spring cool.

yes please to all these looks.
images via turned out - can't get enough of this girl's photos.

outside van der ham.

bo don from premier and rasa zukauskaite from next outside the michael van der ham show this fashion week. love the veronica lake hair.. so hawt right now.
images © anna singleton 2012.

90s sportswear: at home.

so inspired by this 90s/home thing at the moment.. i've been wanting to use this shoot of anais pouliot by lachlan bailey for twin magazine for ages now - such a beautiful shoot and just perfect spring styling.  i noticed quite a few girls in trainers at fashion week this season, which makes a change to last (someone came up to specifically tell me that i was the only person they'd seen wearing trainers - fashion week to me = minimal effort / maximum comfort / it wasn't a style choice). really into the more slimline sporty ones at the moment - nike have got a couple of really nice pairs, and i've got my eye on a pair of new balance.. if you're trainer shopping then go for a proper 90s mono - all black shoe with white sole. perfection.

1. kate moss, 1993 (photographer unknown) via in between dreams.
2. kat poly by marios kalamaris via coute que coute.
3+4. anais pouliot by lachlan bailey via fashion gone rogue.

mirrored.

such a great shot by shini from park and cube. these mirrored shades are ones to watch - have seen them cropping up in a couple of shoots over the last month and they just look coooool. particularly nice paired with the reflective surface of what looks like the patent leather + jersey jacket from marni for h&m.. good low-key hair too.
image via park and cube.

lfw street style: below the knee.

apologies (once again) for the silence! i've had a manic few weeks at work and am only getting round to editing my london fashion week stuff now.. for me, this fashion week was all about what was happening below the knee.. printed trousers, rolled-up denim and statement shoes. excuse the blurriness of some of these - they're not the best but give you an idea of how to work this fun, summery trend.. roll on summerrrrr!

images © anna singleton 2012.

daisy chain.

love these images by maya from 'turned out'.. they remind me of a proper 90s primary school sports day where you'd spend most of your time trying to make the longest daisy chain (in between 3-legged races and games such as 'who can balance the beanbag on their head the longest?' - my favourite). images via turned out. if you haven't already been on it then check it out, full of lovely portraits and really fresh fashion.. bring on the summer - that jacket is callin' my name.

natural structure.

we bought a new book last week for one of our stories at work, entitled 'then again' by shirana shahbazi (available from the photographers gallery bookshop, buy online here). it features a lot of photography that looks like art (somewhat of a trend at the moment). most of the photos are beautiful in their own right but what is interesting are the pairings in the book - where very colourful, structured, geometric images are placed next to those of nature. there's one in particular that features a very subtle photo of cracked ice next to a kaleidoscopic burst of shapes, that seem to echo the cracks in the ice. i'm rambling a little but just thought it was a really interesting idea..
these are not from the book but love the simple colour palette in these images, which are via here and here.

simen johan.

surreal summer vibes in these photos by simen johan. visit his website here.

studies after nature.

more rocks! this time they belong to juergen bergbauer, taken from issue 5 of newwork magazine. The series, called 'studies after nature', comprises of 42 inkjet prints and is another perfect celebration of the mundane. i'd like to own all 42 and have them framed in a special room in my house. ahhh, just imagine. images via the newwork magazine website.

sander '96.

the walls of my flat are slowly filling up with ad campaigns - is it weird to want to frame them?! i often think that campaigns (well, when done by faves celine / jil sander) are so much better than any stylist-butchered shoot in a magazine - they're totally pure, with the whole look and aesthetic exactly how the designer intended. let's be honest you're not gonna top head to toe sander.. these two are from the spring/summer 1996 campaign, shot by craig mcdean.

firework studies (continued).

thought i should probably give you a preview of the book as it is that time of year.. images by pierre le hors, images via his website. hope you all had a good 5th november! x

pierre le hors: firework studies.

a few years ago i decided that i must be growing up because i reached a stage where i would be happy to receive a book as a present. about two years ago i decided that i must definitely, finally be a proper human being because i'd reached a stage where i was asking for books as presents.  if anyone is wanting to buy me a present, buy this book. i saw it first about two years ago when it first came out and had completely forgotten about it until the other day when i was in the ica doing some research for work.  the concept - page upon page of black and white photos of fireworks- is very simple but it is just absolutely beautiful and so magical and by the end, even though you've probably seen every kind of firework formation that exists, you just want more and more.  this is definitely on my present recommendation for anyone's christmas list - there'll be someone you know that would treasure it forever..
image via pierre le hors' website, book available from hassla books or the ica bookshop.

lfw street style: all black.

back onto a bit of street style now with two of my faves from fashion week - the girl on the right being the highlight of the entire week. i'm not going back on all the colour talk, because colour is everything, but when black is done right, it looks incredible.  what i love about both these girls is that they ease cool - they have great natural style, the sort of people that could be wearing bin liners (and dad no, the trousers on the right are not made from bin liners) and i'd still be rabbiting on about them.  in actual fact the jacket on the right is prada, not tesco value, and it is one of, if not the most exquisite piece i have ever come across in my entire life.  i don't want to embarrass myself with the non-technical terminology here but something amazing has happened in the weave of this jacket, creating the most beautifully subtle ombre effect, where the base - almost a raw silk quality, transforms into an almost waxy cottony wool at the top.  the reverse is attention seeking, eye-grabbing, and truly modern with hundreds of feathers intertwined with what can only be described as shredded vcr tape. absolutely amazing.

© anna singleton 2011.

johannes.

me and laura actually disgraced ourselves at fashion week today with our blunt schoolgirl manner towards this hottie lingering outside the bfc tent at somerset house.  this beauty is johannes linder from fm models. it went like this: "oh my god.... you're so good looking" ".........umm.. ha... well.....yeah it's my job". so embarrassed. what a good face though?
image courtesy of laura mccluskey.

sunday street.

absolutely knackered from my first day at fashion week and have heaps of editing to do but had to give you a sneak peak with these two beauties.. On the left is jessica wright, a personal shopper at topshop who I shot last season as part of my 'faces' post (to see last season's street style go here). she just looks so damn good in clothes and has this really lovely, warm air about her. didn't catch the name of the girl on the right but had to grab her picture as she had the most immense pink shorts on. love both these looks and funnily enough how they sit together.. faux fur is definitely staying around and it's nice to see the bright pops of colour be introduced alongside a softer, more neutral palette, be it dark or light..

images © anna singleton 2011.

leomie and harry.

so now would be a good time to prepare for the next installment of 'i love laura mccluskey' as we are about to spend fashion week together once again - a time we like to spend brainstorming and getting excited about all the lovely shoots she's been doing, all the ideas we've had and all the future projects we're gonna do together.. (as well as, of course, the job in hand which is shooting london's street style). for now (as a warm up) i give you her latest work for 'the ones to watch' website where she shot lovely couple leomie anderson (off the telly!) and harry uzoka as part of their 'stay beautiful' issue. images by laura mccluskey via 'the ones to watch' website.

pale.

this breathtakingly beautiful boy is paul boche from fusion model management in new york - l o v e him, such a good face. photo from the series 'pale and interesting' by lucy carr-ellison, via 'the ones to watch' website - which is one of the best online magazines out there, so visit if you haven't already.

kew.

i went on a research trip to kew gardens a couple of weeks ago to help with some of my print designs for work.. i made sure to go on a drizzly day so that everything was really fresh and dewy, making it hard for drawing but so beautifully peaceful that it was worth the wet bum and soggy feet. i'm sure i'm not the only londoner guilty of this but i'd never actually been to kew gardens (or indeed most of london's other 'attractions', deeming them too touristy to bother with) but there are reasons so many flock to kew's vast botanical space.. it is absolutely breathtaking (so good that i only got one third of the way round it so this may have to be done in parts..) my 'must-sees' are the glasshouses, including the 'temperate house' which is the largest surviving victorian glasshouse in the world and reminded me of the wild overgrown building miss havisham lives in, in great expectations... check the website here.

images © anna singleton 2011.

oyster.

 

love these from issue 91 of oyster magazine, by one of my favourite photographers rene vaile. colour is seriously lacking in recent editorials (apart from the lovely kenzo one), with everyone jumping on the black and white wagon far too quickly.. to see rene's website (which is soooo nice and simple and easy to navigate - just to tempt you in even more) go here.

kenzo.

oh my gaaaad i am totally in love with this kenzo shoot by photographer can evgin for under/current magazine. the kenzo s/s11 collection is my favourite to date - although still in keeping with the label's trademark aesthetic of heritage prints and bold japanese silhouettes, it feels really new.  the photographs are like freeze frames of a beautiful silent film, the casting is spot on and they leave me feeling really calm and really inspired. to see the full interview, buy an issue of under/current magazine or go here. to see the full collection, go here. wow.