Fashion’s Music Night In

Notting Hill’s own little Aladdin’s cave, Village Bicycle, collaborated with Parisian brand Paris Eleven to host an exclusive event last week. Promoting Eleven Paris’s limited addition Joy Division T-shirt; paying a homage to the bands vast contribution to music over the years. This event was an ethical promotion as all proceeds of these limited men’s designs go to MDF, the Bipolar Organisation.

The party scene was set in Village Bicycles treasure trove of a shop, surrounded by trinkets and innovative, emerging designer brands such as Aishesh, Devastee and of course Eleven Paris.

Village Bicycle first opened its doors earlier this year, located opposite Matches in Notting Hill. The shop is a concept store created by London socialite and heiress Willa Keswick. Inspired by the iconic Sixties Chelsea store ‘Granny Takes a Trip’ and her travels around the globe; this bespoke boutique is not something you see every day.  With huge neon crosses, religious iconic projections and day of the dead memorabilia, this place is a visual feast!

The Party kicked off with Four Roses Bourbon whisky sours served in cute little jam jars, aptly named ‘She’s lost control’. We listened to American record producer (known for working with Joy Division) Arthur Bakers' choice of tracks followed with a set from model and ‘It girl’, Mary Charteis. 

The rock and roll glitterati were of course in attendance for this special night, we spotted a couple of The Rolling Stone’s offspring, Tyrone Wood and Jade Jagger along with Super-Model Jade Parfit and the Hurts’ Theo Hutchcraft! After all that excitement we went outside to be greeted with what I can only describe as the tastiest hotdog I have ever eaten, provided by Old Street's foodie sensations ‘Big Apple Hot Dogs, amusingly named huge pole hotdogs.

With Village Bicycle’s unique and exciting retail treasure trove and prog-rock royalty t-shirts going to a worthy cause, I definitely recommend a visit.


Beth Gallagher

Vauxhall Fashion Scout visits Yohji Yamamoto´s exposition in Victoria and Albert Museum

Long admired for his challenging works, the story of controversial fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto and his designs are on display for the first time at the Victoria and Albert Museum.  For a man who has been on the fashion scene for decades creating scandal and revolution with each move, the exhibition is a chance to celebrate 30 years of ups and downs of Yohji Yamamoto and his career. 

To know of a designer’s collections is to skim the top of something much deeper; you need to understand his meaning, his philosophy. Before viewing the exhibition I ‘enjoyed’ his designs, but now having read, watched and examined every inch of Yohji’s thinking I can truly appreciate the genius that he is. The exhibition holds over 60 garments, footage of catwalk shows, clips of film collaborations, shoe and accessory collaborations, books containing his philosophical ideas, catalogues of his collections, interviews, music albums, intimate photos. 

Vogue Italia's Sara Maino Visits VFS Exhibition

Sara Maino & VFS Director Martyn Roberts in the Exhibition

Photo : Natalia Ilina

The Fashion Scout Exhibition in the Prince Regents Room at the Freemason's Hall

Photos : Ezzidin Alwan

Hermione de Paula for Liberty

 

This week sees not only the start of London Fashion Week but also the launch of Vauxhall Fashion Scout designer Hermione de Paula's boutique exhibition at Liberty, one of London's most elegant fashion destinations. Like a pop-up boutique, the installation will run for just three weeks and will exhibit a collection of the designers flirty digital prints. It is the delicate tension between sexy silhouette and girlish florals that makes Hermione's garments so beautiful. Definitely one to check out over the next few weeks.

Lara Angol

Imperial Chinese Robes from the Forbidden City Exhibition Review

 Empress' 12-symbol Dragon Robe 1800-1911 (Qing Dynasty) Embroidered yellow silk with coral and pearls Length 144.7 cm x width 199.5 cm Museum no. T.253-1967

http://www.vam.ac.uk/

 mperor's winter court robe, 1662-1722. On loan from the Palace Museum, Beijing

www.vam.ac.uk

 Imperial robes on show in the Palace Museum in 2008

www.vam.ac.uk

The Victoria and Albert Museum have once again brought the British public a rare opportunity to admire objects of great value that they would otherwise never get to see. For the first time in Europe we are able to admire a capsule of China’s Imperial Robe collection.

Ming Wilson, Senior curator at the V and A, has provided a perfect storytelling mix of garments, accessories and fabrics. To truly appreciate every precious garment or accessory it is well worth reading the panels of information, there is so much to devour.

The exhibition goes back in time to China’s last dynasty, the Qing dynasty. After storming the Beijing Palace the Qing dynasty ruled for nearly three centuries. Their rule ended in 1911 and court life vanished. Imperial dress in the Forbidden City was traditionally divided into five occasions; official, regular, festive, travelling and military. For each category there are a couple of garments and accessories from both the Emperor’s and the Empress’s collection.

For those who appreciate true craftsmanship the exhibition is a goldmine of skill and man-made beauty. The detail and intricacy of the patterns and embroidery is overwhelming. You could easily sit for hours staring at one garment, continuously finding different motifs and patterns. The feature of the exhibition for me was the wedding dress of Yehe Nara Jingfen. The dress is displayed so you can see the inside of the garment which is to the exact same standard as the front; for me it was hard to believe that a human could create such detail.

As I read every scrap of information going I soon began to realise that each garment had regulations and meanings behind the choice of motifs and colours. I was intrigued by the fact that only the Emperor and the Empress were allowed to wear bright yellow; princesses, concubines and princes could wear apricot yellow.

I was particularly drawn in by the textures of the fur and the colours of the silks. Sable was often used on the Emperor’s winter coats and hats; it is an expensive fur I had never seen before; taken from a weasel-like animal near the Siberian border the fur was reserved only for the Emperor and his sons. Silk and satin are the foundations for every garment on display, but the colours are so vibrant, it’s a shock to the eye, I have never seen such saturated colours and on garments aging more than 400 years old.

The preservation of these garments, alone is breath taking, some date back as far as the 17th century. Having miraculously survived the 1911 Chinese revolution, two world wars and a cultural revolution; the garments remain in immaculate condition. To look upon them you would think they had only just been made.

One thing that drew my thoughts away from the craftsmanship however, was the discreet hint of westernisation. The westernisation of China had already begun back in the 17th century. The introduction of Europe’s mechanised looms and the presence of European women had begun this western influence on Chinese traditional dress.

As I left the exhibition in my topshop jeans and black leather jacket I felt slightly ashamed of the lack of colour and craftsman ship in my choice of dress; a trail of thought that lead me to truly appreciate the genius of dying craftsmanship.

Imperial Chinese Robes from the Forbidden City: is showing at the V&A until 27th February 2011.

Louisa Kilburn

VFS designer's Selfridges windows

 LiLee

Kirsty Ward

Selfridges have won our hearts again with a true to reputation, awe-inspiring window collection! The lucky up and coming designers picked to dazzle the public with their work are taking part in Selfridges’s “BRIGHT young THiNGS” theme. Two designers are our very own at Vauxhall Fashion Scout; LiLee who is one of VFS SS11 Ones To Watch designers and Kirtsy Ward who is one of the new Ones To Watch deisgners.

Each window is an entirely different and exciting view into the world of the current collection of each young designer. They have chosen to accent their designs with their own stage deisgn with a backdrop, props and a divers range of mannequins. Each window is a new treasure trove to uncover, with some designers creating vast and extravagance theatres of excess to show off their wares and others choosing a uniform and humble approach that focuses on, and compliments the craftsmanship of the garments.

LiLee’s elegant tailoring and pleats are suspended in the air on gymnastic bodies that fly on trapezes across the window space. The fishing line structures remind me of giant Barbara Hepworth sculptures. This display is by far the most pure and relaxing of the window collection and the uniform lines within the garments and the staging are very satisfying to behold.

Kirtsy Ward’s combines her collections of jewelry and clothing in a scintillating fusion of mesh and metal. The soft sheer dresses with volumous silhouettes contrast daringly with sharp and architectural bijoux. The tranquil palette of mint, poppy, beige and black reminds me of 50’s sophistication, then the dramatic layering and boundary pushing silhouettes throw the garments into 2011 with a bang.

Charlotte Summers

Selfridges Christmas Windows Review

I had the highest of expectations for Selfridges Christmas Windows. They are at the heart and soul of what makes London such a shopping Babylon, and they have inspiring and exciting windows displays all year round. Like their Knightsbridge rivals they took on a cartoon theme where clothing was turned into googly-eyed creatures. The main product being pushed to consumers were toys, some classically child friendly, others more sinister with disproportioned features.

The main focus of toys over clothing portrayed a Santa’s Grotto atmosphere. This may have been to highlight the presence of Santa himself, the main man, who has been residing inside the shopping institution for a few weeks now.

The windows each have a new activity or story being told so you can spend vast amounts of Christmas shopping time ogling the dolls houses and puppet shows. There is a lack of clothing being marketed through the display but does Selfridges even need to highlight their supreme range of designer and high street goodies? This year when both Harvey Nichols and Harrods had sold out of vital Paul Smith and Acne stocking fillers, I found everything I had longed for in the Oxford Street Mecca. Even if the child inside me was not thrilled by the Selfridges windows this holiday season, they still are doing us proud with up to the minute, glamazon merchandise; my family will be a very happy, fashionable family this Christmas!

Charlotte Summers

Harvey Nichols Christmas Window Review

Harvey Nicks has an enormous reputation for the best Christmas window display in town. However this year I think they missed a trick! The theme appeared to be a sinister Pac-man headed party involving vast swatches of tacky tinsel and wrapping paper. I do sometimes say that tack is a good thing so maybe we can look at this raucous combination of in a positive light and celebrate the bad taste.

The partying figures are your standard mannequins but with the alarming twist that their heads are enormous Christmas Tree Baubles. They are lounging in bright and dazzling Christmas scenes surrounded by infinite sheathes of tinsel, glowing words, and designer merchandise. The traditional snowman, Christmas dinner, snow covered mountain and carols embody a classical scene. Every window is overloaded with shining decorations only appropriate for this festive period but the eerie characters that inhabit each scene over shadow this. Not only are their heads enormous but also their swollen eyes refer to those of Animé characters.

The combination of frenzied decoration and super natural cartoon characters produce an unsettling sense of a corrupt Christmas seen through intoxicated eyes. In Harvey Nichols’ credit, from a distance it creates a thoroughly festive and celebratory atmosphere and entices you closer to the store. This year they have been beaten by their neighbour Harrods, but with their great reputation I am sure they will be back on top in no time.

Charlotte Summers

Andrew Logan Rejoice Exhibition Review

In a very expressive atmosphere, Flowers introduced the industry to a virtuoso in creative industry, Andrew Logan. Entitled ‘Rejoice’, the exhibition encompasses Logan’s latest creation of sculptures and jewelries, showcased in a subtle way. With enchanting and even glamorous vibe, Logan’s readily accessible yet replete with sophisticated references and open-ended interpretations art pieces are filled with astonishment and eccentricity, yet straightforward and indubitably interactive.

Logan’s interpretation of art is somehow stupendous and exciting to explore. He transforms, changes and marks the world around us, making it brighter, more accessible, and without no doubt, even more mind blowing. Strolling around the spacious yet rich exhibition, visitors will certainly be amused by Logan’s opulent works of art, which depict enigmatic beauty. He took the humblest, most unexpected materials and turns them into gold and other precious jewels, filled with splendor, extravagant, and glory.

As a proud recycler, Logan did not only use the found object, but also titivated, dressed up, and revolutionised them into a whole new genre of manmade constituents. Logan magically overhauled and amalgamated brittle materials such as glass, resin, glitter, Swarovski crystals, aluminum, metal, and fibre into easy flowing and riveting installations, which captured the eyes of art enthusiasts. From polychromatic Pegasus to whimsical mosaics, this first prominent London show of his for several years truly intended for those who believe in divine world of dream and love to have their imagination run unimpeded.

For more information, please visit here.

Daud Gultom

Harrods Christmas Window Review

In my mind Harrods far surpasses every Christmas window in London this year after blowing me away with its magical Peter Pan tribute. They celebrate the birth of J.M. Barrie; the creator of the enchanting tale, who was born 150 years ago.

The tale is told through a stunning collection of scenes full of glistening Fairies and frolicking Lost Boys. Each frame has a delicious assortment of goodies nestled in a captivating forest teeming with shimmering foliage. Each mannequin has been painstakingly considered with dazzling garments, scintillating make up and dramatic hairstyles. Some Tinkerbells are suspended in the air flying above the idyllic children’s playground. An all-encompassing sense of luxury and extravagance is projected onto Brompton Road, stimulating the celebratory senses. Each ensemble is an inspiration for the many outfits needed for 2010’s merry party season. If it wasn’t for the bitter temperatures this winter I could stand mesmerized for hours at this dazzling performance. I would like to step into the window and snuggle up next to Wendy and Peter in their magical world and be showered in glitter and sumptuous gifts.

The glorious combination of lighting, clothing, music, video, makeup, and storytelling produce an incredibly festive atmosphere temping you to rush inside and fill bag upon bag with Christmas goodies. There is even a Peter Pan themed collection available to buy in store with Christmas decorations and gifts on offer.

Charlotte Summers

Wonderful Madness, Future Beauty at the Barbican Review

Perhaps the most anticipated winter fashion exhibition, Future Beauty at the Barbican lives up to the expected hype. The first exhibition in Europe to survey Japanese fashion from the early 1980’s, the exhibition showcases the renowned creativity and avant-garde designs of Yamamoto, Miyake and Kawakubo, whose collections irrevocably changed the fashion landscape, challenging accepted notions of beauty. Deliberately dishevelled, with pared down palettes that reiterated the appeal of understated fashion, it’s difficult to assess the impact their collections had in an era dominated by bright and gaudy creations. 

The exhibition follows on from the Barbican’s successful collaboration with Viktor and Rolf in 2008, and is curated by respected fashion historian Akiko Fukai (Director of the Kyoto Costume Institute), designed by Sou Fujimoto. The exhibition presents over 100 garments that span three decades, many of which have never been seen before in the UK, a fitting tribute to mark the 30 years that have passed since Yamamoto and Kawakubo first came to international acclaim.

Focusing on the three key pioneers, the exhibition delves in to the revolution they ignited, examining how their revaluation of tailoring and silhouette resulted in couture that fused art and fashion in a new way. Presenting concepts in a very ‘Japanese’ way, the exhibition is arranged thematically, with sections including ‘In Praise of Shadows’, and ‘Flatness’. Supporting films and imagery heightens the visionary aesthetic - Naoya Hatekeyama’s extraordinary photographs of Rei Kawakubo’s flat garments reveal an unexpected simplicity, stark graphic statements that redefined notions of dressing, Issey Miyake’s A-POC – is stretched from floor to ceiling, the seemingly never-ending vibrant red fabric resulting in a vibrant focal point.

Japanese principles, including the concept of ‘ma’ (the void between objects) and ‘Wabi-Sabi’ (finding beauty in imperfection) are explained, having informed and inspired a new relationship between flatness and form. Other designers – including Matohu - utilised traditional dying and printing techniques of seventeenth-century Japan, juxtaposing convention with contemporary to result in a new take on beauty.

The exhibition is also keen to promote a new wave of radical Japanese designers, who continue to take cues from their visionary leaders, reiterating and evolving innovative principles. Upstairs rooms are dedicated to monographic presentations of individual designers – including Tao Kurihara self-imposed limitations, Mintdesigns signature prints and Chitose Abe. The ‘Masters’ do not escape attention either – as Miyake’s new 132 5 project is presented for the first time. Flat folded polygons (constructed from recycled PET) transform unexpectedly into clothing when placed on the body – proving that the house of Miyake is still exploring the possibilities of creativity.

Leave feeling more than inspired, and not just to don every black garment in your wardrobe.

Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion is at the Barbican until 6 February 2011. Check the website for a full programme of events.



Vicki Loomes
Photography: Lyndon Douglas

Say it with Flowers: SHOWstudio Review

Christian Dior Haute Couture Catwalk AW10 by Michael Howells

Flora Vanitas by Simon Costin

Hello Flowerhead by Andy Hillman

Rose by Nick Knight

O Pickle Jar by Jeffry Mitchell

As the Winter gloom deepens, summer seems like little more than a distant dream, a tantalising, lingering idea that there was a time when the sun shone and mornings were light. SHOWstudio’s new SHOP exhibition is the perfect antidote to seasonal blues, full of enough vibrant blooms to banish London’s (many) grey clouds. Entitled ‘Florist’, the small but perfectly formed exhibition explores the still life within the cheerful context of flora and fauna. As flowers bloomed across SS11 catwalks, it seems only fitting to celebrate and pay homage to the power of the ephemeral, the fleeting beauty of roses, peonies, orchids captured forever on canvas, screen or in print.

With SHOWstudio celebrating ten years of technological experimentation this year, Nick Knight has persuaded some very special guests – including Guy Bourdain, Gareth Pugh, Mary Temple and Solve Sundsbo – to take part in lavish birthday celebrations. The exhibits range from photographs to sculpture, canvases and (of course) film, and in a nod to the organic origins of the subject matter, the exhibition will grow and evolve as Winter progresses – works created through the now legendary LiveStudio are to be added, complemented with live performances from designers and creatives including Mary Katrantzou, Stephen Jones and Bishi.

As ‘Say it with flowers’ – the open brief given to collaborating artists – successfully reinvents the clichéd art of flower giving (it’s fair to say you won’t find any panic-buy petrol garage endeavours here) the role of the humble flower is reconsidered and revaluated - Michael Howell’s oversized sculpture – straight from the Dior haute couture catwalk – exemplifying the idea.

Florist is at SHOWstudio Shop until January 13 2011, 1-9 Bruton Place, Mayfair, London, W1J 6LT.


Vicki Loomes