Amelia’s Magazine | Sister by SIBLING: London Fashion Week A/W 2012 Catwalk Review

Sister by Sibling A/W 2012 by Gaarte

Sister by Sibling A/W 2012 by Gaarte

Twinsets, cardigans, and crew-neck jumpers were all over this Sister by SIBLING A/W 2012 collection, but not as you’ve seen them before. One of the reasons I love SIBLING is that this brand was born out of a trio of designers who wanted to give men’s knitwear an overhaul, striking such a covetable and attention-grabbing luxe look that women started wearing the pieces too. Joe Bates, Sid Bryan and Cozette McCreery dutifully provided Sister by SIBLING, the equally loud leopard-printed, skull-brandishing womenswear brand.

Sister by Sibling A/W 2012 by Jamie Chiu
Sister by Sibling A/W 2012 by Jamie Chiu
Sister by Sibling A/W 2012 by Jamie Chiu

Sister by SIBLING A/W 2012 by Helena Maratheftis

Sister by SIBLING A/W 2012 by Helena Maratheftis

Sister by Sibling A/W 2012 by Jamie Chiu
Sister by Sibling A/W 2012 by Jamie Chiu

This presentation in the Portico Rooms was a pretty hot ticket, judging by the intense jostle for seats and a front row full to bursting with fashion editors. Long-term SIBLING fan Laura Bailey smiled sweetly from her seat in a way that only someone who has had a private preview of the collection does, safe in the knowledge of what is to come. I did my best impression of a similar smile of satisfaction as I’d already drooled over this sparkly, lurex, sequined offering from SIBLING in the Somerset House press exhibition room.

Sister by SIBLING A/W 2012 by Alia Gargum
Sister by SIBLING A/W 2012 by Alia Gargum
Sister by SIBLING A/W 2012 by Alia Gargum

Katie Grand’s in-your-face styling definitely woke up the sleepy crowd (who like me, wanted a lie-in and chose the later showing) by mixing acid-bright pinks, oranges, and purples together for a strong visual punch. The most special touch came in the form of face masks that turned models into faceless sparkling mannequins with incredible pom-poms and hand stitched flower clustered defiantly on top of their heads.

Sister by Sibling A/W 2012 by Gareth A Hopkins

Sister by Sibling A/W 2012 by Gareth A Hopkins

The genius behind this collection and the Sister by SIBLING brand is that it’s easy to wear. Attention-seekers can go for the whole look, and those who like a bit of crazy colourful sparkle without much effort (ahem, me) get an instant outfit by pulling on some knitwear over jeans. I particularly liked how something as traditional as a Scottish Fair Isle jumper was transformed with skulls and clashing neon leopard print.

Sister by SIBLING A/W 2012 by Alia Gargum
Sister by SIBLING A/W 2012 by Jamie Chiu
Sister by SIBLING A/W 2012 by Alia Gargum

As the models walked around the room at the end of the presentation and I resisted the urge to ruffle a pom pom or two, I noticed the shoes. In collaboration with Underground, this means that hopefully the trademark Sister by SIBLING leopard prints and skull Fair Isle teamed with ubiquitous pointy creepers and Chelsea boots may be available to buy next season.

Sister by SIBLING A/W 2012 by Alia Gargum
Sister by SIBLING A/W 2012 by Alia Gargum

Another nice little touch was the brand’s collaboration with Barbie, who they dressed up in miniature versions of the collection and displayed along shelves on their exhibition stand. If Sister by SIBLING can make someone as clean-cut as Barbie look like she’s right at home wearing glittering skulls, neon prints and fully sequinned jumpers, then surely the look can work for anyone. Besides, a full face of sequins or sparkly lurex means less time bothering with hair and makeup: a definite win.

Sister by SIBLING A/W 2012 by Alia Gargum
Sister by SIBLING A/W 2012 by Alia Gargum

All photography by Alia Gargum and Jamie Chiu

Categories ,Alia Gargum, ,Barbie, ,chelsea boots, ,Cozette McCreery, ,Crepe Sole Creepers, ,Gabriel Ayala, ,Gareth A Hopkins, ,Helena Maratheftis, ,Jamie Chiu, ,Joe Bates, ,Katie Grand, ,knitwear, ,Laura Bailey, ,Leopard Print, ,London Fashion Week A/W 2012, ,Neon, ,Portico Rooms, ,Sequins, ,Sid Bryan, ,Sister by Sibling, ,Underground Shoes

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Amelia’s Magazine | Mercedes-Benz Kiev Fashion Days at Fashion Scout: London Fashion Week A/W 2013 Catwalk Review

anna october - lfw - aw13 - jenny robins - amelias magazine

For this catwalk show I found myself sat one person apart from the infamous London Fashion Week performance artist Pandemonia. I’m not very good at spotting fashion celebrities (I can to my shame point out someone from Made in Chelsea, even if I cannot name them) but she does rather stand out from the crowd (literally, complete with blow up wig she’s immensely tall). I was playing it cool so I didn’t ask for a picture; as if it’s completely normal to sit next to a giant inflatable Barbie doll. An illusion I have now shattered by going on about it here. The four designers, along with another three contributing to a showcase Campari reception the next day, were over from the Ukraine, part of a growing trend for international designers to show their wares at London Fashion Week.

Kiev fashion days Anna Kolomoets AW 2013-0000
Kiev fashion days Anna Kolomoets AW 2013-0009
Kiev fashion days Anna Kolomoets AW 2013-0005
The first designer up was Anna Kolomoets (above), with a kitsch collection featuring plenty of shiny, glossy and fluffy textures. I quite enjoyed the playfulness of it, especially the love heart fake fur mini skirt and the curved flaps on a dress that resembled giant petals. The music cut out suddenly during the catwalk and no attempt was made to carry on, so everyone sat in stunned silence before we skipped straight on to the next designer.

Kiev fashion days Yasya Minochkina AW 2013-0003
Kiev fashion days Yasya Minochkina AW 2013-0005
Kiev fashion days Yasya Minochkina AW 2013-0009
Kiev fashion days Yasya Minochkina AW 2013-0012
Yasya Minochkina started out on a much more utilitarian vibe, with sculpted checks in muted colours and peasant-ish flared ra-ra skirts. There was only a hint of colour in shiny shoes until the arrival of a bizarre electric blue and maroon velvet dress. With zip pockets. Really. I liked the final black dress, with a show stopping ankle flare that made great shapes as it flowed down the catwalk. Thankfully not actually show stopping this time.

paskal - lfw - aw13 - jenny robins - amelias magazine
Kiev fashion days Paskal AW 2013-0007
Kiev fashion days Paskal AW 2013-0019
Kiev fashion days Paskal AW 2013-0009
Kiev fashion days Paskal AW 2013-0018
Ooh look, there’s me on the right – and Pandemonia on the left.

With Iulila Paskal we were back on slightly more familiar territory, with the use of laser cut metallic leather of the kind that has been popular in recent seasons. I liked the combination of sharp tailoring and cut out designs in geometric and organic shapes. The models wore padded headbands in matching shimmery colours, giving them a bit of a Statue of Liberty look. This was matched with the slightly wispy bed-head hair that was the rule for the whole show.

Kiev fashion days Anna October AW 2013-0024
Kiev fashion days Anna October AW 2013-0029
Kiev fashion days Anna October AW 2013-0004
Kiev fashion days Anna October AW 2013-0018
Kiev fashion days Anna October AW 2013-0010
Anna October was the real star of the show though, featured in the Fashion Scout exhibition and highlighted in various publications over the weekend. You can see why too: the full skirted dresses constructed from tinsel-y slimline chevron patterns were especially memorable, and the use of silver a genuine marriage of classic and futuristic references that worked. The combination of ‘tradition’ and ‘modern tailoring’ is an overstated fashion cliché, but I think some of these pieces walked that line elegantly. I wasn’t entirely sure about the oversized jumper of layered glitter, but I guess you can’t please everyone all of the time.

Categories ,Anna Kolomoets, ,anna october, ,Barbie, ,Campari, ,David Bowie, ,fashion, ,Fashion Scout, ,Freemasons’ Hall, ,Iulila Paskal, ,Kiev, ,mercedes-benz, ,paskal, ,Statue of Liberty, ,Ukraine, ,yasya minochkina

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Amelia’s Magazine | London Fashion Week A/W 2011 Menswear Day Catwalk Review: Cassette Playa (by Amelia)


Illustration by Gilly Rochester

It was Day 1 at Somerset House and I was surrounded by all those fashion bigwigs, buy sure to have just flown in first-class from the closing New York Fashion Week and before that whichever glamorous corner of the Earth they resided. The BFC Catwalk space, malady therefore, kicked off with a sure-fire reminder of where we were; London. Just in case anyone forgot.


Illustration by Maria Papadimitriou

??It was all about the classic, home-comfort elements of good-old British style. You had your checks, your lace, your chiffon, your wool winter coats that your mother forced you in when you were young and now just can’t get out of.??

Most garments were intrinsically minimalistic. There was very little print. The fabric palette didn’t stretch too far and no real attempt towards a-symmetric cuts or daring features was made. Despite such profuse amounts of plain-Jane style, however, a subtle sexiness arose from those full-sequined dresses in bright red and sultry black as well as the odd combination of tiger and leopard print. It was bad taste turned classy.??


Illustration by Gilly Rochester

The collection’s silhouette held a strong focus on the waist with delicate belts cinching-in wool shift dresses and chiffon floaty creations. There was a barely a bold moment throughout the entire show but one thing was for sure: everything had style.
Furthermore (as has been featured countless times this season), bows were a primary focus for Charles. She placed them on bowler hats, made them out of black ribbon tied around the neck and pulled them round to the rear of high-waisted trousers.


Illustrations by Maria Papadimitriou

Some of the combinations of textures, however, were a little iffy for me. Black leather pencil skirts with brown lady-like jackets? It just didn’t click. I also wasn’t keen on the injection of equestrian riding hats and low pony-tails. It was oh-so-boring and that kind of look, for me anyway, completely lacks any sort of style or attitude. Perhaps a ploy made my yet-another designer to turn the head of Kate Middleton as the Royal Wedding approaches? Maybe so.

Amidst the elegant and some-what calming classical music, however, I was agitated by lady-with-hideous-hat who was inconveniently featured in most of my photographs. There was a bit of a frenzy around her and THE HAT after the show. I couldn’t begin to understand why and marched past indifferent and utterly confused.??

All in all, a largely predictable and collection from a classic London dress-maker. It’s endearing, however, to see a leading designer of 47 years to continue delivering a fail-safe iconic style which will forever be appreciated. And with so much sophisticated femininity around this Autumn/Winter season, it certainly set the scene for what was to come and offers a solid reference to anyone embracing ‘The Woman’ next season.

Illustration by Gilly Rochester

It was Day 1 at Somerset House and I was surrounded by all those fashion bigwigs, pharmacy sure to have just flown in first-class from the closing New York Fashion Week and before that whichever glamorous corner of the Earth they resided. The BFC Catwalk space, ask therefore, generic kicked off with a sure-fire reminder of where we were; London. Just in case anyone forgot.


Illustration by Maria Papadimitriou

??It was all about the classic, home-comfort elements of good-old British style. You had your checks, your lace, your chiffon, your wool winter coats that your mother forced you in when you were young and now just can’t get out of.??

Most garments were intrinsically minimalistic. There was very little print. The fabric palette didn’t stretch too far and no real attempt towards a-symmetric cuts or daring features was made. Despite such profuse amounts of plain-Jane style, however, a subtle sexiness arose from those full-sequined dresses in bright red and sultry black as well as the odd combination of tiger and leopard print. It was bad taste turned classy.??


Illustration by Gilly Rochester

The collection’s silhouette held a strong focus on the waist with delicate belts cinching-in wool shift dresses and chiffon floaty creations. There was a barely a bold moment throughout the entire show but one thing was for sure: everything had style.
Furthermore (as has been featured countless times this season), bows were a primary focus for Charles. She placed them on bowler hats, made them out of black ribbon tied around the neck and pulled them round to the rear of high-waisted trousers.


Illustrations by Maria Papadimitriou

Some of the combinations of textures, however, were a little iffy for me. Black leather pencil skirts with brown lady-like jackets? It just didn’t click. I also wasn’t keen on the injection of equestrian riding hats and low pony-tails. It was oh-so-boring and that kind of look, for me anyway, completely lacks any sort of style or attitude. Perhaps a ploy made my yet-another designer to turn the head of Kate Middleton as the Royal Wedding approaches? Maybe so.


Photographs by Georgia Takacs

Amidst the elegant and some-what calming classical music, however, I was agitated by lady-with-hideous-hat who was inconveniently featured in most of my photographs. There was a bit of a frenzy around her and THE HAT after the show. I couldn’t begin to understand why and marched past indifferent and utterly confused.??

All in all, a largely predictable and collection from a classic London dress-maker. It’s endearing, however, to see a leading designer of 47 years to continue delivering a fail-safe iconic style which will forever be appreciated. And with so much sophisticated femininity around this Autumn/Winter season, it certainly set the scene for what was to come and offers a solid reference to anyone embracing ‘The Woman’ next season.

Illustration by Gilly Rochester

It was Day 1 at Somerset House and I was surrounded by all those fashion bigwigs, find sure to have just flown in first-class from the closing New York Fashion Week and before that whichever glamorous corner of the Earth they resided. The BFC Catwalk space, what is ed therefore, kicked off with a sure-fire reminder of where we were; London. Just in case anyone forgot.


Illustration by Maria Papadimitriou

??It was all about the classic, home-comfort elements of good-old British style. You had your checks, your lace, your chiffon, your wool winter coats that your mother forced you in when you were young and now just can’t get out of.??

Most garments were intrinsically minimalistic. There was very little print. The fabric palette didn’t stretch too far and no real attempt towards a-symmetric cuts or daring features was made. Despite such profuse amounts of plain-Jane style, however, a subtle sexiness arose from those full-sequined dresses in bright red and sultry black as well as the odd combination of tiger and leopard print. It was bad taste turned classy.??


Illustration by Gilly Rochester

The collection’s silhouette held a strong focus on the waist with delicate belts cinching-in wool shift dresses and chiffon floaty creations. There was a barely a bold moment throughout the entire show but one thing was for sure: everything had style.
Furthermore (as has been featured countless times this season), bows were a primary focus for Charles. She placed them on bowler hats, made them out of black ribbon tied around the neck and pulled them round to the rear of high-waisted trousers.


Illustrations by Maria Papadimitriou

Some of the combinations of textures, however, were a little iffy for me. Black leather pencil skirts with brown lady-like jackets? It just didn’t click. I also wasn’t keen on the injection of equestrian riding hats and low pony-tails. It was oh-so-boring and that kind of look, for me anyway, completely lacks any sort of style or attitude. Perhaps a ploy made my yet-another designer to turn the head of Kate Middleton as the Royal Wedding approaches? Maybe so.


Photographs by Georgia Takacs

Amidst the elegant and some-what calming classical music, however, I was agitated by lady-with-hideous-hat who was inconveniently featured in most of my photographs. There was a bit of a frenzy around her and THE HAT after the show. I couldn’t begin to understand why and marched past indifferent and utterly confused.??

All in all, a largely predictable and collection from a classic London dress-maker. It’s endearing, however, to see a leading designer of 47 years to continue delivering a fail-safe iconic style which will forever be appreciated. And with so much sophisticated femininity around this Autumn/Winter season, it certainly set the scene for what was to come and offers a solid reference to anyone embracing ‘The Woman’ next season.
TM AND HL-Jan 11-photography by Amelia Gregory
Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou, viagra dosage all photography by Amelia Gregory.

Last week Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou held a preview screening for their Tin Tabernacle tour video, rx titled 11 Nights Under Tin. I caught up with them at Bush Hall a few weeks ago to find out more about this talented couple.

Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou, <a target=sildenafil all photography by Amelia Gregory” title=”Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou, all photography by Amelia Gregory” width=”480″ height=”320″ class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-38522″ />Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou, all photography by Amelia Gregory

The Tin Tabernacle tour followed on from Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou’s Village Hall tour of last year. To pull it off they found approximately fifty churches through the Tin Tabernacles website, got details of about thirty of them and managed to stage concerts in eleven of them. The website often listed the nearest town or they enterprisingly zoomed in on the google street view: sometimes a contact number would be visible on a noticeboard, and at other times they phoned the local pub. Most people were really enthusiastic, but some were overwhelmed by the idea and worried by the commitment. “We wanted to get out into the community and play for people who don’t have much access to music,” they told me when I spoke to them at Bush Hall. “We went to those who were keen.” It seems to have been a successful venture: the audiences were mostly comprised of locals.

Tin Tabernacle by Gilly Rochester
Tin Tabernacle by Gilly Rochester.

The Tin Tabernacle churches all vary in size, though they have a few things in common. They are all made of corrugated iron, and were invented circa 1840, when the scattering of God fearing British citizens across the British Empire hastened the need for an easily transportable place of worship. Mining communities sprung up in all sorts of remote corners of the globe so the churches often had to be carried for long distances overland. “They warm up fast because they are wooden clad inside,” explained Trevor and Hannah, “but some had no electricity so we played by candlelight.” The smallest church held only about 40 people, all squashed into the pews, but the average capacity was between 70-120. What with Trevor, Hannah and their two support acts it was still quite a squish.

Tin Tabernacle by Gilly Rochester
Tin Tabernacle by Gilly Rochester.

I spotted a tin church on my visit to the Cornish village of Cadgwith earlier this year, but sadly this was not one that they managed to include on the tour, despite Trevor’s Cornish heritage. Many were nevertheless located in amazing locations, including on cliff tops.


11 Nights Under Tin, a film by Trevor Moss, can be watched in full here.

Why did they chose such an innovative way of touring? “We had toured the same venues for years and they are all the same, painted black inside.” Trevor and Hannah hope that with their Arts Council funded tours their audiences will experience an event, instead of just standing in the shadows. “It’s no wonder that so many bands’ later records are rubbish when they live in such a strange parallel reality.” So they have chosen places that will open their eyes to other communities. They always stay in independent B&Bs and sometimes with the local vicar – it’s also a carefully considered way for them to have an interesting time whilst peddling an album. “We get to play in places we would never have seen otherwise.”

Tin Tabernacle by Alison Day
Tin Tabernacle by Alison Day.

I can totally relate to this idea – half the reason I was so attracted to fashion photography as a creative medium was the possibility of visiting interesting locations to take photos. During my nascent fashion photography career I went to South Africa and America before I began to realise the environmental problems of excessive air travel.

Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou by Sarah Matthews
Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou by Sarah Matthews.

The *world* premiere of the resulting Tin Tabernacle film was shown at The Social on Wednesday 16th March. It was entirely shot on an old 80s Hi 8 camera in three seconds bursts three or four times an hour, so it is basically what they describe as “a collection of moving photos” with mostly in-camera sound.

Trevor Moss & Hannah Lou - Tin Churches by Emmeline Pidgen
Tin Churches by Emmeline Pidgen.

This interactive approach to playing and documenting music is a result of Hannah and Trevor’s art college career. They both met at Goldsmiths, where Trevor was studying fine art and Hannah was doing theatre studies. By the time they reached their third year they were signed as the band Indigo Moss, which we profiled on Amelia’s Magazine. By this point they were spending so much time immersed in music that Trevor had to enlist the rest of the band to help get his degree show up on time.

Tin Tabernacles by Reena Makwana
Tin Tabernacles by Reena Makwana.

The couple have now been writing songs together for 8 years and seem a lot older and wiser than their 25 years of age, a fact which they attribute to having lots of older friends. They met whilst living in halls but did not start going out together until Indigo Moss, and managed to keep their relationship secret from other band members for two months. They got married in 2008.


There’s Something Happening Somewhere, a film by Trevor Moss.

Indigo Moss eventually broke up because they didn’t enjoy it anymore, especially the way the label was pushing the band. Inevitably, they were pulling bigger audiences as a duet. At that point Tom from Lewis Music saw them and they signed a one album deal. After that Jeff of Heavenly saw a couple of shows and as they put it “it all happened quite naturally. We had a cup of tea and the Tin Tabernacle tour really caught his imagination.” Heavenly Recordings have parted ways with megalith EMI and are now part of the Universal funded Cooperative Music initiative which supports independent labels such as Transgressive, Moshi Moshi, Bella Union and Domino. It means they can share PR costs and everyone knows when the others are releasing records so they don’t step on toes, which seems to make brilliant sense. These are amongst my favourite labels and between them they host some fabulous musicians – why would they want to deliberately compete with each other?

Trevor-Moss-Hannah-Lou-by-LJG-Art-Illustration
Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou by LJG Art & Illustration.

Ever prolific, Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou aim to put out one album a year from now on. The next record will be out in May and then comes the festival season, starting at Wood Festival on 21st May, and moving onto Truck Festival, Port Eliot and of course Glastonbury – where they played on my Climate Camp stage last year alongside Danny and the Champions of the World.


Performing at Wood Festival in 2009.

What to expect from the upcoming record? “There will be drums and a much bigger sound.” But as always all guitar and voices will be recorded together. I can’t imagine there will be much room in their van for more band members, and they agree that it is perfectly sized for just them. Although Trevor jokes that Hannah gets on his nerves it’s clear that this is very much a twosome. What happens when a family enters the equation? “Trevor wants to be a house husband,” laughs Hannah. “It will be a nice quiet time to write!” For now what they really want is a pet whippet. “They are lovely; so skinny and frail,” says Trevor. “It could travel in a hammock in the van.” The main trouble would be taking a dog into festivals, but I’m sure they could find an interesting series of venues that would accept a canine companion. Did someone mention lighthouses?

Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou, all photography by Amelia Gregory

TM AND HL-Jan 11-photography by Amelia Gregory
Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou, ambulance all photography by Amelia Gregory.

Last week Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou held a preview screening for their Tin Tabernacle tour video, titled 11 Nights Under Tin. I caught up with them at Bush Hall a few weeks ago to find out more about this talented couple.

Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou, all photography by Amelia GregoryTrevor Moss and Hannah Lou, all photography by Amelia Gregory

The Tin Tabernacle tour followed on from Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou’s Village Hall tour of last year. To pull it off they found approximately fifty churches through the Tin Tabernacles website, got details of about thirty of them and managed to stage concerts in eleven of them. The website often listed the nearest town or they enterprisingly zoomed in on the google street view: sometimes a contact number would be visible on a noticeboard, and at other times they phoned the local pub. Most people were really enthusiastic, but some were overwhelmed by the idea and worried by the commitment. “We wanted to get out into the community and play for people who don’t have much access to music,” they told me when I spoke to them at Bush Hall. “We went to those who were keen.” It seems to have been a successful venture: the audiences were mostly comprised of locals.

Tin Tabernacle by Gilly Rochester
Tin Tabernacle by Gilly Rochester.

The Tin Tabernacle churches all vary in size, though they have a few things in common. They are all made of corrugated iron, and were invented circa 1840, when the scattering of God fearing British citizens across the British Empire hastened the need for an easily transportable place of worship. Mining communities sprung up in all sorts of remote corners of the globe so the churches often had to be carried for long distances overland. “They warm up fast because they are wooden clad inside,” explained Trevor and Hannah, “but some had no electricity so we played by candlelight.” The smallest church held only about 40 people, all squashed into the pews, but the average capacity was between 70-120. What with Trevor, Hannah and their two support acts it was still quite a squish.

Tin Tabernacle by Gilly Rochester
Tin Tabernacle by Gilly Rochester.

I spotted a tin church on my visit to the Cornish village of Cadgwith earlier this year, but sadly this was not one that they managed to include on the tour, despite Trevor’s Cornish heritage. Many were nevertheless located in amazing locations, including on cliff tops.


11 Nights Under Tin, a film by Trevor Moss, can be watched in full here.

Why did they chose such an innovative way of touring? “We had toured the same venues for years and they are all the same, painted black inside.” Trevor and Hannah hope that with their Arts Council funded tours their audiences will experience an event, instead of just standing in the shadows. “It’s no wonder that so many bands’ later records are rubbish when they live in such a strange parallel reality.” So they have chosen places that will open their eyes to other communities. They always stay in independent B&Bs and sometimes with the local vicar – it’s also a carefully considered way for them to have an interesting time whilst peddling an album. “We get to play in places we would never have seen otherwise.”

Tin Tabernacle by Alison Day
Tin Tabernacle by Alison Day.

I can totally relate to this idea – half the reason I was so attracted to fashion photography as a creative medium was the possibility of visiting interesting locations to take photos. During my nascent fashion photography career I went to South Africa and America before I began to realise the environmental problems of excessive air travel.

Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou by Sarah Matthews
Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou by Sarah Matthews.

The *world* premiere of the resulting Tin Tabernacle film was shown at The Social on Wednesday 16th March. It was entirely shot on an old 80s Hi 8 camera in three seconds bursts three or four times an hour, so it is basically what they describe as “a collection of moving photos” with mostly in-camera sound.

Trevor Moss & Hannah Lou - Tin Churches by Emmeline Pidgen
Tin Churches by Emmeline Pidgen.

This interactive approach to playing and documenting music is a result of Hannah and Trevor’s art college career. They both met at Goldsmiths, where Trevor was studying fine art and Hannah was doing theatre studies. By the time they reached their third year they were signed as the band Indigo Moss, which we profiled on Amelia’s Magazine. By this point they were spending so much time immersed in music that Trevor had to enlist the rest of the band to help get his degree show up on time.

Tin Tabernacles by Reena Makwana
Tin Tabernacles by Reena Makwana.

The couple have now been writing songs together for 8 years and seem a lot older and wiser than their 25 years of age, a fact which they attribute to having lots of older friends. They met whilst living in halls but did not start going out together until Indigo Moss, and managed to keep their relationship secret from other band members for two months. They got married in 2008.


There’s Something Happening Somewhere, a film by Trevor Moss.

Indigo Moss eventually broke up because they didn’t enjoy it anymore, especially the way the label was pushing the band. Inevitably, they were pulling bigger audiences as a duet. At that point Tom from Lewis Music saw them and they signed a one album deal. After that Jeff of Heavenly saw a couple of shows and as they put it “it all happened quite naturally. We had a cup of tea and the Tin Tabernacle tour really caught his imagination.” Heavenly Recordings have parted ways with megalith EMI and are now part of the Universal funded Cooperative Music initiative which supports independent labels such as Transgressive, Moshi Moshi, Bella Union and Domino. It means they can share PR costs and everyone knows when the others are releasing records so they don’t step on toes, which seems to make brilliant sense. These are amongst my favourite labels and between them they host some fabulous musicians – why would they want to deliberately compete with each other?

Trevor-Moss-Hannah-Lou-by-LJG-Art-Illustration
Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou by LJG Art & Illustration.

Ever prolific, Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou aim to put out one album a year from now on. The next record will be out in May and then comes the festival season, starting at Wood Festival on 21st May, and moving onto Truck Festival, Port Eliot and of course Glastonbury – where they played on my Climate Camp stage last year alongside Danny and the Champions of the World.


Performing at Wood Festival in 2009.

What to expect from the upcoming record? “There will be drums and a much bigger sound.” But as always all guitar and voices will be recorded together. I can’t imagine there will be much room in their van for more band members, and they agree that it is perfectly sized for just them. Although Trevor jokes that Hannah gets on his nerves it’s clear that this is very much a twosome. What happens when a family enters the equation? “Trevor wants to be a house husband,” laughs Hannah. “It will be a nice quiet time to write!” For now what they really want is a pet whippet. “They are lovely; so skinny and frail,” says Trevor. “It could travel in a hammock in the van.” The main trouble would be taking a dog into festivals, but I’m sure they could find an interesting series of venues that would accept a canine companion. Did someone mention lighthouses?

Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou, all photography by Amelia Gregory

TM AND HL-Jan 11-photography by Amelia Gregory
Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou, pill all photography by Amelia Gregory.

Last week Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou held a preview screening for their Tin Tabernacle tour video, drug titled 11 Nights Under Tin. I caught up with them at Bush Hall a few weeks ago to find out more about this talented couple.

Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou, <a target=sales all photography by Amelia Gregory” title=”Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou, all photography by Amelia Gregory” width=”480″ height=”320″ class=”aligncenter size-full wp-image-38522″ />Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou, all photography by Amelia Gregory

The Tin Tabernacle tour followed on from Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou’s Village Hall tour of last year. To pull it off they found approximately fifty churches through the Tin Tabernacles website, got details of about thirty of them and managed to stage concerts in eleven of them. The website often listed the nearest town or they enterprisingly zoomed in on the google street view: sometimes a contact number would be visible on a noticeboard, and at other times they phoned the local pub. Most people were really enthusiastic, but some were overwhelmed by the idea and worried by the commitment. “We wanted to get out into the community and play for people who don’t have much access to music,” they told me when I spoke to them at Bush Hall. “We went to those who were keen.” It seems to have been a successful venture: the audiences were mostly comprised of locals.

Tin Tabernacle by Gilly Rochester
Tin Tabernacle by Gilly Rochester.

The Tin Tabernacle churches all vary in size, though they have a few things in common. They are all made of corrugated iron, and were invented circa 1840, when the scattering of God fearing British citizens across the British Empire hastened the need for an easily transportable place of worship. Mining communities sprung up in all sorts of remote corners of the globe so the churches often had to be carried for long distances overland. “They warm up fast because they are wooden clad inside,” explained Trevor and Hannah, “but some had no electricity so we played by candlelight.” The smallest church held only about 40 people, all squashed into the pews, but the average capacity was between 70-120. What with Trevor, Hannah and their two support acts it was still quite a squish.

Tin Tabernacle by Gilly Rochester
Tin Tabernacle by Gilly Rochester.

I spotted a tin church on my visit to the Cornish village of Cadgwith earlier this year, but sadly this was not one that they managed to include on the tour, despite Trevor’s Cornish heritage. Many were nevertheless located in amazing locations, including on cliff tops.


11 Nights Under Tin, a film by Trevor Moss, can be watched in full above.

Why did they chose such an innovative way of touring? “We had toured the same venues for years and they are all the same, painted black inside.” Trevor and Hannah hope that with their Arts Council funded tours their audiences will experience an event, instead of just standing in the shadows. “It’s no wonder that so many bands’ later records are rubbish when they live in such a strange parallel reality.” So they have chosen places that will open their eyes to other communities. They always stay in independent B&Bs and sometimes with the local vicar – it’s also a carefully considered way for them to have an interesting time whilst peddling an album. “We get to play in places we would never have seen otherwise.”

Tin Tabernacle by Alison Day
Tin Tabernacle by Alison Day.

I can totally relate to this idea – half the reason I was so attracted to fashion photography as a creative medium was the possibility of visiting interesting locations to take photos. During my nascent fashion photography career I went to South Africa and America before I began to realise the environmental problems of excessive air travel.

Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou by Sarah Matthews
Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou by Sarah Matthews.

The *world* premiere of the resulting Tin Tabernacle film was shown at The Social on Wednesday 16th March. It was entirely shot on an old 80s Hi 8 camera in three seconds bursts three or four times an hour, so it is basically what they describe as “a collection of moving photos” with mostly in-camera sound.

Trevor Moss & Hannah Lou - Tin Churches by Emmeline Pidgen
Tin Churches by Emmeline Pidgen.

This interactive approach to playing and documenting music is a result of Hannah and Trevor’s art college career. They both met at Goldsmiths, where Trevor was studying fine art and Hannah was doing theatre studies. By the time they reached their third year they were signed as the band Indigo Moss, which we profiled on Amelia’s Magazine. By this point they were spending so much time immersed in music that Trevor had to enlist the rest of the band to help get his degree show up on time.

Tin Tabernacles by Reena Makwana
Tin Tabernacles by Reena Makwana.

The couple have now been writing songs together for 8 years and seem a lot older and wiser than their 25 years of age, a fact which they attribute to having lots of older friends. They met whilst living in halls but did not start going out together until Indigo Moss, and managed to keep their relationship secret from other band members for two months. They got married in 2008.


There’s Something Happening Somewhere, a film by Trevor Moss.

Indigo Moss eventually broke up because they didn’t enjoy it anymore, especially the way the label was pushing the band. Inevitably, they were pulling bigger audiences as a duet. At that point Tom from Lewis Music saw them and they signed a one album deal. After that Jeff of Heavenly saw a couple of shows and as they put it “it all happened quite naturally. We had a cup of tea and the Tin Tabernacle tour really caught his imagination.” Heavenly Recordings have parted ways with megalith EMI and are now part of the Universal funded Cooperative Music initiative which supports independent labels such as Transgressive, Moshi Moshi, Bella Union and Domino. It means they can share PR costs and everyone knows when the others are releasing records so they don’t step on toes, which seems to make brilliant sense. These are amongst my favourite labels and between them they host some fabulous musicians – why would they want to deliberately compete with each other?

Trevor-Moss-Hannah-Lou-by-LJG-Art-Illustration
Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou by LJG Art & Illustration.

Ever prolific, Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou aim to put out one album a year from now on. The next record will be out in May and then comes the festival season, starting at Wood Festival on 21st May, and moving onto Truck Festival, Port Eliot and of course Glastonbury – where they played on my Climate Camp stage last year alongside Danny and the Champions of the World.


Performing at Wood Festival in 2009.

What to expect from the upcoming record? “There will be drums and a much bigger sound.” But as always all guitar and voices will be recorded together. I can’t imagine there will be much room in their van for more band members, and they agree that it is perfectly sized for just them. Although Trevor jokes that Hannah gets on his nerves it’s clear that this is very much a twosome. What happens when a family enters the equation? “Trevor wants to be a house husband,” laughs Hannah. “It will be a nice quiet time to write!” For now what they really want is a pet whippet. “They are lovely; so skinny and frail,” says Trevor. “It could travel in a hammock in the van.” The main trouble would be taking a dog into festivals, but I’m sure they could find an interesting series of venues that would accept a canine companion. Did someone mention lighthouses?

Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou, all photography by Amelia Gregory

Pick Me Up Paul Blow
Tiger Feet by Paul Blow.

Yesterday 2011′s Pick Me Up once again kicked off in the Embankment Galleries at Somerset House. I went along to the opening night to check out this years talent.

Like last year, information pills the lower galleries are once again devoted to the young rising stars of graphic design and illustration. This is the section for which I was asked to nominate a selection of Up and Coming illustrators many months ago. None of my suggestions were picked, remedy and on the basis of some artists who were chosen I would question the description. Tom Gauld – an old acquaintance of mine – has surely been at the top of the illustrative game for many years, as have some of the others. At 48 years old American artist Polly Becker is hardly young. Although it’s great to be feted at any time in your career it’s a bit of an oversight to champion well established artists as Ones to Watch. But nonetheless let’s continue with the review: there was much to enjoy in this gallery.

Pick Me Up 2011-Kate Moross
London based designer Kate Moross has quickly established a glowing reputation for her bold psychedelic style.

Pick Me Up NIght & Day by McBess
Pick Me Up NIght & Day by McBess
Matthieu Bessudo, aka McBess, favours a cartoonagraphic style with a surreal edge. Expect naked ladies with ninja faces. I liked the intricate stories in the large scale Night & Day artwork best.

Pick Me Up Seiko Kato
Seiko Kato was a real discovery – this Japanese artist lives in Brighton and produces amazingly detailed collages, filled with colourful flora and fauna. The Funeral is a beautifully surreal large scale work.

Pick Me Up 2011-Andy Rementer
I loved the bold colours and shapes of Andy Rementer.

Pick Me Up 2011-Jules Julien
Jules Julien makes macabre fine line work influenced by the surrealist drawing game Exquisite Corpse.

Pick Me Up 2011-Jessica Hische
Typography is Jessica Hische‘s speciality. Another American, she is a senior designer for Louise Fili Ltd. Beautifully rendered, if a little polished.

Pick Me Up 2011-Clara TernePick Me Up 2011-Clara Terne
Swedish designer Clara Terne is inspired by the deep oceans and outer space, both equally other worldly. Kaleido did pretty much what it said on the tin. Nebuloso was a beautiful piece of digital art.

Pick Me Up 2011-MVM
MVM is a Norwegian and co founder of the Grandpeople design studio. He employs a fluid minimalist form and exhibits huge silk banners – almost Japanese in appearance.

Pick Me Up 2011-Eda Akaltun
Eda Akaltun is a founding member of Nobrow – evident in her distinctive colour palette – and favours a collagey painted approach that is instantly recognisable.

Pick Me Up 2011-Victo Ngai
From Hong Kong but working in London, Victo Ngai graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design. I loved her Japanese influenced drawings, which recall the fine detailing of woodblocks combined with a whimsical touch.

Pick Me Up 2011-James Graham
James Graham favours a simple graphic aesthetic.

Pick Me Up 2011-Revenge is Sweet
Revenge is Sweet shows bold 80s art deco artwork that has obvious advertising applications.

Pick Me Up 2011-Sarah ArnettPick Me Up 2011-Sarah ArnettPick Me Up 2011-Sarah Arnett
Sarah Arnett shows some beautiful digitally created flower artwork, densely created in curious colourways. Her original training as a textile designer is evident in these botanically inspired pieces.

Pick Me Up 2011-Gwenola Carrere
From Belgium, Gwenola Carrere shows some fabulous screenprints. She has published three children’s books to date. I loved her bold playful style.

Nigel Peake, from Ireland, makes lovely delicate abstract work. He has exhibited globally and I’ve always considered him more of a fine artist.

Pick Me Up 2011-Takeru Toyokura
Another Japanese artist, Takeru Toyokura shows amazing felt collages that depict weird faceless figures in surreal situations. Blonde haired children float against grandiose architecture. Strangely wonderful.

Pick Me Up 2011-Otecki
Polish artist Otecki creates black block prints inspired by both traditional iconography and graffitti. Loved his owl.

Pick Me Up 2011-Yoh Nagao
Another Japanese artist: Yoh Nagao is another surrealist collagist (do you sense a bit of a theme yet?)

Annelie Carlstrom uses a propelling pencil to fashion detailed pictures of girls with huge faces and extravagant hair. Quite unsettling.

Pick Me Up 2011-Paul BlowPick Me Up 2011-Paul BlowPick Me Up 2011-Paul Blow
Paul Blow‘s work really caught my eye for it’s strong colours and amusing narratives.

Pick Me Up 2011-Tom Gauld
Tom Gauld creates a weekly cartoon for the Guardian newspaper and you will no doubt be familiar with his unique drawings and quirky ideas – he used to run an independent publishing house with my bessie mate, the super talented Simone Lia.

Pick Me Up 2011-Polly Becker
Polly Becker‘s surrealist illustrations are created through the assemblage of ephemera.

Pick Me Up 2011-Stefanie Posavec
My boyfriend was most taken with the work of Stefanie Posavec, a graduate of Colorado State University who has an MA in Communication Design from Central Saint Martins. Her data visualisation is almost autistic in it’s detail.

I would love to see more emphasis on really new talent in this section, or perhaps in another bespoke section. Not to mention more variety in style (surreal, collage…) and a real nod to all the amazing home bred talent that is so prevalent on the blogosphere, in the zine world and elsewhere in the UK. The work shown is of an undoubtedly high standard but I think it’s an opportunity missed.

Pick Me Up 2011-Print Club London
Print Club London.

Nobrow and Ditto Press showcase their innovative independent publishing work on this floor, then above and below this gallery are stationed the collectives who pitched to take part in Pick Me Up. Print Club London is once again holding live screen-printing workshops.

Pick Me Up 2011-Sister Arrow
I particularly liked the print (for sale) by Sister Arrow, who has created an imaginary pygmy super-race simply called Sumo Babies of which I presume Crystal String Dance is one.

Pick Me Up 2011-Margaux Carpentier
I also liked Margaux Carpentier‘s work. Her print is inspired by an Eskimo legend where the first woman meets the wolf-god Amarok.

Pick Me Up 2011-Jaguar Shoes
The JaguarShoes Collective is showing for the first time, with lots of work for sale from a wide variety of loosely associated artists. For Pick Me Up they have created a Campfire wall – featuring over sized marshmallows and flickering tissue flames.

Pick Me Up 2011-Nous Vous
Next door is the minimalist Nous Vous set up.

Pick Me Up 2011-Samuel EsquirePick Me Up 2011-Samuel Esquire
Puck Collective are hosting a busy room that resembles a working studio. I particularly liked the strong graphic work of Samuel Esquire.

Pick Me Up 2011-Evening TweedPick Me Up 2011-Evening Tweed
Evening Tweed‘s exhibition space looks like a trendy aspirational shop in Brick Lane, with artfully arranged mementos lined around the walls. I wish my studio space looked like this!

Pick Me Up 2011-Anthony Burrill
Anthony Burrill is hosting the big central space – he may be an interesting graphic artist but he’s no Rob Ryan when it come to production techniques: expect photocopied collage opportunities and DJ-ing.

Pick Me Up 2011-Anthony Burrill
Pick Me Up Anthony Burrill area.

Suddenly it was closing time so I missed the It’s Nice That section and what looked like an interesting 3D concept from Them Lot – make sure you drop in to be filmed as one of the characters in their cardboard city. Leaving, visitors pass through the Concrete Hermit bookstore, which is much better placed than it was last year. From tomorrow (a bit late in the day I will concede) the shop will stock copies of both my books.

ACOFI Concrete Hermit
UPDATE: ACOFI and AAOI are now available at Concrete Hermit shop!

Make sure you take a moment to peruse through Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration and Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration – both of which are choc-a-bloc with *brand* new illustration talent.

Pick Me Up 2011-Nous Vous uke
Pick Me Up 2011-Nous Vous uke.

It’s exciting that an event like Pick Me Up exists, but disheartening that it isn’t more wide ranging and ambitious in the scope of its activities. What about the practical use of illustration and graphic art? Evening Tweed features some fabulous gilded Russian dolls, Nous Vous show a bespoke illustrated ukelele and the JaguarShoes Collective offers illustrated objects to buy, but there is very little consideration of how illustration can be applied to products within the exhibition as a whole or in the workshop schedule.

And what about the many different commercial aspects of working as an illustrator today? Where are the children’s book illustrators, the fashion illustrators, the illustrators who tackle sustainability within their work? Where is the discussion of the many many ways in which illustration is utilised within the online world, in animation and in editorial? Aspects of this will hopefully be brought up in workshops but I feel very strongly that there are only so many prints that people can buy for their walls, and an applied context is what differentiates illustration and graphic design from fine art so it really should be talked about in an exhibition such as this.

Pick Me Up 2011-Evening Tweed Russian Dolls
Evening Tweed Russian Dolls.

I also think it would be nice if different collectives and publishing houses were invited to take part in Pick Me Up every year, rather than many of the same ones returning again – I had a strong feeling of Deja Vu. And of course, lastly, I’d like to see more work from TRULY up and coming illustrators. There are so many very great ones out there….

You can read my full listing for Pick Me Up, including recommended events, right here. My review of last year’s Pick Me Up event can be read here. And in case you were wondering I feel it’s only right that I admit that I was actually asked to contribute this year. But we couldn’t agree on the best Amelia’s Magazine presence, which is a shame.

There’s always next year…
Cassette Playa A/W 2011 by Lisa Stannard
Cassette Playa A/W 2011 by Lisa Stannard.

As I write this there is a drill buzzing incessantly in my ear and it is glorious spring time weather outside. This and the fact that is now well over a month since LFW ended might well mean this is going to be an exceptionally short post.

Cassette Playa A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryCassette Playa A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryCassette Playa A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryCassette Playa A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryCassette Playa A/W 2011 by Rebecca Strickson
Cassette Playa A/W 2011 by Rebecca Strickson.

To a suitably grime tastic soundtrack Carrie Mundane (who now, adiposity according to the press release, viagra prefers to go under her given name of Carri Munden) staged a comeback show during menswear day at Somerset House. It was a large collection, full of her customary colour and verve. Metallic orange crop leather jackets over bright on black prints inspired by biker chic, metalheads, graffitti and tattoos? Padded jackets by heritage company Lavenham and bright socks pulled to mid calf? Women with curvaceous real bodies? Skin tight lycra and faux apron detailing? V-neck jumpers and silky lounge wear? Check check check. There was definitely nothing understated about this show.

Cassette Playa A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryCassette Playa A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryCassette Playa A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryCassette Playa A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryCassette Playa A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryCassette Playa A/W 2011 by Riki K
Cassette Playa A/W 2011 by Riki K.

And then out stepped a host of lego headed models painted entirely in gold, showcasing a capsule collection that will be marketed as Cassette Playa x Ken at Colette. Yes, you heard right, that’s Ken of Barbie and Ken fame, who celebrates his 50th anniversary this year. Not his birthday though, because that would be well weird given that he is a perpetually young doll for small children.

Cassette Playa A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryCassette Playa A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryCassette Playa A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryCassette Playa A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryCassette Playa A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryCassette Playa A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryCassette Playa A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryCassette Playa A/W 2011 by Riki K
Cassette Playa A/W 2011 by Riki K.

Matt Bramford has written a far more detailed and entertaining review of this show, but one thing he failed to mention was the free Barbie Sweet Talkin’ Ken Doll that all front row guests received. It’s one of those toys that you can talk to and it talks back in a vaguely unsettling robot voice. Hours of fun for my boyfriend, it turns out (well, ten minutes at least). Who said Ken was just for kids?

Barbie Sweet Talkin' Ken
My Barbie Sweet Talkin’ Ken.

You can see more work by Lisa Stannard in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration.

Cassette Playa A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryCassette Playa A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia Gregory
Cassette Playa A/W 2011. All photography by Amelia Gregory.

Categories ,ACOFI, ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,Ateralas, ,Barbie, ,Barbie and Ken, ,Barbie Sweet Talkin’ Ken Doll, ,Carri Munden, ,Carrie Mundane, ,Cassette Playa x Ken, ,Colette, ,Doll, ,Front Row, ,Ken, ,Lavenham, ,lfw, ,Lisa Stannard, ,London Fashion Week, ,Matt Bramford, ,Rebecca Strickson, ,Riki K, ,Somerset House

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Amelia’s Magazine | London Fashion Week A/W 2011 Menswear Day Catwalk Review: Cassette Playa

A La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia Gregory
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zarina Liew
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zarina Liew.

Biggest surprise of London Fashion Week? À La Disposition, search about which I knew nothing prior to their show at Fashion Scout. It’s really nice to go to a show and feel like you’ve discovered something exciting – it’s one of the reasons I enjoy LFW so much, and and especially going to the smaller shows. After all, discovering new talent is something I’ve always loved doing in Amelia’s Magazine.

A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zoe Georgiou of Soul Water
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zoe Georgiou of Soul Water.

An American husband and wife team, Lynda Cohen Kinne and Daniel Kinne of À La Disposition describe themselves as the fusion of form and function and for The Utopian Aviary collection they looked at the social structures, mimicry and mating displays of birds. This translated into an incredibly modern silhouette based on structures of times past: tight capes, over-developed coat tails that looked like wings and gigantic neck ruffles reminiscent of the medieval era. This was a super confident collection which showcased some superb pattern cutting skills.

A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Emma Lucy Watson
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Emma Lucy Watson.

The Utopian Aviary opened with a stunning faux fur concoction: skirt layered more like the wings of a beetle than a bird, cape bunched around the shoulders in striped tones of greys. Black, deep green, jades and autumnal reds dominated the ensuing outfits, created in luxe fabrics: silk, taffeta and chiffon.

A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zoe Georgiou of Soul WaterA La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zoe Georgiou of Soul Water
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zoe Georgiou of Soul Water.

A digitalised moire print featured on dress and blouse. Red buttons provided a contrasting punch to forest green velvet and waists were high and thighs puffed out, topped with exaggerated wing-collared pinstripe shirts and accessorised with fake wool leggings. Shoulder details called to mind the layered shapes of petals on a cross fronted jacket. A shot of deepest honey yellow was a searing burst of winter sunshine.

A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zarina LiewA La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zarina Liew
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zarina Liew.

Models had teased up-dos that emulated the chaotic structure of birds’ nests, red alienesque contacts and eyes deeply rimmed with black. The overall effect was nigh on futuristic.

A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sophie Pickup
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sophie Pickup.

Gigantic breast ruffles appeared on coats and looped down the chest in marled knitwear, extending outwards and upwards until, peacock like, a model appeared bearing a stunning ruffled contraption which rose like cantilevered architecture from the back of her neck in a delicious deep copper metallic silk. Behind, the ruffles cascaded like an echo down the back of her skirt. What a revelation!

A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sam ParrA La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sam Parr
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sam Parr.

Also of mention was the bulging goodie bags on the front row which contained two bottles of the new À La Disposition perfume {{intangible}}. These are composed of the same base ingredients, but with alternating top notes so that they can either be worn alone or together. Created by boutique perfume maker Carvansons I’ve yet to be convinced of their wonder, but the press release is indeed as *intangible* as it was for the The Utopian Aviary show.

A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sam Parr
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sam Parr.

I always write my first draft about a show before I read the accompanying press release because I don’t want it to influence my initial perceptions – like good artwork I feel that a collection should stand alone without any kind of explanation. Which leads me to my final word for À La Disposition: keep it simple. There’s no need for overwrought descriptions, especially when the quality of showmanship itself does the talking.
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zarina Liew
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zarina Liew.

Biggest surprise of London Fashion Week? À La Disposition, visit web about which I knew nothing prior to their show at Fashion Scout. It’s really nice to go to a show and feel like you’ve discovered something exciting – it’s one of the reasons I enjoy LFW so much, medicine and especially going to the smaller shows. After all, discovering new talent is something I’ve always loved doing in Amelia’s Magazine.

A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zoe Georgiou of Soul Water
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zoe Georgiou of Soul Water.

A La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia Gregory
A La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia Gregory.

An American husband and wife team, Lynda Cohen Kinne and Daniel Kinne of À La Disposition describe themselves as the fusion of form and function and for The Utopian Aviary collection they looked at the social structures, mimicry and mating displays of birds. This translated into an incredibly modern silhouette based on structures of times past: tight capes, over-developed coat tails that looked like wings and gigantic neck ruffles reminiscent of the medieval era. This was a super confident collection which showcased some superb pattern cutting skills.

A La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011 by Emma Lucy Watson
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Emma Lucy Watson.

The Utopian Aviary opened with a stunning faux fur concoction: skirt layered more like the wings of a beetle than a bird, cape bunched around the shoulders in striped tones of greys. Black, deep green, jades and autumnal reds dominated the ensuing outfits, created in luxe fabrics: silk, taffeta and chiffon.

A La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zoe Georgiou of Soul WaterA La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zoe Georgiou of Soul Water
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zoe Georgiou of Soul Water.

A digitalised moire print featured on dress and blouse. Red buttons provided a contrasting punch to forest green velvet and waists were high and thighs puffed out, topped with exaggerated wing-collared pinstripe shirts and accessorised with fake wool leggings. Shoulder details called to mind the layered shapes of petals on a cross fronted jacket. A shot of deepest honey yellow was a searing burst of winter sunshine.

A La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zarina LiewA La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zarina Liew
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zarina Liew.

Models had teased up-dos that emulated the chaotic structure of birds’ nests, red alienesque contacts and eyes deeply rimmed with black. The overall effect was nigh on futuristic.

A La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sophie Pickup
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sophie Pickup.

Gigantic breast ruffles appeared on coats and looped down the chest in marled knitwear, extending outwards and upwards until, peacock like, a model appeared bearing a stunning ruffled contraption which rose like cantilevered architecture from the back of her neck in a delicious deep copper metallic silk. Behind, the ruffles cascaded like an echo down the back of her skirt. What a revelation!

A La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sam ParrA La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sam Parr
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sam Parr.

Also of mention was the bulging goodie bags on the front row which contained two bottles of the new À La Disposition perfume {{intangible}}. These are composed of the same base ingredients, but with alternating top notes so that they can either be worn alone or together. Created by boutique perfume maker Carvansons I’ve yet to be convinced of their wonder, but the press release is indeed as *intangible* as it was for the The Utopian Aviary show.

A La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia Gregory
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sam Parr
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sam Parr.

I always write my first draft about a show before I read the accompanying press release because I don’t want it to influence my initial perceptions – like good artwork I feel that a collection should stand alone without any kind of explanation. Which leads me to my final word for À La Disposition: keep it simple. There’s no need for overwrought descriptions, especially when the quality of showmanship itself does the talking.
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zarina Liew
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zarina Liew.

Biggest surprise of London Fashion Week? À La Disposition, viagra 60mg about which I knew nothing prior to their show at Fashion Scout. It’s really nice to go to a show and feel like you’ve discovered something exciting – it’s one of the reasons I enjoy LFW so much, treatment and especially going to the smaller shows. After all, cialis 40mg discovering new talent is something I’ve always loved doing in Amelia’s Magazine.

A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zoe Georgiou of Soul Water
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zoe Georgiou of Soul Water.

A La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia Gregory
A La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia Gregory.

An American husband and wife team, Lynda Cohen Kinne and Daniel Kinne of À La Disposition describe themselves as the fusion of form and function and for The Utopian Aviary collection they looked at the social structures, mimicry and mating displays of birds. This translated into an incredibly modern silhouette based on structures of times past: tight capes, over-developed coat tails that looked like wings and gigantic neck ruffles reminiscent of the medieval era. This was a super confident collection which showcased some superb pattern cutting skills.

A La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011 by Emma Lucy Watson
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Emma Lucy Watson.

The Utopian Aviary opened with a stunning faux fur concoction: skirt layered more like the wings of a beetle than a bird, cape bunched around the shoulders in striped tones of greys. Black, deep green, jades and autumnal reds dominated the ensuing outfits, created in luxe fabrics: silk, taffeta and chiffon.

A La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zoe Georgiou of Soul WaterA La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zoe Georgiou of Soul Water
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zoe Georgiou of Soul Water.

A digitalised moire print featured on dress and blouse. Red buttons provided a contrasting punch to forest green velvet and waists were high and thighs puffed out, topped with exaggerated wing-collared pinstripe shirts and accessorised with fake wool leggings. Shoulder details called to mind the layered shapes of petals on a cross fronted jacket. A shot of deepest honey yellow was a searing burst of winter sunshine.

A La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zarina LiewA La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zarina Liew
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Zarina Liew.

Models had teased up-dos that emulated the chaotic structure of birds’ nests, red alienesque contacts and eyes deeply rimmed with black. The overall effect was nigh on futuristic.

A La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sophie Pickup
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sophie Pickup.

Gigantic breast ruffles appeared on coats and looped down the chest in marled knitwear, extending outwards and upwards until, peacock like, a model appeared bearing a stunning ruffled contraption which rose like cantilevered architecture from the back of her neck in a delicious deep copper metallic silk. Behind, the ruffles cascaded like an echo down the back of her skirt. What a revelation!

A La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia GregoryA La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sam ParrA La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sam Parr
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sam Parr.

Also of mention was the bulging goodie bags on the front row which contained two bottles of the new À La Disposition perfume {{intangible}}. These are composed of the same base ingredients, but with alternating top notes so that they can either be worn alone or together. Created by boutique perfume maker Carvansons I’ve yet to be convinced of their wonder, but the press release is indeed as *intangible* as it was for the The Utopian Aviary show.

A La Disposition A/W 2011. Photography by Amelia Gregory
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sam Parr
A La Disposition A/W 2011 by Sam Parr.

I always write my first draft about a show before I read the accompanying press release because I don’t want it to influence my initial perceptions – like good artwork I feel that a collection should stand alone without any kind of explanation. Which leads me to my final word for À La Disposition: keep it simple. There’s no need for overwrought descriptions, especially when the quality of showmanship itself does the talking.

You can see more work by Zarina Liew in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration.

Illustration by Gabriel Ayala

I’ve always approached Cassette Playa with caution. She’s responsible for making Shoreditch look like a live Pump up The Jam video and has a lot to answer for when it comes to one of my good friends’ questionable fashion choices.


All photography by Matt Bramford

And then what happened? Well, thumb I can’t tell you, more about but I at least didn’t here anything for a while; I’m sure Carrie Mundane didn’t disappear, you probably had to look a bit harder than I was (i.e, not at all). Then, when the schedules were released at the beginning of the year, there was Cassette Playa on Menswear Day. I have to admit I got a little excited – last season’s KTZ show was one of the highlights and really mixed up Menswear Day in a sea of classic tailoring and less-than-experimental clobber for blokes, and I expected Cassette Playa would do the same.


Illustration by Krister Selin

Unsurprisingly the show was packed with all sorts of fashion-forward dressers, including one flamboyant gent sporting a Katie Eary PVC rabbit mask. At regular intervals he removed it to deeply inhale because he clearly couldn’t breathe behind it. Well, I ask you.

As the glamorous polythene sheet was removed from the catwalk and the lights began to dim, a rather flustered PR boy shoved me along the front row shouting ‘We’ve got to seat Charlie! We’ve GOT TO SEAT CHARLIE!’ As I pondered the different Charlies that could warrant such a reaction, Charlie Porter from Fantastic Man took a seat at the side of me and I wondered if that was all really necessary.


Illustration by Gemma Milly

I don’t know what’s changed since nu-rave had its day, but I bloody loved this show. A marriage of rude boys, rockers and thugs, this comeback collection had a bit of everything. This definitely wasn’t a collection for the sartorial dresser; not a single (or doubled-breasted) blazer in sight.

Leather and denim jackets were jazzed up with all sorts of various emblems representing various subcultures: rocker flames and hip-hop graffiti, for example. Cable-knit hooded sweaters in grey (worn on the most tattooed man I’ve ever seen, save on the pages of Pick Me Up Magazine) were embellished with embroidered graphic logos and teamed with baby pink shorts, and one of my favourite pieces was an oversized grey jersey t-shirt with an enormous leather motif in pink.

Padded jackets famed on East End market stalls were emblazoned with the Cassette Playa logo came in varied, vibrant colours and were worn with oversized rucksacks and trousers with acid graphic prints that bordered on hallucinogenic.


Illustration by Antonia Parker

A bit of womenswear showed up to – more references to music subcultures on body-conscious short dresses with sleeves. These were modelled by a curvaceous chick who swaggered up and down to the sounds of metal music, and it was bloody marvellous to see a model with sex appeal rather than the dead-behind-the-eyes waif I’d grown accustomed to this season.


Illustration by Gareth A Hopkins

The lights dimmed, and the second half of the show brought out models sprayed head-to-toe in gold to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ken (of Barbie fame) – the ‘ultimate boyfriend’. CP X Ken is a capsule collection which features mostly black garments with Cassette Playa’s unique mix of prints and embellishments – silk rose-printed shirts, baseball jackets with patches, that sort of thing. I have to admit, when a model is gold and has enormous breasts (I’m talking about a menswear show, here) the clothes can go unnoticed.

So, consider me now a fan of Cassette Playa. Soz, Carrie, that I ever doubted you. Welcome back!

See more of Gareth A Hopkins, Gemma Milly, Antonia Parker and Krister Selin’s illustrations in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration!

Categories ,A/W 2011, ,Antonia Parker, ,AW11, ,Barbie, ,BFC, ,Carrie Mundane, ,Cassette Playa, ,catwalk, ,East End, ,Fantastic Man, ,Gabriel Alaya, ,Gareth A Hopkins, ,Gemma Milly, ,Gold, ,Ken, ,Krister Selin, ,London Fashion Week, ,menswear, ,metal, ,Nu-rave, ,Pick Me Up Magazine, ,Pump Up The Jam, ,review, ,shoreditch

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Amelia’s Magazine | Ken dumps Barbie: Greenpeace’s Indonesia Deforestation Campaign

Barbie and Ken by Claire Byrne
Barbie and Ken by Claire Byrne

Ken dumped Barbie. Over trees and endangered tigers. Seriously. You probably already know this, web since the Greenpeace campaign that first revealed this earth-shattering piece of news has been all over the Internet in the last two weeks.

Barbie Crying by Claire Kearns
Barbie Crying by Claire Kearns.

But it’s time to wipe those tears off your keyboard. Not only has this traumatic event turned Ken into quite the eco-warrior and provided some great moments of Twitter comedy, seek but Amelia’s Magazine illustrators have responded, buy information pills providing the greatest collection of illustrations of a chainsaw-wielding Barbie you might ever see in one place.

Barbie with chainsaw by Claire Byrne
Barbie with chainsaw by Claire Byrne

Barbie was dumped by Ken after Greenpeace discovered that her maker, Mattel (and other toy companies like Disney), use packaging produced by a company called Asia Pulp and Paper, part of a huge conglomerate called Sinar Mas, accused of major deforestation in Indonesia. This deforestation is pushing critically endangered species like the Sumatran tiger ever further towards extinction.

Barbie Deforrestation by Anna Blachut
Barbie Deforrestation by Anna Blachut.

This particular Barbie campaign actually only scratches the surface of an investigation into how global toy manufacturers are complicit in Indonesia’s deforestation problem. Watch this brilliant graphicy animation video for an explanation of Greenpeace’s findings:

Toying With Deforestation
YouTube Preview Image

It was a wise move to link the broad issue of deforestation in toy packaging and manufacture to the most famous toy (read ‘most mass produced gender-conditioning piece of plastic’) in the world. It even topped Creative Review’s ‘Nice Work’ list for advertising on the 10th of June. It’s a shame Ken hasn’t embraced his inner rebel enough to more openly blame Mattel rather than his ex over this, but I suppose that’s the job of Greenpeace. Ken is still finding his voice, as his heart wrenching twitter updates show, and I have a feeling he’s gradually unleashing the hitherto dormant revolutionary within. Equally shameful is the fact that the feminist within me finds images of Barbie wielding a tool instead of a handbag strangely satisfying. Let’s just hope that Barbie sees the light, joins Ken and decides to become an eco feminist or something asap.

barbie by karla-perez
Barbie by Karla Perez.

The fact that we live on a planet where rainforest destruction and species extinction is contributed to in even the smallest way by the packaging for a plastic toy is, quite frankly, weird. How did it come to this? Despite a huge movement to increase our awareness of the environmental impact of fashion and food, toys haven’t been touched upon with the same momentum. And yet toys are associated with our most formative years, so an awareness of what goes into their production is essential.

Barbie by Liz Rowland
Barbie by Liz Rowland.

One of my all-time favourite books is Mythologies by Roland Barthes. It was included in the Guardian’s recent 100 Greatest Non Fiction Books list last week, one of only three chosen for the culture category. It investigates the hidden political, economic and cultural ideologies behind everyday aspects of mass culture – from washing powder, to the burlesque dancer, to cars, wine, cheese and plastic.

Barbie logging truck by Claire Byrne
Barbie logging truck by Claire Byrne.

My favourite essay is the one on Toys, where Barthes explores our increasing obsession with plastic toys, as opposed to simple constructions and tools made of natural materials.

Barbie by Novemto Komo
Barbie by Novemto Komo.

The way I understand it, right from childhood we are taken further and further away from the process of making and creating. From day one we’re encouraged to be mindless consumers of complex finished products, emotionally and physically removed from how they were made, who made them and where the materials came from.

Barbie by Zofia Walczak
Barbie by Zofia Walczak.

This is something we could easily continue into adulthood, through the dreamy lifestyle mythologies in fashion and technology advertising. To me this Barbie campaign is an attention-grabbing antidote to this broader cultural issue, as well as a solid evidence-based environmental campaign.

You can check the Greenpeace UK blog for various ways to get involved, the latest of which involves rating and reviewing Barbie’s ‘dirty deforestation habits’ on Amazon (brilliant, do it!).

Categories ,Anna Blachut, ,Asia Pulp and Paper, ,Barbie, ,Claire Byrne, ,Claire Kearns, ,Creative Review, ,deforestation, ,Disney, ,Greenpeace, ,Guardian, ,Illegal, ,Indonesia, ,Karla Perez, ,Ken, ,Liz Rowland, ,Mattel, ,Mythologies, ,Novemto Komo, ,Plastic, ,rainforest, ,Roland Barthes, ,SInar Mas, ,Sumatran Tiger, ,Toys

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Amelia’s Magazine | Barbie’s Eighties Elite

The Emerald Isles Lisa Hannigan has had a sparkling 2009. You may recognize her talents from album “O” by Damien Rice on which she featured on most of the tracks. The winds have since changed and she has set sail alone. The solo debut from Hannigan comes in the shape of the charming “Sea Saw”. The release of “Sea Saw” saw her nominated for numerous awards, cialis 40mg healing notably, ailment for sale for The Mercury Music Prize.

lisa

The album includes the beautiful track “Sea Song“, which you can download for free, aswell as singles“Lille” and “I Don’t Know” that were visually represented with playful paper craft based videos. She has taken her “Sea Saw” stories on tour following a successful Glastonbury performance and sell out shows at Shepherds Bush Empire and Union Chapel earlier this year.

Lisa returns to London on Monday 23rd of November to play at The Royal Festival Hall.
If you would like to win two tickets see the songbird please e-mail with a short seaside story (just a few lines is fine) music@ameliasmagazine.com by midday Friday the 20th with your contact details.

LISA1

Further dates that Lisa Hannigan and her band are playing this month include:

22nd Nov NORWICH, Waterfront
23rd Nov LONDON, Royal Festival Hall
24th Nov MANCHESTER, Club Academy
25th Nov BIRMINGHAM, Academy 2

For more details about Irish dates in December and news visit Lisa’s myspace or official site.
The Emerald Isles Lisa Hannigan has had a sparkling 2009. You may recognize her talents from album “O” by Damien Rice on which she featured on most of the tracks. The winds have since changed and she has set sail alone. The solo debut from Hannigan comes in the shape of the charming “Sea Saw”. The release of “Sea Saw” saw her nominated for numerous awards, visit this notably, for The Mercury Music Prize.

lisa

The album includes the beautiful track “Sea Song“, this which you can download for free, aswell as singles“Lille” and “I Don’t Know” that were visually represented with playful paper craft based videos. She has taken her “Sea Saw” stories on tour following a successful Glastonbury performance and sell out shows at Shepherds Bush Empire and Union Chapel earlier this year.

Lisa returns to London on Monday 23rd of November to play at The Royal Festival Hall.
If you would like to win two tickets see the songbird please e-mail with a short seaside story (just a few lines is fine) music@ameliasmagazine.com by midday Friday the 20th with your contact details.

LISA1

Further dates that Lisa Hannigan and her band are playing this month include:

22nd Nov NORWICH, Waterfront
23rd Nov LONDON, Royal Festival Hall
24th Nov MANCHESTER, Club Academy
25th Nov BIRMINGHAM, Academy 2

For more details about Irish dates in December and news visit Lisa’s myspace or official site.
A group of Squatters have taken up residency in an iconic building, remedy Royal Park Primary School in Hyde Park Leeds, diagnosis with the purpose to reclaim the derelict school for the local community and to take a stand against the possible demolition of the building in the future.

s4

Padlocking the gates to prevent police intervention and armed with colourful banners and plenty of determination the group first set up camp in an old classroom right beside the old Headmaster’s office, and making sure they held the space until they could gain complete control before the building could be opened and enjoyed by the whole community.

S1

After various bids to the council from the community for the site to be handed over it was, of course, offered to private developers Rushbond PLC for the councils easy fix solution and a quick money making scheme. Thankfully the company had to pull out for financial reasons, and so after being left derilict for 5 years the school isn’t in the best condition and throughout the 30 rooms, including a large concert hall, there is a fair amount of damaged paintwork, plasterwork and flooring mainly due to the lead tiles on the roof being nicked 5 months ago letting in rain water.

s2

But thanks to the commitment from the small group of activists that seem more intent on creating a decent community space than the council the school is now becoming a flourishing space for the local residents and students in the area.

Last week a jumble sale was held by the Royal Park Community Consortium (RPCC), the people who are currently living at the school, to raise funds to restore the building. People of all ages attended to show their support and perhaps with the hope of picking up a few bargains too.

Bright posters and children’s work still feature on the walls inside, as well as that distinct school smell which still lingers to give it an almost melancholy feel. Even tour guides were on hand to lead you around the safer and less damaged rooms and also to explain more about the potential the building actually has.

s3

The concert hall has a stage and would be an ideal venue for gigs and other performances or even as our tour guide describes as a space for children’s indoor sports and activities. There has also been talk of transforming one room into music studio.

The school is currently open to the public daily and welcomes everyone, and there are plenty of ways you can get involved in saving this incredible building. It is easy to become a member of the RPCC, simply go along to one of their frequent meetings, which are advertised on signs at the front of the school and around the area. Help is needed in restoring the building, cleaning and maintaining the rooms and playground and donating building materials. You could even uphold the buildings security and become a night watch-person on the site. To see this building tore down and replaced with a supermarket would be unjust; and hopefully with more support we could soon see the school made into a fantastic site for arts, music, sport and more, to benefit the whole of Hyde Park.

The Emerald Isles Lisa Hannigan has had a sparkling 2009. You may recognize her talents from album “O” by Damien Rice on which she featured on most of the tracks. The winds have since changed and she has set sail alone. The solo debut from Hannigan comes in the shape of the charming “Sea Saw”. The release of “Sea Saw” saw her nominated for numerous awards, buy notably, website like this for The Mercury Music Prize.

lisa

The album includes the beautiful track “Sea Song“, which you can download for free, aswell as singles“Lille” and “I Don’t Know” that were visually represented with playful paper craft based videos. She has taken her “Sea Saw” stories on tour following a successful Glastonbury performance and sell out shows at Shepherds Bush Empire and Union Chapel earlier this year.

Lisa returns to London on Monday 23rd of November to play at The Royal Festival Hall.
If you would like to win two tickets see the songbird please e-mail with a short seaside story (just a few lines is fine) music@ameliasmagazine.com by midday Friday the 20th with your contact details.

LISA1

Further dates that Lisa Hannigan and her band are playing this month include:

22nd Nov NORWICH, Waterfront
23rd Nov LONDON, Royal Festival Hall
24th Nov MANCHESTER, Club Academy
25th Nov BIRMINGHAM, Academy 2

For more details about Irish dates in December and news visit Lisa’s myspace or official site.
BARBIE1

Barbara Millicent Roberts, capsule you might know her better as Barbie, turned the big 5-0 in 2009, March 9th to be exact. Rather than getting down about this life milestone she’s been partying all year long! To celebrate makers Mattel have launched line upon line of specialist dolls throughout 2009. From Hollywood Stars to Supermodels, It is now the turn of three ladies who, probably safe to say, may lead Barbie astray. “The Ladies of the 80’s” are The Pop star, The Rock star and The Punk Star. Cindi Lauper, Joan Jett and Blondie Babe, Debbie Harry.

CINDY1
Since her hit making heyday eccentric Miss Lauper has continued with music, just on a less successful scale. Saying that, her 2008 electronic album “Bring Ya To The Brink” was grammy nominated. Also in 2008 there was a strange collaboration between Cindi and The Hives when they recorded an almost anti-Christmas single entitled “A Christmas Duel”. This was only available in the bands native Sweden where it reached number 4. She continues to work with contrasting artists as she features on Wyclef Jeans latest track “Slumdog Millionaire”. Cindi shall present us with autobiography in 2010 as she continues to work with charities, appear in the odd crime drama and she shall surly find somebody else who nobody expected her at all to collaborate with. I’m wondering if anybody else thinks her doll looks more like Gloria Estefan though?

JOAN1

Besides being Barbie-fied Joan Jett has had a pretty busy year. Appearing in crime dramas seems to be a reoccurring theme with the ladies as Joan has also appeared in such shows, including Law & Order. Jett is producing a film entitled “The Runaways” which tells the story of the girl group of the same name that she began her career in. Now, What is the best way to get your film attention? Get two of the most in demand young ladies in the world to play the leading roles of course. The film features “Twilight” stars Dakota Fanning and Kirsten Stewart, the later playing Jett. The film due for release in 2010 and will be complimented very cleverly with a Greatest hits album that shall feature two new tracks.

DEBBIE1

Fellow CBGB alumni Miss Harry has also jumped onto the film bandwagon. She lends her voice to narrate “Downtown Calling” which features DJ:AM and Mos Def. The documentary film starts by looking back on a troubled NYC, circa 1970s. The developments in music and the arts are investigated and also how the city continues to be such a phenomenal influence in the industry today. In 2010 Harry shall contribute two tracks to a tribute album to Jeffrey Lee Pierce entitled ‘We Are Only Riders – The JLP Sessions Project’. Debbie’s Barbie captures the cover of “Plastic Letters” complete with microphone stand and pink PVC dress .

With the negative associations with Barbie as a role model its great that they have chosen three influential strong women to become the newest members of the gang and that these shall be in young girls toy boxes around the world. Introducing young girls to these great idols is a brilliant idea and shall perhaps provoke a new generation to look back and discover the stunning music of the ladies from the 80’s. Your Dad might also appreciate his own version of Debbie Harry in that revealing PVC dress before all the plastic surgery happened. If you think he will you can pre order the dolls that are released next month.

Categories ,80s, ,Barbie, ,Cindi Lauper, ,Dakota Fanning, ,Debbie Harry, ,DJ:AM, ,Gloria Estefan, ,Joan Jett, ,Kirsten Stewert, ,Mos Def, ,music

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