magazines

Equipment: The ultimate boyfriend shirt part II




Back in November, following a month of press days, I posted this story on Equipment, the classic shirt line originated by Christian ‘partner of Carine’ Roitfeld. I had spotted the relaunched line during my rounds and thought nothing of sharing the few pictures I had taken. Unbeknown to me, my story was linked via a few different blogs including Fashionologie.

A couple of weeks later, the PR emailed me to say that my post had caused her problems as the Equipment relaunch story had been promised as an exclusive to a major international publication in March. I could have been uncooperative but the PR was so nice and apologetic that I was happy to comply and took the post down. Yesterday, I bought March US Vogue and there was the story. Whoops, sorry Anna!

Now the story is ‘out there’ I have been given the green light to put the post back up. The update is that when Carine Roitfeld took the Paris Vogue job, Christian Roitfeld decided to step down from Equipment. But fast forward a few years and his good friend Serge Azria has decided to relaunch it. Serge (brother of Max) also owns Current/Elliot and JOIE so has excellent credentials. Restoin remains connected to the brand which is jolly handy considering he still has all 3,500 original Equipment designs in his archive. According to Vogue, the ‘just shirts’ essence of the brand will stay the same but there are plans for more directional things too.

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From the vaults: Elaine Constantine




Back in the pre-Mert & Marcus days before ultra-sophisticated fashion, when it wasn’t all about It bags and It shoes, Elaine Constantine was one of the most in-demand photographers around. Her peak was the late nineties when every other photographer tried to imitate her energetic, brightly-lit compositions.

Her commissions included ad campaigns for Jigsaw and endless editorials for Italian Vogue and The Face with Big, Arena Homme Plus and US Vogue coming later. Youthful energy – complete with flowy hair and open-mouthed laughter – was her main trademark and the one that brought her to my attention. Her shoots involved a mix of models and ‘real people’ (often her friends) crowd-surfing, dancing, cycling and having pillow fights – in essence, simply having a good old time.

The result was a hyper-real, action-packed style that wasn’t often found in fashion photography. These days, sadly it’s all about pandering to the advertisers, so statue-still studio shoots take precedence over location shoots which also keeps the budget reined in…













WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla
IMAGES: Elaine Constantine
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Harpers’ Bazaar says, ‘we mean business’




A few weeks ago I had a meeting with a photographer who was bemoaning the state of the magazine industry. “No one has any money, they’re all slashing their budgets, it’s a nightmare,” he droned. Oh dear, I thought. It wasn’t news of course, I know many magazines are so skint they are hardly doing any shoots, but buying in pictures from their sister editions in the US. Dire. So today I brightened when I bought the March issue of UK Harpers’ Bazaar. Bloody hell, I could hardly pick it up. It’s huge – not only thick (360 pages) but supersized, almost as big as W. And the content this month is great – Roisin Murphy’s fashion picks, a scrap-book style catwalk roundup, interviews with Sofia Coppola and Luella Bartley and a profile of YSL.




The fashion shoots aren’t my bag (way too grown up) but I did like the Balmain dress with the nomad headscarves and the girl with the naughty cigarette.





To me the supersizing is a good move. If the offline magazine industry is seriously threatened by online publications then this sends out a clear message – “We’re significant and we’re here to stay”. Amen to that.

[Double click to enlarge pics]

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Trendwatch – Pop Luxe



Kanye West Alexis Phifer Harpers Bazaar

As much as I adore fashion and popular culture, I have to admit I have no clue about contemporary music. Pardon me but I’m still catching up on all the old 60s soul, 70s disco and 80s punk music I haven’t yet listened to.

So even though I’ve heard of Kanye West I wouldn’t actually recognise his music if I was to ever come across it. All this mattered not one whit when I witnessed his apartment in US Harper’s Bazaar recently. Oh. My. God. This gaff is stuffed to the rafters with pop-tastic furniture, fashion and ‘objets’.

A stack of Louis Vuitton luggage may not sound that original to you but this guy has like, a tower of ten multicoloured monogrammed LV cases piled several feet high and the effect is totally museum-worthy. Then there’s the neon-green outsized Marc Newson Dom Perignon bottle grazing next to a Maurice Calka white fibreglass Boomerang desk.

Did I mention the super-sized Takashi Murakami flower-shaped pillows? This is my fantasy apartment and it all looks totally authentic. Even if it’s been interior-decorated you can absolutely believe the ideas have come from West when you see his collection of sci-fi-style sunglasses and OTT-print Bathing Ape sweats. West describes this look as Pop Luxe and I think he’s onto something.

Next in the pipeline is his clothing range, Pastelle – if it’s anything like his apartment I await it with baited breath.

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