London Fashion Week – Page 52

Amelia’s Magazine | An Interview with Ethical Fashion Designers Makepiece

While Spring turns to Summer, viagra dosage London Fashion Week AW10 may fade in our memories, viagra dosage but the designers that drew us in certainly won’t. One such designer that caught my eye at the Esthetica exhibition was ‘Makepiece’. The concept and techniques used were so intriguing that we couldn’t resist interviewing the owner, try Beate Kubitz.

Why did you choose to focus on eco-fashion? Why is it so important to you?
Clothes are important to me. I think what you’re wearing tells other people a lot about you, who you are and how you feel about yourself. I don’t like the idea that something that makes me look great was complicit in damaging the environment or the people who made it. You don’t want your favourite t-shirt to be dripping with pesticides, cause a water shortage or to be sewn up in a sweat shop. But unless you’re very careful, it might be.
There’s something wrong with the latest trend ‘buy, wear, chuck’ mentality – it’s a bit neurotic and it’s definitely bad for the planet. We try and make clothes that are significant to the women that wear them and that they can feel really good about.

How did the Makepiece brand begin?
I’ve been keeping sheep for seven years now, met Nicola six years ago and Makepiece is now five.
We’re located in Todmorden, a small town in the Pennines. It’s beautiful and has a long history of wool production so it feels like the right place to be doing it. The landscape is scattered with mills built in the nineteenth century – but wool was being spun and woven in cottage industries and then transported to market or the Piece Halls on ponies travelling on packhorse tracks which still crisscross the moors.

What techniques do you use in your clothing?
Knitting – with some knitted felt. The important thing is stitch design – Nicola is the queen of 3D stitches that really sculpt the garments and give them their drama as well as their details. She uses hand operated knitting machines which give her scope to develop a stitch then apply it in loads of different ways so that it works on the body. Our knits tend to be more three-dimensional because they’re designed like this. Also, all our knits are fully fashioned (knitted to shape rather than cut out of a piece of knitted cloth) which looks better and wastes less yarn.

What materials do you use in your clothing?
Wool – some of it undyed brown wool from our Shetland sheep, others fine Bluefaced Leicester wool, from the UK flock and English alpaca and mohair.

Illustration by Becky Glover

What was the inspiration behind your most recent collection?
Romance, definitely. Nicola got married in the summer and the sense of romance seems to have seeped into and permeated the collection. There are lots of ruffles, little frills, translucency and volume – but not just ephemeral prettiness, really lovely things that you can adapt and keep forever.

Do you have a favourite piece in the current collection? If so, what is it and why?
There are a few things that are really adaptable – like the Manifold cardigan which has a ribbon tie which can be used to ruche it up to bolero length or left loose so that it’s a long, elegant cardigan. Our little Foxglove shrug also works as a summer scarf and the Manifold dresses can be styled in loads of ways so they let the wearer use her imagination.

What are your future aims for the Makepiece brand?
We’ve really been growing our website so that people all over the country can buy our clothes but we’d like to be in more stores, for the people who are less confident with internet shopping or who like to try things on.

Is it harder or easier to sell eco-fashion? Is there a lot of competition?
Because we make everything in the UK it’s more expensive to manufacture so that means that we have to do a good job in helping people understand.

What is so individual about the Makepiece brand?
Style, humour and our flock of Shetland sheep. We go from mud to mascara in a twinkling of an eye – never forgetting the roots of our fashion but always looking for beauty and grace in our designs. We try and be sustainable throughout the business – from the way we farm the sheep with the lowest impact possible (we’re just about to become part of a scheme to help protect twite – which is one of the most endangered British bird species) to buying green energy for the studio, recycling everything we can, using public transport as much as possible (I took our last collection to London Fashion Week on the train from Yorkshire – in the most enormous trunk – it was quite a feat), I even do some of the farming on my bike.

The good thing about wool is that it is more or less a by-product from sheep farming so it’s not using up land or resources that should be in food production – and on upland farms like mine creating good grazing and farming sheep is one of the few productive things you can do (I tried vegetables once, but it was not a success!). Compared to cotton, for example, which uses over 15% of the pesticides used in the world and vast amounts of water – so much that the irrigation of cotton has shrunk the size of the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan, wool is farmed much more sustainably (particularly in the UK where we have to look after the land as well as the animals and the government monitors your impact on the environment).

Because we make everything so locally we avoid the CO2 emissions from shipping things vast distances. We also employ people in our community and use a local dyer who has to comply with European dyeing regulations – the REACH standards; no azos, no heavy metals and irritants, effluent is stringently monitored so no emissions into the water system, and so on.
We also only use recycled and sustainable paper in our labelling and packaging.

You can find the brand at: www.makepiece.co.uk and selected eco-fashion stores.

Written by Camilla Sampson on Friday May 7th, 2010 11:16 am

Categories ,A/W10, ,Aral Sea, ,Beate Kubitz, ,environment, ,estethica, ,Ethical Fashion, ,fashion, ,Felt, ,knitting, ,London Fashion Week, ,Makepiece, ,Pennines, ,Romance, ,Shetland sheep, ,Todmorden, ,wool

Amelia’s Magazine | Asger Juel Larsen Vs T.Lipop: London Fashion Week A/W 2012 Menswear Day Catwalk Review

T.Lipop A/W 2012 by Jo Ley

I’ve been keen to see more from Asger Juel Larsen since illustrating his S/S 2012 collection for Amelia’s Magazine. It’s not every day you get to draw a beard made out of leather and nails, and the post-apocalyptic aesthetic is one that I can naturally appreciate. That, and I’d read that at Copenhagen Fashion Week they sent a guy down the catwalk bloodied and with a chainsaw…

Asger Juel Larsen A/W 2012 by Gemma Cotterell

A few incidents immediately prior to the show dampened my enthusiasm somewhat. For a start, while waiting in the Media Lounge at Freemason’s Hall, I found that a pot of Sudocrem that I had no recollection of ever having seen before had split in my bag (random pots of Sudocrem being one of the given perils of being a parent to a young child). There’s nothing cooler than a man whose hands are covered in Sudocrem, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Asger Juel Larsen A/W 2012 by Sam Parr

The queue into the show was a mess, not helped by the show starting half an hour late, although there was free frozen yogurt. I also realised too late that the ‘ST’ on my ticket meant ‘Standing’ and wasn’t code for something more exciting, like… I don’t know what I thought it would stand for, to be honest. I was just happy to get the ticket (it had my name on it and everything).

Once the crowd had been herded into the showroom and I’d baffled nearly everyone around me with my insistent politeness, I found myself smushed against a wall with a direct view into the catwalk’s entrance, which was pretty much as good as I could have got, considering, and it was totally fluked.

All photography by Gareth A Hopkins

The collection itself was predominantly inspired by Soviet Officers uniforms, which combined with solid tailoring, chunky zips and a limited palette of black, grey and crimson worked really well. The majority of the models were made to look gaunt and frozen by pale makeup, which played up the ‘fragility of war’ concept that Larsen was going for. Breaking away from the palette was a suit in brown and tan paisley; paisley seemed to have infiltrated everywhere this season, so if I was to pick out a ‘trend’ other than the whole arctic/Baltic aesthetic, paisley would be it.

The headgear was a problem for me, though. I’ve distrusted beanie hats since East 17 were first on Top Of The Pops, and there was a raft of them bobbing down the catwalk. More fundamentally problematic were the ginormous fur hats – the size and shape wasn’t a problem (I actually liked the look of them) but I’d hoped we’d all moved on from fur now, and for me its inclusion sullied my opinion of the rest of the collection.

Also: there was no chainsaw anywhere. Whether Health & Safety had been in touch or they’d run out of petrol, I don’t know. But I’d been promised a chainsaw and there wasn’t one.

T.Lipop A/W 2012 by Lo Parkin

Straight out of the gates after Larsen was T.Lipop, whose collection I’d also seen at the Fashion East installations earlier in the day. Similar to Larsen’s Soviet-in-the-trenches look, Lipop’s models were decked out to look like Victorian arctic explorers, with frost in their beards and eyebrows and carrying explorer gear. This hid a more muted but arguably more wearable collection with softer lines and a less harsh colour palette that included burgundies, oranges and tan along with a hit here and there of good ol’ Navy Blue.

T.Lipop A/W 2012 by Jo Ley

Once again, the fur card was played, this time right at the end with a digital-print coat with an enormous pelt hood, drew gasps of wonder from the crowd and a unified surge of camera clicks. The shape and the weight of the coat were satisfying, it’s just a pity that the arctic theme had to be held so rigidly that fur couldn’t have been avoided.

Not to put too much of a downer on either though, as both were very strong showings and I’m positive we’ll be hearing more from both in the future. Although next time, if you say there’ll be a chainsaw, bring a chainsaw.

Written by Gareth A Hopkins on Tuesday February 28th, 2012 2:53 pm

Categories ,Arctic, ,Asger Juel Larsen, ,AW2012, ,Baltic, ,Big Zips, ,Chainsaw, ,Freemasons’ Hall, ,Frosty Beards, ,Frozen Yogurt, ,Gareth A Hopkins, ,Gemma Cotterell, ,Health & Safety, ,Jo Ley, ,Lo Parkin, ,London Fashion Week, ,military, ,Paisley, ,Sam Parr, ,soviet, ,Standing, ,Sudocrem, ,t.lipop, ,Vauxhall Fashion Scout

Amelia’s Magazine | Bloody Gray: London Fashion Week A/W 2013 Presentation Review

Bloody Gray AW2013 by Gareth A Hopkins - Tom Van Der Borght
Tom Van Der Borght by Gareth A Hopkins

There was an epic queue for the Bloody Gray presentation in the Portico Rooms, presumably due to overenthusiastic distribution of the very attractive invites by Yasmina Hamaidia, I did the old go away and come back trick. Like they told me to. And walked in with no queue at all 20 minutes later. As can become the case when things claim to be ground breaking, there was a thin line between interesting and juvenile that, to my mind, some of the designers on show at Bloody Gray landed the wrong side of. Some of that ground has been broken many times before. But then far be it from me to discourage people from trying to be interesting of course, and interesting it definitely was.

bloody gray - lfw aw13 - Martina Spetlova 2

First to catch my eye in the main space were the creepy powder-wigged moving statues of Jayne Pierson‘s live art and digital display. They had white tights on over their shoes. And they looked as if they were going to crawl out of a Regency dolls house in the night and strangle me. Excellent.

bloody gray - lfw aw13 - JAYNE PIERSON 3

bloody gray - lfw aw13 - JAYNE PIERSON
Jayne Pierson‘s slow moving models.

jane bowler - lfw aw 2013 - amelias magazine

Jane Bowler, a fan of sustainable fashion and user of innovative inexpensive plastics, combined tessellating coloured squares in both her exciting dresses and shoes.

Sylwia-Szyszka- lfw aw 2013 - amelias magazine - Jane Bowler 1

Jane Bowler by Sylwia Szyszka

bloody gray - lfw aw13 - Tom Van Der Borght

I liked Tom Van Der Borght‘s theatrical setup with strip lights (obviously to make his models difficult to photograph); his garishly painted figures strike an entertaining line between tribal intimidation and colourful clownish clubland cuteness. The outfits themselves artfully combined obfuscating shapes, colour splatters and horses. It was an unusual, colourful and highly bizarre.

Sylwia-Szyszka - lfw aw 2013 - Tom Van der Borght
Tom Van Der Borght by Sylwia Szyszka

bloody gray - lfw aw13 - bas koster 2

Bas Kosters

Dutch designer (among other things) Bas Kosters had filled his The Rebellious Shadow room with zombified fashion warriors, a horse headed man and such insightful slogans as YES NO and WHY. Why indeed Bas, definitely in the interesting/juvenile territory… but then what should we expect from the man who’s known for his leggings and dresses printed with photographs of penises.

Sylwia-Szyszka - lfw aw 2013 - bas kosters
Bas Kosters by Sylwia Szyszka

bloody gray - lfw aw13 - barbara alan
I’m pretty sure this is Barbara Alan, presumably explaining to someone why she has chosen to display her collection on pink posti-it notes. Her literature that came in the goody bag has one of my favourite phrases of ridiculous fashion waffle I’ve ever read: ‘Breaking from tradition by using innovation to give everything a uniqueness and an individuality.’ My GCSE art students couldn’t do better.

Written by Jenny Robins on Monday February 25th, 2013 6:07 pm

Categories ,A/W 2013, ,Barbara Alan, ,Bas Kosters, ,Bloody Gray, ,Gareth A Hopkins, ,Jane Bowler, ,Jayne Pierson, ,London Fashion Week, ,Portico Rooms, ,review, ,Sylwia Szyszka, ,The Rebellious Shadow, ,Tom Van Der Borght, ,yasmina hamaidia

Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with fashion designer David Longshaw

Latitude 2010-Ivo Graham Blind Date by Amelia Gregory

James Acaster by Kathryn Jones.

Over the course of Latitude I saw numerous comedians, online some of whom appeared as comperes on other stages when not performing to surely one of their biggest ever audience (of thousands) in the Comedy Arena. The Cabaret Arena was much favoured, cialis 40mg as of course was the Literary Arena – hanging out with Robin Ince and his fabled posse.

Kevin Eldon, sildenafil Phil Jupitas, Josie Long… they all dropped by, frequently.

Latitude 2010-Phil Jupitas by Amelia Gregory
Phil Jupitas. Photography by Amelia Gregory.

Robin Ince by Stacie Swift.

My favourite part of the longstanding Book Club was a guide to one of Robin Ince’s favourite bad books: Mens’ Secrets, set to a duelling musical accompaniment.

Latitude 2010 James Acaster by Amelia Gregory
James Acaster.

James Acaster was one such novice who I saw happily entertaining pre-act literary crowds with clever improv. Teenage wonder Ivo Graham kept the Cabaret crowd thoroughly entertained with his impromptu rendition of Blind Date – amusingly he is so young he had to be told of Cilla’s name. Weird to think of Blind Date already consigned to ancient TV history.

The main Comedy Arena was my favourite place to hang out in 2007, and it’s popularity continues to grow. Despite additional wing tents on each side of the huge central marquee, the arena remained unable to contain the enthusiastic crowds, who kicked up huge volumes of dust with every new exodus and influx.

Abi Daker - Ivo Graham
Ivo Graham by Abigail Daker.

One of the biggest draws of Latitude is the chance to discover new talent. Ivo Graham is a mere 19 years old, which made his ability to engage a massive audience all the more impressive. With jokes centred around Facebook, pesky younger brothers and getting in trouble with mum, he still struck a chord with the older folks.

Eric Lambert by Gareth A Hopkins.

Eric Lambert was winner of the Latitude New Act of the Year 2010, although from what I heard Ivo would have been way more deserving…. or James. Eric’s winning performance centred around an improv routine that wasn’t always quite up to scratch.

Latitude 2010-Eric Lambert by Amelia Gregory
Eric Lambert.

He was cheeky and sexual, no doubt a hit with the ladies. It’s proved nigh on impossible to do any research into Eric since he seems to have zero internet presence… but I would guess from his demeanour that he’s a big fan of Russell Brand.

docbrown_by_iamanoctopus
Doc Brown by Iamanoctopus.

Of the better known comedians I really enjoyed the guide to slang courtesy of Doc Brown, who was formerly a rapper and just happens to be younger brother of Zadie Smith. Sucking snot out of his small child and inappropriate comments on packed buses define his descent towards the normality of family life.

stephen-k-amos-suziewinsor
Stephen K. Amos by Suzie Winsor.

Following him on Friday South Londoner Stephen K. Amos was suitably un-PC, berating his previous Yorkshire audience for its lack of diversity, ripping the piss out of posh people, bemoaning his old age (he’s 35. there’s no hope for me) and generally causing loud if somewhat uncomfortable chuckles across the arena.

On Sunday we caught the tail end of Rufus Hound, who was indeed face-painted up like a dog, if somewhat lacking of a tail. He spoke of the trials and tribulations of marriage and babies… which led onto the misogynistic diatribe of Richard Herring, a 43 year old singleton who made jokes about tit wanks and gay sex, accompanied by a signer for those hard of hearing. Or perhaps just to afford the opportunity to make yet more lewd jokes.

Richard Herring by Sine Skau.

He also over-milked an incredibly tedious tirade about Mars Bars that met with a fairly frosty reception… that became part of the act… that increased it’s tediousity. I think he was my least favourite comedian at Latitude.

ANDREW LAWRENCE Faye Skinner
Andrew Lawrence by Faye Skinner.

Next up Andrew Lawrence was really quite sinister but also strangely endearing, geared as his jokes were around his all round lack of appeal. Hey, why the sadness? I’ve always had a soft spot for scrawny gingers! Leaning back at a jaunty angle and grinning demonically he spoke of his semi-autistic relationship with his current (long-suffering) girlfriend. Hey, doesn’t that cover most men?

Lastly, Deborah Francis White put on a genius show on Sunday in the Cabaret Arena. “Every actor wants to be in a sitcom, every man wants to be in a woman,” she informed us, talking us through a series of pie charts that showed the different state of mind for women. Whilst we’d like practically every man we meet to want to sleep with us (approximately 95% according to Deborah) the reverse is true when it comes to the amount of men we actually want to sleep with.

Deborah Francis White Oversees a Bra Fight by Gareth A Hopkins.

To a chorus of knowing laughter from women, slightly nervous laughter from the men, she talked us through the best way to pull the opposite sex. “Be a Scorsese movie!” she opined, extolling the virtues of confidence. “You’re probably not going to get a part in me…” But the point is that every man should want to. Even if the reason they’re so fixated on lesbian porn is simply “two tits good, four tits better.” She persuaded the women in the audience to stroke themselves on the breast to turn the men on, pulled people out of the audience to follow her instructions on how to tell a girl on the tube she’s gorgeous, and finished with a bra wrestling match between two men. Because who wants to sleep with a man who can’t get a bra off with one hand?

The comedy at Latitude Festival is undeniably one of its biggest selling points… now if only they could figure out how to accommodate the heaving numbers of people that yearn to be amused.

David Longshaw, patient illustrated by Abigail Wright

David Longshaw is a man of many talents. Aside from designing his own label, look he is passionate about writing and illustrating not only for various publications but as part of the creative process behind his collections.

After his passion for fashion lead him to an open day at the famous Central St Martins, try where all his favourite designers had attended, before even completing his GCSE’s, he decided to go ahead with A Levels at his local Grammar school whilst taking Wednesday afternoons off to study pattern cutting at an Adult education centre as his first step onto that ladder towards success. It worked.

Now, with an impressive resume boasting a degree, an MA, various awards, work with designers such as Alberta Ferretti and Max Mara and his own label, he is as motivated as ever and yet to satisfy that inner taste for success in the fashion industry.

AW10, illustrated by Krister Selin

How did you get from such humble beginnings, attending just one pattern cutting class a week, to working with such big designers and creating your own label?
During the summer that followed my A Levels, I did a work placement with Adam Entwisle, working on his LFW debut collection. I then studied Art Foundation at Manchester Metropolitan and carried on my pattern cutting, studying the advanced course. Then, during that summer I did work experience at Clements Ribeiro and Hussein Chalayan before starting at St Martins, where I studied BA (Hons) Fashion Design Womenswear.

The fabric for my graduate collection was given to me by Richard James after doing a work placement there on Savile Row during my second year and the collection won the Colin Barnes Drawing Prize and the Esme Fairburne Award.

After St Martins I went straight on to the Royal College of Art studying (MA) Fashion Design Womenswear. I was asked to design for Alberta Ferretti before I finished my graduate collection but said I wanted to finish my MA, so the day after graduating I moved to Italy to design for Alberta. It was great being offered the job before graduating as it meant I could concentrate on my collection and I knew I’d get great experience from designing in Italy.

My MA collection was selected for the Final of ITS#6 (Trieste) and Le Vif Weekend (Belgium) and I then went on to design for Max Mara in Italy before coming back to start my own label.

David Longshaw at Ones to Watch, AW10, photographed by Matt Bramford

Where do you get inspiration from for your own label?
I’m inspired by short illustrated stories I create specially for each new season. My last collection was called ‘Escaping Emily’, it was about a puppet who was discovered by a slightly disturbed fashion designer called Emily who had moved to work in Italy.

Some of the illustrations I then turned in to prints for the dresses – and the cogs that were in some prints and sewn on to some garment, came from the section where Emily finds the puppet in a hamper style basket that’s full of camera and watch parts. The colours, shapes and prints all come from the story.

Illustration from David’s sketchbooks

Are there any designers that you would compare yourself to or that you admire?
I wouldn’t compare myself to any one really but I really admire a variety of designers such as Karl Lagerfeld, Miuccia Prada and Ricardo Tisci at Givenchy. Kirsty Ward is a really exciting designer who’s launching her own label this September, after working for Alberta Ferretti and doing jewellery for my collections.

Are there any pieces from your collections that you are particularly fond or proud of?
I have a few favourites. One of them is a cog print cropped jacket from my last collection that wasn’t actually on the catwalk in the end as I felt there was enough going on with the dresses and it would have detracted from the total look. I also like the pleated dresses from the last collection as they were the trickiest to construct but after a severe lack of sleep, wither out how I wanted.

Illustration by David Longshaw

What else do you get up to in any spare time that you manage to have? Is there anything other than designing that you like to immerse yourself in?
I also do some writing and illustrating for different magazines which you can find links to on the press section of my website. There’s also a section called ‘Maudezine’ where I’ve interviewed Holly Fulton and JulieVerhoven. I’ve also written about up and coming designers with fictional character Maude for Disorder magazine which is quite amusing.

Other than that, I really love going to galleries and the theatre with my girlfriend when we both have the time! I also really like watching rugby and football, especially live. I’ve not had much time to go since starting working for myself but I get the odd match in with my dad or friends.

AW10, illustrated by Krister Selin

So, what’s next for David Longshaw?
Well short term I’m working on my new collection for September, which I’m planning on exhibiting in London and then Paris. I’m expanding my collection to include some more, simpler pieces using my illustrations as prints so they are more accessible for shops and customers. That will also mean I can have a few more extreme pieces in the collection to balance it all out which should be fun. I’ll also be continuing writing and illustrating.

Where do you see yourself in the future?
Hopefully still being as creative as possible – designing , writing and illustrating, just hopefully on a bigger scale with my own larger creative company.

David Longshaw at Ones to Watch, AW10, photographed by Matt Bramford

Written by Siobhan Fagan on Thursday July 22nd, 2010 11:50 am

Categories ,Abigail Wright, ,Adam Entwisle, ,Alberta Ferretti, ,Central St Martins, ,Clements Ribeiro, ,David Longshaw, ,Disorder Magazine, ,Emily, ,Givenchy, ,Holly Fulton, ,Hussein Chalayan, ,JulieVerhoven, ,Karl Lagerfeld, ,Kirsty Ward, ,Krister Selin, ,London Fashion Week, ,ma, ,Manchester Metropolitan, ,Maudezine, ,Max Mara, ,Miuccia Prada, ,Ones To Watch, ,paris, ,Pattern Cutting, ,Ricardo Tisci, ,Richard James, ,Royal College of Art, ,Savile Row, ,Womenswear

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

Ashish A/W 2012 by Catherine Meadows.

This season Ashish turned to his roots for Bollywouldn’t, a collection which married the iconography of hippy India with late 80s rave culture, both style eras that have been repeatedly plundered by successive generations – one need only think of New Rave, that short lived phenomenon of just a few years ago. However, in the inimitable hands of Ashish, these styles have been reinvented once more, in a dusty meets fluoro palette of clashing logos and decorative decals.

Ashish AW 2012 - photo by Amelia Gregory

Ashish A/W 2012 by Catherine Meadows.

Models wore elaborate beaded face jewellery based on traditional Indian jewellery, with the addition of the odd cut out CND logo. High crepe soled rainbow platforms riffed on Ashish‘s usual love of DM boots. Shapes were mainly slouchy, with relaxed cardigans and hoods piled on top of baggy pants. The omnipresent sequins were of course in effect, creating smiley face repeat patterns, garish paisleys or giant body hugging pink buddhas.

Ashish AW 2012 - photo by Amelia Gregory

Ashish A/W 2012 by Vicky Ink aka Vicky Fallon.

A clever two fingered slogan was repeated front and back, transferring its meaning in the event. Even a rainbow tie-dye design got the intricate sequinned treatment with Ashish. Hare Krishna style influenced ochre shirts were printed with deep red slogans: worn by boys hiding in cowl necked scarves. For women the same scarves came in dusky pinks and dove grey.

Ashish AW 2012 - photo by Amelia Gregory

Ashish A/W 2012 by Antonia Parker.

Ashish always accompanies his collections with an evocative piece of prose that describes his muse. This season ‘She travels light, but shops heavy… Some say she’s a hippie, but she denies it: her shopping chakra dictates otherwise.’ It seems that for A/W 2012 Ashish has his designer tongue wedged ever more firmly in his cheek, and, as ever, I love him for it. Predictably, there were so many pieces that I loved in this imaginative and witty collection.

Ashish AW 2012 - photo by Amelia Gregory

Ashish A/W 2012 by Sarah Jayne Draws.

Ashish AW 2012 - photo by Amelia Gregory

All photography by Amelia Gregory.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Friday March 2nd, 2012 4:43 pm

Categories ,A/W 2012, ,Antonia Parker, ,Ashish, ,Bollywouldn’t, ,Catherine Meadows, ,catwalk, ,CND, ,DMs, ,Hare Krishna, ,Hippy, ,India, ,London Fashion Week, ,New Rave, ,review, ,Sarah-Jayne Draws, ,Sequins, ,Somerset House, ,Vicky Fallon, ,Vicky Ink

Amelia’s Magazine | Bloody Gray: London Fashion Week A/W 2013 Presentation Review

Bloody Gray AW2013 by Gareth A Hopkins - Tom Van Der Borght
Tom Van Der Borght by Gareth A Hopkins

bloody gray - lfw aw13 - Martina Spetlova 2

bloody gray - lfw aw13 - JAYNE PIERSON 3

bloody gray - lfw aw13 - JAYNE PIERSON
Jayne Pierson‘s slow moving models.

jane bowler - lfw aw 2013 - amelias magazine

Jane Bowler, a fan of sustainable fashion and user of innovative inexpensive plastics, combined tessellating coloured squares in both her exciting dresses and shoes.

Sylwia-Szyszka- lfw aw 2013 - amelias magazine - Jane Bowler 1

Jane Bowler by Sylwia Szyszka

bloody gray - lfw aw13 - Tom Van Der Borght

Sylwia-Szyszka - lfw aw 2013 - Tom Van der Borght
Tom Van Der Borght by Sylwia Szyszka

bloody gray - lfw aw13 - bas koster 2

Bas Kosters

Sylwia-Szyszka - lfw aw 2013 - bas kosters
Bas Kosters by Sylwia Szyszka

Written by Jenny Robins on Monday February 25th, 2013 6:07 pm

Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with fashion designer Lu Flux

Christopher Raeburn S/S 2014 by Lilly Allen

There’s no stopping Christopher Raeburn. In 2010, website like this he was the first designer to be awarded the now lauded NEWGEN sponsorship; in 2011 he was named ‘Emerging Designer‘ at the British Fashion Awards. His unique ‘remade’ aesthetic has propelled him to fashion fame and his collections become stronger and stronger with each outing.

All photography by Matt Bramford

S/S 2014 was no exception. Presented in the basement of Victoria House, the bashed white tiles and right-angle catwalk fitted Christopher’s season like no other I saw during the collections.

This season’s inspiration began with the World War II faction the Long Range Desert Group; a reconnaissance organisation operating in the harsh conditions of the Libyan and Egyptian deserts. Yet again, the Raeburn Empire translates a military movement into a modern and functional collection.

The show opened with a pocketed parka and totally unique bomber featuring a heady digital print. I’ve since read on the press release that this is in fact satellite imagery of the desert; the former also featured the print on shorts, the latter was teamed with sand jersey joggers. Both looks set an early precedent that was to continue throughout this mind-blowing homage to textures and details.

Later came Raeburn‘s inimitable REMADE jackets, this time around in camouflage sheets and sand-coloured military parachutes, further extending his dedication to fabrics old and new. Raeburn‘s expertise lies in functional outerwear, and army green jackets with camo details and padded bombers with grey sleeves had me sliding off my seat.

It wasn’t all sand and archetypical desert colours, though. Oh no. Muted pinks used for jackets and shorts reflected the colour of LRDG Land Rovers; bright blue jackets were a welcome juxtaposition and a playful lizard print, this season’s mascot, reminded us that with Raeburn‘s functionality also comes fun.

Enormous rucksacks were presented in collaboration with Porter bags in a range of shapes, lending themselves to long distance explorations. These came in a variety of aesthetic fabrics; some were an extension of the garment they were clinging on to while others complimented such: take sand lizard-print rucksack matched with a jersey/mesh combo sweater.

There was so much more to this collection: tailored blazers reworked the satellite print, mesh tops were layered over tees, a belted trench provided a highlight and the finale; a translucent cape worn over the rucksack, provided press material while still managing to be coherent.

Christopher Raeburn S/S 2014 by Lilly Allen

It was brilliantly exhausting and I can’t wait to dream about buying it all up.

Matt Bramford is the son of a coal miner and Miss Butlins 1979. A fan of fashion from an early age, more about Matt could be found sporting Spring/Summer 1988′s pastel pallette on Blackpool’s glorious sands, being told off carrying his matching bucket and spade in the crook of his arm.

When not designing layouts featuring Stacey Slater or Ronnie Mitchell or, erm, Stacey Slater, at Britain’s favourite TV magazine, he’s usually chained to his desk replying to emails or editing pictures. He takes a hot snap and is a massive fan of Autostitch and Hipstamatic for iPhone, although he gets the occasional pang of guilt for cheating with the latter.

If you want to know what he had for breakfast this morning, find him on twitter @mattbramf. If you want to see some of said ‘hot snaps’ you can here.

Thanks!

Matt Bramford is the son of a coal miner and Miss Butlins 1979. A fan of fashion from an early age, viagra sale Matt could be found sporting Spring/Summer 1988′s pastel pallette on Blackpool’s glorious sands, being told off carrying his matching bucket and spade in the crook of his arm.

If you want to know what he had for breakfast this morning, find him on twitter @mattbramf. If you want to see some of said ‘hot snaps’ you can here.

Thanks!

Illustration by Jenny Robins

Lu Flux is one of the most interesting new British ethical fashion labels and one of the highlights in this year’s Estethica exhibition at London Fashion Week. Katia Bololia meets her in her studio at the industrial end of East London to talk about her latest collection, this ‘Dame and Knight’, information pills ethical fashion and taking life less seriously.

Firstly, tell us a bit about yourself and your journey in the fashion world so far.
I graduated from the Edinburgh School of Art at 2006 and did my first collection for Glasgow Fashion Week, then went on to work with German fashion designer Bernhard Willhelm in Paris. I made the decision to move to London and at first I was doing commissions for other people, I hadn’t fully committed myself to fashion at the time until a friend of mine opened a gallery at Brick Lane and I put myself down for a show, so that put me into gear to make a collection for October 2008. That body of work I created eventually led me to the Vauxhaul Fashion Scout Show, which kicked off my career.

From then it escalated, leading to London Fashion Week’s Estethica Exhibition. Tell us about that experience.
It was really good, I hadn’t been to Estethica before and at first I didn’t know what to expect. There were all of the designers I’ve met before and it was nice because it felt like we were this strange ethical family, I’ve also met lots of people that I’ve heard about and wanted to meet personally. It was really lovely to be part of it and it was very exciting for me to be part of the LFW, I’ve never been in such a place before where I could meet people from all around the world.

What are the things that interest you in general?
Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of time for myself but when I don’t do fashion I am very interested in art, galleries and culture mainly; music, films and everything. I like getting away to the countryside as well, escaping from it all.

When it comes to your label, do you have a fashion manifesto and if so what is it?
I read Vivienne’s Westwood manifesto recently and I suppose mine is very similar to hers, in the idea of buying something for longevity. I am also against disposable fashion. I think we should buy something because we love it and because it reflects our personality. I feel that all of my things transcend this message, to be loved for a long time.

There is a very interesting story when it comes to your fabrics, can you tell us where you source your fabrics from?
I used to source everything from charity and vintage shops, car boot sales and markets myself. Although I loved it, it is quite a difficult process as it takes up a lot of time and effort. I can’t commit myself to doing that anymore so I started working with a recycling company that is actually around the corner from my studio. These are fabrics coming from clothing banks from all around London, I may get fabric pieces, sheets or even clothes that I will take apart. The amount of waste that gets thrown every day is phenomenal and I am happy that I can make new, exciting pieces of it.

During that process, do you have difficulties sometimes finding the right thing for you? Or the opposite – finding a “small treasure” ?
Definitely, one piece of fabric can spark off a completely different design angle. I try not to have a specific design idea in my head, I prefer to see what I can get first and develop my designs from that; it helps the design process. If I can’t find something that I have in my mind, something else will come along and take its place. I also work with organic fabrics – the variety that’s out there is getting so much bigger these days and more accessible.

Speaking of organic, and its growth nowadays, I sometimes wonder if when companies take the eco route (whether it be fashion or food or whatever) they do so just because it has become fashionable. Although it all contributes to the greater good, do you feel that in some way ethical fashion has become commercial?
Green is definitely a buzz-word at the moment and everybody, be it in the fashion industry or not, tries to become as ethical as possible. I am not necessarily coming from that angle, even though I obviously care a lot about what I do and how it affects the environment, there is just too much waste and that affects everyone. But for me it’s more about the final garment than the ethical process; the fact that these pieces are unique, they’re more like art pieces.

In your collections we see an almost fairy-tale world. Where do you draw your inspiration from?
I have a personal collection of vintage photographs that I like to I look at. I love this time when photography was just starting and you get these moments frozen in time. Right now everyone uses photography all the time, capturing every moment, but back then you only see a fraction of their life and you have to imagine for yourself what their world might have been like. Obviously, I am also influenced by fairy-tales and their magical feeling; the escape from reality. Fashion is so intense, serious and glamorous and I want to take another spin on it, to keep it quite child-like and fun.

By seeing your collections past and present, one gets into a playful mood. Do you think that fashion is a protest these days, like it used to be in the past?
I think everyone’s got their point that they’re trying to make. My point is that you can have fun while making your point, it doesn’t all have to be serious. I want people to realize that they can have fun in whatever they’re doing and that humour can be injected in everything. Everything is so serious nowadays, fast-forward and busy.

For your last collection you’ve collaborated with London-based artist Alex Chinneck and traditional cordwainers Green Shoes. Tell us a little about that collaboration.
It was easy collaborating with Alex – he’s not only a wonderful sculptor but also my boyfriend! He had this paper cut-out of an explosion called Ka-boom and we both came up with the idea of translating it into a piece of clothing. It is a wonderful pictorial piece and it was also a real test for my patch-working abilities – it was really technical and much more complicated than I thought it would be, so it was really rewarding when it was finished. Then with Green Shoes, it all started when I bought a pair for Alex’s birthday and I decided to customise them for him, so it all unfolded with what I did and we decided to have them in the collection and a bag as well. They are all made of vegetarian leather and tanned with vegetable dye, so they’re as ethical as a shoe can be. Also, the cut-outs I used are off-cuts from the leftovers from Green Shoes to reduce waste once again.

Illustration by Jenny Robins

Finally, an urban fashion legend says that Tom Ford offered Stella McCartney the role of design director at Gucci. When McCartney said no fur or leather, and Ford couldn’t oblige, she turned down the role. What would you do in a similar dilemma, in a fantastic scenario where you are offered a dream job but you have to compromise your principles in ethical fashion?
Actually, I’m doing my dream job already! I don’t want to buy fabric off the roll, I have to think within these parameters and I like the barriers that I have put to myself, otherwise it is not ethical. This way I push myself to do something a little bit extra, it’s not as easy because all these fabrics are not given to me on a plate. When you are more resourceful and you push yourself creatively then the final result is much more rewarding. I don’t want to preach to people, but I want to plant an idea. If people like it they might be inspired and follow my example. Fingers crossed!

Lu Flux photographed by Holly Falconer

Written by Katia Bololia on Tuesday April 20th, 2010 3:12 pm

Categories ,Alex Chinneck, ,Charity shops, ,estethica, ,Ethical Fashion, ,Fabrics, ,Green Shoes, ,london, ,London Fashion Week, ,Lu Flux, ,Manifesto, ,organic, ,recycle, ,Reuse, ,Vintage shops, ,Vivienne Westwood

Amelia’s Magazine | Ashish: London Fashion Week S/S 2013 Catwalk Review

Ashish S:S 2013 by Charlie Rallings
Ashish S/S 2013 by Charlie Rallings.

This season Ashish decided to buck the trend for extravagant prints and steer clear of his usual riot of colour and pattern to produce a sobre S/S 2013 collection inspired by a mix of estate chic and 90s grunge. Girls in shiny white trainers wore their hair piled high on their head with that most stylish of hair accessories, the scrunch. Round glasses completed the look.

Ashish S/S 2013 by Geiko Louve.

Ashish SS 2013 Sept 2012-PHOTOGRAHY by Amelia Gregory

xAshish SS 2013 Sept 2012-PHOTOGRAHY by Amelia Gregory

Ashish S:S 2013 by Charlie Rallings

Ashish S/S 2013 by Charlie Rallings.

Colours were unashamedly downbeat… steel greys, copper and creams mixed in with denim. Dungarees were worn hanging lopsided as were shirts with a subtle scatter number print. An over sized asymmetric trench and white work shirts hung low, mixed up with loose one colour sequin maxi dresses and polka dot chiffon. Even glitz took on an everyday wearability as a zip top track suit. The show opened with the statement I’m Serious emblazoned on a baggy sweat top and ended with Tres Fatigue on a t-shirt. Quite what Ashish was trying to say this season I have no idea, but despite the break from the norm it was as stylish as ever.

Ashish SS 2013 Sept 2012-PHOTOGRAHY by Amelia Gregory

Ashish S/S 2013. All photography by Amelia Gregory.

Ashish S/S 2013 by Isher Dhiman
Ashish S/S 2012 by Isher Dhiman. A year ago flowers reigned supreme on the Ashish catwalk.

Written by Amelia Gregory on Saturday October 6th, 2012 9:16 pm

Categories ,Ashish, ,Charlie Rallings, ,Geiko Louve, ,grunge, ,I’m Serious, ,Isher Dhiman, ,lfw, ,London Fashion Walk, ,S/S 2013, ,Sequins, ,Tres Fatigue

Amelia’s Magazine | Blow Presents… An Indian Fashion Show

When Amelia is not managing Amelia’s Magazine she takes huge quantities of photos. You can see more of her photography on the Amelia Gregory website (which is seriously out of date, purchase you’ve been warned!) and her photos often appear in the articles she writes. She used to make a living shooting portraits and fashion stories for the likes of The Guardian, ES Magazine, Sleaze Nation, Time Out and 125 Magazine and is only too happy to accept commissions! Get in touch with Amelia and let her know what you’d like her to shoot.

Amelia is available and loves to teach. Why not ask her to lecture at your college? She has taught extensively in many top universities and has several popular lectures ready to go, including:

How to Set Up a Magazine
How to Put Together and Pitch Fashion Shoots
How to Break Into the World of Editorial Illustration
How to Work with Effectively With Art Direction
How to Get Your Ideas Into the World With Effective Social Networking
How Illustration Can Imagine a Better World

She is also available for seminars, conferences and as a consultant on all things creative. Email Amelia Gregory for more information.

Amelia spends a lot of time organising, networking, designing, managing print production, calling celidhs and taking photos for Climate Camp because she believes what they are doing is one of the most important things in the world.

Amelia also calls celidhs (barndances if you prefer) with her band Green Kite Midnight which was formed through friendships made at Climate Camp. Green Kite Midnight are available to play sweet celidh music wherever the cause is good enough. Amelia has been calling non-traditional celidhs (featuring a mash-up of Scottish, Irish, English and Appalachian music and dances) for several years now but her biggest celidh to date was held in the main marquee at Climate Camp 2009 on Blackheath, where she got at least 500 people dancing up a storm in perfect harmony.

Little Shilpa illustration by Aniela Murphy

The first glorious day of sunshine in about a million years unavoidably lent itself to the presupposed exotic atmosphere conjured by Blow’s presentation of five young Indian fashion designers, order but the fashion on show moved far and away beyond simply for the Indian consumer into an exhibition of creativity that was fresh, ambulance vibrant and visually nourishing.

Having taken our seats in the Royal Festival Hall, the show began with Little Shilpa and her surfeit of psychedelic accessories that due to their vastness were often threatening to topple off heads and shatter on the catwalk in a pile of plexiglass and glue, but thank goodness those vigilant models kept steady hands. As with like-minded Holly Fulton (where comparisons are inevitable) inspiration clearly came from Art Deco, with a rainbow- coloured New York City skyline perched like a merry hat, carried on like a runway train through the insect and animal kingdoms, plant life, sportswear and even some downright hazardous-looking propeller blade shoulder pads. Whilst enjoyably inventive they were set against a backdrop of miserable old white shirts, although when the only other option was a yellow lycra catsuit maybe it’s a safe bet. We look forward to seeing these in magazines rather than sitting behind somebody who’s wearing them in the cinema.

Following on was something entirely different in Saviojon, whose designs lacked the same reach of imagination but clearly was not aiming that way, with an altogether more wearable collection of ruched and pleated cotton sun dresses in warm colours. The common denominator, however, was strength in accessories with some beautifully embellished shoes and hand crafted jewellery.

Ankur Gupta illustration by Aniela Murphy

Ankur Gupta ramped it back up again, successfully creating a cultural dialogue which surely is a fertile ground as far as the arts are concerned – here we had racy hemlines and futuristic silhouettes combined with traditional Indian embroidery and beading in a stunning display of workmanship. The heavy, carpet-like textiles were stitched and worked meticulously until they resembled beautiful quilts telling stories of trips through the jungle on a magical mystery tour – literally evoked through the appearance of everybody’s favourite educational automobile, the Magic Schoolbus! With added opiates. The dresses were perfectly paired with sequined gladiator sandals in harlequin colours that were the best shoes of the evening – better, certainly, than Anuj Sharma, where poorly made footwear made for awkward times on the catwalk with models eventually ending up barefoot.

Varun Sardana illustration by Aniela Murphy

We returned to drama for the evening’s final (and already acclaimed) designer, Varun Sardana, a real favourite amongst the crowd and reminiscent of showstoppers from Viktor & Rolf and Yohji Yamamoto. With a palette of black the emphasis here was on the convolution of texture, combined with headpieces to create armour-like with an extraordinarily mythical quality, in a collection that included capes, unicorn horns and a final look that’s going to be killer for somebody on the red carpet. Darkness always wins, apparently – even in the sunshine.

Another treat from our friends at Blow, then. We then headed up onto the roof for a few drinks which was pretty bloody brilliant too.

Photographs by Yemisi Blake

Written by Jonno Ovans on Monday April 26th, 2010 4:12 pm

Categories ,Ankur Gupta, ,Anuj Sharma, ,Art Deco, ,Blow PR, ,Capes, ,Holly Fulton, ,Indian Designers, ,Little Shilpa, ,london, ,New York City, ,Royal Festival Hall, ,Saviojon, ,Sunshine, ,Texture, ,The Magic Schoolbus, ,Varun Sardana, ,Viktor & Rolf, ,Yohji Yamamoto

Amelia’s Magazine | An interview with fashion designer Lu Flux

Christopher Raeburn S/S 2014 by Lilly Allen

All photography by Matt Bramford

S/S 2014 was no exception. Presented in the basement of Victoria House, the bashed white tiles and right-angle catwalk fitted Christopher’s season like no other I saw during the collections.

Christopher Raeburn S/S 2014 by Lilly Allen

It was brilliantly exhausting and I can’t wait to dream about buying it all up.

If you want to know what he had for breakfast this morning, find him on twitter @mattbramf. If you want to see some of said ‘hot snaps’ you can here.

Thanks!

If you want to know what he had for breakfast this morning, find him on twitter @mattbramf. If you want to see some of said ‘hot snaps’ you can here.

Thanks!

Illustration by Jenny Robins

Illustration by Jenny Robins

Lu Flux photographed by Holly Falconer

Written by Katia Bololia on Tuesday April 20th, 2010 3:12 pm

Amelia’s Magazine | An Interview with Ethical Fashion Designers Makepiece

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