What C Sees

[window-gazing-blog]

LOVE this image from WWD at H&M's Paradise Ball, featuring Dean and Dan Caten with the beguiling Cara Delevingne

[window-gazing-blog]

Nifty deal from this burgeoning fashion brand Arteecollage. They specialise in smart, casual everyday apparel, as well as righteous graphic tees. Check out their Amazon store or www.arteecollage.com xx

[window-gazing-blog]

Bowie at its best

[window-gazing-blog]

GIVENCHY BY RICCARDO TISCI CRUISE 2013

[window-gazing-blog]

Tip Tapping

This punchy new(ish) material from Atlanta-based duo Mite + Ewalk's collaborative 'Body Tap' EP is looping through me. Kudos to B.Yrslf. 

[window-gazing-blog]

Square eyes

That's one hell'uva bookshelf Mr. Lagerfeld

[window-gazing-blog]

Plastikman "Ask Yourself (214 Refix)"

A bobbling yet tantalising test of what's to come from 214's Plastic Spokes EP  

[window-gazing-blog]

Introducing: Helen Steele

‘Blue Oyster’, ‘Punkrocker Sheep’, ‘Fallopian Tube’ and ‘Whispering Eye’ are titles abstract enough to be the names of niche, independent art films produced in Persia. Startingly, however, is that these titles derived from artist Helen Steele working in a converted duck hatchery in Co. Monaghan, Ireland and are for her high-voltage fashion collections.

After collaborating with Harvey Nichols last year, and with fellow Irish designer Joanne Hynes on the fashion/art project “Les Guerriers”, these magnetically animated prints have rapidly achieved critical acclaim across the globe, and rightly ruddy so.

Her harmonious shaping also displays unique techniques and has captivated a notable clientele including His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nayan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Diane von Furstenberg and Helena Christiansen. And as exceedingly futile as it is to select just a few favourites, after forty agonising minutes I’ve opted for these vivacious delights: 

Indeed, the awe-inspiring, hypnotic innovations of this painter, designer, former rock chick, wife of an eco-farmer and a mother of three have no boundaries. Hot off the SS12 runways at Paris and London Fashion Weeks, this kaleidoscopic collection exhibits undeniable maverick talent that’s ripe for juggernaut success.

[window-gazing-blog]

Monday Nite Jive

Courtesy of Nitetime's recent guest mix on Gilles Peterson's 6Music show:  

[window-gazing-blog]

Hasan Hejazi: SS12

Who can make Barbie hot pink leather epically covetable? That, dear readers, would be Mr Hasan Hejazi. Aye carumba what sculpted perfection we have here for his impeccable SS12 collection. The Manchester-born designer has elegantly combined clean, streamlined silhouettes with bold hues and profound panelling.

Most striking, though, is the playful, albeit debonair juxtaposition of floating, soft chiffon draped over hard, super skimpy leather bodices.  From the body enhancing, pure white leather mini, to the teal skater dress and high voltage wet look leather – I simply cannot decide which of these heavenly pieces I’d most like to don. Can you?   

[window-gazing-blog]

Fashion Film: Flik Hall SS12 by Ashley Joiner

Picture the scene – a piercingly beautiful mermaid has been miraculously bestowed a pair of glorious pins and subsequently goes in search of whimsical clothing to festoon said glorious pins. She stumbles across a treasure trove of energetic prints that have been intricately crafted on striking structures and immediately falls in love with these alien material objects. These clothes which hold her dizzying affection are the beautiful consequence of Flik Hall’s unique vision, as depicted in this beguiling film.

Yes, when viewing these six minutes of bliss the stunning flame-haired specimen may look a tad nippy frolicking across the wet sand, but who the heck would care when you’re emanating this breathtaking magnificence through these astounding garments?

Obscuring a kaleidoscope of colours that mimic the swirling currents of the sea, showcased alongside visually contrasting materials that fiercely entrance you, it’s no slap in the face that Flik is emerging as one of London’s most imaginative mavericks. And with her works of wearable art having already featured in cutting edge magazines across the globe such as Bullet, Phoenix, Remix, oh and of course in issue 051 of Notion, you’re bound to see more splendour from this inspiring designer.

Witness the enrapturing beauty of her dazzling designs below:

FLIK HALL SS12 Fashion Film from FLIK HALL on Vimeo.

[window-gazing-blog]

Dusty Sundays

Good morning world

[window-gazing-blog]

Nifty Finds

Americans are notorious for super-sizing many things but hair accessories aren't typically applied to this notion. This new piece of public art weighs 400 lbs and has a 7 ft strand of hair made from powder coated steel entangled through it. This larger than life comb stand was created by Knowhow Shop LA for the city of Roanoke and it probably excites me a tad too much.

[window-gazing-blog]

Baring All

So serene. 

These Ryan McGinley images are a Mecca of liberating splendour and for years have remained as the ones which resonate with me most. I cannot stop scrolling back and forth through his collections on his website. 

In the past decade this American’s creations have embellished the walls of exhibitions in Vienna, Madrid, Milan, Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris - to name but a few.

You simply cannot escape falling for these captivating, dreamy filters and wide open spaced backdrops. 

[window-gazing-blog]

Colour My Life With The Chaos Of Trouble

1. MOTO Pink Jamie Skinny Jeans, £40, Topshop. 2. MOTO Red Seven Eighths Jeans, £38, Topshop. 3. Acid wash pink jeans, £32, Urban Outfitters. 4. Pink belted peg trousers, £29.50, Dorothy Perkins. 5. Peach belted peg trousers, £29.50, Dorothy Perkins. 6. MOTO Yellow Seven Eighths Capri Jeans, £38, Topshop. 7. MOTO Camel Twisted Seam Tapered Jeans, £40, Topshop. 8. Mint green jeans, £29.99, Uniqlo. 9. MOTO Cornflower Baxter, £40, Topshop. 10. Blue Cigarette Leg Crop Jeans, £38, GAP. 

I own two pairs of jeans and they haven't seen daylight since winter. I find jeans can be creatively constraining and, in times of park lolling, constraining for when those impulses to cartwheel kick in. But these jeans, with their bold hues, inject drama into man's longtime, loyal staple. The rusty pink MOTO Jamie jeans (1.) are at the top of my "Must.Want.Need" list and there is something suitably summery about the lustrous cropped styles. Perhaps these fresh designs will prompt a leg dressing overhaul.

[window-gazing-blog]

Snappy Snap Snap

Photographer Marie-Fleur Charlesworth has been documenting her life with a camera since she can remember. But in the last three years she has turned her artistic hand to shooting fashion.

The London based photographer’s distinctively analogue style is wonderfully nostalgic. So wonderful in fact that she has caught the eye of several publications, with her work having been featured in Stylist, Ballad Of, Random, Pigeons & Peacocks and Ozon.

Extracting influences from Nabokov novels and of Wes Anderson’s Royal Tenenbaum’s family home, it’s no wonder she concocts dreamy, eclectic visions. Marie-Fleur’s images, in all their faded hue and frosted edging glory, conspire to craft poignant, striking portraits that unequivocally stir the soul. 

This dazzling new summer editorial entitled “About a girl” follows a frail blonde pixie on her secret garden frolics.

The styling is immaculately whimsical too – with over the knee socks aplenty, draping white chiffon dresses, rope scarves, frilled off the shoulder tops and paisley maxi skirts. And all of this sartorial bliss is spectacularly accessorised with bold, black balloons for an eerie twist.

[window-gazing-blog]

Unbe-leaf-ably Magnificent

Lorenzo Duran's delicate cutaway leaf art is nothing short of spectacular. The Spanish artist uses leaves as his canvas to intricately cut away segments in a technique akin to those of traditional Chinese Jianzhi, German Scherenschnitte and Swiss paper cutting. 

The splendour of natural objects inspires Duran to stunningly experiment with his creativity. And the detail per leaf is so complex that you can only marvel at the amount of time and attention each piece must demand.