Top of The Tattoo's.

Committing to a tattoo I know is a very serious decision, Freya is fast swaying my decision.....

And these....

Walk Us Through The Summer Espadrilles.

Personally, footwear for the summer is a considerably easier choice to overcome compared to the winter months, there's an abundance of choice, and whilst looking through the footwear accompanying the varying outfits in the SS11 collections, it is fair to say as a whole they have catered for everyone, for every possible occasion imaginable. When the sun starts to shine and miserable, grey, London starts to warm up and the exciting events for the summer begin to be released, both at home and away, footwear is there to accommodates such matters, enjoyment completely out-weighing the worry of 'my shoes are hurting' and although, admittedly, this doesn't mean to say I will be choosing footwear based on comfort, I am trying to emphasis that they have to come in equal measures, so far in the form of Forest/River wickers and now espadrilles.

The classic espadrille, is once again one of them items that have never gone away, serving both purposes of reassuringly comfortable and a perfect accompaniment to any Summer outfit, developing from originally Peasant footwear to many designers replicating the classic shoe and being seen on many young, trendy feet, although the target market is highly unlimited, being seen on Brick Lane all the way through to many women and men wearing them during the Summer months in Catalonia.

Looking through Dior's SS11 footwear, with the espadrille inspired sole initiated the search for summer espadrilles, research unearthed some very impressive designer versions, however high-street versions undoubtedly compete.

The Old, Battered, Denim Levi Jacket. Classic.

Classic: Something that is a perfect example of a particular style, something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality.


In 1853, Levi Strauss, a 24-year-old German immigrant, left New York for San Francisco with a small supply of dry goods with the intention of opening a branch of his brother's New York dry goods business. Shortly after his arrival, a prospector wanted to know what Mr. Strauss was selling. When Strauss told him he had rough canvas to use for tents and wagon covers, the prospector said, "You should have brought trousers!," saying he couldn't’t find a pair of trousers strong enough to last. Levi Strauss had the canvas made into waist overalls. Miners liked them, but complained that they tended to chafe. Levi Strauss substituted a twilled cotton cloth from France called "serge de Nimes." The fabric later became known as denim and the trousers were nicknamed blue jeans.
And as for the infamous logo, The two-horse brand design was first used in 1886. The red tab attached to the left rear pocket was created in 1936 as a means of identifying Levi’s jeans at a distance. Levi no longer aim at a niche audience, 'From a company with fifteen salespeople, two shops, and almost no business east of the Mississippi in 1946, Levi's grew in thirty years to include a sales force of more than 22,000, with 50 shops and offices in 35 countries, and from creating the blue jeans to a whole range of clothes, including the famous Denim Jacket.

Describing, in terms of fashion, an item as 'classic' is a very generous, even though undoubtedly deserved, established title. It signifies that although the trend may be current the go-to designer or brand has been around much longer, and are in the privileged position of escaping newer competition, as in many people's view, who can go wrong with a Classic? As the saying goes, 'Why fix something if its not broken,' Why buy into a copied version if we can have the original? Working?
And as with the Denim Levi Jacket it applies to both, the classic denim jacket, alongside the classic denim brand, both equally established in their own right, and appearing again on many trend-setters, and almost certain to appear again in future years.


No fashion expert, or insider of the exciting world, merely through skimming just the surface by doing the bare minimum of acknowledging what people are wearing both past and present, and maybe with the help of a few Fashion Magazines for back up reading material; it is clear that 'What trends go around, come back around' and ever more certainly so, if they are branded with the 'Classic' label, ultimately meaning that...They were never gone?

The Discovery of Forest/River.

As discussed in my previous post, Beyond The Valley, a small fashion boutique situated in London, has enabled me to discover many talented designers creating innovative clothing, unusual jewellery and statement footwear, one of which I purchased a few days ago whilst in the 'summer thoughts' frame of mind once again. Footwear for the summer, wickers, transformed from the usual dull colours of dark brown and tan leather and constructed using bright colourful strips of leather, weaved together and tied with red leather as a form of lace.

Producing a blog has initiated the need for me to gain more knowledge in many aspects of the 'Fashion World' particularly in researching young designers and discovering their history and achievements. However, one of my usual research methods, Google, sadly was of no use this time around, only allowing an insight to very limited information.

Mia Morikawa, the designer behind Kapow!Wow! is presenting something new with the shoe label Forest/River Shoes. 'Incredibly adorable are the leather sandals in various colours, handmade in India and limited to only 90 pairs spread over the world.'

Although very little information was retrieved, the above almost makes me feel slightly privileged to be the proud owner of these special Forest/Rivers shoes...

The Beautiful Creations of Noemi Klein.

Beyond The Valley, a well known boutique situated in London. In the five years since its launch, Beyond The Valley concept store has gone from being a spring board for young designers to one of London's leading destinations for design and fashion innovation. The store and label is an embodiment of this, enjoying collaborations with new talented artists, keeping the range diverse and ambitious. Beyond the Valley has been voted one of the top 100 UK Coolbrands for 2007/08/09/10. the creative directors are Kate Bonhote and Kristijana S Williams graduates of Central Saint Martins. Visiting the boutique, through the concept, enabled me to come across various designers that I was unaware of, one of them being jewellery designer Noemi Klein.
Although I can greatly appreciate the rapidly growing fan base for Pamela Love's unique and all inspiring jewllerly collection, and as much as I love the style of her beautiful designs, so much attention on just one designer erges me to find new talent, enabling me to be wearing something new, that people haven't seen before, and that would be in the form of Noemi Klein.
Klein, originally from the West-German countryside, began working as a jeweller in the murky corners of creative East London in 2004. She first started designing and working with metal after being given a cast of piece of machinery by her dentist father, combining her inherited attention to detail and fascination with fancy tools with finding an outlet for her love of fashion, precious metals and unusual imagery.Additional design and silversmithing at Londons Central Saint Martins and Morley Colleges and an interest in traditional craft and tactile media such as porcelain, silk and natural stones make her approach to jewellery a distinctly modern take on decorative art.
Drawing inspiration from the ephemeral imagery of life and death, favourite reference points have included medieval emblems and the world of the enchanted forest. Pieces from the current collection are exquisitely detailed and multi-layered, featuring diverse figural and floral imagery and reworking elements from vintage jewelery and combining them with a array of precious materials such as silver, gold, coral and semiprecious stones.

Noemi Klien Jewellery is entirely handmade by the designer in her East London studio, creating unique but wearable pieces that are often one-offs.
Currently being stocked at Beyond the valley, No-one, Labour Of Love, Farfetch, Pixiemarket, Violent Green-Australia, Ballet-Hong Kong and Paristexas-Copenhagen.

On To You Acne.

It was inevitable that the whole block on pursuing summer thoughts would of come to an abrupt end, and who else's SS11 collection would be responsible for that but ACNE. Founded in Stockholm in 1996 by four creatives, Founded in Stockholm in 1996 by four creatives, Acne’s vision was to conceive and develop a lifestyle brand offering highly coveted products. This ambition grew to include ventures in advertising, graphic design, Internet games and TV-productions.



Acne was a pioneer in recognizing the undeveloped opportunities within the denim industry, utilizing this concept to create 100 pairs of unisex jeans. These were featured in Swedish Elle magazine and, before long, Sweden’s leading boutiques clamored to carry the characteristic jeans with bright-red stitching. From here, the foundations of Acne were established.



With confidence from the success of the jeans, Jonny Johansson, ACNE’s creative director, branched out into other design genres. The first full collection was launched in 1998, setting the tone for the brand. The subtle luxury and understated pieces originates from the ethos that clothing should be smart yet personal. This philosophy yields effortlessly stylish results without being overly domineering.



“Fashion is the best form of self-expression. We like to design pieces that together form the coolest wardrobe, but is ultimately wearable. It becomes one way of thinking as individual pieces, but together creates a strong, modern and considered statement.” explains Jonny Johansson, Acne’s Creative Director.



With stores and projects across nine countries, Acne is now recognized internationally as a creative tour de force, unique for its corporate diversity in fashion, graphic design, film production, and advertising, as well as product, business and concept development.
Today the full team consists of over 200, each individual as enthusiastic about the brand as the four founding members.



The SS11 collection displayed modern, structured pieces, with a pale, summery colour palette in the form of dresses, maxi skirts, with detailed body con long sleeve tops perfectly adding to the minimalistic approach. It wouldn't be Acne without the inclusion of some tougher colours, red, black and a hint of mint green. The round shaped sunglasses adorned many of the models, aswell as the controversial 'transparent shoe'



'For SS 11, the general idea from the start was to work with recent aesthetic history as an inspiration. I love something which is a sign of the times, a movement or an artist which typifies an era or a feeling. The challenge of taking something so in people’s design consciousness like tattoos and to work with it and do a modern interpretation of the familiar was very interesting. Taking something which is fashionable right now and using it as a springboard for something new – that seemed like something exciting.' Jonny Johansson, Creative Director and founder of ACNE

Heart Hart.

Short And Simple.
Jessica Hart. Born 26th March 1986 in Sydney. Discovered in Melbourne, now walking and shooting for the top designers. Known for her gap-tooth smile. And...not to mention her style. http://jessicahart.net/blog/