pretty loubs.

As my best friend is obsessed with Louboutins it seemed appropriate to visit his exhibition at the Design Museum in London for her birthday. Would I personally buy Louboutins? No. They're too dainty and drenched in sexual burlesque innuendos for me, I'm more of a practical boyish boot kinda gal. But I do think Louboutins are incredibly beautiful creations and he is an immensely talented man with great vision.
The format of the exhibition mimicked his aesthetic brilliantly, hidden entrances, red cushions, burlesque mannequins amongst the entertaining environment of a circus theme. The 3D projection of a Louboutin shoe changed hourly to Dita Von Teese performing a burlesque dance, emphasising the cheeky and sexy nature of the shoes themselves.
The information boards surrounding the exhibition showed the thoughts of the man behind the shoes, how he cleverly incorporates sophistication into his designs rather than being overly brash and forcefully sexual, using delicate skin toned mesh and lace to create an illusion of transparency that is untouchable. The fetish room also showcased his unstoppable vision, with impractical shoes being created under the heading "foot fetish". These shoes were literally a work of art, unwearable but with a strong message about the pain we put ourselves through for beauty and the obsessive nature that shoes possess.
I highly recommend a visit.

the dystopian dream.

As part of our portfolio work we were given a photoshoot brief based on the designer Gareth Pugh. The purpose was to link the theme "New York, New York" with a dystopian attitude, inspired by the film Metropolis and for it to be suitable to feature as a promotional editorial in Dazed & Confused.
We hired the space above the Reiss retail store in Nottingham and borrowed clothes designed by the fashion design students to create a style similar to Pugh's aesthetic. I was involved in the styling & makeup which was inspired by Pugh's aw12 collection with layered black textures and embellishment.

draw on me.

Treated myself to the June edition of Dazed & Confused today after discovering my name in amongst the Dazed team. I am really inspired by the "a scanner darkly" editorial, inspired by the infamous illustrator Rene Gruau who frequently worked by Christian Dior, Balenciaga and Givenchy. The use of hand drawn illustrations on the simple images looks really effective, a great way of combining and showcasing the talent of illustrators. The makeup artist Yadim has also been elected as Dior's first International Makeup designer, who has clearly been influenced by Rene's work. A really classic editorial and incredibly interesting.
Photographer: Daniel Jackson, Stylist: Karen Langley, Make-up: Yadim

darling.

Wicked

With my Mum's birthday being on the 21st April, my sister and I organised a surprise day trip to London for her. We had a nice dose of afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason, the traditional tea pots and detailed illustration on the tables caught my attention. It wasn't like using your traditional table cloths, quite a quirky take on the stereotype of sophisticated afternoon tea- probably due to the staff wanting a quick turn around of customers rather than wasting time changing table cloths. Also took a trip down Carnaby Street and found the Levi's visual merchandising to be particularly interesting, nice to see how the Olympics is starting to take affect on the high-street, especially cycling which is increasing in popularity throughout the city. The Comme Des Garcons red spots added the well needed detail to make the store grab attention. After our civilised afternoon we surprised her further with tickets to see Wicked. Not usually a massive musical fan but the show was really good. All in all I think it's fair to say my Mum had a wonderful day.