One Little Island

After a VERY long period of procrastination, Ricardo Tisci creating my wildest daydream at his latest show at Paris Men’s Fashion Week has finally pulled me out of my bloggers' block.

Weaving down a sequinned, blood red carpet from the shadows came an array of exquisite looks inspired by Tisci’s curiosity cabinet. A combination of pinstripes, Mexicana pattern and red leather were accented by fur accessories and fang teeth pendants to create a bewitching, brooding collection.

Pat McGrath’s mastery with make-up intensified Tisci’s vision. Ghoulish masks were smeared on faces, emphasised with glitter, shells and flakes of metal; creating a sense of both splendour and decay in equal measure.

A master of his art, Ricardo Tisci never fails to disappoint, but you get the feeling that he has accessed the deepest depths of his soul with this collection. It is quietly and effortlessly flawless and however haunting it may be, I would love to be a part of Givenchy’s impeccable dark world.

Mythical and darkly sexy, Claire Barrow's capsule collection for MATCHESFASHION.COM ticks all the boxes.

Describing herself as somewhere between illustrator and fashion designer, she has created 3 pretty bad-ass girl gangs for her latest offering of bikers and clutches. My favourites (possibly due to the Pisces in me or the slightly fucked up nature of my thoughts) are the Jewel Lake Ritual. They descend into water underneath a full moon searching for riches, but are turned into jewels themselves because of their greed.

At only 23 with 4 collections under her belt, she is one to watch. I would be part of her girl gang any day.

A couple of months back I featured one of my favourite east London street wear brands, King Apparel, in my Menswear Highlights feature; so it was cool to see last week that they have released a fresh new headwear range for Summer 13.

They were the first ever independent brand to collaborate with New Era on their 59Fifty model and the first European brand to work with Starter Black Label. Sitting beside these heavyweights are their own brand offerings which are just as strong. I am personally a bit obsessed with the Krest Select snapback in burgundy (see below), but make sure you visit their site and make up your own mind. Be quick though, as their ‘no re-runs no repeats’ policy means there will only be limited stocks of each design.

I have had a love affair with eBay of late. It’s allowing me to get rid of some items that I was just never ever going to wear. Expensive buys that didn't suit my petite frame but were ‘on-trend’, neons that don’t suit my colour palette, girly prints that are seriously not my style (black, white and gold all the way). The list goes on.

As much as I’m never going to stop dabbling in trends and experimenting, here are just a couple of things that I have realised this past year:

1. Spend a little more, buy far less. Invest in pieces that you can wear with anything and that have a perfect fit.

2. Stick to what you know suits you and your shape. Boring? Not at all, when friends point at yet another leather jacket and say “that is so you” congrats – you have your own signature style. Mix this up for work and play and you can’t really go wrong.

Whilst both despairing and loving that fact that it has taken me 24 years to get to this point, the photographs from the Met Gala 2013 emerged online and my girl/fashion crush on Rooney Mara was instantly reignited. This got me thinking: did she always have her style down to perfection? Answer: NO. But hey, this means we don't have to despair. If she made these mistakes then so can we. And maybe we'll look shit hot in a few years time too...

From a pretty boring (sorry Rooney) girl next-door she has grown into the most elegant and darkly sexy fashion powerhouse. Unconventional with her complete lack of accessories and limited colour palette, she is minimalism at its best. Her quiet rebellion against the norm defines her as a rare and original icon.This years Met Gala theme was ‘PUNK: chaos to couture’ and who better to co-chair with Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci? Below are a few of my all time favourite looks, I for one will be taking note for when I suddenly wake up one day with signature style and poise...well, a girl can hope.

Givenchy Couture

Nina Ricci

Louis Vuitton

Prabul Garung

Today I decided that I better get my ass into gear and actually write something for this blog. Just as quickly as I made this decision however, came the realisation that I have nothing to write about; so I set about looking at other peoples’ blogs to see where the hell they were finding the inspiration that is so elusive to me. At the moment I was about to give up, Design Sponge introduced me to something so perfect I could have got up and performed a little victory dance if I had not been so tired from the weekends’ festivities. Anyway, I digress.

Cisthene is an online store owned by Jen Altman, photographer, author, super blogger, mother...the list is enviable. But this WEBSITE. I could not have found anything perfect for how I feel right now. Whether it is the weather, the recession, not particularly knowing what to do with my life or all of the above; I currently feel the need to escape into a fantasy world. If this is healthy or not I don’t know, but I do know that a second visit to the Harry Potter Studio Tour or a marathon read of Game of Thrones makes me feel a little better (and a ridiculous geek, but whatever).

The jewellery on this website is divine, so on-trend yet reminiscent of years passed, celebrating craftsmanship, stone, metal and gems. The way it’s described is also spot on. Why do we forget where jewellery came from? What it represents? We buy it for £2 in Primark because it has a cross on it and crosses are cool right now. That is why. I’m not saying I’m not guilty of this, but I will start choosing my pieces more wisely. Check out this paragraph and you will think differently:

“It is not simply metal and stone that we adorn ourselves with, instead it is thousands of years of craftsmanship; it is metal from the depths of our Earth and minerals that have endured millions of years of trial by water and fire to become what they are today. The practice of wearing jewelry, originally for protection then for currency and finally for decoration, is as nearly as ancient as humanity itself...We imbue our jewels with our own energies, our desires, and even our individual histories...”

The site also has a section for leather goods, an apothecary (too good) and some stunning silk printed scarves featuring photography from Jen’s book Gem and Stone: Jewels of Earth, Sea and Sky. I could go on and on about this website for hours, but here are some pictures to enjoy instead.

Record Store Day Started in the US in 2007, when over 700 independent record stores came together to celebrate vinyl and its culture. The UK caught on pretty quickly and this year there were some pretty awesome celebrations and limited edition releases.

BBC6 Music had some really special shows, including Huwey Morgan playing 3 hours of pure vinyl gorgeousness; and my personal highlight Mary Ann Hobbs joined by Jack White, official ambassador for RSD. Have a listen here.

I have been wanting to delve into the world of menswear for a little while now, but had absolutely no idea where to begin. I know what I like on a man, but that’s where this begins and ends. I am not exposed to men’s collections in the same way I am to women’s, I find it harder to find blogs and Pinterest pages for insight. Then like a bolt of lightning from above, during my family Easter-jaunt I was finally inspired – hallelujah!

This past week I have spent in Cornwall surrounded by a multitude of independent surf shops selling the same brands and styles we have seen for the last 10 years. Mambo, Ripcurl, Quicksilver, Animal, Billabong, Reef. The list is endless. Don't get me wrong, I know they serve a purpose. These are functional brands for people who live a certain lifestyle and I'm sure they work well elsewhere...but as 'fashion' brands in Britain? I am sadly just not sure they are still relevant. Maybe it's the recession? Or the weather? Who wants to dress like they live a stones-throw away from Bondi without a care in the world; when everyone seems to be worried about everything and the weather is (for want of a more eloquent expression) completely shit. The collections just seem stale and over-priced. I think it's also a combination of shop owners not generating the capital to purchase new season styles; and the brands themselves sticking to the same formula during these worrying times. 

This all paints a rather depressing picture, but worry not! I also came across some hidden gems I was completely unaware of that finally got me all excited about menswear; and restored my faith in the forward-thinking independents that stocked them. Here’s a round-up of my favourites:

Native Youth

Describing themselves as 'no nonsense British fashion' Native Youth present their debut spring/summer collection, comprising of 55 pieces. Fresh prints, low-key detailing and an awesome lookbook (hot model included).Their website isn't yet complete, but head over to sign up for updates. (image source: hypebeast)  

King Apparel

King Apparel is an east-London based streetwear brand championed by Plastician, Joker and Plan B. Runs of designs and stockists are limited. Exclusive and relevant, this brand showcases the best of British street style, culture and attitude. Love love love it. (image source: King Apparel Pinterest)

Bellfield

London-based Bellfield take inspiration from all over the world to create a robust, modern menswear range which is easy on the eye and the pocket. What a rare combination. Online store coming soon, in the meantime you can find them on ASOS.

So far I know I have been a little bit biased towards UK brands, so here's the best of the rest:

The Quiet Life

Absolutely my favourite find of last week, I can't quite believe I didn't know about The Quiet Life before. Maybe it's because I think I am far more 'street' than I actually am. I don't know, I digress. Anyway, fresh, directional and uber cool; this LA-based brand is one to watch. (image souce: The Quiet Life Lookbook)

Stance

Tyler, The Creator - IFHY

Here's the two-part video for IFHY/Jamba feat. Pharrell. Everything Tyler touches and creates is just so relevant. Humorous, uncannily honest and just a little bit weird...what's not to love? 

Can Solange Knowles get any cooler? She kind of appeared out of thin air in a red trouser suit (who can pull that off? I mean, really?) and charmed the world. She is a breath of fresh air in both her music and impeccable style and I have her to thank for the introduction to the artist behind the cover of her re-issue of True.

Yes, you read this correctly. A hotel - made out of cake. 

For one night only, you can gorge yourself on window sills made out of fudge and rugs that consist entirely of meringue. The Tate + Lyle exhibition showcases eight themed tasting rooms that include a ridiculous array of sweet treats. I for one would like to take a ginormous bite out of the chocolate mud cake Easter Island statue. I can imagine this being a seriously messy affair.

Dirty Girls

Youtube Commentary: "Shot in 1996 and edited in 2000, this is a short documentary about a group of 13-year-old riot grrrls in Los Angeles who were socially ostracized at their school by their peers and upperclassmen. Everyone in the schoolyard held strong opinions about these so-called "dirty girls," and meanwhile the "dirty girls" themselves aimed to get their message across by distributing their zine across campus. Directed by Michael Lucid."

I am completely in love with this film; but I'm not going to lie, this puts me in a weird place. I love this for so many reasons and I don’t know whether they contradict one another completely.

The film highlights beautifully the contrast between some intelligent girls who know their mind and the bitching and insecure bullying we're all guilty of. Amber and Harper remind us of the simple things that we routinely forget everyday: “a lot of women are in competition with each other when they should just be together”, “I don’t have to dress for anyone, look good for anyone, do anything for anyone. I can just be myself.” Amen to that. I’m going to start not giving as much of a shit...

I am absolutely ecstatic that James Blake is back in town; and this time with a collaboration with none other than Brian Eno

Digital Lion is the perfect mixture of eerie electronica, haunting vocals and unrelenting beats.

Today was the turn of Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen to display looks from her AW13 collection at Paris Fashion Week..and wow was this a feast for the eyes to behold. She showcased just 10 looks all displaying some breathtaking craftsmanship; and it was pretty damn perfect.

When I am idly browsing fashion galleries all I really want to see is drama. I want to see things I will never afford on people I will never look like, in the most impractical clothing imaginable. This is what Burton managed to achieve, all whilst never attending the show and on maternity leave. I am no feminist but...quite impressive eh?

The offering was shocking, eclectic and beautiful;  dramatic, historical and church-inspired. From pearls, lace, billowing sleeves and neck ruffles all the way through to neck-to-toe studded leather, it was a lesson in design and technique.