Tweed Crazy

Sorry for no-nay-never posting over the past few weeks, my final major project has taken over my life. I'm doing a tweed inspired magazine, have a photo shoot tomorrow with some amazing tweed suits from Huntsman on Saville Row so I will post them pictures when I get the chance. I will be all yours come September. I promise. Here are some tweed images that I have been looking at to spark some ideas. They might encourage you to do something yourself!

World Cup Fever

World Cup fever is among us and already the likes of Wimbledon have been cast aside for the biggest sporting event in the world. With Ireland's failed campaign thanks to a blatant handball by Theirry Henri, I have decided to support Spain because a friend of mine is from Spain, and they also seem to have the most aesthetically pleasing team with Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso, Gerard Piqué and Pepe Reina. That and their football skills of course.

Everyone has been hit with the fever, even in the fashion industry. Louis Vuitton have designed a custom-made, 18-ct-gold travel case for the gold World Cup trophy in their signature LV print and colouring. Unveiled by Naomi Campbell, the trophy will be carried around South Africa in this beautifully crafted case until it is presented to the winning team. (Spain, of course)

"We are very proud to have been chosen by FIFA to create the case in which the world's ultimate sporting prize will in future travel the globe," a spokesperson for Louis Vuitton said. "This exceptional commission truly honours Louis Vuitton's 150- year tradition of craftsmanship and savoir-faire. We are also delighted to be part of the great festival of football that the 2010 FIFA World Cup promises to be, and to renew our ties with the host country South Africa, with which we have had for many years a very special relationship."

Something pretty to look at...

My Penny Lane Moment

The Strokes have been at the forefront of the music scene for the last decade, storming into the limelight with their debut album 'Is this it?' in 2001 and unleashing a guitar sound that was unheard of before. Five New York rich kids were behind this innovative sound that after a week of release, had everyone around the globe trading their skate shoes in for converse.

The band had not played together since October 2006 and have a few festival dates lined up, with Julian Casablancas, the lead singer, set to perform in between those dates with his own solo album, Phrazes for the Young. Their first port of call was set to be the Isle of White festival this weekend followed by a set on Sunday in Rockness, Scotland, but a photo posted on their Twitter caused speculation of a London warm up gig. Under the name Venison, tickets went on sale for £10 for a gig on Wednesday 9th June in Dingwalls, Camden,with no more than a 500 capacity which is reminiscent of their earlier choice of venue.

And so the adventure began. Record label connections, journalist bosses and Irish charm weren't enough to get me into the gig. We knew we were in the right place when we saw Ryan Jarman from the Cribs enjoying a pint in the courtyard as we stood at the barrier, along with a couple of hundred other hopefuls. The tickets had sold out in less than two minutes with the rest of the tickets going to guest list and industry people only. After a word with a barman and an attempt of trying to give out to two kids selling their tickets for £300, we got a tip off that the band would be entering the venue from the high street. We sauntered around the corner to suss out the area and saw a few other fans had the same idea. A rent-a-car pulled up, and all of a sudden, five beautiful men started walking towards us. Albert Hammond Junior with his usual slacks and suit jacket, Fab and Nicoli briskly brushing past with gear, Nick donning an orange tiger jacket over an oversized tank, and Julian in a tattered studded leather jacket, white high tops, sunglasses and a green hair extension flapping in the wind. I started walking toward him before my body could comprehend what was happening and a handshake and a quick 'How's it going man' set me up for life.



Adrenaline pumping, we knew we had to get in somehow. From the pub upstairs, there was another back staircase leading to the intimate venue. The security guard turned his back for one second and I knew it was now or never. Putting my high jump skills to the test, the red velvet rope was the only thing in my way and as soon as I had cleared that I knew I had to run. The drones of New York City Cops was the soundtrack to my break-in, and just top be sure, I bolted for the front in order to blend in. Those security guards, they aint too smart.



The crowd were going insane. Old favourites such as 'The Modern Age', 'Hard to Explain', 'What Ever Happened?', and 'Reptilia' sent us into a frenzy. All Julian could muster was a reiteration that this was their first gig in four years which added to the hysteria. The band gelled as if they had never stopped touring and their on stage chemistry was at its peak. Roadies came onto the stage to protect the pedals and amps from the dripping ceiling, and the band sweat with the rest of us. The crowd shouted up requests, with 'Juicebox' being the over riding song to which Julian replied 'Oh I don't think you're ready for that yet'. A note perfect Red Light calmed the crowd, and they ended the main set with a raging rendition of Last Nite.

The packed venue consisting of fans and celebrities alike such as Chris Martin, Zane Lowe and Edith Bowmen, screamed VENISON in unison as they returned to the soaked stage and leaped straight into 'Under Control' and '12.51'. Albert lit up a cigarette as he jammed with his white guitar. An apt choice for an encore, Take it or Leave It rounded up the experience excellently.

To meet your heroes is one thing, but to see them live in a tiny venue playing all their hits was another. Words can only describe the elation, but the memories are locked away for me to enjoy every time a Strokes song comes on my ipod.

You Only Live Once.

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New York City Cops
The Modern Age
Hard to Explain
Reptilia
What Ever Happened?
You Only Live Once
Soma
Vision Of Division
I Cant Win
Is This It
Someday
Red Light
Last Nite

Encore:

Under Control
12:51
Juicebox
Heart in a Cage
Take It or Leave It

Watch a video of Last Nite here on Pitchfork.

She's a Swann Fatale

Tucked away beside a hearth in one of Brick Lane’s many cafés sits a Swann. And no, it is not the bird kind.



Chloé Lenique is a singer-songwriter from Paris, France, interning at Dazed & Confused magazine as part of her advertising degree. The name Swann, she explains, is a character from a Proust book, A la Recherche du Temps Perdu. “Swann is a man who loves art and who considers it is something that can convey much more than it seems to”. Apart from the little obstacle of the sex, Chloé does just that with her folk music, conveying emotions along with her tales of loneliness and love.

Paris has been her home since she was born and living in London for the past few months has had quite an impact on her. “London is much livelier than Paris. It has been a great experience. I’ve learnt to be more open-minded about everything and more confident as well. People here are more outgoing and less ‘classic’ than in Paris.” This classic look she speaks of sums her own style up perfectly. With chestnut brown hair and a blunt fringe, a black lace shift dress and little ankle boots, she is the epitome of Parisian Chic. She does however, “like the idea of making Parisian style less classical with a pair of Topshop shoes for instance”. She’s a fan of French designers and notes Claudie Pierlot’s retro looks as a point of style inspiration.

The twenty one year old and her younger brother “grew up to the sound of music”, as she aptly puts it. Her mother’s guitar playing inspired her to pick up the instrument herself and she recalls music being played during dinner and whilst in the car. “I can remember listening to my Mum’s records of Leonard Cohen and Neil Young when I was eleven and to my Dad’s records of the Rolling Stones and Lou Reed when we were in the car. It has always been very natural in our family and this taught me to be very open-minded about music”. This influence so young sparked a rebellious side to Chloé as she recalls her first record she bought was something to the effect of ‘Barbie Girl’ by Aqua. She laughs whilst trying to justify the purchase, but comes to the conclusion that there is no acceptable excuse for such bad taste in pop music. Of course, we’ve all had one of those embarrassing music store impulse buys that we danced around our bedroom to so we’ll let her away with that one.


Playing live holds a big place in Chloé’s heart, and the emotive way she performs proves this. “Playing live for me is both a challenge and a painful moment. Not in a bad way, I mean, I need to feel my songs from the inside every time and be very concentrated, that’s why it’s painful. It’s a moment when I have to face fear and pain”. This pain and fear she recounts is not witnessed while she is on stage as it seems she is at home up there, with her guitar as a shield perhaps. On some of her London performances, Stephen Munson has accompanied her on stage with a harmonica, electric guitar and backing vocals, and this elevates her performances in bigger venues. But on songs such as ‘Lovely Girl’ and ‘Will I see you’, her folk influenced voice bellows out and captivates the room in an instant. Her favourite gig so far has been at The Old Blue Last, Shoreditch, but she also made a trip home albeit volcanic ash to play a gig at L’International which stands out for her also.



Inspiration for her heart felt songs depends on her mood. “Sometimes I feel like writing the lyrics first or sometimes the melody comes to be first. But the most important thing is that I always work on both at the same time so they’re coherent and one sticks to the other perfectly”. Her slow tempo songs are infused with ideas of loneliness and sadness, topics which often remain unanswered. “I write the words that come to my mind naturally. Most of the time, I won’t really know why I wrote it and it’s only a few days or months down the line when I understand”. Her demeanour is reminiscent of a young Francoise Hardy or Nico, the latter whom which she is a fan of along with the Velvet Underground. Some of her favourite haunts in London are flea markets and record shops where she recently picked up a copy of The Tallest Man on Earth’s latest record The Wild Hunt. Her eclectic music taste, she feels, is noted in her songs and that it’s a mix of all the music she loves.



Chloé’s time in London is drawing to a close and soon it will be back to Paris to record another demo. She also hopes to tackle an album, one that will be flowered with more country and folk filled songs no doubt. Next time a swan glides gracefully down a river or lake, be sure and listen to the joyous delights of Swann. You will not be disappointed.

www.myspace.com/swannmusic
Upcoming Gigs: The Constitution (London) 21st May
Le Bus Palladium (Paris) 18th September

Bill Hicks Lives On

Bill Hicks was a true visionary in the world of comedy who highlighted the corrupt politicians and commented on the US' major hiccups in both an intellectual and humorous manner. His abrupt jokes and harsh beliefs paved way for a new generation of thought provoking comedy, but his status has yet to be overthrown.

"Fifteen years after his death, Bill Hicks is now more popular than ever, and is widely regarded as one of the best comedians of the modern era. However, in America, where he challenged institutions and accepted ways of thinking, he suffered censorship and was never truly recognised. In the country which enshrines freedom of speech in its constitution, his story is truly about what it means to be an American. American: The Bill Hicks Story blends interviews and historical footage with a stunning new animation technique – manipulating 1,000s of photographs to uniquely immerse the audiences in Hicks’ world."

http://www.americanthemovie.com/">

Here is a list of the main British and Irish showings:
London Curzon Soho 14.05.10
London Greenwich Picture House 14.05.10
London Odeon Covent Garden 14.05.10
London Ritzy Brixton 14.05.10
London Screen on the Green 14.05.10
London Clapham Picturehouse 15.06.10
London Stratford Picturehouse 15.06.10
London Brentford Watermans 18.06.10
Glasgow Glasgow Film Theatre 14.05.10
Edinburgh Cameo 14.05.10
Edinburgh Filmhouse 29.05.10
Dublin Irish Film Institue 14.05.10
Cardiff Chapter 14.05.10
Bristol Cube 14.05.10
Manchester Printworks/Odeon 14.05.10

Extra Extra!

It's one thing to have a blog and publish your work online, but to see it in print in magazines is such a wonderful experience. I was lucky enough to be published in both Dazed & Confused's May Issue with Tilda Swinton on the cover, and Velour's first edition this month. The two copies sat side by side in the local newsagents and both had a similar colour schemes which made them stand out on the fashion magazine packed shelf. To quote Penny Lane in Almost Famous, "It's all happening..."

The Passion of Joan of Arc (Dazed & Confused May Issue)

The Passion of Joan of Arc, a silent film directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer in 1928, is being musically reinvented by Adrian Utley of Portishead and Will Gregory of Goldfrapp. The two artists have previously collaborated on a few different projects and a film score was their next port of call. Adrian admits that “We want to bring our own kind of musical aesthetic to it but without forcing it onto the film”. This new venture will encourage them to take the inspirations from their respective bands and unite on this iconic film about the trials of Joan of Arc. Will is “just delighted to be able to get our hands on all those different sonic possibilities”. The new score will be performed at the screening by Utley and Gregory, along with the Monteverdi Choir under the conductor Charles Hazlewood and is sure to enlighten the audience with an original collective sound. Adrian closes with a promise to create something innovative for the film; “We’ve deliberately tried not to listen to any music that has previously been composed for it because we just really want it to be something that is totally original”. The film will be shown at the Colston Hall, Bristol, on Saturday 8th May.

Full interview with Adrian Utley of Portishead and Will Gregory of Goldfrapp.




How did the project come about? Were you approached separately or together?

Adrian: Well Will and I had done things together before and we have this connection with Mark Cosgrove at the Watershed cinema, an independent cinema here in Bristol and he really started the ball rolling by showing us loads of films. Will and I wanted to collaborate on something and Will had already done a film score in fact you had done quite a lot hadn’t you Will?
Will: Yeah a lot of silent films.
Adrian: It went on from there really. And we decided we wanted to do one together and with Mark we watched a load of films and then decided on The Passion of Joan of Arc.

Was there any particular reason why you chose that film?

Will: Yeah I think that when you’re working to a silent film you’ve got to be careful. There’s a lot of films out there which are wonderful films but are very narrative driven, edit driven or plot driven in a way that makes writing music for them much more difficult. It puts you into a very much supporting role where the music is just serving the function of helping to tell the story which is fine. But if you’ve got a lot of edits or jump cuts a lot of change of plots or locations it’s actually quite hard to write a continuous piece of music that sort of adds up to something in it’s own right. Whereas this is one of the very few silent films where that is totally not the case. It’s very much these long slow moving, often very beautiful, close ups- yeah it’s got these close ups where the faces becomes sort of landscapes. It just means that you’ve got a tremendous amount of time to breathe with the film but also kind of go in your own musical direction in a way that’s not going to inhibit some of the musical directions that you might want to go in.
Adrian: Which was what were very keen to do, fairly strong ideas about kind of what we wanted to do musically or at least we can start to think about doing or experimenting with. And you know like Will said because of that narrative thing it’s actually really hard to find any films where you can do that, it’s incredibly difficult. And also ones that haven’t been really done many times before. I guess a lot of people are approaching silent films in the same way, there are people that are absolutely amazing at writing music or improvising to silent films in the old way but we just desperately didn’t want to do that. We want to bring our own musical aesthetic to it but without forcing it onto a film. And this seemed like it really would fit you know.



How do you plan on separating your work with Portishead/Goldfrapp from the score in order to create a unique sound for the film?

Adrian: From my point of view, my work that I do with Portishead is within that world. And sometimes it’s incredible, we have so many rules about what we will and what we won’t do within our music writing that there’s a whole world of music that I really want to explore that I couldn’t possibly explore with Portishead if you know what I mean so it’s a very good chance for me to explore those things with somebody like Will who I’ve worked with for many years and really enjoyed that other side of my life.

Will: Also I think that collaborations are very much about the chemistry between the people involved, and I think that you know obviously Adrian collaborates with Jeff and Beth and that I one set of kind of outcomes and you know I collaborate with Alison and that’s another but I think the mere fact that we’re collaborating with each other mean it will again be something automatically different. It is going to be very different what will come out of that just because of the two different heads.

Did you study the film and the original score, or try to steer clear of previous scores eg Cat Power?

Adrian: We chose to ignore it really. I’ve never heard the Cat Power one I don’t know if you have Will. I’ve heard the orchestral/choral score that was done for it, and you know that’s completely brilliant in its way is fantastic but its completely nowhere near what we want and it’s not really going to influence what we do. It’s really important not to listen to those things, I prefer to just take it as a piece of film and start from there

How much does it differ from the original score itself?

Adrian: We’re in the process of writing it at the moment, we’ve just started now.
Will: We haven’t even written it yet which is all rather previous, we’re slightly, eh we’re just trying to work it out basically!
Adrian: That’s what I was saying about it, being a chance to do this thing I don’t/usually do. I’ve been working with electric guitars like a mass, I’ve just did a piece where I’ve picked the electric guitar not long ago so for me this is a voyage of discovery in that world and um for Will also I guess. But Will you’ve been working with Choirs haven’t you for a bit?
Will: Well I think that was it really, we decided the parameters that we wanted to, because obviously we’ve talked about things we’ve really wanted to do over the years and so we decided that we wanted guitars, we wanted a choir. I think there’s a very strong religious subtext to the film where it’s sort of 3D printed onto the screen. But I think for that reason a choir would be kind of appropriate sound world but obviously how would you explore that and use that. I think we’re just delighted to be honest to be able to get our hands on all those different sonic possibilities. What is fantastic about working with Charles Hazlewood the conductor is that he’ll hopefully be able keep it going while we’re dealing with the fact that we’ve got to play a part on guitars or synths or whatever it is that he’ll be there sort of keeping everyone together and cueing all the things happen in the right places so that will be taking weight off our shoulders.
Adrian: Exactly he’ll take total responsibility for that
Will: Ye see he’s so good it won’t go wrong! So that’s good thinking.



And will you be be performing it on the night live?

Adrian: Yeah it’s going to be in the Colston Hall in Bristol which is cool and we’re quite keen to do it in places that generally aren’t cinemas so we’re looking at various venues for it to live on a bit longer and do some more performances, possibly in different spaces other than cinemas. So you know it would be great to do it in a church for instance cause it has, well the music we’re writing will suit and certainly the subject matter will suit well for being in a church.
Will: It’s a totally new score. And I think we’ve deliberately tried not to listen to any music that has previously been composed for it because I think we just really want it to be something that is totally original for this film. The great thing about film is that it’s a kind of thread which can draw a lot of different elements together and so we’re going to be able to go a lot of different places in the music. And the film actually is quite linear in the way that it looks which means that the more variety that you can bring to it in the music the better it’s going to be. So really it’s a great platform for music I think this film in a kind of unique way.

What kind of research have you done in terms of the film, have you read the transcripts from the trials or anything like that?

Adrian: Well we have got the transcripts of the trials that were actually published which might in some way kind fit in with hat we’re doing. But I think doing something like this gives you an opportunity to learn more about what was happening in the world at that time and it’s really interesting from that point of view, it’s a sort of lesson about history if you like. Although we’ll just be working to the film, just learning about what happened to Joan of Arc and what was happening at that time in history has probably formed our opinion of the film as well.

Will: Yeah I mean I think film buffs generally are very in love with silent film because it’s such a pure expression and it’s also right at the beginning of the birth of cinema so in a way there were no rules and Dreyer had that wonderful freedom that you find with any kind of new genre to kind of go wherever it wanted to go. And this in particular stands out amongst so many of the others as being influential, kind of has relevance beyond it’s own period and I think in that way, in fact I’ve heard people say that they think it is one of the greatest films ever made.

Adrian: I’ve heard that too, and we were saying that the influence it’s had on film Sergio Gianni, like you look at the close ups of Joan of Arc, that’s got to be really powerful. Like those huge close ups in Once Upon a Time in the West or A Fistful of Dollars or whatever. Or Clint Eastwood ye know all of his face on the screen and Dreyer who directed Joan of Arc had that vision all that time back that which is amazing. Which also makes it a spectacle in a really big space with the giant faces on the screen.
Will: And that’s all they have to express themselves with um, apart from the odd bit of subtitle. So it means that the film has to work in a very pure sort of way to tell the story literally with people’s facial expressions.

May Music

First gig of the surprising early summer is The National at the Royal Albert Hall on Thursday, 6th May. Their new album, High Violet, has been streaming on the NY Times Online in order to create a bloodbuzz for their fans that will be lucky enough to catch them at the famous theatre in London. The five piece band originally from Cincinnati, Ohio but came together as a group in the heart of Brooklyn, NY, are on the bill of many a festival this summer but have scheduled in this one off gig for their British fans. If anyone wishes to go with me please don't hesitate to call me as I am not brave enough to go it alone.

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Swann, French singer Chloé Lenique, has been interning at Dazed and Confused for the past few months and has taken advantage of the London music scene playing a handful of intimate gigs. Her folk inspired love songs and delightful accent makes for an interesting live performances. With a great set in many iconic London venues such as the Lock Tavern (Camden) and The Good Ship (Kilburn) under her belt, and two more in the coming weeks, Chloé is sure to make a name for herself here before returning to Paris in the summer.



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Upcoming Gigs:
- 10th May : 93 Feet East (Brick Lane)
150 Brick Lane

- 21th May : The Constitution (Camden)
42 St. Pancras Way, Camden



The Brian Jonestown Massacre are renowned for on-stage brawls and bust ups, most famously the one that was caught on camera during filming of 2005's documentary DIG! which followed both BJM and the Dandy Warhols in a bid to become the better band. Anton Newcombe, lead singer, guitarist and song writer has come a long way since then but some say his new clean image taints the music BJM produced back in the 1990s. No doubt it will be showcase of new material, but here's hoping they throw a few classics into the mix in their set on 14th May at the 02 Shepherds Bush Empire.

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Fm Belfast hail from Reykjavick, Iceland, and were formed after a humorous birthday present of a mix-tape turned out to be the soundtrack to the party. They will be playing at Madame Mo-Jo's off Regent St on the 18th May and again at the Stag and Dagger festival on the 21st. Don't miss out on their catchy electro beats and wacky lyrics combo.

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I'm sure there a many more but assignments and deadlines will prevent me from going gig crazy until June.

www.myspace.com/fmbelfast
www.myspace.com/swannmusic

Erdem Moralioglu is a Nutcracker

A short timid man enters UCA Epsom’s Gallery in rolled up chinos, buttoned up check shirt and Cutler & Gross thick-rimmed specs. Wide-eyed and undoubtedly a bit intimidated by the eager fashion students staring down at him, he doesn’t let this affect his Canadian tinted voice. Reminiscent of a young Yves Saint Laurent, he captivates the room from the beginning.

Erderm Moralioglu, founder and head designer of Erdem, has had a hectic five years. Since his graduate collection at the end of a two year MA at the Royal College of Art in 2001, he has been pounced on by fashion buyers and editors alike, most recently Anna Wintour, who chose him for the Vogue Fashion Fund this year- something which he marks as a highlight of his budding career.

to a British mother and Turkish father, Erdem and his twin sister grew up in Canada with a very broad cultural background. He recalls his mother reading tales of the Nutcracker before bed and taking them to galleries and museums from a young age. His parents emigrated when they were in their early thirties and that affected the way he and his sister were brought up. He admits that they influence his work greatly, and “there was a great juxtaposition of cultures when I was growing up. We’d travel to Turkey one minute and be looking at the Towers of London the next”. He fondly remembers doodling women figures in the margins of copy books as a child, a silhouette that has rarely changed and remains the Erdem woman he designs for today.




(A/W10)

Luckily his parents were very open about their children’s interests and let them study whatever they wanted. After graduating from Ryerson University in Toronto, Moralioglu attended RCA in London which provided an integral chapter in his fashion career. He occasionally lectures at the University as well as uses the vast library books on offer. “Sometimes I go and sit in the same seat I did when I was a student and burrow into a stack of design books”, and to the fashion followers surprise, no one seems to bother him. Not that he knows of anyway as he has “bad peripheral vision”. He speaks warmly of the college that propelled him into the limelight as he got to see some great people lecture there, people who still inspire him today such as the artist Wolfgang Tillmans (who is featured on the cover of this season's Fantastic Man).




(A/W10)
Much like many fashion students today, Erdem completed a handful of internships in order to gain invaluable experience and insight into the fashion world. He was scouted for Diane Von Furstenburg and moved to New York to work in-house. He then went onto work at Vivienne Westwood where he was nestled away in the houses’ archive- something which excited him as he got to touch and study iconic Westwood garments- as well as make cups of coffee, a trait which all interns much possess.



(S/S10)

Working at these great fashion houses, he always knew in the back of his mind that he wanted to start his own label, which was conceived in 2005. His intimate studio in Bethnal Green just keeps on growing, from two members of staff at the beginning (himself included) to the six right-hand-men/women he has on his team now. He would like to expand the studio if he can in the future, and he feels the diversity and mishmash of cultures in London really influence his designs unconsciously. The design process he describes is that of a complicated one. Known for his wonderful floral prints, he is a firm believer in digital print and the technology that is available to elevate his doodles in margins to iconic prints. Photoshop and other design programs help manipulate his prints, even if he does use it “badly”, and some end up coming together by accident and turn out to be strong focal points in his collections. He likes when he can trick the eye, making it look “as if it has been done by hand even if it is computer generated”.



Erdem received a lot of interest after his first collection in Spring 2005- Julie Gilhart of Barney’s in New York being one of them. Since then, demand for his garments have grown tenfold and he is now stocked in 24 different countries with 54 stores, and his most recent and exciting store added to the list is Colette in Paris. “I wanted to do something really special for the Colette window and I tried to think of something really French. So we had little Daxon dogs in floral prints. I since found out that the Daxon is actually a German dog, but the German stores were happy about the display anyway!”

that is obviously when looking back on Erdem’s previous collections is that he always explores the same things and ideas, but slightly tweaking them in order to make them fresh and new. He believes he has progressed since university, but that he still has the same aesthetic he began designing with. By mixing colours awkwardly together to create odd yet beautiful designs in structural shapes, Erdem has created stunning pieces that have been the talk of many fashion weeks. One of his favourite pieces was a cashmere embroidered poncho from A/W10 that was sold to a boutique in Paris, “so keep an eye out for a Parisian woman wearing a cashmere poncho, you’ll know that it’s my design!” His runway shows match the outfits excellently, and his most recent showing at Somerset house was a definite highpoint in his fashion week experience where he had the sounds of Edith Piat billowing from the end of the runway by a live piano, accompanying the Russian/French theme of his collection.

So what’s next for Erdem? Diffusion lines and side tracking into menswear isn’t on his radar just yet, nor is a high street collaboration. He has worked with shoe designer Nicholas Kirkwood on his recent collections, and has teamed up with Smythson the stationary company, to create exquisite diaries with signature Erdem print. But perhaps a stint at costume designing could be on the horizon. “I would love to do the costumes for the Royal Ballet”- the Nutcracker would certainly be a great place to start. He ends with a tip for promising designers- to do a long internship at a fashion house in order to see the magic that happens during fashion week, both the lead up and the post-show mayhem. No doubt there will be hundreds of letters and C.V’s fluttering towards Shoreditch this summer.


(Interview took place on Wednesday 28th Arpil 2010 at UCA Epsom)

Alternate Fashion Week 2010

Last week, Spitalfields was home to the new crop of designers making a name for themselves, both home grown and foreign, creating a buzz around the usually mellow atmosphere of the marketplace. The designers were hand picked by the Alternate Arts council having received a lo of aspiring fashion designers portfolios. On each of the days between 19-23 April, fourteen different designers were showcased.

On Friday, the last day of the fashion week, an eclectic mix of designers set their models down the runway in a mishmash of pieces. There was fairytale inspired collections with Little Red Riding Hood skipping down the runway in a red velvet hooded cape, and a fierce fox trailing behind her in a crisp black tailcoat.




Other designers had sportswear on their mood-boards with a new take on street wear. Stuffed vintage tracksuit tops and fitted dress with cowl necks streamed down the runway on the women while the men revealed chizzled bodies in cut away zip up tops and ruched jumpers. Victorian inspired garments were also on show along with tribal head gear and floaty chiffon numbers.

Here are some of the best pieces that were on show.