Many brands have attempted to fuse fashion with technology, almost always resulting in clumpy items that feel redundant. However, when we were introduced to the recently launched handbag label, Gianoi, we knew we had something truly different on our hands.
Design duo Enrico and Raffaele Caroli, have taken their respective skills – one in design and one in technology – and created a line of luxury bags that fit into our modern lives in a way no other accessory has to date. The main feature not only allows us to charge our phones, a struggle of contemporary life, but by using the Gianoi app, the bag acts as one big notification center, alerting us when we have an email, phone call and even an Instagram comment, like or message. Each bag features a gold-plated logo which discreetly lights up and gently pulsates to keep you connected in a chic and colourful way. Through the app you are able to allocate different shades for every social media channel, making it effortless to use and understand.
The current collection is available to pre-order now, however, Twin was lucky enough to road test one of their prototypes for a week. Not only did the elegant design and flawless finish complement each outfit daily, but the lifestyle element became something we found hard to part with. Being able to charge our phones on the go was a commodity we became very accustomed to. We were able to fully charge our phones twice before the bag itself ran out of juice. To keep the bag functionality, we simply placed the bag on a thin, flat branded unit that magnetically attached to the bottom and charges wirelessly, making the whole process seamless. Having a bag that told us when we had an incoming phone call or email, made keeping up with modern life that much easier. We’d even go as far to say our Nadia (pictured above), aided our productivity that week.
When speaking to Raffaele Caroli, the former Design Director for Jean Paul Gaultier, he stated “Our offering is very unique because we have combined fashion and technology, creating high quality beautiful accessories that are also functional without compromising on the aesthetics. We are different from wearable technology companies because we have been focusing on designing pieces that women want to wear and use and look good with, rather than an item that just serves a technology purpose.”
The word Gianoi itself, as well as the logo, was inspired by Janus, the ancient Roman God of transitions, referenced in history with two faces – looking to the past and the future. The designers “believe that in the future wearable technology will become part of our every day lives, integrated into almost every aspect of the way we live.” Gianoi is just the beginning.
Twin favourites, Lizzy Plapinger and Max Hershenow, known more commonly as MS MR, are soon to release their second LP How Does It Feel, the follow up to their 2013 debut Secondhand Rapture.
So far the new songs, such as Wrong Victory and Painted, have showcased a new sound from the Brooklyn duo, and their latest to be released, the titled track off the album, features an anthem-like chorus that begs to be sung at the top of your lungs. Could this be a step away from the melancholic crooning that caught our attention, when Hurricane came out?
How Does It Feel will be released on July 17 on Columbia Records. Pre order it here and receive the first three songs released as an immediate download.
For their AW15 campaign, Kenzo’s creative directors Humberto Leon and Carol Lim called upon independent filmmaker, Gregg Araki, to take a nostalgic trip back to the teenage wastelands he created for his Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy, and the result is a short film entitled Here Now.
In a similar world of 1997’s Nowhere, this film is shot in the same style and frame of mind but features a new cast of young stars, such as Avan Jogia, Grace Victoria Cox, Jacob Artist, Jane Levy and Nicole LaLiberte. The costumes are all from Kenzo’s AW15 menswear and womenswear collections, of course, and are styled to enhance the characters and narrative of Araki’s short. All the signifiers we’ve come to expect from the director are present: overwrought teenage rebellion and angst, rampant sexuality, a nun and yes, the pre-requisite Shoegaze song.
In celebration of summer, Anglo-Swedish watch label, Larsson & Jennings have created four new styles that reinvent their best-selling Läder collection.
The four new colourways were designed with summer wardrobes in mind: the classic 40mm watch face has been teamed with a smooth dove grey, cyan blue, racing green and a grained black strap – all handmade from leather sourced from the Anglo-Swedish brand’s tanneries in Somerset and Sweden’s Tärsnjö – and finished with a gold or silver casing and a white dial.
The new Läder styles are available online or in store at their London location.
The contemporary Berlin concept store, Voo, has teamed up with Swedish sunglass label Monokel Eyewear to create a limited edition pair of sunglasses, and together they have collaborated with artist Axel Wannberg on a accompanying art installation.
The all-white frames feature silver mirrored lenses, handcrafted in premium acetate with lenses from Carl Zeiss Vision. Wannberg has taken the pair as inspiration to create a mirrored sculpture built on basic geometric shapes to reflect the sunglasses perfectly. The art piece aspect of the project explores the concept of modern narcissism and the idea of self-image in a digital and hyper social society, that utilises the symbolic meaning of mirrors, used in both art and literature.
“The project begun with a discussion between us and Voo about narcissism and how digital tools and social media enables us to fine-tune and present this curated ideal image of ourselves,” states Robert Sandgren, creative director of Monokel Eyewear. “And it seems as if mirrors depict reality, but they rarely do.”
Twin favourites, Kate Boy, have announced the release of their latest track, Midnight Sun. Following on from singles, Self Control and Higher, the new song was written and recorded by the trio in Stockholm last December, drawing inspiration from the endless days of sunlight during Swedish summers: “Midnight Sun is about summer days that never end and also a metaphor for meeting in the middle and accepting each other for who we are,” states the band themselves.
After spending time touring the likes of festivals such as SXSW Festival, Secret Garden Party and The Great Escape, they also played headline shows at Koko, XOYO and The Lexington in London last year. Now, however, the band are focusing on their debut album, One, set for release in November.
To get in the summer mood, the NYC Young Feminist Giving Circle (NYFem) are hosting a festive evening celebrate their patron feminist, Frida Kahlo, at the New York Botanical Garden.
You’ll be able to stroll through Kahlo’s beloved Casa Azul reimagined in the Conservatory, see rare works in the Art Gallery and enjoy live music and performance art, all while enjoying a complimentary Modelo Especial draft beer or a Jose Cuervo Tradicional margarita.
After a self-guided tour, bask under the stars to learn more about NYC Young Feminist Giving Circle and the work they do to fund feminist-led human rights work.
Francesca Belmonte’s sound is sultry, distinctive and unique, blending RnB, soul, club and electronica with an avant-garde twist. Having worked in the industry for years with trip-hop icon Tricky, Belmonte perfected her talent and is now going out on her own. Her recently released debut, Anima, gives us insight into her world with sombre vocals that are broken up by beats, synths and electronica.
Twin caught up with the singer/songwriter to talk melancholia, favourite lyrics and how it all began.
So how did you end up in Music?
As a teenager I had a few friends with bedroom studios who were always looking for singers. I started writing poems from a young age but this was the first time I’d laid down vocals and ideas properly and I loved it. We would play gigs around London for fun and I realised very quickly it was what I wanted to do. I started working with more producers, experimenting and developing ideas. Then in 2008 when I met Tricky and my life changed. Within a week of knowing him I was on a two month European tour and then a month or so after that we were touring America. He invited me to sing and write in the studio which we’ve been doing ever since; and six years later he produced my record. I am interested in other things and I’d like to go back to school one day but music has always been priortity.
Why did you decide to go it alone after working with Tricky for so long?
Because I began to get too comfortable. I had no idea what I was doing when I first started with Trick. I knew I was good enough and that I deserved to be there but I was a novice with a lot to learn. The skills and lessons I’ve learned along the way both professionally and personally have been invaluable but six years is a long time and I began to get restless. It would have been very easy to just stay there, stay on his tour, in his studio. It’s an addictive cycle; make an album tour it and start all over again and being his singer this cycle was provided for me over and over again and all I had to do was show up. It’s been an enriching experience but I needed to feel scared again, I needed a new challenge.
What would you say is the most important lesson you learnt from working with Trick?
To leave your insecurities at the door. I learned this lesson the hard way and I’ll never forget it. Very early on we were writing on the tour bus in Estonia. It was a good vibe and he suggested I tried this particular idea over a piece of music we were listening to. I was apprehensive and said ‘No I don’t think thats going to work’. And the session just stopped, it was like I’d just murdered a member of his family or something, I completely killed the vibe and there was no coming back from it. That doubt I had was an insecurity that had no place in that creative environment and I totally got it. Later on he wrote me a poem to explain why he was so upset about it which is the opening verse of a song I wrote called I Could. He says often, even now ‘You have to try, you have nothing if you dont try.’
Tell us a little about the name of the album, Anima. What does it mean to you?
I came across the word while reading about Carl Jung and firstly it jumped out at me because it looked so beautiful written down and sounded so strong and elegant. Then the more I read into it, the more it resonated with me. It means soul in Italian and being half Neapolitan I liked that nod to my heritage. In Jungian psychology it is the female element of the male psyche which was fitting having been Trickys singer, the voice behind a man for such a long time. There is also an ancient meaning my guitarist told me about a few weeks ago which is the idea that everything is living and connected from a human being to a rock at the top of a mountain. To me the word Anima is about femininity, strength and the two existing harmoniously together. To be a woman is to know your power and to excercise it while retaining that feminine strength and vulnerability which can be challenging in the world we are living in today. There’s too much pressure put on women of all ages to be sexy and fuckable and not enough encouragement to develop ones skills and unique abilities.
Your music has melancholic undertones. What draws you to this style? It’s not something I think about, it just comes out that way. The album is often quite uptempo and dancey, but you’re right there are strong sad elements even in those seemingly more upbeat tracks like Lying on the Moon. I like sad songs, always have done so perhaps its just a cultivation of listening to a style of music which ultimately influences your art.
How would you describe your sound?
Alternative blues, experimental pop. Always a tough question.
You have said in previously interviews that you are very proud of your lyrics. Do you have a favourite line that resonates?
It’s hard to pick one favourite line. I want to write more songs like Your Sons, ‘Your sorrow, your sons a hero, but what for? I’m not sure. Your young ones get called and march on, but what for? I’m not sure’. I like the Brothers and Sisters lyrics too , ‘He’ll be waiting round the corner, he’ll be standing up straight, you may notice some affliction. Can you see him whats he wearing? Were his wings beneath the coat? Did he talk of revolution? Did he sing of every note?’ I want to write more songs like that, focusing on strong imagery and mysterious stories. I’m most proud of the Stole lyrics though, they poured out of me and it was like a purging.
Francesca Belmonte’s debut album Anima is out now on False Idols. Buy here.
Christopher Shannon, the Central St Martins MA graduate, started his eponymous line with menswear, but after winning the inaugural BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund in June 2014, it wasn’t long before he ventured out and debuted womenswear for SS15. Now, however, it’s time for a second.
Twin caught up with the rising talent to find out more about his pre-fall line, inspired by Young British Artist Henry Bond.
With this being your second, tell us a little about your decision to start a womenswear collection?
It happened as weirdly as we had a little space in the schedule at the studio. For years I had drawn up women’s ideas and then decided it was the wrong time. Suddenly it seemed like the right time, or just the time when it was actually do able.
What was it about YBA Henry Bond’s work that caught your attention? His book ‘The Cult Of The Street’ has been a fave of mine for years, I think I picked it up in a charity shop. It just really captures a time. I don’t really know much about his other work.
The plastic bag motif has been carried over from the menswear line. Will all future collections be reflective of the men’s? I think it’s always nice to move ideas back and forth, just the context of seeing men’s pieces on women starts you thinking of them in a different way. My work is kind of unisex I suppose, it’s never really going to look that draggy.
Do you design with a certain type of woman in mind? I think that’s a little bit simplistic, I think I know that it definitely isn’t a certain type of woman, but that again is quite limiting. I always think of women I know or work with and what they would wear. I think I’m really working on offering an alternative to dressy or pretentiously ugly.
In a way, you fuse luxury with streetwear to create modern and unique pieces. What are you favourites from the collection? I love the shortened knit and the tracksuit with the ruffles, they just have a modernity and an ease.
Shoreditch’s Redchurch Street is known for it’s creative spirit and undeniable sense of style. The latest addition to the now infamous strip of road is The Basics Store, a concept curated by London based designer Marina Guergova.
Set out to provide life’s everyday essentials, the month long pop-up houses Guergova’s own silkwear brand, Marina London, along with independent labels. Expect luxe knitwear from Blake LDN, contemporary footwear from Dear Frances, leather bags and accessories from Danielle Foster, jewellery from Clarice Price Thomas and Jessie Harris, as well as a selection of unique fragrances from the Intertrade Group.
As well as this, the store will also play host to a series of summer events and talks from the likes of The Pressery and Qnola, and you’ll also find music during their Acoustic Bench Sessions, when musicians will busk on the beach out front.
The current timetable looks as follows…
Saturday, 20th June – Qnola (healthy popped quinoa granola) talk & event – 10.45am Thursday, 2nd July – Poke (Hawaiian raw health bowls) evening food event – 5pm-8.30pm Saturday, 4th July – The Pressery (almond milks) talk & event – 10.30am Friday, 10th July – SPOON (natural granola) talk & event – 10.30am Saturday, 11th July – The Hardihood (raw, superfood confectionery) talk & event – 10.45am
The Basic Store is open daily until July 13th at 30a Redchurch Street, London, E1 6JL.
Run It Out is a documentary that tells one woman’s story of following your dreams; of not allowing the past to ruin your present or your future.
Directed by Tara Darby, the film follows Robin Arzon, a street athlete and former lawyer, as she sets out on one of the toughest challenges of her life – to run five marathons in five days in the challenging terrain of the Utah desert to raise money for MS research. As it unfolds we learn the reasons behind Robin’s motivation and why she feels the need to run such long distances, pushing herself way past her own limits. Running is her meditation, her release, her therapy.
The film is a celebration of strong women, love, life and running. It is yet to be completed, and those involved are looking to raise £20k to get the documentary finished and submitted to film festivals in Europe and NYC.
To find out how to get involved and help this story be told, head here.
Girls Only, the transatlantic art collective, are hosting an exhibition in London that opens today. Put The Text In Textiles will feature the work of Zoe Buckman, Rahill Jamalifard, Tatiana Kartomten and Elbe Koe, to name a few and focuses on the use of words and phrases in contemporary artworks, such as printed fabrics, quilting, knitted wool, embroidery, or painted clothing as material.
You’ll find nomadic American wanderer Jackie Sugarlumps’ jacket emblazoned with the motto “Don’t Bring Me Down;” and the Badlands 777 girls’ collaborative painted Elvis biker jacket, as well as others such as Elbe Koe’s deconstructed and re-collaged pink coat that recalls a peak in her development as an artist.
British curator Antonia Marsh founded Girls Only to support female artists and give them a studio space, voice and place to collaborate. We previously met Marsh to find out more about her projects that encourage collaboration and conversation (read the interview here).
Put the Text in Textiles is open June 16th-20th at 92 Picadilly, London W1J.
Off the back on her recently self-titled photography tome, Chloë Sevigny has released a new zine. Where the first centred on her style, No Time For Love, focuses on a more intimate topic; her love life.
Featuring images of herself and past loves, the 28-page volume is full of shots from photo booths, old polaroids and photos taken from friends, all of which which have been plastered with girlish stickers that cover the faces of the men pictured.
Björk’s latest video for Black Lake, is a ten-minute-long film in which we find the Icelandic musician in a bleak landscape. It first debuted earlier this year, as the short was commissioned by New York City’s Museum of Modern Art for their Björk retrospective.
“I guess its time for Stonemilker and Black Lake to get out there into the world after a three month stint in a museum,” stated Björk. “We tried to make it in a way it was both at home there and also as a no nonsense music video (still my fav format) and I hope you don’t mind the wait.”
Created by award winning director Andrew Thomas Huang, along with choreographer Erna Ómarsdóttir, cinematographer Lasse Frank, and art directors Thorgeir Odinsson and Iris van Herpen, the video carries themes of pain, perishing, and rebirth.
Black Lake is the latest taken from Björk’s ninth studio album Vulnicura, which you can purchase here.
Suffragette, the first film about the Suffragettes – members of the 19th and early 20th Century movement who fought for and won the women’s right to vote – is here with the release of its trailer.
Packed with performances from the likes of Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep, the film is to open the BFI London Film Festival in October.
The moving trailer sees Streep nail a British accent and bring brilliance to her role as Emmeline Pankhurst, the iconic leader of the British Suffragettes, but it’s Mulligan who steals the show with her performance as Maud, a fictional ‘foot soldier’ to the cause.
In the short clip, when Maud is told that women’s protesting will be stopped, she replies: “What you going to do? Lock us all up? We’re in every home. We’re half the human race. You can’t stop us all.”
Suffragette is out in UK cinemas on 30th October 2015.
Nike has opened the first women’s only store in Europe on London’s King’s Road. The 207 square metre consumer experience store that offers the best Nike’s performance products and services and is designed to inspire the women of London to reach their athletic potential.
Their latest West London outpost is the third women’s only store for the brand; Nike opened locations in Shanghai, China and Newport Beach, California late last year. Offering bespoke services such as pant hemming, gait analysis and bra fitting, consumers can also get advice on the best products for individual running techniques and training programmes.
The store also plans to become a fitness hub, with free weekly Nike+ Training Club classes and a Nike+ Run Club.
Nike King’s Road is located at 33 King’s Road, London, SW3 4LX.
Founded by Bridget Arsenault and Fatima Martinez-Moxon, The Bright Young Things (BYT) Film Club supports and features the work of up-and-coming actors and filmmakers from around the world. Hosting glamorous events at The May Fair Hotel, the two friends have made independent cinema affordable, accessible and fun.
Previous screenings featured the 2013 SXSW Audience Award-winning documentary Maidentrip, in which we see 14-year-old Laura Dekker set out on a two-year voyage, becoming the youngest person ever to sail around the world, and the Nora Ephron Prize winningZero Motivation, where writer-director Talya Lavie drew from her own personal experience in the Israeli Defense Forces and created a feature which is aptly described as ‘Girls meets M*A*S*H’.
Their upcoming event on June 9th will be the UK premiere of Guidance. In his directorial debut, Pat Mills – who also wrote and stars in the dark comedy – plays David Gold, a pathologically immature former child actor who never got over high school. Diagnosed with skin cancer and desperate for money, he fakes his resume, and gets a job as a high school guidance counsellor. Mills will be joining BYT after the film for a live Skype Q&A. Purchase tickets here.
NikeCourt has collaborated with the infamous Parisian concept store, Colette, in honour of defending champion Maria Sharapova’s return to the clay of Paris. Reinventing the NikeCourt Zoom Vapor 9 Tour and NikeCourt Tennis Classic, both styles have taken Colette’s signature blue colors and iconic dots as inspiration to create a classic design that exemplifies tennis tradition.
The NikeCourt Zoom Vapor 9 Tour features the Maria Sharapova logo on the back tab of the left shoe as well as her quote, “I am not the next anyone, I am the first Maria Sharapova,” on the sockliner. The NikeCourt Tennis Classic honors more than 40 years of refined court style: It’s silhouette represents Nike’s earliest foray into tennis, making this shoe ideal for the current collaboration.
The NikeCourt x Colette footwear collection is available at global NikeLab locations and online.
In their latest collaboration, Byredo has partnered with Oliver Peoples to create a new fragrance and limited edition sunglass, exploring the cross between both sight and smell. To celebrate, you’ll find a dedicated window and week-long pop-up in Selfridges, London.
Inspired by synesthesia, the joint perception of the senses, Byredo’s founder Ben Gorham found himself in Los Angeles. It was there that he looked upon California’s sights through different coloured lenses and called upon the Stockholm based brand’s master perfumer to translate them into various smells that would then come together to produce one multi-faceted fragrance. “Oliver Peoples has never done anything but glasses,” David Schulte, Oliver Peoples CEO stated. “So for us to venture out and do a scent is a very big deal. I can’t think of anyone better than Byredo to do it with.” Each of the three coloured bottles of the new Byredo scent – which features top notes of Juniper Berries and Californian Lemon – gives a new depth to the smell and correlates to the three different photochromatic lens colours of the sunglasses: indigo, champagne and green.
“I have always admired Oliver Peoples for as long as I can remember and felt their approach to product was similar to ours at Byredo. It was important for me that this partnership had a true reason for being and synesthesia and the idea of joint perception became that. I have met artists, musicians and perfumers that display traits of this so-called disorder, and I have always been fascinated by the clarity of their descriptions,” states Gorham.
The Oliver Peoples and Byredo fragrance, sunglasses and box set is available now at their Selfridges Pop-Up until Thursday 28th May.
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