“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

MFW: I’M READY-TO-WEAR ‘ERMANNO SCERVINO’!

Picture it…

…Backstage, models sit calmly, hair being tailcomb-teased, face being made exquisitely, Terry Barber-ready, whilst front-of-house, conversations clatter like talking-typewriters! Suddenly, a cry of ‘EHH-OHH!‘, loosely-translated as ‘SILENCE!‘, splits the air into pin-drop reverence…

 Now, imagine a host of supermodels, amongst them Alek Wek and Karolina Kurkova, leading a runway of risng-stars, with the aplomb of their 90’s predecessors and you’ll understand the significance of the Scervino brand. If you even dared to blink, you would have missed an almost endless-string of timeless looks, worthy of their own reference encyclopaedia! Whilst we had seen the ‘Pastel/ Metallic/ Midi-Maxi Length/ Column-Hourglass/ Embellishment’ stories, favoured in the vestments of fellow MFW designers, Scervino interpretations seemed to renew them.

For example, skirts took on ice-skater-like proportions, pleats were more than couture-concertinas, reframed as flitting-gaudets… and embellishments, whilst beaded and embroidered, were off-set in position and oriental in theme. Metallics were not simply silver, but gunmetal and gave a more experimental edge when used in conjunction with the traditional silhouettes. Yes, lemon, taupe, mint, black and white all featured, however, peacock added strength to blues and something in the way that peach was colour-blocked, gave it the power of a full-on-primary. Fabrics perused PVC, took a departure into denim, suede injected a new joie-de-vivre to the vestments and silk-taffetta was accompanied by satin-trim, which was a signpost, not only  to the superb eye-for-detail on display, but also an attention-to-distinctive-detail.

It is with this in mind, that I take you on a whistle-stop tour of the most unique moments.

PVC won my ‘Return-of-the-mac’ prize for being a funky piece of outerwear, printed in lemon-hued houndstooth! The award for ‘Best Use of Embellishment’ was a split decision between a taupe, tailored-jacket with cluster-beading, set on the inner-edge of the tuxedo-collar (which, incidentally, did win ‘Best Placement of Embellishment’), and a stunning gun-metal-coloured sweater, with a silver-bead-encrusted accent around the crew-neck.

The ‘Prize-for-Prettiest-Pleating’ had to go to an amazing, chalk-white, column-dress, gathered from shoulder-to-waistline, with its pleating gathering pace to the hem…all cunningly-accompanied by a thigh-high split, for epic Grecian glamour! Coming in a close second, was a black, hour-glass gown with crystal-embellished gaudets at the tail.

‘Best Floral Motif’ was shared (I know, I know, there should only be one winner..but, my made-up competition, my rules!)…. The two stand-out creations were an oriental spray-of-orchids, perfectly-placed upon a strapless peach dress, in a diagonal formation, from empire-to-hemline and a peacock-blue, fitted, scoop-necked, mini-dress, with florals, off-set, on either side of the bodice, spilling into the skirt. ‘Best New Silhouette’ was a shoe-in, for a black, lace, nehru-collared cape with asymetric-opening and credit for ‘Best New Fabric’ could only go to……DENIM!!! The ink-blue offerings of v-necked crop-top, short-pant and denim-lined, white jacket were utterly irresistible!

We’re nearly there now, so, drum-roll please… because it’s time for ‘Best-In-Fashion-Show’…….which was…wait for it……the glorious  Jackie-O-inspired, midi-length, silk dress and collarless-overcoat ensemble, both in that lightning white, effortlessly worn by the magnificent Alek Wek!!!! Congratulations!!!

So, there you have it, fashion-friends….A  whirlwind tour of a tour-de-force collection, which gave us a collation of attire, reprising the traditional with a directional twist.

It’s safe to say that I absolutely adored what I saw…and if you want to reconnect with looks of vintage-modernity, then the designs of Ermanno Scervino are a great place to start!

©AFROW2013-2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

 

DSQUARED2: IN CELEBRATION OF THE MOVIE-STAR SIREN!

As a designer, you know that a show has gone down a storm when howling whoops of delight are audible from both back and  front-of-house!! After today’s Dsquared2 show, the identical-twin design-team of Dean and Dan Caten must surely be shouting the loudest!

Forget that the event was running half-an-hour behind the scheduled time, the buzz of anticipation from an audience, the size of which was comparable to the Burberry attendance, was palpable!

With a brassy blast of Mambo Kings announcing the imminent arrival of some spectacular style, we knew that we were being set up to depart upon the fashion-ride of our lives!!

First up, was a splash of showroom footage, in which models were either being fitted and dressed in the collection, or were dancing with the designers, themselves, in a tiki-hut!! The brief glimpse served as a tantalising teaser to what was to follow….which was a pitch black auditorium and a pinched, female voice, with an American accent, regaling the finer points of elegance, as if delivering a Public Service Announcement!!!

Then BANG! With the camera done, it was lights and action, accompanied by Elvis Presley entering the building, as ‘Bossa Nova’ was siphoned through the super-speakers!! The scene was set with an elongated tiki-bar, complete with bow-tied bartender, a stretch of runway which extended like a record-breaking length of taffy and models, ready in their first looks, to powerwalk the pass!

Oh and what looks they were! The Dsquared2 woman positively oozed Sophia Loren-allure, with lashings of Brigitte Bardot-boldness and Diahann Carroll- decadence! The story started with bustier/ corset- bikinis, harking back to the moulded shapes of lingerie and beachwear of yesteryear, thus illustrated by a blonde bombshell-of-a-model, sauntering along the runway in the opening stark, white two-piece. Variations of the ‘new-vintage’ look were presented in darling degradé blush-pink-on-white and burning-yellow ochre colour combinations, with maximum impact being achieved through a punch of pop-art-turquoise stilletoes and the additional back-combed hair and wing-tipped make-up, courtesy of Sam McKnight and Charlotte Tilbury, respectively!

As the audience surrendered to subsequent models owning the catwalk, the retro theme was developed by the introduction of more traditional two-piece bathing suit ensembles comprised of bra-tops and full-briefs. One such example was in (virtually flourescent) purple/orange print, teamed with a jauntily-sported, single-breasted jacket, the fabric of which would be reprised in a natty black-belted jumpsuit. Animal print was also popular and featured on both string and bustier-bikinis and as a, wonderfully worked, mélange of patchwork-print.

Dsquared2-daywear encouraged the play-on-white, by incorporating capri pants, cotton blouses and a sartorially-stunning, single-breasted jacket. Texture was developed by way of toffee-toned leather shorts and an adorable three-quarter length, over-sized coat in coffee-brown. Black-and-white bouclé appeared in jacket and bustier-bikini form, with sequins denoting their take on the knee-length skirt.

When it came to dresses, we were in for absolute treats, with a selected off-the-shoulder gowns of the multi-print, kneelength, puffball variety, in a red/black/white palette and in a devastating midnight-black, fit-and-flare silhouette. Each piece was laden with acres of tulle underskirting, floating like flotsam on the ocean and, of course, had handbags to match! Of particular note, was the quirky usage of fabric paillettes in yellow/ taupe-tones, which caused the garment to look somewhat feather-like, yet distinctly attractive and extremely fun to wear!

For the sunset hours, composed relaxation was in order, with black silk blousons and bell-sleeved tunics paired with classic white, high-legged shorts. Notwithstanding, the chance to incorporate colour was never missed and the reprise of the blouson, a dream in tangerine, was confidently  off-set by highly mirror-embellished shorts. The journey continued with an ivory collarless jacket, scattered with gold beads from top-to-tail and the metallic trend evolved into a shimmering silver adaptation of the three-quarter coat, styled with a matching, Doris Day-èsque ‘pill-box’ hat!

It was left to the bikini-story to bring the show to a dynamic close, with a Barbarella-worthy black, cut-away, criss-cross swimsuit, building to a climax of a black-on-white bustier-bikini, which was the only example to have a ‘creeping-vine’ motif.

The finale vignette of the entire model line-up, topped-off a show which would, quite frankly, give the Punchdrunk site-specific theatre company a run for their money!!! Once Dean and Dan had, themselves, walked the measure of the catwalk to rapturous applause, the ride-of-a-show was over..

No matter what the start-time, this triumphant collection was above-and–beyond worth the wait!

©AFROW2013-2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED