Review: Maleficent / GUISE Magazine

Maleficent, a prequel to the infamous Sleeping Beauty, is in many ways a retelling of our favourite fairytale. Angelina Jolie's soft dewy features are transformed into something austere - but was Maleficent always an evil Queen? I reviewed the film's costumes for Guise Magazine…

http://www.guisemagazine.com/film/review-maleficent/

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Interview | Christian Cowan Sanluis | Fashion Designer

Fashion designer and Womenswear student at LCF, Christian Cowan Sanluis is also a friend of mine who’s designs have been featured in countless magazines and favoured by Lady Gaga who wore an outfit deemed ‘the glitter tux’, immortalised forever through illustrations and articles.

Constantly perplexing me by effortlessly juggling student life with creating his own collections, I interviewed Christian to see just how he does it…

E: What was the motive for setting up your brand so early on, before graduating as most fashion students and designers do?

Christian: I'm too impatient, I just wanted to do it now, so I decided to just begin. I felt a head start would help. 

E: Designing at home or in a classroom is totally different to putting your ideas out there in magazines or press days, why take such a huge step into the unknown?

C: I always find university themes really constricting, so it's nice to do your own work. You call the shots and say what is right and what's not. So I started because I'm a control freak with my designs; I don't like being told what I think looks great isn't going to get me the marks!

E: Inspiration is found through many different areas of life, something ever changing and evolving. Do you have one driving force spurring you on?

C: I really enjoy working (so that helps). When I was younger I was heavily influenced by nature shows, (David Attenborough!!) and I always gravitated towards insects and the weirder animals. So I think that was my first influence, since then I've just wanted to create fun fashion that makes people feel empowered. 

E: How do you handle your success? Are you getting used to some things more than others?

C: Ha ha! I don't feel like much is different to be honest, but I have noticed more people are up for working together which is great, I love to collaborate and work with someone who has a different skill set.

E: Do you celebrate each milestone? How?

C: I get really excited for like 5 minutes and then feel unsatisfied, ha!

E: Always looking to the next project! Your collections really do seem effortless, you're so calm and almost secretive during term time, there must be a lot more to it than meets the eye - to you get any help with sourcing fabrics etc or is it more of a one man "band"?

C: I wish I had some bit team! But apart from help from my friends when they are round, (I use them as slaves) I do most of the work. Of course when it comes to the look book, video & presentation, there's tonnes of people involved. Which is nice.

E: Do you use the same processes as we do at LCF? Research - initial designs - samples - developed… or it is a totally different ball park?

C: No not really, I collect images I love on my phone, write notes of ideas, lots of scribbles and then draw them up. From there I devise a story to base the collection from.

E: What do you work towards?

C: I want to create a collection that feels young, energetic, fresh and fun! I want it to make people smile and laugh (in a nice way).

E: Do you really follow things like fashion week and go to exhibitions or do you think there are more ways to be in touch with the industry?

C: I always see what's happening through Instagram etc. I go to exhibitions when I can but I don't really attempt the LFW shows, although I do go to the parties that are around as its nice to see everyone - and get a free drink. 

E: Personally, I think that fashion, music, art, films etc can all be integrated, do films/music inspire you? What's your favourite film?

C: Yes, definitely! Music probably influences me the most. I grew up glued to the TV, watching music videos. The internet is a main source of inspiration and video games, so that's definitely where I feel at home.

E: The digital age! Would you ever consider designing for a film as many designers have done in the past (e.g. Gaultier for "Fifth Element")?

C: I'd love to! I just need someone to ask me!


E: What do you think is your greatest extravagance/indulgence?

C: Food. I have the worst diet ever, a lot of snacks come through my front door.

E: Too tempting to pass up, ha! So what's next for you and your brand?

C: I'm just trying to improve on what I do and get my work out there. I'd love to build up my stockists and have a great team onboard.

E: An empire in the making! Your designs are always immaculate, name something you think has been horrifically overdone in fashion?

C: Those Rottweiler t-shirts, they need to stop.

E: And something that needs more 'representation' in fashion?

C: I must say living in London I feel like everything is on show, we can't really complain.

E: Lastly, where's your go to place away from the fashion industry? Be it a place of tranquility or just somewhere a little different/exciting.

C: My mum's house near Cambridge, it's on a farm and her dogs are awesome so when it all gets a bit much I hide up there.

E: Thank you Christian! It was great to chat, good luck with all your future collections, we can't wait to see everything!

Follow Christian on Instagram (@christiancs94) and Twitter (@ChristianCXMCS) for updates on his new collections.

Want to intern for Christian? Get in touch! "Know any sassy people who would be up for helping with my SS15 collection and some extra projects? Send them my way!"

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Return of the Rudeboy @ Somerset House

In a society where it seems as though subculture is a mere whisper of the past, the anarchy of Punk is slipping away as a memory while everyone is pacified by hands fused to their iPhones.

The upcoming Rudeboy exhibition at Somerset House is the injection of gritty subculture London needs. Curated and created by film and music’s Dean Chalkley and fashion’s favourite Harris Elliott, the duo have chosen to represent (and introduce some of us) to the sartorial subculture known for painting the town with urban style and swagger.

Mohair, pork pie hats and a sharp buzz cut were flooded with American Jazz and R&B – British dandy meets gangster, and infusion of notoriety and high society. Saville Row meets Shoreditch.

With a heavy emphasis on Bespoke British and soulful music, a tale of two cultures is realised, ballasted by visuals, portraits and playlists, within the unsuspecting neoclassical walls of Somerset House. A fitting exhibition space as if cast into the foundations.

Return of the Rudeboy exhibited at Somerset House is open to the public on the 13^th June until 25^th August 2014. Free Admission.

Inside the Industry with Dazed & Confused / Pigeons and Peacocks

The Evolution of Fashion Image Making

"The lecture halls at LCF's John Princes Street site, usually reserved for the voices of professors, was opened to the editors of Dazed and Confused this week for the College's ongoing series Inside the Industry. With an audience of young and emerging talent gathered to absorb wisdom, many of us wished silently to ourselves, "If only success were infection"…"

http://www.pigeonsandpeacocks.com/2014/06/inside-the-industry-dazed-and-confused/

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Fashion and Furnishings / Pigeons and Peacocks

"The similarities between fashion and furnishings are greater than you think! When used in the home, pattern can convert an interior into something it is not. Wallpaper has the ability to cover the cracks in walls and hide uneven surfaces. Curtains shut out the world outside and create a new facade within…"

http://www.pigeonsandpeacocks.com/2014/06/fashion-and-furnishings/

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Flashback: Ab Fab / GUISE Magazine

As we await the release of the Ab Fab movie by Jennifer Saunders - who has frequently admitted that her procrastination frequently gets the better of her, we must be patient - I looked back on the retrospective of costumes adorning Edina Monsoon and Patsy Stone. A note to the costume designer, we expect nothing less than psychotic come 2015!

http://www.guisemagazine.com/tv/flashback-ab-fab/

Here are some of my favourite costumes from the TV show we love so much!

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Haute Cuisine/Haute Couture UN-EDITED

With the release of fashion model Daisy Lowe's “guilt free” cookbook looming, we debate the often over-looked similarities between the art forms we love to feast on (be it with our eyes or with our mouths).

Model turned chef is not a rarity as fashion’s darling Daisy follows in the footsteps of Sophie Dahl and actress turned self proclaimed lifestyle guru, Gwyneth Paltrow (who is now found most in her kitchen, consciously uncoupling egg whites from their yolks) in their bid to become vegan mutations of Nigella (ever so slightly less vivacious and carb absorbing). However, the allure of a twenty something model can be bettered by nothing, the promises of which are whispered to you as your fingers click to pre-order on Amazon. You can be a model too if you just buy my book.

Fashion and food are synonymous with the word ‘lifestyle’ as they are the make up of our day-to-day lives; art forms that everyone interacts with regularly (one would hope). Transparent salutations to this are presented in the form of “lemon chiffon cake”, the dessert mille-feuille of French origins or the mutton sleeve. All signifiers that style of fashion and food allude to the trends of life's great many pleasures.  

Just as designers redesign and take inspiration from their predecessors. Fashion students are taught to look to the past in order to learn and further evolve the design of clothing, pushing the extremities of social ideals, taste and ergonomics. The same can be said of cuisine as gourmet chefs have teased our taste buds (even if only imagined). Unpalatable fodder, or a gilded creation from Heston? Many of us will never know; as we sit at the other side of the TV screen or read the latest cookbook, we may watch the culinary revolution unravel.

Fashion and food are both key indicators of luxury. Throughout history, competitive hostilities between those frenzied by any art form have occurred as they each try to outdo one another. The most delectable representation of this can be found in the Marie Antoinette, Sofia Coppola’s vision of 18^th Century France seemed to include sweet delights and raspberry laced champagne as much as the candy coloured corsetry and mile high tresses (tall enough to inspire jealously in the matriarch of the Simpson family). Fancifully handed to us by Coppola with a little help from Siouxsie and the Banshees, the lifestyle was sold to us immediately. The mix of voguish aperitifs meant that a facile life of pleasure and luxury was at our fingertips whenever we pressed play.

Food in film can not only convey luxury but desire also. As an animal instinct one could argue that food is salient to our livelihoods more than clothing, however, it has grown into a necessity just as electronics, cars or gym memberships are most urgent on our list of previously nonessentials. The life of Riley.

   The most prevalent example of food and desire is comically found within the cartooned strokes of Lady and the Tramp. An infamous scene for an animation, filled with ardour and ever so imitable. It is within reach; even the most incongruent of home cooks can conjure a spag bol with limited incineration. Meaning that although less elegantly executed, our own romantic foodie memories can be created (even if they leave us with threads of spaghetti tickling our chin).

It only takes a few evenings of watching Masterchef to notice the trends within cuisine, as easily supplemented to us as a quick flick through of Vogue. Square plates, scallops for starters and a trio of desserts, all heavenly concoctions, yet, so changeable with every season.

   We may review both industries as pretty throw away, but imagine if at the end of creating your masterpiece someone had eaten it faster than you took to rustle it up. A new collection every few months, or a new meal every few minutes? It’s all a matter of taste.

Fashion and food can work well together: luncheons at which the crème de la crème of the industry dine together, cajoling with collaborators and scheming (I see it as more of a military operation than quant dinner party, everyone has their own agenda). Nevertheless, the two can also have a bittersweet relationship.

   I have been told many times that women have a love affair with handbags and shoes because buying them isn’t dependent on whether or not they feel bloated – you don’t need to look into a mirror to gaze at the leather strapping your feet together, neatly framing your pedicure. Getting your nails done can occur pre or post Sunday roast; however, shopping for a date night outfit is an occasion ever so dependable on figure. Meaning that food can be our best friend or worst enemy. A light lunch with girlfriends or a midnight dash to the fridge that leaves us penitently prodding our tummies as the thought of being too fat to fit into our Calvins darkens our doors.

   Previously mentioned model slash celebrity chef Sophie Dahl conveys the dysfunctional affairs we share with food while thoughts of what to wear tomorrow linger in our minds.

It seems that cooking for ourselves has become as quant as the image of 1950s housewives sewing from their mail order patterns in an effort to emulate the Hollywood elite. We have become proprietorial over our kitchens once more in a bid to become the image of perfection, with illusions of congeniality.

Good food and good fashion don’t need to institute guilt fuelled fits of clammy palms. Any aspect of the creative arts should instead ignite fervour to even the most apathetic of people; our lives orbit these art forms irrefutably and so positive relationships are a needs must when the devil drives

Click the link below to read the condensed version.

http://www.pigeonsandpeacocks.com/2014/05/haute-cuisine/

Film 4 Summer Screen @ Somerset House / GUISE Magazine

My fifth article for Guise Magazine, I can't thank my editor Anastasia enough for this exciting opportunity - I absolutely love writing for Guise, it has been two months already! I have been awarded such a great level of confidence, helping me to pursue my writing more prolifically.

With Film 4 Summer Screen at Somerset house looming, I chose a few of my favourite cult classics (tickets for which can be found -here-) and studied their iconic costumes - a catalyst to their fame? Or simply one of many art forms included within the medium of film?

http://www.guisemagazine.com/events/film-4-summer-screen-somerset-house/

My next article shall be a review of Disney's Maleficent on the 28th May, stay tuned!

A huge thank you to everyone who has supported my writing throughout the years of blogging and writing as a Columnist for Guise! This is an exciting chapter ~

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Ernie Glam & the Club Kid scene / GUISE magazine

My fourth article as a columnist for Guise Magazine has gone live!

I interviewed club kid Ernie Glam about his arsenal of costumes, how Buggs Bunny influenced him, and his recent plans with "Party Monster" friend, Michael Alig.

Click the link below to read on...

http://www.guisemagazine.com/fashion/ernie-glam-and-the-club-kid-scene/

Here are some more of my favourite images of Ernie Glam and the Club Kids 

(they deserve more than one!!)

The Club Kids

Ernie Glam - then and now

Michael Alig

From an issue of Project X magazine (founded by Alig)

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Fashion and Satire

Making fun of fashion? Never! 

Debating the notion of fashion and how satirical views have shaped and changed it, undermine, yet constantly reference social ideals and historical culture as means of our stylistic evolution.

Although there are obvious links between fashion and individual identity, one might create subsections within these two themes; class and the tensions between social hierarchies and individualism in particular. Fashion can be a means of portraying ones self, beliefs and taste, as well as even ones career or status.

   Social hierarchy in terms of fashion is extremely integral to the development of trends through emulation. Historically, the literal expression of social standing became mandatory as sumptuary laws were introduced in the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries, encaging ‘by legal means what individiuals might wear’. Meaning that, legally, fashion was a direct label indicating profession or social standing. This created tensions as the regulations that were reflected in dress began to break down and were the catalyst in fuelling the rise of the urban bourgeoisie. This early resistance to the laws regarding dress gradually manifested itself in the form of emulation as lower classes echoed styles from the upper classes, creating similar garments as a way of breaking free from their typecasting and in turn generating new, socially elevated, identities for themselves.

Tensions between cultural ideals and the lower classes manifested themselves as satirical views of society. As one of the most influential caricaturists of his time (the late 18^th Century), James Gillray continues to influence satirists today. According to his profile on the Tate website, The Art of Caricature,  ‘satire has often been seen as the disposable art of an urban, commercialised culture, one of the plethora of consumer goods which are continually outdated and replaced by new offerings’, the writer talks about how, not dissimilar from many art forms, satire is a fleeting commentary that lasts no longer than the trend or subject matter at hand. This means that as with the consumer goods sold to society as a whole, satire is a momentary (albeit, more often than not, humourous) criticism. These criticisms outline the tensions between social ideals and the lower classes as, by making a mockery of those in power within society (the elite), the caricatures comment on the identity of class from an alternative perspective; simply perusing the archives of fashion advertisements or back issues of Vogue, we are given a slightly bias account of the fashions of the time.

   Satire provides means for interpretation of social ideals and therefore creates a more open and two-sided colloquy between fashion and class.

   Frequently satirised, the aristocratic subculture regarded as the Macaronis were a group of men who studied effeminacy. This caused social uproar as the identities of these men shown through their clothing, strongly opposed that of the more traditionally dressed Bourgeoisie. Referring to the work of Valerie Steele, noticed that of the Macaronis’ fashion, ‘many critics suggested that the Macaroni had ‘a good quantity of hair… for his head produces nothing else’, but one writer used a more devastating image that associated external appearance with internal corruption: ‘Their toupees imitate their high elevated thoughts, which, teeming with maggots of various kinds, display to the world their humour’. This is a form of caricature, varying only slightly from the artistic examples of James Gillray, showing that a written or spoken caricature is probably more powerful and subjective because of the reader/listener’s license to embellish.

Another example of satirical fashion (clothing satirising culture and society surrounding the wearer) was found in punk fashion. This subculture, originating in the 1970s, was heavily portrayed through fashion. A uniform corresponding to the punk mantras of resistance was created, extremely comparable to Duchamp's Dadaist 'ready-mades', the punk movement made fashion out of the most mundane daily objects such as a pin… a razor blade, a tampon - distinguishing punk as the movement of (un)fashion. The practice of elevating everyday objects became known as bricollage and was an easy and cheap way of punks adorning their bodies in a shocking and outlandish way (to the rest of society), commenting to the rest of society that having taste was not the be all and end all of fashion. 

  

Punk also made more noticeable links between fashion and historical culture. The image of a jacket worn by a member of the punk subculture in 1977, with the iconic symbols, not unfamiliar to members of the public, of the union jack and the swastika, shown side by side one another is unequivocally aimed to shock. This jacket is evocative and

references the Nazis. With the end of the Second World War being only thirty-two years prior to when this photograph was taken, the experiences were still ripe within a great deal of the older members of the British public. As the swastika is paired with the union jack, viewers are presented with the image of British patriotism, memories of a war that caused destruction and devastation within communities. 

   Despite the motto of “punk” being the notion of anti-capitalism and controversy, its visual representation was soon adopted by fashion designers; the political connotations dispersed and elements of the style are still widely used. In a sense, the exterior of the punk was plucked by designers and clothing lines, disassociating the fashion from the meaning behind it, satirising a subculture which had previously satirised the very elite who were being sold such designer garments. "Punk" has become more of a trend rather than a subculture with social antitheses. 

One may draw from more extreme examples of satirising fashion to create new identity by commenting on social division linked with modernity. In an interview written in Vice, the Comme des Fuckdown designer, Russ Karablin, referred to his

brand as a ‘kind of slap in the face to all the high fashion stuff they wear. You know, like calm the fuck down’. This reference to a “slap in the face” adds pungency to the already satirical play on words alluding to the famous brand by Rei Kawakubo, Comme des Garcons. The brand Comme des Fuckdown has been popularised by the hip-hop band fronted by A$AP Rocky; an example of differing sects or the pop culture industry work together in unison, creating a new viewpoint and connecting with a new audience of both the two industries. This ‘clash of lifestyles’  means that fashion has become more unpredictable and has dissipated the old hierarchies of the industry, we are no longer accepting that we must be dictated to us regarding what we
wear, but instead creating our own rules with regards to identity and status; creating a Postmodern view on fashion, elevating both fashion and music industries with the connection of the designer brand. Simultanaeously lowering the tone of Comme des Garcons in this instance and therefore subjecting the brand to being questioned as to whether the price tag really does mean that designer labels elevate ones social status if other brands can satirise it and make it almost meaningless.

The conclusions we may draw fashion and satire are that the tensions have shifted frequently between admiring and emulating the elite.

   Historical and more modern examples of satirical fashion act as a narrative towards social views on fashion trends, in terms of how different classes (primarily the demographic who cannot afford high fashion) reacte towards followers of fashion who have the power to control their identities in a flexible manner. This dissipation of hierarchies have resulted in fashion that was far more ambiguous, playful and freeing. 

   Fashion design as a process and industry is naturally aspirational and involved with updating and changing identity, for the individual and gaining respect or power from others while being associated or accepted into a class or social group.