bye bye london!

my term one at lcf finishes tomo which means i now have to pack up all my clothes,shoes,more clothes,bags,more shoes,accessories,more clothes.... and head home for a whole month! im defiantly excited to be heading home to farmer land for christmas but not waking up to the crazy london city everyday is going to be well, lets just say a lil depressing. hey ho ill be back within a month to start term two of craziness.

Ho Ho HO!!
xx

x

To Lee, With Love, Nick

Lee Alexander McQueen, 1969 – 2010

Alexander McQueen tribute

Celebrating the breathtaking imagination and groundbreaking designs of Lee Alexander McQueen, the latest fashion film by Nick Knight pays tribute to McQueen's sensational creations, stellar career, and most importantly to the man himself. This fashion film tribute, titled 'To Lee, With Love, Nick', will be showcased at the British Fashion Awards and online at SHOWstudio.com tomorrow evening.

Directed by Nick Knight and set to an exclusive soundtrack by Björk, this one-off film features a painstakingly curated selection of landmark McQueen pieces drawn from his sixteen-year career. A tribute to the burning creativity of a designer who undoubtedly ranks as the greatest of his generation, this fashion film is breathtaking, mesmerising and utterly unique - just like McQueen himself.

you must must must tune in to this.

here he is again

you shud know by now that gareth pugh is never far from my mind. he pops up randomly throughout my posts. this is not done on purpose however, i get distracted...i watch showstudio...i click gareth pugh...i watch...i share.

all i want for christmas...

CINDERELLA from e-design+ communication gmbh on Vimeo.

cudn't help but post this after seeing shoes and reading 'all is want for christmas...'
shoes in order of appearance:
louis vuitton - miu miu - prada


ps,
i love you

I love you

One of my assignments for my 'Understanding Media' class at lcf involved us individually looking at a magazine that we had never come across before. If you didnt know already Selfridges is home to an aaaamazing selection of fashion, art and photography publications. Until about a month ago i didnt know this. now its my favourite place. whilst in magazine heaven i came across a very eye opening publication title. i love you - my printed blog. 

After reading the magazine and visiting the online site i was very intrigued and impressed. The house style of the magazine is very 'pretty' 'perfect' and 'fairytale like' this is mainly down to this particular issue being the Princess Issue, however after researching other issues it still carried this 'pretty' vibe, which i like. The publication is very photography and fashion based and carries a fictional fairy tale aspect. 

             I Love You magazine is a creative, art and fashion magazine.  The magazine creates a unique and innovative collection of fashion editorial, photography and illustrations. I Love you issue 5 is classed as the “Princess Issue” and due to this the magazine is unique in both house style and content.  The target reader of this publication is very artistic, fashion conscious, cool and innovative. 

The reader of this magazine does not follow trends, nor do they follow brands. They are unique and innovative; they create their own trends, their own ideas and their own thoughts.  I Love you is for a reader with passion and understanding of the creative industry. The publication is much more image focused opposed to written editorial. Still life photography, Fashion photography and illustration define this magazine and give the reader what they want. The reader shops in cool unique stores such as Beyond Retro, American Apparel, Urban Outfitters and Topshop.  They will not copy trends but moreover reinvent their own.  This is also apparent as I Love you consists of only one ad; the reader doesn’t need nor want directions into buying. They do it themselves.

I Love you explores editorial content in a unique and different aspect. It includes fictional articles with a creative twist; The 6 wives of Henry VIII for example.  The incorporation of drawing, illustration, video, typography and graphics target the creative reader.  

They are cool and innovative, as is I LOVE YOU.
 

i created a small media pack for the publication based entirely on my own research and thoughts. These are not correct and reliable facts and figures but instead my own. I have continued the 'cute' and 'pretty' house style which runs throughout the I LOVE YOU magazine. 

 What i liked about this magazine was its random pages of still life editorials and fillers. They do seem a lil random when you flick through the publication but it adds the 'cool' vibe which the magazine craves. Its asif it doesnt even need or have to justify the random pages. 

           Another aspect which i like about this magazine is its fictional editorial. In this issue we see a piece on Henry VIII and his 6 wives. 

Katherine Parr from e-design+ communication gmbh on Vimeo.

Kathryn Howard from e-design+ communication gmbh on Vimeo.

Anne of Cleves from e-design+ communication gmbh on Vimeo.

Jane Seymour from e-design+ communication gmbh on Vimeo.

Anne Boleyn from e-design+ communication gmbh on Vimeo.

Catherine of Aragon from e-design+ communication gmbh on Vimeo.

you can get the full fictional article at http://iloveyoumagazine.blogspot.com/

As well as the interesting fictional editorial you can learn how to bake a cake!

The Fairy Tale Cake from christiane boerdner on Vimeo.

as i said this is a very interesting, fresh, pretty publication.
its worth having a look i promise.

ps,

i love you

10 things ive done since last updating my blog

1. work
2. work
3. work
4. eat
5. work
6. work
7. work
8. work
9. work
10. sleep for 5 days

lcf. killing me slowly.
but hey ho work is now complete.
now id like my life back.

lcf = pretty amazing

The first 3 images are of the hundreds of Vogue issues that live in LCF's John Princes Street library. Normally i get bored of librarys and find them dull and time consuming ( ino i shudnt but cant help it...) but at LCFs i had never seen so many fashion books. Every shelf was filled with hundreds of styling, trend forcasting, buying, costume, design books to name a few. It was Fashion bible heaven. The next best thing to Clothes. I also found myself turning delicate pages of Italian Vogue dating back to the early 1950s and before. Italian, American and British Vogue editions dating way way back! LCF you never fail to impress me...even in the library department.

scary, intimidating, fashion people.

today i finished unit one of my course at lcf. To be honest i can not believe i have already completed one unit already. where does time go? but i couldnt be more exstatic that ISHE (dont even ask) is over. I had to present to my class information about the "This is Tomorrow" exhibition at WhiteChapel Gallery, London. Although the exhibition was interesting and my group were lovely, the project was pretty time-consuming and not all that great tbh. The standing infront on 30 other lcf students and 4 very experienced and a lil overwhelmingly successful lecturers from the fashion industry, added well lets just say a lil pressure. The fact that they were jotting down notes after every word you spoke and giving no facial expression also got my heart beating. However, i survived and was overall happy with how it all went. who said fashion was easy?
once my heart had stopped thumping and i got to sit back down i planned my journey home. of course giving time for a quick browse in Selfridges... i was at John Princes Street after all, it would be silly not to? hmm.

The Eye in I.D Magazine

i-D

i-D

this magazine is one of, if not my favourite magazine. i don't know if its due to its cheeky wink or amazing photography. i don't think theres a defining reason for why i love this magazine quite so much, maybe a lil too much. put it this way - if i had £5 to get some needed food or i-D magazine, it would certainly, most definitely be the latter. (this happened to do and as i'm writing this post my belly is making very strange, very loud, gurgling noises. i blame i-D for this.

i-D is famous for its signature one eyed front covers and this is even featured in the title of the magazine, i-D ...when looking at it on the side its also a cheeky wink. you see?! as obvious as it is, i didn't realise for quite awhile when i started buying the mag. oops! Anyways, the one eye/wink is a very iconic image for the magazine and gives its added quirkiness which runs throughout the fashion/arts magazine.

Today i have purchased The 30th Anniversary Special, Defin yourself - 309 issue,  with Lindsey Wixon giving us the cheeky wink on the front cover.

For the second issue in
i-D’s 30th anniversary trilogy, the Define Yourself Issue, we welcome six spectacular cover stars.  Kristen, Malgosia, Lindsey, Liya, Joan and Daisy are all ladies we think are worth shouting from the rooftops about.

Lindsey Wixson

Photography Emma Summerton
Fashion Director Edward Enninful

The face of Miu Miu’s campaign for the last two seasons, Lindsey Wixson is the hottest girl to emerge from Kansas since Dorothy Gale clicked her heels and transported herself to the magical city of Oz.

"Lindsey Wixson began modeling at the age of 12 in her hometown of Wichita. Her parents thought it was a phase she'd grow out of, but then Steven Meisel decided to shoot her for Italian Vogue after seeing a video she'd posted of herself on Models.com. After walking for Prada and Miu Miu, she is now the face of Miu Miu's spring 2010 campaign. At 15 years old. Her skirt may be short in this picture, but she has her limits: Wixson requested a bra on a recent W shoot with Craig McDean because her top was see-through. W notes that a lot of models wouldn't have. Wixson replied, "I'm 15 and even though I freaked a little, I know for a fact that my mom would freak ten times as much. I just couldn't be flashing everyone out there."

Lindsey Wixson for miu miu, spring 2010


The other 5 fabulous 'Define Yourself' Front cover stars of the issue include...

Kristen McMenemy
Photography Daniele + Iango

Kristen McMenamy is the fearlessly original supermodel, with big hair, big brains and a big personality to boot. 

Malgosia Bela
Photography Daniele + Iango

Malgosia Bela is the pretty spectacular Polish model who features in all her glory in the tremendous beauty story in the Define Yourself issue.

Liya Kebede
Photography Daniele + Iango

Extraordinary Ethiopian beauty Liya Kebede moved to Paris aged 18 and her feet have rarely left the catwalk since. Liya has winked from the cover of i-D twice before for The Iconic issue in 2003 and forThe Name issue in 2005 so she's here to make it a hat-trick!

Joan Smalls
Photography Daniele + Iango

Joan Smalls is hotter than the sun. She broke away from the pack at the shows earlier this year and is now steam-rolling her way to the tip top of the model stakes! You better watch out, this one's moving fast!

Daisy Lowe
Photography Marcel Door

If Daisy Lowe is the 'girl next door' then her neighbours must be the envy of the town. Exquisitely English she appears in all her splendour in The Define Yourself Issue wearing designs by this year's BFC NEWGEN winners.

These 5 issues are really about 'defining yourself'. It is the second issue in i-D's 30th anniversary trilogy. It is about thinking differently, rocking the boat and breaking the rules. The issue looks back to how identity was established. "Put two fingers up at convention, wear your laughter lines like battle scars and remember grey hair rocks!" says Holly Shackleton, i-D editor.  i am a very big fan of this issue. 

Gareth Pugh S/S 2011 presented by SHOWstudio.com

i just cant get enough of Gareth Pugh.

Rock&Lashers

Vivienne Westwood - Fall Winter 2010/2011 Full Fashion Show Part 1

Vivienne Westwood, you beaut.

Vivienne Westwood, where do i begin? One of my favourite designers and such an influential British designer. After completing a project at A-level surrounding punks, Vivienne Westwood became even more influential for me. Its easy to say you love her crazy draped designs and checked pieces but Vivienne Westwood (and Malcolm McClaren) were part of such a fashion extravaganza and caused massive controversy in the punk era. 

Due to her passion and outrageous designs i am a big, big fan of Vivienne.

981-1987

The Pirate Collection of 1981 was Westwood and McLaren’s first catwalk show. This offered a romantic look which burst onto the London fashion scene and ensured this collection’s place in history.

Collections:

‘We’ve only stopped to note significant innovations, otherwise the ideas carry through and develop throughout the collections.’

Pirates, AW 1981-82, first catwalk show.
- Plundering history and the Third World.
- Research into historical dress, keeping the original cuts as fashion.
- Inspiration from Native Americans. Ethnic cuts.
- Pirate trousers had a baggy bum/complete contrast to hippy hipsters and tight arse.
- Position of neck hole – when worn, garment is asymmetrical.
- At this important point in her career, Vivienne developed ethnic cutting techniques which are based on rectangles. She has an idea she knows will work, knocks it up in rough and in small scale and tries it out on a little dummy. Through various adjustments and fittings she arrives at a full scale finished garment in the right fabric. Clothes always have a dynamic with the body. She continues to mix this in with historical cuts.

Savage, SS 1982

Buffalo Girls (Nostalgia of Mud), AW 1982-83

- Colours: Mud.

- Raw cut sheepskin.

- Bras – underwear worn as outerwear.

- Inspiration: Peruvian women wearing bowler hats and full skirts, dancing with their babies tied on their back.

- Collaboration with Malcolm McLaren ceased.

Punkature, SS 1983

- Inspiration: Blade Runner, desert landscape.

- Distressed fabric and recycled junk.

Witches, AW 1983-84

- Visit to New York, met Keith Haring. His art looked like magic signs and hieroglyphs. Therefore – collection ‘Witches’.

- Hip hop, styling of garments stop-frame look, white trainers customized with three tongues, pointed Chico Marx hats.

Hypnos, SS 1984

- Image: Greek God of Sleep.

- Collection very active, sporty, nothing to do with sleep. Very hip.

Clint Eastwood, AW 1984-85

- Westwood said, “Sometimes you need to transport your idea to an empty landscape and then populate it with fantastic looking people.”

- Fluorescent big macs and body stockings, clothes covered in company logos and Day-Glo patches inspired by Tokyo’s neon signs.

Mini-Crini, SS 1985

- Cardinal change. Fitted clothes. English tailoring. Princess line coats inspired by the Queen as a child.

- Wish to kill masculine big shoulders of the 1980s.

- Models sexy, curvaceous, attention drawn to hips.

- Mini-Crini inspiration: Petrushka.

- Rocking horse shoes.

"Vivienne believes that fashion is a combination and exchange of ideas between France and England; “On the English side we have tailoring and an easy charm, on the French side that solidity of design and proportion that comes from never being satisfied because something can always be done to make it better, more refined.”

creativity is fun

Here is a snap of my magazine design that i made for one of my university interviews - even tho i later turned it down for lcf! who wouldnt? anyways, the magazine was in the style of 'Love' Magazine. unfortunately i dont have my front cover saved to my mac (bad times) but it was very much influenced by 'Love' magazine. As is the contents and double page spread that supported the front cover. I kept it very minimlistic and sleek, colours are neutral and simple. 'young and the reckless' really reflects the style and theme for the magazine. Its an art/fashion magazine aimed at readers of similar mags such as    i-D, Dazed & Confused and Love. 

Being a Dickhead's Cool

"i think im sleep deprived..."

bogged down in work.
havent even thought of what im gunna be for halloween?
at this rate a horrible witch.
i neeeeeed sleep

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

SHOWstudio presents Joie de Vivre: Gareth Pugh A/W 2010

love this. simple.

Visual merchandising

Chrristmassss! i know what you're thinking...why am i uploading christmas photos in mid October? well, i wanted to display some of my visual merchandising photographs -- BUT the only ones that i have on my new mac are photographs leading up to christmas. yeah i know its only october but christmas is only around 9weeks away so why not spread some holiday joy now! aaanyways, i managed to take part in some visual merchandising at House Of Fraser -- it was fun, hard work and rewarding! i got the chance to style and change mannequins,  window dress and so on! also managed to meet the Area visual merchandising manager which was well a lil intimidating and scary...but i survived!

FRINGED FEAT. LILY DONALDSON BY NICK KNIGHT/SHOWSTUDIO

SHOWstudio: Gareth Pugh Autumn/Winter 2009 by Ruth Hogben

moving image

Moving image is a growing digital fashion piece which is appearing everywhere now. With the advance of technology, fashion, magazines and so on are developing with technology; ending in amazing moving fashion footage for us, and more programmes for the industry -- win win! Music and fashion work beautifully together, the music gives the clothes and fashion added drama and creativity. Correct music can create a perfect atmosphere and theme to a particular collection or line in fashion. The collaboration of Music and Fashion also brings everything up-to-date and current. The movement and dynamics make the clothing look edgier and gives it more impact. The atmosphere inspires and attracts the eye adding even more excitement (especially to me!) This collaboration of fashion and film also enables the audience to see the models/clothing at different angles and lights -- adding to our knowledge and interest. I LOOOOOOOOOVEEEEEEE THIS COLLABORATION.

creativity is insane.

These are images which i have seen, and simply liked. I don't know wether its the composition or the creativity that interests me. The photos are free and uplifting.