It Was Acceptable In The 80s….

Eugh I make myself baulk at how much I’ve neglected my blog over the last 3 weeks! I wish I could say there’s some exciting reason as to why, but sadly not, just that a busy internship and a bout of the flu (which made me want to do nothing bar lie listlessly and catch up on missed Neighbours episodes) have prevented solid blogging.

But now I’m back and ready to tell you about this amazing find my friend picked up at a vintage fair. An Italian Harper’s Bazaar from the 80s!

Things I love about this magazine:

1)  It’s not a magazine, it’s a bloody text book. Not sure that the picture shows it very well, but this bad boy is AN INCH thick.

the welcome page...

2)  The hair!! I think somewhere deep within, after having seen so many comedic takes on the 80s, I didn’t really believe that women actually had hairstyles like that. But as this mag evidences, they really did. Jeez.

3)  The fact that some of the outfits are outrageously 80s (and quite revolting), but others actually parallel current trends.

4) The lack of airbrushing (see below). Those moles would never be allowed these days.

Also the whole thing is pretty much just adverts, and I thought modern day mags were bad! But in this case it was fine, because it’s not like I speak Italian anyway.

 

Hungary for more…

Couldn’t resist the pun. So anyway, here we have the cover of the July issue of Hungarian Glamour, featuring Hungarian model Eniko Mihalik, and I love it! Ever so Eastern European and fairytale-like. She reminds me of a queen in a Brothers Grim fairytale. Those of you who’ve read my blog before may know that I do love fairytale-like models and folklore-inspired editorials.

You might remember Eniko’s  kitten-like face from H&M’s A/W 2009 campaign.

But I prefer her in the cover shoot, where there’s something more regal and mature about her.

The clothes that Eniko wears are by Hungarian designer, Renata Gyöngyösi, and check out those opulent sleeves! Without sounding too much like a camp fashion stereotype and gushing all over the place, I LOVE the use of studs and how they modernise and toughen everything up here – so it’s not entirely a carbon copy of an outfit from a BBC period drama.

Renata Gyöngyösi’s SS 11 collection at Budapest Fashion Week. Images via fashioninquisitive.com and pestiside.hu

What’s more, Renata seems to be one step ahead with her S/S 2011 collection, which kind of draws parallels with the A/W 11 royal and revolution trend seen in Vivienne Westwood and PPQ. So hopefully this means she won’t be one of those designers to fade into the distance.

A Vogue cover to remember

Every now and then, just when you think Vogue has gotten stuck in a safe, slightly insipid, cover rut, it socks you one that’s as fresh and tantalizing as a Heston Bluthenthal taster menu. US Vogue’s April cover is one of these.

I often think of good editorials in terms of food. Because some of them, with their bold and rich colours and clever juxtapositions are so beautiful they seem edible! In this case, mermaid-esque Rihanna is definitely a Lola’s Red Velvet cupcake.

Best. Vogue Cover. Ever.

Maximum Effort

The maxi skirt was another of those trends that instilled an irrational fear within me. I had no qualms about the maxi dress – having seen enough photos of bronzed Lauren Conrad sailing down LA streets in one, to convince me of their beauty. But the maxi… skirt? Is that not just one of those multi-fabric, multi-coloured monstrosities that hung in Topshop etc (as well as those shops that smell really strongly of incense and sell rain sticks..) many summers ago? Or perhaps it’s one of those grey wool, slim line efforts that the over 60s wear because knee length is no longer acceptable? Well, several gorgeous editorials over the winter months, including this one in the January issue of Company, have shown me that the maxi skirt is in fact a beautiful and practical way of staying boho and fairytale-esque after the last of the summer sun. But if you’re not down with such dreamy femininity, you can take the grungy stance and pair with baggy jumpers and worker boots. And so, nobody can say anything about not dressing appropriately for winter. It’s the perfect winter garment!

Kate Who?

Popped along to the Saatchi gallery the other weekend to roll with the cool kids of Kings Road and soak up some contemporary art. I went once before when it was on the South Bank and housed mannequin sculptures of mutilated men, and children with anuses for mouths and penises for noses – courtesy of the Chapman brothers. No shock factor this time around though, it was a bit more toned down. Maybe the curators got a slap on the wrist after people left in tears. Anyway, I’ve always liked to think of myself as a contemporary art enthusiast… Cos it’s a bit cool and indie to say you like contemporary art isn’t it? And it’s even cooler to take a real interest – actually visit the galleries and be able to discuss it. I think we can all admit that arty references have slipped ‘casually’ onto our facebook or twitter pages every now and then. With me, it would have to be my mention of the ‘Mumblecore‘ independant film movement as one of my facebook interests… which I stole from my brother who had told me about it, and I thought it sounded cool so… BAM – straight on facebook. I hadn’t even seen a Mumblecore film! But rest assured, I’ve since removed this horribly cringey LIE.

And so….I think it’s a similar situation with contemporary art – I looked forward to going to the Saatchi because I thought it was right up my street, but standing amongst the other arty types ‘considering’ a display of luminous cups and plates in a glass cabinet, I realised I was just copying their thoughtful poses whilst actually thinking “this is shit. I’m bored”. Jeeeez was it just that particular piece didn’t interest me or have I become a moron? I’m faiiirly sure that it’s the former, since there was a lot of stuff I did like including…. Mario Testino’s ‘Kate Who’ exhibition, that greeted me on the top floor. And so let’s bring this back to fashion…

Being a hard core Kate Moss fan, I LOVED this exhibition, the purpose of which was to coincide with Testino’s latest book entitled ‘Kate Moss’, consisting of various intimate and unseen photos or her, taken by him over the years of their friendship. As the publishers explain, it’s a photographer’s tribute to his greatest muse, d’awww.

The exhibition is like the public’s free sample of the book – because at £450 it does burn a bit of a hole in the old pocket! The Saatchi displayed a select few larger than life Kate portraits across the walls of the gallery. It really is heaven for a superfan like me – the pictures are so powerful and beguiling, I could have sat crossed legged in the centre of that room and stared up at her until closing time.

Here’s the boyfriend musing over the portraits. I can excuse his musing (oggling) at the many topless photos, because, to be honest I sometimes think I love Kate more than him! It’s great that the 3 of us can all get along like that.

That weekend was also my first ever experience of the Notting Hill Carnival. At risk of being shot down by fervent Carnival lovers, I’m gonna say… I’m not entirely sure I liked it. It just kind of seemed a bit… all over the  place. Some streets were just completely dead. Where was the heart of the action? Plus I couldn’t help but feel sliiiightly intimidated… but I think I was just influenced by The Guardian, who, in an article I’d read before I arrived, described it as always having an ‘undertone of violence’. Always nice to read that about an event you’re about to go to. Jeez. Spoke to a friend about it afterwards who somewhat matter-of-factly informed me that, ‘only two people got stabbed this year’. Oh, well that’s fine then! What was I even worried about?

Am I showing my non-London roots a bit too much? Have I misunderstood the Notting Hill Carnival – did I go on the wrong day perhaps (Sunday)? Should I have gone with a large group of mates (instead of just a boyfriend) and got pissed? Should I have stayed later than 6 and skanked the night away?

Like something out of a fairytale

I am completely entranced by these fairytale-esque models that seem to have become all the rage since Ruslana Korshunova. I absolutely love the story of how Ruslana was found and Debbie Jones’s (Senior Booker for Model 1)quote:

“I saw her by chance and she looked like something out of a fairytale! We had to find her and we searched high and low until we did!”

Ruslana, was just completely bewitching with her feline features and Rapunzel hair, and, although I am not one of these people that mourns the death of a celebrity as though they were a close friend, Ruslana’s death did strike a chord with me, as it was literally like something out of a Shakespearian tradegy. She has clearly inspired models, their bookers and designers all over the world as long, cascading waves of hair start to dominate the catwalk once again.

Another model that I’m fixated with at the moment is Sasha Pivovarova, who also looks like she jumped straight from the pages of some archaic myth! I love her super icey blue eyes.

Sasha is classic new age supermodel – lanky, alien-like, other-worldy and utterly striking….. In which sense you care to use the word striking is up to you – I’d imagine the boys with the Kelly Brook posters on their walls wouldn’t use it positively, but editorially speaking, and to me, she is strikingly beeeyoootiful! I’m digging this new brigade of long haired fairytale models – Agyness Deyn may be the padded shouldered jacket, but Sasha Pivovarova is the shearling aviator.

Which models do you find fairytale-like or really striking?