Mon 1st Feb: Vicky Langdon in L.A

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So its the 1st of Feb and its so cold, I could actually see my own breath in the bathroom this morning.  I'm guessing Spring isn't coming any time soon, we've still got some winter to get through and more cold Monday mornings.........

.........so lets check in with a London girl waking up to the sun in L.A.........

After one best friend returning from Mexico, another has flown to sunnier climbs just higher........Vicky Langdon has sent these postcards from LA LA Land for us to forget our smoggy start to the day.......and tailored the snaps to my sensibilities with rainbow lights, a Hockney pool and tables made to look like cigarettes & Oreos.........

"The CAA building is opposite my hotel. It's a huge building full of Hollywood agents so I've been tap dancing on the balcony - still waiting for the call."

Next stop New York and the girl is looking for any tips of whats currently on, so please leave a comment with any inside info

"so for the next and final leg of the tour ...
START SPREADING THE NEWS, I'M LEAVING TODAY, I WANT TO BE A PART OF IT ....."

Sun 31st Jan: Guest Post – Furry Interesting: Naomi Attwood at the LCF MA show

Handing you over to the capable hands of contributing editor Naomi Attwood who I asked to cover the LCF MA show for me.........

"Despite a touch of fatigue, and the fact it was about minus twelve outside, I had a spring in my step as I made my way to the V&A for the showcase of the LCF (my old college) MA show. The venue for the catwalk presentation – The Raphael Chapel is an immensely gorgeous setting for a show.  Fred and I both love a bit of talent spotting at student fashion shows AND because I've just completed my MA at LCF (in journalism); it was extra special for me to be able to support my contemporaries in the design department.  

 

Plus there was a champagne reception beforehand which turned out (surprisingly for a student event) to be packed with wall to wall London celebs like Mika, Jodie Harsh, Paloma Faith and Jo Wood; as well as a who’s who of London Fashion – Joan Burstein of Browns, Harold Tilman of the BFC, Hilary Alexander of the Telegraph and of course, Susie Bubble.

 

Well, on with the clothes. Mincing along to a remix of The Simpsons theme were the models in Soo Youn Seo’s collection, which very strangely reminded me of someone. Head to toe monochromatic outfits (complete with corresponding colour party wigs). No, I can’t think who that might be. It’s completely gone.  They were lovely though.

 

 

Another collection that caught the eye was disco-futurist So Ra Kim, with some very structured pieces, like breast-plate like tops and bell-shaped skirts. Even though it was in a neon and metallic colour palette, it succeeded in looking fresh and forward-looking, far from any nu rave neon clichés.

 

 

Near the end of the presentation came along the evening’s controversy, from Merve Tuna, a student who had gone a step further than using skins as a material – and compiled jackets that were almost mobile taxidermy parlours. Some people might say that these garments, with hares' heads and pheasants' wings swinging all over the place were the height of tastelessness, while others might notice that by keeping the materials in their original contexts makes more of a statement than an animal skin (real or fake) dyed and trimmed to resemble something else.  . . . 'tis a tricky one.

 

Congratulations one and all. I felt proud of my designer peers, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of their creations on LFW catwalks of the future!"

 

- Naomi Attwood

Fri 29th Jan: Vote Ron

For anyone that follows me on twitter, you may know of my fascination for all things furry and especially my allegiance to Cat Party.  It is one of the funniest blogs I know and makes me smile every day...........just check out the recent post of a cat's sleeping position likened to that of David Bowie walking on the ceiling in Labyrinth.  This blog has escalated in its activity since I first signed up and now has a heady roster of high-brow creative contributors.........and a quoter of ridiculously CUTE CATS!

Now that the party is officially off the ground, there is a monthly competition to acknowledge the best post with a special edition mug prize!  WOW!  I'm not a competitive person but this feature gets me fierce.  I just want that mug!  

I haven't made the shortlist this month  :  (, but Dan Wilton has with his entry about the crown that Rosy Nicholas and I made for his superstar moggy Ron.  Please head over to http://miaowmix.blogspot.com/ and VOTE FOR RON so that Dan can be the rightful owner of the first mug of 2010!

Thurs 28th Jan: Knitwear by AMS

Here is something so fresh, you can almost still smell the lanolin from the sheep that were shorn for these literally "off the hook" sweatshirts.  Artist Danny Sangra sent me a sneak preview of his first ever exploration into the world of wearable illustration under the title "AMS" which is a venture in collaboration with knitwear designer Lynnda Needles.  Whilst shooting the look book for the collection at the weekend, Danny shot this trailer of the proceedings.  So whilst the images of the knits are being compiled we can preview the sexy slouchy styles of "A Minute's Silence" in this sixties style snippet.  Personally I would like to bag the lux blue number with yellow triangle elbow pads.............apparently when you purchase one of these investment pieces, it comes wrapped with care in a hand made moth repellent bag alongside an original drawn artwork!  

I quickly flung an impromptu interview together to get a sense of where the duo are coming from.............in true spirit of my blog the answers er on humour rather than fact..........but as you may detect these jokers are actually deadly serious and AMS should be penned down on your wishlist ASAP.........For example the "Corgi" that I inquire after is not actually the breed of dog as they lead you to believe.........it is infact a British heritage knitwear company that have previously worked with COMMES Des GARCONS...........

a)  How do you and Lynnda know each other?

 

Lynnda Needles:  We met in Prison.

Danny Sangra: It was kinda of like a cross between Porridge and Tango and Cash 

b)  Who else does Lynnda collaborate with..........?

 

LN:  I have been collaborating with Carolyn Massey, on her knitwear, for the past 3 seasons. I am excited as the braided belts and accessories that I hand made for her are about to hit the shops for Spring Summer. 

 

I have also been working with Von Sono on knitwear for the past 4 seasons, although she is taking a having twins break. I work on knitwear with her and was also behind the hand crafted masks...

 

 

c)  What are the influences for this collection...........the patterns and colours?  Does it have a name?

 

LN:  Danny's crazy brain full of patterns. When I see it I see it in textile form...this season we have made hand frame knitted garments, our next project could be anything!

 

All the garments are named after characters from Jean-Luc Godards film Band a Part - Franz/Arthur/Odile/Anna/Luc - Where we got our name from...

DS: Yes the name came from the scene in Bande a Parte when Godard cuts the sound out of the film. It's the point when they must think up a plan. Anna Karina was a big influence on the collection  

d)  How did you discover Corgi and was it fun visiting thier workshop?

 

LN:  We were having tea with the queen and I mentioned how much I liked her socks.

DS: Needles is always having tea with Liz the second

e)  What is your target market and how/where will you be selling?

 

LN:  We are looking to show our collection to buyers during London fashion week, we obviously have a list of shops we would love to be stocked in, so fingers crossed! We will also be taking personal orders - Fred?

 

f)  What was your favourite piece of knitwear from your childhood...........what is your current favourite as an adult?

 

LN:  My 100% acrylic bumble bee dungaree's as a child. As a fully grown adult my         100% cashmere bumble bee dungaree's, I'm now a yarn snob.

DS: A hand knitted cardigan my gran knitted.........The 'Franz' roll neck blue cardigan with the triangle patches we had made as it was made for me

AMS KNITWEAR 2010 from danny sangra on Vimeo.

Weds 27th Jan: Bethan Wood "Particle" Part II

Rosy Nicholas and I had a surreal walk thru the sharp edged skyscrapers on the Southbank to get to The Design Museum for the opening of Behan Wood's artist in residence.  Here she is looking resplendent as ever in a Peruvian Jacket teamed with one of her "Super Fake" scarfs.  One of her works was a shelving system with incredibly intricate laminate marquetry to resemble the chip board of packing crates...........an idea chosen with The Design Museum in mind, as it was originally a banana warehouse when the boats used to come down the Thames?!  The other design is a soft stool made from a hand knitted cover by Giannina Capitani using the same camouflage design, in a palette of lush pastels.  I want both for my house NOW but of course both have taken months to produce so I'll just have to keep dreaming..............whilst Bethan flys straight off to Venice to start yet another residency!

(All photos by Rosy, except knit sample lifted from Behan's blog)

Tue 26th Jan: Henry Cottons

Occasionally the members of my studio come together on the same job............in this instance Hillman Studio were in charge of Art Direction and Andy Macgregor was in charge of integrating himself into those props as he was the model.  Last time I wrote about his sideline career was announcing his role as the face of the new Aquascutum campaign shot by Tim Walker.  This is the latest collaboration for Italian label "Henry Cottons" also shot by Walker and you can see his camera bag above in these screengrabs.  Ive lifted them off a very nifty stop frame animation made on the shoot which perfectly illustrates the whole set build of the spitfire from start to end.  First it takes over the front room of Glenham Hall in Suffolk and secondly it lands outside in a corn field.  We haven't yet received the film in the right format to share with you but I'll be uploading it as soon as it homes into view itself!

To see more of Andy Macgregor's action in front of the camera, go here

To see more of his action behind the camera, go here

Mon 25th Jan: Colour from Mexico City

I was listening to Jarvis Cocker dj'n on Radio 6 yesterday ...........the guy is just brilliant........he played some Klaus Nomi and had Gonzales as a phone in guest.................he also reassured the listeners that the 24th of January is officially the most depressing day of the year thus things can only get better from here on in..........THANK GOD FOR THAT!

I don't know about anyone else but Ive been feeling the wrath of S.A.D recently so my best friend Anna Leader sent me some cheerful colour to cheer me up from her current city of residence Mexico..........so I thought Id share it with you all..........(sorry the dyed chicks are controversially unsettling, but had to be posted out of intrigue and wonder?!).  Thank you Anna!

1. Fruit that looks like those paintings that make up faces out of fruit...

2. A FRED Piniata (dont ask me to bring it back! Id get taken away at NY customs!!!)

3. Baloon man today in the park....

4. And these sorry looking fluff balls:

Sun 24th Jan: We Are All In One Interview- Part Two

And now for the 2nd half of the interview with Nina Ribena, the high priestess of the pantsuit.........if you like what you see, head to her shop......."We Are All In One"......we certainly are!

5)  I bloody love the scene from an AbFab episode when Patsy falls out of a cab with her undone "body" flapping outside her trousers.  What has been your funniest incident wearing a onesie?

It was probably at a festival in the earliest days of my onesie infatuation. I think I got a bit merry on my friends moonshine and proceeded to gallop around the whole field in my blue stinger suit (accessorised with fur stole and pink 50s swim hat) telling people that I was doing a triathlon. After falling over quite a lot and challenging a few burly men to an arm-wrestle I managed to convince the stage manager to the main dance tent that i was the DJ's special dancer for the night. I ended up dancing in front of about 500 people for the next 4 hours doing a series of 80's aerobic stretches.

6)  Mr.Motivator always accessorised his onesie with a bumbag..........in your opinion what is the perfect accompaniment for a playsuit? 

I've had some beautiful fur stoles that have gone really well with just plain all in ones - unfortunately I've lost them all. I've also got a bit of a collection of fox tails that I like pinning to my bum - they look really good with tight all in ones. 

7)  What has been the strangest commission you have had so far?

I've had quite a few....but I think the strangest was from a group of 10 investment bankers who wanted matching all in ones in an array of colours for the Burning Man Festival. They wanted them to all be in tight spandex before I explained to them they'd probably die from heat exhaustion...

I've matching tartan all in ones for a mother, father and baby!

8)  You have produced some African print playsuits...........who would be your dream label to collaborate with for fabrics?  

I'm a big fan of Alexander McQueen's patterns - that rainbow feather dress he did a while back still astounds me and I really like some of the prints in his new AW/'10 menswear collection. 

But generally I tend to look at illustrators work for pattern inspiration. I really like looking at Yerin Tong's trippy work and I'm actually collaborating with an illustrator/printer/brew maker called Himbad Indestructomator at the moment to produce some really eye-popping printed all in ones. They should be available to buy in Beyond the Valley in the Spring. 

9)  Do you have a muse?  Who would you most like to wear one of your onesie's?

I don't have a muse yet. I'm on the look-out and still accepting applications! I'd love someone like M.I.A to wear my stuff....Florence Welch also loves a good onesie, I quite like to make her one. Purely for the fact that i could make something completely nuts and she'd wear it - Lady Gaga.

10)  What was your favourite onesie from last season's collections?

It's pretty simple but I think I'd say House of Holland's denim cupped leotard. I just like the whole chicness of it and i think the hair/make-up/glasses make it look uber cool. 

11)  What is next for "we are all in one"?

Lots. I'm really enjoying printing my own fabric at the moment so you can expect to see a lot of flamingoes, puffins and multi-coloured leopardskin prints making appearances on my designs soon!
I'm also planning an exhibition of all my designs to be shown at the end of the year which is going to involve a mixture of fashion, art and theatrics - all in onesies, of course. 

It's going to be a busy year!

All Photography:  

Dan Wilton  (portfolio)  

Dan Wilton  (blog)

Sat 23 Jan: Paris Report from Amy Gwatkin

A highlight in the seasonal hat department for me is always Stephen Jones for Walter Van Beirendonck, so I asked Amy Gwatkin to give us the low down from the day.........

"The Walter show was in 2 parts...from the right came the boys - with their jumbo ear protectors and small spikes under their shirts at the nape, like baby dinosaurs, can only be described as: super bright techno rave hoodies for the busy baby dinosaur on the building site!

Then the girls from the left - classic hat shapes, the fedora, riding hat, and bowler reworked in coloured felt and outlandishly outsized, over surprisingly discreet hacking jackets, and bold single coloured jackets and dresses - pleated at the shoulder and across the back, in an almost 18th century horsewoman vibe - this impression was reinforced by the insane shapes, apparently constructed like a crinoline the went 'through' the model's body at the crotch - giving the impression of the model 'riding' it - giraffes, machine guns, rockets, storks..........

you literally wonder whether walter cultivates magic mushrooms in that beard of his."

"I spent the day observing the fashion fans crushing round the show venues of Rick Owens, Walter van Bierendonck, Kris van Assche, and Tim Hamilton ( i couldn't find Comme, got over excited by double decker underground trains and was late for Cerruti and Givenchy - sometimes you just have to have a kir and a fag!). Apart from those with invitations who were whisked right in, there were some eager and great looking kids waiting for the chance of a nod and the momentary swishing aside of the rope.... My plan was simply to watch the characters on the street, but the chap at Walter gave me an almost imperceptible head movement and in I scuttled.....Almost everyone had a camera - there was a sort of 'them and us' divide - whereby if you didn't have a camera you were too busy BEING the picture, rather than TAKING them darling!"

To see the whole collection, go here

Sat 23 Jan: Tim Walker, Pictures

Here is a phone-pic pinged to me by Hillman Studio setting up Tim Walker's "Pictures" at Galleria Carla Sozzani in Milan which opens today................a continuation from the exhibition the forces fused at The Design Museum in 2008...........

Sat 23 Jan: We Are All In One- Part One

Whether it happens to be in or out of fashion, I think we are all in agreement that an all-in-one is one of the best looks to rock.  Its a classic and an essential wardrobe staple for automatic style.  I have quite a few vintage numbers (mostly '80s it has to be said) but I think its time to discover some contemporary playsuits.  I fell in love with Nina Ribena's hooded harem pant onsie last year and asked her to make a gold one for my i-D portrait with Nick Knight.  Ive checked back in with her to see where her jumpsuit fetish first started and whats happening for her label "We Are All In One" for 2010.

1)   Where did your fascination for "all in ones" first come from?

A friend of mine had a blue jellyfish sting protection suit that she'd nicked when she went diving in Australia - when I saw it I instantly fell in love and commandeered it as my festival outfit for the next few years. I soon built up a collection of these suits and got a bit of a reputation as being 'the onesie girl' - when the festivals finished I realised that there were hardly any all in one's out there that I could just wear normally. So I started making my own!

2)   What was your favourite romper/playsuit/dungarees when you were a kid?

After going through loads of photos of myself when I was younger it actually turns out I used to wear quite a lot of all in ones! But I think my favourite is this pink one that my mum made me. I was only about 6 but I remember going to John Lewis with her and choosing the pattern and fabric so maybe that's what planted the seed...

3)   Kids stories are onesie-a-go-go from Penelope Pittstop to Cat Woman to the Max from Where The Wild Things Are.........was there a stand out onesie wearer from your childhood that has influenced you?

I think childhood stories actually have more influence on me now than they did as a kid. I love Max's outfit from WTWTA...I've actually been planning to make that outfit for the past 3 years! It's the fox tail that does it for me. The Thundercats have got some pretty cool leotards going on as well and i did used to dress up as a cat a lot so maybe they did inspire me after all!.

4)  Supehero costumes are most often a onesie.  If you could invent a Superhero, what would be there name, superpower and outfit?

It would be a Japanese chimp called 'Space Monkey' - contrary to the name, Space Monkey actually lives in the desert and drives a tank (OK, yeah I REALLY like Tank Girl) but fights wars in space with banana guns and ninja stars. 

Space Monkey would have to have two outfits; for the desert she would wear one high-legged leotard with metal spikes on the shoulders (worn with Dr Martins, a gun garter and a cigarette) and for space - a 50's style, silver body with padded shoulders and hips. Very similar to some of the designs from Jean-Paul Gaultier's haute couture AW 09/10 collection!

 5) Your hooded onesie's were inspired by Grace Jones............do you have one ultimate fave onesie from music showbiz past ie. Bowie, Mercury, Elvis?

To be honest, I think Grace Jones smacks it every time. There's no one of her generation that looked better than she did in an all in one - that's still the case now! There's one picture of her in this white, African warrior style all in one that looks like it's painted on to her but it's made out of a skin coloured spandex, I think. 

Grace win hands down every time, sorry Elvis.

All photography Dan Wilton (except childhood snaps!)