Marni Lab has created a short film to celebrate the iconic Marni Trunk bag for SS14. Styled like an old fashioned movie trailer and set to the gramophone sounds of Emanuele Scataglini, the black and white short film sees the geometric shapes of the handbag paralleled through the architecture of Aldo Rossi and Carlo Aymonino, as it was shot at Monte Amiata Housing in Milan. Playful in its execution, the doubled screens further emphasize the power of perspective. Watch the film below…
TRUNK – MARNI SPRING/SUMMER 2014
Francis Leon Q&A
Francis Leon is a high-end contemporary streetwear brand inspired by sportswear, that combines sharp construction, luxury quality and effortless styling. With a nonchalant, cool and casual asethetic, they are one to keep on your radar, especially when they cite Rooney Mara, Freja Beha Erichsen, Mick Jagger and Charlotte Gainsbourg as their muses. This season is all about the misfit in the middle, so Twin spoke to designer Jo Turner to find out more.
Tell us about the Republic of Francis Leon…
The republic is how we refer to everyone related to the brand in some way… our community; from our customers, to our retailers, our photographer, agents and all the people behind the scenes. It’s about building relationships and creating something bigger than just the clothes or the brand.
What signature style/pieces can we expect from the brand?
Our signature pieces are the jackets. We mix high-quality Italian leathers with different fabrications to enhance fit and comfort. They are designed to be lo-fi luxury; casually effortless… a jacket you can throw on over anything.
What is the Francis Leon girl doing this spring? Where does she hang out?
She’s working, socialising, going to events or just hanging out in the park reading a book.
Launched in Australia, now based in London, how does this affect the collections? Does it?
I’m not sure. Our product range has changed a fair bit since moving the businesses over to Europe. We focus mostly on outerwear now. The two markets are very different, it’s quite hard for a brand to service both at the same time. Our aesthetic always leaned a bit more towards Europe than Australia, so it was quite a natural and straightforward move for us.
What are your favourite pieces from the SS14 collection?
The Avenger. It’s just a great classic biker, but at the same time a little bit different. It’s made in the softest lamb leather you can buy, with under-sleeve panels in perforated breathable neoprene for comfort and movement.
With a tomboy-ish nature and relaxed sensibility, what inspires these garments?
Each season there’s a Francis Leon heroine/character that continues through an adventure – this season, Collection 12, she finds herself a stow away on a rundown circus train. This is shown through hints of worn metallic leathers and lightning bolt details. But we always want to maintain a comfort and relaxed nature – an effortlessness; laidback sophistication.
Any collaborations or capsule collections on the horizon?
Yes, we’ve done a collaboration with Barbour International launching this winter. But definitely on the look out for more… so watch this space!
Photographer: Jo Duck
Make-up: Elias Hove
Model: EWA @ Models1
Freja Beha Erichsen X Zadig & Voltaire
Spring/Summer 2014 is Freja Beha Erichsen’s second season as the face of Zadig & Voltaire, but now she turns her hand to designing. Creating a rock chic collection, in support of international charity Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), an association that provides a combination of health treatments and interventions in the field from care-givers of different nationalities. The collection itself is a perfect combination of androgynous, casual and timeless outfits, fusing together both Freja’s personal style and the Zadig & Voltaire aesthetic: “Rock as a universal language. Wings as a symbol of positive attitude. Zadig & Voltaire brings fashion to the liberated woman, the real woman, a woman free to express herself.”
Key pieces from the range are white, khaki or black T-shirts, denim and leather jackets and leather bags, all of which donate 40% of their profits to Médecins Sans Frontières. The three major pieces of the capsule collection feature a capital ‘F’, Freja’s initial and ’87’, her date of birth.
SMYTHSON X QUENTIN JONES
The Panama Diary is a Smythson classic, with the original being created in 1908. To this day its design has barely changed – a testament to its timelessness. Six months ago the Panama inspired an entire collection, now, in collaboration with Quentin Jones, a Panama capsule collection has been created. The British artist’s quirky illustratrations and graphic style adorn a covetable selection of leather handbags and accessories such as large totes, zip pouches, notebooks, passport covers and key rings. These limited edition leather goods were originally only available at Collete but have just launched on the Smythson website. We recommend snapping them up quick.
Store Focus: Fivestory, New York
Fivestory New York is hands down one of the coolest, luxurious retail spaces in New York. In it’s own words, “Part maven; Part luxury retail; Fivestory is a connoisseur’s world of curated art, fashion and design,” well we are sold already. Stocking our favourite brands, from Delfina Delettrez to Anthony Vaccallero this store can be found in the heart of Madison Avenue.
“Our store is for the consumer who has a strong aesthetic and can appreciate the quality and specialness of a product. We are here to enhance, to inspire the creativity and individuality within each consumer; to bring them to a level of appreciation for a curated atmosphere and to stimulate their imagination. To feel the transformation from conventional to exceptional.” Claire Distenfeld, the owner/buyer. Below Twin picks two of our favourite Delfina Delettrez pieces.
Delfina Delettrez Finger Mood Bracelet
Delfina Delettrez Hand Ring
Twin Picks: Poolside Slides
Sping is in full swing (sort of), and it’s time your wardrobe kept up. One effortless way to transition, is to do so with your feet. This season is about relaxing poolside, dipping those toes in water but until that becomes reality, just swan about town in some slides. Here Twin chooses four to help you on your way.
Limited Elena Flat Poolside Mule, £195, whistles.co.uk & Givenchy Floral Print Slides, £546, matchesfashion.com
Bio Sandals, £39.99, zara.com & Marni Slides, £390, shoescribe.com
Dancing In The Warm Evenings
Founded in 2011, MARINA LONDON specialises in effortlessly chic silk basics. The collections have strong themes and centre around a certain colour palette. This season MARINA has introduced a shorter version of the oh-so-cool Man Repeller Jumpsuit, a Cami Body and our favourite, the Alphabet Tees, all of which come in an array of light blue hues and white.
When we spoke to Marina Guergova, the designer behind the brand, we asked her what the MARINA girl is doing this summer and just as we expected, she’s at the beach. “As the collection is inspired by the South of France and Santorini, she is travelling to similar destinations and taking pictures to remember them by. When she is in the city she is visiting new cafes, walking in parks and dancing in the warm evenings with her friends.” Sounds like our kind of girl.
KARL LAGERFELD On Regent Street
KARL LAGERFELD’s first store in the UK has opened on Regent Street. The new concept shopping destination combines the brand’s luxury collections with an iconic design aesthetic and cutting-edge technology (like photo booths in the fitting room – selfie to your heart’s content!). The 250 sq-m flagship is the biggest KARL LAGERFELD store in Europe and will be home to the men and women’s ready-to-wear collections as well as accessories, handbags, leather goods, watches, eyewear, scarves and footwear.
Pier Paolo Righi, CEO of KARL LAGERFELD said. “London is one of the world’s leading cities when it comes to retail and this location offers a unique brand mix. Our London presence will be a fantastic representation of our brand’s aesthetic, and it showcases our cool, accessible-luxe collections in a cutting-edge environment.”
KARL LAGERFELD is open at at 145-147 Regent Street now.
TWIN BACKSTAGE: KENZO
When Twin went backstage at the Kenzo AW14 at Paris Fashion Week, this is what we saw.
Photography: Masao Yufu
Twin Backstage: Amaya Arzuaga
In our penultimate look at Paris Fashion Week, Amaya Arzuaga’s AW14 show takes centre stage.
Photography: Masao Yufu
TWIN BACKSTAGE: PAUL & JOE
We now turn our attention to the Paul & Joe autumn/winter 2014 presentation that took place during Paris Fashion Week. Again Masao Yufu captures the magic backstage.
Photography: Masao Yufu
TWIN BACKSTAGE: VERONIQUE LEROY
Here we take a closer look at what happened when Twin sent photographer Masao Yufu backstage at the Veronique Leroy Autumn/Winter 2014 show in Paris.
Photography: Masao Yufu
Twin Backstage: Vanessa Bruno
Now we turn our attention to the Vanessa Bruno AW14 show. This time photographer Masao Yufu focuses solely on the runway, capturing beautiful images of the clothes and the models who wore them.
Photography: Masao Yufu
CONVERSE JACK PURCELL X HANCOCK
Converse Jack Purcell has announced their first collaboration with Hancock, the British luxury brand and with trainers being big news this spring, these caught our attention. The design collaboration has created a collection of the Jack Purcell mid-top sneaker that combines rubber bonded, waterproof materials in a range of spring hues such as indigo, mastic grey and a summery yellow all perfect for the upcoming sunny season and festivals alike. The trainers all feature a soft printed lining and the Hancock Vulcanised Articles logo on the heel tab.
Available at endclothing.co.uk
Twin Backstage: Issey Miyake
Next in our series we find ourselves at the glamorous Issey Miyake AW14 show. This time we give you a glimpse of what happened, both on the catwalk and backstage during Paris Fashion Week.
Photography: Masao Yufu
COMPLETEDWORKS Q&A
Just last year, siblings Mark Jewsbury and Anna Jewsbury founded contemporary jewellery brand COMPLETEDWORKS. They see jewellery design as an art form, fusing together creative concepts and ideas that produce stunningly simplistic pieces that give us a fresh take on fine jewellery. Twin caught up with the two of them to talk inspirations, signature collections and carving out a path.
As a brother and sister duo, who does what respectively when it comes to COMPLETEDWORKS as a brand?
Anna: As we’re still in the early stages of the brand, we still have very overlapping and interchangeable roles and we often find ourselves working on the same thing, but bringing our own perspective to it.
Anna, your degree is in Mathematics & Philosophy. What do you feel that brings to the table? And Mark, what did you do before starting COMPLETEDWORKS?
A: I think everything depends on the approach you take. I’ve found that the common thread between mathematics, philosophy and fine jewellery, is that there is a way to approach each of these disciplines where the first test of quality is beauty. Of course, when you make the piece nothing stays so theoretical.
Mark: I studied History so I wasn’t doing anything directly relevant to jewellery either. But I think this has forced us to be more observant in our approach. I think you can learn a lot by just looking around at how people in different disciplines operate, you don’t necessarily need a lot of access to them to observe them and see how they work and get a sense of how they would react in certain situations.
What made you decide to start a jewellery brand together?
M: I don’t think we ever really set out to work with jewellery. I think what happened was that we had an interest in exploring ideas and a curiosity with history and stories, and we kept developing these themes and we found we wanted to find a way to represent them. The jewellery came about as a result of our looking for a process that would allow us to balance these interests visually and in clear compositions.
A: In setting up the brand we were very much influenced by the old idea of an artistic or literary movement. We wanted to set up a business that emulated that continuity, a group of people who retain their individuality but at the same time are able to relate to one another.
Where do you find most of your inspiration?
A: The idea inspires us first and at the moment that has come from literature or history, then we look for the aesthetic or the way to connect the idea visually and the inspiration for that comes from everywhere. In the case of the Pillar collection a trip Mark took to Lebanon was one of our references.
Pillar is your signature collection. What do you think this says about you as a contemporary jewellery brand?
M: We want to share the ideas that lead to the creation of the collections and in doing so create a shared interest with the people who engage with the brand. We talk a lot about putting ideas into our work, but at the same time we don’t want those ideas to engulf the person wearing the pieces. It is good to maintain a certain lightness in the jewellery. You have to get all the other things right first: it has to fit perfectly and be striking and have a certain uniqueness, then you can layer an idea into a piece or connect it with a certain way of thinking.
A: Yeah, we think it is important to craft the jewellery so that it can integrate with the real world, not the other way round. We’re not trying to force art or anything else into jewellery, but say that our pieces can still function as pieces of jewellery and as products and be enjoyed as such, while at the same time having an element of critical thinking to them. This is why at the moment distortion is very important to us. We find distortions are a very simple and minimal way of inviting the wearer to mentally enter the work in a way that doesn’t become overbearing or arrogant.
You are stocked at SHOWstudio and have your own e-store. Where would you like to see your designs in the future?
A: We’d love to see our pieces in places that build around an aesthetic with original values.
Having launched just last year, what does 2014 hold for COMPLETEDWORKS?
A: We feel that we should earn our place in the jewellery world, so we’re simply going to be concentrating on building a body of work and from this point we hope to carve our own path.
Photography: Trinity Ellis
Twin Backstage: Tsumori Chisato
In our second Twin Backstage series, we focus on the last stop during fashion month, Paris. We sent photographer Masao Yufu backstage at Tsumori Chisato’s AW14 show to document everything that happened behind the scenes.
Photography: Masao Yufu
Prada: The Iconoclasts Project 2014
During Milan Fashion Week, Prada presented a new chapter of The Iconoclasts project. Having launched in 2009, it has already seen the likes of Katie Grand, Carine Roitfeld and Olivier Rizzo stamp their trademark on the Prada brand.
This time it is the turn of Edward Enninful, currently fashion and style director of W Magazine. Taking over stores in Milan and St Petersburg, Enninful’s vision was inspired by the energy and original thought of the 1920’s ‘Harlem Renaissance’ in America. “Miucca Prada’s work always begins with a conversation. Drawing from this notion I looked to the ‘Harlem Renaissance’… a period of original thought when creative minds inspired and embraced a new cultural identity. I felt that this was an appropriate narrative to incorporate into this season’s Prada collection,” he explained of the project. His installations were on display last week, and information about future iterations of The Iconolasts series will be released soon.
Twin Picks: Metallics
Metallics are big news this spring. Expect to see sparkly fabrics and tinsel-coloured embellishements a plenty. Although coloured metallics may still be shining bright, the shade that has everyone reaching for their wallets is silver. Style in a minimal, chic fashion and you’re good to go, looking effortlessly cool. Here Twin picks the top four pieces that shone above the rest.
Moxham Otto Cuff in silver, £62, moxhamstore.com & Silver Leather Skirt by Unique, £195, topshop.com
Limited Verity Rucksack in metallic, £295, whistles.co.uk & Stella McCartney Fold Heel Metallic Faux-Leather Mules, £455, matchesfashion.com
#SNEAKERSCLASH
Converse have been creating a worldwide stir, popping up across Europe, the Middle East and Africa with their latest project #SNEAKERSCLASH. Designed to disrupt and clash against the dull greys of the world, the series started in Amsterdam and last night made its way to London. The whole initative is brought to life through two different interactive activations – Wall of Clash and Photo Clash. Clash Wall brings together street artists with clashing styles and techniques at unexpected locations, asking them to create their most visceral work against lifeless walls and spaces. And so that’s what happened at The Old Vinyl Factory, the former record-pressing plant of EMI in Hayes, London. The abandoned 107-year-old building has been brought back to life through the colourful work of artists Remi Rough and System from the Agents of Change collective. They painted the exterior in designs inspired by Converse’s newest collection, the new All Star Chuck ‘70 and the mural itself is set to be London’s biggest to date.
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