs SS09 collection. At £45 not so cheap, but certainly cheaper than a Marc Jacobs and it’s original. See this months Lula Mag for a shoot dedicated to boater hats, featuring Ellen Christine Millinery, Marc Jacobs and Early Halloween – but I think they missed a trick not finding an original one! Also check out the store for home ware – delightful tea sets and floral saucepan sets – children’s toys – amazing retro teenage mutant ninger turtles figures – an amazing collection of radios, and then, another of my favourites, taxidermy. The boss has a stash of taxidermy which he stores at home so he keeps the shop regularly re-stocked, and I would suggest if you’re looking for something specific, to just ask. But it really was a joy to see such a fabulous shop – the usual suspects are so often filled with cheap junk or totally overpriced garments about which the sale people are ridiculously snobby, and neither can be said of here.

Any other oxford fashionistas should also visit Reign, again on the Cowley Road, which sells fab original 1930s, 40s and 50s pieces, mainly by European designers. On Saturday I found a jacket, almost identical to the SS09 Dolce and Gabbana, seen on Gwyneth Paltrow on the cover of March 09 Elle.