DAME OF THRONES by W Magazine

FASHION GOES MEDIEVAL WITH CHAIN MAIL TOPS, ARMORLIKE CLOAKS, AND HEAVY-DUTY LEATHER. CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO INSPIRED BY THE SHOOT.

Photographs by Tim Walker 
Styled by Jacob K 
Starring Kristen McMenamy

September 2012

Valentino leather jumpsuit. Kat Marks vegetable leather armor. Haider Ackermann corset belt; LaCrasia Gloves gloves; Hugo boots; headpiece created by Julien d’Ys.

Alexander McQueen ponyskin and leather dress. Kenneth Jay Lane earrings; Vivienne Westwood Gold Label gloves; headpiece and crown created by Julien d’Ys with Mokuba ribbons; model’s own nose ring. 

Versace silk and chain mail dress. Robert Lee Morris necklace (worn as a headpiece) and cuffs; Shaun Leane for Daphne Guinness sterling silver glove; Lynn Ban sterling silver rings; shield created by Julien d’Ys; model’s own nose ring.

Jil Sander wool and leather dress. Helmut Lang sheepskin top. True Religion leather leggings. Kat Marks vegetable leather armor. Patrick Ian Hartley neck brace; Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci gloves; Bottega Veneta booties; model’s own nose ring.

 Donna Karan New York wool and polyamide bodysuit. Headpiece created by Julien d’Ys; model’s own nose ring. 

Chanel embroidered lace dress. Philip Treacy London disc shield; Chanel necklace; DeMask gloves; model’s own nose ring. 

Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci leather, chiffon, and wool crepe dress. 7 For All Mankind lambskin pants. Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci gloves and boots; Mokuba ribbon headband; model’s own nose ring. 

Balmain embroidered viscose blend dress. Headpiece, crown, and collar created by Julien d’Ys with Mokuba ribbons; model’s own nose ring.

Proenza Schouler mesh coat and woven leather skirt. Alexander Wang merino wool fishnet turtleneck. Emilio Cavallini nylon bodysuit. LaCrasia Gloves gloves; Versace boots; stylist’s own headpiece; model’s own nose ring. 

Gareth Pugh cotton and silk top and collar. Salvatore Ferragamo wool skirt. Sermoneta Gloves glove (on right hand); DeMask glove (on left hand); model’s own nose ring

Craig Lawrence metallic yarn top, trousers, and hood. Lanvin sequin-embellished silk dress. Damir Doma wool and leather cape (on ground). Hervé Léger by Max Azria harness; Rick Owens boots.

L’Wren Scott satin cape. Dior embossed gauze dress. Haider Ackermann gloves; model’s own nose ring. 

Yves Saint Laurent chain mail top, and bracelet. Haider Ackermann gloves; headpiece created by Julien d’Ys; stylist’s own briefs

Produced by And Production; casting by Larissa Gunn at Art + Commerce. 

Set design by Andy Hillman at D+V Management. Printed by Graeme Bulcraig at Touch Digital. 

Photography assistants: Emma Dalzell, Catherine O’Gorman. 

Fashion assistants: Clémence Lobert, Ethan Benjamin. Animals: Andy Howey & His Birds of Prey Centre.

Sources from: W Magazine: http://www.wmagazine.com/fashion/2012/09/tim-walker-kristen-mcmenamy-medieval-ss#ixzz24lY0Hc2S

Valentino s'expose à Londres

La Somerset House célèbre l'œuvre de la maison culte et de son créateur à travers une rétrospective immanquable : "Valentino : Master of Couture".

Vogue.Fr:

Le musée offre un retour ultra-complet sur plus d'un demi-siècle d'élégance et de créativité italienne. L'établissement londonien a réuni plus de 130 pièces cultes ou rares du couturier, de la fin des années 50 à aujourd'hui, avec le parti pris de les présenter par thèmes plutôt que chronologiquement. L'opportunité d'admirer de près les modèles phares de la maison, mais pas seulement. Valentino : Master of Couturepropose un contenu multimédia interactif qui permet aux visiteurs de découvrir la marque et son héritage de manière novatrice. Des films exclusifs ont été réalisés pour l'occasion, et mettent en avant les petites mains derrière le grand nom et leur technique unique en matière de couture. L'exposition, véritable plongée dans l'histoire du maître Valentino et de sa griffe au cœur de la capitale britannique, s'annonce comme l’un des évènements majeurs de la rentrée.

Photo: Valentino with models, 2007 ©
Lorenzo Agius @
www.aandrphotographic.co.uk

Valentino: Master of Couture
at Somerset House, London (27 November 2012 – 3 March 2012) (section 30(i) and (ii) of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988).

Sources: www.Vogue.Fr

A LONDON LOVE STORY

The McQ army returned to London this season with a show part Blair Witch and part Babes in the Wood. Designer Sarah Burton tells Susannah Frankel the story behind a fairytale homecoming.

• STYLING BY ROBBIE SPENCER for Dazed digital

"It's like a love story in a sense," says Sarah Burton of her autumn/winter collection for McQ, the Alexander McQueen second line. Despite its relative youth, this is the main line’s decidedly feisty little sister – or brother – with a highly distinct personality all of its own. Burton picks out from the rails an oversized and beautiful felted-wool military greatcoat, patchworked in shades of green. "If he's gone off to war, you might put on his coat. The idea here is that it's made out of lots of different coats, taken apart then put back together again. It's make-do-and-mend."

It's also quintessentially romantic and British in flavour. Think, if you will, of girls in overblown tulle skirts, appliquéd with brightly coloured anemones and worn not with tiaras and pearls but with studiously heavy lace-up ankle boots in oxblood leather with ridged-rubber heels and soles. The footwear has all the elements of fetish one might associate with the Alexander McQueen name, fused with more than a touch of Start-rite. Think, while you're at it, of Black Watch tartans, tweeds, short, sharp kilts, moulded flock-velvet dresses, rib-knit sweaters, bomber jackets and parkas, and of an irreverent and eclectic style that is native to this country and to its capital in particular. 

Given the Anglophilic nature of the look in question, it seemed apposite that McQ's debut outing on the catwalk was staged in London this year, rather than the more rarefied setting of Paris or Milan. This marked the return of the house to the schedule for the first time in more than a decade. "Yes, it was a bit of a homecoming," Burton says. "BecauseAlexander McQueen is shown in Paris, we felt it would be good to show McQ in London. It felt great to be back – we're a British brand. We’re all in London. The company's based here."

 

So, against a backdrop that was part Blair Witch Project, part Babes in the Wood, out came the McQ army, a band of well-heeled outsiders with all the swagger and sass that could be wished for. While there was a utilitarian feel to the clothes – from functional fabrics and visible seams to patch pockets and tattered hems – all were executed with the attention to cut, fit and proportion with which Alexander McQueen made his name. "I wanted to pay particular attention to the structure," Burton confirms. "We did all the fittings on the body just as we would the main line." And it shows. The end result was intricately realised and choreographed, from the statuesque and sophisticated appearance of the models in their pared-down but immaculate clothes, to the final "dream sequence" conceived with London theatre company Punchdrunk and presided over by Kristen McMenamy, giving it her ever-impressive all in an elaborate white gown. "Kristen has been on all of our inspiration boards forever," Burton says of the casting. "She’s just so powerful, intoxicating almost." The aforementioned homespun element was also present and correct, however – the catwalk was strewn with autumn leaves, evoking a woodland floor. "They were stuck on individually," Burton laughs. "After the show, Style.com asked me where we got the leaves. I panicked and asked Sam (Gainsbury, long-time McQueen show producer). She said, 'From a fucking forest!' I went back and told them, 'From trees...'" It’s the type of marginally surreal, not to mention mischievous, exchange of which Lee Alexander McQueenhimself might have been proud. 

We are sitting in the daylight-filled Alexander McQueen studio in Clerkenwell, and Burton is pondering the distinctions betweenAlexander McQueen and McQ. The latter originally launched in 2006, and was bought back by the company a little over three seasons ago with a view to reinventing the label in-house and lifting it from diffusion label to a fully-fledged collection with its own, clearly defined story.

 

"Doing that show was about telling a story, as it is always is at McQueen," Burton says, "and about creating a world for McQ, a world of its own, so you knew who the woman was, and who the man was, and which world she or he inhabited. The McQ girl may be slightly younger, slightly less dressed and definitely tougher."

The main line is elegant, chic, couture. I wanted McQ to have an element of street, to be much more stripped back. There's a masculinity to it

When he was alive, Alexander McQueen elevated his women’s main line into the realms of haute couture, and Burton has carried on in that vein. "The main line is elegant, chic, couture," she explains now. "I wanted McQ to have an element of street, past and present – for it to be much more stripped back. There will always be references to surplus, military and sport in McQ. It's maybe more throw-on, more everyday and more British than McQueen. It's also more androgynous: there's a masculinity to it. I don't want to say that it's easier to wear, because I'm not sure that's true, but it is perhaps more versatile. Having said that, McQ should also always feel special and unique."

The waist is still cinched throughout – some things are simply meant to be – but for McQ the signature McQueen peaked shoulder gives way to a broad, dropped line, the finest cashmere is replaced with heavy felts and the most delicate silk embroideries supplanted by equally finely worked surface-embellishments in heavyweight wool. Burton has clearly looked to the McQueen archive – and to the early London shows – for inspiration too: McQ tailoring may be more roomy but it has the same complexity and sharpness of cut, not to mention respect for Savile Row tradition. With this in mind, she points to another coat and the fact that it is only half-lined. "Although the end result is more humble, this is actually more difficult to do," she says. The seams may be visible but that makes it all the more important that they are nothing short of perfect. 

At the end of July, McQ will be established in the collective fashion consciousness still further with the opening of a four-storey townhouse in London’s Dover Street that will sell womenswear, menswear and accessories. Pod Architects is responsible for the brutalist feel of the architecture and a spectacular curved concrete staircase that imposes flow between floors. Otherwise, the interior comes courtesy of David Collins, working in close collaboration with Burton herself. "We looked at fetish," Collins for his part says, citing the designs of Carlo Mollino and the art of Giacometti, Francis Bacon and Allen Jones as reference points. "We wanted it to be erotic – sexual, not sexy." Nudes, pale pinks and flesh tones dominate and walls are painted in the type of gloss finish reminiscent of post-war English schools. Floors are made of smoked, limed oak. In a contrast between sharp-edged modernity and organic textures and forms, polished stainless steel is played off against cracked Gesso, and hard chrome finishes against dark velvet and pale shagpile (yes, shagpile). Clothing rails, meanwhile, are crafted in black resin fiberglass, and balance on S&M-inspired and very shapely, long sculpted pairs of legs. "We’re taking the fantastical elements of the clothes into the store," Collins explains.

 

Back at McQueen HQ, Burton says: "McQ is about the perfect jacket, the perfect coat. Elements of it are certainly more affordable than theAlexander McQueen line but that's not the driving force. I wanted to concentrate not only on the patterns themselves but on the way they are made." For the forthcoming spring/summer 2013 collection, she says, "It’s soft military – everything's washed and softened down. So whereas the autumn collection is quite uptight and rigid, summer will still be structured but softer in its fabrication."

"There will always be a kilt, a leather pant, a biker jacket, a print and a little party dress in McQ," Sarah Burton concludes. "The most important thing to me, though, is that all of these are desirable pieces in their own right."

Sources from:  http://www.dazeddigital.com 

Text Susannah Frankel
Photography Gareth McConnell
Styling Robbie Spencer
Hair Mark Hampton at Julian Watson Agency
Make-Up Hiromi Ueda at Julian Watson Agency
Models Kate Kondras at MC2, Ibra at Tomorrow Is Another Day, Tatiana Krasikova at Fusion
Set Design Alice Kirkpatrick
Photographic Assistants Denis Laner, Berta de la Rosa
Styling Assistants Shawana Grosvenor, Harriet Davey
Hair Assistant Jonny Hughes
Make-Up Assistant Nobuko Maekawa
Set Design Assistant Dale Slater
Casting Noah Shelley for AM Casting

ELIZABETH FRASER-BELL'S CRUISE 2013 WOMENSWEAR

Dazed's deputy fashion editor interview the designer about her pre-S/S13 highlights

• TEXT BY DAZED DIGITAL

Pre-collections are more important than ever in fashion today – they're transitional, they stay on the shop floor longer than catwalk items and are increasingly more characterful. Cruise (or Resort as it's known in the US) sits between A/W12 and S/S13 and is presented in more stealth manner, across official house lookbooks. An exception beingChanel, who showed a lavish modern-day Marie Antoinette in creepers at Versailles last May. Arriving in-store before Christmas, these clothes are monikered literally, designed as brighter, lighter pieces for holidaying in the sun across the new year. Dazed & Confused's deputy fashion editor Elizabeth Fraser-Bell picks her bold and best.

 

The thing with Cruise is that it is made for people to wear, not necessarily for editorial so you get to see how far these designers really go, how much they can truly push the limits of commercial design without it jumping over the very thin line, into the 'unwearable'

 

Dazed Digital: Tell us about the importance of pre-collections in fashion today. Cruise is essentially pre-Spring/Summer...
Elizabeth Fraser-Bell: I can't help but think about F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'French Riviera' and how eloquently it is brought to life when I look at these collections, it's exactly what I always imagined Tender is the Night's Rosemary and Nicole to wear. The thing with Cruise is that it is made for people to wear, not necessarily for editorial so you get to see how far these designers really go, how much they can truly push the limits of commercial design without it jumping over the very thin line, into the 'unwearable'. Editors are so used to seeing these explosions of ideas in A/W and S/S collections that its interesting to see the result of there being reduced pressure to create such insane show pieces – you discover a very real but all the same inspiring designer and clientele behind the designs.

 

DD: What was your favourite trend from Cruise 2013 Womenswear?

Elizabeth Fraser-Bell: Print! It's always print and colour that I love with Cruise. It's the only collection you can pretty much depend on most designers for that.

DD: Favourite looks?
Elizabeth Fraser-Bell: So many! Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen, Lanvin, Céline. My absolute favourite is a dress from Valentino.

DD: Favourite accessory?
Elizabeth Fraser-Bell: Chanel choker – gotta love a choker.

DD: Best shoe?
Elizabeth Fraser-Bell: Louis Vuitton.

DD: Best casting?
Elizabeth Fraser-Bell: Chanel had all the best girls. But I also really liked Marc Jacobs' casting with Magda and Melissa, they're like a really cute pair of dolls.

DD: If you could shoot anything from cruise, in any location and on any girl, what would be the scenario?
Elizabeth Fraser-Bell: The girls that live in the streets of downtown Havana in all my favourite looks, perhaps in the rum and cigar factories and definitely in Ernest Hemingway's favourite old rooftop bar during one of the tropical storms.

Sources from: http://www.dazeddigital.com

The Teen Queen - Kristen Dunst

by Kennedy Fraser | photographed by Annie Leibovitz for Vogue magazine

Marie Antoinette —played by Kirsten Dunst in Sofia Coppola's stunning  film (2006)—used her distinctive personal style to defy the rigid etiquette and scheming courtiers of Versailles. Kennedy Fraser looks at the high-spirited life and tragic fate of the young royal.

 
Sofia Coppola's film Marie Antoinette, covering the nineteen years that fabulous and tragic woman spent at Versailles, created a sensation when it opened earlier this year in France. It was filmed largely on location in the palace, with unswerving support from the directors of the museum. For the two leading actors—Kirsten Dunst as the young queen and Coppola's cousin Jason Schwartzman as King Louis XVI—it was a transformative experience to walk in rustling silk and tapping heels through halls filled with ghosts. For Dunst, exquisitely but unstuffily costumed by Milena Canonero (who deserves an Oscar for this work), it was a very sensual role. “You breathe differently in those dresses; you move in a special way,” Dunst says. To prepare herself, on the night a scaled-down crew was filming her in the emotionally charged balcony scene, she walked alone through the palace in the dark. “I could look in those mirrors,” she says. “Be still in myself. Feel my place in that house.”
 
It is Coppola's third full-length film, after The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation. With a $40 million budget, it is by far her most ambitious project. She was aware that her subject is controversial—that people, especially in France, either see the queen as a saint and martyr or really, really hate her. But Coppola forgot about all that and brought her own Marie Antoinette to life. In her film, history is seen from a very feminine young woman's point of view. In the director's mind it forms a trilogy with the previous two films, exploring the theme of young women discovering who they are. The queen's love of fashion particularly interested her. “You're considered superficial and silly if you're interested in fashion,” Coppola says. “But I think you can be substantial and still be interested in frivolity. The girl inLost in Translation is just about to figure out a way of finding herself, but she hasn't yet. In this film she makes the next step. I feel that Marie Antoinette is a very creative person.”

 

 

 

All sources from: http://www.vogue.com/magazine/article/kirsten-dunst-teen-queen/#/magazine-gallery/marie-antoinette/11 

BRAD ELTERMAN: Raunchy glimse into rock and roll history.

From DISCOSALT: April 16, 2010

So many photo portfolios to get excited about this week. The latest is Brad Elterman’s photo career which started way back in 1974, when the 16 year old Brad borrowed a friends camera and snapped a shot of Dylan performing on stage. Since then, he’s been riding the gravy train on cheese wheels; one sex, drugs, and rock and roll infused photo feast, where Brad has had the amazing opportunity to photograph just about every rock/ punk/ pop legend to grace the stage and my highschool bedroom walls. From The Faces with our man Rod, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, The Sex Pistols, Devo, Talking Heads, The Runaways, Joan Jett, Kiss, Blondie, the Ramones, The Who, even Sean’s favorite band Abba…the list goes on and on. This guy has serious cred. Dipping his beak into just about every rowdy Hollywood party, Brad has made stellar contributions to magazines like Rolling Stone, Creem, Circus, etc. He was eventually hired to do official publicity photos by major record labels before forming one of the first Los Angeles-based photo agencies, California Features International, Inc. which specialized in providing celebrity coverage to magazines and newspapers worldwide.

Brad’s photos provide a rare, often raunchy glimse into rock and roll history where it seems Brad is always at the right place at the right time, camera ready. There is even a photo of Dylan posing with a young Deniro at The Roxy in 1976! and Brad, by some alignment of the planets, was some kid with a camera. There might be a better chance of quadruplet albinos being born under a solar eclipse, than a cosmic opportunity like that happening again in a young photographers career.

Duran at the Riot House

1981: I was a really big Duran Duran fan. Everything about the band was so cool. I read about them in the European press and of course, I had heard their records all over the radio. A couple of days before their debut showcase at the Roxy, I called up their road manager at the Hyatt House (we used to call it the Riot House) and asked for a photo session. I could have told him I was shooting for Music Life and Rock Show, which were amazing magazines in Japan regularly publishing my work. The band had nothing better to do, so it was arranged and I met them at the hotel pool. They did not have a clue about getting around in Los Angeles; so, I piled them into my old Mercedes and gave them a tour of the Sunset Strip. The photo session was amazing and John Taylor made sure that I was on the guest list for the gig that evening. 

The following year, Andy Taylor got married at the Chateau Marmont Hotel and I just kind of showed up with some friends and joined the bash. Camera in hand, of course.

The Day I Shook The Hand Of Bob Dylan

1976: In every photographer’s career there will always be a photograph that will change your career and possibly your life too. This was the case when I got to meet and photograph Bob Dylan in the dressing room of The Roxy Theatre in 1976.

Ronee Blakley was performing a showcase at The Roxy Theatre on the Sunset Strip. She knew that I adored Dylan and made sure that I was on the guest list. It was not a tip-off but a Come and Enjoy the Show invite. Guess who shows up and takes a seat in the VIP section? 

After the set, Dylan was escorted backstage and I was right behind him. Ronnee made the legendary introduction. Bob was incredibly friendly, remarking that I looked a bit like him! He even gave me a really limp handshake that was not all that impressive; but hey, it was Dylan! Ronee grabbed him and we did this amazing set of photographs. I was in heaven. Bob set up another group shot of him with a new actor named Robert De Niro and a host of other friends that included musician David Blue, actress/singer Lanie Kazan, actresses Martine Getty and Sally Kirkland. I did not have a clue who any of these folks were, but I just shot away!

The Tape Measure

1976: Downtown Los Angeles: Ron Gallela was the first and most infamous American paparazzi; but also a very animated, nice man who befriended me as a young photographer. Ron was a wealth of information about paparazzi photography and he was always willing to share advice and photo ops.

He had been recently drug through a large and expensive legal battle in New York with former first lady, Jackie Onassis. He passionately made it his job to photograph her every day. He would wait at her 5th Ave apartment and follow her into Central Park. Eventually, Jackie had the Secret Service arrest Ron and she dragged him into court. The judge issued a restraining order stating Ron could continue to photograph her in public places, but he had to stay at least 25' from her or he could be jailed. 

The evening this photograph was taken, Jackie O had made a rare trip to Los Angeles to attend a charity party at the Music Center. I was cleared to cover the inside of the event, but I had decided to follow her to her limo. I had learned early on that photos inside these press events were rather boring and not sellable. As I got to her limo I spotted Ron. In the process of making sure he was not violating the court order, he pulled out a rather large tape measure from his camera bag that read "Ron, Keep Your Distance 25'."

This became one of my most valuable exclusive shots. It was published everywhere. When Jackie passed away, TIME ran this photograph inside their cover story. I still speak to Ron from time to time and we often laugh about this photograph. I was so honored to have been included in the Leon Gast documentary chronicling Ron's life and amazing career, "Smash His Camera."

All The Right Ingredients For A Sellable Photograph!

1979: We were all horrified when thirteen-year old model/actress Brooke Shields stuck out her rather large tongue at the photographers at this Blondie party held at Fiorucci in Beverly Hills. This is exactly what the magazine editors wanted: an animated photo of a famous rock star and an international celebrity. The photo was published dozens of times all around the world; and of course, the Japanese went nuts over it. I see Gene at my local deli from time to time.

 

Introduction text from: DISCOSALT

Photo and text from: Brad Elterman offical website: http://www.bradelterman.com

Fashion Is Having A Wes Anderson Moment

By: Brittany Adams , For Style.com
June 28, 2012  7:21 am

When Magdalena Frackowiak stepped onto Prada’s menswear runway earlier this week in a sporty headband, vintage-looking fur, and color-blocked trousers, we immediately visualized Margot and Richie from The Royal Tenenbaums. Even if, as Tim Blanks pointed out in his review, that reference “seemed a tad literal” for Miuccia, it got us thinking about other recent looks that fit director Wes Anderson’s distinctive country club-meets-seventies-rec room aesthetic. At Carven, Guillaume Henry whipped up preppy madras for the boys and tailored seersucker separates for the girls, while No. 21’s Alessandro Dell’Acqua mixed and matched stripes and florals with off-kilter panache. Stella McCartney stirred up her own mise-en-scène, putting on a carnival-themed Resort presentation with models lounging on hammocks in slouchy suits (pictured) that would make Anderson’s costume designer jealous.

Prada's Wes Anderson-esque runway moment. 



Models lounging on a hammock, at the Stella McCartney Resort presentation.


A pair of sunny looks, at Jonathan Saunders. 



Carven's madras set. 



Bill Murray and Wes Anderson at the Cannes Film Festival. 


All Sources from Style.com : http://www.style.com/stylefile/category/style-hunter/

Monica Bellucci, Bianca Balti & Bianca Brandolini for the Dolce & Gabbana’s Fall 2012 Campaign by Giampaolo Sgura

From: Fashion Gone Rogue:

Family Ties – Dolce & Gabbana keeps it molto Italiano with the label’s fall 2012 campaign starring an all Italian cast including models Monica Bellucci, Bianca Balti and socialite Bianca Brandolini. Captured by Giampaolo Sgura, the three spend a weekend with the family in Dolce’s baroque inspired designs featuring their signature lacework and metallic embroidery.

All content from: Fashion Gone Rogue

Source: http://fashiongonerogue.com