ROCK VAULT SS13: JEWELLERY AS ART BY YUNUS AND ELIZA

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

For a pair of "accidental" jewellers, Yunus Ascott and Eliza Higginbottom are doing remarkably well for themselves. They have won Elle Talent Launchpad, created one off pieces for films and music videos, collaborated with Fyodor Golan AND have their magical, sculptural, one- of- a kind pieces stocked at Luisa Via Roma and Luna and Curious at The Sanderson. This London Fashion Week, they are joining Rock Vault, the jewellery exhibition which sits at Somerset House and showcase the most innovative and exciting jewellers London has to offer.

Yunus and Eliza's pieces are works of art, crafted from precious metals into intricate pieces with references from art, mythology, architecture and literature. No wonder really given that Eliza grew up as one of seven children of an Oxford don. Her childhood revolved around music practice, devouring books and exploring the tower (one of the town's 'dreaming spires') to which she and her siblings held the key. It all sounds extremely Harry Potter but when I visited them at their West London studio a couple of weeks ago, Eliza described how her upbringing has instilled in her a kind of "internal reference system" whereby she always has images popping into her mind and combining with one another. Yunus in turn was a "free spirit" who, rather brilliantly, managed to get himself expelled from one of those famously liberal Steiner schools.

Yunus and Eliza masks at yesterday's Fyodor Golan show (image from vogue.co.uk) 

Where some designers home in on a particular period or idea, Yunus and Eliza tend to work more freely, swapping their ideas and balancing out one another's particular obsessions: Beauty (Yunus) and the darker side of life (Eliza). Their signature pieces like the 'Skyscraper" ring and the "Goddess" pendant certainly speak of such a process but they also allude to the pair's mutual obsession with looking up from street level to the architecture and sky above- it's true, take your eyes off the street and look up and the world becomes a far lovelier place. When they started out, Eliza admits it was difficult to get the fashion calendar, 'everyone was talking about A/W and S/S and I didn't have a clue what they meant. I was just making stuff as far as I was concerned'. They've become rather good at developing overriding themes and for SS13 these include Lalique and Art Nouveau. When I visit, the pieces are still very much a work in progress but this is the direction they're going in.

Yunus and Eliza Skyscraper ring £420 

Yunus and Eliza Goddess pendant £320

Yunus and Eliza, the jewellery venture, began quite by chance. After Eliza left university having studied history, she began working with children. What began as a Sunday pottery class in Stoke Newington turned into a casting course at Central St Martin's followed by Heatherley School of Fine Art. It was when she went to the workshops where Yunus was completing a sculpting apprenticeship to enquire about having some of her work cast that the two met. Eliza embarked on a 'mini apprecticeship' of her own. They formed a partnership and one day made a ring "by accident". Their friend Eliisa Makin wanted to feature it in The Independent and so Yunus and Eliza, the jewellers began.

The workshops where Yunus and Eliza cast, sculpt and weld their collections

They've still continued to work on bigger projects like gargoyle statues for New College, Oxford and, rather impressively, the Old Father Thames sculpture which adorned the front of the Queen's barge during the Diamond Jubilee river pageant celebrations earlier this year. They headed up the casting team alongside Fionn Rawnsley which brought Alan Lamb's design to life- amazingly, it really looks like a huge version of one of their jewellery creations. On top of this, there have been some fun music and film collaborations including . Bryan Singer's upcoming 'Jack the Giant Killer' film will feature a Princess adorned with a Yunus and Eliza cuff while Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (admittedly, Eliza's brother) wears their creations on his album cover.

Magnificent head pieces by Yunus and Eliza

Rule Britannia cuff from AW12

The Metropolis ring from AW12

Unsurprisingly given their varied and exciting repertoire, Toyota have been filming a documentary following Yunus and Eliza for the Global Creative network. Eliza reckons the experience has been "stressful but great". These two are obviously spinning many plates but if one thing is clear when I visit, it's that they are most at home painstakingly moulding and chiseling away to make one-off sculptures. I can't wait to see what they've come up with for their Rock Vault debut and perhaps the Queen will drop by to pick up a hefty cuff to show appreciation for their jubilee contribution?

Rock Vault is part of the exhibition space at Somerset House, open throughout London Fashion Week

LFW SS13: SAY HELLO TO BRAZIL'S FAVOURITE DESIGNERS

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

The next few days are, quite rightly, all about British design- that's what London Fashion Week is all about. But there was room for an international slant this morning as The Shop at Bluebird launched 'Brazil Rising', a pop up boutique showcasing some of the South American superpower's most popular designers. Brazil native Lucas Nascimento will be showing for the first time as a NEWGEN participant this season while Charlotte Dellal, whose Mother Andrea hails from Rio, runs her much loved Charlotte Olympia shoe label from London. Add to that the fact that we have just passed the Olympic baton to Rio and it seems an ideal time to check out what Brazilian girls love to wear.

It was Alice Ferraz,  a major player on the Brazillian fashion scene PR-ing over 70 brands, who decided she had to bring a taste of what everyone around her was wearing to London. She told me at this morning's launch that she "scoured all of London's shops on a trip about two years ago. I loved all the department stores but The Shop at Bluebird was really special space where anything we did wouldn't get lost". Ferraz approached Paul Baptiste, The Shop at Bluebird's Operations Manager, who loved the idea. And so, "Brazil Rising" was born. 

Brazilian fashion power player Alice Ferraz

This project is not about giving exposure to young, emerging designers but more to give London a taste of the best of Brazil's fashion offering as well as show off style done the Brazilian way which is why she has brought a gaggle of bloggers from her F*Hit network. They populated this morning's gathering, chatting away in Portugese and taking photos of one another in their head-to-toe designer looks. With the coconut drinks and fruit on sticks, you could have been mistaken for thinking this was a particularly bustling Brazilian store rather than the first morning of London Fashion Week.

 The labels Ferraz  has chosen, including beachwear designer Adriana Degreas and slinky, sequinned cocktail dress creator Barbara Bela, all have a very "Brazillian" look- think skimpy, colourful and very glamorous indeed. But there are definitely some great pieces which translate for the London girl. Patricia Viera's painted leather collection is spirited and unusual, like wearing a tattoo. Plus it comes in great shapes like these scuba shorts. I reckon the Rio girl would wear these with heels and a bikini, but they'd be just as great with hi-tops and and a tee mooching through a London park. I noticed Charlotte Dellal cooing over Viera's laser cut skirt too.

Shorts by Patricia Viera

Hand painted leather shirt by Patricia Viera

Ferraz really wanted to show off the skills of Brazil's artisans which are so embraced by the country's fashion folk. Enter silky, crocheted jumpers and dresses made using ancient techniques by Vanessa Montoro (retailing at around £1000) and couture lace creations by Martha Medeiros who eschews a factory set-up by employing 250 craftsmen from villages across the North East of Brazil. The environmentally conscious theme continues with Osklen, a brand which has set up Instituto E to research eco fabrics. They have created a new kind of leather from salmon skin which would otherwise have gone to waste- I might need more convincing on that one. What's clear is that Ferraz wants to use fashion to show that Brazil can combine the pressures of a rapidly expanding economy with an eye on responsible production.

I'm not sure everything at the pop-up will appeal but there are some great pieces in the mix. What's more, this is the first time that any of these labels have been available to buy in the UK. Time for a visit to The Shop at Bluebird?

Martha Medeiros lace creations. There's a great skirts for around £300

Osklen's collection, apparently inspired by the UN's Agenda 21

Leafy prints from Adriana Degreas

Crochet by Vanessa Montoro

Brilliant printed trousers by Andrea Marques

The Brazil Pop-up shop will run until 28th September at The Shop at Bluebird

GETTING READY FOR LFW WITH FRED BUTLER

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

London Fashion Week begins bright and early at 9am tomorrow. To get us in the London mood (as if we weren't already) we have a little preview chat with colourful accessory designer extraordinaire Fred Butler who introduced a fun new concept to showing fashion with last season's hook up with Charli XCX. Red Bull sponsored the collaboration which saw a track recorded to be sang at Fred's presentation. Two Inch Punch (a.k.a Ben Ash) is Fred's partner in crime for SS13, the theme being bumble bees. An added dimension is Fred's work with the bumble bee conservation trust- totally inspired- and the creation of a fashion film with Elisha Smith Leverock. Find out more in my Q&A below...

Two Inch Punch and Fred Butler: SS13 collaborators

Fred's SS13 sushi pastels

How has your experience in the Red Bull Catwalk Studio changed since last season between working with Charli XCX and Two Inch Punch?

With Charli we devised a song that she would perform live at my AW12 presentation to add a fresh new ambience to the format to energise the space and audience. With Ben we have been plotting a track specifically for the soundtrack to my SS13 fashion film and create a magic sonic world as a backdrop to the narrative.

Fred and Ben in the studio

What made you want to work with The Bumblebee Conservation Trust this season?

In a subconcious way I think the bee fascination has come from Red Bull literally giving me wings and watching the bees buzzing about this Spring/Summer. I went down to the V&A specimen lab with scientists who were ridiculously helpful and sat me down with boxes of bees and left me to my own devices to draw them. I discovered that bumble bees pollinate by extracting the pollen from vibrating their wings and beating the particles out. It's only bumble bees that can pollinate certain plants so they are absolutley crucial and need as much help as they can to spread the word of their demise. For example they are responsible for tomatoes - imagine a world without toms!

What came first, "A Bee in My Bonnet" or your bee design concept?

I'm always waiting for a bolt of inspiration to woosh through my subconcious. I have been wanting to revisit my gold-work embroidery techniques that I tested a few years ago for Kim Howells "House Of" Project. That piece was hexagonal patchwork like honey comb but it wasn't until I met a guy one day who said to me "youve got a bee in your bonnet". Voila! That was it. 

Did you know Two Inch Punch a.k.a Ben and/or his music before you worked together?

I knew Ben's music which is why I approached him for this collaboration because his sound is the aural definition of the visual I had in my mind's eye. He layers samples of wet crackles, licks and drips ontop of a fat woomping bass which I imagined to be the perfect sound to conjure up the feeling of a busy colony of bees working away inside their hidden hive. One of the main connections I have with (film maker and photographer) Elisha Smith Leverock is her intrinsic musical sensitivity and how integral it is to the magic of her editing our fashion films. It's not just an edgy sound in the background, it's carefully considered down to each second.

Two Inch Punch is described by The Guardian as "a mad maximalist". Many might describe you in a similar way. Do you get that vibe from him and did it help or hinder the project?

It's funny that I guess we make "out there" work but in nature both quite tame, calm characters. Perhaps we do all of our shouting via our creative output because personally we are balanced and at ease. He got exactly what Elisha and I wanted to achieve and consequently it's been a breeze! He even sampled one of the beats from the rattle of a spray can which is one of my most used tools.

I'm sure you get asked this all the time but… Lady Gaga has worn your creations. Is that the ultimate accolade?

I think the "Telephone Hat" is my no.1 fact. It launched my name into an arena that it would never had exposure to otherwise so I'm very grateful for that break! Its a very easy way to explain what I do in one sentence! 

You are a natural collaborator- there are so many creatives from different disciplines involved in this and all your projects. Why do you collaborate?

I think life should be a shared experience as much as possible. Projects are a much richer experience when you join forces to have fun and push each others boundries to reach the ultimate goal thats unattainable on a solo crusade. I also feel very lucky to have this presence and want to open it up to other people to have exposure too. 

Putting fashion on film is becoming ever more popular. What do you think makes a great fashion film?

Something heartfelt and distinctive to the designer or director. The most successful are ones that pull a punch in being pure and powerful in original feeling. I've been very excited by Quentin Jones work since she first started and has since gone on to commissions from Chanel, Victoria Beckham, Kenzo and recently Tibi. She has a recognisable and distinctive style yet it can morph and fit between brands which is a seamless success story!

Quentin Jones' Chanel film

 
I'm told that your new collection is "a departure" and has a "fresh street and sport inspired edge". Why was it time for a new direction? Could this be the start of your fans being able to buy into your aesthetic?

I'm a fan of wearing a backpack so I thought I might start trying to design the ultimate dream of one that I would like myself. To plant that seed into the industry I've started off with a couple of bag styles for this collection. As with my show pieces they are very intricate and out of control in labour hours so the diffusion line will be a paired down version. Its funny because in the hour of queuing up to get into the V&A at half term I had immediate research and market material looking at all of the backpacks lined up infront of me!! 

 
Bumble Bee is a classic "dressing up outfit" for kids. Was this something you thought about or was your approach more cerebral?

It is an obvious choice of concept but I never really care about judgement of what Im doing because my main focus is that im enjoying it! To create the most pure work I can has to come from pleasure of the process of physically making it and that is just the path my instinct took me this season. 

 
How do you feel about the upcoming LFW show. Are you excited? Nervous? All of the above?

This is the 3rd time I have got to live out my childhood dream so that one day is a guaranteed surreal whirlwind of emotion. You can't take anything for granted so I'm ecstatic for each time I've been able to do it. Therefore I can't thank Red Bull Catwalk Studios enough for supporting me to make it all possible. I'm also really looking forward to having my own party which is a first! I might end up flailing around the dancefloor like a beetle on its back not able to get up but at least everyone that has helped me can have a chance to celebrate! 

 
Is there anything you have "a bee in your bonnet" about which you'd like to get, er, out of your bonnet?

Please can more people in fashion smile at each other. It's free and its not difficult and brings about a greater sense of well being and invigorating peace. I'd love to see everyone at Somerset House greeting each other how strangers do in remote countryside communities. Simple and yet so rewarding. It's also just good manners, isn't it?

I'm pretty sure Fred's bumble bee collection will be putting a big smile on our faces on Monday morning when the presentation will take place from 9-11 at Somerset House. 

THE WAY TO WATCH SS13

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

It's a whole six months since the last round of shows. That's an age in the land of the internets and some of the industry's key websites have had quite a makeover in that time. For anyone dissecting the shows from afar, that means new ways to experience the collections digitally. Over NYFW, Melanie and I have found our own ways (aside from Twitter, of course) to see what's going on. This is our favourite...

The New York Times magazine dedicated fashion site, The Cut, has had a major spruce in the run-up to SS13. We're loving their back and front images of each look, as well as close-up bag and shoe views. It's not just their pictures which are brilliant- each show page has the editor's favourite looks and a one sentence review to sum up the show's vibe. If you'd like a bit more than one sentence then head over to SHOWstudio.com where industry experts are partaking in panel discussions of a number of shows- click here for yesterday's ninety minute extensive discussion of the Rodarte show.

Three way Thakoon...

Nipped at the front...

... loose at the back

Three way Alexander Wang..

White shirt at the front

...Cut out at the back

Two way Marc by Marc Jacobs

Collar at the front...

.... Collar at the back

NYFW SS13 : BIG HEADS ARE BACK!

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

No, no New York designers have not cultivated a new breed of large headed model. If you're a veteran reader of this blog, then you may remember that before my time, Melanie and George (my predecessor) would choose their personal favourite looks from the shows and photoshop on their own heads to create "Big Heads". It's almost too early to tell what the big trends of the season are going to be- though I'm putting my money on clean lines, stripes and anything spacey- so now is an ideal time to indulge my own personal fantasy array of looks I'd like to be working next Summer. Aaaah, we can but dream...

1. MARC JACOBS

Anyone who knows me at all well will be aware that I have a whole shelf of my wardrobe dedicated to Breton tops. I think there were nearly 40 in the pile at the last count. So, you'll understand why Marc Jacobs' show, in the timeless words of Lady Gaga, "made my fashion pussy wet". Need I say more?

2. ALTUZARRA

Pretty scallops, black and gold and a tentacled cape jacket thing make for the ideal evening number. Of course, the whole look is finished off with knee high both/sandal things which seem to be rather prolific on the NY catwalk this week.

3. BOY BY BAND OF OUTSIDERS

It was Scott Sternberg's first solo outing at Boy. He cited The Hunger Games as a thought provoker for the collection so for one could be forgiven for thinking the clothes might rags and combats. Thankfully not. I might not wear three tie-dye items together in reality but I love each one of these easy pieces for their summer breeziness.

4. CREATURES OF THE WIND

Lady without being "lady" sums up this lovely look from Shane and Chris's first proper show. Also a brilliant lesson in doing peplums in a manageable, non scary way.

5. DEREK LAM

So easy, so chic but zingy and golden. I dream of dressing with this vibe every day.

6. 3.1 PHILLIP LIM

On paper, pink dungarees should probably be reserved for pregnant people and decorators from the 80s but Mr Lim's totally awesome take on the now oft avoided item made them a real possibility. I definitely couldn't carry them off with nude booties but I love the thought of these with a leotard underneath and heels for alternative cocktail outfit. 

7. 3.1 PHILLIP LIM

 I enjoyed 3.1 Phillip Lim so much I had to choose two looks. I'm pretty sure these t-shirts will become SS13 must haves. The subversive upside down love heart is a nice new direction for the slogan tee.

8. THEYSKENS' THEORY

If you're in the market for tailoring, Theyskens is talking to you this season. I was more drawn to this easy, sporty, sparkly ball gown though.

9. ALEXANDER WANG

Oh Wang, I adored your trekky athletic vibe. I'm still marvelling at the ribbon down the models' partings to look like some kind of futuristic barcoding or messaging system. This dress is worth hours of shoulder honing for. 

10. WES GORDON

I like to think this is what Betty Draper would wear in 2012. So very delicate but with that smudgy khaki print, Wes Gordon is definitely one to keep a watch out for.

HELLO! PLEASE STAY

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Hello! magazine is like a cup of tea, or a hug from your Mum, or putting on a favourite old scarf- it's not edgy, it's not cool but knowing it's there makes everything better. And now I'm worried because Hello! has caused a rumble in the magazine world with a statement aligning itself with ABC's (Audit Bureau Circulations) "Woman and Lifestyle" category, not "Celebrity" where they were previously placed. This might just be a straightforward repositioning but what if it's Hello! as we know it is beginning to morph into something completely unrecognisable, where there's no room for gushing 20 page spreads of newborn celebrity offspring, forensic examination of Duchess Kate's daily routine or pictures of minor European royals which nobody else bothers to publish? I'm worried.

Hello! is the place to go for Kate Middleton mania at its most sincere and gushing 

 My panic might seem exaggerated but this whole episode (I hope that is all it is) feels hugely unnerving to me because my relationship with Hello! magazine goes way back to being a far-too-mature-for-my-age nine year old with an avid interest in reading about the latest gala event attended by Princess Caroline of Monaco. On the day of Diana's death I spent the morning sombrely leafing through my Grandma's huge pile of back issues which all featured some article on the Princess- invariably, a front cover of her visiting a charity, out with Wills and Harry or on a yacht somewhere. Not normal behaviour for a child not yet in double figures, but this is where my love of magazines, and awareness of famous, beautiful women as fashion plates, began. Yes, I moved on and now buy Hello! only rarely when a particularly out of this world cover begs me to delve in again- like the unbelievably surgically enhanced appearance of John Cleese's bride in a recent "World Exclusive". I'd like to know how many others fought for that story.

John Cleese and his new wife play around for the Hello! photographer

If the figures don't add up then Hello! must do something. Sadly, nostalgia and exclamation marks alone cannot keep an editorial office going but oh! how I wish they could when I try to imagine a world without the uniquely hyperbolic house style for which the magazine is acclaimed/ notorious. I've found some gems (Hello!-isms) from recent issues which sum up why Hello! is such a cosy institution,  a million miles from its arch nemesis, the casual, derisory and mean Mail Online. I'm not saying this is brilliant, incisive, opinion making journalism but it is a bright, optimistic and kind-as-can-be approach to the culture of celebrity. A world free from Hello! would be dark, unanchored and mournfully bare of Scandinavian Princesses- it's a reality not worth contemplating, isn't it?

Mo Farah "relaxes at home" with his new twins

HELLO!- ISMS...

"The dressing room's hand painted cabinetry comes alive with a series of oil portraits of dapper dogs wearing their Sunday best" in an interview at home with Chopard Co-President Caroline Scheufele

"Zac appeared on the driveway, smiling broadly, holding the reins of a horse with its mane and tail groomed and plaited in the couple's purple and sage-green wedding colours" t the wedding of Olympic silver medalist Zac Purchase

"Sipping on an iced green tea in the garden of a five-star Beverley Hills hotel, Tamara Ecclestone is in reflective mood" interview with Tamara Ecclestone, daughter of billionaire Bernie

"Reclining on a platform nestled in the branches of a beautiful old olive tree, singer and actress Sarah Harding turns her lightly tanned face to the Tuscan sun and gives a contented sigh" interview with Girl's Aloud memeber Sarah Harding.

"The yellow silk Jenny Packham dress she wore on arrival in Calgary is unlikely to make its way into her suitcase, after  strong gust of wind at the airport  lifted its skirt to reveal the Duchess's long legs, much to the delight of assembled photographers" in an article reporting on how Duchess Kate is getting ready for her next foreign visit.

"Her self-deprecating groom chips in "the something old was me" " at John Cleese's wedding to Jennifer Wade.