Sat 28th March: South by South West

Thank God we had a miraculously sunny Spring week in London when I heard news from the sunshine and partying going down in Texas at South by South West music festival. Otherwise I would have replied with some choice words of furious abuse and outright jealous indignation at the sheer mention of 24hr music & margaritas. As it was, I had my own party of drinking a can of Guinness on a park bench to celebrate St.Patrick's day with a fellow designer (who will remain nameless as not to tarnish thier integrity by hanging out with me at such an auspicious occasion) . But here are some out-takes from Elisha Smith-Leverock's documentary photography of Esser whilst they were living it up Cowboy style in the Lone Star State.









VOTE for Elisha's newly edited Esser "headlock" video which has been added to the mtv 2 myspace chart by going to:
myspace.​com/​mtv2
choose 'full list' from the voting widget where you'll find ESSER then just click on 'vote'

Friday 27th March: SHOWing out

No its not Mel 'n' Kim but rather more Laura 'n' Alex of SHOWstudio have spent the last couple of months orchestrating the relocation with military precision. The final schlep took place yesterday with the events monitored on the site's twitter feed whilst the usual webcams were down. I asked Laura to get some snaps of the event and true to her word here are some beautiful shots capturing the turning of the page onto the next chapter. Here are some of the 80+ boxes that have the previous 9 years correspondence archived - where else would you get Massive Attack, Bless and Brad Pitt in the same stack?! Once everything was out the Ironmonger residency it looked somewhat like this..............and the new Mayfair dwelling with the iconic dollar sign finding its feet in new soil. So either hook into the twitter for up to the minute details of the final unpacking today or check the site next week when the cameras are rolling and the exact territory disclosed.

Thurs 26th March: Wish You Were Here

Well luckily I was there! It was Vicky's penultimate printmaking show before her MA showdown. Her pigeon triptych is looking fresh and fantastic at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith until April 12th. Although they are a menace to society, the urban vermin have been transformed into beautiful prints that might end up as a cheeky wallpaper design. Vicky is also pushing the process of hand printing to the max on a collaboration with graphic designer Luke Tarpey. We had a sneak peak at the initial trials and an explanation of how she laboriously individually cuts each etching plate to position the composition..............not to mention the rubbing and cleaning inbetween presses............its a labour of love that is for sure! And I LOVE it!

Weds 25th March: Louise Amstrup

Just a few moons ago when I was helping Alistair Carr with his first collections I got to know designer Louise Amstrup who had just joined him from Jonathon Saunders. Fast forward to the present day and we are both now heading our own labels and continuing the family line of being repped by Cube PR where Alistair was at the time. Louise had her A/W preview last eve and a chance to see her best collection to date. Its super duper sexy with panels of sheer and leather in fitted skirts and pointy shoulder boleros and jackets. My personal fave 2 items are the leotard with fin details for an outrageous silhouette which I would love to test drive and this outrageously sophisticated/futuristic heavy angular felt coat.

Mon 23rd March: Bubalicious

Thanks to Susie for being my ambassador for a day at Paris Fashion Week wearing my trademark Dodecahedron or "bubble" necklace................. this is what its all about...............wearing it and enjoying it...............no matter if its a bit bonkers.............she always looks sublime so its an honour : )





(collage of her fashion week looks and detail of the necklace from when I 1st gave it to her last year)

Sun 22nd March: The Convenience Store

In true spirit of Andrew Ibi's reinvention of retail, he has relocated the newly replenished stock for a 3 week sort of sartorial sabbatical. He has temporally closed the doors to the comfort zone of his corner shop to embark on a pop-up shop in the St Martins Lane hotel. I went along to the opening on Thursday eve to have a a squizz at the spectacle and find out more.
Andrew explained that his onus on supplying a tactile and tailored shopping experience for his customers, is best suited to physically moving in order to connect with a dispersed clientele. To make the concept-led edited collection and service global, its not going to be a case of translating to online. Its not possible to virtually reinterpret the platform for one-off pieces and personal intuition from the proprietor. So with this in mind, the alternative action Andrew has taken is to occasionally recreate the Golborne Road haven in transitory spaces. The maiden voyage has taken him central but who knows where the next one will be .............L.A? Miami?






Photos Courtesy: Cube PR ( Gareth Pugh Dress, Hannah Marhall & Cherish Kaya from Ipso Facto, Andrew Ibi & Pam Hogg)