Francesca Belmonte’s sound is sultry, distinctive and unique, blending RnB, soul, club and electronica with an avant-garde twist. Having worked in the industry for years with trip-hop icon Tricky, Belmonte perfected her talent and is now going out on her own. Her recently released debut, Anima, gives us insight into her world with sombre vocals that are broken up by beats, synths and electronica.
Twin caught up with the singer/songwriter to talk melancholia, favourite lyrics and how it all began.
So how did you end up in Music?
As a teenager I had a few friends with bedroom studios who were always looking for singers. I started writing poems from a young age but this was the first time I’d laid down vocals and ideas properly and I loved it. We would play gigs around London for fun and I realised very quickly it was what I wanted to do. I started working with more producers, experimenting and developing ideas. Then in 2008 when I met Tricky and my life changed. Within a week of knowing him I was on a two month European tour and then a month or so after that we were touring America. He invited me to sing and write in the studio which we’ve been doing ever since; and six years later he produced my record. I am interested in other things and I’d like to go back to school one day but music has always been priortity.
Why did you decide to go it alone after working with Tricky for so long?
Because I began to get too comfortable. I had no idea what I was doing when I first started with Trick. I knew I was good enough and that I deserved to be there but I was a novice with a lot to learn. The skills and lessons I’ve learned along the way both professionally and personally have been invaluable but six years is a long time and I began to get restless. It would have been very easy to just stay there, stay on his tour, in his studio. It’s an addictive cycle; make an album tour it and start all over again and being his singer this cycle was provided for me over and over again and all I had to do was show up. It’s been an enriching experience but I needed to feel scared again, I needed a new challenge.
What would you say is the most important lesson you learnt from working with Trick?
To leave your insecurities at the door. I learned this lesson the hard way and I’ll never forget it. Very early on we were writing on the tour bus in Estonia. It was a good vibe and he suggested I tried this particular idea over a piece of music we were listening to. I was apprehensive and said ‘No I don’t think thats going to work’. And the session just stopped, it was like I’d just murdered a member of his family or something, I completely killed the vibe and there was no coming back from it. That doubt I had was an insecurity that had no place in that creative environment and I totally got it. Later on he wrote me a poem to explain why he was so upset about it which is the opening verse of a song I wrote called I Could. He says often, even now ‘You have to try, you have nothing if you dont try.’
Tell us a little about the name of the album, Anima. What does it mean to you?
I came across the word while reading about Carl Jung and firstly it jumped out at me because it looked so beautiful written down and sounded so strong and elegant. Then the more I read into it, the more it resonated with me. It means soul in Italian and being half Neapolitan I liked that nod to my heritage. In Jungian psychology it is the female element of the male psyche which was fitting having been Trickys singer, the voice behind a man for such a long time. There is also an ancient meaning my guitarist told me about a few weeks ago which is the idea that everything is living and connected from a human being to a rock at the top of a mountain. To me the word Anima is about femininity, strength and the two existing harmoniously together. To be a woman is to know your power and to excercise it while retaining that feminine strength and vulnerability which can be challenging in the world we are living in today. There’s too much pressure put on women of all ages to be sexy and fuckable and not enough encouragement to develop ones skills and unique abilities.
Your music has melancholic undertones. What draws you to this style? It’s not something I think about, it just comes out that way. The album is often quite uptempo and dancey, but you’re right there are strong sad elements even in those seemingly more upbeat tracks like Lying on the Moon. I like sad songs, always have done so perhaps its just a cultivation of listening to a style of music which ultimately influences your art.
How would you describe your sound?
Alternative blues, experimental pop. Always a tough question.
You have said in previously interviews that you are very proud of your lyrics. Do you have a favourite line that resonates?
It’s hard to pick one favourite line. I want to write more songs like Your Sons, ‘Your sorrow, your sons a hero, but what for? I’m not sure. Your young ones get called and march on, but what for? I’m not sure’. I like the Brothers and Sisters lyrics too , ‘He’ll be waiting round the corner, he’ll be standing up straight, you may notice some affliction. Can you see him whats he wearing? Were his wings beneath the coat? Did he talk of revolution? Did he sing of every note?’ I want to write more songs like that, focusing on strong imagery and mysterious stories. I’m most proud of the Stole lyrics though, they poured out of me and it was like a purging.
Francesca Belmonte’s debut album Anima is out now on False Idols. Buy here.
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.
Run It Out is a documentary that tells one woman’s story of following your dreams; of not allowing the past to ruin your present or your future.
Directed by Tara Darby, the film follows Robin Arzon, a street athlete and former lawyer, as she sets out on one of the toughest challenges of her life – to run five marathons in five days in the challenging terrain of the Utah desert to raise money for MS research. As it unfolds we learn the reasons behind Robin’s motivation and why she feels the need to run such long distances, pushing herself way past her own limits. Running is her meditation, her release, her therapy.
The film is a celebration of strong women, love, life and running. It is yet to be completed, and those involved are looking to raise £20k to get the documentary finished and submitted to film festivals in Europe and NYC.
To find out how to get involved and help this story be told, head here.
Girls Only, the transatlantic art collective, are hosting an exhibition in London that opens today. Put The Text In Textiles will feature the work of Zoe Buckman, Rahill Jamalifard, Tatiana Kartomten and Elbe Koe, to name a few and focuses on the use of words and phrases in contemporary artworks, such as printed fabrics, quilting, knitted wool, embroidery, or painted clothing as material.
You’ll find nomadic American wanderer Jackie Sugarlumps’ jacket emblazoned with the motto “Don’t Bring Me Down;” and the Badlands 777 girls’ collaborative painted Elvis biker jacket, as well as others such as Elbe Koe’s deconstructed and re-collaged pink coat that recalls a peak in her development as an artist.
British curator Antonia Marsh founded Girls Only to support female artists and give them a studio space, voice and place to collaborate. We previously met Marsh to find out more about her projects that encourage collaboration and conversation (read the interview here).
Put the Text in Textiles is open June 16th-20th at 92 Picadilly, London W1J.
Off the back on her recently self-titled photography tome, Chloë Sevigny has released a new zine. Where the first centred on her style, No Time For Love, focuses on a more intimate topic; her love life.
Featuring images of herself and past loves, the 28-page volume is full of shots from photo booths, old polaroids and photos taken from friends, all of which which have been plastered with girlish stickers that cover the faces of the men pictured.
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.
Björk’s latest video for Black Lake, is a ten-minute-long film in which we find the Icelandic musician in a bleak landscape. It first debuted earlier this year, as the short was commissioned by New York City’s Museum of Modern Art for their Björk retrospective.
“I guess its time for Stonemilker and Black Lake to get out there into the world after a three month stint in a museum,” stated Björk. “We tried to make it in a way it was both at home there and also as a no nonsense music video (still my fav format) and I hope you don’t mind the wait.”
Created by award winning director Andrew Thomas Huang, along with choreographer Erna Ómarsdóttir, cinematographer Lasse Frank, and art directors Thorgeir Odinsson and Iris van Herpen, the video carries themes of pain, perishing, and rebirth.
Black Lake is the latest taken from Björk’s ninth studio album Vulnicura, which you can purchase here.
Suffragette, the first film about the Suffragettes – members of the 19th and early 20th Century movement who fought for and won the women’s right to vote – is here with the release of its trailer.
Packed with performances from the likes of Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep, the film is to open the BFI London Film Festival in October.
The moving trailer sees Streep nail a British accent and bring brilliance to her role as Emmeline Pankhurst, the iconic leader of the British Suffragettes, but it’s Mulligan who steals the show with her performance as Maud, a fictional ‘foot soldier’ to the cause.
In the short clip, when Maud is told that women’s protesting will be stopped, she replies: “What you going to do? Lock us all up? We’re in every home. We’re half the human race. You can’t stop us all.”
Suffragette is out in UK cinemas on 30th October 2015.
When it comes to column inches and tabloid notoriety the Kardashians have got nothing on the Mitford sisters. These charismatic socialites dominated the headlines of the ’20s and ’30s with their exploits, and perhaps the most controversial and complex of the siblings was Diana, hailed, incredibly, as both the most beautiful and the most hated woman of her day. After a spectacular launch into society as the teenage debutante who bagged the dashing and fabulously wealthy Bryan Guinness, she scandalised her set by becoming the mistress of Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British Union of Fascists. It’s a story that has been told countless times from every possible angle, including in Diana’s own memoir, The Pursuit of Laughter, but the story can stand another retelling because the woman at the heart of it remains an enigma, her actions impossible to fathom.
In Mrs Guinness: The Rise and Fall of Diana Mitford, the Thirties Socialite(The History Press, £17.99), Lyndsy Spence paints a compelling portrait of a woman with the capacity for passionate love and loyalty, but who was equally capable of closing her mind to the nastier implications of such deep devotion. Through unpublished letters and diaries she goes back through Diana’s childhood, teenage years and first marriage in an effort to understand how she became the woman she did. The composite portrait that she has pieced together may be as close as we will ever get to understanding the mystery that is Diana Mitford.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes – And Other Lessons from the Crematorium (Canongate, £12.99) is a highly unusual memoir by mortician Caitlin Doughty who’s passionate about demystifying death. She is a twentysomething woman with an impeccable fringe who has got funeral ash under her nails and doesn’t mind explaining how it got there. Smoke is her manifesto for how to live – and die – better, a memoir of her own coming-to-terms-with mortality and a deconstruction of the mostly quite appalling death industry. Caitlin, with her no-nonsense style and absolute single-mindedness plus a healthy dose of goth sensibility, bravely shows that death is nothing to be afraid of.
The Green Road (Jonathan Cape, £16.99) is a return to form for 2007 Booker winner Anne Enright who was named Ireland’s first fiction laureate in January. Set in pre-recession Ireland where there’s abundant optimism and bundles of euros, Enright is free to explore the idea of family without having to negotiate the country’s current economic doldrums.
Rosaleen Madigan wants to sell up her homestead and split the money between her grown-up children: two sons, two daughters. The road of the title leads the characters back home for Christmas to hear about their mother’s plans. It’s also a reference to how they have each escaped, whether to Toronto, or Timbuktu, or just up the road to Dublin. This is a familiar Irish narrative where siblings have fled the homeland for better lives and opportunities, but each of their homecomings will chime with readers. Familial disappointments, anxieties, failures, rivalries and questions around belonging are all delicately handled and Enright’s writing has an easy poetry, ‘Beauty, in glimpses and flashes, that is what the soul required. That was the drop of water on the tongue.’
Glossy book of the month: In Icons of Women’s Style(Laurence King, £19.95),Josh Sims introduces the essential pieces that make up the clothing canon. An essay accompanied by some fine fashion photography explains why each those perennial classics – including capri pants, A-line dresses, Breton tops – are always in style.
Anna-Marie Fitzgerald and Phoebe Frangoul are the co-editors and co-founders of the London grrrl-zine and literary salon Pamflet. Follow them on Twitter and Instagram @Pamflet.
Native New Yorkers Heather Boo and Emma Rose, otherwise known as BEAU, make the kind of harmonised blissfully soaked folk-pop with a modern new wave vibe, that sends you into a state of mellow melancholy, rooted in a fragile musical journey that wallows through their mindset and experiences – at times it’s a bumpy ride, with emotionally charged lyrics that underscore all those tear-inducing woes – “Is there such a thing as Karma? Falling in your life at the wrong time, when you’re sitting alone, an empty pistol with a glass of the wrong wine.”
Who knows what kind of wine is in their glass, but it suits BEAU to let loose. A little drama never hurt anyone did it?
Having worked with photographer Ryan McGinley, French cult magazine Purple and Gia Coppola for an Opening Ceremony campaign, BEAU have now released their self-titled debut EP via tastemaker Parisian label Kitsuné.
Ahead of their upcoming headline London show, we spoke to the multifaceted duo about their New York state of mind, personal heroes and good karma.
How did you both come together to form BEAU? We started making music when we were 13 years old. From the moment we learned to play guitar, songwriting then followed. By 18 we had written so many songs that we didn’t know what to do with them. Beau was the answer.
What were each of you doing before that? Emma: I was studying in school to become an ecologist. I’m very passionate about sustainability.
Heather: I was trying to get through High school and all of the drama that came with it. I was always affected by little things.
Your soundscape has been described as ‘70s folk Americana meets the West Coast’ – how would you define it? Children of New York.
And your musical break came through cult Paris-based label Kitsuné – how did they discover you? We met the co-founder Gildas Loaëc in Paris through our mutual friend André Saraiva. André told Gildas about our iPhone recordings of our songs and Gildas was all ears. The next thing we knew our relationship became deeply involved with Kitsunè. They are like family now.
So you hail from NYC and ‘New Wave New York’ is a hot topic right now – how do you think the mindset of young creatives there like yourselves, is adapting to the city’s changing cultural identity? The mindset for us at least is that the city’s cultural identity changed a long time ago so all we can do to preserve whatever is left is to continue to be ourselves.
The city obviously influences your vision – what else motivates you to write? Anything from an empty room to the most beautiful view can inspire us to write. It really only takes our imagination. You can write about anything and nothing at the same time, and then of course there’s the whole wide world at our creative disposal… it goes on and on.
And lyrically, where do you draw your inspiration from? We are really inspired by Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen for their impeccable writing skills. They always manage to penetrate the psyche with the least amount and most simple of words. It’s about getting a feeling on paper and making sure that whatever you are trying to say is clear. When an emotion enters our minds we use lyrics as a release, it helps express and relieve.
Music is a universal language – do you think a lot about the way other cultures are working when writingsongs? We try to make sure that our lyrics aren’t rude or offensive in any way, but also make a statement and touch people. If we don’t speak about things that matter and affect the people of this earth nobody is going to vibe with the music.
Talking of vibes – one of the tracks on your debut EP is called ‘Karma’ – do you believe in it? It’s funny you ask because both our Mother’s study Buddhism and believe in its power, but as for us.. we kind of just think of it in a simplified way. Bad things happen to bad people and good things happen to good people.
But you’re obviously both quite spiritually minded? Yes we are very spiritual. It’s all about energy.
And with the energy your music gives off, how would you like people to connect with it – what do you want them to take away? A feeling, any feeling, at the least.
You describe your EP as a mix of songs about ‘love, friendship and never giving up’ – what’s your life motto? Be true and you will live a true life.
And do you have personal heroes? Our Mum, Dad, Einstein, and all the doctors and nurses out there volunteering and saving lives.
So let’s talk about women in music and the latest conversation surrounding the lack of female performers at festivals like Coachella and Glastonbury, in comparison to the guys – what’s your take on it? We think it should be changed and that there should be just as many women performing as men. It should be that way for everything.
And what can female artists like yourselves continue to do to ensure a balanced and positive representation of women in music, so future generations have inspirational role models like we’ve grown up with? Stand up for our natural born rights, for freedom, for equality and live by these words: LOVE, SUPPORT, GIVE, BE THANKFUL, CARE, BE STRONG.
Now your own profile and fanbase is growing, what about the recognition side – are you ready to be stared at in the street? It already happens because we’re such weirdos so hey, yeah, why not!
What about social media – you seem to have embraced it and enjoy a good selfie? An occasional selfie never does any harm. Neither does the occasional post. We probably will never be fully enwrapped in the cyber world but we welcome it.
And your look is a real mix of girlie vintage meets street casual tomboy – tell us about the BEAU wardrobe? 501 Jeans and a faded T-shirt with some suede shoes. Perhaps a leather jacket or a jean jacket and the occasional terracotta silk dress. Trench coats are good too. If we feel eccentric we go super vintage. But it’s all hand-me downs. When a designer gives us a piece we really cherish it and only wear it on special occasions.
So you’re about to play a showcase in London – on a scale of excited to very excited, how excited are you? We are falling off our chairs, that’s how excited we are!
BEAU the EP is out now via Kitsuné and to win one of 5 pairs of tickets to see the duo play in London on June 8th at The Social, just send your name and email address to adam.guest@purplepr.com. The 5 winners will be selected at random and notified.
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.
According to UNICEF, more than 130 million women and girls alive today have been cut in the countries where FGM is concentrated – a shocking statistic indeed. That’s what Ione Gamble, editor of Polyester zine thought, and what she sought to highlight and fight by putting the rising abundance of female talent within the spheres of art and fashion to good use.
The result is Female Matters, a one-night-only group exhibition exploring sexual liberation in the 21st century, with all profits raised going to The Dahlia Project, a charity that supports survivors of FGM.
Taking place this Thursday, 4th June, the evening has been co- curated by Polyester zine and designer Clio Peppiatt, showcasing work from some of London and the UK’s most exciting female artists including as Charlotte Mei, Samantha Conlon, Maisie Cousins, Felicity Hayward, The Digital Fairy, Ayesha Tan Jones and Eleanor Hardwick, working across a variety of mediums such as performance art, photography, film and sculpture.
The exhibition will also showcase a group collaborative installation of over twenty pairs of customised lingerie and knickers from creative agencies, zines, and collectives such as Anti Agency, The Mushpit, Sister Magazine, Bunny Collective, the PINKD book, Girls Don’t, Baroness, Skinny Girl Diet, Lorde inc, Polyester, Hanecdote, Girls Only, Me and You, Maria Pizzeria, Clio Peppiatt & others.
4th of June- Box Studio Shoreditch. 7-11pm- one night only
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.
Feminism Friday: Spare Rib magazine’s digital archives available from The British Library
Iconic feminist magazine Spare Rib’s digitised archives were launched online by the British Library yesterday, providing selected highlights from the magazine, examining how it was run, why it was started and the issues it dealt with. Running from 1972-93, it challenged the stereotyping and exploitation of women, while supporting solutions to the problems they faced.
The archives are a testament to how much has changed in terms of individual rights – a quick read of the news pages provides examples such a woman being fired for wearing a lesbian movement badge – and a reminder of all we have won. Yet it is also a reminder of how much further there is to go.
Spare Rib is enjoyably full of self-parody, lightheartedness and warmth, a surprising product of that era – and your perfect weekend read.
Founded by Bridget Arsenault and Fatima Martinez-Moxon, The Bright Young Things (BYT) Film Club supports and features the work of up-and-coming actors and filmmakers from around the world. Hosting glamorous events at The May Fair Hotel, the two friends have made independent cinema affordable, accessible and fun.
Previous screenings featured the 2013 SXSW Audience Award-winning documentary Maidentrip, in which we see 14-year-old Laura Dekker set out on a two-year voyage, becoming the youngest person ever to sail around the world, and the Nora Ephron Prize winningZero Motivation, where writer-director Talya Lavie drew from her own personal experience in the Israeli Defense Forces and created a feature which is aptly described as ‘Girls meets M*A*S*H’.
Their upcoming event on June 9th will be the UK premiere of Guidance. In his directorial debut, Pat Mills – who also wrote and stars in the dark comedy – plays David Gold, a pathologically immature former child actor who never got over high school. Diagnosed with skin cancer and desperate for money, he fakes his resume, and gets a job as a high school guidance counsellor. Mills will be joining BYT after the film for a live Skype Q&A. Purchase tickets here.
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.
Joint Perception: Oliver Peoples and Byredo Pop-Up at Selfridges
In their latest collaboration, Byredo has partnered with Oliver Peoples to create a new fragrance and limited edition sunglass, exploring the cross between both sight and smell. To celebrate, you’ll find a dedicated window and week-long pop-up in Selfridges, London.
Inspired by synesthesia, the joint perception of the senses, Byredo’s founder Ben Gorham found himself in Los Angeles. It was there that he looked upon California’s sights through different coloured lenses and called upon the Stockholm based brand’s master perfumer to translate them into various smells that would then come together to produce one multi-faceted fragrance. “Oliver Peoples has never done anything but glasses,” David Schulte, Oliver Peoples CEO stated. “So for us to venture out and do a scent is a very big deal. I can’t think of anyone better than Byredo to do it with.” Each of the three coloured bottles of the new Byredo scent – which features top notes of Juniper Berries and Californian Lemon – gives a new depth to the smell and correlates to the three different photochromatic lens colours of the sunglasses: indigo, champagne and green.
“I have always admired Oliver Peoples for as long as I can remember and felt their approach to product was similar to ours at Byredo. It was important for me that this partnership had a true reason for being and synesthesia and the idea of joint perception became that. I have met artists, musicians and perfumers that display traits of this so-called disorder, and I have always been fascinated by the clarity of their descriptions,” states Gorham.
The Oliver Peoples and Byredo fragrance, sunglasses and box set is available now at their Selfridges Pop-Up until Thursday 28th May.
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