COLLABORATION Magazine by Madeleine Young

collaboration magazine

May 2012

ÂŁ8.00

col l ab o rati o n Editor In Chief and Art Director Madeleine Young

Creative Assistant and Picture Editor Gina Harrison

Graphic Design Assistant Anoosha Tadghighi

Sub Editor Danielle Nortje

With special thanks to Gina Harrison, Anoosha Tadghighi, Chen Man, David Hancock, Mark Colle, Ali Johnson, Kim Parslow, Ellie Jenkins, Jennifer Hope, Patt Nazemi, Sophia Probett, Nathan J. Haynes, Caroline Kisko, April Jones, Stephen Whitworth, Jennifer Wheeler, Josie Marie Denton, and Thomas Edward Kingston.

co nte nt 9-13 15-18 21-25 29-30 31-38 43-46 49-52 55-62 65-70 73-77 81

complimentary colours chen man love and water manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best friend? mark colle synthesis coalition fashionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best friend lift me up the future of fashion five best vs five worst duo

Liberty x Nike and Liberty x Dr. Martens available in store and online now

Photography and Styling: Madeleine Young Model and Make Up Artist: Gina Harrison

complimentary ccco o olllo o ouuurrrsss Collaboration’s vision of an exceptional relationship between colour on a lovely pair of lips...

black whi whittee

Bourjois noir et blanc eyeliner, £3.99, Sephora Illamasqua lipstick in Pristine, £15.50, Selfridges

orange

orange pink

pink

M.A.C lipstick in Morange, £13.50, Harrods M.A.C lipstick in Viva Nicki, £13.50, Harrods NARS blush in Taj Mahal, £21.00, Space NK

gold and silver gold and silver

Illamasqua Intense Lip Gloss in Galactic, £13.00, Selfridges NARS blush in Laguna, £21.00, Space NK Tom Ford Silvered Topaz Colour Quad, £62.00, Harrods CHANEL Illusion D’Ombre Eyeshadow, £22.50, Harrods

love and water

chen man

Photography by Chen Man

t’s not often that we hear of young, talented creatives skyrocketing into success so early on into their careers, and that’s what sets Chen Man apar t from the rest in her division. While studying Photography at Central Academy of Fine Ar ts in Beijing, Chen Man had already contr ibuted cover images to Shanghai-based fashion magazine’ Vision’ two years ahead of her graduation; from that point, she was destined for great things. It all seems to have star ted ver y quickly for the young, Chinese fashion photographer. She broke boundaries with her sequences of cover images for Chinese avantgarde publication, ‘Vision’; China had never seen anything similar to this before. Her cover s were heavily ar tistic, and she played upon the use of 3D image rendering to create glossy, innovative and experimental photography, an idea that had not been widely used at this time, especially in her native China. She set tongues wagging and transformed the Chinese way of perceiving life, beauty and culture through photography, and before long her work was of great popular demand. She had soon racked up a resume to be more than proud of, shooting editorials for the likes of Chinese Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and ELLE as well as campaigns for Nike and Adidas. This is exactly how Chen Man has become one of China’s most celebrated names in the industr y.

“I love the feeling of collaborations and I’m not a difficult person.” It’s late Februar y when we speak, and it’s safe to say that Chen has recently hit a career peak. She has recently shot a quar tet of covers for i-D magazine to celebr ate the diver sity of Chinese beauty, and of cour se the Chinese New

Image by MAC

Year, The Year of the Dragon. But she doesn’t stop there, and it’s recently been announced that Chen is launching a collaborative beauty collection with M.A.C Cosmetics, titled ‘Love and Water’ to be released in April. The collection consists of just about ever ything a woman may need in her make up bag, from eye shadows, pigments, lipsticks and glosses to mascara and nail lacquer s, the collection is centered around hues of cotton candy pinks and bold cobalt blues. “My favourite product from the collection has to be the mineralized eye shadow. The color and shape of the eye shadow looks like a yin-yang imprint, similar to that seen in Taoism, I feel this is something which has life to it.” Chen speaks of the M.A.C make up collection, “It’s inspired by and named after love and water ; it comes from ancient Chinese’ ideology - harmony between man and nature.

Love is conscious but invisible; water is material and tangible; and these are two main elements of the origin of life. Pink represents love and the West; blue represents water and the East.” Chen has an unparalleled take on life and the ear th; it’s amazingly refreshing to hear someone speak so highly of the World that we all live on. As so many in the creative industries are r ushing to make decisions on not so impor tant issues, Chen Man is highly spir itual, and is all about taking care of the environment and striving to make the wor ld a better place . Speaking to Chen is much comparable to a breath of fresh air, selfless and intelligent in her answers, she brings you right back down to ear th again. Noting “life itself“ as her main inspiration for all of her wor k, she also speaks of other influences close to her hear t, “I love traditional Chinese philosophy and culture; my

wor ks are based on Chinese culture, adapted by Western techniques. They offer a visual combination of contempor ar y inter national aesthetics and local cultur al sensibilities, achieved with “software” from the ancient Chinese culture, “hardware” from modern Wester n culture .” This is a subject that has no doubt heavily influenced her M.A.C project. When asked about her thoughts on collaborations as a whole, specifically those that she felt may not have wor ked so well, Chen coyly answered, “I love the feeling of collaborations and I’m not a difficult person, Chinese women are like water. Usually there is no ‘bad’ collaboration. We h ave a l r e a d y b e e n s p o i l e d by modern technology, so I don’t really like anything that’s not eco-friendly.” So what’s next for Chen? As her past career highlights are already incredibly astonishing, we can only hope that there will be much more great things ahead. Ecstatic from her current career highs, Chen takes a brief moment to compose her self and sighs, “I want to work with more elderly, listen to their stories, and wor k with more Chinese medicine masters, Taoist and Buddhist masters.” She carries on to say, “I want to wor k on traditional Chinese culture, the par t that’s useful to wor ld’s environmental protection, for balance between our hear t and the outside wor ld, using vision from the spoiled material civilization, to achieve visual exposition of the modern languages.” With her footprint firmly mar ked on the industr y, it seems the only way is up for Chen Man. With some admirable fashion moments already under her belt, Chen’s spirits are high for future collaborations. As she’s conquered the beauty scene by working alongside her most admired make up brand, Chen explains that she would enjoy a turn in collaborating with a fashion designer next, but who with? “I don’t have a real preference. Ever yone in fashion is a respected master, from the tailor shop master s around the street corner to the master s at fashion weeks. But master s can fail, just as ordinar y people can make success.”

Photography by Chen Man

Image by MAC

man’s best friend?

Image from Valentino: the last emporer

We really don’t like it when people who claim to love animals make a dog’s dinner out of breeding. COLLABORATION’s Madeleine Young explores the effects of inbreeding in today’s growing pedigree dog society, from competitive dog showing to every day breeding for a bit of cash..is the dog really man’s best friend?

T here are currently ten thousand pugs living in Britain. These 10,000

Image from glam.co.uk

pugs descend from just 50 dogs making them currently more genetically compromised than the Chinese giant panda. With the rise of the designer dog, there’s become a huge demand for pedigree pooches, from Chihuahuas to French Bulldogs; celebr ities are flaunting their canine pets at ever y given oppor tunity, and we all seem to have followed suit. In recent years we’ve seen French Bulldog’s strutting their stuff down the Mulberr y catwalk, Shih tzu’s taking centre stage in Louis Vuitton ad campaigns, and this season we saw designer boutique owner and television presenter Brix Smith-Star t’s beloved pug Gladys whip up the title of official canine correspondent for London Fashion Week. And who could forget the Queen of designer dogs,Paris Hilton, with her collection of 17 pint sized pooches? She is rarely seen in public without her beloved Tinkerbell, a shor t haired Chihuahua. Valentino owns six pugs,

one of which, Maude, travels with him ever ywhere without fail (even on his private jet), and another, Oliver, had a clothing line named after him by the Italian fashion designer. We’ve gone absolutely bar king mad bonker s for these little creatures. With number s of pedigree pets in Br itain’s households booming, we are also seeing rising numbers in the amount of puppies with potentially life threatening health defects which are down to carelessness of breeders, mating closely related dogs with one another. What’s really to blame for the amount of inbreeding going on in today’s UK society? Simple . Competitive dog showing. Breed r e g u l a t i o n s a t d o g s h ow s a r e s o strict that it has become the norm to own a pedigree pooch with serious health conditions. With dog show champions being used as studs for hundreds of litters across the UK, not only does it mean that ‘Best in show’ winner s are unhealthy specimens, it

also means that many of our pets in Britain’s homes have un healthy and potentially life threatening genes.

“the pugs with the curliest, double curl tails are likely to also have a curvature of the spine in the process” Did you think that the British Bulldog always had super squished, wrinkled little face? Think again. Back in the day, those adorable little mutts had lots of room to breathe with no excess skin and sizeable snouts. It’s the same for a lot of pedigree breeds these days, whether it be bad eyesight, uncomfor table breathing or epilepsy, not only are we failing to realise the defects that cer tain breeding techniques can cause , we’re also not doing much to help. We’re totally unaware that these aren’t characteristics tr ue to the breeds of our most loved pets. David Hancock, canine historian notes the vast changes in pedigree dogs over the year s “In just one hundred year s the Bulldog’s str ucture has changed dramatically. We can see in images from 1790, the Bulldog’s legs appear much longer, it’s body more lean, the head is in propor tion with the rest of the body, although heavy headed they had ample jaw length. There are no facial wrinkles, flat face or under bite. If we then compare this to the general conception of the modern British Bulldog, we can see that the skull has become larger but more cramped, meaning that the breed is now categorised as a ‘Brachycephalic’ animal.” Brachycephalic animals have a broad, shor t skull, and a flat facial area, tr aits mainly associated with breeds such as the Pug, Boston Terrier, Pekingese and the Boxer. When classified as Brachycephalic breed, this puts the breed into a categor y of its own containing a great number of health defects. Brachycephalic breeds are widely known to have a string of unhealthy attributes, mostly to do with their breathing due to their soft

Image from Louis Vuitton

palette mouths. It has become such an issue that inter national air line British Airways have stopped allowing passenger s taking their Bulldogs, Pugs and Pekingese dogs over seas via aeroplane. However, most breeders on the dog show circuit are creating dogs by following strict guidelines in order to create the ‘perfect’ specimens

“I would rather they were put down under my care than they land in the hands of the fighting people.” fit for shows. While this may create ‘flawless’ looking creatures on the outside, we cannot necessarily see what’s gone wrong on the inside straightaway. This is where the trouble lies, and frankly, it’s getting pretty serious. Some of Britain’s most popular breeds are on the brink of being named endangered species due to money gr abbing breeder s. These breeder s are mating father s with daughter s, mother s with sons, to invent aesthetics that shouldn’t and don’t exist naturally, because a dog cannot physically live with the side effects that these produce. All for a trophy. For example, judges at Cr ufts – the Wor ld’s largest annual dog championship event - state that

for an owner to enter their pug into the contest, the dog’s aesthetic must cohere with cer tain distinguishing features, such as a cur ly tail. It is in ‘The Kennel Club’s Breeding Standards’ book that the judges and par ticipants gain the ‘correct’ specifications, much like a bible to those who are hardcore attendees. The Breeding Standards lays down a specific set of r ules that a dog should display in order to be entered into a contest. Using the Pug as an example, it suggests that the tail should “cur l over its back”, and it is also “highly desirable if the tail cur ls into a double ‘cor kscrew’ like position”. While breeders are putting their upmost effor ts into producing this double cur l tail aesthetic, and inbreeding along the way, not only are there dangerous health consequences to most of the pups they produce, the pugs with the cur liest tails are likely to also have a cur vature of the spine in the process. This is just one example of the health defects causing inbred pedigree dogs unbearable pain and discomfor t in their ever yday lives. In recent year s, when tackled by Jemima Har r ison and her team of producers for ‘Pedigree Dogs Exposed’ a 2008 BBC production created to highlight the concerns that unhealthy pedigree dogs were being entered into contest, breeders simply referred to their scientific research as “com-

plete rubbish” and refused to believe anything that they put forward. “At first we gave them the benefit of the doubt, as we knew that this (showing dogs) was a big par t of their lives. But they soon star ted becoming rude and obnoxious towards us, and point blank refusing to believe anything we told them about the health of cer tain breeds, even though we had all the scientific evidence to back it up.” Jemima Harrison, producer of PDE explained. After the documentar y was broadcast, the BBC dropped Cr ufts from their schedule after showing the event on the channel for over 40 years, and Channel 4 have since taken over rights to the show. Respected char ities and br ands such as the RSPCA, the Dogs Trust and Pedigree pet food all withdrew sponsor ship to the Cr ufts event after the BBC production was shown. Rhodesian Ridgebacks are another pedigree breed of many that are slowly becoming more and more de fo r m ed du e to th e n e gl i gen c e of breeder s creating and spreading mutations across the breed. According to the Breeding Standards, ever y Rhodesian Ridgeback must have the defining feature of the ridge across their back, stating that “The ridge must be regarded as the escutcheon of the breed.” Although 1 in 20 Rhodesian Ridgeback’s are born without a ridge. 26

Image from stylesaint.com

This feature is not essential to the breed, and it has been discovered that dogs with this feature are in the ear ly stages of a spinal disorder, Spina Bifida to be exact. But The Kennel Club are unable see it this way. Another alar ming discover y raised by the BBC production ‘Pedigree Dogs Exposed’ uncovered that Rhodesian Ridgeback breeder Ann Woodrow culled puppies that were born without ridges, claiming, “We have trouble with younger vets who tend to see things in black and white, and won’t put them down because they usually say ‘It’s a healthy, beautiful puppy, there’s nothing wrong with it except it hasn’t a ridge.’ But they’re supposed to have ridges. So usually we have to end up going to an older vet that we’ve known for year s and have them quietly put to sleep. I would rather they were put down under my care than they land in the hands of the fighting people.” And this is the chilling realisation of the dog exhibitor breeders of today. The obvious approach to tackle this dilemma would be for the Kennel Club to accept defeat and change the specifications for all breeds in the Breeding Standards, and to follow suit of the Swedish Kennel Club

and ban all mother to son, father to daughter, grandfather to granddaughter inbreeding in the countr y. But officials from The Kennel Club say that they cannot tell breeder s what to do, as it will “drive them away.” Although recently, there was slight progress, with The Kennel Club making minor changes to the Breeding Standards of British Bulldogs. Instead of insisting the breed had a “massive” head, this was dismissed and instead changed to “large”. This is hardly the immense breakthrough that we were all hoping for, but at least it’s a small step in the r ight direction for changes in the current Breeding Standards. Although we are still waiting on changes in the Breeding Standards, Cr ufts 2012 saw a magnificent development. Vet checks held by the British Veterinar y Association (BVA) became an essential practice on 15 ‘high profile’ breeds before they could be entered into the Best of Breed categor y. The Basset Hound, German Shepherd Dog, Pekingese, Pug and Bulldog were just some of the 15 breeds that were under fire at the event. Caroline Kisko, The Kennel Club Secretar y spoke of the new developments “We are determined to ensure that the show r ing is a positive force for change and that we

help to move breeds forward by only rewarding the healthiest examples of a breed. The veterinar y checks were introduced to ensure that dogs with exagger ated features do not win prizes.” Out of the 15 breeds that were checked over, the Bulldog and Pekingese contestants were deemed unfit for show. “The independent veterinar y surgeon decided that the Pekingese and Bulldog should not pass their checks and therefore they did not receive their Best of Breed awards and will not be representing their breeds in the remainder of the competition.” Kisko explained. While these practices are a positive step in the right direction for the show ring, this doesn’t stop breeder s following cer tain guidelines and specifications to create cosmetically sound canines. Although for some dog exhibitors, the veterinar y checks may make them think twice about entering unhealthy dogs into contest, inbreeding is still happening in Britain. Now we need to concentrate on pushing the Kennel Club to adjust the Breeding Standards so that breeding can become a healthier and safer practice for the future of pedigree breeds.

ERDEM x START stuffed toy pug, ÂŁ120, Available exclusively at start-london.com

mark colle

Images from Style.com

We asked the Belgian florist about his blossoming talent, collaboration with Jil Sander, and his thoughts on friend Raf Simons shifting over to Christian Dior.

hen asked about the most memorable fashion highlight of this season, you can bet that many reply with a similar answer. In February it was announced that Raf Simons’ seven-year reign at Jil Sander would be coming to an end after his Autumn/Winter 2012 collection. Fashion editors across the globe eagerly anticipated the final show, but nobody could have prepared for the emotional goodbye to this illustrious designer. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house, and when the show closed with an encore wave from Raf, onlookers spread into a wild round of applause for the man who has truly transformed the Jil Sander brand. The final collection was effortless and ethereal, cloaks fastened by the hands of the models as they walked. But what made the show so simple yet so elegant was the setting, Raf decided on accompanying his looks with six original flower arrangements by florist Mark Colle to complement his work, a collaboration that will go down in history as arguably Raf ’s finest display to date. “It was hard for me to keep my eyes dry during the show” Colle explains his memories of

the occasion, “Although I was enjoying that my work was on display and involved in such a beautiful way, the emotion flying around that room was so high.” For Colle, a florist since his early teens, this collaboration was an enormous breakthrough in his creative career. A humble Belgian florist who owns a flower store named ‘Baltimore’ in Antwerp, this task was something that he had never imagined of pursuing. “I have never done something like this before, but I didn’t feel out of my depth. I’ve arranged flowers from a young age, it is my life, I was excited by the challenge.”

flect on the collection; Raf wanted me to highlight the romance, femininity and fragility of his designs, so that’s what I tried to encapsulate into all of the arrangements.”

So how did this unusual challenge come about for the relatively unknown florist? “Raf is an old friend of mine, he comes to my store regularly. He phoned me a couple of weeks before his show and asked if I could collaborate with him and to create some flower arrangements. I hadn’t seen any of the clothes; I was only shown swatches of the fabrics and colour palettes. That’s all I had to go by.” He went on to explain what Simons had asked of him, “Raf asked for the arrangements to be abstract so that’s why we used the plexiglass cubes. All of the arrangements had to be different and re-

The fashion industry waited in anticipation to see what Raf woulwd do next. Rumours were flung around but no body knew for sure. On April 9th, the rumors were confirmed, that Simons was set to take over from John Galliano as Artistic Director at Christian Dior. His first couture collection for the house will be unveiled in Paris in July. “Although many talk about him being missed at Jil Sander, I am so happy for him, he will do great things.” Mark beamed, “I am over the moon that I had the opportunity to work with such a magnificent creative at such a great time in his career.”

The show was, of course, a phenomenal success, with editors such as Anna Dello Russo sighting the occasion as “A real fashion moment.” Mark was not alone in his thoughts, “Everything worked perfectly together, the music, the flowers, the clothes, and the fact that it was Raf ’s last collection made it so much better. It was a great collaboration.”

SYNTH ESIS Welcome to the bi-annual platform for up and coming creatives to express what and who in the industry animates their work. We asked the same questions to seven young professionals in order to learn what makes their brain tick. A fusion of the arts often produces wonderful magic.

fashion photographer Ali Johnson

Ali Johnson Photography for Alyyson Arscott

Ali Johnson is a 21 year old fashion photography student from Bath who will be graduating this summer. With an impressive amount of published work under her belt (Vogue.co.uk, Kerrang! and HELLO! Magazine to name a few) she is destined for great things in the industry. COLLABORATION talked through music, actress’, fashion, books and architecture with Ali and came to the conclusion that she belongs in a music video dutty wining... who ’ s music do you listen to the most ?

I can only describe my music taste as bi-polar. I love ever ything from 90’s House , Death metal to char t music. A song that can physically affect me in any way, whether that be banging my head or dutty wining is my favourite! are there any actress ’ or ac tors that you admire ?

Nicole Kidman, physically she’s ver y delicate yet the roles she tends to play are ver y destr uctive and seductive.

who is your favourite fashion designer ?

It has to be Alexander McQueen. As it is commonly known he was influenced by his dreams/nightmares, many of which involved birds and mor tality. To physically address your fear s and desires by making them into clothing is one thing, but to then transgress this notion by empowering the female form was just outstanding. I also have three ver y talented females in my life who are within design: Felicity Per kins, Alyyson Ar scott and Camila Stanford who all have their own creative flare and style. a r e t h e r e a n y w r i t e r s t h at you admire ?

Roland Bar thes, Char lotte Cotton and Susan Sontag. All three have embodied the essence of photography, I find it ver y hard to turn a picture into words and those three writer s achieve it perfectly.

what is your favourite all time favourite book ?

Probably Nick Knight’s book, It’s ver y unlikely i’ll be buying one of his original prints anytime soon so owning the book is like having a ver y small slice of his genius! Ever y page is painfully beautiful, as I am beyond jealous of his talent yet in awe of it at the same time. I’m also purchasing Marilyn Manson’s autobiography for holiday reading, he really intrigues me. are there any stand out build ings with infrastructure that you particularly admire ?

Any churches, I am not religious in any way but the sheer time and design behind them is amazing. My uncle specialises in stained glass windows for churches, the time taken for just one small section a window to be painted is insane and naturally if you make any mistakes there’s no eraser. So I have a lot of time and respect for churches.

interior designer Kim Parslow

Interior design by Kim at abitalia.co.uk

Kim Parlsow is a 24 year old interior designer from Gloucester. She has worked on a number of interior projects with Abitalia, the company she currently works for. She’s also an avid blogger, who writes daily posts on sweetmondayblog.blogspot.com. COLLABORATION asked Kim about fashion, actors, art and magazines to reveal her favourites which ultimately led her to sharing her all time blogging goal. tell us about your favourite fashion brand ...

Right now I am loving Motel Rocks. I have followed the brand from their beginning, star ting off in Br istol many year s ago, they are now one of the biggest womenswear brands in the wor ld. They still have their original boutique in Bristol but it’s so fun to see them now being sold in stores in the US and being worn by celebritiess such as Kendall Jen-

ner. Amazing! Love it when a home grown UK brand makes it.

buy his cards for friends and family when any event crops up.

are there any actors or ac tresses who inspire your work ?

which magazines do you read the most ?

M y f av o u r i t e a c t o r o f a l l t i m e would have to be the legendar y late Heath Ledger. I probably own ever y film he’s ever been in, my favourite being 10 Things I Hate About You. Classic American high school film that was a huge par t of my childhood. who is your favourite artist ?

My favourite ar tist is more of an illustrator/craftsman, Rob Ryan. He produces the most intricate, beautifully designed cut out cards. A few friends of mine did a project on him at Univer sity and said he was one of the coolest people they’d met. Ever since I have always tried to

Company hands down is my favourite magazine right now. They’ve recently changed the paper they use, it may sound sad but I love little details like that. The over all style , design and feel to the magazine is ver y ar ty with that ‘green’ feeling. And as for content I love the fact that Company magazine includes lots of blogger s! They regularly feature blogger friends of mine and heavily include street style snippets. It’s a great outlet for young gir ls to find inspir ation in other s similar to them rather than celebrities. Being a blogger myself I think getting a feature in Company magazine is my all time blogging goal.

illustrator ‘Autumn’ illustration by Ellie Jenkins

Ellie Jenkins

Ellie Jenkins graduated from the University of Falmouth in 2010. She is now a freelance illustrator, and has since racked up a portfolio to be prooud of, working on projetcs from Tilda Rice packaging to childrens illustrations for Foyles book shop. COLLABORATION uncovers Ellie’s favourites in the world of books, fashion, music and films to un cover an array of thought provoking confessions... you illustrate for many chil d r e n ’ s b o o k s , w h at i s yo u r favourite book or author ?

M y f avo u r i t e b o o k i s D o g g e r by Shir ley Hughes. Yes, it’s a kids book, but I think it inspired me to become an illustrator (along with many more picture books) and I still love it at the age of 24! It is a timeless classic.

w h at f a s h i o n l i n e s d o yo u most admire ?

I’m ver y fashion minded, I prefer to shop in smaller boutiques, char ity shops etc but I do love Pull and Bear. I their clothes are a little different to the rest of the high street and they are not horrendously expensive, I’d love to wor k with them!

what is your all time favourite film ?

Probably Howl’s Moving Castle made by Studio Ghibli. All of their films have great mor al’s behind them and the animation is beautiful. I am always amazed by the concept of the amazing moving Castle and think it has been great inspiration to me as an illustrator.

what is your favourite b and , how does this help with your illustration work ?

It changes depending on my mood or the time of the year, but at the moment The Shins because they remind me of the summer and the beach in Falmouth.

fashion designer Jennifer Hope

Tom Barnes Photography for Jennifer Hope

Jennifer Hope is definitely one to watch, an Oxford born fashion designer who works specifically on creating digital print designs, she also designs on a freelance basis. After representing her university at the Mulberry Graduate Competition last year, she has recently been working on her ASOS Marketplace store and expanding her brand as a whole. COLLABORATION asked Jen about music, actors, films and books, and we discovered her raging inner geek... what kind of music do you like to listen to while working ? d o yo u h av e a n y fav o u r i t e musicians ?

I’ve always been into ar tists whose lyrics are about real life rather than love songs. I love the UK movement of ar tists at the moment such as Devlin, Professor Green, Ed Sheeran,

Yasmin. I do have a bit of a soft spot for Devlin but I also really like his music. His lyrics are always real which people can relate to and he executes it with so much passion that is why his music is so powerful. who is your favourite actor and why ?

It sounds a bit cliche but I believe Johnny Depp is one of the best actors we have had for a long time. I think this due to be able to transform into so many different roles without even noticing it’s him means how good at his wor k he is. tell us about your favourite film ...

My favour ite film is and I have a

feeling will always be The Fellowship of the Ring from Lord of The Rings. Films bring out my inner geek. I love fantasy films like LOTR as it gives me a form of escapism. Weirdly LOTR feels like it happened thousands of years ago although I think I’d just like to believe it was real. what is your all time favourite book to read ?

I love all of the Lord of the Rings books as well as the fir st book The Silmarillion by J.R.R.Tolkien. Tolkien creates some of the best character s, which is probably why I love the films so much too. Embarrassingly also one of my favourite books is “The Dir t” which is the autobiographical book of Motley Cr ue’s lives!

d j /m u s i c i a n

Image by Kluens Photography

Patt ‘Postman’ Nazemi

Patt started out as vocalist and guitarist in Blackchalk, but soon realised that part of the music industry didn’t suit. He gained a part time job as a promoter for up and coming club night ‘Propaganda’which has since expanded internationally, as far as Sydney. He now travels the world as a DJ under the name ‘The Postman’ for Propaganda, and rarely spends more than one night in any city. COLLABORATION asked the postee about pretty much everything BUT music... w h at fa s h i o n l a b e l s d o yo u prefer to wear ?

Is it wrong that I don’t have a specific favourite design or clothing label? I only ever seem to wear black skinnies on my legs, plain skater shoes on my feet, and any black

tee that makes my man-boobs look as reduced as possible, all finished off with a tacky gir ls necklace . If there’s a designer out there that JUST sells those clothes in ONE shop, I’m sold. who is your favourite actor / adctress ?

J e n n i fe r A n i s t o n b e c a u s e o f h e r incredible habit of wearing no bra. For real. what tv shows do you watch most often ? why ?

makes me cr y ever y time. what magazines do you read most for inspiration ?

I genuinely don’t read magazines. I don’t get a tremendous amount of spare time and I have the attention span of a bee. I like pictures though.. d o yo u h av e a f av o u r i t e artist / illustrator ?

Chris (Simpsons Ar tist) One of the most inspirational ar tists of this centur y. Honestly, next Picasso.

Fr iends. Why? See second answer above. any writers that you admire ?

Larr y David. Curb your Enthusiasm

stylist

Sophia Probett Image by Ivory Jar

21 year old Sophia Probett is a fashion styling and photography student at London College of Fashion who’s graduating this summer. She has recently styled a complete lookbook for East London clothing brand Ivory Jar and is currently styling for online vintage store, voutique.couk which launches in May. COLLABORATION asked Sophia about architecture, art, books, music and films, and as it turns out, she’s really into Vegas and 90’s gangster rap... w h at a r c h i t e c t u r e d o yo u admire ? do you have a favou rite city ?

When I was doing an internship, I was running around all day and I used to see some of the amazing hidden places of London. Sometimes really pretty buildings pass us by, that’s why I love sitting on the top deck of the bus. However, Las Vegas and New Yor k are two places I really want to go back and visit again, I love all the lights and the tackiness of Las Vegas, it’s amazing. who is your favourite artist ?

Although she gets a lot of stick, Tr acey Emin. I think she’s a really interesting char acter and athough her wor k is sometimes questionable, she really grabs her audience and makes a statement in a really femine and br ash way. I also love Maggie Hambling’s figure paintings. what do you like to read ?

Im not a massive reader, I’ve got a really shor t attention span so I tend to read newspaper s or magazines more. My favourite magazine is LOVE, the editorials in that magazine are beautiful ever y issue. I love it’s size and glossy-ness too! w h at m u s i c d o yo u l i k e to listen to ?

I don’t really have a favourite band as I have such eccleptic taste, I was a right indie kid when I was younger so play that for nostalgic reasons along with the ocassionl Spice Gir l 39

tune. But in the past two year s I’ve got really into my 80’s and 90’s hip hop. Public Enemy and Biggie are my favourites right now. do you have a favourite film ?

Yes! Clueless. I was obsessed with it when I was younger and never stoped

watching it! Cher definetly is my style icon – I love the styling in the film, I think that’s one of the main reasons along with the amazing one liners. I used to spend hours creating Cher outfits when I was 9.

film maker

Image by Nathan J. Haynes

Nathan Haynes

Nathan J. Haynes is a 24 year old cinematographer from the South West of England. Predominantly working as a documentarian within film., Nathan specialises in directing and editing, as well as holding a keen intrest in photography. COLLABORATION asked Nathan about magazines, fashion, writers, art and music and uncovered his finest interests in the areas, including his urge to create music.... what magazines do you read ?

I gener ally read lots of different magazines, National Geographic is the most read magazine on the shelf in my room but I generally like to pick up anything and have a flick through. do you have a favourite actor or actress ?

There are so many amazing actor s and actresses out there at the mom e n t a n d t o n a m e my f avo u r i t e would be an impossible task, but the most influential actor for me would be Heath Ledger, as a method actor

he produced some outstanding work and as a person his life was intriguing and endearing. who is your favourite designer ?

As for fashion I can appreciate it and I cer tainly love to look at hand crafted leathers and denims, but to be honest I’m a cord shir t and a Levis denim jacket type of guy just r ummaging through vintage shops on weekends. a r e t h e r e a n y w r i t e r s t h at you admire ?

I only tend to read biographies as I find people so interesting especially when it is like a crafted por trait of someone’s life, that said I would say that the most enjoyable read for me was ‘Heath, a Family’s Tale’ by Janet Fife-Yeomans. who is your favourite artist ?

capturing people, live music and having obscure takes on a por trait image, str aying away from por tr aits. I do have a passion for Wildlife and Csaba Tököly is by far the most talented Wildlife Photographer in my opinion. who is your favourite musician or b and and why ?

Ever y minute of the day I am intrigued and captured by Music, I find that now I have come to a point when I am listening to music, I’m thinking that it would wor k great with these different visuals. My most recent film that will be released this coming July, ‘A Way of Life’ took on the role of creating its own soundtrack; wor king with two outstanding musicians has been a real fun and organic process. It is an amazing feeling writing music to a film and I am looking forward to producing more soundtracks.

For me Danny Clinch would be the most inspiring His wor k focuses on 40

C OA L I T I O N

The 2010 election votes echoed a society in a state of confusion, and we all know what happened next. The coalition gover nment was bor n and the outcome was a Conser vative/Liberal Democrat g ove r n m e n t . I t d i d n ’ t l o o k t o o prosperous from the get go. Two governments forced to gel together with hugely conflicting ideas, came under much media scrutiny. People of the United Kingdom were asking countless questions, how were these 45

two par ties going to work together, and more impor tantly, how were they going to wor k in sync and be able to improve Britain? Were they going to stick to their original proposed policies, or were these now completely thrown out of the window? If so, why did we vote for these par ties in the fir st place? The Liberal Democratics proposed a union free of univer sity fees for yo u n g s t e r s w h e n t r y i n g t o b a g a place as the main gover nment p a r t y. S i n c e c o l l a b o r a t i n g w i t h the Conser vatives into a coalition par ty this has been far from the case. Having to pick up many of the Conser vative proposals, most of the Lib Dems morals and views have been disregarded and undermined by the new coalition government relationship, especially concerning the creative industries in our society. This has caused many people to lose respect for the par ty, and not only their voter s but people all over the countr y, especially the majority of students that voted for them, believing that they may be able to scrap or at least lower the univer sity tuition fees. Before the decision to raise univer sity tuition fees was officially passed, I’m sure you’ll remember

the thousands of protestor s that took to the streets of London to tr y and barricade the policy from proceeding. Violence, outrage and anger amongst furious teens swar med Westminster, hundreds of arrests were made and troublemaker s including David Gilmour of Pink Floyd’s son were suitably cautioned. Despite all of this mayhem, Cameron and Clegg refused to back down, and the policy was signed. The protests managed to carr y wide spread publicity to the cause, and although some activists let the side down and went a little too crazy, the peaceful protestor s generally did a great job in raising awareness. Along with dental, medical and millions of students, huge numbers of soon-to-be young professionals – some going into product design de g re e s , s o m e i n t o fi ne ar t, or fashion related qualifications are all being forced to pay the absolute top maximum fee price to study their creative subjects. Not only are these people ambitious, they are the future for our society and our economical climate. If we suppress their chances of a normal, uninterr upted, affordable option to go to univer sity, who knows what the future holds for our economy? The

Image by David Iliff

I t w a s a t r o u bl e d t i m e fo r o u r countr y. 2010, the Labour par ty had r uled our UK society for 13 year s and had finally r un the financial economy right into the ground. We were in need of drastic help and ounces of change to take our countr y to the top, where it belonged. Over the cour se of the election, we heard many positive speeches f r o m g ove r n m e n t p a r t i e s , e a c h claiming to be able to un-do what the Labour par ty had achieved, and bring a better standard of living to the UK along the way. During these times of election, the public are thr ust into a boxing ring of bur ly government par ties, punching the lights out of each others proposed schemes, all of which sound absolutely fabulous but we are unsure whether to believe.

Depar tment for Culture, Media and Spor t released statistics at the end of 2011 showing that the creative industries in the UK bring in 2.89% of the UK’s gross value added, which acclaims to around £37 billion a year to our economy. There are currently 1.50 million people employed in the creative industr ies in the UK, this is including career s in adver tising, architecture, ar t and antiques, crafts, design, designer fashion, film and video, interactive leisure software, music, the performing ar ts, publishing, software and computer ser vices and television and radio. In 2009, the UK fashion industr y alone was estimated to have directly contributed a massive £20.9 billion to the UK economy. This, along with the 12 different areas of the creative industries booming, the total amount contributing towards our government is generating enormous profits. And what do the government do? Implement 100% cuts on the creative education system, that’s what. Forfeiting oppor tunities for young creatives to flourish, our economy to strive, just what is our coalition government tr ying to achieve? We can only wait for the outcome, which may take several years to really take an impact. By cutting gr ants and benefits to a cur rent system may save money right now, the long-term effect could be a devastating knock to our countr y.

“Britain has 29% of the global art and antiques market and it is the second largest market in the world”

But it’s not just about the univer sity fees being raised, or cuts to grants for specific subjects at schools across the countr y; many other sector s are facing long-ter m damage too. UK film maker s are also feeling the cr unch, although largely backed by National Lotter y funding, the British Film Council has also been subject to extreme cuts, even though statistics show that the UK film industr y creates near ly 70,000 jobs in the UK, generating 0.24% of the UK’s gross value added. Britain has 29% of the global ar t and antiques mar ket and

it is the second largest market in the wor ld. The British ar t and antiques market generated £7.7 billion in sales last year and directly suppor ts over 60,000 jobs. In the UK, cultural workers tend to be more highly educated than the wider labour force. The 48% of workers in the creative sector have had a univer sity education, which in comparison with 31% of the general UK labour force, is much higher. In the top-tier ar t auction houses, it is estimated that 88% of employees have had some kind of univer sity education.

“David Cameron should not allow ill-conceived ideology to trump the national interest.” The growth of the ar t mar ket for our society doesn’t stop there, The International Passenger Sur vey revealed that in 2010 7.4 million visitors from over seas visit museums or ar t galleries. With London’s ar t mar ket booming, it has becoming an international hub for tourists interested in the mar ket. Over half of tourists in London visit ar t venues during their stay. Without these industries striving in today’s mar kets, our countr y would be at a huge financial loss. If it wasn’t for all of the talented, accomplished citizens working in these industries, profits may not have been as high as they have been If those people working did not have an equal chance to go to university and study for something that they felt hugely passionate about, potentially we may have lost numbers of great talent, and in turn lost a staggering amount of money for the UK’s economy. This is something we must star t thinking about, as we all know, the univer sity fees have tripled in price , star ting from this September 2012. “Suppor ting creativity should be an integr al par t of str iving for the highest educational standards. It is also central to the future success of our economy and society.” Labour MP Ivan Lewis explained of the coalition gover nment cuts on education, “Education reform rooted in high standards must ensure young

Image by David Jones

people are suppor ted to develop their creative talent and prepared for the oppor tunities of the digital age. David Cameron should not allow ill-conceived ideology to tr ump the national interest.” A group of well-known ar tists in the industr y from Sir Patrick Stewar t to Lord David Puttnam have come together and created a group to petition against the education cuts. They’ve been keeping a close eye on the updates, and also fear that the creativity of UK children is at a great risk,

“We urge ministers to adopt policies which will ensure that creativity is at the heart of what our education offers.” “We are concerned that recent developments, including the phasing out of teaching grants for ar ts degrees, send out the wrong message.” The group added this message for the Tor y-Lib Dem government, “We urge minister s to adopt policies which will ensure that creativity is at the hear t of what our education offer s. For many young people, their passion for learning is ignited when they’re provided with the oppor tunity to express themselves.” Although the policies have now been determined, many are still fighting for these to be rever sed in order to protect our futures and to give the children of today a fair choice in their chosen career paths. Seventeen year old April Jones has been undergoing the univer sity application process with UC AS in recent months. Although she and many other s are being hit fir st by the tuition fee rise , she is still determined to go to univer sity to study English and in turn, wants to make a career for her self as a journalist, “Initially I thought twice about applying for univer sity because of the fee rise, I want to be a journalist and you don’t necessarily need a degree to become one . I thought about different routes, like going abroad to study as it’s not much more expensive in the long

r un. I don’t think it’s fair on us as the younger generation, especially as people before us have had the chance to do the same cour se at a lower price. It’s definitely put a lot of my friends off of going to univer sity and they’re just going to tr y and get jobs straight away instead of following their dreams, but now they’re up against gr aduates who h ave de g re e s fo r t h o s e jobs . I t’s tough.”Nick Clegg spoke publically of the tuition fee reform, “We have stuck to our ambition to make sure that going to univer sity is done in a progressive way so that those people who are presently discouraged from going to univer sity – bright people from poor backgrounds, discouraged by the system we inherited from her gover nment – are able to do so.” Cameron also spoke out about the reform, claiming that he thinks, “It’s clear that long-ter m, responsible reform of higher education means making it more sustainable, by asking successful graduates who go on to earn a good salar y to make a bigger contribution.”

“It’s definitely put a lot of my friends off of going to university “ But although many graduates may be on a higher salar y than non-university goer s, the real factor in the whole reform is that univer sity educations will not only cost more, students will end up paying more money back in total in the long r un. This is still the case even if the government have reinvented the pay back scheme to become more ‘fair’ – for example , gr aduates don’t star t paying back their student debt until they earn over £21,000 instead of the current £15,000. Of cour se, this factor does help poorer students go to univer sity and pay off their debts in a more sustainable way, but by simply putting the tuition fee price up to maximum for the majority of UK universities is putting many students off from applying, meaning thousands of students are missing out on one of the greatest oppor tunities in life. 48

Image from vogue.com

Fashion’s BFF karl lagerfeld

Become a fashion designer’s muse and you automatically become the envy of ever y girl. Not only are you eventually dressed head to toe in their label, the face of their brand and the inspiration behind their newest collection, you are their friend. And what brand is most yearned by fashion lover s? Chanel, of course. In this issue we are going to explore Kar l Lagerfeld and his numerous muses over the span of his hugely successful career at the Parisian house . From Alexa Chung to Baptiste Gaibiconi, actresses to singer s, Kar l has befr iended them all. Fair enough, we all loved Blake Lively and Lily Allen way before their face-of-Chanel career peaks, but as soon as they were swanning around on Kar l’s wing, they seemed to have gained a bulky amount of extra je ne sais quois. Whether it’s the smug little gr ins on their faces or that Chanel haute couture sequin dress that Blake was seen wearing at the Soho boutique opening in New York, we’re eternally jealous of them yet 52

Images by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Europe

we’re all completely in awe of them now that they’re under the Lagerfeld spell. It’s as if Kar l can completely re invent these people, and at the same time manages to re invent his Chanel brand. Blake brought a breath of fresh air to Chanel, comparing her gir l next-door image to the classic, timeless looks of Audrey Tatou and Keira Knightley, he took a wild risk but pulled it off as he always seems to. The same goes for Lily Allen, a wild, potty-mouthed young girl from ‘Landan’; Kar l established her face in charge of promoting the Wor ld’s most coveted handbags, and again, along with his playful ad campaign with Miss Allen, it surprisingly worked. Wo m e n d r e s s t o i m p r e s s o t h e r women, and that’s why Kar l’s handpicked, insanely attractive entourage of muses works for Chanel’s sales. His eye for potential is key to the brand, he picked up Alexa Chung fresh out of the T4 studios, dressed her up in a Chanel tweed suit and now she’s a worldwide fashion icon. Karl loves to get stuck right into things, he doesn’t employ people to find these muses, he seeks them out himself, and creates a relationship of his own. “I love Alexa!” Kar l told Vogue in 2010. “If someone asks me who is a modern gir l for me today, Alexa should be the one! The way she looks, the way

she talks and acts. She does a lot of things at the same time; she is ver y talented and does it in a perfect way. She is beautiful and clever!” For his underwater themed Spring Summer 2012 collection Kar l emp l oye d n o n e o t h e r t h a n mu s i c a l maestro Florence Welch to perform ‘What The Water Gave Me’ from her underwater themed album whilst emerged in a giant clam, a la Botticelli’s Venus. Speaking to AnOther magazine , Florence described how she became Kar l’s inspiration, vision and muse for his Spring/Summer 2012 collection, “It was funny because Karl and I were doing a shoot for Japanese Vogue, where I was talking about the underwater themes in my record, and he was saying how he wanted to do an underwater theme for his show. Then he said: ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if you came down on a big wire like you were floating?’ and I was like: ‘What?’ And he said: ‘We can get all these harps together...’ and all these ideas were coming to him just really off the cuff… so I thought he was joking and then he put his hand on mine and said: ‘Ok, so we’ll do it, I’m glad we talked.’ ” Ladies and gentlemen, if you were wondering how to become one of Karl’s muses, it really can be as easy as that.

lift me up Photography & Styling: Madeleine Young Models: Gina Harrison & Stephen Whitworth

Pink blouse, ÂŁ39.99, Zara Pink blazer, ÂŁ79.99, Zara

Floral blouse, £29.99 Zara Floral shorts, £29.99, Zara CHANEL earrings, models own Ray Ban glasses, £180, David Clulow Grey cardigan, Vince, £350, Harrods

Pink blazer, £79.99, Zara Pink blouse, £39.99, Zara Tweed shorts, £19.99, Zara Navy suit blazer, £249, T M Lewin Navy suit trousers, £100, T M Lewin Lilac shirt, £30, Uniqlo

LEFT Grey cardigan, Floral shirt, Floral shorts, Accessories same as before. Cream shirt, £40, Geoffery Bean Blue jeans, £215, 7 For All Mankind Brown boots, £124.99, Sebago THIS PAGE Floral shirt, Glasses, Earrings, Grey cardigan, Cream shirt - same as before.

age by fashionmagazine.com

the future of fashion COLLABORATION explores the shared vision between creatives and clothing at shows, and toys with the idea of the fashion week schedule that we all know and love transferring onto the internet.

Prada, Louis Vuitton, Chanel are some of the biggest names amongst hundreds at fashion week. Their shows are not only each season’s ‘ones to watch’ they exudes the meaning of ‘show’. Theatrical, extraordinar y, somewhat of a fantasy performance, models are not only expected to simply walk down the catwalk, they are now asked to act scenes and perform, like something from a Broadway theatre show. The sets are not simply a room paved with audience benches, now they hold giant cr ystal statues and fairground carousels. The future of fashion shows as we knew them is something way more than just an exhibition of clothing. They

are here to enter tain, to captivate the audience and to grab interest from ever y corner of the public eye. Nobody wants to see clothes simply slung on to models walking down a catwalk; people’s thirst for amusement and a distraction from ever y day life has become so strong that designer labels are striving to achieve bigger and better results, competing against one another each season to create the show with the most media frenzy. However, wanting to create the most talked about show of the season is nothing new, but some designer s h ave g o n e t o s u c h g r e a t l e n g t h s that it has raised the bar for future fashion week productions. Take Louis

Vuitton’s Autumn Winter 2012 show, Creative Director Faye McLeod took us back to the early 1900’s where we saw a real steam train car bellowing into the show space in Paris. If anybody doubted her being able to top the fairground merr y-go-round, this cer tainly showed us that she can undoubtedly pull off anything. In an inter view with On|Off TV, Faye Mcleod recently explained how her visions become reality in producing the show sets and windows for one of the biggest globally recognised brands in the Wor ld, and how she collabor ates with creatives across the brand to create something

extremely special for the audience and the consumer s, “We’ve got six maisons in the Wor ld that are on all of the major streets; New Bond Street, Fifth Avenue , Omotesande , Canton Road, Plaza 66 and Champs D’elysee. So we’ve got these stores, for me they’re like six temples, little Vuitton temples that are major. Their architecture is all different, they’ve got these eight meter high windows, 12 windows r unning, you look at New Bond Street and it’s got this gold façade, they’re all

“they’re like six temples, little Vuitton temples that are major.” spectacles. Peter Marino’s architecture is beautiful; ever ything’s a real statement.” Faye carried on to talk about bringing the show aesthetic to

the windows of the world-renowned stores for the ever y day public, “If yo u ’r e t r ave l l i n g b e t w e e n t h e s e cities like a lot of people do, you want to be wowed. So you’ve got six maisons with a bespoke creative. We work on the show; we then take that creative into the windows. We (Faye and Ansel Thompson, Senior Designer at Louis Vuitton) created the carousel for the show, Ansel then decided he wants to blow the carousel up and explode it through the windows. We actually bought the horses from the carousel and they’re actually in all of our windows right now. It’s really nice because ever ybody says ‘Oh those hor ses, did you get them made again?’ and we’re like, ‘No they’re the real ones from the carousel, we bought them and we used them again.’ For me that makes common sense, and that’s the way we’re wor king.” Faye’s per sistence

and passion for the creative side of the shows obviously shines through in the inter view. Her explanation of the creative direction tells us that the show isn’t just to be watched, and the ideas and exhibition behind it is recycled and re used for store display purposes also. The creative boundaries are not just to enter tain the fashion editor s at the exclusive shows but also to the general public who are walking down the street too, which Faye has given thought about. A collaborative vision shared between people in the industr y and ever y day shopper s, some could say. Not only do brands hold their own creative teams, architects have long been working on catwalk shows with designer s to collaborate and brainstorm ideas, and with the fusion of two brains bring extremely unique show concepts. Dutch architect, Rem

Koolhaas and his team at Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) have collaborated with Prada for over 13 year s; from creating innovatively designed flagship Prada stores across the globe to a 24-hour Prada museum exhibit, OMA have just about covered ever ything for the brand. Since creating a par tner ship in 1999, they went on to star t a dual relationship on a

“the audience participates in a perfectly organised picnic “ much more regular basis in 2004, when Koolhaas and his team were appointed to wor k with Prada and Miu Miu on their men’s and women’s catwalk shows twice yearly. The early designs were simple and minimalistic, but over recent year s we have seen OMA create ground breaking archi-

tectural intelligence , often turning the traditional catwalk appearance on it’s head to create mind blowing, avant-garde show surroundings. The Pr ada men’s spr ing summer 2012 show, OMA created fashion histor y when their design blew the minds of fashion editor s and challenged the traditional catwalk. A spokesper son from OMA talks through the design and idea, “600 visitors sit on individual blue foam blocks distributed over a 1.5 x 1.5 meter grid spread through the entire hall. Models flow through the highly organised audience, following multiple choreographed routes that allow maximum visibility. The set up refers to the imager y of a geometric outdoor s; the audience par ticipates in a perfectly organised picnic.” But with all of the emphasis on the show set-ups becoming more than just an area in which the collections are displayed, are we getting

lost in the enter tainment instead of concentrating purely on the clothing exhibit factor? “I feel that the whole catwalk production is mainly based around the exhibition of the clothes. Therefore it’s enhancing the idea and theme they are tr ying to reflect and I don’t think it’s losing the meaning of the clothes.” Explains up and coming fashion designer Jennifer Wheeler, “I can see how people may think that the audience will focus more on the garments if you aren’t distracted by other things around you, however the shows aim is to put the audience in the vision or wor ld that the designers were in, which I think gives you a greater, more memorable experience and connection to their wor k.” Another area in which brands have collaborated with is the Internet. With the popularity of the Internet ever Image from theclotheswhisperer.co.uk

growing, could we see these lavish and exuberant productions being shown purely online? Of cour se, it would save busy fashion editor s numerous gr uelling hour s of travelling across the wor ld to catch the fir st glimpse of a designer’s newest collection, but without the excitement around the aura and social aspect of fashion weeks for ever y one in the business. Could the merge of fashion week and the Internet be a success? And are we star ting to head in that direction already? Big brands such as Burberr y are already taking advantage of the Internet, social media in par ticular, to gage the audience’s attention and stand out from the crowd.

“Could the merge of fashion week and the Internet be a success? “ Fashion designer Jennifer Wheeler gave her thoughts on losing the fashion week event, stating, “I think it would be a great shame for designer s to lose seats at a fashion week show. Their catwalks are an exhibition and celebration of their wor k as much

as creating publicity for the brand. If I’d spent six months slaving away to celebrate a live stream online I wouldn’t be too over the moon. Also in a more simple outlook there’s no way a computer screen can beat real life, it’s always best to view things with your own eyes.” Although with companies such as Burberr y already swaying in the direction of online streaming with a massive social media following, Jennifer explained how this wor ked in their favour, “When Burberr y showed backstage photographs of models in the collection online before the show it did r uin the element of sur pr ise , however it gave them more attention from press and public.” She went on to speak of how she thinks this will affect other luxur y fashion brands, “Of course other designers are going to star t doing it, nobody wants to get left behind. New technology is discovered all the time and designers have to keep up with the changes as much as anyone else. Brands wont necessarily interact with people on social media platforms which these sites were built for, but they will use it to get attention.”

Where as Editor of Mannequin magazine, Josie Marie Denton, disagrees with Wheeler about brands latching on to the social media platfor ms, saying ”I think the only people that should see anything before the show is the backstage team. I hope designer s don’t make this a regular thing. I have a love/hate relationship with social media. It’s fantastic how easily information can be shared and how involved people feel with an industr y that has so many times been criticised for being too exclusive, however I do think that sneak peeks on Twitter do spoil the surprise.” What does the future of fashion look like? We’re not entirely sure. But what we do know is the collaborations in these areas are all aiming to create one thing; the most amazing, talked about r unway show of the season. Whether it’s between architects, the creative directors or social media platforms, the future of fashion is rapidly changing in front of us. Whether we approve of change or not, technology is forever improving and is adjusting fashion as we know it today.

Image by violetapurple.com

“If I’d spent six months slaving awaytocelebrate a live stream online I wouldn’t be too over the moon.”

five of the best x five of the worst Our bi annual pick of the most spectacular vs most devastating collaborations to grace the earth. For real.

Image from mod-tv.com

worst lin d s ay lo h an x u n g a r o

A child star turned teenage tr ain wreck; it was only a matter of time before she tried her hand at ‘fashion’. Fair enough, she wanted a shot at something new and different, and it was great that someone gave her the oppor tunity. BUT PLEASE, never again. Whilst she was appointed creative adviser for the illustrious Parisian fashion house, most of her wor k involved ordering tacky bum skimming dresses to be splattered with yet more sequins and plastic looking jewels. In an inter view with The Times she said, “This dress is so cool. It needs more rhinestones, just so it pops.” No, Lindsay, no it doesn’t. And chucking a load of sequins on something most cer tainly won’t make it pop. WWD described the collection as ‘cheesy and dated’. And that’s exactly how it landed up on this page.

Image from glam.co.uk

s t e lla m cca r tn e y x a d i da s S t e l l a g o t l o a d s o f s l a c k fo r t h e Olympic kit. Don’t get us wrong, we absolutely adore her printed pyjama suits from her Spring Summer 2012 collection, and when it came to collaborating with Adidas to create the Olympic kit, we imagined she’d flourish. Ever yone complained at the lack of an obvious union jack, but we’re not that bothered about all that patriotic stuff, we wanted that good old-fashioned Stella per sonality we all know and love. And that didn’t shine through whatsoever. Instead we were presented with a bland red, white and blue PE kit style uniform when we’d much rather see the athletes in clashing print pyjamas, so we’re not best pleased.

worst j e f f r e y ca m p b e ll x b lac k m il k

If you’re anything like us then you’re already completely sick of seeing galaxy print. We loved it for Christopher Kane’s Spring Summer Resor t collection last year but now it’s pretty much plastered on ever ything in East London. Black milk – being renowned for their ultra hipster galaxy print leggings have teamed up with equally as Tumblr famous footwear company Jeffrey Campbell to create a collection of specimens that we could imagine Lady Gaga wearing....last year. Miaow. v icto r ia b e c k h a m x

Image from solestruck.com

d an e b o w e r s

Don’t get us wrong; we’ve always loved a bit of VB. From her Spice Girl era right the way up to her present fashion designer status. Although there’s one par ticular er a in our mind that we’ve tried to block out, and some days we’ve definitely succeeded. THAT duet with Dane Bowers, we all remember the one. Way back when in the year 2000 the pop duo released ‘Out Of Your Mind’. Yeah, it was embarrassingly catchy and went all the way to number 2 in the UK singles char t, but we are still pretty apprehensive about Victoria’s solo singing career (or should we say, auto tune career). We don’t think she has either, which is probably why she’s stuck to what she’s best at, wearing and designing lovely clothes and being a fabulous mum. We can be kind, sometimes!

Image from ntimatelyposh.blogspot.com

m e t h o d m an x

Image from shattuckdownlow.com

s h a r l e e n s p it e r i

Image from wallpapersofmodels.com

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to watch your mum on TV tr ying to rap? Well, now you can stop wondering (you can thank us later). Let’s head back to the BRIT Awards circa 1998 and you’ll see what we mean. Texas front woman Shar leen Spiter i and Wu Tang Clan r apper Method Man performed as a cringetastic duo at the awards ceremony held in London. We don’t know what alarms us more, Shar leen’s awkward swagger or the fact Method Man is wearing a pair of tights on his head. All in all, just a bit of a disaster. And before you ask, yes it was even worse than Florence and Dizzy.

Image from openingceremony.us

best a d i da s x j e r e m y s cott

We love shoes of most kinds, but our favourite of them all are CRAZY shoes and that’s why we love Adidas x Jeremy Scott so damn much. Along with high tops with wings, awesome prints and leopard skin tails, we are also head over heels for the new campaign featuring the one and only Miss Nicki Minaj. We also failed to mention we adored the gorilla-in-at-shir t high tops too, although we’re u n s u r e o f w h e t h e r we ’d a c t u a l ly wear them. We’ve happily provided you with an image so you can make up your minds anyway. Long live the Adidas Originals x Jeremy Scott collaboration!

Image from topshop.co.uk

m a r y k at r ant z o u x to p s h o p

She seemed to pop up out of nowhere, but now we’re all fully acquainted with the Athens born fashion designer, who managed to wangle a designer x high street collaboration with retail giant Topshop. We all love one of them, especially when someone as creatively intelligent as Mar y is concerned. Big, bold, extravagant prints mixed with str uctured lantern shaped dresses made for a hugely successful collection, which sold out in a matter of hour s. Bravo lady. Mar y has also just collaborated with Longchamp on a collection of bags for the brand, which we also can’t get enough of, so make sure you check them out too!

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li b e r t y x ni k e

Liber ty of London is well known for its classic floral print textiles for many reasons. One reason being – THEY RULE. So we couldn’t contain our excitement when news broke out about their collaboration with Nike. Our love affair with Air Max 1s began at a young age in the 1990’s, and when we were shown the Liber ty x Nike editions, our wor ld stopped. Especially as we clapped our eyes on the OUT OF STOCK label online . Ouch. But they have many more styles from Cor tez’s to Dunks; we think they’re well wor th a look and are a massive bargain. 76

Image from openbuildings.com

best

Image from mtv.co.uk

o m a x p r a da

You may have heard about OMA and Prada’s relationship in our future of fashion piece. We think they wor k incredibly well together. But nothing can top this insanely good collaboration – The Prada Transformer. A temporar y structure, the transformer was built in Seoul in 2008, and was flipped from side to side by three cr anes to reveal different exhibitions including a fashion exhibition of skir ts by Miuccia Pr ada. Walls became floor s and floor s became walls once the venue was flipped, and altogether the transformer was an architecture x fashion revelation, we’re yet to see anything else like it.

s noo p d o g g x t u pac

New technology is a pretty mental thing, and here at COLLABORATION we’re always open to new ideas and suggestions when it comes to tech stuff. Unfor tunately we didn’t make it out to Coachella this year, which became even more of a devastating fact when we heard about the Snoop Dogg and Tupac duet that took place. “But Tupac’s dead?” I can hear you all now. But for one night only the king of West side r ap was resur rected (with a little helping hand from a hologram projector) and performed a live set with none other than Snoop doggy Dogg. It was pretty eerie and we almost cried with excitement but managed to compose ourselves. This is a music moment that’ll go down in histor y for sure.

Anna Dello Russo x H&M - coming soon

duo

Image by fritosandfoiegras.com

In this issue’s DUO we ask Thomas Edward Kingston to take us through his ULTIMATE, all time favourite culinary duo…

Thomas Edward Kingston is a 21 year old writer from up north in Leeds. Alongside studying Law at university, Tom has written for publications such as Legal InCite magazine, as well as being an avid grub lover who dabbles in restaurant reviews. What is his most treasured culinary combo and why does he adore it so damn much? We found out... We met at a local café on Clapham Common, far from the exuberant surroundings that Thomas is used to eating at, but lets face it, COLLABORATION aren’t fussy when it comes to grub. We got straight to the point, and when asked of his favourite food duo, to our surprise he replied,“My favourite combination of food has to be Steak Tartare and Pommes Frites, I love the dish because I adore good steak and to me Steak Tartare is all about appreciating steak in it’s raw form.” We never had him down as the caveman type. He went on to explain, ”When you eat it raw you’re appreciating the texture and the taste without the adulteration of heavy sauces and chemical changes brought about by cooking it. It also reminds me of my childhood holidays to see family in the North of France.” 81

When asked if he could give a little insight into when he discovered the duo, he delved right back into his childhood, “I first ate it when I was about 7, at a restaurant in a small village near Lille in the Nord Pas de Calais region of France. All I’d been eating on the trip was Steak hache which is effectively a very posh burger, but you’d never really hear the French saying that.” He joked, “However, the place we ate that night didn’t serve it and my mother recommended I try the Steak Tartare. When it arrived I was a bit shocked and the raw egg on top was rather strange, but I was quite an odd child and relished the idea of telling people back in England I’d eaten raw steak with a raw egg on top, so I tucked in and haven’t really looked back!” And where may you find the best Steak Tartare in town? “I normally eat it at the Boisdale when I’m in London, where they serve it both as a starter and main course. They use prime Aberdeenshire beef and season it pretty much perfectly. It’s one of my favourite eateries in general, mainly because of the high quality and range of steaks offered and the fact they have an incredible whisky

range of around 1,000 bottles!” When confronted with the question of what he normally pairs his favourite dish with, he impressed with his intoxicant knowledge, “Normally I eat the combo with a large glass of red wine. Personally I’m a major fan of Bordeaux and Burgundy, but last time I had Steak Tartare I paired with it a few glasses of Cremant De Loire, which is a great alternative to Champagne.” So if he loves the dish so much, would there be any way that it could be completely ruined? Thomas chuckled, “There’s a few ways. The obvious way for it to be ruined would be to use poor quality steak, since you’re consuming it raw you really need to have flavoursome, succulent and moist meat. Another way to ruin it would be to over or under season the dish; capers, black pepper, salt, Tabasco and Worcester sauce are wonderful flavours to add to it. The simple way to ruin the Pommes Frites would be to overcook or undercook them, crispy chips yes, charred chips no.”

Maar ten Van Der Hor st for Topshop in stores from April 20th 2012