Emerging Fervour

We met Rik and Kim from 21DGRS – 21 degrees at the Margin tradeshow event we went to. The both live in Bali and use locally sourced material to create these pieces. Have a look at their latest collection…I’m especially into these sequin trousers.

21dgrs was born in late 2009 as the brainchild of designers Kim Krismann and Rik Fiddicke as an extension of their already existing surf and streetwear label Faith21. Before Bali, the both of the lived and worked in Germany, Amsterdam and Cape Town, where they finally settled in the island off Indonesia.

Of their label, they say

“the first 21dgrs flagshipstore opened its doors on Bali in December 2009. Being part of a young travelling generation, we started 21dgrs as a core label to convey our own lifestyle through unique and intelligent products. Todays travelling generation seems to be more in control of their careers and choice of lifestyle. The genre of people has a strong entrepreneurial drive, lust for adventure and the believe in this lifestyle is the motor behind 21dgrs. Therefore 21dgrs promotes confidence, personal stength and creativity”

The Lako Bukia catwalk followed the running theme of multi-purpose wear with a clever concept of using very long zips over key seams in order to create a different look when unzipped. Each model walked out first with the zips closed and then again with them open. It took me a couple of models to realise this was happening; the transformation on some pieces being more dramatic than others. Good concept and the long white dress was beautiful.

Words from the label:
“The concept behind this second collection from Lako Bukia is emotions and the divide between positive, kind emotions and the darker, evil side. Using colour, shape and textiles to represent these diverse elements of one’s emotional characteristics Lako Bukia has created a strong, innovative collection.

The monochrome palette delineates the separate emotions – expressed through a set of white shirts against the darker black dresses, trousers and skirts. Using materials of different textures the collection also incorporates a range of fabrics including wools for the sharper forms and accents of silks to soften the shapes. ”

It’s fantastic that we have fabulous photographer friends who help us out with these amazing catwalks we were invited to. We went to the Ada Zanditon show on Tuesday Feb 23rd, and I took my friend Iman with me. She takes really good photos and has one of those fancy Nikon cameras…proper professional we are.

After waiting around in a massive 3-columned queue for about an hour, we finally moved and slowly creeped towards the doors to the huge room. A blessing in disguise, the back row gave Iman the opportunity to clamber onto the ledge behind her and take some nice shots. You can take a look at Flickr for lots more photographs of the show.

Please note: No one was injured as a result of taking these photographs

I really like the jackets, I like the whole over-sized idea and a lot of my favourite jackets are BIG. I also love the accents of bright colours – it’s such a refreshing thing to see after the wave of darkness throughout LFW this February. Don’t get me wrong, dark is good – but colour is priceless.

I left Nathalie’s house glowing for the Frieze show at 11am…my hair straightened (blow-dried can I add), my clothes were sparkling and my makeup was all in place. Unfortunately, true to form – I forgot my umbrella so I forced Nathalie to share… 45 minutes and half an umbrella later, I arrive at Victoria House to meet my friend Ayse, whose helping me with the photography and I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the window, and I’m a little shocked at the speed at which I turned into a mess. I couldn’t turn back, so had to face the music and head inside.

This was Frieze’s debut womenswear and menswear collection launch so the atmosphere was buzzing with intrigue and excitement. What was going to come down that runway? Check out our highlights from the show below.

So I thought I’d try and get your attention with this massive image, taken during S/S 10 back in September. As I said in my previous post, we’ve just been really overwhelmed with the support we’ve been getting and everyday we’re adding to our things to cover. So I’ve mentioned ON|OFF, which we’re planning on covering extensively, but there’s also Somerset House Exhibitions – which is just my favourite… it’s a place where lots of fabulous designers will be showcasing their collections including accessories, ready-to-wear, installations, Headonism (the millinery exhibition), the Lingerie Boudoir, the NEWGEN exhibition, estethica, the new Digital Presentation Space, Made by Scandinavians showcase and a whole load more.

For a full list of the designers exhibiting at Somerset House, check the Exhibitors section on the LFW site.

Righty… enough with the small talk and time for my top 5 exhibitors at Somerset House this season. As we’ve already covered BodyAmr and Beautiful Soul, we needn’t declare our love all over again…they know we love them!

Ada Zanditon ∨

We’ll also be covering the Ada Zanditon catwalk during LFW – can’t wait!

Omar Kashoura ∨

It was just a few days ago that I wrote about Emeka Alams, the man behind Gold Coast Trading, and already I feel like I’ve known him for years. He’s definitely my kind of person…Honest and true to himself. None of that bullshit bravado you get with some creative heads…just a cool, down-to-earth guy.

Tell us a bit about yourself, who is the real Emeka behind Gold Coast Trading?

Hmm, I’m still trying to figure that out. I don’t wanna sound like a personal ad in the paper but I love/need to travel! I love to roam around Africa and when I can make shorts pit stops out your way. Since starting Gold Coast, I’ve been chained to the States and I’m dying to get back home to Abidjan but during the time here I’ve been able to learn a lot about myself. The switch from my first brand to Gold Coast has taught me a lot about who I am and what matters the most to me, real friends and family. I’ve learnt that even in unsure times, if you stick to your foundation and don’t let problems or strange situations shake it, things work out. All I really know for sure is I have a very strong passion to design and an extreme love for Africa, those two are my focus.

Great intro…and amazing work, loving the prints…no need to ask you where you get your inspiration from, but I’d love to know who inspires you?

African music played heavy! Afrikan Boy and BLK JKS have been a huge part of the design process for the current collection and the F/W 10 release. Their music is the sound of Gold Coast, when I play “Molalatladi” by BLK JKS, wow things happen! Also the style movements within Africa, like la Sape and the Smartez have been amazing to watch and extremely inspiring! They really blend the world-town culture whilst keeping it distinctly African, which is my goal with Gold Coast. But I think my main source of inspiration comes from other African designers/artist like Rakiyt Zakari, Loza Maléombho, Delphine Diallo, Tunde Ogunnoiki, Cassi Gibson and Yodit Eklund to name a few.

Have you always wanted to be a designer or did it just happen?

Nah, I wanted to be a chef or an architect ha! I have to admit that when I was like six, I would get up at 5am to watch the international fashion report every Saturday morning! I really don’t know why, but the whole fashion world and its process – especially at that time was extremely fascinating to me but being in fashion wasn’t like a dream of mine or anything like that. Honestly, I just kinda stumbled into this whole thing and so far things have worked out very well!

Being a designer isn’t an easy ride…what was your toughest moment and how did you overcome it?

Getting stabbed in the back by former business partners. That rocked me pretty bad! I was too trusting and a bit naive as to how attention and buzz can change people. I’ve been in wars in Africa and all other kind of crazy situations but that cut just as deep. When you trust someone and not only that – you fight, sacrifice and work your fingers to bones for them, its jarring. So I sulked for a day and then immediately moved on the the next one! I took it as a lesson and learnt from it, I got smarter. I let that pain and anger drive me to be even better than I was before! This is my culture! My family is there, my friends are there and I do it to shine light on them. I’ve been through so so much in Africa, it’s my heart! There was no way I was going to let someone who knows nothing of it, try and dictate what it means to be African or what it’s like to be immersed in the culture. Things are working out well!

Learning from your mistakes is the most valuable lesson…I learnt that the hard way! Last question, you have 24 hours to live…what would you do?

Ummmm ha ha, Welll…lets hope I never have to decide! What would you do!? You want to come to Africa?!

I’d gather my family together and tell them how much I love them, and if I’ve ever wronged anyone I’d call and ask for forgiveness, then I’d pray and pray…and pray some more and finally I’d make a trip to Abidjan and eat some homemade fufu!

Kristian Aadnevik is 32, he’s Norwegian and he’s super-talented. After working for Harrods International, Charles Jourdan and Alexander McQueen, he decided to set up his own label in 2004. Take a peek at some of his masterpieces…

S/S 2009

His label is often described as gloomy, opulent and glamorous…another one of London’s ‘next big thing’. Educated at the Royal College of Art in London, Kristian combines the technical knowledge of a skilled couturier with the charm of a screenwriter. Undecided between fairytale and horror, he explains: “For me every collection is like a film starring the heroines I dress; plots and stories change, but my muse remains the same, she is the protagonists who evolves and explores life.”

AW 08-09

For a full list of stockists, email info@kristianaadnevik.com. Visit Kristian’s site at www.kristianaadnevik.com for the rest of his collections.

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

Looking through all of Kali Arulpragasam’s collections throughout the years from her jewellery line, Super Fertile, it’s clear that she has never waivered from her original objective, to highlight the issues facing the world today. Kali is M.I.A’s sister, and they’re both into the whole politics game…they want people to question and debate the things that are going in the world and not be entranced by the glitz portrayed in the media. I really admire Kali, she’s gone against the mainstream and made Super Fertile completely her own. Take a look at all her Collections on her Super Fertile site, but I’ve focused on my top 3 Collections from her site.

Summer 2010 ‘CRA$H’ Collection

‘Mortgage debt greater than the value of homes’ ^

‘3 Million unemployed and rising’ ^

‘British economy shrinks 3.5% Worst since 1945′ ^

In November, we gave details on the British Fashion Council / Vogue Designer Fashion Fund and how to apply…Well, the time has come and we now have the shortlist, announced by the BFC yesterday…

The following designers are shortlisted: Angel Jackson, Christopher Kane, Clements Ribeiro, E.Tautz, Erdem, Marios Schwab, Nicholas Kirkwood and Richard Nicoll. Well done to all these fabulous designers!

The Fund was launched by BFC Chairman Harold Tillman in September 2008 as a legacy project for the BFC’s 25th anniversary celebrations. £200,000 will be offered to the chosen designer along with some high level mentoring support too…how amazing for the lucky one who ends up being chosen; we wish there was more than one menswear designer up though, representing alongside the fabulous E. Tautz. The ultimate objective of all of this is to assist talented British designers with the potential for commercial growth like all the big names today and to start making the transition from a developing creative business to a global fashion brand.

My favourite to get this Fund would have to be Richard Nicoll. I love the soft colour schemes for his Spring/Summer 2010 collection; classy with a playful edge…I really, really like this and will definitely introduce this style into my summer wardrobe this year!

For more information on what this is all about, then visit the British Fashion Council’s site here