So as some of you are probably aware we’ve been running two labels, an online store and a blog from the beginning. We showed TWO WEEKS in a showroom in Paris back in October and it’s now stocked in several concept stores and high end boutiques internationally. TWO WEEKS was always Remade’s more avant garde older sister. The label is getting lots of call-ins at the moment with the plastica and dip dyed hair-pieces getting the most attention.
We’ve decided to take a sabbatical for AW12 so we won’t be showing anything on this label in Feb. We need to catch up with ourselves and give our main line the attention we need to become a proper global brand. Everything has grown really quickly, really organically and in order to give everything the chance it deserves we needed to re-focus for this season, do everything properly and give ourselves time to grow both as designers and business people.
I wanted to shoot a Lookbook out of our standard bleak warehouse settings and yellow just seemed like a good colour to bring the bright to the collection. The collection was inspired by luxe-sports future-mermaids and we use dip-dyed hair, white leather, opalite and hematite pyramids, swarovski crystal orbs, mesh, liquid jersey, lycra and mesh. In case you were wondering what SS12 Looked like, here it is…
Prodcued by Major Lazer’s Switch and Buraka Som sistema this tune’s a heady mix of signature afro-beats and saturated tropical samples. Infused with elements of M I A, it’s my favorite Santigold track so far and the videos nay to bad neither. This comes ahead of her soon-to-be-released album Master of My Make-Believe. If you sign up on the Lady’s websiteyou can download it for free.
French stylist, editor and photographer Carlyne Serf De Dudzeele is fast becoming a favorite. Not only did she style the Queen of Hip-hop shoot in the current issue of V Magazine, she also styled the shoot on my last post on Japanese Vogue.
Kath and Sora are in China at the moment. They keep asking me what I’d like them to bring me back. They’ve got me a surprise. I hate surprises. I’m hoping for a bit of airport mag swag though cause this is what I have to look forward to….Check out the HOOPS!
…and now they’re doing GIFS. Might go round and bang on the door.
Following up on their award winning Numbers In Action video the boys next-door, Us Design, hook up with Wiley again to get us all back in the gym with their Boom Blast video – if Wiley can do it so can we right? (especially when ur lifting air).
Wiley
Boom Blast (Big Dada)
Director: Us
Prod co: A+
DoP: Ben Magahy
Producer: Liz Kessler
Production Company: A+ (Academy Plus)
Editor: Ed Cheeseman @ Final Cut
Colourist: Ned Al-Astrabadi @ Smoke & Mirrors
Commissioner: Jamie Collinson
Watch: here
Been rubbish at writing this blog recently which is made even more blaringly obvious by the fact that I chose to do a big new years countdown on the post below. My all time contemporary favorite Givenchy’s just released their Lookbook for Pre Fall AW12 and there’s more elements of wow than I have time to write about. To be honest I wasn’t totally sold on their SS12. I felt it veered a little too minimalist. Yep, get the whole surfers and mermaids, sea theme but I love Givenchy for the shiny, sharp digital prints layered back with super slick tailoring and a nod to the streets. I may have to kill someone for those boots and that dog sweater.
A$AP Rocky
Well for a start he says SWAG and BITCH a lot so he pretty much had us there. To follow he’s got a dollar sign in his name. Someone in our studio used to practice writing their autograph with a pound sign in it – gospel. BBC nomianted him in the sound of 2011 poll. His father was locked up for selling drugs when he was 12 and his brother killed near his harlem home so on after. This inspired him to go into music, his sound and lyrics no doubt inspired by his harsh upbrining.
Doppelgangaz
Likin these two boys for their nostalgic early nineties sound. The gruesome twosome Matter ov Fact and EP hail from parts unknown. They cite brothel trips, moonshine and hard drugs as the insipration for their current album Loan Sharks and if you look close you can see them swiggin on rubbing alchohol in their videos. Performing in cloaks they call their similarly turned-out followers sharks and sharkettes. Their sound is ghostly, eerie and slightly haunting. The house used in the video below has an suitably interesting history – Wikipedia. All very spooky.
It’s refreshing to see two talented MCs/producers take things back roots with everything looking so over-produced at the moment.
2NE1
We’ve hadour eye on these girls since we learnt about the scene on a visit to Korea a couple of years back. Dressing in designers like Jeremy Scott, KTZ and JCDC these girls are as known for their fashion sense as their sound. Their collaboration with Jeremy Scott was released in Dec 2012 and it’s pretty well known in the K Pop twittosphere that Will I am has been working on a project with these Korean bubble-pop chicksters. There’s been much speculation around the release date many thinking end of 2012. With fashion designers such as Meadham Kirchoff spearheading cute this spring now seems like the right time for K-pop to explode cartoon stylee.
Azaelia Banks
Wrote about her a few weeks ago and yes everyone knows about her already now but still….
Iggy Izaelea
Also wrote about her but can’t get enough of her bossy australian rhymes.
Yasmin
Yasmin wears a lot of our stuff so obviously we’re biased but we think this tune’s got that an eclectic carnival sound that’s sure to get you moving or swiggin some red stripe at the very least. Due to be release in bleak mid January by Ministry of sound on the 15th. Produced by drum and bass legend Shy FX, the tune also guest stars one of our favorite female performers MsDynamite(she used our mirror in one of her videos so we’re kinda connected now). Random fact – You wouldn’t know from her singing voice bu Yasmin’s got a lovely dulcet scottish accent.
Clement Marfo and the Frontline
A vibrant mix of soul, ska, rock, reggae and grime, Celement Marfo and the Frontline are a seven piece urban collective. In the last year they’ve played support to Plan B, Rizzle Kicks and Florence and the Machine and have also been announced by MTV as their first of brand new for 2012. Headed up by charismatic front man Clement Marfo this high octane “mini-army” put a huge amount of effort into their live shows with 2 keyboards, 1 bass, 2 guitars and drums and one super mouthy man.
Azari & III
Another band championing nostalgic sounds, these guys from the dance room in the revival club. They played Annie Mac presents with Azaelia banks listed above at the start of December. The good news is that their first live London show is at Heaven on the 2nd of February just as we’ll all be coming off our detoxes. YES!
Action Bronson
Of Albanian decent this roundy New York rapper is another one channeling #nostalgia – felt it about time I threw a # in there since I’ve mentioned that word three times in this post. It’s trending. He used to be a fire-flame chef in a gourmet restaurant in New York so he raps quite a lot about food and enjoys eating it too – we see him buying salami and havin the craic with some old dude in the opening scenes of his video Shiraz below. He gave up cooking to become a rapper. It’s all pretty pared-back and lazy video included. The video’s kind of endearing – my favorite part is the end where the wino bird says she hasn’t had sex in 21 years – WOW!
If you’re suffering from post-Christmas blues, as we are, then check out this cluster of colour and chaos that we found whilst searching for inspiration. Known as Ms Fitz, this gem has brightened up our computer screens no end. We managed to steal some time from her busy schedule to step into her rainbow world.
Us Bitchy girls love your style, it’s so different, how would you describe it?
I’d describe my current style as chaotic and neo-tribal.
You’ve got your fingers in all pies from blogging, designing and styling, is there anything else you do?
I express myself creatively and most honestly creative people can work in many mediums. I like to think of myself more as an artist who sometimes works through the medium of style, than a stylist. One thing that I am exploring more is my performance – I have always been a dancer and performer, I’ve been a back up dancer for Peaches, Rye Rye, toured with the Gossip and now I’m working on my EP with producer Chew Fu.
Is there anything else you’d like to do?
In another life I’d be a dog walker, or a chocolate chef! Puppies and chocolate are my favourite things!
Describe a life in the day of Ms Fitz…
Well, it depends on the gig. Some days I’m in my studio filling orders for my jewellery, other times I shoot videos and edit them for my performance art, other days I’m in the studio recording tracks, some days I’m up at 7am to get sourcing for for a shoot the next day….its always changing! But the one thing I do every day is walk my dog, Gulliver. He’s awesome.
You style for a wide variety of clients from Australia’s Next Top Model to magazines such as Oyster and Marie Claire, what do you find most challenging?
For me, styling is a challenge because it goes against pretty much every philosophy I have about personal style. I don’t believe that you need to buy designer clothing or to follow trends in order to have great style or be a valuable, attractive human being. Unfortunately, it is a stylists job to tell you the opposite…so I’m a pretty shitty stylist! ha!
I’m a believer that you should just wear what ever you want, express yourself. Break the rules, be a misfit! Wear all your favourite old hats at once! Wear the same stinky pair of boots that you cut the toes off of for a year straight! There’s no such thing as a mismatched print! Fashion is a very powerful tool to confront ideas of sexuality, gender, consumerism and identity, use it!
If you don’t already, would you ever style a celebrity?
I work with subversive performers and I like that- I’ve just styled the new Peaches and Cazwell video, I work with Narcissister, the Chicks on Speed, I work with electro producer Chew Fu and have made custom pieces for the Semi Precious Weapons. But “celebrity” in the modern sense of the word? Um, probably not.. But believe me, I have never been approached by a celebrity to do their red carpet. Can you imagine? hahaha! I’d probably send them out in something likethis,which is the closest I’ve got to dressing a ‘celebrity’ ,and we turned it into a mockery of modern pop culture
We are big fans of your jewellery, what inspires your collection?
I’m inspired by chaos and tribalism. I love the traditional knotting techniques and mixing it with gaudy gold street style hardware.
What’s your favourite piece from your latest collection?
The nose to ear chains (I wear them when ever I party) and the hoodoo voodoo earrings. They make any outfit look spunky..
Are there any other stylists you admire?
hmmm I don’t read fashion magazines so I’m not really in tune with who else is doing what.. But I know there are many out there that are better than I am, in the sense that they are real “stylists”, like, they know exactly what collections were on the runway last week in Paris (duh) and all that stuff. I work more from my gut, luckily it’s usually pretty ahead of the game.
Who’s your favourite designer?
I love Rei Kawakubo for her subversiveness and John Galliano for his flamboyance. I also support upcoming designers like Brad Callahan, Genvieve Clifford, Asher Levine, Zana Bayne and Discount.
You’re originally from Australia, what made you decide to move to NYC?
Unfortunately there is only so much you can do in Oz, and although the talent surpasses the international standards in many ways, it’s hard to be taken seriously as an international brand from all the way down under. But I miss the beach and I miss my family.
Would you ever come to London?
FUCK YEAH! I love London! I love the fashion, I love the people, it’s the bombdiggity!! I have a European passport so I might be over sooner than you’d think. My mother is English and her side of the family is from Leicester, I spent some time in England growing up.
What can we expect from your next collection?
Something fab, glam and a little bit grimey.
All images are taken from Ms Fitz website and blog
To mark the launch of the styles we developed with cult rock n roll shoe label Underground we decided to shoot a series of animated GIFs. Starring two of our favorite BITCHY girls, model Lauren Smith(who you’ll recognise from our online store) and stylist Laura Chatterton we were inspired by the general idea of hanging around, something which a lot of London is doing at present due to the shortage of jobs – that and also just looking hot in a bleak winter landscape.
We work with local boy Alex de Mora for all our website photography so this time we took things out of the studio and called in the help of illustrator Izabella Wilkon the GIFS.
We kept things pretty simple with very gentle movement to lend a creepy quality to the images which seemed fitting for a brand known for creepers. We also like to challenge standard Christmas homepages since I pretty much banned all those Christmas cliche words like glitter, sparkle, twinkle, glitz, jingle from the studio – when I say pretty much I mean if anyone utters them they’ll be silenced. That doesn’t mean I dislike Chrismas though, Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas” is my favorite Christmas song ever and I spent all day Saturday trawling Dalston to find really atrocious decorations for my hideous white disco tree.
Other intersting facts about the shoot
-I really wanted to make a hideous jacket out of fake fur(the kind that gatecrasher kids make leg-warmers out of) that I’m now rather in love with. We cut the pattern for the fake fur jacket on the day and stapled it together.
-Laura’s lips are pink glitter(obviously I didn’t use this word when discussing the look as it wouldn’t really work if I was silenced)
-The girls almost froze but that’s the price you have to pay sometimes when you’re really good looking.
-it’s really hard to find good walls in East London that haven’t been tagged. You just can’t really use a tagged wall in a shoot without looking like a really naff Urban brand.
-Izabella is also called Dawid Gainsbour Wolf, Bellla Azi(note the 3 ls) and also Zuzanna Koppala depending on what e-mail account she’s using. I had to e-mail her to ask her what her actual name is despite having known her since the summer.
-if u’d like to see both models in person you can spot them on the odd night working in the Haggerston too, they’re very very professional bar girls.
Glitter lip on stylist Laura Chatterton who appeared in our homepage shoot.
It’s Xmas and you party party party a different outfit for every night, high heels and your fur or leathers on. Now what about your face! No one really enjoys doing the same thing all the time right? It’s sheer convenience… so why not try something different if it’s easy as 1 2 3 and doesn’t mean you’ll be stuck in front of the mirror for an extra 2 hours trying to get it right.
What is she talking about, you may ask? Glitter lips! I’m not thinking glossy or matte I’m thinking glittery lips that will entice even savoury lovers.
The best way to go about it is choose a color you’re used to I’d say purple, red, bronzed orange etc. Make sure your lips are nicely exfoliated, now you don’t have to go buy a fancy lip exfoliant, all you need is some trusty Pawpaw or our your preferred lip balm and an old toothbrush or disposable mascara wand. Once they’re smooth as a baby’s bum bum (doesn’t have to be done on the same night) move on to the next step.
Line your lips all over with a slightly paler color than the lip color you chose as the glitter will cover it all anyways and any gaps will be filled with lip liner color giving a more 3d effect.
Using a domed brush a little thicker than a lipbrush pat the glitter on to your lips starting from the centre and working your way up and out.
It is completely up to you how far you want to take it… keep it light or just in the centre or go all over. I suggest smaller glitter pieces stay on best but chunky glitter is more drama for the best selection of glitters pop by Charles Fox http://www.charlesfox.co.uk/.
To finish it off tidy up around your lips using surgical tape which will remove the excess glitter not the makeup.
Photo by Keith Clouston, make-up by Stephanie G-M, model Giorgia m&p models
So I think these are pretty cool although I hate diet coke – full fat all the way baby. Kath drinks it like it’s going out of fashion. These are a collaboration between make-up brand Modelsown and Diet Coke. The colours have been inspired by the Diet Coke colour theme and the best thing about them is they’re free with every 500ml bottle of coke purchased at Boots stores until Dec 27th. I just wish they were twist up Coke cans. I hope they taste like the real deal, that’s half the fun of lip-gloss. Fizzy.
Officially my favorite shoot of the year. This one’s stuck to our studio wall. I don’t know what happened to the girl with the jet black hair and the all black uniform but somewhere along the way this year I surprised myself and became colourful but not in a refined colour-block way. The socks in this shoot are from Tabio and are on my christmas list in a few colours. As far as I’m concerned they’re the ONLY socks to be seen in for SS12.
…..I thought I’d show you may fave performance so far. I actually blogged this last year some time but loads of people I know have never seen it so since we’ve a lot more readers now here goes.
Recorded in her bedroom, belted out willy nilly, girl’s got skillz. Sometimes simplicity can be mind blowing and I like to complicate things.
