22.2.11

If it's good enough for Stella...

I absolutely adore these videos made by DJ Pogo, who previously worked for Walt Disney Motion Picture Studios and was contractually obliged to remove them from the internet whilst working for Walt. Now they're back, and they're more charming than ever!

Wishery

Upery

If Stella McCartney approves Disney then who am I to argue?!

18.2.11

Fashion week invitations

My favourite fashion week invitation so far arrived in a lovely big box on a bike. It was Mulberry's origami fortune teller game of course!
You can learn to make your own here

13.2.11

Reggae Britannia

Being a fan of all things reggae, Dub and Ska - and of most things BBC, I've been looking forward to the BBC's Reggae Britannia series for a while now. 
This morning I watched Reggae Britannia on the iPlayer (something else I'm a big fan of!) It was really interesting to understand the dichotomy between British and Jamaican reggae music, and its impact on mainstream pop music - I never knew that Boy George's Culture Club was so heavily influenced by reggae music. Nor, in my ignorance - did I realise the extent of racial division in British culture of the time. It shocked me, and yet it's so recent. 

I highly recommend watching the documentary here and stay tuned for the rest of the series. 

P.S. Straight after watching the show, I had to listen to all the old classics. Here's a few... 

Dreadlock Holiday - 10CC

Natty Dread She Want - Big Youth

Dub Fire - Aswad

loving You - Janet Kay

Everything I Own - Ken Boothe

Cherry Oh Baby - UB40

Back To Life - Soul II Soul

Pass the Dutchie - Musical Youth

8.2.11

Andrej Pejic

With flowing long locks, porcelain skin, a jaw line that could slice cheese and a delicate frame, it’s easy to see why Andrej Pejic is the model of the moment. What makes this Australian different is that he’s a ‘he’!
19 year old Bosnia - Herzegovina born Pejic recently closed the Jean-Paul Gaultier’s women’s spring summer 2011 haute couture show dressed as a bride and wearing strategically placed tulle stripes. Pejic also stars in the new Marc by Marc Jacobs campaign, and has graced the pages of French and Italian Vogue too.
Fashion has long toyed with and challenged gender stereotypes, but this dalliance somehow seems more subversive, perhaps only because it’s shocking that a male can pass so convincingly as a woman without a hint of his true identity. Either way, his looks are hauntingly beautiful.

Lisbon's painted Blu

I found these photos from a recent trip to Lisbon. Created by Italian graffiti artist Blu, they look down over Lisbon life.

I love the way he incorporates the architecture's structure and details into his designs, making the art interact with, rather than simply overlay its canvas. 
I love this illustrative video, a collaboration project between Blu and David Ellis.

6.2.11

Type the Sky by Lisa Rienermann

Deep in the depths of my desktop I found these incredible images by photographer Lisa Rienermann. The images are are taken from the ground, looking up at city skyscrapers.
Rienermann claims it took only a couple of weeks to compile the alphabet, though a little Photoshop magic was applied here and there.

The series entitled Type the Sky is accompanied by a book, for more info click here. Interview exerts found on www.dezeen.com

2.2.11

Love from Darkroom

Tonight I went to see the Love from Darkroom valentines exhibition. Several 'createurs' from Carolyn Massey and Philip Treacy to Barnaby Roper and Bill Woodrow were commissioned to create an 'heart work' to be sold at the shop for a set fee of £150.

Proceeds of all sales are donated to Camila Batmanghelidjh's Kids Company charity. Benevolent chic anyone?!
Love from Darkroom runs until February 14th.
Darkroom
52 Lamb's Conduit Street
London
WC1N 3LL

1.2.11

Vivienne Westwood for the United Nations & World Trade Organisation

Dame Vivienne has triumphed in creating an ethical product that still appeals to the fashion hungry. Her collection of bags - as shown during her ss/11 Paris Gold Label show, are all handmade from recycled advertising vinyls by women suffering extreme poverty in Nairobi, Kenya.

The project is part of the Ethical Fashion Programme, in association with the International Trade Centre, the United Nations and World Trade Organisation, and aims to help women to work to improve their financial situation in ways that have minimal negative environmental impact.