IM // UR | BFC NEWGEN winners!

BEFORE TODAY by Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti

It doesn’t take much to make me feel stupid. Trying to find the words to describe the debut album of Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti at 4AD is just one of many examples I could give you. To me, ‘Before Today’ sounds like an album that Kevin Barnes could be recording if he loved goth bands more than funk ones. Or like the cold wave genre entering a multicoloured psychedelic stage instead of glazing at it's own depression. Don’t mind my threadbare examples; this is the album that will make it onto every interesting top 10 of the year and you don’t wanna miss it.

WE // R \\ WEARING

I can't resist (probably overpriced) basics-with-a-twist. My wardrobe, full of T by Wang, Oak, Bassike and yes, American Apparel is proof of this; and since in Australia, a new favourite has emerged in the form of Nathan Smith. His selection of supersoft tees, tanks and dresses have sucked me into buying multiples of a number of styles in different colourways. You just can't go wrong with these though! Addictively and endlessly wearable - and not in actual fact, overpriced in the slightlest - Nathan Smith is the way forward for your wardrobe.

WE // R \\ WATCHING

I don’t think any series will treat teenagers the same way that Freaks and Geeks did almost 10 years ago. Although relying on every teen American cliché they could, this series was the closest thing to reality you could get whilst still being something fun and interesting to watch – cause, you know, life is boring. With bands like The Who, The Clash and XTC being either part of episodes or the soundtrack, this 80’s based cult show was short-lived (only 18 episodes), but long enough to enrich the careers of some young actors (i.e. James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Busy Philipps and, erm, Linda Cardellini) and is greatly missed. Can we have a movie about them meeting again in the 00’s?

WE // R \\ GOING

Once, a friend of mine wanted to take me to this 'cheap Chinese restaurant', situated in the heart of Liberdade, a Japanese neighborhood in São Paulo. When we got there the place was packed, but because it looked cheesy and kinda poor, I didn't want to wait it out. It took another friend for me to go back there and fall in love with it. Now, every time the mood for some freshly made noodles (you can watch the chief making the noodle dough through a window) framed in some horribly painted pink walls takes me, I go for Rong He. Did I mention the food is also incredibly generous and cheap?

WE // R \\ READING

The ultimate in peeping tom into other, cooler, more fashionable, richer, quirkier and more-hipster-than-thou lives is Todd Selby's The Selby. Having previously been an internet only voyeur's dream, Todd has just last month released The Selby Is In Your Place, a book the coffee table tome full of twee drawings, colourful interiors and people showering. Half of the images in the books are favourites from the website and the other is stuff he hasn't published online yet. So go check it out, maybe buy it if you can to make your crappy coffee table in your crappy apartment that little bit cooler with pictures of someone else's cool stuff.

BFC NEWGEN winners!

Friday // December 11, 2009 at 14:58 // filed under Fashion

The winners of the British Fashion Council (BFC) New Generation sponsored by Topshop for London Fashion Week's A/W 2010 have just been announced! Winners all listed below in their categories, as well as some of my favourite looks from the designer's most recent SS 2010 collections.

On the NEWGEN catwalk will be:

Mark Fast

Mary Katrantzou

Meadham Kirchoff

Peter Pilotto

The Greek born, Rhode Island School of Design educated and then Central Saint Martin's graduate, Mary Katrantzou's self proclaimed hyperrealistic prints and bold palette are gorgeous.

Mary Katrantzou

I remember seeing the debut LFW Peter Pilotto show back in 2007. It was fab then and they're still maintaining two short years down the track:

Peter Pilotto

And holding NEWGEN Presentations will be:

Holly Fulton

Louise Gray

Maria Francesca Pepe

Sykes

Holly Fulton states her career highlight as when “Alber Elbaz telling me I was wearing the biggest necklace he'd ever seen.” And how could you forget those super graphic designs? I'd kill for a Holly Fulton piece...

Holly Fulton

and NEWGEN at the Exhibition will be:

Atalanta Weller (footwear)

Christopher Raeburn

Craig Lawrence

David Koma

Dominic Jones

Fannie Schiavoni

KTZ

LP.BG

Michael Lewis (footwear)

Michael van der Ham

Natascha Stolle

I'd been perving on Christopher Raeburn's designs for months; I meant to post about him but it got buried under everything else on my desktop. He takes my Bladerunner see-through plastic fetish to the next level. Anything in fashion that's 'ethically aware' could generally not have a hope in hell of looking cool, but Raeburn does this to dazzling effect. Wicked stuff.

Christopher Raeburn

Sculptural and body conscious, David Koma's super sexy and powerful designs got him stocked at Brown's Focus having just graduated this year with a distinction from CSM.

David Koma

The dearly beloved duo of one of London's fashion must-stops, Kokon To Zai's three year young label KTZ is rocking it for accessible, democratic, highly creative peops. Keep it coming.