a little bird told me V

image: nevver

Nicolas Kirkwood on shoe religion.

"I always wanted to make shoes that were the Antichrist to pretty pumps and kitten heels."

Dre is God according to Alexa Chung.

"I look up Dre on YouTube daily to practise so that I can wow people at karaoke."

Wise words from Sophia Kokosalaki .

"Never experiment with an outfit before a big occasion- I'd go with something tried and tested."

Stephen Jones on French Milinary.

"It is more chic and hard edged, as soon as you put a flower on a hat, they say how English!"

Iekeliene Stange on her style.

"I don't take things too seriously and wish people could have more fun with how they dress. I like to get into a different character every day…it's fun to play around..I love to make people smile when I walk down the street."

Don't stress, Giorgio Armani.

"I thrive on pressure, but I also know that I'm a workaholic and that get's in the way of my personal life."

Lily Donaldson on who inspires her.

"My Mum. She is one of the bravest women I know."

Julia Restoin-Roitfeld thanks Alexander Wang for her present on his Facebook wall.

"Thank you for the bag!!!! I absolutely LOVE it and going to wear it right away!!! Big kiss!"

We love Jen Brill. And Jen Brill loves sweets.
"My favourite candy is Nerd Ropes"

More..

A little bird told me I

A little bird told me II

A little bird told me III

A little bird told me IV

holy christ

if streetstyle bloggers were like stockshares, Tommy Ton would be 100000000+ on the FTSE share index*.

and Scott and Yvan would be downnn.

These Nicolas Kirkwood for Rodartes are like something from another planet and further clarification that Kirkwood belongs up there with Louboutin.

* I am clueless when it comes to stocks and shares and I completely aware that I just made a fool out of myself by writing something completely incorrect! but if you say everything with confidence..

A weekend of Fashion Frolicks

I have a confession to make; while there was so much I wanted to post about this week, (the amazing london shows, anyone?) I somehow created a mental blogging block and just couldn't write. But finally here is a not at all brief summary of last weekend in London. Without getting all Miss World, I usually sigh when I read about the likes of Rumi and Camille off galivanting at Fashion Week, so it was rather amazing to be able to have some of my own fashion frolicks and the icing on the cake was meeting Chloe Sevigny! Eeh.

thursday: LOVE reading, yvan confusion.
arriving in london feeling a little flustered after an uncomfortable coach journey and a loss of enthusiasm over the outfit I was wearing, I headed straight to beyond retro for my traditional scout and stocking up on vintage finds. I also wanted to see if I could find some alternative outfit options for both the Topshop Unique show on Sunday but also to the Opening Ceremony Party that I would fingers crossed be popping along to on Friday. alas, the £72 sized gap on my debit card signalled a successful trip. To counteract all of that terribly draining work (!) I went across the road to Le Pain de Quotidien, where I indulged (or buried my head financially further into the sand, depending on your stance) in a homemade limeade and a scone while I people watched and flicked through my new copy of Love Magazine.



Now this is where things get bizarrely interesting.. I spot across the road this fantasticly dressed girl prancing along the pavement. She has a high blonde ponytail, is quite curvy and Swedish looking and is wearing a denim shirt in a way that actually looks refreshingly clean and simple. I then notice Yvan the Facehunter spot her and he starts to chase her and I just sit there slurping at my Limeade smiling to myself at witnessing this all unfold until for whatever reason she shakes her head at him when he approaches and he leaves pictureless. Then he starts to walk up the pavement towards me and as he is about to pass I saw to him that it's a shame that he didn't manage to get that picture because her outfit was so well put together. He shrugged in a slightly blunt way and said that she was in a rush which happens slightly and then looked at my notepad where I had been noting down the swedish girl's outfit. He asked in a tone which sounded rather rude "Do you write character studies because you aren't good at sketching, because you are too poor to afford a camera?" I looked at him a little confused, not understanding whether there was some kind of language barrier or whether he was just an eccentric type skirting the line between sarcastic and rude. I told him I couldn't understand whether he was taking the piss and he ignored this and asked what I did, to which I replied I'm a student and blogger, which didn't seem to interest him. Either way, we parted amicably and I stayed sat there for a few minutes trying to mull over in my mind what had just happened and kind of laughing to myself at his apparent high opinion of himself and his quickness to put me down for writing in a diary which was clearly not as worthy as his photography. ay, ay, ay..

I put this strange encounter behind me, resolving to get some "Yvan testimonies" from some fashion folk over the course of the weekend who might be able to enlighten me into his personality.

friday: red lippie and chloe sevigny
after two days of two and froing texts between myself and jeanie resulting in a confirmation that we would indeed be hitting up Chloe Sevigny's Opening Ceremony launch party at the Double Club and I let myself get ridiculously excited; it'd put off any mad jumping up and down action on the off chance that it wouldn't happen. As anyone will know, I worship at the Church of Chloe and after a sunny afternoon spent wandering the streets of Primrose Hill, I headed back to Oxford St to splash out on my first red lippie from Chanel. I didn't want to overthink what to wear to the party as I knew it may induce a panic attack and therefore plumped to go down the Jen Brill route of bold lips. Met Jeanie and her lovely mates Sarah and Fotis at Angel and off to the Double Club we all trudged where we spent the rest of the evening tutting at the expensive wine, feeling smug about the long line of people waiting outside and nudging each other everytime Bay Garnett walked past until finally Chloe made an appearance and we snapped and gasped. Jeanie very kindly obliged to act as photographer when I plucked up my courage to ask Chloe Sevigny for a picture. I knew that if I didn't, I would forever regret it and quite possibly one day turn into one of those ghosts who haunts and scares the bejesus out of people just to make of for their life "losses".

Thankfully she was obliging and kind but rather unthankfully we both look rather moody and not entirely flattered in the picture.

We left early to catch the last tube home and passed Henry Holland on the way out, and sticking to my blogger promise to take plenty of photos, I asked for his only to be greeted with a coiffed and "cooler than thou" exterior. What a charmer.


others spotted at the double club: pat mcgrath, bay garnett, katy england and bobby gillespie, camilla al fayed, alexis taylor, phoebe arnold, henry holland


saturday: i spy kate lanphear at topshop unique
Sticking to my "keep it simple" dressing philosophy, I scraped my hair into a high bun, pulled on a grey rollneck, body con mini, flats and swiped on a faithful flash of red lippie and channelled my inner beatnik at the Topshop Unique show. Along with Disneyrollergirl, the loveley Hayley from the Topshop online team, and Michelle (as well as her Prince Barry) from Kingdom of Style we waited restlessly in line for the show to start as the likes of Daisy Lowe, Pixie Geldof sauntered past to go inside. With an expectation of nebula graphics and a general Peter Pilotto style ode to galaxies, I was a little disappointed by this season's Unique collection which leaned a little too much in the direction of Nu Rave Clubkid with Neons and glowsticks, though some of the big knitted cardigans had the potential to look lovely in a most pared down context. For me, the collection was a little harsh on the senses, though I'm always interested to see which standpoint designers will take during this economic climate; unabashed antidotal denial ala Marc Jacobs or sombre and pared down ala Armand Basi? In this case, the design team settled for the former.







others spotted at the unique show: karlie kloss, alexandra shulman, kate lanphear, pixie geldof, daisy lowe, susie bubble

falling in

This time tomorrow I'll be in Love.

Put your hands up if you're squealing with excitement about tomorrow as the launch day for Katie Grand's Love Magazine?

acceptable in the 80s

what I think I love most about this collection is that it gives a nod the 80's in a perfectly authentic way. it's not an "hey, i'm wearing neon leggings" in-your-face/agyness deyn kind of look, it's more molly ringwalder as claire standish in the breakfast club if she'd got together with john bender, had a few moments of rebellion and then moved to nyc and partied it up with with mr jacobs himself.

the colours pop, and there may even be a little clashing in there too, but they do it without a whisper of nu rave, and in a dignifed way; pairing that shimmering mustard yellow dress with a large cocoon coat.

the hair and make up is amazing, taking us from ivanka trump to grace jones, and madonna to joan collins.

i can see these pieces shaping up very well as red carpet looks. take them apart a little, rub off the runway sheen and choose just one piece and it'll be a great look. the 80s shaped dresses get my pick because they're a shape that is outdated enough to be daring and exciting rather than nostaligic for the sake of it.

view the rest of the marc jacobs collection here

and the rest of the new york fall 2009 collections here

where's the wang revolution?

There is a noticeably special buzz surrounding the fall 2009 shows this week, and I should think it'll extend right through until the end of the new collections when Paris Fashion week draws to a close at the start of March.

It's a "this year is different" mentallity and an excitement and overdue need to see some new trends. I'm craving looks that are more refined and slick; more Jil Sander than Alexander Wang, something I've spoken about in a a couple of previous posts.

Having said this, I waited for the Alexander Wang Fall 2009 with baited breath, waiting to see if ironically he was in the same mood. Would he steer away from the leathery sheen of his grunge luxe or would be press on with his typical aesthetic of droppy tee shirts and cutaway sex?

I must say, I was a little disappointed, because although glad to see him embracing a more grown up look, the collection didn't feel enough of a departure from his previous and I was hoping for more of a progression to promise that the Alexander Wang look has longivity. Though that CFDA/Vogue fashion fund along with the show's presence of big time influencers Anna Wintour and Phillip Green should be enough to promise a sustained future.

So in conclusion, the collection didn't quite do it for me, I was hoping for a more of a covered up look, with those black maxi skirts I've been speaking of; I'd love to see Wang come up with a new take on conservative. Instead with hemlines shortcoming and more slits in leggings, the front row which housed Jen Brill, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, Roisin Murphy, Zoe Kravitz, Vanessa Traina [and bizarrely Sarah Jessica Parker who I would never have down as a Wang groupie] seemed a more promising breeding ground of new ideas.

pics jak and jil, style.com, fashionista, wireimage

it must be fashion week

because a high concentration of the industry's darlings have been hitting up the town.

and there are photos to prove it!

pics jeremy kost

watching a model in motion

happy saturday!

a video of an editorial being shot is like gold dust. there is something quite mesmerising about watching an established model mould her body into pose after pose, making it look so seemingly easy. yet simultaneously proving that you have to have an imagination with the capacity of eternity to produce something that actually looks good.

in this case, it's lily donaldson modelling a hoard of SS09 pieces for V Magazine; balenciaga, margiela and the like, so all look sculpted in a pleasingly simple way.

the shoot was for the v's feburary issue, and SHOWstudio.com, which photographer Nick Knight is Director of, has dedicated a project, which is deliciously time consumming and shows the filming and behind the scenes of the editorial. you can find each of the looks broken down, as well as interviews with Nick Knight, Lily Donaldson, Sam McKnight and those involved.

click here for the time portal of a page; it'll swallow up your time!

the fantastic fantastic music is Paris - Friendly Fires ft Au Revoir Simone. Aeroplane remix. cue the sound of a thousand fingers hitting the download button!

Industry Insider; Taylor Tomasi

My ears prick up and I go hawk-eyed when contributors or the fashion elite start talking about their jobs. It's the same nosily intrigued reaction that has me drooling over stranger's houses...

Taylor Tomasi, walking style inspiration and Accessories Director at Teen Vogue, talks to teenvogue.com about her job, and shares plenty of insight.

I am always on the lookout for cool, interesting accessories to include in the magazine. I attend all the major fashion shows in New York and Europe, which is where I spot new trends and come up with story ideas. Outside of Fashion Week, a typical day starts early, as I jump between showrooms to pick out all the accessories used in our photo shoots. I have an average of 15 to 20 appointments per day and pull anywhere from 200 to 300 accessories for each shoot. I head back to the office in the afternoon to sign off on paperwork, check credits for stories, organize accessories that have come in, and work with the stylists on upcoming shoots.

I have a Bachelor of Industrial Design degree from Pratt Institute. My first internship was at W magazine, in the accessories department, which led to a full-time position. I eventually became the fashion-market editor there and assisted Alex White, Fashion Director of W, on all her shoots, which really helped me to understand the full scope of market work. Then I became the senior fashion editor at Teen Vogue, before finally switching back to accessories.

My best tip for jump-starting a career in fashion is to take an internship very seriously—and if you love where you are working, try to stay there as long as possible. Showing initiative may lead to something more. Working in fashion, however, is not always as glamorous as what you see on television. It's a very demanding, high-stress environment—but if you thrive under pressure, it may be the perfect fit for you.

bated breath for the september issue

Two minute clip with RJ Cutler and Anna Wintour

This weekend sees the premiere screening of "The September Issue" at Sundance Film Festival. The documentary, is the outcome of eight months of filming at 4 Times Square and focuses on the production of the September issue back in 2007. (You may remember it from the cover which saw Sienna Miller with slicked back hair and superdark eyebrows.. it gathered a bit of a negative reaction at the time, If I rememeber correctly.)

For all of the Wintour bashing that makes up a good fraction of the archives on this blog, I must admit I'm very curious to see this. The frustration at the absence of inspiring editorials and the seeming lack of fashion forward content often makes me forget Anna's importance within the fashion industry. Though it may be easy to question how on earth her influence can still be relevant in an age where the likes of France Sozzani (who incidentally has edited Vogue for as long as Wintour has, and yet still manages to keep up with the mood of modern fashion and society) Carine Roitfled are steaming ahead and editing much more cutting edge international editions, they are arguably able to get away with more when they have a smaller circulation and therefore less of a reliance on the approval of advertisers. As much as we may disapprove an issue for it's unoriginal content, it must be a tricky balancing act for editor in chief, to 'people-please' both the readers, advertisers and still stay true their indiviual creative aesthetics.

I'm interested to know what Anna's reasons were for allowing the team, led by Director RJ Cutler to film for such a long period of time; in total 300 hours of footage has been produced. It seems out of character for the famously icy editor and Cutler himself claims that Vogue fashion director Grace Coddington was originally less than welcoming to towards them.

annual january "summer thirst"

Ah, yes, the third week of january. When it feels like it has been the longest winter on record, and when we wonder whether there will ever be an end to dark evenings. we forget how to spell sumer sommer summer, it's been so long. The advertisements for the spring/summer collections are like golddust. Every tanned leg, every sun ray reflected against the camera, short hemlines and sunglasses must be absorbed as a way of building up some reserves to survive until we get a taste of the 'real' summer beyond pages of a magazine.

The new lookbooks spill from every corner, and with daydreams of holidays turning to fruition, thoughts are now occupied with finding the perfect collection of swimsuits and cover ups. Or roadtesting and feeling our way across the spirit of a trend, hanging in the air just out of reach until the temperature allows us to explore and take our own interpretations for a spin on the streets.

1. the sophomore spring lookbook is here.

..now, summer. would you care to join us?

the miu miu moan

i feel disappointed. i was hoping miuccia and her team would completely transform katie holmes beyond recognition. although it could be argued that the airbrush tool did a good job at this anyway. remember when the lindsay lohan for miu miu adverts came out, whether you liked them or not (i love them, i must admit) they were fantastically un-lohan and fresh and interesting.

this is just dull. she is dead in the eyes, and the colours may pretty, but the backdrop is hardly a saving grace. I don't understand the holmes appeal at all. she seems to be getting an awful lot of "style icon" for owning jeans in multiple styles, and therefore being the "queen of denim"

reality check, in the "real world" people wear denim everyday.

rant over, i'd love to know what you think about the first of the ads to have been released.

image, grazia

apple picking

sheesh, where did the weekend go? can it please come back? i have so much left on my to do list!

the horoscopes post will be up soon hopefully, i'm fearing they won't be relevant for this month by the time they're up, so maybe you virgos et al will have to wait til feb, even!

while-u-wait, i leave you with a shot from the glorious new marc jacobs SS09 advertisements.

shot by juergen teller, with raquel zimmerman.

what will happen to the hutsons?

These days reading fashionista.com is like reading a minute by minute report of the state of the global economy; there's no getting away from companies and publications caving under the pressure of the recession and into administration. Although (i'm no economy expert) I'm very much of the view that recessions come in cycles and are perfectly natural (how could we always go up but never down?) it's very saddening indeed when the latest on the list of bad news is the lovely brand obedient sons and daughters, though the brand has been forced to close it's doors because "investor hasn’t provided sufficient capital to support the brand’s growth." (thanks style.com) uhh, so that isn't related to the credit crunch?..

More importantly, why in gods name, has somebody else not riden up like a knight in shining balenciaga legging-ed armour and saved the day? The brand, led by coolsters Mister Swaim and Missus Christina Hutson was clearly headed for big things after being nominated for last year's CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund and coming up with this bloody superb collection.

Next for The Hutsons appears to be a collection which will be ready for it's show scheduled for Valentines Day. So where is the financial backing for that coming from?..

there is nothing much to see on their website except quite simply the words "new year, new day, new beginnings". the fact this little message was posted on january 8th as opposed to the first tells me they're sadly not referring to 2009.

ps, part two of style horoscopes coming asap, i promise!

words of wisdom from the one of the coolest couples

jarvis cocker: I try to look like a slightly edgy geography teacher. Like what a geography teacher looked like when I was in school. Cords, sensible shoes and glasses. I never liked geography much as a subject though. In fact the only geography teacher I can remember from school was a woman who had a moustache.

camille bidault-waddington: The fashion industry is very fascist... I think people should just be honest about what they wear. Like during Fashion Weeks, there is something so tragic about this uniform of black and Balenciaga and Saint Laurent, all you see is a bunch of black insects.

a little look back

even if you want to deny it (who would..?)

these guys were the coolest couple of OH EIGHT.

also see the style.com video which can't be embedded..

here...http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=n9SwZFw3rqw

does anyone fancy writing a short poem about this awesome twosome?

rhyming isn't optional!

advent season: day thirteen, remembering mj's annual bash

due to financial difficulties (be those as a result of the credit crunch or dodgy not-so-behind-the-scenes hefty bribery pay offs..) dear marc jacobs will not be throwing his annual christmas bash for the first time in 18 years.

it had originally been scheduled for wednesday just gone, and would have had a rock and roll circus theme. surely citizens band and a serving of karen elson would have been pretty perfect for this, but hey ho, let's celebrate and take a look back at the previous years rather than mourn for "loss" of this years.

2005 The Wild West


2007 Arabian Nights


& the rest..


The Previous themes:

2003
The Theme: White and Silver
Marc's costume:Polar Bear

2004
The Theme: Red and Gold theme
Marc's costume: Heinz Ketchup Bottle

2005

The Theme: Wild West
Marc's costume: Wilbur from Charlotte's Web

2006

The Theme: Carnival in Venice
Marc's costume: Vetetian Pigeon

2007

The Theme: Arabian Nights
Marc’s costume: A Camel Toe

pics wwd, style.com, google

advent season: day one nativity scene

"And it came to pass, as the Angels were gone away from them into heaven, the fashion assistants muttered in excited tones, mario stopped clicking and lara put out her cigarette. Emmanuelle stopped, looking at each and every one of them and said "Let us now go even unto Bethlehem and to Carine, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us." And so they ran, with their Balenciaga stilettos clacking, and their hair blowing in the night breeze, and mario and lara giggling along the way."

I'm not religious. But if I was, I would preach the Carine faith. The Nativity, French Vogue style.

pic my own, please credit if you use it, it took bloody hours to create! haa.

he said, she said

scott schuman; "I love that Carine is always happy to stop and talk or have her picture taken with her fans. Carine shows a genuine interest - Carine asked this young lady where she was from. The girl walked away just beaming."


pic and text from the sartorialist

carine, i ♥ you

team hack lepere

saturday 28th november 2008

dear diary.

this is how i want to be when i am older.
this is how all relationships should be.
(minus the phones) but who knows, maybe they're calling each other.

i'm cold.

the end.

pic the sartorialist