Amelia’s Magazine | Dumpster Couture

Undercover: Lingerie Exhibition at the Fashion and Textiles Museum

lingeie2.jpg

lingerie1.jpg

“Welcome to Limehouse.” With those words, about it Jarvis Cocker set off on the latest instalment of his 30 year musical odyssey, visit this site launching into set opener Pilchard from his new solo album, Further Complications. For such a long, often tortuous journey which began at a Sheffield secondary school and the formation of what was originally known as Arabicus Pulp, the Troxy did seem a rather apt stopping point – a former theatre turned bingo-hall in the deepest End End, where Stepney and Limehouse blur into each other, now restored and reborn as an unlikely concert venue.

Jarvis%201.JPG

In fact, Cocker did remark, in his own inimitable way, that the place reminded him of an ice-rink from his youth, where he went to “cop off” with someone, and you still half expected to hear calls of “clickety click” and “legs eleven”, even as support band the Horrors were going through their Neu! meets Echo and the Bunnymen infused motorik indie.

Jarvis%204.JPG

There were a few half-hearted requests from parts of the audience, but tonight was most definitely a Pulp-free zone (the presence of longtime sidekick Steve Mackey on bass was as near as we got). The set leant heavily on Cocker’s sophomore solo effort, which has a rockier, heavier edge to it than its’ predecessor (not surprising given the pedigree of producer Steve Albini). That said, old Jarvis still has the wry wit and subtle smut that made albums like Different Class such stand outs back in the day (witness news songs Leftover and I Never Said I Was Deep), and he still has plenty of those weirdly angular dance moves up his sleeves. As if that weren’t enough, he even dusted off his old junior school recorder skills on the introduction to Caucasian Blues.

Jarvis%202.JPG

A couple of numbers from Cocker’s debut solo album made an appearance towards the end of the set, including a driving Fat Children, whilst the encore opened with Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time. We ended on the closer from Further Complications, You’re In My eyes (Discosong), where Jarvis appears to channel the spirit of Barry White – there was even a glitterball to dazzle the Troxy’s faded glamour.
As Jarvis took the adulation of the massed faithful, it seemed like, after a bit of a wilderness period post-Pulp, old Mr Cocker has most definitely got his mojo back.

12 June – 27 September 2009

The Fashion and Textiles Museum‘s summer exhibition hopes to present the evolution of underwear over the last hundred years. The result is a lacklustre exhibition with a thrown-together-in-minutes appearance.

Undercover.jpg

The exhibition is organised into areas covering research, more about innovation, seek materials, order celebrity, marketing, print and colour. Despite the ‘evolution’ title, there isn’t any sense of a chronological representation, apart from a small part of the opening corridor of the exhibition where underwear is displayed by year.

It is here where the most interesting pieces are displayed. Beginning with a Charles Bayer corset from the 1900s, we take an (albeit short) walk through the brief history of underwear. There are great examples from Triumph International – then a pioneering underwear brand, now underwear powerhouse governing brands like Sloggi.

We see a sanfor circular conical stretch bra, reminiscent of Madonna’s iconic bra designed by John Paul Gaultier in the 80s (which the placard reveals, to nobody’s surprise, is where JPG sought his inspiration).

In the main arena, there are corsets hanging from the ceiling, of which there are 8 or 9 examples. The corset, as the information details, is one of fashion’s most iconic items. So how can so few examples tell us anything we didn’t already know? Only one of the artefacts is pre 21st century – most are borrowed from burlesque ‘celebrities’ such as Immodesty Blaze and Dita von Teese – hardly representative of underwear’s evolution.

immodesty_corset.jpg

dita-von-teese-wonderbra-2_klnKA_16437.jpg

The bulk of the exhibition centres around print, pattern and colour, and again the exhibition relies too heavily on modern pieces, with a small scattering of interesting M&S items. This area, again, relies too heavily on modern underwear – usual suspects La Perla and Rigby & Peller extensively featured – but other key brands, such as Agent Provocateur, fail to get even a mention.

Pioneer of modern underwear Calvin Klein isn’t covered nearly enough as he should be, save for a couple of iconic 1990s white boxer shirts. In fact, men’s underwear isn’t given any coverage at all, which is a shame considering this exhibition’s bold title.

Calvin%2520Klein--couple%2520%28Kate%2520Moss%29%2520in%2520jeans%2520with%2520showing%2520briefs%2C%2520nude%2520chests--various%2520women%2527s%252092.jpg

This exhibition does hold some key pieces, and regardless of what I think, it’s definitely worth seeing if you are a fashion follower. Its many flaws could have been ironed out with more attention to detail, and it’s a shame that the FTM isn’t more of a major player in London’s fashion scene. If you want to see stacks of salacious, expensive, modern-day underwear, why not just take a trip to Harrods? They have a larger selection and don’t charge an entry fee!

Dear Readers, symptoms

I am writing to share something a little bit special with you. We all know that warm butterflies-in-the-belly feeling when envelopes arrive through the letterbox with your name and address handwritten carefully on the front with a return address of a friend or lover on the reverse, pilule a beacon of personal correspondence among a mundane plethora of bills, more about takeaway menus and bank statements. How much more sincere is a ‘Thank You’ or a ‘Sorry’, how much more romantic is an ‘I Love You’ or ‘Marry Me’ when it comes in pen to paper form rather than digitalised and, heaven forbid, abbreviated via modern technological means.

atherton2.jpg

atherton9.jpg

Letter writing may be an old fashioned and somewhat dying art, one that we all claim to still do or intend to do, but actually don’t make time for in a world of convenient instant messaging, free text plans and social network sites, but Jamie Atherton and Jeremy Lin refuse to abandon the old worldly ways of communication just yet.

atherton3.jpg

Finding their stationery was like being invited to a secret society for letter writers, a prize from the postal Gods to congratulate and reward all those who participate in mail exchanges, to inspire us to keep going to strive on and not let the Royal Mail network collapse from lack of traffic. The more I find out about this creative pair of gents the deeper I fall under their spell. Two handsome young men, madly in love with each other, one English one American, live together in London nowadays but in the 12 years that have passed since they fell head over heels they have lived in San Francisco too and co-created Atherton Lin, the name under which they produce, distribute and sell their products.

atherton4.jpg

Their work, such as the collections of Winter and Summer greeting cards, is as collectable as it is sendable. Each of the four cards in a set tells a tale; funny, sentimental, melancholic and earnest. They strive to avoid clichés or overused formulaic recipes for ‘commercialised cute’, but instead the boys have created a world of butterflies, badgers, bicycles and balloons, using recycled materials and harm-free inks. It is not just their illustrated correspondence materials that Atherton Lin have become known and adored for, that paved the way to being noticed by and sold alongside Marc Jacobs’ wears and tears, as well as being stocked at places such as London’s ICA, LA’s Ooga Booga and San Francisco’s Little Otsu.

atherton10.jpg

Working on the basis that not all correspondence is text, stationery therefore does not have to be exclusively on paper. With a nod to their burgeoning passion for mix tapes, which featured heavily through their transatlantic courtship, they created artwork for a series of blank CDs. The pair have collaborated with a number of talented outfits such as the musicians Vetiver and Elks, and for a book of poems published by Fithian Press, in addition to eye wateringly lovely calendars.

atherton6.jpg

atherton7.jpg

They cite their inspirations to include the charmingly unaware wit of Japanese stationary with its mysteriously nonsensical English translations, Peanuts comic strips, the lyrics to strumming shoe gaze bands such as Ride and poet Dylan Thomas. Having conducted the first three years of their blossoming relationship as long distance partners, they perhaps know better than anyone the value and worth of the handwritten word, the virtues of patience while awaiting the postman and the magnified importance of every tiny detail when letters are sustaining your longing heart.

atherton8.jpg

Now that I’ve been well and truly bitten by the Atherton Lin bug, I have an overbearing urge to dig out my address book and scribe catch up letters to friends in far-flung corners of the globe, and those just around the corner. And for the scented pastel coloured envelopes about to reach the letterboxes of my acquaintances in the next couple of weeks, you have Jeremy and Jamie to thank, for restoring my faith in the romantic, timeless pastime of writing letters.

atherton5.jpg

Yours ever so faithfully,

Alice Watson
Last Thursday, order I negotiated my bicycle through the customary crush of Trafalgar Square to the RSA, find for a talk by R Beau Lotto in association with the Barbican Radical Nature series. Beau heads up Lotto Lab, whose aim is to explain and explore how and why we see what we do (do check out their website) – mainly through looking at how we see colour, which is one of the simplest things we do.

0702%20tiles.jpg

0702%20tiles%20masked.jpg
All images by R Beau Lotto, courtesy of Lotto Labs

Here’s a quick science bit, which he gets in at the beginning of the talk to a packed full lecture theatre – light and colour are not the same. Light can be represented on a linear scale. It has just wavelength and intensity. Colour has three bits to it. So it’s much more complicated to describe : hue (red-green-blue-or-yellowness), brightness, and saturation (greyness).

The whole talk is full of questions I asked as a six-year-old, and I’m left with a kind of wide-eyed amazement at how clearly everything is explained and presented – I’ll pick out one of the most satisfying.. Why is the sky blue? This is one to try at home. Get the biggest glass bowl or see-through container you can find, and fill it with water. Shine a desk lamp through it – the lamp’s now the sun and the water space. If we had no atmosphere, the sky would be black with a bright sun – as it is from the moon. Now add a little milk at a time to the water, stirring as you go. As it spreads through the water, the milk will scatter the light like the atmosphere does, and at the right level, will scatter blue. Add a bit more, and you’ll make a sunset – the longer-wave red light scatters when it goes through more atmosphere, as sunlight does when it’s low in the sky. Add more again, and it’ll go grey : you made a cloud, where all the light scatters equally.

0702%20cube.jpg

0702%20cube%20masked.jpg

The colour of space changes. We never quite see the surface of anything in the world – we see the result of the light shining, the character of the surface, and the space in between. So colours really are brighter in St Ives than Old Street. So the patterns of light that fall onto the eye are strictly meaningless.

We learn to see. We find relationships between things we look at – the context of anything we look at is essential to how we see it. This is what the ‘illusions’ spread through this article show so bogglingly. And context is what links the present to the past – we associate patterns with what we did last time, and learn from it. Beau asked at one point for a volunteer from the audience. I was desperately far back, in the middle of a row – smooth escape from that one. But the demonstration itself was quietly mind-blowing. A target was projected on the screen, and Rob the lucky volunteer was asked to hit it (this as a control – the exciting bit comes next). Next, he put on a pair of glasses which shifted the world 30 degrees to his right. Throwing again, he missed by miles. After a few goes, though, Rob’s whole body movement changed and he hit the target every time. Then he took the glasses off again, and immediately missed the other way – his mind had learnt for that moment to see the world utterly differently.

0702%20yellow%20blue.jpg

0702%20yellow%20blue%20masked.jpg

We don’t see the world as it is – in fact it doesn’t make much sense to talk about the world ‘as it really is’ – only what’s useful. Colour, for example, is great for not being eaten by orange tigers in a green jungle. We constantly figure out what is ‘normal’ – and what should stick out from this normal. So… there are no absolutes – only perceptions of a world relative to a changing normal. No one is outside of this relativity. We are all defined by our ecology. We all learn to live in the world that’s presented to us – and that in a very relative way.

Beau has four ‘C’s that he leaves as teasing thoughts – Compassion, Creativity, Choice and Community. And this is where, if you’ve been reading along wondering quite why I thought this was a good idea for an ‘Earth’ article, I started thinking about the way we tell stories about the environment, the way we tell stories about what happens in the world around us. Getting your head around different mindsets could be wonderfully informed by these ideas – things like understanding how to persuade business profit-heads that sustainability is the only way to long-term profit, or grassroots activists that FTSE 500 companies have been organising and managing disparate groups of employees for years – there’s surely something to learn there.

0702%20crossed%20tubes.jpg

0702%20crossed%20tubes%20masked.jpg

Knowing that everything we do – down to something so simple as seeing colour – is essentially informed by what we did before, and the kinds of context we’ve ever been exposed to – this can only add possibility to whatever buzzes round our brains : more compassionate, as we see where others might have come from; more creative, questioning these reflexes; more conscious in our choices, if we think a little past the instinctive; and more communal, in a broad sense, as we’re each a unique part of a whole, all sharing in individual perceptions and histories.

That was what I took from it, anyway. Do get in touch, or leave a comment, if you saw any other cool patterns here – I’d be intrigued to hear.

Come July 16th, ampoule Amelia’s Magazine will be packing the bikini’s, sunglasses and factor 15 to rock up to one of the biggest highlights of our social calendar. Continuing our Festival season round up, we are going to focus our attention on the Daddy of the European festivals; Benicassim. Building rapidly in status, this cheeky Spanish live wire began its incarnation in 1995, but even then it was reaching for the stars, with heavy hitters such as The Chemical Brothers, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and The Stone Roses headlining. Now firmly established as a major player on the summer festival season, Benicassim is the ultimate go-to when you want your music fest to go easy on the mud, and heavy on the sand, sea and sun.

benicpic2.jpg

benicassimpic14.jpg
Desde Escenario Verde by Oscar L. Tejeda

benipic7.jpg

Getting back to the music, the organisers have come up trumps for this years festival. Just in case you were unaware of the lineup, allow me to share the treats that will be in store if you’ve got tickets. Top of the bill will be Oasis, Kings of Leon, Franz Ferdinand and The Killers. It is not just about the headliners though, Beni makes sure that there is something for everyone, and while most acts indie rock , the many stages showcase plenty of other genres, such as electronica, experimental and dance. Each night will see a plethora of fantastic and diverse acts and my personal favourites that will make me nudge through the crowds to the front are Telepathe, Glasvegas, Paul Weller, Tom Tom Club, Friendly Fires, The Psychedelic Furs, Lykke Li and my BFF Peaches. With guaranteed sunshine and a beachside backdrop, it promises to be a memorable event. While the 4 day passes have all sold out, there are still one day passes available for Thursday 16th July. You might consider it impractical to get down there for just one day (not that we are going to stand in your way), but if you happen to be passing through the Costa De Azahar around that time, then why not get yourself a wristband, grab a Sol and pitch up?

benipic8.jpg

benipic9.jpg

benipic16.jpg

You know, the more we think about it, the more we realise that Benicassim is tailor made for Amelia’s Magazine. As our loyal readers know, we are strong supporters of all things sustainable and environmentally friendly and Benicassim is leaps and bounds ahead of many of the other festivals in terms of environmental awareness. Having been awarded the Limpio Y Verde (Clean + Green) Award by The European Festival Association, Beni is serious about taking initiatives which minimise the impact that a festival causes. For example, to offset the Co2 emissions that are generated while the festival is underway, they are creating an authentic Fiber forest, which has come as a result of planting over 2,000 trees during the 2008, 2009 and 2010 festivals. For those attending the festival, the organisers have laid on a number of shared transport facilities to get to and from the site, including frequent shuttle services into town and bicycle hire. Once inside the site, ticket holders will find that there is a strong and active recycling policy, with different bins for glass, plastic and paper and reusable glasses in the bars and restaurants which are made from biodegradable material. Several charities and NGO’s will be on hand – look out for the stands where Greenpeace, Amnesty International, Action Against Hunger and Citizens Association Against AIDS amongst others will be distributing information.

Benicassim%20preview%20festival.jpg

Bear in mind for future visits to the festival (or if you haven’t yet booked flights to get there), that there are various options for how to get to Benicassim that don’t involve flying. While most people will be boarding planes, the options of rail, or even ferry as transport can turn the holiday into a completely different experience. Spain has a fantastic and well regulated rail system, with all major cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia operating trains to the town of Benicassim. Full details on how to arrange your rail itinerary are here . If you were interested in beginning the journey by ferry, (information on routes can be found here there are regular services from Plymouth to Santander, or Portsmouth to Bilbao (both cities have rail links that will get you to Benicassim). Otherwise, there are plenty of ferries from Dover to France, if interrailing it through part of Europe was also a consideration. Obviously, these options are considerably longer than flying, but there is something much more civilized about this way of travelling, and you get to see much more of the country which is hosting the festival, and that can only be a good thing.

Fibers%20En%20Zonas%20De%20Acampada%20Pau%20Bellido.jpg
Fibers En Zonas De Acampada by Pau Bellido

For more information on Benicassim, go to Festival Internacional De Benicassim
Bless-ed: Superimposing The Thought Of Happiness

Cosa
7 Ledbury Mews North
London W11 2AF

10th July – 31st July

11am – 6pm Tuesday – Friday
12pm – 4pm Saturday

Free

july6blessed.jpg

“Artworks created from smashed vinyl records and recycled packaging. Hot on the heels of their highly successful New York show, no rx Robi Walters & Leanne Wright, side effects aka ‘Bless-ed’, dosage hit London with their unique series of collages and constructed works featuring smashed vinyl and recycled packaging. “

——————————————————————————-

Robots

The Old Sweet Shop
11 Brookwood Road
London SW18 5BL

10th July 2009 – 25th July

Monday to Saturday 9.30am – 5.30pm
or by appointment

july6robots.jpg
Image: Doggy Robot (Detail) by Ellie Alexandri

“Do you remember when robots were a futuristic fantasy? The Old Sweet Shop gallery’s latest exhibition takes a warm hearted look at these retro-tinged creations through the eyes of up-and coming artists and illustrators, peeking into the inner world of clunking creatures built to make human lives easier. ‘Robots’ will appeal to all ages, and features a diverse range of talent in many different media.”

Robots exhibition featuring work by: Alec Strang, Emily Evans, Freya Harrison, Moon Keum, Vinish Shah, JMG, Catherine Rudie, Hanne Berkaak, Cristian Ortiz, Elli Alexandri and Serge Jupin.

————————————————————————–

Antony Gormley: One & Other

Fourth Plinth
Trafalgar Square
London

6th July – 14th October

july6extra.jpg

Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth, ordinarily reserved for statues of the bold and brave, is staging one of the most exciting art ventures of the year. Under the direction of Anthony Gormley a steady stream of voluntary contributors will, every hour on the hour for the next 100 days, be occupying the space to create, make, do or perform as they wish. One such selected applicant is Tina Louise, whose slot will be Sunday 12th July, at 11am. She plans to stage “involves a bit of a sing-along where I am inviting various choirs, a Muslim call to prayer man, some whirling Dervishes (fingers crossed)” and invites you all to get down there this week and help celebrate human diversity in all it’s glory.

Find out more about Tina here.

———————————————————————–

The Museum of Souvenirs – The Surrealist Photography of Marcel Mariën

Diemar/Noble Photography
66/67 Wells Street
London W1T 3PY

Until 25th July

Tuesday to Saturday 11am – 6pm

july6souveniers.jpg

An exciting UK premiere of Belgian Surrealist Marcel Marien’s photographs taken between 1983 and 1990. Marien was a master of many trades, and not all of them art based; as well as being a poet, essayist and filmmaker, he branched out as a publisher, bookseller, journalist and even a sailor.

————————————————————————

The Importance of Beauty – The Art of Ina Rosing

GV Art
49 Chiltern Street
Marylebone
London W1U 6LY

Until 25th July

Tuesday to Friday 11am to 7pm
Saturday 11 am to 4 pm
or by appointment

july6beauty.jpg

Inspired by her interest in inner silence and beauty, Ina Rosing’s work sails through immovable mountains and vibrant red flowers with dignified grace and spirituality. She explores the personal yet universal connections with landscape and culture, asking where and how can we capture the true importance of beauty using graffiti-like political and environmental messages.

———————————————————————

James Unsworth: I Love You Like a Murderer Loves Their Victims

Sartorial Contemporary Art
26 Argyle Square
London WC1H 8AP

8th July – 30th July

Tuesday – Friday 12:30pm – 6pm
or by appointment

July6unsworth.jpg

James Unsworth is not a new name for us here at Amelia’s Magazine, having featured him a short while ago in Issue 8 of our publication, but this new collection of work from the controversial outspoken illustrator and filmmaker takes his hyper-unreal visions of all things dark and disturbing to a new level. The movies and photographs use low-budget charm and dangerously close to the bone references to murder, sex and dismemberment to win us over, free our minds and freak us out, not particularly in that order.

Monday 6th July
Why? The Garage, buy London

“Why should I go and see Why?” you ask.
Well, cialis 40mg because Why? are probably one of the most innovative exciting bands around at the moment their albums Alopecia and Elephant Eyelash are very high up on my “Most-Listened-To List”. Fronted by the excellently named Yoni Wolf, Why? fuse hip hop and indie rock to create something totally unique. Wolf’s lyrics are strangely intimate and often funny; bar mitzvahs and Puerto Rican porno occassionally pop up- and why not?

why93.jpg

Tuesday 7th July
!!!, The Luminaire, London

Here are two facts about !!!
1. You have probably had the best time dancing to them.
2. According to Wikipedia: !!! is pronounced by repeating thrice any monosyllabic sound. Chk Chk Chk is the most common pronunciation, but they could just as easily be called Pow Pow Pow, Bam Bam Bam, Uh Uh Uh, etc.
So go along to the Luminaire and make strange noises (“thrice”) and dance your socks off.

chkchkchk_2008.jpg

Wednesday 8th July
White Denim, Heaven, London

White Denim are the best thing to come out of Texas since ribs and good accents, they have been compared to Os Mutantes and Can which is no mean feat. Expect a healthy dose of psychadelia with a smudge of grubby rock n’roll

whitedenim500.jpg

Thursday 9th July
The Twilight Sad, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Kill It Kid, The ICA, London.

What are Fat Cat doing on Thursday?
Oh, you know, just being as awesome as ever at the ICA.
Fat Cat seem to have excellent taste in music, and the three bands playing tonight carry on the high standards of Fat Cat label veterans like Animal Collective. Expect melancholy and sweetness from The Twilight Sad and post-punk from the others. Lashings of fun all round.

sad1oj0.jpg

The Weekend
Loop Festival, Brighton.

Let’s go to the sea! Brighton’s Loop Festival; a celebration of music and digital art has the most mouth-watering line-up ever. Fever Ray, Karin from The Knife‘s solo project, play alongside múm, the hot-to-trot Telepathe (pictured) and Tuung to name but a few. If I were going I’d invite them all to make sandcastles with me afterwards…hopefully they would.

telepathe.jpg

Monday 6 July

Whose landscape is it anyway?

Nicholas Stern and Ramachandra Guha consider the tensions between environmental concerns and industrial and economic development in South Asia today.

£5 including day pass to Royal Botanic Gardens, mind Kew.
6.30pm, cost British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1.

earth%20listings%20amelia_illustration.jpg
Illustration by Joanna Cheung

Tuesday 7th July

Garbage Warrior Film Screening

The epic story of radical Earthship eco architect Michael Reynolds, and his fight to build off-the-grid self-sufficient communities.

7pm (86min), Passing clouds, Dalston (review + directions)

An Alternative Energy Evening?·

Lecture and Panel Discussion?· Professor Vernon Gibson, with Jonathan Leake, ??Chief Chemist of BP, in discussion with key experts in the field of sustainable and renewable energy.
Please join us to hear the latest on this hot topic.

Free to attend. Admission is by guest list only.
??Email events@weizmann.org.uk to reserve your place.
+44 (0)20 7424 6863?  www.weizmann.org.uk

7pm
Royal Geographical Society
1 Kensington Gore
London SW7 2AR

Wednesday 8th July

Renewable Energy, All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group meeting with WWF

Dr Keith Allott leads the discussion.

4-6pm, House of Commons, Westminster SW1

Thursday 9th July

Conflicting Environmental Goods and the Future of the Countryside

Caroline Lucas MEP talking on possible futures.

Contact – judithr@cpre.org.uk
5-7pm, The Gallery, 77 Cowcross Street, EC1

Earth%20Listings%20FayeKatiraiEcoArt.jpg
Illustration by Faye Katirai

A Climate Mission for Europe: Leadership & Opportunity

Lord Browne, Roger Carr, Lord Giddens, John Gummer MP and Roland Rudd

8–9.30am
Royal Academy of Engineering,
3 Carlton House Terrace, SW1Y

Earth%20Listings%20Michaela%20illu.jpg
Illustration by Michaela

Wise Women Speaker Event: John D Liu

John D Liu speaks on integrated poverty eradication and large-scale ecosystem rehabilitation. Since the mid-1990′s he has concentrated on ecological film making and has written, produced and directed films on many aspects of the ecology. In 2003, Liu wrote, produced and directed “Jane Goodall – China Diary” for National Geographic. Hailed as a visionary for the future, Lui is director of the Environmental Education Media Project (EEMP) and will discuss his groundbreaking work.

RSVP: polly@wisewomen.me.uk

7pm, ?£10 on the door
The Hub,Islington,
Candid Arts Trust,
5 Torrens Street, London,
EC1V 1NQ

Friday 10th July

The End of the Line

Earth%20listings%20fish%20image3.jpg

Imagine an ocean without fish. Imagine your meals without seafood. Imagine the global consequences. This is the future if we do not stop, think and act. The End of the Line is the first major feature documentary film revealing the impact of overfishing on our oceans. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Rupert Murray.

7pm, Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, W2.
Contact – events@frontlineclub.com

Saturday 11th July

The Artic And Us

Lemn Sissay discusses the making of the poem “What If”, inspired by his recent trip to the Arctic to highlight climate change.

£7, 3.30pm, South Bank Centre

earth%20listings%20istingsleajaffy.jpg
Illustration by Lea Jaffey
Glastonbury-June-2009-0315.jpg

This year I spent a record six days at Glastonbury. On Tuesday we set off from London with a mission to “tat” along the way. Tatting is a favourite occupation of the fictional Wombles and is a process central to Climate Camp – it basically means relieving skips and front gardens of useful discarded objects – such as sofas, pilule chairs, tables and carpeting – for reuse in another situation. En route to Glastonbury we managed to fill the van up with various items including a full set of dining chairs that looked swanky but collapsed as soon as we sat on them and a rather manky looking mouldy mattress. It was pointed out that this would seem the lap of luxury after a couple of days in a field with no soft surfaces to rest upon, so we duly lugged it into the van. In fact we needn’t have worried – the mattress was left out to air as soon as we arrived and stolen almost immediately. Desirable already!

Glastonbury-June-2009-1249.jpg

Our journey had an added frisson of excitement given the rumour that everyone was being locked out of the site at 10pm every night. Fortunately (and thanks to GPS on my poncey new iphone) we made it to Pilton Farm on time, whereupon we were greeted by the cheery sight of our big red and yellow marquee. It seems that making merry in the fields of Somerset has turned into a week long affair for many, so vast quantities of people were already cruising the fields, beers in hand.

Glastonbury-June-2009-0232.jpg

For us there was still much work to be done, so in the morning we dressed our area with significant amounts of bunting and colourful flags that we had screenprinted beforehand, all bearing Mia Marie Overgaard‘s beautiful artwork.

Glastonbury-June-2009-0371.jpg

Climate Camp was given a generous corner of an otherwise predominantly camping field – with a big fire pit in the middle and a yurt (housing Ecolab‘s Future Scenarios exhibition) demarcating one corner. Around the yurt I strung the story of Climate Rush so far – printed upon weather resistant banners that billowed dramatically in the gusty winds.

Glastonbury-June-2009-0385.jpg

By the field boundary a “tripod stage” had been constructed – an inspired bit of naming that made reference to the grand pyramid stage down where the rabble doth hang about.

Glastonbury-June-2009-0721.jpg

As we beavered away to beautify the site some classic festival munters pitched up and decided to erect their box fresh tents directly under our Welcome to Climate Camp banner – thereby easily misleading the public in to believing that they were indeed Climate Camp. Within minutes they were yelling “Ogee-ogee-oy” at each other through a megaphone. I kid you not. They were the perfect festival munter cliche right on our doorstep. Needless to say these same creatures left an absolute disaster zone in their wake when they left the festival – but more on that later…

Glastonbury-June-2009-2187.jpg

Many more Climate Camp kindred spirits arrived as we sorted out our space, and by Thursday many curious festival-goers were stopping by to listen to a bit of music or take a wander around our exhibition. Danny Chivers delivered his usual wonderful poetry to a rapt audience and Billy Bragg’s Jail Guitar Doors (set up in honour of Joe Strummer and named after a Clash song) took a turn on the stage.

Glastonbury-June-2009-0755.jpg

Billy Bragg’s Jail Guitar Doors provides guitars with which to rehabilitate prisoners through music, and the two lads playing for us had since left prison and are trying to build a career in music. After a shy start they were soon regaling the receptive crowd with tales of prison life and left amidst promises that they would return, possibly with the real Billy Bragg in tow – a rumour that quickly gained momentum but was sadly never fulfilled.

Then out of nowhere came possibly our most exciting idea yet; instead of just teaching how to take direct action in workshop form, we would actually do some mock actions right there in Glastonbury. It all seemed too good an opportunity to miss – this year Greenpeace had created a full-on third runway experience, including a miniature Sipson with it’s own international airport which was clearly ripe for the blockading.

Glastonbury-June-2009-0563.jpg

We all donned one of the Climate Camp t-shirts that I’d printed up (I’ve been on a bit of a screenprinting frenzy) and marched noisily down to the Greenpeace field with our tripod and an orangutan in tow. As you do.

Glastonbury-June-2009-0589.jpg

Twenty people blockaded the entrance to the bemusement of passersby, as faux security guards tried to pull them off and the orangutan climbed triumphantly to the top of the tripod. It was a pretty good re-enactment of a real direct action, until actors hired by Greenpeace waded in and stole our thunder with some attention grabbing shouting.

Glastonbury-June-2009-0603.jpg

Glastonbury-June-2009-0644.jpg

On Thursday night there was the most spectacular storm, with torrential rain pouring down off our Climate Change is Pants bunting (made from, erm, pants, of course) and into the tent as we sheltered from the monsoon. It stopped just in time for our Mass Night Game, for which I played the part of a security guard (they’re never far away on a direct action)

Glastonbury-June-2009-0828.jpg

As each team arrived at our base in the stone circle they had to climb the tripod as fast as they could before the guards could pull them off. In one surreal moment as the dusk fell some real Glastonbury stewards materialised in pink dayglo waistcoats to my yellow dayglo one, and really confused both themselves and those playing the game.

Glastonbury-June-2009-0818.jpg

As evening fell a group of us went off to discover the new Shangri-La area, where a gaggle of totally drunk pre-pubescent girls fell into us yelling “Michael Jackson’s dead!” Soon the whole festival was ringing with the news – as well as his back catalogue – though we all remained uncertain about the veracity of the rumours and decided to spread a counter rumour that Timmy Mallett was dead. Looking back it was odd that noone seemed particularly sad to hear the news, but then I think most of us have already mourned the cute little black boy who vanished under drastic surgery long ago. It was almost as if Michael Jackson had been one big fat joke for so long that his death was as fantastical and unreal as his life had become, and therefore hard to take seriously.

Glastonbury-June-2009-0757.jpg

The rest of the festival was spent in a whirlwind of outreach and fundraising. I wasn’t so comfortable with the bucket rattling, but luckily others were brilliant at it and we managed to raise loads of much needed cash to help put Climate Camp on this year.

Glastonbury-June-2009-0772.jpg

I spent most of my time chatting to people, both in our field and out around the Green Fields area. And of course taking lots of photos – because that’s where I feel most comfortable of all, recording everything that we do for future posterity.

Glastonbury-June-2009-0964.jpg

We facilitated another few mini direct actions – one day in defiance of the cheap flights on offer in the mock travel agents in Shangri-La, and on another using arm tubes to blockade the mini village of Sipson.

Glastonbury-June-2009-1370.jpg

Glastonbury-June-2009-1401.jpg

Friends wandered by to see me but I didn’t really go further than the Green Fields for much of the festival. I have a love hate relationship with Glastonbury and tend to be happiest away from the seething crowds down near the main stages. There were a lot more police on site this year and there were at least two arrests in our field, presumably for drug dealing – thus we found ourselves offering solidarity to the friends that were left behind “we get arrested quite a lot you see…” We got the paddling pool out when it was especially roasting, and I jumped in with all my clothes on before rushing onto the path to offer wet hugs to passersby.

Glastonbury-June-2009-1263.jpg

On my rare trips down to “Babylon” I got in a mild panic – huge crowds of fucked people crashing into me is not my idea of fun. Bruce Springsteen was a major disappointment and I only saw brief bits of Blur from the very back of the field before wandering off to find a friend at the Prodigy, where I got thoroughly freaked out by the gazillions of men and women screaming “smack my bitch up” at the top of their voices, I mean – I like the tune, but there are some totally suspect lyrics going on there. Over by the John Peel stage I was amused to see a huge (high as a skyscraper) board of protest banners bearing one of the Climate Rush picnic blankets from our Heathrow protest.

Glastonbury-June-2009-1930.jpg

It was very surreal to see it high above me, when last it was sitting in a crumpled mess in my hallway. On more than a few occasions we found ourselves at the uber decadent Arcadia area of an evening.

Glastonbury-June-2009-2152.jpg

It was the ultimate irony that the closest stage to Climate Camp featured hugely wasteful gas flares that shot into the night and made a mockery of our frugal ways; any energy savings made by our solar powered camp so obviously swallowed in the dystopian heat of the dramatic flames. Needless to say we were drawn to Arcadia like fossil fuel moths, dancing under the sizzling spectacle with all the other revellers, all part of the same species careering towards self-destruction.

Glastonbury-June-2009-1042.jpg

But back to the beautiful green space of Climate Camp, where our little tripod stage proved to be a real winner. My trusty music editor Roisin had contacted some music prs a mere day or so before I left for Glastonbury and secured performances from the wondrous First Aid Kit and the equally brilliant 6 Day Riot. First Aid Kit arrived fresh from a gig on the Park Stage with their parents in tow, and wowed everyone with a simple acoustic set that highlighted their delicate use of harmonies.

Glastonbury-June-2009-1330.jpg

Glastonbury-June-2009-1301.jpg

Unfortunately I missed 6 Day Riot due to outreach with our “aggie animals” whereby a homeless alcoholic orangutan, polar bear and tiger went out to engage with the general public.

Glastonbury-June-2009-1210.jpg

The idea was to subvert the traditional cutesy perception of said animals, a plan which worked really well during the day, but in the evening faltered as the distinction between performance art and actual fucked festival munter blurred to the point of impossibility. Especially when one of our animals spewed into the bushes in a prize bit of method acting (she’d just downed a pint of homebrewed cider)

Glastonbury-June-2009-1228.jpg

Glastonbury-June-2009-1441.jpg

On Sunday afternoon we held a random raffle, which was made possible by blagging prizes from various stalls and performers during the course of the festival. A large amount of people were happy to part with cash to purchase a raffle ticket, and a small crowd was persuaded to attend the actual event, compered with aplomb by our resident poet Danny. Prizes included the beer can that Jack Penate had allegedly drunk from (won by a child, woops)

Glastonbury-June-2009-1481.jpg

It was all beautifully ramshackle but seemed to entertain. The girl who has inadvertently become part of this year’s logo (by virtue of an image of her at the Kingsnorth camp that is strewn across the interweb) stopped by and did some dazzling acrobatics on our tripod stage.

Glastonbury-June-2009-1503.jpg

By the evening I still hadn’t managed to figure a way to get out of the festival so I ended up staying on until Monday evening for “tat down” – taking down the tents and sorting stuff to be transported back home. The mattress that we had lovingly cleaned made a sudden return, and small children started to circle our site like hyenas on the look out for valuable abandoned belongings, and undrunk alcohol (festie children eh?! Cheeky buggers!)

Glastonbury-June-2009-1610.jpg

Stories reached us of people leaving their tent for one moment and returning to find it removed within moments by opportunistic “tatters”. I went on a roam of our general area to search for useful stuff, but returned feeling sick to the pit of my stomach and unable to take anything for myself.

Glastonbury-June-2009-1658.jpg

Is it really that much hassle to take your pop-up tent home? What kind of person abandons so many reusable things? Do you really have that much disposable income in the age of the credit crunch? The festival munters camped under our welcome banner departed leaving a wasteland behind. Piles of rubbish streaming across the ground, a stereo, blow up mattresses, perfectly good tents (not pop-up!) – debris of an unaware society.

Glastonbury-June-2009-2180.jpg

I returned home exhausted, but already formulating plans to put forward Green Kite Midnight as the Climate Camp house band next year – a celidh would really have set things off a treat. Until then there’s always the Big Green Gathering, where we’re house band for the Last Chance Saloon. Come see us there!
At Glastonbury when not navigating through guy ropes clutching half drunk bottles of cider with dirty shorts, order haystack hair and generally looking like I’ve emerged from the mountains, medicine I like to ‘do’ things. Last year, store I paid eight pounds to have an astrology reading, where I crouched goggle-eyed in a small tipi opposite a warm, smiling, apple-cheeked evil money-sucker who ethereally told me the biggest pack of lies you’ve ever heard.

Eight pounds! Not going back there, NO WAY JOSÉ! Given the size of Glastonbury, there are, of course, a multitude of ways to enjoy yourself in the most concrete and non-superstitious of manners – in fact, in the spirit of ‘Reclaiming Craft’ making something with my hands seemed the perfect antidote. On the Thursday Amelia’s Magazine floated on over to the Green Craft Fields where we found ourselves in a tent filled with lots of small drawing children. On the other side were some adults milling around a life model like no other. Life-drawing: a sensual sketching of the nude human physique? Less so if it’s an unshaven superhero clad in a spandex bodysuit and purple pants – and that’s Mr Spandex to you and I. So I got involved, producing a multi-angled ‘sketch-book’ of questionable quality that sadly got ruined when my tent turned out not to be waterproof, but while it’s destruction is in fact probably a blessing for the art world, I appreciate that such a catastrophe may have accidentally granted my artistic skills with an unearned aura of mystique.

tatePicture_1.png

Chatting to the mistress of ceremonies Leanne afterwards, she told me a bit about R-ART, their creative collective based in East London. They are fusing ideas of art and fashion in an interactive and educational capacity, providing holiday workshops, after-school clubs and Saturday schools; all with a push towards sustainable making, free-thinking and responsibility that’s locking horns with that image of the pie-eyed child with a peanut-butter sandwich in one hand and a Nintendo controller in the other on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Picture_1.png

Picture_5.png

Set up by Leanne and her friend Ita and developed with eco-entertainment company BASH Creations, they naturally play the big sister role to the kids, with a sole mandate to lighten the ecological footprint of the British entertainment industry and to teach them the heart behind the making of things with your own two hands. Given my own scribbling skills, I too belong at the children’s table, a bit like Jack out of that Robin Williams film (except not really, I do get ID’d a lot, so I don’t look that old. But I digress.)

One of their projects involved working with Nova Dando, constructing a couture gown out of old copies of the Financial Times, which again, in its trashionista spirit hammered home the process of recycling making and getting everyone involved – children doing couture! Great stuff.

tatedres.png

tatedress.png

To get in touch and to find out their workshops and other upcoming projects, visit their website at www.r-art.co.uk, or e-mail Ita and Leanne at us2@r-art.co.uk. Look out for a report on how it all went down at Glastonbury for them too – if you too managed to swing by their tent let us here at Amelia’s Magazine know about it!
Futuresonic is one of the most stellar event’s on Manchester’s musical calender. Not only does it symbolise (to me) the beginning of the summer festival season but it’s one of the most musically challenging and varied events of the year. Unlike so many other festivals it doesn’t concentrate on the commercial or press friendly artists but solely musicians and artists alike who constantly flaut convention, view breaking boundaries and sticking flags in musical territories previously unchartered. Rarther than touting the Guardian‘s Top ten of 2009 it digs a little deeper and promotes some of the more interesting artists from around the globe in a myriad of genres like Electronic, drugs Metal and Bastard Pop!

After 13 years of pushing the envelope the organisers have managed to do it again this year. Beginning with Murcof, information pills they have shown that music can be ever changing and that when seamlessley combined with other mediums of artistic endeavor can create something truly original and mind expanding.

murcof1.jpg

First on the RNCM main stage is Manchester based (Skelmersdale born) Denis Jones with his bone shaking ryhthm’s and dirge infused shouts and beats looped back through a whole host of pedals and electronic gadgetry. Projected behind this is a sextuplet of Denis’s, or should that be Den-i, layered on toip on one another to compliment the layering of clucks, slaps, plucks and claps. Having seen a few artists these days who do a similar thing it’s great to see someone do it so intricately and beautifully on a large stage to a strong audience. It can be rather sloppy and the point can be lost in the masses of equipment that I don’t know the first thing about. As he meanders his way into a vibrant crescendo it’s easy to see why Denis is being hyped as a musical giant of the future.

To contrast with this high octane solo operation comes Icelandic composer Johan Johansson with the Iskra Quartet, who create sombre laptop and piano accompanied string pieces that I feel comfortable in equating to classical Estonian Raconteur Arvo Part. These pieces are complex but the delicate sounds are all somewhat identifiable to a techno dope like myself. The sounds are highly mellifluous and they toggle between Melancholy and high drama evoking the counterpoint of Moondog at times. With a break before Murcof I had an opportunity to reflect on the beauty of the moment which led me almost to tears, the air was rife with emotion but anxiety of what was to come soon remedied this.

murcof2.jpg

As the curtain re-opened, behind a sheet of white, is lurking who we can only assume to be Mexican electronic music pioneer Murcof. We know Anti VJ (comprised of Joanie Le Mercier, Simon Geilfus and Nicolas Boritch) must be hiding somewhere but as there is only one other face in the shadows we can’t be sure who it is. As a faint hum begins, a tiny spec of light appears in the centre of the sheet which grows as the music explodes into loud bursts. The dot becomes a sprawling mass of spider webs and creates a haunted house like atmosphere that’s not for the faint hearted. From this we travel through a myriad of imagery such as a multifarious star system and regimentally swirling, shooting stars accompanied by Lygeti-esque composition. The imagery at all times compliments the minmal soundscaping of Murcof fantastically but neither is at any point subdued. For me there couldn’t have been a better way to kick off the 13th Futuresonic and the festival season as a whole.

murcof3.jpg

All photos by Anne-Laure Franchette
From previous years, viagra this looks set to be the one summer gathering any activist or aspiring campaigner needs to attend. A report of last year’s camp speaks warmly of the ‘lasting sense of genuine kindred spirit and camaraderie’, viagra 100mg between old hands and newcomers alike.

If the Resurgence Reader’s Weekend will provide a few days of quiet reflection, the Earth First! Summer Gathering promises an inspirational week of skill sharing and planning for direct action.

bikebear%20flat%20%28900px%29.jpg
Illustrations by Adam Bletchley

Earth First! is all about networking and building strength through community and communication. Direct action is what they do – not relying on government or industry to act sufficiently, this network without leaders takes action to them. And whether your campaign takes up the issue of opencast mining, genetic engineering, agrofuels, dam-building, hunt-sabbing, general climate actions, oil pipeline resistance, road stopping, anti-whaling, squatting, or rainforest protection, you’re sure to find something to learn here.

The gathering will be communally run, non-hierarchical, in true anarchist tradition. So far, there are over eighty workshops planned – but everyone coming along will contribute and help run the camp. Get in touch in advance if you’ve an idea for a workshop, or want to help with the setup or takedown of the site.

builderbear%20flat%20%28900px%29.jpg

Too many workshops on practical skills for direct action are already planned to list here – though to whet your appetite, they include tree climbing, activist medic first aid, and a full day of water based training. This should help to build on the several campaigns already taking to the water – at Rossport against Shell’s pipeline laying, and the Great Rebel Raft Regatta of last summer’s Climate Camp.

There will also be the chance to brush up your practical ‘sustainable’ living skills – grounding that ever-slippery term in real things : field trips, learning to recognise plants and animals, wild food, getting your own power from the sun and wind, squatting and bike maintenance. And vegan cake making, which for me is quite the cherry on top.

Have a collective think, too, about ecology, ecocentric ethics and alternatives to the corporate world of exploitation. Which should come neatly round to an excursion to some of the beautiful vallies of the area, on the Monday (24th August), to visit communities threatened by an expansion of coal mining around the North East.

torchbear%20flat%20%28900px%29.jpg

Here are the practicalities:

BRING
Bring tent and sleeping bag. You can either cook food for yourself or for £4 per day chip in with collective cooking of delicious vegan organic food – organised by the wonderful Anarchist Teapot collective. There’ll be quiet sleeping areas, toilets and running water, a children’s space and spaces for workshops and info stalls. Veggies will provide vegan cake and snacks. Children and young adults welcome with subsidized meals.

WHEN
19th-24th August 2009 – Arrive Tuesday afternoon. Workshops run from Wednesday morning until Sunday afternoon.

WHERE
The site is in or near the Lake District, Cumbria. The nearest train station is Penrith and there is a bus service to the site, there are car and living vehicle spaces outside the camp.

The exact location will be announced the week before the gathering so that it doesn’t turn into a festival. For travel directions check the website where they will be posted on 12th August.

DOGS : This year well behaved owners with dogs on leads can be accommodated, but think about whether your dog will feel comfortable in workshops. Please call beforehand so we know numbers.

COST : £20 – £30 according to what you can afford. It’s not for profit – all extra cash goes to help fund next year. Under 14′s free.

CONTACT
summergathering@earthfirst.org.uk
www.earthfirstgathering.org.uk
Or ring 01524 383012 – though it might take a while to get back to you.

0707%20earthfirst%20flyer.jpg
Central St Martin’s graduate Phil Hall draws in the same way that some of us dream; streams of consciousness, information pills themes interspersed with sudden hints and whispers of unrelated recollections. Some of his work contains snippets of dialogue, viagra often witty and astute but again with an undertone of the surreal and reminiscent of muddled hallucinogenic dream talk (yes, sick that is a technical term).

philhall1.jpg

His commissions to date include the magazines La Bouche, Crafty and Torpedo, as well as for the G2 Guardian supplement and animation company Kanoti. Animals, both actual and fictitious, are nestled between cityscapes and underwater worlds, while everyday objects are comically personified and everyday scenes playfully reinterpreted.

philhall4.jpg

Figures and portraiture are also common threads throughout Hall’s work, which he has an incredible skill for undertaking. Subtle use of lines and marks, but nonetheless full of expression, the characters are often solemn and appear loss in thought. I wondered whether this was a reflection of Hall’s own state of mind and so challenged him to a quick fire round of questions. Turns out he’s actually a pretty sharp guy.

philhall3.jpg

So, Phil, what makes you so awesome?

I don’t know about that, but I think people who want to create, try new things, provoke through art are pretty awesome.

Which artists or illustrators do you most admire?

Anybody who is trying new and interesting things, especially people who take risks.

philhall2.jpg

Who or what is your nemesis?

That darn negative voice in my head

Which band past or present would provide the soundtrack to your life?

New Radiohead stuff, i know, i know…

philhall10.jpg
I say Modern Art is Rubbish, you say…?

Some of it

If you weren’t an artist, what would you be doing?

climbing the walls

philhall12.jpg

What would your pub quiz specialist subject be?

90′s video games, yes, I’m slightly embarrassed by this but as an 80′s child in was such escapism.

What advice would you give up and coming artists?

Believe in your own ideas, but always question them.

philhall6.jpg

What piece of modern technology can you not live without?

The Internet and hoverboard

What is your guilty pleasure?

Crap TV

Tell us something about Phil Hall that we didn’t know already.

I’m a triplet, I have two sisters, ones a florist the other a teaching assistant.

philhall7.jpg

When I fall asleep tonight, when I slip into that state of meditative relaxation and my mind lets go of the reality of my day, I hope my dreams are as vibrant and vivid as Phil Hall’s illustrations.

What do you dream about?

philhall8.jpg
So. A whole new batch of graduates all with a different vision – and what to do with them? With the music industry completely revolutionised beyond recognition by the internet, sale the world of fashion has also recognised the lucrative possibilities of the online community to spread the word beyond the catwalk and the pages of glossy magazines. Networking sites like Nineteen74.com are making an obsessively international industry international for the earliest of starters, viagra approved connecting stylists, unhealthy designers, editors, make-up artists, press and hairdressers across the waters.

But with fashion as a site where art and commerce (especially when globalised) traditionally sit uneasily alongside one another, individual expression so often has to be tamed and tapered to fit. Yet Stefan Siegel, owner and founder of the website NOT JUST A LABEL believes that “fashion finds its freedom in the art of individuals”, so set up an online store dedicated to embracing such creativity, and crucially taking it to an accessible level but making it a place where “everything goes”. It’s an online base of up and coming designers, giving its members an esteemed platform where they can showcase and sell their clothing without having to compromise. This is 2009, and this is the world showroom. Here, Stefan talks to Amelia’s Magazine about his designers, his successes and his motivations.

ELENAGREGUSOVA.JPG

CARTA_E_COSTURA.jpg

When and why did you start NJAL and what motivated you to open the shop-section of the website?

Young aspiring fashion designers face enormous hurdles at the beginning of their career; we wanted to provide a stage where designers could showcase their collections at no costs. The goal was to formulate and implement a vision; linking designers with the fashion industry.

How long did it take for the shop to materialize?

Only 10 weeks, we decided during Paris Fashion Week in March that it would be a good idea and all our designers supported the idea. We started developing it in April.

NJAL%20-%20THE%20SHOP%20-%202.JPG

How do you decide which designers to sell?

The recently launched Not Just A Label shop gives birth to a new kind of online shopping experience offering unique, one-off designer garments. Addicts and admirers alike now have the opportunity to purchase special and limited edition pieces from designers recognised as the leaders in avant-garde fashion.

With so many people wanting to get their work out there, how is it possible to keep up?

Selected collaborators like Robin Schulié and Diane Pernet hand-pick designs from the collections. On a monthly basis a new key industry figure will be asked to join us in the selection process, resulting in a different monthly collection. The chosen participants will be launched as a group to the press a month before their launch on the website.

Have you been successful as of yet?

The response has been amazing, we had thousands visitors on our page when we launched and the reactions are all positive so far. We believe it was really something the market was missing.

How do you think attitudes are changing in young designers?

Young designers recognise the responsibility in creating sustainable fashion. By applying artisan craftsmanship they are known to create products that have classic values with longer lasting qualities and we hope that consumers and buyers will soon recognise this opportunity. Every item displayed on THE SHOP is unique or part of a small production, we believe it is more valuable and eco-friendly to buy an item you can keep for more seasons.

SETHPRATT.JPG

HAMPUSBERGGREN.jpg

Having a snoop around the website, it’s great to see that designers can create their own free individualised showrooms online with personalised web addresses, with picture and video galleries and contact information. It’s in essence a place where the individual wields the power – what NJAL has called ‘the black sheep’s environment’. Here you’ve got to be the black sheep or else! Now just imagine what this flock would look like – pretty fabulous we bet.

Blundering, sildenafil mistake-making fashion followers believe that style is about fitting in, find but the true sartorial clan know that individuality has always been the on-trend approach to dressing. These days the high street seems to offer little more than weak duplicates of catwalk designs. The same styles circle the streets over and over again. Standing out has become a difficult endeavour: but there is hope. Forget hitting the shops, adiposity stay at home and spend your style pennies via the happy medium of your computer. With online retail expanding every day (check out our article on NOT JUST A LABEL), the web has become a virtual mall, brimming with quirky garments, capable of satisfying the most eccentric of fashionistas. The obstacle is discovering them, but Amelia’s Magazine has picked out some of our favourites that might mean you would never have to get out of your pyjamas to actually wear any of the clothes you might hypothetically buy. C’est la vie, etc.

Modcloth Indie Clothing:
The pitch: Granny in space
FYI: An emporium of funky fashion finds: from more conventional tea-party dresses to crazy PVC high-waisted shorts. It is a fashion cocktail that will quench all styles of thirst: from grunge to gran- glam to more sophisticated tastes: Modcloth embraces it all. Their stock is as diverse as it wearable, with a collection of pendants particularly expansive; from roses to miniature clocks to birds to robots – and all for less than thirty pounds.

Spanish Moss Vintage

SPANISHMOSS.gif

The pitch: It’s a New York state of dress
FYI: If Lady Gaga owned a vintage shop, it would most definitely resemble Spanish Moss Vintage: most of the models sport her iconic platinum bob and the clothes have a bold, eccentric New York appeal. You can choose between either their New or Vintage Stock, with both lines evoking what can only be described as a wild-nocturnal-hippie-bohemian vibe. Designer pieces are jumbled between quirky one-offs. Jumpsuit aficionados will be especially impressed, from shoulder-padded, to floral covered to striped: each number reflects a different era, it’s like buying a piece of fashion history!

PIXIE MARKET

pixemarket.jpg

The pitch: Olsen Twins at a rock concert
FYI: Everything speaks rock with a capital R. Garments at Pixie Market are subdued but sharp at the same time, sometimes merging with a beautiful grunge-inspired sloppy look. Acid-wash , spray-painted tees, hard-ass leather; its Soho chic at its most dirty. Especially covetable are the studded sandals, which are a harsher twist on the elegant Balenciaga numbers.

ABSOLUTE VINTAGE

absol.jpg

The pitch: Schoolgirl chic
FYI: Endless collections of handbags, dresses and shoes straight with the oh-so-stylish Brick Lane twist. This is old-lady chic heaven, 75% of all stock would work wonderfully with knee-socks, wayfarers and a dashing blazer. The website is incredibly easy to navigate, and the interminable rows of product images evoke a genuine market-shopping vibe. Forget Portobello, Absolute Vintage is where it’s at!

ROLLING STONE VINTAGE
The pitch: Acceptable in the 70s, 80s and 90s
FYI: The people over at Rolling Stone Vintage believe that a vintage dress is a “fashion staple”, and they make sure to provide this staple what seems like a gazillion different varieties. From American-Indian motifs to glitzy sequins to prom-styles, there is a frock for every girl (or boy, for that matter, we won’t put people in a box). Other vintage highlights include their sporadically placed bright graphic tees that seem to scream “Viva las 80s!”

So come on people – pick up that virtual shopping basket, it’s ever so light. And readers, do you have any more online vintage sites you’d like to recommend? Don’t be a meanie and keep them to yourselves!

What could be more British than Gilbert and George? They are the perfect symbols of a nation that is as renowned for its stiff upper lip as it is for its football hooliganism, patient for its uptight sexuality as its love of bawdy smut. Mild and mannerly yet anarchic and challenging, this the artistic duo (two men, one artist) have been performing for us, exhibiting their art and showing us their shit for over 40 years now. And we love them for it.

gilandgeo1.jpg

George Passmore and Gilbert Proesch met, as Jarvis Cocker might say, whilst studying sculpture at St Martin’s college. Taking an unusual approach to their studies, they sacrificed themselves to live out their lives as a performance; the two became one living sculpture. Upon the realisation that singing Flanagan and Allen’s ‘Underneath the Arches’ for eight hours straight can get rather tiring, Gilbert and George branched out into film and photography, settling on their now trademark vividly coloured grid photographs that glow like unholy stained glass windows. It is this familiar technique that allows them to explore modern patriotism in their new show ‘Jack Freak Pictures.’

gilandgeo2.jpg

What could be more British than Jesus sporting a pair of Union Jack boxer shorts? This is the confusing and confrontational question that Gilbert and George pose to us in the image ‘Christian England’. Are we a patriotic people, a religious people, and what has happened to the ‘Christian England’ of old? Did those feet in ancient time walk upon England’s mountains green? And might the holy Lamb of God have purchased his pants from a tourist shop?

gilandgeo4.jpg

When previewing ‘Jack Freak pictures’ the Evening Standard hinted that their new works go as far as blasphemy. Gilbert and George would surely be delighted at this, having asserted themselves as anti-religion and always up for shocking people into contemplation. However, not even a spokesperson for the Church of England could be riled; ‘It sounds very mild for them’ the holy one surmised.
Mild may not be the right word, but Gilbert and George do at least seem to manage to keep most of their clothes on for the majority of this series. Instead of naughty body bits, it is rosettes and medals that feature heavily in images such as ‘God Guard Thee’ and ‘Church of England’. The wonderfully titled ‘Ingerland’ appears as a mess of flesh, flailing arms and a hypnotic pattern of red, white and blue.

gilandgeo6.jpg

The Union Flag has provided much inspiration for the pair, from their image titles (‘Jesus Jack’, ‘Jack Shit’, ‘Jacksie’) right down to their ultra-patriotic suits. Subtly, this is where Gilbert and George’s shock tactics lie. The duo are content to calmly pose us with images of patriotism, ramped up to a level just shy of insanity, and then lie back and think of England as the audience themselves go insane wondering what it all means. The Union Jack is a loaded symbol. War time medals of honour hold connotations of terror and death. Christianity itself is complicated enough. But aren’t we told we’re supposed to be proud of all this?
Gilbert and George aren’t letting on, as they pose passively as the everyman in their images. Passively,yet aggressively. And what could be more British than that?

gilandgeo5.jpg

Gilbert and George: Jack Freak Pictures

White Cube Gallery
48 Hoxton Square
London N1 6BU

10th July 22nd August
10am – 6pm Tuesday to Saturday
If you don’t know who Deerhoof are, cheapest you might want to check your sources, reprimand your social group, and consider reading better magazines (and blogs, of course). Deerhoof haven’t quite broken out, weirdly. There are a fair few t-shirts on the street, a few nods of approval in beer garden conversations, and a growing swathe of gimmicky-recognition (“aren’t they the one with the bouncy Japanese lady instead of a normal singer?”), but there is no summer anthem, no festival domination, and no MTV2 a-listed iconic-video-of-the-month. So there’s an extra pat on the back for the wise and knowing horde which descended on Scala this wednesday. Well done!

deerhoofimg1.jpg

Needless to say, they have already been rewarded for their astute pulse-taking on-the-ball-ness – this was a fantastic gig in every respect. A bit of a slow start, maybe, but one which created the perfect calm pond into which massive boulders of rock can most joyfully be dropped. And these are beautifully detailed boulders. Guitarist John Dieterich and his sparring buddy, Ed Rodriguez take such joy in melodic interplay, you could imagine this evolving into classical music a decade hence. And Greg Saunier is one of the most charismatic drummers around. He jiggers around on his stool like an orang-utan on mushrooms and clearly has an obsession with slowing things down, creating tension by bringing in his thwack a little late, or birthing an extra half a secong in a crotchet so he can rattle off one of his beloved buddle-de-dah type licks across the kit. Drummers pay attention: most of you can learn from this chap.

deerhoofimg3.jpg

And then, right in your fovea, is the glorious Satomi Matsuzaki. In the vastness of the stage, she’s a fun-sized centre of attention, like Spinal Tap’s Stonehenge. On the bass, she’s all scripted and tight. After all, someone’s got to hold it together. As a singer, she’s a magical bundle of fun. It’s a little girl voice, opening christmas presents of unpredictable melodies and impressions of inanimate objects (beep, ring, etc). And a great showwoman, too. The crowd was thrilled by her dance sequence with a glow-in-the-dark basketball to the brilliant Basketball Get Your Groove Back. And there was a lovely feedback stew in which she, John and Ed all made as much “EEEEEEeeeeeeeep” as possible with their axes behind their heads. On of the encores had everyone on the wrong instrument for a quick country standard. Another was an instrumental which stepped toward Tortoise or King Crimson. Enthrallment was the order of the day, with one of my chums confused about whether it was accessible or not: “I can hear how weird it is, so I how come I’m enjoying it as much as I am?” she mused.

deerhoofimg2.jpg

Energetically, I’m reminded of the Pixies, except there will never be a Here Comes Your Man from Deerhoof, who might suddenly lurch toward Careful With The Axe, Eugene, instead. The whimsy recalls Pavement, but nothing as simple or catchy as Haircut will come out of this lot, while they keep getting deeper into the infinite possibilities that they clearly see in their instruments. It’s not for them to dilute their powers with accessibility. It’s for every man, woman and child to climb on what Satori has called “the dog-faced rollercoaster” of their music.

It’s a ride I suggest you join them on.
At the confluence of the teeming A roads that intersect the eastern edge of Hackney, click crouching in the shadow of an imposing tower block, troche stands the shell of the Clapton Cinematograph Theatre.

0709%20clapton1.JPG
All photos by Kirsty McQuire.

The borough’s oldest surviving picture house overlooks the Lea Bridge Road roundabout, clinic the hotch-potch nucleus of Upper and Lower Clapton. It’s an area which has recently received, among others, the Miquita Oliver seal of approval: ‘The place to be? Clapton.’ The neglected structure, sandwiched between the equally dishevelled White Hart pub, and the robust St. James Church, is a sorry sight. Bearing neither the shiny new face of Mare St. civic pride (so derided by local psycho-geographer Iain Sinclair) nor the artistic shabby-chic of Dalston, it is an anachronism, a ghost on the inner city landscape. The Edwardian picture palace itself is shrouded by a tawdry lilac façade, conjuring all the eeriness of a forgotten fairground.

With the spotlight of regeneration holding East London firmly in its glare as the Olympics edge ever closer, and the tide of cool (or ‘Shoreditch Twat’ syndrome, depending on your perspective) creeping beyond its Hoxton stronghold, this would seem an opportune moment to raise the profile of a forgotten cultural gem. So says Julie Lafferty, Secretary of the Friends of Clapton Cinematograph Theatre (FCCT), an alliance of local residents who are campaigning for the dilapidated building to be restored to its former glory. That is not merely nostalgic hyperbole, given that the erstwhile leafy suburb of country piles, landscaped gardens and prosperous farms formed the backdrop to the theatre, erected in 1910, just as Portobello Road got the Electric and East Finchley the Phoenix. Both of those Grade II listed, art house haunts have fared considerably better than their Clapton contemporary, buoyed by cult followings and more affluent locales. In its heyday the Cinematograph seated 750 local punters who flocked to see shows that fused film screenings and live performance. Features and shorts were accompanied by acts including ‘the famous banjoists: Miss Hilda Barry and Mr Harry Stuart;’ bridging the gap between the Victorian East End’s love affair with Music Hall and the advent of modern cinema. How many of the current avant-garde, frequenting genre-defying venues such as Shunt and the Village Underground, are aware of this quaint antecedent to their adventures in multimedia, I wonder? I certainly wasn’t!

0709%20clapton2.JPG

This invaluable record of cinematic history was all but eclipsed as the decline of the local area manifest itself in the ‘flea pit’ conditions inside the cinema, ultimately leading to its closure in 1979. The premises were to lie dormant until 1983, reopening as Afro-Caribbean nightspot Dougies and later renamed the Palace Pavilion. The original club attracted a vibrant, diverse mix of punters whilst retaining a wholesome atmosphere, Lafferty tells me, having lived in the area with her family for thirty years. Dougies championed black reggae musicians and succeeded in integrating the flourishing multi-cultural community. However, in its 90s hip hop incarnation and under the aegis of proprietor and DJ Admiral Ken, AKA Kenneth Edwards, the Pavilion was blighted by knife and gun crime. After the violence reached its peak in a gangland-style double shooting on New Years Eve 2005, local pressure groups succeeded in having the club’s license revoked. According to Lafferty’s findings through Land Registry, Edwards’ name still appears on the leasehold, though the Bass Holdings’ freehold is now on the market. A victim of the recession as well as its reputation, the club has remained boarded up ever since it closed its doors to the public. Edwards has declined to enter into a dialogue with the FCCT on several occasions. ‘We took his business away,’ she admits.

The Pavilion’s demise inevitably damaged the livelihoods of those who profited from it, both officially and unofficially. Yet it has been key in continuing to eradicate what Tony Blair famously referred to as ‘the society of fear,’ with direct reference to the borough. ‘Crime in Hackney is falling faster than in nearly any other London borough,’ reflected Mayor Jules Pipe recently, following heartening statistics from the Met. In the year 2006-07, crime was found to be down by 7,000 offences, a decrease of 28% compared to 2003-04, meaning that Hackney exceeded the three-year target of a 20% reduction in priority crimes. Locals had the backing of Diane Abbot, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, who insists that ‘the club had a long and bloody history and the decision to close it was long overdue.’ Abbot’s involvement has not ended there, as she has also lent her support to the FCCT’s vision for the building’s future.

‘Hackney currently only has one cinema serving a population of over 200,000,’ states the FCCT campaign literature. The Rio, a jewel in Hackney’s cultural crown, is a prime example of what local patronage can do to preserve a neighbourhood institution; the venue having been earmarked for various developments since its inception in 1909. But the cosy Art Deco hangout of just 402 seats cannot possibly meet the increasing demand of a predominantly young borough, which grew by 12% compared to the 7.4% of London overall, in the 1990s alone. A rival development has been mooted for Pitfield Street in Shoreditch, but if resident naysayer Jarvis Cocker has anything to do with it, it won’t get the go ahead.

0709%20clapton3.JPG

In an ambitious yet shrewd proposal, the group envisages the Cinematograph’s resurrection paying homage to the late playwright and local hero, Harold Pinter. ‘It’s a little known fact,’ says Lafferty, ‘that alongside his works for the theatre he also wrote 22 screenplays. Pinter was very fond of the area he grew up in- he wrote poetry recounting walks with his teacher from Clapton Pond to Finsbury Park, discussing the literature that inspired him to start writing.’ Ideally, such a tribute would be finalised in time to coincide with the cinema’s centenary in 2010.

In light of this, Abbot requested an Early Day Motion on 15th January which ‘calls on the Government to do all it can to support the campaign by local residents to restore the cinema on Lower Clapton Road in honour of this illustrious Hackney resident.’ Although most EDMs are never debated in the House of Commons, this petition has already garnered the support of Glenda Jackson and at the very least will serve to air the issue around Westminster. That Pinter ended his days in the more salubrious climes of Kensington and Chelsea is beside the point; he was born in Lower Clapton and there is a staggering absence of any visible testament to his humble beginnings. Lafferty: ‘On Broadway they dimmed the lights for him. What have we done?’ Another example of British diffidence in the face of towering achievement, I conclude.

Lest the project be branded purely a heritage piece, Lafferty is quick to point out that this dedication is not the extent of the FCCT’s plans, which also encompass a community centre, gallery space, café and film training facilities. ‘I believe in training, not punishment,’ she says, and cites the fact that ‘Hackney youth are at a considerable disadvantage in the job market.’ With half of all adults not attaining the literacy level expected of a school leaver and the employment rate being some 13% lower than the London average, she has a point. But how might she and her colleagues on the committee counter accusations of gentrification, now almost synonymous with the double-edged sword of regeneration? ‘By involving local people from the start. We want a community cinema, a place to unite polarised generations- not a faceless multiplex but not an art house clique either.’ She is well aware of fears that the Olympic legacy will be a white elephant, and denies that cynics might justifiably say the same of an independent cinema on the Park’s periphery: ‘It should be for the long-term and inclusive, not exclusive. The challenge is to appeal to everyone. I’m advocating a diverse programme world cinema and young documentary talent, alongside mainstream blockbusters.’

In the meantime, it’s a case of means tirelessly raising awareness in every local forum from the church fete to the school hall. Volunteers are canvassing for signatures to provide evidence of community feeling, with which to bolster political interest and attract investment. The FCCT are in the process of commissioning a £30,000 feasibility study, potentially to be financed by the RIBA community fund- the next step towards proving the practical and economic benefits of the enterprise. The campaigners are also armed with a Film Council Report of 2005, containing a glowing case study of the Rio. ‘What’s to stop it happening here?’ is Lafferty’s characteristically sanguine attitude.

0709%20clapton4.JPG

Which is not to say that she and her colleagues haven’t experienced set backs in the past. Although the FCCT have not met with opposition directly, longstanding residents among them are no strangers to controversy and disappointment. They only hope that the fate of nearby Latham’s Yard, a 13-acre site by the River Lea, will not befall the cinema. The greenbelt land had its planning application for a development of 7-storey apartment blocks approved in 2005, despite considerable local and political objection. ‘The Government’s own Planning Inspector said no, but it got the green light anyway. That was a real low-point.’

Resilience and resourcefulness appear to go a long way in the world of grass roots lobbying. Through the edifying neighbourhood grapevine of Dave Hill’s Clapton Pond Blog I learnt not only of the FCCT’s existence, but also of their first cinematic venture, a free screening of The Big Smoke: Films from a Lost London 1896-1945. This event simultaneously formed part of the Open Gardens and Squares Weekend and the BFI Mediatheque on Tour, which takes the South Bank archive on the road. So on the afternoon of Sunday 14th June I trotted along to the unlikely setting of the St. John’s Ambulance Hall, passing bustling homemade cake stands and brick-a-brack stalls dotted round the pond. More Vicar of Dibley than Clapton, really. A make-shift banner proclaimed defiantly (and with more than a hint of irony), ‘Screen on the Pond;’ and a bottle of Recession plonk bearing the PM’s face was being raffled as the tombola prize. Neighbours young and old had turned out to watch black and white silent movies on a sunny summer’s day and despite the lack of popcorn, it was standing room only.

It seems there is still a demand for a cinema-experience on your doorstep that isn’t tantamount to a trip to the supermarket, after all. And this was only the trailer.

The next FCCT public meeting will be held at The Pembury Tavern on Amhurst Road, Hackney on Tuesday 14th July at 7pm.

Returning just for a moment to the R-Art collective collaboration with Nova Dando to make a dress entirely from everyone’s favourite page-turner The Financial Times, it’s funny to see examples of trashion pop up in different guises, treat and wondering whether it’s all really part of the same thing. Back in the 1940s, a shoemaker called Salvatore Ferragamo started to braid sweet wrappers in the upper parts of his shoes during the Second World War. He discovered their strength and wear in a difficult period to obtain expensive materials.

Fast-forward to 2009, and you’ve got entire ranges of kitsch accessories being woven out of sweet wrappers. You’ve got students constructing trousers from Royal Mail postbags, Martin Margiela making shirts appliquéd with old football parts.

maison-martin-margiela_pop-pe8-0-9.jpg

And look! Alexander McQueen is even recycling old collections, and using umbrellas and hub- caps as hats.

MCQU_AW09_0284.jpg

MCQU_AW09_0835.jpg

In the unlikely pairing of Ferragamo and McQueen, we are witnessing an artistic response fuelled by the unglamorous concept of necessity generated by an economic downturn. For Margiela it has long been a practice to ‘upcycle’ his own garments with his Artisanal range, looking to grant them with a ‘higher status’. It’s intellectualising something that you see also in the most lowbrow of arenas, like Project Runway, where designers are challenged to create futuristic outfits out of vintage clothes, or rip up the interiors of apartments to make into something avant-garde. It’s easy to see how trashion treads the fine line between a belief system and a gimmick (completely ruining several perfectly decent apartments seemed somewhat regressive to me). There was even the Channel 4 programmed ‘Dumped’ where a group of strangers were forced to live together and filmed around the clock. In a dump. Undoubtedly a gimmick, but these people actually managed to survive by reusing what people had thought to throw away.

So the idea of repurposing is nothing new, and it’s obvious why we regularly look to cover here it at Amelia’s Magazine. More interesting than why it’s produced is how, I began reading about Chilean designer Alexandra Guerrero, who genuinely views the wastage in her city as an opportunity to be resourceful, and has gone so far as to make wearable pieces out of a fabric constructed from cigarette butts. Yes, that’s CIGARETTE BUTTS. Before the murmurs start about overstepping the mark, Guerrero pre-empted all the haters out there by checking with an environmental engineer to check that cleaning them would make them hygienically sound. Given the thumbs up – you can get ‘em at 95% purified apparently – she then put them through something called an autoclave, then washed them in something else called a polar solvent, put them back into the trusty autoclave, to go and then rinse, dry, shred, dye, separate the butts, and finally spin with natural sheep wool. Ta-dah! Imagine the horrifyingly elongated episode of Blue Peter: here’s one I autoclaved earlier.

20090212_cigarette-butts6.jpg

Shows like Project Runway delineate a certain fascination with the process of it all, and specifically the difficulty involved in doing it. If turning some old coffee cups into a cheeky little playsuit was easily done, maybe it would just be the common practice. The fact remains, that, with Guerrera’s project in mind, it’s an exhausting process that of course isn’t more trouble than it’s worth environmentally (not at a whopping 4.5 trillion butts dropped a day) but artistically, it could definitely be a bit laborious. And, let’s face it, not to everybody’s taste.

McQueen himself said his AW09 collection was indeed a response to the gross wastage of the fashion industry in an economic climate where it could not be commercially viable any more. Guerrero ironically enough needs more funding to pursue her investigations into the world of cigarette butts. But the shared excitement in possibilities in repurposing materials seems the important result, and the creative potential out there is without a doubt enormous. So next time you chuck something in the bin, take a second look – maybe it could make a brilliant overcoat.

Categories ,Couture, ,Craft, ,Reality Television, ,Recycled Materials, ,Trashion

Similar Posts:






Amelia’s Magazine | Junk Food

Recently discussing with a fellow fashion blogger the growing interest in the Scandinavian fashion world, information pills treatment she quipped that it was very easy for Scandinavians to be fashionable; after all, link each and every one of them seem to be all long legs and white blonde hair. Her remark seemed to suggest that perhaps the Scandinavians have no street style genius or imaginative flair when it comes to dressing. Indeed, sale the stereotype of beautiful dumb models hailing from the North of Europe is far from rare – but there’s something going on over there that’s worth a bit of investigating.

Taking just one look at street style websites Lookbook or the Face Hunter confronts us with the fresh new faces of Scandinavian fashion. The majority of the most ‘hyped’ looks on Lookbook come from sassy, fashionable (and often very young) North Europeans, hailing from Stockholm, Helsinki and beyond. Indeed, for a clear picture of Swedish success on Lookbook, just look at “Shelley M, 18 year old art student and blogger from Sweden,” with her knack of combining little girl cuteness (headbands and bows) with serious sex appeal (short black skirts and lace) topped off with crazy heels and splashes of kitsch accessories straight out of Tatty Devine.

And she’s not a lone phenomenon. Sporting brave and bold urban prints in vivid colours, these bright young things from Scandinavian meccas of style exude a perfect blend of 90s skate culture with CluelessCher Horowitz, with her high school polished, blonde doll-faced perfection. See Amelia’s Magazine’s recent articles on Daniel Palillo and CTRL for examples of this kind of styling, something that appears to be truly specific to the Scandinavians. The 90s, it seems, are the nostalgic wardrobe reference du jour here, embodying past positivity and youth in a pre-doom and gloom world of the new millennium.

Ever since the Swedish Institute’s exhibition – ‘Swedish Fashion: Exploring a New Identity’ – launched at London’s Fashion and Textile Museum this February, Scandinavian fashion has seen a markedly rising profile in the fashion world. Celebrating a new wave of Swedish design talent, the exhibition questioned the static view that fashion blooms only in the eponymous fashion capitals of Paris, London, New York and Milan. In fact, this collection instead raised the debate over whether globally, we neglect fashion from all four corners of the globe at the cost of fresher and more interesting approaches to design, simply because they have traditionally been ignored by the industry.

Ann-Sofie Back must be considered one of the most influential and successful of these designers, with her place at London Fashion Week and her capsule collection for Topshop, not to mention her collaboration with that uber-successful Swedish brand, Cheap Monday. As seen at her s/s 09 collection, Back is unafraid to incorporate social comment into her shows, holding celebrity obsession with plastic surgery up to ridicule with her bandaged and felt-tipped models.

Back.JPG

But then, there are also the clothes. Back’s most recent collection sported ripped and distressed pieces supposedly representing ‘Ann-Sofie Back goes to Hell’. Striking the balance can be near-impossible, yet she really knows how to shock whilst also providing wearable fashion pieces.

And Back’s not the only one causing a stir. Joining her from the recent exhibition for particular note are Sandra Backlund, Helena Horstedt and Martin Bergström, who showcased similarly effortless Scandinavian cool.

Backlund.jpg

If you saw our feature on Backlund’s knitwear in recent weeks, you’ll know that it is really something special; with oversize knotting and draping, with the designs exude wooly coziness whilst remaining edgy and thoroughly modern. Alongside Backlund stands Horstedt whose work focuses on intricacy of shape in order to create highly fascinating designs that swirl and envelope the body with draping and fringing detail, all in solid black.

Horstedt.jpg

Indeed, for both designers, it seems that the human body is paramount to their designs, with Backlund quoted as saying the it is her chief inspiration. Finally we have Bergström, who once again predominantly centres on futuristic shapes enveloping the body with volume, but in a more vivid aquamarine colour palette.

Bergstrom.jpg

It seems then, that the Finns and the Swedes are well and truly indulging in some kind of sartorial breakthrough at the moment. Whatever it is that’s doing it, there is undoubtedly something linking these North European designers spurring them into a fashion frenzy. Hopefully, the fashion world will take notice, and we will be joining the likes of Shelley M in her fashion credentials all too soon.

What I find so fascinating, search bewildering and ultimately beautiful about Japan can all be found in Shu Okada, site and her stunning watercolour illustrations. Perfectly and carefully rendered, aesthetically desirable but with undertones of the dark and unspoken, her work is enchanting and haunting in equal measures. Okada is true to her Japanese roots though she now chooses to reside in the more artistically liberal city of New York from where she not only illustrates, but blogs, photographs and produces animation.

illust31.jpg

illust35.jpg

One of the most important things I think for an artist to do is to take themselves out of their comfort zones and immerse their entire beings in different worlds, different cities, different cultures, and that is exactly what Okada has achieved and she’s still only in her early twenties. Her creative passion has taken her around the globe in search of inspiration; schooling in Switzerland, a spell at St Martins, some time at Parsons New School for Design, and already her work has been recognised and awarded by Bologna Book Fair, New Ink Cover Design and New York Times.

illust04.jpg

We talked about Kimonos, moving around the world and where to find inspiration, our conversation follows below.

Hello, how are you today?

Good! August is my birth month, so I am very excited now.

What have you been doing recently?

I just finished my college life this summer, so now I have a lot of time to paint and draw anything I want.

illust11.jpg

illust45.jpg

What materials or mediums do you like to work with best?

I like to experiment with different media such as watercolour, ink, and oil paint. Recently I’ve been using watercolour and colour pencil the most. I like how watercolour shows differently when it is wet and dry.

How is the New York art scene different from the Tokyo art scene? What made you decide to leave Japan?

New York is mix of many different cultures and nationalities. I feel that New York art has more variety than in Japan. Also, the attitude of illustrators is slightly different in New York. Before I came here, I thought illustration was about comics (manga) or animations for young kids. I decided to come to New York to see how other cultures see art.

illust36.jpg

illust43.jpg

What inspires your work?

Knowledge is very important, not just for art, but also for living. So now I am trying to read books and watch different kinds of movies when I have time. It doesn’t necessarily need to connect to my art directly, but I believe it helps my way of thinking. Also, I get inspiration from architecture and I sometimes travel to other countries and like to imagine people’s lives there.

How long do the illustrations usually take you to do?

Watercolour has to be quick, because when it is dry, I can’t fix it. So when I start putting watercolour, it doesn’t take a long time to paint at all…but if I make any mistakes, I have to repaint it all over again.

illust37.jpg

illust38.jpg

illust39.jpg

At what age did you realise you were creative?

My dream was always related to art. When I was in 2nd grade, I wanted to be a fashion designer, and when I was in junior high school, my dream was to be a trumpeter. However, I knew these dreams were just dreams. The time I decided to follow my creativity was in high school. I went to a high school in Switzerland and the way they thought was different from Japan. After we made something in art class, we had a critique time, which was unusual for a Japanese high school. At that time, I realized how I love to show my art to other people and decided to study art more.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

I have no idea where I will be living because I am constantly moving around the world; such as Switzerland, New York, London, Tokyo, and Kanazawa. What I am sure about is that I will have a cute dog and I will name it “Maru the 6th” (my family’s dog is always named “Maru”), and painting everyday.

illust40.jpg

Besides art and photography, what are you passions or interests in life?

Kimono is traditional clothing that is still worn in Japan. However, there are many rules about the choice of patterns, colours, and fabric. Because my family works in the Kimono business, I have always wanted to study the Kimono. One of my passions is to study the Kimono and become a Kimono teacher.

Which are your favourite artists/illustrators/photographers?

For now, I like Makoto Aida, a Japanese artist. When I first saw his paintings, I couldn’t move for long time.

illust41.jpg

illust42.jpg

Tell us a secret!

Follow your mind!

Sound advice from a lady who obviously tastes her own medicine.
Emma Puntis

Supplement
31 Temple Street
Bethnal Green
London E2 6QQ

25th July – 16th August
Thursday – Sunday 12 – 6pm

20thjulylistings1.jpg

“Emma Puntis, hospital a Chelsea College of Art and Design graduate, paints strangely intense small-scale portraits. The images which act as inspiration for her work are collected from a wide range of sources, from contemporary family snapshots to historical documents of early photography and traditional landscape painting. In translating these images into paintings she suggests a puzzling connection between these apparently disparate snapshots.”

——————————————————————————————-

A Tradition I Do Not Mean To Break

176 Gallery
176 Prince of Wales Road
London NW5 3PT

Until 16th August
Thursday & Friday 11am-3pm
Saturday & Sunday 11am-6pm
Other times by appointment

20thjulylistings2.jpg

Continuing with the theme of music and folklore at the 176 Gallery, this exhibition promises exciting new audiovisual work including films by David Blandy, Henry Coombes and Tereza Bušková, and will be presented alongside works, by the same artists, from the Zabludowicz Collection.Each artist explores a particular cultural subject with which they strongly identify, using myth, custom and symbolism, delving into gothica, melancholy and opulence.

——————————————————————————————-

Make Do and Mend

V&A Museum of Childhood
Cambridge Heath Rd
London, E2 9PA

Until 8th November
Monday – Sunday 10am to 5:45pm

20thjulylistings3.jpg

“Make Do and Mend combines the work of contemporary designers and local schoolchildren. Jon Male, Lou Rota and Max McMurdo rework salvaged domestic and industrial waste to create stylish, quirky new products. The exhibition is based around a display of objects which have been salvaged and refashioned to make useful new items, with an eye on both the environment and the wallet. Anti-waste wartime tips on cutting excessive consumption have an obvious resonance in today’s economic climate and the campaign to salvage, recycle, and reduce your carbon footprint is also impacting on design.”

——————————————————————————————-

Team Lump: DIY Rapture

Cell Project Space
258 Cambridge Heath Rd
London, E2 9DA

Until 2nd August
Friday – Sunday 12pm – 6pm

20thjulylistings6.jpg

A fascinating discussion on the culture of cults in America lead by native art collective Team Lump, collaborating nicely with drawing, sculpture, painting and film & music. With a focus on the social and political unrest surrounding cults, founder Bill Thelen presents the group who are connected by a DIY aesthetic and a self publishing ethic.
Team Lump Collective, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Leah Bailis, Jerstin Crosby Josh Rickards, Bill Thelen ,Tory Wright

——————————————————————————————-

Village Fete Jubilee

V&A
Cromwell Rd
London SW7 2RL

24th July 6.30-10pm
25th July 1-5pm
Admission: £3
Kids 12 years and under: 50p and must be accompanied by an adult

20thjulylistings8.jpg

This year the V&A’s famous Village Fete goes POP ! with the aid of our fabulous sponsors French Connection and just a few balloons. This balloon popping extravanganza is brought to you by Scarlet Projects and Mark Garside. Once again, we bring you the best and most extraordinary in contemporary British design and creative practice. Never has Splat The Rat, coconut shies and homemade jam seemed so much fun. Many thanks go to all the designers taking part in the Fete for their wonderful ideas, their time and their energy.

Highlights:

Carl Clerkin Goes -BING!
Bada Bingo
Kieron Baroutchi, Carl and Cavan Clerkin, Danny Clarke, Gitta Gschwendtner, Rosie Irvine and Ed Ward do Bada Bingo. This years cultural roulette has a distinct Italian American flavor. Cigars, revolving costumes and plenty of drama and of course everyones a winner at the Bing.

Here’s One I Made Ea rlier Goes -Rustle!
Pick ‘n’ Mix Bags
Make like an eco magpie and delve into our pick ‘n’ mix selection of bits and bobs for you to stamp, stick and style your own unique canvas bag. Perfect for transporting your stash of fete goodies!!

Tatty Devine Goes -hoopla!
Welcome to The Ring Master!
The trusty Tatty team will be handing out giant rings for you to throw onto the giant ring master’s hands. If you manage to get a ring on any finger then you win either a Tatty Devine moustache ring or a limited edition hand shaped ring made especially for the fete. Ready Steady. . .Tatty Hoop la!

——————————————————————————————-

Candy Coated Canvas

London Miles Gallery
212 Kensington Park Road
Notting Hill
London W11 1NR

24th July – 24th August
Tuesday / Wednesday : 10am to 6pm
Thursday : 11am to 8pm
Friday: 10am to 7pm
Saturday: 11am to 7pm

20thjulylistings4yoko.bmp

“Candy Coated Canvas is a themed group exhibition showcasing unique artworks by various established and emerging international talent. All artists have been asked to take inspiration from the title “Candy Coated Canvas” and create a unique art piece which is visually extremely colourful and playful, whilst sparking up memories of childhood, sweets, fantasy lands and those naughty but nice pleasures in life.”

Exhibiting artists include:
D’ Holbachie Yoko, Matthew Bone, Zoe Lacchei, Tadaomi Shibuya, Mike Bilz, Lost Fish, Ryan Myers, Sebastian Otto, Scrumptious Delight, Robert Tirado, Rudi Fig, Natalie Shau, Jade Klara, David Palumbo, Luke Kopycinski, Amanda Riley, KuKula,
Tiffany Liu
For me, sildenafil albums by bands I love leaking pre-release onto the internet is not dissimilar to that childhood dilemma of deciding whether to peek at your birthday presents too early ( I say “childhood”-I’m 23 and I still do it), advice you can’t really imagine not doing it but you always feel guilty for the gift-giver afterwards.
Extended metaphors aside, I personally have fallen both sides of the download/ not download leaks even though I always buy the album when it comes out. I always seem to be sitting on my hands trying not to click ‘download’ (Veckatimest, Spring 2009) or staring down at them in shame whilst I enjoy the album guiltily like you would a 5-7 love affair in a seedy hotel after 20 years of separate bed pious marriage (Merriweather Post Pavillion, Christmas Eve 2008).

So this is why when news of the Dodos‘ Time to Die reached my beady music geek eyes, I abstained from scouring Rapidshare links in a darkened room. I’ve turned over a new leaf and besides the Dodos’ fun jingle-jangle psychedelic folk pop offerings; ‘Beware of the Maniacs’ and ‘Visiter’ were pretty much my go-to albums of last summer; we danced at parties and took many a long train journey together so I pretty much owed them some of my very low self-restraint levels.

thedodos3.jpg

Imagine my relief when I got the golden tickets of emails from the Dodos’ PR and all round good- guys; Radar Maker heralding (in what I imagine to be a peeling of bells and rippling fanfares) that the Dodos have embraced the leak of Time to Die, that the band have even released a high quality stream of the album on the website and a video of the band telling me it’s OK to listen to it as long as I buy the album when it’s released. My palms sweaty at the anticipation of revisiting last summer’s aural romance I click the link to listen.

‘Small Deaths’ opens the album in typical Dodos foot-stomping fashion and I’m reminded of just how rousing their drums are as my toes begin a-tapping under my desk and of their happy/sad blend that I vibed last summer; how heartbreakingly nostalgic their lyrics are, and how they contrast so nicely with the childlike simple happiness of their melodies. It also ends with a nice shoegaze noise which is exciting.

thedodos2.jpg

The album continues with all the best parts of the previous two albums, their awesome guitar strumming/ danceable drums that sound like this is going to be the soundtrack to the best day of your life, noticeable on ‘Fables’ and ‘Longform’. Yet there is a definite sense of new things being tried out; there is a definite nod to shoegaze and ‘Time to Die’ is more electric sounding than it’s predecessors; ‘This is the Business’ starts of sounding like Simon and Garfunkel moving into some Pavement-esque riffs and ending somewhere totally new. Two Medicines is a stand out track for me; it starts of with, and is held together by an acapella harmonious chant; like if Brian Wilson was in a Barbershop quartet with Animal Collective circa Sung Tongs; then add some 90s guitar riffs again contrasting with a lush sounding xylophones and glockenspiels slipping and sliding away in the background.

‘Troll Nacht’ starts with the most intense xylophone solo not unlike the music they’d play whilst someone was trying to answer an important question on a quiz show melting into some gentle guitar plucking loops and sad quiet vocals, then it explodes into something bigger and exciting, I can feel my year-old summer romance with the Dodos warming up again. ‘Acorn Factory’ follows on seamlessly in it’s folky simplicity. Time to Die ends the album in a grandiose fashion, it kind of sounds like if My Bloody Valentine swapped black for plaid, moved to the country and developed a penchant for folk, which lets’ face it is always going to sound awesome. Dare I name their new exciting tryst with shoegaze mixed with their old folky, psychedelic ways; Birkenstock-gaze? I think so.

the-dodos.jpg

Time to Die is everything you could want in a new album from a band you love; enough of the things you loved about them before with a definite sense of new things being tried out.

So say thank you to the Dodos (Thank You The Dodos!) for their infinite talent and the good vibes to streaming the album by buying/ downloading Time to Die when it comes out; I can promise you that it is worth it, it will be the soundtrack to the best summer you could have, with none of the sweaty guilt of illicit downloading!
In the mean time kids: Just Say No (and stream instead)…and ermm…Stay In School.

You can stream the album here.
Time to Die will be available physically on 31st August in the UK on Wichita Recordings
and metaphysically (to download) on 27th July.

Monday 20th July

The Truth about Climate Change by Sir David Attenborough

A film screening of Sir David Attenborough’s personal journey to discover how global warming is changing the planet he knows so well. Examining the evidence for this confusing phenomenon, cost Sir David find out what’s causing it and whether mankind is to blame. From Hurricane Katrina to the glacier ice crashing into the sea, visit this site Attenborough discovers it’s a race against time. Starving polar bears and the first direct victims of global warming, the recently extinct golden toad, demonstrates that the danger for humanity may not be far behind. David explores the personal and technological changes we can make to avert catastrophe.

7.30pm – upstairs at the Arcola Theatre.

0720%20listings%20truth%20change.jpg

DIY Solar Hot Water Course in Spain

Over five mornings course attendees will construct two clip fin solar hot water panels. Attendees will learn how to solder copper piping, basic plumbing, how to install solar hot water collectors and be given an introduction to system design and sizing. 280 euros high waged, 230 euros medium waged, 180 euros low waged. Courses attendees are eligible to a 20% reduction in the normal Sunseed rates for a period of 1-3 weeks before or after the course.

Contact: Sunseed Apdo 9 04270 Sorbas Almería Spain (0034) 950 525 770 www.sunseed.org.uk
E-mail: sunseedspain@arrakis.es
www.sunseed.org.uk

Tuesday 21st July

From ‘me’ to ‘we’

Mark Earls discusses the emergence of the “social revolution” in marketing management and social policy, the changing focus from individual, narrow, goals-oriented thinking to a broader, community-led approach.

Contact: lectures@rsa.org.uk
1pm – RSA, 8 John Adam Street, London WC2

Wednesday 22nd July

Demonstration to save Vestas Wind Turbine factory

Take to the streets to protest the imminent closure of the only wind turbine factory in the UK.

Contact: info@campaigncc.org
6pm – outside the Department of Energy and Climate Change, 3 Whitehall Place, London

0715%20vestas2.jpg
Vestas-built wind farm, Black Banks, Ireland

Thursday 23rd July

Resurgence Readers Weekend & Camp

A unique event bringing together Resurgence readers, speakers and supporters. Share four days of stimulating discussion, music, dance, crafts and walks with fellow readers and contributors to the magazine at this year’s camp. The Resurgence Summer Camp is hosted by Green and Away – Europe’s only tented conference centre situated on an idyllic site near Malvern, Worcestershire. Organic food, wood-burning showers, crafts, electricity from the sun and wind, and saunas.

Contact: Resurgence, Ford House, Hartland, Bideford, Devon EX39 – info@resurgence.org
Dates: Thursday 23 Jul 2009 to Sunday 26 Jul 2009 – Green and Away, Worcester

Friday 24th July

Peace News Summer Camp

Come to the Peace News Summer Camp and join people from across the broad spectrum of the British peace movement for five days of exploration, celebration and empowerment. Bring your contribution to a hothouse of creativity, a small self-governed society run by democratic camp meetings, a viable example of the kind of world we are trying to bring about. The Peace News Summer Camp helps build a radical movement for the future by building a living community today.

from Thursday 23rd to Monday 27th July – Faringdon, Oxfordshire
Find out all about it, here.

0720%20listings%20peace%20camp.jpg

Saturday 25th July

Furniture Conservation

Bring your own furniture and repair/re-polish/refurbish it with the help of Anne Holden, a former professional furniture restorer. Suitable work would be small repairs, French polishing, stripping and re-polishing, surface cleaning and revival, replacing missing bits of veneer etc. Bring several pieces if possible as it may be necessary to leave stripped or glued furniture to dry for a period.

No previous experience necessary. Tools are available for loan but bring your own if you have them and learn how to sharpen them. Materials will be provided, but a small charge will be made if large quantities are used.

Contact: Anne Holden – 01787 229955 – info@assingtonmill.com
9.30am – 5pm, Saturday and Sunday – Assington Mill, Suffolk

0720%20brenda%20hochachka.jpg
Photo : Brenda Hochachka

Sunday 26th July

Annual Bug Hunt at RSPB Rainham Marshes

If you like bugs then our expert ‘Spiderman’ will show you the small wonders of the natural world. From Wasp Spiders to Devils Coachman – we hope to find them all. Bring a packed lunch as this will be a fun packed day. Booking Essential.

RSPB Members: £3.50, WEX members: £1.50, Adult non members: £7, child non members: £3

11am – 4pm – RSPB Rainham Marshes Nature Reserve, New Tank Hill Road, Purfleet. RM19 1SZ

Contact: RSPB Rainham Marshes – 01708 899840 – Rainham.marshes@rspb.org.uk

Summer is here in a crashing bundle of thunderclouds- check out this weeks music listings- there more electrifying than the lightening we’ve been having. Prepared to be shocked (in the good way).

Monday 20th July 2009
DM Stith, and Hoxton Bar and Grill, patient London

DM Stith comes to our humble shores on a swell of strings and a flicker of guitar plucking. There is something creepy and beautiful about his whispering lilting voice on Heavy Ghost debut LP (Asthmatic Kitty), sickness and indeed he sounds like a ghostly take on the man with the guitar type. If you like Bon Iver and being slightly frightened then this is for you.

dm-stith.jpg

Tuesday 21st July 2009
Hjaltalin, The Lexington, London

After last week’s epic and magical múm gig, I’m hungry for more Icelandic music (and accents). Hjaltalin make lovely orchestral pop in the vein of Sufjan Stevens, complete with brass, woodwinds and magic! If anyone knows how to pronounce Hjaltalin- answers on a postcard to P.O BOX- Amelia’s Towers.

Hjaltalin_Hord_Sveinsson.jpg

Wednesday 22nd July 2009
Oh Minnows, Pure Groove, London

Oh Minnows, apart from having an awesome name, play the kind of synth heavy creepy pop that would fit oh-so perfectly into a David Lynch film, making me immeasurably happy and just slightly creeped out. Not to be missed for Twin Peaks geeks!

Thursday 23rd July 2009
Koko Von Napoo and Eugene Mc Guiness Buffalo Bar, London

Paris’ Koko Von Napoo do boy/girl, chic/spacey in equal measures. Fun pop that aims towards ESG mixed with John Maus. Eugene McGuinness shares the bill with his fun lo-fi folk that leans towards a vintage 50s vibe at times. He also has a song called “Fonz” which begs the question how could he possibly not be good?
DJs from both sides of the Channel follow.

koko-volcan.jpg

Friday 24th July 2009
Yacht, Pure Groove, London

Given the current economic climate, here is the 2nd free gig at Pure Groove I’ve included this week. Oregon’s finest electronica outfit and general heroes Yacht will blow your mind and your socks off. If you come, I’ll save you a dance and a high five.

YACHT-Peace-Wall-761309.jpg

Saturday 25th July 2009
Au Revoir Simone, Proud Galleries, London

You may remember a few months ago a lucky member of the Amelia’s Magazine team got to interview Au Revoir Simone, and see them live afterwards, ok, she did an excellent job but since that point my resentment and jealousy have been festering in secret, but now I breathe a sigh of relief and jump for joy as they’re playing again and I pipped the other interns to the post at the chance to see them. Not only do they have the best legs in music, they continue to make beautiful and melodic pop music.
Support from Swedish Those Dancing Days who play organ-tinged girly Northern Soul .

photo-by-imma-varandela.jpg

What does a girl look for after finding the perfect pair of shoes? I might have hazarded a guess at the perfect man, there but in this post- Sex and the City and post-feminist world, the general consensus amongst my female friends seemed to be that more important than having a man about to put up shelves (etc) was having the most beautiful dress, made to fit them perfectly.

And I know of just the place to look.Makemeadress.com is the brainchild of Alexandra King, a fashion designer with a love of all things pretty, vintage and girly. Customers get to choose every part of the dress to create a one off, unique garment. There is a choice of ten top halves and six bottom halves, so you simply flick through the sketches to find your perfect match. Then there is the huge choice of fabrics, with everything ranging from stunning silks and satins to practical cottons and gorgeous assortment of vintage fabrics for the true, one-of-a-kind look.

bodices.jpg

With a studio next door to her house by a Somerset river, Alexi’s surroundings are a far cry from the harsh edges of the London catwalks, instead infusing fashion and dressmaking with that that often elusive sense of warmth and romance. Dropping by her house for tea, I somehow always make sure to find the time to rummage through her extensive archive of the very best pieces she has collected over the years. Being a lifelong friend I know the sheer number of pies this fashionista has her delicate little fingers in! There is the mothership, www.alexandra-king.com: simply reading the glowing testimonials from grateful clients it is not hard to see that this is a designer definitely worth her salt. This is the place to find bespoke wedding dresses (again made to measure) lingerie and key pieces from past and present collections. Then there is the eBay shop, a mecca for vintage lovers to pick up carefully selected on off pieces. And it is not just e-commerce that Mrs King deals in. Alexandra also works for St. Peters Hospice in Bristol, sorting through donations to help the charity with her fashionable eye. Finally, jewellery is another passion, with Alexi creating statement pieces to perfectly set off an outfit and hats for any occasion.

Multitalented? Yes ma’am.

What inspired you to set up the site?

I graduated in fashion design in 2005 and had to choose whether I moved to London to find a job or to stay in the countryside to work for myself. I chose the latter and have been designing my own vintage range for boutiques since then, along with running my vintage store. Makemeadress came along when I wanted to combine the individuality of the one off vintage dresses with my own designs. It needed to compete in the fashion market against the likes of Topshop and boutiques by offering the customer a unique service that they couldn’t get on the high street .

What is it you love about vintage dresses?

Everything! They are usually so beautifully made and the fabrics are just so exciting. I’m a collector also and you can get quite addicted to finding specific pieces by designers, especially after you have read their books! It’s lovely to own a little piece of fashion history before we had such mass- produced garments.

floral_09.JPG

Who makes and designs the dress once the order has been processed & where, are they made at home?

At the moment I design and do a little bit of making at my studio. I also have a small group seamstresses local to me who are fabulous at what they do. I’m hoping to bring some other designers in on the project in the future so that there is a wider range of styles.

How much input can the customer have with regards to colour, fabric and style?

With MMaD the customer can really create whatever they want. If they can’t see something they like, they can always send a photo in and we’ll make up the dress for them. I would really like to expand the range of colours and fabrics and hopefully this will be achieved on the upcoming website.

ashley209.JPG

greenflora209.JPG

Is £97 your set price…or do the prices vary?

I wanted to keep the dresses under £100 to make them accessible to all, and it’s the set price for all the MMaD dresses. The website will be offering one off ready to wear dresses which may be a little more expensive depending on the work that has gone into them. I believe in paying the seamstresses a fair price for thier work, not cutting corners by using poor quality fabrics and being sensible about profits which go straight back into the buisness.

How do you deal with problem of measuring the customer, if orders are processed over eBay?

This was one of the initial problems I was most aware of. The website will have a clear size guide, a guide on how to measure yourself and we do also offer an alteration service free of charge if the dress doesn’t fit first time. The customers have been quite good so far at measuring themselves and getting it right. Only a couple of blips like when a bridesmaid ate too much for lunch and then couldn’t fit into her dress when it arrived. Luckily it was fine the next day! Selling vintage clothing has given me a lot of experience in measuring and fitting for the cutomers.

How long does it take to make and dispatch the dress to the customer?

Each MMaD dress is cut once we have the order, nothing can be pre-made. Once it’s cut, the dress is sewn by the seamstress and then packed and delivered within two weeks to the customer. All produced in the local area.

P4301766.jpg

.

Are you finding that’s there is a high demand for vintage style dresses at the moment?

It’s huge and I think it always will be. Sites like eBay and etsy have just made buying vintage clothing more accessible and people who are interested in fashion in any way, will always love it. The only worry is that all those vintage dresses will run out, but then hopefully you will have MMaD!

If you could describe your service in a few sentences what would you say?

Create the dress of your dreams…. your style, your colour, your dress. It’s all about you! And if you’re not sure, you can have one of the fabulous dresses we made earlier!

If you have ever seen an Of Montreal‘s clip you might be aware of the lunatic vibe they have. It’s something sort of mystical-nonsense-kitsch that in the end works out very well. And is there a better way to bring to reality all this madness if not in a live performance? No!
All the characters that are part of the band’s universe were there on the Shepherd’s Bush Empire stage last Tuesday.

ofmont001.jpg

ofmont002.jpg

I confess that I couldn’t identify very well what some of them were, cialis 40mg but the rest went from a guy in jeans, treatment sneakers, medications blazer and a tiger’s head, people with gas masks, pigs, a shark (or any similar fish) and more pigs. Aside from BP (guitar) who totally rocked on his look, matching a feathered vest with a 70′s peace and love outfit.

ofmont003.jpg

All very charismatic and professional. Meaning that they left for the casting to do all the crazy performances and concentrated on playing, amazing everybody on the guitars and synthesizers. Kevin Barnes totally looked like he was enjoying what he was doing and really wanted to be there. Every down and then he pulled some little dances that went something like I’m on the dance floor, I can do whatever I want, fuck everybody else”. Ace!

ofmont006.jpg

The quality of the sound however was a big failure, bad mics audio, I personally couldn’t understand a word of what he was saying. And the set list could also have been rethought. I missed some tracks from Hissing Fauna (aka Cato as a Pun, my favorite, and Suffer For Fashion). Skeletal Lamping was better explored, of course, and from older stuff my highlights were Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Rapture Rapes the Muses.

ofmont007.jpg

An Elurdian Instance managed to become even more magical and overwhelming on its live version and The Past Is A Grotesque Animal were eleven minutes of a true musical acid trip. It was exactly when the guy by my side simply fell sleep, literally. Or he was going through a very strong thing with himself and maybe I didn’t get it.
Another thing that they could have invested more in the scenario, since they have all this surreal theatrical casting, it would be a perfect fit.

ofmont008.jpg

Otherwise, it was a great show! Basically everything that Of Montreal is in theory, put into practice in real life – up until where it allows us, unfortunately!

ofmont009.jpg

ofmont011.jpg

Pictures by Miguel Schertel

Star Wars, viagra order shell suits and swear words. Richard Fairhead keeps it fun and friendly with his neon coloured sketches and scribbles, this site work that has caught the attention and recommendation of Vice, Thechicgeek, Random House, YCNonline, VCCPBlue, and AMVBBDO. What I like about his illustration in particular is Fairhead’s bold, resolute, familiar approach, a reference to Hollyoaks here, a mention of Lassie the dog there. Meandering around his portfolio is like catching up with a friend from your school days, hanging out and drinking tea, sharing ‘in’ jokes and poking fun at popular culture. Comforting, knowingly juvenile and a gigglefest. Bliss.

fairhead2.jpg

The gentlemanly young man had some clever responses to my probing questions about his habits and inspirations, which you are cordially invited to read all about for yourselves.

Hello, how are you today?

Not bad cheers. Just having a poached egg and a waffle, trying to get over a Thursday morning hangover.

What have you been doing recently?

I’ve just started screen printing again near where I live in Brixton. The prints were for the walls of AMVBBDO, an advertising agency in Baker Street. And just finished a children’s book for learning Mandarin. Can draw a panda with my eyes shut now. In between that, pimping my website wide and far to all, and looking for the right space for another collaborative exhibition.

fairhead1.jpg

What materials or mediums do you like to work with best?

Cant go without my fine line pens and Bristol board. And can’t get enough of clicky pencils. All my stuff is hand drawn, then finished off on photoshop, thus my dying g4 ibook is also a must.

Who would be your dream collaboration/who would you like to work with artistically?

If it could be anyone, then probably Ian Stevenson or David Shrigley. Mainly because their work is shit hot and I have a similar sense of humour.

fairhead3.jpg

Who or what is your nemesis?

Probably my brother Chris. He’s just completed an illustration degree and we’ve worked on a couple shows and commissions recently. Our style and sense of humour is similar, so don’t want him nicking all my possible clients. We are going to work together on a lot more stuff as soon as. Or the bad liquid metal man from Terminator 2.

What inspires your work?

The everyday and mundane things that everyone has put up with. Anything that involves bright colours, hand drawn text, dancing animals and popular culture. And vodka.

fairhead10.jpg

How long do the illustrations usually take you to do?

I can take a few days on commissions and coloured stuff if I’m trying to get it right. A lot of the time if I sketch for a day, its always the first drawing I end up going back to. That can be annoying.

At what age did you realise you were creative?

When I was pretty young, about 7 or 8. I used to draw Gary Larson cartoons from the Farside. And at primary school, I remember flogging drawings of Judge Dredd to a few people. Not very good drawings.

fairhead5.jpg

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

Sitting in a mansion wearing a blue suit like Tony Montana. Failing that, I want
to still be drawing and having worked with lots of creative people/ friends whose
work I like. As long as I’ve still got inspiration to draw and enjoying it, I’m not bothered about
being rich. A bit richer than now though.

Besides art and photography, what are you passions or interests in life?

I like London, screen prints, Adidas, tea, old pubs, Johnny Cash, vodka, unicorns, robots, bears Luc Besson, hand drawn text, wondering through foreign cities, Ritzy Cinema, Chris Cunningham, QOTSA, The Streets, Feta cheese, and bright colours.

fairhead6.jpg

Which are your favourite artists/illustrators/photographers?

I would go for – – Ian Stevenson, David Foldvari, Marcel Dzama, Edward Hopper, David Shrigley, Andrew Rae, Mr Bingo, Faille, Sam Kerr, Robert Rauschenberg, my brother. Loads more, which I’ll remember when I’m not doing this.

Tell us a secret!

I though Blade Runner was a bit boring.

fairhead8.jpg

What would you pub quiz specialist subject be?

My memory is proper shit, but if I had to choose then probably the films Leon or Jurassic Park, as for some reason I’ve seen them a trillion times. I done my dissertation on a few Chris Cunningham videos, so could regress back to watching those. Not bad with history. Ish.

Who would be your top five dinner guests? Who would do the washing up?

I would get the vodka and falafels on the go and invite round Christopher Walken (from True Romance, he’s proper scary), Michael Corleone, Johnny Cash, Scarlett Johansson (from Lost in Translation, as she’s gorgeous) and Peter Griffin (Family Guy). Would ask Walken to get on the washing up, see if he did a good job.

fairhead9.jpeg

I’m off to put the kettle on, tune in for some afternoon TV and reminisce about school day friendships. Thanks for the reminder of those awesome times, Richard.

fairhead7.jpg
A ‘Climate Emergency Parliament’ convened on Westminster Square last Wednesday evening, information pills a gathering of campaigners and politicians recognising the real need for an alternative forum of representation – the elected parliament is simply not responding proportionately to the need to act. It provided a lively and energetic domain for proactive discussion, this structured around four bills all concerning the best solutions to prevent the escalation of climate change. These bills included measures for a 10% reduction in UK greenhouse gases and banning all domestic flights by the end of 2010, information pills 1.5 million new green jobs, a 55mph national speed limit and the termination of road programmes.

0721%20parliament%20Soapbox.jpg
Illustrations by Kerry Lemon

The speakers for these bills were juxtaposed with the voice of the government, in a theatrical parliamentary manner with costumes, energy and charisma abound. As Darren Johnson (Chair of the Assembly – Green Party) argued ‘the time for gradualism is over, it is the time for emergency measures’ and this urgency could be felt throughout the gathering. Chris Baugh (Assistant General Secretary, Public and Commercial Services Union) insisted that these green issues were never ones of affordability and always ones of political priorities and it is now, that these priorities must change.

0721%20karen%20banner.JPG
Photos by Karen Hitt

The 10% reduction target is of high importance for Tim Helweg Larsen (Director, Public Interest Research Centre) as for him, the government’s measures and targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 are simply inadequate for the scale of the crisis. Climate change is developing far ahead of the government’s schedule and this is because climate feedback is getting out of control. Larsen believes the government are not accounting for the accumulating bucket of green house gases in the atmosphere, to which we are constantly adding, and which is pushing us over the edge.

0721%20parliamentPark.jpg

Larsen illustrates this by stating that the IPCC points towards summers free of arctic sea ice by the end of the century. This is concerning, because the sea ice acts as a crucial white parasol at the top of the planet, reflecting the sun’s heat back into space. More and more, instead of reflecting this heat, it is being absorbed back into the ocean, causing localised warming. The land ice will then melt causing sea levels to rise, and this component is out of our control. A cut of greenhouse gas emissions by 10% by the end of next year would keep us on track, but more would be needed to go beyond this.

A ban of internal domestic flights was also called for. John Stewart (Chair, Airport Watch) slammed the British Chambers of Commerce report which claims the “3rd runway will gain for the economy 20/30 billion pounds over 60 years” because it did not account for the costs of climate change, noise and air pollution (Heathrow is already above EU legal limits) and growing congestion. The statement that “aviation emissions only count for 2/3% of worldwide emissions” is absurd as a world average does not makes sense, after all very few people in the poor world actually fly and therefore aviation remains a rich person’s hobby.

0721%20karen%20board.JPG

The government’s lack of support for the importance of green jobs was also felt with attention drawn to the planned closure of the Vestas factory, the only wind turbine manufacturer based in the UK, during a time in which there should be a move towards clean and socially useful productions. This cut of 600 jobs comes as a blow to the workers and a heart-felt plea was made by one of them, commenting on the commitments they have made. It should be a moment for the government to realise they need to do more, if Vestas is relocating to America to take advantage of Obama’s policies.

The final bill for a 55mph national speed limit was described as ‘the closest you are going to get to a magic bullet for tackling climate change’. The general public would quickly realise the seriousness of climate change and positive knock on effects would soon be felt. People would be using their feet, bicycles, buses and trains more, and these modes could overtake the cars. Safer and cleaner roads would unfortunately have one downside: less fuel tax revenue for the government. Daniel Scharf (Green Speed) argues that this change is free, fair and requires no technological change, and would reduce carbon emissions tomorrow and so ended on the note “either I’m mad or they are!”.

Tamsin Omond (Climate Rush) closed the parliament affirming that direct action and mass support is needed in order to make the fundamental progress in this fight against climate change. It is a time to keep on fighting, knowing what they believe in is right; it just has to be realised. The message is that we are not going to meet the government’s targets or any other unless action and cuts are taken today.

For more information check out:
http://www.campaigncc.org/

0721%20parliament%20Big%20Ben.jpg

The sense of the ridiculous that characterises much of the fashion world is maximised nowhere more than when documented on ‘reality’ television, shop where the industry is reduced to a series of easily digestible vignettes that viewers take as gospel. You’ve got Tyra Banks on America’s Next Top Model, order telling us girls must be beautiful inside and out (read: brain dead and complain the least).
Or dinosaur-eyed Heidi Klum, host of Project Runway, who episodically barks at the contestants that in fashion, “one day you’re in, the next day you’re out”. The humiliation ritual to these shows are something television execs would have us believe is somehow emblematic of the industry on a wider scale, when in truth, it just makes for good television. Last week I mentioned the Channel 4 programme Dumped – half Big Brother, half environmental awareness programme, two concepts that at least at first made for strange bedfellows – like eating a Big Mac with some buckwheat on the side. And it doesn’t come junkier than Project Runway.

winning.jpg

Its latest winner, Leanne Marshall, made much of her winning collection from sustainable textiles. Marshall, hailing from Portland, Oregano presented a collection inspired by rippling water in an aqua and cream palette, with an architectural hand to much ruching and pleating.

leanne-marshall-project-runway-final-collection.jpg

Leanimal_019.jpg

leanimal.jpg

While it was nice to see ethical fashion being rewarded, the fact that it was exposed to such an enormous audience just went to show that whatever the medium, it shouldn’t really matter how green living enters the public consciousness. And it wasn’t just a fair-weather victory – last week Marshall unveiled her new collection for Bluefly.com, a selection of her signature feminine styles made from hemp, bamboos and organic cotton, as well as earth-friendly dyes (visit the website to check them out, photographed seemingly at the bottom of a swimming pool somewhere).

leanne-bluefly-5.jpg

I’m not just jumping on the bandwagon, neither – Project Runway is my junk food. At university, when we didn’t have a television, my housemates survived on a celluloid diet of Project Runway over the internet, meaning my conversation began to only consist of Project Runway-related events.

It’s fine, it’s out of my system now and can return to writing about things with artistic and moral integrity. That’s until the new series starts, anyway (TWO WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Categories ,Architectural Shapes, ,Pleats, ,Reality Television, ,Sustainable Fabrics

Similar Posts: