It’s one thing to watch a fashion documentary that peeks inside a designer’s studio - Unzipped, Lagerfeld Confidential - and a very different thing to stand over a designer while he or she builds something from scratch.
Gareth Pugh’s moving into the studio space within ShowStudio’s Bruton Street shop in London on Friday. He’ll be there through the weekend crafting a totally exclusive, one of a kind look, “a unique interpretation of his SS10 collection.”
Of course, since this is ShowStudio, the whole thing will be broadcast live at www.showstudio.com/project/livestudio once he gets started and afterward, Nick Knight will shoot the look in the shop before it’s sold.
If you were waiting for the perfect excuse to invest in some Pugh, this is it. Otherwise, have fun dreaming.
Get Involved: Though there are a handful of dissenters, the relationship between fashion and Gaga isn’t waning. You can play, too. Nick Knight and Ruth Hogben (who’s worked on Gareth’s films) are asking for your video submissions based on The Apocalypse to play on her tour. {ShowStudio}
Red Rover, Red Rover: Celine’s landed at Dover Street Market, Phoebe Philo’s Celine that is. Who says Spring 2010 can’t debut in Fall 09? Phoebe even helped design the airy space to house her collection. {Dazed}
Got It: After last year’s Hilary Clinton/Vogue fight, Jonathan Van Meter finally got his chance to profile the now Secretary of State. Annie Leibovitz photographed her in the White House, so gowns. {Vogue}
It’s rare a week goes by that we don’t dream of living in London, but we’re especially envious of Brits tonight.
Vogue UK reports that Nick Knight will be shooting an editorial for their print book, starring Natalia Vodianova, in public view. Outside shoots are obviously subject to the public eye, but Knight’s actually inviting the masses to watch his shoot at Somerset House as part of his SHOWstudio: Fashion Revolution exhibition.
Aside from Knight and Natalia, you’ll also get to watch Vogue UK’s fashion director Lucinda Chambers, stylist Sam McKnight and make-up artist Val Garland work the editorial. As for the clothes, it’s a fairy tale themed shoot featuring custom made dresses set for auction the following day. (The proceeds of which go to Natalia’s charity, The Naked Heart Foundation.)
They’ll be at Somerset until 9 so grab your umbrella and get there early.
1. Your new retrospective book, Nick Knight, is phenomenally gorgeous. (The publisher sent us a copy but you can buy it starting on October 27th for $75, which is actually not a bad deal at all.)
2. Picking out which smattering of pictures to scan was incredibly hard but really fun. Thanks for making our morning so much better.
3. We forgot how much we truly died over that 2000 Dior campaign with a dirt-covered Angela Lindvall. Love, love, love.
4. You can do super high concept and impeccably simple equally well. What a gift.
5. SHOWstudio is totally badass and changing the industry in important and innovative ways.
Just keep doing what you’re doing. Thanks!
A few more of our favorite shots from the book after the jump. (UPDATE: We had to switch out a few of our scans due to some copyright issues…sorry!)
What’s better on a Friday morning than a little live male model action? Not much in our book.
If you concur, we suggest you make a little note in your Outlook calendar to surf over to SHOWStudio tomorrow at 11 am and watch a shoot of VMan’s Model Search. Live streaming is the thing, you know.
We don’t yet have an inside track on the theme of the Nick Knight/Simon Fox shoot yet, but we’re pretty sure it will be hot. I mean, the mag isn’t going to award a cover and Ford contract to just anybody.
And watching male models work it for the camera sounds like a real morning mood-enhancer to us.
Sure, Burberry and Michael Kors and even Twenty8Twelve have provided live broadcasts of their shows to make the public feel included, but Alexander McQueen’s one-upping everyone by partnering with Nick Knight’s ShowStudio.
Together, they’re reclaiming control of the front row’s Flip Cams and Twitters with the use of robot cameras both on and off the runway to guarantee that everyone, everywhere (with a computer) sees the show and the atmosphere as though they’re present.
“I want to generate something else, something for a wider audience — for people in Australia, Asia, and Middle America who don’t have a seat at the show. Really, what I’m aiming for is world domination,’ he joked to WWD.
Of course the problem with the public seeing the clothes immediately is that it’s still hard for most to wrap their head around the fact that they can’t have what they’re currently falling in love with for another six months. Though McQueen’s thought of that, too and wants to start building capsule collections that can be bought right off the runway.
We’ve always had a bit of a blog crush on ShowStudio and now they’ve really gone and done it.
Nick Knight moved the site’s headquaters to London’s Bruton Place - parallel to the dream street that houses Stella McCartney and Matthew Williamson’s - and thought they’d get in on the retail action.
Today marks the opening of their very own store full of fashion delights including props straight from a few major runways. The Shop is part live studio and part gallery, selling things like a John Galliano customized Union Jack and a miniature Victorian greenhouse built for a Tim Walker/Coco Rocha editorial.
In October, Nick Knight and SHOWstudioannounced they’d be launching an epic exhibition at Somerset House to coincide with London Fashion Week SS09 and the BFC’s 25th Anniversary (the celebrations for which we’re already SO excited).
Well, now we know that the exhibit will showcase the site’s collaborations with designers, artists and models including Alexander McQueen, Liberty Ross, Gareth Pugh and Julie Verhoeven, as well as new collaborative films made specifically for the celebration and it’ll run from September through December.
One room will function as a photo studio, housing Nick Knight and his team preparing for on-site shoots. So you can watch his preparation live, instead of edited into a slick video. And while they’ll be shooting one hundred portraits of London’s hippest models, actors, musicians and artists, he’ll also be working with a major model.
And considering his taste in girls- Kate, Natalia, Irina, Daria, Lily - we’re kind of dying to know who it is. Guesses?
If you think pretty editorials could benefit from a little bit of life, Nick Knight’s on the job.
Because while it’s nice to see images of models frozen mid-jump in this season’s runway looks, it’s even better to see them actually jump - half the beauty is in the movement.
As of today, you can see the final results of SHOWstudio’s “Let There Be Light” project. Knight, in collaboration with Ruth Hogben (one of Nick’s close associates), has directed Lily Donaldson dressed up in the best of Spring 09 - a Margiela jacket, a Jil Sander bodysuit, Lanvin pants, Balenciaga shoes.
Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at Lily’s photo shoot. Head to SHOWstudio for the final cut and highlights from V’s editorial.
MAC’s teaming up with Hello Kitty for a winter collection of make-up and random accessories including key chains, bracelets and tote bags.
There will be two separate cosmetic collections, Hello Kitty Colour Collection and for the brand’s more mature customer, Hello Kitty Kouture because they need to reel in the kids who have an extra twenty bucks to spend on lipgloss as well as the moms who’ll spend $90 on something called Sheer Mystery Powder that comes in a white Swarovksi crystal Hello Kitty compact with a pink bow, (assuming they exist).
Though fashion’s had an awkward relationship with Hello Kitty for some time, see Japanese Vogue May 2007, it always seemed more like a silly joke than an actual marketing ploy, like Star Von Bunny but recognizable to those outside the industry.
Will women above the age of thirteen really spend a lot of money, (because the price points for this partnership are significantly higher than MAC’s usual), for “glitter eyeliners because she loves anything that twinkles?” She, of course, is Hello Kitty, whom you probably think is a cat but is actually “the face of a girl without a mouth, [who] speaks from the heart.”
And if you think that’s strange, Nick Knight shot the counter visuals featuring blonde models with black vinyl Hello Kitties for an overall “dominatrix” look which we suppose is meant to reel in an entirely different customer.
MAC’s 2007 Barbie collection sold out in minutes, almost, so our sarcasm is probably unwarranted and the collaboration will surely fly off shelves despite the tanking economy and despite WWD’s weak outlook on beauty sales and despite the Swarovski crystal overload.
Nick Knight’s shoot with Lily and Jourdan may have just hit Vogue UK’s site, but you can check out his shoot with Lily for V happening right this second on his site, ShowStudio.
It’s the first time the brand has partnered with Knight - they use a different photog each season - but Tomas Maier chose him because he’s, “followed his work for years and always admired his sense of adventure.”
The ads feature models, (yay!), a color palette matching the collection and an “intriguing compostion”. No word yet on who gets to wear Maeir’s pretty dresses, but in true Knight fashion, there will be a video posted on Bottega’s website documenting the process.
Fingers crossed there’s a video on Showstudio, too - that one highlighting the models, the clothes, a little bit of Tomas and guaranteed to hold us rapt through at least three viewings.
The last week in March is going to be heaven for fashion bloggers:
Not only is Cathy Horyn giving a talk at the Met on style and the internet (aaah!) but Diane Pernet brings her Shaded View on Fashion to the Tribeca Grand for a screening.
The movie is called You Wear It Well and it’s already toured Paris and Los Angeles, showing a series of fashion-focused short films created by some of our favorite people.
There’s a collaboration between Nick Knight and Gareth Pugh, an animated short by Ruben Toledo (at left), and a film by menswear designer Kim Jones.
The project was helmed by Pernet and Dino Dinco, and airs on March 31st at a special screening.
We wonder how many girls will show up with their laptops in hand…
ShowStudio may take us behind-the-scenes at their Kate Moss shoots, but there’s one project they kept totally secret:
Victoria Beckham’s Vogue UK shoot, which hits London stands right now.
The photographs were shot by Nick Knight, and look like a pop album leaflet -
Shiny, pink, and steeped in 10 tons of lip gloss.
We’re not sure what Ms. Beckham actually has to say in the issue, but it’ll be a riot to flip through the photos of Marc Jacobs’ latest face - there are thirteen pages of Posh photos inside.
Stay tuned for a full gallery; for now, here’s the shiny shiny cover, sent by UK reader Sarah.
Anyone who reads Fashionista will know that our crushes are simple and finite:
We love Kate Moss, Agyness Deyn, Gemma Ward, Johnny Depp, Sofia Coppola, Luella Bartley, Phoebe Philo, Irina, you, Henry Holland, The Rolling Stones, and the fashion photographer Nick Knight, whose clients include Burberry, McQueen, and most of British Vogue.
So of course, we’re a little excited, because although we’ve met almost everyone on that above list (still waiting on Phoebe, Johnny, and 1 of the Stones…) we’ve never even seen Nick Knight in person… until now.
The ShowStudio founder comes to town on Friday, February 1 to debut a film with the menswear designer Bernard Wilhelm. The project presents Wilhelm’s Fall ‘08 collection, and premiers at the Tribeca Grand Hotel.
Its theme, according to Knight, is Men In Tights, which goes anywhere from Robin Hood to Centerstage or Miuccia Prada’s recent runway outing of guys in skirts.
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It’s one thing to watch a fashion documentary that peeks inside a designer’s studio - Unzipped, Lagerfeld Confidential - and a very different thing to stand over a designer while he or she builds something from scratch.
