THE MACCABEES X MERCURY PRIZE SESSIONS

A few weeks ago on the 24th October it was the Mercury Prize gig with nominees The Maccabees, Michael Kiwanuka & Alt-J performing at SLO St.Luke's in East London. 

It was a great venue + what better way for The Maccabees to come home from their big US trip than playing here. They were nominated for their 3rd album 'Given to the Wild', but they did play a couple of songs from 'Wall of Arms' which the crowd loved. To my amazement though they lost out to Alt-J, im my eyes no one nominated deserved it more than The Maccabees. Their album is beyond fabulous and after seeing them play 8 times since the album was released in January, I should know. 

The xx - Coexist

In addition to sounding perfect, it's in the running for best artwork of 2012 so I decided to take the record in the studio to photograph it in all its glory. Also here's a great cover of the band taken for Clash Magazine.

YoungColossus x CorsicaStudios

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Young Colossus gig at Corsica Studios in Elephant & Castle. It was an unbelievable atmosphere with an incredible backdrop with leaves & branches scattered everywhere. I hope they do more shows in the future, I don't want it to have been a once in a lifetime thang. <3

A few photos from Summer 2012

 UO window display

Hawksmoor - Spitalfields

Lazy Oaf x Batman

Lazy Oaf are a super cool brand featuring quirky designs on clothes so it's no surprise that they have collaborated with Batman so to speak and produced these awesome pieces! 

My personal favourites are the Bat-inspired shirts.

Other pieces include dresses, crop tops, leggings, tees & bodysuits. Let's hope they don't sell out quick! Men also have the chance to channel Bruce Wayne with a selection of sweatshirts, tees & shirts all decked out in logos & characters. 

The top photographer ~ Viktor Vauthier who is known for only using film photography in his fashion work has done the fantastic campaign. 

Here are some of the best >>

© VIKTOR VAUTHIER

SHOP HERE

P E A C E ☮

For the past few months now I've been listening to BTOWN band P.E.A.C.E (all bands hailing from birmingham have renamed their city this). Their music is perfect and that's not a word I use often. Their songs are full of beachy vibes & all I wanna do is get drunk on pina coladas and have fun in the sun. Even seeing them live in a dark room wearing their coveted tasselled leather jackets you seem to get transported to this sun drenched world. P.E.A.C.E are definitely on my summer 2012 mixtape whether the sun is out or not. Even the artwork oozes psychedelia. 

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VEVO Presents...

~~ THE MACCABEES ~~

A few weeks ago South London band The Maccabees were asked by VEVO to take part in a performance involving 3D projection mapping (whatever that is ha -even the guys weren't too sure) which would then be shown on their website. I was lucky enough to be a part of it ~ it was such a cool experience getting to see what it looked like on set and then the final video which got released last night. You can watch it HERE 

It was shot at 3 Mills Studios in East London and the band performed Heave, Go + Grew Up At Midnight. 

I can now officially check being on set & clapping whilst the director shouts 'That's a Wrap!' off my bucket list. 

BALMAIN

I'm currently in lurvve with Balmain. Each season their jackets always amaze me. The past two collections are no exception.   Fall 2012 ready to wear  ~ this season shows leather jumpers (who doesn't want one of those bad boys), dresses, waistcoats & jackets adorned with beautiful needlework designs & hundreds of pearls. There's so much detail to each piece, they truly are works of art <3 They remind me so much of the awesome denim jackets decorated with tapestries across the back by Jervoise Jackets. (I would luv to get my hands on one of those!) http://www.jervoisejackets.com/  

The last look I've posted shows velvet trousers which look amazing and the most beautiful leather jacket that I've seen in a hell of a long time. I bet Karl Lagerfeld was envious of that one. I wish I was a French IT girl. Life must be good when you get to wear clothes like these. 

The Resort 2013 collection debuted earlier this month and is full of pastel colours. The collection reminds me of the 1980s with the wide cute trousers and heavily oversized jackets. All stunning. A particular favourite of mine are the stripes, they never fail to please me. Olivier Rousteing (designer) once again has designed a leather jacket for the new season with the look this time dedicated to an 80s biker with way more class. Style.com mentions that Rousteing was influenced by Miami Beach and with colours like yellow & mint I can see why - these clothes could be seen on a new series of The Golden Girls for sure ~ (a younger blanche would own these like no one else). 

All photos taken from http://www.style.com/

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Since The Maccabees UK January tour they've made a screenprint for each one featuring a member's childhood photo. I think they're so much better than a regular tour poster that can rip and crease; they just look so cool on a wall. Each one is so unique because they're all done by hand. Here are the ones I've managed to get my hands on...

For Record Store Day Orlando Weeks designed some screenprints in dedication to the day. There was a total of 10 different designs. I got 3 of these bad boys.. <3

                

LOCALS ONLY

I went to York for the day yesterday and decided to check out the new Urban Outfitters store that's just opened. They all seem to have a really cool edgy design aesthetic, this photo is of a window display that I just loved. 

The books on sale are always great coffee table books and a photo book by Hugh Holland titled 'Locals Only: California Skateboarding 1975-1978' really stood out since I'm a huge fan of that era and lost count how many times I've seen the film Lords of Dogtown. Despite being published in 2010 I hadn't seen it in Urban Outfitters and with a cheaper price of £13.95 (as compared to £29.95 in bookshops) I don't expect to see it much longer. Some photos I'd seen before like the 'dogbowl' shots of empty swimming pools since that's what the guys are known for, but a lot was being looked at first time and they're really cool action shots chronicling these kids' skateboarding lives. The photographs were all taken by Hugh Holland who followed the guys around for 3 years; himself not a skateboarder. The series show beautiful documentary photography and studying photojournalism at uni I can really appreciate each stunning photograph. I just love the cameras of that time and the angles Holland used & the outcome is colour is phenomenal. Looking through the book I can tell that living in 1970s Southern California would have been truly Sweet!