SHOWstudio: Bobby Gillespie, Hayward, Lady Amanda Harlech, Haute Couture, Chanel, Christian Dior, Mugler, Andy Warhol and more

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Newsletter | 20 July 2011
CURRENT
LES SMOKINGS – HAYWARD
The pinnacle of masculine elegance and the foundation of modern menswear, the great British tradition of bespoke tailoring is still going strong into its third century. A twist on our twist, the third residency of our Les Smokings project brings the tailored tuxedo back to its roots, with Ritchie Charlton of tailoring house Hayward taking up residence in the studio at Bruton Place. Over the past three days, Charlton and his team have taken up the challenge of handcrafting a tuxedo jacket from scratch, showcasing the entire process via our live stream. In the third and final day of broadcast, the finishing touches are added to the piece to be modelled by Primal Scream frontman and Hayward client, Bobby Gillespie.

Tune in now to catch the final flurry of action on our last day of this one-off residency [more]
CURRENT
PRACTICE TO DECEIVE: SMOKE & MIRRORS IN FASHION, FINE ART AND FILM
Our current SHOWstudio Shop exhibition, Practice to Deceive: Smoke & Mirrors in Fashion, Fine Art and Film, has been extended an extra week. Showcasing key works by Francois and Bernard Baschet, William Claxton, William Klein, Brian Dowling, Fernand Fonssagrives, Ruth Hogben, Walter Hugo, Stephen Jones, William Klein, Nick Knight, Craig McDean, Edward Quinn, Joseph Szabo, and Sissel Tolaas amongst others, Practice to Deceive approaches the saying 'smoke & mirrors' both literally and figuratively, juxtaposing iconic photographs of people smoking and physical mirrored surfaces, and simultaneously examining how the expression refers to deceit and artifice, two things that often appear in fashion and art. Inspiring our Les Smoking series and our Nailed shoot earlier this year, this is the last chance to see these iconic piece of fashion and art in our Bruton Place gallery.

Practice to Deceive: Smoke & Mirrors in Fashion, Fine Art and Film is open until 23 July 2011 [more]
COMING UP
IN FASHION, AMANDA HARLECH
Following the live stream of our one-on-one with the iconic, enigmatic and influential Lady Amanda Harlech, next week we launch the edit of our in-depth discussion unpicking Harlech’s pivotal role in the fashion industry. Working alongside two of the most influential designers of our time - John Galliano at his own label and during his first year in haute couture at the house of Givenchy, and since 1997 with Karl Lagerfeld under his eponymous lines, Fendi and of course Chanel - Harlech is an insider's insider, proving herself one of the most influential (if often unseen) women in modern fashion. Harlech lifts the lid on her experiences of Galliano’s beg-and-borrow days, her closer-than-close work alongside Lagerfeld at Chanel, and aspects of her life that feed the imaginations of some of the most creative and prolific designers in fashion today.

In Fashion, Lady Amanda Harlech launches next Wednesday 27 July 2011.
COMING UP
MING XI COUTURE 2011
Underlining the Asian inspiration of the Spring/Summer 2011 collections, Nick Knight’s latest haute couture shoot for V magazine features up-and-coming Chinese model Ming Xi and a selection of Paris’ finest creations styled by Jonathan Kaye. Our live shoot offered an unprecedented insight behind the scenes and inside garments by the likes of Jean Paul Gaultier, Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci, Valentino and John Galliano for Christian Dior, metaphorically unpicked by SHOWstudio.com fashion director Alex Fury. Alongside the process showcase, we launch a fashion film created from footage captured during the editorial sitting, set against a soundtrack provided by Ming Xi herself and animating these exquisite, one-off garments into vibrant life.
COMING UP
LES SMOKINGS - MUGLER
Our final Les Smokings resident is a true legend, past, present and future - the house of Mugler. A sensation since his earliest Paris shows, Thierry himself found an able successor in the label's Creative Director Nicola Formichetti, fashion editor and stylist to Lady Gaga, who took up the reigns last year and has succeeded in revitalising the house. For Les Smokings, Formichetti collaborates with Mugler menswear head Romain Kremer to reinvent the classic Le Smoking for a modern audience and label. 'My approach is personal and always very eclectic,' Formichetti once said of his work, which often fuses the realms of pop and high fashion.

Tune in on Thursday 28 July 2011 to watch a unique creation by the Mugler duo unfold before your eyes.
FROM THE SHOP
UNDERPANTS #1-6, 2008
When AnOther Man magazine invited Nick Knight to photograph a men’s underwear story for Issue 5 in collaboration with menswear stylist Alister Mackie the pair decided that this wouldn't be just another shoot of men in their y-fronts. Inspired by the neglect of men’s underwear in design and representation, the two set out to challenge the usual unadventurous pants donned by an stereotypically oiled muscle man by constructing an intricately detailed and delicate range of men's underwear and then filming the pants with the same air of grace that any lingerie campaign would have. The shoot offered such a fresh perspective on masculinity and its representation in fashion imagery, that we couldn't help but dig six of Alister's handsome drawers out of the archive and offer them for sale. We think they might make for a perfect addition to your summer wardrobes. [more]
FROM THE ARCHIVE
POP POUPÉE
As the Chapman Brothers' first non-collaborative exhibitions open in tandem at the White Cube galleries in Mayfair and Hoxton, their sculptural installations of zombie Nazis and mutated children got us thinking of our own art-outing into customised mannequin-age. Our Pop Poupée project took inspiration from Andy Warhol - the man(sequin) himself even making a cameo as a model - as stylist Jane How and photographer Mario Sorrenti recreated pop culture idols as the basis for a jewellery shoot for April 2003 W magazine. Directed by Murielle Arden, this film documents the all-consuming efforts of How, Sorrenti et al as they build 'poupées' of postmodern icons using unlikely materials such as cheese, cake and liquorice. See how many familiar faces you can spot as the shoot unfolds in this compelling make-so-and-mend short. [more]
LATEST ENTRIES
BLOG
Resort 2012: Giles
Nattier, Rigaud and the buttoned-up femmes of the Ancien Régime is hardly the inspirational fodder you expect to be taking centre-stage in a Giles collection - after all, Giles Deacon is a designer who has Pacman as a muse, sent out bags in the shape of gremlins and dinosaurs, and... [more]
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