it’s really refreshing to see the diversity of styles at fashion week. even at the high end shows you see people pushing the boundaries and producing unique combinations. of course there are more risks being taken at labelhood but xintiandi has its fair share of creativity too.

I met Well at Labelhood. She’s been in Shanghai for a few months. She’s originally from Taiwan and is a dancer. She showed me a few clips of her choreographing dance classes – really slick stuff. We talked about working together at some point. She’s such a lovely person I hope we can collaborate.

Shot at labelhood where emerging designers showcase their work.

I’d always been a fan of this duo’s work and every season their ongoing collaborations with couture designer iris van herpen were always something to look forward to.

when I was still a fine art student in Chelsea college, there was an event one night in the V&A with many famous photographers talking about their work. The talks were occurring simultaneously so you could only pick one photographer’s talk. Paolo Roversi, Tim Walker or Warren and Nick. Tough choice, ay? I can respect Tim Walker and he’s obviously a legend in the industry but I was never a huge fan of his whimsical, fey style, despite owning a couple of his books.

It was a tough choice – roversi or du preez and thornton jones. in the end I took the road less travelled by, went to listen to the illustrious duo and that made all the difference.

Although rather secretive about their technical technique they were very forthcoming about their creative path and how they approach working and what their goals were. I really found listening to them incredibly inspiring and I dreamt of creating work like theirs one day.

yeah I know I said I’d share some of my previous work next but i lied. I thought I’d share a few samples of artists I like and pick apart why I find them inspirational. I’ll do it post by post for simplicity.

Ahhhh you gotta love Kraftwerk. I was watching a documentary about Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre called “The Defiant Ones” about their experience coming up in the music industry to becoming eventual billionaires with Beats by Dr. Dre. Some of Dr Dre’s old crew were talking about the early days in the studio and I forget exactly who it was that said that at the dawn of rap and hip hop Kraftwerk were a massive influence on them! I was flabbergasted!

So i relistened to some old kraftwerk and was blown away by ‘The Model’. Sure it’s a product of its era but it still holds up well today. A wonderful mish mash of Teutonic sensibility with a wholehearted embrace of a technology that was totally raw at the time. When you marry this potent mix to the group’s functional grasp of the language you get a really heady mixture. It shouldn’t be good but it just works!

After downloading their greatest hits though and trudging through most of it, i’m not so sure about the rest of their oeuvre. Some of it has aged like milk.

A police car and a screaming siren
A pneumatic drill and ripped up concrete
A baby wailing and stray dog howling
The screech of brakes and lamp light blinking

That’s entertainment, that’s entertainment

A smash of glass and the rumble of boots
An electric train and a ripped up phone booth
Paint splattered walls and the cry of a tomcat
Lights going out and a kick in the balls

I tell ya that’s entertainment, that’s entertainment

Watched The Gentlemen movie directed by Guy Ritchie. Enjoyable yarn. Heard this over the end credits and was struck by Paul Weller’s poetry. Classic song.