Norman Parkinson at Somerset House (written for Fashion156 blog)

Earlier this week Vicki posted about the new strong Norman Parkinson exhibition at Somerset House, inspiring me to pop down in person. Held in the three Terrace rooms 56 of Parkinson’s most iconic images are on display to represent his 56-year career as the nation’s most celebrated fashion portrait photographer.

Parkinson began his career in 1934 when he opened his first studio after completing a short apprenticeship with the court photographers Speaight + Sons. Since his emergence on the photography scene Parkinson revolutionised fashion photography by doing something completely unprecedented at the time- taking his models and subjects outside of the rigid studio environment, in favour of the streets. By moving his models from a static studio with limited possibilities Parkinson reverted to dynamic outdoor photography in order to capture the freedom and movement of his models in a more natural environment. It is this that set Parkinson’s photography apart from his contemporaries and is why for me he is one of the greatest British fashion visionaries ever to have lived.
To continue reading Norman Parkinson at Somerset House visit the Fashion156 blog.

'Real' People Do The Catwalk at the ICA (written for Amelia's Magazine)

Last night I was delighted to be invited to the ICA for an emphatic catwalk show with a difference. The event was organised by former designer Elaine Foster-Gandey; director of Designer Sales UK. Elaine developed Real People do the Catwalk after hosting a fashion show which included both dancers and models on stage. “I asked my customers about it and they said they related to the dancers and not the models”. Spurred by this Elaine set about putting together a pioneering show to further the arguement that replacing super-thin models with people who reflect society could lead to increased sales for the fashion industry.

To continue reading about the 'Real' People Catwalk go to Amelia's Magazine.

Ellen von Unwerth at the Michael Hoppen Gallery

On Friday I popped down to the Michael Hoppen Gallery en route to the V&A to see the new Ellen von Unwerth exhibition ‘Fräulien’, which accompanies a new Taschen limited edition monograph. The exhibition features 20 of Ellen’s favourites and includes some previously unseen images from the past 15 years making it very exciting indeed.

The exhibition and monograph celebrate female icons in provocative poses: Claudia Schiffer, Natalie Portman, Kate Moss, Britney Spears, Eva Mendes, Dita von Teese, and Eva Green among many others.

As a big fan of Ellen’s body of work personal highlights of the exhibition included huge scale prints of a young Kate Moss pictured squatting beside an open fridge drinking milk provocatively with a cucumber poking out of her shopping bag. What I love about this image is the wit and cheeky playfulness that shines through.

Another of the Supermodel set also featured Claudia Schiffer. Whilst this is a simple portrait of Claudia I loved the graininess of the image for two reasons. Firstly it makes her look more curvaceous as the line of her body is blurred and secondly, it ages the image making it reminiscent to me of a young Brigitte Bardot or Ursula Andress.

All in all a great little exhibition which I feel captures the essence of why Ellen von Unwerth is such a widely renowned female subject photographer perfectly. For me she is a genius at juxtaposing strong female sexuality with this unique sense of vulnerability wrapped up in the form of a fashion image. I love that her subjects are never objectified and are instead captured dominating the image and having fun.

The only negative thing is that if you’re hoping to find someone on hand to ask questions or discuss the work with don’t bother visiting the Michael Hoppen gallery as the staff were very dismissive and rather rude. Very strange behaviour seeing that all the prints in the exhibition are on sale, you’d think they’d be jumping on everyone who walked through the door. Perhaps I just don’t belong in Chelsea?!

This exhibition is free and is showing until 21st November.

Dizzee Rascal live at Electric Proms last night

Last night on BBC2 I was lucky enough to catch Dizzee Rascal's Electric Proms set live from The Roundhouse. It was absolutely brilliant. Long have I been a fan of Dizzee and have follwed his career since he was championed by Jools Holland back in 2003 when he went on to win the Mercury Music Prize for his debut album Boy In Da Corner. I was fortunate enough to meet him at Underage Festival a couple of years back and he was so polite and sweet (which I don't think people would expect), and its just so nice to see him doing really well.
Highlights of the set were for me very clear. Being the Electric Proms he had to mix it up a little and with Dizzee it's good to expect the unexpected. That said I wasn't disappointed when he reworked two of his more recognisable songs from his first album. The first was Jus' A Rascal which he performed to the tune of Reptilia by The Stroke's. The Second was Stand Up Tall which he rocked along to Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit.
There is honestly only two words for someone who can mix and mash genres like that so effortlessly: AMAZING TALENT!!!

Traditional London phonebox left to go to ruin- Update

Yesterday I was in the West End area so thought I'd pop back to the phonebox in question to see if there were any signs of it having been cleaned up in the past two weeks.
Oh what a surprise it wasn't. The council still haven't replied to my complaint. Don't think they have a leg to stand on as they cannot argue that no one has been in the area to sweep the streets or empty rubbish in the past two weeks as this would be shameful for such a central London tourist spot. So this leads me to believe that Camden council staff clean around it but don't bother to touch it. Why? Perhaps I should contact BT and see what they think...
If anyone wants to take a look for themselves head towards St. Giles Street, WC2H and you can't miss it!
Don't know what happened to my previous complaint... perhaps it didn't send as I just complained again and got a reference number: 5615537. Fingers crossed I hear something!!

Chrysler Series preview...

Experimenting with Photoshop part 3

Street Style, WC2

Loved this simple ensemble and of course the navy coat is a winner!!

Ethical Fashion Show, Paris 2009 (written for Amelia's Magazine)

The dawning of October saw the fashion world descend on Paris to experience what is arguably the most highly anticipated of fashion weeks. With highly influential and renowned designers: Lanvin, Givenchy, and Chanel showcasing their collections for SS10, you would be forgiven for thinking that Paris was only about the ubiquitous fashion houses. Whilst the presence of big name designers and celebrities alike was a mathematical certainty, thankfully there was one big ethical reason to keep an eye on Paris...
To continue reading about the Ethical Fashion Show go to Amelia's Magazine.
Image coutresy of Studio Jux.

Contemporary Ceramics at Somerset House

While I was at Somerset House last week for the SHOWstudio exhibition I also had the opportunity to pop into the Courtyard room to view the Contemporary Ceramics Exhibition. Whilst displayed in what I would presume to be the smallest room in the whole of Somerset House, I was pleasantly surprised by how many potters’ work they had managed to supply. There were approximately 15 collections on display each comprising of at least three pieces. The work of four potters in particular caught my attention: Emma Rogers

 Annabel Faraday

Gilles le Corre

Lisa Katzenstein

With no entrance fee I would definitely recommend this exhibition to anyone in the area with a spare quarter of an hour.

All imagery courtesy of the links for each potter above.