For their AW15 campaign, Kenzo’s creative directors Humberto Leon and Carol Lim called upon independent filmmaker, Gregg Araki, to take a nostalgic trip back to the teenage wastelands he created for his Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy, and the result is a short film entitled Here Now.
In a similar world of 1997’s Nowhere, this film is shot in the same style and frame of mind but features a new cast of young stars, such as Avan Jogia, Grace Victoria Cox, Jacob Artist, Jane Levy and Nicole LaLiberte. The costumes are all from Kenzo’s AW15 menswear and womenswear collections, of course, and are styled to enhance the characters and narrative of Araki’s short. All the signifiers we’ve come to expect from the director are present: overwrought teenage rebellion and angst, rampant sexuality, a nun and yes, the pre-requisite Shoegaze song.
In celebration of summer, Anglo-Swedish watch label, Larsson & Jennings have created four new styles that reinvent their best-selling Läder collection.
The four new colourways were designed with summer wardrobes in mind: the classic 40mm watch face has been teamed with a smooth dove grey, cyan blue, racing green and a grained black strap – all handmade from leather sourced from the Anglo-Swedish brand’s tanneries in Somerset and Sweden’s Tärsnjö – and finished with a gold or silver casing and a white dial.
The new Läder styles are available online or in store at their London location.
1947 was a bleak year for post-war Europe: a lack of adequate housing and poverty were daily struggles. Yet that all changed thanks to Christian Dior. His iconic New Look featured fuller silhouettes, the abundance of material rebelling against the austere, masculine narrow skirts forced by rationing. The collection carried a spirit of rebirth and renewal, and heralded a return to normality.
In a new exhibition running until 1 November, the esteemed fashion house will be showcasing this sartorial revolution. Featuring a selection of haute couture pieces dating from 1947-2015, photographs, documents, memorabilia, manuscripts, original drawings, miniatures of the Barsuit, New Look dolls, patterns and toiles, along with a tribute to the legendary Miss Dior perfume, it will serve as a genealogy of Dior style.
Musée Christian Dior, 1 Rue d’Estouteville 50400 Granville, France
Monokel & Voo Berlin Team Up With Artist Axel Wannberg
The contemporary Berlin concept store, Voo, has teamed up with Swedish sunglass label Monokel Eyewear to create a limited edition pair of sunglasses, and together they have collaborated with artist Axel Wannberg on a accompanying art installation.
The all-white frames feature silver mirrored lenses, handcrafted in premium acetate with lenses from Carl Zeiss Vision. Wannberg has taken the pair as inspiration to create a mirrored sculpture built on basic geometric shapes to reflect the sunglasses perfectly. The art piece aspect of the project explores the concept of modern narcissism and the idea of self-image in a digital and hyper social society, that utilises the symbolic meaning of mirrors, used in both art and literature.
“The project begun with a discussion between us and Voo about narcissism and how digital tools and social media enables us to fine-tune and present this curated ideal image of ourselves,” states Robert Sandgren, creative director of Monokel Eyewear. “And it seems as if mirrors depict reality, but they rarely do.”
Christian Louboutin astutely commented that “nude is not a colour, it’s concept.”
This remark came as part of the reasons behind the extension of his acclaimed nude collection: it now includes five shades of nude, from fair to a rich chestnut, as well as two new shoe styles.
Louboutin is famously inspired by the female form, and originally created nude shoes to enhance the fluidity, versatility and allure of a woman’s body.
The two new, seasonal shoes styles will be Deepik and Dorissima, the former an open-toe with a waved heel, and the latter a timeless pump with a heart-shaped toe, with a thin heel.
The launch will be accompanied by a user-generated social media campaign – follow it using the tag #NudesForAll.
Prada has been instrumental in helping wooden eyewear break free of its formerly dowdy image. The fashion powerhouse’s new line, Prada Raw, features sought-after smooth curves and top quality, light weight materials, while the grain makes each product unique. The trend reached new heights when Prada stitched leather uppers to its specs for the SS15 catwalk.
Prada continues its innovation with the launch of Prada Raw Avenue this Friday, a virtual catwalk where shoppers can experience Prada’s sunglasses through the eyes of six illustrations. Users can interact with the site in real-time through the different illustrations as they walk the virtual runway.
The artists from around the globe include Carly Kuhn, Megan Hess, Blair Breitenstein (whose illustration features above), Judith van den Hoek, Wong Ping and Vida Vega.
Christopher Shannon, the Central St Martins MA graduate, started his eponymous line with menswear, but after winning the inaugural BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund in June 2014, it wasn’t long before he ventured out and debuted womenswear for SS15. Now, however, it’s time for a second.
Twin caught up with the rising talent to find out more about his pre-fall line, inspired by Young British Artist Henry Bond.
With this being your second, tell us a little about your decision to start a womenswear collection?
It happened as weirdly as we had a little space in the schedule at the studio. For years I had drawn up women’s ideas and then decided it was the wrong time. Suddenly it seemed like the right time, or just the time when it was actually do able.
What was it about YBA Henry Bond’s work that caught your attention? His book ‘The Cult Of The Street’ has been a fave of mine for years, I think I picked it up in a charity shop. It just really captures a time. I don’t really know much about his other work.
The plastic bag motif has been carried over from the menswear line. Will all future collections be reflective of the men’s? I think it’s always nice to move ideas back and forth, just the context of seeing men’s pieces on women starts you thinking of them in a different way. My work is kind of unisex I suppose, it’s never really going to look that draggy.
Do you design with a certain type of woman in mind? I think that’s a little bit simplistic, I think I know that it definitely isn’t a certain type of woman, but that again is quite limiting. I always think of women I know or work with and what they would wear. I think I’m really working on offering an alternative to dressy or pretentiously ugly.
In a way, you fuse luxury with streetwear to create modern and unique pieces. What are you favourites from the collection? I love the shortened knit and the tracksuit with the ruffles, they just have a modernity and an ease.
Shoreditch’s Redchurch Street is known for it’s creative spirit and undeniable sense of style. The latest addition to the now infamous strip of road is The Basics Store, a concept curated by London based designer Marina Guergova.
Set out to provide life’s everyday essentials, the month long pop-up houses Guergova’s own silkwear brand, Marina London, along with independent labels. Expect luxe knitwear from Blake LDN, contemporary footwear from Dear Frances, leather bags and accessories from Danielle Foster, jewellery from Clarice Price Thomas and Jessie Harris, as well as a selection of unique fragrances from the Intertrade Group.
As well as this, the store will also play host to a series of summer events and talks from the likes of The Pressery and Qnola, and you’ll also find music during their Acoustic Bench Sessions, when musicians will busk on the beach out front.
The current timetable looks as follows…
Saturday, 20th June – Qnola (healthy popped quinoa granola) talk & event – 10.45am Thursday, 2nd July – Poke (Hawaiian raw health bowls) evening food event – 5pm-8.30pm Saturday, 4th July – The Pressery (almond milks) talk & event – 10.30am Friday, 10th July – SPOON (natural granola) talk & event – 10.30am Saturday, 11th July – The Hardihood (raw, superfood confectionery) talk & event – 10.45am
The Basic Store is open daily until July 13th at 30a Redchurch Street, London, E1 6JL.
19-year-old Joline is of Caribbean-Dutch descent, born and raised on Curaçao. She loves to dance, from ballet to salsa, and her passion for movement is reflected in her poise and elegance, perfectly captured by Sophia Aerts.
On London
One of my favourite places in London would definitely be Shoreditch. I love the chilled, laid-back cafes and the colourful graffiti art that pimps up the walls. The colours make me think of Curaçao. Caribbean vibes in London… what’s not to love about that?! I discovered the area while running around London for castings. I had a go-see at Shoreditch House and when I came out of the underground station I was hit by such a good vibe.
On style
I would describe my personal style as city chic. I love to wear simple luxurious pieces with a colourful detail. I absolutely love leather, lace, and silks. One of my favourite pieces is this amazing leather jacket from Phillip Lim that he gave me for doing his show last season! I also received these super practical leather boots from Rag & Bone. It’s so great because I get lots of clothing and accessories from the designers I work with.
To celebrate the release of Twin issue 12 we have teamed up with American-made goods company Shinola to present the striking work of Detroit-born photographer Don Hudson, including previously unseen images. The 12th edition of Twin is all about attitude, and Hudson’s powerfully candid images are testament to the playful, tough and collective attitude of the long troubled Detroit and its surrounding areas.
Hudson’s photography naturally resonates with Shinola, a company that is deeply embedded in the city of Detroit. They are committed to returning some of Motor City’s former industry glory by choosing it as the location for producing their handmade watches and bicycles. Shinola has created local jobs and cultivated new expertise, building a strong sense of community and renewed pride in American craftsmanship.
Following in the footsteps of the likes of Gary Winogrand, Lee Friedlander and Robert Frank, Hudson’s photographs, taken during the 1970s, are a time capsule of American life from his point of view. Shooting at local fairs, rodeos, carnivals and parades, Hudson captured moments of communities coming together for a fleeting but all too important moment of carefree fun.
Here Don Hudson tells of how his love for photography developed, why he describes himself as ‘proudly amateur’, and what he wants to capture when he looks through the lens.
I was born in Detroit but grew up nearby, in a little town called Plymouth on the edge of Wayne County. The seed for my interest in photography was planted when I was a kid, when I was the one being photographed. I grew up in the 1950s and when the camera came out we became subjects, we had a certain place to stand, to look. Thinking back, the idea of the camera as a transformative machine must have lodged itself in my subconscious back then. My interest in it really took off when I got to high school age. I had a couple of friends who ran the yearbook and had built darkrooms, so I jumped in with both feet. I built my first darkroom in my mother’s laundry room—it was kind of a set-up, known-down construction on top of her washer and dryer, with the windows all taped up. I was fascinated by the magic of the darkroom.
Then I graduated from high school and went on to university, but I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I spent three years doing a Liberal Arts degree and drifting more or less, then in 1972 I decided that the only thing I really liked to do was photography, so I applied to an art school in Detroit, CCS (College for Creative Studies)—it’s funny because I recently realised that Shinola actually have their watch factory on the campus. I really delved into the technique there, I learned the zone system, I became a lot better technically. I was also exposed to the history of photography and came into contact with more people who were into doing the same thing I was. During that period what solidified in me—getting back to the power of the camera—was having a huge amount of respect for how the camera sees things. I want to let the lens record as much information as it can. My whole thing—the only thing I was interested in—was what was coming straight out of the camera.
The photographs that are in my book, From the Archives, were taken during the Seventies, which is when I was coming of age photographically. Lee Frielander and Garry Winograd were coming out with their books at that time, and a few of my friends and I looked their work and thought that’s it. They were in the generation preceding us and what we wanted to do was in reaction to what they were doing. That approach which looks like documentary photography, it’s very straight, but it’s basically documenting your own relationship to your culture through photographs.
A lot of what I shot was public events. I searched out parades, carnivals, festivals, fairs, rodeos—places where there was a lot of social energy going on. I spent four years photographing high school football games. Every Friday night the community was all about the football game.
I describe myself as proudly amateur because I took photographs purely for the love of it, there was never a commercial aspect to my work and no ambition in that regard. I’m lousy with self-promotion; I’m just not a person who can do it. I’m going to do this regardless of whatever popularity may come of it.
I think of photographs like this: they look like the truth, I approach them with a high degree of respect for the way the camera sees things, but whatever I decide to put four edges around is always going to put the scene into a questionable context. They look like the truth, but what is the real meaning of the image? You don’t know what came before that moment, you don’t know what’s coming after that moment, all you’re seeing is one little facet of time and space. That’s what’s cool about photography too; it’s intimately involved with the sense of time. I think it was Winogrand who said photographs are like new facts. They’re new facts about life. Over time there’s a certain power that the photographic image gathers, and I’m enjoying that now, whatever small ripples these photographs may be making.
Nike has opened the first women’s only store in Europe on London’s King’s Road. The 207 square metre consumer experience store that offers the best Nike’s performance products and services and is designed to inspire the women of London to reach their athletic potential.
Their latest West London outpost is the third women’s only store for the brand; Nike opened locations in Shanghai, China and Newport Beach, California late last year. Offering bespoke services such as pant hemming, gait analysis and bra fitting, consumers can also get advice on the best products for individual running techniques and training programmes.
The store also plans to become a fitness hub, with free weekly Nike+ Training Club classes and a Nike+ Run Club.
Nike King’s Road is located at 33 King’s Road, London, SW3 4LX.
A Model Moment is back, and we’re kicking off with Agustina, 24, of Premier Model Management, who hails from Montevido in Uruguay. A cookery-turned-sound-engineering-student-turned model, she has been in London for three months. Photography by Sophia Aerts.
On London
My favourite place to live in London would be Notting Hill as it’s calm and peaceful, but the area where I can do everything I love doing is East London – there are lots of cinemas and cool stores really close to each other, and Voodoo Ray’s. It’s my favourite place to hang out and it’s just magic on a Friday night, with awesome food. I first started going east for castings, but my boyfriend introduced me to it.
On style
I’ve always loved extra large clothes – big jumpers and shirts with tights and leather jackets, or my fake leopard fur coat. I also like high-waisted jeans and one-off t-shirts, or short dresses, big earrings and rings, as well as my “Maria” necklace. I’m never without a backpack at the moment. I recently discovered the 60s, and I find Edie Sedgwick and Jane Birkin truly inspirational.
Credits:
Make up by Bobana Parojcic using Nars Cosmetics Hair by Ditte Lund Lassen using TIGI Bed Head
NikeCourt x Colette
NikeCourt has collaborated with the infamous Parisian concept store, Colette, in honour of defending champion Maria Sharapova’s return to the clay of Paris. Reinventing the NikeCourt Zoom Vapor 9 Tour and NikeCourt Tennis Classic, both styles have taken Colette’s signature blue colors and iconic dots as inspiration to create a classic design that exemplifies tennis tradition.
The NikeCourt Zoom Vapor 9 Tour features the Maria Sharapova logo on the back tab of the left shoe as well as her quote, “I am not the next anyone, I am the first Maria Sharapova,” on the sockliner. The NikeCourt Tennis Classic honors more than 40 years of refined court style: It’s silhouette represents Nike’s earliest foray into tennis, making this shoe ideal for the current collaboration.
The NikeCourt x Colette footwear collection is available at global NikeLab locations and online.
Twin’s 12th edition is all about attitude. Edie Campbell talks to fellow model Saskia de Brauw about finding friendship and surviving the fashion game. Photographer Liz Collins explores the new rules of beauty (the good news is, there are none). Skinny Girl Diet, the London band with big ideas and a brilliantly bad attitude, let out a rebel yell. We get up close with talented multi-hyphenate Miranda July as she shares her singular views on middle age and motherhood. Then step inside the Milan studio of Nathalie du Pasquier, the French-born painter of Memphis fame, who extols the freedom of later life. Then another inspirational image-maker, Roberta Bayley, recalls Manhattan’s Seventies punk scene—the perfect accompaniment to 74 pages of scintillating summer fashion.
Mark Tallowin’s journey to becoming a designer of luxury leather goods is far from ordinary. Living in the desert of westTexas, one day he found himself fashioning a knife from a chunk of railway track. Of course all good knifes need a hand-stitched leather sheath, and from there a love affair began.
After locking himself away in what he described as “self imposed cave” for a year, studying, he collected his designs and boldly took them to one of the most respected ateliers. Tallowin understood that he needed to get as much advice from those in the know to really create something worthy of an industry one could describe as oversaturated.
To make sure every inch of his creations are practical, just as much as they are beautiful, Tallowin conducted what he called his 4.4.8. Experiment. After designing and creating four prototypes, he handed over the handbags to Jess Cartner-Morley of The Guardian, Camilla Johnson-Hill of The Production Club, Illustrator Extraordinaire Jo Ratcliffe and one other woman (who had to remain anonymous for mysterious reasons). The bag would be theirs for a week, to use as they wish and at the end of those seven days, they would pass it along to whom they saw fit. Each of the four bags passed through the hands of eight people, and the experiment lasted eight weeks: hence the name. “It was good to let them free after a year of keeping them so close to my heart. Putting them into the world and being like, here it goes.” The feedback from each host was invaluable and held advice he would never had been able to attain otherwise. The best advice he received? “Well the best thing was that it jumped the gender divide at one point, which I was completely not expecting. The largest [bag], went to Mr J Ashton from Dover Street market, who carried it off in style.”
With The Core Collection of just five handbags (and The Carta Collection of five wallets), it’s obvious we’re looking at the work of a perfectionist. Each with it’s own apt name, Splitwedge, Flatiron, Kettlebell, Nightjar, Inkwell; the bags are expertly crafted from vegetable tanned Italian leather, hand-stitched and taking over a week to create just one. And then there’s the discreetpersonalisation. Each piece is custom ordered, numbered and it’s owners-to-be name is written on a little vellum note, hidden in the bags lining. Every way in which to make them special, Tallowin has it covered.
Recently setting up shop in London’s Fitzrovia, with an oak work-desk by the window, the space perfectly reflects his craftsmanship: Blank walls – except for the handbags – and a beautiful wooden storage cabinet in the center. “I never expected to be a shopkeeper – it’s quite strange, but it feels good.” What you will notice, when walking into 4 Windmill Street is the bold print on the wall. This silk screen is the first in Tallowin’s Edition Project and is a design for a flag, conceived of by George Selwyn-Brace. At the turn of each solstice and equinox a new limited edition print, designed by a different collaborator will be released. This illuminates the fact that this designer works to a different sort of season; autumn/winter and spring/summer just won’t cut it here. “I’m torn between the fashion and the craft,” states Mark. “Perhaps I’m too crafty for fashion and too close to fashion for craft.” He prefers to be a pure craftsman that doesn’t enter into that specific fashion discourse.
When asking about the women who have bought the bags, Mark states: “It tends to be women who buy for themselves, which I think is a good sign… It feels like there’s a good strong sense of independence and purposefulness.” With that, we may have the next iconic, ‘power woman’ bag collection on our hands. But of course, this club is for those who want something a little more unique.
Tallowin is located at 4 Windmill Street, Fitzrovia, London W1T 2HZ
For spring/summer 2015 Converse has teamed up with the Japanese fashion house founded by legendary designer, Rei Kawakubo, for the fourth time to release the Converse Chuck Taylor All Star ‘70 PLAY COMME des GARÇONS sneaker collection.
This collaboration sees them create an exclusive four pair range of the premium All Star Chuck 70 sneakers in high-top and ox silhouettes. They feature heavy grade black and milk canvas uppers, a smaller toe box and higher midsole finished in solid white, reinforced contrast canvas heel strips, nickel hardware, thick cotton laces and a cushioned sockliner for added comfort. And of course the design is finished with the signature red heart logo created by New York-based graphic artist, Filip Pagowski.
The collection is available exclusively at Dover Street Market stores in both London and New York, COMME des GARÇONS New York and online at doverstreetmarket.com.
Dior has released the fourth edition of their Secret Garden saga, a series of films with different directors, models and moods, all located at Château de Versailles. This short features the new face of Dior as its star, Rhianna.
Steven Klein takes us to Versailles at night, where Rihanna wonders through the grand rooms and gardens of the French palace, clothed in the Esprit Dior collection.
“Rihanna’s mystery and intrigue combined with her razor sharp looks and sensibility, are the essential; perfect elements to create the stage for Secret Garden,” states Steven Klein.
Much has been said about the Teddy Boy subculture that emerged in 1950s Britain, defined by their unlikely sartorial combination of Edwardian dandy and American rock and roll. However, their female counterpart—the Teddy Girl—was all but forgotten until the recent discovery of a box of negatives from late filmmaker Ken Russell. His striking photo series, Last of the Teddy Girls, offers a rare glimpse into the lives, style and attitude of this retro girl gang—one of the first known female subcultures. Preceding feminism’s second wave, the Teddy Girl was a product of post-war Britain when young working class women took up more positions in the workforce, giving them a greater amount of disposable income than ever before. What money they earned went into their iconic looks—tailored jackets, rolled-up jeans, and flat shoes playfully paired with boater hats, brooches and clutch bags. Rejecting the social expectations for women of that era, Teddy Girls roamed in gangs; attending concerts and dances with boys in tow, and collecting rock and roll records and magazines.
Inspired by their rebellious spirit, photographer Boo George, stylist Caroline Newell and model Edie Campbell teamed up to create ‘Fine and Dandy’ for Twin issue 12—an ode to the swagger and style of original Teddy Girls.
Summer holidays await us; the time to start thinking about beach attire is now. And this season, the one-piece has made a comeback. No need to bare all, just enough to get some sun. You’ll want something that will look good while you swim in the ocean, just as much as it will drinking cocktails poolside.
Looking to swimwear brands we trust for design and quality, we pick the top four of the season.
Lisa Maria Fernandez Farrah Maillot Bonded Swimsuit, £303, matchesfashion.com & Prism Forte Dei Marmi in charcoal, £190, prismlondon.com
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