Emerging Fervour

Some of us wear it as a political statement, others as a fashion statement – but what’s the story behind the keffiyeh?

image taken from adlicious.wordpress.com

Well, blogger Vicious Babushka reckons it’s just ‘perfect for that Israel-hating, Jew-bashing screaming, chanting, demonstration of solidarity with the scum of humanity’, however most of us are slightly less inclined to bash jews and more interested in having a pretty scarf around our necks, which happens to be pro Palestine…so the fuck what? There’s so much controversy linked to the Keffiyeh, that even Urban Outfitters had to pull it from their concession line. Oh and Dunkin’ Donuts discontinued an online ad featuring Rachael Ray wearing a paisley-patterned scarf after columnist Michelle Malkin claimed that the scarf resembled a keffiyeh. What the hell? That’s as unfounded as pulling bagels from Tesco’s.

So after all of that, it’s nice to see established designers, like Balenciaga embracing and evolving the keffiyeh into something as beautiful and fashion-forward as the scarves below. I want one!!! Although this is near impossible as they’re a few collections old…but still!

So the story behind the Keffiyeh is as follows…

Traditionally worn by Palestinian peasants years ago, it became a symbol of Palestinian nationalism and would later on be worn by the late Arafat…it was his trademark thing. He took a different take on it and instead wore it draped down his shoulder in a triangle shape, to resemble the outlines of Palestine. When Israel imposed a ban on the Palestinian flag being flown or displayed in 1993, the meaning of the Keffiyeh grew to also symbolise the Palestinian struggle.

Fast-forward to now, and China has practically monopolised the Keffiyah making business and has driven decade-old factories in Palestine to close down, with China producing at a cost of 40% less, there’s no competition. Check out the video below from Monocle, which looks at the last standing keffiyeh factory in Palestine.

Sitting at the Trends Show on a Thursday night at Somerset House for LFW was a treat to say the least! The crowd of beautifully chic or fabulously dishevelled ladies made my ‘I have an actual day job’ clothes feel dull and uninspired! It’s definitely true that women only dress to impress other women! I was totally over excited!

Candy Rock ∨

The first trend to come out on the catwalk called Candy Rock was pretty much personified by an amazing iconic Hervé Leger dress in a soft baby blue. There were pastel shades, soft frills and gentle waves dominating this trend which really brought to life the sweet element of all the pieces. This trend is very wearable with simple styling which I really like!

Swallows & Amazons ∨

As far as trends go, the introduction of Swallows & Amazons as a trend struck me as a strange one… but what a fabulously strange one! Literally a smorgasbord of micro-trends all on one catwalk – from breton to double denim (yes we are back in the 80’s!) and underwear as outerwear. This was more eclectic and generally a bit random but brilliant!

Remember kids, guns aren’t cool – but bullets dangling round your neck look pretty hot. I got given some amazing samples from Love Bullets and wore this one to the Margin streetwear event yesterday (more on that soon).

30mm Silver Plated Clear Crystal £35 ∨

I loved it, mainly because of the message behind it…making something deadly into something beautiful that sends messages of love and peace. There are a few variations of the Love Bullet, check them out in the online store, but this one is my absolute favourite:

30mm Gold Plated Black Crystal £40 ∨

At school I was really into conceptual art…but that was because I was really shit at the detailed stuff. However, Jo Cope is different…her mix of detailed conceptual stuff is A* work, maybe a little strange too, but hey…it’s unique. Check it out…

For the rest, visit Jo’s site at www.jocope.com

Originally studying fashion design, Cope became aware of the limitations she had with the normal routes of fashion and felt pretty restricted by them as you can clearly see so she decided to go the conceptual route. She also uses fashion as an unlikely tool to create visual metaphors for biblical text. Starting many of her concepts from the same reference point she generates new forms of delivery, contrasting the fiscal with the non fiscal.

One example would be her ongoing translations of the Holy trinity seen in garment, film and accessory form. The spiritual significance of the number 3 is also repeated in differing ways throughout her work. Here’s one example I found of the Holy Trinity…

The first time I checked out Tetsuya’s work, I was a little lost for words. I mean, it’s not every day that you see something like this from a footwear designer…

Or how about these?

Tetsuya Uenobe studied shoe design at the London College of Fashion after moving from Japan. After this little stint in London, Tetsuya moved back to Japan to set up his label ‘UENOBE’ in 2003, where he’s become a household name for his out-there creations.

You may think that these creations are more like pieces of art than ready-to-wear…and you’d be right because Tetsuya has exhibited his collection at the Open Gallery at Omotesando, Tokyo and contemporary art museum, Art Tower Mito – both of these exhibitions were recommendations by Hanae Mori, Japans most prominent and respected fashion designers AND the only female Japanese designer to have presented her collections on the London and Paris runways.

‘Me’ has certainly been busy over the last few month. We’ve met Amma who is behind ‘Me’ at the ‘Room 202‘ event, which she organised and where we saw, touched and fell in love with her leather accessories.

Although you are able to buy from the current site (www.wear-me.co.uk) we’re so excited to see the new shop which is easy to use and compliments the products like a an online shop should. And what is next? There is a blog on its way, we can’t wait to see what goodies ‘Me’ will share with us. And on top of that new events are being lined up such as ‘teach Me’, a beginners bag making workshops or ‘hang with Me’ where you have the opportunity to be creative over a glass of wine. Of course we’ll let you know when this is all happening.

And as an introductory offer there 20% off until the 1st February for everyone that signs up to the e-news letter.

Make sure to check out http://ammagyan.bigcartel.com

Clementine Baxter obtained a first-class degree from Cordwainers, part of London College of Fashion, having begun this brand as part of her degree work. She created her label, Clementine Shoes based on inspiration from the art world, with particular reference to sculpture and architecture.  The bold shapes and constrasting colours really make these pieces stand out.

Her work is a labour of love…the shoes are made with so much dedication and passion, with hours and hours being spent on hundreds of 2D and 3D sketches, until the hundreds of sketches are wittled down to the final few that make it into her collection.

I go on about how much I love detail…anything that is made with an ounce of passion is such a pull for me, in fact I think detail is key to style – but that’s another story. Clementine is no exception, no detail is ever an after-thought and each design detail is constructed after so much thought. Work begins with hundreds of sketches in both 2D and 3D before ruthlessly discarding and reworking until finally the collection emerges. Being part Italian, style is in her blood, and only the finest quality Italian leather is used; all these factors definitely justify the price tag.

For all you die-hard East Londoners…the shoes are all hand-made in your part of town so support your local craftsmen and shop this fabulous designer!

For sales enquiries then contact sales@clementineshoes.com and for any general enquiries contact info@clementineshoes.com.

www.clementineshoes.com

Has it really been a whole year? Oh how time is flying by when you are having fun! And although we know there has been a lot of hard work for Beautiful Soul in the last year we’re delighted to sing Happy Birthday!! Well done on an amazing year and we’re chuffed to have been part of it.

We’ve been following Beautiful Soul since the London Fashion Week and as the doors open again this February, Beautiful Soul will be celebrating its first year of exponential growth.

Ethics and luxury have never seemed to walk side by side, but the arrival of Beautiful Soul last year has shaken up the fashion industry and proven that aspirational high end fashion can have it’s roots in ethical design and manufacturing principles.

One year on, lets take a look at the success of Beautiful Soul

♥ February 2009
Winner of the Ethical Fashion Forum’s Innovation award.

♥ September 2009
Beautiful Soul launches its website and online boutique (www.beautiful-soul.co.uk) in order to retail its debut collection ‘smallprint’.

The feud between adidas and Puma is one of the great urban myths of economy. Whether it’s a real story or just a real good marketing trick, it worked out well for both companies. The story of two brothers who founded the Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory, split up in 1948 and founded adidas and Ruda, later named Puma. They built two factories in the same little Bavarian town on different sides of the river and never spoke to each other again.

Although the feud officially ended in 2009 it’s quite funny, that both companies start the new year with special collections that are as different as day and night. I won’t decide which one works better, but in my opinion the Puma collection is much more authentic.

adidas star wars

Last week, adidas launched its limited star wars collection in stores. Every piece is inspired by star wars characters and crafts, like the Millenium Falcon Stan Smith or the Yoda ZX 700 Boat. I’d say the Darth Vader Superstar Tracktop and the Famous Scenes Micropacer are a bit overdone, but you may love it, if you’re a hardcore Star Wars Fan.

You don’t know what Disco Lento Deloroso is? Don’t worry, most people don’t. And you don’t know the band Hurts? That’s a shame and here’s your chance to know better. Have a look at wikipedia, this will explain everything you need to know about Disco Lento. Trying to find out more about Hurts is a bit more complicated.

You can find them on myspace, but apart from the video for Blood, Tears & Gold, you’ll find scarcely anything. And if you go to the band website, the name – informationhurts.com – says it all. It’s just a link back to nothing. So you look on youtube and find the video for Wonderful Life. Alright, two good looking guys (Theo Hutchcraft and Adam Anderson) in decent suits, who look and sound like a mixture of The Human League, Spandau Ballet and Zoot Woman.

This old fashioned synth pop transports you directly to the mid/late 80ies and after listening to Hurts, you’ll feel the deep need to de-dust your Ultravox and Talk Talk vinyls. It’s absolutely nothing new, but it’s beautiful.

One thing is for sure: they won’t remain a secret. They’re playing a little tour, so see them live on February 24th @Wiltons Music Hall in London, on the 26th @Lido in Berlin or on the 27th @Gebaeude 9 in Cologne. The single Wonderful Life (Arthur Baker Remix) will be released on January 18th and definitely worth buying it!