LONDON TRIP, DEC 2009

I did sort of forget to create this little visual post, but after being so inspired by my new London buddies over the weekend, I thought...'Well, now seems an appropriate time!'

So whilst traversing London, & seeing the huge upsurge in a Satorialist movement obvious from 'new' men's fashion stores & labels such as PRESENT, NUMBER 6, GARB STORE, ALBAM, THE THREE THREADS, London's all about men's mature, aristocratic-esque fashion right now. For once the ladies are following in it's wake.

Still, saw some great looks whilst there....Thanks to Nouks_art for the dope pictures!!

Corrections!

Whoops!..A couple of errors in the last post, lovingly bought to my attention by Ruby Pseudo after a few amaretto-sours, whilst starting a UK temp-expat night at Bitterzoet....with some soul performances of a night promoted by Narik of Full Crate, the highlight being the singer Szjerdene's, promo off [for free!] Collage: The Demo -- Then ending up at Amsterdam's oldest hip-hop bar, The Duivel.

[A thanks for the picture goes out to a photo stream from Lucy Rose, on Flickr. For those of you that don't even know Tipp-Ex, it was a correctional fluid used for typing, and was pretty messy as I recall!]

So...
1] I wasn't thrown out on my ear from my flat for Ruby's kids...I was kindly coaxed! & they've taking care of it too...thanks guys!
2] Curt Kobain = Kurt Cobain -- things got switched around in the old noggin when i was typing.

Thanks Rubes!

Way too Long

Yep....I'm back! After a crazy few weeks that have included tours of duty with sportswear brands [you know who you are!] it's time I get my Blog-On! So over the next few days, you may just get some short & sharp hits, but it's better than what I have been putting out lately....urhm...Nothing!

So here's a little something first. For you fans of unconventional, pioneering fashion, from now until April 11th 2010, Bernhard Willhelm [I had dinner with him once in Paris...lovely chap!] & Jutta Kraus, are having a 10th years working-together anniversary. It's at the brilliant [or so I've heard] museum in Groninger.


Speaking of exhibitions, for those of you into pop-art portraits, go to Maastricht's Bonnefanten Museum to see the 'Live Forever' exhibition of Elizabeth Peyton's work. I saw it with some mates at London's Whitechapel Gallery, & has some cool paintings of pop icons such as Jarvis Cocker [top image], Curt Kobain even the Queen, taken from press images & photographs...Good to see & get inspired. It's on until March 21st 2010.

Gotta get ready to go as I have some of Ruby Pseudo's kids coming to stay at my place...causing me to have to move out!!

"One's Day Shopping!"

I'm LOVING AMStitown right now...getting some time to hang out with some locals, giving me the skinny of what's up & coming....so as the-- good-blogger -- that I am, I feel it my duty to share the love.
Last week, whilst propping up my bike against De Baile's wall, I bumped into Richard Soesanna, one of the organisers of the MAFb [Music & Fashion Battle]...For those regular readers [hoping that there may be one or two] I was on the jury earlier this year & this year's battle was won by Wiam.
As THE winner, Wiam will have the opening fashion show at DOWNTOWN, just before/during Amsterdam Internation Fashion Week [27th-31st Jan] -- sorry but the dates are a little confusing --
Downtown is a lovely little concept in that in collabo with AIFW, it's the only week to have fashion shows open to the general public...that's you & me btw! But this time around, Richard & Marianne from MAFb, have given Downtown an extra filip by adding a concept called the One Day Shop on January 23, 2010, in Imagine IC (Bijlmerplein 1006-1008) in Amsterdam. Giving a nice bit of exposure to upcoming designers & labels like Fresh Cotton, Hanazuki & Blazinbell, you can get your shopping & pin-card on & support local talent!

Speaking of new local talent, Richard told me about this dude, Guillaume Chin, releasing some new luxury kicks...here's a link to his blog Whatpeoplewearthesedays.

Finally, much love & luck to Edson, Gee [From Patta] & Wix, opening a new store in 3 weeks time. You can expect a brilliant mix of style & street, done with a Global Village etiquette.

Lovely!

Sleep-over

I don't want to spoil this for anyone living in Boston, so in the old parlance of England's BBC1 news..."If you don't want to know the score, look away now."

Gone--Good--

Brand books, marketing bibles, hyperbole & blogs [this one not included of course] tell marketers to create consumer experiences. I'm not sure that any brand experience can ever beat the age-old, time-honored, exquisitely created, theatre production. So when a good friend of mine told me with wild, wild-eyed wonder, to go to a play called SLEEP NO MORE. I could hardly turn down the recommendation.
But seriously, if you ever want to have one of the best theatrical experiences of your lives, go & see it, even those of you in NYC! This play contains everything brand-builders crave. You, as the 'audience' are an interactive element of a play that goes on around you--in the rooms, corridors & other nooks & crannies of an old 4 floored school.

From the time you enter the building, you're enticed into the plot. You're given a white mask by actors in 1930's costume, with instructions not to talk whilst your in the building. You're then taken into a lift & [in my experience anyway] get dropped of...alone in a darkened, black corridor, illuminated by a few spot lights, not knowing what the hell to do. What you end up discovering are rooms decked out as film sets & actors appearing randomly throughout the building.

As an member of the audience, you intuitively realise that it's not a house-of-horror, but you're supposed to follow the characters through labyrinth of a school. As you follow them, scenes unfold from room-to-room, corridor-to-corridor, as they interact with other characters. You, the voyeur, have to work out the plot, as you decide which of the cast to follow...do you stay in the room with the character you just tracked in there, of chase after the one who just left, running down the dark corridor, pursued by other audience members also in white masks??? the beauty of this experience is it's sensory, it's emotional, it's tense... but better that anything else--the choice is yours.

So please please please...if you can. go & see this play...oh yeah & for you brand guys...you really can learn something from this.

Oxfam x Jamie Hewlett

Whilst casting my eye about East London last week and in particular the high-street which the Truman Brewery & Brick Lane is turning out to be [do you REALLY want to go out there over the weekend??? no not me sir!]. I was sadden to see so many of the retail stalwarts, those with a quintessentially modern English-ness to it...Gloria's trainer store & the fantastically retro-named Butcher of Distinction, have disappeared, gone-under, or whatever recession-type vernacular you would care to use...

What did warm my little heart though, was stumbling across the Dray Walk Gallery, that was showing UNDER WATER COLOURS a 'multimedia exhibition with Jamie Hewlett's [Gorillaz, BBC Olympics, Monkey: Journey to the West]' bloody genius if you ask me! 'refelctions on how climate change costs lives in Bangladesh'. Unfortunately it's finished now, but it was a beautiful, artistic & poignant view from a cutting-edge artist on a freaking important topic. The selection of artist, the positioning of the venue in ultra-hip [?] Truman Brewery, was very shrewd, to capture the attention of the creative crowd & get them to 'move'/do something.

So if you missed it, get on board for THE WAVE, another Oxfam initiative & 'join the UK's biggest ever demo in support of action on climate change'. Taking place on Saturday 5th December, starting at 12pm, thousands of people will stream through the streets of London, settling around the Houses of Parliment.

It doesn't take THAT much to get involved, just a change in attitude & a consideration on what is important.

Do It/Do Something!!

Smells Like UK Teen Spirit

If you want to learn a little bit more about the secret lives of teenage boys in the UK between 13 & 19 years old, read this article written by Simon Hattenstone, in the Guardian from October 10th 2009, summarising the Guardian Weekend commissioned survey of 1,000 boys by Echo Research.

Here are a few of the more interesting stats from the report...

'Some of the findings are predictable – 57% of boys spend at least one hour a day social networking online. More alarmingly, 10% spend at least five hours a day social networking online, 55% have been exposed to inappropriate online content, and 21% have had experience of cyber bullying. But perhaps the most astonishing finding is just how positive teen boys are: 95% believe their career prospects are good, 96% are ambitious about their future careers, 94% are happy in their home and family lives, 93% are happy in their social lives and 91% are happy in their school or work lives.'

The most annoying part of the survey is the continued demonisation of youth culture by UK institutions. Another more shocking story, concerned the children's charity -- yes charity!-- The Kids Company, who's poster was cited as being 'racist' by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority, for reinforcing negative stereotypes of young black youth.

If young people can't even be protected by a so-called sympathetic ear, then other institutions have an even further journey to travel.