style-tonic issue 4

www.style-tonic.com

Styletonic#4

Get ready it’s party time

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TONIC Traveller

Before the catwalks, the models, the fittings and even the fabric, the humble fashion drawing is where it all begins. Straight from the creative consciousness of some of the world’s leading designers, an exhibition in the Design Museum in London is paying homage to the squiggles and swirls that define a masterpiece. Including drawings from the collections of Chanel, Commes des Garcons, McQueen and Victor & Rolf, and a series of talks, with veteran fashion journalist and historian Colin McDowell in conversation with visionaries Manolo Blahnik and Stephen Jones, it promises to draw quite the crowd. Drawing Fashion, November 2010 – March 2011, www.designmuseum.org.

Diary Dates

Hung, Drawn anD CorseteD

Damsels in Distress, the art of fashion anD frilly knicker heaven. Pencil these unmissable events into your little black book.

Cover photography by Guy Aroch/trunkarchive.com

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Don’t know your cross-stitch from your slip-stitch? The ladies at Irish

ethical fashion initiative Re-dress are here to help with a range

of crafty courses, including a beginners’ design crash course,

upcycling textiles class, bow-ties & Bellinis, mums to be embroidery,

basic pattern drafting, and (our favourite) French knickers &

cocktails. From November, www.re-dress.ie

Craft Work

hot shotsMoMA’s annual New Photography exhibition features work by Alex Prager, Roe Ethridge, Elad Lassry and Amanda Ross-Ho, all inspired by the vast pool of images from the world of print media and advertising. Exploring, and in some cases subverting, the construction of the fashion image and role of the female muse, the exhibition promises to intrigue – look out for out-takes from fashion shoots by Ethridge, and Prager’s visceral retro narratives, complete with doomed heroines and fabulous bouffant hair. Until January 2011, www.moma.org

Alex Pragers’s pho-tography explores the anti-heroine in popular imagery.

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a/W TONIC TreNds

taD

asH

i sH

oji

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#1

#1 Bronze silk dress by La Petite S*****, €1,449, www.style-tonic.com

#2 Cotton skirt by Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, €225, www.style-tonic.com

#3 Inna bow-tie blouse by Dagmar, €235, www.style-tonic.com

#4 Aurelie wool dress by Dagmar, €190, www.style-tonic.com

#1

#3

#2

#4


Get your

fashion has gone soft arounD the eDges this season with Pussybow ties, rucheD seams anD Playful ruffles.

#8 Natayla dress by Dagmar, €260, www.style-tonic.com

#5

#6

#7

#5 Rose chiffon top by John Rocha, €429, www.style-tonic.com

#6 Purple frill dress by La Petite S*****, €1,499, www.style-tonic.com

#7 Knitted top by Catherine Malandrino, €295, www.style-tonic.com

#8

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a/W TONIC TreNds

#1

#3

#4

seventies revival

Mis

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ni a

/w10

think love story, wooDy allen heroines anD farrah fawcett in retro Prints, strokable fur anD soft wool.

#3 Fur Gilet by Meteo by Yves Salomon, €495, www.style-tonic.com

#1 Printed blouse by Isabel Marant, €420, www.style-tonic.com

#4 Knitted skirt by Missoni, €295, www.style-tonic.com

#2

#1 #2 Print dress by Catherine Malandrino, €475, www.style-tonic.com


into the

#3

#2

#1

#3 Leopard-print blouse by Catherine Malandrino, €325, www.style-tonic.com

#1 Leopard-print dress by David Meister, €330, www.style-tonic.com

#2 Darkside jeans by Zadig & Voltaire, €185, www.style-tonic.com

take a walk on the wilD siDe with sexy leoParD Print.

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#3 Nox dress by RM by Roland Mouret, €575, www.style-tonic.com

isab

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#2 Ivory wool dress by RM by Roland Mouret, €1,295, www.style-tonic.com

#1 Marlo dress by RM by Roland Mouret, €1,195, www.style-tonic.com

#3

#2

#4

#5

one of the hottest trenDs this season, sleek, PareD back minimalism means less is more.

keep it simple

#5 Asymmetric skirt by John Rocha, €499, www.style-tonic.com

#4 Wool-blend coat by Isabel Marant, €585, www.style-tonic.com

#1


it’s awrap

look smart with this season’s sharPest tailoreD coats.

#3

#2

#1

rM

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#3 Wool-blend trench coat by Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, €530, www.style-tonic.com

#1 Black coat by John Rocha, €1,429, www.style-tonic.com

#2 Embellished coat by John Rocha, €1,639, www.style-tonic.com

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ruNNINg head

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fashION fOrWard

The By The No collection is an avant-garde take on the label’s distinctive draping and edgy tailoring.

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It’s 6pm, dark, cold and February. I am boarding my first flight to Stockholm, Sweden. At this stage I have completed 90% of my buying for the store, due to open in September 2007.

Sweden in Winter is definitely an experience. The following morning, it’s still dark when I head to my

appointment in the Södermalm area of Stockholm. I had only ever seen pictures of this brand, and few at that, but enough to make me fly to Sweden. The minute I walk into the environment of Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, I feel at home.

sweDish Design Duo fifth avenue shoe rePair never fail to surPrise anD Delight. garrett PitCHer of inDigo & cloth ventureD to the scanDi caPital to finD out what makes them tick.

Astrid Olsson and Lee Cotter

founded Swedish design brand Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair

in 2004.

We chat a little and outline our plans to each other before I am taken down to the basement to view what will be the A/W07 collection. I remember the feeling to this day; people will be talking about this brand for generations to come.

Astrid Olsson and Lee Cotter established their clothing company, Fifth Avenue Shoe

Pleading the FIFth

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“ classic tailoring, Pattern making anD authentic knowleDge have always stayeD a Priority anD a necessity in the collections”

Repair, in 2004, naming it after an old shoemaker’s shop. Since then, classic tailoring, pattern making and authentic knowledge have always stayed a priority and a

necessity in the collections.Using a draping technique to create

sculptural pieces, the duo contrast this with classic tailoring, such as chinos or plain white shirts. Exploring and blurring the boundaries between femininity and masculinity is a constantly recurring theme. The colour range has a solid base of black and white with all shades of grey in between. For every season new colours are chosen, mainly from a faded palette.

Astrid, who finds inspiration in her surrounding environment, has a design degree and a background of pattern-making and sewing. Lee Cotter is self-taught in the field of design and cut his teeth working as a buyer and freelance designer for different men’s

Pleated silk dress by Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, €315, www.style- tonic.com

fashION fOrWard


brands. Together they form a design collaboration determined to redefine the art of innovative tailoring and make themselves heard amongst the clamour of cool Scandinavian brands.

Their experimental Shoerepair By The No collection is an avant-garde take on the signature Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair draping and edgy

tailored effect. Initiated as a creative experiment that wasn’t expected to generate any money, the collection’s larger than life personae pushes the boundaries of the Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair innovative aesthetic. Pompoms, oversized bows and diaphanous ribbons abound, paired with layers and layers of soft, fine jersey. Not a casual look, By The No is the result of the creative duo’s uncensored expression, not for the faint-hearted but that’s what they’re all about. ✚

Looks from the A/W10 By the No collection by Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair.

Black trench coat by Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, €530, www.style-tonic.com

FiFth Avenue Shoe RepAiR A/W10 collection At WWW.Style-tonic.com

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ONe TO WaTCh

www.style-tonic.com 15

personalupclose &

irish PhotograPher neil gavin’s Dreamy,

elegant Portraits are a regular fixture on the big baD lonDon fashion scene.

but is he reaDy for his close uP?

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ONe TO WaTCh

Did you always want to work in fashion photography?I did want to be a fashion photographer when I was younger. After working as an assistant for some very well established fashion photographers and starting my own career, I began to move away from fashion photography and towards portraiture. However, more recently I’ve been trying to combine portrait and fashion work. I’ve been using more “real” people instead of models for fashion photographs.


Neil Gavin’s editorial work has appeared

in Vogue UK, GQ, Arena, Dazed &

Confused, Nylon and Wallpaper*, amongst

many other.

What can’t you live without?VANS trainers and Guinness.

What’s been your most bizarre experience as a photographer?

Shooting the Beastie Boys around New York city. They were the one subject I had always wanted to photograph. I spent a few hours walking the streets of NYC with them, and I was constantly thinking to myself I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M DOING THIS while they jumped and ran around and posed for my camera.

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ONe TO WaTCh

His commercial clients include All Saints, Selfridges, John Rocha and Matches.

You assisted Perry ogden for four years, have you taken on your own assistants now and if so, how does it feel to be on the other side?

I mostly work with freelance assistants. It does feel differet to be on the other side. It’s good to have a professional relationship as well as a good personal relationship with assistants, as you spend so much time together.


“ i sPent a few hours walking the streets of new york with the beastie boys, while they jumPeD anD ran arounD anD PoseD for my camera.”

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Neil’s masterful use of light gives his soulful portraits infinite depth.

ONe TO WaTCh

How do you find the contrast between editorial and commercial shoots?

There can be a big difference depending on the client – magazine or commercial. The ideal situation is to find commercial clients who will just let you do what you want, who don’t necessarily need to see every detail of the clothing etc. On the other hand, there are plenty of editorial clients who will swamp you down with briefs on how a shoot should look. What I really enjoy is having a variety in commissioned work. I find some of the different situations I’ll be in over one week very amusing.

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ONe TO WaTCh

What advice would you give to young fashion photographers starting out?

I think when I started the best step was to work as an assistant to the most established photographers possible. However, a lot of younger photographers are approaching their work in fashion or portraiture from a more fine art perspective.

and finally.. What do you miss about Dublin?!Guinness.. But I’ve found a few places with a great pint here too! ✚

www.neilgavin.com


Preferring to use “real” people rather than models, Neil blurs the boundaries between portraiture and fashion photography.

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sTyle herO

GIRL

irish stylist celestine cooney is not your average “fashionista”. she tells Hazel Pfeifer about betto Ditto Dreams, wearing kangaroo suits to the shoPs anD why it’s not cool to be a bitch.


GIRL

Irish stylist Celestine Cooney, by Chad

Pitman. LEFT Editorial shoot

styled by Celestine with photographer

David Dunan.

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Celestine Cooney’s first ever shoot was on a cover. Back then, she didn’t even know what a stylist was. When publisher Trevor White asked a fresh faced Celestine

to style a shoot for The Dubliner over a decade ago, he had to explain to her how to get the clothes and to put them on the model. The shoot was used on the cover and Celestine’s career took off from there. Since then, she has worked for Dazed & Confused, British Vogue, Chinese Vogue, Teen Vogue, V and many others. Now, as the fashion director of Twin magazine, she hasn’t forgotten how it all began. “I don’t think I thought it was that big a deal at the time,” she laughs.

That’s one thing about Celestine. Apart from her clearly ferocious work ethic, innate style and generosity of spirit, she has one of the most wonderful laughs I have ever heard. Spontaneous, unmistakable and hugely infectious, that laugh is the antithesis of icy fashion maven. Celestine is flying to New York the next day, and her house in Hackney is rammed with heavy clothes bags and tantalising boxes. Over Jaffa cakes and endless cups of tea, it becomes clear how her earthy, wicked sense of humour and refusal to succumb to the gilded eccentricities and diva tendencies rampant in the rag trade have kept her sane, although it hasn’t always been easy.


Loving the aspirational feel of countryside locations, Celestine shot these images with photographer by Ben Toms.

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“Any of those rumours about the fashion industry being bitchy are true, I can confirm all of that,” she says, on a more serious note. When she first moved over to London at 23 and assisted creative director of Dazed & Confused, Nicola Formichetti, for two years, she was catapulted into the heart of the London fashion scene. “I was so naïve, someone could have beaten me up and I would have thought that they did it by accident because they thought I was someone else! I had this mad innocence that really helped me through because I never would have thought anyone was trying to be mean to me. Now I value that down-to-earth Irish innocence so much because I didn’t lose it and I did have to hold onto it with both hands, because it is such a seductive world. Sitting front row at a fashion show, you can almost feel your ego expanding.”

“ i was so naïve, someone coulD have beaten me uP anD i woulD have thought that they DiD it by acciDent because they thought i was someone else!”

Playful and a little rough around the edges, her distinctive style is apparent throughout her work. Photography by Paul Wetherall.

She has seen people become their worst nightmare but gets how it can happen. “You’ve got to just stay so strong because fashion is an industry that allows for assholes and where being a bitch is a good thing. It’s a really tough industry. Everyone knows that but I don’t think you really realise how tough it is. I’ve gone through massive phases where I’ve thought,

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pair of stars and stripes boxing gloves from Hollywood hang from her coat-rack). Last year, when Twin magazine approached her to be their fashion director, all the hard work had finally paid off.

“I really love my job, I never wake up in the morning and dread something.” I ask if she still has pre-shoot insomnia? Not so much now but she does admit to having hilariously “fashion” dreams. “I arrived on a shoot and the model was Beth Ditto and I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, why did nobody tell me the model was Beth Ditto? All my clothes are sample size!’ I was like, ‘Everyone hold tight, I’m going to Evans to buy some stuff!’” More laughter. She is however, “quite geeky” about her work,

‘I cannot do this if this is what this is’. A lot of people get really badly treated and that doesn’t sit well with me.”

Far from the green fields of Co Meath, the hotbed of Dazed & Confused was like another universe. Shoots now involved Terry Richardson and David Bailey, and Kate Moss regularly wandered through the office. Celestine smiles in reminiscence. “I look back at the times when things were hard, when I was packing boxes and crying at 4 o’clock in the morning, knowing I had to get up at 7am and go to Paris. But when you think about it – getting up and going to Paris – you forget that what you do is really amazing.”

After two years, it was time to move on and Celestine established herself as a freelance stylist, working with companies such as Topshop and Roxy and styling catwalk shows for alternative fashion god, Ashish, and music videos for the likes of Marina & the Diamonds. (A

“ i remember thinking, ‘oh my goD, why DiD noboDy tell me the moDel was beth Ditto? all my clothes are samPle size!’”

RIGHT Above, photography by Irish photographer Boo George. Below, photography by Linda Brownlee for Dazed & Confused.

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things that are absolutely mad. I’d like to make pictures that someone like me, living in Co Meath who wasn’t able to get Dazed & Confused unless Tower Records had a copy, can relate to.”

Her sense of fashion as fantasy, as inspiration and self expression, as artistic freedom rather than a set of rules to conform to are some of the reasons for her success, soon to go stellar. “I think if you want to wear a fucking Kangaroo suit to the shops, then wear it. I hate the idea that people would feel like they can only wear a certain thing. Lady Gaga is relating to all those kids who wanted to wear something in school and

got bullied for it. I think it’s so important that everyone is allowed to be themselves and not feel like they have to be a certain

preparing thoroughly and ensuring she always has plenty of options (and sizes).

“I still do get nervous about the creative stuff because when a shoot is good, the feeling you get from it is amazing. It must be like being an artist and painting something that everyone goes mad about. It’s just clothes and they’re just people but I love getting the feeling that it’s a bit aspirational. It makes you dream a little, as it’s fantasy.” Like many of the most creative stylists, inspiration for Celestine stems from characters and stories, rather than colours and trends. She still doesn’t see herself as very “trend aware”, despite being on top of her game. “It’s about finding a group of like-minded people. That for me is what fashion is all about. That’s why with Twin, it’s not crazy fashion – not like the way Dazed & Confused do

“ i’D like to make Pictures that someone like me, living in co meath who wasn’t able to get DazeD & confuseD unless tower recorDs haD a coPy, can relate to.”


way. I think I’ve always been just a bit odd.” If odd means not your average, then Celestine certainly fits the bill. “I take my job seriously and I work my ass off and I’ll always be the best that I can be, but at the end of the day, there are certain times where you have to draw the line and if the Dior jacket doesn’t arrive from Paris, there’s no need for histrionics. It’ll probably arrive and be the wrong colour anyway.” ✚

www.celestinecooney.com

A fan of people and characters, Celestine finds the human element to her work the most interesting. Photography by Mel Bles.

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revelaTIONs

we’ve got the travel bug this issue, so we askeD some of our favourite fashion insiDers to reveal their hiDDen hot-sPots.

Ph

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CICI CaVaNaGH DJ/Club Promoter

HIDDEN HOT-SPOT Ye Old Carlton Arms Hotel, 160 East 25th Street, NYC, www.carltonarms.comI stayed here during New York fashion week, 2009, and I can honestly say I’ll return year after year.

The hotel opened in the 1980s, when a small group of creative people decided to paint the walls of what was, at the time, a “dark and ill shelter”. Each one of the 54 rooms and 4 hallways are decorated and themed by different artists from all over the world. The sheer creative energy in the building is indescribable... You really have to feel it to believe it. It’s in an ideal location on the east side of Manhattan, only a walk away from the bars and nightlife of the hip lower east side,

the theatre district to the west and Greenwich village to the south. It’s a constantly evolving conceptual art project.

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revelaTIONs

HIDDEN HOT-SPOT Bibi’s Cafe, 8 Emorville Ave, Dublin 8. It’s connected to Dolls boutique, so getting to do two wonderful things on a Sunday afternoon (brunch with a friend and coveting all the beautiful garments) is a great way to end one week and begin another! Last Sunday, we sat outside and

my latte arrived with a taste of heaven, in the form of a brownie with peanut butter. That was followed by eggs and mushrooms with a truffle dressing that made the dish. For dessert, we browsed in Dolls boutique,

planned festive outfits and drooled over the amazing collection. The staff are very friendly and welcoming, which is really appealing nowadays. These little touches will keep me going back for more.

www.emilyquinn.com

EMILY QUINN, Photographer

“ my latte arriveD with a taste of heaven in the form of a brownie with Peanut butter”


Mark aNDrEWS, Stylist, image and design consultant.

with Art Deco and antique French furniture, it’s owned and run by four charming guys who were only to delighted to sit and have a drink with us, and tell us about the area. It’s a collaboration of different personalities and tastes, it’s down to earth and, although it doesn’t necessarily suit its surroundings, it’s a place that’s way too cool to care. It was a great evening and we’ve agreed it’s our new haunt whenever I visit.

HIDDEN HOT-SPOT Public House, 54 Islington Park Street, London N1 1PX, www.boutiquepubs.com. On a visit to my friend’s new place in Islington during London Fashion Week, we fancied a drink to celebrate her new venture into the great unknown that we call Life. Not knowing the area well, we stumbled upon Public House. Reasonably priced and beautifully decorated

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aMaNDa MUrraY, Personal shopper and general fashion obsessive, Indigo & Cloth

HIDDEN HOT-SPOT The Dublin Flea Market, The CO-OP, 12 Newmarket, Dublin 8, www.dublinflea.ie On the last Sunday of every month, the Dublin Flea Market is a wonderful bazaar of vintage clothing, furniture and bits and bobs. There’s some incredible old stock sales, but also some brand new pieces from the likes of Indigo & Cloth, if you’re lucky! There’s also Irish hand-made jewellery, some very cool vintage furniture (I got an incredible lamp with a resin base from the 1950s), delicious food and bric-a-brac all in Dublin city centre. It’s the perfect way to spend a hungover Sunday morning, meandering through the various stalls. I often pick up something really special there and always meet creative and interesting people.


JoaNNE HYNES, fashion designer

HIDDEN HOT-SPOT A tiny pashmina store in the Himalayas. The shop doesn’t have a name, but it supports enterprise for local women and their families in villages of the Himalayas. You can go in and try many varieties and weaves in different colours and weights and have some tea while you experience the luxury of hand-made pieces before your eyes. The shawls and pashminas are woven by local women in their own back gardens. Surrounded

by nature, they sit in the sun, using their feet to weave the looms, as they chat and listen to the world going by. The little enterprise store was an experience to treasure and remember.

Joanne Hynes A/W10 Collection is available from Brown Thomas, Level 2, Grafton Street Dublin. www.joannehynes.com

“ the shawls anD Pashminas are woven by local women in their own back garDens”

“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”

Coco Chanel

style-tonic issue 4

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