SHINING STAR

In love with this track.

WHP

The return of Warehouse Project to a new venue was something amazing to be a part of last night, despite the heat inside the amazing new space reaching sauna heights and leaving with legs (..and creepers) caked in mud. Best sets of the night have to go to Maya Jane Coles who set off the huge main room at the start of the night, also to Scuba, it was the first time i'd seen him, he packed out the smaller room of the warehouse with a sound that stood out again the big deep house acts and finally to XXXY who I have to see more of....

ASHISH

London Fashion Week for me has always been a little more playful, more colourful and edgy than minimal New York, luxury Milan or feminine Paris but this weeks a/w collections seemed to have grown up. An air of sophistication at Topshop Unique replaced the themes of the past several season, whilst House of Holland's edgy East London girl seems to smartened up, Holland himself even states “She’s getting a bit older this season, it’s all really beautifully made and there are some really classic pieces – I’ve always made clothes for the girls I spend time with and as we grow up and live life, she always needs something to wear.” As much as I loved these new directions I missed the excitement, luckily for me Ashish didn't fail to disappoint and stayed true to his identity with sports inspired pieces and sequin overload. The collection, entitled Bollywouldn't, is another amazing contrast of luxe and lounge and I can't but hear MIA's new tune Bad Girls in my head each time I look over the runway photos.

MIXTAPE

4 songs I love at the moment.

They don't go together or have any relevance to one another, I just like them.

HUD MO

Because me and my gal Mae can't go out without listening to this track at the moment.

JOY

Feeling this Joy Orbison cover so much more than the original track.

Getting majorly excited for Dollop tomorrow night at Stealth too, such a sweet line up and loveeeee Battle For Middle You, reminds me of summer festivals and dancing in the mud.

HOPELESS PLACE

Now before I start this post I want to make one thing very clear, I cannot stand Rhianna. But suddenly her stylist has come over all Corinne Day and made what may just be one of my favourite music videos in terms of styling. From the Pretty Woman suspender crop tops, to the double stacked creepers and American flag print denim, metal collar tips and acid bleached denim, the look is pure grubby London girl cool and wouldn't be out of place in an I-D magazine shoot. I also love the cinematography of the video in terms of the compositions of the shots as well as the flower projections and the contrast they creative against the urban setting. I would love to know who was involved in making the production but have had no luck looking online, so drop me a comment if you have any ideas. On top of it all, Rhianna's co-star is delicious and she pukes ribbons, some girls just have it all eh.

I dedicate this post to two of my best friends Eve and Cherry because secretly I think we all want to be Rhianna in this video.

METRONOMIX

Without a doubt my song of the summer was The Bay by Metronomy, I saw the band themselves play it at Glastonbury and Bestival whilst DJ's were dropping it all over the shop at Field Day. So when Erol Alkan, one of my favourite dj's tweeted about this tune I had to give it a listen...and true to form, it's perfect. I loved the original track but this Ewan Pearson remix might just become my new track crush.

Perfect tune for a night in with a cosy new jumper, obsessive Pinterest pinning and chocolate cake...which is exactly what my evening has involved.

PENTLAND

Over the summer I set to work on the Pentland Project, I wasn't instilled with desire for the project but got stuck into some research none the less. I choose to focus my project on Pentland brand Berghaus gleaming inspiration and know how from a second Pentland brand, Boxfresh. 

A trip to Designer Forum and some investigation on Stylesight really whet my appitite for the project and I actually got quite excited by my vision for a new more current Berghaus. I explored predicted Activewear Megatrends for A/W 2012 and S/S 2013 as well as looking at innovative visual merchandising from the likes of Karl D.D Willis and the amazing Richard Chai (check out his glacial pop-up store 'ERE). 

I looked further at fabric technology, particularly Puffer Trends, where I became fixated with abstract padding, deformation of shape and extravagant anatomical shapes. I aimed make Berghaus share the coolness and style led aestetic of Boxfresh, perhaps even supersede it though experimental fashion insights and exciting scientific fabric technologies as well as a key consideration for the consumer and the environments which Berghaus combats. 

The project was due to be presented as an exhibition so I decided to create a mood which summed up my vision rather than creating a fact driven display. Below are some of the images which will be displayed as part of my exhibition.

And some sounds which add to the mood, because music is important to this blog, and my way of thinking.

I'd really appreciate any feedback as I feel this is a project which I struggled with and took an abstract view at while completing the final outcome.

SOFT

I'm loving these two tracks at the moment, both beautifully vibrant yet soft and calm instilling. Calm is something i'm definatly lacking at the moment!

NEIL KRUG + THE HORRORS

P.S. Check out the amazing imagery Krug has created for The Horror's new album Skying 'ERE

Turns out Krug is a contemporary photographer still working today, so I can't wait to see more of his work.

.....

I can't get enough of The Horror's latest single Still Life, perfect 1990's Suede inspired sounds for the Summer.

BAND GEEK

The summer always marks the time in which I discover new bands and artists and after checking out a few new talents or rediscovering a love for bands who have been around for a fair while I guess I should share some. It's interesting that I'm about to share 5 amazing songs by bands when I have been all about electronic music and DJ's for the past 8 or 9 months.

..and you have no idea how much I wish I was an Latitude this coming weekend to see Suede, it even involved a desperate, yet failed, bid to become an Oxfam Steward.

Anyway, I seem to share a lot of music with you through this blog. What I listen to relates so closely to my mood and therefore the way which I think and dress, and of course on a far wider scale the musical tastes of the moment impact on the way designers think and in turn what we will be wearing. So what comes first. The Music or the Style? Kind of interesting huh.

CALVI on the ROCKS

I spied this festival via the ASOS Facebook page and wish i'd heard about it sooner! A great line up featuring my hometown favourites Foals, as well as, Metronomy, heavenly house dj Laurent Garnier and Friendly Fires. This on top of a beautiful and sunny setting of Corsica and some great festival on the beach style going on. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for next year's line up but for now this perfect remix of Friendly Fires' Hawiian Air by another homegrown talent TEED provides a backdrop to some of my favourite looks from the festival.

BEATS

Just some of my favourite tracks at the moment...

OK so maybe one is a bit of a guilty pleasure...and I definatly haven't been listing to it on repeat as I countdown to Glastonbury.

COUNTING

..down to my final deadline and a summer full of festivals. I made a little playlist of the songs that are helping me pump out the work and look forward to the end of May. I did hunt for the perfect photo from last summer's festivals but they all a little too drenched in mud, undercuts, Strongbow cans and clashing patterns.

Quite frankly nobody needs to see that so here's a lovely snap from Glastonbury for you to click on and have a listen to some Lykke Li and Egyptian Hip Hop.

Check out these juicy line-up i'm heading to over the summer....

Evolution

Parklife

Glasto

Reading

Bestival

Lovely! Only another couple of thousand words and all nighters on Photoshop to go eh.

SOUNDS

Just 2 of the songs that I listened to on repeat this weekend that sounded great in the sun.

Kind of diverse. 

CHALLENGING

..the 30 day music challenge isn't working out so well.

But here is an amazing mix from Blawan to make up for it. After witnessing his Filthy Tech House on Tuesday at Lost Boyz Club I am going to be keeping a very close eye, this guy has a huge presence on the stage check him out 'ERE.

Or for something a little more mainstream..check the Dazed Digital playlist 'ERE

4.5.

A Sad Song

Something In The Way - Nirvana

Gorgeous but sad. Such a Nirvana girl at heart.

A Song That Makes Me Think Of Someone

What A Waster - Libertines

Reminds me of my Horseshoe Crew...called that because the weekend we saw Libertines together all 6 of girls got a little horseshoe tattooed.

CHANEL AND 3

I've been hunting though Topshop's website looking for some new smarter wardrobe staples (i'll post more about this tomorrow)..when I came across this gorgeous holdall bag.

£45

It's perfect! Love that it can be slung over the shoulder with the long strap or grabbed by the handle and it's got a great balance of vintage styling and understatement. Then I realised why I really adore this bag, the palm tree tapestry pattern really reminds me of the Spring Summer '11 Chanel ads, which are perhaps my favourite of the season.

I love the dark moody take on the usually tropical paml trees. The images remind me of an abandoned holiday destination, where only the beautiful Freja remains.

So..I know what i'll be buying with my eBay profits!!

..and a song which makes me happy...

I love Bombay Bicycle Club for a chilled morning but this remix tops it.

SONG2

Gunna be a lover not a fighter..and not post a song I hate..

So here's what i've just heard that's put me reet in the mood to go out.

On the subject of soundssss, I swung by Nottingham Contemporary today and urge you to check out the Jack Goldstein Sound Art exhibition..it seems to new and fresh, but was originally created in the 70's....check out some details 'ERE. Loved the rickety sound of the projectors.

...definatly have a thing for old sounding recording and always listen to Friday night Radio1 of my dented and dusty 1980's boombox, so rough and naughty.

And I promise to post something better tomorrow xx