Mossy pouts for Topshop!

I'm still undecided on what I think about Ms Moss' new advertising campaign for her eponymous SS10 Topshop collection. I like the music, but am not so convinced about all the pouting and retro dance moves... should she stick to the day job?! I do however like that it was shot by SHOWstudio founder/director Nick Knight.

Ode to Alexander McQueen (17 March 1969 - 11 February 2010)

Alexander McQueen in 2005. Image courtesy of The Guardian, photographed by Martin Godwin

Like all his fans around the world yesterday, I too was both shocked and devastated when I first heard the breaking news that the British fashion designer Alexander Lee McQueen had been found dead at his Green Park home; just weeks before he was due to present his eagerly anticipated AW10 collection at Paris Fashion Week.

Late yesterday afternoon when an official statement from his company was released to the media any distant hopes we may have had of it being just another vicious internet rumour were quashed: “On behalf of Lee McQueen’s family, Alexander McQueen today announces the tragic news that Lee McQueen, the founder and designer of the Alexander McQueen brand has been found dead at his home,” his office announced. “At this stage it is inappropriate to comment on this tragic news beyond saying that we are devastated and are sharing a sense of shock and grief with Lee’s family.”

AW09‘The Horn of plenty’

As one of the most renowned, prolific and highly regarded designers of our generation it goes without saying that this tragic loss has saddened and shaken the entire fashion industry to the core, and has somewhat inadvertently dampened the festivities of New York Fashion Week - currently taking place in Bryant Park - with many top editors hoping to leave NYFW for LFW as soon as possible to pay tribute to the London-born designer.

Alexander McQueen and Isabella Blow photographed by David Lachapelle

Known best for his innovative pattern cutting skills, sharp tailoring, spectacular fashion shows – and most importantly taking risks - McQueen has achieved a lot beyond his 40 years, building up an iconic brand identity that helped to redefine the constraints and ideals of fashion since he was plucked from obscurity by influential fashion director and good friend; the late fashion icon Isabella Blow, whom bought his entire graduate collection back in 1994.

                                                       AW05 'Highland Rape'                                                      SS08 'The return of the mankini'

More than ‘just a fashion designer’, McQueen’s work transcended the intangible boundary between fashion and art, with every aspect of his work exploring the darker side of human existence, with his work systematically asking why fashion couldn't be an emotional experience in addition to a medium for sartorial expression. With each of his shows the audience never knew what to expect having seen everything from his 1996 ‘Highland Rape’ show which symbolised England’s rape of Scotland to his more recent ‘Borat’ tribute in 2008; McQueen became known notorious for presenting fashion as a lavish, eyebrow-raising spectacle, in a fashion never before seen on the London catwalk.

As an instinctive designer McQueen was prepared to endlessly take risks and suffer the consequences in the name of experimentation. Fuelled by a relentless creative fire and charged by his uncompromising vision, McQueen’s body of work transcends many classifications and genres from video and film to music and sport. Not undertaking any projects in which he couldn’t already envisage the end result, McQueen’s bold and confident approach to design was unique, as was his clear passion and drive to continually (in his own words) “...better myself. I’m looking for that pinnacle in my life. My career highs, which I don't think I've achieved yet...”

Image courtesy of SHOWstudio

Aside from his beautiful clothing ranges some of my most-loved works of McQueen’s have been born from collaborations with photographer Nick Knight for his online platform SHOWStudio, my favourite of which being the 2002 project Transformer: The Bridegroom Stripped Bare – recently exhibited in the SHOWstudio: Fashion Revolution retrospective at Somerset House. The Bridegroom Stripped Bare is a short film which depicts Alexander McQueen at his exuberant best as he transforms a bridegroom into a bride in a frenzy of cutting, ripping, painting and gaffer-taping – playing upon his notoriously deft cutting and draping skills. Comprising of just one performance of the sixteen part Transformer series - filmed and broadcast live over a two-day period - this film offers a rare glimpse of the designer at work, enabling us to interact with the designer in his most intense and creative moments revealing the working methodologies behind his design practice.

SS10, ‘Plato’s Atlantis’

McQueen’s most recent fashion collection for SS10, currently in stores - which on the catwalk featured alien-inspired make-up and garments awash with reptilian prints (and who can forget the ‘Armadillo’ seven inch shoes) - was lauded as his best yet by the majority of fashion press in attendance, with Selfridges buying director Anita Barr telling VOGUE.COM she believed it would be the department store's "best selling collection ever"– which mournfully now looks set to become fact, amid fresh reports today claiming sales have rocketed in the hours since his death.

Treasured by both fans and industry insiders alike, tributes having been pouring in consistently since the news broke from many of McQueen’s former colleagues and contemporaries with UK Vogue editor-in-chief Alexandra Shulman being among the first: "Lee McQueen influenced a whole generation of designers. His brilliant imagination knew no bounds as he conjured up collection after collection of extraordinary designs. At one level he was a master of the fantastic, creating astounding fashion shows that mixed design, technology and performance and on another he was a modern day genius whose gothic aesthetic was adopted by women the world over. His death is the hugest loss to anyone who knew him and for very many who didn't."

SS10 ‘Plato’s Atlantis’ campaign image

A usually tight-lipped Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of US Vogue also passed comment: "He brought a uniquely British sense of daring and aesthetic fearlessness to the global stage of fashion. In such a short career, Alexander McQueen’s influence was astonishing – from street style, to music culture and the world’s museums. His passing marks an insurmountable loss."

Harold Tillman, current chairman of the British Fashion Council, told Drapers magazine: “We are deeply saddened at the news of Alexander McQueen’s untimely death. He was a unique talent and one of the world’s greatest designers. Our thoughts are with his friends and family at this sad time.”

Several high profile fashion designers also spoke out on their shock and grief. Sir Paul Smith said: “Obviously, like everyone, I am extremely shocked at this sad news. I have known Lee since his time at Central Saint Martins and gave him advice in the early part of his career. He was a very talented and creative designer, especially in respect of his tailored clothing. This is a very sad time and my thoughts are with his family.”

Alexander McQueen Aw09. Image courtesy of Pascal Rossignol/Reuters

Rather controversially head designer at Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld said: "I found his work very interesting and never banal. There was always some attraction to death, his designs were sometimes dehumanised. Who knows, perhaps after flirting with death too often, death attracts you.”

Alexander Lee McQueen leaves behind not only his loving family and husband, George but also a colossal legacy that can never be undone, that will stay with all of us in our wardrobes and hearts forever. A true visionary, whose legendary status, can only be but cemented in death, McQueen will go on to inspire future generations of designers. Whilst the future of his label is as yet unclear, from the breadth of tributes across so many industries it is clear just how many lives his creativity touched and he will never be forgotten.

SS08 'Butterfly' Image courtesy of Getty Images

Of his work McQueen said: "When people recognise and respect what you do, that's nice, but I don't think you ever do this to be famous. Fame should be left to the film stars. We're just offering a service."

SHOWstudio: Fashion Revolution at Somerset House

Earlier today I wandered down to Somerset House to see the SHOWstudio: Fashion Revolution exhibition. I figured as I was having lunch with a certain sister on the Strand it made sense to pop in to while away my afternoon, and as luck would have it Somerset House also doubled up as a lovely shelter from the rain. Faced with a £5 entrance fee I was pleasantly surprised, as I was expecting to pay in excess of £10, but at the same time I was a tad sceptical that there wouldn’t be enough on display to keep me entertained for my money. To say that I was wrong would be an understatement and I can honestly say that this exhibition was a real treat. If you’re interested in fashion and are looking for an exhibition to get lost in- then this one is for you. I actually almost made myself late for drinks with H this evening as I completely lost track of time and spent in excess of two hours in there which is a record, even for me.

SHOWstudio: Fashion Revolution, charts this rise of the iconic site from its creation in 2000 and was bursting with installations of some of the best videos, podcasts, interviews and most importantly their live projects. Split over two levels, as I entered I was greeted with a room comprised entirely of mirrors that were designed to make each person entering ‘really’ look at their reflection. Luckily as I entered there were two teenagers excitedly bounding around taking photos of themselves, so in order not to spoil their picture (yeah, right) I snuck through avoiding my reflection at all costs. As I entered the next room I was faced with the giant 3-D sculpture of Naomi Campbell. As impressive and imposing as it was I was a bit scared of saying anything near it as I knew that there were hidden microphones, however in hindsight it would have been good to get involved.

For me there were many personal highlights in this exhibition. I think the best was watching a loop of the project ‘More Beautiful Women’ which pays homage to Andy Warhol’s ‘Thirteen Most Beautiful Women’ screen tests of 1964. It’s such a simple idea where Nick Knight invited several iconic models from the 1960’s through to the present day and asked them to stand in front of a video camera for two minutes. Models involved were Twiggy, Marie Helvin, Kate Moss, Liberty Ross, Stella Tennant and Gisele to name but a few. The best one that I saw was that of Stephanie Seymour who looked rather bored throughout and remarked ‘This is the longest two minutes of my life!’ which I thought was absolutely hilarious!

Another project I really enjoyed, and regretfully was unaware of until today was the 2004 collaboration between Brad Pitt and SHOWstudio titled ‘Freedom of Love’. The short film showed Pitt frantically painting over an enlarged passport sized photograph of himself adding in captions and blurbs, whilst reciting Breton’s sixty line poem of the same name. I thought this was really original and something I would never have expected to see within this exhibition, and was surprised that Brad Pitt was the subject. In all honesty I wouldn’t have thought he’d be game for something like this- which just goes to show that you or at least I shouldn’t always judge celebrities.

Near the end of the exhibition by the gift shop there was a small section dedicated to Fashion Film, which was comprised of a reel of 16 short films created for SHOWstudio. My favourite one was titled ‘Sheena is a Punk Rocker’ and saw a topless and rather energetic Kate Moss doing some sort of frantic dancing which was quite punky and saw her head banging. I really enjoyed this as I feel it showed much more of her personality than you would usually see in a still image and also had a funny moment at the end where she started ripping the red paper roll background and gets so into it that she suddenly drops, and well it was one of those classic buckle moments that for me makes her even more endearing... Watch it now!

Any fans of SHOWstudio.com would absolutely love this exhibition as it was great to see highlights of the work together in one place, but most importantly it was humbling to see how fashion in general has progressed during this past decade which I feel can partly be credited to Nick Knight, the wealth of contributors and of course the unsung heroes that are the SHOWstudio team. Everyone and anyone will comment on the wonders of technology and how its advancements have done so much for many industries, but I truly believe fashion is a completely different ball game to what it was ten years ago when SHOWstudio.com was a mere idea.

I feel that as a keen fashion enthusiast and frequent visitor of SHOWstudio.com even I didn’t realise until seeing it laid out tangibly before me, just how much this project has achieved to date. It has really pushed the boundaries of what is possible and helped guide fashion into the mainstream sphere by applying and manipulating all the modern technologies to bring it to the masses, most importantly looking forward to new and innovative ways to make fashion accessible to anyone and everyone who has even the slightest interest.

Whilst any of the things on display (bar the garments) can be viewed (on a smaller scale) on the SHOWstudio.com website, it was definitely a whole other experience seeing everything collated together on such a large scale. The best thing I thought about the exhibition, and is coincidentally the primary reason I would urge people to visit; is the interactive element that is impossible to get from our computers at home. This exhibition truly stimulated my brain and several senses as there was so much to see, hear and touch, that if anything it was almost overwhelming. I realise until I’ve been getting so excited writing about it, but I honestly believe that this is the best exhibition I’ve been to so far this year, hands down. Take a look at some of the extra pics...

SHOWstudio: Fashion Revolution is running until 20 December.

‘When You’re a Boy: Men’s Fashion styled by Simon Foxton’

 Yesterday I found myself at one of my favourite spaces, The Photographer’s gallery in Ramillies street, W1. I was there not a week earlier hoping desperately that there were still tickets available for the Simon Foxton lecture which took place on Tuesday. Unfortunately no tickets were returned, so I popped in again yesterday to console myself with his bold and exuberant images.

A retrospective of sorts ‘When You’re a Boy: Men’s Fashion styled by Simon Foxton’ looks back at his iconic styling career to date and its influence over men’s fashion since the early 1980s. This fantastic show illustrates how much of an authority Foxton has been on men’s fashion over the decades and how his work has changed attitudes towards both male subject photography and men’s fashion styling.

Whilst not at all unheard of, I think it is a great honour for the Photographer’s Gallery to celebrate a stylist and champion the clear influence they have and apply to each and every image they create. Working with equally as iconic photographer’s Jason Evans, Alasdair McLellan and the master Nick Knight, ‘When You’re a Boy: Men’s Fashion styled by Simon Foxton’ highlights his most powerful images which featured in publications ranging from i-D and The Face to and Arena Homme Plus and GQ Style.

Focusing purely on men’s fashion and the male as the subject for the past 25 years, Foxton’s body of work has clearly changed and redirected attitudes towards mainstream fashion image making, and has consistently challenged society’s notions of masculinity. Having been a contributor to the creative force that gave birth to Youth Culture, Foxton was at the forefront when he joined i-D in 1984 pushing the boundaries and exploring subcultures such as Punk and Rave. Foxton’s most widely explored subject is that of Gay subculture, subtly interweaving hints of homo-eroticism through much of his early styling to produce a new concept in men’s fashion.

What I love most about Foxton’s body of work is the clear continuity and loyalty to his subject that has kept his work both relevant and ground breaking throughout his career. What inspires me most about each and every one of his images is that they embody the feeling of a time and a place and give the sense that they were a part of something much bigger. Another factor which I believe can be attributed to Foxton’s success is the fervent energy that jumps of the pages in magazines and whether he is styling editorial or advertising the reader is left wanting more. It’s this passion and energy which shines through for me and I feel it is unrivalled.

I’d highly recommend this exhibition to anyone who professes their love of fashion as it is a must.

‘When You’re a Boy: Men’s Fashion styled by Simon Foxton’ is showing for FREE until 4th October.

Image courtesy of the Photographer's gallery website.