i-D.

MAY

Agyness Deyn has teamed up with Uniqlo. The model has, with her sister, created a limited edition range that will consist of tunics and tanks featuring polaroids that the pair have taken.  I would like to say that they could turn out either really ridiculously cool, or really ridiculously lame, but odds are yes-they will be quite cool.  If i stop smoking for a week, i'll save the £12.99 needed for one and then will feel like i've won either way...

In love

VOGUE OFF

Not everything is about Anna Wintour.  Or The Devil Wears Prada. Or Anna Wintour.  Or Anna Wintour.

Flying the flag for the UK is Alexandra Shulman...  "I haven't ever tried to be a sort of perfect, cool character who doesn't have the problems that everyone else has," she says. "I guess I've done it by being determinedly – 'Alex, she's so real,' you know?" (Aida Edemariam, The Guardian, Saturday 5 December 2009). Which is, um, endearing? 

Carine Roitfeld for Vogue Paris... "Everyone tried to be this Gucci girl that we created. So I am sure we were part of this tendency. It was good at the time because we were the first ones to do these kinds of images to sell a product and after that everyone kept on doing it. I think now it’s too much. It’s no fun. It’s not chic. We always had a chic eye on everything, even when we shaved the G on the girl. A lot of girls started shaving their pussy in different ways after that so it really became a trend".  Referencing the Ford advertising that i love so much, not everyone can say pussy and get away with it.  Shulman would probably find it a bit awkward. Awkward laugh Shulman.

Christiane Arp for Germany... Couldn't really find one remotely interesting thing about her, except for the below leather pants. Which are pretty cool. So, errr...

Franca Sozzani for Italy...

 This is the period in which everybody only talks about diet. Too late and too boring!

6:11 AM Apr 22nd via HootSuite

People dislike you being successful. Sooner or later they'll try to destroy you.8:45 AM Apr 12th via HootSuite
A strong concept is better than thousands of vague ideas.6:00 AM Mar 19th via HootSuite

Aliona Doletskaya for Russia... “Fashion is a world in which everything is gorgeous, stunning, caramel on top of caramel, and cream on top of that,” she said. “But in reality you have to fire people, to say things that are not particularly nice. There is a contrast between what you do socially and what happens behind closed doors".  Not every Vogue editor can be so straight talking and pose topless for a magazine cover...

Four(d)-eyes

I absolutely love Tom Ford's advertising. I love the styling. I love the portrait of the woman.  I love the hair.  Above all, i love the glasses.

Harper's Bazaar October 2009

Facing reality

A week full of long hours and hard commutes has left me feeling a bit disillusioned by the industry.  I pick up a magazine, flick through to the stockist directory to see what brands have been featured, have a quick look at the main fashion, and get back to my excel spreadsheets.  Last night i was on the train and had the depressing thought that all fashion was, was a continuous struggle for product placement. The industry is fed by brands who compete for the same space in publications, in the hope that (as the chain of command leads up) the design team will be satisfied with the coverage attained; the demands are high and expectations even higher.  Perhaps i am stating nothing out of the ordinary, but i have never been a cynic, and so to find myself viewing the industry that i love so much in such a way is a metaphorical slap in the face.

I'd like to think that it isn't naivety that keeps me enamored with the magic of fashion.  The clothes, the stories and the images all keep me believing that creativity in the industry is still rife, and for all of us to be a part of this in our own small way is an honour.  However, the relationships between brands and their prs, advertisers and press all start to highlight that although fashion is magic, above all fashion is business.  It is a multi-billion pound industry and it is taken incredibly seriously.  You might have the most incredible collection, but without the right coverage, press or contacts a goldfish has more chance of climbing up the ladder of success.

I think it all comes down to the fact that in order to work in an industry such as this, one needs to strike that careful balance between seeing it as a passion and seeing it through the eyes of a cynic.  Some days you're chasing the dream, and others you're facing the politics.  At any given instant we are all either high-on-life or wallowing in our failures.  Either we're lucky in love or we're excruciatingly lonely.  Stifling hot or bitter cold, soaking wet or parched to the bone.

Really, really long days...

Who is your favourite designer?

I have never been one to have favourites.  I don't have a favourite colour, favourite movie, favourite song, favourite city.  I think this is partly due to the fact that i am fickle by nature, but mostly because there are so many variables that effect one's decision of what their favourite is  (mood, age, time of year, company...) that i can never trust myself to cement something as the option that i will always prefer over everything else.

So when asked the question 'Who is your favourite designer?' i am, unsurprisingly, stumped.  I have thought about it a lot over the last couple of days, and have come to the conclusion that if i am ever going to be able to make headway with an answer to this, i am going to have to separate this into categories:

Favourite Spring 10 show:

No explanation necessary. 

Favourite Fall 10 show:

The originality and theatricality of Viktor & Rolf's 'Glamour Factory' worked a dream, as the interchangability of the outfits kept the mind boggling as to where the pair were going to take you next.  Not only was the show a spectacular piece of entertainment, the outerwear the pair created was incredible.  In-cred-ible,

Favourite vision:

No-one can clash like Consuelo Castiglioni.  Her expert eye makes teaming aqua with red, print with print seem so natural.  Brilliantly bohemian, Marni's Italian charm will have me drooling every time.

Favourite Heroine:

Galliano's heroine is so fierce i'm not even sure Beyonce would stand a chance.  The red lipstick, teemed with lingerie inspired silk and sheer ankle socks is strong, feminine, and above all SEXY.

Favourite come-back:

Okay so i kind of made this category up, but i had to put her in somewhere...Pheobe Philo's Spring and Autumn/ Winter shows are up there as close seconds to my favourites for the year.  What can i say, i'm a sucker for her clean, minimalist look.  Highlights include her use of leather, which has turned into one of the most important trends for both seasons.  Come to think of it, it seems strange that i could love her simple lines as they stand so different from the theatricality of both McQueen and V&R's shows. 

This is impossible. 

Carine Roitfeld. Good.

She's the editor of Vogue Paris. How could she POSSIBLY, EVER get it wrong? This lace and cape look from Ralph Lauren's dinner (via fashion.gearlive.com) must be really good then? Really, um, really really good...

Marathon Countdown

A WEEK TO GO!! One year i am going to quit smoking and run the marathon. Until then, all i can do is dress for the occasion.

From top: Alexander Wang SP10, Prada SP10, Julien Macdonald SP10, Derek Lam SP10, Hermes SP10. All images via Style.com

Resimay

To hoom it ma cunsern,

I waunt to apply for summat that I saw in the paper.

I can Type realee quik wit one finggar and do sum a counting...

I think I am good on the phone and I no I am a pepole person,
Pepole really seam to respond
to me well. Certain men and all the ladies.

I no my spelling is not to good but fi nd that I Offen can get a job thru my persinalety.

My salerery is open so we can discus wat you want to pay me and wat you think that I am werth,

I can start emeditely. Thank you in advanse fore yore anser.

hopifuly Yore best aplicant so farr.

Sinseerly,

BRYAN

PS : Because my resimay is a bit short - here is a pikture of me.






Employer's response:

Dear Bryan ,

It's OK honey, we've got spell check.
See you Monday

Twenty-first century fashion

Fashion has always reflected a certain era. What does fashion reflect in the twenty-first century?

"The power of the customer. They are extremely important in contemporary fashion. Now they dictate what they want and how they want it. It's time for the new establishment. People want to consume "new". The industry followed it and reviewed the concept of mass production. For example, in one single collection, we can handle over 100 prints using digital printing, naturally making each piece more exclusive, which would have been financially impractical in the past. Although we don't necessarily agree with it, celebrity endorsement has also certainly become an important PR tool for established fashion houses, as well as young designers." Basso & Brooke

"Unfortunately, it has become faster and faster and louder and louder. In my view, less time is spent on the craft and on making beautiful things. It is all about who has the biggest marketing budget, who puts on the craziest show. To me, all of this is less about beauty; it is less about the wearer. It is about egos and big business, and that is a worrying trend. On the other hand, fashion has gotten a much broader audience, meaning that people in general care more about an important part of life. Clothes and other fashion accessories have an influence on how your feel and how you are percieved. More accessibilty in that respect is a good thing. Also, it seems that at least the developed markets are less ruled by labels and big brands. People are getting more individual; they better understand what design and good quality is about and are less directed by marketing ploys and insecurity. That is a good trend, and i hope it continues. Of course, there is also a strong experimental side to fashion in the twenty-first century, and that is needed to advance things. However, i feel there is a general focus back onto what really matters to people when they choose their fashion. In my view, while interesting to watch, the space age/ experimental lady that is currently being portrayed is going to be a very lonely lady. I hope that fun, wildness and beauty win in the twenty-first century - a renaissance of style and beauty." Alice Temperley

"Today there is a kind of openness. It's very visible, and maybe ut's overexposed-me included-but that's funny, too, isn't it? It's funny, because i survived so many people. It's a very strange feeling. But i have no sense of time at all. I'm floating in the air of no time." Karl Lagerfeld

Laura Eceiza, in Atlas of Fashion Designers (if you do not own this book it is a MUST-HAVE) poses the same question to over sixty designers from around the globe: what they feel 21st century fashion reflects. Unknown to them, their answers trend an uncomfortable awareness of the awkward relationship they have with their customer and hint to a general disparagement in regards to the direction the industry is moving in. With rumors surrounding Alexander McQueen's death of Prada asking for huge sums of money back from the designer, one wonders whether the industry, as it stands, is a healthy one for any designer to grow or succeed...

What i see