How does your fashion illustration fit in with your studies?
My course involves a lot of designing and fabric sampling so I have to illustrate how my designs would fit on the human body. This is where I can use my drawing skills. I also like to try and create a mood with my illustrations which is good to do when presenting the final outcome of a project.
Commission/Exhibition wise, erectile what work have you produced for others? Some of your illustrations would just make the most amazing garment prints…
This is something I wish I could stop the clock for! It is so difficult fitting outside work in with all my degree work. Over the summer I worked on eight editorial illustrations for a new magazine called Tom and Harper. I more recently illustrated the feature ‘Counter Culture’ for Nylon Mexico which is out now. I have done other little jobs here and there but am most excited about an upcoming opportunity to design a range of t-shirts for an American company, but I don’t want to jinx anything so they shall remain anonymous!
Who would you love to work with/how do you see your career progressing?
This is difficult to answer, because there are dream answers, and realistic ones. A dream job would be to work under or alongside a legendary designer like Alexander McQueen; he is a huge influence on my university work and the way I think – I just love his aesthetic. Realistically, I would like to end up as a freelance illustrator/ designer. I am currently focusing my work on fashion designs and producing digital prints for garments. I would love for these prints to one day end up on the catwalk or the high street.
Who is your favorite girl to draw, I see a lot of Abbey Lee, Grace (from Viktor Vautier) and the fab 4th and Bleeker, what draws you to these girls?
That’s a good question. The simple answer is beauty, they are all so beautiful. But truthfully, I think I see something in them that I wish I was myself, which is why they fascinate me so much. Maybe the way they look, or their confidence. Who knows. I really don’t think I have an absolute favourite to draw although Abbey Lee features a few times because she takes such amazing pictures and has such a striking face. I would love to draw Lara Stone, I think that is the next job on my list!
Finally, where can people contact you? Are you interested in collaborative work? Can we buy your illustrations at all? I know I for one would love to!
My main point of contact is via e-mail, which is listed on my blogger profile. I check them regularly and always read everything I receive. It would be a dream job to travel the world and collaborate with as many people as possible. I am always interested in how other people work and creative minds coming together. Getting a brief and finding my own way of answering it is a process I really enjoy. At the moment, illustrations can be purchased on an individual basis by contacting me. I’m hoping to set up a separate blog where this process will be much easier and will hopefully be available to people in the near future. For now the best way is to just ask and something can always be sorted out!
I’ve always wondered about the phrase ‘the sun has put his hat on’. What does it mean exactly? What kind of hat is it? Is it a sombrero or a sunhat, a beret or a beanie? Maybe even a boater tipped stylishly to one side? And why does everyone assume the sun is a ‘he’? Even the French language, with its masculine and feminine nouns describes it as ‘le soleil’, but, I’ve always thought of it as a bit more femme. With CC Kuo around, this is a question (and philosophical debate) that doesn’t need to be answered (or explored in a neverending cycle of questions). Forget the sun putting his headgear on, you can get your sun on.
CC Kuo‘s latest collection is a range of clothes patterned with skylines and sunsets. The pieces feature cloud-cover on dresses, sunlight peeking out of coat shoulders, and even beams bursting out of busts. What more could a gal want than to have something as beautiful as dawn and dusk right there on her lapel?! Just looking at these togs makes me think of the imagery in the (ever overused but still undeniably wonderful) Auden poem Funeral Blues that they read on Four Weddings and a Funeral all that time ago. Maybe even a hint of the sun in Wordsworth’s Composed Upon Westminster Bridge and Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 thrown in for luck.
Ok, I know you’re probably a bit dubious now, ‘who compares clothes to poetry?’ you ask? Well, the sky is probably one of the most beautiful things that there is, and we, (or at least, I) with our heads in our laptops and our fingers on our keypads, don’t often take notice of those funny, fluffy white things up there or the beautiful yellow gassy lightblub that gives our daylight. Unless of course you’re a big Instagrammer, or it’s about to rain.
CC Kuo brings our attention back to nature. Born in Taiwan CC graduated from Central St Martins. Her signature digital prints and both beautiful and wearable, and her clothes have graced the catwalk at Vauxhall Fashion Scout which is swiftly becoming part of the initiation for young designers. She launched her namesake label in 2010 and since then she’s been featured by a whole army of mags and the like, including Elle, Pop and The Independent.
Whether it’s in the form of a handbag, a heel, a dress or a coat, what could be better than having your very own chunk of the world’s ceiling? With her S/S 2014 collection on the horizon I spoke to CC Kuo about her sunset patterned collection White Lovers, the recently released video to accompany it and what inspires her to make these pretty pieces.
Can you describe CC Kuo in just three words?
Modernism, simplicity and fantasy.
How did your video collaboration with Robert Rogan and Meng-Chia Lai come about?
I have been friends with Meng-Chia for a long long time since our CSM days and we’ve always talked about working together. My PR (and good friend) Roxanne suggested the idea of an illustrative film this season as a different format of expressing the collection. I thought this would be a good opportunity to work with Meng-Chiaand she introduced me to Robert Rogan.
Your new A/W 2013 collection is named ‘White Lovers’ and lists swans as one of the inspirations, is this to do with the fact that swans mate for life?
Not in particular as I was more focusing on the contrasting elements within the collection. I didn’t know that swans mate for life but now I know, I love the fact they do.
When did you go on the trip to Lake Balaton in Hungary that inspired this collection?
I went to Hungary last winter. I am inspired by my trips abroad and often use this as an inspiration.
Water and trees are the backdrop of this collection, do you feel that nature and fashion can coexist?
Of course it does! Nature is so important to us as human beings and I hope to use fashion to better illustrate how beautiful nature is.
Your print designs are really distinctive, where do you get your inspiration?
I am inspired by everything I see, everything around me.
Is it important to you for your clothes to be wearable?
Yes, extremely important. I think clothing only makes its biggest impact when it’s wearable.
You’ve learnt from the likes of Alexander McQueen and Michiko Koshino, how do you feel this helped you develop as a designer?
My experiences working with these designers has taught me that discipline and passion are essential. Determination and a great work ethic is also a necessity.
Your graduate collection was featured in Pop magazine, how does it feel to see your clothes featured in magazines?
Proud.
What draws you to opulent fabrics like silk and velvet?
For me, clothing should make women feel good about themselves, so I always use the best materials in a collection.
What projects do you have lined up for the next few months?
I am working on my next collection at the moment but also looking for a good collaborator to develop a diffusion line.
Do you feel like there’s a lot of pressure for each collection to be better than the last?
No, because I put in everything I can into each collection.
What’s your personal style?
I wear a lot of my own designs. I am very comfortable in my own skin.
Don’t be a chicken little, afraid that the sky is falling, grab a piece of it yourself by checking out the CC Kuo website www.cckuo.com
Written by Jessica Cook on Tuesday June 11th, 2013 6:18 pm
Whilst eco-couture has always been ahead of the times in terms of sustainability, it’s often been left behind in the style stakes, unable to compete with mainstream, high fashion. Gradually though, a new breed of designer has emerged who is equally concerned with creating a cutting edge aesthetic as they are utilising sustainable and organic materials.
At the forefront of this movement is Ada Zanditon, whose designs experiment with shape and texture in a way that is unsurprising once you learn that she originally interned with Alexander McQueen and Gareth Pugh. After establishing her own eco-luxury womenswear line in March 2008, Ada has gone on to raise awareness of everything from eco fashion to politics through the likes of the Think Act Vote campaign. Ada took the time to answer a few questions for us about the inspiration behind her new range ADZ, and the future of eco fashion. ?
ADZ S/S 2011
You’ve really established yourself as a pioneer of eco-fashion, giving the movement a younger, sexier image than it had in the past. How did you go about this?
I think that I had two very strong passions that I was determined to make work together – fashion and sustainability. I enjoy the innovative aspect that comes into every part of the process, my main how-to part of it I think comes from a basic viewpoint that anything is possible. It’s equally possible to make a beautiful fashionable dress from an ecological material as it is from one that is not. It’s equally possible to create fashion that considers its full life span and even decay as it is to create something that does not. It’s a question of awareness, choice and aesthetics.
Tell us about your new collection, ADZ?
ADZ by Ada Zanditon is the bridging line to my main collection, it’s contemporary, resort urban wear that combines strikingly unique prints with casual yet sophisticated pieces that are focussed around bold geometric detailing in fluid soft fabrics such as tencel, silk jersey and chiffon. The SS 2011 debut collection of ADZ is titled Nebulayan. My inspiration came from creating illustrations of satellite images of the Himalayas mountain range which I then layered with Hubble telescope imagery of deep space nebulae. We now have achieved the technology to see the Earth from space and also to see deep into outer space. I like the idea of contrasting these perspectives with each other.
How do you cope with the volume of work and your nerves in the build up to London Fashion Week? Any trade secrets?
I am always aware that I am so fortunate to be in the position to be running my own label, I don’t really want to complain. Everyday always has its challenges, but I try to see that as opportunity. I think gratitude is vastly underrated these days…. don’t you?
Absolutely! Amelia’s magazine have always been a big fan of your illustrations, any plans to design your own prints based on your work?
Actually, all my prints are based on my illustration work and photography and as well as that I use watercolour then layer all these elements together. ?
Musician Viktoria Modesta is your muse; how did you end up working together? You’ll be contributing to her showcase next month; what will that involve?
Soon after we first met we found we had a good creative rapport. I think Viktoria has incredible elegance and style with a real sense of grace. As for the showcase – I don’t want to give to much away but it will be a great evening.
How do you think the public can be convinced of the importance of sustainability? Do you think there is more designers, magazine editors and celebrities could be doing to highlight its significance?
I only think the planet can truly convince people of the importance of sustainability. I’m sure most people living on the coast of Bangladesh are highly convinced that we need to live in a more sustainable way as they are effected daily by climate change. However, I think that people can encourage and inspire, and have a really good try at convincing. What worries me, though, is that catastrophic events only really shake people into action. I think everyone in every walk of life can do more, no matter what you do.
To see the entire ADZ S/S 2011 collection, visit Ada’s website.
To read more about Think Act Vote, see our interview with Amisha Ghadiali here.
Written by Katie Antoniou on Wednesday September 1st, 2010 12:50 pm
Valentines schmallentines. Yup, visit this sitemalady that’s what I normally think. But for some reason I’m in a good mood this year. Although that doesn’t stop me grumbling about the excessive tat for sale in absolutely every shop I enter. Who the hell wants a light up musical plastic toad covered in hearts? Just one of the ridiculous landfill-bound items available on the groaning Valentine’s Day display in one supermarket I visited.
I was leaving my singing class last night when our teacher wished us all a Happy Valentines Day and I realised that this celebration of love has become a national event not unlike Christmas or Easter. How did that happen? But maybe it is a good thing… I shall explain.
Most of the time I have been on my own on Valentine’s Day. As a teenager my first boyfriend (this is him now. EWWWWWWWWWW. Amazing what you can do with google! I swear he was a smooth looker way back when, sale and he was cool. I know you don’t believe me) gave me a squashed box of Black Magic before trying to persuade me to give him a blow job. I wasn’t impressed. Then a boyfriend who I loved very much memorably gave me some hastily bought wilting ‘petrol station flowers’. But he was young. I was in love. I forgave him and we lasted quite a bit longer.
At school and university I often made cards for my best friends instead of for a non-existent boyfriend, buy and during the long dry spell that I experienced in my 20s my lovely mother usually remembered to send me a card, and I would send her one too. I always felt that Valentine’s Day should be a time of year to give thanks to people who are special in our lives, regardless of whether they are our sole love interest.
And remember hearts. Hearts are just so great. Their shape, their colour. Like a circle or a square or a star, the shape of a heart says so much with so little. They’re cute and pretty and like most other girls, I probably can’t get enough of them. No, that’s a lie. When they’re bad hearts I can. Like these. Actually no, even these aren’t too bad. I have a seriously high tolerance for kitsch. But the commercial overkill of hearts makes me cross.
I think it’s best to ignore the pressurised consumerism of Valentine’s Day, but I do think it’s nice to celebrate the occasion because everyone likes to feel appreciated. And if you’ve got some singleton friends, maybe you should think about popping a card in the post to them (making it obvious that it’s from you of course, not some handsome hunk of their dreams). I am sure it would make them smile this weekend.
Best of all, make something. Surprise that special someone with a special act or a special gift that you spent time and energy on. It means so much more than a bit of thoughtless tat. Having said that, us girls would also appreciate a bit of artwork or jewellery, especially if it’s by a talented independent designer or artist. So, here for your last minute delection I offer you my pick of Valentine inspired gifts.
First up we have a beautiful print from Rob Ryan, whose sentimental art is perfectly suited to this time of year. I am reliably informed that as of earlier today there were two of these cut-outs left in the Tatty Devine Soho shop, but be quick if you’d like to snap up one because Rob Ryan grows ever more popular.
Over at Soma Gallery you can pick up a lovely silk screen print of kissing lovebirds, created by Lisa Jones.
Amelia’s Magazine favourite Thereza Rowe is offering a limited edition Amore Valentines print, lovingly created in her inimitable colour palette. This bold artwork would look good on your wall all year round.
And although it’s got darn all to do with hearts I’m kind of smitten with this beaded hummingbird necklace by Clara Francis. She’s used a traditional beading technique that I remember being fascinated by as a teenager. I told myself that I was going to learn how to do this myself. Yes well. Best intentions and all that.
Fashion editor Rachael has already mentioned this classic lollipop necklace by Tatty Devine but I thought I’d add it in again – mainly because it was the necklace that they asked me to model in their Best Of booklet about a year ago. Ohhhh missus. Get me trying to be all saucy!
And I know a certain someone who has already bought this for their loved one – a wooden squirrel broach from Lady Luck Rules Okay. I’m Nuts About You has room for your own message too. Lady Luck have a shop just moments from my house off Brick Lane. I should introduce them to the (real) squirrels who live in the ivy just below my bedroom windowsill. There’s certainly a lot of love going on between this happy (noisy) couple – in fact I’m expecting some additions to the family soon. Squirrel love. You really can’t beat it.
Oh, and I’ll let you know if I get any half dead flowers this year.
Valentines schmallentines. Yup, drug that’s what I normally think. But for some reason I’m in a good mood this year. Although that doesn’t stop me grumbling about the excessive tat for sale in absolutely every shop I enter. Who the hell wants a light up musical plastic toad covered in hearts? Just one of the ridiculous landfill-bound items available on the groaning Valentine’s Day display in one supermarket I visited.
I was leaving my singing class last night when our teacher wished us all a Happy Valentines Day and I realised that this celebration of love has become a national event not unlike Christmas or Easter. How did that happen? But maybe it is a good thing… I shall explain.
Most of the time I have been on my own on Valentine’s Day. As a teenager my first boyfriend (this is him now. EWWWWWWWWWW. Amazing what you can do with google! I swear he was a smooth looker way back when, viagra approved and he was cool. I know you don’t believe me) gave me a squashed box of Black Magic before trying to persuade me to give him a blow job. I wasn’t impressed. Then a boyfriend who I loved very much memorably gave me some hastily bought wilting ‘petrol station flowers’. But he was young. I was in love. I forgave him and we lasted quite a bit longer.
At school and university I often made cards for my best friends instead of for a non-existent boyfriend, decease and during the long dry spell that I experienced in my 20s my lovely mother usually remembered to send me a card, and I would send her one too. I always felt that Valentine’s Day should be a time of year to give thanks to people who are special in our lives, regardless of whether they are our sole love interest.
And remember hearts. Hearts are just so great. Their shape, their colour. Like a circle or a square or a star, the shape of a heart says so much with so little. They’re cute and pretty and like most other girls, I probably can’t get enough of them. No, that’s a lie. When they’re bad hearts I can. Like these. Actually no, even these aren’t too bad. I have a seriously high tolerance for kitsch. But the commercial overkill of hearts makes me cross.
I think it’s best to ignore the pressurised consumerism of Valentine’s Day, but I do think it’s nice to celebrate the occasion because everyone likes to feel appreciated. And if you’ve got some singleton friends, maybe you should think about popping a card in the post to them (making it obvious that it’s from you of course, not some handsome hunk of their dreams). I am sure it would make them smile this weekend.
Best of all, make something. Surprise that special someone with a special act or a special gift that you spent time and energy on. It means so much more than a bit of thoughtless tat. Having said that, us girls would also appreciate a bit of artwork or jewellery, especially if it’s by a talented independent designer or artist. So, here for your last minute delection I offer you my pick of Valentine inspired gifts.
First up we have a beautiful print from Rob Ryan, whose sentimental art is perfectly suited to this time of year. I am reliably informed that as of earlier today there were two of these cut-outs left in the Tatty Devine Soho shop, but be quick if you’d like to snap up one because Rob Ryan grows ever more popular.
Over at Soma Gallery you can pick up a lovely silk screen print of kissing lovebirds, created by Lisa Jones.
Amelia’s Magazine favourite Thereza Rowe is offering a limited edition Amore Valentines print, lovingly created in her inimitable colour palette. This bold artwork would look good on your wall all year round.
And although it’s got darn all to do with hearts I’m kind of smitten with this beaded hummingbird necklace by Clara Francis. She’s used a traditional beading technique that I remember being fascinated by as a teenager. I told myself that I was going to learn how to do this myself. Yes well. Best intentions and all that.
Fashion editor Rachael has already mentioned this classic lollipop necklace by Tatty Devine but I thought I’d add it in again – mainly because it was the necklace that they asked me to model in their Best Of booklet about a year ago. Ohhhh missus. Get me trying to be all saucy!
And I know a certain someone who has already bought this for their loved one – a wooden squirrel broach from Lady Luck Rules Okay. I’m Nuts About You has room for your own message too. Lady Luck have a shop just moments from my house off Brick Lane. I should introduce them to the (real) squirrels who live in the ivy just below my bedroom windowsill. There’s certainly a lot of love going on between this happy (noisy) couple – in fact I’m expecting some additions to the family soon. Squirrel love. You really can’t beat it.
Oh, and I’ll let you know if I get any half dead flowers this year. Alexander McQueen in 2005. Image courtesy of The Guardian, visit photographed by Martin Godwin
My first steps into the fashion world could not be described as tentative: in every sense I was placed smack bang in the middle of it, information pills interning in the press office of the company which defined British fashion, buy more aboutAlexander McQueen. The experience was every bit I had imagined it to be, for better or worse – a sharp, sleek office of metal stairways and white walls, elfin models drifting through, manic sample send outs, the occasional cup of tea to the man himself.
Alexander Mcqueen Aw09, ‘The Horn of plenty’.
To be in such physical proximity to that which had propelled him to global notoriety was nothing short of surreal: the bumster trousers, the white, spray-painted dress worn by Shalom Harlow, the carved wooden legs made for disabled model Aimee Mullins. The stuff of fashion legend. I have never been motivated by fast fashion: next season’s trouser shapes, on trend prints, the effectively meaningless information that makes up monthly glossy shopping pages. Lee McQueen always made fashion exist as spectacle, knowing that like art, it was something that needed to be responded to – executed in sometimes brutal and accusatory ways, loaded with reference and impossible to watch without reaction.
The first fashion show I ever went to was an Alexander McQueen one, which was the Autumn Winter 2009 show ‘The Horn of Plenty’ in a sports stadium on the outskirts of Paris. A retrospective of old collections, I watched with a huge, silly grin as ‘Dance Dance Dance’ by Chic pulsated out of the speakers followed by some twisted drum and bass, with frighteningly white-faced models with clown-like red lips stalked about a mountain of old props from past shows – the effect, as always with McQueen, was menace and beauty in equal parts. The wild cheers that erupted from the audience I found surprising; I later learned that they came from a fierce love that the normally reserved fashion crowd had for McQueen.
Alexander Mcqueen SS10, ‘Plato’s Atlantis’.
Fashion houses that work on such a large scale lose sight of a lot of things, make no mistake – but at Alexander McQueen’s heart was a man who worked with nothing but the raw feelings that he invariably rendered into daring, breathtaking beauty. He was not afraid to inform his personal life into his work: from horrific violence witnessed as a child, or the coral reefs in the Maldives seen on a snorkelling holiday translated into the shimmering prints and footwear of his most recent collection, Plato’s Atlantis.
Since moving onto other things, I have found it impossible to leave McQueen behind, and know that others who have found the same. Fashion can be an industry about wealth and connections, yet McQueen stood out as somebody whose position was realised by raw talent. The media’s intrusion into his personal life and issues is, of course, uncomfortable, but while his work always spoke for itself, there’s no denying we also loved what we knew of the man behind it, whose often devastatingly human spirit proved testament to limitless imagination and our own capacities to create.
Written by Jonno Ovans on Saturday February 13th, 2010 7:00 pm
The Headonsim exhibition is hidden in the Embankment Galleries on the lower ground floor of Somerset house, medicine behind the BFC tent. I’ve been down there twice, once on Thursday and once yesterday – and both times it seemed very under attended. Actually, all the exhibitions around the scrum of the registration area seem very quiet but they are all well worth a look, even if it is just to take a closer look at some of the collections as I did upstairs for Louise Amstrup.
Curated by milliner extraordinaire Stephen Jones, the Headonism exhibition is all about the hats and is the only section of London Fashion Week to do so. There are only five exhibitors: J Smith, Little Shilpa, Noel Stewart, Piers Atkinson and Soren Bach, but the difference between the stands is remarkable. The xxxxx has no one manning it, nor does Little Shilpa – merely a book to leave details in and the only exhibitor to have put any real effort into their display is Piers Atkinson but more on him later. The importance of showcasing your wares appropriately at London Fashion Week is shockingly something that many have left to the last minute. Read xxx post on the displays upstairs to find out who did it well.
We were lucky enough to interview two of the exhibitors prior to the show, the first was J Smith Esquire. His exhibit is immediately to your right as you enter the exhibition, displaying his most recent foray into the high street market with a Mister Smith display of flat pack hats in colourful cut out leather. He told us about the collection: ‘Mister Smith is designed to be robust, accessible, affordable millinery with high design values, so everyone can have a J Smith Esquire hat’.
Illustration of J Smith Esquire by Kellie Black
Mixing together the ready-to-wear and couture, J Smiths talent shines with his main collections. Illuminated promises to be VERY eclectic, ‘(it’s) inspired by vintage Italian fashion papers to create a modern-day Edwardian couture, and yes, expect a very colourful collection!’
Illustration of Little Shilpa by Yelena Bryksenkova
Monday saw the fourth day dawn on London Fashion Week and delightfully my first day of intriguing ethical fashion presentations. First up on No. 1 Greek Street was the delightful Lu Flux, try followed in the afternoon by – congratulations! – the Ethical Fashion Forum’s Innovation Award winner Ada Zanditon. –
All photographs by Sally Mumby-Croft
In the run up to London Fashion Week, stomachKatie Antoniou interviewed Ada Zanditon about the trials, tribulations and positive rewards of producing innovative ethical fashion. Often the problem lies in the assumption that ethical fashion is boring and unfashionable – that most heinous of sins! – a situation being speedily rectified with the continuing presence of Estethica’s exhibition and support of young designers exploring the possibility of sustainable fashion at London Fashion Week Exhibition.
Starting at 2pm, Ada Zanditon’s presentation – which in the grand scheme of things was more of catwalk – displayed the designer’s incredible 3D textiles used to embellish the collection of pretty dresses. Utilising her presence at On|Off, Ada showcased the delectability of clothes made through using up-cycled materials. The outcome of which had the group of ladies behind me swooning.
Christopher Raeburn and Lu Flux, (whose review will be appearing later on today…) are but two of Ada Zanditon’s trailblazing contemporaries in the field of ethical fashion. All three designers are successfully proving there need be no distinction between ‘fashion’ and ‘ethical fashion.’
Surely it is time for all designers to take the ethics of their production lines into consideration: namely where the fabrics originate and who is physically making the clothes for commercial consumption.
When answering Amelia’s Magazine’s final question , Zanditon touched upon the difficult reality of encouraging people to achieve not only sustainable fashion, but sustainable lives; “I only think the planet can truly convince people of the importance of sustainability. I’m sure most people living on the coast of Bangladesh are highly convinced that we need to live in a more sustainable way as they are effected daily by climate change.”
A common fault in humanities mentality is our failure to project successfully beyond today, nurtured as we are on natural resources being infinite. It is incredibly hard to convince worldwide populations’ materials are and will become finite, whilst items still appear in their thousands on shop floors. Perhaps it will take empty shelves to convince us of the perils of fast fashion.
Intriguingly Ada Zanditon uses geometric cutting to produce zero waste. Tell us how you do it Ada!
Written by Sally Mumby-Croft on Tuesday September 21st, 2010 12:18 pm
A fashionista reflects on Friday morning, help wearing a McQueen scarf
When the news of Lee Alexander McQueen’s untimely death broke only a week before the start of London Fashion Week, everybody quite rightly predicted that the event would become a tribute to the late designer.
Harold Tillman, chair of the British Fashion Council, opened Fashion Week paying tribute to McQueen, speaking of his ‘extraordinary impact’ on both British and international fashion, and inviting us to join in a minute’s silence.
Sarah Brown continued the tributes, to a crowd of McQueen wearers, saying that fashion week would be ‘a reflective time with the passing of Lee McQueen’.
A tribute wall, erected in the main area, was covered in hand-written postcards in only a number of hours. These included Sarah Brown herself, esteemed designers, colleagues, press and the public alike.
Over at On|Off, a bunch of iPods had been set into the wall, each containing a different McQueen collection, inviting the attendees to scroll through the images. I could have looked at this for hours.
Christopher Beales A/W 2011 by Toni Bowater
I cannot tell a lie: I went into Ada Zanditon‘s presentation with high hopes, information pills especially after I ran a huge pre LFW interview with her describing what to expect from The Cryoflux.
Ada Zanditon deep in conversation.
On entry to the On/Off space I was ushered towards already packed seats. Ada was deep in conversation on the front row but it was unclear what was going to happen until she urged those near her to get up and touch the clothes, pharmacy arranged on a series of awkward mannequins across one half of the room. At which point everybody got out of their seats and descended on the area at the front, stomach immediately blocking the wall just as her short film started playing. I looked at the clothes briefly, then tried in vain to watch The Cryoflux film over a sea of heads before leaving for another show.
This was a compact collection compared with previous seasons. Taking inspiration from the extreme climate in Antarctica The Cryoflux features plenty of complex pyramidal cutting, a technique for which Ada Zanditon has become well known. We have already run multiple images of the gorgeous orange red ‘flame’ wool coat, which picks up on a key colour theme for the next season, but the dominant colouring of The Cryoflux was icy blues, whites and a deep navy.
My favourite piece was the stunning showpiece dress, replete with a layered waterfall of printed silk inspired by frozen ice formations. I was also struck by a particularly beautiful geometric necklace, another collaboration with Luca Romanyi.
Ada Zanditon The Cryoflux jewellery in collaboration with Luca Romanyi.
We have been massive supporters of Ada Zanditon for several years now and we were blown away by her show last season. In short I really like Ada’s design aesthetic and ethical outlook… but I’m afraid that this proved to me once and for all that presentations are a difficult beast to get right. She had spoken of her desire for people to get up close and personal with the collection, which is all well and good, but journalists want good images, and it’s very hard for mannequins to provide this – pretty girls in pretty clothes will always win head and shoulders over a bony angled mannequin, however bony said girls are likely themselves to be. It felt as though this presentation was aimed at the needs of buyers rather than press.
As for the promise of a surprise when we entered the room, I still have no idea what this was, though other people have assured me that there was an ice sculpture in the room somewhere. I never saw it, thanks to the density of the crowd in attendance.
Despite Ada’s protestations that this was the best possible way to showcase her A/W 2011 collection I left feeling sadly underwhelmed. Please bring back live models next season Ada!
Recipient of the VFS Merit Award, pilule Gerogina Hardinge is far more than the ‘one to watch’ designer she was last season. Her first stand alone collection drew the likes of fashion press favourite Nicola Roberts.Another committed member of the digital prints parade, Hardinge sent monochrome skeletal prints down the runway played out on leggings, tight half-sleeve dresses and body-con tops. Inspired by the dark, and sometimes disturbing photography of Joel Peter Witkin, the concept of death, destruction and disfiguration was emphasised on streamlined silhouettes and her signature structural pieces.
The second half of the show was a little lighter, due to the injection of bone white and dusky peach leathers. A particular favourite was a dark brown playsuit with centre detailing and a nipped in waist. Hardinge cleverly used the robust leather so that she could engineer it to do what she wanted. Pleats, folds, and stiff overlapping layers on sleeves, legs and bodies were key in adding volume to otherwise clean, simple and effortless pieces.
Christopher Beales has been working at the coal face of fashion for his entire career thus far, more about in places as diverse as Voyage (the bizarre hippyluxe shop that you had to be a member of to even enter) and for Primark. He’s worked for Alexander McQueen and Matthew Williamson, about it as a costume designer for films such as Harry Potter and Robin Hood, case and he’s dressed eccentric individuals such as Prince.
On Friday evening I popped along to his A/W 2011 presentation When The Crystal Crack’d, which was conveniently held in the Rag Factory off Brick Lane – thereby ensuring a steady stream of inquisitive fashionistas who were no doubt heading home to their East London nests after a long first day of shows.
Arranged on a sculptural arrangement of silver mesh mannequins, themselves constructed by Christopher Beales, this was a stunning debut for LFW: low key but very clever in its presentation. When The Crystal Crack’d is a collection of cocktail and evening dresses that features the precision tailoring that Christopher has perfected over many years of pattern cutting for famous names. Based on lots of asymmetric shapes in pastel and metallic silk, my favourite bit of the collection was most definitely in the details. Unexpected bows held aloft draped fabric, metal spikes accentuated the subtle curve of an exposed back and knobbled wool traced the contours of a waist.
Susan Hiller-Tate-Britain
Ada Zanditon A/W 2011 sneak preview by Andrea Peterson. I asked a variety of illustrators to interpret one piece from the new collection… so read on to see what they did!
Ada Zanditon looks somewhat confused as I pile into her live/workspace at the same time as the morning influx of interns – maybe I’m a new, about it rather overgrown one? She is still in her pyjamas, recipe having recently emerged from the space beneath a cutting table that currently serves as her bed.
This season Ada will not be putting on a catwalk show; instead she will show a film presentation alongside the collection on mannequins. “What you can do on a catwalk is dictated by how big your budget is, ailment ” she explains. “Lagerfield puts on amazing shows but the cost of production is huge. One reason why everyone loved McQueen was because he put on an event; a moment that could be referenced from then on.” Ada feels that a film or presentation can offer a much more immersive experience on a tight budget.
Last season’s show at Victoria House was intended to be interactive, with people circulating around the models. In fact it became more like a salon show as soon as the pesky photographers formed a bank across the room that guests were afraid to cross. “But the fact that it wasn’t a normal catwalk set was exciting – now it’s time to go to the next stage.” This season movement will be shown on a screen and the audience will be able to feel the details up close without fear of interaction with any live humans. “I’ve learnt that people won’t walk up to a model when they are in full hair and make up because it is too daunting.”
The night before our interview Ada was filming the A/W 2011 presentation at Netil House just off Broadway Market. On the wall above the table where the interns are busy cutting out invitations there is a model – I correctly deduce that Georgiana from Bulgaria is in fact the star of her new film. “It’s much better to fit a narrative around one person,” she says. Ada was able to exactly fit the garments to Georgiana, chosen because of an active interest in her concept and aesthetic. “She also has ability to act and move elegantly and gracefully. I feel she embodies the aspirations of my customers.”
Ada’s great grandparents were from Ukraine and Lithuania, but her mother was born and grew up in America, with the result that Ada has dual nationality and got to spend holidays in fashionable Martha’s Vineyard, where her parents bought a house before it became popular. “Of course now it’s full of rich yuppies… which in a way is good because they look after the beautiful landscape.” Ada herself was born in Crouch End in north London before the family moved south of the river. Secondary school was by all accounts not a fun experience – even though she knew she wanted to be a fashion designer from the age of 5 her school pushed her in an academic direction that she felt uneasy with. As a result she didn’t do art A-level but instead took photography GCSE and attended life drawing classes.
With the encouragement of an art teacher who spotted her potential she went to Morley College to produce a self generated portfolio which she took to her Art Foundation interview at Kingston University. She was promptly offered an unconditional offer. “They were so warm and impressed that I cried in the interview – I was just so happy that someone finally understood my work.” Afterwards she did a degree at London College of Fashion and then embarked an internship with McQueen where she learnt “a hell of a lot”. She was there for a total of four seasons, working almost all of the time. “It’s a tough industry – you can work 9-5 and achieve something mediocre or you can put 100% in and achieve something beautiful.”
The new A/W 2011 collection is called The Cryoflux, embodying in its name frozen landscapes and the idea of change. It was inspired by the polar regions, mainly Antarctica, but also the climatic changes experienced by people living in the Arctic. Ada became fascinated by the ice cores that are pulled up to show our climate history in intimate detail, and extremophiles, mostly microscopic organisms which exist in extreme conditions such as the polar regions. “But I didn’t want to be too literal in my translation – after all we’re experiencing extreme conditions both politically and economically as well.”
For further inspiration she looked at the doomed Robert Scott expedition of the early 1900s, for which the explorers were clothed in heritage clothing from great British brands like Mulberry. “I combined the romantic world of beautiful tailoring with an icy modern aesthetic. For instance I looked at broken ice floes in a constant state of flux.”
Ada Zanditon in her studio in Whitechapel.
I wonder if Ada will model a bit of clothing from the collection so that I can get it illustrated but she baulks at the suggestion because she doesn’t design for herself. “I’m quite scruffy… but my designs always come out elegant and polished,” she says. “I want to create wearable stuff for my customer and not myself because I am quite a specific market of one.” Her collections are instead inspired by an interest in architectural design and illustration. She likens it to the work of Monet. “He doesn’t look like a waterlily. And lots of male designers don’t wear the frocks that they design.” As part of the designing process she loves meeting and learning more about her customers although she’s eager to assure me she’s not a slave to them, and concepts will always be important.
Ada Zanditon in her studio by Donya Todd, who chose to put her in one of her S/S 2011 designs anyway.
The collection features lots of British wool but the silk is not organic because it is much harder to source than good quality organic fair-trade cotton. “Most silk is Chinese even though it often claims to be Indian. I’ve looked into using Peace Silk [which doesn’t kill the silk worms in the process of manufacture] but the trouble is that you only get a smooth continuous unbroken fibre if the worm is killed. My customers want quality and I don’t want to compromise that.” At present Ada feels it is more important to focus on the bigger picture when it comes to sustainability.
There are only a few print designs in the new collection, which were printed locally in Bermondsey. “I feel that winter is usually more about sculptural details, so I tend to explore the cut. Print tends to be for S/S. But you can get sick of tailoring!” Ada can’t imagine living somewhere where the climate doesn’t change on a regular basis and she is looking forward to designing for the next S/S season: think big and loose, “like a million layers of air”.
This season Ada had her choice of slot at LFW, so naturally she chose to show on the first day. The main theme of her presentation remains firmly under wraps but expect a narrative inspired by the solar system and in particular by Europa, which is a moon of Jupiter that experiences particularly extreme conditions. “I like the outside perspective; seeing things from the viewpoint of the other. So I imagined a superwoman extremophile who evolved under the surface of Europa and goes on an exploration of Antarctica.” The film is directed by twins Andrew and William Ho, who had lots of passion and enthusiasm for her subject. “I love their elegant aesthetic.” As well as an “interesting” soundtrack guests can expect a surprise immediately as they enter the venue between 1-2pm on Friday 18th February. I can’t wait… and I shall report back on my findings.
‘I’m terrible at interviews’ I announce shortly after arriving at Rachel Freire‘s East London studio. A bit of a melodramatic introduction, this site maybe; but as I now sit staring at my notes which resemble the scribbles of a toddler I now know why I said it.
My trouble is that I just like to listen to people. I get lost in conversation and forget to write anything down. I refuse to record interviews because I hate the sound of my own voice and I find it a bit of a distraction, so my erratic notes are all I have to record our meeting. Sometimes, if I meet up with somebody and they don’t say much, I can manage it; when I meet people like Rachel Freire – gorgeous, mesmerising, opinionated, articulate – I’m left with nothing.
Rachel is based at the Dace Road studios, home also to the likes of Christopher Raeburn (featured in ACOFI) and Rui Leonardes. Ex-tennants include Mark Fast and Mary Kantrantzou who’ve now moved to Shacklewell Studios, aka hipster central, but despite her successes, Rachel’s staying put. I meet her on a grey Saturday afternoon, she’s been up for most of the night, but you wouldn’t notice despite her protests.
”Whoever says January is a dead month is LYING!’ Rachel exclaims as she makes the tea. I do find that I get on better with people who drink lots of tea. I just don’t trust people who don’t like it. I know, as she gives them a stir, that we’re going to get along. We sit at a big oak desk in the centre of the studio, Rachel lights a cigarette and we begin our conversation. I ask Rachel how it’s going, and she seems pretty positive. She has an army of interns and creates ‘a sense of family’ in her studio, which is adorned with all sorts of interesting antiquities like skulls and baseball paraphernalia. A sign above the door, Rachel’s mantra, reads ‘IF IN DOUBT, SPRAYPAINT IT GOLD,’ a statement I wholeheartedly agree with.
Rachel brands herself as a ‘costumier’ who happened to fall into fashion, which explains her unique and innovative approach to dressing. ‘I’ll never lose track of my costumier routes,’ she tells me, ‘I’m pretty anti-fashion. It dictates what we wear and how we feel, and I’ve never subscribed to that.’ Her models ‘need to have an arse’ and she’s conscious of the responsibility a fashion designer must adopt, whether that be ethical or environmental. ‘I am the cheapest person!’ Rachel admits, ‘but I will never shop in Primark. I look at the clothes and think ‘somebody suffered for this’. I want customers to hold things knowing somebody’s crafted it – that something is special.’
Rachel won’t compromise. She’s staying true to herself and won’t put her name on anything that she hasn’t rigourously vetted and knows exactly where everything has come from. Rachel is as much an ethical designer as any of the Estethica designers – if not more so. She values the work of other people and believes that you ‘have to be ethical in so many different ways’. How you treat your interns, where you source your fabrics, how you communicate with suppliers – all these things, Rachel believes, are necessary for good business, not just opting for ethical fabrics.
Rachel’s previous collections provide sculptural, architectural pieces with innovative techniques (read all about her glow-in-the-dark S/S 2011 collection here) and it seems A/W 2011 will be even more exciting. As we chat about the boy Rachel’s texting and get mixed up with whose tea is whose (easy mistake – Rachel’s recently got a new mug but the Queen of Fucking Everything option she’s given me still has sentimental value) we’re surrounded by leather nipples. REAL nipples.
Rachel and her team of merry men (and women) have been hard at work in the previous weeks to marry them together to make roses. They’re absolutely beautiful to touch and look at but there’s something rather unsettling about them. ‘That’s my aesthetic!’ Rachel declares.
A sneak peek at some of the fabrics, techniques and colours Rachel’s preparing to show this week:
Rachel’s also working with Ecco, who are developing processes for leather manufacturing for couture houses. Rachel has devoted a lot of her time visiting the Netherlands tannery working alongside them in their quest to transform how we produce and approach leather goods. ‘I’m obsessed with materials!’ Rachel tells me. ‘It’s much nicer to make a jacket out of something that you’ve had an input in from the start.’ She shows me a new process she’s working on (damned if I can remember the name) which gives leather an ethereal ripple-like pattern that looks as if it’s been photoshopped. I’m speechless, and we both sit caressing it for a while until I can think of something to say.
So what’s up next for Rachel? Well, A/W 2011 looks set to be her bravest collection yet, and I had a sneak peek at some of the fabrics, textures, techniques and cuts she’s working on. On a grander scale, she ‘loves to teach’ and wants to establish a system where the efforts of designers to instil good practises and skills into their army of interns is recognised. She describes mainstay teaching as ‘box ticking’ and, as someone whose never done what she was told to do, feels there’s more to give in a studio-based environment than anything in the classroom. I hear ya, love.
Rachel’s excited about the future. She plans to dazzle once a year at the A/W 2011 shows while maintaining commissions with an ever-expanding roster of clients and other projects during the rest of the year. She also wants to live on a boat and explore costume design in cinema. She references Jean Paul Gaultier‘s work on flicks like The Fifth Element and is excited by the prospect of applying her unique aesthetic to film. It all comes down to financing. ‘Money dictates and creates a standard,’ Rachel tells me. ‘The system to support new designers is very small, but I won’t compromise my values. I’m here to stay.’
I should bloody hope so.
Rachel’s original draqing for her collaboration with Neurotica:
All photography by Matt Bramford Illustration by Mina Bach
Chad Valley is Hugo Manuel. Oxford born and bred, viagra buy this musician and producer is a member of the recently established Blessing Force Collective and the frontman of alt-folk band Jonquil. As the cold light of the new year dissolved in February, sale Hugo Manuel finished a tour with Twin Shadow and participated in Blessing Force’s recent Warehouse Party at The Old Bookbinders in Oxford. In the days inbetween, Manuel chatted to Amelia’s Magazine about his latest solo venture and what would happen if he ever went for tea with Neil Young…
First things first, how are you finding 2011 so far?
2011 has so far been a blur and feels like its about 10 days old. Its still fresh, and there are lots of plans being hatched.
What’s the story behind the name Chad Valley? I see in previous interviews you’ve mentioned that it’s the name of a toy company begun in the Victorian era?
Chad Valley is actually a place near Birmingham where the toy company was based and it just a wonderful sounding pairing of words. I have no connection with the toy company and when I first knew of the word it wasn’t anything to do with toys. In fact, a friend of mine used it as his stage name when he was in a punk band. Its a kind of generational thing though, because people of my age don’t tend to know about the toy company whereas older generations are like ‘why did you name yourself after Chad Valley!?’ I guess it is a bit like calling myself Argos.
Which era or decade would you say has inspired your music the most?
For Chad Valley specifically I would have to say the late 80s to very early 90s. Its a kind of end of the decade thing where there is change and new things coming in, a rebellion against what has come before. I think the production values of electronic music had, by then, reached something of a pinnacle and things had got so slick that its almost sickly, but quite amazing at the same time. Outside that though, I think the period of 1969 to 1974 is probably the time I would most love to be making music. The records that came out of that era by Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Crosby, Still and Nash, Jackson Browne are all some of my favourites of all time.
What’s the musical inspiration behind Chad Valley? Are you still listening to Studio and The Tough Alliance or have you moved on to pastures new?
I still have so much love for those bands, absolutely. And Ceo, which is one of the guys from TA’s new project, is also great. That was definitely the jumping off point for Chad Valley, but things are moving on, for sure. I’m listening to a lot more R&B at the moment, and that is having a big impact on the stuff I’m making right now. I’m delving deep into R Kelly’s back catalogue for inspiration.
If Chad Valley were a geographical landscape, what or where would it be? How would you map Jonquil?
It would be New York in the early 70s, just like in Taxi Driver. Jonquil would be LA, in the early 90s. Like in the Ice Cube videos.
What are your thoughts on Up and Down being described in the Guardian as “a slinky Hot Chip on downers, a disco-infused summer “joint” featuring some shimmering synths, padded drum beats and Manuel’s impressive croon”?
That was nice to hear. I like Hot Chip a lot, I think they’ve done pretty amazing things considering how weird a band they are. Also, it’s nice to get press in places like the Guardian because you can show your parents, and they can be very impressed.
Video for Chad Valley’s Portuguese Solid Summer by Katie Harrison
Who is the most inspirational person you have come across? What would a meeting between the two of you be like?
Neil Young, without a shadow of a doubt. I would love to have a cup of tea with him and just talk about writing music. I’m sure I would be 100% intimidated and just drool or something weird like that.
What is the most exciting or scary thing that 2011 will throw at you?
At the moment I’m fairly petrified about writing and producing an album. Because it’s just me and I don’t have other people to bounce ideas off, it can be very quite scary making the big decisions about lyrics, or song titles, artwork… those kind of things. But I’m getting way ahead of myself… I have about 2 and a half tunes for the album I guess.
I really like the ambient atmosphere of the video for Up and Down – how did the idea behind the video develop? How did you come across the footage?
It was actually made by my girlfriend when she had the summer off, and a lot of free time on her hands. It’s all stuff from across the internet, so it’s a pretty amazing patchwork of different people’s home videos, pretty much. I like that idea a lot, and its fairly mind-boggling, the fact that that is at all possible!
There are two that I’ll mention, and they are at opposite ends of the spectrum for live shows. One was at a launderette in Hackney. A working laundrette that had been closed for the night and fixed up with a PA and some projectors. They place was heaving, in the best possible way, and everyone danced. Everyone. So at the other end is the show I did with Foals on New Years Eve at the Kentish Town Forum. I was on first, but being NYE there was excitement in the room, and the vibes were excellent.
What impact does being based in Oxford have on your sound?
The scene we have here… the whole Blessing Force thing, is so supportive and encouraging that I think being from Oxford has had a huge affect on the way I make music, and just simply the fact that I do make music. Being surrounded by other musicians all doing similar bedroom-recorded stuff gives you a huge amount of drive to make shit happen. But the things that make Oxford great are also the things that make Oxford not so great. People are always coming and going from Oxford… its in a constant state of flux and this give it an uneasy feeling sometimes. Like, if you stay here for a long time there must be something wrong with you. I can see myself leaving Oxford in the future for sure, but right now it offers so much to me, that I couldn’t keep away.
Chad Valley is Hugo Manuel. Oxford born and bred, see this musician and producer is a member of the recently established Blessing Force Collective and the frontman of alt-folk band Jonquil. As the cold light of the new year dissolved in February, medicine Hugo Manuel finished a tour with Brooklyn’s acclaimed Twin Shadow and participated in Blessing Force’s recent Warehouse Party at The Old Bookbinders in Oxford. In the days inbetween, approved Manuel chatted to Amelia’s Magazine about his latest solo venture and what would happen if he ever went for tea with Neil Young…
First things first, how are you finding 2011 so far?
2011 has so far been a blur and feels like its about 10 days old. Its still fresh, and there are lots of plans being hatched.
What’s the story behind the name Chad Valley? I see in previous interviews you’ve mentioned that it’s the name of a toy company begun in the Victorian era?
Chad Valley is actually a place near Birmingham where the toy company was based and it just a wonderful sounding pairing of words. I have no connection with the toy company and when I first knew of the word it wasn’t anything to do with toys. In fact, a friend of mine used it as his stage name when he was in a punk band. Its a kind of generational thing though, because people of my age don’t tend to know about the toy company whereas older generations are like ‘why did you name yourself after Chad Valley!?’ I guess it is a bit like calling myself Argos.
Which era or decade would you say has inspired your music the most?
For Chad Valley specifically I would have to say the late 80s to very early 90s. Its a kind of end of the decade thing where there is change and new things coming in, a rebellion against what has come before. I think the production values of electronic music had, by then, reached something of a pinnacle and things had got so slick that its almost sickly, but quite amazing at the same time. Outside that though, I think the period of 1969 to 1974 is probably the time I would most love to be making music. The records that came out of that era by Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Crosby, Still and Nash, Jackson Browne are all some of my favourites of all time.
What’s the musical inspiration behind Chad Valley? Are you still listening to Studio and The Tough Alliance or have you moved on to pastures new?
I still have so much love for those bands, absolutely. And Ceo, which is one of the guys from TA’s new project, is also great. That was definitely the jumping off point for Chad Valley, but things are moving on, for sure. I’m listening to a lot more R&B at the moment, and that is having a big impact on the stuff I’m making right now. I’m delving deep into R Kelly’s back catalogue for inspiration.
If Chad Valley were a geographical landscape, what or where would it be? How would you map Jonquil?
It would be New York in the early 70s, just like in Taxi Driver. Jonquil would be LA, in the early 90s. Like in the Ice Cube videos.
What are your thoughts on Up and Down being described in the Guardian as “a slinky Hot Chip on downers, a disco-infused summer “joint” featuring some shimmering synths, padded drum beats and Manuel’s impressive croon”?
That was nice to hear. I like Hot Chip a lot, I think they’ve done pretty amazing things considering how weird a band they are. Also, it’s nice to get press in places like the Guardian because you can show your parents, and they can be very impressed.
Video for Chad Valley’s Portuguese Solid Summer by Katie Harrison
Who is the most inspirational person you have come across? What would a meeting between the two of you be like?
Neil Young, without a shadow of a doubt. I would love to have a cup of tea with him and just talk about writing music. I’m sure I would be 100% intimidated and just drool or something weird like that.
What is the most exciting or scary thing that 2011 will throw at you?
At the moment I’m fairly petrified about writing and producing an album. Because it’s just me and I don’t have other people to bounce ideas off, it can be very quite scary making the big decisions about lyrics, or song titles, artwork… those kind of things. But I’m getting way ahead of myself… I have about 2 and a half tunes for the album I guess.
I really like the ambient atmosphere of the video for Up and Down – how did the idea behind the video develop? How did you come across the footage?
It was actually made by my girlfriend when she had the summer off, and a lot of free time on her hands. It’s all stuff from across the internet, so it’s a pretty amazing patchwork of different people’s home videos, pretty much. I like that idea a lot, and its fairly mind-boggling, the fact that that is at all possible!
There are two that I’ll mention, and they are at opposite ends of the spectrum for live shows. One was at a launderette in Hackney. A working laundrette that had been closed for the night and fixed up with a PA and some projectors. They place was heaving, in the best possible way, and everyone danced. Everyone. So at the other end is the show I did with Foals on New Years Eve at the Kentish Town Forum. I was on first, but being NYE there was excitement in the room, and the vibes were excellent.
What impact does being based in Oxford have on your sound?
The scene we have here… the whole Blessing Force thing, is so supportive and encouraging that I think being from Oxford has had a huge affect on the way I make music, and just simply the fact that I do make music. Being surrounded by other musicians all doing similar bedroom-recorded stuff gives you a huge amount of drive to make shit happen. But the things that make Oxford great are also the things that make Oxford not so great. People are always coming and going from Oxford… its in a constant state of flux and this give it an uneasy feeling sometimes. Like, if you stay here for a long time there must be something wrong with you. I can see myself leaving Oxford in the future for sure, but right now it offers so much to me, that I couldn’t keep away.
Welsh designer Jayne Pierson won the Graduate Fashion Week Ecological Design Award in 2007 and since then has quickly risen up the fashion ranks. Her latest collection, capsule S/S 2011, was a riot of colour and military influences, with luxurious fabrics and bold tailoring.
Jayne’s previous employers include Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen, and their influence is evident in her collections. She debuted solo-stylee in 2009 which saw her featured in Vogue Italia, Vogue and Grazia to name a few.
It’s Jayne’s combination of superior fabrics and innovative design concepts (as well as her extraordinary cutting ability) that makes her a stand-out label in a sea of new designers.
I caught up with Jayne in the run-up to fashion week A/W 2011 to find out how she’s coping and what the rest of the season holds…
Your SS11 collection went down a storm – can you tell us a bit about it?
My Spring/Summer 2011 was based on The Twin Parallel. The theory of space and time and the existence of gravitational time dilation. It engages with the notion that one could change the past to recreate the future. I wanted to create a collection that was ultimately timeless.
What’s inspiring you for A/W 11?
Black, bondage, gloss and industrial.
What can we expect to see on the catwalk from Jayne Pierson this season?
The silhouette juxtaposes the two opposites of restrained tailoring and freeform drape. The organic shapes and the mystery between the folds represent an unknowing, an uncertainty and an alienation. This inexpicably draws me in.
Have you had any major hurdles or experiences in the run up to this season?
Not really but I can always do with another few months to schedule a holiday somewhere…??
What techniques/fabrics/patterns are you using?
Opposites of restrained tailoring and freeform drape; leather with taffeta.??
How do you gage the response to each collection? Do you read reviews?
Not really as I usually base it on how well the sales are doing.
??What kind of woman wears Jayne Pierson? Has this changed?
I’m developing wearable garments with a high-end finish that retains a knowing irony for women that choose to march to the sound of their own drum. ??
What do you make of the current London Fashion scene?
I don’t really follow it as I’m based in Wales. I think it helps to give me space to reflect.
Which fashionable London hotspots would you reccommend to relax?
Tate, Hakkasan, Whiskey Mist and Spitalfields Market.
What does the rest of 2011 have in store for Jayne Pierson?
Paris Fashion Week and a well needed rest at my mum’s house in Dallas, Texas.
Jayne will show her A/W 2011 collection at On|Off today
Written by Matt Bramford on Saturday February 19th, 2011 9:51 am
Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, medications Malaysia and sprung out of Central Saint Martins over here, symptoms illustrator Jasminne Yip is my find du jour. Her work has been featured in Selfridges and her controversial subject areas reference her social commentary on the subjects at hand.
‘Beneath The Veil’ seeks to reeducate the viewer about Western understandings of Islamic sexuality. According to Yip, cialis 40mg her work expresses the sensuality and openness of Islamic sexuality before the fundamentalist aspect of the religion shaped many of our preconceptions about Islam. With a graphic style that is reminiscent of a graphic novel, Yip launches bravely into the subject area with a candid, insightful and feminine perspective that has been lacking in contemporary art practice.
In her other work, the backbone of sexuality, social commentary and wit is a constant theme. She explores society, and sometimes herself with an open bravery. No subject seems to be off limits, and no area is unexplored. Her photography project ‘Day, Noon and Night’ explores the cultural and identity shift that she experienced as ‘a wide-eyed ingénue fresh-off-the boat to the gutter-whore of Shoreditch’
Following along with the narrative of self examination pertaining to sexuality ‘MEAT’ is conceived as a summer of ‘trophy fucks’, a post feminist introspective on using men for pleasure based only on their looks, then documenting the experiences into illustrations.
What I like most about Jasminne Yip is her openness and her questioning of her environment about her. There is a real bravery to her work that is uncommon, and quite special.
Today there is only one thing on the minds of those working in the fashion sphere: the untimely departure of Alexander McQueen. At the grand age of 68, try our Vivienne Westwood is still churning out the masterpieces, healing season upon season. At a comparatively youthful 40, we could have potentially witnessed another 30 years of inimitable Lee Alexander McQueen inspiration, had he not sadly taken his life in February of this year. Since his arresting entrance to the industry with his implausible 1993 degree show, designers across the planet had been turning their heads and waving their fashion show tickets in awe of this mad futurist. Fifteen years later, Elle magazine described the ‘enfant-terrible’ as “the best fashion designer working in the world today.” Lee McQueen has even been hailed as superior to the legendary Yves Saint Laurent, loosely casting aside such other sartorial deities as Karl Lagerfeld and Westwood herself.
Yes, it is true that Alexander the Great became an integral asset in catapulting the fashion industry years into the future and inspiring other designers to chase his exhilarating visions. Yet, it is important to acknowledge the generations of art and fashion students to whom he offered overwhelming inspiration. Decades of McQueen’s unmatched talent hasn’t only been compromised for the industry, but also to the budding designers and fashionistas who looked up to him as the undoubted ‘best’. “I think that one of the biggest impacts will be on the students. His eccentric work always provided inspiration to a whole range of art and fashion projects,” commented Caroline Druitt, a textiles student. ? ?It is true that he has essentially left behind hoards of wannabe McQueens, gasping for evermore insight into, what was, a brilliant and unique mind.
I have been speaking to one such faithful follower. Carly Moroney, a student from Manchester studying Textiles for Fashion Design, was in the middle of an assignment inspired by McQueen’s work when she heard the news of his death. “My first reaction was one of true shock. I felt devastated… I feel that all art students have lost a huge inspiration in McQueen.” ? ?Like many students, looking at her work, it is clear how closely Moroney admired his ideas and I was blown away by what she presented to me. Intricate patterns; ornate details; flawless composition. Every print was utterly unique and paid true homage to McQueen’s style.
“I have taken inspiration from his Spring/Summer 2010 collection,” she said. “I’ve collected imagery of sea creatures and marine life and with this I created digital prints. I am extremely passionate about print and creating prints digitally,” – just as McQueen always was.
According to a press release, McQueen’s ideas behind the collection were, to no revelation, forward-thinking. As forward-thinking as the next ice age. He was apparently creating an apocalyptic forecast of the future; an ecological meltdown of the world where life on earth would ultimately exist underwater, hence the reptile-patterned dresses and giant shoes that resembled armoured heads of fantastical sea monsters. After the usual brainwave-bending required to take in the next McQueen dream, the style of both dress and shoes respectively became instant fashion staples for 2010, and had students such as Carly Moroney excited and inspired by McQueen’s latest work.
Taking this woman-meets-sea mammals concept, she’s transformed images of marine life and under-the-sea textures into those geometric, layered digital prints. As part of her project she then used these to create designs for garments. Deliciously unusual and audacious, they echo the original designs in that they are somewhat mind-swerving and haven’t been seen before.
That is precisely why McQueen has been pure gold to any art student. As one myself, I’m familiar with that seasonal situation; when you have an idea, something to begin the entire concept of your next project. It could be a colour, a texture, something concrete and alive or something abstract. Whatever your starting point, through the archives of McQueen there will be a season in which he has taken that basic notion and exploded it to the edges of artistic boundaries. Those will be the images that you print, cut and stick immediately into your sketchbook. Those will be the images that get those inventive ideas running. Those are the images that have encouraged so many young minds to reach for the skies and turn out their best work.
Carly Moroney is just one example of this. She has the kind of talent that Lee Alexander McQueen has unknowingly surfaced in young creatives all over the world.
After barely seventeen years in the business, he had shaped modern tailoring, introduced many new timeless garments and had twisted fashion shows into spectacles, more than worthy of the theatre stage. Heaven knows what more he could have accomplished if he had only lived longer.
As devastating as it was to see him go, his stunning work will forever live on. Yes, future McQueen inspiration has been lost, to the students in particular, and something will always be missing at fashion weeks across the world. Nevertheless, we are deeply fortunate to have been left with a legacy of such genius.
Imagery throughout courtesy of Tobacco and Leather.
Alexander McQueen in 2005. Image courtesy of 
