Archive for April, 2009

In the 1940s, during the Second World War, women made small indulgent purchases on lipstick and other cheaper make-up products instead of items of clothing, as they were far too expensive to splurge on.  It provided women with a way to release that need to treat and cheer themselves up during such an uncertain and discomforting time. 

The recent looming recession that has left countries around the world feeling the strain; with still-rising job losses, consumers are far more cautious about spending money on necessities rather than indulgences.   As a result of this the ‘Lipstick Effect’ appears to be returning as retailers note increased sales in make-up and other affordable luxuries – just as in the 1940s. 

Contrary to the coined phrase, these days, the lipstick effect does not have to only involve lipstick or make-up; retailers may opt to pay a little extra attention to their jewellery and accessory ranges, providing consumers with pretty, shiny luxuries to comfort themselves during these uncertain times.

Image source: divathesite.com

This week’s look of the week comes from the What’s Next event hosted by the Designer Forum at Manchester’s Metropolitan University in the UK.

The student graduate event played host to a number of guest speakers (including our very own Runway and Trends Editor Jen Cox!) there to inspire the next generation of fashion professionals.

Our subject has taken an early leaf from our forecast trend for spring/summer 09 – Bedouin Poets. The rich hues of her geometric, tribal print kaftan perfectly compliment the additional colours of her tights, cute pumps and even hair!

For more inspirational street style click here

In today’s fast paced and frenetic society it is not always easy for a discerning reader to find the time to settle down and enjoy a novel. This problem seems to have been overcome by the Japanese, with the introduction of keitai shousetsu, or the mobile novel. Stories are written by their authors on a mobile phone as a text message, compacting an entire story into no more than a few hundred words.

First created in 2003 by a man known only as ‘Yoshi’, the story, entitled Deep Love, was downloaded more than 2.6 million times, published as an actual book, and then spawned a television series and even a film. Telling the story of a young prostitute in Tokyo, Deep Love typifies keitai shousetsu as they are often dark and nihilistic in their content, and due to the medium in which they are spread, have had to develop a unique writing style. Superfluous adjectives and description are out; the text is clear, concise and to-the-point, something which often adds to the cold, clinical themes present in the stories themselves.

Keitai shousetsu seems to be the latest evolution in a seemingly never ending system in which telecommunications both invigorate and mutate traditional forms of both entertainment and social convention, adapting them to fit in with the hectic and dynamic lifestyles of many urbanites. The phenomenon has yet to spread to North America and Europe but seeing as its very nature is geared towards convenience and ease-of-use, it’s only a matter of time.

Image source: Flickr.com/cocoarmani

Innovation in the field of architecture continues to excite and amaze as designers look to the future to design vast ultramodern buildings and structures, leaving viewers in awe.  All over the world, architects are increasingly exploring futuristic concepts for everything from house to public buildings to entire cities.

In Ansan City, South Korea, four architectural firms have investigated a future plan for the city along the theme of ‘Promotion and Architecture’.   The proposal has been exhibited in model form in the lobby of the Gyeonggido Museum of Modern Art.  The model consists of the different buildings and structures that are planned for the future proposal of Ansan, one of which is Mass Studies’ jigsaw tower dubbed the Robotic Towers.  Each model building was usable as a piece of furniture by visitors to the museum in an exploration into synergistic qualities.  The furniture of the Robotic Towers was able to function as desks, benches and other pieces of furniture dependent on how the pieces were combined. 

At urban scale the towers are designed to stand individually or work collectively forming an enormous, constantly shifting, three-dimensional puzzle.  The idea is that the towers, being able to be arranged in an array of combinations which will explore new spatial possibilities and create an organized irregularity that breaks up the inflexibility and repetitiveness of Korea’s urban grid.

Image source: designboom.com

The world’s second largest sporting goods brand, Adidas, has embarked on their latest fashion venture with a new line, Adidas SLVR (pronounced silver), which is said to be “subversively eco”.

SLVR launched in February this year and is a clean and modern sportswear range as opposed to the performance activewear that Adidas is famed for; it offers a range of apparel, footwear and accessories.  The line is concentrated on a concept of reducing complexity in order to create an eco-friendly yet fashionable range of products.  The range features an eco friendly Six Piece Upper shoe and a Zero Waste Tee among a wide variety of garments produced with the environment and sustainability in mind.  Fabrics used for key looks include lightweight organic cotton, soya-bean based fabrics – which are both sustainable – and low maintenance fabrics such as water resistant nylon and coated canvas.  SLVR’s signature colour is gunmetal grey and the colour palette takes on a minimalist feel consisting mainly of black, grey and white for basics with accents of blue, maroon and orange used in garments and accessories.

The Six Piece Upper trainer has had a drastic reduction if its production process being made of only seven pieces in total instead of the typical 25-30 of other trainers.  Adidas has also opted for having the pieces sewn together instead of using the environmentally destructive glue that is usually used in the process of assembling trainers.   

The Zero Waste Tee is produced in three quick and easy steps to ensure that it is environmentally friendly; it is cut from a single piece of fabric from an interlocking pattern that considerably reduces waste.  A single slit is cut into the centre of the pattern piece to create an opening for the head, and to finish, a single stitch is sewn around the body to produce a modern, eco-friendly, fashionable t-shirt!

Adidas SLVR’s flagship store in New York City officially opened its doors to the public on Tuesday February 17th 2009 and was the first of four store openings scheduled for this year; Miami, Paris Berlin and Bangkok stores are all now open and an e-commerce site has been established to cater to the consumers in the United States and Europe.  For more info and a look at the range of products available for the spring/summer 09 season, visit http://slvrstore.adidas.com/ .

Image source: dazeddigital.com

Yesterday saw the release of Matthew Williamson’s highly-anticipated collection for H&M; the range subsequently sold out within minutes at the flagship store in London’s Regent Street. On offer was a small yet highly refined collection of items, including a maxi dress, a khaki boiler suit, leather jackets and various accessories, many of which displayed Williamson’s penchant for bright acid shades.

H&M’s designer collaborations have always proven tremendously successful – past collections include pieces from designers such as Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney and Viktor & Rolf, and offer budget fashionistas the chance to own a piece or two of high-end designer clothing for a mere fraction of the price. Given that a Matthew Williamson dress can retail for anywhere up to £2,000, the chance to buy one of his creations for a mere £200 is virtually irresistible to those in the know.

Such collaborations represent a refreshing ‘democratisation’ in the world of high-end fashion; people who don’t have the sartorial budget of a Russian oligarch should not have to go without high-end design, and seeing as this collection will do nothing but bolster Williamson’s reputation as one of Britain’s shining examples of fashion design, it appears that everyone’s a winner.

Image source: Rex Features

Between January 22 and  March 8th, the Institut Néerlandais on Paris’ Left Bank welcomed trend forecasting icon Li Edelkoort’s first retrospective with the much acclaimed exhibition entitled ‘Archeology of the future: 20 years of trends through the eyes of Li Edelkoort.

‘Exploring contemporary trends between 1990 and 2010, the exhibition takes you on a journey through the trends that have shaped our lives, seeing them not as passing fads but as long-term phenomena. Fourteen trends were divided into seven different sections, covering: Body/ Soul, Global/ Local, Flora/ Fauna, Urban/ Rural, Armour/ Amour, Abstraction/ Narration and Nihilism/ Hedonism, illustrated by a wide range of images, audiovisuals and trend forums. This was the first time that an exhibition had directly identified and analyzed trends in this manner, making it a must see just before Maison & Objet, suggested the organisers.

Visitors were also able to discover how a fashion forecaster works with Li Edelkoort’s very own trend studio installation. With nearly 40 years of fashion forecasting history behind her including the creation of the Trend Union and the publisher of influential magazines View on Colour and Bloom, Edelkoort certainly knows her stuff, making this exhibition a great source of inspiration for the fashion industry!

Click here for a press release and further images on the exhibition

(Image Source: Institut Neerlandais)

This week’s ‘look of the week’ was spotted at The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival by our man out and about in London and beyond; Face Hunter.

Running from 17th – 19th April ’09 the festival, set in the Californian area of Indio in the Colorado Desert, saw some 130 acts performing across 3 stages. For more on the event click here.

Yvan ‘Face Hunter’ Rodic spotted this style maven on day two of the event, and we love her 1980’s inspired look. The combination of feminine frills, hot pink, oversized Perspex specs and a floral baseball cap are almost too much for us to handle.

We hope you’re ready for an 80’s infused summer!

For more images like this check out Face Hunter

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (more commonly known as simply Coachella) took place this weekend; 17th/18th/19th April 2009 with some 130 acts performing across five stages. With a diverse line up including Sir Paul McCartney, The Killers, M.I.A, The Chemical Brothers, My Bloody Valentine, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Cure, revelers and celebrities alike arrived in droves to the desert setting of the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, California.

With temperatures reaching 38°C during the day, and dropping drastically after sunset the three day event is a fashionista’s dream. Style icons Sienna Miller, Kate Bosworth, Peaches Geldof and Agyness Deyn are regular visitors, typically displaying perfect examples of boho chic in the daylight hours, and hitting the tents decked out in their best fluoro for dancing by night.

This year visitors were treated to an emotional set by McCartney, due to it being the anniversary of his late wife Linda’s death. Strict vegetarian Morrissey abandoned his set due being able to smell the backstage barbeque, while new mum M.I.A played the main stage for the first time, only to declare ‘get me back in the tents…I want to be in the sweat’.

Not ignoring the global financial crisis, organizers this year offered layaway on tickets, with buyers opting to pay in installments. Environmental issues were not forgotten either, organizers strongly suggested carpools to and from the event, while the festival’s recycling policy was as prominent as ever.

 
Pictured below left to right: The Ting Tings’ Katie White; 90210 star Jessica Stroup; Hollywood actress Kate Bosworth; burlesque superstar Dita Von Teese.

Image sources: Rex Features; Flickr.com/omgashleynicole; Flickr.com/pascal turcotte rocks

Coachella main website
http://www.coachella.com/

3D movies are by no means a new concept having been around in some shape or form since the late 19th century.  However, the media form is slowly being revived and it is in 2009 that consumers will notice a boost in 3D film releases.  There are around thirty feature length films scheduled for release between 2009 and 2011, sixteen of which are due for release this year. 

The 3D fest has begun with Dreamworks’ animated film Monster vs Aliens which was released in the UK on 3rd April 2009.  The animation features a cast of famous celebrity voices from the likes of Reese Witherspoon, Kiefer Sutherland and Seth Rogen.  Next on the vast 3D list is an another animation titled Coraline with Dakota Fanning (as the voice of Coraline) and Teri Hatcher (as her mother) among the star-studded cast.  Coraline is due to be released in the UK on 8th May 2009.

Dreamworks’ has also announced that all of their feature length films, from now on, will be created in 3D starting with the newly released Monsters vs Aliens.  This defining moment for 3D cinema was reached when Dreamworks CEO, Jeffrey Katzenburg, saw The Polar Express (2004) in 3D at an IMAX cinema and believed that there was a future in 3D for Dreamworks.  He described it as a “…very, very stimulating way to experience a movie, that I had never felt before.” 

Dreamworks is only one of the “big names” in film to be bitten by the 3D bug; George Lucas has announced plans to remake all of his Star Wars films in 3D!  Also, Twisted Pictures, the masterminds behind the Saw movie franchise, are considering creating Saw VI in 3D, but nothing official has been announced.  Movie go-ers can expect to see other classics such as Piranha (1978), George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (1978), Re-Animator (1985) and Toy Story and Toy Story 2 remastered in 3D.

Additionally Cineworld, the UK’s second largest multiplex cinema chain, is preparing for the upcoming 3D demand by making 3D viewing the focus of their business strategy.  The company has invested in 3D screens and projectors and are planning to have this new equipment installed by the end of the year.

With this advancement in cinema technology and cinemas like Cineworld preparing for the necessary conversions, consumers are being given the opportunity to become more involved in the action and adventure of the films, fuelling the feeling of escapism and catering to the ever increasing desire to escape from reality; even for 120 minutes.  Are we ready for the dawn of adventure?

Image source: Rex Features/ Monster vs Aliens