Style Bubble

For a Change

>> Me in outfits posing at the camera?  No change there.  Nope, but you do get *drumroll* please.... a different background... ta-daaaaaa!  This is clearly my deranged idea of shaking things up.  Now you sort of know that I don't in fact sleep on my balcony underneath a cardboard box.  And that... I have *gasp* books, magazines and other stuff too.  I sort of don't help this whole changing cause when I'm wearing Etsy favourites like Giia and I Heart Norwegian Wood.  I just remembered these slightly uplifting photos were languishing around on my computer as they were used for an issue of Nylon Japan, showcasing my favourite 'accessories'.  I say uplifting because I'm trying to remember a time when there was this much light flooding into my greenhouse of a flat.  I think I may have bent the term a little with the leather cage skirt but what the hell...

(Photographys by Junichi Kikuchi)

Sun and Moon

>> The Stockholm fashion week tidbits catchup begins and I've given myself until Wednesday when I leave for New York to tie it all up.  Impossible given that I could wax lyrical about a number of things at length... less talk, more action.  I had to post these images from Sol & Luna, a most evolved lookbook produced by Libraryman for the Swedish menswear label Our Legacy 1980-81 featuring photography by the wonderful Viviane Sassen.  Our Legacy put their S/S 10 menswear on a woman which is effective only with Sassen's deft way of revealing and concealing in her images...

Battle of the Bretons

Well, aren't we a couple of slothy fashion bloggers with too much time on our hands?  I've just recently noticed how strange it must seem to the general public that both my boyfriend and I are fashion bloggers and even then, I only noticed because there's a little 'eyebrow' raise and a bemused smile when I tell people.  Still, I suppose I make things nauseatingly worse when I think of *ahem* "fun" (heavy on the air quotes) things to do like this... Battle of the Bretons! 

You wrangle it out PS3/X-Box etc... I pit hidden skulls against classic stripes in knitwear.  To each their own, yah?

So Steve got himself a very lovely and soon-to-be overworn E. Tautz breton striped jumper for his S/S 10 wardrobe.  He's already taken it back to the grandparents, they approve and he's got the by-the-sea pics to prove it. 

A week later, a different kind of Breton arrived in the office.  I'd been salivating over its impending arrival whilst I was in Stockholm.  Sibling London's intarsia Noah skull Breton from their outstanding third collection (wait for the monsters from the fourth one...) is finally mine.  And I look forward to resisting pushing my thumbs through the sleeves making ratty holes in it. 

As it so happens Sid from the Sibling trio also consulted on E. Tautz's knitwear too which makes the pairing all the more apt.  I always knew the Noah Scalin-inspired skull would always win me over despite the fact that E.Tautz's version is probably likely to be worn a few more times.  Like all my other so-called fun ideas though, this is a pretty fruitless battle given that either way... we can both steal each other's Bretons whenever we're feeling less/more of a classic mood... do you guys need a bucket? 

Dreamin' without Machines

>> Dreaming is key on Friday.  If I don't dream a little from 3pm onwards on a Friday, I know that there is no Friday feeling and that the weekend will be a hollow waste of two days.  Today, there was dreaming involved.  It ensued after I unzipped these images sent to by Swash of their S/S 10 collection where beautifully illustrated model air balloons, wallpaper drops and of course, beautiful BEAUTFIUL clothes all mingle together and where Toshio Yamanaka's watercolour illustrations play around on Sarah Swash's shapes.   Argue against the clothes and in this half-dreaming, half-dazed state, I may have to set the Swash dog on you...

Collecting Thoughts

Boooo to WHSmiths and my newsagents not stocking the Elle Collections.  Yay for the new issue arriving at my desk this morning.  I know it's been out for a couple of weeks but seeing as Borders' closure has slowed down my magazine intake, it's taken me this long to get it.

Why the post on a catwalk round-up publication that's been around for a good number of seasons?  Let's see... I had it on my desk for a couple of hours and at least five people came by and touched it asking "Wow, what's that?" thinking it was something entirely different even though it clearly Elle Collections on it in big letters.  Reason being that the paper treatment of the cover had been changed up to a grainy/matt card and flicking through, well... it's pretty much a typography dream and paper treatment/texture dream.  I may lay my blog out like a toddler but I am appreciative of a good layout in print... well because for a fiver or whatever it is, your eyes should be traversing through the pages with ease and delight and with every page turn, you're not angry that roughly 3.3p has been flitted away.  

Content wise, it hasn't veered too much other than it just looks... really polished...which isn't overly useful or insightful as a description but it does sort of need to be seen/touched to fully gauge what it's all about...

So we have the usual round-ups...

...the focus on collections (I love the way they've laid out the Viktor & Rolf spread... )

Then the fashion week tidbits...invitations... and a fun page of Chanel show stats (4,000 hand-painted roof tiles on the roof of the barn...).  You can't see but the section has been short-cutted (hope I'm using the right term...) for easy thumbing and uses a pleasingly-nice-to-touch matt paper.  Other added tidbits are list-orientated... always a bonus for a list-lover like me... what people have on their desks, TweetClouds, what they're looking forward to in 2010 with contributors like Fake Karl and Garance

 

V. pleased about Tommy's contributions proving that traversing between Conde Nast and Hachette is a-ok...

The longer, more engaging pieces in this section is a welcome addition too... in particular Mark Hooper has done a Fashion New Media piece that is fairly well-balanced and not *ahem* fluffy (not naming any names...)

 

I'm in love with whoever did image selections such as dedicating a whole page, zooming in on the Miu Miu puppy print...

...or using eggs to illustrate the 'Beige' trend, a Nick Knight-shot rose to illustrate 'Romance' and a John Currin painting to illustrate 'Lingerie'. 

 

So my glee over the copy landing on my desk isn't entirely self-disconnected... Elle also very kindly asked me to write a 'trend' piece where I wax lyrical about the new wave of pastels... I'm most grateful to them for not editing me down to 100 words...

Like I said though, there are certain things like paper treatments and physical handling of the mag that can't really be emphasised online... ah...it's that obvious nuggin' about the appeal of print AGAIN...let's not delve into that old chesnut, shall we ?  It's so 2008-2009... and this is a Collections issue for Spring/Summer 2010...

The Good Kind of Baggage

>> I've had a bit of an arduous day getting back from Stockholm and I still have a TON of things to post about but this post about this particular LCF graduate has been due since the MA show last week when her out-of-control luggage caught my eye.  Nay, "caught" is an incorrect word.  They very elegantly swayed and glided into my path of vision.  I wanted to wait until the other half did a very indepth interview with LCF MA Fashion Artefact grad Sarah Williams who has fused her love of impeccable craftsmanship with pushing the boundaries of conventional luggage.  I don't think I've ever seen such a literal collision between the new-gen and respect for old techniques.  I'll leave her to explain her thought processes and intentions but suffice to say, she's keen on setting up her own design label which means I'm going to start saving up the pennies for the ultimate vanity case and portable trunk complete with overly-specifically shaped pockets for storing all of my odd-shaped accessories. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cases and the work of other LCF MA Fashion Artefacts and Footwear grads are on exhibition until tomorrow at the Mall Galleries if you want to double check that these shapes are....and I can't quite believe I'm ending a post on this... fo' real!

Back to Back

>> Oh, Ann Sofie-Back... as well as having a name that makes an easy task for writing hacks like myself to do not-very-clever wordplays with you have given me an urge to unleash a very very large personal order attack...

I remember a scene in some godawful Hong Kong movie about shopaholics where a wealthy lady goes shopping and picks out three things from a rack of about 30 items... these are the three she DOESN'T want.  The rest, she's buying.  In quantities of three.  (Which reminds me, pourquoi is Victoria Traina buying THREE pairs of Prada chandelier shoes?) 

This is sort of how I felt when I saw ASB's A/W 10-11 Back line this morning.  One of each.  Please.  Need I go into the reasons why?  Heavy doses of grey, twisted takes on the basics, unapologetically functional whilst avoiding the boring trap... etc etc etc...

Stockholm Bits and Bobs

>> This is quite possibly the most nonsensical amalgamated post but it is exactly that; amalgamated because individually, each component would be even more fluffy as a post.  Instead, why not bosh them altogether so that you can traverse around the corners of my My Pictures folder on my laptop - FUN times.  I'll try and be orderly about it and use numbered items eh?

Item 1) Why am I NOT feeling the cold wearing some heat tech, a Natascha Stolle for ASOS jacket, a Mary Katrantzou dress over vintage polka dot trews and my creepers...?  

Because this snow is lush, white, fluffy and incredibly satisfying to walk through.

If this was meh-London-grey-sludgey snow, I'd be freezing my tits off and walking around with a scowl.

Seriously though, why is it I'm NOT feeling the cold here?  Even falling down a couple of times left me with a smile on my face.  

Thanks Mr Newton for putting me in front of the vibrant snow plough too...

Item 2) Stockholm Vintage Finds - why.so.bloody.great?  Spotted these gloves at the Cheap Monday show which apparently belonged to the girl's grandmother and also these shoes on a Finnish blogger who bought them in Stockholm.  I think I love that they both have unexpected metallic elements.  Sadly this time round, I haven't the time to shop about...

Item 3) What to do in a hotel room with ACTUAL clean and dust free mirrors.  Get me some dry shampoo, put it up in a messy bun and stick the Karl Lagerfeld brooch (via Claire Inc) in it so that I can wish everyone 'Bonne Chance' as I walk past...

 

Item 4) So finally, I managed to unearth this LaModeLaModeLaMode 'Une Fille, Un Style' feature which was broadcasted in Paris sometime in December where I let someone loose filming me in my messy flat.  This is hilarious on two accounts really.... I've been dubbed by a French voice and can't be sure whether the translation is correct and just generally look like and sound like a loon sans dubbing anyway... the video is not embeddable but you can watch it here...

Have a Fine Wale of a Time

I'm loving this whole super-cable-broadband, got-lots-of-time-to-blog situation here... long may this live. 

On a few occasions on the blog, I've touched upon my woes with denim.  Or specifically with jeans.  I may be completely repeating myself here but did I ever tell you the story of when I first went to New York all by my lonesome self when I was 18 and decided that in the denim mecca of The Big Apple, I'd find the jeans that were meant to be.  I hadn't been able to get to grips with jeans beforehand in London despite several attempts but in New York, it would be different.  These jeans would come calling out to me with brigh neon lights with possibly a pair of shiny sneakers and a fat juicy hot dog trailing behind (can you tell that city cliches deeply affect me?)

So into the Broadway (I believe?) store of Levi's I went, hope a-brimming.  A young chap with *swoon* lots of floopy hair (I dug that back then...) came bounding up and something to the effect of this convo ensued... (bearing in mind, I know nothing about denim-speak or Levi's models so this isn't verbatim but it was definitely something to this effect...)

He: How can I help you miss?

Me: Well, uh, I'm looking for...err...a pair of jeans...

He:... ah well, you've come to the right place... we have... bootcut, slim, flared, skinny (replace these words with Levi's models as I don't actually know them properly...) *motioning to different parts of the really really high shelves*

Me: .... err... slim?  Not too tight?

He: Bootcut?  Slim?  Flared?  Skinny?

Me:... something in between?

He: What wash would you like?

Me: I'm still confused about those numbers you just called out...

He: Wash? 

Me: Size?

He: Bootcut?  Slim?  Flared?  Skinny?  

Me: Err... what about the err.. colour?

He: You mean the wash?

... and so and so forth... it was quite literally the most nonsensical conversation I've ever had with a sales assistant, all because he had a ton of denim knowledge and I had none.  In my head, I think I may have recalled Daisy Steiner from Spaced screeching "Oh why don't you just leave me ALONE?"  It wasn't the poor chap's fault...he just happened to be bundled with the lame-o who knew nothing about jeans.

Anyway, I'm about to reconcile my shady past with Levi's with a happy medium.  One that doesn't involve numbers or washes.  Opening Ceremony have thrown the gauntlet down for the most unlikely-yet-right-on collab prize by pairing up with Levi's (more about the collab here) for a co-branded range of fine-wale (the post title, geddit...) corduroy shirts, jackets, and shorts in a colour palette that made me think of happy clappy tween clothes, in a good way...  The peeps in New York were kind enough to let me loose on this spring-drenched range as a preview of the collection.  Little did they know that I'd also be doing an excorcist act on my past unhappy experiences with denim labels. 

With this in mind, I escaped to the Kentish coast for the weekend and with me came an abundance of corduroy dipped in my favourite Crayola/gel-ink/felt tip pens that can't possibly be worn with a frown.  Well, maybe a Ryan McGinley-shot frown but for me, I kept on thinking about really smiley 90s kids/tweens clothing ads that I sucked in as I traipsed around Brent Cross Shopping Centre seeking out chenille knits and polo necks.       

If you scroll really fast, a rainbow will formulate. 

Actually that's a lie.  I'm not claiming a special effect of web 3.0 calibre will pop out at you. 

I just meant there are lots of COLOURS...

Obviously, I was limited in my outfit choices given I'm on to go with this stuff but this was afterall an excorcist act involving clothes, some really really cold sun and a pinch of the past.

(OC x Levi's lilac jacket and dark blue shorts, vintage leather shorts, vintage floral body, Uniqlo tights, TUK creepers)

(OC x Levi's lilac shirt and aqua jeans, Topshop velvet body, Uniqlo mint green footless tights, Uniqlo heat tech top, Heavy Machine shoes)

(OC x Levi's pink cord jacket and shirt, Christopher Kane dress, Vivienne Westwood socks, SWANClothing sock garters, Irregular Choice brogues)

(OC x Levi's mustard shirt and shorts, Emma Cook shirt, Uniqlo heat tech top underneath, Bebaroque tights, TUK creepers)

Lux Cheap

>> The WANTING and the NEEDING continues and yes, it's late in the night here but frankly I'm too wired to be doing my normal routine of going to sleep in a hotel with a news channel on (I'm quite shaken by the fact that BBC World is not available here which thus ruins my normal hotel ritual... I guess CNN will have to do...).  Cheap Monday, despite its well, 'cheap' intentions properly set the tone for Fashion Week by Berns which, with its small schedule does rely on the Swedish denim heavyweights to bulk it out.  In Cheap Monday's case, bulk meant people.  A lot of people.

I was just dallying around in a half empty huge warehouse type venue, stupidly pondering when the guests were arriving when there was an increasingly loud screeching noise from a stampede of teenagers (ok, they could well have been older but to me, it sounded like a stampede of teens...) that came storming into the venue.  Turns out the show was open to anyone who registered on the website.  A whole separate post could well be dedicated to analysing the volume of shrieking and people that turned up but I'll resist and move onto the clothes...

Whilst we've been seeing the Ann Sofie-Back signature seeping into Cheap Monday since her appointment to creative director of the brand and her 'debut' for S/S 10, I'm told that Back's first properly and wholly designed Cheap Monday collection won't actually be presented until S/S 11.  That said, her creative directorship is evident and her style is definitely coursing through the A/W 10-11 collection from the lookbooks, the direction of the hair and make-up and then to the actual pieces themselves.  

From duct tape, severe shredding and the more typical notions of grunge in S/S 10, A/W 10-11 was altogether slicker and more subdued.  The slashes are still there but they appear slashed and then repaired on denim and jersey pieces.  There's a heavier emphasis towards tailoring which makes me wonder whether I'll succumb to yet-another-mannish-blazer when these hit the stores (if I happen to be in a Weekday store in Stockholm during sale period like I did last time I was Stockholm, then I'll definitely falter...).  It goes without saying that the gussied up grey sweats get my vote.  I'm even liking the logo sweater which thankfully veers away from Cheap Monday's logo font, and instead opts for something more streamlined.  It's like the upgraded, souped-up version of The Sweater Shop version that I had in a fetching periwinkle blue.  I may have worn it over a black polo neck and a velvet alice band.   

There's something uneasy in its balance between the fitted and the loose which I kind of like... and somehow seems more ASB... if S/S 11 is indeed her first PROPER Cheap Monday outing then I'm wondering what that beholds. 

Warning: This is just the start of bringing Back BACK as I'll be checking out her latest Back collection as well as of course seeing her return to London Fashion Week...

If I artfully apply dry shampoo or talc powder to my hair, will I get a stripy grey quiff do too? 

Merino Boucle

>> It's going to be shorty shorty for the next few days as apparently Fashion Week by Berns in Stockholm is veeeeery spaced out in the schedule which leaves me running up and down to my hotel room a lot scrounging all the lush fast broadband I can get my mitts on (yes folks, I did indeed use the word 'lush' to describe broadband there...). 

You guys know the score when it comes to fashion shows, this isn't going to give you anything ACTUALLY sagely, useful or insightful and anyway, according to this lovely piece in the Independent, us bloggers are nothing more than silly mugs who pander to brands.  Therefore I'm confirming all suspicions that we bloggers are nothing but hacks who sweep their readers into the eye of our 'influential' storm, causing them to mindlessly swoon at WHATEVER we post and that we are in fact evil entities sent from the get-go of web 2.0... I'll start with these merino boucle jackets by Dagmar, seen at the A/W 10-11 show this morning... with a clearer image from their lookbook.  I WANT.  I NEED.  So therefore, obviously, clearly, you all must WANT AND NEED too... off you go, my merry lambs to find these Dagmar jackets. 

Floor length, thigh-split pink velvet?  With some slinky black leather as well?  WANT.  NEED.  Are you WANTING and NEEDING too?  Are you off trying to find the nearest Dagmar stockist?  Are ya?    

I'll set aside the sarcasm for these Finsk wedges which I'm DEEEEEEEEEELighted to have in purple, white and grey from the A/W 09 collection but I had no idea they also came in this colourway of coral pink and black leather too... now where was I?  Oh yes... WANT.  NEED.  You will bend to this blogger's submission goddamnit! 

P.S. If it wasn't clear enough already, this post is of course well and truly coated and slicked in a vat of sarcasm which alas doesn't read very well and it does ACTUALLY sound like I am trying to bend you guys into err...wanting and needing everything here.  This is of course a fallacy... I blame the sugar-drenched afternoon tea.

Let the MAAAAAAA Action Begin

My coverage of the London College of Fashion MA show on Thursday, is a little on the late side but I did treat myself to a non-wifi environment for the weekend as well as hopping it along to Stockholm for their fashion week (Dagmar show starting in about....twenty minutes... ).  I have just about enough time to bring you ramshackled collages and condensed thoughts.  Seeing as there is however a fair amount of information on most of the students (though sadly not on the ones I rated the most...) on the students' LCF profile pages, I'd advise you to do a bit of clickety click click to get any actual CONCRETE information...

Young Li Lee - He scooped the 'runners up' prize for his immaculate tailoring but aside from form-fitting 40s inspired dresses, what attracted this deserved prize-winning collection to me was the swathes of satin ribbed ribbons which were knotted together in a sort of loose macrame style, embellishing the dresses and sometimes informing the structures of the pieces... I liked that on top of these supposedly ladylike and prim and proper affairs, there are these loopy, satin 'snakes' that are sort of unexpected.

So Ra Kim - Well, this had me written all over it and I did rhetorically ask my friend "Is it REALLY predictable that I like this collection?"... lemme see.... hyped-up pastels that are almost fluoro, Mickey/Minnie Mouse ears, a bit of metallic thrown into it, some odd proportions, weird marbling effects that look like hypercolour t-shirts, a mix of unexpected textures....yes, yes and YES.  *Hangs head in shame*

Jin Joo Ma - With this collection, Jin Joo Ma was exploring the ideas of 'mefale'...male and female all mixed up which explains the balance of hard and soft which I loved.  What struck me though was the mix of materials that gave this rigid appearance (the glitter 'cardboard' and the faux leather) which were then softened by oodles of chiffon.  Meadham Kirchhoff has planted the idea of rigid glitter card garments in my head and now Jin Joo Ma has reinforced that. 

Sven Hoppe - This menswear collection bagged the Collection of the Year Award and in my mind, was probably the most well balanced and complete collection out of the lot... the standouts were the treated blazers that incorporated some kind of painted latex and marbling.  You can't see here but on the trouser cuffs there are also these twists at the sides that change the shape of the trousers ever so subtly.  As with most menswear collections, it's all about those ickle deets. 

Other Admirable Deets...

Wouter Baartmans' peter pan-shaped fur collars... hopefully they're detachable for adding to everything and anything...

Nicole Murray's layered oyster/nude satin ensemble that has touches of Prada/Balenciaga about it...

Eliana Dimitrakopoulou's take on 'ghetto' furs which were actually really beautiful in person given the amount of colour gradiation work done on these fluffy beasts...

Merve Tuna's collection had bundles of fur-related shock factor in it but I think this oversized bag was the most effective BOO piece...

As you can see... a lot of the students were going a bit ANIMAL mental... Sophie Condie injected a lot of huge big bird-style feathers into her collection.  I love the combo of the blue and the dusky pink here in this jacket...

(All crappy catwalk images taken by me and all good backstage images taken by Morgan O'Donovan for Dazed Digital)

Going the Extra Milo

If I had fashion tunnel-vision, I suspect this blog would have run its course yonks ago (it's almost been FOUR years peeps...).  By that I mean, that if I was going to be a stubborn cow and being a stick-in-the-mud about certain genres of fashion, I really wouldn't have a lot to ponder at all.  

Jasmine di Milo is one of those labels that whilst is on the outer-periphery of my brain, isn't really something I've ever considered writing about.  I see it in shops, on Net-a-Porter but since the hoo-ha of the label's launch and all of that predictably blown-up press about the AL Fayed connections, it's just sort of quietly chugged and grinded along and seeing as it's a label that has passed me by pretty much completely, happing upon it in person made it all the better.  I got to grips with it in person at a press day and so I started stroking my chin (quite literally...) and nodding my head, going "Hey this is ACTUALLY... rather... LOVELY!"

 

 

 

It could be I've hit upon a particularly ramped-up season.  I'll have to wait and see but this JdM S/S 10 collection "Say it With Your Mouth Shut" is all of those things that the season is expectedly serving up and a little bit more.  Actually, in the instances of some of the pieces, a lot, lot more.  So there are those pre-requisite pastels/dusky subdued colours but with some detailing that would probably have passed me by had I only just seen the lookbook... the hook and eye fastenings that are more decorative than functional...the zig zag embroidery in the one shouldered dresses...the faint figure outline print on the trousers...

There's a a deft way with fabric selection and overall finish to all the pieces which explains the price bracket somewhat and whilst I'm probably the least likely JdM customer (if the celebrity clientale is anything to go by...) hopefully I'll be struck by a similar head-nodding, chin-stroking action in the future...

Meringue Heads Up

>>So apparently the push buttons on the Roksanda Ilincic for Whistles dresses are reminding people of anything from security tags to macaroons and if it is the case that edible-looking creations are what some of you crave because there is a bit of a blurring somewhere between the patisserie and the clothes boutique, then these hats by Ashley Cheeks of It's Ok My Dear (Etsy link and her website) might be the ticket. 

In actual fact, only the pink one is actually reminiscent of a blush pink meringue and Cheeks actually calls it a soufle headpiece, but I'm more of a meringue person than a soufle (all that RISing expectations for not a lot in taste IMO...).  It's the softness of the bow shapes and perhaps the slightly faded colours of the images that are making me think that if you were going to wear one of these headpieces, that a pile of cupcakes, meringues, macaroons etc in front of you wouldn't go amiss...

So I'll take that as a nodding and affirmative yes?

Tag Me

>> Last time I encountered Hungarian designer Adel Kovacs, it was a Freaky Friday moment where I had come in dressing in sheer black and nude and then her very conveniently sheer black and nude collection landed in my emails...

Ok, maybe not such a shocker of a coincident.  Hows this then?  I write about Roksanda Ilincic for Whistles new collection and the ever-opinionated (but lovable...!) EJ of Style Salvage leaves a comment about the push button dresses reminding her of security tags, what pops into my inbox on this very Friday?  Adel Kovacs' new collection for her label Love Carpet that is again nude and black but what is that you spy on this showpiece dress?  Dozens of security tags... the type that I think are still in use by some clothing stores.  Me thinks it's trying to cleverly say "Hey yall can't steal me!"  (don't ask me where the 'yall' came from...).  Paired with the flared out beige raincoat, I'm quite taken with the tag additions...

The main point is though, what is up with these Adel-Kovacs, nude and black, coincidences eh?