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.

There's a Big Blue Bear in Denver

As I'm still in the USA (and won't be returning to my beloved London until the Summer), I decided to spend New Year's eve in Denver. It was pretty low key on the night itself due to the dreaded post-Christmas cold I was suffering with, but I got to spend the first two days of the year having a good look around the city, and found several great places which I hope to go back and see.

My best find however, which, incidentally was totally by chance, was Lawrence Argent's "I See What You Mean" public art installation. As you can see by the photos, its a giant blue bear, peering into the glass front of the Colorado Convention Center. What the photos don't show (very well) however, is the fact that the bear is made up of hundreds, well probably more like thousands, of triangles. It looks even more beautiful and unexpected in person, and a must see if you are in the area, especially if you like giant blue things.

Scissor Scarf, Winona Dress, and Alien Monkeys with lobster hands

With the Chilly Winter weather in full effect, I find myself building upon my (ever-expanding)collection of scarves. Looking at the Snoozer Loser website I was instantly drawn to the Scissor print scarf. The scarf comes in a variety of colours, but I found myself drawn to the grey/black and grey/yellow versions.

Other lovely pieces on the site included the 'Winona dress' - a linen dress with brass pyramid studs, and the Veruca Pepper twill hooded coat. (see photos below). I loved the styling on the website, and the prices are pretty wallet-friendly. All items are made in the USA, and the label also has some great arts projects.

Best bit of their website has to be, without fail, their 'Saudade Saudade' promotional video for their 2009 fall/winter line. Directed by Johnny Woods, the captivating short film is described as ; " The tale of a girl who escapes the urban jungle only to find herself amongst magical friends in an alternative universe", and is every bit as weird, wonderful, and magical as it sounds.

The abridged version (for those of you that can't spare a whole 12 minutes to watch the full version) consists of a girl and two alien monkey creatures with lobster claw hands. Throughout the film, they engage in various activities, including; playing in the park, attempting to BBQ a rubber baby alligator, playing basketball, having a tea party with a strange looking man with a ponytail beard, and paper crafting. They then conclude the film by walking off hand in hand, into the sunset. Its certainly worth a look, and i've pasted the video clip below. In the event that i've had a technological malfunction, you can also see the video on their website. Hope you enjoy!

Snoozer Loser Fall/Winter 09 (excerpt) from Mathematical Park on Vimeo.

Prada Soho NY, and a Christmas gift to myself.

Ok, so everyone knows how cool the NY Soho Prada on Broadway is. Despite being there since 2001, however, this was in fact my first visit to the store, and it was visually even better in person, than in the pictures I had previously seen in architecture and design magazines. Please excuse my pictures therefore for not doing it justice, I was trying to be discreet and not to look too touristy.

The central feature of the store is a zebra wood wave that undulates through the store from the street level to the basement level. There are also, motorized hanging display cases that can be moved across tracks in the ceiling, and a flip-out stage for in-store events and parties. I also loved the giant trunks used as display cases downstairs in the women's shoe department, and the amazing luggage selection which was displayed as you entered the store. Designed by Rem Koolhaas/OMA the store also features an annually-changing block-length wall completely covered in a specially designed wallpaper.

Whilst in the store, apart from all the beautiful clothes, I found myself lusting after the large hat boxes, wishing that the money fairies would deliver me enough $ (or any other currency) so I could get my paws on one. My purchases however were restricted to a pair of shoes (not for me, but for my significant other), and as I had been meaning to get a copy of the Prada book, I thought now was a good time, to treat myself, what with it being Christmas (nearly) and all.

The book, whilst rather expensive, is well worth the money. It covers everything from the history of the brand, collaborations with artists, the future of the label, and pictures of collections and ad campaigns from previous seasons up to 2009. Here are a few of my favorite shots of inside the book, which again, do not do justice to the real thing.

Shoes glorious shoes!

designs under construction

nude dress S/S 2005

Fall 1991

Clutches Fall 2007

Pink Shoes S/S 2006

 See-through trench Fall 2002

 Fall 2002

S/S 1991

Happy Christmas to me!

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

Urban Picnic Spots #1

Brown Hart Gardens, W1

Much as we all love London, we do often find ourselves needing to take a moment to chill the f. out. At times like these, particularly when I find myself caught up in the horrors of Oxford Street on the way to/from Selfridges, I make my way up the steep stone steps into the tranquil surroundings of Brown Hart Gardens. The perfect spot to just sit and nibble on a snack from any of the numerous surrounding eateries, or meet friends on a break from work. Relatively tourist - free, the gardens, comprise of a private, raised terrace, with large colourful flowerbeds, and seating on benches, and in little alcoves, carved into the stone. During the Summer months the Gardens host a series of free outdoor concerts - perfect coupled with a lover (or good friend, if you must) and a bottle of wine.

P.S. There's also a rather nice sculpture by Lorenzo Quinn entitled 'Volaire', which fits beautifully within the gardens. 

Map showing how to get to this Urban Oasis:

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)