Van Der Ham goes to Scotland!

Michael Van Der Ham is known for his clever mix of pattern, fabric, texture and colour, and of course for dressing amazing Bjork for her recent tour. But now the genius of Van Der Ham's work has broadened to knitwear, where he has teamed up with Scottish cashmere brand Brora, keeping his usual mantra in mind Van Der Ham has thoughtfully constructed every piece of the collection using a different knitwear technique.  He has created a collection of exquisite pieces, in beautiful shades of pastel, each item in the 12 strong collaboration has been designed expertly, theres not a piece i wouldn't want!  Striking patterns and delicate cashmere make this a collection to swoon over, who doesn't want a divine cashmere jumper thats warm, practical and most importantly looks incredibly cool! Though not cheap [the cheapest item is a pair of gloves for £65!!] these pieces would most definitely brighten up your winter year after year.


My Picks:


  

There's something about Iris.

Iris Apfel is without doubt one of the coolest women in the universe, so is quite rightly having an [upcoming] documentary made about her. And today i saw a preview clip and it looks inevitably extremely interesting.  If your not familiar with Iris she is a American interior designer, who has undertaken design work at The White House for nine different presidents and is also a world wide style icon even at the age of 91, forget Marilyn and Audrey, Iris is where its at!  The most likely fantastic film has been made by filmmaker Albert Maysles and the blogger behind the excellent Advanced Style [check it out], Ari Seth Cohen, who does the interviewing, finding out about Iris' extraordinary life, her personal style and career as a textile and interior designer.  The quirky film is shot in Iris' eclectic home and also features some very cool music, i am as of yet unsure when and indeed where the documentary will be shown but definitely something to keep your eye on heres the sneak peak...

Iridescent Nightmare!

After seeing Blumarine's A/W 12 collection way back in February i have been yearning for some Iridescence in my life and being A/W now i thought it would be the opportune moment to begin the search.  However i have been scowling the internet for a few days now and my thirst is yet to be quenched, no high street stores or sites i can find seem to have picked up massively on the Iridescent trend!  And even the picks i've found don't match the gloriously shiny embrace of Blumarine, why is no one lighting up Winter with this wondrous fairytale . And so my search continues on this Iridescent nightmare of mine!

Blumarine

Blumarine

Blumarine

My picks from the high street:

Love Moschino Large Colour Block Bracelet

ASOS Beaded Iridescent Clutch

River Island SILVER MIRRORED MINI BAG

Urban Outfitters Iridescent Snake Hip Flask

HOUSE OF WARIS

After seeing his name crop up a few times i decided to investigate Waris Ahluwalia and it turns out he's a pretty interesting guy, apparently an acidental Jewellery designer and sometime actor.  Ahluwalia's brand House of Waris showcases stunning handmade pieces and is scarcely available, theres a great bio/interview on him here http://www.elleuk.com/fashion/designers-to-know/waris-ahluwalia#image=1 so check it out.  With his hands in lots of pies one of the most interesting i found was a film project he worked on for 'The Luxury Collection' a very posh assemble of more than 75 hotels and resorts, the project brought together the minds of Waris Ahluwalia, Luca Guadagnino and Tilda Swinton who together conceived the idea for the short film. The charming short features model Agnyess Deyn following a trail of intriguing notes throughout America and The Luxury Collections hotels, wearing ultra cool clothes in breathtaking surroundings.  Also Jason Schwarzmann and Woody Jackson composed the music the project, it couldn't really get much cooler, Interview Magazine provides an excellent insight into the project here it is http://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/here-there-and-everywhere-with-waris-ahluwalia-and-the-luxury-collection#. The wonderful film is called Here i could watch it again and again (if my internet connection wasn't so terrible) its definitely worth the watch though, as Interview Magazine say there is a lot of interesting Hitchcock references and the whole thing in a word; Spectacular! 

P.S This article on designboom is also worth a read its about House of Waris' recent exhibition in Istanbul; http://www.designboom.com/design/the-entitled-punk-maharaja-waris-ahluwalia-of-house-of-waris-at-istanbul-74/

   

Bloomin' Warhol

A new side of Andy Warhol will be explored this month at the Eykyn Maclean gallery, New York. The gallery will showcase a selection of the sixties god's lesser known work, the Flowers series.  The iconic artist took a change in direction from his famous referencing of commercial branding in 1964 and produced a series of floral prints inspired by a photograph of seven hibiscus flowers by Patricia Caulfield.  The prints are varying sizes and feature different techniques, 'the exhibition looks to highlight the “nuances of [their] development”.'  The brightly coloured flowers create interesting contrasts on their dimer coloured backgrounds and put together create an impressive collage. These stylish prints are a breath of fresh air from the usual iconic Warhol images we're bombarded with. 

Exhibition Poster 

Hell for Leather

Distinct designers Meadham Kirchhoff have designed an exclusive range of 3 hand painted leather jackets for luxury online retailer net-a-porter.com. The jackets are bewilderingly beautiful, adorned with pastel coloured patterning and sweet motifs on the back they look good enough to eat.  Meadham Kirchhoff's utterly refreshing take on the leather jacket is to be applauded these painstakingly hand painted creations are completely unique and are not surprisingly selling out fast, even with there £3,135 price tag! The jacket's have been designed to crack and morph over time to create truly individual pieces, the quilted satin lining tops off these wonderful works of art. Has anything ever been so whimsical! 

Cutie hand painted leather jacket

The Witch hand painted leather jacket

Yes No Maybe hand painted leather jacket

Erdem for Elsa?

I found out about some ridiculously exciting news today i must stress this has only been rumoured but i really hope it materialises. Super talented Erdem Moralioğlu has been rumoured to be the designer who will step up and reignite the legendary Schiaparelli house! What a match made in heaven if there ever was one, imagine Elsa's surrealist design delicately interwoven with Erdem's lace covered, heavenly printed, perfect dress ascetic. I'd love this to be true although the excitement i felt when the collection was unveiled would most likely be the death of me, oh well, surrealist lace heaven isn't a bad way to go!

Wood I..

Danish cool kids Wood Wood have again taken part in the Adidas Originals upcoming Consortium women's collection.  Wood Wood have produced a design to fit the Adidas Vintage Gazelle shoe and my lord its lovely. Simple but truly spectacular camel suede exterior with the Adidas logo gently imprinted just above the laces, perfect cork like insoles displaying each company's logo one in each shoe and striking orange sole with white circle design. The product shots were released today [below] they are expectedly cool and minimal, I'm not usually one for trainers but i definitely wood!      

The Wood Wood x adidas Gazelle Vintage women's sneaker will pre-release in Wood Wood stores December 1st.