mikapoka

One of high-octane duos of fashion editorials strikes again:
world famous photographer Tim Walker teamed up with
androgynous style icon, Anglo-Scott actress Tilda Swinton
in a staggering editorial for the May issue of W magazine
where W smartly stands for the magazine bringing ”the Who,
What, Where, When and Why in the World of fashion”.

Walker is one of the most visually influencing fashion
photographer whose fascination with photography began
in Condé Nast's very own library in London where he
worked on Cecil Beaton archives as part of a yearlong
work experience. After graduating, he worked as a
full-time assistant to Richard Avedon in NYC before
coming back to London where he shot his first fashion
story for Vogue developing a charming, magical
aesthetic that led him to realize his first

short movie 'The Lost Explorer'.

Tilda keeps on her ”dance with fashion” in the co-signed
surreal fantasy called ”Stranger than Paradise” in which
gorgeously constructed images make reference to the
inestimable art collection of British poet Edward William
Frank James who's known for his early patronage of the
surrealist movement (he supported Salvador Dalì and
René Magritte who took two different portraits of him).

Tim & Tilda created a phantasmagoria of beauty and
style mentioning to some of Edward James' protégés,
surrealist masters such as Dalì, Giorgio De Chirico,
Remedios Varo, Man Ray and Leonora Carrington
(see also 'tribute to the last surrealist' about her).
”The beauty of surrealism is in original gestures, unique
juxtapositions and an unchecked flight of fancy” Swinton
declares about the otherworldly pictures creating

an enigmatic sense of transport and vertigo.

Tim Walker works with London-based, Danish born
stylist Jacob Kjeldgaard on a regular basis for 'W'
dressing Tilda with garments (just scroll the selected
pics in vertical order) by Vera Wang, Francesco
Scognamiglio, Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci, Acne
Studios, Rick Owens, Maison Martin Margiela and
Haider Ackermann. She expertly interprets clothes
and moods for her part transmuted into different
mystical creatures strongly evoking the magical
realism of surrealistic paintings.

”Ceci n'est pas une moustache” Tilda wrote about
the image in which four centipedes crawled up her
face for hours before they took their meaningful
positions of eyebrows and moustaches letting us
imagine how hard teamwork lies behind a

fantastic fashion story.

> all images © W Magazine/Tim Walker, styled by Jacob K <

Broadly experienced British designer Margaret Howell
knows what women want: she started making men's
shirts to her own designs back in 1972 opening her
namesake wholly-owned first shop in 1980 when she
began to develop womenswear, too. ”I find men's
clothes interesting in their stucture, feel and functionality.
I started by designing men's clothes, and then found
that women wanted them” she cannily declares.

Margaret debuted at London fashion week in 1995
establishing year after year her label's reputation:
Margaret Howell has five outlets in the UK, eighty
in Japan as well as a shop in Paris, employing 350
people worldwide thanks to her simple vision which
is strongly inspired by menswear. ”I've always
wanted clothes to be the way I drew them,

relaxed and lived in, a natural look.”

1 > 3 campaign images © by Koto Bolofo, styled by Margaret Howell

You may think her style is too basic yet each single
garment is accurately done: bearing the subdued
mannish flavor I'd like to wear by myself, her clothes
”are meant to be worn in the real world, where good
design is about living with thoughtful style” she says
and I fully agree with her sense of authenticity.
A 'true to life' selection of fabrics and comfortable
shapes mark a style that's neither sporty nor 'casual'
but simply cool and cozy, providing the right look

in every moment of the day.

”I'm inspired by the authenticity I can find in nature,
people and places, and I think it is the same quality
I look for in the materials I choose. For example, the
feel of hand-woven Harris tweed and the irregular
slub of Irish linen. I feel passionate about landscape,
and its connections with such fabrics and the skilled
people who weave them. I like to work with manu-
facturers who understand and share this passion
for make and quality of fabric...” she acknowledges.

The womenswear s/s 2013 collection's muted campaign
shows newcomer models Harriet Taylor and Elias
Cafmeyer in the delicate black & white images taken
in Ireland by South African born, Paris-based photographer
Koto Bolofo who's known for his keen eye for lively,
dynamic images as well as for fine portraiture while
the lookbook reveals the straightforwardness of an
enduring style subtly pulling the threads of British
tradition. As Leonardo da Vinci put it down:

”Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

lookbook images from 'Margaret Howell' label's website

The plot of 200-year-old German fairy tale 'Rapunzel',
the girl locked in a tower by a witch who used her
ultra-long hair as a rope for a prince to climb up and
rescue her, has been widely used and parodied in
various media but never better than for Byron Lars
Beauty Mark's spring 2013 collection.

Byron Lars is the recognized American designer who
has been creating womenswear under his own label
since 1991 when he started making at home a few
samples on a domestic sewing machine to show them
around to stores: they were good enough to catch the
attention of his soon-to-be business partner who
allowed him to start his career with a small sportswear
collection promptly establishing a body-conscious

style that earned critical and commercial raves.

Yet Byron felt that designer labels' garments had
exorbitant prices so he created a more accessible
line to widen his audience, exactly the Byron Lars
Beauty Mark, or BLBM: ”I wanted it to be more about
the clothes and less about the hype”, he declares,
”initially a cotton Lycra shirting based offering,

BLBM has now enjoyed eight years of success.”

Rapunzel, or better, the iconic image of her hair

flowing around, has been extraordinarily interpreted

by cosmopolitan photographer Noah Chen who points
out that the contemporary Rapunzel doesn't need a
prince to save her because she is independent and
the master of her own destiny (eventually getting
rid of her hair). Chen, the mastermind of Eyework
Studio, is a skilled freelance fashion and advertising
photographer who was born in Taiwan and raised in
Belize graduating from KIAD, the Kent Institute of
Art & Design, in south east England. Based in China
since 2004, he commutes between Shanghai and
Shenzhen working as an image creator specialized
in 2-D and 3-D digital imaging.

Chen highlighted the textured pieces of the BLBM
collection through gorgeous pictures subtly balancing
the focus on shapes, proportions and juxtapositions
as well as on the powerfully evocative mood.
Designer's trademark carefully constructed pieces
such as flowy A-line dresses, daytime frocks and
sculpted silhouettes are paired in a clever mixing
of textures, materials and techniques with perfectly
tailored suits and boho-inspired playful prints.
Let your hair down and have some fun!

> all images © by Noah Chen-Eyework Studio <

It was love at first sight with the absorbing costumes
realized by designer Katarzyna Konieczka who was
born in Gdańsk, northern Poland, graduating from the

International School of Costume and Fashion Design.
Katarzyna is an avant-garde fashion designer and a
gifted costume maker who conceives her creations for
the stage and catwalk shows subtly enhancing the
character's personality through the design of her
own clothes and accessories.

She created strongly evocative female characters
of all ages building up shapes, patterns and textures
able to make a powerful visual statement at a glance:
I dare say that more than one script could be inspired
by her 'creatures'. Each single costume has been
obviously devised as a one-off piece, using various
materials and techniques developed by herself in a
comprehensive show of Katarzyna's artistic capability
and her grasp of historical costuming.

Her textured clothes and her stunning headpieces
made with beads, pearls, glass and macramé are
very well rendered in the dazzling images taken
by Polish born, Munich-based freelance photographer
Sylwia Makris who actually worked as a sculptor prior
to find her way to photography, in the beautiful
settings of stylish-decorated Villa Antonina in Sopot,
the seaside resort town on the Baltic Sea.

The dark gothic theatrical aesthetic of them give rise
to different scenarios providing unique suggestions
through time and places: young women appear like
tarot female Popes or sorceresses wearing wondrous
headpieces or futuristic sculptural dresses while
little girls are caught napping and sleepwalking
or playing with a eerie zombie-horse.

Katarzyna's work marks the substantial difference
between fashion and costume design: she designs
not only jaw-dropping outfits and accessories, she
actually designs characters and their emotional
worlds in quite a nifty way. Utalentowany!

> all images © by Sylwia Makris/Konieczka Costumes <

Missoni in his studio portrayed © by Keith Trumbo (part.), 1980

Ottavio Missoni, the legendary Italian designer who
established the iconic brand with his wife Rosita back
in 1953, passed away serenely today in his home

near the city of Varese at the age of 92.
Universally known as Tai, Missoni was a great man of
sports (a gorgeous b&w picture shows him running the
400 meters final race at London 1948 Olympics) who
came into fashion by accident as he liked to say: her
wife's family owned a textile factory producing knits
and shawls so they set up a small knitwear shop that
grew into the very first Missoni label's collection,
'Milano Simpathy', in 1958. Missoni's trademark knits
became extremely popular for the multitude of colorful
patterns - stripes at first being straight lines the only
pattern their knitting machine was able to make -
strongly influencing the world of fashion ever since
the early 1970s. Tai was quite a a very modest and
good-humored man and a truly innovative designer
(one of the few wearing his own creations in everyday
life, though) and we miss him so much; luckily his vision
lingers on through the work of the Missoni family.
Ciao grande Tai!

above: an old man carrying cotton sacks in Peshawar,
photo © by Mohammad Sajjad/AP
below: drying up previously dyed fabric in Lahore,
photo © by Arif Ali/AFP/Getty Images

The beauty of Pakistan lies in its unique natural
wonders: in the sky high snowcapped peaks of
Himalaya, the lush green fields of the valleys, its
mighty rivers and lakes or in the sandy dunes of
Thar and Cholistan deserts as well as in the
mysterious remains of ancient cities flourished
in the Indus valley, yet its beauty is evident even
in the tiniest details of everyday life where every
shade of color is fixed by tradition, ethnic

identities or religious beliefs.

above: textile vendors in Karachi textile market,
photo (part.) © by Steve Evans, CC
below: dyeing fabrics in a factory of Lahore,
photo © by K.M. Chaudary/AP

Pakistan means ”the land of the pure”, although as a
nation is only 66 years old, as a civilization it's almost
5,000 years old. Following Britain's withdrawal from
India, the country was created in 1947 and named
after Punjab, Afghan border, Kashmir, BaluchISTAN,
the lands where the population was predominantly
Muslim and it's now one of the world's largest nations.

above: folk artist performing on Independence Day in Quetta,
photo © by Arshad Butt/AP
below: mosquito nets on display in Rawalpindi,
photo © by Anjum Naveed/AP

Pakistan has a very long tradition of growing cotton,
spinning and weaving as well as natural dyeing
techniques: I get such a buzz out of seeing the beauty
of the colorful textiles sold in bazaars and roadside
stalls overloaded with huge cotton satchels and
vibrant threads, overwhelmed by the lovely hues
of kurtas, saris, beaded tops and shawls and the
fineness of traditional embroideries and hats as
living symbols of a culturally diverse country where
even mosquito nets are brightly colored.

above: young boy reading Holy Qur'an in a Karachi mosque,
photo © by Athar Hussain/Reuters
below: a man trying on traditional hats in Peshawar,
photo © by Mohammad Sjjad/AP

Textiles are a major part of the Pakistani economy, the
textile sector enjoys a pivotal position in the country's
exports employing more than 14 million people, yet
Pakistan has almost zero share of branded and high-value

fashion and sportswear textile in global markets, despite
a strong public demand for such products in Europe and
the US which is actually being fulfilled by its competitors,
namely India, China and Bangladesh. Astonishingly,
Pakistan gets about $10.2 billion of its $12.5 billion
textile export revenue from 20 countries, however it
accounts for merely 5.7% of the total textile imports
of these 20 countries (source: The Express Tribune).

above: detail of a machine-embroidered Phulkari
below: traditional Swati stitching in close-up

Pakistan is obviously the birthplace of superb woven
fabrics such as the Phulkari, a traditional style of folk
embroidery born in the Punjab region where it stands
for ”flower work” with its geometric motifs in floss silk
or hand-woven cotton; traditional Shisha mirrors;
Sindhi and Swati embroideries. Swat is the name of
the war-torn valley seized by Taliban militants where
former Princess Mussarat Ahmed Zeb strives to revive
the heritage of the Swati embroidery ”one stich

at a time” as she points out.

Princess Mussarat Ahmed Zeb, photo © by Julie McCarthy/NPR

The brave princess works to preserve the region's
traditional culture while empowering local women:
she taught hundreds of them ”to stand up, avoid
charity, earning with dignity” helping them in starting
up a small company where workers are the shareholders,
LaDore, gathering their vocational skills to recreate
unique needleworks on gorgeous homespun fabrics
rekindling their cultural heritage and showing to the
world that they have talent and dignity.
That's where beauty and hope walk hand in hand.

detail of one of LaDore's wool embroidered tea cozies

Mother's Day is approaching and it's customary for
my blog to mark an occasion like this with flowers
celebrating it like a thanksgiving for spring sharing
the pictures I took in the last two weeks during long
walks through town and on its outskirts.

Thanks to last winter's generous downpours, flowers
are everywhere, from backyards and gardens to traffic
islands and riverbanks, in a profusion of colors and
scents with butterflies and insects constantly

on the prowl for fresh blossoms.

Showing my appreciation for mothers, all mother
figures and mothers-to-be, let love in and enjoy

a lavish Mother's Day weekend!

Emma Mulholland made her debut as a fashion
designer two years ago as one of four TAFE students
(the Technical And Further Education Commission
of New South Wales) chosen to present a range

at the Australian fashion week.

Emma made her solo debut at MBFWA, the Mercedes
Benz Fashion Week Australia last April showcasing
her s/s 2013-14 ”Spring Break” collection suggesting
a trip down memory lane with looks that instantly bring
back the 1980s through a cheerful ”surf chic” aesthetic
with the typical trans-seasonal spirit of Down Under
fashion subtly featuring the shift from winter into spring.

Bomber jackets with Arctic-inspired prints with penguins
and whales and a polar bear wearing sunglasses are
mellowly paired with summery outfits in clashing colors
and chirpy prints with techno pop references, see-through
inserts and paillettes of different size and shape.

The whole collection is stunningly accessorized and
it represents a gorgeous collaboration between Aussie
talents: Emma worked with jewelry designer Ryan Storer
(known for his bedazzling Swarovski encrusted ear cuffs)
who created silver spike earrings while star-shaped Perspex
pieces and neon colored rubber neckbands were specially
designed for her by Isobel Badin. The teamwork became
even more groovy in a Style Me Romy's issue involving
photographer Zachary Handley and hair pundit Alan White
for ghd who realized mind-blowing spray-painted extensions
contributing to make Emma's statement debut.

all studio imagess © by Zachary Handley for StyleMeRomy.com
all catwalk pictures © by MBFWA

Today's story begins in the desert outside the Banyan
Tree Al Wadi, a gorgeous resort surrounded by rolling
dunes close to the town of Ras Al Khaimah, UAE,

where gifted 'true Brit' sisters Alice and Matilda

Temperley are shooting their latest fashion campaign.

I've lived by the desert for a couple of years and
I utterly know how beautiful is to camp out in it
overnight waiting for the rose-pink light of dawn to
brighten the sandy landscape so I can grasp how
exciting their far-off adventure can actually be.

> images 1-2 © by Matilda Temperley <

Alice and Matilda are styling and shooting pieces
from the House of Temperley's bridal and scarves
collections while taking images of the mainline winter
collection which is based on birds of prey (falconry
is an Emirates' long-lived fad, after all) in their own
untroubled version of Hitchcock's 'The Birds', yet the

Temperley London's spring-summer 2013 collection

made a profound impression on me.

Alice Temperley is the well-known London-based
designer trained at Central Saint Martins who
finished her studies with a Masters degree at
the Royal College of Art specializing in fabric
technology and print who was appointed Member
of the Order of the British Empire by HM the
Queen in 2011. Alice designs 13 collections a
year for several lines: Temperley London, her
mainline launched back in 2000, Temperley Bridal,
ALICE by Temperley and Somerset, an exclusive
range for UK department stores John Lewis,
named after the birthplace of the talented duo.

True to form, Temperley London's s/s 2013 collection
is simply amazing: timeless, feminine designs
combining meticulous details and embellishments
with the label's distinctive British peculiarity and
a French Riviera chic subtly evoking late 1950's
leisurewear through variations on the sundress,
full-skirted silhouettes, lace embroideries, openworks

in a constant play between sheer and solid in a radiant

palette of scarlet, powder blue, navy, white and black.
A collection, it's plain to see, plenty of inspiring
romantic ideas to foster over consecutive seasons:
sublime workmanship and Alice's know-how

in digital printing do the rest.

”While constantly being expanded in breadth,
the House of Temperley always stands true to its
philosophy; appreciating what women want with
creations that exist outside of the trend of the
moment and always flavoured with a sense of
Alice's individual 'magpie' style” the luxury
brand's website states; a credo that's fully
expressed by Matilda's outstanding pictures.

Matilda is a visual artist and a skilled freelance
photographer who previously pursued a career in
tropical infectious diseases working in East Africa
for years (she documented the unique tribal cultures
of the Omo valley in a gorgeous reportage called
'Abyssinian Dreams'). She shoots most of her sister's
creations but she actually made a name for herself
with breathtaking insights into marginalized groups
and societies with her 'Human Zoo' series of portraits
of unconventional types, from contortionists and

performers to present-day freaks.

The rolling hills of Somerset county meet the rolling
dunes of the Arabian desert to appeal Temperley's
devoted fans worldwide: the company operates four
stand-alone stores in London, Los Angeles and Dubai
plus the brand new boutique of Doha, Qatar.
'Cool Britannia' at its best!

> all catwalk pictures and details © by Fashionising<

Iceland, despite its size, in recent years came into
its own as the cradle of several 'creative industries';
the arts are constantly flourishing turning the small
island country into a cultural destination full of vim
and vigor that also prides itself on a distinctive
Nordic approach to fashion. 'Farmers Market' is
a design company founded by textile designer
Bergþóra Guðnadóttir with her husband, musician
Jóel Pálsson, in 2005 which is strongly tied to the
local art scene and draws inspiration from the
island's unspoiled environment and traditional
Icelandic organic materials, primarily wool.
Bergþóra graduated from the Icelandic Academy
of the Arts in textile design, soon starting off her
own label with a small collection of woolen clothes
but shortly after she got the chance to become the
head of the design department of a notable local
outdoor brand where she hugely improved her skills.

Farmers Market debuted with a small range of hand
knitted sweaters for both women and men with a few
pieces for kids utilizing local wool that grew into a
line of multifunctional clothes and accessories
employing other raw natural materials such as silk,
leather, cotton and linen, developing a characteristic
style that subtly combines classic Nordic design with
chic modernity. ”We place ourselves on a junction.
A place where heritage meets modernity, the national
meets the international and the countryside meets the
city. We find this an exciting place to explore” Bergþóra
declared introducing FM in an interview with Anna
Moiseeva for Reykjavik Fashion Festival where the
label's catwalk show featured live music and a king-size
waterfall in the background that suddenly jogged my
memory to the interactive installation by Rúri, one of
Iceland's most prominent artist, called 'Endangered
Waters' in which she came to 'archive' the images

of Icelandic waterfalls threatened by

increasing dam building.

Yet the core of the show was represented by the array
of genuinely styled woolen garments for men and women,
the natural fabrics they're made of and the timeless appeal
of well-crafted items suited both for outdoor activities
and city life. ”We believe that sustainable fashion and
recycling is not just a passing trend, but a key to the
future. As our brand name suggests, we focus on using
natural materials for our designs. Synthetic fabric
is kept to absolute minimum and only used for fabric
strengthening, water repellence or an occasional
decor deemed necessary by the designer”

Bergþóra and Jóel affirm.

Farmers Market's fabrics aren't only sourced locally,
they include merino wool from Australia, yarns from
Italy as well as Indian raw silk; they like to work with
people who share the vision of creating beautiful,
high-quality products while maintaining the highest
ethical standards towards humans and nature.
But the label's pièce de résistance is actually the
Icelandic wool which is uniquely soft, warm and
water-resistant, in some sort a symbol

of national identity.

RFF show images (4-5) © by Eva Björk Ægisdóttir
all other images from Farmers Market's website

The collection fully shows FM's elegant knitwear,
superb woolen sweaters and belted cardigans,
plaid-like and leopard coats, berets and shawls
seldom with fur warmers through gorgeous, warm
and I dare say friendly images of a farmhouse family
subtly emphasizing the label's signature style as
well as the natural 'country comfort' feel peculiar
to the island of fishermen, farmers and...

talents to watch.

Farmers Market's founders, image © by blog.icelanddesign.is

DZHUS is the conceptual womenswear label founded
by young Ukrainian designer and stylist Irina Dzhus,
an underground talent that goes overground at a brisk
pace shaping her new architectural approach to
fashion. Struck by the 'avant-garde statement' she
made with her structural/experimental 'Technogenesis'
collection, I'm still delighted with the results

of her tailoring research.

DZHUS' design concept is based on the interaction
and transformation of modules to produce ”intellectual
clothing”: her latest AW 2013-14 ”Overground” collection
aims at conveying a sense of monumental majesty
through geometric shapes and specifically textured
fabrics mimicking building materials like nets, crinkled
metallic or folded paper-like fabrics subtly referencing
architectural forms and industrial objects.

”I analysed shapes and structures of monumental
constructions and tried my best to embody their
principles in the silhouettes and cut of my designs”
Irina declares illustrating her experimental apparels
ranging from rust and grey to terracotta and blue
with copper and white touches showing structured
outfits wittily accessorized with wide zips, squared
buttons and monolithic concrete bracelets made

in collaboration with MEL Design.

'Overground' will be featured in the upcoming June
edition of 'Be Next', the design contest founded by
the Georgian charity fund 'Societe Anonyme' to
help young designers from Georgia, Eastern Europe
and the Caucasian region ”to overcome the barriers
they face in the process of establishing themselves
on local and international markets”.

I bet it won't go unnoticed!

> all images © by Olga Nepravda<

To celebrate ”The Year of Spain in Japan”, an initiative
to boost the country's profile held exactly 400 years after
the first Japanese ship reached the Spanish shores,
a creative exchange between famed Spanish fashion
house Loewe and Japanese ”techno couturier” Junya

Watanabe created capsule collections for both men and
women called ”Loewe by Junya Watanabe Comme

des Garçons” including clothes and handbags.

The collection has been recently unveiled at the Spanish

Embassy in Tokyo's Roppongi district with an exciting
runway show revealing playful post-punk looks through
CdG's urban-utilitarian aesthetic in a patchwork of
Spanish leather and Japanese denim. This year also
marks Loewe's 40th anniversary in Japan, the LVMH's
Madrid-based luxury label which was originally
established in 1846, currently headed by British
designer Stuart Vevers, has been producing items
for CdG's 2013-14 fall-winter collection that were
showcased at Paris fashion week in March.

Under Ververs' styling direction, the collection shows
ultra-soft nappa leather cut and combined with denim
to create easy to wear outfits with coats, jackets, pants
and skirts with tartan and polka dots. Needless to say,
the denim-leather tête-à-tête also characterizes the
style of the upscale bags by Loewe that include the
acclaimed brand's 'Amazona' tawed leather.
Tote bags and pouches were also announced.

The collection will be on pre-order at the end of May prior
to become exclusively available in September through
only 40 selected locations worldwide including London
and Tokyo's Dover Street Market, the concept store
conceived and directed by Japanese fashion legend
Rei Kawakubo, ”...a kind of market where various creators
from various fields gather together and encounter each
other in an ongoing atmosphere of beautiful chaos...”
as well as at Jeffrey in New York.

Stylish punkish Jaspanish and so girlish.

> all images © by Fashionsnap<

books cascading down the museum's entrance by
Alicia Martín from the series 'Biografias', 2012

An truly impressive literature cascade by Spanish artist

Alicia Martín hangs down from the window of the MARCA

Museum in Catanzaro, the chief town of the Calabria region

in southern Italy, greeting visitors of the ”Bookhouse.

The Book Shape” exhibition in which various forms of art

develop around one single element, the book.

'Singularidad', installation by Alicia Martín, 2011-2012

'Idiom', installation by Matej Krén, 1998

above: 'Omphalos' by Matej Krén, 2005
below: from the 'Still Lives 3' series by Maria Friberg, 2004

In the most critical phase of its existence, when technological
revolution presents us with the new Gutenberg era, book in
contemporary art has never been so modern and the display
at MARCA is probably the most comprehensive homage to
this magical mean which has been keeping its features
basically unaltered for more than 500 years.

'Upper Cut' by Dennis Oppenheim, 2000-2001

'Sulpicia' by Anselm Kiefer, 1999

above: 'Entrapped Words' by Maria Lai, 1964
below: Michael Rakowitz 'What Dust Will Rise', 2012

Conceived and curated by the museum's art director Alberto
Fiz - who declared ”The meaning of the book lies in its thinking
shape. If it were simply a container of texts and images, it
would have already been swept away. On the contrary, it
still has a primary role as sensitive object that can create
a symbiotic relationship with the reader and, at the same
time, has the ability to organize the thinking...” - the
exhibition includes 50 of the most significant artists
questioning each other on the miraculous shape of the
book, such a perfect object that Italian semiotician,
essayist and novelist Umberto Eco

compared to the wheel.

above: horse-shaped library by Mimmo Paladino, 2001
below: from the 'Naples Library' series by Candida Höfer, 2009

artwork by Jannis Kounellis

'Library for the Birds' by Mark Dion, 2005

Furthermore, books as well as archives and libraries are the
focus of the contemporary artistic debate, from Kassel's
Documenta to the Venice Biennale yet the MARCA's varied
cross-exhibition deals with the regenerative power of books
involving different languages and techniques while getting
rid of the hypothesis of the artist's book, it rather focuses
on an extension of the work of art where the book itself
becomes sculpture, installation or environment in a
riveting journey through contemporary art in which

the book is totally re-written.

the MARCA exhibition's poster

I confess I heard about Momo Wang, a gifted young
London-based Chinese fashion designer, thirdhand
but I fell in love with her work straightaway.
Recently graduated from Central Saint Martins,
Momo is briskly making a name for herself thanks
to her colorful folk-inspired clothing that smartly
refreshes and renews well-worn fabrics.

Born in the small town of Jinzhou, in the northeast
province of Liaoning, China, she moved to Beijing
to study at the university where she decided to rent
a small basement, bought a sewing machine and
started making her own clothes fully expressing
her love for folk art and tribe culture as well as her
passion for collecting vintage patterns.

Momo has the ability to perceive the inner beauty of
second-hand goods, ”I see and feel their auras when
they were first made and I'm determined to bring
the aura back” she says describing her unusual
approach to womenswear. Wang finds upcycling
to be a creative challenge and she expresses all
her knack reanimating found fabrics and previously
worn clothes giving them new beauty and value.

Her latest collection is aptly called ”The Third Hand”
including a range of upcycled, colorful garments:
actually the collection started from her hometown's
flea market where Momo bought worn out clothes to
reconstruct them in new different ways. Inspired by
the 'third hand' concept of French philosopher
Jacques Derrida, her 12-piece collection shows
amazing details such as stitched patchworks,
hand-crocheted seams and embroidery decorations.
The gripping lookbook images were taken by
Beijing-based photographer Shuwei Liu in a rural
backdrop close to Jinzhou adding a lot of charm

to her intriguing one-off pieces.

Della is a socially responsible fashion label based in
L.A. that's changing the way people shop: founded by
designer Tina Tangalakis who studied costume design
at CalArts, the California Institute of the Arts, Della
involves directly a Ghanian community of skilled
and passionate workers. Four years ago, Tina took
part in a volunteer project in West Africa, namely in
Hohoe, Ghana, quickly becoming besotted with the
local culture and the warm hearts of the friends she
made there (a Gold Coast of the soul indeed).

Combining her background in business and design
with her love for art and humanitarian work, Tina
teamed up with a local whiz kid, Selorm 'Nii' Addotey,
with whom she built a close friendship before

starting their business partnership.

Della outfitter provides jobs, education and skills training
to the people of Hohoe: every product is carefully hand-
crafted using authentic textiles sourced in the Volta
headwater employing more than 50 gifted women and
men who create unique garments and accessories
receiving a fair income and are empowered through
education programs via micro-financing, savings,
entrepreneurship classes and healthcare benefits (it's
estimated that over 250 people were positively impacted
last year as a direct result of Della's programs).

The label's s/s 2013 collection shows garish garments
such as zipped jackets, rompers, shorts and brallets as
well as a colorful array of handbags and travel bags,
from classic hobo bags to MacBook and iPad cases
in dazzling patterns. Della keeps the Ghanian culture
going supplying the opportunity for a better life while
doing business: as they proudly declare ”We're not a
charity; we are a business done - and doing - 'right'”.

Ulyana Sergeenko is a Russian stylist, photographer,
designer and a true connoisseur of upmarket fashion
from the customer's point of view yet her own approach
to haute couture looks quite unfamiliar at first glance
and thought-provoking at the same time.

Born in Kazakhstan, she moved to St. Petersburg
soon after the fall of the Soviet Union where her
grandmother ”my beloved babushka” taught her
how to sew and make her own clothes. Mixing
Russian traditional features and French couture
influences, Ulyana established her namesake
label in Moscow in 2011 showcasing her debut
collection in Paris last year.

She's about to become one of the rising stars in
the Russian fashion firmament thanks to her
eclectic, eccentric and theatrical style that many
critics say is better suited to Hollywood than Paris
and it's absolutely true that not all her outfits hit
the nail on the head, nonetheless Sergeenko's
couture s/s 2013 collection is plenty of interesting
motifs and delicate details, such as hand-painted
porcelain buttons and earrings, handmade lace
and crocheted embroideries.

The self-confidence of her approach and her knack
for mixing folkish sources ranging from Russian
fairy tales and inspirations like the America of Scarlett
O'Hara and the white mansions make her pieces
quite absorbing, emphasized by smart accessories
such as embroidered eyeglasses and beautiful tiny
bags with the dainty illustrations of Yuri Vasnetsov
evoking vintage cookie boxes. Sergeenko's collection
makes me think of a young girl amusing herself
digging through her mother's wardrobe

to play the diva role.

Australian milliner Anna Shoebridge sketches out her
homage to Japan with her latest 'Tokyu' collection
celebrating the timeless influence of Japonism through
sculpted headpieces for all seasons: each item has a
famed Japanese name ranging from evocative words
like 'rising sun' or 'geisha' or the ballyhooed 'kawaii' to
the names of Tokyo's trendsetting districts

such as Shibuya and Ginza.

The Melbourne-based milliner created her first collection
back in 2003 showing since the beginning her inbred
passion for contemporary art and design through inspiring
headwear pieces for all occasions in vibrant colors and
sculpted shapes. 'Tokyu' trans-seasonal collection
evokes ”cherry blossom season, warm sake, big city
lights and a hint of Kyoto rustic charm” by combining
feathers or silk flowers with French lace and veil bows,
swinging fringes and textures in fishnet

paper straw and sinamay.

A perfect complement to the collection is the Harajuku
inspired nail art by 'The Super Rad Nail Sisters', that is
to say Rohani and Rosalie Osman whose art, as they
wittily state, is ”...for those who love a Miu Miu handbag
but respect a good sneaker” and the cute images taken
by renowned photographer Jo Duck, styled by editorial
and personal fashion stylist Lauren Dietze(I have to
admit the pics I selected don't do enough justice to their
work keeping a close eye mostly on Ann's gorgeous
headdresses) conveying the endless fascination of
Japanese aesthetics with a solid Aussie touch.

image credit: Mehmet Karaca/Solent News

Mother Nature proves to be the greatest color

matching system through this camouflaged
color-co-ordinated duo sporting identical shades
of green: a green chameleon and an Eastern
Dappled White butterfly (Euchloe ausonia) perched
on his head make a perfect match in the breathtaking
image taken by photographer Mehmet Karaca in his
hometown of Kahramanmaras, Turkey, who was

enthralled by the unlikely pair. Mehmet, aka Lisans,
is a skilled 28 years old lensman whose macro
images of insects, chameleons and praying mantis
are widely known for their beauty and accuracy.
As Pedro Calder‪ó‬n de la Barca wrote, ”Green is
the prime color of the world, and that from

which its loveliness arises”.

Japanese thirty-something designers Keiko
Miyakoshi and Kohrogi Hitoshi founded the
Osaka based ROGGYKEI label in 2006 inspired
by the concept of ”clothes as accessories,
accessories as clothes” through an innovative
fusion approach that came to put their brand's
name on the map earning at once

attention and esteem.

”Clothes as accessories, accessories as clothes;
as designers we strongly believe this. Sometimes
they emphasize each other and occasionally convey
a deep fascination with the other. When worn there
is no border between them, clothes can be a part
of an accessory, accessory can be a part of

clothes by coexisting” they declare.

”We believe that fashion is a mirror reflecting ourselves
and a way of expression to show our personality, as
well as a communication tool with our society. (...)
But fashion shouldn't be categorized like that.

There are infinite possibilities coming from our

fashion and we keep searching for them”.

ROGGYKEI's AW 2013-14 collection, called 'New
Horizon II', puts on display the duo's avant-gardism
through futuristic pieces skillfully combining black
and white with vibrant shades of blue using different
materials such as leather with technic and metallic

fabrics, needless to say, with gorgeous accessories
like suede long gloves, bulky cuffs, black leather

clutches and stunning squared leather bags with
a hole in the center. Unmistakably Japanese.

The title tells it all: this one's a gripping collection
intended to show respect and admiration to those
elders who keep experimenting with their style in
a joyful manner (Ari Seth Cohen, the mastermind
behind fabulous 'Advanced Style' weblog, docet).
Realized by London College of Fashion womenswear
design student Felicity Gransden, the playfully

ironic, colorful collection is aptly called

”Never too old to play dress up.”

Felicity puts on display an eclectic, top-to-toe
glamorous style inspired by her grandmother's
love for color, dazzling textures and prints that
joyfully explores, as she explains; ”...the idea
of personal identity and how clothes are used
everyday to express feeling, personality and
individuality. Particularly looking at this in terms
of age and how age affects style and the

ability to express oneself visually.”
To show her perusal of age's effect on style,
Felicity had the lovely idea to make the collection's

lookbook with a tea party photoshoot involving
'advanced' fashion ladies, namely Mmes. Kate
Stephens, Clare Waters and Trudy Gomez:
”inspiring characters for whom, despite their age,
everyday is an opportunity to play dress up.”

Women who ”have the confidence and audacity to
be completely themselves and only themselves,
why be anything else?” she asks wholeheartedly
calling to mind 90-something style icons like Iris Apfel
and Ilona Royce Smithkin whose love and passion
of expressing themselves using color pushing the
boundaries coming with age and stereotype,
shaped the idea of creating the powerfully

colorful, tongue-in-cheek collection.

As a statement of individual style, the collection is
plenty of handmade items: hand knitted garments,
hand mixed dyes including already colored silks,
in which ”...the soft, bubbly, fluffy uneven texture
of the hand spun wool is juxtaposed with the slick
shiny face of metallic lamé” in a continuous game
of textures and colorways with intriguing bomber
jackets, knitted or in electric blue lamé with ruffled
sleeves, graphic prints and bulky accessories.
For those who think getting old means

loneliness and grim.

Tim & Tilda's dreamscapes

simplicity as a virtue

let your hair down, Rapunzel!

visual tale of a gothic aesthetic

goodbye knitwear legend

shades of Pakistan

nothing but flowers

rock me like the '80s

the amazing Temperley sisters

up north, on the farm

going overground

Spanish leather meets Japanese denim

book as artwork

third-hand charm

fashion done right

thought-provoking folkish couture

Tokyu, ikebana for the head

color-matching fellowship

clothes as accessories

never too old to play dress up