Sat 14th Nov: HAPPY BIRTHDAYS.........

What the hell is in the water 9 months prior to early November?  The last 2 weeks has been a barrage of birthdays.......or is that just me?  Perhaps my Aries has a predisposition to befriend Scorpios?  But literally its birthday a go-go on my calender at the moment...........

Sara, Kieron, Bryn, Mark please accept my apologies for not being with you today and everyone else days either side.....I haven't got anything better on, I'm just sipping tepid tea and in my freezing studio.......

..................BIG SHOUT OUT TO ROWDY..................BIRTHDAY BOY.............POSSIBLE SOULMATE.................

Sat 14th Nov: Profile Weekender - La Roux insider special with Nova Dando Part II

Not only is the dancing weirdly wonderful, but also the location (more deats tomorrow) and the props.............

Here is another of Nova's trusty accomplices "Bubbles" Jo Gilmour at the fruit bar.........

Sat 14th Nov: Profile Weekender - La Roux insider special with Nova Dando

As most of you will know, Nova Dando is Elly Jackson's stylist and responsible for her rad looks.........cameo brooches with Basso & Brooke print suits...........

She borrowed my Dodecahedron Necklaces for the Bulletproof video and got back in touch to request pieces for the latest video "I'm not your Toy".  I had to decline the offer as I was mid collection..........little did I know that Nova was in exactly the same situation herself!  No rest for the wicked!  Its workaholics anonymous between all of us!  But luckily Nova has a right-hand man Myles to help out........you can see the two of them here trying on wigs for the video.

As it turns out this is my favourite La Roux track and the video is so brilliant I wanted to find out how it came about.  The dancing is so catchy and bonkers, that was my first question:  

I just wanted to know about idea behind the story/narrative i.e where are they & what's going on?!- especially the choreography?

The video is directed by Alex and Liane who came over from Berlin to do the video (www.alexandliane.com) !

Elly loves Caribbean tropical vibes but didn't want it cheesy 80's tropical they wanted it to look more like a colonial British ambassadors house having an elegant party with awkward dancing and a bit of fun.

I love the weird dancing!  I also wondered about the casting - who did that?

They wanted everyone to have awkward sort of dancing- they filmed themselves doing the dance and then sent it out to everyone in the video so they could learn it before hand. We all had a good laugh trying it ourselves during the shoot!

Everyone in the video are friends of mine and Ellys, we went thru my facebook and invited friends that we knew would be up for coming and being in a music video and hanging out with us for the day. 

The band are in it too who haven't been featured in other LA Roux music videos before!

If you notice the casting was kept to an all brunette/dark haired cast to make Ellys hair pop out even more! So everyone wore wigs. 

Christian Frizenwanker came over from Berlin to do the hair and this is us trying all the wigs on in the studio when Alex and Liane came round for a Friday Night 'Meeting'.

One of the dancers is Elly's good friend Cherry - who dances with M.I.A on tour- and she brought her incredible dancing crew. 

(thanks to Nova for the exclusive behind the scenes snaps and answers)

La Roux - Im not Your Toy

Fri 13th Nov: "Birds Eye View" 2010 submission deadline

This is for all the ladies...............in the words of Destinys Child........

All the women who are independent
Throw your hands up at me
All the honeys who makin' money
Throw your hands up at me
All the mommas who profit dollas
Throw your hands up at me
All the ladies who truly feel me
Throw your hands up at me

.........or more accurately in the words of Kathryn Ferguson who curates the ever-growing fashion film festivall for female talent............so if you are a skilled sartorial cinematographer, get your DVD in the post quick smart...........the deadline is Dec 6th............

If you need some inspiration/encouragement here are some stills from Kathryn's own work........."Crystalline" the latest feature for Richard Nicoll that she directed for his S/S10 presentation.  It features beautiful hydrangea masks and headpieces by the mighty milliner Nasir Mazhar and set design by Anna Burns.

Thurs 12th Nov: Blue Peter w/ Craig Lawrence

Here is the jumper of knitwear designer Craig Lawrence...............YES WITH A BLUE PETER BADGE!  He earned this most coveted accessory for his guest appearance on the BBC institution that aired yesterday afternoon.   Its a classic episode and pure genius to cast Craig.  In the tradition of  avantgarde British designers engaging with incongruous  kids TV, it is very reminiscent of when Leigh Bowery was interviewed by Gilbert the alien on Get Fresh.  LOVE IT!  I'm so pleased that kids all over the UK are going to have been inspired by Craig from their after-school square eyes........its going to go down in history........

Weds11th Nov : Art of the Trench

So yep, here it is The Art of the Trench.  The day Rosy and I met Scott Schuman and got snapped wearing some Burberry.  Im also wearing Cooperative Designs and my own caterpillar necklaces...........infront of this cosmic graffiti we found which is very "Granny Takes a Trip" and perfect for me (and if you look very closely you can see that Scott positioned me so that I have horns coming out of my head - thanks!  LOL!).  He was very charming and fun which was an interesting experience to encounter as much as anything else.  I categorically hate having my picture taken so I was like a whippet on high-alert........all tense, shaky and awkward.  But being the professional at getting the best out of his subjects, Scott slipped me "you've got a Scarlett Johansen thing going on" in a deft and dangerously effective quip to make me go all giggly like your mum when she's told she looks like your sister............you know is daft but in a funny way it works!  So chabang, we have the shot!

Head over to the site to see international cities that have been covered by The Sartorialist on this Trench Treasure Trove..........here in London he also cast Rosy Nicholas and Reuben Esser.........whilst photographer Mauro Cocilio stopped Kuni and Danny Sangra.............see who else you can spot as more are being uploaded...............

Tues10th Nov: Rankin Destroy for Youth Music

Here are some of the other 73 artworks on show at the Destroy exhibition which opens to the public today.  The auction is on Saturday (this Sat 14th) at Phillips de Pury & Company which you can attend by rsvp destroy@youthmusic.org.uk.  There is a Damien Hirst canvas of Joe Strummer and a Matt Collishaw piece for Kitty, Daisy and Lewis.  Here Ive snapped some of my personal faves just from remembering them so vividly from their original spreads in Dazed (Nina Cherry, Jarvis Cocker, David McAlmont, Tricky.........there is a Howie B one too somewhere).

My owl wasn't the only garment that had been constructed............here is a dress by John Richmond for Mel C which was displayed on a mannequin.

Here is also the Little Boots portrait which was customized by her graphic designer/art director/super talented illustrator Chrissie Abbott.  The two have also collaborated on a t-shirt design for Youth Music and Victoria will be performing a gig at the exhibition on Thurs day at 6:30...............for anyone who wants to catch her at the same time as checking out the show......

Tues10th Nov: Rankin Destroy / The Owl and the pussycat Pat

ns to collaborate with him on customising /Destroying his portraits.  One of these images is a black and white portrait of a19yr old Patrick Wolf holding his viola.  A few of the musicians decided to extend the collaboration and work with an artist on their reinterpretation...........and Patrick asked me.  I took the idea for our piece from the owl pendant in the photograph and cut up (deep breath) Rankin's print to make a tawny owl top for Patrick to wear.  I made a prototype first to get Patrick's approval before going ahead with ripping up the iconic image!  He has since worn this at Latitude so the little fella had an impromptu Summer debut before the show last night!  But here is the final thing in all its glory at Phillips De Pury Gallery with an estimated auction price of £1000-£1500..........all proceeds going to Youth Music ..........come on, dig deep, its for CHARITY............

Just before I had to hand over the owl for curation, we spontaneously had a photo shoot to capture the Owl and the pussycat Pat before he went away for his summer tour.  Elisha Smith Leverock and I took Patrick into his garden in amongst the amazingly graphic and perfect backdrop of Acanthus flowers (which you can see in the previous post).

Patrick performed last night and is playing again at the Palladium on Sunday where we will be selling some merch that we have collaborated on too..............more details to come..........

(Patrick & Rowdy Superstar taken by Rosy Nicholas who helped me make the final owl in June)

Mon 9th Nov: Twit Twit Twoooooooooo.......Clue Two

Photos by the uber-talented Elisha Smith Leverock

Mon 9th Nov: Twit Twit Twoooooooooo.......

So here is a hint at what is to follow later and tomorrow.................the prototype of something I made for Patrick Wolf in May which will finally see the (twi)light of day..........later today.............

Sun 8th Nov: Happy Birthday Hillman

We used to have a regular gathering for cava'n'cake at the studio for birthdays but for some reason it hasn't happened for a very long time...............until Friday when the tradition was resurrected for Andy Hillman's celebrations by Alex Cunningham making these cute cupcakes in true Hillman style flyagaric mushroomness............with blueberries inside!

Sat 7th Noc: Tara Darby @ Aubin & Wills

I can't believe Tara's last exhibition was in June!  Where has this year flown?.....................

So from the steel-drum summer private view in Dalston to an Autumnal opening in Westbourne Grove at the cosy flagship of Aubin & Wills.  Tara has shot a beautiful fashion spread for their latest Almanac and to reinforce their association Aubin & Wills have given her their walls to exhibit some of her iconic images.  Amidst the antique shop fixtures of chunky cable knits and stripey socks are Tara's softly lit sensitive snaps of Bat for Lashes, Uffie,  Alexa Chung, Jethro Cave...........all for sale, individually priced...........ready to be snapped up for Christmas............

Fri 6th Nov: Sh'mon Laura

Here is Laura Bradley who has just spent her last day working as Fashion Features Editor at SHOWstudio.  Its been a full circle of 4 years since she entered the mirrored hall of Ironmonger Row in Nov 2005 and left through the Shop door of Bruton Place.  Of course there was an interim of her degree where she created the best magazine I own in my weighty archive (that is giving one corner of my bedroom subsidence).  The Fashion Almanac has been on hold whilst she dedicated her energies to SHOW, but little trickles of collection equations can be found via her twitter to feed your appetite for reference recipes: "Holiday Postcards + Crisp Packets + Post-it Notes + Prada S/S 2010 = Maison Martin Margiela S/S 2010".

So what honeytrap has seduced Laura away from the safehaven of SHOW?  *Now for the exciting part* i-D are re-structuring their online output and head-hunted Laura to take up the mantle.  To accessorize that mantle she may well walk into her new office wearing a pair of Jil Sander killer heels which were her leaving gift from the family at SHOW.  Other parting treats included a cat cake and a mix tape of 'My Girl', 'Laura' by Scissor Sisters, 'Don't Stop Me Now....................so Laura, don't stop!  Keep up the maverick work and have a blast giving i-D a make-over............we can't wait!

Thurs 5th Nov: SHOWing Out

After Rasharn's shoot earlier in the week.........the end of the week is being wrapped up by SHOWstudio's Nick Knight in person...........with his peers and regular collaborators shooting a story for British Vogue.  Nick often (always?!) films his shoots but of course any documentation on set is always secret until the final edit is published..............that's industry standard.  So this is really quite exceptional!  You can see Michael Howells set and the specially commissioned designer garms made for the feature..........here you can see Natalia in a one-off Prada ensemble made for Lucinda Chambers and the "Fairytale" theme.   All of these outfits will be auctioned off after the shoot to raise money for Natalia's charity "The Naked Heart Foundation".

Thanks to the fury that is Alex Fury of SHOWstudio for sending me these snaps live from the action.  I like the inclusion of the rainbow rack of colorama in the background in keeping with my blog aesthetic (also loving Marion ensconced in texting, making the most of Natalia's time in mittens, LOL!)

For everyone at their computers and not down at Somerset House to witness it in person, follow the live stream here, its been upgraded ...........

http://www.showstudio.com/projects/fashionrevolution/live/

Contributors: Model - Natalia Vodianova, Photographer - Nick Knight, Fashion Director - Lucinda Chambers, Hair stylist - Sam McKnight, Make-up artist - Val Garland, Nails - Marian Newman,Set Designer Michael Howells

Thurs 5th Nov: Good(ley) Times

I headed to Dover Street yesterday for the Goodley PR press day to check out Natashca Stolle's  latest collection..............and also pleasantly stumbled across Holly Fulton............whose art deco prints wreeeeeeek of me and it would be criminal if weren't added to my wardrobe...............I if only I were shopping for my own Christmas list ............I would like it all please...........oh and these William Tempest sexy silk swirl numbers (very Cremaster 3!) in what only can be described as a cantaloupe melon orange.

(Top to Bottom 1-5 Holly Fulton, 6 William Tempest, 7-8 Natascha Stolle)