books

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. (more…)



Library corner: Wonder Walls by Sarah Bagner




Playing with my books is my favourite way of whiling away the post-Christmas days. I don’t buy as many interiors books as photography books these days, but if you’re looking for thrifty styling inspiration, then I’d recommend this one.

Sarah Bagner is a non-stop creative juggernaut. Her Supermarket Sarah walls are a stroke of genius retailing – super-styled walls that are instantly shoppable, curated with a themed mix of craft works, vintage finds and emerging designer pieces. (more…)



Library corner: Diane Von Furstenberg And The Tale Of The Empress’s New Clothes



My personal highlight of this year’s Vogue Festival (which returns on 28-29 April 2013) was the Diane Von Furstenberg talk. What a woman! What incredible stories! And there’s more where they come from because Camilla Morton has just added Diane Von Furstenberg And The Tale Of The Empress’s New Clothes to her repertoire of modern fashion fairytales. Following on from Christian Lacroix And The Tale Of Sleeping Beauty and Manolo Blahnik’s The Elves And The Shoemaker, Morton has woven her version of The Emperor’s New Clothes into the legend of DVF and the making of her fashion empire. (more…)



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. (more…)