Thurs 12th June: News Flash

Nicola Formichetti has just announced his new project on his blog (see my favorites list) as fashion director of a new bi-annual publication to be launched by Conde Nast in Sept "Vogue Hommes Japan".

Here are 2 pages of his editorial with Oliverio Toscani featuring my accessories. The first is from the current Another Man magazine - the shoot I made accessories as props for all 5 boys in each different DPS scenario. The 2nd image is from the new Dazed & Confused issue, guest edited by Vivienne Westwood. This is the first page I have seen to use a piece from A/W collection.........the triangle rouleu necklace.

Mon 9th June: My aunt - the queen of puds

Potentially, the best ever Pavalova?

Monday 9th June: CONTRIBUTOR FROM BASEL

When Anna Leader went to the Basel Art Fair last week, I asked her to send me some pictures for an incoming report. She snapped this incredible sculpture by Artist Kohei Nawa who is represented by SCAI the bathhouse, Tokyo. It reminds me slightly of a Hussein Chalayan dress? She seemed to think that the taxidermy is inside the glass............so I looked up his explanation and here it is...........quite fantastic...

PixCell - ...... (Beads)
By covering surface of an object with transparent glass beads, the existence of the object itself is replaced by "a husk of light", and the new vision "the cell of an image" (PixCell) is shown.
Most of the motifs, like stuffed animals are found through the internet. I search some auction sites and choose from the images which appear on a monitor as pixel. However, the stuffed animals which actually have been purchased and sent have real flesh feel and smell, and have a discrepancy with images on the monitor. I then transpose them to PixCell in turn.

Sat 7th June: Lets Get Lost

Bruce Weber generously gave a Q&A session after the showing of his new release last evening at the comfortably lush "Screen On The Green". Here he is afterwords, answering more intimate questions to the scardy cats who didn't put their mit up the first time round. I loved the way he translated his own experience of watching the film ("Lets Get Lost" about legendary jazz musician Chet Baker)..................apparently he has an inexplicable hunch that Chet is watching from heaven, and the film will unfold in a certain mood governed by Chet's feeling that day ............luckily Bruce thought this showing was a positive one, as Chet would have loved and approved of the atmosphere of this Islington cinema. I first saw a Bruce Weber film in 2001 at the Castro Cinema in San Fransisco. I chanced upon "Chop Suey" when I visited the beautiful 1920's cinema, just to see the Wurlitzer organ that is played in the interval. Who knows, perhaps this was a favourite film retreat of Chets when he wasn't playing his trumpet down at The Black Hawk...................

Fri 6th June: JCDC

The much anticipated store opening for Jean Charles De Castelbajac on Conduit Street happened last night. I had died and gone to multicolour heaven. Rainbows everywhere. Many of the guests had been lent outfits to sport for the occasion and here is Nova Dando in a current jumper and her own vintage leggings. It was sequin trompe l'oeil dresses and gold pendants a go-go. London's brightest and colourful crew turned out with the Super Super team for once resembling chameleons blending into the physcadelic backdrop.

Thurs 5th June: Urban Outfitters

Sara is in today researching for Wren studio. Looking for websites that scroll horizontally, she came across the Urban Outfitters blog. What a nice surprise to discover that today's news from London is about my accessories...............and I reckon that this image is pulled from the blog as it is just a studio snap..............so thank you whoever you are, viewing my daily picture posting and spreading the word........

Thurs 5th June: Work It

Sara herself had some press this weekend via a Lauren Cochrane article in the Guardian on Sat "Dig Out The Dungarees" picking up on the resurgence interest in 1990's R&B. Sara set up a new club night to bring back the classics that are not played anywhere else in London ........

"on both sides of the Atlantic are creating clubs dedicated to the 1990s sounds of their childhoods, like New York's 1992 (lauded by the New York Times) with Mariah Carey, MC Lyte and Janet Jackson on their playlist. Or London's Work It which boasts a hair fade on the flyer and plays everything from Luther Vandross to Bell Biv DeVoe; it also serves beer bottles in brown paper bags, New York-style, to girls in TLC-ish dungarees."

The next installment in Dalston is June 21st. Here are pictures from the last event by Simon Archer Hurlstone.

Weds 4th June: Time Out

This jaguar pearl necklace was originally made by Maki and I for a Patti Wilson Italian Vogue commission. "Fifi Trafalgar" was resurrected from the archive and now features in a report on 5 new London Jewellery designers in Time Out by Helen Jennings. The other designers profiled are Hannah Martin, Johanne Mills, Lina Peterson and Eleanor Ford. The edition's focus on jewellery is to tie in with "Coutts London Jewellery Week" happening from now until 15th June. It will comprise of exhibitions, catwalk shows, auctions and workshops.

Tues 3rd May: Outside, Inside

The latest campaign for Coin (Italian Homeware) was shot by Tim Walker and Andy Hillman. Maki helped make these incredible gigantic flowers and we luckily still have a few roses decorating the studio. (The plethora of cakes in the recent self portrait of Tim was shot at the same time with the props left over from the cupcake shot)

Sun 1st June: Garage Sale

After a Leicester Square Matinee of "Sex In The City", 4 girls trotted along to Soho for a riffle through the vintage sale on at The Black Gardenia. Here were the hosts on deck, looking suitably gorgeous in their Sunday afternoon spleandour................reassuringly untainted by the Bradshaw Blanhnik Brainwash we had just witnessed............

Saturday 31st May: Brit Chic

4 mini fashion films at the BFI as part of the Fashion In Film Festival. The 2 highlights being firstly "Pacemaker: Biba (1970) and secondly "Insight - Zandra Rhodes" (1981). It was fascinating to see both Barbara Hulanicki and Zandra Rhodes in their prime looking totally dazzling caught on candid camera in these fly-on-the- wall documentaries. Equally fascinating to see the scrumptious and sumptuous surroundings that they inhabited............no wonder both visionaries have had such success in interiors aswell as frocks. But the best, best thing was Zandra's eyebrow/s that morphed in design and positioning on a daily basis and put on in one stroke.

(Here is an original 70's Zandra fan invite that I have in my room............nestled upright in the Grace Jones record collection)

Saturday 31st May: Jones Goldmine

Spending the day with Alex Cunningham, I took her downstairs in a Covent Garden restaurant to share with her a wall of photographs I once discovered. A venue to some of Stephen Jones fashion shows from the 80's/90's, it is a like having a sneak into a family album with snaps of the varying models and audience of different seasons............

Tues 27th May: Craig Lawrence at CSM

Craig Lawrence invited me to see his knitwear collection in the Central Saint Martins BA graduate fashion week show. Quite rightly he secured the prestigious last position in the already brutally edited list of 40 designers. Hooray! And it didn't disappoint. Although this picture is poor, it is a hint at what garments will be cropping up in the most exciting editorial of the next 6 months I'm sure! Watch this space...................

Sunday 25th May: Credit Crunch @ Kashpoint

Matthew Glamorre and Bishi re-instated their legendary club night Kashpoint for a special one off show to launch Bishi's new single. Kashpoint was the original showcase for underground artists and gave the likes of Gareth Pugh and Carri Cassette Playa thier first platform show. Although the start of the evening was a playground for new gen Kashpoint debutantes to flaunt thier inspired regalia, it was the end of the night when the old guard took over the dance floor and showed how things should be done............

I never did work out who was inside a silver pyramid that would occasionally appear from the ether. I was especially surprised when it collapsed in a magic trick without a trace of the inhabitant. To add to my surprise, I stumbled across said costume today dumped on Old Street...........2 days after the event and a different side of town to the Moonlighting Club of Soho............the mystery continues...................(it can be seen just behind Bishi in the pic from Sun night)............

Sunday 25th May: Tales of Ordinary Madness

Here is the impeccably turned out Paloma Faith who has just been featured in the current Nylon magazine's feature on London's rising talent. She is putting on a night of entertainment next weekend with the following acts: Ed Harcourt, The Langley Sisters and VV Brown. I think it will worth going along just to see her outfit from what she was telling me!.................. See her myspace for details of "Tales of Ordinary Madness".

Saturday 24th May: Nan Goldin

Quite possibly one of the best cultural events I have ever attended. And in my 28 years I have seen my fair share...........

Like a religious sect honouring their God (Nan Goldin) at their place of worship (Tate Modern) we filled the floor of the Turbine Hall, sat on the floor intranced in one direction............ mesmerised by the gigantic screen which ran slideshows of her most iconic works and the missing links inbetween to reveal the whole story.................

The visual overload was accompanied by a sensational symphonic soundscape courtesy of 2 performances. The first by John Kelly, a contemporary of Goldin from NYC whose voice was so accomplished it made your spine tingle and eyebrows rise off your forehead. The second was composed by Patrick Wolf and performed with his family (quite literally with one) of musical collaborators. As the images morphed in narrative, Patrick's set sequentially switched in perfect timing. The emotional trip through Nan's lifes work came to an end with an extensive dedication list to the friends she has lost along the way. Although it punctuated the realisation of her subject's sufference, I think it was more an indication to celebrate their lives through sharing the moments she captured in spending time with them.

Sorry to get a bit sincere. The objective of the blog is to share colour and delight but occasionally I may derail when its neccessary!

(Here is photographer Bella after the show)

Friday 23rd May: Pinstripe Delight

And what a delight...............lunch for both a visual and gastronomic feast! Bishi has been busy performing lots of varying concerts recently and is taking part in "The Long Weekend" event at the Tate Modern tomorrow. She is joining Patrick Wolf on stage in the Turbine Hall to accompany Nan Goldin's slideshow presentation of "The Ballad of Sexual Dependency".

Legendary clubnight Kashpoint is also returning for a special one-off occasion to launch her latest single release "'On My Own Again". At Moonlighting on Greek Street from 22hrs til 03:30hrs. Get your glad rags on.......................

Thurs 22nd May: Grun

Last month Gary Card created a giant wicker hand and hoisted it up on a roof in Clerkenwell as part of the Adidas Grun project - Guerrilla Gardening. Tara Darby had a private view of her photographs from the commissioned artists work last evening at the Dazed Gallery. Here is Gary with his new violet crop and Bethan Wood who was his accomplice in the wicker weaving. I didn't have time to go and see it before I went on holiday but I did by chance drive past and admire Jay Burridge's floral billboard ..................but Tara's exhibition is on for a month so luckily this ephemeral art is not lost forever...........

Weds 21 May: New Kabiri Image

I stopped by Jewelry boutique "KABIRI" today and was reminded that Annie Collinge has just shot this fantastically candy crisp new press image for them...............

Tues 20th May: PonyTail

Maki Lou Lou's (a regular visitor to our studio) special commissioned cuffs grace the cover of the 1st issue of Ponytail Magazine. In addition to this, there is a spectacular folded paper collar and fur pom pom. The shoot was styled by Rachel Garcia and shot by Jonathan Hallam.