Spindle Magazine - Issue 4 by Heather Falconer

I s s ue 4 // 2011 ‘ p e rf e c t ion ? ’ £4.50 w he re s ol d

Issue 4 // 2011 full credits on page 17 Photography

Natasha Alipour-Faridani Styling

Heather Falconer shirt

Paul Bench model

Timothy Renouf @ Elite Models Illustration

Sarah Ferrari

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Looking back to where you began; where did you study and what did you study? Were you able to express yourself in such a courageous way from the start or has your sense of style evolved? I started university in Norway back in 2002. From 2002-2005 I did a BA in womenswear at Esmod, and from 2005-2008 I did another BA, but this time in Fashion Knitwear at Central Saint Martins in London. The first two years in university, I didn’t really have a personal design style, it evolved around the same time as my graduation collection, and at the same time Gwen Stefani’s video ‘What Ya Waiting For’ came out. I think I actually died for a second the first time I saw it. After that everything came in to place and I understood who I was. In both schools I’ve gone to, they have always encouraged me to be who I am.

Your work is very bold and playful, in what other ways would you describe your work and would you say that is reflective of your own personal style too? I think I might be a walking poster for my brand, perhaps a bit embarrassing but i do love colours and quirky things. I would definately say that my brand is childish, quirky, humoristic and colourful, at least I’m trying to be.

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What is it that inspired such eccentricity? There’s notable inspiration from the pop art style, but how do you take from this and make it your own? I draw most of the inspiration from children’s books, harajuku, pop art, inspiring make up, exciting East London people, going out clubbing, art and photography. I spend a massive amount of time Googleing weird things and strange people. It’s not hard to make it my own, I don’t even know how I do it. If I see something interesting or something that inspires me my head starts making clothes immediately, all I need to do is to use my fingers and draw it. I don’t think my head is really attached to the rest of my body.

Why children’s clothing? Are you yourself a mother/are you drawn to children’s fashion for a particular reason? Im not a mother yet, but I’m seven months pregnant, so I will be by summertime. I have always been really interested and inspired by children and toys, colours etc, that is why it came quite natural to me that I also should have a childrenswear line a bit more commercial than my womenswear one. We were also granted a prize of £15,000 in 2010 by Innovation Iorway to get started. Was it a stark contrast working with jewelery design compared to clothing? Would you like to continue this collaboration beyond this initial collection? I really enjoyed working on it. Its different from what I normally do, and it made me think differently. After doing this I got really interested in continuing doing jewelery. But I think I would do them a bit differently in the future – perhaps other materials.

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What is next for you and how do you see the Fam Irvoll brand growing? I really hope that we will be able to expand and have stockists in London and Paris by next year, both for children and womenswear collection. I will continue making two collections a year and hopefully show in London next season. What have been the highlights of your career? I have had a lot of amazing moments so far. Some of them are winning designer of the year 2010 in Norway, meeting Lady Gaga back in 2008 and have her buy a few of my pieces. I think that’s when it all started really, all of the amazing people I have met so far. I have been able to work with the fantastic and talented Marina and the Diamonds. If you could have 3 guests over for dinner, who would it be? Think a Come Dine With Me... Made in Fam Irvoll heaven. That would have to be Marina and the Diamond, Isabella Blow, Michael Alig and Leigh Bowery – sorry that’s four but it would have had to be. What piece of clothing or jewelry best describes what you and your work is about? That would have to my 3D work. I love love love 3D fashion and it’s what I’m all about.

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Emily Amelia Inglis photography

Kevin Mason styling

Heather Falconer Model

Georgie Hobday @ Profile Illustration

Sara Japanwalla

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Lois Waller

As someone who stretches time with endless emailing, writing and blagging, I’m not one for waiting. Like most I hate waiting to get paid, waiting in line and waiting for a package but waiting for Tom’s response regarding this interview, I was pleasantly patient. With fluff press releases and emails I would never subscribe to, I was quite looking forward to an email from Mr Lipop. Maybe I’ve met too many designers or just fallen in love their work but I have found they can be are pretty truthful and Tom didn’t disappoint.

Project Catwalk, Series 3 which was a great adventure and worked solidly for 2.5 years. I also gained experience with designers such as House of Holland, Nathan Jenden, and Griffin Laundry whilst freelancing and building up my own contacts.’

So firstly, what made this Seaside kid want to become a designer? ‘I’ve always been interested in design whether it be architecture, product, graphics or fashion. I love the whole process from the point of being inspired to producing a final product.’

With all the highs and lows of the design world, inspiration is at the forefront of the brands direction. Tom seeks influence from rather unusual sources such as household appliances and furniture but still rather than forcing creative thinking, the designer would rather it would come naturally.

Growing up in Brighton, with plenty of out-door space, an early fixation of Football and design resulted in hours spent drawing football kits Tom thought he may wear one day. With dreams to become a footballer on the horizon, a snapped leg put a stop to the premier league dream but opened up new goals. So after a short-lived Sports career, Bournemouth University was next on the agenda; ‘I studied for 3 years specializing in menswear but as far as I can see, I will be studying in this industry for the rest of my life. You’re always learning. I was part of

So with a busy schedule and time to work on new collections, it must be hard to watch what the rest of the industry is doing? ‘It’s hard to keep up when you’re an upcoming brand. There is so much to do and organize already and generally you only have a small team, if any, so finding time is difficult. I try to keep up to date and spend most evenings checking out other brands, blogs and website to see what is happening.’ And amazingly, Tom still has time for London Fashion week; ‘It was amazing showing with Vauxhall Fashion Scout. The support they gave was fantastic and although the show went great, probably

the best part was the amount of exposure we received afterwards. We have signed with Blow PR since and have been featured in numerous high profile magazines and secured new stockists, all of which came after just showing our second collection. This makes us enthused for the future.’ In regards to exposure, designers can face comments regarding the price of their product. Is it right that the fashion folk have to use their flexible friends for expensive items or can designer items be affordable? ‘I think Fashion as a whole is already affordable, hence the high street. Design on the other hand is for me, a little more thought through. Having a high price point does make it slightly less accessible but of course more desirable in that you are not going to see every Tom, Dick and Harry wearing it. It is difficult as a young designer to keep price points low when you are producing small quantities; it’s trying to balance it all out that’s key.’ Balancing act it can be but then the high street can also abuse designer’s creative ideas to make a quick buck. ‘To be honest, it doesn’t really bother me, its part and parcel and happens in every industry. At the end of the day Skoda will never build a Ferrari, likewise the high street will never create Mr Lipop. Fabrics, cut, quality and finish are impossible to get at a high street price. You get what you pay for and when it comes to fakes and replicas that is a different story!’ Wise words from somebody who has achieved so much from two collections. Maybe the trials of Project Catwalk, Shadowing high profile designers and London fashion week, has taught Tom many things University couldn’t.

Issue 4 // 2011 So as Menswear is a great success for the Designer, are there plans to expand the brand to a more womanly friendly collection? I think it is definitely something we might think about when we have fully established ourselves in menswear. I would like to collaborate on womenswear with certain designers, which there is a couple in particular which I would love to work with but you will have to watch this space. Already much greatness is hinted at and touched on but what does the near future bring? ‘The plan is to get over to Paris in June for Menswear Fashion Week with our sales agent in the hope of securing some new stockists. We are looking to break into stores in Japan and Korea following a very successful

meeting with our new distributer for those regions. We should be showing during London Fashion Week in September whilst developing our new website and collaborating with a few labels on products such as a shoe line, glasses collection, hats and a new range of bags. We are also going to be launching our black label ‘tailored by’ line, a progressive collection of suiting in luxurious fabrics. With a packed rest of the year and plans for further expansion in 2012, any advice for budding designers out there? “Working in the industry is your best stepping stone. Work hard, it always pays off, and know that no effort is ever wasted! Be focused and have your aim very high in your mind but be open as the path may not necessarily be straight.” That’s the best

“ as far as I can see, I will be studying in this industry for the rest of my life. You’re always learning.” piece of advice I received and I think it’s best to share. Also be intuitive when working for other labels. If you’re thinking of starting your own line, ask them about factories and suppliers and take note, build up a contacts list so that when you go it alone you have somewhere to start. Find a balance between wearable and show, ultimately you are trying to run a company so you have to sell but people want to see something different. Lastly, have confidence in your work and others will have confidence in you!

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Photography

Lee John Mann Styling

Victoria Barban Make Up

Lauren Amps Hair

Eleni Georgiou Model

Amber @ Profile Models Illustration

Daisy Gam

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“ W e’ r e t ry i n g to connec t with people as i m m ed i at ely a s p os s i b l e wi t h o u r mu s i c ,” mu s e s Alex E v ery t h i n g. “It’s the same g oa l s a s t h e S p i c e Gi r l s h a d.” J er e my E v ery t h i n g a d ds.

t’s not every day that a band is heralded as being ‘the antidote to the stale indie scene’. Except that it kind of is. As Alex points out, “So are the Vaccines.” “No, they’re the saviours of guitar,” Jonathon Everything contradicts him. So really they’re not even the sole God’s gifts on the NME tour. But Everything Everything’s uncontrollably catchy art-pop, which doesn’t so much inspire an accompanying foot tap as a jittering twitchy spasm, has already earned them a whole load of accolades that let you know that, actually, they’re pretty undeniably good and certainly

worth your attention (that is to say if you’re not already one of the dedicated fans singing along with the choir boy-esque falsettos). After all, you’ve got to give credit to a band who can get away with an ‘unofficial’ lyric like “Who’s gonna sit on your face when I’m not there?”. Then there was that nomination for the Beeb’s Sound of 2010’, XFM New Music Award and the NME Best New Band and their South Bank Sky Arts/The Times Breakthrough Award win; a momentum they insist was a flash in the pan which they intend to honour by never winning anything again. Ever.

“We’re natural pessimists like that but think that is also accurate. It’s nice to be nominated for these things, what can you say…. I don’t think we’ll win anymore basically,” says Jeremy. “Now that Radiohead have released an album everybody is screwed,” Jonathon agrees. That’s fairly hard to believe. For starters, it’s Mancunian bands like Everything Everything that are helping generate the buzz centred on and surrounding the city’s music scene right now; coincidentally Hurts, who happened to be the ones to beat the guys to the punch for

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NME’s Best New Band Award, are another. Then there is the band’s refreshing and somewhat inspirational mission statement of striving to avoid clichés at all costs. “It can get as ridiculous as becoming a cliché of your own, what you’ve played before... It’s sort of ‘I’ve done that already,’” Jeremy explains. “You’ve got to continually push to find something new and that’s generally the way we work.” It’s noble, really, and it’s that can-do spirit which is what should hopefully carry them through the making of their second album.

“We’re right in the middle, well at the start of writing new stuff so after this tour now we’re going to be rehearsing and starting to get the ball rolling one the next album,” Alex says. “That’s the classic fault everyone has on second albums, you don’t realised when you’re making you’re debut how much time you’ve got on your hands. You don’t know that you’re making a debut,” Jeremy agrees. “We’re about to start this kind of strange double life that I supposed every band goes through... This sort of overlap period where you’re promoting one record and you’re making the next one at the same time and

what you want to talk about and what you want to be playing and you’re excited about is the second bit but you also want to do the first bit justice as well and so we’ve got all of that to come.” Let’s hope the boys can derive some hope and comfort from the fact that they’re not the only ones who’ve hit that wall of ‘difficult second album’. The Spice Girls probably encountered similar issues when they set about making their second album too. words

Amy Lavelle

Illustration

Lisa Rust

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‘Queen of Hearts’ embodies the combination of power and vulnerability and I think that sums me up and what my songs represent.” A new reign in pop is about to begin; Queen of Hearts is the latest pop monarch to stake her claim to the throne. “ It’s the year of the woman in music right now; Jessie J, Clare Maguire, Rihanna, Gaga. It’s a tough job to stand out when there are so many amazing women to compete with.” There’s no denying it; when it comes to pop, the nineties had the boy band, the noughties Mcfly and whatever-ridiculous-name-thisdecade’s-been-given the ‘vocal harmony group’... If you hadn’t already given up on the pop charts, the rise of the Barbershop quartet-esque harmony groups should have done it. So it’s really no wonder that a new age has been ushered in and the girls are taking the stage by storm like never before. Thus, it takes something special to stand out amongst the swarm of empowered females practicing their vocal ranges in your ear. “ I want to entertain, to make people talk. I don’t want to play safe and I want to be something different to what’s currently out there.” All hail Queen of Hearts.

Don’t let the name fool you; this isn’t some bloomer wearing, double chinned royal tyrant akin to the giant-forearmed dinner ladies that made your every school lunchtime a living terror. She’s the couture clad singer/songwriter who is dead set on changing pop’s bad reputation. Or as she puts it ‘pop shouldn’t be a dirty word’. “ I think “pop” is perceived to be quite fake and manufactured. Often an artist has no say over their sound or style, compared with an indie band who are organic and develop their own identity and are therefore seen to be more ‘credible’. For me, music is incredibly personal and I love being part of the writing and creative process. Music should be fun, but have a meaning, a purpose.” She’s got her work cut out for her. Yet, the girl remains an enigma; for a new artist, she’s playing extremely hard to get. Her Myspace page offers up only limited teasers of her perfect synth pop to whet the appetite, with videos clips of her standing statuesque still in a fabulous get up while her subjects dance ethereally around her. Finding a full length version of debut track ‘Freestyle’ is practically impossible. But, against the odds, it’s working; we may not

know her actual name but Alison Goldfrapp and Kylie are fairly hard hitting stand ins in the meantime. “ I think you naturally take little bits from artists you like, but it’s so important to have your own identity and sound, no one wants to be a carbon copy.” And forgetting her name, there are those that she’s already being associated with: “I’ve been really lucky to work with some great producers; Johan & Ercola, Diamond Cut, Fabien Waltmann, Dreamtrak, Devils Gun. I’m an electro girl through and through.” Not bad for a new artist. She’s not just a big tease though, there is the promise of a full solid track to come that may even break the two minute mark. I know: whoa. “ In May, I have a single coming out that I collaborated on with Johan Agebjörn & Ercola callled “The Last Day Of Summer”. It’s up tempo, but the message is quite sad, so it gets the QOH seal of approval.” All those pop princesses that full short of the mark should hold onto their heads. Queen of Hearts’ reign is just getting underway.

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Amy Lavelle Illustration

Daisy Gam

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Crammed into the back of a church, passing a smuggled can of Strongbow back and forth while surrounded by the reverent, watching the jubilant indie-folk-pop set of Slow Club at The Great Escape was a perfect introduction to the band’s live show and one of my stand out gigs of last year. It’s nice to know they enjoyed it too.

“ That was one of our favourites that year. It was brilliant, I really enjoyed it.” Rebecca Taylor and Charles Watson generated a buzz back in 2009 with their debut album ‘Yeah So’, a collection of charming, saccharine melodies that largely involve the two singing about their loves and loves lost; the simple harmonies coupled with Charles belting the hell out of his guitar and Rebecca wielding an array of bottles and chair backs in place of drums were only enhanced by the pair’s on stage charisma. They soon gained a reputation for Rebecca’s ability to turn any innocuous objects into a percussion section and a musical style that seems to shun any compartmentalisation, although those pesky ‘twee’ and ‘English White Stripes’ labels continue to linger like a bad smell. “I’m past the point of caring!” Charles sighs. But it’s been two years since ‘Yeah So’ was released and in that time Charles insists that they’ve graduated past creating simplistic melodies of break ups, love and more break ups. There’s finally a new album on the horizon that will showcase the new, improved and more grown up sounding Slow Club. Their Sheffield bedrooms have been swapped for a studio, there’s talk of keyboards and strings, “trying to make it sound colourful, bit more exciting” and perhaps finally a chance to ditch the twee rep. “ I think the thing that we’ve concentrated on the most is to make it have continuity as a record ’cause the last album we did was done in fairly different places over two years. It just sounds really all over the place but this one was done in the same studio in one big session, it’s got a similar sound going through the album.”

And while they may have been able to, for the most part, avoid those weird ‘are they, aren’t they/married’ vibes that haunt other boy/girl bands (here come the White Stripes references) with ‘Yeah So’, Charles claims that their second album will take them away from it all together. “ We’ve never really sung to each other. I think people assume that because one of us might sing one line and the other might sing the other but there’s never been anything between us like that. But definitely this album, we’ve definitely removed ourselves from a certain aspect of what our band was. We’ve tried to move on and do something we’ve never done before.” But perhaps the most obvious change from the Slow Club brand will be the end of Rebecca brandishing a bits n’ bobs percussion section and instead graduating to a full on drum kit. Say it ain’t so. “ We kind of started off using weird things and we’ve got more and more conformist as the time’s gone on. We started with some pans and some bottles and a chair and all that stuff but we’ve grown up a little bit and started to be introduced to different kind of music. Becky’s started playing hi-hat on this album which I’m quite excited about. I’ve been trying to get her to use cymbals for the last five years and she’s resisted until now. So I think maybe the most extreme for us is to play hi-hat.” The pair will be hitting the road once more with a full length tour in September to promote their new wares. Let’s hope that the more mature Slow Club haven’t lost the simplistic magic they are known for bringing to their performances. Somehow, I don’t think they will have.

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Bee Adamic Illustration

Tom Forman

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Internet giants Google have very nearly mapped every street on earth and have now turned their documenting eye to the world’s art galleries. This technological advancement marks another step in the reproduction of art, taking us further still from the object itself. But what is the perfect distance from which to view art and how does technology seduce us from this ideal? 86

Obviously the perfect conditions to view art are in its presence, but for a whole host of political, sociological, financial and geographical reasons this is not always possible. Whilst the printing press has gone a long way to bridging that gap in the past, the Internet could potentially be the perfect tool to grant accessibility to all. Google Art Project, with the full might of Street View technology, aims to literally take you there, with the added bonus of multi-media educational tools in your back pocket. In its beginning stages, the project has mapped 17 worldrenowned galleries, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and our own Tate Britain, spanning the breadth of 9 different countries. So, instead of flying to the Uffizi Gallery in Italy to see The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli, I can sit at home and see Venus’ nipple, 6cm in diameter across my screen through gigapixel photography (yes I measured it). So why leave the house? In the case of Chris Ofili’s No Woman No Cry you are gifted an image that a conventional gallery visit is unlikely to afford you. Not only can you zoom in to see each fleck

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Tate

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this page

Chris Ofili No Woman, No Cry Google Art Project

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‘ In the most part, Google Art Project’s impressive technology pays more service to their skill than to anything else.’ of glitter, you can also view the painting in night vision, unveiling phosphorescent paint glowing in the dark and the words “RIP Steven Lawrence 1974-1998”. This is a rare opportunity in the Art Project to see the work of an artist that is still alive and is testament to what can be done with the artist’s cooperation and a secret to reveal. However, in the most part, Google Art Project’s impressive technology pays more service to their skill than to anything else. It’s exciting zooming in to see Van Gogh’s thick strokes of paint that glisten in the gallery lighting as if still wet, but you will quickly find yourself zooming into each painting compulsively and it becomes clear you’re more excited by the technology than the art. Google boasts that their high-resolution imagery gives a “vantage previously only seen by art restorers”, but what is the benefit in seeing an artwork at a higher resolution than your own eyes would allow, or indeed the eyes of the person who made it? Just as we should question whether the advancement in HD film brings us better films, or simply the distraction of an actor’s open pores. More extreme still is the numerous examples 3D film has provided us with, of mesmerising technology papering over the cracks of two-dimensional characters and an uninspiring plot. The point is, technology is fascinating and relentlessly advancing. There is something addictive about utilizing it and on the contrary, not using it seems like a step backwards. If you can’t have an eureka moment zooming in to discover the ‘art’ molecule, why start an excavation that could hamper your ability in finding the ‘art’ in the painting later on?

The casualty of art reproduction is historically significant artworks that through over-documentation seem lacking in presence, or smaller than you imagined when you finally get to see them. Far from being an attack on Google Art Project, which is only marginally more guilty than a magazine or book, this article is symptomatic of the debate that has raged since the invention of photography and will continue to rage as 3D viewings of sculptures surely become possible in the not so distant future. The technological wheel will keep turning and bring us a great many things, greatest of all: accessibility to the masses. And I welcome it, but spare a passing thought for the death of the art ‘aura’, for we shall carry on regardless. I will leave you with a quote from Stephen Fry on the BBC documentary The Virtual Revolution, discussing the possible negative effects that the Internet could have on communication and personal relationships: “Some genies when they’re let out of the bottle can cause serious problems and certainly can’t ever go back in the bottle. When cars first arose, people were horrified at the deaths on the road, horrified! There were hundreds of people being squelched every day, it was grotesque. Did they say: “Oh well, that’s it then. We can’t have cars, I’m sorry.” In the same way as if someone says, “Actually these mobile phones do give out microwaves and they will give you brain cancer,” are we going to say: “Oh well, that’s the end of that technology then?” Not on your nelly.”

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Kathryn Evans Illustration

Emma Shoard

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Last year, the stately, disability-themed costume drama ‘The King’s Speech’ won the award for best picture at the Academy Awards; the year before, it was the intense war drama ‘The Hurt Locker’. Now, I’m sure that you, like me, sat through both of these films and considered them both Very Good Films. Important Films. Serious Films. But after the overwhelming solemnity of ‘The King’s Speech’, didn’t you just want to go home and stick on your DVD of ‘Mamma Mia!’? Or switch over and watch ‘The Only Way Is Essex’? And, Lord strike me down for saying this... didn’t you have much more fun?

Since the advent of film, there have been sharp divisions over the kind of material that is considered, broadly, ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Over time, this has evolved into more nuanced yet basically euphemistic terms: ‘art’ or ‘pulp’, ‘worthy’ or ‘trashy’. With the increasing importance of awards to the film industry, the lines started to become blurred and it seemed film-makers were filling in their tick boxes in order to make ‘worthy’ films. Consider this: Sean Penn or Jeff Bridges shout and gnash their teeth as a lawyer/ doctor/inside man who has to work against the system while his disabled and or slightly foreign wife played by Meryl Streep or Susan Sarandon cries a lot from the artfully lit darkness of their apartment. Sound familiar? Type in ‘Trailer for every award winning movie ever’ into youtube and you’ll realise why...

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Thomas Dearnley-Davison Illustration

Emma Fitzgerald

Now, zombie-thriller ‘The Evil Dead’ on the other hand, holds no such predictability. While it spawned many imitators, nothing can hold a candle to the somewhat haphazard terror of the 1981 film. Made on a budget of roughly twenty pence, production shut down with only half the film in the can and resumed months later without many of the original cast. Stand-ins, known as ‘fake shemps’ were used, shot from behind or, as conveniently as the film’s plot would facilitate, covered with heavy zombie make-up. This doppelganger effect serves to wrong-foot the audience and actually adds to the sense of horror. In the same way, the thick white

Of course, there will always be high-budget productions that are so bad they’re bad.

contact lenses the actors were forced to wear meant that they were essentially fighting blind - but if you watch the finished film this gives the creatures an extra terrifying element as they erratically flail about and indiscriminately swipe at the living. ‘The Evil Dead’ was released unrated due to its horrific content and was condemned in the UK as one of the first ‘video nasties’. Not bad for a low budget horror film. So as ever, the rich and the poor are always with us. Nominated alongside ‘The Hurt Locker’ and child-abuse misery-fest ‘Precious’ for best picture of 2009 was ‘The Blind Side’, the all-too familiar tale of a Nice White Lady taking in a black kid and turning his life around through a series of ever-increasing cliches. The film was roundly derided and Sandra Bullock was inexplicably awarded the best actress Oscar... but after sitting through the unremittingly downbeat tonality of the aforementioned films, I found the lighter touch of ‘The Blind Side’ to be the perfect tonic. Of course, there will always be high-budget productions that are so bad they’re bad. The ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ films are getting worse and worse, what the bejesus was ‘Alien vs. Predator’ even about, and have you ever tried sitting through an episode of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’? But even the most unrelenting film snob has to admit: sometimes, you have to love something because it’s so bad it’s good.