Fashion Voyeur

People will stare, make it worth their while.

Categories: The Archives, The Fashion Closet

What I Wore: Styling the Racing Aesthetic Trend

The racing aesthetic has been bubbling under for a little wile now.  After appearing on the runways in Spring 2016 it’s been one of those trends that’s gathered pace until it literally bursts through the pack to claim first place.  The Fenty Puma Spring Summer 18 collection saw motocross inspired designs take centre stage, whilst actual motocross riders put on an x-rider style stunt show around the models.

By the time the Fall Winter 18 show season rolled around, the racing aesthetic trend was well and truly cemented.  Designs from Off – White, Supreme, Fenty Puma and the final “See Now, Buy Now” TOMMY x GIGI collection, aptly named “Speed”, featured motocross style pants and chequered flag detailing meaning only one thing:  the high street would soon follow.  Now this is a tricky trend for the high street to respond to, it calls for high quality materials and tricky top stitch and pipe binding techniques – it’s easy to fall short of the finish line if you get this trend wrong and trust me, that’s easy to do.  The look is straight off the 1980’s speedway, get it right and you’re guaranteed a place on the podium, get it wrong however and you’re likely to end up with a ride through penalty and find yourself way down at the back of the grid with zero style points.  The trick to pulling it off?  Something that pays homage to the original style aesthetic and attitude in abundance.  Check and check.

Pixie Tenenbaum wearing GIGI x TOMMY Leather Speed Pant £410

When you’re styling out the race inspired trend steer clear of pleather, vinyl, plastic or any other types of trashy fabrics.  This look works because it stays pretty true to the original aesthetic.  If you’re looking for motocross inspired pants, they’re pretty hard to find.  I have the TOMMY x GIGI Leather Speed pants and whilst they look great, the quality is appalling, at £410 Tommy Hilfiger should be exercising better quality control, I’ve ordered these three times now and the first two pairs arrived with the seams slashed.  The third pair hasn’t fared much better, after just 10 minutes of wear they were already torn.  Not cool Gigi, not cool.  I adore these pants and yeah, I look cool AF in them but I’m seriously thinking of switching to these:

4 images of the Wreckreation Superchargers collection which is a series of items based on the motocross trend and not fitting a specific ideal
WRECKREATION

Wreckreation’s Supercharger trouser is a great alternative and the brand is based right here in the North East.  When it comes to nailing the trend these are probably your best option.  Fashioned from sturdy denim in a whole variety of colourways, these are hardwearing, durable and on trend.

When it comes to race inspired clothing the Forever 21 x Honda collection is pretty damn good and very authentic looking.  Remember, the idea is not to sex up the look, it’s to try to keep it pure.  If you start throwing PVC and stiletto heels in there that’s a whole different ball game.  Primark are likely to pick up the trend if you’re on a budget, expect lots of black and white race themed flag detailing and leggings with go faster stripes down the side.  Remember, show season is a full season ahead of the high street so you can expect to see this trickle down over the coming months.

Handy with a sewing machine?  Grab some ponte style leggings (like a heavier jersey style) and add your own coloured panels with brightly coloured fabric – it’s something I’ve done before and it’s definitely not as easy as it sounds, this is definitely one for people who are confident at sewing and crafting, oh yeah, and uber patient.  If it pays off they look great, mine definitely had a short shelf life!

Found something awesome that fits the racing aesthetic?  Then hit me up and I’ll see you on the grid….

Pixie

Categories: The Archives, The Fashion Closet

Can the iPhone 8 Plus Cut it as a Camera?

I was recently set a task by Three (that’s the phone peeps), to capture some awesome fashion pictures on the iPhone 8 Plus.  With my task and a little bit of guidance pre-shoot, I decided there was no better place than London Fashion Week for the job.

Ok, first things first, this phone is a little bigger than I’m used to.  It’s nice and light and if you’re a pre-gen 8 iPhone user you may or may not know about the Portrait feature within the camera options.  Basically, you know those photos you see on every Bloggers Insta feed where the product in the font of the shot is crisp and clear but the background is blurred?  That’s been shot on Portrait mode and it’s the feature you never knew you couldn’t live without.  It was first introduced on the iPhone 7 Plus and further refined for the 8 Plus and X models, it allows you to shoot in incredible detail from further away.

So, the aesthetic of the phone is like any standard iPhone, central Home button at the bottom with fingerprint or passcode unlock feature, all pretty standard.  The camera is where this phone really shines, the True Tone technology automatically adjusts white balance to match the light around you and the colour vibrancy is the best in the industry.  Fact.

So what’s so special about the camera on the iPhone 8 Plus?

Well, this one has a more advanced 12MP camera than previous iPhones.  The sensor is bigger and faster and the colour is deeper and more vibrant.  Throw in optical image stabilisation for both still photos and videos and you’re looking at something that’s been designed to rival a DSLR.  If you use the zoom function on your cellphone camera then you’re probably already aware that the quality diminishes drastically when you start zooming in, with iPhone 8 Plus, the wide‑angle and telephoto lenses on iPhone 8 Plus enable optical zoom, as well as digital zoom of up to 10x for photos and 6x for videos meaning that you can get in closer without sacrificing quality.  I’ve tried it and it’s not an overstatement.

Where to shoot my iPhone 8 Plus Photo Challenge

I took the iPhone 8 Plus to the FW18 season of London Fashion Week and had to plan how to complete my photo challenge.  I wanted to make sure I could get some really awesome photos that focussed on and showcased the pieces in each collection without the distractions of audience etc. so that I could really showcase the qualities of this cellphone camera.  The best place to do this?  In fashion presentations – the perfect opportunity to showcase what this nifty (not so) little iPhone can do.  Presentations allow you to get up close and personal with the garments and capture every tiny little detail, provided your equipment is up to the job of course.

How to use the iPhone 8 Plus as a Camera

Ok, the idea of this project was to show you that the iPhone 8 Plus can be a great alternative to carrying around a DSLR camera.  Yes, a DSLR will give you the most crisp pictures you can imagine with exceptional depth of field, but, if like me, you’re an out of towner attempting to travel light and post quickly, sometimes a cellphone is just the best option out there.  with the iphone 8 Plus it’s a simple as opening the camera, pointing and shooting.  There’s no set up required, no apps needed and the focus is automatic, allowing you to select the part of the image that you want to be the central point.  Clever stuff.

Shooting with the iPhone 8 Plus

Ok so it’s a pretty big phone, we know that.  If you’re already in Camp Apple then you’ll be familiar with phones of this size as it’s the same as the 6 and 7 Plus models.  It’s uber light which means it’s pretty easy to just whip out and shoot with.  One thing to note is that because it’s pretty big, shooting is probably a two handed job.  It’s very responsive, once you’ve selected something to capture there’s an on screen option to focus available light on your chosen target, or leave the phone to adjust automatically, then you simply click.  It can handle multiple frames (non-burst) in quick repetition and doesn’t distort image quality in doing so, meaning that shooting runway shows was a breeze too.  In the past I’ve struggled to capture decent runway images as cellphone cameras haven’t been so great with multiple things moving in one frame.  That is until now.

Show me the images man!

Ok, ok, so, at London Fashion Week presentations take place in a variety of locations, some are super bright and lit for press, others are in low light or natural light.  The iPhone 8 Plus managed well in all of those situations.  In low light it photographs “as seen” meaning you see on camera, what you see in real live and then need to manually adjust which is super simples.  I adjust using the functionality within the iPhones own photo viewer but Lightroom is pretty good too if you can get to grips with all of the different settings.  I didn’t plan for that and because of the rate of image turnover at London Fashion Week, I stuck with what I know which worked really well.

Paul Costelloe FW18
Merchant Archive FW18
Merchant Archive FW18
Alexander White FW18
Minki FW18

You can see the different lighting situation and how the phone camera has managed to pin pont detail with in each capture.  From the wet look hair in the Minki Presentation, to the blanket skirt colour spot detail at Merchant Archive, for a cellphone, you’ve got to admit, that’s pretty damn good.  So, how would it cope with multiple moving targets, say on a runway?

Fortie Label FW17
Paul Costelloe FW17
Malan Breton FW17
Starsica FW17
Fortie Label FW17
Starsica FW18

These motion stills were all taken from varying distances, some using the zoom function which didn’t appear to distort the images.

What will it cost me?

It’s an iPhone, you already know it’s not going to be cheap.  The good news is that it’s not the top of the range iPhone, that honour goes (at the time of writing) to the all singing, all dancing iPhone X.  The iPhone 8 Plus comes in two capacities: 64gb and 256gb which retail at £799 and £949 respectively.  If you’re browsing the Apple website and thinking, “but the non plus version of the iPhone 8 is a bit cheaper, I’ll go for that”, DON’T.  The regular iPhone 8 model doesn’t come with the same camera functionality, Apple use that extra handset size to pack in a double lens feature that offers that Portrait mode functionality and crisp zoom.  Trust me, if you’re investing, opt for the Plus.

Yes, it’s a lot of money, but the chances are you drop that kind of money on a cellphone regardless.  Plus, if you’re a Blogger who doesn’t want to have to carry a camera around on quick shot assignments, particularly at London Fashion Week where there are multiple shows each day, all over the city, then the iPhone 8 Plus from Three might just be your new best friend.  You’re welcome.

 

Categories: The Archives, The Fashion Closet, The Glorious North East

What I Wore: To the Duke Ata Clubhouse Launch

Voyeurs, this event has been a long time coming.

A good friend of mine, and one of my most favourite people in the whole world, has finally opened his bespoke menswear studio: The Duke Ata Clubhouse.  I can’t tell you how many times Duke and I have sat down to discuss plans for creating the most perfect launch event, all culminating in a home for his made to measure tailoring business, Duke Ata Bespoke.  You’ve heard me talking about Duke, we affectionately refer to each other as “my favourite” and I kind of feel like if you were to assign someone with the title of my Work Husband, Duke would be the proud bearer of this title.  Suffice to say, we’re good mates.

When Duke called me to first berate me for not keeping in touch over the past two months, and then tell me that he’d found the best location for his new studio I was psyched.  Well, less so about being bollocked for being a shit friend but the bit about the studio rocked my world because he’s been searching for what feels like forever.  As Duke and his awesome team knuckled down and got to work refining the space and creating somewhere that would feel like a real escape, I got to searching for the perfect outfit.

Duke specialises in mens tailoring, in a similar vein to Joshua Kane (without the dramatics) Duke’s work is classic, distinguished and instantly recognisable.  From the cut, to the finishing details, he’s a perfectionist and if you’ve never met this dude, he’s like a slicker, more tidy version of Andre 3000, he plays football on a weekend – I’m positive he does it in a suit.

An image of Blogger Pixie Tenenbaum wearing vintage Dieter Heupel from Trendlistr at the launch of the Duke Ata Bespoke Clubhouse in Jesmond

So, back to my outfit, when my invite landed I knew I couldn’t rock up in my usual scruffy chic and by total chance, found this vintage Dieter Heupel tailored jacket at vintage hotspot Trendlistr.  The fit is perfect and the cut is clean, it’s not my usual neckline as I usually avoid anything with a deep V, or anything that exposes my chest but the print is just too good to not wear it.  I opted to wear it as a solo piece with a black cage bra underneath to max out on that perfect fit.  As the jacket is midnight blue with varying shades of blue throughout, I paired it with a midnight blue velvet sock boot and some polished latex trousers from a fetish store in Soho.

With my pink hair and signature MAC Heroine lip, I’m chalking this up as a pretty awesome lewk.  High five, air punch emoji, winky face.

Pixie x

Categories: The Fashion Closet

Paul Costelloe FW18 at London Fashion Week

More and more of the on-schedule designers are going off-piste for their Fashion Month shows.  As Anna Wintour recently said in a video editorial for Vogue Runway: “No longer are we seeing a schlep of anonymous, sad looking models walking the runway in the standard white box, we’re being invited into restaurants, and to new and exciting venues like the Yves Saint Laurent show that took place by the Eiffel Tower on a beautiful evening”.  It’s true Voyeurs, the Karl Lagerfeld effect has massively influenced show season and for us to sit up and take notice, the show itself needs to be as spectacular as the garments we’re there to view.

For FW18 London picked up the baton from a super boring New York Fashion Week and breathed into it new life.  From the emerging talent at Fashion Scout, to the more established on and off schedule houses, London Fashion Week’s FW18 season packed a real punch and with it, came an uplifted, happier vibe.  From the colour and texture driven presentations at Alexander White and Merchant Archive, to the spooky fun Starsica runway show that took a huge step away from the norm cementing it as one of the most memorable of the season, London Fashion Week brought Fashion Month to life.

It should come as no surprise then, that London’s patriarch of fashion, Paul Costelloe, put on a runway show, presentation and live performance rolled into one for FW18 that brought a little Parisian chic to the UK capital.  Costelloe is to London Fashion Week what Lagerfeld is to Paris Fashion Week.  A stalwart and powerhouse who evolves with each season, reacting to not just expectations in fashion, but also sustainability, technology and the time in which we live.  For FW18, the house of Paul Costelloe invited a select group of the global fashion media and buyers into the Waldorf Hotel for a breathtaking show which saw the typical Costelloe textures injected with a youthful edge.

Secretly Livid

I arrived at the show at The Waldorf Hotel on the wettest day of Fashion Week.  Not only that, but moments before entering the hotel I was covered head to foot in puddle juice after a truck saw a roadside opportunity not to be missed.  I was wet and pissed off Voyeurs, and looked like crap.  I spent about three minutes attempting to dry my hair under a hand dryer only to discover that it looked worse than when it was drenched with London puddle and after booking an emergency blowdry at SHOW Beauty I thought fuck it, I’m going in….

I won’t say I wasn’t huffy, I was, and there’s photographic evidence to support that.  But like a pro, I took my seat and waited to see what Paul Costelloe had in store for us.

Paul Costelloe FW18

The co-ed collection from the fashion giant is a subtle reflection on an Irish heritage of leaving homelands in search of new life and new dreams, disembarking from the landing stage of Ellis island, ready to join millions of others in search of a new identity and creating a culture of endless diversity.

Key pieces in the collection feature heavy plaid tweeds from Magee of Ireland’s County Donegal alongside Costelloe’s signature tailoring.  The British and Irish narrative is worked into full length coats and high waisted trousers which echo that American aesthetic of the 50’s.  Distressed jacquards from Lanificio di Sordevolo in the Italian province of Biella compliment this International offering.  The room lends itself perfectly to the show in this format, models walk the runway four at a time in choreographed steps in order to give a fully immersive view of each piece.  In a London Fashion Week first, the whole event was filmed and broadcast via Insta360 allowing the viewer into the show as if they were right there in the audience.

The custom prints featured in the show came from second generation Costelloe by way of William Costelloe Design, making it feel like we were experiencing something truly special.  If you’re a fan of Costelloe’s work, you’ll know that texture is a huge feature, often used as a total juxtaposition throughout his body of work, FW18 saw heavy tweed paired with polished latex and leather to create a new branch of Costelloe DNA.  As a live band played, the looks kept coming and once the show was over, guests were invited back into the room for an informal presentation.  As far as shows go, this is the most chilled I’ve been to in a long while.  Models came out on to the floor wearing key looks from the collection on rotation and guests we able to touch fabrics and really get up close and personal with the pieces.  Trust me, you’ve never felt a tweed weight like the one on this amazing swing coat, it’s to die for.

Paul Costelloe FW17

As the band played an awesome cover of the Old Crow Medicine Show version of Wagon Wheel, I got a chance to have a little chat with the man himself who paused mid-sentence to yell for the band to “keep playing”.  So what did he tell me?  Well we talked about tartan, heavy denim, Paris and the collection obvs.  But most memorable?  That would be when he told me my eyebrows were “amazing” and left me with the parting words: “Never let anybody tell you to change your eyebrows, seriously, don’t let anybody force you to change them, they’re amazing.” and with that, Paul Costelloe danced away into the crowd…

Pixie x

Categories: The Fashion Closet

Merchant Archive FW18 at London Fashion Week

After the bore-fest of New York Fashion Week (and I’m going to go on record and say that it seems to get more boring with each season), London Fashion Week brings a cooler, more youthful vibe to Fashion Month.  I’m not slating the NYFW collections, although some of them are, well, a bit samey, but the production can feel very repetitive.

Then, when you least expect it, the show of your dreams comes along and it’s just perfection.  The location, the staging, lighting and the collection itself is all just so well planned and packaged that it sets your world on fire.  It doesn’t happen often that a show stands out and you’re thinking about it long after Fashion Month has passed, but when it does, man it’s awesome and it gets you psyched for the next season when you can spot high street pieces clearly inspired by that one awesome moment that you got to be a part of.  Prepare yourselves for a barrage of beautiful imagery…

Pixie Tenenbaum wearing a floral dress & baker boy style hat at the Merchant Archive FW18 presentation at Lancaster Gare during London Fashion Week

Front of pack for the FW18 season was the largely underrated Merchant Archive.  On the final day of London Fashion Week I schlepped through the rain in a floral SS18 Topshop dress and pleather tifler, to a disused hotel in Lancaster Gate immediately after the Minki presentation, to attend A Common Thread – the label’s presentation for the coming season.  On approach, the building is tired and lacklustre, but hidden inside is a breathtaking space that’s been frozen in time.  Somewhere between rack and ruin, perfectly poised to provide the most beautiful backdrop that never overshadows the collection we’re gathered here to view.

Merchant Archive FW18

Dressed with wild flowers, heather and fern leaves in perfect disarray it’s the first time I’ve ever looked at a venue and been able to see the synergy between the surroundings and the collection.  If you’re not impressed by my description of it then just check out my pictures, all taken on my iPhone X, no filters applied, it really is that beautiful, and yeah, my outfit matched the surroundings perfectly.

The presentation itself spanned three main rooms of the old mansion house hotel.  One strewn with quirky chairs, another dressed with balls of wool suspended from the ceiling in a grid, and the last displayed the garments on thick, cubed metal rails.  We were also treated to a breakfast of champions with freshly backed pastries, shortbread and some of super posh and instagrammable biscuits which I’ll admit, kept me there longer than planned.

Merchant Archive FW18

One of the really great things about this non-static presentation was the steady flow of models through the bottom floor of the hotel, allowing you to capture the garments from every angle.  The collection itself centred around a patchwork blanket found on the last page of children’s book The Paper Dolls by Julia Donaldson.  A book which designer Sophie Merchant reads to her young daughter every night.

“Colours imagined in hues with the help of the passage of time.  The loving hands of a kindly grandmother.  These muted tones are interspersed with inspired punches interjected from a 1930’s crochet cushion found in a market in Somerset.”  Sophie Merchant

The Merchant Archive FW18 season collection sees the reintroduction of knitwear in cashmere blends, using four feature knit stitches to create a patchwork with arun references.  When you see it in front of you, the simplicity is what makes it so bold – ironically that’s exactly why it stands out from the crowd.  The prints in this collection speak of the journey taken by the Paper Dolls in the story book and that childlike reference is present in the form of a dab dot paint spot which resembles that made on a page by a young child.  The collection is one that explores both the start of life and the wisdom of later years, both of which are visible in the key pieces, the shapes are simple and fluid and the venue complements this perfectly allowing the colours to lift from the backdrop.

Basically, it’s just beautiful.  All of it.  There aren’t many great Fashion Moments any more outside of The Grand Palais, but the Merchant Archive FW18 presentation, this was one of them.

Pixie

Pixie Tenenbaum Editor's signature with fashion illustration graphic