BLACK NEON SS12 - The One

After starting to look for a model in April 2011, it soon became clear that finding the face of Black Neon Summer 2012 was going to be no easy task. Finding Simona for SS11 was just as tricky, as it's important to me to find the ideal girl which means weighing up decisions surrounding budget, availablity, look, confidence/experience, target audience and press perception and by no means least body shape.
Body size, shape, bust size, waist size, hair and skin (blemish free skin reduces touch ups) all play an extremely important part in the selection process. I personally think its wrong to promote girls that are clearly too skinny, so I try to find a more athletic healthy figure, someone who fills the garments, and has sex appeal. I'm a fan of the 80's, Cindy Crawford and Helmut Newton, so you'll never see me pick a model without a curve. Sample size's are usually a size 8 or 10, which means its highly unlikey to find a model over this size unless they are 'plus size models'.
Finally I found her, Maria Sokolovski 'The One' represented by FM Models. Thank you Maria your professional and
rock star approach.





I'd like to say a special thanks to FM Models, First Models, Georgina Cummins and Cindy Wright

Cindy






Georgina




Martina

V&A Postmodernism

A sunny winter walk through Hyde Park ended with a visit to the V & A Museum to see Postmodernism: Style and Subversion 1970–1990, which ended this weekend. The exhibition was rather busy as you might expect with people like me trying to see the show before it closed. The slightly cramped gallery housed many items of postmodern form, including clothing, furniture, jewellery and record sleeve art work. I expect this exhibition with its broad range of examples has lead the way for future Postmodern exhibitions, perhaps to curate more in-depth subject specialised shows. I would love to see a graphic and textiles based show, but then that's for my own indulgent reasons.

My highlight piece of the exhibition was a necklace by Michele de Lucchi for Cleto Munari.



Stunning graphics for the exhibition invitations were created by London design agency Irish Butcher and were printed by Generation Press.




If you are interested in reading further about the exhibition Zoot Magazine features a great detailed article by Anna Battista.

Curated by Martin Parr

I was excited as soon as I saw one of my favourite photographers names, Martin Parr. However the exhibition in question is not of his work, but of Australian photographer Richard Simpkin and LA based Simone Lueck.
It's clear to see why Parr has chosen these two photographers work in relation to his own vision, the clarity, colour and subject are very in keeping with Parr's own photos. The thing that sets the images apart are the influences of photographer, Parr being very British, Lueck very LA, and Simpkin who has had a long standing interest in celebrity. I particularly like Lueck's 'The Once and Future Queens' series which includes pictures of individuals who answered an online ad soliciting older woman to pose as glamorous movie stars.
You can see the Richard and Famous exhibition at Liverpool's Eye Open Gallery until 18/03/12.

Lana Del Rey

Sometimes I just can't get a song out of my head, this is one of those times; Video Games by Lana Del Rey. Her stage name is a combination of the late Hollywood actress Lana Turner and the Ford Del Rey.
Lana aka Lizzie Grant daughter of millionaire Rob Grant who describes herself as a ''gangsta Nancy Sinatra" is due to release her debut album Born To Die on 30th January. Of course it always helps if you come from money and have stunning looks to help your career, however that does not detract from her beautiful voice. I, as many others, eagerly await the release are looking forward to some spellbinding vocals with a hint of Nancy Sinatra and Kate Bush.

Eve Arnold 1912 - 2012

I first came across the work of Eve Arnold over 10 years ago whilst immersed in books in the library at uni, her sensitive approach and moment in time she managed to capture moved me then and still does now.
"If a photographer cares about the people before the lens and is compassionate, much is given. It is the photographer, not the camera, that is the instrument."
Eve Arnold joined Magnum Photos in 1951 and became a full Member in 1957
From Philadelphia to New York, China, Russia, South Africa and Afghanistan the legendary photographer Eve Arnold born 12/04/1912 passed away peacefully in London at the age of 99, 04/01/12. Thank you Eve for sharing your gift and inspiration.

Opening Ceremony Swimwear

Having kept an eye on Opening Ceremony for quite a few years now, I'm happy to say they have launched their first swimwear collection. Two bikini styles and one swimsuit all with a vintage feel.

Cointreau Prive failed to Sparkle

After previously blogging about how excited I was to attend the Cointreau Prive in London's Pigalle Club, I was rather disappointed. There was only a DJ no other entertainment, sporadically scattered items that Dita had worn or replica items of some of her own possessions, some expensive basic cocktails and only a handful of people had bothered to dress elegantly; a far cry from the sparkle Dita Von Teese has to offer. There are so many great burlesque dancers, performers and glamorous ladies in London that could have made this event truly special, but it failed to deliver, or perhaps my expectations were too high. Oh well at least my Miu Miu heels got an outing in winter!

Gerhard Richter

One of the most inspiring exhibitions I've seen in a while ends this week at the Tate Modern. I found the colours of Gerhard Richter's huge squeegee paintings particularly relevant, thinking of research for swimwear and scarf prints. I would definitely recommend you try and see it before it ends this week.
To find out more about how Richter makes his squeegee paintings take a look at the Tate Blog.