SUPERSWEET.ORG

SUPERSWEET's BIG DOG IS BOWING OUT... HOWL!!

2010-09-23T03:29:00.000-07:00

Big Dog, hard at work in the SUPERSWEET office

Readers, compatriots, allies, fellow dogs, paramours...

After 3 devoted mad-cap years, this is my final entry for SUPERSWEET. Shucks, a tear is forming. BIG DOG, aka Sucksweet, aka Creative Director-cum-Editor Tiffany, is officially leaving (along with some other office oldies). It's the end of an era for staff, but also for SUPERSWEET Digital.

Huh? What? Yes! We have a NEW website! So a new era is dawning in the absence of old dust.

If you haven't noticed, we've just given birth to a new website, split down the Siamese center into two halves: a magazine we call ZOO and our new SUPERSWEET Shop! It was a long and painful labour for our chief ed, 'Little Dog Pekanan', but after blood, sweat and moon-howling, she and her enslaved web-programming cat pushed out a real beauty with only minor teething probs.

You guys can enjoy roaming around on all fours in our ZOO, reading the usual gumpf on art, music, fashion and culture like you always did (laughing at Grinderman or singing along to Best Coast). As for shopping with us - it's slick, stylish, quick, easy and ooooh sooo SUPERSWEET. There's also a Monkey Postman so you can keep in touch. We still welcome contributors, and by god we need them now that key doggy members of the SS board are going walkies.

Now I've finished plugging the new SS site, it's time for tributes. It's been a great 3 years. I've learnt a great deal and unlearned a lot too (like how to spell, think, walk on two feet and eat proper food like a human being). Yep, half my brain cells are dead from sugar overload, but hell, the super sweet rush was worth it. I've interviewed some ace bands (Franz Ferdinand, Thomas Truax, Animal Collective), hung out with some cool kids (Charlie Le Mindu, School of Seven Bells, Good Shoes, Pity Party) and sat second row at London Fashion Week to watch some pretty hot and bitchy shows. There's a million stories in my brain and I'd love to share them all, but simply can't! Maybe I could sneak them into SS ZOO somehow, but that's only if you want to hear back-alley gossip...

This has turned into a bit of a essay, and you've probably stopped reading by now so it's time to close up shop. I'll miss you all but I won't vanish completely. Big dog will always be on the periphery, prowling for SUPERSWEET treats and head pats. See? I've utterly lost my mind. Woof! Gone barking mad. Woof! So I'll close off with this quote from Jason Bourne:

"Look at what they make you give!!"

Signing off,
Big Dog.
x x x

London Fashion Love Letters: J. Maskrey

2010-09-23T01:00:00.000-07:00

Hi Perm,

Dearest pen pal, thank you for penpalling with me during the Fashion Week. As the last goodbye, I’ll present you a little film showcasing the SS11 collection of J. Maskrey. It might not be sentimental enough to be used in a goodbye context, but hey, sobbing is overrated anyway. Lets just start waiting for the next Fashion Week: hopefully it’ll be as provocative and sparkly as this film.

Here’s a handful of Rita Hayworth’s Hollywood glamour and the hallucinogenic aesthetic of Jimi Hendrix! (No, that wasn’t just random, it was J. Maskrey’s own description for the film)

J. Maskrey SS2011 from SUPERSWEET on Vimeo.

Emmi

London Fashion Love Letters: Orschel-Read

2010-09-22T16:00:00.000-07:00

My very dear Emmi,

This might be the last, last letter I write to you. I have been enjoying myself with your updates, especially whilst queuing to get into another catwalk show. It's such a relief to know there are other people out there (and those standing in front of and behind me) who suffer for fashion. God bless you and I pray we'll meet again in London in half a year's time.

But, before we bid farewell, I've got you Orschel-Read, the last ever show I attended this year at London Fashion Week.

When I was informed (by the PR) that Orschel-Read's SS10 piece was worn by Lady Gaga, I couldn't anticipate more for his brand new catwalk show at LFW SS11. Sadly, perhaps I was expecting for too much, the show titled "The Spy Who Becomes Me" did not quite hit the right note.

The collection toying the quintessential James Bond glamour, displaced onto an adolescent physique, fuses several manly styles, such as safari, military and playboy. Suits, jackets, coats appear in cotton and dupion silk and are paired with bamboo fibre knit and wools. Trousers are high-waisted referring back to James Bond's golden era.

Some of the silk pieces and printed shirts, I admit, are eye-pleasers.

Despite my ambivalence to Orschel-Read's collection, I find his suits and tuxes to die for.

With its fine tailoring, harsh silhouette, structural shoulders and some modern twists on the collar, all mellow into one boyish man's body. This subtle struggle from boy to man shows some real attitude implicit in the collection.

And, to view the entire collection, check out my VDO clip.

It's time to say good bye now. I hope you enjoyed your shows at LFW.

Mwah! Mwah!

Perm

London Fashion Love Letters: Sibling

2010-09-22T15:21:00.000-07:00

Hello (again) Emmi,

You know, who say models have to be handsome? Look at these 'peeps' at the Sibling SS11 presentation at London Fashion Week.

Renowned for brightly coloured and jauntily printed knitwear, Sibling presents something no other than themselves at the Portico Room, Somerset House. The collection is in favour of a soft silhouette, light weight material and lots of eye-catching prints. And there you see, Sibling's obscene sense of humour, them mannequins with no pants on. All I could wish for is that they were human models!

But, I must say, Sibling's centrepieces for their SS11 collection are even more daring. Tracksuit tops with matching bottoms embroidered in swear words--'wanker,' 'cunt,' 'bitch,' and so on--encapsulating male anger and frustration and re-executed for the anti-gentlemen of taste and fashion sense. A chav in Mayfair, perhaps? Or, Kensington?

Just plainly rude but awesome!!

Cheers,

Perm

London Fashion Love Letters: Pringle of Scotland

2010-09-22T14:50:00.000-07:00

Hello Perm,

Pringle, the knitwear brand from Scotland dropped their Spring/Summer 2011 collection in my mailbox today – apparently they want to be my pen pals as well! I don’t really mind that: concluding from their letter, the brand seems to be one of the cool kids of fashion as they got Alex from Franz Ferdinand and Marina together with the Diamonds to come and hang out at their show. In addition to that, Pringle of Scotland wrote me that also Olivia Palermo, the girl who has a lot of drama going on on MTV attended the show. Not sure how I should react on that one.

When it comes to the collection, it seems to be as eclectic as the audience at the show was. For their new collection, Pringle has mixed the classic black and white colour palette with some country tints. There are tailored silhouettes, ruffles, feathers, sheer materials and geometric shapes. Even though this could have turned into one big mess, the brand did manage to pull all the different influences together into a collection with a surprisingly coherent classic feeling.

Here’s some knitwear inspiration for you:

Emmi

London Fashion Love Letters: NEWGEN MEN + FASHION EAST MEN's Installations (2)

2010-09-22T14:40:00.000-07:00

Hi Emmi,

Departing from my beautiful boxers, I walk into Omar Kashoura's SS11 installation. This is quite jazzy with musician-models playing the trumpet and the saxophone--and some less modelesque musicians playing the electone in the background. This SS11 collection features some nicely tailored suits, shoes and accessories.

This guy, or his shoes and bag, is my favourite. It's so nice to be watching a guy when he blows, isn't it? :-9

On my way to Christopher Raeburn's installation I stumble on this.

It is a knitwear collection by Morgan Allen-Oliver, also to be matched with high-waisted shorts. It looks in next summer in London there will be jumpers and jumpers everywhere.

And, perhaps, there will be plenty of Christopher Raeburn's raincoats and macs, too! They are groundbreakingly colourful, with polka dots and some taping effect on the outside.

The installation is, more or less, like you walk into the tailor's workplace, though I'm not sure if at Raeburn's, there will be plenty of these hanging rabbit dolls.

Raeburn also includes some of his women's pieces in this presentation. Smart, eh!? Emmi, I'm sure you can do with one of these in your wardrobe.

That's all I've got to share on the NEWGEN MEN + FASHION EAST MEN's Installations.

Ciao,

Perm

London Fashion Love Letters: NEWGEN MEN + FASHION EAST MEN's Installations (1)

2010-09-22T09:39:00.000-07:00

Hi Emmi,

LFW SS11 has come to its end. I'm not sad but excited. Why? Because LFW concludes with the menswear day!! First up are the NEWGEN MEN + FASHION EAST MEN's installations. The event taking place on the Terrace of Somerset House gets many bloggers, journalists and buyers flogging. I am early and among one of the very first to get in!

The first installation I come across is that of Katie Eary. Eary showcases her SS11 collection hiring some 10 youthful boxers to model and, of course, box on the set. Rather exciting! These boxers are robed in coutured combat kits: leopard print tops and jackets, blood red tartan bottoms, studded kneepads, (again) leopard print boxing gloves and some really funky trainers. The blood-thirst, raw motif is blatant--predator, blood, fighter, etc.--and brilliantly executed.

Oh! I forgot to mention, there are some extraordinary jumpers, too.

And the detail shots of the trainers. Love them!

Next up and not straying far from the 'fighter' theme is James Small. His SS11 collection is a fresh take on camouflage prints. No, no! Not just the military ones, Small offers some wonderful flowery prints as well as some updated leopard prints. His silhouette is soft, actually a lot softer once compared to Eary's collection.

Here are some samples.

Looking at the style on the mannequin, Small goes for a high-waisted look, which some other LFW designers in the like of Topman Designare also in favour of for next year men's fashion. This waist conscious trend seems to be everywhere. Don't believe me? Check out our earlier menswear SS11 trend report here.

I'm blogging my Part 2 soon.

Perm

London Fashion Love Letters: Jasper Garvida

2010-09-22T08:54:00.000-07:00

Hello Emmi,

Your hidden exhibition looks very cool, actually! I think it’s nice to have a breath of fresh air outside the official venues. To be honest, I’m a bit tired of walking up and down the stairs at Somerset House.

Anyway, yesterday I went to the Jasper Garvida SS11 show at Vauxhall Fashion Scout. The collection he calls “Belle” is, I must say, sweet and pleasant. Garvida reinterprets and recreates the dresses seen in Degas’s ‘Ballet Dancers’ paintings coupled with elements of the beatnik movement. Human language? Well, let’s say pleated bouncy skirts, streamlined tops, and a lot of hand-embellishment accessories.

The colours and prints are also reminiscent of French Impressionism, while the materials used are fine luxuries of silk organza, brocade, jersey, voile and cloque. Scales, tribal prints and textured looped organza are so beautiful and well-made.

I have some detail shots of them for you too.

The downside of this collection is, apart from being inspired by the French, that the pieces are rather dated. Some of the scaled and printed pieces look as if straight out of Missoni. That said, the skirts and dresses are pretty and will end up being worn by discerning ladies of leisure at the Royal Ascot next year!

I’m off for the Menswear day tomorrow! So excited now ;)

Perm

London Fashion Love Letters: Somerset House Exhibition

2010-09-21T17:14:00.000-07:00

Hi Perm,

Talking about walking up and down the stairs at Somerset House, I went to see the exhibition over there the other day. It really made me feel as overwhelmed as the British Museum always does: there’s so much to see that you don’t really know where to look at. Therefore, I decided to stroll around, make observations and take a closer look only at the things that really drew my attention. As a result, I hereby present you Emmi's This Is Cool list:

1. Lingerie Boudoir

A dark staircase leading into small rooms with shamefully sexy underthings all over the place. You’ll find lace thongs with peepholes on the back and bras from Marlies Dekkers with decorative straps that are made to be shown.

2. Sustainability section

Did some really nice finds here: a designer who printed herself with her family on a dress. A tongue-in-cheek brand "She Died of Beauty"that uses T-shirts and bags to evoke thoughts about the superficiality of fashion. And hats! They were simply charming. Of course being fueled with flower power gives an extra to all the brands in this section, so go and check them out, fellow hippies!

3. Super funny jewellery

I actually overheard someone saying ”This is so cool, look, you can wear yourself as a necklace!”. Unfortunately, it’s not really you on the necklace (or at least you have to have a pretty good imagination to think so), but Les Néréides really has some adorable things in their collection: peanuts with hats, lamas with guitars…do I have to say more?

4. Japanese photo booth

This one was a static digital installation powered by Cassette Playa, a brand focusing on digital prints. It was quite refreshening to find a brand that had decided to promote themselves through something else than only clothing. To demonstrate how it all worked, I volunteered to try the photo booth out:

5. Old time glamour

Bebaroque is a brand that strongly believes in the daily glamour that comes with what we wear. Their sheer stockings wear beaded the same way as the bodies. Don’t know how practical they are when worn, but quite surely they’d make a special evening even more special.

This is the end of my little list – if you want to go for a fashion treasure hunt yourself and make a list of your own, Somerset House is the place to go!

As you mentioned, today it’s Christmas in fashion circles as Santa will throw the menswear collections down the chimney and on the catwalks. You're probably at one of the shows right now, can't wait to hear about them!

Emmi

London Fashion Love Letters: "Emerge" by LABB magazine

2010-09-20T15:04:00.000-07:00

Hi Perm!

Oh wow, the extravaganza of Charlie Mindu has made me speechless! And a little shocked – not sure if mommy would approve.

Tonight, I attended a Fashion Week event very much outside the big venues (shame, just when I learned how to find my way to Somerset and Victoria’s House). The event was called ”Emerge”, but because of its hidden location it took a while before the event actually emerged to me. After wandering around Old Street, I finally found my way to the basement of Hoxton Factory by using a strategy called Follow Anyone Who Looks Chic.

The location was worth of looking for, though. It seemed very underground, the sort of upcoming party place that only the coolest ones know about. The event was organized by LABB magazine to promote young talents of fashion. The basement was filled with design presentations, all very different from each other: there was a sound-reactive dress hanging from the ceiling, hand-made leather creations with heads of elephants, patriotic shoes and impressive gowns inspired by the history of fashion (or maybe just history of curtains, as the fabric had very curtain-like trimmings).

By Francesca Marotta

by Rakish Heels

Sound-reactive dress by Rainbow Winters

by Kalikas Armour

Really sorry to hear about your not-so-fashionable fever. Hope you’re feeling better already – if not, at least you can scare people with bacteria to get more space to photograph. One sneeze, that’s all it takes!

Emmi

London Fashion Love Letters: Charlie Le Mindu

2010-09-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

Hello (again) Emmi,

Are you tired of me yet? I've finally got enough energy--Hurray!!--to share my experience at the Charlie Le Mindu SS11 catwalk show. As I mentioned earlier in my Bryce Aime blog letter, the queue to get into Charlie's show was insane but it's totally worth it.

Inside the Victoria House, the room was packed. Imagine a tin of John West tuna. Actually, imagine two tins of John West tuna squeezed into one!! O! Before I kick off babbling about the show. I snapped you my favourite celebrities of the day: our blown up party queen Pandemonia and Ms Fred Butler the Milliner Extraordinaire!

And, once the light was off, there was this cheering so immense that my runny nose had stopped running. Then came the model in extraordinary hair carrying spotlights, which was quickly followed the commotion in the room as everybody, even those in the second row, tried to move, push, take over seats that had just been deserted, to get into a better spot. I was one of those pushy people. I had to. I need some good photos to share with you.

Pink animals and hairy VS hairless are the theme of this out-of-this-world catwalk show. Have a look and be warned of (very) blatant nudity!

Charlie does not only bring us fun, edge, bare breasts and buttocks, but also the artificially real, hair construction that defies clothes as the only element in haute couture. In fact, garments or the lack of them became secondary, or totally irrelevant even, in Charlie's show. Do we really need clothes? Maybe not, if we could keep our Charlie at home ;)

Bye for now,

Perm

London Fashion Love Letters: Bryce Aime

2010-09-20T01:47:00.000-07:00

Hi Emmi,

Sorry for late reply. Yesterday morning I went to the Charlie Le Mindu SS11 show. You know, the hair guy who has long been SS sweetheart? The queue was horrendous; I could feel the vibe, the excitement among the queu-ers. The not-so-fab thing was that, unlike most of the shows I attended at this year London Fashion Week, we were made to queue outside, in the cold! You know, my fever--as in medical fever, not fashion fever--was raging and I was about to give up Charlie's show, but seeing Fred Butler in her metallic pastel outfit walking past me and our London's superstar blown-up doll Pandemonia in her 8-inch stilettos strutting into the Victoria House--I know they're not Janice Dickinson, but they got me going!--my intuition told me the Charlie Le Mindu's haute coiffure show must be HOT!!

Before I get deeper into Charlie Le Mindu, I should, first, share my thoughts on the Bryce Aime catwalk show that was on last Saturday. I can tell you, in the last couple of years, Aime makes a very impressive entrance in the fashion scene. Two seasons ago, I predicted his harsh, spikey and heavily structured SS10 collection would attract Lady Gaga. I was wrong. It is Rihanna who wears Bryce Aime's in her music video "Hard" and shows. And so does Beth Ditto in many of her gigs.

This year, Bryce Aime departs from his harsh design aesthetics in favour of a much softer, though still structural, silhouette.

The collection titled "Asiarama" strikes a high oriental note and features a subtle fusion of traditional Japanese theatrical Kabuki costume and Beijing opera. The fabrics, Aime uses, range from jersey, Lycra, to chiffon in rather neutral colours of pale pink, white, green and yellow. His dresses are worn with leggings, some of which are monochromatic, others printed. I must say, I'm a fan of the printed ones. Check out them ones with falling sakura flowers. They make the legs look as if tattooed on! Also, these leggings are much more flattering than Bora Aksu's.

The shoes, too, are also updates of their oriental versions.

Looking at the collection as a whole, I must say many of the pieces do not look particularly expensive, while others border on being a little too theatrical.

And, if you check out the expression on the dude's face (on your right!), I am certain his opinions are not too remotely different from mine.

I will blog about Charlie Le Mindu soon. In the mean time, you can check out my clip from the Bryce Aime SS11 catwalk show.

Ciao,

Perm

London Fashion Love Letters: Fashion Shenzhen

2010-09-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

Hi Perm,

I didn’t yet tell you about Fashion Shenzhen, an event that airmailed me from London to China to a city called Shenzhen yesterday.

I had no clue what to expect but collections from China. Entering the exhibition that took place before the actual fashion show, I already felt like I was in another country. Extremely friendly Chinese people welcomed me at the lobby and walked me with a small group of people to the entrance of the exhibition, where another one of them was waiting with a big smile and a tray of champagne. The expo was like a little fashion fair with stands from different brands and designers, all of whom came for Shenzhen. I strolled around with that ”I’m all right thanks, just looking around” face you always put on when shopping, but it didn’t fool the staff: oh no, they were determined to guide me through the collections. I literally got my own translator (that’s how he called himself), who walked with me from stand to stand.

The variety of styles was vast: whereas many brands had a traditional approach to Chinese fashion, others looked very European. After spending a good time at the expo, everyone gathered in a big room. At this point, I noticed how different the event was from the ones I had been to before. First of all, 80 % of the people around had Chinese origins. Some 50% of them didn’t speak English (which sort of explains why the new friend of mine had called himself a translator). However, the most interesting difference was that the whole event was quite formal: it wasn’t just another fashion hullabaloo, but an important milestone to the fashion industry of Shenzhen.

After toasting and listening to speeches, it was finally time to start the show. It definitely satisfied everybody hungry for Asian fashion, as we saw not one but two different collections. The first one was from a designer called Haiping Xie. He had combined the traditional Chinese design nicely with materials that scuplted the Eastern appeal into innovative silhouettes.

The second collection from a brand called Ground Show was very different from the first one: whereas that one was elegant, Ground Show was snug. The designs almost screamed wanting to be worn on lazy Sundays. Not sure how well the fashion crowd would swallow this one, but for sure it’ll please the ones who go for cute and comfy.

How was the rest of your Fashion Week weekend?

Emmi

London Fashion Love Letters: Spijkers en Spijkers

2010-09-19T00:47:00.000-07:00

Hi Perm (again)!

I know I wasn’t supposed to tell you this just yet, but I really need to boast about my celeb spotting, so here we go:

After visiting Somerset House for Craig Lawrence’s exhibition, I headed down to Victoria’s House. I do have to apologize for mocking your orienteering skills earlier, as mine told me to walk pass my destination without even noticing. After asking for directions and walking back to where I was supposed to be, I finally ended up queuing to get into the Spijkers en Spijkers show. This time I was lucky, as my invitation had a red dot on it - those red dots make you rise a little higher on the fashion rank and get inside sooner than the rest. It might not be like being a VIP, but still...there's something about the red dots!

For the new Spijkers en Spijkers collection, the designer twin sisters Truus and Riet had found inspiration in the gloomy story of Elisa Day. She's a girl whose lover is so entranced by her beauty that he decides to kill her in order to preserve her image. He takes Elisa to a place where wild roses grow and ruthlessly takes her life after kissing her goodbye.

The collection was a blend of the innocence and darkness of the story: floral fabrics took us back to the flower fields, lace brought in the lightness of air while dark colours and geometric shapes contradicted that purity. Did I like the collection? Lets say that I might have to fight the urge to get part of it into my own wardrobe.

While happily snapping pictures of the outfits, I noticed that in the background of the photos there seemed to be a familiar face. A face that I had seen on a screen before, a TV screen that is. Even though the lips did look smaller, it could not have been anyone else than Janice Dickinson herself, sitting there about 3 meters away from me! Hurraying myself for recognizing someone famous, I tried to take a picture of her in the most casual manner possible. Of course my attempt to capture her face failed miserably, but at least the photo gives you some waterproof evidence!

Maybe you'll run into her tomorrow? If you will, then say hi from me - she might know me as The Stalker.

Emmi

London Fashion Love Letters: Craig Lawrence

2010-09-18T21:54:00.000-07:00

Hi Perm,

I quite like the pieces of Jayne Pierson, especially the colourful ones: they look almost as if they were drawn. Looks like you´ve gotten to see quite a variety of different styles! I´m afraid I haven´t - I´ve been haunted by mermaids!

This morning, I successfully managed to find my way to the showroom of Craig Lawrence (without a map - yes, I had to mention that just to give your the ego of your inner compass another hit). Once I got there, a lady at the door handed me a press release. "Ooh, this is handy," I thought and started to read:

"Craig Lawrence´s Spring/Summer 2011 line marks his 4th consecutive season as a British Fashion Council NEWGEN winner. This season´s collection promises to be more dramatic and visionary than ever. Craig leaves the seaside towns of where he grew up in Ipswich, and moves into the fantasy world of mermaids and the seductive mythological sirens of ancient Greece..."

The words "siren mermaids" made my mermaid sirens ring, but I bravely stepped into the room to see not one, but FOUR of these fashion creatures from the underwater kingdom. These mermaids didn't have scales, but wore impressive nets of knits made of Japanese metallic yarns. The combinations of textures, silhouettes and colour breathed serenity that turned off my mermaid alarm. Yes, the sirens of Craig Lawrence were seductive and I fell for them like a good ol' sailor.

Having spotted a visitor who was undoubtedly dressed according to the theme (maybe she mixed Fashion Weeks up with Halloween?), I simply had to take a picture.

I also managed to snap a photo of The Great Designer Himself being interviewed. I might not have a clue where Ipswich is, but at least I can show you that this is how an ipswicher looks like:

I also attended two runway shows today, discovered the muffins at the press lounge and saw someone Famous with a capital F. I'll be annoying and will not reveal who it was, will tell you more about it later! Until then: good night!

Emmi

London Fashion Love Letters: Jayne Pierson

2010-09-18T11:55:00.000-07:00

Hey Emmi,

I am sorting out the photos of Bryce Aime's SS11 collection that has just been shown at London Fashion Week and I have realised I am yet to share my thoughts on the Jayne Pierson catwalk show I attended last night.

Pierson's catwalk show was preceded by a brief film screening "Twin Parallel" by Justin Anderson. Highly conceptual, the short film starts with the break of dawn, light, a cuckoo clock, fruit, a dead goose and models adorned in Pierson's clothing. The models soon become doubles of one another, carrying edible items in one by one. The press release says, "Pierson expertly observes observes the existence of gravitational time dilation and engages with the notion that one could change the past to re-create a different future." I'm all over the fence about this. The film, overall, just reminds me of some 17th century Dutch painting of everyday life. That's it. It has its own significance but I'm unsure how it could be translated into clothes.

Pushing the concept aside, the collection is quite eye-catching. Pierson is noted for structured silhouette and in this Spring Summer 11 collection she shows her admirable skills of leather drapery. The collection arrives in printed taffetas, in sky blue, black and gold, the colour of dawn.

"Regal," I think, is the term that perfectly describes Pierson's collection. To me, I see, in Pierson's women, the mixture of princely consorts in ancient South East Asia and European noblewomen. It is not to everybody's liking but it is still a very strong collection. You can't deny that her leather pieces isn't stunning, and this innovative take on a biker's jacket is cool, too!

Let me know what you think.

Cheers,

Perm

London Fashion Love Letters: Bernard Chandran

2010-09-18T02:40:00.000-07:00

Hello Emmi,

This morning I managed to get up, get dressed, get lost--despite the catwalk's being just a 10 min walk from my flat--get a taxi and get to the Bernard Chandran SS11 catwalk show in time!!

I don't think I'm that bad with direction and totally blamed Chandran for this. He opted for a more unconventional but also more unrecognisable venue, The Old (Royal Mail) Sorting Office, to showcase his blinding bright collection. The show titled "A Modern Romance" started almost on time, at 9.30am, the time which, I believe, is considered very early for fashion folks.

BUT once the first model strutted down the catwalk with the golden rays of (spot)light trailing behind her. WHAM!! We all understand the implication of the 9.30am: the sun rises at Bernard Chandran.

The collection is exuberantly HOT! With his inspiration, too, taken from the nature, Chandran transforms tropical plant roots and plant fibre into linear prints using the Malay technique called Kerawang. This "Modern Romance," certainly, looks toward the East, the Malaysian tropical forest, the bejewelled sea and the sun that never fades away.

As you can see, Chandran mostly uses silk in different colours--gold, silver, jade, ice blue and midnight black--adorned with metallic beads. The silhouette fuses softness and fluidity with a clean-cut, angular structure. You can expect not only lots of organza and volumes but also gargantuan shoulders and heightened skirts. The twist is that these contrasts, with the Chandran magic, seem to become a match made in heaven.

Chandran's pieces are feathery light, luxurious and the collection highly commercially viable. I also think, unlike Bora Aksu's ant-y collection, Chandran's garments are perfect for women of all sizes.

By the way, I had a photograph catastrophe because the clothes are too bright, so I've got you a video clip instead. Check it out ;)

Enjoy your shows today!

Perm

London Fashion Love Letters: Bora Aksu

2010-09-17T16:03:00.000-07:00

OMFGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!

Emmi, your photos are stunning. I agree that Ashley Ishman's collection looks too tailored for streetwalkers like us. Fingers crossed, some of them--I love the mermaid dress--will end up at Oscar or Cannes. They are the place for Ishman's collection, really.

That said, I feel many of the designers this year take their inspiration from nature. I forgot to mention, Bora Aksu, too, says he developed ideas for this Spring Summer 2011 collection while he was observing ants in one summer's afternoon. How bizarre!?

In Aksu's defence, his collection is far from being gross. Some of the dissected-ants-lookalikes pieces are grotesquely alluring! Thanks to Aksu's craftsmanship, he masters the techniques of ruffling, draping, piping and padding to create ones of the most complex and avant-garde pieces I have seen at LFW this year. You know, he pays so much attention to detail; he even had his models' hair adorned with knitted ants!

Aksu uses silk, cotton, chiffon and other fabrics, which blend miraculously with his choice of black, red and silvery grey. Many of them are dresses. Occasionally, you find some perfectly tailored trousers but still with a soft silhouette.

I find Aksu's collection very naughty and sexy, putting you off but turning you on at the same time. The show was quite high-octane with punk rock music edging up our experience, as if Aksu decides to step up his game and says no to the sweet 'n sultry collections he had previously shown.

If I had to be critical with Aksu's collection, I might have to give him a thumb-down to those tights. They somehow make them models' skinny legs look rather chunky.

Anyway, I think I should head for bed now as I have a Bernard Chandran catwalk to catch tomorrow morning. Promise I'll share my thoughts on the Jayne Pierson show I saw this evening very soon.

And did you go to any after show party?

Night,

Perm

PS Toilet trauma noted and I just filled my bag with lots of (loo) rolls.

London Fashion Love Letters: Ashley Ishman

2010-09-17T14:30:00.000-07:00

Hi Perm,

If the show you went to was one big fairytale forest, I was taken for a dip into the ocean to see mermaids striding down the runway at Ashley Ishman’s show.

Ishman is known amongst ”those in the upper echelons of fashion” (obviously that includes us) for his signature draping and tailoring. It was therefore no wonder the show started off with beautifully draped dresses, flowing like water as the models walked.

Even though the designs with their sparkling details were pretty and without a doubt made the eyes of the front row shine bright, the excitement was missing. Luckily, just when I started thinking this fashion sea breeze was getting a bit too peaceful, Ishman pushed me into the water and brought some Ariels into the setting introducing the audience to the colours of coral reefs and oddly charming head pieces.

Also the kingdom of animals were given respect in form of feather embellishment and a catwalk soundtrack that ended with the tunes of In the Jungle. Now if that won’t make you excited, then nothing will!

The designs of Ishman are told to be born to be on the red carpet, which I can confirm. Conclusion: if we’re not Lady Gagas, we should probably accept our wallets skinny as they are and be satisfied with admiring Ishman’s collections from afar. Sigh.

Hope you had a good time at the last expo of today, can’t wait to hear about it! I’ll start fuelling for the day two of our fashion marathon now and go eat the jelly beans gotten from the Ashley Ishman show. God bless the goodie bags!

Emmi

PS. Just a word of warning: the bathrooms at the Fashion Week venues seem to be running out of toilet paper faster than the Pope says amen. ”Could someone pass the toilet paper?” echoed at the comfort stations with such a high frequency that I could suggest tucking a roll of your own into your bag tomorrow. Glamour is so passé anyway!

London Fashion Love Letters: Prophetik

2010-09-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

Hello Emmi,

I arrived at Somerset House to pick up our badges. I must say the fashion scene this year looks a bit messy. Perhaps London has put a little too much effort into welcoming the Pope and ignored LFW!

Anyway, I--no pun intended--ran into Henry Holland in LFW's promotional red Mercedes posing to photographers' delight. I did not have much time for this and rushed off to my first show Prophetik by Jeff Garner.

Prophetik, you know, is an 8-year-old, all sustainable fashion lifestyle brand; they have started showing in London since last February. This time, designer Jeff Garner takes inspiration from Botticelli's Venus and injects softness, innocence and sensuality into his mens-and-womenswear collection he calls "Midnight Garden".

The show started with a score by Benjamin Ellin invoking a vision of a hooded deity bathing in spotlights. Then came the pretty models, no no!, these youthful goddesses. So serene and fragile.

Thanks to the very soft silhouette, the garments, you must see them yourselves, flow so wonderfully, and these cool colour palettes of ivory, indigo, copper and coral will make anyone wearing them look so sweet and lovely!

Garner, you know, uses all-natural plant and earth-based dyes as well as sustainable fabrics--silk, cotton, linen, reclaimed leather--meaning if you are into ethical clothes, Prophetik might be your ideal brand!

But, considering its design and practicality, Prophetik does commercially cute jackets and day dresses but I am not sure how feasible many of the ball gowns actually are. I'd say, they look a little too stagey, too much of a fairy-tale costume for my liking.

And the men? Ok, if these girlies are goddesses, the Prophetik men are more like farm boys and dudes you see hang around in landscape paintings and wait to be enticed by the goddesses.

Prophetik's menswear is more straightforward, more wearable, and relies a lot on layering to match this up to the ruffled and draped techniques employed for the women's collection. And, I'm sure you can guess, I'd die to have the white cropped jacket! But, no fairy tale godmother to fetch me a free one.

Back to the catwalk, there is definitely something romantic and idyllic about this Spring Summer collection, capturing the nostalgia of nice weather and open natural space. This light-hearted show ended, amusingly enough, in a folk band and a jig. Good? Yes, but am I at LFW or Shakespeare's Globe?

Hope you're let out of the office soon, Emmi. Love to hear your thoughts on the show you're going to today ;)

Mwah, mwah ..

Perm

Bootlegging at Offset Festival 2010

2010-09-07T03:38:00.000-07:00

Offset Fest coverage coming soon, that's lots and lots and lots of interviews with our favourites like Mystery Jets, LA Shark, Comanechi and so on... But for now, here's our "bootlegs"!

First up, our very good friend Rory Brattwell guesting at Not Cool's show. For a band that call themselves that, we think they were pretty rad and therefore controversial!

Our other friends, Good Shoes...

We're mildly proud to say that our very very long time buddies Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster (strangely we only recognise 3 out of 5 faces now due to line-up change) managed to surprise and impress the Offset now-converted crowd!

And finally, headliners Atari Teenage Riot... Didn't we all come face to face with Gods?

Hey Ladies, Wanna Wear Some Chewbacca?

2010-08-25T07:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, we confess, our press releases are more often than not - a little zany, 90's rave and borderline psychotic, but we always hope the readers at least enjoy themselves a tad. Yet this time, we had some serious LOLs at SS HQ when we spotted a brief fashion press release slip into our Inbox this morning representing some nifty, Karl Lagerfield-like and high street equivalent of the Fur Yeti Boot as:

"Chewbacca style boots"

Being the only member of staff to actually know who Chewbacca is I spent my break YouTubing to prove a point - it doesn't matter how lovely the growling, Han Solo co-poliot was, making a pop culture reference to a serious brand you are slogging over probably isn't the best move to get positively noticed ...

Yet maybe this is the new slang for fur-booties, of course birthed out the genius wake of jeggings and treggings. MAYBE, even MAYBE, we'll be trotting down the cobbles, pointing to some fashionista lady, strutting furry furry footwear, blasting "Darling, LOVE your Chews!"

My personal favourite...

THE RISE AND RISE OF THE IDIOTS....

2010-08-19T09:44:00.001-07:00

Suck my egg

Want to know the reality of working for a magazine in the publishing sector? It makes every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday feel like a Friday, ie, the never-ending end to a VERY long week.

SUPERSWEET fits the bill. We love a bit of fun, but sometimes we go cork-screw raving mad. Mental workplace activities include:

rocking back and forth in our chairs
chasing the office cat with a miniature lobster
tossing important documents up in the air and guffawing
playing with hula-hoops
laying on the floor for 5 mintues like a sardine
covering ourselves with stickers
making stupid noises with our mouths and armpits
writing stupid blog posts
circling our shoulders to release pent-up aggression
staring at Jarvis Cocker for unnatural periods of time on YouTube
spending 2 days making cat skype to interview ONE band

We don't have a space hopper, like the officiously funny little twats in Nathan Barley, but BY GOD we can rival them. I watched that smash-hit Chris Morris series when it first hit our pewny little Hoxton heads years ago, and I thought, 'naaah, working in the PR/advertising/fashion/publishing industry can't be that blindingly daft!' Naturally, Morris proved me wrong. It is EXACTLY like that. Through working at SUPERSWEET for over 3 years, I could have written that Nathan Barley gig myself. Maybe it's time for a sequel...

Is this the most psychedelic meal you've ever seen or what?

2010-08-18T02:14:00.000-07:00

Competition announcement - We like Best Coast 50 times!

2010-08-16T08:43:00.000-07:00

"Like, where do we live again?"

A week ago we launched the bestest competition ever - we gave away a signed ‘life map’ of Californian surf band Best Coast! During our stalker-style interview with Bethany, Bob and Ali, we gave them a map of LA to pencil in their favourite hang-outs, music haunts and other personal digs special to them.

We had a hungry influx of peeps all wanting to win the map, the only obstacle in their path was to count how many times Betsy said the work ‘LIKE’ in our SUPERSWEET TV interview.

So how many times did she overuse the word ‘LIKE’? 7, 39, 150, 1000? We were surprised by the amount of grossly incorrect answers. Are you guys deaf or something? If you’re itching to know, here’s the correct answer….

BETHANY ACTUALLY SAID THE WORD ‘LIKE’ 50 TIMES!!!!

Only one entrant came close enough to warrant winning, and that was Magali Palma from California. Even though she counted 51 likes instead of the correct number of 50, we decided to give her the prize because...

a) because she made this amazing list:

:25
:42
:58
1:43
1:44
1:51
1:56
1:56
4:38
4:58
4:50
4:52
4:57
5:06
5:10
5:13
5:15
5:31
5:34
5:50
5:54
5:57
5:58
6:28
6:29
6:33
6:40
6:42
6:46
6:47
6:48
6:47
6:54
6:55
7:00 (that like was an actual LIKE)
7:25
7:29
7:31
7:35
7:37
7:39
7:41
7:42
7:49
7:52
7:59
8:02
8:09
8:11
8:21
8:53

b) she was only over the mark from being too eager to hear the word 'like'! (She counted 2 likes at 1:43 and 1:44 when Bethany only said like once at 1:43 minutes)

b) she must be Best Coast’s number 1 fan!

Consolations to everyone else. Rest assured we’ll run another Best Coast competition soon with more ridiculous prizes on offer.

Surfs’ out dudes!

SSx