& Other Stories is the latest venture from the Swedish company that gave us COS and H&M. “Today, a woman with a love for fashion creates her own style,” states the new brand, which is why they are providing us with the ingredients to make up our own.
What first attracted us to the site was the fact that after a few moments browsing, you might as well be lusting after someone else’s streetstyle snaps. Using a blog-like layout makes the site and inevitably the brand more accessible. Just like bloggers, who have strong opinions but don’t necessarily force those on to you like a biannual glossy might, & Other Stories is doing the same. Trends are not there to be followed; they are simply guidelines according to the Stockholm and Paris design teams.
The Regent Street store is welcoming, modern and chic. With more products that are not on the site, we urge you to pop down and have a browse. What you are bound to notice is the quality of each piece. The garments are designed to last the story of your lifetime, not just the current season.
These are Twin‘s favourite pieces from their current spring/summer 2013 collection.
Dior’s status as an icon of French luxury fashion is indisputable, however it is a lesser known fact the designer himself was an enthusiastic Anglophile, often working with the likes of Princess Margaret and Cecil Beaton.
Dior at Harrods has been launched to commemorate this fusion of French style with British charm. More than a mere fashion installation, it is a full immersion into the house’s world of couture, accessories and fragrance with an added quintessentially English touch.
Raf Simons’ designs sit alongside royal beefeaters, Royal Mail postboxes are placed next to artistic reinventions of the Lady Dior handbag and a pop-up café inspired by Salon de Thé culture offers a Parisian take on afternoon tea. The collaboration also marks the exclusive launch of the brand’s new high-end fragrance, Gris Montaigne, a chypre blend of Calabrian bergamot, Turkish rose, patchouli, jasmine sambac and woody moss.
Whether you prefer to start by viewing the Avenue Montaigne facade or admiring the late fashion legend’s personal sketches, there is no better way to spend an afternoon than by getting lost in the far-reaching realms of the Dior universe.
With fashion month having drawn to a close, Twin looks back on our favourite unseen highlights of the season. From the flurry of backstage madness to serenely scenic moments amidst the crowds of photographers, make-up artists and hair stylists, read on to see our visual recap on the Paris Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2013 shows.
Twin loves a bit of unisex dressing and a good old designer collaboration or two. Thankfully, Dr. Martens and Brutus Trimfit have joined forces for yet another season to create what might possibly be the unisex match-made-in-heaven. For decades, these two heritage brands have been synonymous with sub-cultural style, acquiring a dedicated cult following of fans along the way. The duo’s latest collection in particular pays homage to the Suedeheads of the late 1960s with a re-creation of Brutus’ iconic gingham ’69 shirt plastered in a classic Dr. Marten’s cherry red and mustard yellow colourway.
Thanks to their refreshingly cool hand silk screen prints, ongoing collaboration with Twin fashion director Celestine Cooney and a special feature in our latest issue, Harry and Polly of upcoming label Draw in Light have won a special place in our hearts.
This season, the duo looks to have been inspired by moody sea landscapes and ship voyages. In their lookbook photographed by Ben Weller, breaking waves curl themselves across floor length-dresses, the first rays of sunlight add splashes of red colour to nighttime skies on T-shirts and pared-down versions of sailor’s knots make a reappearance on crop tops and shorts, resulting in a casually elegant collection.
Our verdict? Ahoy Autumn/Winter 13, we’re good to go.
The fashion week of all fashion weeks has started. To celebrate, Twin headed down to Paris to get in on some of the backstage action. First up: the latest collection by duo Peachoo Datwani & Roy Krejberg, founders of the label Peachoo Krejberg.
Photography by Fanny Latour-Lambert.
Grimes x Saint Laurent Paris
Claire Boucher, better known as her alter ego Grimes, has taken her artistry into an unexpected, but not undesirable direction. The Canadian creative has collaborated with the recently appointed Creative Director of YSL, Hedi Slimane. Or should we say Saint Laurent, although we do feel a little sad about dropping Yves.
The two met on a magazine cover shoot, getting on so well they decided to create a capsule collection of t-shirts for Saint Laurent’s Spring/Summer 2013 menswear collection. Designed to give us a look into the dark mind of an enigmatic songstress, we discover her take on Slimane’s own ‘love poster’ of the 70s. Although disappointed these graphic printed tees are meant for men, we still can’t help but want one.
Back last summer Azealia Banks tweeted a picture of her latest shoe-crush – a custom pair of JuJu jelly Babes that had been designed specifically so that they would glow under the UV lights of her on-stage sets. However for this summer, the original British-born jelly footwear company are extending the reach of this unique style of shoe to us ‘more normal folk’ with a launch of an entire collection of UV reactive sandals available in six eye popping colours… Now find us a shiny dance floor and blast out some Livin Joy on the stereo and we’re good to go!
The Autumn / Winter ’13 showcases may be in full swing right now but here at Twin HQ we’re still longing for Spring / Summer. We’ve been feeding our obsession with the current season with a little help from the Dutch fashion label, Scotch & Soda, who have given us an exclusive look at their latest lifestyle imagery shot by Philippe Vogelenzang in down-town New York.
Scotch & Soda and their sister line, Maison Scotch, have appointed models of the moment, Ashley Smith and Erik Andersson, to present the new collections’ key pieces, consisting of ‘Western’ influenced staples that feature Ikat patterning, fringing, relaxed jersey and prairie-inspired lace details.
As if these super cool shots weren’t enough the Amsterdam-based brand have also created additional content including an insider interview with Ashley and Erik plus behind-the-scenes Polaroids, all of which are available to view on their website now…
Fashion film has become the creative brand’s latest method of communication. This new medium is heralded by established and underground design houses alike. London Fashion Week has become a film festival of sorts, and this week one brand in search of alternative ways to showcase their Autumn/Winter 13 collections introduced an integrated fashion film and image project. McQ’s creative team collaborated with photographer Roger Deckker to devise a mood image series and a film to capture the brand’s youthful aesthetic, rebellious nature and street-inspired heritage.
The film takes inspiration from twentieth-century avant-garde Czechoslovakian and post-war Italian cinema but is set in modern London. Comprised of a series of unlinked vignettes, featuring models Maria Bradley and Botond Cseke, the short is both climactic and ethereal.
For our final London Fashion Week Backstage Access installment , Twin decided to venture to Simone Rocha’s eagerly anticipated A/W 13 showing, a nostalgic yet modern collection in shades of bubblegum pink, cream and lemon as well as leopard prints, accompanied by those infamous brogues. Originally inspired by the designer’s Irish and Chinese grandmothers, the result was anything but old fashioned.
We at Twin love a good team. Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez. Kate and Laura Mulleavy. Humberto Leon and Carol Lim. Here are three partners-in-crime to look out for …
DEER DANA
Name: Dana Veraldi & Kevin Tekinel
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA & Istanbul, Turkey
First memory: Drawing on napkins at Balthazar.
DNA: Something for everyone. Confidence with a sense of humor.
In a few sentences describe the highlights of your production: We design the tees together – choosing subject, sourcing images, going through multiple drawings and drafts until we are both happy with the design. Our tees are printed by our good friends in Brooklyn at LQQK STUDIO.
Finish the sentence…
Portraits…capture a moment.
Portraits will always…shine bright like diamond.
Portraits never…age.
First memory: Collaborative sketchbook outer space scenes with aliens back in 3rd grade.
DNA: Material, Composition, Application.
In a few sentences describe the highlights of your production: All of our jewellery is hand made in New York City. We design, prototype and produce as much of the collection as possible in our studio in Long Island City. We work with jewellers in the diamond district in Manhattan for all outside metalwork and casting.
First memory: We are identical twins; we used to play together now we work together. It seemed to be a natural progression. We never thought about it too much. It made sense to join forces.
DNA: Slowing down. Balancing opposites. Chaos and order.
Describe the highlights of your garments production: Each garment we design is either completely done by us or will go through our hands many times in the production process, for example to be hand dyed, embroidered or knit, it is a very labour-intensive process, sometimes the repetitive hand work becomes meditative. It is satisfying to be this involved, it feel like you are directly communicating with the person who will end up wearing your piece.
Finish the sentence…
Knits are…always beautiful.
Knits always…tell a story.
Knits will…keep you warm.
Giles Deacon’s show is undoubtedly always a highlight of London Fashion Week. With this season’s ethereal collection, inspired by Blackadder and shown on the likes of Kristen McMenamy, he once again proved why. Twin decided to take a closer look.
Lulu Kennedy’s Fashion East initiative is always a surefire platform for London’s latest design talent. This season, Claire Barrow, Ryan Lo and Ashley Williams displayed their inspirations for A/W 13, which included lampshade accessories, an Ally McBeal/Bridget Jones hybrid and lipstick prints. Twin headed behind the scenes to check it all out…
Kirsty Ward is most likely a name you’ve heard of before; if you didn’t catch her interview with yours truly last summer, then you no doubt have previously come across her distinguished statement jewellery and clean considered womenswear pictured on a number of fashion blogs, magazine editorials or even the odd stylish celeb.
When we last spoke to Kirsty she was revealing news about her Spring / Summer ’13 collection, so we thought it was only apt that she’d also share with us her highlights for this season — in particular a unique bag collaboration with fellow British designer, Sarah Williams of Williams Handmade.
“I’ve created several clutch bags in previous collections, however this was something that I’ve always wanted to explore further, so when the opportunity came up to collaborate with Sarah I was super excited,” Kirsty told Twin. “We first met at ITS#9 where we were both finalists in the accessories category but I’ve been a big fan of her work for years now – plus I think our aesthetics work really well together.”
The collection consists of four bag styles in total, all of which feature detachable and interchangeable straps so that the wearer can mix between the colours featured in the chosen pastel palette of pink, blue and grey. Similar to Ward’s own womenswear designs, Sarah’s clean, minimalistic creations form a perfect foundation to the bold signature jewellery pieces that Kirsty has adorned the surfaces and edges with.
The Williams Handmade for Kirsty Ward collection will be showcased along with the rest of Kirsty’s Autumn / Winter ’13 offering at the Vogue Talents Corner, Palazzo Morando, during Milan Fashion Week later this week.
John Rocha decided to take County Wicklow, Ireland as his inspiration this season, which resulted in a colourful collection of voluminous silhouettes, all topped off with equally eye-catching headwear. Twin decided to pay the designer a visit…
Thomas Tait’s designs for the A/W 13 season came emerging out of a neon fog onto the catwalk, in an equally bright colour palette. Accompanied by wonderfully asymmetric sunglasses, the vision seemed to read quirky cool sportswear — enticing enough for Twin to have a second viewing behind the runway.
For the A/W 13 season, Twin has sent photographers backstage at the New York, London and Paris shows to capture the moods of our favourite designer collections off the catwalk. First up, the Zuma photography series-inspired work of Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez at Proenza Schouler…
J.W. Anderson started his eponymous label in 2008, but it wasn’t until Autumn Winter 2011 that he created his first capsule collection for women. Fast forward a year, last fashion week to be exact, and his collaboration with Topshop was released to the world. After the great success of his high street debut, this fashion week sees J.W. x Topshop return for Spring Summer 2013. His signature styles and pieces are still evident, but have been given new life in more futuristic fabrics and muted hues.
“This collection was more about youth cultural groups. The girl has evolved. It’s about carrying over the idea of iconic pieces that can be worn over and over and re-working staple looks from the J.W. Anderson wardrobe,” says the designer.
Evolving from the previous collection, key pieces such as the kilt and motif jumpers are not only reworked in different fabrics but given a more laid back, modern twist. Expect neoprene and vinyl in a pale lilac and beige pleated midi skirts as well as Harrington jackets. A simple gingham or striped shirt, polo tee and duffle bag are all branded with the J.W. logo and will be seen on many at Somerset House this week.
J.W. Anderson x Topshop Spring Summer 2013 launches today in selected Topshop stores and online.
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