First look: M&S launches Made In Great Britain heritage menswear for AW13
Hands down, one of the biggest menswear trends for AW13 is all things traditional, homespun and British. So think Harris tweeds, Scottish cashmeres and Savile Row-style tailoring using textiles from our oldest mills. Nicely timed then, is Made In Great Britain from Marks & Spencer, its heritage line that will be launching in selected stores in the autumn. Continue reading
Juergen Teller at the ICA plus some other 2013 exhibitions to diarise
Opening today at the ICA is Juergen Teller’s ‘Woo’ exhibition. I’m desperate to see it, in particular his landscapes that I’ve only recently discovered. Here’s a clip I found (above) of him shooting Helena Bonham Carter with his two Contaxes. And here’s another one (below) of him shooting Kate Moss. (Venetia Scott makes an appearance too)… Continue reading
Bringing back the ‘Comma’ heel
We saw mutated versions of it at Raf Simons’ debut Dior couture show last July, and now Bruno Frisoni has updated the original in silver mirror leather and pink mink for Roger Vivier’s Rendez-Vous collection AW13. The iconic ‘Comma’ shoe, designed by Vivier in the 1950s was a precursor to the stiletto. As shoe designer for Dior, his creations set the benchmark in footwear design for years to come, and the bent, squat ‘Comma’ was one of his best.
Fast forward to 2013 and we’re seeing more versions of those inwards- and outwards-curved heels, both from the house of Dior and from the house of Vivier and in short and tall versions. For Dior RTW SS13 they’re tall, slightly flared and bent inwards, while at yesterday’s Dior couture show they were super-slender and came in bright metallics and chalky shades. Let’s see if the ‘Comma”s influence spreads further…
Original Roger Vivier ‘Comma’ heel 1957
Roger Vivier Rendez-Vous Collection AW13
Barnzley Armitage and the bootleg Chanel tees
Some time last year, I was asked to contribute my thoughts on slogan T-shirts to a book that was being published by Bloomsbury. I met up with writer Stephanie Talbot and we discussed the non verbal communication of T-shirt culture, the communication of blogging and the genius of Maison Martin Margiela’s AIDS T-shirts. Continue reading
Mmmm is for MARNI’s first fragrance
Please take a look at Marni ‘s first fragrance, complete with its USB stick-holding mascot doll, ‘Bambolina’. isn’t is the funnest thing ever? I love everything about this, from the design of the bottle (incorporating playful Marni signatures like curved edges, polka dots and the red bottle cap that closes with a lovely, audible click), to the scent itself which is a delicious, fresh-but-spicy blend of ginger, cardamom, cedarwood and black rose.
I think I’ll be alternating it with Jo Malone London’s Blackberry & Bay – it has a similar grown up ‘juiciness’. It comes out next month (exclusively at Harrods) along with a shower gel, body lotion and body creme.
Who is Aries?
Aries is a new name on my radar, although the names of its creators are not. Sofia Prantera was (one of) the brains behind Silas, the cult casualwear brand that made up quite a chunk of my late nineties/early noughties wardrobe, while Fergus Purcell’s Tonite label was equally influential at the time. Continue reading
mini-me fragrances: Chloé and Rykiel
I adore fragrance miniatures. Not only are they sooo cute but they make sense if you’re short of space. And obviously they’re practical travel companions (my Jo Malone 9ml Pomegranate Noir comes on all my adventures with me). For Valentine’s Day, Chloé is releasing ‘My Little Chloés’, its three popular scents – Love Chloé, Chloé and L’Eau de Chloé – in mini-me 20ml bottles. They’re available from February 1st, £25.
On the subject of mini fragrances*, I finally got hold of some L’eau de Rykiel from one of those fragrance-only emporiums in Westfield that seems to sell every scent you’ve ever heard of. I’ve been wanting this for ever and was happy to find 7.5ml bottle for about a fiver. Truthfully, it’s the packaging that appealed – the classic graphics and the T-shirt-shaped bottle. The juice isn’t bad, it’s quite fresh and soapy and reminds me of something I used to wear (still racking my brains to remember what). But I’m mainly going to use it for shelf decorating… wouldn’t you?
*PS: oh looky, just discovered Miniature Perfume Shoppe, a website devoted to collectors of miniature fragrances – genius!
AW13: Kinky primness
Prim kinkiness, kinky primness. So say Celine (pre-fall 2013) and J.W.Anderson (AW13 men)…
London Collections: Men AW13 – from highland heritage to city subcultures
Can you forecast next season’s trends based on three days in one city? A little. Two stood out for me at London Collections: Men this week – neither very surprising. Menswear trends are a bit more predictable than womenswear because (as a rule) men like to shop for the familiar rather than the new. So we saw a ton of youth subculture references, plus many nods to Great British heritage and manufacturing. Continue reading
Quote of the day: Lena Dunham
“It always makes me so crazy when people on shows have a new winter coat every day. I wore the same winter coat for three years after college, even after my dog peed on it.”
Lena Dunham, in this insightful New York Times story on the costumes behind the characters in Girls
[Image credit: New York Times]
