Scrapbook Bangladesh: Graffiti blur

Scrapbook Bangladesh: hustle and bustle

Art-iculate: London Art Fair highlights

Last Wednesday I visited the Business Design Centre to attend the opening night of the prestigious London Art Fair. An annual five day event showcasing the best in British and contemporary art, there were hundreds of superb works on display.

Below are some particular artists who caught my eye:

Annie Morris: Untitled (peg piece)

Agnes Toth: Empathy

 Agnes Toth

Andy Stewart: Under a Gibbous moon

 Boyle Family: Study for the fire series with melted records

Howard Dyke: Untitled (smoking plie)

Ralph Fleck: Stadion

James Jessop: Valley of horror

Shane Bradford

Cocosa launch editorial offering, Trend Edit

 Luxury online fashion e-tailer Cocosa has recently launched their very first fashion editorial in the form of a fab magazine entitled Trend Edit. Released biannually, the first addition highlights the best trends of SS12 for both men and women, creating a concise and clear-cut offering broken down by fashion capital, similar to that produced in print by Elle Collections – but better.

With contributions from esteemed fashion designers, stylists and commentators such as Henry Holland and Lauretta Roberts of WGSN Boutique, Trend Edit talks through all of the hottest trends of the forthcoming season in fashion, beauty and accessories. The layout is entirely original, filling pages with a variety of cylindrical patterns comprising a cacophony of catwalk images.

One of the best features of Trend Edit is the LFW timeline and of course, as the title might suggest the trend reports. Essential reading for those not necessarily affiliated with the industry in any way, little touches such as a double page spread of invitation designs and a handy buyers’ guide are priceless.

Each issue can be found on the Cocosa website, which since its launch in 2008 has fast become a fashion portal to be reckoned with. While different areas are open to members and non-members, Trend Edit is open to all. Cocosa is renowned for the global brands it carries such as Michael kors, Felder Felder and Jonathan Saunders, offering exclusive discounts and hand-picked products in addition to daily Style Notes.

A destination for all things high fashion, Cocosa and Trend Edit provide a wealth of knowledge for the fashion addict!

Kick start your complexion for 2012 (written for SIX Magazine)

Image courtesy of Pai

An organically certified beauty brand that featured high on SIX Magazine’s Christmas wish list is Pai, who specialise in delectable products designed exclusively for sensitive and allergy-prone skin.

Exclusively utilising naturally derived ingredients which are approved by the Soil Association, Pai shun preservatives and aim to aid sensitive skin at every opportunity. Manufacturing in-house allows Pai to extensively research and test each product without the need for synthetic chemicals, artificial fragrances, alcohol and ‘secret formulas’, enabling consumers to understand exactly what is inside each and every bottle.

Read the rest of the article here.

Scrapbook: Zula shoot in old Sublime

 

 

 

 



Scrapbook: Pendant light by Betty's Boudoir

Creative-Idle mentioned in Company Magazine - Jan 2012

Thanks to the lovely Rosamund Urwin I'm quoted in January 2012's Company report The Breadline Hemline, talking about how shoppers are investing in more expensive items that transcend trends, and how fashion enthusiasts are becoming more resourceful...

Art-iculate: Catwalk to Cover – a front row seat

 A couple of weekends ago I ventured down to one of my favourite Central London spaces, the Fashion and Textile Museum to see the exciting new exhibition Catwalk to Cover – a front row seat. Looking back from the first ever globally reported ready-to-wear catwalk show to the recent SS12 shows, Catwalk to Cover – a front row seat documents the magic of the fashion spectacle; with fashion week street style, intimate backstage snaps of models, a guide to who’s who of the frow – from editor to blogger to celebrity – and the resulting production streamed to millions of hungry eyes the world over.

A relatively modern phenomenon, the catwalk show can be dated as far back as fashion parades that took place in Paris couture houses in the 19th Century, however it will come as a surprise to many that designers didn’t really consider going it alone and showcasing en masse until the early ‘90s, with NYFW being the first collective stage established in 1993.

Spotlighting an exclusive and aspirational sphere, this fly-on-the-wall exhibition aims to shed some light on the inner-workings of the fashion machine, conveying the heady combination of chaos and creativity, paying particular attention to how it is marketed and presented to the world, detailing what happens behind the scenes and which opinion formers make a designer’s collection global news.

Featuring over 1,000 high-octane images from the most prolific catwalk photographers of our time, this sprawling display also features some breath-taking archive samples from the most famous names in their field: Christian Lacroix, Osman, Lanvin and Vivienne Westwood to name but a few.

What is most compelling about Catwalk to Cover – a front row seat is that it simultaneously dispels several myths about fashion, with one crucial misconception being that designers are among the most influential and envied creatives’ in the world. The truth is that designers have to work to extreme deadlines, rely on the talents of the team around them: creative directors, models, hair stylists, make-up artists etc. and the support and endorsement of the influentials: fashion editors, top tier bloggers and celebrities.

Over the past five years there has been a slight shift seeing bloggers and photographers increasingly relied upon to interpret the designer’s message and play a pivotal role in the distribution of imagery via social networking sites and blogging platforms.

Offering all fashion enthusiasts and professionals alike an opportunity to experience the view from the front row, Catwalk to Cover – a front row seat is a captivating insight into the inner-workings of what is one of the world’s most successful and glamorous industries.

Catwalk to Cover – a front row seat is showing at the Fashion and Textile Museum until 26th February 2012.

Flik Hall goes Under The Sea (written for SIX Magazine)

Flik Hall’s SS12 collection film is created in collaboration with Ashley Joiner

A designer who has been impressing fashion editors with her striking prints since the conception of her eponymous brand in 2009 is Flik Hall. A Central Saint Martins graduate who worked for House of Holland before setting out on her own, Hall’s forthcoming offering for SS12, takes her trademark aesthetic for movement and print and juxtaposes it with luxury of the highest order.

Inspired by the eroticism relating to the form and ethereal symbolism of the octopus and cecaelia; prints feature extreme close-ups of octopi skin and twisting tentacles, utilising a variety of textures to take on a life of their own. Using British-sourced fabrics, the effects are spellbinding: leather is emblazoned with eyelets to take on the guise of octopi suckers, while printed leather deftly appears transformed into lace, featuring punched out holes seductively exposing the wearer’s skin. Silhouettes are narrow and fluid, structured and free.

To read the article in full visit SIX Magazine.