Amelia’s Magazine | London Fashion Week A/W 2010 Presentation Review: House of BlueEyes

House of BlueEyes. All photography by Amelia Gregory.
House of BlueEyes. All photography by Amelia Gregory.

Bumbling back towards the Freemasons’ Hall I recognised a familiar face standing out in the street, look looking not unlike a sexy Morris Dancer – that of Faye, order a stripper who featured in issue 01 of Amelia’s Magazine and pole-danced at my first ever launch party at the Seventeen Gallery in Shoreditch High Street.

Faye Marie at London Fashion Week.
Faye Marie at London Fashion Week.

Faye also taught me how to pole-dance at her studio in the Rochelle School in Arnold Circus, back when it was briefly trendy to take it up in the name of exercise. Or at least she tried, I being light in upper body strength and heavy in body weight – but I did enjoy wearing those ridiculously high see-through perspex stripper shoes and pretending to twirl around a pole sexily, usually collapsing in giggles as I failed to spin into the air once again. It’s hard work you know, and Faye always made it look so effortless; I was in awe of her lithe physique. She spoke of entering competitions and winning respect: for her pole-dancing was an art-form that just so happened to take place in front of grosse men in grotty pubs. In this Time Out article from 2006 she is quoted as saying “Pole dancing is an art and women appreciate the effort involved. Men just stare at your crotch and I want to shout ‘What are you looking down there for?? I’m doing GYMNASTICS!!’”

Faye Marie was always very down on men… but I’m thinking that her views may have changed now that she steps out with Joe Corre – making her step mum to none other than Vivienne Westwood‘s pouting (and very pretty) granddaughter. Joe Corre co-founded Agent Provocateur, owns menswear label A Child of the Jago, publishes The Daily Terror and has just become a shareholder in glamourous make up brand Illamasqua. I am guessing Faye no longer strips for pound coins in the White Horse to fulfil her pole-dancing desires. But I do hope she is still dancing because she was a joy to watch.

Cupcakes from Through the Looking Glass.
Cupcakes from Through the Looking Glass.

Turns out Faye was loitering outside because her latest venture is a bookshop cum teashop called Through the Looking Glass in Amwell Street, which thrives on the premise that it’s best to enjoy a good book with a nice cup of tea. (I must pop along there sometime and check it out.) And she had provided the pretty china and cupcakes for the House of BlueEyes presentation, which would shortly take place in the upstairs galleries.

JohnnyBlueEyes
JohnnyBlueEyes.

So I went on up to investigate and I found a man, large of bearing, parading through the corridor in a pink t-shirt, hot pants and thigh-high spray-painted boots, his face and legs smeared with blue paint and glitter. As I watched he stumbled to the floor and caressed a women with butterfly eyes. A cluster of bland-looking fashion week girlies watched from the sidelines, bemused and utterly unable to explain what was going on. I though to myself: this, THIS is why fashion week is so fun! Inside an oddball collection of painted live mannequins posed on windowsills, astride chairs and on a small stage beneath coloured lighting gels and studio lights. An elderly couple looked mildly uncomfortable as they sipped their tea, asking if they were in the way. Was it part of the performance? Who knows.

House of BlueEyes - is it part of the performance? Who knows!
House of BlueEyes – is it part of the performance? Who knows!

As the models pretended to paint, patted a small dog, gazed longingly or amusedly into my lens (pictures below) I smiled, for it was impossible not to, as the blue man, a stylist named JohnnyBlueEyes, intoned some guff about angels, love and revolutions. I cannot tell you a thing about these angels’ outfits other than they were colourful, glittery and totally unwearable – but the makeup was fabulous indeed.

House of BlueEyes. Make LURVE to the camera.
House of BlueEyes. Make LURVE to the camera.

House of BlueEyes. Make LURVE to the camera. Yup, not really working here.
House of BlueEyes. Make LURVE to the camera. Yup, not really working here.

House of BlueEyes.
House of BlueEyes. PEACE and lurve, all over your boobies.

House of BlueEyes.
House of BlueEyes. Check dose earrings!

House of BlueEyes. Angel painting!
House of BlueEyes. It’s an angel doing an artful bit of painting!

House of BlueEyes. Is it a chihuahua? Is it? Surely not at Fashion Week!
House of BlueEyes. Is it a chihuahua? Is it? Surely not. Not at Fashion Week!

House of BlueEyes. *what in god's name am I doing here?*
House of BlueEyes. *What in god’s name am I doing here?*

This was fashion as statement, even in its incoherence – it was fashion as spectacle, fashion for joy and fashion for the sheer fun of dressing up. It reminded me of raiding the dressing up box as a child, and of dressing in drag for our Merrymoot sketch shows on FSC youth camps.
I later encountered this mismatched gaggle marching the streets of Covent Garden, looking slightly more bedraggled and drab, but still calling for a love revolution, as promised. It was all thoroughly silly but it’s this kind of random event that makes London Fashion Week what it is.

Categories ,A Child of the Jago, ,Agent Provocateur, ,cupcakes, ,Faye Marie, ,Freemasons’ Hall, ,FSC, ,House of BlueEyes, ,Joe Corre, ,JohnnyBlueEyes, ,Make-up, ,Merrymoot, ,Pole-dancing, ,Rochelle School, ,Seventeen Gallery, ,Shoreditch High Street, ,The Daily Terror, ,Through the Looking Glass, ,Time Out, ,Vivienne Westwood

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Amelia’s Magazine | Javari Shoes for Show Exhibition Review

Katie Eary for Nike by Eccabin
Katie Eary for Nike by Eccabin.
 
As if we needed any more proof that shoes are a form of art, online shoe connoisseurs, Javari held a dazzling exhibition over the weekend, showcasing highly desirable footwear designed by some of the world’s most prominent designers.
 
Nicholas Kirkwood by Eccabin
Nicholas Kirkwood Alice in Wonderland Heels by Eccabin.
 
From the practical to the not so practical, men and women alike have been fascinated with the enchanting allure of shoes ever since cavemen figured out that walking around barefoot wasn’t exactly ideal. As a day to day essential, our little tootsies would be truly lost without the good old shoe, but we all know that societies love for footwear goes a little deeper than a mere practicality designed to get you from A to B.
 
Shoes for Show Nina Ricci Daphne Guinness
Nina Ricci for Daphne Guiness by Rebecca Higgins
Nina Ricci for Daphne Guinness by Rebecca Higgins.
 
Shoes for Show Natasha Marrow
Natacha Marro by Rebecca Higgins
Natacha Marro for Shoes for Show by Rebecca Higgins.
 
If there’s one thing that any self-respecting girl (or boy) knows, it’s the unstoppable power of well placed shoe. Clearly something the likes of Gareth Pugh, Christian Louboutin and Nina Ricci are all fully aware of. The exhibition was like a sweet shop for all fans of fancy footwear. Each shoe was presented within a structured cubic stand, mirroring the dramatic silhouettes of the shoes themselves, not to mention the mathematical genius surely required for creating such sky-scrapingly tall heels.

Shoes for Show Gareth Pugh Beyonce
Gareth Pugh for Beyonce.

Shoes for Show Katie Eary Nike
Katie Eary for Nike.

 Shoes for Show Nicholas Kirkwood Alice in Wonderland
Nicholas Kirkwood for Alice in Wonderland.
 
The exhibition was truly a feast for the eyes drawing together three sections: Fashion’s Catwalk Spectacle, Couture Clientele and Innovative Design, all of which presented one-off pieces by the likes of Katie Eary for Nike, Nina Ricci for Daphne Guinness and Christian Louboutin for Rodarte.

YouTube Preview ImageRun the World (Girls)

The shoes and boots sparkled in all their glory, whilst Gareth Pugh’s giant gold stompers dominated the Couture Clientele section, just as Beyoncé did when she debuted them in her Run the World video. Catching my eye, along with countless others no doubt, was the enchanting Alice in Wonderland Heels by Nicholas Kirkwood; intricately designed teacups, keys and chequerboard print heels were just as captivating as Lewis Carroll’s novel itself, delivering attention to detail like I’ve never seen before.

Shoes for Show Rupert Sanderson Aida
Rupert Sanderson for Aida.
 
Shoes for Show Niamh O'Conner & Emily Crane
Niamh O’Conner & Emily Crane.
 
Shoes for Show Sophie Grace Webster Manolo Blahnik
Sophie Grace Webster for Manolo Blahnik.
 
Shoes for Show did exactly what it says on the tin: these shoes are solely for show, not for touching and definitely not for trying on! It turns out many people at the exhibition didn’t quite grasp this concept, as a few sawdust-between-the-ears individuals asked if they could put their very own feet in these one-of-a-kind creations. I do sympathise with said individuals as I admit, it was a struggle keeping my hands off Meadham Kirchhoff’s green and pink glitter pom-pom wedges designed by Nicholas Kirkwood for S/S 2012.

Shoes for Show Nichola Kirkwood Meadham Kirchhoff
Meadham Kirchhoff by Justyna Sowa
Nicholas Kirkwood for Meadham Kirchhoff by Justyna Sowa.
 
Shoes for Show Christian Louboutin Rodarte
Christian Louboutin by Justyna Sowa
Christian Louboutin for Rodarte by Justyna Sowa.
 
Fashion over function was the resounding message at the exhibition as I witnessed first-hand some of the craziest, but utterly beautiful designs ever to grace the human foot. The tallest heel in the world came courtesy of Christian Louboutin’s freakishly high ballet pumps designed this year exclusively for the English National Ballet. We were also treated to a miniature version of Alexander McQueen’s Armadillo shoe: the extraordinary curve design footwear that you’ll all remember Lady Gaga teetering around in in last year’s Bad Romance video.

YouTube Preview ImageBad Romance
 
Shoes for Show Christian Louboutin Royal Ballet
Christian Louboutin for Royal Ballet.
 
Shoes for Show Minature McQueen Armadillo
Minature McQueen Armadillo.
 
Shoes for Show Terry de Havilland Ana Matronic
Terry de Havilland for Ana Matronic.
 
Shoes for Show Terry de Havilland for Agent Provocateur
Terry de Havilland for Agent Provocateur.

Fusing fashion and art, the exhibition presented a rare chance to see some of the most exclusive couture pieces of the last two centuries: pieces that have graced the feet of some of the most iconic stars of this generation. Though we all view and admire shoes for more than just their function, Shoes for Show took this admiration to a whole new level, appreciating footwear for its spectacle alone; a spectacle definitely not made for walking!

Categories ,Agent Provocateur, ,Alexander McQueen, ,Alice in Wonderland, ,Becky Turl, ,beyonce, ,Brick Lane, ,Christian Louboutin, ,Couture Clientele, ,Daphne Guinness, ,Eccabin, ,Emily Crane, ,English National Ballet, ,Fashion’s Catwalk Spectacle, ,Gareth Pugh, ,Innovative Design, ,Javari, ,Justyna Sowa, ,Katie Eary, ,Lady Gaga, ,Lewis Carroll, ,Meadham Kirchhoff, ,Natacha Barrow, ,Niamh O’Connor, ,Nicholas Kirkwood, ,Nina Ricci, ,Old Truman Brewery, ,Rebecca Higgins, ,Rodarte, ,Rupert Sanderson, ,S/S 2012, ,Sarah Deane, ,Shoes for Show, ,Sophie Grace Webster

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