I covered London Fashion Week for iGO - a luxury fashion magazine based in Beirut. Better late than never, below are some of my favourite photos.
letters to Alexander McQueen
Orla Kiely models sitting pretty
Fashion East's Nasir Mashar's collection in the vaults of Somerset House
Osman
Front row at Jaeger
Alice Dellal modelling for Pam Hogg
Pam Hogg collection
Basso and Brooke
Francis Ford Coppola's granddaughter Gia Coppola, Sage Brazer, daughter of Brian Grazer (The Changeling and American Gangster producer) and Tracey Antonopoulos put together a art show at 8432 Melrose on Thursday. All and sundry turned up to celebrate the trio's show which was a mix of photography by Gia and Sage and film installation by Tracey. I didn't think much of the photography presentation; photos were stuck straight onto the walls or placed in small silver frames, which encouraged you to walk right up to them to be able to dicifer their subject. I did like what looked like a gheko in a toilet bowl, but again it was just a bit too small. But to be honest it was more a show to see and be seen at. I spotted Ashton Kutcher, Selma Blair, Kirsten Dunst, Stephen Dorf and of course Sophia Coppola. Renowned party photographer Mark Hunter aka the cobrasnake took the photos, but here are some of mine that I took at the last minute.
In the black, glasses is Justin South, drummer in the band Augustana who had the big hit 'Boston' last year.
Above is thecobrasnake in the middle, love that shirt!
I recently went to the exhibition at Whitechapel Art Gallery to see Sophie Calle's anticipated exhibition. It was all and more that I could have hoped for. Her thought-provoking project to get 100 women of different professions to respond to a letter from her lover telling her he could no longer be with her was is inspired. This is exactly what we women do - we consult our female friends for advice about how they would react to such a letter. The responses are intelligent, quirky and different. She's made art out of their texts, sent to her by translations, psychologists, teachers, dancers, poets and musicians. Their responses are completely fascinating and inspiring. The gallery upstairs displays projects she's undertaken over her years as an artist. In one project she writes to the author Paul Auster asking him how to be a good New Yorker, which involves adopting a phone booth and smiling at people, in another she takes photos of empty spaces in Berlin where memorials used to stand, making the absence and how people feel about their absence the subject. In another she invites strangers to sleep in her bed. She effectively marries text with photos and images, illustrating how each can be just as powerful in portraying emotion.
google images
Last Saturday Anthony and I went down to Natalie Gibson's house in South London, so he could photograph her at home, for a series of portraits he's doing. She lives in the most eccentric, Aladdin's cave of a house that ozes colour. She's lived there since the 60s and it is a house that has been truely lived in - there is not a surface that isn't covered in some momentum or knick knack from her life or travels - all an extension of her interests. Natalie is Head of Textiles at St Martin's and she's been designing beautiful and unusual fabrics for the last few decades. Every year she teaches in India and you can see how the culture and rich landscape of the country has influenced her designs. She also owns eight cats, which also often have a starring role.
The next night was the Rankin launch at the Truman Brewary. I managed to blag myself an invite through my friend Marc Kremers who’d designed the RankinLive website, and I bumped into another friend there, who has his Photoautomat machine installed in one of the exhibition corridors. I laughed when he told me that Rankin had asked if he could call it ‘Rankinmat’! I need to go back to fully appreciate the exhibition, as I spent most of the launch outside with the smokers, but from what I did see, the exhibition is huge, awe-inspiring and rather overwhelming for a budding photographer – there is no one Rankin has not photographed. From Vivien Westwood – the Queen of fashion to the Queen of England. On the way out I spotted Erin O’Connor, Henry Holland and Marc Warren who stars on the website. The after party was held above 93 Feet East in a rabbit warren of a house with a huge roof terrace at the back. I took some photos – including one of a hairdresser from the Electric Blue Gallery and Rankin’s butt crack! Oops...
A couple of weeks ago I went with a friend to the Dazed & Confused/ Vauxhall car launch in Shoreditch. Jessica Brinton wrote about it in last Sunday’s Style magazine – so thought I’d jump on that bandwagon. Sadly we got there a bit late to walk through the inflatable entrance, that looked like a giant gold anus – it must have tried to smother someone on the way out. For us latecomers it was the more conventional door entrance. Inside the place was decked out with three seriously pimped Vauxhall rides – one covered in mirrors on a rotating floor, that danced lights across the walls, another hosted a karaoke machine watched over by the towering figure of the presumably well-paid-for-appearance of Jonny Woo clad in Giles Deacon 'for New Look' and a big red Foxy Cleopatra wig, and the third was a car-come-hair salon, run by Beth Ditto’s hair stylist, if I’d know who she was I would ‘ave got me hair done. Alfie Allen was on the decks (well he was standing by them) followed by Sophie Ellis Bextor and hubby Richard Jones from The Feeling (admittedly we’d left by then, after my near death on the roller skating dance floor.) On our way out we were asked to do an interview with the PR company, but declined – I didn’t want to say on camera that I was a little disappointed with the size of the rink and I felt the footwear was falsely advertised – I was expecting to skate in the Corsa skates (below) but to my dismay they were your bog-standard white skates with pink stops...
I was lucky enough to go along and photograph two spectacular events at the Fashion and Textile Museum last weekend. UNDERCOVER was directed by 'I think I'm here darling, where are you?' and BBB's events guru Albie Hueston. Friday was frills, frolics and fashion by young designers Star Hu Gargoyle and Jane Doe, poetry by Laura Dockrill and Bridget Aphrodite and music by the very talented Baby Sol and Holly Walker.
Star Hu and Jane's creations
Bridget Aphrodite
Saturday was all about being FIERCE - hosted by renowned stylist Johnny Blues. Johnny unleashed his House of Blues eyes in a tornado of leather, latex and nudity which brought the weekend to its climax.
Valeria
House of Blue Eyes
See my photos of UGLY SHY GIRL on Gemma Cairney's blog last week!
I went back to the Southbank on Saturday to photograph the launch event for Laura Dockrill’s new book UGLY SHY GIRL. I think I’m here darling put on a brilliant show, which included Laura, Kate Nash, Peggy Sue and Bridget Aphrodite, with Radio 1's Gemma Cairney as the compere. It was the most amazing performance and by far the best book launch I’ve been to. These are a few of my favourite photos.
