THE WARREN STREET SQUAT: 80S CLUB LIFE WITH BOY GEORGE, STEPHEN JONES AND MANY MORE

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

Prepare to feel like your life is very boring. Sorry, but that's how I felt when I went to a talk at the National Portrait Gallery last Thursday evening entitled "Word of Mouth from the Warren Street Squat". Given the setting in a rather proper sort of place, I sort of thought I'd be going along to a rather genteel retelling of the activities of a particularly creative, carefree community which sprung up in Central London nearly a decade before I was born. Indeed, the whole event came about as a result of the Lucian Freud retrospective- attended  by the very prim Duchess Kate when it opened- in which there are several portraits of Leigh Bowery, a key player in the clubbing scene which was a huge part of life for the Warren Street squatters.

The most polite one I could find....Leigh Bowery by Lucian Freud (image from www.tate.org.uk)

What actually ensued was an hour and a half long chat amongst many members of that community, including Boy George and milliner Stephen Jones, enlightening the comparatively few of us there who hadn't been around to experience it first hand. The Warren Street Squat was one of many which sprung up in the area around Tottenham Court Road and Euston Road in the late 70s. The squats were inhabited by art students, DJs, musicians and any other 'outcasts' who felt at home in what sounds like the complete, non-stop chaos of the place. Jeffrey Hinton, who did a lot of the talking, recalled a time of 'no rent, no internet and no mobile phones' which gave them the 'freedom of not dealing with real life'. In turn, this led to a 'falling apart culture' which was only exacerbated by the unstable minority Labour government and the highest unemployment figures since the war.

Boy George with Leigh Bowery (image from graziadaily.co.uk)

The lovely Princess Julia, who was on stage talking with Jeffrey Hinton

When they broke into the disused townhouse on Warren St and wired up the electricity in 1978, there began the coming together of creative minds who would eventually become some of the biggest cultural influencers of the 80s- Leigh Bowery, Michael Clark,  Bodymap designers Stevie Stewart and David Holah, Princess Julia... I could go on. I loved that so many of these people and their friends were at the event on Thursday night so rather than being a bland history lesson, the room frequently roared with debate about what really happened in the stories being told. Boy George discovered for the first time that the house actually had a working phone that he could have used. Some were disgruntled to discover that others had been to Mark Le Bon's squat a few streets away for baths (it was the only place with hot water). What made me feel boring is that wherever I was living, the bath and phone would be my first priority. It's hard to imagine being so consumed with other preoccupations that I could possibly not hunt out these facilities as a matter of urgency. It seemed that visits to drink out of date beer at  Pink Panther or nipping to the roof to delve into the bucket of poppers they kept there were more pressing.

Kim Bowen, Jeremy Healy and Stephen Jones outside the Warren St squat (image from www.fashionsmostwanted.blogspot.com)

Trojan and Leigh Bowery. An image from the insightful article which Princess Julia wrote about the NPG talk for iD

This scene is still inspiring creatives today.... During the talk a photo popped up of a clubber in full blue face paint. It looks to me like Meadham Kirchhoff almost certainly saw this picture and used it as make-up inspiration for their AW12 show.

Bodymap (image from www.dazeddigital.com)

Meadham Kirchhoff make-up AW12 (image from lloyd-evans.com)

Jeffrey Hinton's scratch videos were big highlights of the night. A lot of the footage came from the time after the squat had been closed down and all its inhabitants rehoused in smaller flats on council estates. Nevertheless, I think they gave a pretty good taster of the hedonism, sexual freedom and creativity which pervaded the scene. Hinton had become obsessed by tapes at a young age, when he would record himself then edit the tape by cutting it up and sellotaping back together different segments. Princess Julia, who seems totally brilliant, remembered how he would do a new one each week to show at Taboo, Bowery's club night. The videos were grim and vile and hilarious and beautiful in equal measure- some segments show Hinton filming his friends as they dance and snog and masturbate and banter. Spliced in with these equivalents of family footage are Hinton's genius mixes of mainstream media, clips from TV shows, adverts and even a Tupperware (the plastic tubs which every good housewife/Mother/ practical person has stowed in a kitchen cupboard) party, with scenes from horror films and underground sources which lampoon the original material. It's a whole different way of looking at the world and sells the club scene as a complete, alternative lifestyle rather than something we do on a Friday or Saturday night. 

One of Hinton's videos.... Be warned, it's pretty gruesome!



The talk ended on kind of odd note when Hinton mentioned he would be reading out the names of some of those who had been big parts of the scene but who are no longer around, many of them succumbing to AIDS related illnesses or drug and alcohol problems. There was a shouting match between two audience members who had clearly both been some part of the culture- where one questioned whether their lifestyles had been overly childish and irresponsible, the other was fuming that that subject had to be brought up at all. While the deaths of people like Bowery do cast a shadow, the fact that Hinton, Princess Julia and many more are still alive, successful and just as creative today does show that it was an experience you could live through.

I just need one question answering, does anyone know who this fab furry animal bedecked audience member is? All anyone could tell me was his name was Thierry...

THE MUSICAL HIGHLIGHTS OF LFW AW12

Posted by Bethan Holt, Fashion Junior at Large

There's a thing called the #lfwtimeline. If you have a look at this hashtag on twitter you'll see that it tells you how late (or not) a show is running. We've worked out that this timeline is perhaps not the most reliable of sources- its default setting for each show is "the XXX show is running 10 minutes late' even though sometimes it is 15 mins and others it's 30 mins. Anyway, when you do manage to be punctual, there's almost always some cool music playing and setting the tone for what you're about to see. And once the show begins, the music has a massive impact on how you start to interpret the collection.

Here are a few of our favourite songs from the week...

Azealia Banks hasn't even released a single yet but that hasn't stopped her becoming a YouTube hit, as well as being enlisted to perform for Karl Lagerfeld. She also appeared at last night's Topshop party, celebrating ten years of NewGen. Her 212 song was heard all week, including at House of Holland, Mulberry and Topshop Unique.



One of the Fashed's favourite tunes at the moment is 'I'm His Girl' by Friends. We heard it at Emilio de la Morena and Felder Felder among others.



In terms of music, last LFW was rather overshadowed by a certain Lana del Rey and her (then) fresh new voice in 'Video Games'. We still heard this song a few times over this season including at Aquascutum. Oh, and in case you hadn't heard by now (where have you been?) then Mulberry have named their new bag, the Del Rey, after the former Lizzie Grant. Plus she rocked up at their show, but we didn't need to tell you that did we?



Meadham Kirchhoff were bound to deliver on the music front, given their obsession with teen girl tunes. Their show closed with Abba's Dancing Queen.



The new Muppets movie is out now. What with Miss Piggy guest editing Grazia, it's hardly surprising it was on the mind of designers. Mulberry closed their show the Ma Na Ma Na song.



Hanna Hanra took charge of the music at Louise Gray. before the show began, she played some Whitney. The show was all about 90s house music, including Work It Girlfriend by Jack and Jill.





Pringle's show took place to the sound of INXS 'Need You Tonight'...



And finally, Marios Schwab's entire show was based on Mahler's Adagietto from Symphony no. 5.

SHOW & TELL: MEADHAM KIRCHHOFFS HYPER PRETTY SS12

Posted by Melanie Rickey, Fashion Editor at Large

At this time of year fashion media people start mobilising towards attending fashion shows. The real die-hards will already be on the road in Milan and Florence at the mens shows, and are about to head to the Paris mens shows followed by the Haute Couture and pre-fall. They will soon be speaking incomprehensible fashion. At FEAL we'll be keeping a close eye on these shows while bringing you all that is exciting, new, interesting and thought-provoking in fashion now.

To kick off our coverage of the Spring/Summer 2012 collections I want to start with our old NEWGEN gang members Edward Meadham and Ben Kirchhoff of Meadham Kirchhoff who are deservedly and swiftly gaining a cult following. I've been following their work since pretty much the beginning of their careers. Their S/S '12 collection of hyper femininity was a social and fashion media triumph which disseminated through the Web and found a home in the hearts of disaffected teenagers and Riot Grrls of the old and new school around the world.

The Riot Grrrl manifesto 

Theres a lot of women and girls out there who don't buy into the idea of what a modern woman is supposed to be according to the fashion and mainstream media. With their work Ed and Ben give those woman a connection to catwalk fashion they would not otherwise get. By signposting their way to Courtney Love, Tavi Gevinson the Riot Girl manifesto and the Japanese Lolita subculture, MK are giving disaffected alt. fashion lovers a home.

                                               Meadham Kirchhoff SS/12 ( images: topshop.com)

"Its a celebration of girls. Of the ridiculous artifice and expectation of female beauty. A celebration and disgust of it. So yeah...the normal." - Ed Meadham

Since airing this collection last September the designers have been picked up by the London office of New York based marketing company Black Frame whose other fashion clients are Rodarte and Visionaire. Currently the designers are simultaneously creating both their Autumn/Winter 2012 collection and the next edition of "A Magazine Curated by ".  I'm looking forward to both; especially as one of my best friends Brix will be in their magazine.

A "Lolita" girl in Tokyo wearing the brand Angelic Pretty 

The Angelic Pretty Dolls.

Meadham Kirchhoff have been considered a bit like Marmite in the fashion media up to now; but 2012 will be their year to go global as they now connect to their fans and therefore to their marketplace.  Not long ago an A-list editor said to me in an exasperated tone "I can't understand why you like Meadham Kirchhoff". Now they feature prominently in her magazine's editorials. That says it all.

There is much to appreciate with the work of Ben and Ed this season, both intellectually and fashion wise.  But don't look too far beyond the cupcake platforms and Hello Kitty inspired knits. They are too brilliant not to be enjoyed.

Meadham Kirchhoff Spring/Summer 2012 shoes by Nicholas Kirkwood. Whats not to love?

I do want to share the fabulously incongruous first drop of their S/S 2012 collection with you though. Interestingly, rather than commence the season by displaying their luxurious high-end pieces (with their equally luxurious prices), Net-a-Porter.com have smartly realised (as has Topshop who tapped them for two previous collaborations) that MK's fan base is not your average high ticket fashion consumer lady. She is definitely more punk rock than glossy fashion maven. Hence Meadham Kirchhoff fans will appreciate a hyper sweet T-Shirt perhaps especially if they have to scrape their pennies together to buy one. Anyway, here they are. Which one do you want? I adore the "Love is Revenge" T-Shirt. (P.S I've just checked and they are already selling out fast, especially in smaller sizes)

Love is Revenge t-shirt £130

Kitty tee £130

Riot Not Diet £130

HOW SWEET IS HARVEY NICHOLS?

Posted by Melanie Rickey, Fashion Editor at Large

Just back from the Harvey Nichols press day. Like all great department stores this one is a global institution, and a national treasure with branches across Britain. Therefore their press day is an opportunity to see what fashion lovers in Edinburgh, Birmingham, Manchester and London will gain access to next Spring. One of my discoveries is so fabulous I'm saving her until tomorrow for an in-depth look at her work, but the best of the rest is here for your pleasure...

Below is a truly spectacular print from young New York based Parisian Jospeh Altuzarra who won American fashion's most prestigious new talent award, the $300,000 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, last night. The pocket diva is going to be huge! Trust. One thing is for sure, his sexy tropicana chic will be a welcome lift when it hits the store next spring. Just how awesome is this print?

The print above came from a dress v similar to this one. (via catwalking.com)

Hello Joseph!  Lookin hawt in one of your dresses, yes? (from W Magazine via holymoly.com)

Joseph Altuzarra was not present at Harvey Nichols' press day. He was probably nursing a celebratory hangover in NYC but other designers of note were in attendance at the store. Ed Meadham and Ben Kirchhoff, the designers behind Meadham Kirchhoff, turned up to see how Harvey Nichols, which had taken as inspiration for its press day their saccharine sweet Spring/Summer 2012 show. had handled it. Cue several arches of pastel coloured balloons, candy-floss, a balloon lady (see below) and lots of Meadham Kirchhoff's sickly-sweet Spring/Summer 2012 collection. Ben + Ed were on typical form. They informed me thay have a new PR, Black Frame in London and they are the only client of the London office. Black Frame reps Rodarte in New York. Things are definitely looking on the up and up for these two.

 Sweetie-pie chic by Meadham Kirchhoff at Harvey Nichols

Meadham Kirchhoff inspired Harvey Nichols to hire Twistina the Amazing Balloon Lady. She was ace!

Lastly, my third (but not final) inspirational Harvey Nicks  moment of the day was the young model and illustrator Naomi Preizler who created the little take-away sum-up of the press day below. She uses herself as a model in this illustration, but is also known to sketch fellow models backstage at the shows. She doesn't have a website for her illustration work, but hopefully this is only a matter of time. 

Naomi Preizler (Image from Marie Maud)

THE ULTIMATE FASHION SHOW: MEADHAM KIRCHHOFF

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

It's the last day of womenswear shows at LFW and, quite frankly, we're a little delirious on lack of sleep, cold medicine, diet coke and Percy Pigs.

Here's how our day was Meadham Kirchhoff-ified. The invite, which was at first mistaken for one to a 5 year-old's birthday party, got us in the mood. (click for a slide show)

 

And then came THE show, the spectacular show which filled our weary hearts with laughter and joy. Ed Meadham told the FashEd after the show that he feels like a man trapped in a teenage girl's body. He's been speaking a lot to Tavi Gevinson, whose new Rookie magazine is for teenage girls, so between them Tavi and Meadham Kirchhoff are taking us back...

14 Courtney Loves- Ed Meadham would have liked more.

MK groupies- Masha Mel and Tessa Yop of Vrag mag

LAST NIGHTS FASHION AWARDS

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

Me in my Meadham Kirchhoff

Last nights British Fashion awards was an intimate affair held at the Savoy hotel. The awards took place in the Savoy Theatre and we were all cooped up in our finery in tiny seats holding our plastic glasses of Champagne.

Things improved greatly once the awards got underway and Meadham Kirchhoff won best new emerging designer. Spent the rest of the evening feeling pleased with myself that I drummed up the guts to step away from my usual formal evening look - leather trousers, Celine jacket and spike-heeled Kirkwoods - to wear the magnificent red chiffon and lace dress from Meadham Kirchoff's Autumn Winter collection.

This look is a huge leap from my usual formal evening wear. I told my friend Justine Fairgrieve I was channelling an aristocratic woman fallen on hard times who has resurrected and dusted off her finery from various eras. She said she was too. I saw her across the room and she looked like Little Edie.
Jewels were important with this; the neckpiece is late 50s Dior costume jewellery.  

Anyway, wearing this outfit gave a sense of a whole new sartorial chapter opening up.   

Following the awards there was an elegant dinner in the Savoy proper, and it was exquisite from the table settings to the food and company. I was a guest of ASOS, and sat next to the young Canadian designer Thomas Tait. Interesting guy. Then it was a quick scoot with Henry Holland, Erdem, Richard Nicoll, Peter Pilotto, Christopher de Vos, Sarah Mower, Katie Hillier and Charlie Harrington for late night drinks at Soho House.

Fun times.

The most deserving winners on the night were
1. Phoebe Philo for Designer of the Year
2. Husam el Odeh for Emerging Accessories Designer
3. Patrick Grant of E. Tautz for Menswear
4. Mulberry for British Brand
5. Naomi Campbell for Outstanding Achievement
6. Last but NOT at all least the totally brilliant Ben Kirchhoff and Ed Meadham. I don't think they even know how great they are. Hopefully this award will go some way to make them believe it.
Find all the rest of the fun and frolics on Grazia Daily
Photo of me by the ever wonderful Mr Dave Bennett

LONDON AW10:MY MEADHAM KIRCHHOFF LOVE THANG

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

Been meaning to explain all week why Meadham Kirchhoff was one of my favourite shows. Well, here is why: it was radical, edgy and controversial - the fashion show equivalent of a rough diamond. One doesn't see that very often. There were enough ideas here for three shows, and lots of great trend-setting individual pieces. Why controversial? A lot of editors I know either didn't understand the show, found it too much to take in at once, or not edited and polished enough for the London runway.  To that I say - look beyond the veils!  (Many models were veiled thus obscuring their outfits. Not very helpful.)

Also consider that not everyone talented enough to deserve an on-schedule show at London Fashion Week has the bulging contacts book (or indeed demeanour) to ensure super-glossy stylists and A-list hair and make-up.  

Having said that, my position is a preview was granted so my understanding was assisted and advanced. I knew what to expect and could enjoy the show. Here's the designers to explain:

"It's ethnic, but with origins as far flung as Southern Spain and Southern India," said Edward Meadham. "That means you will have couture level embroideries on our gowns, and some naive tinsel embroideries on our shrunken cashmere knits. We are doing lots of red, lots of fuschia and lots of glitter. We are creating beautiful Oscar gowns, long tea dresses, and 3/4 dressses, there is also an element of animal print and our signature tailoring. On the runway it will all be mashed together with veils. We want to do as many pretty, amazing things as possible. It's a total stream of consciousness."

EDWARD MEADHAM

"Our previous seasons have been more quiet, sad," Ben Kirchhoff explained to me. "This more intimate, less melancholic than our previous shows. Our reaction to the mood of the time is to do total prettiness. We are making things that feel personal to us. We are hand-painting biker jackets - its a move on from when we would daub on our leather jackets as teenagers with Tipppex. We are also expanding what we do with a commercial line of jewellery with Erickson Beamon and we have a few other projects in the pipeline."

BEN KIRCHHOFF

With references as diverse as the Russian costumier Leon Bakst (above), Courtney Love (see here for when Courtney met Meadham Kirchhoff), bedecked Rajasthani women, and naive childhood memories of Christmas, its easy to see why some ideas got lost in translation.  My hope is that sales will ensue and the ideas germinated in this Autumn/Winter range will be expanded into a fully formed collection to satisfy their fans for Spring 2011.

Top of my list for AW10 is the "Hate is Love" biker jacket (top), the long red dress above, and a tinsel embroidered knit. The re-cut paper Christmas cracker hats by milliner Naser are fun too. Maybe they could make a killing selling designer Christmas hats to Harrods for fashiony Christmas crackers or something? That would certainly fund next season. Just a thought boys.... 

Mr. Meadham and Mr. Kirchhoff

On Meadham Kirchhoff's desk...

On their wall...

Their studio....

The wall of the studio...

Catwalk pictures: Chris Moore/Catwalking.com

Studio pictures: Fashion Editor at Large

UPDATE: WHEN COURTNEY LOVE MET MEADHAM KIRCHHOFF! UH-OH

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

Excuse me while I get the smelling salts for Meadham Kirchhoff....

THIS STORY WAS UPDATED MARCH 3RD WITH NEW UNPLEASANT INFORMATION - THE ADDS ARE AT THE END.  

What you are looking at right here happened last night. It is the culmination of Ed Meadham and Ben Kirchhoff's wildest fantasy.  

Courtney Love is looking unbelievably hot in a dress from the A/W10 Meadham Kirchhoff collection shown on the runway last week which was - you guessed it - inspired in part by Courtney. Furthermmore, she is standing in THEIR Dalston live/work studio while doing it!  I think we can all allow ourselves an on the spot jig for that.

How did Courtney Love get there? Well, excuse me as I brush the imaginary lint from my lapel, it was thanks to a steady campaign conducted by myself with the crucial assistance of Emily Maddick the news editor of Grazia who is friends with the iconic woman in question. 

Three weeks ago when visiting Meadham Kirchhoff for a preview of their show, which turned out to be my favourite of London Fashion Week (will show you why later) they expressed their love and admiration of Courtney, and said it would be their dying wish to see her at their show and/or wearing their clothes.

Following this inspiring encounter my fastest finger was dialling Emily who was immediately on the case planting this info with CL.  We forwarded her an inviation to their show, and the designers sent her a small gift. She didn't attend the show as busy gigging; but when Italian Vogue booked her for a shoot, Courtney knew where she wanted to borrow some clothes: Meadham Kirchhoff!  

"We lent her five pieces from the AW10 collection, and gave her a dress from last season. It was a joyous moment," said Ben last night.

 

They pinched themselves hard, and she was still there!

March 3: EDWARD MEADHAM ADMITTED YESTERDAY THAT HE THINKS HE WILL NEVER SEE THE CLOTHES HE LENT TO COURTNEY LOVE AGAIN. THEY WERE HIS FAVOURITE PIECES FROM THE NEW COLLECTION - AND MS LOVE HAS SEEMINGLY ASSUMED OWNERSHIP. 

MESSAGE TO COURTNEY LOVE: SORT IT! The pieces you have "borrowed" are samples that should be on display to potential buyers in a showroom in Paris right now and for rest of the week. The designers need them to keep their business going! If you can remember what it is like to struggle for your art you will return them honey.

FASHION JUNIOR'S LFW ROUND-UP

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

TRENDS TASTER:

 The conspicuous zip...

 

Burberry Prorsum

Bryce Aime

Anything sheeny, shiny and metallic...

 

Aquascutum

 

Matthew Williamson

The shearling jacket...

Julien Macdonald

Burberry Prorsum

FASHION WEEK FUEL:

Fashion week sponsors, Mercedes Benz, put these much appreciated hampers in the boot of their cars. I think everybody had one too many jelly babies. Thank god also for the coffee carts and the Topshop Hot Choc Stop in the courtyard at Somerset House.

FASHION EXTREMEISTS:

These two were causing quite the reaction all over town. Who are they? What do they do? I'm desperate to know!

COOLEST INVITATION:

Ashish's paper boat was my favourite.

MOST CONTROVERSIAL COLLECTION:

 

Fashion Editor at Large loved Meadham Kirchhoff's AW10 collection for its brave rawness. Others were not so keen.

BEAUTY TRENDS:

Firstly buns - every other person was rocking one. This was my effort.

Secondly red hair. At one show I counted 10 redheads in my immediate vicinity. Is Florence Welch to blame?

SECRETS OF THE FASHION WEEK VENUES:

Underneath all the gloss this week I saw flashes of London's history. Down in the under-belly of Somerset House - in the passages which host the Fashion East show - are graves. In the deeds of the building this area is referred to as 'The Dead House'. Creepy!

Vauxhall Fashion Scout moved to the Freemason's Hall this season, and the girls who write the VFS blog spotted this. On first impressions it's a painting of King Edward VII, but look at it in a different light and a second face appears.

LIFE SAVING PRODUCTS:

Fashion Editor at Large and I both use Lucas' Pawpaw Ointment, and it was a lifesaver in this week's icy weather. Forget 8 Hour Cream, this is the new cult product that should be in your handbag.

Pic Credits: Chris Moore / catwalking.com, thefashionscout.com