Scrap Book/JULY

Scrap Book is a post I will be featuring every month about what I have been loving/hating/finding awesome/discovering/reading/eating etc etc. I'll try to curate as many of these little snippets as possible, but for now, here's Scrap Book entry número uno for July!

1) Kenzo's FW13 campaign-the images are fronted by model Sean O'Pry and Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi and the surreal concept of the campaign reminded me of Through the Looking Glass, if Alice was a street-cool Harajuku girl from Tokyo.
2) The Sunken Chip, Paris-this alone has probably made my month; I stumbled upon an article about this little gem on anothermag.com a few days ago and it describes the how's and whys of James Whelan and Michael Greenwold's journey in opening Paris' FIRST fish and chip shop. They are basically my new heroes, with their goal upon arriving in Paris as "To try and set up something together that was a little different to the rest of what was on offer in Paris"
3) Cupro-you can't imagine how difficult it is to actually describe the texture of this material but I'll try my best; it's textured like silk but has the appearance of a suede composition and it's this unconventional quality that has got me hooked.
4) Clipper green tea with lemon-this is basically all I have been drinking these past few weeks and I've got to say it's done my skin some good too, so bonus points for Clipper.
5) Dazed & Condused's '93 'til infinity cover-I wouldn't say this is JUST about the cover; (although it's probably my new favourite) the issue's theme being revolved around the controversial and buzzing year that was 1993 managed to offer a retrospective view on fashion and culture, as well as delving deep into the future.
6) Orange-it's bright, it's zingy and you can wear it. Enough said.
7) Girl, 20 by Kingsley Amis-I'm half way through this novel of an older man's love affairs in the early 70s. It might actually be depressing in its cynicism about human love if it weren't so accurate and so funny most of the time.
8) Frida by photographer Omar Viktor Diop.-I annoyingly can't actually remember where I first saw this but I love the inspiration for the series of iconic moments in French and American film.
9) Ask the Missus-these Uranus brogues are just the ticket for adding colour to an autumn pallet but also serve just as well in the summer. Despite being a menswear shoe brand I seriously need to invest in a pair.

SunnyD and eyeballs

If you can't already tell from the pictures above, I'm a little obsessed with orange at the moment. I'm in the habit of buying items coloured as if they should be seen in a SunnyD advert back in '93 which has ultimately made me want to experiment with print and colour more, as well as making me feel rather sunny wearing it! I've gathered some of my most recent tangy purchases for this post above; a bunch of train tickets from trips with friends, a pair of elasticated mid-calf socks from Cos, orange pens from Muji for brighter note taking, the Amsterdam city guide from the travel savvy people of Wallpaper*, and most recently, a cropped shirt from the Dr.Martens x Agyness Deyn collection.

I kind of surprised myself actually when I bought this shirt as I've been quite 'safe' with colour and print etc. Spotting this in the Dr.Martens store, the tangerine and eyeball combination reminded me of something worn in The Fifth Element yet I felt like a cool kid from the 90s buying it surrounded by their miles and miles of patent stompers. The collaboration has been going for a successful 2 years now, with their spring/summer 2013 collection inspired by the Harajuku girls of Tokyo. The collection is a mash up of different trends from the subculture but notably post 80s early 90s punk rock. You can find their current collection here!
(The background for the images is taken from issue 2 of Sheet, the in-house fanzine for Urban Outfitters Europe, by Joe Peter Brown, a Sales Associate and their store in Bath. You can find him and his awesomely ingenious graphics here at joepeterbrown.tumblr.com)

Habits

I feel like every season we are sucked into a whirl pool of toile and new trends that we can often forget the little quirks that have become integral to the designer and their work; Chanel's little black jacket, Rei Kawakubo's destructive fabric pile-ons, Rick Owens' dark and otherworldly enigma . I've found myself drawing away from the trend tsunamis (but not ignoring them) and looking out for those little habits in their collections today, that would have been prominent during design infancy.

First up is Christopher Kane. I think probably my favourite aspect of Christopher Kane's collections every season is his graphic tees; his signature is creating luxury out of  thrifty screen-printed t-shirts and this brilliance has turned roaring gorillas in his spring/summer 2009 show (think of a more wearable Planet of the Apes) and even Frankenstein in his spring/summer 2013 collection giving a gentle nod to his effortlessly cool and stellar epitome.

On to Rick Owens. His shows always remind me of a forbidden planet and his collections the planet's dark and dangerous enigma; he is in the habit of emerging his models from pouring smoke which helps convey the elegantly badass attitude of his collections.

 And of course I couldn't leave out the invisible king of couture. Martin Margiela is guilty of the habit blessing of being able to create bewitching masks of marble, crystal and pearl. These masks are worn by all in his couture shows-Margiela HIMSELF could be under that mask, who knows? Margiela has made his mark with this signature anonymity, and in his two years of couture he has managed  to stamp his signature all over the globe, no effort required.

Getting "back into" fashion

For this post I couldn't think of a more appropriately crap title, but that's just it-I have found myself stuck in a rut for a good few months now and fashion, you have tired me. And this lack of inspiration has resulted in a lack of blog posts, a lack of interest and, worryingly, a lack of commitment to something I felt so passionate about all of 4 months ago. Exhaustion came to mind whenever I followed the collections online throughout fashion week and everything around me had been so over-saturated with fashion images that anything that I would have previously found extraordinary just seemed very tedious. I'm not sure what exactly has got me "back into fashion" exactly, it may have been my hoarding tendencies letting the pile of magazines grow, but it seems that as soon as Couture Week has rolled around the corner, design is exciting me again (here's looking at you Martin Margiela).
Expect more commitment to writing and fashion from now on, my eyes have just had an overload of it.

Dress: & Other Stories (unfortunately no longer available!)

Ring: Cos

Shoes: Office

Saison Deroeux

"Etienne Deroeux is an emerging French designer. Trained in Belgium at Antwerp’s Royal Academy and La Cambre in Brussels, he has collaborated with various fahion houses in Paris, London, and New York. Enhanced by these experiences, Etienne Deroeux presented his first collection ‘Saison Un’ in 2011 during Paris fashion week. His line evokes elegance, quality and remains timeless. All materials used are natural and handpicked carefully. The pieces are produced in France in limited copies, with each garment hand-numbered from 1 to 100, ensuring authenticity and exclusivity to each piece." (etiennederoeux.com)

I came across the French designer a few weeks a go in an article written by the brilliant Léa Taleb and was instantly draw to his quietly luxurious creations. His designs offer a poetically precise Bauhaus signature, which Deroeux has effortlessly mastered in only a few seasons. The design talent launched his label with the eponymous but simple name 'Saison Une'. From the begining of this journey right through to 'Saison Quatre', Deroeux has been accompanied by his faithful allies; asymmetrically draped dresses, graphic jackets in luminous blends of colour, fabrics and leather selected from manufacturers and tanneries which the 24 year old designer has iconically transformed into works of virtuous simplicity with a subtle blend of tradition and modernity. These masterpieces are all carefully crafted in a small factory in the north of France which also produces his collections in small quantities, believing that "fashion is about long lasting garments that can be integrated into the everyday lives of women." I feel that it is very rare to find designers as attached committed to local craftmanship as Deroeux, and this savoir-faire quality embodied by so little young designers needs to be preserved as much as possible.

Geometry

Tessellating and simple pieces that come together to make exiting and unexpecting results-this is what you will discover when purchasing from Bao Bao-Issey Miyake. The idea of form and function produced by chance is what the Japanese-born designer has enveloped into his exciting and interminable accessories line, first bought about in September 2010, Miyake created a wearable look full of charge and energy. The label 'Bao Bao' comes from the word 'bilbao' which is the comprise of repeated triangular pieces, and it is these tessellations that give the bag its unique and flexible shape, inspired by the metal panels that steel workers fuse together to create structures, the triangles are attached to mesh cloth to give it movement and the feeling of lightness.

Denim nostalgia

London based design team Marques' Almeida are known to evoke the post-grunge Ninties era in their garments and for their FW13 collection they did not shy away from their iconic aesthetic. However, the designers took a rough-luxe take on the era, combing the industrial and baggy skater with raw silks and slashed denim. Semi-court shoes with their signature clompy soles added a splash of sophistication to the skater child, along with silk parkas and luxurious ink and maroon biker jackets-the pinical of Ninties fashion. Pushing the boundaries, Marques' Almeida even tackled the gown but of course to their own ethic; with huge balloning trousers to bring us back to the collection's raw nature, whilst transparent knits were slashed, torn and trailed. Marques' Almeida certainly bought about a sophisticated nostalgia to street.

Acne FW13

It was said that you cut the suspense with a knife at the opening of Acne's first debut at Paris Fashion Week after leaving London last year. It was the final step in the exclusification that is Acne, whereby Jonny Johnasson decided to adapt Acne's men's show into an "intimate presentation" which ultimatley down-sized the exposure of the house and it was certain that Acne would not dare disappoint with their iconic skill in their approach. The outcome of Johnasson's cocktail of cerulean blue, splashes of slate and boxy leather was down to the progressive-minimalist kabel collaborating with bespoke artist Katerina Jebb and the Musee Galliera which created a masterpiece that completely reshaped fashion as we know it. "We wanted to insert a historic element with what we do," said Johnasson and this historical element allowed the label a new outlook and perspective, viewing fashion in a new angle; and with Jebb's materialised prints featured throughout, it made for a captivating and interesting collection. It was a concoction of leather and corduroy, thick knits with brutal zips and stitching, and through the harsh and stiff shapes peered soft salmon pinks and sandy shades invited as much appreciation as the consideration that had gone into the label. With Acne unravelling history, as Johnasson intended, with such ease and innovation, it is safe to say that Acne has found itself a home here in Paris.

Short hair and Vogue

Sweater: Jil Sander
Shorts: Vintage
Plastic raincoat: Topshop

When a woman cuts her hair...

"…it’s time for a change. Change is a funny thing; it can transform not only one’s physical appearance to perhaps something more empowering and elaborate, but can completely renovate that person’s embodiment of their persona into a new, exciting and wonderful being. Extravagant changes are part of human nature, we will simply never be satisfied with being ‘ordinary’ or ‘plain’ but strive to embody every eccentric on this planet until our locks run fuchsia and every inch of our skeleton is inked. It’s an unconventional arms-race which will be won by those who do stick out like a sore thumb, those who are not afraid of neon plaid or floor length cobalt braids á la Brooke Candy..."

This is a short extract from one of my 500 word entries for the Vogue Young Writers Talent Contest which I am planning to enter this year. The thought of exremely important people reading my somewhat mediocre writing really scares me, but this is such a fanstastic and thrilling opportunity as an aspirational editor, I just hope the Gods are on my side! (I think what I wrote above pretty much sums up why I got my hair cut!)

Eudon Choi FW13

Eudon Choi-a young designer who has been steadily building his reputation on cocoon lines, sleek shapes and a sense of futurist austerity, yet for his FW13 collection be bought an aesthetic of Russian romance to the ever-anticipating audiences in his London show this February. "For me the real focus was to keep the signature, but the main starting point was actually the Swarovski sponsorship which really inspired the romantic element in the collection like the crystals," said Choi, who also noted Russian costume as the basis of new shapes and elements fullfilling his collection; bloom-filled headwer and full cocooned skirts adorned his blushing collection. "It has the hardness and the softness," went on Choi, who elaborated that this was a season of firsts and change, a new chapter in fashion and a new chapter in the book Eudon Choi has opened.

 

The main reason why I love London Fashion Week as aposed to the more prestigious of the events is simply because of the discovery and unveiling of new young talent-they emmerge as bright, exciting and unexpected flowers in the fashion Garden of Eden, blooming with innovation and austerity, ready an awaiting their debut which is exactly what has drawn me to Eudon Choi. He mastered it in rosewater and Persian blue.

Origami

 

Grey: Cos

Bone: Jil Sander FW12

 

Quintessentially folded perfection. I have been wearing the same camel wool car-coat for 3 years now and it saddens me to say it is high-time to reinvest, baring in mind we get sight of the sun here in Britain once every leap-year. Ever since I was small I have always found a silent pleasure in creating a mish-mash of paper cranes, butterflies, dinosaurs(!) you name it; this year I have been revolving around that paper-cut minimalism watched by millions on the runway of Jil Sander's FW12 finale. It may seem very faux pas to many of the trend following warriors roaming the nation that I would still be fawning over Raf Simon's final collection IN SPRING 2013; but to me it was a moment in fashion history that will remain quitely bespoke and legendary in it's own right.

Of course we can not forget the elusive Martin Margiela in crafting his Parisian plastic wonderland for spring 2013; architectual square-cut shapes adorned the runway reminding us of the house's identity in quietly serene pallets, allowing us to appreciate shape and form in 13 minutes of over-pronounced cocoons. But that is, to me, what is so iconic and memorable about Margiela-proportions are always being played with, giving you that elusivity when wearing a Mariela gown. And as we all know, the invisible are the most stylish.







Sport

T-shirt: Raf Simons

Shoes: Acne

Skirt: Monki

Holographic card holder: Proenza Schouler

I'm trying to think possitivly about the weather and hoping it will warm up a little so I can actually go running again (this is painful to say, I hope winter will never end but I desperately need the exercise). I've got a good feeling about sports wear this spring and for me, paired with this Raf Simons tee and Monki tennis skirt, these Acne perforated cut-out boots are a fine piece of sportswear craftmanship. 

What I would have wore to LFW

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mohair sweater: Uniqlo men's (old)

Velvet cycle shors: American Apparel

Nylon shoulder bag: Cos

Wood and metal bangle: Cos

Sunglasses: ASOS

It is because I am knee deep in essays *sigh* that I will not be attending the fashion Garden of Eden that is London Fashion Week this spring. However, the thought of many weeks of drowning in lined paper and John Steinbeck did not make me hesitate in deciding on what I would wear to Sommerset House. For that occasion, I stole my dad's old mohair Uniqlo sweater which I have been secretly coveting for years now; although persuading him to let me wear it was nothing without stubbornness. Mohair has got to be my favourite texture for the colder months and there is something I find delicious about the soft and cosy silhouette it gives; although it may seem to many that an extremely oversized knit is such a lazy garment I can never help but feel quite expensive in this one. It reminds me quite a lot of the mohair Wham dress from Acne which is hiding from me at the moment.

Alexander Wang AW13

There is something utterly indulgent about symphonies of Cashmeres, Mohair and fur all thrown together harmoniously creating a beautifully decadent softness in a season of biting winds. Soft shoulders and roomy shapes indulged the crowds at New York Fashion Week, who witnessed the master of modern brew up another masterpiece collection. It was the antidote of rigid and sculptural shapes in which Women's fashion is currently breathing. Model's heads were covered in coal coloured Mohair hoods, knitted into the forecoming news of New York blizzards, a subject every budding New Yorker is familiar with, although Wang bought about an exciting element of unexpectedness-a foreshadowing of what Wang will bring to Balenciaga.
(Photos courtessy of i-doline.com)