Few fashion designers are as uncompromising as Yohji Yamamoto. Guided by strict aesthetic principles, the Japanese radical has spent 30 years perfecting his dark, androgynous style. As he says in a new 30 minute documentary to be released this autumn, “I’m not interested in fashion…I’m just interested in how to cut the clothing.”
Staunchly private, for a few short months in 2009, Yamamoto let the cameras observe his Y-3 Spring/Summer 2010 collection taking shape, from initial design through to show styling and PR. With measured gravitas, Yohji Yamamoto: This is My Dream is a portrait of a grand master, whose musings on fashion, creativity and life have fuelled a global empire. Watch and learn.
Yohji Yamamoto: This is My Dream will be released on DVD in September AW11 and is available from Y-3 stores. thisismydreamthefilm.com
In his film for Yves Saint Laurent’s summer 2011 Eyewear Collection, French photographer Karim Sadli uses light and shade to monumental effect. Shot in black and white, models Othilia Simon and Clément Chabernaud are cast as alabaster sculptures, as mercurial light segues over them. Simple, strong and sleek – the glasses, like the film, evoke a beauty that’s as classic as it comes.
Last night’s Twin party to celebrate the launch of Twin IV was road blocked.
The lucky few were recipients of a rather generous bag of goodies. Here’s the breakdown:
Japanese fashion visionary Yohji Yamamoto deserves an exhibition that’s as conceptual as his designs. It’s apt then that Wapping Project has served up such an esoteric installation for the exhibition, Making Waves. Part of the Victoria & Albert museum’s major retrospective, the show comprises an oversized white silk wedding dress made with bamboo crinoline from Yamamoto’s A/W 1998 collection that hangs, solitary, in the Boiler House. The piece makes an understated statement that’s typically Yamamoto.
Meanwhile, over at the Wapping Project Bankside the works of the seven photographers who produced imagery for Yamamoto’s celebrated catalogues go on display. The stellar line-up features Nick Knight, Peter Lindbergh, Craig McDean, Sarah Moon, Paolo Roversi, Max Vadukul and Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. Though the photographers are familiar, the images themselves star the kind of women Yamamoto is drawn to – strong types rarely seen on the pages of the glossies. A man after our own sartorial heart.
Yohji Making Waves is at Wapping Project, E1 until 14 July 2011 and Yohji’s Women is at Wapping Project Bankside, SE1 until 14 May 2011.
Icelandic photographer Saga Sig’s fashion stories are as breathtaking and cool as the lakes and mountains she grew up with. Currently combining studying photography at the London School of Fashion with professional shoots for the likes of Topshop, the 24-year-old is a torrent of talent and creativity.
Twin caught up with her to discuss shooting fashion with friends, dirty London streets and dressing like a five-year-old.
Saga, How did you get into fashion photography?
I didn’t know much about fashion until I was about 18 or 19. I was quite a late bloomer when it comes to style to be honest. I used to play soccer, and in my teenagers years I wore Adidas and a Manchester United cap.
Then when I was 19 I started working in a vintage store in Reykjavik. I met some of my best friends there and we started doing little photo-shoots for the store. I would read magazines like i-D and Dazed and Confused, and a whole new world opened for me. I realised I could make stories and have adventures with fashion photography.
As my interest in fashion grew, I began to collect beautiful vintage items. You should see my closets now, they are full of sequins, feathers, crazy prints, cocktail dresses, vintage Versace and kimonos. I don’t really wear them that much but I like to look at them.
Why did you decide to move to London?
I moved to London in September 2009 to study fashion photography. I chose to study in London because I liked the creativity. London might seem like a grey city, but it isn’t at all. There are so many amazing talented and creative people that make it colourful and interesting. People are creating everywhere.
I like how the dirtiness meets the prettiness. The dirty streets meet the beautiful park, I like the contrast. I like how different it is to Reykjavik. I am so happy that I chose London; I have met so many wonderful people there and my photography has developed. I love every single day there.
What makes a fashion story come alive for you?
A fashion shoot that actually tells a story, where the styling, the model, the make-up and hair and the photography all come together to make a unique world. A fashion story is an image you get excited about, an image where you want to become the person in the picture. It’s an image that the viewer can relate to and believe that he or she can be a part of, yet still get lost in a fantasy world. The best fashion images are ones that never get outdated, images you can always look at, love and be inspired by.
What does fashion mean to you and your identity?
I love fashion and dressing up. I remember when I was five I used to pile on every piece of jewellery I could find. It was always prints, pink and quite acid colours. I dress quite similarly to that now. I feel like I’m never going to grow up, in style or personality.
Has being from Iceland influenced your work in anyway?
Yes, I think it definitely has shaped the person I am today. Because I lived in such isolated places in Iceland and wasn’t really aware of anything outside my little world. I didn’t really understand what fashion was. I read books, wrote little short stories, drew or played with my sister and brother and made little adventures in the amazing scenery I grew up in.
We lived in the national park Thingvellir, which is one of the most magical places on earth. It’s special for many reasons, it’s between the North American and the Euro-Asian plate, resulting in big cracks and earthquakes. There’s a special energy there I can’t explain. It really inspired me to start taking pictures. I wanted to document the beauty. I’m collector at heart, so I wanted to keep all my beautiful childhood moments forever. I learnt in my childhood to create my own stories and I’m still doing it now.
We love the work on your website– can you tell us a bit more about the shoots Beta and Slippurinn in particular?
The images Beta and Slippurinn are both shot in Iceland and styled by my friend Elisabet Alma. All my favourite shoots are done with her. We have been shooting together for years now. It’s friends having fun, almost like grown-up Barbie dolls playing. All the girls in the images are a friend of ours, wearing our clothes mixed with their own clothes. Slippurinn is actually shot outside my friend’s house in Iceland.
Nowhere else does fashion collide with art more vividly right now, than at the M.O.P Shop, the temporary residence of Maia Norman’s clothing line, Mother of Pearl. The designer’s Spring/Summer 2011 collection has hijacked her husband, Damien Hirst’s publishing outlet-cum-gallery, Other Criteria.
The art link doesn’t stop there – each season Maia works with an artist to create prints from existing artworks, forming the basis of her collections. This season it’s the turn of Jim Lambie, whose vibrant installations work hard in leathers and silks.
Californian surfer, Maia also infuses Mother of Pearl with a heavy shot of sports. Utilitarian pieces like the Havana and Toro jumpsuits and the Ortis anorak encourage effortless dressing.
The Mother of Pearl M.O.P shop is at Other Criteria, 36 New Bond Street, London W1S 2RP until 11th May 2011. motherofpearl.com
Danielle Scutt’s comeback collection at London Fashion Week A/W11 reminded us just why we love her. Bold and brash, her designs embrace the tongue-in-cheek side of femininity and tow the line between quirky kitsch and luxe investment pieces. Lashings of velvet, Schiaparelli pink lattice (to match Charlotte Free’s pink hair) and midi-length skirts were worn topless with blazers. It’s sexed-up, Eighties-style power dressing for now.
What really caught our eye though, was the surreal bling the models were sporting on the runway. The jewellery, a collaboration with Freedom at Topshop, comprised Art Deco inspired chandelier earrings (wear them on chain belts or broaches on shoes), gold chain cuffs, chokers and belts interwoven (some interwoven with platinum blonde hair) and teapot and lipstick charm earrings and bracelets.
The sun may be shining but we can’t help but lust after so the Autumn/Winter collections. One of the stand-outs was Sophia Kokosalaki’s collection for Diesel Black Gold. Since taking helm of the brand’s high-end line in 2009, Kokosalaki has brought her knack for mixing hard tailoring and soft feminine draping to the street-wear label, designing clothes that are cool, sexy and eminently wearable.
This time around, there wasn’t a blue denim jean in sight. Instead, raw shearling, glossy chestnut leathers and dark denim in Byronic tailoring were matched with oil-slick side-partings to create a look that was pure alt-opulence. It’s dress-up for the effortlessly self-assured. dieselblackgold.com
It”s your last chance to see Charlie Anderson”s pop-up gallery show in collaboration with Urban Outfitters. Anderson’s paintings are a visual mash-up of popular culture. Trashed posters, bottle labels and nightclub flyers are layered to form the rhythm of contemporary life. Running until Saturday at The Royal Opera Arcade play pokies online for Gallery the Edinburgh based painter”s work is the perfect match for Urban Outfitters” eclectic mix of youth fashion, kitsch and music.
Pop Art On Pall Mall is at The Royal Opera Arcade Gallery until 2 April, 2011. roa-galleria.com
Last summer, Twin contributor Niall O’Brien drove 6,000 miles across the American Northwest to shoot the McQ SS/11 campaign. Along with a small team of intrepid fashion road-trippers, they beat it up the coast of California into Washington State, Montana and Idaho, stopping off whenever the mood took them to shoot the collection along the way.
“When we stopped, it was usually at rivers and small towns where we’d end up hanging out with kids and locals, drinking beers, swimming, exploring and having fun,” says Niall.
The result is a fashion travelogue that is both an ode to young Americans. Be sure to keep an eye on the McQ website over the coming days as more images from the road trip appear on their Tumblr.
Guilt too often goes hand in hand with a spending spree. This Sunday though, the marvellous Wah Nails are hosting a huge sale where every pound spent equals good karma. One hundred per cent of the money raised will go to the British Red Cross, in aid of those affected by the Japanese earthquake and Tsunami.
As organiser Grace Ladoja says, “It’s difficult to know what the best way to donate is when disasters like this happen. Especially when it affects people you know. Donating online doesn’t often feel real because you are just pressing a button and you never know how much to give.”
As a result, Grace has called upon her artist and designer friends to donate the items on sale, as well those who simply have wardrobes stuffed full of clothes they don’t wear. Ranging from lables such as Moschino, Nike and Cassette Playa to old records cakes and art, it’s a white elephant stall like no other. And on top of wordly goods on offer, Wah Nails will also be offering a discount on nails and dip dye hair.
I liked the idea of doing a physical sale at WAH because it brings people together,” says Grace. “As well as buying stuff, they can hang out, listen to music, get their nails done and just have a fun Sunday, all knowing they are part of something that is helping people.”
Japan Relief Fund Blowout Sale, Sunday March 27 · 12-6pm at WAH NAILS, 420 Kingsland Road, London E8 4DG London.
To donate items, drop them at Wah Nails, 12-8pm Sat.
Claude Montana’s signature silhouette defined the age of excess. His was a New Look for the Eighties and Montana’s glamazons wore cinched-in waists, topped off by razor-sharp shoulders. It was a universe of bold colour, luxe leathers and power tailoring, where Montana reigned supreme. However the Nineties embrace of minimalism saw his vision without an audience, and in 1997 he filed for bankruptcy.
While the designer now lives quietly in Spain, his name retains its ability to evoke a decade of design. The Montana legacy has been compressed into a new book, written by the designer himself with the help of fashion journalist Marielle Cro.
Claude Montana looks at the principles and practices that underpinned his world. Punctuated throughout by catwalk images, sketches and tributes from former collaborators, including photographer Paolo Roversi, embroiderer François Lesage and fellow designer Alain Mikli.
With rumours that Montana could be lured back to designing under the right circumstances, we can only hope the book is less a eulogy, than the prelude to a restoration.
Claude Montana: Fashion Radical is available from Thames & Hudson, thamesandhudson.com
Images courtesy of Guy Marineau and Paolo Roversi.
Monochrome spotted faux fur and models sporting cute painted black noses and puppy ear hair; on first take, TopShop Unique’s Autumn/Winter 2011 show was as dotty and adorable as a room full of dalmatians. But TopShop’s in-house design team delivered more than just cartoon clothes.
Taking the American Jazz Age as it’s inspiration, Unique showed a collection of modern tailoring that evoked the glamour of Thirties Speakeasies and Industrial age New York. Knee high socks, tea-dresses and Mary-Jane shoes were fit for giddy chorus girls letting loose on table tops. While the sleek luxury of down-sized luggage bags and wide-legged suits paid homage to the Goldge Age of the motor car. Decadent and chic, clothes Cruella Deville would have killed for.
It is with great sadness that we must report that the prevailing trend at the Spring/Summer 2011 shows was for bare eyelids. No eyeshadow. No eyeliner. Just bare eyes, sometimes not even with a lick of mascara to define them. This was nigh on tragic for us because for decades now we have been virtually wedded to liquid eyeliner. Although not especially loyal to one particular brand, we’ve used everything from Lancome and Chanel’s smart eyeliner pens, to £1.50 e.l.f (eyeslipsface.com) which is not at all bad if you are on a tight budget. However a number of signs tell us that the flick of liquid eyeliner on the upper eyelid is not completely dead and buried, and one of these was the Bettie Page look Pat McGrath evoked at the Dior SS11 Ready To Wear show AND the look she created at the recent couture. Both featured liquid eyeliner in a feline flick extending from the corner of the eye right out to the end of the eyebrow. It’s still, along with red lipstick, an uber signifier of all things Fifties and retro, or even early Sixties actually. The Mad Men era was still working liquid eyeliner. The other thing that makes us want to cling onto it in adversity is the appointment of Gwen Stefani as ambassador to L’Oreal. Stefani is a big one for black liquid eyeliner, along with red lips it’s her signature look – a noughties rockabilly girl. So we are going to keep on wearing it, despite what other beauty pundits might be preaching.
Image by Boo George for Twin issue one. Words by Bethan Cole.
Sportswear stalwart Fred Perry’s collaboration with London designer Richard Nicoll goes on-sale today. Nicoll has designed Fred Perry’s SS11 Laurel Wreath collection, drawing on the company’s heritage for inspiration, then cleverly subverting it. While his own summer collection shows signs of a modern sportsluxe influence, the Laurel Wreath collection unites Ken Russell’s images of Fifties teddy girls with subtle, modern androgyny.
“I like the idea that something as conservative and traditional as a cameo brooch could become subversive in the right hands,” says Nicoll. “I mixed sport jersey with lurex piqué and brocade cottons to create a clash of sport and traditional Fifties couture elements in dynamic but recognisably Fifties colours such as eau de nil and peach.” Rizzo eat your heart out.
From Henri Cartier-Bresson to Helen Levitt, street photography has always offered viewers new opportunities for people watching. But since the blogging explosion of the Noughties one photographer more so than any other has become synonymous with street style.
The Sartorialist has been name checked in magazines across the globe, and his distinctive style has sparked a thousand copy cats. While you will almost certainly recognise his photographs, which are bathed in daylight and consistent in featuring only the most discerning dressers, you might not recognise the man himself, Scott Schuman.
In a new and fascinating short documentary by Intel, Schuman talks about his work and method. Here he explains the visual elements in his life and his love of taking to the street with just a camera, waiting to be seduced by his next subject.
“It’s so instinctual the way I shoot. The way I do it is just the way I do it. I don’t see 100 images a day that I want to take. I see two or three. So for me, it’s very easy to be patient and wait for those images because that’s just the way I assumed it was going to be.”
YSL had one of the more interesting beauty looks for SS11. Burgundy lips and centre parted, rolled up hair accompanied the catwalk clothes. It was bold, chic and Seventies inspired and not typically summery with that darkish lipstick. But very dramatic and a great look to take you from the depths of winter to spring sunshine.
Art students have long been relied upon to inject an irreverent attitude into the music industry and Chicks on Speed are no exception. Since 1997 the transnational collective have mashed-up performance art and music while continually smashing through clichés of femininity.
Their song We Don’t Play Guitars typified their DIY post-punk aesthetic and while they found a home within the Electroclash movement of the early Noughties, they remained joyously un-boxable. The group, aka Melissa Logan, Kiki Moorse and Alex Murray-Leslie, opened for Kraftwerk, released albums, designed clothes, appeared naked on stage and achieved cult status.
For their latest show, HAPPENING, they present sculptural objects that double as stage show props. From wearable guitar shoes with sensory strings to cigar box synthesizers, they twist the conventional band into a work of art. Each object plays upon male fetishes and in particular their DayGlo plastic stiletto is an ironic take on the cliché of male rock gods hammering out guitar chords.
With the spirit of Dadaism and the energy of anarchism Chicks on Speed continue to live in a world where what the lady wants, the lady gets on and does.
Chicks on Speed: HAPPENING is at Kate MacGarry gallery until 30 January 2011 katemacgarry.com
This month our favourite one-stop shop for virtual rummaging, Supermarket Sarah, goes uptown to Selfridges, London. From humble beginnings in the East End bedroom of founder Sarah Bagner, who curates and shoots physical ‘walls’ of objects for customers to click and buy, Supermarket Sarah has won support from Tom Dixon and showcased the work of designers Georgina Bacchus, Patternity and Bethan Wood.
Now, Supermarket Sarah’s design emporium will open the doors to its very own bricks and mortar shop in Selfridges, London. While the online wall lives on, the new Selfridges store promises the same blend of quirky collectibles, but in real time. Space is also being made for a gallery featuring all Sarah’s best loved designers. First up is Eley Kishimoto. Trolleys at the ready.
Supermarket Sarah wall will open from 10 Jan 2011 at Selfridges London, 400 Oxford Street, London, W1A. supermarketsarah.com
Tucked down a side road in Dalston, in a 6000sqft basement is Late Night Chameleon Café. Known by the acronym LN-CC the self-proclaimed ‘retail concept’ opened its doors this month.
The store is the brainchild of former Selfridges and Harrods buyers John Skelton and Daniel Mitchell who enlisted Twin favourite, set designer Gary Card to create the rabbit-warren interior.
A cylindrical corridor leads to the three fashion rooms showcasing the best of cult fashion design. In one room Damir Doma, Rick Owens and Ann Demeulemeester are ready-styled on mannequins or hanging from suspended rails. Emerging brands like Nonnative and SASQUATCHfabrix are in another while in the third room Raf Simons sits alongside Lara Bohinc and Mawi.
There is a fourth ‘Celestial’ space full of rare art, fashion books and records. All the favourites are here and then some: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Phyllis Galembo, Maison Martin Margiela and Harmony Korine.
But it’s the details that set this boutique apart from other retailers. The brands are carefully handpicked, cleverly edited and curated so that the space feels more like a gallery than a boutique. Built-in benches encourage thorough perusal of the records and art books. Oh and did we mention the changing rooms are on wheels?
LN-CC is a shopping landmark in the making; book your appointment now.
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