Blumenfeld Studio: New York Exhibition

Today I went to Somerset House to see the Blumenfeld Studio exhibition that has recently started there.  It features the work of Berlin-born Erwin Blumenfeld, who was one of the most sought after portrait and fashion photographers of the 1940's-50's. I was amazed at the amount of Harpers and Vogue covers he's done. A long with his work, it was also so interesting to see the Vogue's from the 1940's onwards. Me and fellow Ravensbourne Student Lizzy were discussing how they actually print the text and illustrations onto the page, which we still don't know! If anyone does be sure to comment below as I still want to find out.

Some of his works were so interesting to see. My tutor asked us as a group if we found it interesting or quite boring and 'old' to look at but I did actually find it interesting to see such a big fashion photographers work as I'd previously seen the Tim Walker exhibition there last year. However it was annoying that they didn't have copyright of the images so we weren't allowed to take pictures. But I have sourced some of his images online if you want to see the sort of work he did.

The exhibition focuses on his work from his studio 222 Central Park South in New York. There are over 100 of his original colour photographers. Our tutor wanted us to focus on how he positioned some of the models in and the general composition of the photos to help us better our own photography. There was one particular photo which looked as if the model was submerged in water but she was actually just placed behind fuzzy glass like what you'd find in your bathroom! It's funny tricks like these which can produce some really intriguing photos, and gives me tips to make better images myself.

One of my personal favs featured close up shots of a model smoking a cigarette and it really focuses in on the smoke. For some reason this series of images really caught my eye the most. I've featured them below with other examples of his work. If this entices you, definitely get down to Somerset House for the exhibition. You have till September!

Mens Fashion Week What?

Yep you heard it right, mens fashion week! As we all know all the major cities Fashion Weeks have always been about womenswear and it's time to make way for menwear. I think BFC have named it London Collections: Men and 48 catwalk shows and presentations will take place across two days. The last event was held back in January for autumn/winter 13 and this year it's on Sunday 16th June-18th June. Over 30 ready-to-wear collections and accessories designers will be exhibiting over three floors at The Hospital Club, WC2.

The BFC describes the London Collections as: "emphasising both the creative and commercial importance of Britain's brands and emerging talent as well as the rich cultural landscape that contributed to the inspiration and success of this section."
Just as GFW, it's also so important to see emerging talent within menswear as well as women. Even if I wont wear the clothes, I think I'd still find it interesting to see and watch and take in the mens trends.

It was only launched last June so it must of been a success for it to gain a second year, and on two occasions throughout the year so far, of course similar to the standard fashion weeks. The BFC have announced the winners of the brightest emerging talent that have got themselves a place at the London Collections to showcase their spring/summer 14 collection. These include Agi & Sam, Lee Roach, Matthew Miller, Nasir Mazhar, Shaun Samson and Astrid Andersen. These are the ones to watch this season.

L-R A&S, LR, MM, NM, SS, AA

Agi & Sam are about to launch their first collection for Topman and have been branded by The Guardian as the the men who 'design clothes that people want to wear.' Look out for an owl theme running through their range. Lee Roach's signature is 'reduction and repetition' and graduated from Central Saint Martins only shortly back in 2010. Matthew Miller loves using engineered digital prints and structured tailoring. He states spring/summer 14 will introduce a new manifesto for the brand - ooo exciting! Nasir Mazhar is very out their and his signature piece is a box peak cap. You can't miss this fellos work. Shaun Samson is also a graduate of CSM and is looking to recreate the ultimate summer party with his s/s14 collection. And Lastly Astrid Andersen says his client must be 'confident above all' and wants to create a look that is masculine, using street attitude and hip hop references. For more of their work, go on the BFC website to see their previous seasons catwalks at, www.londoncollections.co.uk./men

Alex Chung and David Gandy, just to name a few, have taken part in a new campaign called The GREAT Campaign in conjunction with London Collections to entice people to visit and study in London. Fashion of course, as we do have some of the best colleges in the world. (See image at the top) The image is taken on the famous Savile Row which hosts some of the best mens tailoring which is a perfect way to advertise the London Collection. Along with the images, there are a series of video campaigns to go along side which you can watch on the above address also.

I'm not sure if they stream the showcases online yet, but be sure to check out the coverage after the two day event if like me you're intrigued to see what the upcoming talent has to offer.

GRADUATE FASHION WEEK - 5 DAYS TO GO

It's coming up thick and fast now. Ravensbourne's show is at 3:30 on the Monday and according to Hilary Alexander our show sold out first!! Yes FIRST!! So if you didn't listen to my earlier posts to get your tickets fast you have missed your chance. But never fear, we also have a stand at GFW where you can go and see the garments made by the students a long with sketch books and other forms of our work. This is still an amazing way to see the shows pieces up close and personal. You don't just have to see it on the day the show is taking place either. As you know GFW is on from Sunday to Wednesday so although Raves show is on Monday, feel free to go on the Tuesday or Wednesday as well.

One of last years successes was Emeline Nksoi. She was also nominated for the Mulberry Accessories Award as well as the GFW Ethical Fashion Award. This shows you what real talent we have at Ravensbourne, so god knows what surprises will have up our sleeve this year!

Natalie Finch from Ravensbourne has also beat all other fashion students for the oppotunity to have her own pop up shop at GFW! This is an amazing opportunity and she fought through all the competition to win. Yet another example as to why everyone should come and sample some of Ravensbournes finest! This is the second year in a row Ravensbourne have won the pop up shop, Claire Clark won it last year.

Emeline Nkosi's from Ravensbourne's Stand at GFW June 2012

The Demise of Street Style

There is no doubt that street style is popular, but has it well and truly had it's day now? It's gone far beyond what pioneering photographer Bill Cunningham made it decades ago but has it become too mainstream that it's just not exciting anymore? This could be down to the fact it's the norm nowadays to go onto a blog and see street style pics so often it's a bit like 'on to the next one' especially now its made its way into the glossies and fashion bibles that are Vogue, ELLE and so on.
Blogs such as The Sartorialist also helped popularise street style as an art form, but art is none for being different and not the norm, but surely it cannot be called an art form now since its so common.

At events such as London Fashion Week, people who aren't exactly who anybody knows dress so outlandish to get noticed, it's less about going to see designers work than about showing anyone and everyone a crazy outfit just to say you were there. The street has now become the runway, literally. At January's fashion week, Colin McDowell was on his way to a show when his car stopped to let a women cross. As she did she stopped to pose for a fan of photographers while mid-road! To Mr McDowell's disgust he shouted out the window 'This is road not a runway!' And I'm afraid to say Colin hit the nail on the head with that one.

Every trend has an expiry date, and although this may have reached theres, trends always make a comeback and I'm sure the same will happen with street style. If someone miraculously comes up with a new way of showing it!

(The Sartorialist)

Car Bootin' Tootin'

Vauxhall Art Car Boot Fair is celebrating its 10th anniversary this Sunday (9th June). For those that haven't heard about it is held in Brick Lane and features everything from British artists work such as Peter Black and Gavin Turk to wacky furniture you never thought you'd need. The artists will be personally pitching up to sell some of their original and limited edition work at bargain prices!

One of the features events going on inside the fair is the 'Pass the Art Parcel and Handbag disco.' In this tent you can win prizes while donating to charity at the same time. Sounds like a winning combo to me. 

The whole thing is famous for being the day the art world lets its hair down, coming together to fill the car park with English eccentricity, quirky ideas, incredible bargains, cool art, eclectic wares and mad performances.

So if you're free on June 9th, be sure to check it out and potentially bag some bargains you never thought you could at a car boot.

Visit the website for more details http://www.artcarbootfair.com/

Hipster Sexism

This term is appearing more and more often to describe the way fashion images objectify women.
One main company that has been picked up on this is American Apparel. The sports apparel wear brand is notorious for its use of sexualised imagery in it's adverts. A number of them have been pointed out and band by the ASA (Advertising Standards Agency) and I'm not surprised. But is it this imagery that sells? Ultimately this imagery has gained AA attention and mad them the brand they are today, so is this a bad thing?

This is not just happening in fashion but also in film. The latest summer blockbuster Spring Breakers is full of Disney Channel sweethearts, that have charmed their way to the top by being squeaky clean teenagers. However their rolls in the film are far from this. They are portrayed as sex objects, and although the rating of the film is far above the age suitable for those that watch Disney and associate these characters with this, the internet is a vast place and kids these days can access a lot of things via this. For example I gained these images from the film via Tumblr, which has no parental controls on it.

Photographer Terry Richards is none of his risque images too. He is one of the worlds biggest fashion photographers but just because it's labelled 'art' doesn't necessarily make it okay.

I feel this issue will stay an issue for a long time, as long as it's selling, photographers in the fashion industry will continue to sexualise women, whether it is meant to be taken seriously or is meant in a parody way. However, I personally don't agree with it. When I eventually have a family of my own I find it quite frightening to think that my daughter could see these images and think that its a correct portrayal or has to act in a certain way. 

GFW Take 4!

It's so close now! 11 days!
Colin McDowell is doing an industry talk with Mary Katrantzou Tuesday 4th which is nearly sold out so need to get in their quick if you want a seat.

GFW has also gone international this week - with one student from some of the most prestigious schools across the world getting to showcase their work. Some of the schools keen to get involved are Parsons New York, where Marc Jacobs studied, Instituto Marangoni Italy, where Domenico Dolce honed his craft, and BUNKA Japan, where Kenzo and Yohji Yamamoto studied. This is super exciting as the whole purpose of GFW is to showcase the rising new talent in the fashion industry as the likes of Stella McCartney and Christopher Bailey all made their debut to the industry. The international showcase is on Monday 3rd at 11am, and tickets are going like hot cakes so again get in there quickly.

Hermès at The Saatchi Gallery

Today I visited the Hermès exhibition at the The Saatchi gallery. The French brand has come to the UK to offer an insight in the values and craftsmanship of them as a brand. Before I went, I didn't do any research so wasn't aware of what I was going to be getting and I was pleasantly surprised. It features a range of artwork and mini stalls with some of the workers that actually work at Hermès in Paris showing how they create certain iconic garments. To add to the authenticity of it all, each person has a translator which I absolutely loved as I thought it really represented them as a French brand.

The Saatchi have previously hosted the Chanel: Little Black Jacket exhibition there also, so it seems to be becoming a regular affair for this art gallery to be featuring designer brands, but can this be considered art? A lot of people would argue no. but if you saw the craftsmanship that actually goes into making each and every garment or accessorie you'd change your mind. Every single bag from start to finish is made by one person and one person alone which I found so interesting, so if you went into Selfridges say and picked up a Birkin, you'd be holding something one person has personally made. I guess this is what you're paying for as of course they aren't cheap (your standard costing around £5000) but it's amazing to see the intricacy that goes into every stitch and weave. I especially enjoyed watching the diamonds being placed into a bracelet for obvious reasons, diamonds are a girls best friend, and getting to see them under a microscope, if only I could of taken it home! I also didn't know they make ashtrays and getting to see them and the artwork on them is beautiful. So much money to put your fag out in, I know I certainly wouldn't use it for that but purely for decoration as the designs are just so pretty. Each colour has a different number and depending on how high or low it is is when it's goes into the kiln. Being talked through each process was fascinating and gave me more respect for brand because you can see the true quality come through in each piece. A pattern for example being drawn out for a scarf can take up to 6000 hours, wow. Every detail of the gallery room was head to toe Hermès, even the carpet!

The amazing thing about The Saatchi is that of course it is free entry for all. Me being a student this is a plus as some exhibitions I really want to see but the price tag often puts me off.

The exhibition is on from 21st-26th May 2013 so not long at all. I recommend anyone who is a fashion lover get down their asap because it's definitely one to see. If you can't however get there, I've taken a few snaps to give you a feel for the exhibition, enjoy!

Karen Walker Forever Summer 2013

Australian sunglasses designer Karen Walker has released her Forever Summer 2013 collection. She enlisted photographer Ari Seth Cohen of the blog 'Advanced Style' to shoot the campaign and describes it as a 'celebration of eternal optimism.' Unique to this season is Karen Walker's creative use of signature metal filigree detailing, incorporated both on and incased in the acetate of several of the frames.

Having a look at the collection, I think it's amazing and so chic looking. Each design is individual and true to Karen's style and I love the playfulness she puts in to each and every pair. I also love how they haven't got your typical model to rock these frames in the campaign, it just proves that the antithesis of her brand is whether you're 25 or 75 you can rock her shades. The photos were also taken in each individual ladies home, which I think adds a nice personal touch.

Shoe Porn

Sunflower Sandal - Zara

Oh Zara, why do you do this to me!? My poor bank balance can't take it. Zara has been so on point from last season to this producing some really stunning pieces, these babies included. I'm really into the holographic trend for SS13 and these I feel would be such a nice addition to anyones wardrobe.

I used to hate, I mean actually loath shoes this shape, I thought they were ugly and only chunky shoes where my thing. Oh how my style has changed. I literally saw these this morning and put them straight into my bag. I think they'd make any all black outfit sparkle, and I do wear a lot of black as you know. At only £29.99 they're super reasonable and from the TRF section of Zara. I'm a tad wary of the ankle strap as anything that cuts you off at the ankle instantly makes your legs look shorter and I need all the height I can get (being only 5'2) but it may be a small price to pay for shoe perfection.
Get them while they're hot kids!