Yesterday saw John Galliano present his first collection for Maison Martin Margiela. Showing in an office block near Buckingham Palace, at the end of London Collections: Men and not in Paris during couture week – which is fast approaching – could have been his attempt to lure fashion editors and avoid going head-to-head with Dior.

Designers Alber Elbaz, Christopher Bailey and Manolo Blahnik were in attendance, as well as photographers Tim Walker, Nick Knight and Craig McDean. Kate Moss also arrived to show support and see the collection, as did Anna Wintour who has been a long time champion of Galliano.

There were intricate, gold-encrusted gowns of course, but it was the black suits that really caught our attention. We can’t help but think that although stunning, the clothes will end up taking a back seat. No one can forget the controversy surrounding the designer for what happened almost four years ago, and there will be those who are less than happy with his return. However, his talent for design cannot be overlooked.

maisonmartinmargiela.com

Tags: couture, John Galliano, Maison Martin Margiela

When the Stan Smiths came back on the scene, with it came fashion’s obsession with all white kicks. Understated, chic and classic, there’s so much to love about them, although keeping them clean can be rather tedious in this rainy weather. Here we pick our favourite styles to see you into the new year.

Opening Ceremony Platform Sneakers, £148, coggles.com & Adidas ZX Flux in White, £70, adidas.co.uk

Nike Air Force 1 Mid, £75, stories.com & Acne Adriana in White, £249, acnestudios.com

Tags: Acne Studios, Adidas, Nike, opening ceremony, Sneakers, Trainers, White

American author, novelist and essayist, Joan Didion is the latest to be featured in the Celine SS15 Campaign. Looking effortlessly chic, the 60s Vogue writer is lensed by Phoebe Philo favourite Juergen Teller, and is accompanied by Marie-Agnès Gillot, the French ballet dancer and choreographer and Freya Lawrence, the British model.

The queen of understated cool will also have a documentary made about her soon. We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live, is the fruition of her nephew Griffin Dunne’s Kickstarter campaign. Dunne will also direct the project. More on that to come.

celine.com

Tags: Celine, Joan Didion

For spring summer 2015 Linda Farrow invites us into their wanderlust themed world. The new collection features molten metallics, frosted pastel hues and glossed frames, all created in hyper-luxe materials, with an extraordinary finish and attention to detail Linda Farrow has become renewed for.

With the help of set designer Gemma Tickle and photographer Kate Jackling, the SS15 still life campaign highlights the new colours and styles, emphasising the quality and impeccable design of the collection.

Shop a preview of the collection online and at the Mount Street location, as well as their Selfridges concession.

lindafarrow.com

Tags: Linda Farrow, SS15, Still Life, Sunglasses

Balmain has revealed its Spring/Summer 2015 advertising campaign, photographed by Mario Sorrenti and art directed by Pascal Dangin. Creative Director Olivier Rousteing created an army for the Autumn/Winter 2014 season, and has carried this idea forward into the next, where we see models Adriana Lima, Joan Smalls, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Isabeli Fontana, and Crista Cober in their Balmain uniforms. Dangin wanted to take the theme even further, injecting a sense of pop-relevance into the campaign by plotting the models in surreal interpretations of everyday environments. Inspired by the distorted realism of 1970s French cinema, the imagery transforms familiar settings like subway platforms and diner scenes into surreal tableaus of the Balmain world.

“Balmain is all about diversity,” states Rousteing. “The incredible power that all those strong women bring in front of the camera, put into real life situations, helped me explore and create a new reality that represents the pop aspect of my generation. The Balmain reality, my reality. This is the new Balmain army and the game is on!”

balmain.com

Tags: Balmain, Mario Sorrenti, Olivier Rousteing, Pascal Dangin, SS15

Fashion Sunday are holding another one of their events, and this time they’re here to help with all your last minute Christmas shopping.

Representing the best of East London’s design scene, you’ll find and extensive list of brands: PAPER London, Leutton Postle, Alec Bizby, Pitchouguina, Kelly Love, Studio White Label, Florence Bridge, Age Of Reason, Silken Favours, Jessie Harris, Charlotte Valkeniers, Jenny Sweetnam, Benjamin Bertram, Hellespont, Monochrome, She’s Lost Control, Sarah & Sorrentino, Grace Gordon, The Blue Hour, Year One, Nylon Sky, Eleanor Linden, Henriette Lofstrom and Arlette Ess.

Food will be taken care of by food market favourites ‘What the Dickens’, tunes by Dalston party masters Cadillac and Tim Lawton of the Filthy Dukes (plus special guest DJs to be revealed) and the bar, will be serving up cocktails and drinks all day long.

Fashion Sunday is held at Oval Space 29-32 The Oval Bethnal Green London E2 9DT. Open 12-9pm on Saturday and 12-6pm on Sunday. 

thisisfashionsunday.com

Not only has Whistles cemented itself as a high street hero, your go-to store for a certain type of elegance, now, it’s proving to become your go-to boutique for young brands that share its vision. Moxham and Wool and the Gang being case in point. It’s newest design talent is another Twin favourite, V Jewellery.

You will currently find V in the Whistles’ St. Christopher’s Place and Dover Street stores, with further locations being added in the New Year. “I have always modelled the V woman on the Whistles customer so seeing the jewellery in their stores will be so surreal,” states Laura Vann, V Jewellery Creative Director. “I couldn’t think of a more perfect home for V.”

vjewellery.co.uk

Tags: V Jewellery, Whistles

The latest womenswear recipients for NEWGEN autumn/winter 2015 have been announced. Ashley Williams and Ryan Lo will receive catwalk sponsorship next season, having both received presentation sponsorship last time round, as well as 1205 and Marques Almeida, who will be receiving catwalk sponsorship again. Claire Barrow, Danielle Romeril and Faustine Steinmetz will be receiving presentation sponsorship along with newcomer Molly Goddard. Two new names to the NEWGEN roster are Marta Jakubowski and Sadie Williams, who have been given exhibition sponsorship for the upcoming season.

“NEWGEN produces the stars of London Fashion Week – the phenomenal progress of Marques Almeida in six seasons of support is proof of that,” states Sarah Mower –  BFC Ambassador for Emerging Talent. “Following in their footsteps is a whole new slew of discoveries whose sparky originality and careful entrepreneurialism have won them the praise of the NEWGEN committee and Topshop’s invaluable sponsorship. We think the quality, colour and sheer desirability of the clothes audiences will be seeing from 1205, Ashley Williams, Claire Barrow, Danielle Romeril, Faustine Steinmetz and Ryan Lo will step up yet another rung this season. And now they’re joined by an influx of three brilliantly individualistic young women, Molly Goddard, Marta Jakubowski and Sadie Williams.”

britishfashioncouncil.co.uk

Tags: 1205, Ashley Williams, Claire Barrow, Danielle Romeril, Faustine Steinmetz, Marta Jakubowski, Molly Goddard, NEWGEN, Ryan Lo, Sadie Williams

Twin favourite Larsson & Jennings have just opened their first London store in Covent Garden.

Selling the complete Larsson & Jennings collection of Swiss-made watches and leather accessories, the store also gives customers a chance to design their own in the LJX Custom area. Here you’ll get to choose from a selection of Swedish and British Leathers and new hardware options to create a bespoke and personalised watch just for you. Perhaps the perfect Christmas gift.

While you peruse their collections, you can also enjoy a range of locally sourced coffee in store at the Larsson & Jennings Fika bar.

A spokesman from Larsson & Jennings said: “Modern and traditional elements are at the heart of our product and for us our first store in the UK had to reflect this. Seven Dials was the only area that lived up to our expectations; perfectly encapsulating a heritage feel in a prime central London location.”

The Larsson & Jennings store is now open at 53 Monmouth St, London. 

larssonandjennings.com

Tags: Larsson & Jennings, Watch

These are the books we’ve loved, recommended, given and definitely won’t forget this year.

The reliably magnificent Siri Hustvedt’s sixth novel The Blazing World (Sceptre) is a dazzling book of ideas about gender, the contemporary art world and New York. The novel’s heroine is Harriet ‘Harry’ Burden, a frustrated, eccentric and talented woman who revives her abandoned artistic career after the death of her husband. Rather than making a traditional comeback, she instead engineers an ambitious experiment and hides her identity behind a revolving cast of male fronts to see whether they affect how her work is received. The story is told through Harry’s journals and is supplemented by accounts from her collaborators, family, lover and friends, an effective device which adds authenticity to what’s a high-concept novel about a high-concept world and made me ask ‘What if someone actually tried to do this?’ While I was reading it I got completely obsessed and all I wanted to do was finish it – but for it not to end at the same time: a good thing.

‘Have you heard of Elena Ferrante?’ Well, I hadn’t until earlier this year when a friend recommended her series of fictionalised memoirs, The Neapolitan Novels, to me, describing the mysterious Italian author as ‘the female Knausgaard’ which made me want to get the first book right away. The perfect summer (or winter) read, this is an incredibly vivid, sensuous portrait of childhood in grim poverty in 1950s Naples. At its centre is the obsessive, devoted friendship between Elena and Lila who we follow through adolescence, their academic successes and failures, jobs and boyfriends. Their two intertwined stories ask how much an individual can do to change the course of the life that her opportunities and circumstances have offered her. Three books have been published in the series so far, with the most recent released in September and the fourth and final installment expected in Italy next year. I had about 2 weeks in September when I felt like I had Elena all to myself, but I don’t mind that the secret’s already out because she’s too good to miss.

by Viv Albertine (Faber) that lengthy and chanty title is just the beginning of the uncompromising life story that Viv Albertine shares in her memoir. Guitarist in The Slits, Laura Ashley model, musician, director, actor, artist, mother – she has had a fascinating fifty-nine years and there’s a lot more to talk about than being a girl in the punk world (but that’s a good place to start).

In CCCMMMBBB she scrapbooks her vividly recalled memories together and adds a helpful appendix at the end detailing the most crucial bits of her biography – what she was wearing, listening to and who she was seeing during each of her eras. Her unconventional life story makes for compelling reading and her story illuminates some of life’s joyous feminist contradictions. It’s also worth mentioning that I haven’t read a book which so unashamedly and refreshingly reveals the secrets of the female bedroom since Caitlin Moran’s How to Be a Woman, bedsheets, wardrobe, dressing table and all.

Albertine laments the fact that she had no female role models as a would-be guitarist in the late seventies, but luckily for us with this book she’s shown why she should be a heroine to every music-loving, clothes-obsessed, odd-one-out-girl out there.

I knew nothing about the original kickass comic book heroine Wonder Woman’s back story so Professor Jill Lepore’s astonishingly thorough and readable book, The Secret History of Wonder Woman (Scribe) was a total revelation. It tells the story of the pop culture icon who was brought to life by Lynda Carter in the TV series, while also giving the reader a fascinating account of the evolution of the women’s movement throughout the twentieth century, from the Suffragettes and birth control pioneer Margaret Sanger to the issues facing feminists today.

The Amazonian superheroine’s creator, William Moulton Marston, was a charismatic, complicated man who invented the lie detector test and was a passionate believer in free love and feminism. The intelligent, emancipated women in his life were immortalised in the pen and ink adventures of Wonder Woman – a character who has commanded devotion from millions of fans over seven decades. Comic books are more popular than ever today and with new characters like Ms Marvel (the first female Muslim superhero) bringing the genre kicking and screaming into the 21st century, now’s the perfect time to learn about where it all began. The Secret History of Wonder Woman is the perfect Christmas gift for: sullen teenagers of both sexes, comic book geeks and kickass feminists.

If you loved Stef Penney’s The Tenderness of Wolves and Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites, you will adore The Miniaturist (Picador). Jessie Burton’s impressive debut follows the fortunes of 18 year old Nella Oortman as she enters the home of her enigmatic merchant husband in 17th century Amsterdam. As Nella tries to navigate a new world of commerce, secrets and a society as opaque as the city’s murky canals, she starts to receive disconcerting, perfectly beautiful miniatures that tell her more about her own precarious situation than she understands herself. This is an eerie, absorbing novel populated with characters who are totally vivid and compelling, despite the five hundred years between us and them.

We’ve been eagerly anticipating Vivienne Westwood (Picador) as much as Morrissey’s autobiography and it doesn’t disappoint. Told both in the High Priestess of Punk’s own words and through uber-biographer Ian Kelly’s evocative prose, it brings together the multicoloured threads of Dame Viv’s life, from her early days safety-pinning binbags in her shop on the King’s Road, to the glamour and high-octane drama of her 2014 Gold Label show in Paris. The narrative zooms in and out, part told by Kelly – a detached but fascinated visitor to planet fashion – and part intimate memoir as Vivienne recalls her childhood and intense relationship with Malcolm Mclaren, as well as the passion for climate revolution which drives her today. Whether you’ve worn one of Vivienne Westwood’s designs or not, her influence is undeniable. From her punk origins to her massive fame in the Far East, this sharp-as-a-tack, soft-voiced Derbyshire woman has played a part in creating the world we live in today.

Anna-Marie Fitzgerald and Phoebe Frangoul are the co-editors and co-founders of the London grrrl-zine and literary salon Pamflet. Follow them on Twitter and Instagram @Pamflet. 

Etre Cecile’s latest collection for Resort 15 is inspired by the 1979 cult classic, The Warriors, but instead of two downtown New York gangs battling it out, this rivalry is a little more European. Calling upon Creative Director Paula Goldstein Di Principe and Director Lucy Needs, they created a short film in which le French girls and It-Brits fight it out on neutral turf, Jersey, swan lake style.

Each team is kitted out in their Etre Cecile best; fine knitwear, denim and statement slogans, of course. Each one representing a certain personality type found in our own friendship groups. There’s the rock chick, the blonde, the rebel and the prim and proper girl. #WhosInYourGang sets out to unite all us Cecile girls everywhere, ultimately creating one huge girl gang that holds the same ethos and attitude.

“Right now I feel like we’re in an era of sisterhood,” states Paula Goldstein Di Principe. “Girl gangs are about power and support, celebrating a connection to women all over the world.”

etrececile.com

Tags: #WhosInYourGang, Etre Cecile, Resort 15

Last night over 2000 people gathered to celebrate the successes of the fashion industry in 2014, with guests such as Samantha Cameron, Anna Wintour OBE, Valentino Garavani, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Lewis Hamilton, Lana del Rey and Courtney Love.

Many of Twin‘s favourite designers and brands walked away with awards, including Marques’Almeida who were recognised as Emerging Womenswear Designer of The Year. Other winners on the night were Prism – Emerging Accessory Designer, Nicolas Ghesquière – International Designer, Simone Rocha – New Establishment, Victoria Beckham – Brand and Cara Delevingne – Model of the Year, unsurprisingly.

For the full list of winners head to britishfashionawards.com

Tags: 2014, British Fashion Awards, Cara Delevingne, Marques Almeida, Prism, simone rocha, Victoria Beckham

If there’s one girl band that should be on your radar right now, it’s Juce. The three-piece from London’s new video for 6th Floor sees them practising voodoo on someone that had it coming. Director Lucy Luscombe stated “I wanted to give Juce something cool, cinematic and fun – all in line with who they are as people.”

The track is another pop-R&B hybrid and Cherish, Georgia and Chalin are sure to keep us dancing and singing along for albums to come.

Download their EP Taste The Juce here.

Tags: Juce

Kenzo is popping up in London’s Mayfair just in time for the holiday season. The new store will house both their men’s and women’s collections, accessories and limited edition items. You’ll also find their Holiday Collection, a capsule range full of festive sweaters and T-shirts featuring all the famous motifs and emblems we’ve come to love from the brand, such as the tiger, the eye and the Eiffel Tower, as well as newcomer, the Statue of Liberty.

The news of the new location also comes with the announcement that Kenzo Bruton Street will be closed for renovations until 2015.

Kenzo opens at 99 Mount Street London W1K tomorrow, November 27th. 

Tags: christmas, Holiday, Kenzo

Next week creatives from all over will be coming together at Google’s London HQ for the REMIX London 2014 Summit. The event is the European edition of an annual series of global events exploring culture, technology and entrepreneurship.

With over 100 speakers from companies and brands such as YouTube, Red Bull Academy, British Museum, Virgin, Manchester International Festival, Mumsnet, Time Out, Sonos, Ace Hotels, Burning Man, Maker Faire, Natural History Museum, Dubai Design District, The Barbican, Sony, General Assembly and Google, REMIX looks to provide a ground-breaking forum to explore issues facing cultural and creative organisations from the inside-out.

“REMIX London is an opportunity to shine a light on the world-class creative entrepreneurs in the city, as well as showcasing cultural influencers from across the UK and Europe. REMIX brings together creative leaders at the highest level in a unique forum, exploring the evolution of contemporary culture, technology and the creative economy.” says Peter Tullin, co-founder of REMIX.

The launch party will take place at Shoreditch’s Ace Hotel on December 1st where you’ll be able to network in the hotels new top-floor event space.

Tickets are running out so head to eventbrite.co.uk to get yours.

remixsummits.com/ldn

There’s no escaping it any longer, the Christmas season is upon us. To celebrate, Issey Miyake has created a limited edition animated typeface to make sending holiday messages much more playful this year. Each letter of the alphabet is allocated a unique sound, so that every message will contain a one-of-a-kind melody. Create your own at isseymiyake.com/message.

If you take a closer look at the typography, you’ll see limited-edition products from six of the Issey Miyake brands that feature Araishu, a traditional colour of Japanese lacquerware. The holiday products, which include tops, bags and wallets, are now available from the recently opened Issey Miyake flagship store in London.

Issey Miyake Flagship, 10 Brook Street London W1S 1BG

isseymiyakelondon.com

Tags: christmas, Issey Miyake

Death In Paris is the name of a creative studio based between Paris and London. They focus on motion, web and print design, but their latest venture sees them designing accessories reflective of the brand values they’ve created for themselves. For spring/summer 2015 they looked to skylines, rooftop swimming pools, vast open spaces and Japanese city life, focusing on the concept of utilising small living spaces using clever design to give us their version of contemporary luxury in a monochrome palette.

Twin spoke to the designers behind the brand and creative studio to find out more.

Tell us a bit about starting a brand from a creative studio.
The brand is an extension of the Death In Paris studio identity.  We are both into fashion and have similar tastes so it was a natural progression from traditional graphic design to product design. With the studio we tried to stay multidisciplinary: exploring web, branding, photography, video and motion, mostly for premium lifestyle brands. Designing accessories is a new output for us and an alternative way of expressing our love of clean, minimal products that are functional yet sophisticated.

deathinparisstore.com

The Fractured and the Feline is a new exhibition opening at The Vinyl Factory today. It showcases the work of multi-media artist Quentin Jones in collaboration with innovative spatial designer Robert Storey, both of whom are previous Twin contributors. The show itself proves to be Jones’ most comprehensive and varied to date, as it delves into her work on paper, in sculpture, film and photography. Storey creates a unique world for her pieces to be displayed, giving us intriguing spaces to explore.

We caught up with the artist to find out what to expect.

Tell us about a little about the showcase…
Lots of the exhibition is work that may have been seen somewhere in some form, but in its layered up, painted on, collaged natural form. Its a chance for me to show people my process, that is surprisingly art-based and hand made. One of the main focuses of the show will be a series of large scale works that no one has seen before… because I am still working on them. I am playing with the idea of blowing up my collages 10-fold and working back into the image at a level of detail I usually wouldn’t be able to – and having the fluidity of paint at that scale.

Oh and one of the coolest parts of the show will be the film rooms – Robert Storey who is designing the whole space for the show has come up with a really cool way to warp and reflect the films multiple times. His whole vision for transfroming the space is amazing and so cool for us to be collaborating in a more physical way than usual.

How would you personally describe your style of work?
Messy, montaged, quick, accidental, planned and exploring contrasts.

You’ve worked with Robert Story in the past, was he an obvious collaborator?
Yes he was the only person I wanted to work with in this space. He has a very architectural approach to design and his minimal structures are perfect for my chaos to to sit within. We both like things to be graphic and strong rather than subtle and ‘pretty’ and both have an outlook that straddles fine art and fashion.

What was it like working with Robert on this particular show?
So far very simple – we have worked out what we both want to show and how it can exist together. But the real fun will be in the installation weeks, when we will make many of the decisions for the show. We like to work quite spontaneously.

The Fractured and the Feline: Quentin Jones with Robert Storey is presented by The Vinyl Factory at their space in The Brewer Street Car Park, London from 19 November to 13 December 2014.  

thevinylfactory.com

Image 1: Quentin Jones, Adult Series, 2014, acrylic, ink and collage, first published in Adult Magazine. Image 2: Quentin Jones, 2013, photography, acrylic and ink, first published in Flair Magazine. Image 3: Quentin Jones, Self Portrait series, 2014, photography, acrylic and ink, first published in  i-D Magazine

Tags: Quentin Jones, Robert Storey, Vinyl Factory

Pussy Riot’s Nadya and Masha are in London tonight for their first UK event since imprisonment. The feminist punk rock band members will be talking to Luke Harding, discussing their time in prison, campaigns for women’s rights, political freedom and reform of the justice system, and also how they became a thorn in the side of one of the world’s most powerful men.

theguardian.com

Tags: Feminism, Pussy Riot

& Other Stories are no strangers to a great Co-Lab (as they like to call them), and their latest comes in the form of shimmering textures, fuzzy wools, sporty shapes and glitery details, all designed by Sadie Williams. The glitz and glamour comes just in time for the festive season, making that decision of what to wear that little less daunting.

sadiewilliams.co.uk

stories.com

Tags: & Other Stories, Sadie Williams