Posts Tagged ‘friends’

HRH Dukey’s Baby Shower at 123 Bethnal Green Road

Wednesday, March 16th, 2011

A list of deliciousness available at Dukey's Baby Shower

Last Sunday I hosted Dukey’s Baby Shower at the newly opened Bunker Cafe, at 123 Bethnal Green Road (www.123bethnalgreenroad.co.uk): a shop whose products are all sustainably sourced from within the boundaries of the M25.  What I loved about the store, when I came to Amelia’s book launch there last month, is the way it combines a simple use of space with quirky eccentricities.  Plus designers sold there include some old friends, such as JJ aka Noki, which adds another layer of familiar cuteness to the equation.

The Bunker Cafe pre-celebrations: prepped for the baby shower

My lovely god daughter Zoe came down for the weekend on an exeat from her school in Taunton to take up the mantle of face painting artistry; while Mark commuted between shows at Covent Garden for balloon animal-making duty (plus a rather ‘creative’ balloon neopolitan ice cream, as well as randomly sized swords, which was perhaps more than a sleight of hand!..).

Zoe, brush in hand.

Mark displaying his skills.

Face Painting Art Direction: note how the result matches the outfit - genius!

The staff at The Bunker Cafe were lovely: providing a carb-fest high tea of scones and victoria sponge, combined with Siam’s super-duper triple layered home-made carrot cake. The result: a relaxed soporific haze of smiles and contented stomachs; while mini-munchkins compared their face painted results, enjoyed a spot of colouring book wizardry and fought each other with balloon-shaped swords.

Eddie and Rocco as Spidermen.

Jeremy arrived for the last hour; displaying if ever we needed reminding our divergent tastes in wardrobe!

All smiles from Dukey's Glamour Aunties!

Mum aka Grandma!

As the countdown to motherhood rushes on unabated: part exciting, part scary; this was a really special afternoon, filled with kindness and smiles. Pregnancy can be isolating and I am sure so can early motherhood, it was then, all the more lovely to spend time with friends, basking in a golden glow of love and kindness.  We were bought some fantastically gorgeous gifts, Dukey (our nickname for the bump) will clearly be the best-dressed baby in town!

Lace, Feathers, Sequins and Satin: All These Treasures and More at Mishka Vintage.

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

Mishka Vintage

swathes of lame

Treasures resplendent.

One balmy evening two years ago, driving a back-route from Jeremy’s parents through North London, I had one of those rare stop the car please (!!!) moments, as we chanced on Mishka Vintage’s closed potential.  My only other equally memorable stop the car moment, being somewhere in the Transylvanian mountains of Rumania in 1995, when I saw the multi-coloured fantasia-incarnate of a hand embroidered 100 year old traditional folkloric waistcoat.  I live in a world of clothes: literally surrounded with treasures sourced over the past 20 (eek!) + years, plus the weekly supply of designer options prepped in, edited, shot and returned for editorials.  Ergo, I am not easily impressed: I knew this had that rare alchemic frisson where magic realism meets vintage treasure trove.  The window was filled to brimming with stories: Victorian lace,  deco lingerie, 50′s dresses, 70′s clutches; layer upon layer of beautiful things.

History was my route into fashion: a childhood geeky addiction to history reference books fed into my frequent flyer time traveller daydreams, leading me to start my own vintage collection aged 7, as I felt entranced (and still do) by the stories and skills used to create such pieces.  I would imagine people’s lives when these clothes were made; how their world felt and looked.  Never for me just tired old rags: a Flemish lace collar, a beaded deco bag, or a velvet Victorian jacket, has always felt just as fantastic as the this season’s must-haves I work with on a weekly basis for the fashion styling day-job and with the added bonus of running their own  storyline: one filled with gilt-edged glamour, music hall melodrama, or Hollywood dialogue.

While organising my wedding 2 summers ago, I took the drive out past Crouch End one Saturday, between bouts of buying most of North London’s charity shops stock of vintage china for the wedding, to see what lay inside the promise of this newly found delight.  In my head the owner would be old, eccentric and prone to hoarding.  Imagine my surprise therefore, when I met the smiling glamour that is Lizzie Greene: a woman who manages to combine motherhood, high heels, a predilection for bold lipsticks and an encyclopedic knowledge of British 20th Century fashion design.  ie my kind of woman: someone for whom too much is just enough, while geeking out on quirky sartorial trivia; albeit yes indeed known to hoard, or as I like to term it to my husband: archiving.

Say cheese Jet: Lizzie with her youngest son Jet.

Jet is quite the mini rock star and taken to lying on furs, while making Darth Vadar noises.

Towards the light: Mishka's red mood section.

Sorbetastic treasures.

True blue, baby I love you....

Lounge lizard jackets for Studio 54 moments...

Lizzie has become a dear friend: someone who has lent me the most precious pieces for my editorial shoots, as well as a first port of call for music or advertising jobs, as her clothes often add a necessarily unique flourish.  The skirt I used for Charlotte Church’s recent single cover, was a Mishka purchase.

Charlotte Church: Back to Scratch.

Worn with Rochas, to me the Mishka Vintage Victorian Cape makes the outfit. Taken From my Shoot for Grey AW10; Photographer: Stefano Galuzzi.

The Bat's Brits 2010 bag: a Mishka find.

This afternoon I was there returning pieces lent for 2 of my 3 shoots this week: one for Six Magazine, one with Lily Cole for Corduroy.  However, if you were my styling client and looking for that one-off party dress, wow factor wedding gown, or retro-referenced Annie Hall meets Celine this season piece, Mishka Vintage would be on our list of must-dos.  When you do get there, take the time: this is not a 5 minute Primark collision course.  Chat to Lizzie, allow yourself to relax into remembering/experiencing what boutique-style one on one smiling service feels like; then see what magic you walk away with.

Mishka Vintage Clothing

Address:
212a, Middle Lane
Postcode:
N8 7LA
City/Town:
London (London)
Main phone:
020 8341 3853

Tea, cake and art: a delightful Friday afternoon ritual!

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

Last Friday, I went along to Amelia’s book launch at the lovely Bunker basement soon to be opened cafe at 123 Bethnal Green Road with Siam and of course, my permanent guest of honour, ‘Dukey’ the 6 month bump (currently showing his flair for rugby high kicks while I type!).

Amelia is someone I have known since she assisted my old friend and fellow Watford evacuee (though she went back!), Lou Winwood.  She then took the brave step to launch her own magazine: http://www.ameliasmagazine.com/ which after 5 years as a biennial print publication, is going online, while she concentrates on book publishing and other projects.  Her last book I remember poring over in a bookshop on Broadway Market, so I was keen to see what was on offer this time, with ‘Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration’, a book of illustrations by new artists of sustainable fashion designs.

123 was a bit of a revelation (www.123bethnalgreenroad.co.uk): like a Georgian house, where winding wooden staircases led to rooms filled with old friends’ designs: JJ’s Noki collections feature heavily, alongside other designers with a sustainability slant, including the lovely Kenna (hairdresser extraordinare of my wedding day locks) even more lovely girlfriend Aimee McWilliams’ designs. 123′s stock is sourced purely from the M25 radius.  I felt amongst friends; Siam felt partial to a good shop, which suited me as I sat in a lovely leather chair, surveying the room and edited her choices from my new ad hoc throne.

Meanwhile downstairs in the Bunker Cafe there was much merriment to be had.  As someone whose first home economics lesson at her rather aspirational girls’ school was how to bake a victoria sponge, prepare the cucumber sandwiches and correctly lay a tea tray, for the English lady’s ritual that is high tea, I have never been one to shy away from that gathering of the clan, that genteel art, which is afternoon tea and conversation.  Girls in brightly coloured tights, with sleek hennaed hair, or patterned frocks, pinned with antique brooches, drawing pad in hand, offered to paint our portraits, while we sipped Pukka teas and surveyed the mountains of miniature gilt edged scones, which we could diy coat with lashings of jam and cream, laid out on vintage china.  This, I thought was my kind of party.

Jenny Robins (http://www.jennyrobins.co.uk/) painted my portrait, I was amazed that she could paint without seeming to mark her corners.  Here I am, doing what all expectant mothers seem to do: hug their precious bump, aah!

Impressive I think and a marvellous aide-memoire for when he is born, of what pregnancy was like.  Siam’s portrait was a fabulously glamorous rendition of her 1940s aka a Nana Golda Goorwich-inspired outfit, velvet turban et al!

It was such a charming sparkly way to spend a Friday afternoon, the bubble of which was certainly not burst when I surveyed the treasures incarnate in the goody bag (thank you Amelia!): I defy any woman to not smile with delight (and possibly squeal) when presented with gifts including Dr Hauschka products, Tatty Devine treasures, magazines and more.  This ocean of beneficent goodwill carried me forth to buy my husband bagels on Brick Lane, drive back to North London listening to Pulp and into the weekend with a sense that all is right, nice and proper in the world – just as it should be after an afternoon tea soiree!

Paris A/W 2010 – so we’re freezing in springtime in heels…

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
Sonia Rykiel Show

Sonia Rykiel Show

dsc03860

I sincerely love a Sonia Rykiel show: the shoes are always wondrous, the colours, the left bank sense of fun with glamour: girls swaying in feathers in furry clogs, high five-ing down the runway, Love…

John Galliano show

John Galliano show

Galliano was a visual feast, totally Tamara: he took us on a journey of trials, travels and traversed the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush: from the spice roads we went to the east of the sun, west of the moon…  He also showed us how great he is as a stylist, let alone as a designer, total inspiration.

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John is the finale of his own show and sporting a fabulously chic sheepskin backpack is the most gloriously camp nomad I ever saw, ever - and ever shall I think!

John is the finale of his own show and sporting a fabulously chic sheepskin backpack is the most gloriously camp nomad I ever saw, ever - and ever shall I think!

The girls walked through sprays of silver glitter; John as the finale, came through seering white light, designer as devil or hero, he walked towards orange fire, posed, captured our imaginations and vanished.  Given his warm layers of sheepkin, wool and backpack at least one of us was dressed for the freezing weather which hit Paris this week!..

The chicest dessert I ever saw or tasted.

The chicest dessert I ever saw or tasted.

Imagine existing inside a Watteau painting with 7* service and culinary delights where sandalwood ice-cream coexists with thinly grated apple and ginger in the thinnest layer of pastry.  That was the dinner I enjoyed with my friend Konca at the Grand Vefourhttp://www.grand-vefour.com/fr/restaurant.htm The considered absolutist chic quintessence of Parisian society was at it’s zenith.  There was more service, more grandeur and more is more decoration than anyone could ever indulge without slightly falling in love with it, however totally refined it is, there is such grace in it’s fabulosity, that even when I ordered off-menu a salad, the result was so utterly beautiful, artful and delicious, it was a moment of baroque heaven.  Built in 1760, the Grand Vefour is one of the world’s  first restaurants: Napoleon took Josephine, Colette ate there (which as I am reading ‘The Vagabond’, in  honour of Ellie) seemed wholly appropriate.  Visual artful 3D gourmand-luxe heaven.

The audience of lenses at Chanel

The audience of lenses at Chanel

Glass gorgeousness

Glass gorgeousness

The work above the magic - yes that is an iceberg - welcome to the world of Chanel

The work above the magic - yes that is an iceberg - welcome to the world of Chanel

Vanessa Paradis wears Coco red lipstick

Vanessa Paradis wears Coco red lipstick

Crystals and ice white bergs

Crystals and ice white bergs

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Reflections in pools of icy water.

Reflections in pools of icy water.

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If and when the ice age cometh, we shall clearly be ok in our refuge of Chanel furs and fabulosity!..

If and when the ice age cometh, we shall clearly be ok in our refuge of Chanel furs and fabulosity!..

Amanda Harlech dancing in the dj booth - like the London girl she clearly still is at heart.

Amanda Harlech dancing in the dj booth - like the London girl she clearly still is at heart.

To the tune of: 'I said captain, I said what?!'

To the tune of: 'I said captain, I said what?!'

The white album.

The white album.

Sarah after Chanel, shows me her gorgeous new engagement ring from Richard, I am so so so happy for them both.

Sarah after Chanel, shows me her gorgeous new engagement ring from Richard, I am so so so happy for them both.

Photos I don’t have from this week, include the sheer clever joy that was the Victor and Rolf show, they really showed us how it’s done.  The Hussein show with his moving speech for Alexander, followed by Puritan caps and camel coloured capes with grey lining, worn with matching fedoras – a style I have been wearing this week myself.  The party at Maxims where my New Yorker friends lost themselves in the 80′s disco groove.  The Vogue Turkey party at the Crillon, where I caught up with dear friends from the Fatherland: albeit feeling rather underdressed, as I had put on all my warm clothes at once to go to Givenchy, as Paris is brrr-freezing.   I hope my shalwa joggers, Westwood boots, Marni jacket and Bora Aksu snood still managed to represent – I did love Catherine’s gold lame turban, Karen’s killer heels, Seda’s sassy red dress and Konca’s peach jacket.  The basement baseline Ricardo Tisci party: it was brilliant to see Charlotte Tilbury again, looking uber-hot beyond yummy-mummydom, showing us photos of her handsome baby son; where shoulder to shoulder glamour bumped with Olivier’s camera flash, low-key hiphop heroes.  Meeting Polina was lovely: we drank Japanese tea and paid homage to CC.

This is an inspiring season: the stark shapes with pared down strength: I am totally looking forward to my shoots this season.

Ellie’s belle bonpoint ballpoint interviews me and muses on Bats, Boleyn and bows…

Friday, March 5th, 2010

http://vagabondiana.blogspot.com/

My friend Ellie is a writer for magazines as glorious as Lula and Elle.  She recently gave birth to Doris Donne and true Cockney, and like me (and Natasha) a Scorpio.  See below for her recent interview with me for her gorgeous blog, which allows her free-rein for any uncommissioned musings and is a glorious read.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2010

she’s tamtalizing

‘I find the fashion farce hard to take seriously.’

My mind is full of starter notes on things to look up when I have time. A brain full of boxes to come back to. A reading-list to last a lifetime. There are thousands of things in there from my boyfriend that I shall shuffle through in months to come, but another mind that constantly gets my own ticking is that of my friend, the fashion stylist Tamara Cincik.

This was going to be a short visual post; a few questions to Tamara on dressing Bat for Lashes lady-lark Natasha Khan for the Brit Awards, but I took a u-turn when Tamara, an eternal piece of passion cake, sent over a feast festooned with references. I love references, the short summaries of what gets people going. As I’ve said before, anyone with a passionality is interesting to uncover. So instead of cutting out anything ‘non-Natasha,’ I wanted more of Tamara’s take on anything. Her gypsies, 1960′s acid trips and Anne Boleyn. Some more boxes to tick soon. I’ll leave you to do the same.

Tamara’s take on …

… dressing Natasha for the Brits

I wanted it to feel and look like tarnished Hollywood. Natasha [left] had a book about the Hollywood designer Valentina [above] who would go to premieres in the 1940′s looking amazing; so utterly glamorous! I wanted Natasha to look like her own version of this: beyond any trends, dancing to her own rhythm and not at all looking like a generic pop star.

Natasha is very strong on accessories and knows what she likes: she wanted to have the gold sequin bow hat made, which I thought looked adorable and slightly off – which is always cool! And she loves Pamela Love’s jewellery, so we called that in and to be honest that was her choice, but I thought it was totally gorgeous and through pawing over Pamela’s jewellery it is clear she was right!

Jackie Tyson created the rainbow eyelash Natasha wore for the Brits and does her make-up for lots of red carpet events. However Natasha is amazing at make-up and lots of photos you see of her on TV or at festivals, she has created the looks herself.

… enhancing an existing stylish ‘flair’ rather than controlling it

It’s vital to work with Natasha in a collaborative dialogue. Image and style are intrinsic to her, as is how she feels – you can hear in her music that she works from an emotional, uncompromising place and she constantly works at this on all level. We send references back-and-forth and discuss ideas and images and then hone these into a total look design. I’ve recently worked on her tour outfits (she is currently in South America with Coldplay) and for this, I sent her a whole ream of designs and ideas and then we edited them and added her ideas in to create a bunch of looks for her to wear on stage.

… why even stylish stars needs stylists

Natasha has great ideas about how to dress and what to wear, she is very clear about how she likes to look and feel. For me, her style is more individual and quirkily iconic, rather than following fashion trends religiously and I celebrate that. Working with me as her stylist allows me to oversee that side of things for her more easily; she can trust my judgement and I always make sure she is involved and updated. I can access the labels, tailors or pr’s as of course I already know so many people through my other styling work, so in a way I can feed ideas and information through and then we can collaborate without her being bogged down with the admin-side.

…the importance of style in determining the success of a musician today

It’s vital: the world is so media-savvy that unless someone is the new Neil Diamond or Seasick Steve, I think it is kind of key.

… her life ambitions

I always thought I would grow up and become a gypsy, and travel about with my hair catching warmth in it’s curls and wearing broderie anglaise on tanned olive skin, barefoot. Then I did that. Or I thought I would live in Paris with a talented artist. Then I did that too. Then I decided it was time to grow up and become a serious careerist, so now I spend my day playing with clothes, and my summers growing vegetables at our allotment and my evenings reading Tudor history in the bath for hours, trying to work out why Henry V111 seems to have murdered everyone he loved. I find the fashion farce hard to take seriously and the regime of work and self-discipline hard to commit to after years of wriggling out of any form of control. [Tamara, above, on her 'festival of love'-themed wedding day. No wriggling out of that one.]

… her life guru

Ram Dass is a spiritual teacher from the States who harks back to the time of Ken Keseyand Timothy Leary. He was an academic who took acid in those early Ivy League tests in the 1960′s and the trip totally changed his life: he dropped out of his professorship and began working with the counter-culture leaders of the era. From this he went to India and renounced his material life and lived with his guru for many years, before coming back to the west to teach.

He became one of the first westerners to go to India and try to reason with his life in a non-materialistic way, so his message is totally approachable and yet intelligent, marrying these worlds, yet there is something very Californian-meets-Woody Allen about his delivery, which I enjoy. Totally mesmerised by The Merry Pranksters as a teenager, I did all I could to recreate that life: going to India at 19, falling in love with a San Franciscan biker who taught Tibetan monks English while his mother read tarot back in Berkeley, and later being a huge part of the squat rave scene here and in Goa. Although there is the potential for his work to sound like the naffest kind of psychobabble, he is so intelligent that somehow brilliantly in the ease, there is genius.

… her inspiration

Stylist Karen Binns has this way of engaging with the world and her work which I find utterly captivating: she was a part of 1980′s New York and there is this, combined with 1920′s black cultural glamour-meet- classic Hollywood fantasia and I love it. Through her work you see how fashion is an escape and a message.

… her style icon

I was obsessed with time travel as a child and for some reason Anne Boleyn was my consistent starting point for dreamtime travels: I would oscillate between her, Elizabeth 1 and Mary Queen of Scots as a child at the French court – all very Tudor-specific! Anne was clearly highly intelligent; she grew up in the Burgundian court where women were expected to be well-educated and witty. She brought this finesse back with her from France and through her, England changed religion, changing it’s course forever from medieval to early modern. Anne was stylish in that I love her French hood and ‘b’ chain ensemble. I’ve recently read two books on her and it’s fascinating how each author has their own perspective about what is true and thereby we can see what is true is always subjective.

Princess Tamara [above] with her own prince in their own ‘Pink Tower.’

Karen Binns: always an inspiration, if they could bottle her vibrancy, I’d buy it by the gallon!..

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010
Karen in a taxi with Hector Castro en route to a Giles show one LFW

Karen in a taxi with Hector Castro en route to a Giles show one LFW

Karen Binns has been a close friend for nearly a decade: I wore sequins and deco to her wedding, she was the only person crying at mine (and i thought i was the hopeless romantic!)…

Whenever I might need feedback on an idea I am working on, Karen’s advice always pushes me further: she seems to talk in big, inspiring visual metaphors, they are colorful, filled with hope and potential.  I have never had a bad night out with Karen, she is so much more fun than me: from Paris parties, to London clubs, via tea on Brick Lane, or hot chocolate at Angelina’s (our Paris Fashion Week office), we can talk for hours about Jack Cardiff or Edith Head, I always come away from meeting Karen feeling great – and that is a real and rare talent.

Her work in the music industry is well-known: over a decade working with Tori Amos, she put Estelle in silver and makes her shine, while Mr Hudson is hot now thanks to her and various pairs of slim fit slinky trousers.  Meanwhile she is creative consultant for Bernard Chandran, who’s international view of glamour i always enjoy at LFW and has launched her own magazine What? which gives a forum for the new and a place to see Karen’s world on paper.

t q1
we both love a dash of glamour and a mix-it-up cocktail of
the unexpected.  what does feeling glamorous mean to
you and is it an armour?
q1- glamour for me is how i feel inside, for me its not an amour, but the air i breath, it could be the fabric and the way it falls on me, or the miligrams of omega and vitamin e that i am taking for great skin .

tq2
you always cite youth culture, but actually you are one of
the most inspiring people i know, does youth to you in fact
mean, keeping things alive or open?

q2- the future, youth culture is the way i will exist in the future .

tq3
kitten heel, flat or high heel?

q3- a flat is important at the moment as we still need to feel attractive,
and get to our next appointment.

tq4
what to you is romantic?

q4- romance is when a kiss is more important than penetration .

tq5
inspirational songs

inspiring songs- im every women, by chaka khan, it is what us women are all about..

tq6
designers (past or present) you always hope the find in the
sale bargain bin?

q6-a lanvin silk nightgown .

tq7
if you could live in another era, when would it be?

q7-1940s in europe ,  with equal rights .
For more of Karen’s work and point of view, please check out at her biennial magazine What? Her website is due to go live in the next month.

Nova, Nova: Golden girl, multi-tasking goddess & shiny futurist princess

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

Nova knows the future and it's golden!

I first met Nova when she was working for Mandi legendary Lennard, all smiley grin behind a desk of returns, one press day of yore.
Next I heard she was djing, then making knitwear.  She lent me a killer catsuit for a music client, kindly came to dj at my wedding and interviewed me for Elle TV one LFW.
Clearly this is one multi-tasking girl about town; I’ve always admired her large, open smile and her enthusiasm for what she loves.  Nova’s rainbowtastic fashion show was a breath of fresh air this season, with La Roux singing, dancers clad in multi-coloured lycra and more, this was a show to be  enjoyed, not painfully survive.  I feel this is perhaps how Nova approaches life: enjoy the carnival and see the adventure in the hard work it takes to keep on juggling.
Here Nova answers some questions as part of my New Year series of cool women q&a’s.  Enjoy!

t q1
we both love a dash of glamour and a mix-it-up cocktail of the unexpected.  what does
feeling glamorous mean to you and is it an armour?

Feeling glam to me is having matching socks on, a cab booked in your name, cocktails in the nice glasses, an amazing view, all the mates there and the music playing exactly what
you want to listen to.
It’s definitely an armour and mantra to my life.

tq2
why do you dye your hair?  to keep it moving, or because you are over being a natural
blonde?

i dont even know what my real hair colour is anymore as been dying it for so long. Ive even dyed my roots at the moment as it looked better so I have no real idea of what its
like underneath.

tq3
kitten heel, flat or high heel?

i like stomping around in platforms… it makes it more fun to go out when you have stilts on.

tq4
how do you cope with your multi-tasking: stylist, designer, dj life?  what are your
fail-safe organisational checklists?

I use ical for work stuff but I also like mt handwriting so use a diary where I write more personal activities and have a notebook of one continous ‘to-do-list’.

tq5
inspirational songs: i love a bit of kate bush, what gets you through a hectic day?

I have dance music in my soul. I like music made with computers.

tq6
designers (past or present) you always hope the find in the sale bargain bin?

Jean Paul Gaultier, Maison Martin Margiela, Moschino but I cant imagine that happening and i could never be bothered to elbow my way to the front or bottom of it.  LOVE ebay,
HATE sample sales.

tq7
if you could live in another era, when would it be?

I’ve always been a child of my time and thought whatever was going on then was the best thing ever. But really I want to live in the future. Im really excited about the future.
Theres certain things that really annoy me about now, that will all be invented and
solved in the future.

tq8
new year’s resolutions for 2010: make them, break them, make them to break them?..

No, no resolutions are great. I make them, I break them but there are lots of new moons and months to start all over again.

To see more of Nova’s various planets, worlds and spheres, please go to: www.novadando.com

You say Anna, I say Dolly…

Monday, January 4th, 2010
Dolly smouldering at my hen'na night last August

Dolly smouldering at my hen'na night last August

She’ll hate me for it when she’s 50 (but then, when she’s 50 she might well be pushing my feather and sequin covered wheelchair!..), but to me Anna is Dolly.  She came to work for me several years ago, dressed in love heart printed jeans with mules and a headscarf (chic I thought to unpack boxes); she was nicknamed Dolly by day 2.
Through countless jobs, in a variety of madcap situations, we second-guessed each other, joined at the hip.  I always knew by the amount of notes made, how stressed she really was.  Now Nicola Formichetti’s assistant, Dolly was my bridesmaid this Summer, and for a day lived out her dressing up box fantasy of being a fairy for a day and a night.
I am sure her psychedelic dreams and fairy-filled daze will be the landscape of her own work.  I hope so.
t q1
We both love a dash of glamour and a mix-it-up cocktail of the
unexpected.  What does feeling glamorous mean to you and is it an
armour?

I was thinking just this morning that i will never be glamorous.
When i dress i don’t dress to be or particularly feel glamorous, i
just feel like myself….i dont think that glamorous is really me
however much i would aspire to it :) – i think its more of a mix it
up cocktail of the unexpected.

Its not an armour, its just what makes me feel happy.

tq2
why do you dye your hair?  to keep it moving, or because you are
over being a natural blonde?

I dye my hair because i get bored of it quickly….i guess it just
depends on what mood i am in what colour it is…. i am a gemini and
therefore multiple personalitied! Its just expressing my mood
really. I was considering black recently, but tried a black wig on
and was definitely not for me!
tq3
Kitten heel, flat or high heel?

tq4

If you could be a fairy for one day, what would you do/change in the
world?

I would make everyone be nice to each other and stop wanting to hurt  or harm each other. Also I would fast forward time to show people what
will happen if they don’t start looking after their planet very soon!

tq5
Inspirational songs
I dont know really. I never attach myself to songs/music as much as I do films…

I  do have a song lyric tattooed on me though – from Lykke Li ‘little
bit’
I just like anything that makes me feel happy! Usually upbeat, electro
poppy stuff!

tq6
Designers (past or present) you always hope the find in the sale
bargain bin?

I would love to be wearing Pierre Cardin, Viktor and Rolf, McQueen,  Gaultier

tq7
If you could live in another era, when would it be?

Swinging 60′s baby

tq8
New year’s resolutions for 2010: make them, break them, make them to
break them?..


Work harder at everything. be nice to everyone. eat less carbs

To read Dolly’s own blog, please go to: http://annatrevelyan.blogspot.com

New Year q & a’s with Women I Love, who inspire me & I hope will you too on this brrrr-cold nights!

Monday, January 4th, 2010
New year, new resolutions: daily exercising, writing more, meditating and being more a-a-aware – I know, I know, here she goes again on her Tamarama missions…  BUT, a spot of q & a’s from women I admire, doesn’t feel too hard to handle and I hope that their pearls and quirky uniqueness will feel refreshingly like harbingers of hope for a zingy new decade.
Mandi Lennard is one of the most notoriously hard working women in the fashion industry: those 4am emails sent selling the scoop on a new designer, pinged over from her Blackberry, are not mere urban legend.  We’ve known each other for more years than I can remember, Browns for both of us is a bit of a family tree.  Her press days are always the most carefully thoughtful, with amazing presents, always a concept and complemented with the best goodie bags ever!
Mandi answered my q&a in typically super-quick time; here is the first in my series of q&a blogs for the new year, hope you like them!!!
mandi_in_roksanda
Mandi in a gorgeous Roksanda Ilincic creation.
Mandi and Roksanda have worked together since Roksanda started her house.  I love and aim to 24/7 live in the romance and glamour of Roksanda’s world, nothing bad could happen to you there, festooned with blowsy roses in slinky satin, this is a place where women are film star icons with tapered waists and contrasting ribbon tips and you always get your man –   I was absolutely, tingily-thrilled, when Mandi spoke with Roksanda to help me source my dream rose festooned pale pink wedding dress this Summer from her S/S 09 collection.
t q1
I feel you’ve done so much to promote British Fashion, I remember your
saying your dream was to find the next galliano, do you feel you have
( I feel you have) and if so how many hours per day has it taken you
to get there?!

I don’t remember saying that!  I’ve never really had an agenda, just to surround myself with stuff that’s cool, crazee and inspiring – it’s always
been a vanity project!

tq2
Who colours your hair, I always love how glossy it looks!

Alex Brownsell – she’s brilliant – she could do it blindfolded – she cuts and she’s a hardcore blowdryer too – she does quite a few of us at once – we’re
neighbours and it’s always fun

tq3
Kitten heel, flat or high heel?

I’ve always liked a platform, never dainty so kitten heels aren’t really for me – if it’s a flat, it’s usually trainers

tq4
If you could be gordon brown for one day, what would you do/change in
the world?

I guess a bit of eye contact, humility and common sense never did anyone any harm…

tq5
Inspirational songs: I love a Tori Amos wailing moment, what helps you
through the day?

I love old skool stuff – at the moment though i can’t get enough of Kid Cudi and if I listen to something random on youtube it’s usually Nas – i always
find lyrics inspiring, and i love taking them out of context – it’s fresh
comment…

tq6
Designers (past or present) you always hope the find in the sale bargain

bin?

Not into sales

tq7
If you could live in another era, when would it be?

South Bronx mid-80s

tq8
New year’s resolutions for 2010: make them, break them, make them to
break them?..

Try to make more time for my friends

tq9
Minimal or maximal?

restraint

To read Mandi’s blog, please go to: http://blogs.colette.fr/mandi/

A Shaded View on Fashion: my piece for Diane’s website about the KTZ show

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

KTZ SHOW: SUBTERRANEAN GLITTERBALLS, STOMPING KIDS AND STONKING LOOKS!..BY TAMARA CINCIK

marjan and sacha walk the walk

marjan and sacha walk the walk

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Marjan and Sacha are old dear friends of mine, hours spent discussing silhouettes and windows in their soho shop kokon to zai. I worked with Marjan, styling his beautiful own label and have supported them through shoots and loved wearing his clothes for many years.

KTZ was their reaction to the underground colorful music scene: it hit the nu rave scene a few years back running, with overgrown joggers in mad techno prints, sexy skintight lycra dresses with neon embellishments and cyberzorg boots.

Marjan’s own label meanwhile, has always been slightly whimsical, romantic and in touch with a base note of dark macedonian gypsy earthy glamour, which I adore.

The KTZ show last night felt like a marriage of the two: skintight black catsuits, with copper body hugging beads and cut out knees, walked out ahead of Zoe dressed in a purple holographic huge puffa, with mini printed jogger shorts. Every detail was well considered and thought through: from the embossed socks, the over the knee square toed lace up sex boots, to the giant bauble necklaces. Then there were huge over capelets made from silver beads, knee length hooded woollen shawls in tightknit grey.
This was a collection of pieces which unify the london aesthetic: Bodymap body con-style with their own unique well designed flavour of fun, design and desirability.

Well done

Dean dj’ed the night to it’s pumping conclusion as as I sat back to enjoy the scene, I admit I did feel a little like a mother in a Jane Austen novel, seated at the ball, watching the next generation feel the groove…

Later,

Tamara
POSTED BY DIANE PERNET AT 01:23 PM | PERMALINK