Fashion Design

Amelia’s Magazine | Middlesex University: Ba Hons Fashion Design, Styling and Promotion Graduate Show 2011 Review

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Middlesex graduate show 2011-Fashion Strikes Back by Sufiyeh Hadian
Fashion Strikes Back by Sufiyeh Hadian.

I was a little unclear whether Fashion Design, buy Styling and Promotion that I saw on display were all part of the same course as I whipped through the upper halls of Free Range, web but I’ve decided to cover them in one blog nonetheless.

Middlesex graduate show 2011-Rosie Thompson-Agnew's At Your Disposal
I liked Rosie Thompson-Agnew‘s At Your Disposal, which featured brightly screen-printed luxury consumer goods. I guess this is a commentary on rampant consumerism – always an intriguing thing to tackle as someone studying fashion promotion.

Middlesex graduate show 2011-Fashion Strikes Back by Sufiyeh Hadian C-3POMiddlesex graduate show 2011-Fashion Strikes Back by Sufiyeh Hadian Darth Vadar
At the other end of the spectrum Sufiyeh Hadian had spray painted and encrusted some familiar Star Wars characters. I have no idea what it all means but I was most amused by these models of Darth Vadar and C-3PO. Fashion Strikes Back indeed.

From the fashion design on display the work of these three caught my eye:

Middlesex graduate show 2011-Elina Mourmouris
Elina Mourmouris has created lovely wide shapes for shoulders and legs combined with bright splash prints.

Middlesex graduate show 2011-Abigail Lee
Abigail Lee has also gone for the baggy look but in splodgy monochrome

Middlesex graduate show 2011 Michaela Phillips
Michaela Phillips did wide sleeves and splashy green with black and greys on a very appealing dress

Middlesex graduate show 2011-Louise Johnson
Louise Johnson opted for a spotty approach in oversized shirt form.

But. Not one website between them. Gah. I hope to do a bit of teaching at Middlesex University next year so here’s hoping I get a chance to talk a bit about the importance of an online presence. I have a feeling that I am going to be writing about this a lot when reviewing the graduate shows this year. Again.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Sunday June 5th, 2011 4:59 pm

Categories ,Abigail Lee, ,At Your Disposal, ,C-3PO, ,Darth Vadar, ,Elina Mourmouris, ,Fashion Design, ,Fashion Strikes Back, ,Free Range, ,Free Range Art and Design Show, ,Louise Johnson, ,Michaela Phillips, ,middlesex university, ,Rosie Thompson-Agnew, ,Star Wars, ,Styling and Promotion, ,Sufiyeh Hadian

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Amelia’s Magazine | London Fashion Week S/S 2012 Catwalk Review: Swedish School of Textiles BA

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Isabella Falkirk (BA) Graduate Collection, mind by Faye West

On Saturday evening a selection of students from the Swedish School of Textiles transported their graduate collections to our fair city to give us a taster. A year ago, graduating students from Sweden did the same thing and Amelia was bowled over by what was on display, so I was pretty eager to see what this year’s offering offered.

The Vauxhall Fashion Scout venue at Freemason’s Hall wasn’t packed wall to wall like it usually is, which suits me fine – I was only mildly sweating as opposed to my usual soaking-wet state. A glance down the running order while I waited for the show to start revealed that this was to be pretty epic – no less than 17 BA and 4 MA graduates. Here goes!

Isabella Falkirk
The show kicked off with Isabella Falkirk. Foam shapes took centre stage, squared off to control the contours of the female form. The model was essentially wearing a foam box. The aesthetic was pleasing, but the model looked miserable, and I did have to wonder to myself how viable or groundbreaking this show opener was. A similar creation followed atop a model’s head, and I wondered further; this wasn’t fashion to wear on a visit to the shops to pick up milk. Despite this, underneath the shock tactics was some extremely wearable and well-tailored formal attire – sleek trousers and well-cut blazers. A reaction to the strains of work, the collection finished with a conceptual jacket with four or five layers, showing Falkirks’ vision a little more clearly. I liked this piece a lot.


All photography by Matt Bramford

Per Axén
Next came chic and crisp tailoring courtesy of Per Axén, whose concept through the juxtaposition of materials was a little more commercial but equally as enjoyable. A leather cape flirted with cream free-flowing trousers that looked elegant and futuristic at the same time. Other leathers had been married with cottons for the same effect, and geometric shapes featured, a la Mondrian.

Freja Sundberg

Freja Sundberg‘s BA Graduate Collection, illustrated by Christina Demetriou

Up next came Freja Sundberg‘s homage to the working class people of Havana and their music and culture. A lively collection, it featured Cuban prints in a multitude of colours, plastic skirts and lively wigs with flashes of red. Statement jewellery also appeared, and the final piece, an extravagant gold silk dress with a discreet print, had been gathered with drawstrings and rucksack pulls. A real winner.


Sofi Svensson

Sofi Svensson (BA) Graduate Collection, by Faye West

The standout collection for its sheer bravery, conceptualism and bloody amazing craftsmanship, was Sofi Svensson’s masked creatures. Models appeared like they had landed from a Doctor Who novel, wearing ghoulish masks with eyeholes that became long, wide dresses. Each had been encrusted and embellished to the max – jewels, crystals, plastic objects and mirrors filled every piece of the garment. Again, this was fashion as expression and conception rather than as a commercial commodity. Breathtaking, too.

Maja Dixdotter
Maja‘s collection brought us back in to the real world a little, but was by no means boring. Beautiful pastel shades in lemon, lavender and blush were the colour palette. A structured jacket had been juxtaposed with a sheer micro dress, while a skirt and a top carried gorgeous flower details.

Linnéa Woxinger Sköld
‘Living creatures affect me in a way nothing else can,’ exclaims Linnéa Woxinger Sköld on the handout, ‘…and fashion, at its best, gets very close to this fascination. How close can I get?‘ Pretty close, love. Linnéa’s collection was a fusion of organic shapes and experimental materials. An unusual mint-coloured translucent number opened her showing, which had been gathered together working against the model’s body. A body-concious number followed, then other dresses with organic twists and turns. This was like something I’d never seen before, but I really liked it.

Elin Engström

Elin Engström‘s BA Graduate Collection, by Christina Demetriou

Questioning the conquer-all ethos of the suit and fashion’s fascination with it, Elin Engström presented an expertly tailored collection in monochrome. The first model appeared with a large tube covering her face that looked a bit like those things you put on dogs to stop them sniffing their arses (is that what they’re for?) and was teamed with a large cloak. Later came a onesie, in which the model’s arms were unable to escape. Wild vase-like shapes were worn over the eyes, creating an ethereal effect. More tailoring followed with horse-hair details, but the real showstopper was an embellished translucent jacket with matching strange-vase-like-sunglasses-thingies.

Ida Klamborn
Closing the BA section of the show in dramatic fashion, Ida Klamborn presented an all-red collection of floor-length numbers. The colour choice and use of grand fabrics made for a sophisticated, luxurious collection of pleated skirts and high-waisted trousers. Sweet.

At this point I was desperate for the loo, and I just couldn’t make up my mind if I thought attendee Jay from E4 show Dirty Sexy Things was attractive*. I do love seeing graduate shows – they have fewer constraints and no worries about commerciality. But during London Fashion Week, with so many shows to think about, I did find it a little exhausting. The show wasn’t over, though, and we quickly launched into the MA graduates – you can read all about them in Akeela‘s review here!

*I decided in the end that yes, he probably is.

Written by Matt Bramford on Friday September 23rd, 2011 9:27 am

Categories ,BA, ,catwalk, ,Christina Demetriou, ,Cuba, ,Dirty Sexy Things, ,Doctor Who, ,E4, ,Elin Engstöm, ,Fashion Design, ,Faye West, ,Freemasons’ Hall, ,Freja Sundberg, ,Front Row, ,Havana, ,Ida Klamborn, ,Isabella Falkirk, ,Jay, ,Linnea Woxinger Skold, ,London Fashion Week, ,ma, ,Maja Dixdotter, ,Matt Bramford, ,Mondrian, ,pastels, ,Per Axen, ,review, ,S/S 2012, ,Sofi Svensson, ,sweden, ,Swedish School of Textiles, ,Vauxhall Fashion Scout, ,Womenswear

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Amelia’s Magazine | Liz Black: London Fashion Week A/W 2013 Presentation Review

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Liz Black: London Fashion Week A/W 2013 by Louise Smith
Illustration of Liz Black‘s A/W 2013 LFW Presentation by Louise Smith

“I’m late, I’m late!” I shout as a rock up to Fashion Scout venue Freemasons’ Hall. With no white rabbit to guide me, the entrance to Wonderland was harder to locate than anticipated. As I walk up the staircase on the left to Central Saint Martins graduate Liz Black‘s show, an usher climbs the staircase on the right-hand side and to both my and his extreme embarrassment, he falls up the stairs and face-plants onto the steps. I check he’s ok and go into the show with my feet firmly planted in reality.

Ever wondered what the spread would look like at the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party? Liz Black’s presentation is the perfect way to discover the delights of Wonderland. Cupcakes by Cutesy Cakes paired with Campari Soda cocktails make this a tea party in true LFW style.

Liz Black A/W 2013 LFW

Liz Black AW 2013 LFW

Liz Black A/W 2013 LFW
Liz Black A/W 2013 Presentation Photos by Jessica Cook

Liz Black’s presentation is packed with Marie Antoinette-like decadence and I can’t help but be a little disappointed that no one is dressed like a teapot or a Cheshire cat, although a bulbous heart-shaped outfit does get my pulse racing and I spot blogger Intrinsically Florrie wearing a beautiful and fun dress that has a vague resemblance to the cupcakes around us.

Liz Black A/W 2013 LFW Presenation by Claire Kearns

Liz Black's A/W 2013 Presentation by Claire Kearns

Illustrations of Liz Black‘s A/W 2013 Presentation by Claire Kearns

An army of mannequins stand at the sides, reminding me of a Dr Who episode. These are sporting practical clothes with a smidge of elegance. Smart and stylish, there are mainly red, black and blue pieces finished off with a bit of white for good measure. This is where it gets curiouser and curiouser: in the centre there are three models having tea, munching on icing and acting out a rehearsed silent show. A white dress with large angular shoulders resembles the white rabbit, a fancy-dress heart costume with big shoulders gives off a Queen of Hearts vibe and a chess-board shaded monochrome piece screams style. The models are handing out flowers, sipping tea and posing for the cameras. The audience walk around them like stray dandelion seeds, floating aimlessly.

Liz Black AW 2013 LFW

Liz Black AW 2013 LFW

Liz Black AW 2013 LFW

Liz Black AW 2013 LFW

Liz Black AW 2013 LFW
Liz Black A/W 2013 Presentation Photos by Jessica Cook

It would be difficult to cover London Fashion Week without bringing up the tinge of jealousy; my green eyed monster could eat a model whole at the best of times, but here I feel my bitterness fall back in check. Having worried that I would feel like an oversized Alice with her body so gargantuan that her feet arms are sticking out of the windows and doors, my fears and my hunger are laid to rest by the presence of scrumptious cakes. The models are beautiful and ethereal, like live art exhibits in a gallery, and I feel my green eyed monster curl up for a nap as I munch on a cupcake, happy to escape from the busy streets of Covent Garden for an hour or two.

Sculpted-heart and elaborate white rabbit costumes aside, the dresses are elegant and chic, with a dash of good old-fashioned style thrown in for good measure. Having glimpsed a previous Alice-themed collection by Liz on the web which featured at Fashioning the Future way back in 2008, I know that her dresses have matured since her last foray into Alice-land. Cakes and cocktails are a winning combination and her presentation adds a little sweetness into my day of back-to-back shows. Ultimately Liz Black masters sophistication with this presentation in which the dresses proclaim “wear me”.

Liz Black A/W 2013 LFW Presentation by Rukmunal Hakim
Liz Black‘s A/W 2013 London Fashion Week Presentation by Rukmunal Hakim.

You can buy Liz Black‘s clothes at various outlets and visit her website at www.lizblack.net/ for more information.

Written by Jessica Cook on Monday February 18th, 2013 11:02 pm

Categories ,A/W 2013, ,Alice in Wonderland, ,Claire Kearns, ,Cocktails, ,cupcakes, ,Dresses, ,Fashion Design, ,Fashion Scout, ,Freemasons’ Hall, ,Intrinsically Florrie, ,Jessica Cook, ,lfw, ,Liz Black, ,London Fashion Week, ,Louise Smith, ,Presentation, ,Rukmunal Hakim

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Amelia’s Magazine | Georgia Hardinge collection at the On|Off exhibition

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999 it’s time, sildenafil erectile is another green focused campaign. As the website notes “We are in a state of emergency – socially, store economically and ecologically. What do we do in an emergency? In the UK, viagra 100mg we dial 999…” Well that all sounds pretty heartening until you realise that the 999 campaigns reaction to this emergency hasn’t exactly been particularly speedy so far. I can’t help feeling that the climate emergency we are facing means groups should be advocating some real direct action rather than just planting a tree or joining the 10:10 movement. However the campaign has some great initiatives to get the ball rolling and hopefully get more people thinking about the global crisis.

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All illustrations by Suzy Phillips

Of course the campaign does have some credibility, it encourages people to get more environmentally friendly, and behind the celebrity endorsements 999 has some forward thinking ideas about how communities in particular can work together to create a more sustainable world. Transforming rural and urban spaces into shared land to grow food has been one of the most successful elements. Capital Growth is the place to start with a great run through of the process and steps and how to get involved. Land sharing empowers people by growing their own food and creating stronger links in communities as well as reducing the reliance on supermarkets. A definite step in the right direction.

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I caught up with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, the rural country celebrity chef, to talk about his part in the 999 campaign.

Can you outline what 999′s main priority is about and why you’re here today?

999 is about driving home the issue of climate change and what we ourselves can do to combat the emergency situation we have found ourselves in. I’ve come today because our aim ties in with the Climate Rush campaign, and its a great way to get talking with the local community, and of course it’s the 9th of the 9th 09.

How is the 999 campaign coming along? It doesn’t seemed to have gained as much prominence in the press such as campaigns like the recent 10:10?

It’s an on-going process, im specifically been looking at the food aspect, and as the ambassador I’m really interested in what small scale communities can do to combat the threat of climate change.

Can you please give some examples of the message your trying to get across in relation to the food aspect of the campaign?

With my books and TV series I’ve been highlighting the importance of locally grown produce and recently I’ve been pushing the idea of land sharing. The idea is to find land, whether in urban or rural spaces where people can grow their own food, there is so much land wasted around the UK that can be used. With over a thousand people on waiting lists for allotments especially in the south, it is vital we utilize all the land we can instead of relying on foreign markets for our vegetables. Food is a great way to create a cohesive community and bring people together.

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How is the land sharing campaign going, have you had much success?

We’ve had over a thousand land plots given to us and up to 30,000 people signing up to the website, so it’s defiantly getting people interested. The campaign is also working with groups like the Church of England and a range of British NGOs. The National Trust for example has just given us 1000 plots of land, so although it’s quite a slow process, there’s been a real positive reaction across the country.

With your interest in climate change, have the facts about the meat industry’s huge carbon footprint persuaded you to become vegetarian yet?

No, not yet, I’m aware of the issues, and I keep by own pigs and livestock, and always advocate buying locally soured meat to keep the carbon footprint low.

So let’s hope this campaign can help to stop this emergency from escalating, with 1 day, 11 hours, 9 minutes since 999 Day, the pressure is on.
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Designers in Residence @ the Design Museum
September 18 – October 31

The Design Museum’s annual exhibition of young designers begins on September 18 with site-specific works from Marc Owens and Dave Bowker. Owens is inspired by virtual realities – his work Avatar Machine replicates video gaming via a headset (above), order designed to make the wearer see themselves as a virtual character in the real world. Bowker works in data visualisation and will be re-examining the way visitors move about the Museum.

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Open House weekend

Once a year thousands of London’s most interesting and historic buildings are opened to the public, sale some of which are locked up tight for the rest of the year. Although some of the most popular buildings in the centre of London have already been completely booked, drugs there are still plenty of places worth visiting.

If you haven’t got your eye on anything in your local area, consider visiting the house of Dr Samuel Johnson, of “the dictionary” fame. It’s free to visit on Friday (there will be free cake on this day) and Saturday, in honour of the great man’s birthday.

Radical_Nature.jpg

Radical Nature

This exhibition of works revolving around nature and inspired by environmentalism features pieces from architect Richard Buckminster Fuller and artists such as Joseph Beuys and Hans Haacke, as well as newer names such as Heath and Ivan Morrison and Simon Starling. Impactful and timely, there are lots of strong visual statements such as the Fallen Forest by Henrik Håkansson (above) and a visual record of the fields of wheat planted as an act of protest on a landfill site in Manhattan.

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Thames Festival

Sunday

One of the few fireworks displays allowed along the Thames will occur on Sunday when the Thames Festival fireworks are set off in all their glory, fired from barges between Blackfriars and Waterloo Bridge so everyone can get a perfect view. There are also events all day, including fire-eaters, an outdoor ballroom (starting to become the South Bank’s speciality) and the annual Night Carnival, where 2,000 costumed revellers bearing lanterns and luminous costumes will welcome the pyrotechnics.
Another load of talks, healing workshops and activities to get stuck into, information pills don’t forget Co-Mutiny is still on all this week in Bristol, Climate Rush are still on tour, and also make sure you get down to protest against the closure of the Vestas Wind Turbine factory this Thursday. Good luck with fitting it all in, I’m certainly going to struggle!

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Illustrations by Emma Hanquist

Cambridge Climate Conference
Monday 14 Sep 2009 to Tuesday 15 Sep 2009 ?

An exciting event has been organised with international speakers and delegates involved in policy-making, business, and academia. Understanding the role of climate change policy is central to a business’s future success. Topics will include the political, economical, technological, and legal challenges and solutions for decarbonising electricity.
To register for a discounted ticket visit the website and enter ‘ge2009′ as the discount code.

Time: 9am-5pm
Venue: Churchill College, Cambridge, UK
Website: www.cambridgeclimate.com/

A Global New Deal needs a Green New Protectionism
Wednesday 16 Sep 2009 ?

An evening to learn and discuss the ‘triple crunch’ that we face: climate change, energy insecurity, and financial and economic meltdown. Colin Hines, Author and convener of the Green New Deal Group will be leading the talks. Colin has worked in the environmental movement for over 30 years including 10 years at Greenpeace. His recent work focuses on the adverse environmental and social effects of international trade and the need to solve these problems by replacing globalisation with localisation. During the evening there will also be a tribute to ‘Teddy’ Goldsmith, founder of The Ecologist magazine.

Time: 6.30pm drinks and food, 7.30pm talk begins at Burgh House
Venue: Gaia House, 18 Well Walk, Hampstead
Contacts: To book email, book online or call 0207 428 0054.
Website: www.gaiafoundation.org

Protest against the closure of Vestas Wind Turbine Factory
Thursday 17 Sep 2009 ?

As well as the continuing protest against the closure of the Vestas Wind Turbine factory at the Isle of Wight, there will also be a chance for people to make their feelings known across the country. People are meeting at the Department of Energy and Climate Change in London to lobby against the government. There will also be speakers including John Mcdonnel, MP (Labour, Hayes and Harlington) and Tracy Edwards (Young Members Organiser for the Public and Commercial Services Union).
Couldn’t put it better than Phil Thornhill from the Campaign against Climate Change “Just when we need a huge expansion in renewable energy they are closing down the only significant wind turbine factory in the UK. The government has spent billions bailing out the banks, and £2.3 billion in loan guarantees to support the UK car industry – they can and should step in to save the infrastructure we are really going to need prevent a climate catastrophe.
Whilst the impact on employment on the Isle of Wight will be quite devastating, this is an issue not just about jobs or one factory but about whether the government is really going to match up its actions to its rhetoric on green jobs and the rapid decarbonisation of the British economy – whether its prepared to act with the kind of resolution and energy we need to cope with the Climate Emergency”.

Time: 5.30 to 6.30pm
Venue: Outside the Department of Energy and Climate Change, 3 Whitehall Place.
?Website: www.campaigncc.org

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Out of the Ordinary Festival
Friday 18 Sep 2009 to Sunday 20 Sep 2009
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OOTO is a 3 day family friendly and eco friendly festival set in the beautiful Sussex countryside celebrating the Autumn Equinox. Featuring a variety of live music powered by solar panels and wind generators, fascinating talks and workshops, children’s activities, awesome performances, a green market place and many more out of the ordinary surprises. The festival is also offering Big Green Gathering ticket holders a discount for the event held over the weekend
Venue: Knockhatch Farm, Hailsham, East Sussex
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Website: www.outoftheordinaryfestival.com

Tree-Athlon
Saturday 19th September

Get fit and get your very own tree sapling to take home! Participants run a 5km race to raise money for Trees for Cities, an independent environmental charity working with local communities on tree planting projects. There is also music, entertainment, lots of tree-themed activities, whatever that may consist of, and plenty of other workshops to keep the whole family entertained.
The race is open to runners aged 14 and up and is ideal for beginners or experienced runners alike. Register now, to make sure you can raise as much sponsorship as possible before the day, and look forward to a grand day out.

Time: 9am-3pm
Venue: Battersea Park
Website: www.tree-athlon.org

earth03.jpg

The Urban Green Fair ?
Sunday 20th September

?The Urban Green Fair is held in Brockwell Park in London this Sunday, Its a free event and with plenty to do and see, the fair is also powered by solar and wind energy.
The annual family event, has a range of films, talks, workshops, kids activities, stalls, sunshine as well as some unusual bicycles. Unfortunatly no bars or big stages but this keeps the emphasis on education and communication. A chance to share ideas, meet familiar faces and make new friends. With little government action on peak oil and climate change there is plenty to discuss and lots we can do as individuals. ?

Time:11am-7pm
?Venue: Brockwell Park, Lambeth
Website: http://www.urbangreenfair.org/

Leytonstone Car Free Day
Sunday 20th September

Leytonstone Town Centre will car free day this Sunday. As well as having no vehicles hurtling around there will also be entertainment, stalls, live music, dancing, public art and childrens’ play areas. Simon Webbe from Blue and Aswad will be headlining! Get yourself down, and make sure you leave the car(if you’ve got one) at home.
Time: 1pm-7pm
Venue: Outside Leyonstone tube station
Website: www.walthamforest.gov.uk

Co-mutiny
Saturday 12th of September until Monday 21st September

A coming together of activists, eco-warriors gardeners, artists, community/political groups, cooks, builders etc. to demonstrate our creative power to build a city/world we would like to see. Co-Mutineers have taken an old cathedral (of the holy apostles) near the Triangle in the Clifton/Hotwells area, it’s a space to converge, eat, sleep meet and discuss, plan and skill-share!
There will be over a week of different activities, direct actions, workshops, film screenings, public demonstrations and parties. It’s happening all across Bristol and the wider South West.

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During the week there will be actions happening all across the city, which will climax in a fancy dress carnival through the financial district of Bristol on the Friday.
Venue: Bristol Pro Cathedral, Park Place, BS8 1JW
Website: http://comutiny.wordpress.com/
Monday 14th September
William Elliott Whitmore
The Garage, order London

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We can’t get enough of this distilled, medications gravelly bluesman. With Whitmore, it’s almost like you’re listening from inside a huge bottle of JD.

Tuesday 15th September
We Have Band
ICA, London

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This trio spin the grooves of Talking Heads via a stop off and natter with Hot Chip, it’ll make you jive and smile.

Wednesday 16th September
Beth Jeans Houghton
Rough Trade East, London

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Having supported folk heavy weights, Tunng, Bon Iver, and King Creosote, this ballsy 19 year old manages to blend the vocal lustre of Nico and Laura Marling whilst having an edgy stage presence more like Gwen Stefani. Beguiling.

Thursday 17th September
Alela and Laura Gibson
Shepherds Bush Empire, London

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We chatted to Alela recently and she was as lovely as her music. Gibson toes a similar line of enchanting bluesy folk airs.

Friday 18th September
Metronomy, Male Bonding, Your Twenties and Drums Of Death
The Forum, London

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We’re particularly keen on the immaculate indie-pop of Your Twenties after meeting the lovely ex-Metronomy frontman. Nice to see they’re still close.

Saturday 19th September
Tom Paley and Birdengine
The Deptford Arms, London

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A traditional folk night in a scuzzy South-East London boozer. You want more reason that that? Well living legend, Tom Paley who played with Woodie Guthrie back in the day and enchantingly odd, Birdengine are two big ones.

Sunday 20th September
Viv Albertine and Get Back Guinozzi!
The Windmill, London

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The Slits guitarist has picked up a guitar again after a 25 year sabbatical and come up trumps with punk rock outfit, Albertine.


Monday 14th

Rankin at The Truman Brewery

It’s the last chance to see Rankin’s retrospective in Brick Lane this week. The exhibition moves through Rankin at university exploring the well worn art student quest to find a sense of self to portraying the plight of the Congo. After this introduction the exhibition opens onto his best know fashion, website erotic and beauty editorials. Featuring Kate, Hedi, Tilda Swinton and the Dame of British Fashion, Vivienne Westwood to name a few. Rankin’s strongest work comes through in the portraits where he has assumed a sense of a relationship with the sitter, tweaking out their quirks through the movement of an eyebrow, eye or twitch of the lips or neck. Throughout the exhibition Rankin moved his studio into the space to continue photographing the public portraits. A portion of everyone’s fee goes to support Oxfam’s to work in the Congo.
Until the 18th September.

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Tuesday

START KNITTING with prick your finger!

Recent years have seen a rise in designers revisiting craft techniques, with knitting proving to be especially popular with a range of creatives from Louise Goldin to Mark Fast. Last week Amelia’s Magazine participated in a Prick Your Finger discussion on the use and sourcing of local ethical wool and the continuing rise in the popularity of knitting.Join on a Tuesday 7-9 for beginners classes with all your knitting woes and joys.

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Thursday

Fashion Diversity at The Museum of London

The Museum of London is staging a three day fashion diversity event during London Fashion Week. On Thursday the museum hosts a range of workshops from a discussion of the development of sustainable fashion by CHOOLIPS, to a Moving Passion to Profit workshop in association with the MOORDESIGN salon finishing with the importance of branding. Colour Production, addressing how companies interact with their audience visually. Finally 7-16 year olds are giving the opportunity to unlock their creativity in a fashion drawing workshop teaching concentration, communication and dexterity.

Friday and Saturday host the fashion diversity catwalks: Emerging, Established and Honorary designers at 1pm or 3pm Friday and 1pm on Saturday, places are free. Honorary designers Junky Styling and Nico Didonna also present pieces for the runway.

To conclude Saturday’s event, at 3pm student and graduate designers from schools and colleges across London showcase designs inspired by 18th century pleasure gardens and related costumes from from the Museum of London’s archives.

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SHOWstudio : Fashion Revolution

Unable to go to Fashion Week? Fear not! As mentioned last week, the Fashion Revolution exhibition opens at Somerset House. The exhibition curated by Showstudio celebrates nine years of Showstudio.com. The website established by Nick Knight has pushed and developed the idea of communicating fashion ‘live’ through films, online live interviews and streamed performances involving photographers, models, stylists graphic designers and cultural figures to create ethereal fashion portraiture and communication through body and style. New fashion films have been commissioned to accompany the exhibition, alongside a live photographic studio that gives the viewer the opportunity to see the whimsical world of fashion in play.

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Saturday 19th


GIANT VINTAGE SALE

This just dropped into the inbox – The East End thrift store are inviting all budding clothing DIY’ers to come down to the store and fill a bag with all that you can for ten or twenty pounds. Open Saturday to Sunday from 10-7pm.

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The National Portrait Gallery

The National Portrait Gallery celebrates the icon of 60′s British Fashion photography, Twiggy. Dedicating a room to the most iconic images created with her image by a range of photographers from Richard Avedon to Solve Sundsbo. The exhibition coincides with a publication of a new book: Twiggy : A life in photography. This exhibition is a must for anyone interested in the relationship between sitter and photography in fashion portraiture.

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Roll up Roll up and take part in Covent Garden’s fashion fete

Pull the fashion rope, roll around in dressing up boxes courtesy of Costume Boutique. Jump up and Down for the tombola, be styled by Super Super Magazine, scouted by models 1 or preview some of the hottest new design talent with the Fashion and Textiles museum.
Moreover TRAID are holding a stitching workshop on how to transform old clothes into new designs as demonstrated by their remade range.

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The London Vegan Festival this year took place in Kensington Town Hall, ask and was absolutely heaving. Usually, store the odds of bumping into another vegan are slightly higher than those of two Esperanto speakers meeting, so hanging out in a hall packed full of them was a new experience – as was not having to ask ‘Is there dairy in this?’ at every food stall. Bliss.

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Almost as soon as someone mentions becoming vegan, people start to get a panicked look on their faces and tend to begin listing reasons why they couldn’t possibly give up cheese. The general consensus is that a vegan diet is deprived and difficult. Just a quick glance over these photos ought to give anyone with that mindset pause for thought.
Never-mind having never been in a room with so many vegans before, I’d never been in a room filled with so much vegan cake! I ate my way around the festival, starting with a deliciously gooey chocolate brownie, discovered vegan crème eggs half-way round, swung by the Conscious Chocolate stall for my free samples and a bar of Choca Mocha Magic, then hung out with Redwoods comparing the Lincolnshire sausages to the hot dogs. (Hawt dawgs won, hands done.) Veggies provided me with some real food, in the form of a massive Cheezley burger, giving me the energy I needed to head to some of the talks.

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Being vegan isn’t all about the food (though, let’s be honest. It is mostly about the food) and there was a wealth of information at the Festival ranging from talks on vegan nutrition (okay, food again), taking action against animal testing and extreme vegan sports (like regular extreme sports, but partaken of by vegans. Not like preparing scrambled tofu at 30,000 feet. Though, that would be something I would pay to see) to stalls run by the Secret Society of Vegans, animal rights groups and Active Distribution – a bookstall filled with vegan recipe books and anarchist ‘zines. There was information relevant to every level of vegan interest; aspiring, political, dietary…
There was plenty of entertainment too, in the form of magicians, musicians and comedians. (Never let it be said that vegans are without a sense of humour.) I saw Andrew O’Neill, a vegan comedian, who has recently come off the Fringe and was hilarious. Wibbling between whimsical and cruel, from the ‘scat-nav’ to “Kill a Fascist for Grandad” in replacement of the current “Hope not Hate” campaign, he had me laughing from start to finish.

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So, why vegan? We already have McCartney pushing for Meat-Free Mondays, do we really need Dairy-Free Days of the Week as well? I’m on the ‘Yes’ side for that one. Going vegan reduces support for the livestock industry down to zero, on a personal level. (Y’know the livestock industry I’m talking about. The one helping out with Climate Change by about 18%.) If you’re serious about wanting to reduce your environmental impact on the Earth and already cycle everywhere, reuse and recycle, turn your taps off when brushing your teeth, then this is the next step in armchair activism. You don’t need to head up to London to protest, or write letters to your MP. Just start buying dairy-free marge approved by the Vegan society, switch to dark chocolate instead of the sugar-filled sweet stuff, experiment with vegan recipes (hundreds of which are on-line) and have fun doing so. Going vegan isn’t scary or hard, but it is inconvenient. Learning to live without dairy, however, is going to be a lot less inconvenient than learning to live without our planet’s natural resources. If you need any more persuading, I make the most delicious vegan cookies. Drop me a line, and I’ll be sure to hook you up.
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2000 Light Years from Home, physician Neal Fox’s second exhibition, prostate opened at Gallery Daniel Blau in Munich this weekend.

A founder member of the infamous Le Gun collective and a character on the debaucherously creative Soho scene, Neal Fox’s reputation just grows and grows. His pen and ink drawings light up the pages of the Guardian and Dazed and Confused, whilst the Le Gun group shows are always packed to bursting on opening nights, providing the London art world with a much needed buzz of youthful excitement. Each picture features Neal’s grandfather Jonny Watson, by whom he was taken on drinking binges with the hedonist iconoclasts of our age. In this latest show he is taken on a doomsday rock and roll trip and psychedelic journey down the Nile.

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Fox has always drawn ( at school he made pocket money by drawing footballers for his fellow pupils) and became inspired by a discovery he made at his father’s friend Les Coleman’s house.
“…he has a massive collection of underground comics by people like Robert Crumb called things like ‘Amputee Love’. So, I was about eight and I would root through these alternative and psychedelic comics and I got really obsessed with Robert Crumb, I spent my teenage years locked up trying to draw like Robert Crumb.”

These years of drawing clearly paid off as Neal went on to study at Camberwell College and then to complete his masters at the RCA where he met Robert Greene, Chris Bianchi and the other founder members of Le Gun magazine.

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With the growing reputation of the Le Gun collective and the progression of Fox’s other work the whole thing is becoming very exciting and he has now exhibited in Soho’s French House, Gallery Daniel Blau in Munich and Loft 19 in Paris.

This latest exhibition shows great development in the work; the gin-soaked nights of his grandfather in Soho have become psychedelic journeys of the mind as we follow Joseph Conrad down the Nile on a Kenneth Anger inspired acid trip. This drawing is an astonishing 10 meters long. Fox’s work seems to grow in size with each exhibition as the content becomes more and more fantastical.

“Since I got into doing the big pictures, they’ve become much more layered…I think it makes your ideas bigger and makes you feel freer. Coming out of being an illustrator where you are tied to working in a certain size at your desk, I thought why not just make it bigger?”
While he was working on this gargantuan work he hung the drawing on an ‘elaborate contraption’ so he could roll it back and forth as the picture came to life.

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“It starts with the Heart of Darkness, it’s meant to be a mixture of the context of the novel, the pictures evoked by the books but rather than just illustrating the book I wanted to put in the context the books came from and how they bled into culture at the time it was published. “
This layering of influences and ideas is key to these amazing pictures. Drawing from many aspects of culture, from Kenneth Anger to colonial politics, Neal Fox sums up the multi-faceted representation of culture in the world we live in.

All theory aside, these are some pretty amazing adventures in pen and ink: not only will they test your imagination, they’ll tickle your fancy.

Leaving the last words to the artist: “I think the drawings have got a lot more context and my mind has opened up a lot more, the pictures in the last exhibition were more about depicting certain scenes, I’m opening up more to what just comes into my head as I work.”
I first noticed Georgia Hardinge’s exquisite autumn/winter collection for the designer’s transcription of fossil’s architecture into the folds of the collection. An idea embellished by the neutral colour palette of both the make up and the clothes themselves. This season sees Georgia Hardinge premiere her S/S 2010 collection at On|Off’s exhibition space at 180 The Strand. This event staged by On|Off is a separate event which coincides with the official London Fashion Week, tadalafil offering young designers the opportunity to show their collections while the fashion industry is in town.

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After graduating from Parsons Paris School of Design Georgia collaborated with Jean-Charles de Castelbajac and was awarded the golden thimble for best designer at her graduation show. I particularly like the draping and pleating of the fabric to embellish the body’s architecture whilst remaining incredibly feminine pieces of design. The S/S 2010 designs continues themes present in earlier collections from the positioning as clothes as architecture for the body encased within sculptural designs based on landscapes and fossils. I look forward to seeing the entire collection at the On|Off exhibition.

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Georgia, check what inspired you to study fashion design?

Fashion is my way of translating my thoughts into living entities. I am inspired more by ideas of sculpture, science, and architecture than I am by the fashion industry I think clothing should be unique and trend-less.

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When did you creative interests start to develop?

Creating things always interested me, and I remember remaking my friends‚ clothes for fun, and collecting bits and pieces to turn into accessories. We would all go into our mother’s wardrobes and dress up in their clothes.

How important is the natural shape of the body to your designs?

Everyone has areas around their body that they are sensitive about. Manipulating the fabric to draw attention elsewhere makes people more confidant, if I can make people see beauty in what they thought were their faults then I’m happy.

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Which designers would you consider to be important currently?

I don’t consider any one designer to be more important than any other. Our work shows our opinions and everybody has an opinion that matters. It’s about what you like and what feels right at a specific moment.

What is your favourite fabric to work with?

I have this obsession with wool! I can always rely on it to structure my work the way I want, and I love playing with the raw edges of the fabric.

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How do you incorporate structure into your designs?

Architecture is my ultimate inspiration, if I wasn’t in fashion I would dedicate my time to making models of landscapes and buildings, I’m intrigued by doing this on a living body and challenging myself to turn my ideas into garments. On the body my work can travel, people are introduced to my concepts in the street without having to go to a gallery or museum.

So landscape is important to your SS10 collection?

I wanted each piece to map the lines and curves of a woman’s body. I was just experimenting with the idea of boundaries and contours on the body and trying to recreate this as something we can use everyday.

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How does it feel to be part of On|Off at London Fashion Week?

I’m quite excited. This is only my first collection working within my company so I’m just lucky to have this kind of opportunity.

What are your plans for the future?

I have a lot in store for the future. I think all designers have an idea of where they want to be in ten years time. I just hope people stay enthusiastic about my clothes and I keep challenging myself and coming up with fresh ideas.

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Written by Sally Mumby-Croft a on Tuesday September 15th, 2009 3:20 pm

Categories ,Architecture, ,exhibition, ,Fashion Design, ,Fossils, ,Georgia Hardinge, ,London Fashion Week, ,MA, ,Off Schedule, ,On|Off, ,Parsons School of Design

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Amelia’s Magazine | Georgia Hardinge collection at the On|Off exhibition

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999 it’s time, sildenafil erectile is another green focused campaign. As the website notes “We are in a state of emergency – socially, store economically and ecologically. What do we do in an emergency? In the UK, viagra 100mg we dial 999…” Well that all sounds pretty heartening until you realise that the 999 campaigns reaction to this emergency hasn’t exactly been particularly speedy so far. I can’t help feeling that the climate emergency we are facing means groups should be advocating some real direct action rather than just planting a tree or joining the 10:10 movement. However the campaign has some great initiatives to get the ball rolling and hopefully get more people thinking about the global crisis.

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All illustrations by Suzy Phillips

Of course the campaign does have some credibility, it encourages people to get more environmentally friendly, and behind the celebrity endorsements 999 has some forward thinking ideas about how communities in particular can work together to create a more sustainable world. Transforming rural and urban spaces into shared land to grow food has been one of the most successful elements. Capital Growth is the place to start with a great run through of the process and steps and how to get involved. Land sharing empowers people by growing their own food and creating stronger links in communities as well as reducing the reliance on supermarkets. A definite step in the right direction.

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I caught up with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, the rural country celebrity chef, to talk about his part in the 999 campaign.

Can you outline what 999′s main priority is about and why you’re here today?

999 is about driving home the issue of climate change and what we ourselves can do to combat the emergency situation we have found ourselves in. I’ve come today because our aim ties in with the Climate Rush campaign, and its a great way to get talking with the local community, and of course it’s the 9th of the 9th 09.

How is the 999 campaign coming along? It doesn’t seemed to have gained as much prominence in the press such as campaigns like the recent 10:10?

It’s an on-going process, im specifically been looking at the food aspect, and as the ambassador I’m really interested in what small scale communities can do to combat the threat of climate change.

Can you please give some examples of the message your trying to get across in relation to the food aspect of the campaign?

With my books and TV series I’ve been highlighting the importance of locally grown produce and recently I’ve been pushing the idea of land sharing. The idea is to find land, whether in urban or rural spaces where people can grow their own food, there is so much land wasted around the UK that can be used. With over a thousand people on waiting lists for allotments especially in the south, it is vital we utilize all the land we can instead of relying on foreign markets for our vegetables. Food is a great way to create a cohesive community and bring people together.

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How is the land sharing campaign going, have you had much success?

We’ve had over a thousand land plots given to us and up to 30,000 people signing up to the website, so it’s defiantly getting people interested. The campaign is also working with groups like the Church of England and a range of British NGOs. The National Trust for example has just given us 1000 plots of land, so although it’s quite a slow process, there’s been a real positive reaction across the country.

With your interest in climate change, have the facts about the meat industry’s huge carbon footprint persuaded you to become vegetarian yet?

No, not yet, I’m aware of the issues, and I keep by own pigs and livestock, and always advocate buying locally soured meat to keep the carbon footprint low.

So let’s hope this campaign can help to stop this emergency from escalating, with 1 day, 11 hours, 9 minutes since 999 Day, the pressure is on.
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Designers in Residence @ the Design Museum
September 18 – October 31

The Design Museum’s annual exhibition of young designers begins on September 18 with site-specific works from Marc Owens and Dave Bowker. Owens is inspired by virtual realities – his work Avatar Machine replicates video gaming via a headset (above), order designed to make the wearer see themselves as a virtual character in the real world. Bowker works in data visualisation and will be re-examining the way visitors move about the Museum.

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Open House weekend

Once a year thousands of London’s most interesting and historic buildings are opened to the public, sale some of which are locked up tight for the rest of the year. Although some of the most popular buildings in the centre of London have already been completely booked, drugs there are still plenty of places worth visiting.

If you haven’t got your eye on anything in your local area, consider visiting the house of Dr Samuel Johnson, of “the dictionary” fame. It’s free to visit on Friday (there will be free cake on this day) and Saturday, in honour of the great man’s birthday.

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Radical Nature

This exhibition of works revolving around nature and inspired by environmentalism features pieces from architect Richard Buckminster Fuller and artists such as Joseph Beuys and Hans Haacke, as well as newer names such as Heath and Ivan Morrison and Simon Starling. Impactful and timely, there are lots of strong visual statements such as the Fallen Forest by Henrik Håkansson (above) and a visual record of the fields of wheat planted as an act of protest on a landfill site in Manhattan.

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Thames Festival

Sunday

One of the few fireworks displays allowed along the Thames will occur on Sunday when the Thames Festival fireworks are set off in all their glory, fired from barges between Blackfriars and Waterloo Bridge so everyone can get a perfect view. There are also events all day, including fire-eaters, an outdoor ballroom (starting to become the South Bank’s speciality) and the annual Night Carnival, where 2,000 costumed revellers bearing lanterns and luminous costumes will welcome the pyrotechnics.
Another load of talks, healing workshops and activities to get stuck into, information pills don’t forget Co-Mutiny is still on all this week in Bristol, Climate Rush are still on tour, and also make sure you get down to protest against the closure of the Vestas Wind Turbine factory this Thursday. Good luck with fitting it all in, I’m certainly going to struggle!

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Illustrations by Emma Hanquist

Cambridge Climate Conference
Monday 14 Sep 2009 to Tuesday 15 Sep 2009 ?

An exciting event has been organised with international speakers and delegates involved in policy-making, business, and academia. Understanding the role of climate change policy is central to a business’s future success. Topics will include the political, economical, technological, and legal challenges and solutions for decarbonising electricity.
To register for a discounted ticket visit the website and enter ‘ge2009′ as the discount code.

Time: 9am-5pm
Venue: Churchill College, Cambridge, UK
Website: www.cambridgeclimate.com/

A Global New Deal needs a Green New Protectionism
Wednesday 16 Sep 2009 ?

An evening to learn and discuss the ‘triple crunch’ that we face: climate change, energy insecurity, and financial and economic meltdown. Colin Hines, Author and convener of the Green New Deal Group will be leading the talks. Colin has worked in the environmental movement for over 30 years including 10 years at Greenpeace. His recent work focuses on the adverse environmental and social effects of international trade and the need to solve these problems by replacing globalisation with localisation. During the evening there will also be a tribute to ‘Teddy’ Goldsmith, founder of The Ecologist magazine.

Time: 6.30pm drinks and food, 7.30pm talk begins at Burgh House
Venue: Gaia House, 18 Well Walk, Hampstead
Contacts: To book email, book online or call 0207 428 0054.
Website: www.gaiafoundation.org

Protest against the closure of Vestas Wind Turbine Factory
Thursday 17 Sep 2009 ?

As well as the continuing protest against the closure of the Vestas Wind Turbine factory at the Isle of Wight, there will also be a chance for people to make their feelings known across the country. People are meeting at the Department of Energy and Climate Change in London to lobby against the government. There will also be speakers including John Mcdonnel, MP (Labour, Hayes and Harlington) and Tracy Edwards (Young Members Organiser for the Public and Commercial Services Union).
Couldn’t put it better than Phil Thornhill from the Campaign against Climate Change “Just when we need a huge expansion in renewable energy they are closing down the only significant wind turbine factory in the UK. The government has spent billions bailing out the banks, and £2.3 billion in loan guarantees to support the UK car industry – they can and should step in to save the infrastructure we are really going to need prevent a climate catastrophe.
Whilst the impact on employment on the Isle of Wight will be quite devastating, this is an issue not just about jobs or one factory but about whether the government is really going to match up its actions to its rhetoric on green jobs and the rapid decarbonisation of the British economy – whether its prepared to act with the kind of resolution and energy we need to cope with the Climate Emergency”.

Time: 5.30 to 6.30pm
Venue: Outside the Department of Energy and Climate Change, 3 Whitehall Place.
?Website: www.campaigncc.org

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Out of the Ordinary Festival
Friday 18 Sep 2009 to Sunday 20 Sep 2009
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OOTO is a 3 day family friendly and eco friendly festival set in the beautiful Sussex countryside celebrating the Autumn Equinox. Featuring a variety of live music powered by solar panels and wind generators, fascinating talks and workshops, children’s activities, awesome performances, a green market place and many more out of the ordinary surprises. The festival is also offering Big Green Gathering ticket holders a discount for the event held over the weekend
Venue: Knockhatch Farm, Hailsham, East Sussex
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Website: www.outoftheordinaryfestival.com

Tree-Athlon
Saturday 19th September

Get fit and get your very own tree sapling to take home! Participants run a 5km race to raise money for Trees for Cities, an independent environmental charity working with local communities on tree planting projects. There is also music, entertainment, lots of tree-themed activities, whatever that may consist of, and plenty of other workshops to keep the whole family entertained.
The race is open to runners aged 14 and up and is ideal for beginners or experienced runners alike. Register now, to make sure you can raise as much sponsorship as possible before the day, and look forward to a grand day out.

Time: 9am-3pm
Venue: Battersea Park
Website: www.tree-athlon.org

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The Urban Green Fair ?
Sunday 20th September

?The Urban Green Fair is held in Brockwell Park in London this Sunday, Its a free event and with plenty to do and see, the fair is also powered by solar and wind energy.
The annual family event, has a range of films, talks, workshops, kids activities, stalls, sunshine as well as some unusual bicycles. Unfortunatly no bars or big stages but this keeps the emphasis on education and communication. A chance to share ideas, meet familiar faces and make new friends. With little government action on peak oil and climate change there is plenty to discuss and lots we can do as individuals. ?

Time:11am-7pm
?Venue: Brockwell Park, Lambeth
Website: http://www.urbangreenfair.org/

Leytonstone Car Free Day
Sunday 20th September

Leytonstone Town Centre will car free day this Sunday. As well as having no vehicles hurtling around there will also be entertainment, stalls, live music, dancing, public art and childrens’ play areas. Simon Webbe from Blue and Aswad will be headlining! Get yourself down, and make sure you leave the car(if you’ve got one) at home.
Time: 1pm-7pm
Venue: Outside Leyonstone tube station
Website: www.walthamforest.gov.uk

Co-mutiny
Saturday 12th of September until Monday 21st September

A coming together of activists, eco-warriors gardeners, artists, community/political groups, cooks, builders etc. to demonstrate our creative power to build a city/world we would like to see. Co-Mutineers have taken an old cathedral (of the holy apostles) near the Triangle in the Clifton/Hotwells area, it’s a space to converge, eat, sleep meet and discuss, plan and skill-share!
There will be over a week of different activities, direct actions, workshops, film screenings, public demonstrations and parties. It’s happening all across Bristol and the wider South West.

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During the week there will be actions happening all across the city, which will climax in a fancy dress carnival through the financial district of Bristol on the Friday.
Venue: Bristol Pro Cathedral, Park Place, BS8 1JW
Website: http://comutiny.wordpress.com/
Monday 14th September
William Elliott Whitmore
The Garage, order London

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We can’t get enough of this distilled, medications gravelly bluesman. With Whitmore, it’s almost like you’re listening from inside a huge bottle of JD.

Tuesday 15th September
We Have Band
ICA, London

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This trio spin the grooves of Talking Heads via a stop off and natter with Hot Chip, it’ll make you jive and smile.

Wednesday 16th September
Beth Jeans Houghton
Rough Trade East, London

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Having supported folk heavy weights, Tunng, Bon Iver, and King Creosote, this ballsy 19 year old manages to blend the vocal lustre of Nico and Laura Marling whilst having an edgy stage presence more like Gwen Stefani. Beguiling.

Thursday 17th September
Alela and Laura Gibson
Shepherds Bush Empire, London

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We chatted to Alela recently and she was as lovely as her music. Gibson toes a similar line of enchanting bluesy folk airs.

Friday 18th September
Metronomy, Male Bonding, Your Twenties and Drums Of Death
The Forum, London

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We’re particularly keen on the immaculate indie-pop of Your Twenties after meeting the lovely ex-Metronomy frontman. Nice to see they’re still close.

Saturday 19th September
Tom Paley and Birdengine
The Deptford Arms, London

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A traditional folk night in a scuzzy South-East London boozer. You want more reason that that? Well living legend, Tom Paley who played with Woodie Guthrie back in the day and enchantingly odd, Birdengine are two big ones.

Sunday 20th September
Viv Albertine and Get Back Guinozzi!
The Windmill, London

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The Slits guitarist has picked up a guitar again after a 25 year sabbatical and come up trumps with punk rock outfit, Albertine.


Monday 14th

Rankin at The Truman Brewery

It’s the last chance to see Rankin’s retrospective in Brick Lane this week. The exhibition moves through Rankin at university exploring the well worn art student quest to find a sense of self to portraying the plight of the Congo. After this introduction the exhibition opens onto his best know fashion, website erotic and beauty editorials. Featuring Kate, Hedi, Tilda Swinton and the Dame of British Fashion, Vivienne Westwood to name a few. Rankin’s strongest work comes through in the portraits where he has assumed a sense of a relationship with the sitter, tweaking out their quirks through the movement of an eyebrow, eye or twitch of the lips or neck. Throughout the exhibition Rankin moved his studio into the space to continue photographing the public portraits. A portion of everyone’s fee goes to support Oxfam’s to work in the Congo.
Until the 18th September.

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Tuesday

START KNITTING with prick your finger!

Recent years have seen a rise in designers revisiting craft techniques, with knitting proving to be especially popular with a range of creatives from Louise Goldin to Mark Fast. Last week Amelia’s Magazine participated in a Prick Your Finger discussion on the use and sourcing of local ethical wool and the continuing rise in the popularity of knitting.Join on a Tuesday 7-9 for beginners classes with all your knitting woes and joys.

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Thursday

Fashion Diversity at The Museum of London

The Museum of London is staging a three day fashion diversity event during London Fashion Week. On Thursday the museum hosts a range of workshops from a discussion of the development of sustainable fashion by CHOOLIPS, to a Moving Passion to Profit workshop in association with the MOORDESIGN salon finishing with the importance of branding. Colour Production, addressing how companies interact with their audience visually. Finally 7-16 year olds are giving the opportunity to unlock their creativity in a fashion drawing workshop teaching concentration, communication and dexterity.

Friday and Saturday host the fashion diversity catwalks: Emerging, Established and Honorary designers at 1pm or 3pm Friday and 1pm on Saturday, places are free. Honorary designers Junky Styling and Nico Didonna also present pieces for the runway.

To conclude Saturday’s event, at 3pm student and graduate designers from schools and colleges across London showcase designs inspired by 18th century pleasure gardens and related costumes from from the Museum of London’s archives.

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SHOWstudio : Fashion Revolution

Unable to go to Fashion Week? Fear not! As mentioned last week, the Fashion Revolution exhibition opens at Somerset House. The exhibition curated by Showstudio celebrates nine years of Showstudio.com. The website established by Nick Knight has pushed and developed the idea of communicating fashion ‘live’ through films, online live interviews and streamed performances involving photographers, models, stylists graphic designers and cultural figures to create ethereal fashion portraiture and communication through body and style. New fashion films have been commissioned to accompany the exhibition, alongside a live photographic studio that gives the viewer the opportunity to see the whimsical world of fashion in play.

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Saturday 19th


GIANT VINTAGE SALE

This just dropped into the inbox – The East End thrift store are inviting all budding clothing DIY’ers to come down to the store and fill a bag with all that you can for ten or twenty pounds. Open Saturday to Sunday from 10-7pm.

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The National Portrait Gallery

The National Portrait Gallery celebrates the icon of 60′s British Fashion photography, Twiggy. Dedicating a room to the most iconic images created with her image by a range of photographers from Richard Avedon to Solve Sundsbo. The exhibition coincides with a publication of a new book: Twiggy : A life in photography. This exhibition is a must for anyone interested in the relationship between sitter and photography in fashion portraiture.

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Roll up Roll up and take part in Covent Garden’s fashion fete

Pull the fashion rope, roll around in dressing up boxes courtesy of Costume Boutique. Jump up and Down for the tombola, be styled by Super Super Magazine, scouted by models 1 or preview some of the hottest new design talent with the Fashion and Textiles museum.
Moreover TRAID are holding a stitching workshop on how to transform old clothes into new designs as demonstrated by their remade range.

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The London Vegan Festival this year took place in Kensington Town Hall, ask and was absolutely heaving. Usually, store the odds of bumping into another vegan are slightly higher than those of two Esperanto speakers meeting, so hanging out in a hall packed full of them was a new experience – as was not having to ask ‘Is there dairy in this?’ at every food stall. Bliss.

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Almost as soon as someone mentions becoming vegan, people start to get a panicked look on their faces and tend to begin listing reasons why they couldn’t possibly give up cheese. The general consensus is that a vegan diet is deprived and difficult. Just a quick glance over these photos ought to give anyone with that mindset pause for thought.
Never-mind having never been in a room with so many vegans before, I’d never been in a room filled with so much vegan cake! I ate my way around the festival, starting with a deliciously gooey chocolate brownie, discovered vegan crème eggs half-way round, swung by the Conscious Chocolate stall for my free samples and a bar of Choca Mocha Magic, then hung out with Redwoods comparing the Lincolnshire sausages to the hot dogs. (Hawt dawgs won, hands done.) Veggies provided me with some real food, in the form of a massive Cheezley burger, giving me the energy I needed to head to some of the talks.

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Being vegan isn’t all about the food (though, let’s be honest. It is mostly about the food) and there was a wealth of information at the Festival ranging from talks on vegan nutrition (okay, food again), taking action against animal testing and extreme vegan sports (like regular extreme sports, but partaken of by vegans. Not like preparing scrambled tofu at 30,000 feet. Though, that would be something I would pay to see) to stalls run by the Secret Society of Vegans, animal rights groups and Active Distribution – a bookstall filled with vegan recipe books and anarchist ‘zines. There was information relevant to every level of vegan interest; aspiring, political, dietary…
There was plenty of entertainment too, in the form of magicians, musicians and comedians. (Never let it be said that vegans are without a sense of humour.) I saw Andrew O’Neill, a vegan comedian, who has recently come off the Fringe and was hilarious. Wibbling between whimsical and cruel, from the ‘scat-nav’ to “Kill a Fascist for Grandad” in replacement of the current “Hope not Hate” campaign, he had me laughing from start to finish.

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So, why vegan? We already have McCartney pushing for Meat-Free Mondays, do we really need Dairy-Free Days of the Week as well? I’m on the ‘Yes’ side for that one. Going vegan reduces support for the livestock industry down to zero, on a personal level. (Y’know the livestock industry I’m talking about. The one helping out with Climate Change by about 18%.) If you’re serious about wanting to reduce your environmental impact on the Earth and already cycle everywhere, reuse and recycle, turn your taps off when brushing your teeth, then this is the next step in armchair activism. You don’t need to head up to London to protest, or write letters to your MP. Just start buying dairy-free marge approved by the Vegan society, switch to dark chocolate instead of the sugar-filled sweet stuff, experiment with vegan recipes (hundreds of which are on-line) and have fun doing so. Going vegan isn’t scary or hard, but it is inconvenient. Learning to live without dairy, however, is going to be a lot less inconvenient than learning to live without our planet’s natural resources. If you need any more persuading, I make the most delicious vegan cookies. Drop me a line, and I’ll be sure to hook you up.
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2000 Light Years from Home, physician Neal Fox’s second exhibition, prostate opened at Gallery Daniel Blau in Munich this weekend.

A founder member of the infamous Le Gun collective and a character on the debaucherously creative Soho scene, Neal Fox’s reputation just grows and grows. His pen and ink drawings light up the pages of the Guardian and Dazed and Confused, whilst the Le Gun group shows are always packed to bursting on opening nights, providing the London art world with a much needed buzz of youthful excitement. Each picture features Neal’s grandfather Jonny Watson, by whom he was taken on drinking binges with the hedonist iconoclasts of our age. In this latest show he is taken on a doomsday rock and roll trip and psychedelic journey down the Nile.

Neal%20Fox%20Caferoyal.jpg

Fox has always drawn ( at school he made pocket money by drawing footballers for his fellow pupils) and became inspired by a discovery he made at his father’s friend Les Coleman’s house.
“…he has a massive collection of underground comics by people like Robert Crumb called things like ‘Amputee Love’. So, I was about eight and I would root through these alternative and psychedelic comics and I got really obsessed with Robert Crumb, I spent my teenage years locked up trying to draw like Robert Crumb.”

These years of drawing clearly paid off as Neal went on to study at Camberwell College and then to complete his masters at the RCA where he met Robert Greene, Chris Bianchi and the other founder members of Le Gun magazine.

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With the growing reputation of the Le Gun collective and the progression of Fox’s other work the whole thing is becoming very exciting and he has now exhibited in Soho’s French House, Gallery Daniel Blau in Munich and Loft 19 in Paris.

This latest exhibition shows great development in the work; the gin-soaked nights of his grandfather in Soho have become psychedelic journeys of the mind as we follow Joseph Conrad down the Nile on a Kenneth Anger inspired acid trip. This drawing is an astonishing 10 meters long. Fox’s work seems to grow in size with each exhibition as the content becomes more and more fantastical.

“Since I got into doing the big pictures, they’ve become much more layered…I think it makes your ideas bigger and makes you feel freer. Coming out of being an illustrator where you are tied to working in a certain size at your desk, I thought why not just make it bigger?”
While he was working on this gargantuan work he hung the drawing on an ‘elaborate contraption’ so he could roll it back and forth as the picture came to life.

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“It starts with the Heart of Darkness, it’s meant to be a mixture of the context of the novel, the pictures evoked by the books but rather than just illustrating the book I wanted to put in the context the books came from and how they bled into culture at the time it was published. “
This layering of influences and ideas is key to these amazing pictures. Drawing from many aspects of culture, from Kenneth Anger to colonial politics, Neal Fox sums up the multi-faceted representation of culture in the world we live in.

All theory aside, these are some pretty amazing adventures in pen and ink: not only will they test your imagination, they’ll tickle your fancy.

Leaving the last words to the artist: “I think the drawings have got a lot more context and my mind has opened up a lot more, the pictures in the last exhibition were more about depicting certain scenes, I’m opening up more to what just comes into my head as I work.”
I first noticed Georgia Hardinge’s exquisite autumn/winter collection for the designer’s transcription of fossil’s architecture into the folds of the collection. An idea embellished by the neutral colour palette of both the make up and the clothes themselves. This season sees Georgia Hardinge premiere her S/S 2010 collection at On|Off’s exhibition space at 180 The Strand. This event staged by On|Off is a separate event which coincides with the official London Fashion Week, tadalafil offering young designers the opportunity to show their collections while the fashion industry is in town.

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After graduating from Parsons Paris School of Design Georgia collaborated with Jean-Charles de Castelbajac and was awarded the golden thimble for best designer at her graduation show. I particularly like the draping and pleating of the fabric to embellish the body’s architecture whilst remaining incredibly feminine pieces of design. The S/S 2010 designs continues themes present in earlier collections from the positioning as clothes as architecture for the body encased within sculptural designs based on landscapes and fossils. I look forward to seeing the entire collection at the On|Off exhibition.

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Georgia, check what inspired you to study fashion design?

Fashion is my way of translating my thoughts into living entities. I am inspired more by ideas of sculpture, science, and architecture than I am by the fashion industry I think clothing should be unique and trend-less.

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When did you creative interests start to develop?

Creating things always interested me, and I remember remaking my friends‚ clothes for fun, and collecting bits and pieces to turn into accessories. We would all go into our mother’s wardrobes and dress up in their clothes.

How important is the natural shape of the body to your designs?

Everyone has areas around their body that they are sensitive about. Manipulating the fabric to draw attention elsewhere makes people more confidant, if I can make people see beauty in what they thought were their faults then I’m happy.

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Which designers would you consider to be important currently?

I don’t consider any one designer to be more important than any other. Our work shows our opinions and everybody has an opinion that matters. It’s about what you like and what feels right at a specific moment.

What is your favourite fabric to work with?

I have this obsession with wool! I can always rely on it to structure my work the way I want, and I love playing with the raw edges of the fabric.

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How do you incorporate structure into your designs?

Architecture is my ultimate inspiration, if I wasn’t in fashion I would dedicate my time to making models of landscapes and buildings, I’m intrigued by doing this on a living body and challenging myself to turn my ideas into garments. On the body my work can travel, people are introduced to my concepts in the street without having to go to a gallery or museum.

So landscape is important to your SS10 collection?

I wanted each piece to map the lines and curves of a woman’s body. I was just experimenting with the idea of boundaries and contours on the body and trying to recreate this as something we can use everyday.

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How does it feel to be part of On|Off at London Fashion Week?

I’m quite excited. This is only my first collection working within my company so I’m just lucky to have this kind of opportunity.

What are your plans for the future?

I have a lot in store for the future. I think all designers have an idea of where they want to be in ten years time. I just hope people stay enthusiastic about my clothes and I keep challenging myself and coming up with fresh ideas.

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Written by Sally Mumby-Croft a on Tuesday September 15th, 2009 3:20 pm

Categories ,Architecture, ,exhibition, ,Fashion Design, ,Fossils, ,Georgia Hardinge, ,London Fashion Week, ,MA, ,Off Schedule, ,On|Off, ,Parsons School of Design

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

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Ji Cheng AW 2012 by Geiko Louve

Ji Cheng A/W 2012 by Geiko Louve

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

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 by Love Amelia

Ji Cheng A/W 2012 by Love Amelia

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

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 by Deborah Moon

Ji Cheng AW 2012 by Deborah Moon

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

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

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

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

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

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 by Dana Bocai

Ji Cheng A/W 2012 by Dana Bocai

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

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Ji Cheng AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

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

All photography by Maria Papadimitriou

Written by Maria Papadimitriou on Saturday March 3rd, 2012 6:46 pm

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

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Amelia’s Magazine | Emesha: the Hungarian born ethical fashion designer who now lives in Shoreditch

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Lisa Stannard, <a target=illness shop Emesha S/S 2010″ title=”Lisa Stannard, Emesha S/S 2010″ width=”480″ height=”576″ class=”alignnone size-full wp-image-32247″ />
Emesha S/S 2010 by Lisa Stannard.

Emesha is created by Emese Nagy, who was named after the lead lady in a myth about the creation of the Hungarian kingdom. She grew up between Hungary and the United States before moving to London, all of which has made her very open-minded and observant. My travels have been a great inspiration to me as a designer. She particularly likes the quirky style of places such as Shoreditch in east London.

Being a socially sensitive type who wants to help others it was natural that she took an ethical stance for her brand especially as she began to understand more about the origins and manufacturing of clothing. As a strict vegetarian she doesn’t use fur or leather in her designs, and only natural materials. An internship at Vivienne Westwood taught her about precision in complicated patterns, and at Jasper Conran she was given the confidence to create a collection from start to finish. I was involved in all the stages of production which gave me a good insight into how the final garment comes together…

Read the rest of this interview with Emesha in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, alongside interviews with 44 other ethical fashion designers and 30 fabulous fashion illustrators. You can buy the book here.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Wednesday January 19th, 2011 4:07 pm

Categories ,ACOFI, ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,Eco fashion, ,Eco Fashion Week Vancouver, ,Emese Nagy, ,Emesha, ,Ethical Fashion, ,Hungarian, ,Hungary, ,Jasper Conran, ,Lisa Stannard, ,shoreditch, ,Sporty-Luxe, ,vegetarian, ,Vivienne Westwood

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Amelia’s Magazine | Charlie May: London Fashion Week A/W 2013 Catwalk Review

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Charlie May A/W 2013 by Chloe Douglass
Charlie May A/W 2013 by Chloe Douglass.

There was plenty of buzz surrounding Charlie May‘s second catwalk show thanks to her status as a blogging fashion designer, so I wasn’t surprised to see many familiar faces so early on a Sunday morning outside the Ice Tank. Charlie is a designer of the minimalist ilk and she had chosen an apt venue to showcase her new collection: a photography studio with a white infinity curve against which the models paused for photographs.

Charlie May AW 2013-photo by Amelia Gregory
Charlie May AW 2013-photo by Amelia Gregory
Charlie May AW 2013-photo by Amelia Gregory
Charlie May AW 2013-photo by Amelia Gregory
Charlie May AW 2013-photo by Amelia Gregory
Charlie May AW 2013-photo by Amelia Gregory
Charlie May AW 2013-photo by Amelia Gregory
Charlie May A/W 2013 by Jane Young
Charlie May A/W 2013 by Jane Young.

The collection, which had been inspired by ice, rock and fire, began in crisp white: sheer polo necks worn beneath wide lapelled tailored wool coats, with pencil skirts and sheer black tights. A roll neck knit was worn under an ostrich skin biker jacket and there was a distinct 80s vibe to the oversized blazers. Red lips worked beautifully with a simple silk shift dress and an A-line maxi dress accessorised with a simple black clutch bag by Danielle Foster. Moving swiftly through a few black, wine and gunmetal grey garments we arrived at my favourite looks, a cherry red dress and skinny leg suit. Charlie May successfully mixed textures and tones to bring subtle interest to her minimalist aesthetic, and I’ll be intrigued to see what she comes up with next.

Charlie May AW 2013-photo by Amelia Gregory
Charlie May AW 2013-photo by Amelia Gregory
Charlie May AW 2013-photo by Amelia Gregory
Charlie May AW 2013-photo by Amelia Gregory
Charlie May AW 2013-photo by Amelia Gregory
Charlie May AW 2013-photo by Amelia Gregory
Charlie May AW 2013-photo by Amelia Gregory
Charlie May A/W 2013. All photography by Amelia Gregory.

Charlie May AW13 by Isher Dhiman
Charlie May A/W 2013 by Isher Dhiman.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Tuesday February 26th, 2013 11:49 pm

Categories ,A/W 2013, ,Charlie May, ,Chloe Douglass, ,Danielle Foster, ,Girl a la Mode, ,Ice Tank, ,Isher Dhiman, ,Jane Young, ,London Fashion Week, ,review

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Amelia’s Magazine | Ada Zanditon Interview

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Monday 20th

Slow Club is a duo formed by Charles and Rebecca, this web buy information pills who both come from Sheffield. He does the singing and plays the guitar; she deals with the drums and all sorts of weird instruments, from bottles of water to wooden chairs. The result? You can go hear for yourself tonight at Barfly.
7pm. £5.

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Slow Club

Tuesday 21th

We Fell To Earth and special guests at the ICA theatre. Richard File (UNKLE) and PJ Harvey-ish singer/bassist Wendy Rae doing something that they call “sinister and kind of arousing rock music”.
8pm. £10.

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We Fell To Earth

Wednesday 22th
Vessels will be at Buffalo Bar this Wednesday launching “Retreat”, a collection of songs including a single, some remixes and an unreleased track by this Leeds five-piece.
8pm. £6.

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Vessels

Thursday 23th
Camera Obscura make a come back with “My Maudlin Career”, the band’s fourth studio album that is coming out today.
All their sweet freshness that you could feel from the first single out entitled “French Navy” will be performed on the stage of Shepherds Bush Empire next Thursday.
7pm. £13.50.

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Camera Obscura

Friday 24th

Je Suis Animal single launch party for the upcoming release ‘The Mystery of Marie Roget’ 7″ at The Victoria. Support comes from Betty and The Werewolves and Hong Kong In The 60s. People from Twee as F*** also promise free cupcakes for earlybirds so that is a Friday night out you can not miss.
9pm. £6/ 5 concessions.

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Je Suis Animal

Saturday 25th

The Camden Crawl Festival brings the best of Indie to town. Line up for Saturday looks like great performances will be on stage. The Maccabees, Little Boots, Marina And The Diamonds and The Golden Silvers are only a few to be named.
12pm. £32.50 (Saturday only).

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The Golden Silvers

Sunday 26th
Due to the Casiotone for the Painfully Alone‘s sell-out London show on 27th April, a new show has been added on Sunday 26th April – also at The Luminaire. Releasing their fifth album, Vs. Children, the band succeeded to make a record that feels just as warm and intimate as the first.
7:30pm. £8.50, adv £8.

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Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
On the cover of this CD, sickness Caroline Weeks appears to be a healthy, seek pink-skinned young woman. However, sildenafil fill your ears with her music, and you will be in no doubt that she is a ghost. And her clarinettist, too. Ghosts! Caroline has been to the other side, and seen things, and now wanders around my auditory cortex in a Victorian gown, lamenting the moment that life’s glories were cruelly wrenched from her grasp. Maybe Caroline drowned in a lake, or caught one of those Jane Austen chills, or fell under a horse, or was cuddled to death by an overaffectionate simple boy cousin. I can’t begin to imagine what happened to her polter-woodwindist. Probably choked on his reed.

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This is the spookiest music I have heard in a long time. She feels like a sister to SixToes, playing with similar moods, guitar work and larynx-trembling. But much spookier. I can’t help but think of Winona Ryder in Beetlejuice, a morbid teenager rejecting the world from her wilfully glum bedroom. So it’s not a huge surprise to discover that Caroline is also Ginger Lee, colleague of Natasha Khan in Bat For Lashes. Although you can actually dance to some of Natasha’s ditties, there is the moody, brooding moroseness there too. But while Bat For Lashes keeps this in the realm of relationships with sprinklings of dreamy visions, Caroline Weeks takes it to the pure Victorian pre-Pankhurst inner world of reflective femininity.
It turns out that all the lyrics are taken from the poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay, an early Twentieth Century American who was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. Musically, it is very accomplished. Recorded quite simplistically, with a few dramatic reverb effects, the instrumentation has plenty of room to shine. The guitar gently drifts between dextrous, finger-picked, rhythmic regularity and airy pausing in a lovely, caressy, wavey kind of way. But it’s the tender voice that dominates, or haunts, the album. Caroline sings to you. It’s deeply personal, and unwavering in its humourless, sorrowful plea. And there is much depth of feeling and depth of lyric, which I cannot really do justice to here.
This is simply music to surrender to. Alone. Dim the lights, let the shadows fall across your soul and be utterly, utterly alone with the ghost of Caroline Weeks.

La Weeks is performing at The Good Ship in Kilburn on May 19.
Tuesday 21st April

2pm
Institute of Education?
20 Bedford Way, buy
?London WC1H 0AL?

“How to Educate Children in the UK About Sustainable Development”
discussion with Professor Randall Curren, more about Institute of Education. Info: fbrettell@ioe.ac.uk or call 020 7612 6000

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(Image courtesy of Lea Jaffy, email leajaffy_1@hotmail.com for further illustrations)

Wednesday 22nd April

“The Green Agenda: Are We Engaging The Consumer?”
9:30am

Dorich House Museum
67 Kingston Vale,
London SW15 3RN

The rise and rise of the green agenda is creating an ever increasing number of green initiatives, CSR projects, and local and national government proposals. Almost all organisations – both commercial and non commercial – want to establish their green credentials and communicate them to the consumer.
To explore these issues and to find new ways of engaging the customer, Kingston University has brought together a number of leading experts from a wide range of sectors – manufacturing, retailing, NGO’s, academics and a number of consultancies.
For full programme information and to book please go to http://business.kingston.ac.uk/flavor1.php?id=398.
Contact: Wendy Eatenton
?Tel: 020 8547 2000 ext. 65511
?Email: rm.rettie@kingston.ac.uk

“Can Developing Country Needs For Energy Be Met Without Causing Climate Change”

LeaJaffyEnergy3world.jpg
(Image courtesy of Lea Jaffy, email leajaffy_1@hotmail.com for further illustrations)

1.00pm
Committee Room 14
Palace of Westminster, London
SW1A 2PW
Recent studies suggest a large potential for clean energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa; if fully implemented, they could provide more than twice the regions current installed power-generation capacity. It has been posited that Latin America has a comparative advantage in maximizing clean energy opportunities; energy consumption could be reduced by 10 percent over the next decade by investing in energy efficiency. This suggests that the adoption of clean energy technologies typically results in a “win:win” situation for developing countries: reducing costs and emissions.
But many developing countries have been failing to reach their full productive potential for years. Growth diagnostic studies in many developing countries regularly identify constraints such as lack of grid electricity and poor infrastructure. Typically, levels of investment in the electricity sector in developing countries are around 50 percent of needs. Credit constraints mean that the cheapest available options are often chosen as opposed to those that deliver environmental benefits. So can developing country needs for energy be met without causing climate change?  How can developing countries be incentivised to adopt cleaner energy? And what steps do developed countries need to take to facilitate this?

Professor Sir David King, Gordon MacKerron. Info: 7922 0300/ meetings@odi.org.uk/ ODI

Thursday 23rd April

“Financial Meltdown and The End of the Age of Greed”

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(Image courtesy of Aarron Taylor, www.aarrontaylor.com)

7pm
Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, W2 1QJ
Info: 7479 8950
£10 Online booking now available
This event will be moderated by Michael Wilson, Business Editor of Sky News
Paul Mason talks about the ongoing financial crisis that has brough the global economy to the brink of depression. Gordon Brown hailed the result of deregulation as the ‘golden age’ of banking in the UK. Mason will give insights into how deregulation is at the heart of the collapse of the banking system in September and October 2008 and how it led to expanded subprime mortgage lending, an uncontrollable derivatives market, and the lethal fusion of banking and insurance.
http://www.frontlineclub.com/events/


Saturday 25th April

People’s Republic of Southwark April Mini Eco-Fair
People’s Republic of Southwark
Brandon Street/Orb Street
SE17

12.00pm – 4.00pm 
On Saturday 25th April, 12-4pm, People’s Republic of Southwark’s mini eco-fair goes all the way to SE17, to the Nursery Row Park http://www.nurseryrowpark.org/SaveNurseryRow/Welcome.html , a beautiful green space located just behind the East Street Market (between Brandon and Orb Street).?? We are hoping to have another great day out for everyone and some of the activities for the day are:?- mulching the orchard?- planting sunflower seeds?- making art?- a free shop (space where you can swap/give away/take things you need for free – bring easy-to-carry usable things you don’t need, ex clothes, dvds, books. and swap them for something you do need or simply give them away to someone who does; please don’t bring anything bulky or electrical)?- seed swap (get your window boxes, balconies, gardens ready for spring and summer)?- you can also find out about local environmental projects, issues and campaigns. ?Or just come along for a chat
Prepare to throw your sensibilities and all sense of conventionality out of the window! Why I hear you scream? Well, search this week sees Alternative Fashion Week bombard an unsuspecting Spitalfields in all its wonderful obscurity. Forget all the opulence of London Fashion Week; Alternative Fashion Week is going to assail you with raw, viagra buy un-censored Fashion Design.

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The event unlike London Fashion Week is open to everyone and free for the designers to participate. It will be running all this week from the 20th-24th of April at Spitalfields Traders Market. So get your skates on people and get on down for all the outlandish action. With 15 shows a day, it will see at least 10,000-hop foot through their doors. Applicants range from recent graduates to independent designers keen to establish themselves in the fashion sphere. The participants are an eclectic range of designers from a myriad of different fields from the theatre to circus, so be prepared for a vivacious show. In conjunction with the free daily shows, the event hosts an adjacent market from noon till three showcasing a whole treasure trove of accessories, Womenswear and textiles for us to feast upon.

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Here is a sneak peak at one of the accessory designers that will showcase her A/W collection at the event. Helen Rochfort’s innovative designs focus on all things delectable. Infact just glancing at her liquorice allsorts bag is enough to have me running to the nearest sweet shop for a fix. She describes her delectable designs as simply “ a sprinkling of vintage and a dusting of retro all whipping together with a kitsch twist of humour” So keep your eyes out for Rochfort’s designs, they are hard to miss!

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The event prides itself on its promotion of sustainable fashion, and actively supports recycling and ethical sourcing. It’s organizers are The Alternative Arts, a group based in East London that invests in local artists and projects in the community. Its overriding ethos is the importance of accessible fashion and art in the public domain.

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The event is a riot of creativity that questions our ideological view of fashion design; Alternative Fashion Week provides that vital foundation for applications to bridge the gap between them and the seemingly intimidating abyss of the fashion industry.

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So keep your eyes peeled as Amelia’s Magazine will be reporting from the front line this week to bring you all the zany fun and frolics!
Sometimes the stories for Amelia’s Magazine come to us. And this story is one of unimaginable corruption by one of the worlds largest companies, search aided by an equally unscrupulous government. While there will never be a happy ending to this tale, medicine there may be, tadalafil after many years of campaigning, justice finally delivered. I was emailed recently by a group called Remember Saro-Wiwa, asking if I would attend a talk entitled Wiwa Vs Shell at the Amnesty International House in London.

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I went along to the event, which was fully attended, and listened to what this case was about. In 1995, a man called Ken Saro-Wiwa, along with eight colleagues from the Ogoni region of Nigeria, was executed by the Nigerian State for campaigning against the devastation of the Niger Delta by oil companies, specifically Shell Oil. Thankfully, this is not where the story ends. On May 26th, 2009, after fourteen years, Shell will stand trial in New York for complicity in human rights abuses in Nigeria, including the execution of Ken Saro Wiwa and his eight colleagues. The purpose of the evening was to highlight the case, and I listened in horror and disbelief to what has been happening in Nigeria. Having not known much about the unethical way that oil companies conduct their business – and the ways in which they silence their objectors – I could almost not comprehend what I was hearing. The panel speaking included Katie Redford, a U.S lawyer and co founder of EarthRights International, which, along with the Center for Constitutional Rights has filed the case against Shell.

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She discussed the upcoming trial, and included the seemingly never-ending charges which have finally been brought against them. As well as the charge of complicity in crimes against humanity, they are being charged with torture, arbitrary arrest and detainment. We learnt that this is a groundbreaking case – companies of this size do not usually find themselves in court for their actions – however reprehensible. If Shell are found liable, they could be forced to pay damages that could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.

We learnt about the situation between Ken Saro-Wiwa and Shell. From the time that Shell had started producing oil in the Delta in 1958, the local communities had been concerned about the levels of pollution, along with the gas flares which were coming from Shell’s production plant. Furthermore, drilling operations were routinely destroying farmers lands with oil spillage and rendering the lands unsuitable for use. When faced with such levels of devastation to their land (and health), it seems only natural that the communities would protest.

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Unfortunately for them, Shell and the Nigerian Government were not in the business of facilitating these protests; instead, Shell would employ the presence of the Mobile Police Force, who were also known as the “kill and go”police. At one such protest, the MPF massacred 80 people and destroyed around 500 homes. Saro-Wiwa, who had always been a prominent figure in the campaigns against Shell was arrested and charged under bogus offences – unlawful assembly and conspiring to publish a ‘seditious’ pamphlet. On November 10th, 1995, Saro-Wiwa, along with 8 others was executed.

Speaking at Amnesty International, Ben Amunwa, who was chairing the evening, used a quote from Milan Kundera to help surmise the subsequent fight to continue with Saro-Wiwa’s cause, and bring long awaited justice : “The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting”. I spoke with one of the campaigners behind Remember Saro-Wiwa afterwards and asked how others can get involved. He told me that ” We’re currently in the process of developing a website and hopefully actions people can take as part of the shell guilty campaign, we hope to use viral films, the media and activist actions to generate loads of attention on Shell around the trial. At the moment it’s just about spreading awareness of the trial to warm people up for actions they can take further down the line.    

In the meantime we would encourage people join the facebook group. Our current aim is to get 1000 members. One way we are thinking about framing this call out is:

Take the 999 action:

9 Ogoni activists died for their cause
2009: the year their relatives must see justice and gas flaring in Nigeria must end
9: the number of your friends we urge you to invite to join this group.”

Everyone involved with this case will be eagerly awaiting the outcome of the trial in New York. After the panel had finished, I spoke with Katie Redford and asked her whether she felt positive about the outcome of this groundbreaking trial. She explained that while no one can predict whom the jury will side with, or what the outcome may be, the fact that a global and powerful company such as Shell will be finally held accountable for their actions in the Niger Delta demonstrates the power that non-violent protesters actually wield. Although it took twelve years to get to this stage, it seems like justice is finally being administered.
Born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, viagra buy living in Utrecht in Holland and half Spanish, online Maria Stijger is a fashion photographer who has recently sprung to my attention. Her style of surrealism mixes with vintage meets modern. Maria’s playful personality results in beautiful images which if nothing else are aesthetically striking.

Maria, link you’re images are beautifully created. How long have you been doing photography for?
I took my first photograph around the age of six and from then I always thought that it was a kind of magic. But I never picked it up seriously until I got out of high school, graduated from art school and after doing a lot of different things, including working as a photographer’s assistant. I started producing my own fashion stories about two years ago.

Is it true your work has been recognised by the Dutch publications of Elle and Marie Claire??
Yes, I’ve also had my work published in HMagazine (a magazine available in Barcelona) twice, and in professional and weekly magazines, newspapers, and once in a book about jewellery.

I really enjoyed the old fashioned-romantic-fairy tale-esc sequence of the photoshoot shown here:
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What is the story behind this?
Well, I always like to make little fantasy stories, you can make up your own just looking at the series and here I was looking for an old feeling, using the atmosphere of the space that I found one day when I visited a party in the building. It’s a big building in the eastern part of Holland used by squatters. The guy that runs the place has a fantastic store inside it, where he sells all kinds of beautiful things he finds in old houses he restores. It is about a girl who is lost in time; she lives in a world of her own, surrounded by all this old stuff. She is a little bit weird, but happy and enjoying herself. She puts on shoes that are too big, plays with old porcelain dolls and likes funny hats. There is no story with a beginning and an end, but I like to make more images in my head, fantasize about what she does. I hope that others will do this too!

Do you prefer to work to a specific brief in your work?
No, in my personal work I really like to brainstorm in advance and come up with a lot of ideas, pick out the best and look for the right location, model and the stylist brings the clothes and things and we make our own décor if possible. But on the day of the shoot, I want to just let it all go and go with the flow of the day, see what comes on my path and switch if something doesn’t work. I like it when the whole team participates and gets excited and understands the feeling that I try to create and comes up with good ideas and then there is a buzz that I cannot describe…

Quite a lot of your work I found reflected some surrealism, would you say you have a specific style of photography, or does it vary?
I really love the Latin American magic realism and I try to use this in all my personal work as much as possible. I love surrealism, theatre and movies, things that are old. I love to mix it with modern age and fashion. I try to do this as often as I can, especially in my personal work, sometimes I like to go a little bit further than my commissioners want, so in the end my work varies quite a lot. But I like to show them that side as well so I always take some shots that link to this theme and sometimes they love it too!

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Can you explain the series of gloves images?
This was a great series to make! We had so much fun! We wanted to do something with beautiful gloves, but not in a studio or with a model. So I came up with this idea to make animal shapes, shadow play. I have a very old magic lantern (Lanterna Magica) that gives this great old feeling because of the dust and the frame. So this was the perfect combination mixing the old with the new fashion. We sold this particular series to (Dutch) Elle magazine.

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Who would you say influences and inspires you?
A lot! Things like literature, art, music, European film, but not specifically one person. There are so many great and diverse people that I love for what they do, I couldn’t point out just one.

Can you see a progression or a change in your work from when you first started to now?
Yes. In the beginning I only concentrated on landscapes and snapshots of people. Now I love to make stories using fashion. I’d say it’s a big change, and I guess it will never stop changing. I like to move around and experiment.

Do you have a muse?
No not really, I value my boyfriend’s opinion a lot. So in that sense I guess it’s him!

What do you do in your spare time?
At the moment I am expecting our first child, so my extra activities are not so exciting ha-ha. But I love going to the woods, going out with friends and listening to music. I also love to make sweet little stuffed monsters, exploring other realms of creativity! Most of my time is for photography though. And my family is very important too.

When you were younger, what did you wish to be when you grew up?
Ha-ha, first I wanted to be a dentist, but I loved arts and crafts and drawing so much, that I discovered that this was “my thing”. Although my parents were scared that I’d drown in the competition and of course it is more difficult for an artist to make a good living, I knew that there was no other option for me. I get bored quite easily, so I need to occupy myself doing creative things with other creative and inspiring people.

Thanks Maria, and good luck with the bun in the oven!

You can view Marias work at here.
And contact her here.
Happy Earth Day, here Amelia’s Magazine readers!

April 22nd is Earth Day (mainly for America, but we can still take part in celebrating it – it is everyones Earth after all!) If you are in America, then check out http://earthday.net/all_events to see what is going on around your neck of the woods.

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Images courtesy of Sachiko, http://www.loveandhatesati.com/

Perhaps this is fortuitous timing because this is also quite an interesting day in terms of the Government 2009 Budget. Hands up who was watching the budget today? I can understand if lazing around in the sun took top priority, so leave it to me to fill you in on the important facts.

Namely, that this is the first year that a carbon budget has been announced. Alistair Darling announced £1 billion will go towards funds to tackle climate change. This budget aims to cut 34% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. £375 million has been promised over the next two years for energy and resource efficiency in households, businesses and public buildings. £70 million will also be spent on small-scale and community low carbon energy and resource efficiency. With regards to fuel duty, increases in the duty are aimed to reduce emissions and pollution, saving 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year by 2013-14.

Andy Atkins, executive director at Friends of the Earth spoke to The Guardian, and said that he was disappointed by the budget, adding
“The Government has squandered a historic opportunity to kickstart a green industrial revolution, create tens of thousands of jobs and slash UK carbon dioxide emissions. The green sheen on this year’s budget will do little to disguise the fact that yet again the government has merely applied a sticking plaster to a low-carbon industry on life support.”

So, do you think that the Government are doing enough to tackle climate change? Let us know what you think of the new budget at hello@ameliasmagazine.com

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Image courtesy of Sachiko, http://www.loveandhatesati.com/
Sort of initiating the summer festivals around the area, information pills Stag & Dagger takes place next month bringing zillions of awesome groups to the city. Oh come on, order like you haven`t seen thousands of flyers and posters all over the city? Here in East London they are everywhere!

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The event actually happens in one single day and with one ticket you can have access to all the gigs (yes, I said all the gigs).
London is the first one and then Stag goes for a short roadtrip taking everybody to Leeds and Glasgow on the consecutive days.

The line up for London is particularly fantastic, with over 140 names distributed in 21 venues such as Cargo, 93 Feet East and Hoxton Bar & Kitchen.

I, as a proud Brazilian, am super excited to see Lovefoxxx, who is currently taking a well deserved break from CSS after a massive success last year, but will be having a solo performance at Catch.

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Lovefoxxx

There is also Cold War Kids, our dearest Slow Club, Wet Dog, My Toys Like Me, Moshi Moshi and plus an endless list of musical geniuses.

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Slow Club

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My Toys Like Me

Many many many gigs and venues to be able to organize yourself and enjoy it all in one day only. Super difficult task, isn`t it?
Since the list is huge, I suggest you go check their website for the complete offer. Can you believe there is still more people to be announced? Man, there is no end to it.
And have I said how much does the pass cost? Freaking £16.50! Ridiculously cheap.
I still have no idea on how I`ll choose the gigs to go. At first I thought about making a list of pros and cons for each of the bands. Yeah right. Better start now …
Here at Amelia’s Magazine we are always bounding up and down in excitement whenever we unearth a designer that is striving to take care of mother earth along with creating delectable pieces for all us avid fashionistas! Our latest find Ada Zanditon ticks all our boxes, sildenafil hoorah!

At the forefront of her field, buy more about Zanditon is raising the flag for innovative ethical fashion design. Injecting a healthy dose of cool into eco-fashion Zanditon’s ethos is clear, elegant, pioneering and experimental designs that challenge the conventionality and boundaries of sustainable design.

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Zanditon brings a new dimension to haute couture, a area that has not been widely broached in ecological design. Her collections are an eccentric tour de force venturing through medieval volumitous silhouettes to theatrical ruffles, all in a subdued palette of neutral blacks to muted greys and teals. Her collections convey a journey and have a real sense of fluidity. Her latest A/W collection is no exception, inspired by the literary novel Soil and Soul by Alastair Mc Intosh the book charts an ecological journey to prevent mass construction in cherished lands in Ireland. The collection subsequently has a distinctly celtic feel that is entrenched by Zanditon’s interest in Irish mythology, the collection utlises a range of prints custom designed and woven by Ada. Aswell as working in Fashion Design she also works as a Ilustrator.

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Zanditon has been shrouded with accolades, having excelled though university, with a first at London College of Fashion in Womenswear Design in 2007. She then went on to cause waves in the fashion sphere, winning an award for most creative collection at her debut at The Ethical Fashion Show in Paris in October 2008. Zanditon’s success has grown in momentum ever since and has went on to collaborate with Gareth Pugh on his pattern designs and to create a capsule collection for Oxfam out of re constructed recycled clothing.

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1. Tell me a little bit about yourself Ada?

I created my ethical and sustainable womenswear business in March 2008. I have exhibited at London Fashion Week as part of Estethica (Feb09) and at Ethical Fashion Show in Paris (oct08) where I won an award for most creative collection which includes the prize of fabric sponsorship from CELC masters of linen. I also make multimedia illustrations which have recently been exhibited in a show in Moscow alongside the work of Mark Le Bon.

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2. Your work has a environmental ethos, what inspired this?

A friend wrote her final year thesis about the environmental impact of fashion and much of the information really surprised me because it was not something I had considered in depth before although I had always been interested in Green issues since childhood. I then attended an event organised by anti apathy at which Katharine Hamnett spoke about her work in the sector of organic cotton and what it meant to her as a designer. The environmental impact of any product starts with the designer and their choices. I don’t feel limited by choosing this as a path, I feel it is a great opportunity for me as a designer to create things that I not only perform aesthetically and functionally but which I can believe in having real value to people and planet.

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3. Do you think enough is being done within the fashion sphere to promote sustainable fashion design?

It depends on the definition of enough, its a lot better than it used to be, in fact there have been weeks and months when you cannot open a magazine or a paper without there being something on sustainable design but of course there can always be more. For me it will never be enough until it is no longer necessary to promote something as sustainable because it is expected both by the designer, the buyer and the consumer that it should be designed sustainably. However I think that we have come a long way even in the last five years and I really admire and respect the hard work of the label from somewhere not only for their brand but also for putting so much passion into creating and sustaining Estethica.

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4.Do you have any advice for inspiring eco- designers?

Think of yourself first as a designer , i.e think that anything is possible and then really research and consider your concepts. Look also at what is available close to you, in your town, your country. Local is a huge part of living more sustainably.
Personally for me I am happiest when people look at my work, exclaim how much they like it and then look confused and say “but how is this eco?” because it doesn’t look like their perception of what eco friendly clothing looks like. People will adopt more sustainable life styles either through neccesity or desire. Neccesity usually comes after catastrophe so I prefer desire.

5. What do you use as a main stimulus when your designing?

A concept. I chase after something that is illusory. Its a tyeing together of different strands, its not exactly story telling but it’s got similarities. The images can be anything but the structure to my working process comes from a fascination with an idea. Or that is at least one half. The other half is people, muses, personalities and I have to say I dress very differently to the clothes I design. I think this is because I want to design clothes that have elegance, strength and allow a women to express being sexy and intelligent at the same time. I am a tom boy personally! If I had my way I would just wear jeans ,
leggings and t shirts all the time….

6. Your also an illustrator as well as a designer, does your art work inter breed into your fashion work?

Absolutely. For my aw 09 collection drew the art work that I had woven by Vanners as a silk jacquard. For my graduate collection I created prints inspired by Mayan glyphs and space travel that were digitally printed onto Silk Jersey. I also create prints for various other labels. My silhouettes and shapes in my collection also influence the shape and look of some of my
illustrations.

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7. Your illustrations have a distinctly multi-media feel, take me through your working processes?

Its quite mysterious sometimes even to me….. I start by drawing usually directly with fineliners. I might not have anything particular in mind… or just one or two images of the subject if there is one. These are usually very different to the thing I am drawing itself which often comes more from my mind’s eye. I sketch a lot from life of objects and people but hardly ever make studies that connect the sketches to the illustration. I think this is because I remember and imagine 3 dimensional imagery/objects much more than words. Then I continue via creating texture through photography and painting. All of this gets scanned in, and then a lot of photoshop and illustrator later…… and I arrive at a point where I think the balance is just right between the image I have by now an idea of and chaos. Like the clothing I think its quite an organic process.

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So keep your eyes peeled for Ada Zanditon, with fans such as Patrick Wolf I have an inkling we haven’t heard the last from this talented lady.

Written by Melodie Ash on Thursday April 23rd, 2009 2:59 pm

Categories ,Ada Zanditon, ,Conceptual, ,Estethica, ,Ethic, ,Fashion, ,Fashion Design, ,Illustration, ,Interview, ,London College of Fashion, ,Mark Le Bon

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Amelia’s Magazine | Alternative Fashion Week

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Monday 20th

Slow Club is a duo formed by Charles and Rebecca, this web buy information pills who both come from Sheffield. He does the singing and plays the guitar; she deals with the drums and all sorts of weird instruments, from bottles of water to wooden chairs. The result? You can go hear for yourself tonight at Barfly.
7pm. £5.

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Slow Club

Tuesday 21th

We Fell To Earth and special guests at the ICA theatre. Richard File (UNKLE) and PJ Harvey-ish singer/bassist Wendy Rae doing something that they call “sinister and kind of arousing rock music”.
8pm. £10.

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We Fell To Earth

Wednesday 22th
Vessels will be at Buffalo Bar this Wednesday launching “Retreat”, a collection of songs including a single, some remixes and an unreleased track by this Leeds five-piece.
8pm. £6.

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Vessels

Thursday 23th
Camera Obscura make a come back with “My Maudlin Career”, the band’s fourth studio album that is coming out today.
All their sweet freshness that you could feel from the first single out entitled “French Navy” will be performed on the stage of Shepherds Bush Empire next Thursday.
7pm. £13.50.

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Camera Obscura

Friday 24th

Je Suis Animal single launch party for the upcoming release ‘The Mystery of Marie Roget’ 7″ at The Victoria. Support comes from Betty and The Werewolves and Hong Kong In The 60s. People from Twee as F*** also promise free cupcakes for earlybirds so that is a Friday night out you can not miss.
9pm. £6/ 5 concessions.

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Je Suis Animal

Saturday 25th

The Camden Crawl Festival brings the best of Indie to town. Line up for Saturday looks like great performances will be on stage. The Maccabees, Little Boots, Marina And The Diamonds and The Golden Silvers are only a few to be named.
12pm. £32.50 (Saturday only).

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The Golden Silvers

Sunday 26th
Due to the Casiotone for the Painfully Alone‘s sell-out London show on 27th April, a new show has been added on Sunday 26th April – also at The Luminaire. Releasing their fifth album, Vs. Children, the band succeeded to make a record that feels just as warm and intimate as the first.
7:30pm. £8.50, adv £8.

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Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
On the cover of this CD, sickness Caroline Weeks appears to be a healthy, seek pink-skinned young woman. However, sildenafil fill your ears with her music, and you will be in no doubt that she is a ghost. And her clarinettist, too. Ghosts! Caroline has been to the other side, and seen things, and now wanders around my auditory cortex in a Victorian gown, lamenting the moment that life’s glories were cruelly wrenched from her grasp. Maybe Caroline drowned in a lake, or caught one of those Jane Austen chills, or fell under a horse, or was cuddled to death by an overaffectionate simple boy cousin. I can’t begin to imagine what happened to her polter-woodwindist. Probably choked on his reed.

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This is the spookiest music I have heard in a long time. She feels like a sister to SixToes, playing with similar moods, guitar work and larynx-trembling. But much spookier. I can’t help but think of Winona Ryder in Beetlejuice, a morbid teenager rejecting the world from her wilfully glum bedroom. So it’s not a huge surprise to discover that Caroline is also Ginger Lee, colleague of Natasha Khan in Bat For Lashes. Although you can actually dance to some of Natasha’s ditties, there is the moody, brooding moroseness there too. But while Bat For Lashes keeps this in the realm of relationships with sprinklings of dreamy visions, Caroline Weeks takes it to the pure Victorian pre-Pankhurst inner world of reflective femininity.
It turns out that all the lyrics are taken from the poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay, an early Twentieth Century American who was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. Musically, it is very accomplished. Recorded quite simplistically, with a few dramatic reverb effects, the instrumentation has plenty of room to shine. The guitar gently drifts between dextrous, finger-picked, rhythmic regularity and airy pausing in a lovely, caressy, wavey kind of way. But it’s the tender voice that dominates, or haunts, the album. Caroline sings to you. It’s deeply personal, and unwavering in its humourless, sorrowful plea. And there is much depth of feeling and depth of lyric, which I cannot really do justice to here.
This is simply music to surrender to. Alone. Dim the lights, let the shadows fall across your soul and be utterly, utterly alone with the ghost of Caroline Weeks.

La Weeks is performing at The Good Ship in Kilburn on May 19.
Tuesday 21st April

2pm
Institute of Education?
20 Bedford Way, buy
?London WC1H 0AL?

“How to Educate Children in the UK About Sustainable Development”
discussion with Professor Randall Curren, more about Institute of Education. Info: fbrettell@ioe.ac.uk or call 020 7612 6000

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(Image courtesy of Lea Jaffy, email leajaffy_1@hotmail.com for further illustrations)

Wednesday 22nd April

“The Green Agenda: Are We Engaging The Consumer?”
9:30am

Dorich House Museum
67 Kingston Vale,
London SW15 3RN

The rise and rise of the green agenda is creating an ever increasing number of green initiatives, CSR projects, and local and national government proposals. Almost all organisations – both commercial and non commercial – want to establish their green credentials and communicate them to the consumer.
To explore these issues and to find new ways of engaging the customer, Kingston University has brought together a number of leading experts from a wide range of sectors – manufacturing, retailing, NGO’s, academics and a number of consultancies.
For full programme information and to book please go to http://business.kingston.ac.uk/flavor1.php?id=398.
Contact: Wendy Eatenton
?Tel: 020 8547 2000 ext. 65511
?Email: rm.rettie@kingston.ac.uk

“Can Developing Country Needs For Energy Be Met Without Causing Climate Change”

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(Image courtesy of Lea Jaffy, email leajaffy_1@hotmail.com for further illustrations)

1.00pm
Committee Room 14
Palace of Westminster, London
SW1A 2PW
Recent studies suggest a large potential for clean energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa; if fully implemented, they could provide more than twice the regions current installed power-generation capacity. It has been posited that Latin America has a comparative advantage in maximizing clean energy opportunities; energy consumption could be reduced by 10 percent over the next decade by investing in energy efficiency. This suggests that the adoption of clean energy technologies typically results in a “win:win” situation for developing countries: reducing costs and emissions.
But many developing countries have been failing to reach their full productive potential for years. Growth diagnostic studies in many developing countries regularly identify constraints such as lack of grid electricity and poor infrastructure. Typically, levels of investment in the electricity sector in developing countries are around 50 percent of needs. Credit constraints mean that the cheapest available options are often chosen as opposed to those that deliver environmental benefits. So can developing country needs for energy be met without causing climate change?  How can developing countries be incentivised to adopt cleaner energy? And what steps do developed countries need to take to facilitate this?

Professor Sir David King, Gordon MacKerron. Info: 7922 0300/ meetings@odi.org.uk/ ODI

Thursday 23rd April

“Financial Meltdown and The End of the Age of Greed”

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(Image courtesy of Aarron Taylor, www.aarrontaylor.com)

7pm
Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, W2 1QJ
Info: 7479 8950
£10 Online booking now available
This event will be moderated by Michael Wilson, Business Editor of Sky News
Paul Mason talks about the ongoing financial crisis that has brough the global economy to the brink of depression. Gordon Brown hailed the result of deregulation as the ‘golden age’ of banking in the UK. Mason will give insights into how deregulation is at the heart of the collapse of the banking system in September and October 2008 and how it led to expanded subprime mortgage lending, an uncontrollable derivatives market, and the lethal fusion of banking and insurance.
http://www.frontlineclub.com/events/


Saturday 25th April

People’s Republic of Southwark April Mini Eco-Fair
People’s Republic of Southwark
Brandon Street/Orb Street
SE17

12.00pm – 4.00pm 
On Saturday 25th April, 12-4pm, People’s Republic of Southwark’s mini eco-fair goes all the way to SE17, to the Nursery Row Park http://www.nurseryrowpark.org/SaveNurseryRow/Welcome.html , a beautiful green space located just behind the East Street Market (between Brandon and Orb Street).?? We are hoping to have another great day out for everyone and some of the activities for the day are:?- mulching the orchard?- planting sunflower seeds?- making art?- a free shop (space where you can swap/give away/take things you need for free – bring easy-to-carry usable things you don’t need, ex clothes, dvds, books. and swap them for something you do need or simply give them away to someone who does; please don’t bring anything bulky or electrical)?- seed swap (get your window boxes, balconies, gardens ready for spring and summer)?- you can also find out about local environmental projects, issues and campaigns. ?Or just come along for a chat
Prepare to throw your sensibilities and all sense of conventionality out of the window! Why I hear you scream? Well, search this week sees Alternative Fashion Week bombard an unsuspecting Spitalfields in all its wonderful obscurity. Forget all the opulence of London Fashion Week; Alternative Fashion Week is going to assail you with raw, viagra buy un-censored Fashion Design.

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The event unlike London Fashion Week is open to everyone and free for the designers to participate. It will be running all this week from the 20th-24th of April at Spitalfields Traders Market. So get your skates on people and get on down for all the outlandish action. With 15 shows a day, it will see at least 10,000-hop foot through their doors. Applicants range from recent graduates to independent designers keen to establish themselves in the fashion sphere. The participants are an eclectic range of designers from a myriad of different fields from the theatre to circus, so be prepared for a vivacious show. In conjunction with the free daily shows, the event hosts an adjacent market from noon till three showcasing a whole treasure trove of accessories, Womenswear and textiles for us to feast upon.

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Here is a sneak peak at one of the accessory designers that will showcase her A/W collection at the event. Helen Rochfort’s innovative designs focus on all things delectable. Infact just glancing at her liquorice allsorts bag is enough to have me running to the nearest sweet shop for a fix. She describes her delectable designs as simply “ a sprinkling of vintage and a dusting of retro all whipping together with a kitsch twist of humour” So keep your eyes out for Rochfort’s designs, they are hard to miss!

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The event prides itself on its promotion of sustainable fashion, and actively supports recycling and ethical sourcing. It’s organizers are The Alternative Arts, a group based in East London that invests in local artists and projects in the community. Its overriding ethos is the importance of accessible fashion and art in the public domain.

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The event is a riot of creativity that questions our ideological view of fashion design; Alternative Fashion Week provides that vital foundation for applications to bridge the gap between them and the seemingly intimidating abyss of the fashion industry.

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So keep your eyes peeled as Amelia’s Magazine will be reporting from the front line this week to bring you all the zany fun and frolics!

Written by Melodie Ash on Tuesday April 21st, 2009 4:49 pm

Categories ,Alternative Fashion Week, ,Fashion Design, ,London Fashion Week, ,Spitalfields

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