Festival des Métiers: Hermès at Saatchi

Context matters – even in the world of luxury scarves, bags and belts – and there is arguably nothing quite as powerful as a brand with a strong narrative. You cannot invent this – well you can, but the impact isn’t quite as evocative as having inherited an intriguing story. Hermès clearly knows this. Founded in Paris in 1837 by Thierry Hermès as a house of master... Read More

Ordinary objects with extraordinary stories

The Design Museum is running a seemingly simple exhibition of ordinary, mass-produced products. These, though, are not any old objects  – they all have interesting stories to tell and have in one way or another shaped our modern lives. Whereas exhibiting art requires little dialogue from the curator– it almost ruins the sensory experience – here at ‘Extraordinary... Read More

Thomas Zanon-Larcher on show

Thomas Zanon-Larcher’s photographs recall the work of Claude Chabrol and Ingmar Bergman – they are dramas that examine existential anxieties. In his first solo exhibition at the Wapping Project Bankside, the artist explores the space between film, drama and reality. Here we see images of women living ordinary lives, testing the boundaries of fear, transgression, escape... Read More

Exhibition: Hollywood costume

‘Clothes are never a frivolity, they always mean something’, so wrote
 James Laver. Costume designers are storytellers and play a pivotal role in bringing movies to life. London’s V&A is celebrating their work with Hollywood Costume, an exhibition that brings together over 100 of the most iconic costumes designed for cinema characters over a century of film-making... Read More

Book review: The Colour Revolution

Fashion helps shape our visual landscape and, well, adds a little fun to our lives. However, behind what may seem like a frivolous world are countless brains deciding on what we wear and what colour these garments should be made available in. The colour of the season isn’t just some fluke or flippant decision made by the editor of Vogue but the work of colour specialists who... Read More

Car, body, fashion

I was 18 when I first read The Nude by Kenneth Clark. Published in 1956, it was a sort of Bible for young aspiring aesthetes. I was on my way to becoming one, so I hoped, having enrolled on a pre-grad foundation in art and design. Many of Clark’s observations have been tirelessly quoted but the one that always resonates is this simple line: ‘The relation of head to body... Read More

William Morris Gallery to reopen

The William Morris Gallery has been renovated with new gallery space to accommodate the comprehensive collection of work by one of the principal creative artists and thinkers of the nineteenth century. Born in London in 1834, Morris was a founder of the Arts and Crafts movement, supporter of the Pre-Raphaelites, a socialist pioneer, designer, craftsman and visionary. The collection... Read More

F1 inspires men’s jewellery line

The world of high-performance racing cars could not be further away than that of jewellery, so it was intriguing to see the outcome of a recent collaborative venture between the king of Formula One McLaren and jeweller Links of London. Fashion is often flirting with carmakers. High-end brands such as Rolls Royce, Bentley and Aston Martin are forever commissioning luxury marques... Read More

In talk: Schiaparelli and Prada

Studying design history at university, fashion never seemed to have the same gravitas as other disciplines in the field – it often felt shallow, a little silly perhaps. That was until we were introduced to the work and life of Elsa Schiaparelli. The avant-garde Italian designer, best known for the work she did between the world wars, is something of a legend in the creative... Read More

Book review: Deborah Turbeville

Deborah Turbeville has for many years been a great source of inspiration for my work and collections.  Our design studio walls at GharaniStrok were plastered with inspirational images of which Turbeville held a strong presence. They included The Bathhouse (1975) – one of my favourites – as well as Nova (Clevedon, London 1973) and Charlotte Gainsbourg, shot in an image... Read More