Amelia’s Magazine | Ji Cheng: London Fashion Week A/W 2012 Catwalk Review

Ji Cheng AW 2012 by Geiko Louve

Ji Cheng A/W 2012 by Geiko Louve

Chinese designer Ji Cheng’s first show in London was held at Vauxhall Fashion Scout on Tuesday 21st February, the last day of London Fashion Week’s womenswear. Jumping ahead of the queue I had a chance to examine my front row goody bag – a proper mini version of some of the bags that later appeared on the catwalk designed by Ji Cheng, not a tote! – and to look through the slides projected on the wall at the start of the runway. The slides showed models dressed in Ji Cheng’s designs posing at striking Chinese landscape locations, mixing with traditional Chinese life activities or getting intimate with some sexy Chinese pottery makers in their workshops. Some showed traditional pots at a rough, unfinished stage that made them look more like minimal, contemporary western pottery.

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 by Love Amelia

Ji Cheng A/W 2012 by Love Amelia

Indeed Ji Cheng has a passion for Chinese traditional culture, but her collection, according to her ‘combines the essence of classic Chinese art with modern Western techniques and tailoring’ and she wishes to emphasise through her work ‘the combination of Eastern and Western culture’. For example, Chinese inspired elements such as Kimono wrap dresses, short stand-up collars and thick embroidered belts were on show, but so were some minimal skirts, blouses and shirts fit for a nine-to-five job in the office.

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 by Deborah  Moon

Ji Cheng AW 2012 by Deborah Moon

The designer from Shanghai named her A/W 2012 collection Zen Awakening and one could easily see that some of the smoothly draped overlapping lines on the garments and the loose way in which they fell over the body were influenced by Zen monks’ robes and cassocks. This influence was further evident in the model who opened and closed the show, with a striking shaved head like that of a Zen monk. In the press release Ji Cheng made an effort to explain the title Zen Awakening using some rather heavy zen philosophical phraseology such as ‘thought is not thinking’ and referring to ‘higher states of unity’, which I rather enjoyed reading in relation to a fashion show.

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Somewhat relevant to the above, the colour scheme of the show was presented in groups of colours. It started with a focus on a traditional Chinese vermilion, then it moved on to more earthly, brownish hues, followed by a number of mainly white pieces, then a number of mainly black ones and finishing off with the last two numbers which had an iridescent, silver hue. In that way it was a bit like the clothes were following the developmental stages – represented by the different colour groups – of a soul on its journey towards Zen Awakening. Scattered here and there were flashes of fluorescent green or orange, like little moments of realisation along the way.

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

The pure vermilion, so characteristic of Chinese culture, did not only make an appearance on the clothes, but also on the models’ faces, whose make up was a very toned down, western version of the reddish make up applied on actors taking part in Peking Opera productions – a theme which has been an inspiration for a previous collection by Ji Cheng.

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 by Dana Bocai

Ji Cheng A/W 2012 by Dana Bocai

Quite a few of the dresses and blouses featured a very interesting back with cut out panels or huge statement bows. Some of the models carried in their hands really beautifully shaped clutch bags and the shoes had a fabric front, held in place by long ribbons which were tied around the calves in a zigzag fashion. A lot of them left the heel totally exposed, which I thought was not so fit for the modern woman.

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

This was a pleasant collection with an interesting philosophy behind it, so I hope to see how Ji Cheng’s brand La Vie develops over the following seasons showing in London.

All photography by Maria Papadimitriou

Categories ,Chinese, ,Chinese Fashion, ,Chinese Opera, ,Chinese Pottery, ,Clutch Bags, ,Collars, ,Dana Bocai, ,Deborah Moon, ,Eastern, ,Embroidered, ,Fashion Design, ,Fluorescent, ,Freemason’s Hall, ,Geiko Louve, ,Goody Bag, ,Ji Cheng, ,Kerry Jones, ,Kimono, ,La Vie, ,london, ,London Fashion Week, ,Love Amelia, ,Maria Papadimitriou, ,monks, ,Peking Opera, ,Shanghai, ,Silk Blouses, ,Silks, ,Slideshow, ,Vauxhall Fashion Scout, ,Vermilion, ,Western, ,Wrap Dresses, ,Zen, ,Zen Awakening, ,Zigzag

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Amelia’s Magazine | Emily Mackey

LuckyPDF is a new artist-led project based in Camberwell and Peckham, this web search South East London. LuckyPDF aims to promote and support new artists and creative talent within the area by finding innovative and effective ways to produce and exhibit work.

Recently taking up residence in the UNITY centre on the busy Peckham High Street, LuckyPDF will play host to a series of exhibitions, events and happenings over coming months, working within the restrictions of this unique space and around the other groups that share it.

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The current Exhibition features Molly Smyth’s Sculptures which tackle the difficult subject of fear in relation to the recent attacks in Mumbai. I asked her what initially inspired her;

“I originally wanted to create an overtly violent exhibition which highlights the horror of the terror attacks in Mumbai towards the end of last year. That’s however not what materialized. It became more to do with the fear involved.”

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An integral part of the show is a large piece entitled ‘Continuo’ which both propels the art to another level but also acts as an invasive field for the viewers.

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“It’s based on the the Basso Continuo rhythm within Baroque music which lies underneath the melody and both propels and holds back the music.”

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The exhibition continues tonight and tomorrow night @ UNITY, 39 Peckham High Street.

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The Norwegian artist Lise Bjorne Linnert has created a project in response to the tragic, viagra and ongoing situation in the Mexican border town of Juarez, discount which sits on the border of the USA. It is difficult to comprehend, sales but the statistics are chilling – over 560 women have been murdered, hundreds more have disappeared, their whereabouts forever unknown, but it is suspected that they have been kidnapped for trafficking.

Desconocida:Unknown has to date, traveled through 22 countries. The project is very much a participatory affair. Those who come to the exhibition are encouraged to become involved, and embroider two labels; one baring the name of one of the murdered women, and one with the simple word – ‘unknown’. These name tags are added onto a wall which becomes the central medium of the project. Until March 22nd, it will be showing at The Gallery at University for the Creative Arts Epsom. Here, visitors can embroider whilst watching a documentary about the situation, called Threading Voices, also made by the artist.

descondida4resized.jpgFrontera 450+, at the Station Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston Texas. A show dedicated to the women of Juarez and their situation. This inspired me to start the project. i had moved back to Norway at the time and I wanted to create a project that somehow diminished the distance, the physical distance to the place and the psychological distance to take in information of such difficult issues. I wanted to create a connection, because violence towards women is a global issue, happening in every society, rich or poor, far or near.The situation in Juarez is extremely complex and very difficult to describe using just a few words. But I think it is very important to share that despite the horror that still are happening and the increasing violence towards both men and women due to a war on drugs in the city, the women and the community I have seen and collaborated with is not a victimized community, it is a community of an enormous strength and ability to fight back and with a believe in change. Believe in change through working with the youth, education, support of the families so they can speak for themselves. It is all organized with the smallest means and in an environment of violence and mistrust. The government’s attempts on improvements are described by the activists as cosmetic.”

What inspired you to choose to have participants embroider the name of the murdered women onto the labels?

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” The idea of the embroidered nametags came after a long time researching and thinking. I wanted to use a female activity as a way to protest against the violence, I did not want to celebrate the violence. I wanted to establish a connection that would enable us to see the women and hear the stories told, see them as individuals. I also wanted an activity that had connections back to Mexico but yet were global, which embroidery is. We all have a relationship with names, it is the first thing we learn to write and by embroidering the names we would remember that name. By being embroidered, the mass of names each take on an identity again, a dual identity, that of the named and that of the embroiderer.”

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Other than the labels, have you been using any other art forms alongside the embroidery, and how to you feel that this compliments?

“The project has inspired me to work using different art forms. After visiting Juarez in 2007, I decided to go back to tell the story of Marisela Ortiz Rivera and the organization Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa. I wanted to share the power and strength the women are fighting with and made the short documentary Threading Voices. When exhibiting the project I also show the video “Missing young women” by the Mexican filmmaker Lourdes Portillo. This film shares the stories about the murders, following the families in their search for their daughters and for justice.
For me it has been very important to show that women are not victims but have strength to fight back. During the openings of exhibitions where Desconocida has been shown, I have done a voice performance, Presence, where I give a tone, and then I give silence. I take away the words, the relation to music and this leaves the viewer and I with the purely the voice, the note and the silence, and I think this brings presence forward. There are “no escapes”
For the opening at the Gallery at the University for Creative Arts, Epsom, I made a sound installation based on my performance idea.”

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What has the response been to this project, and where would you like to see this project going (apart from bringing justice to these women, of course).

“The project has grown much larger than I imagined when I started this, it has almost taken on a life of its own. I have decided that as long as people want to be part embroidering and the situation in Juarez remains the same, the project will continue to run its course. I hope more venues would like to show the project and by this engage more communities. It is important for me though that the labels eventually do not end their journey in a drawer in my studio. I am currently researching different ideas of how to bring the labels back out to the communities where they have been created, and doing so through an action/performance in Ciudad Juarez.”
What do you do when even the charity shops turn their noses up at your second hand freebies? Have them stripped for parts just like you would your bike! Tracey Cliffe, find with a background in costume design, information pills knows exactly how to spin fresh dresses out of frocks non-grata. Check out her popping new boutique in Afflecks Place in Manchester.
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Polly Scattergood

Rough Trade

Saturday 28th Feb, approved 2009

The ethereal Polly Scattergood performed a short set at Rough Trade East on Saturday evening to a small but attentive crowd. Whether they had wandered in from hearing her sound or were hardened followers was difficult to determine, pharmacy but all were enthralled by what Scattergood had to offer.

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Scattergood is an open and candid storyteller with the adorable quirkiness of Kate Bush and the timid vulnerabilty of Bat for Lashes. Part vocal, part soliloquy, Scattergood‘s songs are honest and real. She was a little nervous on Saturday, resplendent in an metallic puffball number with slightly tousled blonde locks. Her vocals wavered, but it’s a bold move presenting your music in a space as stark as a record shop. There’s no production, no flashy lighting, and there are customers wandering aimlessly trying to find their would-be purchases.

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In between haunting melodies, Scattergood gave little away apart from song titles. From one track to another, she kept a rapid pace, backed by a three-piece band who spend far too much time looking in a mirror (I’d imagine). The songs are original, though – and her dulcet spoken tones blend smoothly with her powerful voice (she dips like a young Moyet and peaks like a more mature Goldfrapp). She has a fresh indie sound with a scrumptious catchy pop twang, best detected on the balladic Unforgiving Arms. Scattergood is also onto a winner with the short show’s closing track, Nitrogen Pink, born with a whisper and maddening as it reaches its climax.

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April sees Polly embark on a comprehensive tour around the UK, with the album Stateside Releases expected to hit the shops this week. With a nod, a huge smile and a timid curtsy, Polly‘s off, safe in the knowledge that she’s served up a teatime treat.
Aussie by heart, for sale New Yorker by nature, pills Deanne Cheuk is at the vanguard of her field in fashion illustration. Her work has already graced the pages of Nylon, ampoule Dazed and Confused,Vogue and Tokion.She is showered with accolades, recently she featured as one of the top “50 creative minds in the world” by Face Magazine.

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Cheuk’s utilises a myriad of mediums that beautifully unite to create ethereal and dreamy pieces.Whisking you away from the realms of reality into the fairy tale-esque utopia of Deanne’s mind. Like a trip to the realms of Willie Wonker’s chocolate factory her visions are inhabited by mushrooms and a whole spectrum of colours, rather reminiscent of hundreds and thousands ,yum!!!

I have to concede I am so utterly besotted by Deanne Cheuk that even the thought of approaching her made me blush. But I am pleased to say I shook off my anxieties and hunted down this astonishingly talented lady to squeeze in a quick chat!.

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1.What other artists inspire you?

I’m always inspired by what my friends are doing, artists like Chris Rubino, Rhys Lee, Dmote, Suitman, Rostarr, Jose Parla, photographers like Jason Nocito, Juliana Sohn, Coliena Rentmeester, Davi Russo

2. In the past few years you have worked more in fashion illustration, was this a natural progression?

Yes it was a natural progression, I started out with drawing the Mushroom Girls series, and then ended up getting commissioned to do variations on that style for fashion magazines and fashion brands. I don’t really do alot in the Mushroom Girls style anymore as it started to get copied alot and a really tacky shoe company on the West Coast ripped it off as their branding. I’ve been doing alot of textile prints for different designers including my favorite designer Sue Stemp.

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3. You published a book a few years ago entitled the Mushroom Girls Virus Book, is there any chance of this going back into press?

Unfortunately there isn’t much chance of my book getting re-printed. The embroidered covers were all hand glued and that was incredibly time consuming for the printers to put together, it took a long time to produce. Though, regardless of that, I’d be more interested in making a new book than revisiting something that was already out there.

4. Alot of your work features mushrooms, do you have a fungal fetish at all?

I’ve always absolutely loved the under-sides of mushrooms, how delicate, intricate and soft and unique that part is. I’m also fascinated by the incredible varieties of mushrooms and amazing colors that are found in nature – so yes there is some fetish there for sure!

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5. Alot of your work is multi-media based, what mediums do you usually use when you work?

I nearly always start with pencil and watercolor on paper and finish up in photoshop on the computer, I’m a bit of a perfectionist and like to be able to retouch and control the final image in that way.

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6. Are their any plans to publish any more books?

Yes, I have a bunch of ideas for a typography book, and an art book and some kids books.

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7. Have you been to any interesting exhibitions recently?

I went to the Works On Paper show in New York this week at the Park Avenue Armory, my work is all on paper so it was really inspiring to see . My favorites were old Warhol’s and Lichtenstein’s’.

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You get a awe-inspiring sense from Cheuk of her passion for design, ,not content in conquering merely the fashion sphere she has set her intentions further a field in the world of children’s literature and graphic design. I for one can’t wait to see how these ideas materialise!
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Going from a magazine to an online blog; we at Amelia’s Magazine know all about the wonders of the internet. However until an email from Mousse Magazine landed in my email box I had no idea how much the process has moved on. Although the magazine is printed in runs of 30, viagra sale 00 and available from museums and galleries across the world it’s also available to download entire issues (and back issues) online. The best bit is that it’s completely free!

Founded in 2006 and distributed internationally since 2008 Mousse Magazine is a bimonthly and bilingual, written in English and Italian, review “that contains essays, interviews, conversations, exclusive artists projects and columns by correspondents from the international art capitals.” They aim to, “surf the trends, offer in depth analysis meet with the hottest artists, and capture the latest currents and developments in the international scene.”

Eager to see whether I could give up the thrill of flicking through the glossy pages of an art magazine I downloaded Mousse straight from the website (no visit to the shop necessary!) and had a look.

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Ok so it doesn’t smell the same as a new printed magazine, but I was pleased to see that there were still lots of lovely images of art for me to treat my eyes to. These pictures are accompanied by over 100 pages of articles about big contemporary artists such as Phillip Lai and meaty interviews with people such as Peter Coffin. The only issue is that reading the magazine on Adobe Acrobat is a bit of a challenge if you don’t have a massive computer screen. But think about the trees you’ll be saving!

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Over the last three months, treat I’ve done a lot of traveling. I toured with a band for three weeks around America and Canada. I turned that band on to Deer Tick by playing “Art Isn’t Real” for them as we drove through Ohio. After the tour, mind I went to visit friends in Brighton, England, Scotland, and Wales. I listened to “Standing at the Threshold” on the train to Brighton. I woke up blissful on my best friend’s living room floor to the tune of “Ashamed” and I cried, listening to “These Old Shoes” the entire plane ride home from England back to New York. For three months I was continually barraged with new things, new cities, new friends, new sights, sounds, and tastes, with one constant – Deer Tick was with me the entire time. I had their album “ War Elephant” piping through my headphones, regardless of where I was. All of these facts I “forgot” to share with the boys of Deer Tick, seeing as how I’m a shy person, and slightly embarrassed about my ‘superfan’ status. I did, however, manage to find out a bit more when I nervously found myself face to face (to face to face – because there are four of them!) with the band at a Chinese food restaurant around the corner from Manhattan’s Bowery Ballroom, where they were about to play a headlining show, the first night of a 6 week tour around America.

Deer Tick had very humble beginnings,” explains John McCauley, Deer Tick‘s mustached front man. “A few years ago I started writing songs like this and recording them with my friend, Paul, on drums, and that kind of fizzled. I kept trying to create the band that I had named Deer Tick. It was kind of me for a while and I really didn’t like it that way. I didn’t like to be known as a singer songwriter with a moniker, I thought that was kind of stupid, but I was really patient and made sure I waited to find the right group of guys to play with.”

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John’s patience paid off and resulted in the formation of the band in its modern day incarnation: Dennis Ryan on drums, Andy Tobiassen- to whom James Felice refers as “the cute one”- on guitar, soft-spoken and self described “post-adolescent, geeky looking kid” Chris Ryan on base and of course, John himself is responsible for guitar and lead vocals as well as penning all of the group’s lyrics.

While “War Elephant” is the work Deer Tick is best known for at the moment, their upcoming album, “Born on Flag Day” will be the first that these 4 have played on together. “It sounds way different than War Elephant, and, stylistically, I think it’s much better than War Elephant too. War Elephant, to me, feels more like a greatest hits rather than an actual album, and this one feels like an album to me, and I’m really glad that I got to record it with a band, rather than multi-track mostly everything myself, which was the case with War Elephant.”

Deer Tick has received positive reactions to both their album, and their live shows. At the near sold out Bowery show, the crowd is singing along, and everyone I talk to in the crowd is genuinely excited to be there, indicative of Deer Tick‘s growing fan base. While the media is desperately trying to pigeonhole Deer Tick‘s sound (terms like “freak-folk,” indie-folk,” and “lo-fi” plague any literature you might find about them, as well as attempts to lump them in with other emerging Brooklyn bands, as John, originally from Providence, Rhode Island, is now living in Brooklyn) John insists that “We can fit in anywhere, from a dive bar to the Bowery Ballroom, like tonight. We’re not trying to be anything, I’m just writing songs in a variety of styles and they get pinned down as folk. And then you can’t just call anything done by a young person ‘folk’ anymore, you have to call it something stupid like “freak-folk.” I just don’t get a lot of labels that people give us. I like to think that rock and roll encompasses everything we do, and that’s where my heart is.”

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“Born on Flag Day” is scheduled for release in June 2009.

The world of neckwear has never looked so exciting. So say goodbye to the days of that tedious and generic tie lurking in the bottom of your wardrobe. I think as a general consensus every male has one, information pills right? Yes, sildenafil the one that only raises its ugly head for job interviews, weddings, or funerals. Well, cast that aside and end his tragic existence. Instead say hello and embrace the innovative, hopelessly stylish and nonchalant new accessory line from design collaborative Timo. Fashion Designer Timo Weiland originates from the bustling sidewalks of the Big Apple. He is no newcomer to the fashion sphere, having already enjoyed cult acclaim nationwide for his distinctive wallet designs and environmental conscious design ethos.

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Their kitsch Manhattan style exudes chic, and the brand have become regulars in hip fashion magazines such as Super Super. After the roaring success of the wallet designs ,Timo decided to set his sites higher and break into the broader world of accessories. Utilising a myriad of different fabrics from satin to cashmere the new AW O9 features beautiful and opulent neckwear.

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Weiland draws influence from all facets of design and genres. Reinvigorating class silhouettes from the bowtie to the skinny tie, and then racing up the spectrum to highly architectural draped collar pieces evoking a distinctly Elizabethan air. Then to top it all off he throws some traditional southern American western in for good measure.

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The unique feature of Timo’s designs is there ultimate use as a cross functional accessory. So that bland dress that hasn’t been out of solitary confinement for months could suddenly be unleased on the unsuspecting world with a whole new look.

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Weiland blurs the lines between gender with many unisex styles, so keep a close eye on that boyfriend of yours if you want to keep your bowtie to yourself!.
Prepare yourselves for quirky design group KIND! Injecting a healthy dose of cool to knitwear. The latest installment to their eccentric collections makes no exceptions fusing conceptual art with fashion, medicine in a burst of colour and activity.

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The Design collaborative are no newcomers to the knitwear sphere and have been in production since 2005. Each collection showcases new and innovative styles, continually pushing the boundaries in conceptual yet functional knitwear design. KIND have been avid followers of ours here at Amelia’s magazine and vis versa, we even featured them in issue 7 ( which is still available to get your mits on by the way!) We just can’t get enough of them, so I thought it important to unleash their new S/S collection on you. So prepare your eyes for a visual feast!

The new collection banishes all recollection of winter embracing the joyous arrival of summer with a myriad of warm colours and shapes.

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The brand are heavily involved in photography, interbreeding art with fashion is of paramount importance to these cool cats. Just one look at their S/S 09 lookbook validates this statement. Pieces are set against vivid tapestries reminiscent of the fundamental cubist painter Henri Matisse.

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KIND’s
focus is on functional and wearable clothing. The collection offers all your staples from dresses,tanks, to jumpers, all in lightweight cashmeres. So perfect for those cross seasonal periods, when its too cold for a t-shirt yet too warm for a jumper.

Kind has enjoyed universal success, having stocked their collections in Labour of Love, Tatty Divine, Liberty, Collette in Paris, UK style in Moscow, Isetan in Tokyo. Gosh its making me breathless just listing them all…….

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So keep your eyes open for KIND, I have a sneaking suspicion we haven’t seen the last from this eccentric bunch!
With a repertoire that boasts Blonde Redhead, page Stereolab, buy Pixies and the Cocteau Twins, approved 4AD rarely disappoint. The latest signing from the cult indie label, Kent four piece It Hugs Back, are no exception.

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Photo by Steve Double

Initially, you can’t help but notice how very young they all seem, which makes it all the more satisfying when they launch into such a mature set, cultivating a sound that is much older than their twenty three years.

Beautifully blended rhythmic guitars and soft Thurston Moore-esque vocals, they are clearly a group who have spent a lot of time cooped up in their bedrooms listening to shoegaze records. Although in essence, It Hugs Back are a product of their influences, this is not such a bad thing when your influences are so definably Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, Yo La Tengo and potentially Wilco.

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Photo Coutesy of http://www.ithugsback.co.uk

Indeed, it’s their appreciation for music and sound that makes them so enjoyable and strangely refreshing. Clearly identifiable ‘Daydream Nation’ moments like in ‘Now and Again’ are juxtaposed with much more subtle melodies in tracks like ‘q’, where looped riffs and jangling guitars meet more industrial feedback sounds. In fact, many of the songs are indistinguishable, as they play with structure, breaking down more definable song narratives, so that the music remains continually listenable.

Definitely ones to watch.

‘Inside your Guitar’ is out on 6th April
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The Guinness World Record for it is 11 inches. Countless circus curios and lunchladies everywhere have caused us to stare guiltily at theirs over the years.
But not until illustrator Emily Mackey’s embroidered pieces have we seen such glorious and bewildering ladies’ beards. Argued to symbolize anything from wisdom and a pioneering spirit to shiftiness and eccentricity the beard remains a statement accessory. We speak with the artist about pistols, adiposity beards and women’s work.

Where did the idea for the bearded ladies originate?
I grew up in several different places, cialis 40mg locally and abroad, and constantly had to leave friends and make new ones. With each new environment I met a diverse range of people and their initial perceptions of me varied wildly. The bearded ladies are stating that people are not always what they appear to be. An initial perception of someone can be misleading, but if you take the time to look closely, you can usually see the truth in who they are.

Truer now than ever with the current cult of celebrity. Approach with caution though readers, in case the moustached madames are carrying one of these…

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What got you stitching the pistol series?
I abhor guns. They’ve brought horror to the human race. I’ve put images of guns through the process of a ‘women’s’ craft and converted them into harmless decoration.

We much prefer yours, and love the idea of subverting weapons into delicate threadwork. Where do you look to for inspiration and ideas?

From the age of ten, I’ve taken photo’s everywhere I go, so I have my own archive of images that I like to work from. I generally work from subjects that evoke my emotions. One my new projects will consist of a range of very powerful pieces that derive from a subject that I feel passionately about.

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Sounds mysterious and evocative, keep us posted!
How did you begin working with stitch?

I come from generations of weavers, embroiderers and lace makers, so as I was growing up, was often given a needle and thread to keep me occupied. I trained as a weaver and started to incorporate embroidery with my weaving…I got involved with free-machine embroidery about four years ago.

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Do you look to somewhere specific for inspiration or ideas?

My great grandmother has been a great inspiration to me. She used embroidery as a means of survival. She taught it to girls in the orphanage that she had grown up in and later set up many more orphanages that taught embroidery, among other things, to enable women to sell their work and earn a living.

How do you feel the medium relates to the subject matter?

What I love about stitching is that it can be such a controlled medium – ordered and solid and it can also be used in a loose, sketchy, expressive way. It can hold more depth than paint or pen and is more malleable.

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Where can we see your work?
I have a website www.maxemilia.com where you will be able to see examples of my work, past and present. I will soon be selling limited runs and one off woven, embroidered and printed pieces through the site too. I have some exhibitions planned for later this year – details will be posted on my website. A selection of my work is going to be published in ‘Illustration Now Vol.3‘ which will be out in the summer.

Thanks Emily, we will definitely keep our eye out for the book and can’t wait to see your upcoming show!

Categories ,Embroidered, ,Emily Mackey, ,IIlustration, ,London, ,Pistols

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Amelia’s Magazine | Satoshi Date: London Fashion Week A/W 2012 Exhibition Review

Satoshi Date AW 2012 by Claire Kearns

Satoshi Date AW 2012 by Claire Kearns

Satoshi Date, an ethical fashion designer featured in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, returned to an archway space on Holyrood Street near London Bridge to exhibit his A/W 2012 Lines 1 and 2 during London Fashion Week. He presented his S/S 2011 collection in the same gallery and in quite a similar way, having his designs hung from the ceiling along with other fabric elements so that the whole formed an installation.

Satoshi Date AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Satoshi Date AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

The exhibition had the fascinating subject of Alchemy woven into it. Satoshi Date had named it Alchemist’s Mind, Re-Fashioning Masterclass as in truth it was not just an exhibition, but also a drop-in workshop whith special areas and sewing machines at the ready where someone could bring old clothes and turn them into somehting special they would love to wear again. I liked the fact that upon entering the space I was given a ‘Menu’ with what I could do during my time there, which humorously included ‘Talk to Satoshi Date about: how to manipulate your vintage fabric, how to make redundant objects reborn again, how to heal your current problems, how to deal with your love relationships, how to modify the items you brought’. In the same vein, I also enjoyed that one of the films projected somehow suggested that this process of up-cycling material objects could help us look at past experiences, traumas or relationships in the same way and be creative with them rather than carry them as baggage – what great advice.

Satoshi Date AW 2012 by Love Amelia

Satoshi Date AW 2012 by Love Amelia

Satoshi Date AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Satoshi Date AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

As in previous collections Satoshi Date included a lot of intricately woven found bits of fabric into his shawls, dresses or hats as well as recycled, felted and hand-dyed wool.

Satoshi Date AW 2012 by Kristina Vasiljeva

Satoshi Date AW 2012 by Kristina Vasiljeva

Satoshi Date AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Satoshi Date AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Satoshi Date AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Satoshi Date AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Some of my favorite pieces were white cotton shirts with little printed illustrations in unexpected places. It has to be noted here that Satoashi Date is an artist/designer who apart from making clothes, also draws, paints, makes films, music and photographs.

Satoshi Date AW 2012 by Jo Ley

Satoshi Date AW 2012 by Jo Ley

Satoshi Date AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

It also, and most definitely, has to be noted that Satoshi Date was a lovely young man with a friendly, welcoming, involved and funny attitude, which made him a pleasure to meet.

Satoshi Date AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Satoshi Date AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

All photography by Maria Papadimitriou

Categories ,Alchemist’s Mind, ,alchemy, ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,Antique Wooden Buttons, ,Claire Kearns, ,Customise, ,Embroidered, ,embroidery, ,Exhibition Review, ,Fashion Film, ,Felted Wool, ,Felting, ,film, ,Hand-dyed, ,Hand-made, ,illustration, ,illustrator, ,installation, ,jersey, ,Jo Ley, ,Kristina Vasiljeva, ,London Bridge, ,London Fashion Week, ,Love Amelia, ,Maria Papadimitriou, ,Masterclass, ,musician, ,Organic Cotton, ,painting, ,photography, ,Re-Fashioning, ,Recycled Wool, ,Satoshi Date

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