Lizzie Garrett Mettler’s blog Tomboy Style is a Mecca for lovers of brogues, fedoras, and blazers. With its mix of images from icons of mannish dressing such as Jane Birkin to modern day tomboys opening up their enviable wardrobes for us to see, Tomboy Style is a stylish vindication for every woman whose ever shunned a dress in favour of a sharply tailored suit or a heel in favour of a flat.

After two years of documenting her tomboy style, Garrett Mettler has published a delicious book of her favourite images from the blog. Twin caught up with her to ask a few questions of our own…

When and why did you start your blog?
May 2010, right after I started to notice a shift in the word. It all of the sudden seemed to be attached to good style all over the place.

What’s your earliest tomboy style memory?
Throwing all of the dolls out of my room at age two.

Who is your go to designer for tomboy style?
Oh man, just one!? Today I’d say…Margaret Howell.

What item of clothing wouldn’t we find in your wardrobe?
An ‘it’ bag.

What’s your default tomboy style uniform?
Skinny jeans, a men’s button-down, smoking slippers.

If you were wearing a dress, what would it be?
I wear dresses a lot actually, but they’re usually more architectural or masculine, like Helmut Lang and Phillip Lim, more of a Roitfeld-inspired look.

When it comes to your style heroines, who makes the final cut?
Jane Birkin, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Charlotte Rampling.

What have you learnt from doing your blog?
That there’s quite a few other women that feel the same way I do about the intersection of style and tomboys.

What’s on your wish list?
I am moving into a new house, so right now, all I can think about is furniture.

What’s next up?
Research for the next project!

TOMBOY STYLE: Beyond the Boundaries of Fashion by Lizzie Garrett Mettler is published by Rizzoli New York.
tomboystyle.co.uk

For Bethan Cole’s celebration of tomboys inspired by this book see Twin 6.

Marina Muñoz / © Sebastian Kim

Osa Johnson / © Martin and Oja Johnson Safari Museum

Ali McGraw – 1971 / © William Claxton – Demont Photo Management
Top Image: Susan Ford – 1976/ © Gerald R. Ford Presidental Library

Tags: Lizzie Garrett Mettler, Tomboy Style

Jeweller Noemi Klein has collaborated with maverick artist and tattooist Liam Sparkes to produce a bold collection inspired by Sparkes’ distinctive ink style.

Emerging from a shared love of medieval imagery and religious iconography it’s a richly illustrated collection that fuses Sparkes’ drawing with Klein’s artisanship. Their choices of imagery, such as feudal castles and pagan ram’s heads, hint at a pre-industrial age of artisanship where metal work had a raw quality and items such as signet rings, practical significance.

Noemi Klein X Liam Sparkes collection is available at No-One, 1 Kingsland Road, London

noemiklein.com
liamsparkes.blogspot.co.uk

Tags: Liam Sparkes, No One, Noemi Klein

Looking for the next fashion-art-film fix in London? Then get yourself to the V&A this Friday for the next installment of their Friday late programme called Britain is Making It. The event coincides with the  British Design 1948 – 2012 exhibition.

Kathryn Ferguson is collaborating with video artist Weirdcore to create a live site-specific video sculpture in the Hintz Sculpture Galleries. It is the public premiere of Kathryn’s film Máthair which will be screened amongst the religious iconography of the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries.

She has also curated a UK fashion film reel that will be looping throughout the night in the main entrance hall featuring work by Quentin Jones, Cassette Playa, Ruth Hogben, Julie Verhoeven and others.

Britain is Making It, Friday 27th April, V&A, 6.30 – 10pm

Victoria, Victoria Beckham film by Quentin Jones

Tags: British Design 1948-2012, Kathryn Ferguson, Máthair, Quentin Jones, Ruth Hogben, v&a

Taking gloss to task, nothing seems to slip through the watching eye of the Vagenda team. Launched in February this year, Vagenda is made up of a collection of anonymous industry moles, as well as recent graduates.

Whether it’s hilariously showing the way stock photos reinforce gender stereotypes, or lampooning the predictability of women’s magazine features, Vagenda are a sharp and funny redress to the all too often complacent way what women want to read is construed in mainstream media.

Twin spoke to Vagenda’s editor about their work and world…

Who and what is the Vagenda?
The Vagenda takes a humorous look at the women’s magazine industry and how it perpetuates anti-feminist stereotypes. We feel that laughter is the best weapon. In terms of who, well, we are a group of girls in our twenties living in London. Holly and I edit it and came up with the concept but the others have been instrumental in providing hilarious and witty content for the blog and producing great ideas. Most of us went to uni together. However, since the blog launched and became so popular we’ve had contributors from all over the world- EVEN MEN!

What’s your earliest feminist memory?
Mine personally was being a toddler in London’s Dartmouth Park and a much older boy (he must have been about six) asking me, “Are you a boy or a girl?” My mum had just given me a pudding bowl haircut and I remember feeling outraged. I’m sure the others all have their own memories too.

What do you feel is wrong with modern women’s media, mags etc?
It’s our feeling that the content alienates a lot of women. It’s very body focused and a lot of the time pretty stupid. The way female celebrities are portrayed, especially when they are going through some kind of crisis and trauma, is often cruel. There’s little to no focus on politics or art or music, or any of the fun stuff we like doing.

What makes the Vagenda team angry?
We all vary. We try to steer away from polemic on the site as it can be alienating, but obviously women’s mags drive us crazy a lot of the time. We also had a really terrible night out in Soho not long ago where the DJ at Punk nightclub was urging women to flash their “gash for cash”. We were pretty angry about that, and one of us cried. The way rape cases are reported in the press is also incredibly anger inducing.

What three changes would make the world a better place?
Only three? That’s a tough question as there are so many changes that need to be made and women in the developing world are being treated appallingly. For this country, however:

1/ A greater understanding on the part of men that the division of domestic labour is still pretty unequal.  We’re the ones who are still, in the main part, having to scrub the toilet bowl, yet often this type of women’s “work” goes unrecognized. Equal pay and more flexible working hours would be nice, too.

2/ Better sex education in schools. It’s mostly crap and if young women are growing up with their only source of this information being women’s magazines, of course they are going to start subscribing to a manufactured version of female sexuality.

3/ We’d obviously like it if the media started giving a more balanced view of women and femininity. And we’re going to keep calling them out on it and laughing at them until they are embarrassed into doing it.

Who are Vagenda’s heroes?
We have so many. The UK is fortunate in that we have many incredible women journalists who are already out there giving the patriarchy hell. We love Eva Wiseman, Suzanne Moore, Caitlin Moran, Harriet Walker, Helen Lewis, Laurie Penny, Hadley Freeman, Rosamund Urwin. For every great woman journalist, however, there seem to be umpteen ones who don’t give a toss about female equality and instead write complete and utter drivel, which is sad.

What’s Vagenda’s approach to fashion?
Each of us has a different approach. I’d say a lot of us wear vintage and secondhand clothes, but some wear high street too. I personally have been boycotting Topshop for over a year now but I don’t know about the others. I used to have a bit of a shopping addiction and my house is so full I have no need to shop anymore. Fashion is great as a tool for personal expression, but that’s not to say that there aren’t aspects of the industry that make me feel a bit sick. Those flowery trousers, for example. We all have some pretty mental garments tucked away and that’s fine. But when a magazine is actively trying to get you to look mental, then there is a problem.

What does the future look like?
Not vagina-shaped, that’s for sure. At the moment, it’s a cross between Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror, Orwell’s 1984 and the Handmaid’s Tale. In other words, pretty shit. But we’re staying chipper and fighting the power in our own small way.

vagenda.blogspot.co.uk

Tags: Vagenda, women's magazines

It’s about that time of year again; the evenings are becoming noticeably longer and the air is remaining warm yet faintly fresh. Summer is upon us and so is a season of ‘Cinéma en plein air’ thanks to the return of London’s legendary Rooftop Film Club.

Due to popular demand this year sees the launch of two additional venues, Netil House (London Fields) and The Roof Gardens (Kensington) as well as the original Shoreditch-spot at the Queen of Hoxton. From 30th April to 30th August, the RFC are scheduled to screen a combination of classic, cult and contemporary flicks. Everything from the 1960’s hit Breakfast at Tiffany’s, to Aronofsky’s gritty Requiem for a Dream will be available to view underneath the starry nights sky surrounded by exquisite panoramic views of London’s cityscape.

For further information and to book tickets visit rooftopfilmclub.com

Words: Sarah Barlow

Tags: Breakfast at Tiffany's, Darren Aronofsky, film, Netil House, Rooftop Film Club, Shoreditch, The Roof Gardens

What do you get when two young creative women, call together their friends to contribute to a zine dissecting what it is to be creative and female? The answer is teenVAG, a zine that explores coming of age, beauty and the body from a firmly feminine viewpoint. Confounding stereotypes and creating new imagery that fits their own feelings, Twin spoke to Natasha and Allison about teenVAG…

Where did the name teenVAG come from?
The name “teenVAG” is rooted in yesteryear conversation with an especially dear group of friends- we often threw around the word “pussy.”  Coincidentally, we all previously held internships at Condé Nast.

What thoughts preoccupy you as artists and how is teenVAG a conduit for them?
There are infinite forms of expressions. Collectively, the constant desire to create has fuelled our greatest artistic ventures and our initiative enables these visions to come into fruition. We are constantly developing ideas, themes, and insights while cultivating a unique rapport with an incredibly talented group of our contemporaries. teenVAG has allowed us to create an evolving, communal space we share amongst our featured artists and audience.

Why did you feel the need to form a female collective of artists?
New York is a super hub of creatives. The artists we worked with on Issue # 1 inspired the idea of an all female project- they set the groundwork for the basis of the project. The progression of Issue # 2 continues to foster a strong voice and female presence we feel most necessary amongst the creative community.

Why is a zine still an effective way of communicating ideas in the era of blogs, tumblrs etc?
It is tangible- there is physical contact with our audience. The viewer experiences the artist’s work without interruption and becomes a part of the collective dialogue taking place. The zine becomes a perpetual vehicle of communication that can always be revisited. In our digital age it offers a slight sense of nostalgia and a quiet escape from the fast paced nature of the information super-highway.

Who are the other female artists involved in the zine?
We work with twelve artists each issue- a mix of friends, acquaintances and artists we admire. Issue # 1 focused on the basis of photography and featured the work of Nina Hartmann, Sandy Kim, Maggie Lee, Nicole Lesser, Kathy Lo, Katheryn Love, Luisa Opalesky, Logan White, Coco Young, and Nadriah Zakariya.

Issue # 2 encompasses several mediums ranging from sculpture, to illustration, painting and mixed media as well as the inclusion of photography. Issue # 2 features work by Aimee Brodeur, Elizabeth Jaeger, Olivia Locher, Carly Mark, Katie Miller, Anamaria Morris, Sophie Van der Perre, Rebecca Andrea Richard, Tara Sinn, Brooke Ellen Taylor, Alexandra Velasco, and Jessica Williams.

What, if any, obstacles do female artists still face?
teenVAG: When initially reaching out to print teenVAG Issue # 1, a business denied carrying out the job due to “explicit sexual content,” “pornographic”  imagery, and a questionable title. Female artists face connotations that are inherently attached to their art due to gender- we want to break that stigma.

Where is the zine available?
The zine is available on our online shop http://teenvag.bigcartel.com/. as well as a selection of stockists in NY, LA and TX. For a full list of stockists check out our website teenvag.com

What’s next?
We are planning our second show for May of this year- it will be a collective exhibition surveying the work of artists we have been working with for the past year. In the coming months we will begin the conceptualisation of teenVAG Issue # 3 due out in September 2012.

We’ll also be doing a collaborative selection of pop-up shows and mini-events throughout the summer- we are very excited to continue working with an amazing network of creatives and hope to expand teenVAG to its fullest potential

Tags: Aimee Brodeur, Alexandra Velasco, Allison, Anamaria Morris, Art, Brooke Ellen Taylor, Carly Mark, Coco Young, Elizabeth Jaeger, female artists, illustration, interview, Jessica Williams, Katheryn Love, Kathy Lo, Katie Miller, Logan White, Luisa Opalesky, Maggie Lee, Nadriah Zakariya, Natasha, Nicole Lesser, Nina Hartmann, Olivia Locher, photography, Rebecca Andrea Richard, Sandy Kim, sculpture, Sophie Van der Perre, Tara Sinn, teenVAG, zine

Publisher and bookshop Persephone Books has a strict remit; female writers – mostly neglected ones – from the early Twentieth Century.

In 1983 Persephone founder Nicola Beauman wrote A Very Great Profession: The Woman’s Novel 1914-39. Sixteen years later, many of the writers she had discussed were still out of print, so she decided to do something about it. In 1999 Persephone was born and thirteen years on and Beauman hasn’t wavered in her mission to retell old stories to new audiences.

With 96 books to choose from, Twin asks Persephone for their recommendations…

A book for Spring…
We think our upcoming titles Harriet by Elizabeth Jenkins, and Virginia Woolf’s posthumously edited A Writer’s Diary will make great Spring reads – both out on the 19 April.

A book to make you laugh…
Without doubt Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day – No. 21 -. This is a hilarious fairy-tale account of a dowdy governess’ accidental encounter with a glamorous night club singer. Although those with a dryer sense of humour might prefer Julia Strachey’s short novel, Cheerful Weather for the Wedding.

A book to make you cry…
You’d have to have heart of stone not to cry at Still Missing – a book you wont be able to put down. William: An Englishman – No. 1 – is also extremely emotional, as it brings home the terrible human cost of the First World War through the fate of one very ordinary English couple.

A book that will shock you…
Margarita Laski’s To Bed With Grand Music – No. 86 – follows the protagonist, Deborah, as she sleeps her way round London, completely debunking the cosy myth of women patiently keeping the home fires burning while their husbands were fighting on the front line.

A book about style…
High Wages by Dorothy Whipple – No. 85 – is about a young woman who sets up her own dress shop in a northern town around the time of the First World War.

It includes some really interesting details about fashion and style in the period, and explores different women’s responses to the opening up of different opportunities both in terms of how they can dress and how they can make their mark on the world.

A book for living in the city…
Farewell Leicester Square by Betty Miller – No. 14 – or Helen Ashton’s Bricks and Mortar – No. 49 – are great books about London in the first half of the twentieth century.

A book to expand your mind…
Round About a Pound a Week – No. 79 – and the suffragette novel No Surrender – No.94 -both explore different but equally important aspects of women’s lives before the First World War.

A book you won’t be able to put down…
Still Missing  – No. 88 – by Beth Gutcheon is literally impossible to put down. It is a beautifully written and extremely tense novel about a little boy who goes missing from his Boston home. We both cried when we read it. A lot.

persephonebooks.co.uk

Tags: A Very Great Profession: The Woman's Novel 1914-39, book recommendations, female writers, literature, Nicola Beauman, Persephone Books

As if skateboarding wasn’t cool enough, bespoke denim label 3×1 has added an extra chill factor to the sport through its collaboration with NY-based photographer Ben Watts.

Founded by Scott Morrison of Paper Denim & Cloth and Earnest Sewn, the brand has created Ben Watts + 3×1, a collection of limited edition skateboards with designs featuring Jessica Hart, Lake Bell, Elsa Hosk, Behati Prinsloo and Chanel Iman in the label’s tailor-made pieces on Watts’ signature diamond motif and Hipstamatic lens backgrounds.

With all proceeds going to charities such as Studio in a School, Food on Foot, Polaris Project, Goods for Good and Keep A Child Alive, there’s no excuse not to add to your collection of decks. Even those of us with two left feet needn’t miss out; these skateboards also make for a pretty stylish wall decor.

3×1.us

Tags: 3x1, Behati Prinsloo, Ben Watts, Ben Watts + 3x1, Chanel Iman, charity, Elsa Hosk, Jessica Hart, Lake Bell, skateboards

Santorini is the latest super hot spot marked out for art domination. With the mission of promoting emerging and established artists, right now the Biennale is calling for artists to send in their material for consideration.

Working to the theme of The Past: Memory and Nostalgia, the exhibition will be a melange of everything from graphic design to sculpture and industrial design.

In particular, Curator of Illustration for the Santorini Biennale of Arts 2012 Nicky Peacock, has her eye casting out for fashion illustration. She says, “I will be living in Santorini for four months this summer during the biennale and this will no doubt be somewhat of a culture shock for a town-based girl like myself.

“With this in mind, I’m interested in works that are a little incongruous to a paradise island – a little discordant and out of place. As an artist and curator, this is the kind of thing that fascinates me and keeps me on my toes – something dark to contrast with all that sunshine!”

Santorini Biennale takes place form 01 July to 30 Sept 2012

Go to www.santorinibiennale.gr to submit your work

Tags: exhibition, fashion illustration, Graphic Design, interior design, Nicky Peacock, Santorini Bienalle, sculpture, The Past: Memory and Nostalgia

In the space of a few short years, Gemma Cairney has gone from fashion graduate to styling Florence and the Machine before a complete volt face into radio and TV presenting.

On the eve of her first breakfast show for Radio 1, Twin caught up with the rising star and asked for her top eight tunes…

You were a fashion stylist for a number of years and styled a number of musicians – was music always an inspiration to you?
Subconsciously, definitely. I”ve always shied away from considering myself a “muso” of any sort, but I”ve always adored it. Especially dancing to it.

When I was styling I knew some musicians and we all wanted to work together so we orchestrated some fun photo-shoots, that’s how it started really.

What have the past three years been like for you, the career change, finding yourself in front of the camera and on the radio?
Bonkers. I like trying things that make me excited and my stomach churn. When you try new things, I”ve found you continue to meet new inspirational people along the way. I was 22 when I decided I wanted to do more than just fashion and that I should try radio presenting. I loved it. The past three years has just been a continual stomach churn.

What”s your everyday mantra?
It”ll be alright.

What does being on Radio 1 mean to you?
A mind boggle of joy.

What else are you excited about for the future?
I have two documentaries coming out later this year that are quite serious, it will be good to share what I”ve been sinking my teeth into for quite a while now. Obviously, getting settled into my new Radio 1 role and lastly (the most boring) is putting up some cork tiles in my house! So that I have fixed notice board & can get more organised.

Gemma”s top eight tracks…

1/ Erykah Badu ft. Common – Love of My Life (Ode to Hip Hop)
I”ve been in such sparkling awe of Erykah Badu from around aged seventeen onwards. I just thought she was amazing, all of her songs hold such special nolstalgia for me. I remember finding out that she”d once been out with Common and I could hardly cope I found it so cool.

2/ Dub Phizix – Marka
This is new(ish) record that we played on 1xtra and I was gripped by the genre journey I was taken on. That sounds stupid, but if ya haven”t heard it listen and you”ll see what I mean.

3/ So Solid – 21 Seconds
The sheer frothing peak of garage raving. This tune is massive.

4/ Spice Girls – Spice Up Your life
Just beacuse I so did, most probably a generational thang.

5/ Mikey J and The Female Allstars
Rock the mic – female musical power in its current form.

6/ Barry White – Can”t Get Enough of Your Love
I used to swoon around the lounge to my mum”s Barry White section of her cd collection on repeat.

7/ Lauryn Hill ft. D”Angelo – Nothing Even Matters
Such a beautiful song. You JUST get it. Not to mention how stand out brilliant the album it”s from is.

8/ TLC – Creep
It was hard to choose between TLC and Destiny”s Child – who I”m obsessed with – but I had the Crazy Sexy Cool album on cassette before Destiny”s Childs” Writing”s On The Wall, so they win.

Listen to Gemma”s playlist

From 7 April 2012, listen to Gemma Cairney at the weekend, 7am-10am, on BBC Radio 1.

bbc.co.uk/radio1

Tags: breakfast show, Florence and the Machine, Gemma Cairney, Music, Radio 1, radio and TV presenting, styling, Twin Playlist

The time of the YBAs feels like an eon ago. It’s a feeling galvanised by the simmering of retrospectives for artists who were part of the irreverent gang. Last year saw a retrospective of Tracey Emin’s work at the Hayward and for 2012 it will be hard to avoid Damien Hirst, once his show hits the Tate Modern this week.

Meanwhile at the Whitechapel, Gillian Wearing is the subject of a major retrospective of her work. Wearing as an artist will be forever tied to the golden years of the Nineties; winning as she did, the Turner Prize in 1997 as New Labour and a new focus on British culture came to the fore.

Her work also documented the change in how individuals engage with society. With its confessional quality, Wearing’s work has long negotiated the lines between public and private.

Influenced by Seventies documentaries, she has a history of taking private individuals and unveiling them as objects of interest. Her ability to persuade subjects to make private secrets public foreshadowed the reality TV generation, proving fact is every bit as beguiling as fiction.

Gillian Wearing is at the Whitechapel Gallery until 17 June 2012

whitechapelgallery.org

Tags: Gillian Wearing, Whitechapel Gallery

If you haven’t already, check out Simon Annand’s illuminating portraits of actors at The Idea Generation Gallery. Taken moments before they step into the footlights, each portrait is a study in concentrated emotion. Often pensive, with an air of mystery, they are private moments shared with the photographer.

Annand has been photographing actors in the final half an hour before curtain up for 25 years. In 2008 he published The Half, a book of his work, but he continues to add to his oeuvre and the exhibition includes new and unseen images of London’s leading theatrical lights. His work gives theatre lovers unprecedented access to a who’s who of performers, with humour, fear and always intimacy. The Half brings the dressing room to life, making it a stage of its own.

Simon Annand: The Half is at the Idea Generation Gallery until 8 April 2012

simonannand.com

ideageneration.co.uk

Tags: Idea Generation, Simon Annand, Tha Half

The residence of Sigmund Freud serves as a fitting space to showcase the work of sculptor Louise Bourgeois, whose exhibition The Return of the Repressed explores her thirty years of ambivalent attachment to psychoanalysis.

As an artist who drew on her childhood experiences, French-American Bourgeois was primed to blossom in the Fifties, but her path was impeded by the precipitous domination of abstract expressionism, spearheaded by the ‘macho’ art of Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko.  Subsequently, only four commissions for one-woman shows between 1953 and 1978 followed.

Her surrealist artistry with its lack of signature style and use of materials including meat, wood and latex rubber, was completely divergent to the idealism of classical sculpture.

She remained on the periphery because the art world found her profound technique and emotionally fragile inner world difficult to negotiate and comprehend.

Nonetheless, in 1982, at the age of 70, Louise Bourgeois, the artist who utilised her visceral pain to awaken a higher state of consciousness in the viewer, was given a retrospective by the Museum of Modern Art in New York; thereby embracing this gloriously fearless late bloomer with mainstream acclaim which had eluded her for so long.

Louise Bourgeois: The Return of the Repressed is at the Freud Museum until  27th May 2012

Words by Dawn Daniels

freud.org.uk

Top Image copyright Irving Penn

Tags: Freud Museum, Jackson Pollock, Louise Bourgeois, Mark Rothko, The Return of the Repressed

In recent years, film has fallen in love with fashion. An industry packed full of eccentric characters just waiting to be shot to stardom, fashion is a goldmine of entertainment. Moviegoers flocked to see the September Issue and Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel is just one of a few films in the cinema pipeline.

This weekend though, UK fashion lovers can finally catch the joyous Bill Cunningham New York, one year after its release in the US. A street-style veteran and innovator, Cunningham was at the forefront of photographing real people in their clothes donkey’s years before the blogosphere erupted.

With his crumpled slacks, cheap waterproof, bicycle and film SLR, the octogenarian has dedicated more than three decades to filling the pages of the New York Times with street style.

Famously eleusive, it took eight years to make him agree to the documentary, but it was worth the wait. Bill Cunningham New York introduces the man behind the lens, along with a few fashion legends such as Anna Wintour and Michael Kors. More interesting though are the quirky characters that make up Cunningham’s life with in the artist’s apartments of Carnegie Hall.

To look at Cunningham’s work is to explore the fashion jungle that is New York. As he says, “The best fashion show is on the street. It always has been and always will be.”

Bill Cunningham New York is in UK cinemas from today

billcunninghamnewyork.co.uk

Tags: Bill Cunningham, Bill Cunningham New York

It was while Dubliner Julie Chance was DJing in a Paris dive bar in 2010 that she encountered Australian Jon Dark. Bonding over shared musical sensibilities, they exchanged records and ideas before booking flights to Berlin and their musical project kool thing was born.

Pulling together musical references from grunge to prog rock, kool thing blends atmospheric synths with new wave bass. Their singe EP Light Games was released earlier this year and they’re currently working on a full-length album.

Twin asked Chance to name her favourite nine tracks right now…

1/ Sinéad O”Connor – Black Boys On Mopeds
Sinéad has a new album out called How About I Be Me (And You Be You) and it”s brilliant. Being born and bred in Dublin I had to include Sinéad. Always outspoken and a head of her time, one of my all time heroines. This song is an oldie but a goodie from the 1990 album I Do Not Want What I Haven”t Got.

2/ Elliott Smith – Angeles
I was first introduced to Elliott Smith when I was visiting New York some years ago. The rawness of his lyrics and the frailty of his voice struck a chord deep inside me that has stayed with me ever since.

3/ The Smiths – Reel Around The Fountain
Probably one of my favourite bands of all time. Enough said. This is the first song off their first album.

4/ Nick Drake – River Man
While studying photography in Cork I was introduced to Nick Drake by a classmate. I”ve always had a penchant for a sombre song and Nick Drake delivered them in abundance. I fell in love with him instantly.

5/ Judee Sill – The Kiss
An ex-girlfriend got me into Judee Sill a few years ago. Judee Sill wrote the most beautiful bewitching songs and could have been as big as Nick Drake if she had been recognised more but wasn”t for whatever reasons. Her life ended prematurely due to drug addiction and we are left with only two albums. This song is from the 1973 album Heart Food.

6/ Amy Winehouse – Love Is A Losing Game
Another one of my heroines, we lost Amy last summer and she broke my heart along with millions of others. In 2008 students at Cambridge University were asked in their final  exams to compare the lyrics of Love Is A Losing Game with Shakespeare, Sir Walter Raleigh, Milton and Wordsworth for literary analysis. This YouTube vid is of her performing the song at the Other Voices Festival in Dingle, Ireland in 2006.

7/ This Mortal Coil – Sixteen Days/Gathering Dust
I don”t even know where I got this from but I have it on vinyl now and I always include it in my DJ sets. I love Cocteau Twins and Elizabeth Fraser”s vocal on this is just haunting.

8/ Trust – Candy Walls
Moving firmly into the present now, our friend Maya Postepski from Austra just dropped her new album from her other project Trust and I”m really into this track, Candy Walls, its so good!

9/ Lower Dens – Brains
Lower Dens have a new album coming out in May I think. I loved the first one so I”m pretty excited about the next. This song is from the forthcoming album.

Listen to Kool Thing”s playlist koolthingmusic.com

Tags: Berlin, Jon Dark, Julie Chance, Kool Thing, Light Games

If you haven’t already, head down to the Southbank Centre and check out the Women of the World festival. For the second year running, Artistic Director Jude Kelly has put together a rich and inspiring schedule of readings, talks and performances.

“Throughout history, many women’s achievements have gone unnoticed or unsung,” says Kelly. “I created WOW to celebrate the formidable power of women to make change happen, to remind us of our history, to draw attention to injustice, to enjoy each other’s company and to encourage men to add their support as we set out to achieve a fairer world.”

With events featuring names such as Natasha Walter, Bidisha, Emeli Sande and Annie Lennox, we reckon it’ll be pretty difficult to ignore the female talent busting out of the Royal Festival Hall this weekend.

Southbank Centre’s Women of the World Festival is on until March 11th 2012. For the full schedule of events visit southbankcentre.co.uk/wow

Tags: Annie Lennox, Jude Kelly, Natasha Walter, Southbank Centre, Women of the World Festival, WOW

In a world dominated by endless choice, sometimes the hardest decision can be deciding between one or the other. Enter Mélanie Crété’s highly addictive Tumblr blog, This or That.

Ranging from the age old question of Audrey versus Marilyn to Ferrero Rocher versus Mon Chéri, in Crété’s online world, everything boils down to the idea of a simple choice. We sat down with the digital marketing and social media manager to talk about the idea behind her blog, print versus digital and to play a round of This or That Twin style…

What prompted you to start This or That?
I have always been a bit obsessed with DIY collages and mood boards. Then Myspace came in and I discovered the joy of Photobucket while trying to teach myself photoshop and basic html, which I guess lead the way to This or That. When I started working in digital marketing and social media four years ago, I spent days researching blogs, organising them by theme in a very anal way and got completely hooked on Tumblr which I decided was the perfect platform to showcase my very messy iPhoto library. The concept somehow came very instinctively, the name came from the fact that I actually never know when to use ‘this’ or ‘that’ (I’m from Paris).

What is your main source of image inspiration?
Tumblr. My favourites are When Hearts Are Young and New York City Lights.

When did you first become fascinated with all things digital?
In 2000 when I installed Napster and ICQ on my PC.

How do you see the relationship between print and digital publications developing, will one replace the other?
Nothing will replace anything. I just see digital being integrated in all parts of the process with both digital and print teams working in synergy to produce amazing content and using different formats which is relevant to all platforms, including social media.

You are also a DJ, what are your top five favourite tunes of all time?
I used to DJ—I don’t think you can be good at everything so I had to make choices!
But my favourite tracks at the moment are:
The Pharcyde – Passing Me By
Machinedrum – Van Vogue
ASAP – Peso
Grimes – Oblivion
Mos Def – Auditorium

In the sense of This or That…Blackberry or iPhone?
iPhone.

Either coffee or tea?
Coffee.

Either Bikini Kill or Courtney Love?
Courtney Love.

Either The Rolling Stones or The Beatles?
Rolling Stones.

Either the city or countryside?
City during the week , countryside at the weekend.

Either Eddie or Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous?
Patsy.

Either an exhibition or a concert?
Concert.

thisorthatblog.com
facebook.com/thisorthatblog
twitter.com/melaniecrete

Tags: Blog, Fashion, Mélanie Crété, Music, photography, Tumblr

If London is known for anything as a fashion capital, it’s nurturing and supporting a hotbed of creative talents all across the design spectrum.

For a second year running, Selfridges has selected its Bright Young Things. The project allows 15 newcomers from the worlds of fashion, art, design and food talents to create a window display for its Oxford and Duke Street stores.

With participants this year including womenswear designer/illustrator and CSM graduate Sorcha O’ Raghallaigh, who specialises in intricate metallic coloured and lace designs (Lady Gaga is a fan)  and designer Maarten van der Horst, who gave a new and fashionable life to the otherwise dreaded Hawaiian prints, it’s a testament to the design talents that the Big Smoke has to offer.

For those more interested in non-fashion creativity, interior designer duo Tinker & Tailor have created a Twitter-friendly interactive space, while coffee connoisseur Jack Coleman made his own personal ode to the art of the brewing and roasting.

There’s never been a better reason to stop and take a closer look. Rush hour crowds notwithstanding.

Bright Young Things is on until February 29.
selfridges.com

Tags: Art, Bright Young Things, Design, Fashion, food, Jack Coleman, Lady Gaga, london, Maarten van der Horst, Selfridges, Sorcha O' Raghallaigh, Tinker & Tailor

For fashion students, photography lovers and art fanatics, Claire de Rouen’s bookshop, hidden away above a sex shop on Charing Cross Road, was an oasis of rare prints, signed editions and fledgling publications. A larger than life character, with her striking ageless style and ever present alsation pug Otis, Claire’s passing last week after a prolonged illness is a loss to all who prize independence and personality and to those resisting the creeping tide of a homogeneous culture.

There was room for everyone in her shop, all were free to browse or buy, and on her shelves young talent jostled happily alongside huge names. Twin can only thank and pay our respects to a woman who strove to deliver the best and allow the young to flourish.

Tags: Charing Cross Road, Claire de Rouen

Herbivores, look away. Slabs of meat have never been more de rigueur and leading the pack is feted burger joint MEATliquor.

Chef Yianni Papoutsis, head of the operation, has made a name for himself as a street food pioneer thanks to Meatwagon, a burger van responsible for guerilla “Meatings” in London car parks, industrial estates and, more recently, festivals and the subsequent #Meateasy pop-up in a derelict Italian restaurant above an abandoned pub in New Cross.

Together with Scott Collins, the liquor in MEATliquor, Papoutsis has arguably revolutionised the West End identikit dining scene with cool design, jam jar cocktails and greasy Dead Hippie burgers and onion rings.

As Collins says, “The MEATWAGON has come a long way since its small beginnings in a vandalised van in a South London car park…We have taken #Meateasy to the next level, bringing meat dining to London’s West End at New Cross prices.”

MEATliquor, 74 Welbeck Street W1G 0BA
meatliquor.com

Tags: burgers, MEATliquor, New Cross, Scott Collins, West End, Yianni Papoutsis