“A FAIR TO REMEMBER!”

I’ll say this…

…for now, only once (with advance apologies for repetition to the affirmative, in future posts!), but, with regard to fairs of the Fine Art ilk, 2014 has, to my mind, been the strongest year, yet.

From ‘Works On Paper’ at the awe-inspiring Science Museum, ‘The Other Art Fair’, (or TOAF), with its ever-edgy takeovers, at The Old Truman Brewery and Ambika P3, through to ‘The Independent Artist Fair’, (or TIAF, not to be confused with TOAF!), only the pitch-of-a-stone from Brick Lane and encouragingly organic and lo-fi, the common denominator has been the ability to maintain creative integrity for all artists involved, whilst simultaneously harnessing the entrepreneurial energy, worthy of a well-loved and respected developing ‘cottage industry’ template.

Take, for example, the aforementioned, ‘TOAF’.

It stays cerebrally locked since, in one fell swoop, its Director, Ryan Stanier, has successfully orchestrated a move to combine the best of the Creative Arts and simultaneously do away with the stereotypes of a world, exclusively inhabited by those of a certain socioeconomic background. Having attended a healthy amount of Private Viewings, it is clear to see that, as per the inclusive nature of the creative energy, itself, all walks are, not only welcomed and encouraged, but, in fact, vital to the lifeblood of this event-model. Founded in a desire to expose the wide range and eclecticism of Art at its highest level and reflected by the practitioners selected, the experience is paramount… Thus, the propostion of meeting and greeting with inspirational emerging and established talent, seeing their work within buildings which mirror the dynamism of the artistic energy they will house and adding culinary and musical fayre to maximise ‘the vibe’ (and rival any top London nightspot), becomes immensely exciting and enticing!

Let me make it clear, that the zeal-for-zeitgeist is not to the detriment of an authentic desire to simply share and engage on a holistic level. Kinetic to kinaesthetic, Stanier employs the diversity of Arts and crafts them into an authentic dialogue between maker and potential buyer, whilst managing to dissipate any pressure to consume, through the lively rendering of the backdrop of London culture. It is intense as it is genius! As if to compound the vision for ‘all-access-Art’, TOAF was a brand-partner at the recent ‘Off The Rails’ menswear event. Held, once again, at The Old Truman Brewery, it served to blow the doors off the image of an ‘apparel man-cave’, rather, embodying a treasure-trove of classic and contemporary collections for the modern man…Naturally, this was an absolutely perfect fit, vis-a-vis promoting the cross-fertilisation of complementary accoutrements for such lifestyles. Attending the four-day event was a distinct pleasure, made all-the-more amazing, by the speed of site-turnaround, given that the venue had played host to TOAF, less than a fortnight prior!

It is this marriage of a sensibility to multi-platform creative expression and a supreme logistical skillset, underpinned by sharp media-savvy and the pure passion of their manifestion, which has resulted in the rise of bringing art to the masses. If the round-the-block queue at TOAF’s last event was anything to go by, the popularity is only set to increase…meaning greater exposure to even greater artistic talent…and that is fine by me!!

©AFROW2014-2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Other Art Fair

The Independent Artist Fair

Works On Paper Fair

Off The Rails

The Old Truman Brewery

STYLE, WITH A CAPITAL ‘S’, FROM ‘TITLE A’!

*STOP THE WORDPRESS!*

Fashion news, of the major kind, has hit Afrow-H.Q and left us all in a flurry of excitement!

You see, Agyness Deyn is back–with-a-brand and what a design-debut she has made!

With the dream-team of Tracy Moore (uber-inspirational designer, with whom Agyness had previously collaborated for ‘Doctor Martens’) and Emily (Deyn’s supertalented sister), the multi-hyphenated model-actress-musician, has launched a superslick collection, as recognisably ‘Aggy’, as her crown of megawatt, blonde tresses!

Imagine it…

Timeless twists on classic menswear, harmonised with flowing, luxe fabrics, for that undeniably feminine feel…

Price-points that reflect the wisdom of an investment-buy, without having broken the bank…

Find them, on ‘Net-A-Porter’s’ ‘New Designer’ roster, in such elegant separates as the cool, oversized, cotton shirt (£170), the drape-necked ‘Boa’ blouse, in sumptuous plum (£240), the metallic ‘Pillar’ skirt, in textural jacquard (£180) and the beautiful, bespoke aesthetic of the double-breasted, ‘Chesterfield’ overcoat, a celebration of the straight-line silhouette, in navy/white wool and pinstripes (£360)!

With these attributes, ‘Title A’ already bears the hallmarks of an enduring label legacy. However, don’t even think of blinking, since expansion plans are set to include a comprehensive complement of, wallet-welcoming, high-end accessories – from eyewear to footwear – completing the top-to-toe, ‘Title A’ appeal. Furthermore, the aforementioned collections are due to drop four times a year, which is fantastic news, as the ready-to-wear looks of this line, are ready-to-rise upon a perpendicular trajectory and will surely sell-out, sooner than they arrive!

Freshly-installed at the top of my ‘style alphabet’, as ‘Title A, for Awesome Apparel‘, I’d advise the shrewd fashionistas amongst you to also get very acquainted… ‘Title A, for ASAP’!

TITLE A ~ NET-A-PORTER

©AFROW2014-2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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TWITTER SHOUT-OUT FROM TITLE A!

IT’S ALL ABOUT ‘ME CLOTHING’!

There’s something relentlessly positive about urban streetwear label, ‘ME Clothing’!

Already on the fashion-forward radar of ‘Jones Bennett PR’, the leading-edge, boutique, public-relations agency, with an astute awareness of emerging creative talent, it was with great anticipation, that I awaited my chance to spread-the-word! Kindly passing the promotion-baton to yours truly, I inquisitively-embarked upon my dash-to-discover the origins of such boundless energy and ambition!

Maybe it was the series of ‘snapback’ caps, emblazoned with the sign of ‘Victory’, or perhaps, the signature-slogan of ‘I’m A Boss’, being announced via the visual loud-hailer of its upper-case, bold-type, upon primary-permeated sweatshirts… It could even have been the ladies’ ‘Varsity’ jackets, which yelled cheerleader-chic, in popping-candy-pink! To whichever garment my journey visited, I, most assuredly, called-off-the-search, once I’d found out more about Adam Benjamin, the entrepreneurial-brain and design-brawn, behind the brand!

Described by Jones Bennett PR as being motivated by manifesting a ‘feel-good factor’ of mutual creative appreciation, though the medium of fashion, and fuelled by the desire to offer a striking, urbanwear range, distinguishable by its dynamic design-presence, ‘ME Clothing’ was born. Impressive, for me, was the absolute clarity of vision with which Mr Benjamin pursued his objective, and, even moreso, that this has been directly reflected, in a brand-identity of cool, stealthy, simplicity. When added to the further artistic impact upon him of an ardent passion for music, the compounded outcome of highly-wearable, marketable, yet affordable, pieces was, and still is, entirely achieved.

A stand-out feature of the collection is its capsule nature, a perfect mirror to the succinct name. Substantially-quilted gilets, puff their chests proudly against practical silhouettes, available in both hooded and non-hooded options. Statement jumpers, are identifiable from-distance, with their glaring typography… tees, round-necked are efficiently-cut and, whether Christmas were nearly upon us, or not, I could sing a descant of praises over the ‘hero-piece’, varsity jackets, with their luxurious contrast-leather sleeves! Furthermore, as a stalwart for perpetuating the unique, I love the customisation-element, which acts as a ‘clothing-shuffle’, of sorts, facilitating creative ingenuity via upping-the-bandwidth of the easy, mix-match, neutral-toned palette! Such pleasing punctuations of personalized flair, worn in any combination, with one of the superb snapbacks and some boxfresh kicks, mean you’re good-to-go from pavement-to-première and back!

With the ability to span art-forms, it is no surprise, then, that over the three years since the launch in 2010, the label has attracted stars of the hip-hop/ r ‘n’ b genre, on both sides of ‘the pond’! The likes of U.K chart-toppers, such as ‘Chipmunk’ and ‘Wretch 32’ have been spotted sporting ME menswear, whilst heart-throb rapper, ‘Bow Wow’, has flown-the-flag for the brand, over in the U.S, in his one-off, customised jacket from the über-popular ‘Varsity’ collection. However, such household figures in sport as Florent Malouda, have also selected the brand as a ‘go-to’ designer-choice, and herein lies the tantalising twist-in-the-tale of ‘ME Clothing’. Not only is it amassing celebrity endorsement, but it is also capitalising upon a ‘mass-appeal’ momentum, which is quickly gathering pace within the scholastic-sport demographic! Once again, proving the less-is-more adage to be a design-winner, since bespoke jackets have been fabricated for the basketball and cheerleading teams of such esteemed institutions as Northampton and Westminster Universities, respectively.

Versatility, then, incorporated with a ‘warp-speed’ drive towards continued and discernable creative expression, are qualities which set, Adam Benjamin and his ‘ME Clothing’ label apart. He is a shining example of, both, enterprise and initiative, determinedly representing the head-turning vibrancy of the U.K’s urban-menswear scene. I found the brand replete with a stylistic spirit which is ‘100% ME‘ and after you’ve checked out the range, I think they’ll be a 100% ‘you’, too!

 www.iwearme.co.uk ~ www.store.iwearme.co.uk ~ @MECLOTHINGUK ~ SALE NOW ON WITH UP TO 50% OFF!

www.jonesbennettpublicrelations.com ~ @jonesbennettpr

©AFROW2013-2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

‘SPOTLIGHT ON: THE WALKING-WORKS-OF-ART OF ‘KWEKU CLOTHING’!’

…So, by now, you might have detected that I am, somewhat of, a voracious Creative-Arts-lover…and that I am especially passionate about using my own platform to promote the excting results of multidisciplinary cross-fertilisation.

Well, fresh from my EC1 and 2 jaunts and the social-media coverage, thereof, I have noticed that I am being ‘followed’…. by a steady stream of funky, new designers on the fashion-block! The most recent label to become a member of the fashion-fabulous Afrow-Family, is that of ‘Kweku (pronounced Kwayku!) Clothing’. The eponymous clothing-line of Ghanaian-born, London-raised, Goldsmith’s graduate, Kweku Quagraine, this is a brand which majors on making purse-friendly, wallet-welcoming pieces of boldly artistic sartorial statements, yet, without the merest mention of a word! So, naturally, yours truly has seized-the-day and taken up the mantle to spread it for him!

At first glance, his menswear and womenswear pieces are striking! Heavy with symbolism, Quagraine thrives on incorporating his Socio-Political scholastic background into his craft and excels in channelling these influences through the joint-conduits of art and fashion-design. For example, the ‘Trigon’ signature, is a triangular motif, in reference to the map of Africa and in deference to his native roots, whilst ‘The Krypt’ is an intriguing metaphor alluding to the differing perspectives, regarding regional identities. His distinctive flair for originality also comes to the fore in the ‘Tribal’ print, in which heritage-patterns from the Ghanaian Ashanti and Ancient Mayan traditions are beautifully-balanced to produce a new KC hallmark. The geometric ‘Colour’ graphic displays a fearless and insistent use of the spectrum, which draws inspiration from unity-in-diversity, as manifested in the London Olympics of 2012. However, Quagraine finds the Natural World as much of a catalyst as that of the Human, evidenced in ‘The Hive’ honeycomb-logo, itself, a nod to such solidarity and unity, in bees.

It is this effortless meandering through parallel universes, which sets Kweku Clothing apart from many others of its emerging counterparts. Will you find such on-trend silhouettes as the ‘body-con’ dress in midi/maxi-lengths? Undoubtedly. Is there a broad choice of sweatshirts, t-shirts, crop tops and vest-tops? Absolutely! But you’d be hard-pressed to find the same capability for siphoning so many global topics into the fashion-world, in such modern, affordable and accessible ways and furthermore, to do so with such a Fine-Art sensibility!

For all of theses reasons and more, am I championing Kweku Quagraine and urging you to WAKE-UP TO ‘KWEKU CLOTHING’….STANDARD!

www.kwekuclothing.com ~ www.facebook.com/KwekuClothing

©AFROW 2013-2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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TWITTER-TESTIMONIAL FROM KWEKU CLOTHING (@KwekuClothing)!

‘…Thanks very much for such an eloquent and flattering write-up!!’