Japaneazy-Peazy

Gwen Stefani has been a fan of Japanese culture since I can remember.  When she first appeared on stage with her four ‘Harajuku Girl’ dancers in the early noughties, it was like – wow!  These speechless, visual aids (people – I know) acted as a perfect backdrop to her unique and edgy look, which has seen her gain cult status in the style stakes; and rightly so.  Gwyn (because we're on first name terms, of course) has since launched her own fragrance line called ‘Harajuku Lovers’.  Two words.  Roaring.  Success.  To be entirely honest, I have never smelt the fragrance (sue me), however the packaging alone, is a selling point and would fit perfectly with my collection of iconic pieces of popular design culture - (I hoard quirky things that excite me).

                                               

Then there was Kirsten Dunst literally ‘Turning Japanese’ in the music video by Takashi Murakami which was shown at Tate Modern last year during the Pop Life Exhibition (which rocked my world – the best show I’d seen in years).  Dunst’s character was Cosgirl and she sang the most repetitive, cheesy, catchy, upbeat melody you will ever hear; I was singing it like a wind-up puppy for days, much to the annoyance of everyone around me.  Be warned, for the rest of the day you'll be bouncing around like a kid at a christmas party.... after eating too many wham bars (I'm an 80's kid).... and OD'ing on coke (a cola)...

                                

Fast forward the tape and now we have Lady Gaga who has been making waves with her own OTT ‘fashionistic’ ways (OK - I just made up that word, but it fits - fashion and futuristic - get it?!), to the point of her own detriment.  I digress.  The point I am trying to make is that Lady Gaga (aka femme fatale), may have created a love hate divide across our nation, (just like our infatuation with Marmite, I guess).  Her visual narrative, however (which is nothing short of original) - continues to span many weird and wonderful indulgent fantasies; Japanese culture being a more recent inspiration for her. Firstly, the contact lenses she wore in her Bad Romance video, known as Circle lenses, have been huge in Japan for years.  

Teenagers have been wearing these monstrosities, which cover the white area of the eye to make the pupils larger, to try and emulate manga-like faces.  Since the music video release, this trend has moved over here and has caused much controversy as a result.  I won’t bore you with that stuff, because, in my opinion a bit of controversy goes a long way and I am a real advocate for ‘rules are meant to be broken’ and all that. – especially when it comes to style and even more particularly when it comes to youth culture – considering there is not much left to rebel against in today’s society.  Anyway…

What I love then, is that as a result of Lady Gaga showing her love for Japanese culture in this way, the kids on the street over in Tokyo have come back with their very own show of admiration and respect for the artist, by recreating her look à la Harajuku.  One thing's for sure, whether we love her or hate her, people obviously can't get enough!

Gaga then has to have the last word and feed her fans like the 'hungry-for-her-art vultures' that they are and again shower herself with Japanese symbolism.  We all know that the Birkin remains THE cult ‘It’ bag of our generation, with it’s infamous celeb following and uber exclusive waiting list (as in ‘if your name’s not down you’re not coming in!’ - not now, not ever - and certainly not with out a minimum of £3000), so only the loony Lady in question could embellish her own Birkin in this way.  Some would call this sacrilegious.  Personally, I think it's genius and wouldn’t have expected any less. 

So with Gaga having solidified the trend for all things 'Japaneazy', it came as no surprise to find a selection of Hello Kitty dolls in the window of the Dr. Martens store in Covent Garden.  I stopped in my tracks.  Weird?  Obviously not, considering we live in a 'Gaga' world right now.  Who would have thought, the once very much punk brand of the 70’s would go all kitsch like this.  I have to say, I kinda like it!

That leaves me to ask one question - how can we ever be 'Lost in Translation', when we live in such a visually vivacious world?

(That must be the cheesiest line EVER written - but I'm smiling, cos it's true!)

Arigatou gozaimasu.... SAYONARA!

Liberty Vs. Selfridges – My Shoes are better than your Shoes!

Some may think it’s a case of, ‘what Selfridges can do we can do better!’  It is after all shoe crazy over there on Oxford Street!  What am I talking about; you honestly don’t know?!  Come on ladies - the new shoe emporium at Selfridges has been in the making for a while now - and as if that wasn't enough, as of last week, Liberty has played its hand and has unveiled the wicked and wonderful world of Manolo Blahnik in the famous Regent Street store.

                               

Yes, indeed; having sourced through his archive to create what Liberty is calling a ‘lust worthy’ collection, this exclusive range of Manolo Blahnik is visually astounding. I'm actually predicting that there are enough die-hard Blahnik fans out there, to rinse this collection in no time at all.  I should add that there are also some fabulous accessories available, so if your purses can't quite stretch to footwear, you can take a piece of this world home through another fabulous item of beauty, such as a handkerchief, pillow or umbrella.

Personally, I am still aroused by the shoe frenzy at Selfridges.  Just in case you had forgotten my post at the end of last month, the AMAZING new Shoe Emporium at Selfridges is being unveiled this season (the final completion being this Thursday 16^th).   Liberty had no choice but to pull out its guns – I mean, come on - alongside the dribblingly fantastic and awe-inspiring exhibit of Vivienne Westwood’s shoe history (being showcased in the Ultralounge), Liberty couldn't just sit there and take a hit bashing!

Unfortunately, the Vivienne Westwood Collection merely flavours our minds with a  retrospective of the punk Queens' world of mayhem - the pieces are not for sale - but that's OK.  Even being in the same room as this collection of playful and passionate pieces of footwear, was enough for me to get to 'that place' (don't get me started).  Here is a selection of my favourite pieces.  Miaaooow!

I have to admit, I am slightly biased towards this designer, having carried out a work placement with her whilst a young and hungry fashion student.  I fell in love with her artistic endeavours back then and have folllowed her work ever since.  To me, no one will ever quite get the right mix between, sex, silhouette and rock 'n' roll like this lady.  She truly, just is....

I will end by saying, if you haven't already - check out the magical Vivienne Westwood shoe story on the Lower Ground floor at Selfridges in the Ultralounge - showing until 3rd October.  If you're more of a Manolo Blahnik kinda girl, you will love Liberty this season.  If however you’re more of a Choo girl, all I can say is ‘unclench’ - your time will come.

My sentiments exactly. 

Levi’s® Curve ID - Nice Ass!

“All asses were not created equal” – is the new slogan from Levi’s® – and they’re not talking about ex boyfriends either.  What is being emphasized here is that it’s not the size that matters, but the shape - (I couldn’t have put it better myself. Ahem.)

Following on from the biggest research into global 'fit' in recent times, the new range of Levi’s® Curve ID jeans pays attention to three key female silhouettes – slight curve, a demi curve and a bold curve (the latter representing the infamous JoLo behinds out there).  These three shapes reportedly make up 80% of women's backsides.  Interesting!  What Levi’s® also realised during their mammoth drive for consumer insights, is that most women try on numerous amounts of jeans before they find the one that fits just right - half of us trying on as many as 10 pairs, apparently.  As a result of this key discovery, Levi’s® decided to make life a little simpler for us and take the trend for all things personalised, one step further.  You gotta love 'em!

Remember girls – sexiness and sassiness comes in all shapes and sizes!

Levi’s® Curve ID - In stores NOW!!

i-D Magazine Celebrates 30 Years on Top of the Underground

This month i-D Magazine celebrates 30 years at the forefront of style and youth culture.  This cult publication has come a long way since it was first created in 1980, by former Vogue Art Director Terry Jones.   Back then it was produced as a low budget hand-stapled fanzine - can you believe it?! 300 issues later and i-D has certainly matured to WOW status.  To mark this momentous occasion, the fanatical style publication will be showcasing Pre-Fall, Fall and Winter issues under the title of THEN, NOW and NEXT.

Intrigued?

Good.

These next three birthday issues will be busting with 200 of the biggest names in fashion and style.  To make them as special as possible, the celebratory editions have been shot completely in black and white under the watchful eye of legendary photographer Nick Knight - who else? Knight has seriously pulled out all the stops on this one throughout his three-week long photo shoot, at Somerset House.  With gems like Vivienne Westwood, Florence Welch, Lara Stone and Gareth Pugh, to name a mere few - I'm sure you'll agree, we're all in for a treat!

As an avid magazine collector myself, I'm predicting these beauties are going to be worth a bomb in a few years, so make sure you get hold of these three mega issues - and for crying out loud, treat them as you would treat a pair of virgin Louboutins.  Got it?!  With one-eyed cover stars Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Lady Gaga - you should all be very excited.  I know I am.

If a magazine is anything like a woman (not sure if it is - but humour me and my and my analogy) - then we should be expecting this next decade (having hit the big 3-0) - that this amazingly sexy publication will be reaching new heights of maturity!  **WINK**