Noomi Rapace as tattooed hacker Lisbeth Salander became an instant Twin heroine. With her dyed black crop and piercings, Rapace’s goth-punk look in the original Swedish film version of best-seller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was a refreshing fashion inspiration. And so it seems Salander has been for Swedish fashion giants H&M. Having collaborated since 2004 with a host of designers and fashion houses such as Karl Lagerfeldand Lanvin, H&M have found an unlikely muse in Lisbeth Salander.
To celebrate David Fincher’s American film-remake, this time starring actress Rooney Mara, H&M have asked the film’s costume designer Trish Summerville to create a line inspired by The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. “Salander’s look is very real and very lived in, with pieces that her character has worn for a long time, like her jackets that act as her armour to shield her from the world,” says Summerville.
Going on the single released image as yet, the 30-piece collection has a dark urban feel featuring leather jackets and trousers, torn jeans and slouchy hoodies in industrial shades of black, grey and worn white. With H&M exploring their dark-side, we already feel sucked in.
The collection will debut exclusively at Colette in Paris on November 28, before being made available on December 14 at 180 H&M stores around the world.
The celebrity beauty juggernaut show no signs of slowing down: the latest additions being Dita Von Teese perfume, Kate Moss lipsticks, Rachel Zoe lipsticks (in the US) and the rumour of a Coty created Madonna perfume.
Trust MAC to subvert it all by co-opting haute-eccentric-heiress and couture-buyer-extraordinaire Daphne Guinness to dream up some pre-Christmas make up products for them. Gaga perfume is apparently arriving next year and I can’t help wondering if she will live up to her image and make something along the lines of Commes Des Garcons Odeur 53 (the smell of dust and metal and glass) or if she will go for the bubblegum synthetic pop of her music (which I personally dislike in general) and fashion something saccharine and obvious.
Of the other new launches around I’m particularly enamoured of Biba make up – great palettes, bright colours – I’m a sucker for a dinky little box. What’s more it’s reasonably priced and I’m so over obscenely priced beauty products. Frankly I’d rather spend the money in Cos‘ new online store.
It’s actually the third time Biba have launched their make up. The first time, in the early seventies it was only available in the store and they were famously the first brand to provide testers – and they did wonderfully weird shades such as black lipstick. The brand made a brief reappearance in the mid Nineties – prompted by the seventies fetishism of that decade – but sadly fizzled out. And now it’s back again, accompanying the revived fashion line.
I do hope it survives but in all honesty I’m not sure what the identity of Biba is any more. I know what it stood for in the early Seventies, but I fear it has been so diluted and corrupted there’s not much of the original spirit left in terms of fashion or beauty.
Madelyn Somers hand-makes super dapper bow ties for women. The 23-year-old LA based designers mission is to inspire women to be empowered individuals and part of the proceeds go to Women for Women International. Tycoon Neckwear uses recycled men’s ties with a feminine flareand her designs have so far caught the eye of Janelle Monae and Ellen Degeneres.
Twin spoke to the LA born and bred designer about her style…
What’s your fashion background?
Fashion is and has always been something I’ve taken an interest in, but never thought of it as a career. My mom has a degree in fashion design, so she taught me how to sew and I took a few sewing classes in college.
I love thrift shopping at flea markets, the goodwill or my favorite, the Jewish thrift council store which are all around Los Angeles for great designer finds, but I’m not the one who keeps up with fashion blogs and collects fashion magazines to keep up with the trends for the seasons. I dress in what I like which is usually in the realm of quirky menswear chic with some funky pattern or pop of color.
Where did the idea come from for Tycoon Neckwear and what’s it all about?
It came out of a little boredom and what to do after college, but I was thrift shopping one day and found a basket of men’s ties that brought on an immense curiosity to reclaim them in to something cool for women. Since classic menswear always inspired me, I wanted to figure out how to incorporate menswear into women’s fashion without feeling like I was borrowing from my dad’s closet.
I bought a few ties and the next day I started sewing them. I found a box of vintage buttons my mom had stored in her studio and incorporated them. It seemed to all come about pretty organically. I came up with a whole ad campaign. I loved building the brand from the ground up, it was inspiring to not only have a product, but create a product that came with a pretty effortless statement that I felt strongly about.
Tycoon is a neckwear line that inspires women to be empowered individuals. Tycoon uses recycled men’s ties with a feminine flare to create a force of confidence, individuality, and style. I loved the idea that Tycoon is sustainable because salvaging something old and turning it into something new is a part of an eco-friendly movement that
I’ve always been passionate about which also contributes to the fact that they are all one of a kind creations.
What does style mean to you?
Style to me is really is about individuality and making a statement about who you are and what you want to say to the world without being vocal. It’s our first impression when you walk out the door and who doesn’t want to give off an impression by making a declaration to the public that “I am a confident individual and this is how i chose to express myself, no one can tell me otherwise.”
I loved what street fashion photographer, Bill Cunningham said, “Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life. I don’t think you could do away with it. It would be like doing away with civilization.” It’s a chance to be uniquely you and it gives us the joy of being able to reinvent ourselves a little bit each day. There are no confines necessary to the immense possibility of what is style and lady bow ties are just one of those possibilities.
No overnight YouTube success can sing a tune quite like Lana Del Rey. Ever the DIY recording star, the 24-year-old’s self-edited clip of debut single Video Games has garnered over 2 million hits and spawned the album Born To Die, set for release in early 2012.
The New Yorker, whose stage name is derived from a combination of film noir actress Lana Turner and the Ford Del Rey automobile, cites Nirvana and Biggie Smalls as two of her biggest musical influences. It is through this combination of retro nostalgia and catchy lyrics such as “you fit me better than my favourite sweater” that the artist also known as Lizzy Grant evokes the days of Sixties sirens singing in small jazz club venues, served with a 21st Century twist.
Del Rey kicks off her UK tour on November 4th in Manchester. It will be the chance to prove to her critics what we already know: she doesn’t just meet the hype surrounding her persona; she exceeds it.
The double single Video Games/Blue Jeans is out now. lanadelrey.com
Having co-hosted our Issue V LFW launch, Theory creative director-extraordinaire Olivier Theyskens is the focus of Tom Allen’s beautifully-directed black and white film for Twin.
It’s an intimate and lasting insight into his much-adored and critically-acclaimed work for the New York brand. With conversation ranging from his interpretation of style to the influence of art on his designs, Olivier also touched on his long-standing love of New York- as youthful aspiration, creative melting pot and, most recently, home. Having lived there for the past year, his S/S ’12 collection with Theyskens’ Theory was a love letter to the essence of effortless downtown style. Rendered in a romantic, urban palette that could have been lifted from the photos which adorned his childhood bedroom, and embodied by a succession of utterly wearable, highly desirable pieces, there is no doubt that Olivier’s vision of contemporary femininity will continue to capture hearts and minds everywhere.
Watch the film and read his story in his own words as part of Twin Issue V.
The Sergio Rossi boutique re-opening on Saturday was the perfect continuation of the shoe brand’s ethos: elegant decadence.
Inspired by feminity and the world of screen icons, the new flagship store displays creative director Francesco Russo’s designs including pony skin ankle boots, crystal embellished stilettos and fur pom-pom adorned sandals in an Art Deco-styled interior.
With guests including Georgia May Jagger, Roisin Murphy, Dinos Chapman, Liberty Ross and Erin O’ Connor having already given the beautifully decorated space their seal of approval, it’s safe to say that all Londoner shoe fetishists have found themselves a new mecca.
When it comes to model style Erin Wasson is our go-to rock ‘n roll dream girl. A Texan free-spirit whose sexy and grungy style has inspired designers and fashion lovers alike. With her new collaboration
with French brand Zadig & Voltaire, she’s found the perfect trans-Atlantic parallel for her low-key cool aesthetic – Zadig know the appeal of the perfect cut jean and vest.
Launching tomorrow, the capsule collection, designed by Wasson herself, is full of the kind of cool pieces we associate with her style; ranging from studded and leopard printed jackets, boot cut leather trousers and snakeskin cowboy boots. Naturally Wasson has modelled the pieces herself for two contrasting videos, one emphasising her relaxed Texas upbringing and the other her hard-rock edge.
With Frieze Art Fair having turned London into a kaleidoscope of visionary talents, the timing could not have been more ripe for Seana Gavin’s Alternate Dimensions exhibition at the b Store.
The artist will be showing exactly what makes her space psychedelia work so magnetic. The exhibit will include a three-dimensional collage window installation and otherworldly landscape pieces such as Lost In Space.
Gavin, for whom dreams, science fiction and her upbringing in Woodstock, NY all act as inspirations, has previously exhibited her pieces alongside the likes of Tracey Emin, Mark Titchner, and Jake and Dinos Chapman.
A graduate from the Camberwell College of Art, she explores different states of consciousness in her work, in reaction to the imagery overload and visual noise that constitute our modern-day world.
It is hard to pinpoint exactly what makes Gavin’s work so compelling: is it the full spectral range of colour, the seemingly unconnected elements that are blended into one cohesive image or the fact that her collages transport its viewer into another dimension?
The definite explanation of its attraction may still be up in space, but it’s clear that the only worthy way to experience Seana Gavin’s work is up close and personal.
Alternate Dimensions is at b Store, 24a Savile Row, W1S 3PR until 5 November.
Carsten Höller’s (BELVEDERE)RED Double Sphere Hanging, debuted at the pre-Grammy Awards party in Los Angeles, is truly a more than meets the eye piece of art.
Composed of red and white flashing bulbs, the light installation was inspired by Höller’s desire to unbalance the rational mind and create a piece which puts the viewer’s personal experience at the forefront of its purpose.
Built in partnership with Belvedere Vodka and (RED), the piece will be auctioned off at Art Basel Miami in December. All proceeds from the sale will go to the Global Fund, an international organisation dedicated to fighting AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, making the Double Sphere Hanging both benevolent and beautiful.
Dover Street Market is engulfed by a variety of installations this week, all in celebration of London’s Frieze Art Fair.
The work of Brazilian/French artist duo Vivid Astro Focus encases the ground floor entrance, creating a 360-degree tunnel of vibrant paintings, which the DSM team is calling it “one of the greatest installations we have ever done”. Three stories upwards resides an exhibition of creations by heel-less shoe God/Daphne Guinness favourite Noritaka Tatehana and New Yorker ceramicist/sculptor James Salaiz.
The store is also exclusively hosting Dr Marten’s Bespoke in its basement event space, where the iconic boots can be completely customised, right down to the last eyelet.
If you ever needed an excuse to get lost in Dover Street Market for a few hours, this is it.
It’s your last chance to see the Artists for Women for Women International exhibition at Christie’s before each of the 22 works are sold off at auction tomorrow. Contemporary artists Nadja Romain and Jenny Savile invited a stellar list of artists including Tracey Emin, Antony Gormley, Tacita Dean and Bridget Riley to create entirely new work in order to raise money for the charity, which fights for gender equality in the developing world.
“I have found it incredibly empowering to realise that by using my professional and personal skills to do a project like this one, I can have an impact on thousands of lives,” says Romain.
For every £100,000 raised through Artists for Women for Women International, the organisation can help 400 women move from victim, to survivor, to active citizen. There’s never been a better chance for the art world to change the world, one woman at a time.
If you’re looking for a warm up tomorrow ahead of the Frieze art fair, may we suggest a visit to the new waterside contemporary gallery in Hoxton? The inaugural show They don’t know why, but they keep doing it, a group affair, asks questions about ideology in a post-ideological reality.
The six artists, Grzegorz Drozd, Javier Rodriguez, Maciek Stępiński, Radek Szlaga, Konrad Smoleński and artist duo Karen Mizra and Brad Butler, reject archaic symbolic structures in favour of something a little less obvious. Visitors can expect works in paint, installation and video. Creating their own visual language, though, surely fosters new, individualized ideologies; a puzzling paradox. They don’t know why, but they keep doing it.
Continuing her collaboration with Diesel Black Gold, Sophia Kokosalaki chose to reflect the label’s name at New York Fashion Week last month, with a collection of blinding metallic and midnight petroleum.
Bringing innovative techniques to everyday wear, Kokosalaki created cracked silver leather trousers and tiny shorts that were produced by photographing mirrors, printing them on foil and fusing them with leather.
While there was plenty of high-tech shine, fresh masculine tailored blazers in pink and cream toned down the glare and oil slick flares had the essence of Diesel’s rock chic DNA. This was a collection made from sophisticated fabrics but rooted in casual cool shapes, while the inclusion of Greek draped dresses had the unmistakeable Kokosalaki signature.
VICE magazine has forged a reputation for profane humour – no more apparent than in their DOs & DON’Ts column where ordinary people’s fashion failures and eccentric behaviours are surveyed with a caustic wit that is no holds barred.
For fans of their funny photos there’s a new book of over 400 brand new photos complete with VICE’s trademark captions. In VICE’s own words, “The DOs are put on a pedestal that soars way past God, and the DON’Ts criticise beyond redemption.” Enjoy.
In his film to celebrate the launch of Maison Martin Margiela’s second scent (Untitled) L’Eau, Mark Borthwick has made the scent’s essence almost tangible. The photographer and filmmaker takes us through a garden of saturated light and beauty, yet the blown focus of his camera stops just short of revealing everything. Instead there’s a heavenly quality to the wild flowers bathed in light that is as amorphic as Margiela itself.
Inspired by the fragrance’s natural tones of Mandarin orange, curly-leaf mint, Amalfi lemon, buchu essential oil and African orange flower, Borthwick’s film makes poetry of nature, captured and bottled.
Tomas Alfredson’s Cold War thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, is packed with soberly suited men in Seventies London. The look is all in the cut, the mood and the colour. So it’s not surprising that he took advice from Britain’s first man of style, Sir Paul Smith about how to recreate the era. As well as consulting on the film, Smith has turned his hand to poster design and created four limited edition silk screen posters. Slickly minimalistic and graphically coloured, they belong to the golden age of film poster design.
Whether it’s big Seventies hair or Dalmatian spots, each season the Topshop Unique show is a hot ticket for fashion insiders. And with London Fashion Week kicking off today, the store is making good use of its fashion contacts by hosting a series of talks in-store with fashion experts.
Here’s the schedule… Don’t miss out!
Friday 16 September 13.00 and 17.30
Facehunter creator Yvan Rodic talks through everything street style. What does it take to create or capture that perfect fashion moment?
Saturday 17 September 11.00 and 15.00
The Fashion Director of SHOWstudio, Alexander Fury, gives an insight into the world of fashion and film in this digital age.
Sunday 18 September 12.00 and 16.00
The young British designer Charlotte Taylor brings her blog to life, and shares her insight into launching her own label.
Monday 19 September 14.00 and 17.00
Freelance fashion editor Grace Timothy talks through make up trends for the upcoming season, shares her beauty insider tips as well as giving an insight into her Fashion Week.
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