Lahssan X Façonnable
I love what French label Lahssan has been doing with its deconstructed trench coats, favourited by the Tommy Tom set (Elisa Nalin, Natalie Joos et al) and influential stores like The Shop at Bluebird, Opening Ceremony and 10 Corso Como Tokyo).
To take his influence further, designer Dryce (one name only) has collaborated with Riviera heritage brand Façonnable to produce a capsule line of fun macs in Lichtenstein-esque primary-hued stripes. And naturally, he enlisted Tommy Ton and Elisa Nalin to shoot, style and model the look book. Watch out for the line when it arrives in Spring…
Gap’s iconic portraits – when classic is best
I spotted this great portrait of Rifat Ozbek by Steven Meisel (above) in a book in the Gap store. The book is Individuals: Portraits from the Gap Collection and is currently going for a song on Amazon. The book is full of portraits by the likes of Herb Ritts, Annie Leibovitz, David Sims and Meisel and goes to show that Gap has been doing for years what lots of brands are only just doing now. That is, photographing interesting people in a way that represents their own style. Continue reading
Portraits of cities: William Klein + Daido Moriyama at Tate Modern
William Klein + Daido Moriyama is possibly the best thing I’ve seen all year. Comparing and contrasting both photographers’ approaches to street life in New York and Tokyo, it instantly appealed to my love of graphics and energy in documentary photography. Years ago I saw a Garry Winogrand exhibition at The Hayward and I still vividly remember those in-yer-face compositions of life in New York. Some of these reminded me of those.
The exhibition space is a layout of vast, high ceiling-ed rooms that give breathing space to the biggest and most dramatic Klein artworks (he often mashed up photography and art by sploshing paint around the borders of the image or across the image itself for even greater impact). Like his wide-angle compositions that put you in the midst of the action, the design of the exhibition repeats Klein’s sense of big city chaos. Framed photos are densely ordered row on row, depicting the busyness and character of Rome, Moscow, Tokyo and New York. Also integral are the photo books on display by both Klein and Moriyama, many on loan from Martin Parr’s extensive collection.
Moriyama’s work is less punchy and more detached than Klein’s, with greyer, grainier portraits of Tokyo and New York street life. They didn’t have such an immediate impact for me but I loved the room of Polaroid montages towards the end. The exhibition is on at Tate Modern until 20th January and I highly recommend going on a Friday evening to avoid the weekend crowds.
Quote of the day: Suzy Menkes on disposable cameras
“They have no metal parts. So when you go to places whose names I won’t mention, where you’re not allowed to take cameras, you can keep it on you and it doesn’t show up [on the scanner]. Of course I would never dream of doing that…”
From a great interview with Suzy Menkes in Industrie magazine
Grace Coddington is i-D’s next cover girl
It’s going to be hard to avoid Grace Coddington over the next few weeks – girl’s got a memoir to promote! But why would you want to avoid the flame-tressed one? So far, I’m loving this i-D cover with its barely-there coverlines, Celine cobalt coat and cheeky wink. On the stands next week, there’s also an interview with i-D’s Terry Jones to look forward to…
Postcards from Vogue: 100 iconic covers
Like the music industry, the publishing industry has become about selling product as well as content. So brand extensions are flourishing like nothing before. But what Vogue has is quite unique – its content is its brand extensions. It uses its incredible archive of photography, illustration and editorials to produce all manner of products, from books to beach towels. Continue reading
It’s a Bruce Weber Christmas at Selfridges (here’s the film, now buy the tee)
The best thing about this Bruce Weber for Selfridges Christmas video isn’t the eclectic cast of animals, kids and fabulistas, or the signature jazzy soundtrack, or Weber’s magical feel-good fantasy world that makes you want to climb into the screen and stay there. No, for me it’s the fact that you (meaning I) can buy one of the Bruce Weber tees for a mere £20 at Selfridges Wonder Room with all proceeds going to Kids Company.
Yes, Christmas just came early…
The Pet Shop Boys wear J.W.Anderson
Good spot on Twitter by Richard Gray from Sunday Times Style of Chris Lowe wearing J.W.Anderson’s quilted hat on the cover of the Pet Shop Boys’ single, Leaving. I’ve always maintained that the Pet Shop Boys have immense style, from their videos, to their record sleeves to their outfits. Here’s the hat in action on the AW12 catwalk… Continue reading
