Big up Twin Fashion Director Celestine Cooney for her styling at the Ashish show. We think she may be the one responsible for the model’s beanie hats, shades and pastel streaked hair. Nice one Celestine for bringing a bit of grunge into the vibrant and sequinned realm Ashishistan.
Few actors have consistently provoked like Samantha Morton. On-screen we’ve seen her skip town for Spain after her boyfriend’s sucide in ‘Morvern Callar’, get everyone talking as Sean Penn’s mute lover in ‘Sweet and Lowdown’ and even take on Marilyn Monroe in ‘Mister Lonely’.
Morton’s ability to mesmerise and disconcert is no less powerful in her 1997 debut ‘Under the Skin’. Here she plumbs promiscuity, masochism and rage as Iris – a young woman who tries to overcome her grief at the sudden loss of her mother through casual sex – pushing her relationship with her sister to the limits. The ICA are screening ‘Under the Skin’ this weekend. It’s well worth a revisit.
LoneLady, AKA Julie Campbell is a self-styled writer, vocalist and super-tight guitarist. Recorded in a ramshackle studio in one of Manchester’s crumbling mills, her debut album ‘Nerve Up’ invokes the ghosts of Joy Division, Wire and The Fall. Though her inspirations are dark and dour, her post-punk tunes are positively popping.
‘Nerve Up’ is out on 22nd February on Warp Records.
At 21 years old Keaton Henson has already had his own line at Topshop, produced artwork for band Dananananaykroyd and exhibited his illustrations from LA to London. Yet it’s music that’s his real passion. For a while he’s been making money from his illustration work with the aim of putting together an album.
Now – he’s only gone and done it. Last week Keaton released four music videos to a satisfying smattering of success. Shot on Super 8 and co-directed by his close friends, the videos beautifully mirror his soft-spoken, melodic voice as he tells stories of unrequited love. Some tracks are more sinister – in ‘Party Song’ the young Keaton confesses to wanting to kill the boyfriend of the girl he adores. Yet his naïve charm means you’ll be smitten nonetheless.
What captures the eye of New York gallerist James Danziger captivates us too. His personal blog The Year in Pictures sifts through the layers of our dense cultural world, distilling the best photographs, as well as other jewels, for us to fall in love with and delight in. Up there, a picture of William Eggleston and Charlotte Rampling, illustrating a post about Juergen Teller.
WAITING by Raymond Carver
Left off the highway and
down the hill. At the
bottom, hang another left.
Keep bearing left. The road
will make a Y. Left again.
There’s a creek on the left.
Keep going. Just before
the road ends, there’ll be
another road. Take it
and no other. Otherwise,
your life will be ruined
forever. There’s a log house
with a shake roof, on the left.
It’s not that house. It’s
the next house, just over
a rise. The house
where trees are laden with
fruit. Where phlox, forsythia,
and marigold grow. It’s
the house where the woman
stands in the doorway
wearing sun in her hair. The one
who’s been waiting
all this time.
The woman who loves you.
The one who can say,
“What’s kept you?”
Published by Knopf
Have you ever wondered what links Gareth Pugh’s PVC and Chanel’s LBD?
Black is the answer according to a new exhibition at the MoMu in Antwerp, that explores the history of its changing role in the way we dress. From Beatniks to Goths, subcultures have long embraced the dark side of dressing, and ‘BLACK – Masters of Black in Fashion and Costume’ reveals how the darkest of hues has captured the fashion mood for centuries.
The exhibition cuts a swathe through fashion’s dark past – from Sixteenth Century aristocrats, through to Rei Kawakubo’s avant-garde designs for Comme des Garçons in the Eighties – and encompassing female emancipation in the Twenties – thank you Coco!
Kaat Debo, director of the MoMu says: “In the Sixteenth Century Antwerp became one of the important centres for dyeing fabrics black, therefore, the city has a historic connection to the colour.”
With silhouettes on show from Belgian’s Ann Demeulemeester and Olivier Theyskens it’s clear that in Antwerp black’s not back – it never went away.
‘BLACK – Masters of Black in Fashion and Costume’ runs from March 25th until August 8th 2010, at MoMu – Fashion Museum in Antwerp.
www.momu.be/en
Who: Sophie Harris-Taylor, 21, Londo
What: Photographer
On her work: “I use a documentary process to capture the lives of the people closest to me. I like looking at the mundane – moments of intimacy, vulnerability, boredom.”
Influences: “My friends – I love the intimacy I share with the people I photograph, every one of them inspires me to take more and more images.”
Inspiration: “Nan Goldin and the painter Gerhard Richter have definitely inspired me the most over the years. More recently I’ve been looking at the incredible work of Maarit Hotheri and Nigel Shaffran.”
Sophie’s favourite photographs: “I change my mind on a daily basis. At the moment I’m working on my first book – these are the first images I’ve chosen to start the book – I haven’t got bored of these yet!” (See above and below)
Not many people know: “I don’t actually know how to use cameras!”
Forget everything your parents told you about not talking to strangers. Just one click in the world of ‘Chatroulette’ spins you through a virtual roulette of strangers ready for a webcam chat with you. Of course, we participated for research purposes only. Among the 5426 people on-line at the time we met a gang of four rowdy college students from New York, three over-friendly guys from Tunisia and a guy called Ryan who serenaded us on his guitar. And this could be a virtual fantasy, but we swear we also saw a mid-spin flash of the Jonas Brothers. The people we engaged with were less weird than expected, but that said – there was rather a high proportion of over enthusiastic men with a penchant for exhibitionism. ‘Chatroulette’ is a chancers’ game. Approach with caution.
www.chatroulette.com
chatroulette.tumblr.com
This week, Joana Preiss shares with us her top ten inspirational women…
1/ Sylvia Plath is a fascinating poetess. ‘The Bell Jar’ is, for me, a masterpiece
2/ Anaîs Nin for her freedom
3/ Hannah Arendt for her modern thinking. She was a big political theorist
4/ Pina Bausch is an essential figure in the history of movement and gesture
5/ Gertrude Stein for her avant-gardism
6/ Marilyn Monroe for her grace
7/ Lillian Gish – she’s divine
8/ Ingrid Caven for her fabulous work with Fassbinder, and for her singing
9/ Gena Rowlands for all John Cassavetes movies and for her incredible sense of improvisation
10/ Maria Callas for her unique voice
Who: Grant Thomas, 17, London
What: Fashion photographer
On his work: “Some of my best ideas for shoots have come from the most mundane situations. The other day I was smoking on the ledge of a second storey window with Debbie [his stylist] and I decided to base a shoot on that.”
Influences: “The insanely talented Sebastian Kim, and the few close friends I surround myself with.”
Grant’s favourite photograph: “I’m a sucker for liking my most recent work – so at the moments it’s an image of the strong-faced model, Georgia Davies (below). She’s standing tough, but elegantly, wearing a vintage floral dress, a white leather corset and the tallest shoes known to man. Truly good photos have the ability to make me cry – so I like people to feel something from my photography too.”
Not many people know: Grant’s originally from Wales and moved to London by himself when he was 16 years old.
At 13, Charlotte Gainsbourg made her musical debut with her father, Serge, on a record intriguingly titled, ‘Lemon Incest’. 24 years later comes a moving, and rather magical, album, ‘IRM’, made with Beck. Tellingly, the title is the French abbreviation for MRI, and explores the after effects of the cerebral hemorrhage that Gainsbourg experienced after a water-skiing accident in 2007. But far from being dour, the resulting album is an evocative mix of industrial clank, beating electronica and ethereal Gallic pop. We’re enchanted.
‘IRM’ is released today on Because Records.
We’re super happy to announce that Twin is now available at Berlin’s best magazine store – Do You Read Me? Situated in the heart of the Mitte district, it’s home to all the world’s coolest and most covetable reads. We’d just like to say – thank you for having us!
Twin’s cultural connoisseur in Paris, actor and DJ Joana Preiss shares her top ten tracks with us…
1/ Harry Crews : Naked In Garden Hills
2/ Lizzy Mercier Descloux : Torso Corso / Fire
3/ Joan La Barbara : Three Voices (Morton Feldman) / The Wonderful Widow (John Cage )
4/ Teenage Jesus and the Jerks : Everything
5/ Anna Karina : Ma Ligne De Chance (Pierrot Le Fou)
6/ Diamanda Galas : Gloomy Sunday
7/ Gina X : Nice Mover
8/ Lydia Lunch (and Rowland S.Howard) : Some Velvet Morning
9/ Millie Small : My Boy Lollipop
10/ Laurie Anderson : Born, Never Asked / O Superman (live version with David Bowie)
Some people just have it all. This time, the person in question is writer Molly Young. Not only does her wit make her one of our favourite scribes, but also pretty, charming and very, very young. Molly has already written for Maxim, The New York Observer and More Intelligent Life, as well as blogging alongside Spike Jonze on the official Where The Wild Things Are website. Not bad for a 22 year old. We wish her all the best and can’t help wondering when she’s going to add Twin to her prodigious editorial list.
Even though I’m not engaged (and please God do not let my boyfriend read this) I have already found my wedding dress – which is a big deal, considering my never-ending, maddening (for both my banker and my boyfriend) addiction to dresses.
When I discovered the ‘Sunday Brunch Dress’ site on one of my numerous trawls for fashion on the Internet, I thought I had found heaven. Beautifully twee, funny (the dress descriptions and blog are hilarious) and personal (sizes are based on the owner’s own ‘real’ body), the site urges us to ‘take time to slow down & dress up’.
With beautiful handpicked dresses by Heidi Merrick, Lorick and Keemia, among others, and showcases of work by owner Judy Kou’s favorite female artists – ‘Sunday Brunch Dress’ is truly a Twin kindred spirit.
When I emailed Judy about my dream wedding dress (no, I will not tell you which one it is, my boyfriend might be reading this), I got the sweetest, swiftest reply which finally sealed the deal, and made me fall in love with ‘Sunday Brunch Dress’ for real – quite an achievement for an online shop.
top picture: the incredible Aunt Judy dress
Eveline Taunadjaja‘s Ugly Duckling
The Kloset Must Be Mustard dress now on sale | Sunday Brunch Dress’ owner, Judy Kou
We wish the ‘Royal Dandie’ – the smallest miniature pot bellied pigs in the world – were sold in the UK. For our American readers, these very domesticated cuties will walk on a lead, and at 29-39 lbs are easy to look after and transport. But remember: a ‘Royal Dandie’ is not just for Christmas.
Tokyo based photographer Beezer”s images of the Eighties music, art and club scene in the West Country capital – “Bristol Wild Dayz” – go on show at the city”s museum and art gallery this week. Beezer who counted the Wild Bunch (Massive Attack to you and me) as mates captured some brilliant moments of a long lost and under-celebrated English early hip hop era. If nothing else, it”s a reminder that this city has been responsible for some of the biggest and best names in culture for the last few decades – Portishead, Tricky, Roni Size, Banksy, Bananarama……
“Bristol Wild Dayz” is at the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery until 31st January 2010.
‘Colour’ at Michael Hoppen Contemporary is enough to brighten anyone’s winter day. On show are a dynamic group of art photographers from Nobuyoshi Araki, Alex Prager, Tim Walker, Valerie Belin and Guy Bourdin – all of whose work is defined by their use of colour, pantone and hue. We love Daniele Tamagni’s energetic ‘Gentlemen of Bacongo’ which get another worthy outing having been moved straight from East London’s Trolley Books. It’s a vivacious display that livens up London.
‘Colour’ is at the Michael Hoppen Gallery, 3 Jubilee Place,
London
www.michaelhoppengallery.com
James Dean’s Last Stop, Lost Hills, CA, 2008 © Ofer Wolberger
Untitled, 2007 © Valerie Belin
Top picture: Pastel Cats © Tim Walker
Maggs Bros – one of the most beautiful purveyors of rare books and prints in the whole of London – have an exhibition and sale of flyers, photographs and prints all of a countercultural variety. The historical riches on offer in ‘Please do not bend’ are placed under some fascinating titles: Agitation, The Occult, Magic, Revolutionaries and Urban Guerrillas. Sounds like our kind of sale. One notable piece of left-field ephemera comes courtesy of the invitation pictured, sent out by Richard Neville during the infamous 1971 OZ obscenity trial. According to Carl Williams, curator of the counterculture section at Maggs, “On his way to the trial, over The Schoolkids issue of their wild underground magazine OZ, Neville added his own note to this invite.” We’re intrigued. My oh my, the publishing world certainly isn’t what it used to be.
‘Please do not bend’ is at Maggs Gallery, 50 Hays Mews, London W1J 5QJ from 15th December – 3rd January 2010.
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