Saturday 27th September: Paris Fashion Week - Diane Pernet Portraits & Scents at Joyce Gallery

Last evening Joyce Gallery at Palais Royal in Paris held a private view of portraits for Diane Pernet to coincide with the launch of her first fragrance collection.  Beautiful blown-glass vessels held aromas of the four perfumes for guests to sample and smell each unique blend with an imaginary story to explain the composition of ingredients.  For example "To Be Honest", and .........

"In Pursuit Of Magic"  

......makes you feel as if you've entered a familiar yet parallel world, standing atop a hillside temple, time is lost in a moment of sensory overload.  

Another name is "Shaded" - perhaps the signature scent for Diane - the pioneer of fashion blogging under her guise "A Shaded View On Fashion" and founder of fashion film hub ASVOFF.  Now Diane has branched out into spreading her very own particular vision with a new dimension to the fives senses - scent!  Each bottle is decorated with a mini jewel spider designed by Mario Salvucci to mimic her trademark arachnid adornments and accessories. 

"SHADED"
Shaded evokes a nocturnal bath in the sea. !e salt on your skin, a subtle incense and new-found sensations await a secret lover’s encounter. Lightly caressed in the ocean mist, every feeling is shaded by an intense plume of vetiver and surrounded by the deepest touch of musk and guiac wood.

Find out more about the project here.

(Guests included Rick Owens & Michele Lamy, Catherine Baba and artist Orlan - as seen above in my snap) 

JOYCE GALLERY  Shop 216, L2, International APM 999 , Paris

Weds 24th October: "Gilbert & George SCAPEGOATING PICTURES for London" at White Cube

Whilst the knitwear exhibition opens at The Fashion & Textile Museum, it is the final week of "Gilbert & George - SCAPEGOATING PICTURES for London" just a few doors down Bermondsey Street at the White Cube gallery.  It's hilarious that the major visual theme of the show within the repeat tessellating patterns of the prints has come from the nitrous oxide pellets that litter the streets of Shoreditch.  I've noticed them because I have to dodge them when I'm cycling around.  I didn't think they would end up immortalised in this way!  But it makes sense that the bullet shaped canisters can represent flip-side different facets of the face of the East End!  I'ts true that Gilbert & George do walk from Fourneir Street up to the Mangal in Dalston because I see them and it's on this route that they have probably encountered these "whippets" left over from the weekends recreational use of gas balloons!!!

Final Week, 18 July – 28 September 2014, North Galleries & South Galleries, Bermondsey

Weds 24th Sept: KNITWEAR Chanel to Westwood at The Fashion & Textile Museum

The latest exhibition to open at The Fashion & Textile Museum is "KNITWEAR Chanel to Westwood" which has many, many cosmic designers from a cross spectrum in-between.  Here are some of my favourites spanning time from a Sonia Delauney bathing suit thru to Rudi Gernrich & Courrèges sixties space style knits thru to contemporary looks by London's Sibling and Yang Du.  There's even a nod to sport science with NIKE fly-knits which was of particular interest to me! 

Like every themed story curated at this space, it is brimming with exciting exceptional pieces to discover including exquisite unexpected sources such as Bodymap and Katherine Hamnett.  It's well worth a visit to view the extensive selection whilst simultaneously supporting this important institution.  

Find out more information at the gallery's site here. 

Tuesday 23rd September: Print Club London - Blisters "Sound Session"

Print Club London hosted their annual "Blisters" exhibition where 40 artists use the club's facilities to screen-print an edition of 40 posters to be sold at £40 per piece.  The theme this year was "Sound Session" resulting in a gallery full of musical inspired images and artists who have worked in the industry including Punk legend Jamie Reid.  Here is the "Zagora" print I bought and the man himself "Teds Draws" wearing his latest OutKast t-shirt.  Ive also snapped two other entries - on the left Rob Flowers and on the right Jim Stoten.  Head over to the site to snap up one of these very special short run pieces!

Monday 22nd September: London Design Festival - The Patternity Kaleidohome

To round off my coverage of The London Design Festival, here is a another of Patternity's projects omnipresent on the cultural canvas of the capital's current visual landscape ............ The Patternity Kaleidohome.  

"the PATTERNITY KALEIDOHOME installation explores the differing perceptions we have of home and the relationship between its inner four walls and the outer four corners of the world"

This larger than life Photo Booth has been erected right in the middle of Trafalgar Square in conjunction with Airbnb to explore perceptions of "A Place Called Home".  On one side of the geometric decorated house is a mirrored tube kaleidoscope to peer into and turn to create spinning patterns of your own reflection.  When you revolve the cylinder it also automatically takes a photo gif to upload your pattern selfie to an online gallery........... can't say I've ever been in a photo booth like this before!!!!! COSMIC!!!!

Check out more from the PATTERNIHOME project here.