Blood Sweat and Fears

The magazine Blood Sweat and Fears will be challenging the traditional ways of putting together a magazine in the next couple of days. From the 17-21 of March Blood Sweat and Fears are providing a space for artists, designers, illustrators, musicians etc to interact with each other, take part in interviews and live photo shoots. The audience is encouraged to interact and participate and the results of which will be documented and available in a classic printed format.

As the debate of "print or digital" is now becoming ever more current Blood Sweat and Fears is exploring a new method of communication that involves the audience and allows creative spontaneity...in a way it is like a "pop-up magazine" where the contents jump out of its page into the readers face. This magazine really shows just how much magazines have changed in just a few years time, how digital is becoming more and more predominant and how the recognition of bloggers is slowly opening the world of fashion magazines to everyone as more and more contributors that are not "real" journalist are starting to write. The fact that even this magazine will appear in print format though just shows that print still has its place and can never really be replaced with the digital...it's just not the same.

To get yourself into this magazine head over to 65-67 Broadwick Street, W1...it's free!

RP/Encore

RP/Encore is a female/male accessories range made not for fashion victims but out of fashion victims. Californian girl Reid Peppard is a London based designer who uses rodent and bird taxidermy to create head pieces, cuff links, necklaces and coin purses.

No need to fear the PETA though when you are wearing RP/Encore. The dead pets have either succumbed on the road, through pest control or simply died natural deaths.

I'm in two minds about these pieces...I find them amazing and daring and they definitely have that "car accident" effect of "looking-grosses-me-out-but-I-can't-help-myself". On the other hand I just find the thought of wearing a dirty London rodent around my neck pure filth.

I love the controversy of this collection though. Peppard challenges our views on fashion:

Most members of the fashion world have no qualms to wear a dead fox or rabbit in the form of a jacket as you can't tell what the animal once was and these animals, for some reason, are seen as objects of luxury even though they roam around in dirt and catch diseases just like rats and mice do. Peppard though, by recycling the city's leftovers, and by altering the animal only by removing its insides makes the actual common use of animals in fashion an uncomfortable experience for us.

I also think Peppard is on to something with her dead fashion...as fashion "dies" every six months to make room for the next new trend, its life expectancy lower than that of a mice living in the underground, it just makes sense to wear something that is already dead...if its dead it can't die anymore and maybe this could be a trend made to last.

Denim, standing the test of time..

I spoke to a very interesting artist who is taking part In the pursuit of the perfect denim wash Edwin will embark on a project spanning 12 months that will see modern day society's Tinkers to urban Soldiers live and breathe in their Edwin's. 

Edwin reconnaissance staff will be diarising the ‘wear evolution’ through visual mediums from the Photograph to the Blog, giving the public access to the project and its prominent protagonists.

Selected Edwin styles worn by our army of individuals, specifically chosen for their diversity and ‘stand out’ qualities, will be featured with regular updates, thereby cataloguing the chosen ones lifestyles in a pair of Edwin jeans.

find out more about the artists and what i happening to the jeans here ...

Inspirations: The Beat Generation...

Talking to like minded people yesterday, I have once again begun to believe I was not made for these times, and these ideas have come about by looking at the beatniks and the movement of a generation, as they tried to capture the attitude of the Beat Generation as a movement that was anti-materialism and anti-mainstream culture. Just as the beatniks sought freedom in music, literature and self-exploration, their fashion reflected less concern with appearance and more attention to the inner workings of people.


The Beat Generation took its name from the idea that young people were downtrodden, exhausted and disillusioned with the materialism of post World War II America. It was an attempt to reach intellectual and spiritual enlightenment by accepting loose, free-flowing development, whether it was music, literature or drug use. As a result, beatniks embraced freeform jazz, open verse poetry, modern art, cutting edge literature and liberal politics.





With the help of my friend Ricardo, who will hopefully become a regular contributor we will look much more in depth as to what a beatnik actually is in a much much historical and cultural context..

Inspiration: J.D. Szalla

I stumbled across this interview/photos of J.D Szalla, an artist trying to make it in New York on the website Style Like You which takes videos/photos of "Style Musings of the 21st Century".

There are so many blogs on the web with street style or people taking pictures of their daily outfits but what makes this website different is that interesting questions are asked to interesting people and that, in combination with great videos and photography, gives the reader access inside the minds and wardrobes of really unique individuals.

What I found so interesting about J.D. was that, on the one hand, real thought went behind in what he was wearing as he looks for functionability in fashion and he adds random things found on the streets of New York to his outfits giving them a unique touch but on the other hand he wears thigns that are known and obvious to him having grown up pretty rural. As J.D. said about himself; he is no "hipster". Check out the website (hyperlinked above) for the full interview, more pictures and the video.

Salvation Army Sweater, Leather pants were a gift

On where to find inspiration: "In fashion you can't look at nothing, you have to look at everything! It's about seeing everything at once because everything influences you."

Harley Davidson Boots with embellishments found on the streets of New York.

"Most of my fashion comes from looking at women's shit. I look at women's fashion and that's really the inspiration for men's fashion. Men are really boring as far as they dress."

Vintage suspenders, Salvation Army shirt, pants are from a reenactment website

"I'm not a modern hippie or anything like that. I'm definitely not a hipster."

Michael Kors suit, Coach scarf, 1970's pin

"I appreciate the work by any designer who has the ability to make something that's not only fashionable but functionable. I think Michael Kors has done a great job on that."

Fur Traper hat found on the streets of New York

"Fashion is an amazing medium because it's like a living painting."

A summer must...

The Clarks desert khan shoe..

once again the clarks originals are doing things right again, with the ever increasing number of colourways and materials of the desert boot, the wallabe and many others the desert Khan shoe is a hit for the up and coming summer...

The vintage showroom...

2010 is proving to be a good year for mens fashion as the style has begun to become a lot more focused on heritage, which is coming in the form of vintage clothing and various brands taking part and doing it well, but my favourite shop at the moment has to be the vintage showroom as they are doing it so well it hurts a little.

I caught up with the owners and partners in crime Doug and Roy who have been doing this for a few years now and have a shop on Earlham street and a stall at portobello market on a saturday where you can find some gems.

They invited me down to their studio, and this is what i saw.....

To see stuff like this and much more check out their shop on Earlham Street, i doubt you'll be disappointed!