This weekend we’ve been losing ourselves in the sounds of Tamaryn, a San Francisco based singer who fuses shoegaze with dream-pop through ambling guitar riffs, steady emphatic beats and soft ethereal vocals. Tamaryn and her creative partner-in-crime, Rex John Shelverton, will be touring Europe next month, opening with a London show on January 31.

tamarynmusic.com

Tags: Dream-pop, Music, Shoegaze, Sunday Soundtrack, Tamaryn

To kick off the new year, The Feminist Library will be hosting a variety of talks, workshops and story-sharing as part of the recently launched Women’s Studies Without Walls — an initiative set out to encourage further exploration into feminist issues through learning and sharing skills, experience, and information.  This weekend’s events will focus on the topic of ‘The Personal is Political’ and will feature film shows, feminist fiction writing workshops, women’s self defence classes and a wide range of open discussions.

WSWW commences this Saturday followed by a weekly series of evening events at the Feminist Library. For further information or to view the full program visit feministlibrary.co.uk.

Tags: discussions, events, Feminism, The Feminist Library, The Personal Is Political, Women’s Studies Without Walls, workshops

Throughout her seventeen year career, Viviane Sassen has captured a variety of flexed, twisted and distorted bodies often positioned in awkwardly angular arrangements, occasionally concealed, layered or mirrored. Whether she is shooting creative campaigns for renowned fashion houses such as Carven and Missoni, or contributing editorial content to prominent style titles, her work never looses the abstract and somewhat surreal message of the unexpected that is discovered within her independent photographic art.

In & Out of Fashion is the latest retrospective celebrating Sassen’s impressive archive of work produced throughout her career to date. Each of the 300 pieces currently displayed at the Huis Marseille in Amsterdam highlight the connections between her identity as an artist and fashion photographer.

In and Out of Fashion is on until 17 March.

www.huismarseille.nl

Californian duo Deap Vally provides that scuzzy, raw, rock-soul sound that we’ve been yearning for from an all female band for quite some time now. Lauren Laverne couldn’t have put it anymore perfectly when she tweeted earlier this week: “There has been a Jennifer-Herrema-shaped hole in my heart for years now – These ladies might just fill it.”

Their newly released single, Lies, is available to download from iTunes now.

deapvally.com

Tags: Deap Vally, Jennifer Herrema, Sunday Sountrack

There’s something about Katie. Each season she churns out an impressively comprehensive catalogue of work – consisting of both menswear and womenswear – leaving us all stunned at the sheer commitment and talent involved until the point when we wonder why we’d ever expected anything less from her to begin with. Eary’s latest collection entitled The Blood is the Life is a story of death and decadence. Neoprene and chiffon seperates shine with ‘Lobster Spaceship’ and ‘Corpse Bouquet’ prints in shades of midnight blue, ink black, fuchsia pink and blood red whilst metallic gauze shirts glisten against structured gold collar bands and oversized chain necklaces.

Was it just us or did anyone else leave the Martine Rose Autumn / Winter ‘13 showcase yesterday gasping for a pint? Patchwork Pub bar towels adorned with familiar beverage branding from the likes of Heineken, Stella Artois and Jim Beam created the foundations to bomber jackets, sweatshirts and trousers, which were layered amongst denims and jersey separates… Martine, the drinks are on us!

London Collections: Men began yesterday and kicking it all off for the boys were the girls: Lou Dalton was first in line to showcase the new menswear offerings for Autumn / Winter ’13,  setting the standard for the entire season. Inspired by the 1980s Scottish film Local Hero, Miss Dalton presented a collection of slim tailored suiting and utility work-wear in hues of speckled grey, emerald green and oily glossed black with hints of heritage highland tartan thrown in for good measure.

The end of 2012 is soon approaching and many of us are beginning to look towards what lies ahead in the new year. Predicting future fortunes may not typically be a specialism of a fashion house but Kenzo’s latest collaboration will quite literally leave you spellbound. The Parisian label has commissioned graphic artist Michael Willis to design a deck of tarot cards entitled ‘PSY-CHIC’ – Clever eh? Each one of the 22 cards features bold pop-art prints based on the original features and symbols found on the ancient Major Arcana Tarot.

kenzo.com

The best thing you can wear is your skin. A phrase coined almost by accident by Italian bag designer Barbara Boner: “It just popped into my head without me even thinking about it,” Barbara says. “I’m now 37 and at a stage in my life where I am completely comfortable in the skin I’m in – What I would love is if all women had the self-believe and self-assurance to believe in this too. I like to think that I can communicate with my customer through my brand motto.”

In March 2009, Barbara launched her first collection; a series of animal skin fringed bags aimed at the nomadic woman and inspired by the excitement of adventure and travel from both her own experiences and those belonging to her gypsy grandmother: “She was a traveller with the circus in which her act involved driving a motorcycle around a ring of fire.”

As Boner continues to elaborate on her family’s curiously unusual story, I am intrigued to know more about hers…

You’re originally from Italy — when and why did you decide to make the move to London?
I first moved to London with my parents when I was four years old but we only stayed for a couple of years. Being in London is actually one of my earliest memories. I remember that I loved the parks, in particular I loved the squirrels – we don’t have them in Italy!

Four years ago I was living in Ibiza where I met my husband – he’s from London so that’s why I decided to move here permanently.

You are professionally trained in psychology — what effect has this had on your design work?
I try to see the woman wearing my bags through both women’s eyes and men’s. I think I have quite a strong masculine vision of things as well as a feminine one.

I also studied Latin and Greek so that trained my mind to think with concepts. With my work there’s always a theory behind things – an imaginary world that supports my brand and designs. I enjoy creating this world each season just as much as creating the bags.

Each of your collections are centred around an imagined inspirational woman — tell me about the latest for spring / summer 2013…
The woman I have conceived for this season is totally connected to her environment and nature, so much so that she can morph her human-self into an animal but also a plant – She is both flora and fauna.

Sum up your label’s aesthetic in 3 words…
Rebel, regal and romantic.

Thanks to a stylish celebrity following including the likes of Kate Moss, Poppy Delevingne and Olivia Palermo, you’ve become the ‘go to girl’ for fringed bags — why did you decide to focus on fringing as your signature?
My mother was a hippy and was always wearing fringing so when I created my first collection I decided to feature it in homage to her. Everyone loved that aspect of it so I thought ‘OK – you want fringing – I will give you fringing!’

Also for me it means freedom and movement; the Native Americans have used fringing for centuries to disguise themselves as animals and plants for hunting purposes. So yet again it’s bringing back this idea of nature, flora and fauna.

Who are some of your favourite women from both the past and present?
I’m a massive Kate (Moss) fan. I also love women of the 60s like Bridget Bardot and Anita Pallenberg. My most recent bag design is called the ‘Tura’ after Tura Santana who was an actress and one of the first famous exotic dancers – She was truly revolutionary for her time and has the most incredible life story.

All my bags are named after strong and powerful women: There’s ‘The Ginger’ (inspired by Sharon Stone’s character in Casino), ‘The Roxanne’ (thanks to The Police song) and ‘The Lilith’ (who according to a Rabbinic legend was the disregarded first wife of Adam.)

How do you juggle running a business and being a full time mother?
It’s been difficult because I moved to London, started my label, and got pregnant all around the same time. But I just went for it and made it work – it’s amazing what us women can do!

Where are you stocked?
My pieces are stocked in over 50 locations worldwide. In the UK I’m in Feathers, London and Coggles, York as well as my own online store.

barbaraboner.co.uk

This month sees the re-launch of The Row’s renowned Alligator rucksack, which despite its hefty price tag, sold out in stores worldwide last year. This time round Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, the twins behind the high-end luxury label, have teamed up with Damien Hirst who has treated the iconic bag to 12 separate spotty makeovers exclusively for Just One Eye; the first in a series of artistic partnerships fronted by the online fashion retailer.

justoneeye.com

Next Spring will welcome a new addition to the high street. HM Hennes & Mauritz, the Swedish retail group behind world-wide fashion chains H&M, Cos, Monki and Cheap Monday has revealed some exciting yet slightly secretive details of their latest venture ‘& Other Stories,’ through a series of sneak-peek snap shots hinting at what will become the brands’ central concept as well as glimpses of pieces that will feature in the debut collection.

The product offering will be purely womenswear with the addition of accessories, shoes, lingerie and beauty to complete the package. Each collection, which is built around inspiring fashion stories, will be created by ateliers based in both Stockholm and Paris reflecting the quality of a designer capsule line but at affordable price points.

To a share a story subscribe at www.stories.com

In 2001 Elin Nyström set out on an adventure to New York; what was initially intended to be a three month visit turned into a two year residency, swapping
her projected life as a professional gymnast — a role she had been training for since a child — for a career in fashion.

After trying her hand in styling and enrolling on a design course at New York’s F.I.T (Fashion Institute of Technology), stylist Elin soon became Stylein; an
independent fashion label which, now 11 years on, has grown to become one of Sweden’s most coveted fashion exports with stockists in over fifteen countries
worldwide.

Elin herself is a typical Swede – tall, blonde, cool and unfairly beautiful. So it was no surprise when she recently announced that unlike her womenswear
collections, she is now officially off the market: “Of course I’m going to design my own wedding dress” she told us, “I’m not really one of those girls who has
been thinking about it since forever, but I do have an idea of how I would like it to look.”

In-between discussions of possible wedding venues, cakes, flowers, and that all important honeymoon, Twin threw in the occasional question to Elin about
Stylein’s past, present and future for good measure…

You initially launched Stylein whilst living in New York — what made you decide to return to Sweden and carry on with the label there?
I was brought up in the countryside in Sweden so I think the contrast between my hometown and the hectic (but fascinating and fun) world of New York became too much for me. In the spring of 2003 my father was celebrating his 50th birthday and my sister got married so it seemed like a good time to return home and settle with a slightly more grounded life. I left New York as abruptly as I moved there.

Swedish design is typically known for its minimalism — do you think Stylein fits it in with this aesthetic?
We definitely have elements of minimalism in our collections — some of the cuts and shapes are quite clean, but we also have pieces that are a bit softer, feminine, and luxurious, embracing the female silhouette.  Because of our large client base we always want to be able to cater to as many different markets as possible – it becomes a very inspiring thought for me whilst designing the collection to know that it’s going to be accessible to all kinds of different women across the world.

You worked as a stylist before setting up the label — do you think this influenced your vision when it comes to design?
Probably without knowing it – I really just design pieces that I would want to wear myself. It’s as simple as that. Sometimes I might feature colours that I’m not a big fan of myself (I’m quite boring with colour in my own wardrobe) because I know it will be right for my customer, but design-wise it has to be something that I can relate to.

Tell us a bit about the inspiration behind the SS’13 collection ‘Split Second’?
The new collection has quite a spiritual reference looking at the forces of nature, water, wind and light and how they can create a momentary impression that only exists there and then. Like in a kaleidoscope, elements co-exist side by side and are moved around in sequences of an organised chaos. The collection represents this through its clean straight lines and solid silhouettes with prints that were created through a colourful and playful experiment with light and shadows.

I’ve noticed that you are a bit of a social media whizz — is this an important additional feature to your business?
I love that I can now get closer to my customers through social media — I am an avid blogger, tweeter and Instagram user as I think it’s really important for my customers to see the more personal side of the label. Also it enables me to get some amazing firsthand feedback from them.

Any exciting plans for the near future?
It’s really fun designing for women but I would also love to do a menswear line at some point too. Also we are currently in the middle of confirming plans to open a new  flagship store in Stockholm that we’re all super excited about.

stylein.com

Copious amounts of Lace, velvet and chiffon adorned with beading, pleating, fringing and every other single ornate detailing imaginable have taken over the Embankment Galleries at Somerset House. Of course this can only mean one thing; Valentino, The master of Couture has arrived.

The extensive exhibition showcases over 130 hand-crafted dresses designed by the legendary Italian couturier, Valentino Garavani, throughout his illustrious 50-year career, as well as a comprehensive collection of previously unseen personal items including photographs, press clippings and letters from close friends, clients and peers including Donatella Versace, Anna Wintour and Meryl Streep.

Of course the creation of such a dress (and its painstakingly lengthy, intricate and complicated process) wouldn’t be possible without the House’s Atelier and its family of highly skilled seamstresses (Valentino refers to his as ‘Le Regazze’ a.k.a ‘The Girls.’) “Each of these designs have a beautiful story,” says Valentino. “The Atelier crafted each so diligently by hand, taking hours, sometimes days to complete. The details are incredibly intricate, though outside the runway shows and events, the dresses have rarely been seen, so to be able to showcase these designs at Somerset House, where they can be seen in great detail by the public, is very unique.”

Valentino: Master of Couture opens today until March 3rd 2013 at Somerset House, London.

somersethouse.org.uk

Tags: Master of Couture, Somerset House, Valentino

For Resort 2013, DSQUARED2’s Dean & Dan have time-warped us back to the Nineties with a cluster of kitsch accessories and a womenswear collection bold enough to rival the wardrobe of Cher Horowitz, whilst Miss Cara Delevingne, freshly crowned Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards, provides us with the ultimate scream…

dsquared2.com

Tags: Cara Delevingne, dsquared2

Twin loves a Japanese takeout…Especially when our Bento boxes are packed full of lux-pop jewellery pieces that literally look good enough to eat. Ready-to-wear food has become the signature of Australian jeweller Lucy Folk, who has previously served up treats such as taco shell cuff links and pepper grain pendants.

Now, for Pre-Spring 2013, she has teamed her taste buds with those of Little Dragon’s Yukimi Nagano to create Bento – a collection consisting of sterling silver, powder coated steel and gold plated rings, bangles, necklaces and earrings that capture the simplicity yet beauty of basic ingredients most commonly featured in Asian cuisine such as sesame seeds,
rice, jasmine flowers and wasabi broad beans.

The Bento collection launches at Colette, Paris later this month.

lucyfolk.com

Tags: colette, Lucy Folk, Yukimi Nagano

The last time I spoke to Hayley Louisa Brown she was about to catch a flight to New York:  “I’m going to be shooting some rappers as per usual,” she told me. I’m assuming not the literal meaning of the word shooting most stereotypically associated with this genre of music, you see, Hayley is a photographer… and a bloody good one at that!

Her career to date has seen her create fashion stories for renowned alternative style titles such as i-D, Rollacoaster and Grit, however music is where her heart lies – urban music in particular, which she has had the opportunity to play out to the fullest in her role as Urban Music Editor at Clash magazine. Danny Brown, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and Kendrick Lamar are just a few of the artists Hayley has captured through her camera lens for Clash, but Frank Ocean is currently on the top of her bucket list of desirable subjects; “I have had a vision of how I want to shoot him in my head for so long now, I need it to become a reality!”

In between check-in and take-off, Twin managed to grab a few more words with Hayley about her photographic process, youth culture and boys with mean eyes…

When did you realise you wanted to become a photographer?
The first time the thought occurred to me was during my first year of my Art BTEC at college – we had to take some photographs for a project and my teacher said ‘these are really good, you should take more pictures’, and then it kind of became my thing.

You tend to only shoot analogue – why is this important to you?
I think a lot of it is to do with privacy. I see taking pictures as an art form, and it’s so easy to be influenced by others when your images are instantly visible and open for criticism on set. Looking through my viewfinder and being the only one who knows what’s happening is really calming to me and allows me to create exactly what I want to. I think the whole process is beautiful, I love being in the darkroom and being the one making the picture into something real, into evidence.

You sometimes collage and illustrate over your pictures – Tell us a bit about this method of working?
I have an art background, but it’s more of a cutting and sticking background I guess. I love being able to incorporate the elements of art that I really love into my photographic work. I’ve always been hugely influenced by Punk and the visuals that went with the subculture, and I think that’s reflected in a lot of what I do. I also spend a lot of time hand tinting my images and painting them, I think I just like the physical process of working on something with my hands.

Do you have a favourite subject which/ whom you like to capture?
I love to shoot boys. Whenever I bring model cards home my Dad likes to look through them and guess whom he thinks I’ve booked – he always gets it right… He says I go for the ones with the mean eyes.

Who are your heroes?
My parents and Johnny Cash

What part does fashion play in your work?
I love youth culture, the way that young people customise and put things together in their own unique way, and I like to put that across in my work. I think that’s what’s important in a stylist, somebody who can make something believable and honest. That’s why I love working with people like Matthew Josephs – he’s incredibly talented and is always true to himself – He’s magic.

Is it important for you that your pictures reflect a narrative?
I always try and photograph people with personality, and I think if you can connect with your subject, there’ll always be a narrative.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Most things my parents have told me when I’ve been lacking in confidence

What’s the best thing about being a girl?
Chivalry

What’s next for you?
My first magazine cover comes out in a couple of weeks, which I’m super excited about! I’m also currently working on a big project with my talented friend Lily Mercer that will be coming to light next year.

hayleylouisabrown.co.uk

Tags: Hayley Louisa Brown

When Portuguese designers, Paulo Almeida and Marta Marques joined forces to create their collaborative womenswear label, Marques’Almeida in 2011, the result was electric: deconstructed acid wash denim with a Nineties youth code aesthetic composed a collection which was undoubtedly the utmost inventive use of denim the fashion world had seen in a long while.

Now, 18 months and four collections later, Marta and Paulo are still redefining the boundaries of denim-ware design whilst effectively introducing other fabrics along the way: Most recently for S/S ‘13 the pair presented us with traces of light weight cottons and linens which too were given the label’s signature fabric-distressing treatment.

Following a successful showcase at London Fashion Week in September (their first season as celebrated NewGen winners), Twin caught up with the design-duo to find out more…

Your work is inspired by Nineties youth culture – what is so special about this era for you?
We have been obsessed with it since we started our MA when we began exploring youth code dressing and what it means. We’ve been drawn to teenagers and how they dress with a particular focus on the late Nineties and early Noughties. It’s a very instinctive way of researching as we were growing up as teenagers ourselves during that period so we’ve been looking back to all of our own personal references, which hopefully makes it really authentic and really fun too!

Why did you initially decide to focus on denim as the foundation of your label’s signature?
It stemmed from our initial exploration into young sub-cultural style. We researched all we could and there were always a couple common elements – denim and t-shirts. We couldn’t run away from it.

If your design aesthetic were a song what would it sound like?
‘Drinking in LA’ by Bran van 3000 or Fiona Apple’s ‘Fast As You Can’

Who are your heroes?
Rei Kawakubo and Helmut Lang

How does working as duo affect the creative process?
It’s hard and insanely fun at the same time! It’s hard because there’s really no compromise as neither of us are really capable of that, so there’s a lot of back and forth and lots of discussions about things, but then there are really instinctive moments where we’re both on the same page and don’t need to say a word! It’s so much more fun than doing it alone and it is also what we think makes our product really new; it’s the combination of two really different uncompromising aesthetics into one strong point of view.

You have worked closely with Opening Ceremony in the past – are there any other exciting collaborations coming up in the near future?
There might be… 🙂 Let’s hope so – we love collaborations!

marquesalmeida.com

Tags: Marques Almeida, opening ceremony

Agape Mdumulla and Sam Cotton, the masterminds behind London based label Agi and Sam, have been on our radars for quite some time. For the past four seasons they’ve provided guys with a slightly more laid back yet considered approach to fashion, injecting humour into their menswear with the help of playful prints and bold colourways… Now, with the launch of a debut womenswear line, the fun finally extends to us girls too.  Sharing a similar aesthetic as the menswear offering the duo have borrowed recognisable patterned prints from their acclaimed AW’12 collection and placed onto a series of silk twill shirts. Agi and Sam’s skill for creative construction and tailoring effortlessly translates into this womenswear capsule collection.

Agi & Sam Women’s is available now, exclusively at Harvey Nichols.

harveynichols.com

Tags: Agi & Sam, Harvey Nichols

When the clocks turned back last weekend, marking the end of British Summer time, it became official – the new season had finally arrived bringing along with it a chilly autumnal atmosphere creating the perfect timing for Brora to launch their latest designer range of cosy cashmere knits.

For AW’12, the British heritage brand has teamed up with the celebrated womenswear designer, Michael van der Ham, to produce a capsule collection consisting of twelve luxuriously chic yet contemporary cashmere pieces. Vivid pattern and colour combinations are featured on a variety of cropped cardigans, sweater dresses, fitted jumpers and knitted accessories, echoing van der Ham’s signature aesthetic of creative collage through the use of advanced intarsia knitting techniques.

The Michael van der Ham for Brora collection launches today exclusively at Brora boutiques and online at brora.co.uk

Tags: Brora, Michael van der Ham

Walk into the East Wing galleries of Somerset House this autumn and you’ll feel like you’ve fallen into the pages of a child’s storybook. A cracked humpty dumpty, a double-bass-playing bumblebee and a giant china doll line the galleries’ walls and floors as part of a brand new exhibition entitled Story Teller, celebrating the enchanting and whimsical work of fashion photographer, Tim Walker.

Renowned for his extraordinary imagination that truly knows no bounds, Walker transforms a fashion shoot into a world of make-believe. His pictures that have featured within the pages of leading publications such as Vogue,Vanity Fair and W present the same element of child-like fantasy you would expect from a fairytale. Displayed amid these fantastical fashion photographs from Walkers back catalogue is a series of portraiture that are a slightly more stripped back and fuss-free although equally as captivating. Alber Elbaz, the late Lee McQueen and Tilda Swinton are just a few of the inspirational famous faces that Walker has captured during his time behind the lens to date.

Tim Walker: Story Teller is on until 27th January 2013 at Somerset House, London.

somersethouse.org.uk

Tags: Somerset House, Story Teller, Tim Walker