culture of fashion

The culture of fashion: Steve McQueen Small Axe series



Scene from Steve McQueen Small Axe series for the BBC

I can’t wait for Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series telling the Black British experience story, which starts on BBC tonight at 9pm. As a born and bred West London girl, I’m always interested to learn more about local history and this series hopes to be an important social history lesson for everyone.

Serious business aside, I will also be watching avidly for the style and music references. McQueen talks about some of them as part of his brilliant Observer New Review takeover. (more…)



Culture of fashion: Helmut Lang x Saint Laurent collab



Helmut Lang X Anthony Vaccarello for Saint Laurent Rive Droite

“I always had the utmost respect for the work of Yves, and Anthony has created an unparalleled vision for YSL, furthering the house’s legacy in a truly contemporary way…Anthony was the first person in fashion to engage in a collaboration focusing on my artwork. As I collaborated with artists in different ways throughout my time in fashion, it was intriguing to be in the reversed position.”

An interesting turn of events at Saint Laurent. When I saw the headline saying Anthony Vaccarello has collaborated with Helmut Lang (pay wall), I assumed a fashion line. (more…)



Michael Clark: Cosmic Dancer at The Barbican



Michael Clark retrospective, The Barbican 2020
Michael Clark: Cosmic Dancer at The Barbican looks amazing. Frieze has a deep dive on the choreographer’s retrospective (read it here), and you’ll want to get in early with your ticket booking – social distancing an’ all that…

I’ve already been trawling YouTube and found the incredible video that Frieze writer Brian Dillon references of Clark’s dancing to T Rex’s Cosmic Dancer on an Italian TV show. (more…)



Quote of the day: Douglas Keeve on Unzipped



Unzipped Isaac Mizrahi

“There were all these small designers who were kind of mad geniuses doing what they wanted, and it was about the beauty of [fashion]. And it went from creativity to commerce; now it’s all commerce—it’s all about numbers and [the] bottom line and focus groups. That’s what drives fashion now. It’s different worlds. It’s just different. It doesn’t mean there aren’t great people out there; it means that the business of fashion has superseded the art.” (more…)