Naomi Bears It for Agent Provocateur

Agent Provocateur has lost its way since building a reputation in its early days as the go-to resource for stylishly sexy lingerie.  Naomi Campbell heads the Spring Summer campaign, shot by Ellen Von Unswerth, inspired by pulp fiction pin ups of the sixties, in a bid to win back the label's original fans.

Guy Bourdin Photography at Somerset House

The UK’s largest ever exhibition of the influential and enigmatic fashion photographer Guy Bourdin, featuring over 100 works and previously unseen material from the photographer’s estate, from 1955 to 1987.  This major show charts Bourdin’s distinguished 40-year career from Man Ray’s protégé to photography revolutionary in his own right and explore his pursuit of perfection. The exhibited works exemplify the craftsmanship behind his images, from production to publication, and their enduring quality as a consequence.  Open now until the 15th March 2015 at Somerset House, London.  A must visit for all those interested in fashion and photography.

Alexander McQueen at the V&A: Savage Beauty

Make a date at the V&A for Savage Beauty: 

14 March – 19 July 2015. Celebrating the extraordinary creative talent of one of the most innovative designers of recent times, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty will be the first and largest retrospective of McQueen's work to be presented in Europe.  Originally staged at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2011 it proved one of the ten best selling exhibitions in its history

Banksy Work Hits the Current Pulse

This work by Banksy epitomises the current problem in the States where judicial justice for black and white is currently under scrutiny ....

Jellyfish Eyes by Takashi Murakami

"Jellyfish Eyes is nonsense.  No reason, no meaning.  This world is all nonsense."    Jellyfish Eyes is the first feature film from one of our favourite artists, Takashi Murakami who feels the children of modern Japan understand him best....

A Temple to Armani

Armani's hotel in Dubai is a powerful brand beacon and salesfloor in an emerging market.  International brands are investing in hotels as luxury showcases for their own products, in the case of Armani, homeware (Armani/Casa) and furniture as well as clothing .....  Live the brand what?

Nike Ups the Fashion Ante with Karlie Kloss

Clever Nike is embracing the fashion crowd as never before. Its forthcoming collaboration with Pedro Lourenço was launched with much fanfare last week, starring as it does Karlie Kloss in the campaign shots. As with everything, authenticity is at its core. The product is highly fashionable but function has to come first. But it clearly doesn’t hurt to have Karlie (and a chunk of her million+ Instagram following) endorsing the brand…
WORDS: NAVAZ BATLIWALLA/DISNEYROLLERGIRL

Galliano at the Helm of Maison Martin Margiela

JOHN GALLIANO's new boss at Maison Martin Margiela has some advice for the fashion industry: judge the designer by his future collections, not his past.  Welcome back Galliano - a great creative talent joins one of our favourite labels.  Congrats to Maison Martin Margiela for taking this courageous step.

Vuitton to the aid of Art in Paris

Designed by architectural icon Frank Gehry, the Louis Vuitton Foundation in the Bois de Boulogne - the ultimate coalition between art and luxury - opened this week.  Amongst the many celebrities and fashion icons attending was our favourite Sophia Coppola, pictured here in the main gallery....

Tribute to Oscar de la Renta

 

Instagram hit, Mayhem (#fashionbyMayhem), the result of her mother's recreations of famous red carpet gowns, pays tribute to Oscar de la Renta with a paper versions of the gown SJP wore to the 2014 Met Ball. A big thanks to Senor de la Renta for his lifetime of inspirational designs - from Mrs Amal Clooney's wedding dress to Jackie O's First Lady outfits. 

Valentino's Camouflage iPhone Case

We often fall in love with men's accessories and there is good reason for us ladies to add this iPhone case to our accessories Wishlist.  Showcasing Valentino's recognisable camouflage pattern and stud branding, this just launched case fits all iPhone 5 models and features a tactile design that utilises both printed canvas and soft leather.  £135 from http://www.oki-ni.com/accessories/

Kate Moss Bares her Breast for Breast Cancer Awareness

Kate Moss models the 'Gemma Relaxing' bra from the lingerie collection that Stella McCartney has designed to raise funds and awareness for Breast Cancer Awareness month - October.

Burberry + Apple = Luxury Watch Sales

This year, Apple hired Angela Ahrendts, former chief executive of Burberry, to lead the company’s retail division and it will be very interesting to watch how Apple’s retail model begins to shift.  Apple's new Watch will be introduced in numerous versions from affordable to luxury. And Angela knows how to shift luxury items ...

Horst P Horst

At the V&A Museum in London from 6th September:  A retrospective exhibition of Horst P Horst's prolific 60-year career. The German-American photographer did shoots for couturiers such as Chanel, Schiaparelli and Vionnet in the ’30s, as well as experimenting with early colour techniques. His most renowned images will be on display alongside rarities and unpublished pictures, plus there will be a recreation of Horst's 1940s studio. Archive film footage, sketchbooks and letters will also give an insight into his creative process.

Kate Moss and Delevignge front Burberry launch

Today, in its biggest beauty launch to date, Burberry is set to debut its newest women’s fragrance, My Burberry. The ad campaign is fronted by Cara Delevingne and Kate Moss so is bound to drive fans to the fragrance.  "“Fragrance is driven by image, makeup is driven by improvement, and skincare is driven by loyalty. We know that we need all three.”  Not sure it is one for us ....

Puddings to end the Evening ...

For those with a sweet tooth - rejoice!  Remember when puddings were once strictly after-dinner ‘guilty pleasures’? Well, that’s no more. Now, it seems that dessert has been added to our double Ds (drinking and dancing). We noticed it first when our cocktails took a sweet turn – from the Coco Pop Old Fashioned at Duck & Waffle to the serious liquid desserts at BOBO Social (think rhubarb & custard tipples, death by chocolate martinis and apple crumbles in a glass). And now the idea has gone bricks and mortar with The Pudding Bar, a candlelit Soho sweet spot with a dessert-only menu. 

The Broken Arm in Paris

The Broken Arm space in the Haut Marais neighbourhood of Paris has become a haunt for cool creatives and is in danger of overtaking Colette as a must-visit destination.  Read all about it here
http://www.businessoffashion.com/2014/07/retail-recon-the-broken-arm-anais-lafarge-guillaume-steinmetz-romain-joste.html?utm_source=Subscribers&utm_campaign=12cefb5358-&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d2191372b3-12cefb5358-416980901

Kids at Play Pictured by Larry Clark

Los Angeles skate punks, topless teens and the cast of Larry Clark’s 20-year filmography feature at London’s Simon Lee Gallery—the director’s vast archive collection of unseen snapshots arrived in a wooden crate, following a similar sale at his Home Alone 2 gallery in New York earlier this year. “Of course, there’s some nostalgia for me,” says Fitzpatrick, who launched his career with Kids, alongside co-stars Chloë Sevigny and Rosario Dawson and scriptwriter Harmony Korine  Full story on

Nowness.com

Secret Parties in London ....

Urban Junkies is a great resource for where to eat and club, and the best and newest places to visit in London.  Check out today's newsletter for where all the 'secret' events are being held - and how to get into them! http://www.urbanjunkies.com/london/current.html

Amazing Floating Sculptures

Colourant is a series of floating sculptures, made up of colourful liquid thrown and captured at 1/3500th of a second. Cassandra Warner and Jeremy Floto of Floto+Warner Studio are the brains behind the project, which appears as an optical illusion.See more here ...

Youth Matters say Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield

Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield make a point as they emerge from a café in New York. They held notes across their faces saying: "Good morning! We were eating and saw a group of guys with cameras outside. And so we thought, let's try this again. We don't need the attention, but these wonderful organisations do: www.youthmentoring.org; www.autismspeaks.org; (and don't forget:) www.wwo.org; www.gildasclubnyc.org. Here's to the stuff that matters. Have a great day!"

Bipping ....YAR! A Take on Blogging

Bip Ling's You Tube video takes a tongue in chic view of blogging and her favourite phrase, Yar.  A must watch for all would be bloggers and those fashion bloggers who take themselves too seriously ...

Painted Parisian Ladies

Scottish artist Jessica Harrison‘s creations are securely fastened and thoroughly impervious to any kind of clumsy seven-year-olds who may be lurking around the "FLASH" exhibition at Galerie L.J. in Paris, ready to accidentally knock her ceramic body-arted ladies off their pedestals at a moment’s notice.
 Harrison not only sculpted this collection, but she completed her PhD in Sculpture at the Edinburgh College of Art last year. Named after the traditional tattoo templates, her conservative ball-gowned belles have been given a bad girl makeover with some finely applied ink (similarly subversive to Penny Byrne‘s psychotic ceramaic creations), and Harrison uses the archetypal symbols of body art – skulls, daggers and bleeding hearts – juxtaposed with the demure, feminine figures. Try not to break anything if you can visit the gallery; closing date is 26 June.

Julian Schnabel: Coming to London from Dallas

 “Poetry is the thing he left out”

…a quote from a full video interview on Nowness,  The Seven Days of Creation.

Julian Schnabel is enjoying his first US Museum Show Since the 1980s (Dallas Contemporary) and Londoners will be able to see a selection of work from the past ten years in Every Angel has a Dark Side which opens at the Dairy Art Centre in London on 25 April.

Dress to impress at the Matisse Exhibition

93 year old socialite Iris Apfel has been inspired by the Matisse at Tate Modern to dress in similar eyecatching and joyful style.  See the video at http://www.neverunderdressed.com/people/news/iris-apfel-dresses-for-matisse

Banksy Collection hits London Sale for Charity

STEALING BANKSY? at the ME hotel in London from April 27 will represent the most expensive collection of Banksy artworks ever assembled under one roof and is the culmination of a 12 month project to uncover, salvage and lovingly restore these pieces.

With the artworks on sale to support local charities, this will be the first and only time these pieces will ever be seen in their current state. 

Theonths by the world’s leadin

g experts at a cost of over £120,000.

Jean Paul Gaultier, Boundary Breaker

Exhibition at the Barbican, London, 9^th April to 25^th August 2014

From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk  is  the first major exhibition devoted to JPG whose place in fashion history as a witty and daring designer is deserved.  Fascinated by world cultures and countercultures  he has broken the boundaries not

only between cultures but also the sexes The infamous conical bra and corsets Madonna wore during her 1990 Blonde Ambition World Tour are showcased alongside stage costumes designed for Kylie Minogue as well as pieces created for the films of Pedro Almodóvar, among others.