Maison Martin Margiela with H&M launch party

Last night saw the launch of the much-anticipated H&M with Maison Martin Margiela collection. I headed down to Regent Street to suss it out, thanks to an invitation from British Vogue. I was prepared to get my elbows ready!
It turned out to be a surprisingly sophisticated affair, with beautiful waiters passing around endless champagne, white chocolate and raspberry sorbet lollipops, as well as stock replenishments. The most popular items seemed to be the Perspex-heeled shoes, shiny pink sweet-wrapper clutch bags and tailored jackets. The super cosy cream duvet coat stood stoically on the rack, many shoppers deterred by the steep price. For myself, it was a classic black tailored jacket that made its way into my shopping basket.

 

Dover Street Market Ginza, Tokyo

The newly restored 1946 Ginza Komatsu department store in Tokyo's upmarket shopping district Ginza, has recently gained two new additions; the world's biggest Uniqlo and the first international outlet of London's Dover Street Market. Founder of Comme des Garçons, Rei Kawakubo, first set up her avant-garde department store eight years ago in Mayfair's Dover Street, gaining a reputation for handpicked and cutting-edge fashion, art and design. The Ginza store features over 60 fashion labels, each designer with complete artistic freedom for their display, and with Kawakubo customising the Comme des Garçons displays. The result: a beautiful but chaotic shopping experience set within this former office building; antique cupboards are reworked into changing rooms, a life-sized plaster elephant by Stephanie Quayle has been placed in the Louise Vuitton booth, and a vending machine produces special DSM Ginza T-shirts. The six floors of fashion are tied together with an installation by the Japanese sculptor, Kohei Nawa; 'Pulse' features diagonal white splinters that conceal the many escalators and direct shoppers between a montage of luxury and streetwear brands. As Kawakubo describes on the Dover Street Market website; "the mixing up and coming together of different kindred souls who all share a strong personal vision". 

Images: Wallpaper

New Pinterest board- 'How to Dress Like an Architect'

See my new tongue-in-cheek board of architecture inspired apparel here.

Ray Eames

Band of Outsiders shirtdress

Celine A/W 12 Paris Fashion Week

COS white shirt

COS white shirt

COS brogues

COS

Christian Wijnants 'Pira' Trousers for b Store

Maison Martin Margiela man's wallet

The Society of Beaux-Arts Architects Annual ball 1931

Carven volcano skirt

Maison Martin Margiela A/W12 Paris Fashion Week (and I can't help sneaking a bit of architecture in there...)

The Maison Martin Margiela A/W12 show on Friday at Paris Fashion Week seemed as if the garments had come straight off the cutting table and onto the model's backs. Deconstructed garments showed in situ white tack marks along seams, whilst frayed raw edges appeared at the bottoms of dresses. Jackets featured the brand's signature strong and structural shoulders, with some featuring excessively high collars. Some looked as if the sleeves were stapled into the pockets in the manner of straitjacket, but it wasn't until the model turned around that you realised her hands were clasped behind her back, hiding the reality of the cape. 

Images

I would also like to mention here Maison Martin Margiela's flagship store in Beijing.

Situated within the bustling commercial Sanlitun Village, the brand's largest boutique features an aluminium slide to carry customers from the first floor to the ground floor, if all the shopping gets a bit too much. Think of the Carsten Holler slide for the Unilever Series in the Turbine Hall of the Tate Modern back in 2006. The decor is in keeping with the house's palette, with a network of hexagonal neon lights, illuminating individual white display cubes for collections, set out on elemental raw concrete. From the images above you can see how shoes for A/W12 were finished with a rough concrete-esque finish, and further dirtied with colourful spray paint. The store, part laboratory/ part playground, even with shop assistants dressed in trademark white coats, invites customers to take part and witness this iconic brand in a new territory; a brand that is not afraid to push the boundaries with their tongue-in-cheek approach to fashion. 

Images Jonathan Leijonhufvud