St Kids SS11 by Show Media Ltd

Bright Spark ST KIDS Spring / Summer 2011

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Words Somebody Smith

The Needle Choc is available in leather, patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

Photographs Somebody Smith

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Spring / Summer 2011 On the cover: Photography Tim Marsella. Fashion editor Jo McGuinness. Jumper, from £55, Il Gufo; ‘Paul’ T-shirt, from £23, and ‘Felix’ shorts, from £44, both Stella McCartney Kids; belt, £5, American Apparel

EDITORIAL Editor Joanne Glasbey Senior art director ciara Walshe Deputy editor arabella Dickie Senior designers Dominic Bell, helen Delany Chief sub-editor chris Madigan Picture editor Juliette hedoin Sub editors Sarah evans, Gill Wing Editor in chief Peter howarth Creative director Ian Pendleton Contributing editor Daisy Bridgewater (Trends)

10 trends Nature blooms, urban’s in and colour rules when it comes to children’s wear

16 news Danish minimalism for children’s rooms, Gucci’s new 0-8 collection, and Stella McCartney’s covetable clothes for kids

18 bear essentials Why, in this digital age,

COMMERCIAL (UK) Executive director Dave King Publishing director Toby Moore 020 7931 3350 Director of fashion and luxury carley ayres 020 7931 3328

chloe MalleTT; BauMrauM; BeaTe SonnenBerG

asks Josh Sims, is the appeal of the teddy so enduring for young and old alike?

20 live the high life Today’s canopy creations are real designer dens – let your imagination run wild and create a room with a view

COMMERCIAL (ITALY) K.Media Srl Via cavalieri Bonaventura, 1/3 20121 Milan, Italy +39 02 29 06 10 94; kmedianet.com

28 girls’ day out Seal the mother-daughter bond with style that bridges the generation gap

36 the spy master Anthony Horowitz on the last Alex Rider novel, how his sons are his best critics, and his love of Tintin

SHOW MEDIA 020 3222 0101 Ground Floor, 1-2 ravey Street, london ec2a 4QP info@showmedia.net www.showmedia.net

40 primary colours All things bright and beautiful strike the right note this spring

Printing: Polestar chantry (polestar-group.com) colour reproduction: fmg (wearefmg.com) ST Fashion is designed and produced by ShoW MeDIa lTD for the Telegraph Media Group. all material © Show Media ltd and Telegraph Media Group. reproduction in whole or part without written permission is strictly prohibited. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions. The information contained in this publication is correct at the time of going to press.

growing pains Why do all boys go through a pirate phase and all girls have a passing passion for pink, asks Tamsin Blanchard

49 stockists The ST Kids style directory

50 telling tales Pearl Lowe talks about bringing up four very diﬀerent children

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Words Somebody Smith

The Needle Choc is available in leather, patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

Photographs Somebody Smith

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The Lockit

Coulson is words about her and exciting other bits of info to this

artifact

Words Somebody Smith

The Needle Choc is available in leather, patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

Photographs Somebody Smith

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growing pains 07

Illustrations Katherine Streeter

IDENTITY PARADE From pirates and princesses to car collectors and colouring-in compulsives, kids try on and discard roles like old socks, says Tamsin Blanchard

For the past six months or so, our son, Fred, two and a half, has been a pirate. He storms into our bedroom most mornings wearing a pirate hat or eye patch, occasionally brandishing an imaginary sword, with a raucous ‘A-haaaar, me hearties!’. And that is how daily life on board our pirate ship begins. It all started with a Captain Pugwash DVD – the definitive collection of all 16 episodes of the bungling Pugwash, Cut-Throat Jake, whose ‘heart is blacker than his beard’, and the ever level-headed and wise cabin boy, Tom. Tom is a great role model for any young boy, but, when he’s deep into his pirate fantasies, Fred always insists he’s Cut-throat Jake, and I am usually the one who has to walk the plank. For a week or so, Fred held a hand over one eye, pretending he was wearing an eye patch, and developed a wonderful collection of piratey sayings, complete with West Country accent. Our eight-year-old daughter, Sybilla, remembered her book, Pirate Things to Make and Do, and made him a patch out of paper, followed by a matching hat with skull and crossbones drawn on the front. Afer two weeks of almost permanent eye-patch wearing, day and night, we began to worry he was going to impair the vision in one eye. There were pirates everywhere, Jolly Rogers flying, and I was surreptitiously peeling pirate stickers off my jumpers. And so it has been for months, with the odd skirmish breaking out on the poop deck, ships

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Words Somebody Smith

The Needle Choc is available in leather, patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

Photographs Somebody Smith

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growing pains 09

firing cannons in the kitchen sink, and regular sightings of treasure islands and sea monsters from the crow’s nest. It’s just a phase, of course – even if Fred has become known around the neighbourhood as ‘the boy in the pirate hat’. Children go through phases constantly. It’s all part of growing up. If he were at nursery, I’m sure I’d think of it all in terms of developmental stages – pirate role-play is probably part of the national curriculum for under-fives. As it is, it just keeps us entertained, and safe in the knowledge that a visit to the litle wooden play boat, complete with steering wheel, at the local children’s drop-in centre is the best day out ever. Before he was a pirate, Fred was a dog. He’d wake up in the morning and start barking, on all fours. A friend’s son started being a dog, too, at around the same time, so I felt reassured – it was just another phase. Fred lapses back into dog mode now and again, so we just throw an imaginary bone and he pants off to get it, tail wagging like crazy. ‘It won’t last for ever,’ said another friend when I told her about life aboard the pirate ship. Her six-year-old had just come through a rip-roaring stint as Indiana Jones. ‘He’d make a whip out of the belt from my dressing gown and wear my fedora,’ she laughed. ‘He goes through cycles that last about three months, and then he’ll be totally over it. He’s currently Harry Poter.’ When he was three, he saw Cars, and became fascinated with shiny vehicles with smiling faces. Having lost interest, his collection of 80 cars has now been taken over by his dad, for whom it has become an ongoing obsession. It is one thing when your child’s imagination is fired by nothing more than the inside of a toilet roll, which becomes an instant robot hand or, in Fred’s case, a pirate’s hook. But when your child’s short-term fixation tallies with some monster marketing campaign – or the latest Disney movie – the whole thing becomes a parent’s non-stop pester nightmare, which is why I’m thinking it might be wise to steer clear of the new Winnie the Pooh film, and anything to do with Angry Birds, the highly addictive iPhone app that’s branching out into cuddly toys and other merchandise. We already have extensive collections of Gogo’s Crazy Bones (thankfully, they seem to have died a death now), Sylvanian Families, football cards and my daughter’s latest obsession, Silly Bandz, the elastic bands that come in every conceivable shape, from cute dogs to goblins. Sybilla has gone through countless stages, all of which tick the usual boxes. For a few months, she’d wear only pink. Then there was a violent reaction to that and she’d wear anything as long as it was not pink. We had a Snow White phase,

‘Before he was a pirate, Fred was a dog. He’d start barking, on all fours and we’d throw him an imaginary bone’

a compulsive colouring-in phase, a Spider-Man moment. She spent the best part of two years between the ages of three and five with her face painted. One day, she’d be all orange and black stripes, like a tiger, the next, she’d have a flower painted on a cheek like some lost hippy love child. We were unable to walk past a face-painting stall at any summer fête, festival or theme park without stopping to queue for a full-on application – complete with gliter, if she were lucky. Eventually, we invested in our own face paints and, for a while, her facial decoration took on a slightly more abstract look, and as the paints grew dirtier and dirtier, so her face took on a spooky greeny-black hue, with a constant murky shadow lurking around the hairline. Over time, the urge to daub paint on herself fizzled out, and when I recently suggested she have her face painted at a screening for the new Yogi Bear film, she looked at me as though I really had, finally, gone totally mad. And I dare say, I probably have. Still, it’s only a phase, and as long as Tom the cabin boy rescues me next time I walk the plank, I’ll be fine. Tamsin Blanchard is style director of the Saturday Telegraph magazine

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trends artifact

Words Somebody Smith

The Needle Choc is Words available in leather, Daisy Bridgewater

Photographs Somebody Smith

patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

Illustrations Jess Wilson

the wild bunch 6

Nature is calling, but in a good

way, as fashion focuses on the potential fun of the world outside the window and demands you send your children out to play. In a look that does not require batteries or membership to Club Penguin, muted tones of khaki, beige and brown mix with cheesecloth fabrics and Liberty prints. This is a

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washed-out, seasonal look that will not show the mud, however much it rains, and will improve with every spin of the washing machine. For accessories, look no further than a ball of string, a magnifying glass or a jam jar, as children wake up to the marvels of nature right underneath their noses – so much more fun than bad telly.

The Lockit

the most classic handbag seen for years. Last produced in the Fifties, it 11 makes wperfect sense, with our

current fascination with the design vision of that decade, that the Lockit should re-emerge now. The discerning

woman of today wants her handbag to be an extension of who she is, and representative of her values. She is far from a trend-chasing fool;, a classic bag with heritage is far more appealing. The Lockit shouts for her attention in a discrete way. There are no frivolous tassles or gimmicky studs to distract. Instead, the silhouette of the Fifties’ bag with heritage is far more appealinClare

Coulson is words about her and exciting other bits of info to this

1 Yarn-dyed check cotton shirt, £49, and shorts, £58, Replay & Sons. 2 Woven basket, £49, Bobo Choses at Couverture. 3 + 4 Leather sandals, £126, and Liberty-print blouse, £94, both Bonpoint. 5 Tomato and cucumber seed packets, £3.25 each, The Balcony Gardener. 6 Nature Adventures, by Mick Manning and Brita Granström, £12.99, Frances Lincoln. 7 Real Adventure Den Kit, £24.99, Millets. 8 ‘Jay’ waistcoat, from £104; ‘Benny’ T-shirt, from

£27; sandcastle ‘Anna’ shorts, from £38; ranger ‘Linda’ sandals, from £87 (2-6yrs and 8-12yrs), all Stella McCartney Kids. 9 Rabbit sweatshirt, £35, Bobo Choses at Couverture. 10 Leather belt, £51, Bonpoint. 11 Liberty-print overall, €85, Il Gufo

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trends artifact

Words Somebody Smith

The Needle Choc is available in leather, patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

Photographs Somebody Smith

junior rock stars

Since Willow Smith – daughter of Will – ﬁrst swung her hair, aged only nine, in October last year, there has been no getting away from the ﬁercely fashionable ripples she is causing in children’s fashion. A new breed of pre-teen has their eye on the limelight, showing attitude with the

right mix of distressed denim and customised T-shirts. Fluorescents shine brightly and mix with mini-skirts and even a leather jacket for a look that says I’m too cool for school, just please don’t tell my mum…

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The Lockit

makes wperfect sense, with our current fascination with the design vision of that decade, that the Lockit should re-emerge now. The discerning woman of today wants her handbag to be an extension of who she is, and representative of her values. She is far from a trend-chasing fool;, a classic bag 12 with heritage is far more appealing. The Lockit shouts for her attention in a

discrete way. There are no frivolous tassles or gimmicky studs to distract. Instead, the silhouette of the Fifties’ bag with heritage is far more appealinClare

Coulson is words about her and exciting other bits of info to this

1 T-shirt, from £27.60 (4-16yrs), and denim jeans, from £26.40, all Levi’s Kidswear. 2 ‘Sinead’ cardigan, from £75; ‘Garden Floral’ T-shirt, from £44; ‘Stephanie’ jeans, from £64, all Paul Smith Junior. 3 Hand-print T-shirt (2-14yrs), from £34, Little Marc Jacobs. 4 Digital watch, £10, Marks & Spencer. 5 ‘Top Wire Jnr’ baseball boots, £22, Clarks. 6 Grey and white tie-dye top, £61, DKNY Kids available from Atelier de Courcelles. 7 Denim ‘Sanilla’ jumpsuit, £48, Mini

A Ture. 8 Check taffeta skirt, from £80, Burberry. 9 Stonewash cap, £25, Timberland from Atelier de Courcelles. 10 ‘Buzz Lightweight’ headphones, £9.99, Colour Your World by Urbanz. 11 Jacket with belt, £241; T-shirt, £160; and shorts with belt, £144, all Miss Blumarine from KidSpace. 12 Biker jacket, £365; embroidered T-shirt, £115; biker trousers, £175; embroidered sneakers, £175; and glasses from a selection, all Gucci

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1 Bambini ‘Border Words Spot’ dress (0-5yrs), Somebody Smith £13, BHS. 2 Autograph dress and waistcoat set, from £20, Marks & Spencer. 3 ‘Charlotte’ ballerina shoes with horsebit detail, £140, Gucci. 4 Cotton twill trench coat, from £117, Paul Smith Junior. 5 Printed sundress (2-16 yrs), from

Photographs Somebody Smith

£84, Kenzo Kids. 6 Tropical-print swimming shorts (2-12 yrs), £56, D&G Junior from Alex and Alexa. 7 Cotton check shirt (6-14yrs), £58, Replay & Sons. 8 ‘Bodega’ bag, £125, Antik Batik

The Needle Choc is available in leather, patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

ALL STOCKISTS DETAILS ON PAGE 49

head deep

The Lockit

bag is back! In truth it never really went

away, it was just resting in the Louis

fairy tale prints

Vuitton archives in Asnières waiting for the brand’s designer Marc Jacobs to

rediscover it and breathe new life into the most classic handbag seen for

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current fascination with the design vision of that decade, that the Lockit should re-emerge now. The discerning woman of today wants Holdher onhandbag tight: ato riot of pattern and colour is be an extension of who she is, andas bold, vibrant shades mix with about to hit the playground representative values. is far exotic printsoftoher cover allShe available surfaces this spring. From from a trend-chasing fool;, a owery classic bag printed macs down to ﬂ ballerinas, no area is off-limits with heritage is far more appealing. The for this spreading growth of pattern, not even your lunch box. Lockit shoutsblame for her it attention in a You could on the catwalks where the grown-ups discrete way.Stella There are no frivolous did it ﬁrst: McCartney and her fruity summer prints, or tassles or gimmicky distract.Kors with their garish, neon Christopher Kanestuds andto Michael Instead, silhouette of the Fifties’ shades.the On the other hand, youbag could accept that our small with heritage is far morebetter appealin friends like nothing than colour, pattern and detail, and Clare had thisisseason not translated their multicoloured world into Coulson words about her and exciting fashion, would other bitsthey of info to thishave done it themselves. With felt-tips.

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small wonder

Words Somebody Smith Photographs Words Somebody Smith

Arabella Dickie

From 22 to 25 April, chocolate aﬁcionados will ﬂock to the annual Easter Egg Trail at Hever Castle in Kent, Anne Boleyn’s childhood home. Hunt for clues and tasty rewards with Henrietta the Hen in the gardens, and then let the kids burn off their sugar-high in the adventure playground and on the boating lake. Hevercastle.co.uk

The Needle Choc is available in leather, patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

Do not Disturb For parents who consider ‘child-friendly luxury’ a contradiction in terms, the Dorchester Collection’s Hôtel Plaza Athénée in Paris has proved the two can co-exist. Here, kids get hand-stitched bathrobes, complimentary teddy bears, (above), chefs’ kits and a mini Plaza Car, complete with 6.5hp petrol engine. Just launched is Plaza Athénée’s travel blog, veryimportantchildren.com, offering ‘VICs’ the chance to tailor their trip with the best of Parisian shopping and culture. Not that they’ll ever want to leave the hotel. plaza-athenee-paris.com

Gucci coup

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Those of us not blinded by the beauty of Jennifer Lopez and her two-year-old tots in Gucci’s recent advertising campaign will have recognised that it heralded the launch of the brand’s ﬁrst-ever childrenswear range. The inaugural collection combines modern aesthetics with traditional Italian The Lockit

craftsmanship. Soft cottons and printed

bag is back! In truth it never really went

cashmere make up rompers, vests and

away, it was just resting in the Louis ferm believer

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jumpers (0-2yrs), while the children’s

Vuitton incompany Asnières waiting Danisharchives interiors Ferm for Living

When Marquis M Converse ﬁrst opened

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collection (2-8yrs) combines classic suede

the brand’s designer Marc Jacobs to epitomises the very best of Scandanavian

the doors of the Converse Rubber Shoe

to kids’, remarked Stella McCartney on

trench coats and leather biker jackets with

rediscover it and breathe new and life into design, focusing on home children’s

Company in Malden, Massachusetts, in

her ﬁrst full-range childrenswear collection

contemporary leggings and baggy shorts.

the most classic handbag for patterns accessories with bold, seen graphic

1908, few could have predicted he would

for spring/summer 2011. And she certainly

gucci.com

years. Last produced in the Fifties, itFounder and retro colour combinations.

spark a century-long global love affair

didn’t disappoint. Full of playful vibrancy,

makes wperfect sense, with our who, as a and mother, Trine Andersen,

with his simple footwear. The company’s

the new range features cool denim, bold

current fascination with the design child, crafted dolls’ dresses with spare

turning point came in 1917, when the

ﬂorals, quirky stripes and graphic animal

vision that her decade, that the Lockit factory, fabricoffrom parents’ clothing

Converse All-Star basketball shoe was

patterns on skirts, shorts and tops, while

should re-emerge The discerning established the now. company in 2005 and

introduced, revolutionising the ﬂedgling

vintage-inspired embroidery on cotton and

woman of today wants her handbag to today works from her studio in Aarhus,

sport. Today, the brand’s legacy continues,

Fifties-style dresses provides a charmingly

be an extension of whoitems she is,that and are sold Denmark designing

and March saw John Lewis debut 14 funky

nostalgic feel. Starting at £18, the collection,

representative her values. She is far online and in of stores worldwide. Her new

new styles for kids. For the ultimate in

for boys and girls from 0 to 12, is seriously

from trend-chasing fool;, features a classic bag kids’acollection for 2011 graphic

street cred, snap up this playful

covetable, with key pieces from McCartney’s

with heritagequirky is far more appealing. Thebright wallpaper, animal toys and

Superman design (£35).

recent ready-to-wear collection appearing

Lockit forthat her attention in acentre prints,shouts above, would take

johnlewis.com

in shrunken form. Ever tried to squeeze into

discrete are no frivolous stage inway. anyThere playroom.

kids’ clothes? You will.

tassles or gimmicky studs to distract. ferm-living.com

stellamccartneykids.com

Instead, the silhouette of the Fifties’ bag with heritage is far more appealinClare

Coulson is words about her and exciting other bits of info to this

FOR THE WAY YOU LIVE

FOR SPRING SUMMER 2011 Available online and in selected stores

Please ask a member of staďŹ&#x20AC; or check lauraashley.com for your nearest store

girls

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toys artifact

Words Somebody Smith

The Needle Choc is available in leather, patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

Photographs Somebody Smith

head deep can’t bear to part

The Lockit

bag is back! In truth it never really went away, it was just resting in the Louis

Vuitton archives in Asnières waiting for the brand’s designer Marc Jacobs to

rediscover it and breathe new life into the most classic handbag seen for

years. Last produced in the Fifties, it

Whatever your age, a century vision of that decade, the Lockit on, thethatteddy’s still irresistible makes wperfect sense, with our

current fascination with the design

should re-emerge now. The discerning woman of today wants her handbag to be an extension of who she is, and representative Words of her values. She is far

‘It gets under your skin,’ explains Ian Munro, of his love of teddy

It was initially mounted on wheels, made for riding and targeted

from a trend-chasing fool;, a classic bag Josh Sims

bears, perhaps unusual for a 47-year-old. ‘It’s the toy people can

at boys. With a few tweaks he had a hit: within ﬁve years Steiff

with heritage is far more appealing. The

never throw away. I don’t know where my childhood Lego set

was selling one million a year. Indeed, the bear became an icon.

Lockit shouts for her attention in a Photography

went, or all that Meccano, but I always kept my bear. It’s the toy

A few years later, it was named a ‘Teddy’ after the US President

discrete There are no frivolous Beateway. Sonnenberg

that gets you through childhood. It’s packed with emotion.’ Munro’s

Theodore Roosevelt – ironically for his love of bear hunting. And

tassles or gimmicky studs to distract.

unwillingness to put away childish things is perhaps explained by

85 years ago, AA Milne sent the bear global with the publication

Instead, the silhouette of the Fifties’ bag

his being the sales director of Steiff, the most famous name in

of Winnie the Pooh, with EH Shepard’s illustrations based on

with heritage is far more appealinClare

teddy bears. Some 110 years ago, Richard Steiff, a German artist

Growler, his son’s Steiff bear.

Coulson is words about her and exciting

who had spent years studying the bears of Stuttgart Zoo,

other bits of info to this

decided to re-create the animal as a toy for the family business.

Quite what lies at the heart of the teddy’s appeal remains something for sociologists and psychologists to analyse. Some

This page, clockwise from top centre: AA Milne’s son Christopher Robin with his teddy; The Three Bears, 1922; a bear on wheels; a drawing by Jessie Willcox Smith;

Anthony Andrews as Sebastian Flyte with Aloysius in Brideshead Revisited; Richard Steiff; a Rupert annual, 1972; sheet music; illustration from The Prize, 1911

suggest a certain nostalgia passed on generation to generation so as to be self-perpetuating. Others say the teddy has become a totem of family life, an heirloom to rival impersonal jewellery. Still others that the baby-like form of the bear has given it a deep psychic imprint, such that, even today, the bear outsells cuddly cats, dogs and any other stuffed animal shape. That may explain why the style of bear being made post-World War II has become the best-known variety; prior to the conflict, classic teddy bears were made to stand on all fours and had a pronounced nose and humped back to mimic the grizzly bear, but materials shortages afterwards led to a more austere version, with a flatter face and shorter limbs. It was cuter all round. Certainly the teddy bear has developed much cultural significance, given to commemorate births and christenings, but also as a comforter for the sick and as a love token between couples, especially among those separated by war. The truth is that teddy bears have always had as much of a pull for adults as children, albeit one probably best not indulged around the office. John Betjeman may have had a lifelong attachment to his Archibald, but a certain camp ostentation and independent wealth might, as Sebastian Flyte’s attachment to Aloysius in Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited suggests, prove useful to anyone over five wanting to carry their bear around at all times. Sue Pearson, author of Teddy Bears: A Complete Collector’s Guide and a leading bear dealer, argues that ‘the teddy bear has become part of our psyche, this warm, loving family thing we associate with the safety of childhood’, such that only 30 per cent of her bear sales are actually for children. Meanwhile, her teddy-bear hospital, which makes sympathetic and historically accurate repairs to careworn ursine friends, attracts mostly grown ALAMY; CAMERA PRESS; CORBIS; GETTY IMAGES; REX FEATURES; TOPFOTO

men. Pearson reports one lovelorn customer beseeching her recently: ‘Be careful with him – we’ve never been parted.’ Small wonder then that while teddy bears move in and out of fashion – often, as with pets, rising in sales during recessions, presumably for the comfort they offer – and are constantly being re-invented, as the current custom-making Build-A-Bear fad suggests, it is the big money of the collector’s market that gives serious pause for thought. While the teddy bear is chieﬂy a northern European and American phenomenon – because the bear provided a baby with a cosiness not required in warmer Mediterranean or Asian climates – collecting has made the toy big business. A 1926 Steiff bear sold for a world record £150,000 in 2005, although more affordable bears still sell for tens of thousands, depending on condition and provenance. These days,

‘It’s the history that shows in an old bear that makes it special, and that makes parting with one so difﬁcult’

are Sooty, given to her at birth, and Gino, who sits alongside her partner while he track-races Italian sports cars. ‘Collectors will go without food to get a certain bear,’ says Hitchings, who favours British-made bears of the Fifties, by brands such as Merrythought and Chad Valley, both companies still going strong, as well as new brands such as Charlie Bears. ‘There are some who will buy a new Steiff, keep it in the box and put it in the loft to appreciate in value, but I think that’s terribly sad. You should live with a bear. It’s the history that shows in an old bear that makes it special, and that makes parting with one so difﬁcult.’ ‘A teddy bear is extremely comforting, even for an adult,’ Hitchings adds. ‘It’s always there when people are not. That’s why, although bears have appealed especially to that post-war generation, they still appeal to children today, even with the

the company has one with a gold nose and diamond eyes for

competition from hi-tech toys. Show a child a bear and their face

£25,000. ‘It’s not for children’, Munro stresses. ‘Even we don’t take

still lights up. But show most adults and theirs will, too.’

it out of its cabinet without wearing white gloves…’

steiff.com/gb

‘But the high prices and make of those bears don’t necessarily make them the best,’ argues collector and dealer Lorraine Hitchings of Gino’s Bears, whose stars, among her 300,

Josh Sims is a London-based freelance writer for publications including Esquire and Wallpaper*

artifact

Words Somebody Smith

The Needle Choc is available in leather, patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

Photographs Somebody Smith

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The Lockit

Coulson is words about her and exciting other bits of info to this

live the high life arboreal architecture has come a long way â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as extra play space for the kids or a relaxing place for the whole family, treehouses are on the up

words DaviD Nicholls

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treehouses artifact

Words Somebody Smith Photographs Somebody Smith

It’s been more than 25 years since I’ve seen the treehouse my father built for my brother and me, but I remember it as if it were yesterday. The simple A-frame structure was made from lefover scraps of wood nailed into a cedar tree about 10f off the ground. By today’s standards, it would probably be considered a death trap but, for us, it was a portal to wherever our imaginations took us. Over the years, our treehouse played the part of spaceship, nuclear bunker, castle and Wild West fort – anything the day’s adventure required of it. We may have had video games and toys in the house, but more ofen than not we preferred spying on pirates and batling dragons from the treetops. Every time we took a step on the first scrap-wood foothold, there was a sense of anticipation, escape and adventure. It’s nostalgia for those bygone days that has inspired a new breed of designers and entrepreneurs across the world to dedicate their businesses to the art of treetop fantasy. One of these is Paul Cameron, founder of Treehouse Life. ‘I helped my grandfather build my treehouse when I was a boy,’ he recalls. ‘It was a log cabin, with a window, door and peepholes.’ When Cameron decided to build a similar structure for his two sons nearly 10 years ago, the project turned into a business that now employs eight full-time employees. The company has designed and installed treehouses across Europe and the USA and as far afield as India. Lockit he says. ‘I’ve just come ‘I’ve got the best job in theThe world,’ bag is back! it never went of a beautiful forest back fromInatruth project in really the depths away, it was just resting in themy Louis in Suffolk - and that’s nine-to-five’. His sons - now Vuitton in Asnières waiting forthree of their own and 12 andarchives 15 - have gone through the brand’s Jacobs to tested outdesigner many Marc others. ‘They’re our unofficial chief rediscover it and breathe new life into product testers,’ says Cameron. the most classic handbag seen for What Treehouse Life creates is quite different years. in the Fifties,efforts. it fromLast myproduced dad’s handyman These are fantastical makes wperfect sense, with our signature design was inspired creations.The company’s current fascination withAfrica. the design by a trip to South Its hexagonal structure is built vision that decade, the Lockit fromofradiata and that southern yellow pine, and topped with a should re-emerge now. The discerning waterproof thatched roof made from sustainably sourced woman of today wants her handbag and managed African grass. to be an extension who she is, and Up toofnine levels of decks and walkways can spiral representative of hertaking values. She is far around the tree, in branches and boughs and from a trend-chasing fool;, a classic bringing in opportunities forbag more play. The viewing deck, with heritage is fartyre moreswing appealing. climbing wall, andThe scramble net incorporated Lockit shouts for her attention in afor Take That singer Gary into the company’s design discrete way.family, There are notypical frivolousfeatures. Barlow’s are tassles or gimmicky studs to distract. Prices for these bespoke creations start at around Instead, the(and silhouette of the Fifties’ bagand take between three and £15,000 go much higher) with more appealin fourheritage weeksistofarconstruct onClare site. ‘It’s not so much about Coulson words about her and exciting for plasma televisions luxury,’isasserts Cameron. ‘Requests other bits of info to this are rare. Children aren’t into luxury.’ and telephone points

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The Needle Choc is available in leather, patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

‘I didn’t have a treehouse when I was a boy, but, when I grew up, I liked the idea of being up among the trees’

Opening spread: two treehouses by Baumraum. Opposite page, from top: Baumraum’s Djuren Treehouse; a traditional design by

Wild Wood. A fantastical turreted castle – fully equipped for overnight stays – created by Highlife Treehouses

Instead, he sees the creations as ‘extending the values of make-believe, fantasy and adventure’. Solar panels may be installed within the thatched roof, but that’s to provide lighting ‘for a bit of extra sparkle and magic’. It’s interesting how treehouses have become increasingly inclusive places. Cameron is seeing far fewer of the ‘no girls, no grown-ups’ variety. Today, they are just as likely to be used by the whole family, with a play area for the kids and a deck for the parents to relax outdoors. ‘Families used to play together,’ he says. ‘But there are so many distractions these days that it doesn’t always happen as ofen. Many of our clients use their treehouse as a place for spending family time.’ It’s a trend that is being encouraged by Andreas Wenning, a German designer whose business Baumraum (literally, ‘tree space’) makes some of the most unusual treehouses in the world. ‘I didn’t have one when I was a boy, but, when I grew up, I liked the idea of being up among the trees and having a coﬀee.’ In 2003, the architect built a prototype 30f high in his friend’s garden near Bremen. It included a sun deck, cooking facilities, a heater and a double sofa bed. Following local media and, later, coverage from design magazines, including Wallpaper*, the orders began trickling in. Since that modest start, Wenning has constructed

40 treehouses in Europe, the United States and Brazil. ‘I have a five-month-old son myself,’ says Wenning. ‘And he’s already spent the night in our treehouse. I try to convince clients to see them more as family projects rather than something specifically for the children,’ he explains. ‘That way, they might be used for a longer time.’ The zip lines and fireman’s poles may be a hit with the kids, but they also come in handy when the parents are entertaining and need to fetch another botle of wine from indoors. Wenning’s treehouses are bite-sized architectural marvels (they start at £16,000), with striking façades clad in solid wood (usually larch or oak), copper panelling, steel or acrylic. Depending on the site, he uses a combination of cables, stilts and textile belts to connect the structures to the trees with minimal damage. ‘I see each one as an architectural challenge,’ he says. His Djuren Treehouse, built for a family near Bremen, in Germany, is shared between the parents and children. It looks like a satellite in orbit amid the tree canopy. Elliptical in shape, it is made from a combination of oak, stainless steel and curved glass; there’s also a terrace big enough for a table and chairs. Most of us work with budgets significantly smaller than what is needed to commission companies such as Wenning’s. But, nonetheless, they do provide a great deal of inspiration. There is also an increasing number of specialists in the UK who make prefabricated treehouses that cost far less. Cheaper still is to go down the traditional route and build your own. And there is a lot to be said about an A-frame platform made from discarded planks of wood. If you’re particularly enthusiastic and capable, however, you might want to look at the excellent online resource thetreehouseguide.com – as well as providing a thorough seven-stage treehouse design process for free, it sells the instructions for six treehouse designs of varying degrees of complexity for less than £20 each. Would-be treehouse owners and builders need to be aware of what has become a confusing web of planning permissions and building regulations. A legislation rejig a few years ago meant that converting lofs and adding small extensions became more straightforward for home owners. At the same time, however, outbuildings, garden sheds and verandas were given stricter guidelines. Now, ‘no verandahs, balconies or raised platforms’ are allowed without planning permission, with ‘raised’ defined as a height of over 12in – and there aren’t many treehouses less than a foot off the ground. One of the key phrases that treehouse enthusiasts should be encouraged to embrace is ‘temporary structure’. If you can prove that yours is one – for example, by not including electricity or plumbing – you may be able to avoid the need to hire a structural engineer to validate the strength of the design. Some councils will be keener than others to enforce this course, but it’s wise to make enquiries before embarking on the project if you want to stay on the right side of the

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treehouses artifact

Words Clockwise from below: An African-inﬂuenced Somebody Smith

law. The Treehouse Guide also recommends asking your neighbours what they think - afer all, part of the rationale behind the planning permission has to do with privacy issues. With that in mind, it’s wise to keep the structures away from roads and property boundaries, too. Whichever route you go down, Paul Cameron has the following advice: ‘The most important thing is to create somewhere children can play using their imagination. And the biggest mistake is to think they need action, action, action. Sometimes, they just want a quiet place to sit alone, look up at the sky and dream.’ David Nicholls is the Telegraph Magazine’s design editor

treehouse designed by Blue Forest; two structures in contrasting styles by Treehouse Life (07956 225500; treehouselife.co.uk) and Baumraum (+49 421 705122; baumraum.de)

Photographs Somebody Smith

Further reading: Build Your Own Treehouse by Maurice Barkley (Sterling, £8.99) The Dangerous Book for Boys: Things To Do by Conn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden (HarperCollins, £8.99) Exceptional Treehouses by Alain Laurens et al (£24.99, Harry N. Abrams, Inc) The Treehouse Guide (thetreehouseguide.com)

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Other suppliers Blue Forest, in East Sussex, owned by brothers Andy and Simon Payne, provides an award-winning service for the creation of bespoke treetop play areas, ofﬁces and even homes. An initial consultation is free. 01892 750090; blueforest.com Squirrel Design is a Wiltshire-based family-run business that creates site-speciﬁc hand-built treehouses. Initial site visits are free and a quote with illustrations, plans and detailed costings costs a refundable £175. 01454 238967; squirreldesign.co.uk Wild Wood, based in Oxfordshire, has been making treehouses and play structures since 1998. Its website has a

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great selection of sample patent leather (pictured) plans to help provide inspiration and in precious skins, in for your own build. a variety of colours, from 07711 573750; £320. Available at wildwood.ukwebz.com the Roger Vivier boutique

Treehouse Company, in Northamptonshire, provides a 3D scale computer model of your treehouse in its surroundings before it’s built. One of its styles – the Rustic Treehouse – was inspired by the work of Victorian designer William Morris. 01536 443988; treehousecompany.com Highlife Treehouses, in London, makes beautifully ﬁnished treehouses, wooden play structures, summerhouses and ‘hobbit holes’. If you’re looking for fantasy, then look no further. 020 8347 4018; highlifetreehouses.co.uk

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The Needle Choc is available in leather, patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

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SPRING SUMMER 11 COLLECTION 0-5 YEARS exclusively for mothercare BABYKWORLD.COM

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GIRLS’ DAY OUT

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no work, no school and no nasty boys around to ruin things… a perfect time for playing dress-up and enjoying that special mother and daughter bond away, it was just resting in the Louis Vuitton archives in Asnières waiting for MALLETT fashion editor POLLY BANKS photography CHLOE bag is back! In truth it never really went

the brand’s designer Marc Jacobs to rediscover it and breathe new life into the most classic handbag seen for years. Last produced in the Fifties, it makes wperfect sense, with our current fascination with the design vision of that decade, that the Lockit should re-emerge now. The discerning woman of today wants her handbag to be an extension of who she is, and representative of her values. She is far from a trend-chasing fool;, a classic bag with heritage is far more appealing. The Lockit shouts for her attention in a discrete way. There are no frivolous tassles or gimmicky studs to distract. Instead, the silhouette of the Fifties’ bag with heritage is far more appealinClare

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La vie en rose Anna wears: Vintage Laura Ashley dress, £98, Frock Me!. Shoes, £570, Prada. Amelia wears: ‘Marinière’ T-shirt, £28. Petit Bateau. Tutu, £55, Olive Loves Alﬁe. Moccasins, £22.50, Zara

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Words Somebody Smith

The Needle Choc is available in leather, patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

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Family affair Opposite, Anna wears: Thirties dress, £170, Frock Me!. Amelia wears: Dress, £115, Chloé. Vintage enamel Escada bracelet, £75, Frock Me!. Shoes, as before Snap happy This page, Anna wears: Leather shirt, £529, Sand. Leather gloves, £25, Topshop. Amelia wears: ‘Mila’ T-shirt, £36, Finger in the Nose. Raincoat, £58.50, Petit Bateau. Vintage enamel Escada necklace, £65, Frock Me!

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The Needle Choc is available in leather, patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

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Jewel purpose Opposite, Anna wears: Crystal-embellished top, £7,224, and shorts, £5,468, both Dolce & Gabbana. Amelia wears: top, £178, Dolce & Gabbana Hat trick This page, Amelia wears: Crystal-embellished top, as above. Vest, £13.50, Petit Bateau. Hat, £460, Prada

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Words Somebody Smith

The Needle Choc is available in leather, patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

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Cloud control Anna wears: Coat, £695, Burberry. Vintage enamel Escada bracelet, £75, Frock Me!. Amelia wears: Coat, £995, Burberry. ‘Lilly’ jumpsuit, £62, Finger in the Nose. Moccasins, £22.50, Zara. Bag, £595, Lara Bohinc

Girl talk Anna wears: Dress, £1,410, Gucci. Amelia wears: ‘Flamingo’ dress, £44, Finger in the Nose. Leggings, £17, Olive Loves Alﬁe Photographer’s assistant Mark Puc Hair Dayaruci at onemakeup.com Make-up Frances Prescott at onemakeup.com Models Anna Carter at Storm, Amelia Stewart at Grace and Galor STOCKISTS DETAILS ON PAGE 49

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Words Somebody Smith

The Needle Choc is available in leather, patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

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THE masTEr of spiEs

current fascination with the design

vision of that decade, that the Lockit

should re-emerge now. The discerning woman of today wants her handbag to be an extension of who she is, and

representative of her values. She is far

from a trend-chasing fool;, a classic bag

with heritage is far more appealing. The Lockit shouts for her attention in a

discrete way. There are no frivolous

tassles or gimmicky studs to distract. Instead, the silhouette of the Fifties’ bag

anthony horowitz’s junior espionage novels have opened the door to her reading Coulson is words about and excitingfor a generation of reluctant kids interview rYAN portrait joss mckiNleY other bits of info to robert this

with heritage is far more appealinClare

Anthony Horowitz leaps up excitedly and strides across the room. He plucks a venerable, leatherbound copy of Dickens’s Dombey and Son from the shelves that line the walls of his lof-like apartment in Clerkenwell, London, and places it next to me on a dining table large enough to solve the Royal Navy’s aircraf carrier problem. He begins thumbing through the hefy tome. ‘I suspect this set belonged to someone who didn’t read them, because sometimes you can…’ there is a slight sucking sound from the novel as two leaves separate. ‘Hear that? Those pages have never been apart before. I love the smell, the thickness of this rough paper and the way the number of pages decreases as you read. You don’t get any of that with an e-reader.’ Horowitz, best known as a hugely proliﬁc children’s author and busy screenwriter, is no Luddite. He is simply explaining the atraction of the book as an object, but he recognises that it is a pleasure likely to be lost on the coming generation. ‘That’s progress. I happen to love the tactile qualities of books. But, equally, I love the fact that you can read Alex Rider on your phone, if you wish.’ Ah, Alex Rider. The reluctant boy spy is the reason we are meeting at his spartan, yet swish, apartment. Launched in 2000 with the novel Stormbreaker, the junior espionage series has been credited with inspiring a whole generation of children (especially boys) to take up reading. ‘I hear that a lot,’ he says, ‘It’s quite a responsibility.’ And one he takes seriously, as an avid promoter of children’s literacy – although he is wary of overselling. ‘I have to be careful here, because of course reading is important, of course one wants children to be cultured, but sometimes I have a parent come up to me at an event and say, “I play football every day with my son and take him swimming at weekends. But we don’t read together. Does that make me a bad dad?” And of course he isn’t. It’s a terrible simpliﬁcation to say that this child here is somehow superior to that one there, because one reads and one doesn’t. It’s far more complex than that.’

He points out that he himself was not a particularly strong reader as a child. ‘I wasn’t siting behind a great pile of Charles Dickens at 11 years old – I didn’t start reading widely until I was 16 or 17. And do my own sons read as much as I would like? No. But they’re both happy and healthy and doing well.’ Horowitz, who turns 56 this month, had a rather less conventional upbringing than his own boys. His father was a mysterious political ‘fixer’ who hid his fortune in a Swiss bank account and died before revealing its secret location. The writer also endured a terrible time at school as an overweight and unhappy child, suffered an evil grandmother straight out of Roald Dahl and had an eccentric mother who gave him a human skull for his 13th birthday. Much of this fed into his first forays into fiction, which he has said began as a way of entertaining fellow pupils at boarding school. He published his first novel, Enter Frederick K Bower, in 1978 and subsequently moved into TV drama, creating Foyle’s War, Murder in Mind, Midsomer Murders, Crime Traveller and, in 2009, Collision. To date, he has produced more than 50 books, but, if there is a single character he will be remembered for, it is the teen agent Alex Rider, who, afer his ninth outing in the new novel Scorpia Rising, is hanging up his gadgets for good (although a prequel about his nemesis, Yassen, is due in 2012). As usual, Horowitz’s sons Nicholas and Cassian, 11 and nine when Stormbreaker came out, now young adults, were instrumental in this final instalment. ‘They’ve had a tremendous input right from the beginning. Nic was always very sporty, doing all these dangerous sports – snowboarding, scuba-diving and so on. And from him comes Alex’s athleticism. Cass is just very good at the structure, the mood and the jokes. He’s a first-rate critic. But one of the main things they did early on was stop me using phrases or terms that were dated. They’d leave me notes on the manuscript. And the worst you can get…,’ he says with a shudder ‘…is “Dad, that’s a bit cringe”. You feel like the washed-up magician in the corner at a kids’ party.’ And so the tales are told in unadorned, determinedly non-modish language, which means that even Stormbreaker – leaving aside a few anachronisms thanks to technological progress in the 11 years since it appeared - still feels fresh. ‘My books could almost be 19th-century novels in some respects – straightforward storytelling in the tradition of Robert Louis Stevenson.’

Opposite: Anthony Horowitz at home in Clerkenwell, London Right: the author ﬁrst began writing ﬁction at boarding school

‘I love the tactile qualities of books. But, equally, I love the fact that you can read Alex Rider on your phone, if you wish’

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Words Below: Alex Pettyfer as Rider in Stormbreaker. Somebody Smith

Below: Scorpia Rising (out now) and Snakehead (2008) – two in the 11-book Alex Rider series

Bottom: Horowitz is working on the second Tintin ﬁlm

Photographs Somebody Smith

‘Ultimately, I wrote the Alex Rider books for the person I always write for – which, I suppose, is me’

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One unique problem he faces is that, as with his own boys, those who first read the Rider books as teens are now young men. ‘And women,’ he laughs. ‘I’m now meeting newly married couples who read Alex Rider when they were kids! And I did think about this. Am I writing the book for an eight- or nine-year-old who is just coming to the series? Or their older brothers and sisters, who might have grown out of reading kids’ books altogether, but are curious to see how it all ends? Ultimately, I wrote it for the person I always write for – which, I suppose, is me.’ One note he received from Cass this time round made him revise the whole manuscript. ‘It said: “Dad, this is just too sad.” And it was, because I was sorry to see Alex go. But also it was important to me that the novel reflected what he had been through in the previous books the injuries, manipulation and lies. He is a damaged person.’ Even though he ‘cheered it up quite considerably’, there is still a deeper, darker undercurrent to Scorpia Rising than in Alex’s previous outings, I say. ‘True,’ he admits. ‘But in the end, there has to be hope, too.’ Horowitz is good company: enthusiastic, thoughtful and erudite. He is a walking riposte to Martin Amis’s crass remark that he might write a children’s book too, if he were ‘brain damaged’. In contrast, Horowitz does not consider himself to be dealing in a second-class form of literature and is pleased the Rider books have never blurred the boundaries and been repackaged for bashful adults to read on the Tube, as happened with Rowling, Pullman and Meyer. ‘They are what they are,’ he says proudly, ‘and that is novels aimed at young adults.’ To help him assuage his grief at the loss of his MI6 spy, Horowitz has turned his atention to another boy wonder – he is writing the screenplay for the second in the series of Tintin movies, produced by Stephen Spielberg and Peter Jackson, and starring a digitally manipulated Jamie Bell as the cub reporter. His face breaks into a huge grin at the mention of it. ‘Yes, it’s very exciting. I first

The Needle is read Tintin when I was eight. And whatChoc I liked leather, about those books was the wayavailable Hergéincreated a patent leather (pictured) whole world you could slip into.and I loved theskins, secret in precious in a variety of colours, from passages, that nothing was quite what it seemed, £320. Available at the mix of humour and adventure and the sheer the Roger Vivier boutique pace of the stories.’ Horowitz actually owns some of Hergé’s original comic-book artwork, so he is in fanboy heaven with this assignment. Although the Dreamworks team keeps a famously tight lid on things, Horowitz does let slip that he is adapting Prisoners of the Sun, the 14th adventure, set in Peru. ‘So I’m immersed in the world of the Incas right now.’ But then, Horowitz is always immersed in something. As well as the Tintin screenplay, he is penning the first Sherlock Holmes sequel sanctioned by the Conan Doyle estate. He maintains a 10-hours-a-day routine, but how does he juggle such disparate disciplines – writing for adults and kids, TV and film, books and screenplays? ‘Well, it’s all storytelling, isn’t it? I try not to be working on two projects simultaneously, but I can if I must. However, even then, I will devote an entire day to one of them, then the next day to the second.’ ‘The Great Detective’, of course, was once killed off at the Reichenbach Falls, only to be resurrected some years later. Is there a chance of Alex returning? ‘No,’ he insists. ‘Remember, there was great commercial pressure on Conan Doyle to bring Holmes back. And you know, if you look at the later short stories, there is a certain, um, struggle with the writing. Similarly, Fleming’s James Bond books – which I revere – went badly wrong afer about six or seven. And if there is one thing you can’t do when writing for kids, it’s go off the boil.’ So, he insists, Alex had to go out on a high note, never to return. But, I ask, do the characters live on with you? Do you have a sense of where Rider will be when he is 30 or 40? He smiles. ‘Well, I have, in the past, considered revisiting Alex as an adult…’ And for a second, Horowitz looks wistful and his eyes drif to the ceiling as he imagines the scenario. No more Alex Rider? Never say never again, as someone once said. Scorpia Rising by Anthony Horowitz (Walker, £6.99) is available now

Robert Ryan is a journalist and novelist. His latest book Signal Red (Headline, £6.99) is based on the Great Train Robbery

AllStAR. © HeRgé/moulinSARt 2011

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Old HOllywOOd style

IntervIew dougray scott on tackling one of footballâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s icons Plus the tablet revolution, ralph lauren on fast cars, and how to get summer shirts right

S T M E N â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S S T Y L E W I T H T H E S U N D AY T E L E G R A P H o N 1 0 A P R I L

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Words Somebody Smith

The Needle Choc is available in leather, patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

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P R I M A RY head deep CO LO U RS

The Lockit

bag is back! In truth it never really went away, it was just resting in the Louis

The playground comes alive this summer with a palete ranging from chalky shades to clashing Eighties neon. And, this time, the kids get to write the rules

Vuitton archives in Asnières waiting for the brand’s designer Marc Jacobs to

rediscover it and breathe new life into the most classic handbag seen for years. Last produced in the Fifties, it

PhotograPhy Tim marsella FaShIoN EDItor Jo mCGUiNNess

makes wperfect sense, with our

current fascination with the design vision of that decade, that the Lockit should re-emerge now. The discerning woman of today wants her handbag to be an extension of who she is, and representative of her values. She is far from a trend-chasing fool;, a classic bag with heritage is far more appealing. The Lockit shouts for her attention in a discrete way. There are no frivolous tassles or gimmicky studs to distract. Instead, the silhouette of the Fifties’ bag with heritage is far more appealinClare

Coulson is words about her and exciting other bits of info to this

Radio ga-ga Opposite, Sophia wears: ‘Scrummy’ cardigan, from £64, Paul Smith Junior. Jeans, £50, Calvin Klein Jeans. Socks, £2.50 for a pack of six colours. Primark ‘Attitude Hi’ high-top trainers, £43, Adidas. Belt, £5, American Apparel Hello, sunshine This page, Charlie wears: ‘Otto’ hooded jacket, from £84, Stella McCartney Kids. Cardigan, £65, Caramel Baby & Child

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Skate of play

Words Carson wears: Polo shirt, from £75; Somebody Smith jeans, from £118, both Stone Island Junior. ‘Hi Top’ trainers, £18, Next

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The Needle Choc is available in leather, patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

Board walk Charlie wears: Cardigan, £65; ‘Jazzie’ T-shirt, £32, both Caramel Baby & Child. Bermuda shorts, £35, Cos

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Words Somebody Smith

The Needle Choc is available in leather, patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

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Brake time Opposite, Carson wears: Tank top, from from trend-chasing fool;, afrom classic bagStella £40, aBoss. ‘Henry’ T-shirt, £32, McCartney Trousers, from £118, with heritageKids. is far more appealing. The Stoneshouts Islandfor Junior. ‘Hi Top’ in trainers, £18, Lockit her attention a Next. Sophia wears: T-shirt, as before. discrete way. There are no frivolous ‘Sophie 2’ skirt, from £64, Paul Smith tassles or gimmicky studs to distract. Junior. Socks, from a selection, Tezenis. Instead, the silhouette of the Fifties’ bag ‘LA’ trainers, £40, Adidas

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with heritage is far more appealinClare Spot on is words about her and exciting Coulson This page, Sophia wears: T-shirt, £23, Cos

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Words Somebody Smith

The Needle Choc is available in leather, patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

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bag is back! In truth it never really went away, it was just resting in the Louis Vuitton archives in Asnières waiting for the brand’s designer Marc Jacobs to rediscover it and breathe new life into the most classic handbag seen for years. Last produced in the Fifties, it High jinks makes wperfect sense, with our Left to right, Devin with wears: current fascination theJumper, design from £59, Ralph Lauren. ‘Lemon Crystal’ skirt, £59, Caramel Baby & Child. should re-emerge now. The discerning Jeans, from £62, Burberry. Socks, woman of today wants her handbag from a selection, at Ralph Lauren. to Converse All Star Mono’ trainers, be an extension of ‘Hi who she is, and £24.99, Ofﬁce.ofKelly wears: Coat, representative her values. She isfrom far £108, Boss. Dress (just seen) £18, Next. from a trend-chasing fool;, a classic bag ‘LA’ trainers, £40, Adidas. Socks, £2.50 with heritage is far more appealing. The for a pack of six colours, Primark. Lockit her shirt, attention a Carsonshouts wears:for Polo fromin£75; jeans, from Stone Island discrete way.£118, Thereboth are no frivolous Junior.or‘Hi Top’ trainers, Next. tassles gimmicky studs£18, to distract. Vincent wears: Jumper, from £55, Instead, the silhouette of the Fifties’ bag Il Gufo. ‘Paul’ T-shirt, from £23; ‘Felix’ with heritage is far more appealinClare shorts, from £44; ‘Bernie’ trainers, Coulson isall words about her and Kids. exciting from £78, Stella McCartney Socks,bits as before other of info to this

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Words Somebody Smith

The Needle Choc is available in leather, patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

Photographs Somebody Smith

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Blue nylon zip-up hooded jacket, from £151, Armani Junior. Red sleeveless cotton pique polo shirt, from £41, Ralph Lauren. Yellow cotton-elastane shorts, from £57, Burberry. Mint green spun-polyester webbing belt, £5, American Apparel

discrete way. There are no frivolous tassles or gimmicky studs to distract. Instead, the silhouette of the Fifties’ bag with heritage is far more appealinClare

Coulson is words about her and exciting other bits of info to this

Hair Vicky Granado at MC2 Miami Digital artwork Mark Shearwood With thanks to Production Factory, Miami Models Carson, Charlie, Devin, Kelly, Sophia and Vincent STOCKISTS DETAILS ON PAGE 49

stockists

A Adidas 0870 420 2404; adidas.com Alex and Alexa 020 7384 1505; alexandalexa.com American Apparel 0800 630 0074; americanapparel.net Antik Batik 0845 094 4012; antikbatik.fr Atelier de Courcelles 020 8749 0375; groupecwf.com B Bobo Choses 020 7229 2178; bobochoses.com BHS 0845 196 0000; bhs.co.uk Bonpoint 020 7235 1441; bonpoint.com Boss 020 8964 8605; hugoboss.com Burberry 020 7806 1303; burberry.com C Calvin Klein Jeans 020 3100 2900; calvinklein.com Caramel Baby & Child 020 7589 7001; caramel-shop.co.uk Cecil Gee 020 7447 7200; cecilgee.co.uk Chloé 020 8964 8605; groupecwf.com Clarks 0844 477 7744; clarks.co.uk Colour Your World by Urbanz 01480 300308; cywbyurbanz.com Cos 020 7478 0400; cosstores.com Couverture 020 7229 2178; couverture.co.uk D DKNY Kids 020 8964 8605; groupecwf.com Dolce & Gabbana 020 7659 9000; dolcegabbana.com D&G Junior 00 39 0331 409211; dolcegabbana.com F Finger in the Nose 07970 383188; fingerinthenose.com Frock Me! 020 7254 4054; frockmevintagefashion.com G Gucci 020 7629 2716; gucci.com I Il Gufo 020 8731 8521; ilgufo.it K Kenzo Kids 020 7025 7850; kenzo.com KidSpace 020 7235 3730; kidspace.it L Levi’s Kidswear eu.levi.com Little Marc Jacobs 020 7025 7850; marcjacobs.com M Marks & Spencer 0845 302 1234; marksandspencer.com Millets 0800 389 5861; millets.co.uk Mini A Ture 020 7348 7316; miniature.dk Miss Blumarine blumarine.com N Next 0844 844 8939; next.co.uk

O Office office.co.uk Olive Loves Alfie 020 7241 4212; olivelovesalfie.co.uk P Paul Smith Junior 0800 023 4006; paulsmith.co.uk Petit Bateau 020 7462 5770; petit-bateau.com Prada 020 7647 5000; prada.com Primark primark.co.uk R Ralph Lauren 020 7535 4600; ralphlauren.com Replay & Sons 020 7713 9404; replay.it

Eye on the ball From left, Sophia wears: Jeans, £50, Calvin Klein Jeans. ‘Scrummy’ cardigan, from £64, Paul Smith Junior. ‘Attitude Hi’ high-tops, £43, Adidas. Belt, £5, American Apparel. Kelly wears: Coat, from £108, Boss. Dress, £18, Next. ‘LA’ trainer, £40, Adidas. Socks, £2.50 for a pack of six colours, Primark

S Sand sand.dk; available at Cecil Gee Stella McCartney Kids 020 7518 3100; stellamccartneykids.co.uk Stone Island Junior 020 7287 7734; stoneisland.co.uk T Tezenis 020 7494 2460; tezenis.it The Balcony Gardener 020 7431 5553; thebalconygardener.com Timberland 01753 497000; timberlandonline.co.uk Topshop 0844 984 0264; topshop.com Z Zara 020 7518 1550; zara.com

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telling artifacttales

Words Somebody Smith

high and Lowe

Photographs Somebody Smith

Singer turned designer Pearl Lowe on sobriety, family life, and ﬁnally ﬁnding peace in the country

I don’t remember much of my childhood.

Daisy, my eldest, is 22, lives in London

exactly where she wants The Needle him.Choc Sheis plays

I think I was quite an unhappy child. I had

and is a model. When things aren’t going

available in leather, us off each other something rotten…

very dark days. My mum once found my

well, she rings to ask for advice – although

diary and could hardly believe what I’d

I made such a mess of my life, I don’t

a variety of colours, really close. Now that he’s at seniorfrom school.

written! I’ve had to learn to be happy,

think I can offer her much. But it’s great

£320. Available at his friends have started to ask if he’s Daisy

and moving to the countryside has really

being sober and being there for her. It’s

Lowe’s brother, while Frankie and Betty don’t

helped. My husband Danny [Goffey,

hard to stand by and let your kids learn

have a clue that their big sister is a famous

drummer with Supergrass] and I left

by their own mistakes. I’m a warrior

model. Alﬁe is desperate to get back to

London when I was pregnant with my

mum and I’d love to protect all of them

London and he keeps telling me he’s going

youngest, Betty, who’s now ﬁve, and

for ever, but you can’t.

to live with Daisy. I warn him she might be

he says it’s like living with a different

I was really strict with Daisy. I had

patent leather (pictured)

Alﬁe and Daisy always and have in precious skins,been in

the Roger Vivier boutique

married with kids by the time he leaves

person. Last Christmas, we moved to a

to be; for the ﬁrst six years of her life, until

house in Somerset in a really idyllic spot

I met Danny, I was on my own. I am quite

by the river. We won’t be moving again.

lenient with 14-year-old Alﬁe and his

I was younger, but I’m fed up of reading

home and might not want him there! I admit that I was a bit wild when

11-year-old brother Frankie, but Danny

that Daisy brought her brothers up - as

how important the space and tranquillity

is strict with them both. Just thinking of

though I was lying there with needles in

of the countryside have always been to

Frankie makes me smile. He wears really

my arms. It’s ridiculous. She was so busy

me. I was brought up in north London and

thick glasses and has mild Asperger’s and

modelling, she didn’t really have time to

then, when I was 14, my parents moved

his brain doesn’t work like other people’s.

look at them. I’ve always looked after my

right into the centre of London. I didn’t like

But he’s really creative, so I don’t worry

children and Danny has been a strong

it and used to go on weekend breaks with

too much about him.

father ﬁgure in Daisy’s life since she was

I feel so happy here and I’ve realised

friends whose families had country houses.

Betty is the ﬁrst of my children

six. I had a miscarriage last May and, my

who’s known me totally sober, but, at 41,

God, it was the worst thing I’ve ever gone

I’m much older than I was with the others,

through. But I decided that instead of

ago and started searching for what I really

so she runs rings round me. She’s the boss

returning to the dark days, I’d be strong

wanted out of life. I soon realised that it no

of the whole family. She tells us where

and focus on how lucky I am to have

longer included living in London and being

we’re sitting, what we’re having for dinner,

four fantastic kids.

part of the shallow fashion world any

what I should be wearing. This morning,

longer – I wanted to be a free spirit.

she was screaming at me because I put

And more than anything, I wanted the

the ‘wrong’ shoes on! Danny is obsessed

kids to have a happy mum.

with her. It’s hilarious – she’s got him

I really craved the countryside. I gave up drink and drugs six years

Pearl Lowe’s spring/summer 2011 vintage collection for Peacocks is modelled by Daisy Lowe; peacocks.co.uk

head deep

The Lockit

makes wperfect sense, with our current fascination with the design vision of that decade, that the Lockit should re-emerge now. The discerning woman of today wants her handbag to be an extension of who she is, and representative of her values. She is far from a trend-chasing fool;, a classic bag with heritage is far more appealing. The Lockit shouts for her attention in a discrete way. There are no frivolous tassles or gimmicky studs to distract. Instead, the silhouette of the Fifties’ bag with heritage is far more appealinClare

Coulson is words about her and exciting other bits of info to this

Left: Pearl, right, with daughter Daisy. Above, from left: Danny, Daisy, Pearl, Alﬁe, Frankie and Betty in Somerset

artifact

Words Somebody Smith

The Needle Choc is available in leather, patent leather (pictured) and in precious skins, in a variety of colours, from £320. Available at the Roger Vivier boutique

Photographs Somebody Smith

head deep

The Lockit

Coulson is words about her and exciting other bits of info to this