SHOWstudio: FASHION REVOLUTION EXHIBITION...

The other day, I decided to take a little trip down to London to visit my big sis, Emma, who has just recently moved down there to start her MA in Journalism at LCC. We shopped, partied and had lots of fun, but I also wanted to do something productive and worth while so I dragged her along to Somerset House for the SHOWstudio exhibition, ‘Fashion Revolution’.

The first thing we were greeted with was the dreaded room of mirrors (warning: not suitable for the body conscious!) followed by a giant polystyrene sculpture of Naomi Campbell, on which exhibition visitors can post their thoughts or doodle using a digital screen and a projector.

Visitor participation and interactivity was a key theme to the exhibition, with live photo shoots and model castings using SHOWstudio viewers, as well as interactive screens and a highlight of mine which consisted of a seat and a telephone; at selected times during the exhibition, visitors can use the telephone to contact various different models who have been styled by Simon Foxton using garments by various different designers.

Emma’s highlight was the ‘Sound of Clothes: Synaesthesia’ an extremely interesting concept which incorporates image and music to describe clothes: using one of Nick Knights photographs of a Balenciaga jacket, Composer, Nick Ryan and a full on orchestra interpreted a different element of the garment with a different sound depending on the textures and surfaces! Amazing!

Film is an extremely big part of SHOWstudio projects and experiments, and there is an intensive archive of fashion film available to view at the exhibition (I could literally have stayed there for hours and hours) from the surreal fashion fantasises to those with an important political and moral message, pioneered by many iconic figures within the industry, such as Vivienne Westwood, Gareth Pugh, Viktor and Rolf, Nick Knight, Ruth Hogben, Kate Moss, Tim Walker…the list goes on…

The link between fashion and film is a huge interest of mine (Emma had mixed thoughts though, describing some of the short films as ‘too Zoolanderish’) and SHOWstudio has been a great source of inspiration… [Reflection: I think it would make a fantastic topic for my dissertation which I am to write this year…]

ONE TO WATCH: THE XX...

I am totally in love with this band at the moment; The XX...

To be honest I don't know much about them currently, apart from that I love the fronted girl/boy combo, I love their self-titled debut album (which only came out last month) and I love their chilled out, almost melancholic compositions, such as ‘Shelter’ and ‘Night Time.’

The band are currently supporting Florence + the machine, on her tour this september and are scheduled to support Friendly Fires in the US later this year... so you just know they are going to be big stuff!

RANKIN LIVE...

‘Rankin Live’ at the Old Truman Brewery, Brick lane, is almost two in one… The first being a collection of Rankin’s most memorable and magnificent photographs during his 22 year long career, from his self portraiture to a corridor of famous faces and even sections dedicated to his iconic model muses such as Heidi Klum, Kate Moss, Courtney Love and girlfriend, Tuuli…

[I loved the series Rankin titled 'SofaSexy', in which he turned a simple cheap sofa into an erotic object of desire...which I guess is what a good photographer does; creating something or someone ordinary into something beautiful and interesting!]

(image source: www.art-dept.com/artists/rankin/.../sofasexy/portfolio)

…The second being ‘Shoot Me Rankin’, an on going project in which ordinary folk (like you and me) can take part in a live photo shoot with Rankin and have your portrait added to the exhibition! And for those who don’t receive that lucky golden ticket, there is a retro photo booth so you can DIY:

[Reflection: Immensely interesting, incredibly inspiring and so so so much fun = Most definitely one of the best exhibitions I have had the pleasure to view.]

(Gallery wall as part of 'Shoot Me Rankin')

A FASHIONABLY LATE NIGHT...

Vogues Fashion Night Out last night, became a fabulously fun night out for me and a couple of friends and fellow fashion students, Peg, Emily and Katie...

Frolicking around London’s west end on a fashion and shopping high (and I might add rather tipsy by the end of the night), we started our evening on Oxford Street, led into Oasis by a pink Oscar style carpet (v. glamorous eh?) and greeted with many free cocktails and choccies. We were soon trying on sparkling outfits in Topshop and enjoying yet more free drinks at Urban Outfitters whilst having a sneaky peek at Simon Preens new collection.

(Real live models in Louis Vuitton's window)

A surreal and chance meeting with Noel Fielding led to an interesting conversation about his favourite shoe designer, with a name that you would rather expect to belong to a Mighty Boosh character; Archie Eyebrows… (check out his website www.archieeyebrows.co.uk, the shoes are actually amazing and very ‘Vince Noir’!)

Brown’s was full of London’s young fashion elite (of which we all decided we aspire to be part of one day) with Henry Holland, William Tempest, Jonathan Saunders and Pixie Geldof amongst those present…

In Burberry, I enjoyed the strongest vodka and tonics I have EVER had whilst talking to one of the writers for Vogue about my love for fashion journalism (he oddly recommended I wrote a piece on this blog on avoiding Mosquito bites as insisted Alexandra Shulman would read it as is apparently an avid follower..?)

After queuing for what seemed a life time, we finally were in Chanel, spectating on a live photo shoot with the fabulously brilliant and beautiful Daisy Lowe and Erin O’Connor… [Reverie: How amazing would it be to have fashion icons like themselves to model for my degree FMP photo shoots…?]

(Erin O'connor modelling Chanel's new A/W '09/10 collection)