the girl in the red glasses

Something new(ish)

The following is a review for Concrete Lifestyle of the horrific Morrisons Christmas advert:

‘Build it and they will come’ so opens one of the most repulsive and offensive Christmas adverts EVER. Give us back Kerry Katona and her ‘seasonal hoisin duck dips’ all is forgiven. Instead we are presented with a Christmas dystopia. The setting is a provincial town somewhere in Middle England with Freddie Flintoff as our guide and the creator of this strangely authoritarian market place. Is the England cricketer really the first thing people think of at Christmas? I know I didn’t. It only gets worse from here. Like a Christmas Pied Piper dancing to the tune of Take That with many very irritating children in tow Freddie tours us around the market place. While being surrounded by unbearably irritating children may be festive the ‘Christmas Quiche’ Freddie is reminded by one of the sprogs to buy is most definitely not. The world envisioned by this advert becomes increasingly sinister with a mixture of Bruce Forsyth, the butchering of the Italian language and the fact that ‘Turkeys are only available until the 20^th of December.’ Under the tyrannical rule of Freddie Flintoff last minute buying is not an option. 

Also a recent article about The Face of the Artist Exhibition at UEA’s Sainsbury Centre, one of my New Year’s resolutions os definitely to visit this brilliant (and free for students) art gallery more:

The Face of the Artist exhibition at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts focuses on the work of John Hedgecoe and is a fascinating retrospective of the acclaimed photographer’s work. The exhibition is the first showing of the John Hedgecoe Photography Collection showcases Hedgecoe’s portraits of a number of artists including David Hockney, Francis Bacon and Henry Moore. Hedgecoe’s photographs focus on visual artists, designers, architects, composers and writers. This form of portraiture aims to capture the psychology of these creative figures and depict the environments that inspire their work.

Hedgecoe experiments with silhouettes, light and colour in his portraits in particular the portrait Henry Moore 1984 shows the artist examining his own sculpture and interacting with the space around him. The spotlight put on the creative process by Hedgecoe is subtly juxtaposed by the intimacy of his shots and the rawness of the connection they represent between artist and muse. Similarly his photographs of Robert Buhler and Ruskin Spear painting from life models in their studios serves to create an multi-layered image, as they observe their models so we observe them. The subject of Hedgecoe’s work in this exhibition appears to be the relationship between the artist and their environment. The photographs range from the stern and confrontational as in Sir Stanley Spencer 1957 to jovial snapshots of Terry Frost in Terry Frost  1990 where the brightly coloured lines of clothing reflects the vivid colours he used in his paintings which can be seen in the foreground.

The real highpoint of the exhibition is the way it melds the photographs of the artists themselves with examples of their pieces. For Henry Moore there are examples of his sculptures in the exhibition, Francis Bacon’s photograph is displayed alongside the haunting Sketch for a Portrait of Lisa (1955) and within the photographs themselves are the titans of the fashion world Mary Quant and Zandra Rhodes. Quant in one of her infamous mini-skirts and Rhodes draped in the prints that made her designs in the 1970’s iconic.

A key element to the exhibition and one of the examples of the significance of the Sainsbury Centre and its role in showcasing home-grown UEA talent were the portraits of UEA literary heroes Rose Tremain, Andrew Motion, Angus Wilson and Malcolm Bradbury displayed as part of the exhibition. The collection is a celebration of all forms of creativity and the act of creation itself. Hedgecoe’s work explores and challenges our perceptions of what defines art. The exhibition will be running until the 4^th December 2011.

Something old,

While looking over some old articles across the holidays I stumbled across these pieces I’d written for Concrete’s Lifestyle section:

Photo-Bombing: An Art Form

Urban dictionary defines ‘photo-bombing’ as the action of ‘dropping in on a photo unexpectedly’ or even more specifically: ‘The act where one or several persons ruin (sometimes improve) a photo by performing funny acts in the background which may include a dry gangbang, holding stick like objects up to your crotch or raising your clothing.’ This act, or indeed artistic movement whereby ordinary photos are transformed into pastiches revealing the complex nature of photography itself is one that requires timing, poise and guts.

Photographs were once an even in times when capturing the exact likeness of a human being was expensive and time consuming. Now we can take hundreds of photos upload them onto the internet and turn these significant moments into mere commodities. A night out isn’t a night out unless it’s been recorded in perfect detail. From the first game of ring of fire played in halls to the last jager bomb downed at graduation Uni nights out are all about the photos. But with so many standard snapshots of girls posed in cocktail dresses to boys breaking out the bass face in Lola’s we have begun to seek more from our photos and have become increasingly inventive at grabbing that brilliant image, that incandescent shot that illuminates what it means to feel young and alive.

In this quest for the most poignant snaps that retain a high LOL factor we have become increasingly creative. The art of ‘photo-bombing’ is a great example of this. See a group of people you know or ideally don’t posing for that special ‘start of the night’ or ‘barbeque by the lake’ photo? It is your duty nay obligation as a human being to at least form rabbit ears with your fingers behind their head or merely leap into frame at the last second pulling the kind of face that induces annoyance from the photographer and the photographed but ultimately earns you their respect as a ‘photo-LAD’ the more inappropriate the gesture the better.

Fresher’s Guide to Survival:

UEA Says Relax

Everyone’s experience of fresher’s week will be different. For some it’s a chance to strike out on their own, but for others this can be terrifying. The important thing to remember is that because everyone else is new there’s room to feel scared or lonely or just a little bit anxious. If you find socialising difficult, take your time, join some clubs and within no time you will be filling up your calendar with new activities and new people. If you find making new friends easy then that’s great too, just bare in mind you will probably spend most of spring semester trying to avoid some of the friends you made in fresher’s week.

When faced with the daunting task of cooking for oneself it’s easy to use Domino’s as your main source of sustenance. If you’re not an inexperienced cook don’t worry in time you’ll become more confident about making a good meal. A few malfunctions here and there are pretty inevitable, but keep trying and don’t resort too quickly to micro-wave ready meals. Without sounding like yer ma nutrition is important and you’ll need lots of vitamin enriched fruit and veg to stave off the inevitable bout of fresher’s flu/prolonged hangover. If you ARE a budding chef congratulations! You’re part of a minority at UEA that are continually sought out by those who manage to burn pasta. But don’t just show off your roast while your flatmates eat their burnt cheese on toast, give them a hand! Helping out a flatmate by offering to cook dinner with them and simply giving them some advice about cooking times, preparation etc will help boost their confidence if they seem to be struggling.

Nightlife at UEA doesn’t have to begin and end at the LCR, while it is a great place to meet new people and listen to great/awful music depending on taste it’s never everyone’s cup of tea. Get tickets for the first fancy dress LCR and see if it takes your fancy, if not Norwich has a variety of pubs and cafes to peruse during Fresher’s.

University is a fabulous opportunity for a fresh start. So, take it easy, check out all the fabulous events on offer and above all enjoy yourself! Before you know it you’ll be a decrepit second year.

The above article makes me feel super nostalgic, now I’m just a really, really old third year.            

Let’s do the Time Warp again…

Here’s an article written for Concrete reviewing a Vintage Event on Norwich. Concrete is now online, you can read the online article at the content source link.

On the 9^th of October on a sleepy Sunday in Norwich the UK’s biggest roaming vintage fair hit town. Having already visited over 25 cities and festivals so far this year the Vintage Fashion event flooded St.Andrew’s Hall with 40 stalls from up and down the country each full to the brim with a vast array of vintage clothing, jewellery and arts & crafts, food and homeware. For an alternative day filled with eclectic items from bygone eras and an air of fun and frivolity events like these are the ultimate indulgence.

It was a veritable delight for the senses, with the clothing racks bursting with beautifully maintained items ranging from dainty 1940’s tea dresses to brash 1980’s leather jackets – there was something here for every kind of fashionista with a taste for something a little bit different. Gone here were the racks of identikit high-street items, instead every piece was unique with a history and invoked the most wonderful sense of nostalgia. Never again need you be the girl (or boy) who encounters someone else working your look, the quirky vintage elements on show could add an individual twist to any outfit.

But it wasn’t by any means all about the clothes. The homeware and arts &crafts all hailed from a range of eras with the emphasis on interesting items that would make excellent gifts or unusual ornaments. For students bored with a simple poster declaring ‘Keep Calm and Drink On’ these stalls offered plenty to spruce up a student house but at prices even students can afford.

The venue itself was perfect for the event with plenty of space for browsing at your leisure with old-fashioned cakes, macaroons and tea for fatigued shoppers. There was also live music from a rockabilly band and a vintage party and beauty parlour. It was the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon escaping the rain outside with surprising items around every rail. The friendliness of the stall-holders and their love of all things vintage was definitely contagious and made the day a perfect one for introducing vintage virgins to the scene and for those who wanted to explore the ever-growing vintage scene in Norwich.

(Source: concrete-online.co.uk)

I love a good catwalk.

Last Summer I was lucky enough to be invited along to review the The Independently Fashion show as part of Norwich Arts Fringe. 

The Independently Fashion show offered a wonderful mix of local fashion and jewellery designers plus musicians from Norwich that provided entertainment for the all the senses. Beginning with the multi-talented Jordan Jackson a local singer and pianist who enthralled the audience with a set of classical tunes, Norah Jones covers and Eva Cassidy’s ‘Fields of Gold’. Jordan later modelled in the show as did a variety of models/musicians who later performed at Karma Kafe

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Jordan Jackson performing at St.Gregory’s Cathedral

                                         African drumming band

The venue of St.Gregory’s Church beautifully offset the minimalism of the stage with its high arches and intricate stained glass windows providing the perfect backdrop to the show. The show’s tagline of ‘Be daring, be different, be impractical’ set the tone for an evening filled with an air of hedonism and aesthetic pleasure as the lights dimmed and the show began.

The first designer to showcase was Stone Age Clothing, a jewellery designer whose experimental and inventive choreography transformed the catwalk into a piece of tribal performance art.  Models crawled onto the stage ‘discovering’ jewellery in caskets placed on the stage and involved the audience by placing the jewellery on their necks and wrists. Chunky statement necklaces woven out of beads, celtic armlets and large stones on bracelets completed the organic feel of the collection.

                                     Stone Age Clothing

The theme of tribal, raw earthy materials and colours was continued in Vivid Trading’s collection, which drew on influences from the ethnic African trends that had dominated previous spring/summer collections. The most striking aspect was the quality of the materials which were Fairtrade and sourced in Africa. The materials were adorned with wax prints and lots of embellishment giving the collection a luxurious Bedouin - Arabian feel and draped elegantly over the models.

                                          Vivid Trading

This organic feel to the show was in sharp contrast to the Shhh Collective and their range of urban wear. One by one models sauntered onto the catwalk displaying 80’s and 90’s inspired hoodies and slogan t-shirts. The background contained stills of graffiti and videos from their collection showcased at the Kaos fashion show a few months before. The clothes were fresh and edgy, t-shirts emblazoned with sharp graphics and acid colours.

                                             Shhh Collective

The youth and contemporary feel of Shhh’s impressive collection itself contrasted with the next collection by Deja Vú with their strongly vintage 1950’s/60’s aesthetic set to a Amy Winehouse soundtrack with models in beehives and Mary Quant influenced shifts – this collection was all about combining sexy retro cuts with bold prints and dresses with ruffle detailing.

                                                  Deja Vú 

The audience were then treated to a viewing of local band Cielo’s music video and performances of both original songs and covers. The energy of the band and their creative mash-ups of musical genres helped to set the tone for the rest of the show as a night for experimentation and creativity. This feel carried over into the next collection by Dilate Clothing whose take on urban wear was strongly rooted in the 1980’s with de-constructed shirts, plenty of acid wash and creative staging with a ‘walk-off’ between the male and female models.

                                              Local Band Cielo 

Next up was Vanessa Lewis’s collection, the opening description highlighting it as a collection inspired by Audrey Hepburn. With this in mind we were treated to dresses that combined details like Peter Pan collars, A-line skirts and cap sleeves with vintage style fabrics like houndstooth and pastel tweeds.

                                              Vanessa Lewis

Vanessa Lewis’ subtle, sexy sophisticated designs were followed by the work of Katie Guara a student whose designs played with proportions and texture creating bold hyper-sexualised silhouettes with her inventive use of whips and chains to offset tulle skirts and cocktail dresses.

                                              Katie Guara

This melding of fashion and fetish influences resonated through Rebecca Healey’s collection – last in the show but by no means the least with her lingerie range incorporating balloon hems, draped satin and lace, and intricately structured corsets.

                                          Rebecca Healey

The show ended with rounds of applause for the fabulous designers, models, musicians and organisers who had made the evening such a treat to watch. The sheer range of talent on display was astounding and it was a great example of the diversity of the Norwich Arts Scene.

All photos courtesy of event organiser Hannah Jones.

Afternoon tea? Afternoon mojito’s daaaahling

                      Myself and Susanna living it up in Madrid!

So this blog hasn’t been updated in a while but it’s time to rectify that. Since I last posted I’ve finished up at University for the summer and gone to Spain with Susanna to visit my other housemate Hasina whose working in Madrid for 6 weeks as an au pair. Firstly myself and Susanna touched down in Barrajas Airport and began exploring our way around Madrid by Metro. The City is a very walkable size but with Metro costs as low as they are we could easily afford to take a few trips during the baking heat of the day. The feel and pace of the city with narrow cobbled streets and big open plazas adorned with murals were filled with personality.

One of my favourite discoveries in Madrid was the sheer difference in character between the different barrios or districts in English. My favourite barrio was undoubtedly the area of Malasaña - the arty district filled with cafes, vintage shops, vinyl stores and heaps of charm. The spanish equivalent of Shoreditch you might say. One cafe in particular in Malasaña stood out - its impressive array of cocktails and beers or cervezas were delicious and we spent a lazy afternoon on their over-stuffed sofas admiring the 1960’s wallpaper and watching the world go by.

Spaniards from what I saw despite obvious signs of the economic crisis from the sheer number of shops with closing down sales to protests in the plazas there was no sense of the frenetic panic that can engulf large cities. The nightlife was buzzing but always with a chilled, contented vibe no doubt an effect of the siestas a feature of Spanish daily life I couldn’t seem to force my English body clock to adopt. The parks in Madrid were also top notch for attempted napping with the parque de jardines a stand-out favourite. 

                   Hasina chilling in a tree in one of the many parks

The clothes! Fashion in Madrid veered from Brit influenced vintage shops to massive branches of Zara and Mango, spanish chains that have found success in Britain due to the quality of their design and tailoring. For me it was the small quirky boutiques that had some really stunning stock, thus dispelling my lasting impression of Spanish fashion as being dominated by brightly coloured jeans, eastpak rucksacks and comically misspelt english slogan t-shirts in horrific cocktail colours as seen at Spanish teen store Pimkie. Grown-up spanish fashion was much more interesting, a combination of French tailoring with a-lines and simple structuring meeting Italian luxe elements, plenty of black and light floaty fabrics off-set by plenty of jewellery with well-cut sharp cotton suits for men.

It was truly the array of art galleries in Madrid and the calibre of the ‘Top Three’ (the Reina Sofia, the Prado and Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza) was outstanding. In particular the Reina Sofia with Guernica and its displays of art from the Spanish Civil War were deeply unsettling but profoundly affecting really made it stand out as my favourite gallery from the trip. However the Prado with its range of Spanish artists and famous paintings, in particular Goya’s The Third of May 1808 was definitely a highlight.

Food in Spain tends to vary depending on region and luckily the supposedly meat heavy diet of the madrileñas didn’t overly dominate the culinary scene in Madrid. My favourite food discovery was a food market in the Chueca district with food ranging from sushi and unbelievably good frozen yoghurt to mini gourmet burgers! 

               Churros con chocolato and Hasina’s cute mini burger!

It was a vibrant, exciting city where every street corner led to a completely different barrio and new sights to be seen. A magical place to explore and I’m so glad I got to explore it with Susanna and Hasina! I’ll definitely be returning one day.

All photos property of Hasina Allen as mine are being developed (also she takes really good photos).

We’re all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that’s all.

So it’s the end of another year at UEA. The boxes are being filled with memories from the past year and everything has started winding down. With this in mind I have been watching a LOT of films. Recent additions to my list of favourite films now include: The Breakfast Club and The Commitments. Both very 80’s in feel and zeitgeist (although The Commitments was made in 1991) I have now decided that Molly Ringwald in T.B.C is my current style icon.                      

Also re-watched The September Issue. I cannot over state how good a film it is! Grace Coddington as Vogue’s Creative Director is truly the heroine of the film.

This has been a pretty crazy month hence the lack of tumblr updates. I finished exams, had one of the best/most surreal uni nights ever on Saturday night and am just trying to fit in seeing as many people as possible here before heading back to the Big LDN. Am super hyped to be moving into the new house in the next 2 weeks and enjoying the beautiful weather and freedom from work and structure.

On a different note, I am gonna be President of UEA’s Concrete next year which I am super excited about! I also went to an awesome fashion show as part of the Norwich Fringe Festival a couple of weeks ago and reviewed it for the organiser Hannah a truly lovely lady. I’ll upload it here when it’s done. Big thanks go out to my housemate Robyn for suggesting me! Another event I enjoyed as part of the Norwich Fringe Festival was the  show featuring Hasina as part of the spoken-word poetry group Fractured Discourse she was fabulous as always and the follow-up of The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre was pretty mind-blowing.

Hasina doing her thang.

Still can’t get over the fact it was all done by one man. Kerrazzy.

Back to reading Anna Karenina and while simultaneously watching Made in Chelsea. Such an incongruous combination.

Spot the difference.

Submarine, a Royal Wedding and Yohji Yamamoto

A couple of weeks ago I watched Submarine with my brother it was SO GOOD. Despite reviews claiming it was ‘too self-consciously indie’ I adored Richard Ayoade’s furore into directing. The love interest Jordana is wonderfully sardonic and cynical delivering some lines with such venom and others with such subtlety and vulnerability, revealing her deep insecurities to Oliver in a teenage relationship that felt realistically flawed and often toe-curlingly awkward. While Yasmin Paige does make a fabulous Jordana, Craig Roberts made a compelling lead, his deadpan humour reeked of adolescent awkwardness and a deep sense of isolation. A bit of a Welsh Adrian Mole really. The music courtesy of Alex Turner was unsurprisingly good, but it didn’t overshadow or engulf what was a truly enjoyable film. Delightful. 

Onto the dress! Sarah Burton’s creation for Kate looked truly timeless with a really flattering feminine cut without all the extravagant 80’s pouffe of Diana’s dress. Particularly loved the intricacy of the lace with the thistle, shamrock, rose and daffodil motifs. Also a controversial statement no doubt but I actually really liked Princess Beatrice’s Phillip Treacy Hat. It was BADASS.

http://lydialeith.bigcartel.com/product/royal-wedding-sick-bags-red

Onto more badass clothing with my trip to the Yohji Yamamoto exhibition at the V&A with Meadows yesterday which was small but very enjoyable. Loved the minimalist design of the room itself and as a retrospective it was fascinating. What really stood out for me was the precision and tailoring involved in constructing these pieces combined with Yamamoto’s trademark subversion of gender rules. Also loved the combination of Japanese printing techniques and origami inspired fabric cutting with western fabrics like plaid and corduroy. 

Back to revision and UEA on Saturday. Exam Fear is finally starting to kick in.

Clementine

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of my favourite films. There’s this one scene where Joel asks Clementine why she dyes her hair and she replies : ‘I apply my personality in a paste.’ When I dye my hair I think of this.

Procrastination and Lady Gaga

The following is an article written for an upcoming edition of Concrete……….

From Gaga to DADA

This week I’m going to attempt to answer or at least consider the answer to the ultimate question for any fashionista: ‘Is this outfit amazingly inventive or does it make me look like a pillock?’ For example was Lady Gaga’s Kermit the Frog Coat a deeply imaginative take on the fur industry or too extreme to be considered an example of good taste? Personally I can’t help but wonder what a jacket made out of Big Bird would look like –I’m thinking mohair with a luminous yellow twist. If fashion is a form of expression than what message is it that we’re trying to get across? The S/S 2011 trends are a perfect example of this, when Miuccia Prada wore gargantuan banana earrings to the front row she was not only referencing the citrus prints that would be implemented throughout her show and others (Stella McCartney’s fabulous orange-printed shifts to name just one) but also Andy Warhol’s famous banana print album cover for The Velvet Underground & Nico in 1967. The link between art and fashion and the way both mediums push aesthetic boundaries and create new concepts has been around for aeons.

From Elsa Schiaparelli’s work in collaboration with Salvador Dali in the 1930’s right up to Stephen Sprouse’s 2006 and 2008 Autumn collections for Louis Vuitton artists and fashion designers have been bed-fellows for some time. With Elsa Schiaparelli’s DADA influenced pieces it is the surrealist influences of Dali’s vision that shines through, whether the hat shaped like a shoe or my personal favourite the ‘Skeleton Dress’ where Schiaparelli used padding to construct a dress complete with fabric ribs and spine. Sprouse’s designs in contrast draw from the graffiti of the Nineties. The juxtaposition of his harsh, fluorescent letters and rose motifs coating luxury Louis Vuitton bags was sublime in its simplicity and its message – fashion is accessible, not an exclusive intimidating club filled with bland, clinical designs. Fashion at its best can be fresh, exciting and intelligent in its references to pop-culture, or in Sprouse’s case urban street culture.

When Lady Gaga donned that infamous Kermit coat she not only gained column inches but she was also conforming to fashion’s subversive under-current. These fashion risk-takers that draw influence from art movements merely serve to prove how relevant fashion is even in an age of economic austerity where luxury and haute couture seem like dirty words. Fashion much like art really is wherever the beholder chooses to find it. One designer who achieves the perfect balance between surreal, arty and wearable is Christopher Kane. His recent Resort Collection with dresses in galaxy prints are breath-taking in their surrealism, the precision of the cuts and the way they illustrate the beauty of nature  - the wearer is literally wearing the stars. Kane is definitely one experimenter to look out for. On the flip-side some fashion in pushing boundaries winds up being plain hideous – this writer recently discovered that lamé body-suits are not only uncomfortable (sweat patches anyone?) but also make you look like a giant sausage stuffed into a gold skin. Eurgh. Lesson Learned: Being daring in fashion, good. Lamé: Bad.

On a completely unrelated note I really really need to write my Shakespeare and Victorian Britain coursework.