Thinkspot - Loud

Nixon

Baby Milo

James Jarvis

Tokyo street shot

Per Loken

Dieter Rams - Braun

James Jarvis

Thinkspot : skulls

Vanitas Collection by Vladi Rapaport

Rick Genest

Alexander McQueen - Savage Beauty

Maskull Lasserre

Damien Hirst

Does the world really need another celebrity clothing line?

Kanye takes his bow

So Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen can ask $39,000 for a handbag, Kanye West can debut a collection during Paris Fashion Week and Victoria Beckham can be described as a great designer. Is this the last (almost) logical extension of celebrity culture into our lives…………

$39,000 for a handbag from a couple of actors?

Celebrities still aren’t content with being recognised in their field of excellence, acting, music or in the case of some, not really much at all other than having rich parents, but they still feel that they should complete themselves with a clothing line.

The saddest part of this is that (real) designers who were recognised for being creative in their own right are now having to much like writers “ghost design” on behalf of their celebrity employers who take the bow, take the credit and are recognised for something they often have had little input in whatsoever other than lending the gleam of their cult of personality.

The biggest problem with this phenomenon is that as soon as a brand appears it so often disappears, linked so closely with a celebrity that once their star fades so do the sales.

For every Sean John or Rocawear that seems to trundle on despite the faux pass of its celebrity designer in chief, there are many that have failed along the way and the mere mention of that brand makes people laugh or cringe that they ever thought this was worth their hard earned cash.

No matter how much you want to be like them, this is not a good look

Even Kanye West who just launched at Paris fashion week is not immune. His Pastelle clothing collection imploded after he took to the stage at the MTV awards and aired his complaints about Beyonce not winning.  JLO has had three clothing collections fail, JLO, Just Sweet and Sweetface, but still keeps trying! Lets not even go near the Natalie Portman and her foray into vegan friendly footwear.

My point being I think we really have to question a celebrity clothing line launched by someone who has to employ a stylist to dress them in the first place.

Rise of the Chap - The streets are getting slightly smarter!

The gentrification of menswear, particularly streetwear has been creeping up on us in the past few seasons. Smartness with a wry smile, a prod at the stuffy lord of the manor tweed jacket and plus fours of the last century. A few observations about key trends and things happening……..

Tweed with everything, from ipod covers to dunks

Star Wars – when merchandising goes a little too far…….

I was born the year the best film EVER came out so have grown up with everything possible in terms of Star Wars this and that. It was the first film that introduced the concept of merchandising with Kenner toys, and they just kept going and going and going.

It has come to my notice (and surely someone else) that Mr Lucas seems to be putting the Star Wars brand name to pretty much anything, some very cool and other slightly more than dubious.

There is the concept of brand extension, putting your brand name to things that are close or relate to what you already do, moving slowly into a new market with an established brand. I just don’t think George really believes in it, he’s become the Pierre Cardin of the movie world.

Take a look at the good, bad and simply WTF of the world of Star Wars merchandising……..

Adidas Luke Skywalker high tops, quality!

 

Quality Marc Ecko graphic

PolPhail - art and decay

On a trip back north I was told about Polphail, a small village in the middle of nowhere on the Argyll coast.

Built in the 1970’s to house oil rig workers who would have been building rigs for the North Sea in a nearby dry dock had any orders ever materialised. Built but never inhabited, it fell into a rather sorry state. 

Pedal forwards to 2009 and a news story on BBCs Reporting Scotland about demolition of the site and a six artists, known as agents of change, saw the report and felt it was in need of a little love before being torn down. 

Their film about what they did there, “The Ghostvillage Project” is super interesting and worth a watch:

Link to the video on You Tube

Now in 2011 it still hasn't been torn down, probably because of the bats squatting in the rafters. We went for a look........ 

Much of the art has started to decay in time with the buildings, trees and shrubs which only adds to the otherworldly feel of the place. 

Let the pictures do the talking.........