Lako Bukia is one of the UK's most interest imports. After earning esteem in her home country of Georgia and taking a course at the prestigious Instituto Marangoni in Milan, the 22-year-old designer finds herself studying at London College of Fashion for her second BA degree. She has exhibited and studied at Central St Martins, and has found time for all this and designing intricate collections, too. Her use of rich fabrics like velvet and silk and her romantic play on pleats and draping has caught our attention.
This week, she brings up what we think is an important point for many designers, or creatives in general. She says she can't design when she's "too happy". If you design (or write or paint or sing), do you experience the same thing? Or how do you get around that?
There is something that about Lara Stone that has stolen our hearts, and the heart of the fashion industry. When she is not having a whole issue of a magazine dedicated to her, she's fronting big advertising campaign and walking in the big shows. But above all that, beyond the supermodel exterior is a charming and somewhat 'normal' girl.
With the help of Fashion Copious, we bring you some of the best Lara Stone quotes.
On a runway incident: "I kept saying 'Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me' because I had to get to the catwalk but she just kept posing. So I pushed her. It was only a few stairs."
On wanting to be thin: "If I could have the discipline to be super skinny, I would be. I think of dieting, then I eat pizza. I'm a woman and every woman wants to be skinnier, unfortunately."
On men: "Men don't like me. I haven't been on a date for six months. I've started a club with a girlfriend called the We Hate Men But We Can't Be Gay Club."
Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin are a dutch photography duo. Having shot Fall 0/9 campaigns for Gucci, Balmain and YSL the couple have continued to build on their success since the early 90’s. Pushing the boundaries between reality and often the surreal they create interesting, clever photographs that have become iconic long after the campaigns are over. Having previously used a lot of digital manipulation which enabled them to explore subjects such as gender, sexuality, superficiality and identity they now use very little as their photographs have become more subtle. American, Japanese, Italian and French Vogue often use their work, as well as recent covers for Interview and i-D.
Mango is fast becoming our favourite high street giant. Not only because they have recently launched a new more affordable range, so that fashionistas need not suffer too much during the current economic climate. No, above all, we love MNG mostly because it has brought us some of the best celebrity/high street collaborations. Having offered the Monica and Penelope Cruz collections, and ad campaigns featuring Scarlett Johansson and Dree Hemingway, which have all gone towards adding even more of a 'cool- factor' to the brand, word from the Mango mill suggests that Moises de la Renta, Oscar de la Renta's adopted son, has signed (or will soon sign) a deal to design for the spanish retailer.
Not happy with becoming a critically acclaimed designer, worldwide household name and one-fifth of one of the biggest girl groups of all time, Victoria Beckham may be expanding her list of talents further by becoming a model scout for a possible stateside version of Storm Models London. The singer turned designer is said to have been in talks with her mogul manager Simon Fuller - who is also responsible for the original Pop Idol and 19 Entertainment - about setting up an agency in New York. The agency would use Fuller's knowledge of business and Posh's keen eye for fashion to possibly create an American part of Storm Models London, of which Fuller already owns a 51% stake.
“Simon knows that Victoria is very savvy when it comes to fashion" a source told the Daily Mail, "Simon's first foray into fashion was to team up Roland Mouret [as the designer’s backer] and Victoria, which was a huge success. Victoria is a key asset to Simon and he wants her to take on a major role." After seeing her eyeing up the talent at this season's London Fashion Week's Fashion East, we have no doubt that a Fuller/Beckham collaborative agency would take off immediately... obviously Victoria still has girl power.
In sad news, this morning it was announced that Luella Bartley's fashion label Luella, will not continue to trade. According the announcement, Club 21, the global licensee who has been working with Bartely since 2003, decided to pull out from working with the brand. In a statement, VSG Ltd, the subsidiary of Club 21, revealed that they had ‘taken the decision not to invest further in its relationship with Luella Bartley Limited.’
After the success of her Spring/Summer 2010 collection, the news has left many in shock. 'This is a very disappointing situation for everyone involved with the brand,' the designer said. 'I very much appreciate the support that VSQ has given me, but it is upsetting not to be able to protect jobs in this difficult economic climate. We have a number of options open to us, and are considering these over the coming months.'
However, despite the critical success of her recent collection, recent reports have shed light to the fact that the brand's factory unexpectedly closed month as a result of the current economy, which will prevent the brand from meeting their orders for the SS10 collection.
Rihanna ditched her usual leather clad dark look in favour of this interesting ivory floor length gown at Glamour Magazine 2009 Women of the Year Awards at the Carnegie Hall in New York yesterday
To say that Lara Stone is the girl of the moment, is an understatement. Having walked for the likes of Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Miu Miu, Givenchy,Fendi, Karl Lagerfeld and Jaeger, to name but a few, and starred in ad campaigns ranging from H&M (Sonia Rykiel collaboration) and Revlon, to Jean Paul Gautier and DKNY, it is clear that the industry is head over heels in love with Ms Stone (and rightly so too!) She has most recently been ranked 3rd in a Top 50 Female Models poll put together by models.com, and deemed by W magazine (in it's August 2009 issue) as the 'most wanted face of the moment'.
With so many accolades, and a bank balance that is clearly bulging inspite of the recession, it was a surprise for us to learn that the 27 year old was admitted to rehab earlier this year, to treat alcoholism.
