Amelia’s Magazine | Pre-London Fashion Week S/S 2011 Interview: Cooperative Designs

Photograph by Matt Bramford

After being spellbound by Cooperative Designs’ last two presentations (see here and here) at London Fashion Week.

Amelia’s Magazine are delighted to have had the opportunity of interviewing Annalisa Dunn and Dorothee Hagemann, ed the designers behind the fantastically experimental knitwear. With London Fashion Week just around the corner, page we discussed their previous presentations and what it was that first attracted Cooperative Designs’ to wool…

In recent years Knitwear has seen a massive resurgence on the catwalks, adiposity what first attracted you to the material?

We both learnt to knit from our grandmothers.

Knitwear has such a unique position in the fashion world, its both textiles and fashion. As you design the fabric you affect the structure and form of the garment. The whole process gives you such control and ensures that every piece is unique.

As the designer you choose the basic materials, the way the yarn is spun, then the way the fabric is knitted and then the way the garment is structured and put together. Its a long, time consuming and expensive process, but its very rewarding.

illustration by Stuart Whitton

What are the influences behind the graphic prints, that often appear on the designs?

We met on the Fashion MA at Central St Martins. Although our MA collections were very different, they both had strong graphic elements. It made sense to develop this style together.

What was the experience of studying Knitwear at St Martins?

We both studied Knitwear on the Fashion MA. It was a great experience, it made us tough, confident and it gave us such great experience of working to deadlines, taking fierce criticism, and continually pushing ourselves to improve. It was a stressful but exhilarating process.

What is the decision making process behind the colours of your collections?

We use our primary research as the means to develop the colour palette. Our references are normally from art sources: Rodchenko, the Bauhaus, De Stijl, Memphis, to name a few.

Once we have edited our research we focus on the graphics and colours we find most exciting. We use computer programmes and hand drawings to develop the graphics, and then we have to redesign them specifically to be knitted. There are so many technical limitations in knit, finding ways to work around them are what makes the discipline so exciting and challenging.

Photograph by Amy Gwatkin

What is the relationship between the jewellery designer Corrie Williamson, and Cooperative Designs?

Annalisa: I met Corrie at Brighton University, where we both studied on the BA. We became friends and ran a stall at Camden Market together! When Dorothee and I started the business, we both decided that cooperating with other designers was really important to us. We both loved Corries work, so it made sense to incorporate it into the collection.

We all meet up at the start of the season. We give Corrie a ridiculously conceptual brief, which she then attempts to make some sense from. She then goes away and develops initial samples of materials and shapes. We then meet again with our stylist Elizabeth Cardwell, and the whole process continues.

Photograph by Amy Gwatkin

What techniques do you use to make the garments? Is the outcome influenced by the equipment you have access too?

Absolutely. We specialise in combining really traditional techniques such as intarsias, jacquards, handknits and fairisles with new technologies. Working with advanced yarns, machines and some incredible factories means our garments can really push the limits, whilst still remaining very recognisable as knitwear.

Illustration by Gareth A Hopkins

Your clothes have been described as ‘architectural’, how does the design process begin usually for Cooperative Designs?

Our clothes have the architectural aspect because of their predominantly 2D forms. As Dorothee has more of a womenswear background then me, she has developed a process she calls Primary pattern cutting. Pieces are designed as flat graphic angular shapes then left to drape and distort on the body. This process particularly suits knitwear, as it has such great drape and stretch properties.

What is your relationship to the Bauhaus?

We are big fans! We have been speaking to them about a potential collaboration, that would be really exciting for us.

Photograph by Matt Bramford

I loved last year’s down the road from Somerset House with the ‘Zine, the video and the live show in the basement. Does staging a presentation allow more freedom, than if you presented a catwalk show?

Definitely. With a presentation we have the opportunity to design the entire event, we try to encapsulate the feel of the collection as an real experience for our guests. This season we are showing at the Groucho Club, and we have some really exciting plans!

How did the ‘Zine develop?

The Zine developed because we asked our friends and colleagues to take portraits of our collection in their own individual ways. A ‘Zine seemed like a great way to give everyone a little reminder of these portraits to take home. We worked with Amy Gwatkin our photographer to make a really handmade, Lo Fi photocopied zine. We really enjoyed the collaborative process and the end result, and it would be something we would love to develope for the future.


Photograph by Matt Bramford

What are Cooperative Designs currently working on?

We are working on the new collection and getting all the plans for the presentation into place. We have just finished designing a collection for Autumn Winter for Italian super brand Stefanel, the collection should be dropping into stores really soon. We can’t wait to see the collection on the high street all over Europe! We have also just developed a capsule mens Tshirt collection, which will be previewed at LFW, details will soon be revealed!

We have also recently launched an online shop! We are offering archive pieces, show pieces, and special one offs from our collaborators. We are hoping to expand this shop and offer more collaborators and more products as we develop.

The photographs by Matt Bramford are from Cooperative Designs SS10 collection show at London Fashion Week 2010.

Categories ,A/W 2010, ,Amy Gwatkin, ,bauhaus, ,british fashion council, ,Cooperative Designs, ,Gareth A Hopkins, ,graphic, ,Groucho Club, ,grthink, ,knitwear, ,London Fashion Week, ,Memphis, ,Off Schedule, ,On Schedule, ,Rodchenko, ,Somerset House, ,Stuart Whitton, ,zine

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Amelia’s Magazine | London Fashion Week S/S 2011 Catwalk Review: Bernard Chandran

Illustration by Rachel Lewis Illustrations by Rachel Lewis

In what is swiftly developing into a London Fashion Week tradition, treat Fashion editor Matt Bramford and I found ourselves waiting in eager anticipation for what would be our third consecutive Bernard Chandran Catwalk. Meeting outside The Old Sorting Office at 9.15 on a cold Saturday morning, more about we wondered what this intriguing designer would produce for S/S 2011.

All photographs by Matt Bramford

The tunic dresses of the collection carried Bernard Chandran’s signature nature inspired prints and were inspired by the designer’s interest in the clean lines and rectangular shape of tradition Malay garments. The print effect were achieved by a traditional Malaysian technique known as Kerawang. Elongated pockets relaxed the straight lines and the bell sleeves added a touch of modern romance.

This most recent collection was a markably less experimental than the designer’s S/S 2010 affair (read our review here). However, information pills taking in the consideration of the current economic climate and the limited funds these designers often have available to them, it is not surprising that the majority of the catwalks (that this reviewer has seen) of S/S 2010 have focused on designs that are relatively sellable rather than the ‘crazy cool’ London is known for.

Perhaps the increased interest in commerce is the result of the British Fashion Council’s hard work to reestablish London Fashion Week as a viable option for buyers to stop at between New York, Milian and Paris. Whatever the reason is, behind this move away from challenging shows, it would be a shame if designers lost completely their platform for experimentation.

Illustration by Rachel Lewis Illustrations by Rachel Lewis

For S/S, the Bernard Chandran women will be dressed in a simple shift coupled with outsized rectangular paneling or the designers trademark use of print. These delicate prints adorning the clothes often have surprising original locations – be it studio detritus, objects or the environment of the designer’s native Malaysia.

The collection shimmered with deep golds interwoven with simmering greens, the collection embraced the colour spectrum and metallics made an appearance either entirely

or within knitted patchwork panels:

As would have be duly noted by now, this London Fashion Week has been the season of tottering models – but perhaps it is not surprising when they are sent down the catwalk in both the highest and filmiest of shoes? One model who never regained her balance limped out of the catwalk.

The music for the show was performed live by Mr Hudson, the hard beats of the DJ was a bold contrast with the sophisticated projection for what to wear in S/S 2011.

The off schedule London catwalks often provide a break from the banal trend reporting the fashion press increasingly focuses on. In reality breathtaking shows whose zeitgeist impact ripple across catwalks for seasons to come are few and far between.

Currently an idea of sophisticated 70′s elegance dominates following the recent (2009) collections of Chloe, Celine and Stella MaCartney, it is refreshing to see collections by designers who are continuing to develop their own aesthetic language.

Trousers came as skinny as the eponymous YSL cigarette suit and the presence of the jumpsuit remains undiminished, are they becoming an undeniable aspect of a designer’s repertoire? As uniform as trousers, skirts and dresses?

Bernard Chandran’s gently romantic collection came to a head with the final show stopping dress, perfect for those days that require a decadent lounging outfit.

Categories ,Bernard Chandran, ,Blow PR, ,british fashion council, ,lfw, ,London Fashion Week, ,Malaysia, ,Modern Romance, ,My Beautiful Fashion, ,Off Schedule, ,S/S 2011, ,SS11, ,The Old Sorting Office

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Amelia’s Magazine | London Fashion Week S/S 2012 Catwalk Review: Bernard Chandran


Bernard Chandran S/S 2012, capsule illustrated by Gabriel Ayala

I feel like myself and Bernard Chandran are good pals. He’d probably see it differently, but the first show I ever saw during a fashion week was his, and since then I haven’t missed a single one. I almost did this time – cruelly his show clashed with one of my other favourites, Jean Pierre Braganza. I was worried sick – who would I choose? In the end, the Amelia’s Magazine team had got JPB more than covered and I decided that I couldn’t miss Bernard after all.


Bernard Chandran S/S 2012, illustrated by Cruz

It’s a bloody good job I was so desperate to see it, because his show was at the Il Bottaccio venue on Grosvenor Place. If this doesn’t mean anything to you, it’s basically a 20 minute cycle by Boris from Somerset House, fashion week’s epicentre. It might not sound much, but when you’ve got less than twenty minutes to get there, it’s boiling hot on the Strand and rammed with buses churning emissions in your face and you’re prone to perspiration, it’s less than entirely ideal.






All photography by Matt Bramford

I arrived at the venue in a complete state. Perspiring, thirsty, hungry and miserable, I just wanted to get inside and get it over with. Luckily entrance was a breeze, and I found a good seat on which to waft my invite frantically and avoid glares from immaculate fashionos free of any perspiration. I sat next to Lida from The First To Know – I’ve spoken to her electronically a few times, and it was great to finally meet her. We chatted about a recent article of hers for the Ecologist where she speaks to Chandran about the lack of available craftsmanship in our country, and it’s definitely worth a read.


Bernard Chandran S/S 2012, illustrated by Gabriel Ayala

Bernard’s invite featured a duplicated picture of a glamorous woman from the 1950s. I had already guessed (naturally, as myself and Bernard are so friendly) that it was his mother. She had the same delicate bone structure and exotic appeal. It turns out that these two subjects – the 1950s and the matriarch of the Chandran dynasty – where Bernard’s inspiration this season.





The show featured many of Bernard’s now signature styles, but this time he’d cranked up the glamour factor and it really suited his unique dedication to sculpture and proportion.


Bernard Chandran S/S 2012, illustrated by Cruz

Look after look brought glamour, sophistication, elegant craftsmanship and a unique approach to dynamic cutting. Floor-length silk numbers, beautifully simple, sat happily with futuristic blazers with angular oversized lapels and a-line dresses with feather panels. The colour palette was a varied as it could be – pale pinks and blues, gold, silver, and vivid cobalt and fuchsia. Chandran’s evident bravery in his use of colour was a dominant feature once again.

It was quite a mix, and that’s what I quite like about Chandran; you can’t label his collections with this season’s buzz words and you could try to squeeze him into a box but he’ll burst out of it, wearing feathers and glittered fabrics and assymetric cuts (metapohrically speaking, of course).





The finale brought a stunning black model onto the catwalk wearing a red-carpet finest – a dazzling body-con number with a sweetheart neckline and a fishtail train. Delicate petal shapes in a complimentary colour had been applied all over the frock, teamed with high-gloss evening gloves. The model glided past us oozing sex appeal with a look of confidence that only this sort of piece can give.





Bernard, you didn’t let me down. Until next time, pal…

Categories ,1950s, ,Bernard Chandran, ,Boris Bikes, ,catwalk, ,Cruz, ,Feathers, ,First To Know, ,Front Row, ,Gabriel Ayala, ,Glamour, ,Glitter, ,Grosvenor Place, ,Il Bottaccio, ,Lida Hujic, ,London Fashion Week, ,Off Schedule, ,Pop PR, ,review, ,S/S 2012, ,Sweat, ,the ecologist, ,Womenswear

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Amelia’s Magazine | LFW 09 On|Off presents Yang Du, Prose Studio, Michela Carrero and Joanna Vanderpuije

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I’ll put up my hands and admit that as a girl, health medications not yet a quarter of a century old, remedy talking about music is utterly intimidating. Yet I try. At some point in my life I’ll make a concerted effort to dance about architecture too. There is an endless wealth of information on bands that have already been, that I am never, ever going to be able to catch up on. Yet I try. As a music fan (enough to write about it), I’m embarrassed to admit that I only really discovered my, now, all time favourite band, Talking Heads within the last five years. I know, shoot me down. My convoluted point is that, as much as I try and piece it together, I can only imagine what The Slits releasing ‘Cut’ meant to the females and general youth and music fans of 1979. Yes there was a sex bomb fronted Blondie, intriguingly androgynous Patti Smith and unconventional Kate Bush, but an all female, punk rock band that posed naked on their album sleeve and generally didn’t give a f***. No one saw that coming and their influence has reverberated ever since.

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Fast forward then 30 years and their new album, Trapped Animal, has been unleashed to a society that is certainly far from sorted. But can the music still have the same punch? The garage approach of Cut has inevitably given way to a slicker product all round. That same mixture of reggae rhythms, scratchy guitars, anger and mischief abounds. Rather than sounding like a band thirty years past their prime, as could be said of many a reunion album, there is a freshness that means you could be mistaken for thinking you’re hearing the latest South London council estate collective. This could be explained by the new multi-generational line-up that features Sex Pistol Paul Cook’s daughter, Hollie. You also get the impression that frontwoman Ari Up has as much energy as her fourteen year old self that met original member, Palmolive, at a Patti Smith gig.

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Lyrically, the album doesn’t stretch the boundaries of the concept of rhyming but you wouldn’t hear Girls Aloud bemoaning of “Men who want us to be their mother/Men who hate us because of their mother.” Where the Pop Idol-ers are concerned with their “cappuccinos to go-o”, Up and her girls are hollering about ‘Peer Pressure’, “issues with child abuse” and eschewing the shackles of a nine to five: “We don’t pay rent with a passion, and we don’t wanna follow fashion.”

The fact that foul-mouthed Lily Allen launched her career on the wave of reggae-tinged pop is no accident. The Slits invented the model for anti-establishment, men-bashing, unselfconscious pop and even though this new offering will never live up to Cut standards, it’s a welcome return of punk’s finest.

Helping to keep the pressure on governments across the world, health activists in Australia held a mass action last week against Hazelwood Coal Power Station, erectile one of the dirtiest in the world. The climate camp held a day of planning and workshops, nurse followed by the day of action where a group of over 500 people placed a ‘Community Decommission Order’ on Hazelwood to switch on the renewable energy transition.

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Images from Hazelwood Flickr

Twenty-two people were arrested on the day and, with the Governments lack of conviction, it seems many more are ready for the same sacrifice. As one secondary school teacher put it, “not such a big sacrifice in the scheme of things.” Looking at pictures and reports as well as listening to the radio report, it looks like a well planned day of disobedience. Affinity groups such as the Wombat Warriors, Radical Cheerleaders and Climate Clowns show great initiative. Apparently the police wouldn’t let “bikezilla”, a massive 8-person bike, join the protest though. Shame.

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I caught up with Louise Morris, one of the organisers of the action to get her account of the action and see what’s in store for climate action in Australia.

How long have you been involved in the protest movement in Australia and was there a catalyst for getting involved?

I’ve been involved in campaigning in Australia for over a decade, starting off with the campaign to stop the Jabiluka Uranium mine in Kakadu National park and spending many years as a forest activist and blockader in Tasmania (as a result now one of the Gunns 20) and Western Australia.

I decided to devote my time to climate campaigning in 2006, as the realisation set in that no matter how many pieces of forest we saved through campaigning and blockades etc – if climate change is not dealt with, the climatic conditions forecast will spell the end for all the places we have campaigned for and protected over the years.

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I grew up in mining towns in Western Australia, so am very aware of the sort of environmental and social scars the mining and logging industry inflict. My decision to work on climate issues has been heavily based on the mitigation angle. I am a strong believer in trying to solve a problem, rather than trying cope with the problem as best we can through adaptation measures. This has led me to focus strongly on coal issues and to work within the grassroots realm of climate campaigning. I really do think it’s in the grassroots community movement that we have the most power.

What was your personal experience on last weeks action?

I was one of the key organisers of the Switch off Hazelwood – Switch on Renewables weekend. My experience ranged from having to deal with the police in the lead up to the event and during the event with their complete over-reaction to the whole affair, talking with people who were prepared to be arrested and acting as media spokesperson for the group.

My experience of the action and watching other peoples reaction to the day was extremely positive.

This action was the first of it’s type for the Victorian Climate Movement. For the past few years people have lobbied, rallied in cities etc but never actually taken action at the site of the pollution and been prepared to be arrested.

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We had 500-plus people from all possible walks of life turn up. A lot of families, older folk and a massive representation from the quite mainstream ‘Climate Action Group’ demographic that is strong in Australia. We had 22 people manage to scale the security fences and police lines that were put up prior to our action. In that list of arrestees are doctors, teachers, electricians, stay at home mums… the list goes on.

Our state government tried to label us as eco-terrorists in the lead up to the event. This failed dismally, as our lead up media campaign was very solutions focused (just transition to renewable energy) and we were very open in our aim of civil disobedience… this combined with images of the people who were at the action, got out to the wider world of so many kids, families, professionals and respected members of the community were taking action. We have had a lot of support from the public and arms of the mainstream media.

The feeling post this action is that people are ready for more peaceful community driven direct action, and more people are prepared to get arrested to push the government into some real action on climate change.

How did the mainstream media and the public react?

There has been a noticeable shift in public and media attitudes to people taking action on climate change, post our federal Government’s pathetic announcement of 5% emission reduction by 2020.

In the lead up to this event we put a lot of thought and energy into talking about our message of switching on a transition to renewable energy and switching off coal. Part of this outreach included a public meeting at the town of Morwell, which is the heart of coal country in our state. This was a ‘robust’ meeting but we got great feedback from everyone who came about the transition message and we were supported by unions representing coal workers that we were pushing for a just transition to renewable energy.

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In terms of media – we ran a pretty tight messaging strategy around the fact that this is a community driven event that is calling for a switch from renewable energy and this requires that we switch off coal.

At first we got very little interest, but as the word that people were going to partake in peaceful mass civil disobedience got out, the interest grew. On the whole, we got a pretty fair run in the media in the lead up to the event. A lot of time was spent explaining what civil disobedience was, as Australia has not had a strong activist culture in recent years. Once again the core message that we were calling for a switch from coal to renewables, with a just transition was central in a lot of the willingness of commercial media to hear us out.

Obviously on the day of the action some of the conservative media ran the ‘rowdy protester’ line and showed the fence shaking but considering the sort of coverage we usually get in the mainstream Australian press, I think we have seen a shift in how community protest and civil disobedience is being covered. That said, the large representation of families and ‘ordinary looking folk’ really did help that.

Do you think Australia is ready for a broader movement relating to climate change and what do you think the comparison is to movements across the world?

Yes. We had our first climate camp last year in Newcastle [NSW] and from this it was decided that in 2009 we would have state based events, of which the Switch off Hazelwood event was one. The reasons for this were many, including the fact that Australia is so geographically large that it’s not feasible (financially or environmentally) for people to trek across the country to come to a single climate camp.

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For the next 3 months there will be Climate Camp style events across the country from South Australia, New South Wales to Western Australia. The interest and willingness is there for a movement that is prepared to take action at the site of the big polluters and put some targeted pressure on government and the big polluters who are shaping the climate policy.

In terms of the broader movement relating to climate change there is definitely a lot more scope for more varied forms of action and campaigning. We are currently organising a bunch of movement building events and workshops using the lessons learnt from many countries and campaigns, including elements of the Obama community mobilisation strategy.

Comparisons are hard to make as we live in a massive continent with quite a sparse population, in comparison to many other countries who have strong climate movements. We also have a populace that has been alienated from the concepts of protest, civil disobedience and strong social movements from previous (and still current) governments who have demonised such things as ‘Anti-Australian.’

As one of the organisers of the action, what have you learnt from the process?

Honestly, the importance of networks, community and talking to people face-to-face to get them involved and part of creating the event they want to be a part of. Another lesson we always learn from these events is that people need to have fun organising and being part of events like this – best way to keep them coming back and get more people involved.

The Affinity Group and Working Group model was central in making a lot of elements of this event work. From the public meeting, the promotions, independent media to the action itself.

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What’s next for Climate Camp in Australia?

There are still a number of state based Climate Camps to come in the next few months across Australia after the ‘Switch off Hazelwood – Switch on Renewables’ event. The next immediate one is in South Australia and after that is the one at the Helensbugh coal mine in NSW. So much more Climate Camp action is on the cards. And here in Victoria we are looking ahead to what is next in the lead up to Copenhagen as a national climate event.

Looks like a lot going on in Australia, shame it would have to be a carbon intensive flight away, that or a 6 month cycle mission, hmmm.. now thats an idea.
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MATT AND KIM are a destructive dance duo hailing from Brooklyn, pilule NYC. There are very few bands that can always guarantee you a real good time with one single push of a button, but Matt & Kim never let me down. Ever. We caught this Brooklyn duo live back in June and they knocked our socks off.

Yeah, there are tons of happy-go-lucky bands with that high-energy, high-on-life exuberance, throwing shapes and keeping their toothy smiles fixed, verging on the robotic and the slightly scary. But there’s always the inevitable grating after a few listens as the cheer morphs into a cheesy mess of slobbery, over-enthusiastic group hugs and high-fives that leave you backing away into the safety of Morrissey‘s comforting drones, vowing never to venture away again. Promise.

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The weird thing is, Matt & Kim are super cheesy, but they seem so genuinely fun and unaffected that it’s tough not to abandon any self-concious hang-ups and just leap along with their carefree charm. And if their new tracks are anything to go by, they show no sign of quietening down and getting all mature on us.

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As the jaunty keys and sharp, tapping sticks that start ‘Daylight”s introduction trip and pop, the call and response of “We cut the legs off of our pants/Threw our shoes into the ocean/Sit back and wave through the daylight/Sit back and wave through the daylight” gets louder and fuller, there an immediate hit of teenage nostalgia. It’s a reminder to never grow up too much and when that alarm rings to get you out of bed in the morning – it’s time to wake up.

Watch the duo having fun in their DIY-esque video here:

‘Daylight’ is out on 28th September on Fader Label/Nettwerk.
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Obstinately avoiding the typical artistic “nude” and the potential sexist connotations of the form, medicine Sheila Wallis’s Threadneedle Prize-winning “Self-portrait” does feature the artist without clothes, medical but avoids rendering herself as a sexual object. Instead the artist describes herself as appearing to be a “small, look naked creature” rather than a coquette.

The painting feels very real as opposed to a being a fantasy of female sexiness. She gazes back at the onlooker with a slightly knotted brow but, despite being aware of the attention, doesn’t seem either to play up to it or to be exploited by it. She is vulnerable but remains in control through the action of painting herself. Perhaps a deciding factor in seeing the painting without sexual connotations as a female viewer is knowledge of the gender of the artist and that she is also the subject of the painting; it’s easier to enjoy a nude for what it is without the overtones of an artist/muse relationship.

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The prize is voted for online by visitors to the exhibition, at the Mall Galleries. This year’s exhibition was strong and there was a theme of interaction between man-made structures and nature. For example, Jennifer Godlieb’s eerie “Lurker” (below) seems to depict a gasometer set in a future time when cities are devoid of people and all is overgrown and transformed into a spookily beautiful Scandinavian forest. The message could be an environmentalist one: despite the messages about “saving our world” from climate change, eventually Mother Nature will reclaim all our efforts.

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In contrast to the fairy-castle appearance of Godlieb’s post-human architecture, Zachary Peirce’s painting of “Pripyat, Chernobyl Exclusion Zone 1” bleaches the colours out of the natural landscape, leaving washed-out pinks, bruise purples and a colour the same yellow tone as human skin. A slight touch of green appears murky and poisonous. In the background there is a building that appears to be melting: the black outlines drip down the canvas into the overgrowth. Here the impact of humanity’s failings on nature has created a dirty, deserted area without any of the peace of Godlieb’s twilight scene.

Peter Wylie’s brutalist tower block “Goldfinger four (with Le Corbusier flaking paint from Villa La Roche)” is actually still occupied but the exterior of the worn old concrete monster offers little comfort. The golden windows that presumably inspired the title do seem to imply little pockets of cosy humanity lurking within.

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Dotted across the image are pieces of flaking paint taken from a Le Corbusier building – perhaps the remains of a previous, shining image, gradually chipped away to reveal the reality of high-rise communal living? Le Corbusier’s use of concrete has led to some grim surroundings for those living there and it has been noted that as a material it wears much worse in the wet conditions of Britain compared to the sunnier climes of the South of France.

The buildings in “Goldfinger” block out any glimpse of sky and look like they belong in the pages of “1984”; but it’s unclear what commentary Wylie is making beyond the appearance of the building. How do these designs impact of the lifestyle of those who live in them? As in the other works, people are invisible but here they are not absent. I didn’t feel comfortable making assumptions about whether this represented a dystopian future or present because of the possibly classist assumptions – these buildings are usually destined for lower-income people. Can high-density urban estates ever live up to the utopian dreams of those who design them?

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The exhibition overall was extremely thought-provoking and varied, from the landscapes to the portraiture. A large-scale religious painting of the crucifixion of Saint Peter, by Louis Smith, was among the most physically imposing of the works on display along with a knitted bear and a huge photo-real “forensic examination” of a bespectacled man, painted in minute gory detail by Oliver Jones.
The Ethical Fashion Forum has been popping up all over the place at here at Amelia’s Magazine. Back in June we covered the first section of their biannual competition established to reward good deeds regarding sustainability in Fashion. Titled PURE, cialis 40mg the winners – South African designer Lalesso and Malawi designer MIA– would display their designs at the PURE tradeshow. Yesterday in the rather lovely setting of the Hospital Club, the EFF announced the second half of their competition, the Esthetica awards. Judged by Dolly Jones from vogue.com.

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MIA

As the crowd waited perched on sofas, leaning against walls as we huddled round the catwalk Dolly Jones announced the winners: Mark Liu, Henrietta Ludgate (who was championed by Amelia’s Magazine earlier this year as a one to watch), MIA and Lalesso (both of whom you will have noticed were mentioned earlier in reference to winning the PURE awards in June).

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MIA

After the announcements, the catwalk begin to sounds of bouncing pop and the models began to work the room. Each designer sent two designs down the catwalk, as teasers for their entire line. I would have loved to have seen more of the collections. Especially as the majority, if not the entirety, of what was sent down the Innovation catwalk was jump-off-the-catwalk-and-onto-my-back wearable.

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Lalesso

To accompany the catwalk, the Ethical Fashion Forum provided recycled cardboard handouts detailing the reasons behind each designer’s selection. Mark Liu for developing a pattern cutting process that minimizes the amount of waste material produced by each garment, helping to “pioneering Zero Waste Fashion”. This made me think instantly of the “A-POC” line by Issey Miyake or taking it out of the acronym; the A piece of cloth project. From which the wearer is able to create endless items out of a single well-cut piece of fabric. Myakke is said to be continuing to develop this idea after becoming concerned about the impact of textile waste on the environment. It’s great to see young and established designers tackling the industry’s waste problem and turning it into a conceptual wearable idea. To compliment Liu’s pattern cutting he uses organic fabrics, low impact dyes and water based pigments. The two dresses, sent down the catwalk, were reminiscent of Peter Pan or an elfish child as they hung playfully off the models. Perfect for a summer’s day in the park.

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Lalesso

Henrietta Ludgate worked with Osman Yousefzada after graduating from St. Martins and is now starting her own label. Ludgate’s philosophy lies in the maintenance of British craftsmanship. All the materials are sourced from British Mills and the collection is made entirely in a traditional Scottish crofting village. Her dresses really intrigue me being a combination of what appears to be felt and fleece. The pieces (not shown on the catwalk, but worn by members of the audience) had a similar feel in their shapes as Matthew Williamson’s graduate collection at St Martins. The new collection contained a wearable jersey dress with interesting piping detail to structure the back. Alongside a maxi dress which appeared to be an extended bankers shirt.

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Henrietta Ludgate

Lalesso creates women’s wear out of traditional East African Fabrics, which translate perfectly for a Saturday spent walking around town and sitting in parks. The bold floral patterns were instantly eye catching.

MIA’s recycled fabrics and traditional Malawain textiles produced a refreshing take on up-cycling old urban sportswear into summer dresses.

The Innovation competition is importantly drawing attention to the numerous ways new designers are tackling challenges of sustainability that the fashion industry faces as a whole.

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Henriette Ludgate

MIA is tackling craftsman’s jobs lost through the abundance of cheap second hand clothes on Malawi’s market stalls by employing local people in the process of up-cycling. All profits are put back into the community support, as well as buying equipment and training to maintain market access and community livelihoods. Furthermore (thanks again to the cards handing out by the Ethical Fashion Industry at the show), Lalesso recently founded SOKO – an ethical and eco fashion production plant in Kenya. Offering opportunities for other design companies to produce collections with the profits and increased job market to benefit communities in Kenya.

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Mark Liu

The Ethical Fashion Forum and Innovation are proving not only that designers are environmentally aware when making their clothes and considering waste. But importantly they are using their businesses to recreate jobs and a skill based workforce in local communities effected by both the waste and desire for Fast Fashion.
The 25th London Fashion Week began yesterday in its new haunt of Somerset House. Turning up to register, stuff there was the expected photo crush as numerous street style photographers selected those most fashionably dressed to stand before their lens. Not surprisingly London Fashion Week has been a lesson on how to be scarily on trend. Leather studded Jackets check. Harem pants in black and multiple prints. Check. Statement shoes check.check.check. Big Power Shoulders. Check. The most amazing outfit –outside the catwalk- was on the front row at Ashley Islam (more to come on this collection later). Sitting next to Michelle Williams from Destiny’s Child immaculat in Vivienne, what is ed was a rather beautiful man with an Anna Wintour bob,
complete with a dress made from nails. This often disregarded material was transformed into the ultimate disco dress, that tinkled out of shows.

On|Off presents their off schedule designers at 180 the Strand. Down in the industrial stylebasement, the catwalk appeared from behind plastic sheets and the ever ready crowd of journalists, photographers and buyers took their seats to view collections from Prose Studio, Yang Du, Michela Carraro and Joanna Vaderpuije.

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The Prose Studio Collection of bold oil slick printed dresses was first down the catwalk. The feminine fluent dresses billowed around the models, falling down from the neck, along the arms and tacking tightly in at the waist to fall once more to the knees.

Remember blowing paint across water’s surface to create marbling patterns when pressed onto paper? Prose Studio’s harem pants felt as if the fabric had been dipped into the solution and hung out to dry. The drapes of the pants were delicately covered leaving the leg fabric bare.

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The collection finished with a free flowing printed white tunic over white marbled dripped leggings.

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Next up were Michela Carraro’s deconstructed geishas complete with rags tied into bondage shoes, big 80′s shoulders remain on the catwalk alongside constructed sheer blouses.

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The shapes and layering were reminiscent of John Galliano’s personal style and diffusion line with an injection of Vivienne Westwood’s pirate’s collection. As the light blue piece sashayed down the catwalk, it suddenly struck.

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What was being offered was a re-invention of a feminine suit, capable of expressing personality rather than smothering it underneath a shapeless blazer. This was a collection representing the intriguing daywear as represented with the gallantly bold, bordering on the garish printed trousers, under tucked beneath the swashbuckling floating blouses held together at the front with delicate stitching. Completed with the bandaged shoes, the piece formed an illustrious silhouette when framed by photographers.

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Third was Joanna Wanderpuije’s elegant collection of modern shapes complete with the return of the perspex stars from the A/W collection, for S/S the stars are attached to the hips of the cotton skirt. Plenty of well cut shorts and printed tanks for effortless lux.

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Leather bra tops – continuing previous seasons’ trends for underwear as outwear- hardened the collection appearing under a cropped print jacket nestling above the high-waisted cream trouser. A splash of colour was provided with the up-pleated tunic dress. The collection was incredible wearable with Wanderpuije’s prints elegant in their application and beautifully sculpted from material.

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Fashion provides the opportunity to dive into new worlds, peer into another’s imagination. It can function similarly to illustration and convey a sense of being in the world and by being idiosyncratic tap into the public consciousness. The last piece from Yang Du‘s collection was one distinctive outfit from the Louis Vitton-esque rabbit ears combined with bold blue and white striped constructed-to-be-slouchy oversized dress.

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The outfit instantly burned into the retina, this was something to wear as unemployment rates soar, it’s warm and it’s bright. This was fun fantastical fashion and I loved the oversized knitted bag that followed the models down the catwalk as if a rather petulant child.

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As with all three previous designers, at Yang Du it was all about the detailing; tunic dresses were altered with cut away bra holes overlaid with fringing. Grinning cartoon faces contrasted wide blue knitted stripes, tight tight dresses were sent down with bold geometric black and white prints. Not forgetting the head adornments.

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A great start to London Fashion Week, a mix of eccentricity and wearable shapes with most importantly the clothes bringing a smile to one’s face.

Categories ,180 the strand, ,25th, ,designers, ,London Fashion Week, ,Off Schedule, ,on off presents, ,Somerset House

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Amelia’s Magazine | London Fashion Week A/W 2010 Catwalk Review: Charlie Le Mindu by Amelia

Charlie Le Mindu by Bex Glover
Charlie Le Mindu by Bex Glover

And so the circus starts all over again…. in a not particularly auspicious way for little ol’ me, pill as I was nearly run over by a succession of buses rally driving bumper to bumper through Holborn as I was wending my way to my first fashion week show astride my lethal Raleigh Shopper (yes, price Shopper, medications not Chopper. There will be no wheelies on this bike). And then a nasty man in a car called me a ‘stupid caaah’. It all started swimmingly I tells you. Bastard.

At the on/off premises – Victoria House in Bloomsbury – I was met by two young girls bearing brollies as if promoting a car show outside Earl’s Court rather than the uber-trendy off schedule space where all the most hotly tipped designers will show. Inside I was warned not to trip over a step leading to a stuffed deer over which swung, and will swing all week, an intricately papercut sculpture. Rob Ryan, I blame you – papercutting is so very now, it’s even on the light fittings in the press den.

Deer at On/Off by June Chanpoomidole
Deer at On/Off by June Chanpoomidole

Getting into the show proved simple – a charming cockney fella on the door was greeting all the as yet fresh-faced fashionistas with a cheery grin, merrily announcing: “You got a pass love? Don’t matter what kind. Oyster card will do!” Next to the showhall there was a hastily erected memorial to Alexander Mcqueen that looked suspiciously as if it may have been sponsored by apple, touch screens showcasing his catwalk shows interspersed with the occasional app rollcall. A more personal homage was to be found over at the BFC tent, featuring some touching hand written messages.

Illustration of Charlie Le Mindu by Bex Glover
Illustration of Charlie Le Mindu by Bex Glover

Charlie Le Mindu was and is principally known as a hair stylist, so it comes as no great surprise that his show was sponsored by copious quantities of hair products and… a wig salon; who provided the large empty pink boxes that everyone is seen touting about the place for the ensuing day, perfectly sized to make a great girly box file. In fact there was so much to take away that I struggled under the load from the very first show. Whoever said there was a recession?

I took my place on the front row next to Guy, editor of Fashion156 Magazine, which is another online fashion magazine. He told me that he had 12 people covering the shows, including backstage photographers. And they should be uploading throughout the day. I was impressed!

Illustration of Charlie Le Mindu by Bex Glover
Illustration of Charlie Le Mindu by Bex Glover

What can I tell you about Charlie Le Mindu? The show started with a lady bearing a crystal crucifix on her head and things just got better. The black lace bodystockings were merely a foil for the impressive cocoon like wigs and head pieces, constructed from feathers, tassels and all things exotic – most of it was not exactly clothing but defiantly offered a fan-fucking-tastic kick off to fashion week. The models stomped down the runway in royal blue make up, some smeared in deepest black bodypaint. Capes and swinging bags to match your hair? Why, step this way madam.

Illustration of Charlie Le Mindu by Bex Glover
Illustration of Charlie Le Mindu by Bex Glover

Charlie is clearly a magnet for the more exotic types of fashionista and there were plenty of strangely dressed people to be ogled, even so early in the morning, including a large man with a bushy beard, sexy black dress, (possibly real) fur stole and glamourous red lipstick. And the best bit about such creatures is that they’re more than happy to pose because they’re all hoping for a few moments of internet glory – and the possibility of flouncing their look from here to Timbuktu. We can all be famous now!

Bearded man with red lipstick by June Chanpoomidole
Bearded man with red lipstick by June Chanpoomidole

Read contributor Matt Bramford’s review of Charlie Le Mindu here, with illustrations by Maryanne Oliver.

Categories ,Alexander McQueen, ,Bex Glover, ,black, ,Charlie le Mindu, ,Feathers, ,Hairstylist, ,Jewels, ,June Chanpoomidole, ,lfw, ,Maryanne Oliver, ,Off Schedule, ,onoff, ,rob ryan, ,Victoria House

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Amelia’s Magazine | London Fashion Week A/W 2010 Catwalk Review: Charlie Le Mindu by Amelia

Charlie Le Mindu by Bex Glover
Charlie Le Mindu by Bex Glover

And so the circus starts all over again…. in a not particularly auspicious way for little ol’ me, pill as I was nearly run over by a succession of buses rally driving bumper to bumper through Holborn as I was wending my way to my first fashion week show astride my lethal Raleigh Shopper (yes, price Shopper, medications not Chopper. There will be no wheelies on this bike). And then a nasty man in a car called me a ‘stupid caaah’. It all started swimmingly I tells you. Bastard.

At the on/off premises – Victoria House in Bloomsbury – I was met by two young girls bearing brollies as if promoting a car show outside Earl’s Court rather than the uber-trendy off schedule space where all the most hotly tipped designers will show. Inside I was warned not to trip over a step leading to a stuffed deer over which swung, and will swing all week, an intricately papercut sculpture. Rob Ryan, I blame you – papercutting is so very now, it’s even on the light fittings in the press den.

Deer at On/Off by June Chanpoomidole
Deer at On/Off by June Chanpoomidole

Getting into the show proved simple – a charming cockney fella on the door was greeting all the as yet fresh-faced fashionistas with a cheery grin, merrily announcing: “You got a pass love? Don’t matter what kind. Oyster card will do!” Next to the showhall there was a hastily erected memorial to Alexander Mcqueen that looked suspiciously as if it may have been sponsored by apple, touch screens showcasing his catwalk shows interspersed with the occasional app rollcall. A more personal homage was to be found over at the BFC tent, featuring some touching hand written messages.

Illustration of Charlie Le Mindu by Bex Glover
Illustration of Charlie Le Mindu by Bex Glover

Charlie Le Mindu was and is principally known as a hair stylist, so it comes as no great surprise that his show was sponsored by copious quantities of hair products and… a wig salon; who provided the large empty pink boxes that everyone is seen touting about the place for the ensuing day, perfectly sized to make a great girly box file. In fact there was so much to take away that I struggled under the load from the very first show. Whoever said there was a recession?

I took my place on the front row next to Guy, editor of Fashion156 Magazine, which is another online fashion magazine. He told me that he had 12 people covering the shows, including backstage photographers. And they should be uploading throughout the day. I was impressed!

Illustration of Charlie Le Mindu by Bex Glover
Illustration of Charlie Le Mindu by Bex Glover

What can I tell you about Charlie Le Mindu? The show started with a lady bearing a crystal crucifix on her head and things just got better. The black lace bodystockings were merely a foil for the impressive cocoon like wigs and head pieces, constructed from feathers, tassels and all things exotic – most of it was not exactly clothing but defiantly offered a fan-fucking-tastic kick off to fashion week. The models stomped down the runway in royal blue make up, some smeared in deepest black bodypaint. Capes and swinging bags to match your hair? Why, step this way madam.

Illustration of Charlie Le Mindu by Bex Glover
Illustration of Charlie Le Mindu by Bex Glover

Charlie is clearly a magnet for the more exotic types of fashionista and there were plenty of strangely dressed people to be ogled, even so early in the morning, including a large man with a bushy beard, sexy black dress, (possibly real) fur stole and glamourous red lipstick. And the best bit about such creatures is that they’re more than happy to pose because they’re all hoping for a few moments of internet glory – and the possibility of flouncing their look from here to Timbuktu. We can all be famous now!

Bearded man with red lipstick by June Chanpoomidole
Bearded man with red lipstick by June Chanpoomidole

Read contributor Matt Bramford’s review of Charlie Le Mindu here, with illustrations by Maryanne Oliver.

Categories ,Alexander McQueen, ,Bex Glover, ,black, ,Charlie le Mindu, ,Feathers, ,Hairstylist, ,Jewels, ,June Chanpoomidole, ,lfw, ,Maryanne Oliver, ,Off Schedule, ,onoff, ,rob ryan, ,Victoria House

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

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
?
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
?
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.

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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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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

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.

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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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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 | Good Fashion Show: London Fashion Week A/W 2012 Catwalk Review

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 by Antonia Parker

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 by Antonia Parker

Following on the footsteps of other London Fashion Week off-schedule showrooms which focus on ethical fashion, such as Ecoluxe London, The Good Fashion Show was an entirely new, day long event combining a marketplace, talks and an art exhibition during the day with an evening runway show. As someone who is interested in design in relation to sustainability, of course I wanted to check this newcomer out. Unfortunately due to attending other London Fashion Week events earlier in the day, I could only visit the London House, where The Good Fashion Show was taking place in the evening to watch the runway show.

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 Geo Twins by Erica Sharp

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 Geo Twins by Erica Sharp

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 Beautiful Ensemble by Zarina Liew

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 Beautiful Ensemble by Zarina Liew

Upon arrival I had to pass through a number of stalls placed on the outside corridors which exuded an atmosphere of a craft market or jumble sale – not a very good start. I was also a little disappointed to find the work of brilliant illustrators Erica Sharp and Zarina Liew – whom I first saw in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration – badly curated and placed in a corridor where their beauty was totally drowned out by the style of this building with its town hall feel.

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 Nina Burri photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 Miti Desai photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Unlike other on or off-schedule London Fashion Week events, which are mainly open to press and buyers only, The Good Fashion Show Marketplace could be visited by anyone for a £5 entry fee and similarly the general public could buy a £30 ticket for the evening catwalk show. As this was a paid event the organisers felt they had to provide the audience with some form of extra entertainment in between showcasing the clothes. During an almost two-hour affair we were treated to a combination of live acts which included singing by Omar, body bending by contortionist Nina Burri, story telling about the hindu god Shiva followed by classical Indian dancing by Miti Desai, musical sewing by Brazilian performance artist and designer Lisa Simpson, more live music by band Left at the Robot and a screening of the short film and then it was gone made by fashion photographer Claire Pepper.

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 by  Deborah Moon

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 by Deborah Moon

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

During the evening I thought it was a shame, and rather unfortunate for the designers, that the models walked out one after another with the audience having no guidance as to whose designer’s work they were looking at. I had to do quite a bit of research after the show in order to match up some of the designs I had photographed with their designers. Even worse for the promotion of the designers represented, I could not find many captions on the photo galleries published on The Good Fashion Show’s website and Facebook page post show. Fortunately I did manage to find the designer of my favorite outfit of the evening, which was a fun looking and contemporary knitted two piece designed by Jeni Allison.

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 by Dana Bocai

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 by Dana Bocai

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Another relatively interesting designer on show was Sara Li-Chou Han, who reworks denim and suit pieces from charity shops into more elaborate dresses.

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

We also saw some minimal designs, such as this dress by Fashion Compassion.

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

I totally support and love shops such as Beyond Retro and Oxfam Fashion, which were shown at The Good Fashion Show, however a lot of the vintage looks could have been styled in a more interesting way.

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Some of the menswear looks were a bit of a better hit with me, featuring baggy trousers and gigantic necklaces made out of reused computer game controls by funky customising brand Red Mutha.

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

In the spirit of resourcefulness a few of the models showed us how an outfit could be turned into a new one, depending on how you wear it.

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

The show also covered underwear, showcasing brands such as Who Made Your Pants and In Bloom London.

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 by Love Amelia

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 by Love Amelia

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 by Geiko Louve

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 by Geiko Louve

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

The last few numbers, like Tuncer Tonun’s basket hand bags and potato sack jackets, were a bit more theatrical and the event closed with a rather pretty bubble wrap dress. Unfortunately, as a whole, The Good Fashion Show did not do much to present green fashion as a platform for forward thinking, really good looking fashion design. I thought this was mainly to the way the show was curated and organised, as really brilliant ethical brands such as Emesha, Outsider Fashion, Henrietta Ludgate or From Somewhere were part of it, but still looked unimpressive because of the way they were presented and the context they were put in.

All photography by Maria Papadimitriou.

Categories ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,Antonia Harrowing, ,Antonia Parker, ,Beyond Retro, ,Claire Pepper, ,Classical Indian Dance, ,Cobalt Cafe, ,Dana Bocai, ,Deborah Moon, ,Ecoluxe, ,Erica Sharp, ,Ethical Fashion, ,From Somewhere, ,Geiko Louve, ,Good Fashion Show, ,Henrietta Ludgate, ,illustration, ,In Bloom London, ,Jeni Allison, ,knitwear, ,Left at The Robot, ,Lisa Simpson, ,London Fashion Week, ,London House, ,Love Amelia, ,Maria Papadimitriou, ,menswear, ,Miti Desai, ,Nina Burri, ,Off Schedule, ,Omar, ,Outsider Fashion, ,Oxfam Fashion, ,Red Mutha, ,Sara Li-Chou Han, ,Shiva, ,Sustainable Fashion, ,Tuncer Tonun, ,underwear, ,vintage, ,Who Made Your Pants, ,Zarina Liew

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

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 by Antonia Parker

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 by Antonia Parker

Following on the footsteps of other London Fashion Week off-schedule showrooms which focus on ethical fashion, such as Ecoluxe London, The Good Fashion Show was an entirely new, day long event combining a marketplace, talks and an art exhibition during the day with an evening runway show. As someone who is interested in design in relation to sustainability, of course I wanted to check this newcomer out. Unfortunately due to attending other London Fashion Week events earlier in the day, I could only visit the London House, where The Good Fashion Show was taking place in the evening to watch the runway show.

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 Geo Twins by Erica Sharp

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 Geo Twins by Erica Sharp

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 Beautiful Ensemble by Zarina Liew

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 Beautiful Ensemble by Zarina Liew

Upon arrival I had to pass through a number of stalls placed on the outside corridors which exuded an atmosphere of a craft market or jumble sale – not a very good start. I was also a little disappointed to find the work of brilliant illustrators Erica Sharp and Zarina Liew – whom I first saw in Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration – badly curated and placed in a corridor where their beauty was totally drowned out by the style of this building with its town hall feel.

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 Nina Burri photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 Miti Desai photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Unlike other on or off-schedule London Fashion Week events, which are mainly open to press and buyers only, The Good Fashion Show Marketplace could be visited by anyone for a £5 entry fee and similarly the general public could buy a £30 ticket for the evening catwalk show. As this was a paid event the organisers felt they had to provide the audience with some form of extra entertainment in between showcasing the clothes. During an almost two-hour affair we were treated to a combination of live acts which included singing by Omar, body bending by contortionist Nina Burri, story telling about the hindu god Shiva followed by classical Indian dancing by Miti Desai, musical sewing by Brazilian performance artist and designer Lisa Simpson, more live music by band Left at the Robot and a screening of the short film and then it was gone made by fashion photographer Claire Pepper.

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 by  Deborah Moon

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 by Deborah Moon

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

During the evening I thought it was a shame, and rather unfortunate for the designers, that the models walked out one after another with the audience having no guidance as to whose designer’s work they were looking at. I had to do quite a bit of research after the show in order to match up some of the designs I had photographed with their designers. Even worse for the promotion of the designers represented, I could not find many captions on the photo galleries published on The Good Fashion Show’s website and Facebook page post show. Fortunately I did manage to find the designer of my favorite outfit of the evening, which was a fun looking and contemporary knitted two piece designed by Jeni Allison.

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 by Dana Bocai

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 by Dana Bocai

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Another relatively interesting designer on show was Sara Li-Chou Han, who reworks denim and suit pieces from charity shops into more elaborate dresses.

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

We also saw some minimal designs, such as this dress by Fashion Compassion.

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

I totally support and love shops such as Beyond Retro and Oxfam Fashion, which were shown at The Good Fashion Show, however a lot of the vintage looks could have been styled in a more interesting way.

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Some of the menswear looks were a bit of a better hit with me, featuring baggy trousers and gigantic necklaces made out of reused computer game controls by funky customising brand Red Mutha.

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

In the spirit of resourcefulness a few of the models showed us how an outfit could be turned into a new one, depending on how you wear it.

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

The show also covered underwear, showcasing brands such as Who Made Your Pants and In Bloom London.

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 by Love Amelia

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 by Love Amelia

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 by Geiko Louve

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 by Geiko Louve

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Good Fashion Show AW 2012 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

The last few numbers, like Tuncer Tonun’s basket hand bags and potato sack jackets, were a bit more theatrical and the event closed with a rather pretty bubble wrap dress. Unfortunately, as a whole, The Good Fashion Show did not do much to present green fashion as a platform for forward thinking, really good looking fashion design. I thought this was mainly to the way the show was curated and organised, as really brilliant ethical brands such as Emesha, Outsider Fashion, Henrietta Ludgate or From Somewhere were part of it, but still looked unimpressive because of the way they were presented and the context they were put in.

All photography by Maria Papadimitriou.

Categories ,Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration, ,Antonia Harrowing, ,Antonia Parker, ,Beyond Retro, ,Claire Pepper, ,Classical Indian Dance, ,Cobalt Cafe, ,Dana Bocai, ,Deborah Moon, ,Ecoluxe, ,Erica Sharp, ,Ethical Fashion, ,From Somewhere, ,Geiko Louve, ,Good Fashion Show, ,Henrietta Ludgate, ,illustration, ,In Bloom London, ,Jeni Allison, ,knitwear, ,Left at The Robot, ,Lisa Simpson, ,London Fashion Week, ,London House, ,Love Amelia, ,Maria Papadimitriou, ,menswear, ,Miti Desai, ,Nina Burri, ,Off Schedule, ,Omar, ,Outsider Fashion, ,Oxfam Fashion, ,Red Mutha, ,Sara Li-Chou Han, ,Shiva, ,Sustainable Fashion, ,Tuncer Tonun, ,underwear, ,vintage, ,Who Made Your Pants, ,Zarina Liew

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