Our backstage series continues in Paris, where Twin sent photographer Alex Brunet to capture the behind the scenes highlights of Humberto Leon and Carol Lim’s autumn/winter 2015 presentation for Kenzo.
Twin Backstage: Kenzo
Moda Operandi Fashion Firsts: AndréLeon Talley
In the last video of Moda Operandi’s Fashion Firsts series, we look to AndréLeon Talley and the firsts that would go on to shape his momentous career.
A Model Moment: Xiaomeng
Next in our photography series we meet Xiaomeng Huang. Xioameng is just 25, and hails from Beijing. Signed to Viva London, the young model travels a lot and finds herself in different cities constantly. London is still new to her, but something drew her to Covent Garden, and more specifically Seven Dials. Previously walking for designers such as Louis Vuitton, Moschino Cheap & Chic, Temperley, Thomas Tait, Hussein Chalayan and Marc Jacobs, Xiaomeng is set to have a long and burgeoning career.
Here, photographer Sophia Aerts captures Xiaomeng just as she is; a model in London town.
On London
My favourite place in London is Covent Garden. I really like the colourful shops, coffeehouses and all the young people. A friend recommended the area to me, and I fell in love with it. I also like Oxford Street and London’s vintage shops.
On style
In terms of style, I’m quite casual and easy-going. I’m always smiling, which I think is better than any fashion accessory. The last thing I bought was a wrap from Uterque, but I love anything by Phoebe Philo or from Yves Saint Laurent. I love to paint – I would never be able to give it up. My other indulgences are facemasks and chocolate.
Hair & Make-up by Michelle Dacillo
Moda Operandi Fashion Firsts: Diane von Furstenberg
Diane von Furstenberg is a fashion industry icon. Here, in an exclusive video series by Moda Operandi, we learn about her Fashion Firsts, those moments that would go on to shape her career.
Dior & I
Dior & I follows Raf Simons as he started his role as Creative Director at one of the most infamous fashion houses. Filmmaker Frédéric Tcheng captures those first moments working for the brand and continues up until his first haute couture collection was presented to the world.
This soon to be released documentary gives you insider access into the mind of a designer, but also shows how everything from the ateliers to communications find a way to work together and create something as magical as a couture fashion show.
Dior & I is released on March 27th
Moda Operandi Fashion Firsts: Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele
Uber fashion stylist Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele reveals the pivotal moments in her career in this exclusive video produced by Moda Operandi. See more Fashion Firsts all week, here on Twin.
Pamflet x Twin: March Books
China is a rising economic force in the world, but little is known about the social and emotional lives of its young people. In Little Emperors and Material Girls (I.B. Tauris, £14.99) Jemimah Steinfeld gives a fascinating insight into a generation that has grown up in a post-Communist society and is the product of the one child policy. Attitudes towards love, sex, careers, family, money and politics are revealed through a series of amazingly candid conversations with Steinfeld – a journalist who lived and worked in China – and backed up by powerful statistics. This is a country with a population of 1.4 billion, with 300 million under the age of 30. In clubs, coffee houses and restaurants she meets ‘leftovers’ (unmarried women over 26), ‘bare branches’ (men without children) and China’s cash-flashing rich kids, known as fu’erdai. They talk about internet dating, parental pressure (especially on gay kids whose parents expect them to marry and continue the family line), financial struggles (turns out it’s as hard to pay the rent in Beijing as in London), sexism and punk rock. They describe feelings of loneliness and alienation, frustration and anger, but also hope and ambition. If you want to know what the future of China looks like, read this book.
Fashion + women + social history: Julie Summers’ Fashion on the Ration (Profile Books, £16.99) ticks ALL our boxes. A detailed account of the crucial role fashion played during WW2, this book brings rationing, clothing coupons and that familiar phrase, ‘make do and mend’ to life through personal testimonies, photographs and Summers’ evocative prose. The tenacity of the men and women on the home front is revealed through anecdotes; Vogue’s staff finishing an issue in the basement after their offices were bombed in the Blitz, Barbara Cartland buying wedding dresses for women in the services to borrow from a ‘wedding dress pool’. Fashion mags acted as tools for disseminating important information from the government, but also as morale-boosters – urging women to make the best of their restricted wardrobes and promoting the idea of ‘beauty as duty’, for their own sakes and for the pride of the nation. Summers analyses the roles of the top designers including Hardy Amies and Norman Hartnell in designing utility clothing (essentially the first designer/high street collaborations). Perhaps inevitably alongside this, the female silhouette changed and fussy frills were out, clean lines and simplicity were in. In a fascinating fact from social history, Summers reveals that for many poor people, the quality of their wardrobes improved thanks to the introduction of coupons and utility clothing which raised the standards of production and distribution. The influence of these seismic changes to the fashion industry, both in terms of aesthetics and manufacturing, can still be felt today.
Our glossy book of the month is Improbable Libraries by Alex Johnson (Thames and Hudson, £14.95 hardback). As public libraries all over the world are shutting down or shrinking, Improbable Libraries is a timely celebration of book-shrines in all their guises. Library-lover (and proud son of two librarians) Alex Johnson is not remotely nostalgic in this collection and instead shows what book recommending, lending and displaying can mean today. He mixes up images and essays on everything library, surveying mobile units, tiny bibliothèques and grand academic institutions. He uncovers some surprising book depositories in repurposed spaces (old phone boxes for example) and somewhat less surprising literature exchanges tucked away in corners of pubs and cafes. Whether personal or public, what a library is or can be is changing and it’s all optimistically documented here. These valuable community spaces, private sanctuaries, luxurious garden book dens and educational lifelines (like the incredible travelling camel library in the Gobi Desert) aren’t going anywhere. Browsing through these dreamy book-nooks made me think that the rather conventional alcove shelving project I’m currently working on could probably benefit from a little bit of these Improbable Librarians’ imaginations.
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.
Twin Backstage: J.JS Lee
In our last look back at London Fashion Week’s autumn/winter 2015 season, we turn to J.JS Lee and her collection of intricate details. Photography by Sophia Aerts.
Moda Operandi Fashion Firsts: Zac Posen
All this week we are posting exclusive Fashion Firsts videos from luxury online retailer Moda Operandi. Second on our list is American designer Zac Posen. Still to come are AndréLeon Talley, Diane von Furstenberg, and Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele.
Converse Made by You
It’s highly likely that every wardrobe contains a much loved, battered pair of Converse, if not two. This week, the iconic brand continues to cement itself at the cutting edge of cool with the launch of Made by You in London.
The campaign celebrates how each pair of Converse starts off as a blank canvas, before each stain, each tear and scuff, becomes a self-portrait of its owner. Fans across the world have offered their Chuck Taylors for sneaker portraits, and the resulting exhibition showcases the diversity of the wearers and their stories.
Converse have curated a selection of the sneaker portraits by international icons including Patti Smith, Jefferson Hack, Andy Warhol and Glenn O’Brien, as well as British representatives from various fields including Agi & Sam, Sibling, Sean Frank, Sam Taylor and Shay Ola. Each person has also shared their Six Word Story, a snapshot of their Chucks experience and life attitude.
Chuck fans in the UK now also have their own chance to celebrate their stories and their sneakers, as London-based artist Damilola Odusote will create an original Made by you art installation in Shoreditch.
The resulting exhibition features thousands of polaroids of Londoners wearing their Chucks and sharing their Six Word Stories, assembled into a structure of London’s iconic outline. Supported by students from Central Saint Martins, Damilola will construct the installation by hand within a gallery space on London’s Shoreditch high street.
3 – 10 Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6PG
Twin Backstage: Sibling
In our penultimate look back at London Fashion Week, we focus on the Sibling autumn/winter 2015 showcase. Photographer Sophia Aerts lensed the moments in the run up to their catwalk presentation.
Moda Operandi Fashion Firsts: Naomi Campbell
First up in Moda Operandi’s exclusive video series, Fashion Firsts, is Naomi Campbell. Watch her divulge her career beginnings in the video above. Industry icons Zac Posen, André Leon Talley, Diane von Furstenberg, and Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele’s videos are still to come. Watch them on Twin all this week.
London Fashion Week AW15 Highlights
As the fashion pack decamps to Paris for the next round of Autumn / Winter 15 womenswear shows, Twin revisits London Fashion Week – the off-guard moments, the new stars of design and the risk-takers who made us sit up and take notice.
1205
Back to Winter basics was the theme for designer and NewGen recipient Paula Gerbase this season, as her signature androgynous vision continued with structured tailoring, loose fit trousers and knitwear taking the form of longer-length dresses, high polo necks and a sleeveless knit tunic. Utility detailing worked against the neutral colour palette of chalky whites, navy and grey, as the Barbican’s glass roofed conservatory provided a leafy sanctuary and tropical oasis of calm during a hectic fashion week – a setting which blended perfectly with this effortlessly understated collection.
Charlie May
Turning her presentation into a live lookbook shoot – complete with photographer Yuvali Thesis and illustrator Clym Evernden capturing the moment – Charlie May invited the audience behind the scenes into her world of clean-cut modernism. Set in Mayfair’s art-deco inspired Beaumont Hotel, the collection presented an oversize silhouette as generous shapes framed the body in a mix of shearling, leather and rich wools – the emphasis was on tactile textures, quality cuts and winter seen through a fresh minimalist focus.
Helen Lawrence
Experimenting with the concept of deconstruction of textural fabrics, the designer drew inspiration from the tape-wrapped sculptures of British artist Phyllida Barlow.
Creating a collection which included oversize silhouettes in lambswool and elastomeric yarn, raw unfinished holes were left in the garments, paired with heavy leather boots by Kult Domini, evoking a woolly 90s grunge aesthetic.
Set against a landscape of meteor-like rocks, her vision transformed Chelsea College of Arts into a post-apocalyptic playground, with the odd pop of gold bleeding through the romantic darkness.
Christopher Raeburn
We are sailing was a key reference for Raeburn’s nautical-inspired collection, Immerse, which continued the theme from his AW15 Menswear show, offering a bold exploration of the textures, shapes and colours associated with a life on the seas. A merino wool cape, puffer jacket, pea coat and duffel coat all reinvented the sailor aesthetic, in muted blues and life-jacket orange.
His shark print motif was in full effect across knitwear and jumpsuits while fur detailing and long ponchos injected a casually luxe elegance into his signature mix of modern technical outerwear. Shark-shaped bags and mittens gave things a playful twist. Aye aye captain.
Joseph
The basement of a Soho car park complete with silver foil blankets for warmth, provided the setting for Joseph’s take on desconstructed femininity – and the blanket association didn’t stop there. Across an almost nude colour palette, heavy knits and blanket fabrics seamlessly blended with silk, fur and cashmere to evoke an organic cozy familiarity, as hard oversize masculine cuts played against the softness, unravelling a seductive femininity – inspiration drawn from the work of sculptor Robert Morris.
In a collection which included threadbare knits with drop-stitching, fur tunics and blanket dresses, all worn with velcro strap sandals and thick woolly ankle socks, it evoked the feeling of coming in from the cold, with added comfort.
Sibling
Do you wanna be in their gang? Yes please. The Sibling trio continued to put the fun into reworked classics, with an energetic collection which fused a myriad of textural styles, including signature cobwebbed knits, fuzzy furs, lyrically-splashed polished latex and a reinvented tweed two-piece in knitted lurex.
Drawing inspiration from the vibrant hues of the late Danish furniture and interiors designer Verner Panton, 80s neon pinks and sherbet oranges called for attention across colour-block knits, slinky knit dresses and skinny scarves, as detailing from beaded brooches and badges evoked those Saturday trips to Camden Market as a teenager, the one with only DIY on your mind. Slim and sexy silhouettes injected glamour into a collection which celebrated being too cool for school, complete with punk-edged mohawks.
The signature slogan sweater made its entrance too, paying homage to the show’s soundtrack by Blondie – Call Me it said, and if you saw one of Sibling’s girls hanging out at a party… you would definitely try to get her number.
Ashley Williams
From behind a key-hole underneath a neon sign that read “Ashley’s”, out stepped Georgia May Jagger and Alice Dellal along with a gang of cool cultish skater girls, transporting you back to the future, as 80s and 90s references signified a collection which celebrated subverting conventional dress codes. Taking inspiration from riot-grrl founder Kathleen Hanna, actress Chloe Sevigny and the 1985 Beastie Boys track, Girls, out came leather corsets (think vice and all things nice), heavy metal tees, neon pink cropped jumpers, fur bucket hats, vampish PVC dresses, leggings with knee holes, mini dresses decorated in patches, cartoon face print dresses and knit jumpers and skirts featuring graphics by Fergus Purcell.
This was in no way a bubblegum sweet collection, it was hard and fast for girls with a bold attitude who aren’t afraid to express themselves, defined by bratty slogans like “Improve Your Image. Be Seen With Me.” Now that’s confidence for you.
Ashish
Who knew that stripper chic could be so covetable, as a troupe of sassy girls stomped out clad in a powerful and provocative collection which drew inspiration from Jane Fonda’s character Bree Daniels, in the cult 70s movie Klute.
Signature sequin embellishment took on a new form across pumped-up camouflage parkas, mini skirts and jumpers with fur trims, while stonewashed denim was roughed up for the streets, cut into dresses, jackets and lace-up jeans decorated with stud detailing. Boudoir-ready nighties with lace trimming sent the temperature soaring, along with lipstick-red latex boots and a patchwork fur slogan jumper which simply read, “Sex” – watching this collection, you couldn’t help but have it on your mind.
Topshop Unique
There’s a new cocktail in town and it’s called ‘Topshop Unique’, as the fashion powerhouse blended one part outdoorsy daytime English heritage with one part slinky night owl, serving up a decadent mix of sexed-up kilts, vinyl miniskirts, dandelion print dresses with thigh-high slits, marabou trimmed dresses, embellished velvet frocks, Aran knits, retro roll necks and faux fur-lined duffel coats.
Mixing the conventional with the unconventional, this was a gilded happy hour full of posh girls from the countryside who come to the city to party (yah yah), kicking off their red square-toed velvet shoes at the end of the night. We’ll cheers to that.
Fashion Firsts By Moda Operandi
In a funny and candid video series, Moda Operandi speaks to industry icons Naomi Campbell, Zac Posen, André Leon Talley, Diane von Furstenberg, and Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, as they detail the pivotal moments that launched their careers.
Moda Operandi is the first online luxury retailer to make shopping straight from the runway possible. In this video series Fashion Firsts, produced by Moda Operandi Media Manager Bettina Santo Domingo, we hear about other firsts such as walking Marc Jacobs’ first show at NYFW and meeting Diana Vreeland. We discover why these moments hold such weight and why they remain meaningful today.
Lauren Santo Domingo, Co-Founder of Moda Operandi describes how “nothing in fashion is ever as thrilling, nerve-racking, exciting, or scary as your very first time”.
Moda Operandi is calling us all to join in the conversation, asking everyone to share their own fashion first by posting an image or video on Instagram with the hashtag #ModaFirst.
All next week we will be revealing a different Fashion Firsts each day.
Twin Backstage: Marques’Almeida
Design duo Marques’Almedia’s catwalk presentations are always a highlight on our London Fashion Week schedule, and this season was no different. Twin photographer Sophia Aerts captured the show and all its glorious details.
Twin Backstage: Thomas Tait
Our London Fashion Week series continues with Thomas Tait. As the first LVMH Young Fashion Designer Prize winner, there was much speculation as to what he would create for AW15. Sophia Aerts went backstage to find out.
Twin Backstage: Michael van der Ham
Next up in our backstage series is Michael van der Ham. Twin sent Sophia Aerts to capture the stunning autumn/winter 2015 designs about to walk the catwalk in the grand salon of the Tate Britain.
Delfina Delettrez Opens First Store in London
During London Fashion Week, Delfina Delettrez launched her first store in London, on Mayfair’s Mount St. Collaborating with Rafael de Cárdenas of Architecture at Large on the design, the new space continues her exploration of materials and shapes, combining traditional Italian design is with a futuristic aesthetic. “I like the element of distortion, the illusion of floating stones, projected on floating windows, and the malachite trompe l’oeil,” says Delettrez.
The store showcases the full collection, including the Italian jewellery designer’s signature ‘Piercing’ rings and earrings, in her original use of figurative surrealism and natural iconography including, eyes, bees and lips.
Delfina Delettrez is located at 109 Mount Street, London W1K 2TR
Twin Backstage: Helen Lawrence
Helen Lawrence presented her playful knitwear collection for AW15 at the Chelsea College of Arts this Fashion Week. Twin sent photographer Sophia Aerts to shoot all the action.
Andreya Triana at The Lexington
The music scene has been quietly abuzz with news of singer-songwriter Andreya Triana for some time now – her debut album was released in 2010 – but her sounds have yet to filter down to the masses. Collaborations with various prestigious artists including Bonobo (who produced said debut), Flying Lotus and Mr Scruff serve as true commendations in the music world, so, interest piqued, Twin headed down to favourite venue The Lexington to see her showcase tracks from her new album, Giants.
A combination of velvety-smooth vocals, catchy lyrics and beats peppered with brass melodies made for mesmerising listening, complimented by her wonderfully friendly, down-to-earth stage presence. Unsurprisingly, the set was sold out.
Favourite tracks include Gold, which is written about the simple love of music, as well as Giants, not to mention A Town Called Obsolete from her previous album.
Giants will be released on 4 May.
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