Ashish SS14

When NYFW ends and all eyes turn to London, one of the collections I look forward to the most is Ashish. He's the man that can work sequins like a puppet master, and if money weren't an issue, my closet would be that much more sparkly. For Spring, Ashish took inspiration from a party girl's hangover trip to her local corner store. This came through in the Coca-cola emblazoned tops, tribal jewelry, grocery bags, and multicultural influences that reflect the diversity of the shop owners. The party girl in me (and there's a lot of it) is swooning over so many of the pieces. Not to mention, Coca-cola never goes out of style.. just sayin.

What she order?

I don't pay all that much attention to the menswear scene, but there's a goldmine of stuff out there I shouldn't miss! Martine Rose is one such menswear designer. She shows at London Fashion Week and her Spring '12 show oozes a polished street attitude and skateboarding influence, complete with some sick CAT boots. It might not be for every type of boy, but that's why she showed on ladies too!

Step into liquid

Yo, WHAT? 2011, is that you? I knew you were here all along, it just took London to shake things up as always. When people talk about this idea of "the future", this is the kind of weird shit they dream up...the stuff that is actually motivated by science. Christopher Kane was just the creative vessel to bring it to life. I can clearly remember repeatedly pressing my little sticky kid fingers into oily stickers on my trapper keeper, almost willing them to burst open, even though I probably would've cried if that happened. The black dresses with colorful, liquid-filled plastic trim were crazy awesome, but I'm looking forward to the concept finding its way into many more accessories at the retail level. Big kid pencil case purses: I'm for it!






vogue.com

I Saw You Standing

The images in the last post came from an editorial on Platform, a London-based online mag I only just discovered that's a pretty entertaining and informative mishmash of cultural this and fashion that, mixed with a healthy serving of generation next photography. Like a lot of the more fashionably relevant online mags out there, Platform has a street style section, but theirs is refreshingly different. Instead of a single still full-body photo, Platform films the stylish subjects, and edits the footy together with tasty beats and details on the outfit. I feel like you get a better take on the person's personality, even if it's just through subtleties like them laughing and gazing into the distance. I'm def a fan of this format and predict others will eventually follow suit!

Nail queen

Life goal #126: start doing my nails more "creatively." With the resurgence of the nail polish industry over the past few years (I mean there's even "in" shades every season now), we have enough options to make our own homemade masterpieces. Of course there's the bananas Japanese nail art that tends to be about gluing adornments and jewels to your nails so they look like candy, but in terms of pure stunning 2D design, a name you need to know is Sophy Robson. Now one of London's hottest manicurists, Sophy started making a name for herself booking manicurist gigs for shoots. Now with her own agent, Sophy nabs fashion shows and big campaigns left and right and even has her own nail boutique. I dug around and found some of the sweetest designs she's done over the past few years (some of the photos don't do the level of detail justice, but you get the idea).

Sophy's Giles-inspired manicure

Oily chromed-out nails for McQueen's Spring '10 show

Burnt nails for Dazed & Confused

Gareth Pugh black & white nails, Spring 2008

Sophy's rainbow manicure

Acronym nails for House of Holland's Fall '10 show (CTFO=Chill the fuck out)

Hannah Holman's smiley nails done for British Vogue

Marimekko nails for Japanese Vogue


Luxury nail art for Elle Collections

images via Sophy's site + google images

Strawberry punch

Scottish designer Louise Gray got her start as a textile designer, if you didn't guess that already that by looking at her artsy, off-kilter creations. She's spent the last few seasons building on her signature look of vibrantly-hued, boldy textured garments and I'll definitely be following this girl as I love what she's doing. Her Spring 2010 line was bursting with energy and color from head to toe. My favorite print was scrawled white on black grafitti craziness that she used throughout.








pc: style.com

There came a big spider

When I looked at Louise Goldin's efforts for spring, I immediately thought of "Little Miss Muffet", except this isn't the Miss Muffet you're used to seeing in the children's book. Baby doll dresses got the 90s Versace treatment, and everything had a bit of a sci-fi touch, especially that gold lurex jumpsuit that totally nailed it. Check out the amazing colored heels covered in crystals and spikes- so dope!






pc: Coutorture + NY Mag

*** ******

A random browse on ebay led me to Six London's ebay store. Six is a showroom that manages such footwear labels as bStore, Opening Ceremony, S***R (Swear), and Surface2Air. Their ebay store has an assortment of samples and deadstock from some of these brands, so I plan on checking in on it regularly. I found these Swear's that I have never seen before, probably a few seasons old. I love the mix of translucent vinyl material with canvas. Unfortunately these aren't in my size, but if you are a EU 37/US 6, there's lots more where these came from!

Meet Annabel

Before we hit the club:

After:

I love her grimey vintage style- effortless yet unique.

where the dinosaurs roam

I don't normally spend this kind of cash on tees, but there is a weak spot in my heart for All Saints men's tees and I couldn't leave the shop with out it. I mean come on- T REX!!!!

Coming to get you

I'm so into both of these spike-adorned looks from Julien Macdonald's show in London. The shoulders as a focal point seemed to be a common theme throughout the collection, and his knitwear was beyond amazing. Oh and that dress is to die for.

London Calling

Richard Nicoll started London fashion week on a beautiful note!...precise tailoring, soft and muted palette, underwear as outerwear, futuristic metals...this collection is a wonderful mix of millenium Barbarella meets "mental asylum chic"...love love love!

Topshop Unique FW09

If you're going to call your line "Unique", it better pull from some pretty out there influences, and Topshop did just that for fall. From spaceships and sci-fi, to grunge and rave culture, the layered looks were a remix that was music to my ears. The cowl-hooded sweatshirts and glow-in-the-dark perspex necklaces will probably find their way onto me and I'm beyond excited that I can see this stuff in person come September. Suddenly I have the urge to watch old episodes of My So-Called Life...Rayanne Graff would have totally been into some of these outfits.

Punk. Perfect. Awful.

Matt Irwin, the awesome photographer who I posted about in November, has a show opening this Friday at Cordy House in London. Go check it out if you're in that neck of the woods!

Be a saint

I was running early for an appointment yesterday and happened to to stop by All Saints, and to my delight most of the store was on sale—I got a killer necklace, 3/4 length jumper and a deck of playing cards (random, i know) for only 43 pounds! (Sorry, I forgot my camera so no pics right now.) The sale is also online.

London/Paris on the cheap and chic

Happy New Year! It's been a while, but I am finally back from holiday and excited for 2009! I start off the year with a business trip to London next week followed by a weekend in Paris. I was hoping some of you would have suggestions for thrift stores/cheap food, and of course nightlife. You can either leave a comment here or email at ismentalcrew@gmail.com.
thanks! xoxo D

Big Matt and Fries

Matt Irwin is a 27 year-old camera renegade from London who has shot for some of my favorite mags including Dazed & Confused, Self Service and V Magazine. Earlier this year, he captured portraits of energetic people for the Uniqlo t-shirt campaign that was seen all over NYC, London, and Tokyo. His myspace houses most of his body of work, but he also has a blog. You might recognize a lot of faces in his photos, including many of Agyness Deyn and Alice Dellal that appear to be his favorite muses.