55pages issue 9

#9

5 pages

Issue 9

55pages Creative Director Editor-in-Chief Christopher George chris@55factory.net Editor Sara Darling sara@55factory.net Contributing Editors Karolina Kivimaki Jonathan Bright Fashion Editor Sara Darling Arts Editor Christopher George Contributing Arts Editor Bert Gilbert Contributing Fashion Editor Lisa Nicolau Contributing Beauty Editor Philipp Ueberfellner Contributors Adriana Krawcewicz Jaswant Flora Tom Bartlett Marcin Cybulski Wai Kan Debbie Storey Harry Stigner Digital Developer Joe Barbour joe@55factory.net Designer Lyn Devenney Contributing Videographer Ivo Cambraia Technical Consultant Demir Sayiner Publishing Director Christopher George Digital Publishing Director Joe Barbour 55Factory 55 Holmes Road, Kentish Town London NW5 3AN 07956 932 679 020 3286 8558

Editor’s Letter This issue of 55 is fashionably late. But we don’t follow by the rules, we make our own! And we’ve moved. Alas, there is only so much you can do when putting a magazine together in a congested coffee shop! But I hope you’ll agree it was worth the wait.

Autumn has sprung up on us, with its freaky regularity and we have compiled some avant garde fashion for you - if leather, feathers or PVC are your bag..

We have also spent the summer chatting to international artists, designers, visionaries and musicians. So to celebrate our ninth issue, we’ve indulged ourselves in a double cover, with The Garden and EVVOL, showcasing the more diverse range of music. We’re open to all at 55HQ! Which is why we want to welcome Jeremy Corbyn to the party. We might be sticking our neck out by saying Labour needs a bit of a wake up call (along with the rest of politics) and although he might not have the best choice in jumpers; politics isn’t a fashion show, so we’re giving the guy a chance.

With male supermodels getting cosy next to the Bitcoin, we’re all for embracing the future. You can also read all about the influence of the humble bee and urban living in our cultural comment, as we all try to crawl across this planet in some kind of harmony.

Team 55 x The Garden & EVVOL Photographer - Christopher Sims The Garden Styling - Sara Darling Make-up - Wai Kan Leather jacket - Hide Denim shirt - Scotch & Soda Paisley trousers - Scotch & Soda

EVVOL Styling - Lisa Nicolau Make-up - Philipp Ueberfellner Dungarees - Levi’s Shirt - Gerry Weber Dungarees - Levi’s

55factory.net twitter.com/55factory instagram.com/55factory youtube.com/user/55tvc facebook.com/55factory

Dress - BACK by Ann-Sofie Back Grey sleeveless coat- LNZ Black cap- Volcom

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Article - Jonathan Bright Illustration - Marcin Cybulski - Image Editing Astèronyme

CO R BYN’S

REVOLUTION

Jeremy Corbyn’s honest PR style reflects a transparent and mindful generation.

Finally, someone broke the political seal.

@brightywriting www.pikore.com/marcinfilipcybulski

According to YouGov, six out of ten of us don’t reckon Jeremy Corbyn can hack being Prime Minister. But you do have to question what a poll on the new Labour leader’s first five minutes can tell you. Despite sways of love for his idealism he’s lambasted in the press on everything from the next defection to his choice in knitwear. And it’s because of all this that politics got interesting again.

If you believe the pollsters right now, Corbyn is unelectable. But these are the same pollsters that got it so spectacularly wrong during the general election. For once, non-electability feels like something we could do with.

I tend to think we do politics well in the UK, with our checks and our balances. But if there’s one thing about the last general election it’s that it was effing boring. Literally fifty shades of grey. Only without the naughty bits and just as badly prewritten. I was so ‘disenfranchised’ I thought our best bet was the party able to tether the next parliament. I voted for a political dog leash. I think you can guess. But people don’t want to be advertised empty sound bites or retrospective tit-for-tat these days. They want genuine value.

Then came the communist. Which feels more McCarthy-esque the more it’s mentioned. I think everyone’s digging too deep. Corbyn just seems like a nice guy; a true democrat that chooses not to toe the line, but find a new footing based on what people actually want.

Being a nice guy means he’s disruptive. I’m remiss to use that word because it’s bandied about like it’s everybody’s business, but despite the ‘70s look Corbyn’s is a very 2015 model – an AirBnB in a world of Hiltons.

He may yet attract some unwelcome guests that break his best vases, but I’m willing to see if I like the rose-tinted windows and friendly local amenities any better. It’s about time.

As I write, republican Corbyn has, according to laws of spin, just either savagely refused to sing the National Anthem at the commemoration of the Battle Of Britain, or maintained a dignified silence. With his top button undone.

Does it matter? Corbyn’s response was to dismiss it all as tittle-tattle, and this excites me. Much like his trousers, Corbyn feels Teflon. Here’s a politician seemingly able to wipe clean the mudslinging and shun comments on dress sense.

This no nonsense approach is the new PR - honest spin, for lack of a better contradiction. In a social age where transparency is expected, trust is PR currency – a hallmark of his social media savvy leadership campaign. His win demonstrated where the needs of today’s Labour voters lie.

Media analysts Meltwater reported on the polarising effect of Corbyn’s win – the split on social media between people positive about Corbyn, versus those still wary, was about half and half. To be expected, perhaps, but we should note that’s half the public, not Labour supporters.

Compare that with the 80% of traditional news coverage that has presented him negatively, plus the ridiculous rifts within his own party and you’ve got a real underdog story. The public loves an underdog.

This has the Tories shaken. An ‘attack video’ released just two days after Corbyn’s win and a subsequent tweet from David Cameron described Corbyn as a “threat to national security”. Widely derided as paranoia, the Russian Embassy, no less, tweeted back to Cameron: “Just imagine UK media headlines if Russian President called a leading opposition party threat to national security?”

It helps that Corbyn looked like he just forgot to do up his top button at the Battle of Britain commemoration, but that and not singing the anthem feel like a taste of things to come. Perhaps this wasn’t the best place to win British hearts and minds, but it got us talking. Not singing changed a tune.

And he asks questions. Surely no one’s under the illusion Corbyn was being disrespectful by not singing? I doubt he’s that callous. Rather, his dress and demeanour took to task our anthem’s relevancy. Is it incumbent upon any of us to sing it?

His success in starting a dialogue and engaging the electorate might well be his undoing politically; that knit could be 100% sacrificial lamb’s wool. But can we not allow some seeds of change to be sown? Far from getting a dog leash, I celebrate that we have an opposition leader with some bark. He challenges the status quo, listens to people and is uninterested in blaming the last guy or fielding facetious tabloid jibes.

Something that did resonate about the National Anthem thing was a reactionary tweet by WW2 RAF veteran Harry Leslie Smith, who wrote: “I’m not offended by Corbyn not singing #nationalanthem, but I am offended by politicians who sell guns to tyrants.”

As we’re discussing breaking political norms here, I find that extremely hard to argue with.

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Interview - Christopher George

paul cummings

Bringing the drama of a Hitchcock movie and the monotony of a TV soap opera like Eastenders, Paul Cummings’ impressive and somehow harrowing 8ft landscapes, draw you in yet leave you outside these colossal repetitious sets. Like a nightwalker or sex stalker, his art is full of hidden secrets, seeking some kind of closure. How to interpret them is up to the viewer…

55 - There is a total lack of human interaction in your work, yet we sense life behind the doors and windows. Are there stories to be told in these voids, and what is your story behind the artwork?

P.C - I was compelled to start this project by the neurosis brought on while living in a shared council house. It was next to a substation supplied by the national grid.

There was a loud incessant humming of static electricity that I was convinced was killing me slowly with radiation. This highlighted how my impoverished financial predicament had narrowed down my choices of living. This led me think of other people’s stories too.

The absence of humans does not mean the absence of humanity.

Without them it compels us to search in and amongst the scenes for clues. Where we discover idiosyncrasies as well social and political values of the habitants. Going further we derive our own anecdotes as we try to relate to these paintings.

55 – The locations are rather mundane, yet there is a Hitchcock drama lurking, something dangerous and forbidding. Is this part of the idea?

P.C - I intented the paintings to be seductive and repulsive at the same time. The heightened sense of colour with its atmospheric sense of light draws us in.

We are soon to realise the drama is abject and mundane. The fear comes from the absolute inescapability from this banal reality.

55 - The use of repetition brings an idea of boredom, and the shadows an idea of aggression. Would this be fair to say in regards to part of the narrative?

P.C - Repetition is duplication is mass production; mostly everything nowadays is manufactured, from our products to our lifestyles. This is the postmodern condition.

As a metaphor, I could regard the harsh shadows as a strict type of idealism that is disseminated to us by social engineering.

Prescribing the nuclear family living in a two up two down plan.

Owning two point four televisions, a car in the drive etc. Coerced into becoming the national statistical average.

55 – What are you stating about suburban England and urban living?

P.C - I see the house as the definition of its occupants. Tastes, attitudes, beliefs and wealth are nakedly expressed as it, on it and around it. Analysing the unkempt fronts of council houses to the blandness of Milton Keynes. Including wealthy mansions discreetly hidden in spacious gardens to the high rises densely packed in the concrete jungle. They all tell me a story about the

society we live in. I am a flaneur and surveyor on a journey of social critique. Much like the film by Patrick Keiller titled ‘Robinson in Space 1997’.

55 – There is a lack of nature except for the perfect sky, yet the sky is broken by man’s thirst for power and use of resources. It’s subtle in the paintings but so powerful.

P.C - Nature is diminishing as we utilise every space available but most terrifying observation is that our industrialisation is dehumanising us and creating a less than homely environment for us to live in. Our skyline is dominated by the mechanisms that are supposed to support us. We are disappearing with nature too.

55 – Are the locations actual places, or are they montages of memories from your English life?

P.C - The painting ‘Two Point Four by Two Point Four’ is a real place and somewhere I used to live. It was the first narrative I depicted and a faithful one at that. The rest are works of pure fiction inspired by ironies of rising social income brackets.

I would search for the buildings I needed in my paintings by exploring the appropriate environment.

I would also forage source material anywhere it was available to inspire me. The compositions would form over a great deal of time. Somehow these places would become real to me, I developed false nostalgia for them.

55 – These paintings are around 8ft sq, which is rather imposing and you are drawn in by the scale. Why did you do them so large and not in a more commercial size?

P.C - I wanted these paintings to be large so that it took up all of the viewer’s visual range - allowing them to be totally immersed into that environment. This I feel is very effective in giving more power to the paintings.

55 – What would you say about your upbringing in England and your family’s origin? What has this brought in to your work?

P.C - As a child we moved around frequently so I got a taste of living in many different places and circumstances. I guess in a way security became a driving force; settling down and wanting a home were always on my mind. As a child I lived in Instanbul, so there was always a fascination with new scenes I was witnessing.

Two Point Four

www.polygondaydream.com www.55factory.net

VOODOO QUEEN Photographer – Christopher Sims Fashion Editor – Sara Darling Make Up & Hair – Jonas Oliver using MAC

Model- Veronica Kupcikova at M & P Fashion Assistants- Roberto Causey and Alfonso Bessy Post Production – 55Factory

Gold sequin head piece (as top) - Little Shilpa Fur headpiece and glove – Morecco Lisboa 3 gold rings with stones- Holstad & Co

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Beaded metallic yolk – Little Shilpa. Brown leather harness – Una Burke. Gold choker - Julia Clancey.

Black headpiece - Stylist’s own. Pearl fascinator - Julia Clancey. Arm and Face jewellery – Stylist’s own Black cage boots – Public Desire. Silver ring – Imogen Belfield.

Black hot pants - American Apparel. Grey tassel belt – Stylist’s own.

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Black vest – MinkPink. Lime green and purple patterned scarf used as dress - JMC. Aztec print skirt used as turban - Jaded London. Black bolero jacket - Pleats Please by Issey Miyake Geometric stone necklace - Anton Heunis. Choker - Julia Clancey.

Tassel headpiece - Julia Clancey Grey bodysuit - Phannatiq

White feather skirt used as top – Ethologie by Jasper Garvida. Black leather jacket – Marko Mitanovski Black shorts - Samsoe + Samsoe. Black feather crown - Astrobohemia. Crystal necklace - Rococo Jewels.

Tribal necklace – Stylist’s own

Beige suede turban – Lemiena Black top - MinkPink Burnt orange shorts - Francesca Marotta Burnt orange belt- Francesca Marotta Tribal beaded necklace - Stylist’s own

Orange pleated tunic - Pleats Please by Issey Miyake. Beige suede scarf – Lemiena. Snakeskin belt – Lemiena Gold Necklace - Rococco Jewels. 3 Golden rings with stones - Holstad & Co. Brown leather necklace – Marni Gold and silver filagree cuffs - Julia Burness. Black cage boots - Public Desire. Headpiece – Designed by Stylist

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Interview - Christopher George

t.l. solien T.L. Solen’s life journey has been one of reflection and self-isolation from the sugar-coated idealism, unavoidably defined by his native American culture.

If taken superficially, Solen would give the impression of a depressive and negative thinker. But to the contrary, we find him enlightening, brutally honest and inspiring with his blunt idea of realism.

We are all Tom Joad, from the “Grapes of Wrath”, with all of our “baggage” strapped upon a jalopy held together with chewing gum and baling wire, trying to circumvent those who do not want us, and hoping for that place…that state of being, where we can be fruitful, appreciated, and ourselves. Very few have arrived...I am defined by Americana, unavoidably.

Solen promised to intrigue us, here we go...

55 – I get a perception of America’s Great Depression in your work. Is this something you are referencing from the past, present, future or all of them?

T.S - I’ve spent more than a decade studying the volatility of the American Experience, from the mid 19th century to the present. This history became more than a pedestrian interest to me as I was researching this era for a large body of work which responded to Melville’s Moby Dick and Sena Jeter Naslund’s contemporary novel, Ahab’s Wife: The Star Gazer. I fictively extended the life of Ahab’s widow, and described the pivotal occurrences in her post-Ahab life within the larger cultural expansion of the American West. I allowed her narrative to be extended well beyond the years of a normal lifetime, as I was so fascinated with the history I was reading. This was not the history that I was taught in American public educational institutions. Besides, I can do anything I want to do in this fictive world, and no one can tell me it’s wrong. Subsequently, I have come to think of Time, in terms of a context for fictive action, to be fluidly unspecific, or perhaps, “cyclical” in a way that allows us to forget everything that should have taught us culturally. Lessons we would never want to repeat, if at all possible. Painting provides a metaphor for the Present, but the depiction of the Present, is utterly unnecessary, to me.

55 – Your use of colour is striking and kind of childlike, with an almost post-war graphic nature in many of the works.

T.S - There is a great range, realistically, in my use of colour. The backgrounds, or contexts in which my figural images exist, are typically quite muted, delicately complex and atmospheric.

I spend a lot of effort creating this indeterminate space, from the flatness that any painter is given as a starting point. I apply colour choices, tinted washes, and glazes until flatness becomes a temperamental atmosphere. I would equate this process with the building of a moody theatrical stage, in waiting for the actors to appear. Certainly I describe the figures in somewhat ‘loud’ color choices, and perhaps this colour usage is typical of the limited palette given to most children in a set of basic art supplies. My colour usage, in the context of figuration, is intended to construct and conceal the figure, simultaneously. I am interested in constructing an overall experience, which requires the viewer to make an ‘investment’ in the conceptually driven and sensually attenuated visual event, that is the painting. I hope that my usage of colour is ‘comprehensive’ and that its role, alongside the role of ‘form’, is to provide the stage, the actor, the action, and the potential for an ‘afterlife’, existing in the mind of the viewer, for as long as possible.

1950’s cartoons, late New York School Modernism, consumer packaging, mid-century signage, and figurative product iconography all influence the graphic nature of my work. I am particularly influenced by the iconic cartoonist, Tex Avery. His methods of using figural forms, as near midcentury Modernist abstractions, against a less stylised and more highly illusionistic contextual description, enables an amazing special construct to exist, against all odds of doing so.

55 – The use of clowns - or the identity of someone masked as a clown - can be seen in a large number of the paintings. Switching between playful and calm to threatening and sinister. The character is an intriguing impression, found in the shadows, and not fully gauged. What are you expressing?

T.S - I would argue that I am not painting ”clowns” per se, but am creating a character that might be described as ‘clown-ish’. Not quite a clown, and not quite fully ‘human’, but a ‘creature’ capable of expressing an existential condition within any given painting. The human condition is one of desperation, frustration, elusive and ephemeral successes, failure, unrequited desire, faithlessness, fear, anxiety, depression and hopelessness, co-mingled with just enough satisfaction, anticipation and joy to keep one from putting a gun to one’s head each evening.

Of course, there is not much of an audience for this position, so this premise must be contextualized within a greater ‘seduction’. That I must bury this level of despair within a semi-hypnotic, or semientertaining, “bait and switch” visual system. This visual system is a kind of camouflage, but also the means by which the characters, suspended within this system, approach a kinetic reality.

55 – You proclaim yourself as a Depressive Painter. Why is this?

T.S - I meant the term to be a tongue-in-cheek self-deprecation, but it seems to reflect the attitudinal response from the audience that is aware of my work, but not engaged by it. Apparently this is a sizeable audience and they describe my work as depressing.

Truthfully, I have been diagnosed with Chronic Depression, and have been medicated for this condition for more than a decade. Perhaps this admission contextualises all of my previous answers to the questions you have posed. A great many people have hoped that I could be happier, but I think I’m too much of a realist to become that. I regret disappointing them. It makes me sad.

55 – What are you comments on society today in America?

T.S - If you ask me, America is in a very deep and volatile crisis, pitting fanatical Christian conservatives against liberal leaning social progressives. ‘FanCons’ hope for a return to Godcentric pre-1960’s value systems, and are willing to reverse civil rights legislation, destroy the middle class, balkanise society, destroy the environment, disenfranchise women and minorities.

And in fact, kill, to achieve that end at the expense of lives and accomplishments of intelligent, compassionate, empathetic, and otherwise reasonable people, i.e. social progressives.

Ten years ago, the Mike Judge film Idiocracy debuted suggesting the future culture of America to be illiterate, intolerant, ignorant of science and the history of scientific discovery, and consistent in mocking everything we once thought to be intelligent and enduring cultural developments, with

a ‘democracy’ in which popular culture is the arbiter of all Value. Sadly, I think ‘idiocracy’ will be recognised, eventually, as a precocious ‘documentary’, which very accurately characterised the redefining of American society.

55 – You are from North Dakota. I get the feeling of isolation and a bleakness dressed up in colour. What would you say about your upbringing and its translation in to you works?

T.L - I come from a geography of absolute flatness. Often it is very difficult to gauge distances, scales, and structural relationship with any accuracy. Little exists to make accurate comparisons.

I think these qualities are imbued in the work I make. Often, one was the only human in the visible, 360 degree landscape. Alone-ness was simply a fact, and eventually, a state of mind. One often felt “watched” by an unseen presence, whose expectations were far more than one was capable of meeting…hence, failure, shame, regret, and self-loathing, was the subtext of ones life experience.

This attitude is often seen as the influence of a Nordic genetic code, but it has every bit as much to do with a subliminal response to the reality of the landscape of the Great Plains.

55 – Your characters are almost nomadic and lost. Why, and is this how you feel?

T.L - I lived a ‘nomadic’ existence, growing up. I lived in 62 different houses in six different states, before I was 21. Everything became transient to me, including people…or should I say especially people. The most satisfying experiences in that life took place in the privacy of my bedroom, or, most often, in my imagination. I have 38 years of marriage and two grown children, which grounds me in love and structure. Beyond that…Lost…yes, I feel lost. www.tlsolien.com www.55factory.net

the garden Interview - Sara Darling Photography - Christopher Sims Grooming - Wai Kan

55 - How would you describe your music to someone who has not heard it before?

TG - It’s kind of what you interpret it to be yourself really. It’s totally open for whatever you want it be. We classify it in our way, so you know, it’s relatively abrasive, but at the same time it’s really high energy and creative.

55 - Would you say it has a punk influence?

TG - Yup, that’s definitely the backbone. It’s not solely punk, but there’s definitely an element of that in there.

Sweater- Religion. Stone washed jeans- KOI. Jewellery and trainers- models own

55 - Is it influenced by things that you were listening to growing up?

TG - When we were younger, probably a little bit of it, yeah.

55 - What kind of bands? Chuck some names at me...

TG - One can that we can safely mention is Killing Joke. They are actually from the UK, and we‘ve been listening to them since we were kids. They have definitely played a part of certain influences within our music.

Anything that is progressive, moving forward and being genuine is, for the most part, what are drawn to.

you’re in this genre by yourself?

TG - We don’t think we would pin it down like that. It’s an open thing - it’s free for everyone to interpret however they want, that’s the point. It’s not like rock ‘n’ roll, where nothing else can be rock ‘n’ roll. We don’t have rules.

55 - Is this term a progression from your 55 - I read somewhere that your music is secret language? described as Vada Vada, what is that?

TG - We have words that we use that we’ve kind TG - Vada Vada is a term that we use to describe of made up, but nothing like a full on secret a genre of music that we play, and the whole language! We have our inside jokes and inside point is that it’s kind of an anti-genre in a way. It’s code, just like any people who are close, but we kind of a freedom that we have made up to take are not like, ‘we’re gonna speak like this to keep us out of the bubble of what other people think out outsiders’. we may be. It has placed us in a little category of our own, which we kind of like, so it became a phrase within the band. What we do doesn’t 55 - What inspires you as musicians at the really have a strong definition, so we can call it moment - what are you listening to? whatever we want to call it.

TG - That’s a good question! We’ve been 55 - So there’s nothing else like Vada Vada - heavily inspired these past few years by many

Shirt - A Child of the Jago. Jeans - Vintage Levi’s. Denim jacket- KOI

Having spent a pleasant afternoon with twins Wyatt and Fletcher Shears from The Garden, we’ve learned about growing up in California’s Orange County, who are the best people to take to a desert island, and about the self-created genre called Vada Vada. You should always ask identical twins with identical voices to wear name badges for an interview...

catwalk show in 2013, how did that come about?

TG - Right now we are more known for our live performances, although we have released several records. We do have our second LP coming out (in October), so we will see! It will be amazing to see how it goes down.

We have been touring religiously since 2013, and have a lot of loyal fans, so people do love seeing us perform.

55 - Did you enjoy it?

TG - That happened when we were doing a show in LA and apparently a sort of scout - a friend of a friend - saw us, passed the word 55 - Do you see yourselves more as recording along and we got an email. Things rolled from artists or do you prefer performing live? there.

TG - Yeah it was loads of fun. We would like to continue to pursue that world, especially after the album comes out.

55 - Well you definitely have model potential - is YSL the only company to have spotted you?

55- I do have to ask you about your fashion sense, which is really rather fabulous!

TG - Actually we have a few things in the works What’s your inspiration? Have you always right now and we’re talking to a few other been into clothes and been experimental? brands, so watch this space!

TG - Day by day we think of different styles or looks we’d like to pursue, so in some ways our style is like our music, where we take a little bit from different places and make it our own. We could get inspiration from anything, it could be from a cartoon character or an old lady! We find things that we want and end up piecing them together with things that we already have. So it’s a mixture of stuff. We don’t spend too much time thinking about it. It just flows, it’s part of life.

55 - What’s the best piece of advice that you have ever been given?

TG - We’ve been given a lot of good advice, and the last few years have been filled with progression for us. We’ve had a lot of choices and different paths to take to get to where we’re at.

55 - If you were stranded on a desert island without your brother, who would you take?

55 - So when you wear dresses in videos or on stage, is this just because you like the look? TG - Normally it would be someone you love, but then you have to take into consideration Fletcher - I used to do that on a daily basis, as it that you might have to kill them, so you’d have gave me a feeling that I liked. It’s great if you do, to weigh your options up. Then you might want I just don’t get that feeling anymore. to consider someone who is useful, who you Wyatt - I used to do it too, not so intensely, but wouldn’t mind killing off, or seeing die at the it’s kind of like our music. It’s something that we same time…so it’s Eddie Murphy! did - a style that we have now moved on from. And three lumberjacks!

Yesterday is not necessarily something that And an engineer! we are going to be into today. Not that we are looking for the next best thing, we’re not, but if the feeling doesn’t seem real anymore then 55 - You live together and you work together. there’s no point. Like if we are trying to prove If someone offered you a lot of money to go something by putting on a dress and lipstick, it solo, would you do it? would be fake and a gimmick.

Fletcher - I was trying to look like a woman, TG - Yeah! Sure! If we could still keep doing exactly like a woman. I still wear women’s clothes this… sometimes, but I’m not trying to be a woman. It’s not something I want to do constantly.

55- Erm, no, that’s the point!

55 - You were scouted to model for a YSL

Sunglasses – Sunpocket. Patchwork jacket - KOI. T shirt - Energie. Jeans - DIE. Jewellery - Model’s own

things, but right now we’re just floating.

Only one comes to mind, a really cool Japanese musician called Tisiro Yashika. We are all about the present day in music. Living it, loving it, observing it and progressing in this generation.

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TG - If the logistics were right, why not! It would have to be an agreement, boring as it sounds!

55 - To be honest, you’re the least boring boyband I’ve met!

The Garden’s new album ‘Haha’ comes out the 9th October on Epitaph/Burger Records. www.thegardentwins.com www.diaryofafashiondarling.com www.christophersims.com www.waikan.info

Article - Bert Gilbert

rob crane

The artist was mysteriously unavailable to answer emails, therefore we’ve indulged our theory further…

We believe him to live off grid, beneath us, in a pothole, where he rules over his can creations like the ‘Frankenstein king of the underworld’.

In my head, he made his home down there many years ago when, after working in the city amongst the greedy traders and brokers, he lost his faith in humanity.

After a particularly fortuitous deal, metal trading in aluminum, Crane made himself an obscene amount of money and took the unusual step to hermitize himself, building a world beneath us that better suited him.

Day by day he wakes in the dark, hot lair and gets straight to work in his workshop, creating his army of can-beings from the twisted macerations of his mind.

His never ending supply of used and crumpled cans are hurled down to this nightmarish palace by his servants above ground - The Toothless Tramps.

www.instagram.com/robaleano/ www.bertgilbert.co.uk

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Although many of Crane’s creations never see the light of day, the ones that make the cut are part Ralph Steadman - splattered in black bile and blood - and part canthropomorphic (my new created term for Crane’s art). Their bulbous eyes are watching you from beneath and between the over-sanitised gaps of life.

Watch out for them for they are rare and vicious creatures - they have been known to grapple with Yorkshire terriers and are particular fond of human ankles.

However, should you take the time to make their acquaintance, you will be strangely charmed by their mischievous expressions and their witty conversation, although they do smell a bit of old cider and beer...

Bogdan Jacket - Ada + Nik Joggers - Energie Shoes - Nike Socks - Stylist’s own

Bianka Black top - Micol Ragni Black PVC skirt - Ethologie by Jasper Garvida Knee high boots - Filippa K Yoic Suspenders - Lascivious Stripy jumper - KOI Pleated skirt - Ada + Nik Mesh headpiece - Manuel Diaz Head scarf - Simon Ekrelius Boots - Palladium

NOW APOCALYPSE Photography and Art Direction - Christopher Sims Fashion Editor - Sara Darling Makeup and Hair - Debbie Storey Using Dermologica, M.A.C. Cosmetics, Laura Mercier, Kevin Murphy and American Crew Models - Bogdan @ PRM. Yoic @ D1. Bianka @ Body London

T-shirt - Volcom Jeans - DiE Beanie - Volcom White socks - Nike Trainers - Nike

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Jacket - Phannatiq Leather pants - Hide

Yoic Grid trousers - GF Hawthorne Mesh Top - DiLiborio Boots - Palladium Bogdan Harness - Manuel Diaz Camo trousers - Percival

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Oversized cardigan - DiLiborio

Yoic Black fine knit polo - Boulezar Grey trousers - Bobby Abley Boots - Aigle Bianka Leather dress - Samsoe + Samsoe Gloves - Filippa K

Black leather coat - CSB LONDON Rucksack - Chapman Bags

Trousers - HAiK Bomber jacket - Micol Ragni Boots - Aigle

Dress - BACK by Ann-Sofie Back Grey sleeveless coat - LNZ Black leggings - Juicy Couture Boots - Tamaris Black cap - Volcom

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Latex shirt - Sasha Louise PVC trousers - Dagmar Glasses - VAVA

evvol

T shirt - New Look. Boiler suit - Levi’s

Interview - Karolina Kivimaki Photography - Christopher Sims Styling - Lisa Nicolau Makeup - Philipp Ueberfellner

Having changed their name from Kool Thing to Evvol for their comeback, Berlin based Irish-Australian duo Julie Chance (lead vocals) and Jon Dark (vocals & guitar) are making waves with their new album Eternalism.

The First track I See You (I Am You) boldly opens with ‘I have slept a thousand years…’ suggesting that there’s been a reincarnation to something new. The album title might point to something romantic and nostalgic, and there are dreamy beats and guitar effects, yet every track imposes an atmospheric dark wave that is almost trance-like, constructed to perfection with 1980s feel. Just pure genius.

55 - How did you meet?

JC - In Paris in 2010, I was DJing in a club and Jon was at the party. And it kind of kicked off from there.

JD - Initially our bond was about music, we would be talking music all night. I was based in Paris at the time so we decided to do music together between Paris and Berlin. Then Julie said I should come to Berlin so here we are.

55 - What made you settle in Berlin?

55 - You launched as Kool Thing back in 2010, yet changed the name to Evvol last year. It sounds more upbeat. What’s the story?

JC - We broke up as a couple and as a band and had a year-long break. Then last year we got back together and started to write together again. Everything felt different and fresh, it made sense to start a new project.

JD - Our creation process and the sound are different too. Last time we were heavily electronic relying on computer backing. Now we are very much a live band and more in the moment.

JC - Yes, there’s a lightness that wasn’t there before.

JD - Like the weight has been lifted, we’re a bit more playful. It’s still moody, we’ll never be a sugary pop band.

JC - I lived a year in New York and two years in London. Living in Berlin allows us more time as we don’t have to pay as much rent, so we have time to be creative.

JD - Berlin is a great breeding ground for creative talent.

JC - We both have part-time jobs; we both DJ and Jon teaches music in music schools (from 4 year-olds to adults).

55 - There’s an arty 80s electronica sound to your tracks and a definite dance beat. Is that intentional? How do you find inspiration for your songs?

JD - The 1980s influence comes from the atmospheric sounds and synthesizers and there is a lot of techno influence.

JC - We are also influenced by house music and DJs (in Berlin). You walk down the street past a kebab shop and there will be dance music blaring, you can’t avoid it. We go clubbing to

Berghain (one of Berlin’s hardcore party spots) quite a lot, especially on Sunday evenings.

55 - Which bands and musicians do you aspire to?

JC & JD - Blade Runner sound track and other sci-fi film scores. Arthur Russell (The American cellist and underground musician) and Frank Ocean.

55 - Tell about the inspiration behind your debut Eternalism album?

JD - Rather than being the dictionary definition, for us it was finding the eternal in each other when we got back together. The kind of eternal infinity in creation in our music together.

JC - Like you said the other day Jon, if time is represented by space, the past and future coexist. We’re spiritual rather than religious. When I say faith, I mean it more like in humanity kind of way. We didn’t think we were going to get back together, but somehow we found each other again.

JD - I went back to Australia, to the other side of the world, so it was definitely over. So in this way, it was faith.

and we were getting direct feedback from the audience.

JC - Berlin crowd is more into observing, they want to just take it all in and they are quieter in their appreciation. The English and the Irish are certainly more rowdy.

55 - What’s your fashion style, where do you shop?

JC - We get inspiration from street style, we are not really driven by brands.

JD - We always shop lots of vintage, especially when we’re in London. The best shops are here.

Eternalism album is out now via !K7 Records

55 - What’s on your iTunes?

JC - Jonnie Mitchell’s studio albums from 1968-79, (Manchester based) Factory Records compilation albums from 1970s and 1980s.

JD - Arca, Cappall, and recently also Chicago House.

55 - You live together as a couple, what about work / home life balance, is there any?

JC - We’ve actually spoiled with time, which is very fortunate. We just need to find a way to manage stress. We have a little dog, the love of our lives, half-mini pincher half-schnauzer called Rooney Mara (she features in their new Sola video).

55 - You recently played at The Waiting Room. Any more gigs in London?

JD - We’re hoping to have few dates later this year, we’ll definitely come back by the end of the year. The Waiting Rooms was so great; the English are so much livelier than the Germans,

www.evvolmusic.com www.k7.com www.karolinakivimaki.com www.christophersims.com www.philippueberfellner.com www.lisanicolaou.co.uk

T-shirt - Beyond Retro Dungarees - Levi’s Makeup by Cosmetics A la Carte Stylist Assistant - Sylvia Alpress

Article - Harry Stigner Illustration - Jaswant Flora

Our hive is our castle

We can learn a lot from the bees. Fortunately the indispensable pollinators have been getting a consistently good press lately, but putting their fundamental role in our survival aside, the humble honeybee can teach us a thing or two about how to improve the way society functions too.

When I first started working for Urban and Community Beekeepers, I thought of an apiary as a way of getting a slice of ‘The Good Life’. There’s something uniquely relaxing about watching hundreds and thousands of bees quietly doing their thing, oblivious to London, the traffic and you. Then it dawned on me that each hive is a densely populated, thriving metropolis that has more in common with fast paced city life than a country idyll.

No bee is an island. Even the queen is incapable of surviving as an individual, dependent on her workers to groom and feed her. Every bee has a role, from security bees defending the hive, to gathering forage, feeding young, cleaning, building, central heating, air conditioning, grooming and preparing honey.

When you consider that a single bee will travel a three-mile radius to gather nectar and pollen, the scaled up equivalent of you walking from London to Loch Ness to purchase your finest groceries and then sharing them with your neighbours, it becomes clear that the success of these captivating, productive creatures is dependent on community. I have a theory that by helping the bees we could learn to live more collaboratively too.

After a period of austerity when local authorities have been stretched beyond recovery, in a nation that’s growing ever more disenchanted with the way governance is structured, it seems that having a grass roots, community focused approach to the way we live is not only ideal but imperative.

Of course I’m not suggesting that we use hives as an out-and-out blue print for restructuring society, there’s a lot of things that wouldn’t work - the incapacity for individual expression, sex killing men, rival queens having to fight to the death (though a Gladiator style Question Time would surely get higher ratings). The bees have mastered something that we’re still struggling with in London – how hundreds and thousands of beings can cohabit harmoniously in a small space.

The housing crisis is an issue at the forefront of most Londoners’ minds, pub chat constantly revolves around the ever elusive housing ladder. Rents continue to sour as gentrification chases the few areas where bargains (by London standards) can be found, clashing against the migrant communities that established there back when Forest Hill was a suburb and Islington had a bad reputation.

The benefits of living in a secular society and the pride we take in London’s multiculturalism reaches a crisis point in these newly gentrified areas, where there is rarely a sense of integrated community. Church congregations used to provide a hub where people of all ages and walks of life would meet, but religion would only widen the chasms that exist between us now, and most Londoners don’t want it. There’s an indisputable need for common ground and shared interest in the city, somewhere cooperative that isn’t serving the capitalist raison d’être of doing nothing unless there’s a profit to be made.

I’d argue that one of the most immediately accessible and productive things we can do for the bees, and for our communities, is to garden.

The number of people dependent on food banks has risen from 41,000 five years ago to 913,000 last year.

By injecting more greenery into the city we could cleanse the air, feed the bees, meet our neighbours and feed ourselves more affordably.

If this sounds far-fetched and idealistic, it’s been tried and tested with great success in cities like Berlin.

Inspired by the ‘agriculture urbana’ in Havana, where city dwellers are transforming rooftops into farmland, Marco Clausen and Robert Shaw turned a wasteland into a portable garden in Kreuzberg. Using crates and shipping containers as raised beds, their community garden can be moved to a new development site whenever building commences on their existing space. Every few weeks the gardeners turn their five hundred crops into soups, pizzas and salads and dinner is served for one hundred locals.

‘It’s not long before any shared garden, however modest, becomes a community hub where people meet to talk about more than food and flowers,’ says Alex Mitchell in his book Rurbanite. Volunteers at the Edible Bus Stop in Brixton have followed his lead. ‘I’ve lived here for twenty years, and I’d never spoken to anyone till I got involved with this garden,’ a volunteer told Mitchell.

The waiting lists for allotments in London are long and the impermanence brought on by rising rents makes

managing a garden as an individual a daunting prospect. But if you think guerilla, having a garden in the city becomes an achievable prospect. London’s famous Guerilla Gardener, Richard Reynolds, lives in a tower block in Elephant and Castle. He’s proven that the best way to make something beautiful happen in the city is not to ask for permission. As Richard Tyrie, founder of the social enterprise Good People, told The Big Issue: ‘The London Riot clean-up saw some five hundred people turn up on the back of a Twitter hashtag to help the community. No managers, no forms to fill in, no CRB check, no health and safety… just people turning up because they could.’

If catastrophes like 9/11, the earthquake in Christchurch and the tsunami in the Philippines teach us anything it’s to jolt us out of the ‘every man for himself’ mode that capitalism supports and to think more like a worker bee. Politics can be baffling but human beings are pack animals and somewhere buried in our psyche is the indisputable knowledge that what’s good for society is good for the individual.

Listening to a TED Talk from South Central LA’s guerilla gardener, Ron Finley, was like hearing my own gardening dreams articulated. ‘Growing your own food is like printing your own money,’ says Finley.

‘Gardening is my graffiti; I grow my art… You’ll be surprised what the soil can do if you let it be your canvas.

You’d be amazed what a sunflower can do and how it affects people. I have witnessed my garden become a tool for the education and transformation of my neighbourhood.’

Even if you haven’t experienced the thrill of watching something you’ve planted grow, we all benefit for those that have. From the wildflower meadows of London Fields to the Edible Bus Stop in Brixton, these spaces add air cleansing insect forage to our urban lives, enriching the city dweller’s experience. The potential to add fresh products to emergency food banks is an indisputable incentive too. ‘To change a community you have to change the composition on the soil. We are the soil,’ says Finey. ‘Gardening is the most therapeutic and defiant act you can do, especially in the inner city.’

Of course getting a community garden started requires effort and time, but if we think of the many flat shares in London as an allegory for the city, it’s really a question of what kind of housemate you want to be. The current structure of society encourages us to live in a pretty joyless way, to be the sort who stingily marks our milk levels, labels cupboards and only washes up our own plates. Right-wing voters are characterised for saying they’ll look out for themselves and not be a drain on society, but in a flat share the failings in this approach are inevitable - it’s not easy to segregate the crumbs that gather, the milk goes sour and eventually, someone has to take the rubbish out. We don’t want to be the parasitic kind either, eating someone else’s biscuits and refusing to buy toilet paper. The happiest homes adopt an outlook where chores, fridges and bills are a communal responsibility. We know that, like bees, we can’t function in isolation, and would we really want to? Surely the human condition is lonely enough as it is.

The times demand that we provide our own solutions for government’s failings. We can help the bees and ourselves by living more like them and planting public gardens. Don’t ask for permission to start digging for a better future, in the words of Ron Finley – ‘Get gangster with your shovel.’

www.harrystigner.wordpress.com www.beefriendlytrust.org www.jaswantflora.tumblr.com

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Article - Christopher George

MONIKER RENAISSANCE IS NOW

With the Bitcoin gaining more positive press, wider usage and acceptance by larger companies, it’s really a currency we shoud all be taking more notice of.

With it’s detachment from centralized banks and the goverment, is the Bitcoin really a viable world currency that could liberate the planet??

The banking system’s bad press, rogue employees and deplorable behaviour, makes us question whether it’s about time we took digital currency Bitcoin more seriously, as a way to take control of an uncontrollable monster.

Remember, the currency we are told to deal with via our goverment and the banking establishment, fundamentally is not worth the paper its printed on! So digital currency might be the future after all.

Groundbreaking Art Fair, Moniker has become the first major art fair to accept Bitcoin for it’s transactions. Taking a leap into the unknown, it has embraced the future. Known for its leftfield approach and independent thinking, it has chosen to embrace the Bitcoin and its asset as a global digital currency.

During Moniker Art Fair 2015, Moniker Projects worked with artists Ben Eine, Sam Hamilton and Schooney on a artwork exploring the concept ‘Renaissance is Now’. By focusing on ‘Decay’ and ‘Change’, artists decentralised technologies like Bitcoin, which as the biggest transfer of wealth in the history of the world. It has the potential to offer humanity the real prospect of hope, and showcases the benefits to the wider society.

What do we think? We’re open to a change from the current system!

www.monikerartfair.com

Interview - Karolina Kivimaki Photography - Christopher Sims

MAN MADE There’s nothing artificial about Manchester trio Man Made. With Nile Marr (vocals, lead guitar), Callum Rogers (bass) and Scott Strange (drums).

Front man Nile, was born into a heady rock pedigree (his father is guitarist Johnny Marr of The Smiths, The Pretenders and Modest Mouse) and is all about long hair, gold glitter eye shadow, and sequins - clearly keeping classic indie rock and post-punk influences alive!

Having impressed the critics with their singles You Never Know How It Feels and Carsick Cars, they are regarded as the band to watch this year.

55 - You initially launched the band as a solo project. How did Scott and Callum come about?

N - When I was playing on my own, it was always with the idea of forming a band.

S - I met Nile through a friend (in 2012), who worked at a practice space in Manchester, where I used to rehearse in another band. I knew of Callum through another mutual friend and I heard that he played bass so I invited him down to our practice space. He fitted right in.

55 - Has music always been number one for you guys?

N - Music was never really a career choice; it’s something I’ve always done. Growing up surrounded by musicians making music all their lives, I saw how committed you have to be.

C - From a very young age, listening and making music were the only things I’ve ever fully concentrated on and put all my efforts into, so yeah I think it has really.

S - Yeah, playing music is what I do.

55 - Which bands & musicians do you aspire to now and when you were growing up?

N - My first record was Bob Dylan’s Desire during my sponge years from the age of 6, that’s all I was listening to for years. Then I came across Sea Change by Beck. I spent my teenage years in Portland, Oregon and as a guitar player, and as a Brit kid; it was so exciting to hear something I’ve never heard before like Built To Spill.

C - Fugazi (late 1980s to early 2000s band from Washington DC) have been a major influence on us, not just through their music but their approach to music and their ethos are something we try to adhere to. Alternative indie music, particularly from America, has always been really important to me. I remember hearing the Pixies when I was younger and they just blew my mind.

S - Bands like Built To Spill, Hot Snakes and The Growlers. As a drummer, Benjamin Weikel from The Helio Sequence and Jeremiah Green from Modest Mouse are people I really look up to.

55 - You are from one of the biggest music cities, how does this influence your music?

N - Growing up in Manchester, it was very much seeing fallout of what wasn’t our generation.

Obviously we respect the history but it’s not our history. When people let go and stop comparing, that will allow the new to come out.

C - We don’t necessarily draw influence from music from Manchester but our hometown is where we set up to be a band and our early shows

are an important part of who we are today.

55 - You’re setting a great example to others and showing that it’s possible to follow your dream. How do you juggle with a daytime job (Scott works in mental health and Callum in a supermarket) and being one third of Man Made? What’s your typical day?

C - Holding down a day job is nothing out of the ordinary for musicians nowadays. For us being a musician will always come first so it’s more about squeezing in work whenever we can, to allow us to carry on doing what we love. There’s no typical day as such, we are always rehearsing, writing or playing shows and on the rare occasions we aren’t, we work whatever hours we can get.

55 - You recently played at Shacklewell Arms in London. Do you prefer smaller intimate audiences or performing to huge crowds?

Where would you love to play?

C - The connection between the band and the audience is lost when shows grow too big and that connection is such an important part of live shows.

Some of the best shows we’ve played have been at people’s houses; there’s no pretending when you’re playing in somebody’s front room. Being so influenced by American bands and culture, it’s the dream to get over there to play.

S: Big shows are always great but at smaller shows you get to hang out with the audience, which is kinda punk rock.

55 - Where do you get your style inspiration?

And what’s with all that gold glitter?

N - There’s a lot of American influence from my years in the US. I found the gold sequin jacket in my fashion student friend’s wardrobe. The T-shirt is by Ed Templeton, Californian painter and photographer. I like to express myself; golden glitter eye shadow is part of it. I still get homophobic comments on the streets.

Man Made new single in autumn 2015.

www.twitter.com/manmadeproject www.karolinakivimaki.com www.christophersims.com

Article - Sara Darling Illustrations - Adriana Krawcewicz

BALENCIAGA

AW15 trends DRESS TO IMPRESS

Softly softly, say Balenciaga, Giorgio Armani, Alexander Wang and Christopher Kane.

Prim suits, ballerina dresses and dramatic capes - opulence is the word of the day.

80s staple fabric, velvet made an appearance across the fashion capitals and the well-heeled girls will be looking all grown up - just in time for Christmas cocktail hour.

JONATHAN SAUNDERS

BOLD MOVES

Get ready to get in a spin with graphic patterns and optical illusions.

Prints are going to be big & bold this winter, and were swirled across the collections at normally demure Dior and 60s inspired Pucci with abandon.

Wear top-to-toe if you’re feeling bold or do a Jonathan Saunders and break things up with some retro coloured blocking.

One things is for sure, you won’t be missed!

PRETTY AS MY LITTLE PONY

Fyodor Golan called their collection Rainbow Wheel, and it exceeded expectations.

Seemingly taking inspiration from the iconic purple haired horse, the colours clashed with reckless rebellion!

BURBERRY

Think a packet of your favourite jelly sweets and you won’t go wrong this autumn.

Emilia Wickstead, Mary Katrantzou, Toga and Sibling seemed to agree, with a selection of autumn brights and mishmash textures, which liven up the dullest day.

BOHO’S BACK (Again!)

If you’re a hippy at heart, you’ll love this autumn’s take on the bohemian trend.

Edging towards a more folksy vibe, Burberry Prorsum, Valentino and Lanvin are pioneering prints and fringing in a total texture overload.

Ponchos are back with a bang and anything in tones of russet, mustard and burgundy will get the seal of approval from the Fashion Ed’s.

If it’s suede or patchwork, you’ll get extra brownie points!

FYODOR GOLAN

www.jonathan-saunders.com www.balenciaga.com www.fyodorgolan.co.uk www.burberry.com www.artianadeco.com www.diaryofafashiondarling.com

Article - Sara Darling

MENS STYLE

Sunglasses will never be out of season for the discerning gent, even in winter.

Check out our fave choices of facial furniture.

KIRK & KIRK

Fun glasses for the fun guy; This season celebrates the two tone, and you can choose from a range of 60s inspired Perspex frames in a range of Kaleidoscopic colours.

Sophisticated and geometric; perfect for the grown-up guy with a mischievous sense of humour.

EYE RESPECT

Trend-led brand Eye Respect is a regular at London Collections: Men. Known for their edgy styles and designer collaborations, check out these bad boys, if you think you’re cool enough! You don’t have to be a tattooed lothario to wear them - they suit bankers too!

BLACK EYEWEAR

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With a store on Goodge Street in London, Black Eyewear is the cool kid on the block.

Taking inspiration from jaaaaazz, with frames named after the jazz greats, Founder Robert Roope has created the ultimate retro eyewear and is a favourite with Lady Gaga and Will.I.Am.

KOMONO

This is the brand to look at for a huge range of sunnies in a range of fashion-led styles.

With something for every day of the week come rain or shine, this classic mirror style is perfect to hide those hungover eyebags behind!

www.kirkandkirk.com www.eyerespect.com www.blackeyewear.com www.komono.com www.diaryofafashiondarling.com

Article - Sara Darling Illustration - Tom Bartlett -

Making a Model

If anyone asked you to name a supermodel, you would probably come up with one of the ‘90s clotheshorse brigade which included Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Helena Christensen.

Famous for their glamorous lifestyles, partners and high earnings, Linda Evangelista admitted that the catwalk stars didn’t bother getting out of bed ‘for less than $10,000 a day’. Nowawadays plenty of female models are just as well known - Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne are definite stars, but with Cara quitting her model agency to concentrate on acting, how much longevity is in it for models any more?

To name a male model, never mind supermodel, is quite a challenge. We had Nick Kamen slipping out of his jeans for a Levi’s commercial in the ‘80s, and American Tyson Beckford has been the face of Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren. He has also appeared in music videos including Britney Spears’s ‘Toxic’, and most recently with Mariah Carey for ‘Infinity’, which is usually a springboard to success; But even he seems to have moved his ‘talents’ from modelling to presenting, and has made a name for himself on reality TV as a presenter on “America’s Next Top Model”.

With menswear having made a big impact on the London scene, the four-day London Collections:Men is leading the way for other fashion capitals. British Fashion Council Ambassadors include David Gandy, Dermot O’Leary and Tinie Tempah, means menswear is reaching the masses, and is gaining accessibility, which womenswear is lacking. With no primetime ‘plus size’ (i.e. not catwalk size 8) celebrities as Ambassadors for the women’s shows, the FROWs are always stuffed full of skinny pins who like to get papped.

Of course, David Gandy is not your regular guy. He is blessed with good genes, and being the face and body of M&S pants, you get to see him regularly plastered on the sides of buses! Interestingly, he was chosen as one of the elite - to be the face of the Collections and give an opinion as a fashion expert, rather than remain one of the nameless models walking the shows.

In the current climate, it doesn’t look likely that male models are set to be on first name terms with the public. Zoolander we are not! So it’s no wonder that that the big brands are looking for recognisable faces to sell their wares. It’s now not unusual for sports personalities and actors to front campaigns from toothpaste to coffee.

David Beckham is a perfect example of the celebrity authority. Known initially for football and marrying Posh Spice, it’s easy to forget that he quit the beautiful game in 2013. Since then he has been just as much in the spotlight for his modelling career, appearing in numerous cover shoots for top fashion magazines, including Arena Homme+, AnOther and Vogue Paris. He has had long running collaborations with high street store H&M, Adidas and Belstaff, and has launched several aftershaves, which makes making the transition from pitch to photoshoot look easy!

With men being habitual (spending) creatures, it makes sense that a company invests in a face that they can trust, or is at least likeable. By using less-recognisable faces, this is one career where men get paid less than the women! Currently Brazilian bombshell Gisele Bundchen is top of Forbes’ highest earners with $47 million; the highest earning male models, who shoot campaigns for big spenders like Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana and Versace, only take home about 10% of what the girls earn. Mind you 10% of $47 million for spending a day in make-up doesn’t seem all that bad!

Word on the street is that Instagram is the next step in influencing the masses, so if you think you have a face that could sell a million face creams, and you’re (more than likely) a DJ, skateboarder, poet, artist or in a band, get your selfie stick out and get working on your Insta followers. The higher the number, the more influence you have in selling your face to a brand. See you on the billboards.

www.diaryofafashiondarling.com www.facebook.com/BartlettArtist

Stockists Pleats Please Issey Miyake www.isseymiyake.com Julia Clancey www.juliaclancey.com Jaded London www. jadedldn.com JMC www.the-clothinglounge.com Public Desire www.publicdesire.co.uk Francesca Marotta www.francescamarotta.com Minkpink www.minkpink.com Marko Mitanovski www.markomitanovski.com Ethologie by Jasper Garvida www.ethologie.co.uk Astrobohemia Samsoe + Samsoe www.samsoe.com Rococco Jewels Little Shilpa www.littleshilpa.com Una Burke www.unaburke.com Imogen Belfield www.imogenbelfield.com American Apparel www.store.americanapparel. co.uk Anton Heunis www.monnierfreres.co.uk Holstad & Co www.the-clothinglounge.com Marni www.monnierfreres.co.uk Lemiena www.lemiena.com Julia Burness www.juliaburnessjewellery.com Phannatiq www.phannatiq.com Morecco Lisboa www.moreccolisboa.com CSB LONDON www.csblondon.com Chapman www.chapmanbags.com GF Hawthorne www.gfhawthorne.com Lascivious www.lascivious.co.uk Juicy Couture www.juicycouture.com Palladium www.palladiumboots.com Aigle www.aigle.com Samsoe + Samsoe www.samsoe.com Denim is Everything www.denimiseverything.com Energie www.energie.it Filippa K www.filippa-k.com 2nd Day www.day.dk/uk Back by Ann Sofie Back www.annsofieback.com Volcom www.volcom.co.uk

Vans www.vans.co.uk Bjorn Borg www.bjornborg.com Phannatiq www.phannatiq.com Ethologie by Jasper Garvida www.ethologie. co.uk HAiK www.haikwithus.com Serge DeNimes sergedenimes.com Percival www.percivalclo.com Goddiva www. goddiva.co.uk Micol Ragni www.micolragni.com Tamaris www.tamaris.eu Boulezar www.boulezar.com Robert Kalinkin www.robertkalinkin.com Kristian Steinberg www.kristiansteinberg.com KOI www.koicouture.co.uk Bobby Abley www.bobbyabley.co.uk Hide www.hide-label.com Sasha Louise www.sashalouise.co.uk Ada + Nik www.adaxnik.com Manuel Diaz www.facebook.com/manueldiazbrand LNZ www.lnzclothing.com Nike www.nike.com VAVA vavaeyewear.com Levis - www.levi.com Gerry Weber - www.gerryweber.com New Look - www.newlook.com Beyond Retro www.beyondretro A Child of the Jago www.achildofthejago.com Religion www.religionclothing.com Villain www.villain.uk.com Scotch & Soda www.scotch-soda.com Hide www.hide-label.com Energie www.energie.it KOI www.kingsofindigo.com Sunpocket www.sunpocketoriginal.com DIE www.denimiseverything.com

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