BOWIE WOWEE

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Let's get our Bowie on (image from telgraph.co.uk)

Oh you pretty things, it's time to reach for the orange eyeliner, spike up your mullet and throw some shapes because David Bowie is back. Not that fashion ever forgot exactly but if recent events are anything to go by, the artist formerly known as Ziggy Stardust is bursting right back into our dressing frame of reference. As with many things fashion, it doesn't stop there because Bowie's entire career is set to be made into a sure-to-be awesome exhibition at the V&A which will be sponsored by Gucci- a hint at what to expect for Frida Giannini's forthcoming SS13 collection?

Bowie in his striped bodysuit by Kansai Yamamoto for the Aladdin Sane tour
 1973 (image from telegraph.co.uk)

It first became apparent that there was something Bowie-ish in the air when Sarah Burton presented Alexander McQueen Resort 2013, a collection jam packed with shimmering metallic fabrics and embellishment, slick bell bottoms and matching sharp tailored jackets. As Tim Blanks writes in his review for Style.com, "Burton went... back, to Bowie at his most creatively and visually extreme in the mid-seventies". That was the time of Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane and, er, some pretty intense drug use. There are also "banana" trousers which look like Burton's take on Kansai Yamamoto's striped bodysuit from 1973.

Banana trousers and sharp suits with Bowie influences
 from Alexander McQueen AW12 (images from style.com)

Then came Miu Miu's AW12 which looks like Chloe Sevigny getting dressed up to go to a David Bowie fancy dress party. It helps that she has that innate boy/girl thing going on which is such a Bowie signature as well as her side slicked, quiff-ish fringe and colour block make-up. The "Behind the Scenes"video is soundtracked by Phantogram, an Indie pop duo who cite Bowie as one of their biggest influences. I love that their name comes from the optical illusion created when two dimensional appears three dimensional in a not dissimilar way to the geometric prints which underpin Miu Miu's latest collection- though they were probably chosen more because they had a great modern Bowie-ish sound which also suited Sevigny's lounging, tea drinking activities in the shots by Mert and Marcus.



One of the things I think the V&A does best is bringing their exhibitions to life with music and video, this was done to great effect with Blade Runner at the at the Postmodernism  show which finished in January this year. David Bowie Is... will include footage of performances and videos as well as artwork, set designs, costumes, photography and much more from the huge Bowie archive which houses over 60,000 objects. Gucci's Frida Giannini says Bowie is "one of my greatest inspirations" so we're hoping for some special contributions from the design house, perhaps more traditionally known for its equestrian heritage and classic luxury aesthetic than rock star associations. Furthermore, as the title suggests, maybe the exhibition will give a broader view of Bowie's genius- as afforded by the incredible archive access the curators will have been privy to- underlining the bits which didn't get quite the attention they deserved the first time around. One thing's for sure, I'll be needing a McQueen banana leg jumpsuit for my visit.

David Bowie Is... runs at the V&A from 23rd March to 28th July 2013. Find out more and get tickets here

CULTURE VULTURE: FIVE EXHIBITIONS TO SEE NOW

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

There are still two days left of our extra long bank holiday weekend, so we thought we'd let you know our top picks of fashionable things to see and do in all this magical free time we've been granted. If you should you need a break from all the union jack waving and cupcake eating, here are our suggestions of things to see in London right now...

DESIGNING WOMEN: POST WAR BRITISH TEXTILES

Following the rationing and hardships of WWII, Britain's textile reinvention is brought to life in this exhibit at The Fashion and Textile museum in Bermondsey. It focuses on designers Lucienne Day, Jacqueline Groag and Marian Mahler whose work is about as much of a departure from floral, cutesy, quintessentially English prints as is possible. A great tie-in with this weekend's 1950s nostalgia but from a less overdone angle.

Designing Women is on at the Fashion and Textile Museum until 16th June

Lucienne Day and her quirky textile designs (image from www.fetchingthings.com)

PICASSO AND MODERN BRITISH ART

Anybody vaguely art literate will be familiar with Picasso's work. Tate Britain presents a new angle by examining the influence his work has had on Brit artists such as Francis Bacon, David Hockney and Henry Moore.

Picasso and Modern British Art is on at Tate Britain until 15th July

One of the works on show... Picasso's Three Dancers (image from http://swowen9.blogspot.co.uk)

CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN

You don't get more iconic than a Louboutin red sole, it's hard to believe that they've been around only twenty years, so ingrained is his aesthetic. What was a world without the ultimate red sole even like? The definitive exhibition for lovers of footwear full of glamour and va va boom.

Christian Louboutin is on at the Design Museum until 9th July

Dream shoes... Louboutins by Khuong Nguyen (image from www.searchingforstyle.com)

BRITISH DESIGN: 1948-2012

One of the V&A's big exhibitions this year and another nod to the Jubilee celebrations. The FashEd has seen this and tells me it's a must-see. Spanning everything from the 1948 'Austerity' Olympic Games through to 70s Punk and 90s Cool Brittania as well as much much more in-between this is a comprehensive look at the defining design concepts to have come out of Blighty since a little before the Queen came to the throne.

British Design: Innovation in the Modern Age is on at the V&A until 12th August

Sex Pistols' punk iconography (image from fastyling.blogspot.co.uk)

THE BODY ADORNED

Walking around London, it soon become pretty obvious that around every corner a new culture and its influences can be discovered. This show, which forms part of the Culturl Olympiad, at the Horniman looks at many of the ways Londoners chose to express themselves and the cultures they identify with, whether that's wearing  sari, getting a tattoo or having our nails done.

The Body Adorned is on at The Horniman until 6th January 2013

Urban Street portraits by young people, part of The Body Adorned (image from horseman.ac.uk)

JUBILEE FASHION FUN

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

The Queen at her coronation by Cecil Beaton (image from the V&A)

If by any chance you hadn't noticed, this weekend Britain will be in party mood to celebrate the Queen's sixty years on the throne. The streets are already bedecked with union jack flags and shops crammed with cupcake cases and celebratory tablecloths. We're loving the ways our fashion friends are getting in on the action with limited edition t-shirts and special exhibitions. So today we thought we'd bring you news of our three favourite royal related projects to get you even more excited about the weekend's festivities...

ASOS DIY CROWNS

Feeling a bit jealous about the major lack of precious jewels and tiaras in your possession?  ASOS are coming to the rescue with some very fun crowns designed by House of Holland, Preen, Julie Verhoeven and Danielle Scutt. The perfect headgear for street parties, fetes or river pageant watching over the Jubilee weekend. And ASOS want us all to get involved. You can download your preferred style here and then email the most imaginative portrait of yourself possible to irule@asos.com or tweet it with the hashtag #irule. ASOS will show the world the best pictures they get. Eat your heart out, your Majesty...

Me (looking a little sun drowsy) in my Preen crown

HARRODS DO JUBILEE BIG TIME

If anyone was going to go Jubilee mad, it had to be Harrods didn't it?  There's hardly a department left untouched by the occasion. True to form, everything has been done in a very tasteful yet properly patriotic way. The store kicked off their festivities by gathering the entire staff- thousands of them- to sing the national anthem and wave flags as they were showered in confetti as the store opened one morning back in the middle of May.



As well as the constant national anthem playing which will dominate this weekend, Harrods have a very special ball gowns display which is running in conjunction with the V&A's Ballgowns: British Glamour Since 1950 exhibition. A huge window is taken up with the gowns by designers including Erdem, Alessandra Rich and Valentino- all very stunning. Looking into the display conjures visions of debutante balls and state banquets.

In similarly regal fashion, Harrods have also commissioned a collection of 32 crowns from a huge variety of brands such as Jo Malone, Prada and Faberge- definitely one for every taste. The crowns and ball gowns are available to buy in very limited quantities I hear. Should you be interested, Harrods' personal shopping people are the ones to contact.

Lanvin's jubilee crown

And Valentino's... This is almost nicer than the Imperial crown itself, dare I say it. 

The fashion projects have linked up with the patisserie where William Curley has made special 'couture cakes' to complement gowns from the V&A's exhibition. They look far too good to eat, don't they?

And if you were wondering about the party bit of the occasion, then Harrods asked their Pinterest followers to make pin boards depicting the perfect Jubilee tea party. The winner, Fay Martin, now has her own window bringing the pin board she compiled to life... I think what I'm trying to say is that if you're not feeling the Jubilee happy vibes then you need to get yourself to Harrods pronto.

THE QUEEN'S JEWELS

The Sovereign's sceptre and the Imperial Stae Crown which have the largest cuts from the Cullinan diamond (image from dailymail.co.uk)

If you thought it couldn't get much grander than ball gowns and designers crowns then you obviously haven't heard about the mega diamond display which Buckingham Palace is putting on this Summer. I love that any jubilee comedowns can be cured come 30th June when a lots of the Queen's personal collection of jewels will go on show. One of the highlights is set to be seven pieces all cut from the same diamond- the Cullinan. It's the biggest ever found and was so huge that at first it was cast aside as nobody believed it could possibly be a real gem- we're talking major rock age here people. There are 9 pieces in the world made from the the Cullinan and the 7 on show will mean the biggest reunion to date. I still can't get Elizabeth Taylor's collection out of my mind but I have a funny feeling the palace's diamond exhibition could become my next obsession.

The Queen wearing the Imperial State crown early in her reign (image from dailymail.co.uk)

SWAROVSKI LFW INSIDER: ERDEM

Erdem with his SS11 moodboard

"You can't run the preview until after the V&A launch," so instructed Erdem when I went to see him last week before his London Fashion Week show. Well, that launch for "Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes, 1909 - 1929" was last evening at the V&A, and now I am allowed to reveal that lucky Erdem was granted access to the imposing Blythe House, the V&A archive in west London to get some time with the beautiful costumes of Bakst and others for the Ballet Russes over the summer.

From the V&A:
"Diaghilev’s extraordinary company, which survived a twenty-year rollercoaster of phenomenal successes and crippling problems, revolutionised ballet. As importantly, Diaghilev’s use of avant-garde composers, such as Stravinsky and designers such as Bakst, Goncharova, Picasso and Matisse, made a major contribution to the introduction of Modernism."

A detail from SS11 and the Swarovski palette Erdem chose

"This is the first time I have really intensely researched something. I was given unlimited access all summer. I turned the Ballet Russes costumes inside out. I looked at the scrims. What is surreal is that all the costumes are stored beneath ghostly white covers on stands, and the spaces within the clothes are filled with white wadding. It created these naive shapes. It seemed colour was bled out of the work. Then as you pulled off the covers, something so bright and beautiful was waiting to be discovered. With the costumes the sense is of structured clothing with diaphanous flowing skirts, which I have tried to put across with the collection."

These dresses were inspired by the stored garments of the Ballet Russes at Blythe House

"Blythe House is actually quite a creepy," he says. I can concur  while visiting this summer, it felt like stepping back 100 years to shadowy rooms full of eerie white-wrapped shapes. "It was impossible not to feel totally inspired by the Ballet Russes," said Erdem. "When I asked Nick Kirkwood to do the shoes, he was equally inspired. The colours I chose were kelly green, lime, red and touches of orange, and of course, white. The way I worked with Swarovski this season was to take small crystals in those colours and hand sew them onto the flowers that match, and to incorproate them into the diamond patterns."

Crystal application in the studio

The Grazia team loved this dress

 

My three favourite looks

Images: Catwalking.com

Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes, 1909 - 1929 begins on Saturday

to book tickets go here.