FACEHUNTER: the book

I know, I know, another book - my addiction is getting out of control - I may need to seek professional help soon! Usually I go for large, coffee table tomes but the latest addition to me ever-growing fashion library is a perfectly man-bag sized gem from blogging royalty - Face Hunter. The Sartorialist had a book, and now does the Face Hunter...but if I had only enough space for one on my bowing bookcase, I'd have to opt for Yvan Rodic's sharp observations of innovative personal style;

'Face Hunter travels the globe in search of the most inventive, colourful, freaky, imaginative, gifted, graceful, exquisite, fascinating, unpredictable, gorgeous, refined, delicate, divine, facehuntable, fantabulous, bewitching, edgy, ravishing, chic, winning, alluring, wild, glamorous, voluptuous, radiant and classy.'

'I'm not a social scientist or a journalist...My pictures are not meant to document reality; they are meant to tell you short stories.' FaceHunter

I didn't even realise this image was from Face Hunter until I saw it in the book - one of my favourite images of both Roisin Murphy and this iconic Pugh dress (certainly looks better than when Beyonce tried to Pull-off-a-Pugh!).

Sonny Groo looking fierce as usual, contrasting against this luxurious tangerine drapery illustrate both extremes of my taste radar. Simply delicious.

This is my favourite shot. Or is it my favourite outfit? Or is the boy just cute? Who knows, but I love that freekin' jacket!

To launch his book Yvan Rodic (aka FaceHunter) is holding a book signing at Foyles, Charing Cross Road on 12th March, at 5pm. BE THERE.

11Null sunglasses

So Spring is upon us and one must think of re-vamping his wardrobe. I'm a bit of a spontaneous shopper, so this concept is proving a little difficult to follow through, seeing as though I'm still wrapped in black from head-to-toe!

One piece which easily sees me through this transitional stage between seasons are these futuristic, unisex sunglasses from 11Null. These glasses are not my usual style, and seem to be channeling Jean-Paul and Sonny, but I actually rather like them...seriously easy to carry around (in their rolled up form, fitting perfectly into a photo film canister), they sit perfectly on your face without falling off (trust, i tried)...

I know, I know...crappy image taken on my iPhone at work...but you likey?

Nicomede Talavera AW2010

I am slightly obsessed with these images of Nicomede Talavera's new collection - I want every single piece - the hair fringed t-shirt, the amazing fabric combinations, the necklaces made of bones, the conceptual yet wearable shirts, the trousers with a zipper at the back...Nicomede if you're listening, you know where to find me...

Images via Coute Que Coute.

Street shot - it's me!!

Better late than never, but I've just found a photo of me from LFW! I look a bit fat (bad angle)..but I'll let you off Paul Harnett ;)

UHU Gareth Pugh: SS10

Now Mr. Pugh, THAT is what I call a show. You may, or may not know that I have been an ardent Pugh fan from day one of his career (and strangely enough, I'm today wearing my HoH 'Uhu Gareth Pugh' tee), and for the first few years I could not get enough of this L'Enfant terrible but last season my love was beginning to wien. I absolutely loved his shapes, as always, but nothing about the shows (men's or women's) really struck me as new and exciting territory. This season however, Pugh has blasted all of my doubts out of the water, and shown (I think) his most amazing collection to date.

'If, once upon a time ... a Pugh show was all about the Beast, this time the focus was on Beauty. But she was eerie, a postapocalyptic princess.' style.com

One of the exciting things for me about fashion weeks, is the anticipation of seeing a designers new collection. The months of hard work all coming together, and allowing us - the feeble public - to access their brains and enter their world, if only for the 10 minute show. It excites me when a designer unveils a new direction, or when you can simply tell that they have put their absolute all into the collection, their heart and soul - as Gareth Pugh has done this season.

His experimentation with textures and fabrics is astounding (see above), and he continues to experiment with and evolve his shapes. Corseted menswear? Trench-biker jackets? Slashed floor-length gowns? Oh Pugh, I DO love you!

Yohan Kim

I know illustrated tees have been all over the place forever now, but I stumbled across these delicate little beauties from Yohan Kim, at the Backyard Market just off Brick Lane today. The fabric has a really soft, thin quality (which is a good thing!), and the illustrations are super cute.

Pop down to Brick Lane, or check out the online store.

PARIS DEADLINE IS TOMORROW EVENING - DON'T MISS YOUR CHANCE FOR A FREE PAIR OF TICKETS!!

Animal Heads

Both Topshop womenswear and River Island menswear merchandising teams on Oxford Street have gone a little animal crazy. Have they taken inspiration from the latest Prada lookbook perhaps?

Men in skirts?!

Oh Pur-lease! This is too far...

Notice the way the magazine uses the most masculine men they can find, to try to butch-up these 'skirts'? Hideous.

(source)

Odeur

The Scandinavian design duo Petter Hollstrom and Anna Lidstrom launched their menswear label Odeur in 2006, and ever since have been creating classic garments with creative cuts. Their sporty, androgynous aesthetic is not my usual cup of tea, however I NEED that grey oversized hoody. Their collection this summer is in pastel colours and re-works the basics of sportswear, transforming tshirts and sweaters into modern classics, which may just make me renew my gym membership!

Their lookbook is also really interesting (see the bottom three images). Such a simple idea which works extremely well, for these simple garments. It's something I am considering for my own Etsy store, however I am not sure it would suit more elaborate garments which need a body to show their full potential.

via Indie magazine

Connected: Ignacio Lozano

Being a bank holiday I have successfully managed to do as little as possible, but I have thoroughly enjoyed browsing the web for most of the afternoon. I have found so many new and inspiring sites/photographers and creative people�in general. One of them being artist and photographer Ignacio Lozano. He completed a degree in Arts, Fashion Design and Communication in Barcelona before concentrating on photography full time. He now test shoots for Ford Models, Basic Models and New York Management and contributes to various magazines. Some of his work has a rather homoerotic feel to it, which seems a little indulgent (no harm in that though is there?), but there are some images which are very fashion related and would work really well in editorials, especially this series entitles 'Connected' for Spiral. One to watch!

Bless Sunscreen Sunglasses

I have just found the most amazing visor sunglasses. They are by Bless and are available at farfetch.com. Unfortunately they are all sold out...I can't believe I missed the boat on this one. I've been saying all spring that I'm actually going to invest in a pair of decent sunglasses this summer, rather than spending a measly �15 on a pair from Topshop that I will probably sit on, chew or lose! These are only �188, which I know sounds a lot, but in the grand scheme of life it's not that big a deal (I am starting to loosen the purse-strings a little recently, well in theory at least).

They are a little avant-garde and wouldn't look out of place on Jean Paul Paula, but if I was feeling brave enough I could get away with them;) .

Nice Cave: Soundsuits

Every morning I grab the gratuitous morning paper as I'm running for the tube, and attempt to flick through the pages with an elbow in my face and�someones heel digging into my foot. Usually I skim without paying much attention to the scare mongering�and celebrity hype, but�today threw up a visual feast for me to gorge on.�

An artist by the name of Nick Cave creates these colourful, exciting and ultimately wearable sculptures from whatever objects he can find. The costumes are a combination of his love for contemporary dance and textiles and are aptly named 'soundsuits', which make deliberate noises when the wearer moves. Imagine entering a room wearing these to a fancy dress party?!

When he began creating these costumes, he never imagined actually being able to get into them - he saw them as sculptural pieces, however Cave now choreographs a special dance for each piece which he films. His work is on show in San Fransisco now.

You really MUST watch this video. It gets really interesting about half way through. this guy is seriously talented - I can't even begin to imagine how he would contruct such creations. Amazing!

Thankyou McQ!

I must be making some kind of impact with my blog, as I received an invite to the AW09 press day of Alexander McQueen's diffusion line, McQ (which makes me wonder who actually reads this blog, but that's a completely different discussion)! I was totally gobsmacked, but sadly I am unable to attend due to work commitments. The tea and cakes are being handed round as I type and it pains me to think what this experience could have been like. Maybe this will be the start of something new for me, going to press events and jetting off to fashion weeks, a la Bubble, seeing such inspiring creations up close and personal.

*WAKE UP!*

Even though this is not his main line, McQueen is one of the main designers' who made me venture into fashion. I have always held a brightly lit torch for the Infant Terrible of British fashion, and always will. His work continues to stun buyers, editors, consumers and bloggers alike, and maybe even this season more than ever. To be honest I've not given his McQ line much attention in the past, since I saw the rather bizarre American style cheer-leading adverts a few seasons ago, however after receiving the lookbook for the current collection my faith has been restored.

The exaggerated silhouettes of the tailoring really excites me. Simple ideas like pushing out the shoulders and enhancing body shapes have been tried and tested by the likes of Vivienne Westwood and the Japanese clan of the 1980s, but it still makes my heart flutter! I have to try these for myself. Let me know your thoughts...

J.W. Anderson

Posting has been somewhat sparse in the past week, but as you can imagine most of my time has been swallowed up by the fashion156 dress (I will return all of your kind comments, I promise). I'm really enjoying the process - the mistakes and the learning which follows, but without tempting fate its coming along quite nicely and I'm very proud with the progress. It's also been my boyfriend's birthday, Mothers Day and I've spent the weekend at my sisters squeezing in a fitting with my auntie, for whom I'm making an evening dress for her 50th birthday bash!

In between all of this I popped into Bang Bang on Berwick street (my favourite vintage designer shop in London, by far) to visit my housemate, and left with my very own piece of J.W. Anderson. I'm so bloody chuffed! They have a few pieces from various collections, with some AMAZING neck pieces from the catwalk, but I opted for a leather bracelet. I strongly recommend you head down there if you can, and pick up a piece for yourself (I believe all are under �50).

EDIT: This is the bracelet I bought!

I've had mixed reviews from friends and my boyfriend, but I think it's beautiful. It looks like a mix between a caterpillar and a spinal column. I've always loved J.W.Anderson's work, but now I have my very own little piece, I'm head-over-heels. This has begun my summer obsession with men's jewellery - bracelets to be more precise. My wrists are going to be filled over the summer months. No, I don't self harm, I just like bracelets! Does anyone know where I can purchase such unusual pieces, which won't break the bank?

Givency Homme AW09/10

These trousers from Givency Homme Autumn/Winter '09 collection are stunning. I WANT!

(source)

Iveta Vaivode

It's such a small world. I came across the brilliant work of photographer Iveta Vaivode, only to later realise that we studied at the same university, around the same time. She agrees that whilst Bournemouth has great tutors and facilities, the place itself is rather dull!

She tells me that the series of images below, entitled 'Mare & Rols' is a collaboration with two young designers from Latvia - Mare Mastina and Rolands
Peterskops. Combining Iveta's love of landscape and the designers' love of fashion, they played with the simple concept of merging the human form with the landscape, to great effect.

It's not so much the clothes in these images that captivates me, but the images themselves. The have a tranquil quality which transports me back to my childhood days, playing in the open countryside with my sister and not a care or worry in the world. I get such a warm feeling in my heart when I look at these photographs, I don't know whether this is just a personal emotion or if you agree?

The next set of images, from the same collaboration are slightly more haunting. They evoke the same emotions in me, however this time a sense of loneliness is also apparent. Be it the headless figures or the empty landscapes, I am unsure, but one thing is for certain; I cannot stop looking.