Category: British
Savage Beauty x
How to write about Savage Beauty? Can McQueen be captured in an Exhibition..or in the limited bubble of a post? The answer is no, but one has to try. So I’m writing this with the sound track to Schindler’s list playing in the background – it’s an earworm from the exhibition I’ll carry in my heart for a long time…and has made me, for the first time in over ten years, order a piece of violin music just so I can play it myself, softly at night with the back door open..
Cleverly, rather than chronological, the exhibition is grouped in thematic moods: Romantic gothic, Plato’s Atlantic, Highland..each room with it’s own presence: feathery oily gloss, crow black, cloudy foxed mirrors, decadent gilt, hospital white, all dripping quietly with the dark.
Wandering, discovering, uncovering the rooms is like being lead through the Minotaur’s labyrinth in a time chopped and spun dream.
(All photos from Google..no cameras are allowed inside the exhibition)
The Cabinet of Curiosities at the centre is the living brain with flashing synapses and pulsing electricity: Barnacle breasted leather, swooping scooping skirts, spit and saw dust, rich blood reds, spruced and scarred, gossamer held on wings, flammable laughs, chicken feathers in a slaughter house, murmurs, whispers, the glint of gold, leather and bones that wink, the haunting and the haunted. We accept these creations for the sculptures they are, the devolution, destruction, superb craftsmanship and extraordinary vision often without thought for the true effort they took….the room that followed broke my heart.
Go without expectations and you will find Lee, the insecure anti-hero leading the pack, looking inside and always expecting the worst, his discomfort then projected outwards into pure magical McQueen creative gold.
Walking out was a strange journey back into reality.
Laters, Kate x
Sarah Harris x
Sarah Harris, Fashion Features Editor at Vogue, started going grey at the age of 16.
She says: ‘It’s amazing the consternation and/or bafflement this is causing the people around me. I am ‘brave’ apparently. Or ‘mad’. And though I remain determined I can’t deny a frisson of concern at their horror. What if they are right?
How levelling to know a stunning, stylish, beautiful woman has the same issues as the rest of us..
It just goes to show..it’s never one thing..it’s the whole person and their ‘look’.
(All photos google)
It’s about all those cliched, over-used words..honest and authentic..and still being utterly fabulous.
Laters, Kate x
Totally Temperley x
It’s the end of half term and back to the school routine..I’m sad the lie-ins are over, but I’m already grateful it’s getting lighter every day, although I’m still wishing on the morning star for summer. At least there’s the rich mix of London Fashion Week to dive headlong into..
Termperley London is what you wear when you want to tell the person you love that you love them. It’s long lines, supremely elegant and a masterclass in wearing flats..
The silhouettes are lux and gorgeous, but it’s the effortless layering that really captures the eye. Competing currents that clash and compliment with equal eloquence.
Impeccable diction and great bones.
Detailed and tender.
It’s a potent combination of direct appeal, subtle perception and unshakable artistry.
Laters, Kate x
Neuter not Neutral x
Have you heard about Selfridge’s new Agender Project? Starting in March, instead of separate departments for men and women, the shop will stock three floors of unisex clothing for browsing by both. So is neuter the new cultural shift and a serious re-thinking of fashion? Or the prophetic skid marks of car crash about to happen? Or just someone with an unerring nose for hype indulging in the need for a good, loud scream?
Selfridges says ‘We want to take our customers on a journey where they can shop and dress without limits or stereotypes.’ It can be argued there’s always been androgyny..and the men’s fall runway highlighted a further blurring of the gender lines. It was only a couple of weeks ago I was listening to a discussion on Radio 4 about a new brand of neuter pants by Play Out – a sort of boxer for boys and girls – I would’ve blogged about it, but I actually found the designs desperately ugly in a post-eighties germanic way that really shouldn’t see the light of day again. But it’s definitely a subject making waves..
(All photos Tommy Ton from Style.com)
I wonder how they’ll manage the button debate – (to the right? Or to the left? Or maybe a coalition??) – not that it’s ever stopped me nicking The Husbands clothes. But then women into men has always been so much easier – if I look in my wardrobe I’ve shoes, jeans, shirts and jumpers all from the mens departments because I prefer the heavier, straighter cut. Men into women? Why not? I love a bit of flower with my masculinity..
Whether or not this is an anathema to the wonderful diversity of gender expression and just another step towards global greyness and generalisation, it’s going to be interesting..but the truth is, it’s just an eight week project..maybe just enough to get people thinking..
Laters, Kate x
MiH Magic x
MiH, the original British jean brand have brought out their easy wear, always stare SS15 Collection.
With their love of denim and lashings of groovy inspiration, their designs are classic, pragmatic, clever and very independent.
You really sense it’s an high energy, slow process with thought and quality poured in.
They catch the nostalgic vibe of pre-mass market, when things were built to last and gently soften in the sun, improving with age and use.
To be worn collecting sea-shells on a sandy beach..or blinged up with statement jewellery at a posh party in London.
They work.
Wholesome, exhilarating food for the eyes, I can eat it all standing up…and always want more.
Laters, Kate x
Finery London x
There’s a new label on the cyber-street..Finery London, led by Caren Downe who’s high street pedigree and gene pool includes buying director at Top Shop and ASOS.
She left ASOS disillusioned with the emphasis on commerciality rather than creativity…and has returned to fill what she sees as the glaring gap in the market: Women that know their style and want something more considered in the £40 – £250 price bracket, that magical hybrid of excellent design and affordable prices – and she’s certainly talking my language…
It’s a range cleverly jigsawed together – there’s a sense of calm and knowing, rare in the heart of the retail storm, with warm, welcoming air that gently blows you across the threshold..
The shoes are incredible..
With a rich current of ideas running under simple shapes, that cunning mixture of cool statements and strong balls.
Forensically clear with a sense of attentive stillness, but still authentic and heartfelt..I’ll be following this story with interest..
Laters, Kate x
Treading Lightly..
Yesterday I went to see the lovely Claire from Air and Grace at her new pop-up store on the Kings Road to catch up on all her latest news and styles. Claire started her label after spotting a gap in the market – she wanted shoes made for women, designed by a woman who understood what we really want – the true concept of beauty: style and comfort. It’s that word comfort that gnaws at something primal..
Her shoes are gloriously re-thought and inventively told, the tone is juicy streetstyle: classics with more than a twist..These are the Coachella’s with their glorious tan souls and beautiful stacked heels..the perfect ankle boot that’s been a hole in my wardrobe for forever…dress up, dress down..they cover all the bases..
And they have to be the most comfortable boot I’ve ever tried on. It’s rare you can walk a shoe out of a shop and spend all day urbanly running in them..but that is the beauty of these babies..
It’s all to do with the quality of the leather, the clever design..and what goes on inside each shoe..the focus of quality engineering that give feet what they really need.
Her range is impressive..but there’s more to come – The long stretch boots of my dreams? She’s doing them! the Coachella in ox-bood? Yes! The Coachella in leopard? Yes, yes, YES! Claire has a waiting list already..and I’m not surprised.
Seductive talking, well-heeled shoes for walking..dancing..and living. Isn’t the identified love the most powerful of all?
If you get the chance, all I can say is pop down to Kth & Kin boutique at 330 Kings Road and see for yourself..
Laters, Kate x
Stella Zoe x
The UK series of Strictly has been over for nearly a month, but I’m still missing girl-crush, Zoe Ball. An absolute natural on the TV, who wears her heart on her heart – it’s surprisingly hard to find a decent photo that does her sartorial and character justice, but squish your eyes and you could believe she’s rolled in from a rollicking night on the tiles with lipstick on more than her collar..but always the supreme professional.
Believe me, Zoe’s got the glam rockster chic look down to a fine art. In the final she wore this witty little number by Stella McCartney – but threw out the rule book on clumsy flats and went sky-high..
(All photos Google.com)
That’s ma girl..
Laters, Kate x
Haute Spot x
I have a sentimental weakness for the twinkling lights of Christmas – come tomorrow night, ours will be packed away for another year, marking the end of what has been a really rather lovely Christmas break…if self-indulgence is an art, there’s been just the right mix of celebrations and duvet days: The school routine and early mornings kick-off tomorrow and are going to be a seismic shock to the system..but now, excesses be damned, at least there’s something back in the tank to start the juggling again..and the harsh reality of New Year resolutions can wait another week: I like this feeling of cosy hibernation..
But if I had money to burn in this post-Christmas-spending-month-of-bill-contemplation, this fire-pit would be the object of my desires: Created by hand by the Artist Melissa Crisp and inspired by the north woods of Minnesota where the artist’s mother grew up it’s a living, breathing, visual delight..
Imagine the leaping shadows holding the cold of a winter frost at bay – that wonderful mix of being out in the elements, but warm…But until such times as the Lottery turns in my favour (as The Husband pointed out: would help if a bought a ticket), I shall just dream: There’re enough memories to keep flames burning…and simple candlelight and open fires aren’t a bad replacement..particularly if the candles are Jo Malone..sigh…and so once more into the darkness of winter we go..
Laters, Kate x
Happy New Year! xxx
From a very wet, stormy start to the year…
To the post-apocalyptic Christmas cake, complete with reindeer excrement, polar bear poo and a melting snowman…what would Grandma think?
Here’s to a fabulous 2015!
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 