Weds June 7th: Lyall Hakaraia for Paloma Faith

You may remember a lovely photo of Paloma Faith from my Glastonbury coverage when she came to NYC Downlow to play a little acoustic cabaret set at Lyall Hakaraia's bar. Previously that day she had played on the Pyramid stage in an outfit with shoulder pads that top trump any other pop princess's look prior to this performance! Lyall designed and crafted a Swarovski encrusted couture catsuit, scull cap and harness to sparkle and shimmer below the extreme accessory of weather balloons! I got in touch with Lyall to see if I could get a closer look at the costume for the blog and luckily he still had it at his studio. Here is the piece-de-resistance getting a little touch up and some atmospheric shots of his work space. I love visiting different artist's creative habitats and Lyall's was a real treat with different archive pieces dotted around on display along with his umbrella collection! Here is a multi layered ruffle extravaganza from the "House of Organza" project which he curated at his venue Vogue Fabrics. Lyall's piece was used in a Tim Walker / Kate Phelan shoot in Vogue magazine which is a brilliant twist of puns - from one Vogue to another - full circle! Lets wait and see if there will be a return to the H.O.O for a 2nd installment ..................but for now, keep your eyes peeled for another Faith & Hakaraia couture collaboration.

**** I have stolen this photo of Paloma on stage from the ether of the internet, so please let me know who to credit if you recognise it!