Love is in the air......

Sorry for the stream of seemingly random, valentine-tastic images. I was feeling somewhat glum trawling through the McQueen collections of past on Style, so felt like putting some love out there. 

Hope you all have fun plans this V-Day weekend, be it with lovers, friends or yourselves. I'm off to a Burlesque showcase this evening and am frantically trying to find something sultry to wear, whilst simultaneously trying not to look to whore-y. Now, where did I put those seamed stockings?

Images (top to bottom); shot from Prada Men's show, Alexander Mc Queen heart peep-toe shoes,

 Lulu Guinness clutch, Verner Panton heart chair (ooh! Don't get me started on my love of chairs again!), Marc Jacobs compact (impulse purchase on a night out in Vegas in order to do emergency make-up check), cheesy heart sunglasses.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas.....

....or more specifically some of Maison Martin Margiela's home decor pieces from their 'white objects' range. The first interiors collection by the label features minimalistic lamps, plain Russian dolls, cotton calendars, and feather pens to name but a few. All in , yep! you guessed it, white.

Here's some more of the pieces from the collection:

Russian Dolls

cotton calendar

The label recently hit the news earlier this month, when it was announced that the somewhat reclusive designer Martin Margiela is leaving the fashion house, and will not be replaced. The label will continue (yay!) with the same creative team, so we can expect yet more quirky-cool clothes , and hopefully more interiors.

(sorry for the interiors heavy posts over the last couple of days, by the way - I just found out I'm moving in the new year, so seem to be creating my 'fantasy' shopping list for the new pad. Now all I need is a big bank balance to bring it all together)

Anyway, back to my point. The MMM label has always been famous for having unusual elements to its catwalk shows, be it sending models with their faces covered down the runway, or their 'hoof' like shoes.- remember them? Here's hoping that this will continue despite mr Margiela's absence.

P.S. Looking on the website, and found this photo of hoof shoe-prints leading to one of their stores. Love it!

P.P.S Also love, love, LOVE this cuff by the label's jewelry line, which is essentially an enlarged cygnet ring.

Beautiful chairs that look like beautiful dresses

I've always had a thing for statement chairs that are beautifully crafted and designed, and the limited edition Alexander Mc Queen egg chair above is no exception. It also struck me however, that a lot of the pieces that i am drawn to in the furniture world, also remind me of runway looks from over the years.

Take the chair above for example, and the look from Gareth Pugh below, and they kinda sorta resemble each other.

(Photo from Style.com)

Here's a few more fashion and furniture pairings that sprang to my mind;

This 'Eames Chaise' by designers Ray/Charles Eames in 1948.......

.........and the gorgeous white jersey cut out dress from a Gucci, mid 90s Tom Ford season.

The 'womb chair' designed by Eero Saarinen in 1948.........

......... and of course Jil Sander dress from the Fall 2009 collection.

(photo from Style.com)

Of course I could go on, and, on, but i will spare any readers the pain of listening to the thoughts from my fashion obsessed brain. I'm not sure if its just me, but fashion inspiration seems to be coming at me from all angles at the moment. Let's hope it continues into the new year at least.

Jonathan Adler Christmas Poodle

As demonstrated by John Galliano and others (see earlier post), Christmas Trees don't necessarily have to mean stereotypical glitter baubles and santas/snowmen/reindeer. Not that there's anything wrong with the traditional christmas characters, but sometimes its nice to be a bit non-traditional and throw in some surprise elements. Potter/interior design genius Jonathan Adler, has a delightful range of white ceramic tree ornaments such as the Poodle (above) and elephant (below) which add a nice element of his 'happy chic' style to the tree.

John Galliano for Claridges, and other designer christmas trees

Being a huge fan of Christmas, nothing gets me going more than the sight of the good ol' Christmas tree. Shame then, that I'm not in London today for the big unveiling of the John Galliano christmas tree at Claridges. Naturally, the tree is not your run-of-the-mill tinsel and shiny bauble extravaganza, but more of an icy blue and white frozen tropical tree (see above photos and initial design sketch below). Erected overnight, the 20ft tree is constructed out of papier mache, polystyrene and paper, and featured amongst the branches are a handmade leopard, some parrots and a dragonfly.
Like my own (not nearly as impressive ) christmas tree, it will be on display until the twelfth night (January 6th).

Other designer christmas trees will be on display in Paris from December 8th-14th at

'cite de l'architechture' as part of the city's annual 'Les Sapins de Noel des Createur' event. Designers ranging from Paul Smith, Hermes, Gaultier, and Louis Vuitton (to name but a few) will be designing one-off trees which will be auctioned off to raise money for the charity 'Sol en Si' (Solidarite en SIDA) which helps young people affected by AIDS. Last year, 44 stunning creations raised a total of 101,000 Euros for the charity, so hopefully this year will also bring much festive cheer and charitable proceeds. Just because its December 1st, here's a few shots from last year's trees to kick start the Christmas Spirit.

Gaultier

Louis Vuitton

Gucci

Norman Foster

Chanel

Christian LaCroix

Valentino

I love The Birkin Bag

In my dreams, I own a Birkin Bag. Probably a black one.

Being one of the most famous, and lusted-after handbags from luxury label Hermes, the Birkin Bag has been seen hanging from many a celebrity and fashionista arm, for what seems like decades. For those of us who sadly can't get our own Birkin, we can nonetheless enjoy in the beauty of this iconic accessory through these printed cocktail napkins made by Canadian based designer Avril Loreti available for purchase on Etsy.

The napkins, are available in sets of four or eight, and add a touch of chic to any cocktail soirees you may be hosting over the upcoming festive season. For those non-cocktail lovers, there are also Birkin Bag handkerchiefs available on the site, which should help provide cheer during any winter sniffles. 

Belated Summer Review

Being as i'm posting this in November, this isn't relevant as to what is going on in London right now. I don't care though, as even though its cold and dark outside now, i'm still obsessing over some exhibitions I had the pleasure of attending during the Summer. Top of my list, as it probably was for many others, was the Hayward Gallery 'Walking through my mind' exhibition, featuring works and installations from ten international artists, including; Charles Avery, Thomas Hirschorn, Yayoi Kusama, Bo Christian Larsson, Mark Manders, Yoshito Nara, Jason Rhoades, Pipilotti Rist, Chiaru Shiota, and Keith Tyson. 
Who could help but raise a smile when walking onto the outside sculpture terrace of the gallery, which had been transformed into an astroturf field of bulbous red spotted mounds and skittle-shaped towers, courtesy of Yayoi Kusama's 'Guidepost To The New World'. Looking down from the terrace you could also see the polka-dot covered trees lining the banks of the Thames in her work 'Ascension of Polka Dots on the Trees'.

Moving on then, to the Serpentine Gallery, and both their stunning 2009 Summer Pavillion designed by SANAA architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa , and the Jeff Koons 'Popeye Series' exhibition.

The Summer Pavillion, a beautiful and elegant mass of shiny, reflective metal, meandered its way around spaces which included a cafe, general seating areas, and an enclosed area in which the Gallery's Park Nights series of talks took place. I know the whole point of the Pavillion, is the structure itself, but for me, it was all about the Chairs. Cute little, bunny-ears chairs in lemon yellow, bright pink, white, and natural wood colour. (Incidentally, if you can read Japanese, the chairs are on sale at online store Maruni.)

Chair obsession aside, into the gallery itself, and the "Oh wow!, it looks like inflated plastic, but WAIT...Its actually metal!!" genius of Jeff Koons.

The Popeye series, which was the first major series of Koons's work to be mounted in a public gallery in England, consisted of sculptures and paintings from 2002 onwards. Famous for casting inflatables, throughout his career from Lifeboat (1985) to Balloon Dog (1994-2000), Koons, in Popeye, turns his magic to inflatable childhood plastic toys and replicates them in painted aluminium. 

But for the scary looking gallery staff, you REALLY wanted to reach out and touch them, just to check. Thank you Mr Koons for such a great exhibition. x

Image Credit: Jeff Koons, Caterpillar Ladder 2003, polychromed aluminium, aluminium, plastic, 213.4 x 111.8 x 193 cm, c. 2009 Jeff Koons.

P.S. Random celebrity sighting in the Gallery -  David Hyde Pierce (played Niles , in the TV series Frasier)