Take 5, Think Pink

Lets all take a minute to think pink!  If you haven’t noticed baby pink is here, there and everywhere at the moment, and quite frankly I love it! Here’s some pictures to get you in the pink. 

Has street fashion gone too far?

Is street style becoming more of a circus act to gain attention than an individual fashion statement?  Laura Weir asks in her article for the Sunday Times  ‘Is This Fashion?’ making some interesting points and quoting from experts in the fashion industry.

Street style has always influenced the fashion industry, but the birth and rapid increase in fashion bloggers has encouraged the spread of extravagant new street outfits you would never expect to see, and which increasingly gather outside runway shows.  However, as Weir states in her article ‘what was once the height of cool has become homogenized.  Too many people arrive at fashion shows in outfits designed to shock rather than intrigue.’  Has this once on-trend scene become a bit too overdone?  Scott Schuman, founder of the blog The Satorialist says ‘the internet and blogs have created monsters- it’s totally changed the way we communicate about fashion.’ 
          

The Editor of Love magazine, Alex Fury, said ‘It’s about as sophisticated as a toddler exposing themselves on a jungle gym.  Pay no attention and they’ll stop doing it soon enough’.  He has a point, if we didn't lift an eyelid, would we still have these extravagant individuals circling fashion week venues waiting to be snapped?  I don't think so.  For me true fashion style is carried seemingly effortlessly by those lucky people who have a clear sense of their personal style and enjoy expressing it through the clothes they wear – whether that’s a dress made from lightbulbs or simply a pair of well fitted skinny jeans and an oversized biker jacket.  Either way, it’s the person wearing the clothes, not the clothes wearing the person; fashion is a way to express who we are, not a vehicle to gain everybody’s attention.
    

Street style has enjoyed a long standing reputation as a place for innovation, creativity and influence.  We all enjoy seeing how people dress individually and within their own social groups.  But please, let’s get back on track and, on reflection, step away from the dress made from lightbulbs.

Magma

Magma is on the same street and is one of four stores in London which sells artistic books, magazines, its own tee shirt designs and a few fun gift sets.

-  Started in 2000, this was their first shop- they now have four in London and a couple dotted further up north.

-  One of their stores, which focuses on products rather than books, is literally five stores down.

-  Magma started off as a book shop only.

-  They now commission illustrators and designers to produce items such as their graphic tees. These are suspended from the ceiling- almost like a product installation. They give their concepts to artists who then develop the designs, adding their own signature to the initial briefing.

-  Book sales are down thanks to competition from companies such as Amazon.

-  They have a really good line of fun, small gifts, which sell well and can’t be searched for on the web. 

-  They adjust their products seasonally and to follow current trends – featuring cycling and food at the moment! 

-  An architect has now designed all their stores. They wanted nothing pretentious in the design, preferring something that would encourage customer interaction. So their bookshelf is a metal ladder structure with wooden shelves attached and suspended- giving the feel that you can just throw the books on rather than preciously placing them! The interior of their shop five doors down is made entirely from cardboard! All their shop interiors are modular and can be dismantled in a few hours - practical and visually interesting!

-  They have had regular customers since they first opened, many from creative industries who ‘enjoy time to get away from the drawing boards and computer suites and to actually interact and browse with the books’. 

//Photography by Lillie Cooper

Super Superficial

Super Superficial sells printed tees, jumpers and sunglasses.  It was their interior which caught my interest – although it’s a small shop, they have used wood in their interior to create a clean and fresh backdrop to their artistic clothing.  It turns out the founder of the brand and shop is an architect and Super Superficial is inspired by Swedish architecture and the beautiful Scandinavian-style café Nordic Bakery in Golden Square, W1.  I was made welcome by a very pleasant shop assistant/illustrator who is one of the three people who run the business.  She filled me in with some background information –

80% of their printed artwork is from uk artists, who can all be found on their website http://supersuperficial.com.  Super Superficial use their website as a creative platform for these artists.

Their artwork is interesting and different - they try not to create anything too ‘branded’ so you won’t find their name simply splashed across the tee-shirt, instead each piece is like wearing an individual piece of art, particularly as they don’t mass produce any designs.

Their customer base ranges in age between 18-45 and is mainly male, although I’m sure I’m not the only female to buy into it - but then again I love oversized graphic tees!

The tone of the shop is set with cool non-offensive hip hop playing in the background.

They have started doing a small amount of sales to other countries, in particular Italy and Asia.

They are not too heavy on pr but do update a facebook and twitter page- something for us fans to follow!

Their sunglasses are great!  These iconic designs are made by Grafik Plastic and this is the only store in Europe to stock them.  They are made by hand and the company recently won a ‘red dot design award’ – so possibly one to watch out for! 

//Photography by Lillie Cooper

Take 5, Weekly Inspirations.

You never know what might turn up when you’re out and about on the streets of London – something can surprise, excite, amuse or alarm at any moment.  Here is the first of my weekly diary of ten (random) inspirational images – hope they inspire you too!

//Photography by Lillie Cooper