MONO

Yep, perfect for sticky London weather. I will be back soon. 

L- R T/S Cardigan, T/S shirt, WEEKDAY socks, fleck shorts, Illamasqua Lipstick in Obey, Eddie Borgo Spike pendant (my-wardrobe) Nike Pegasus '83 Black, Philip Lim 3.1Pashli Messenger, Illamasqua Nail Polish in Blizzard. 

MF DOOM X CLARKS ORIGINALS COLLAB

Definitely didn't see this one coming! Wallaby wearing MF DOOM has announced the collaboration with renown shoe tailor Clarks Originals to release some limited edition soles. Part of Clarks Pioneers project touching down on 13.03.2014, Clarks have stated that Doom, being one of Hip Hops notorious faces ( or, as he likes it ' Metal Faced Villain') is one of the artists that they have chosen to participate within The Pioneers Project this year. As well as the Wallaby creation ( Dooms fave style ), the Doomsday producer is also releasing an exclusive track that will be released online in March. Doom travelled to the origin of Clarks home, to capture the 'sound of the street'. Pretty excited. 

'DOOM, known for breaking onto the New York hip-hop scene in the 90s, has since made a name for himself as the Metal-Faced Villain. With collaborations with Danger Mouse, Ghostface and Thom Yorke, as well as many more under his belt, this is certainly an artist that needs no introduction. DOOM’s first job as an Originals Pioneer was to co-create a new version of his favourite Clarks Originals shoe. He was quick to choose the Wallabee – a shoe that boasts a long heritage with hip hop. DOOM has carefully considered every element of this design, from the reflective, metal-like stitching, to the mask logo embossed in to the heel of the shoe'

I knew you were the one for me. Dropping next month. 

NIKE THEA

I always do this. I know these dropped last year but I need to find these! So much more appealing than the hype Roshe's. Please find these peaches for me.

SOURHEADS

L-R Weekday tee, T/S Jamies, Nike SB Beanie, MONKI mittens, Michael Kors, Herschel, Nike Flyknit, ACNE sheepskin.

It's still not cold enough in the Kingdom for full layers. Think my winter was done in Berlin back in November, though my hatred for the summer months is creeping in like the alien I am. Love this little dream snippet I polyvored the other day. 

P.S I know I've been gone for a while, long story short I tried to build Eyebelle into full on site and realising it's easier and less time consuming to blog; I have returned to this baby but as 'The Slow Life'. I missed you, lots. 

XIV

Just sayin'

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW - NIKKI STRANGE DESIGN

Not only is she a conceptual, textile talent; she's one of my oldest and dearest friends. Hailing from this bumpkin village where we both pondered in our youth, Nikki began freelance designing from her homemade studio shed and won numerous competitions for global fashion giants such as ASOS and Topshop. Nikki talks to TSL about her fluent designs, inspirational studio sounds and a fall escape to Bali. 

TSL: So focusing on the initial concept of Print and Textile design, can you tell us some of your influences and what inspired you to go down this particular route? 

NS: One of my main influences is nature and natural formations. WIth the such vast and stunning imagery out there, its hard not to find inspiration in everything. Im a big fan of the Natural Geographic and so when I'm lacking inspiration I find myself on there. From a breathtaking and surreal landscape, to the intricate texture of a rock face or ice glacier, I find images such as these a great catalyst to get ideas flowing. Often such textures, give me ideas for backgrounds for work and so I get the paints (or whatever media is lying around) and start making a mess. i'm also heavily inspired by animals as I'm always so intrigued by the natural kingdom and how animals know what to do instinctually, it's fascinating. Lately i've been looking at animal migration as a source of inspiration, in particular birds. The natural patterns created when they travel are amazing and so I've had fun doing some prints inspired by this. Another key influence for me is travel and culture. Im a very keen traveller and when I studied my degree, I thought it imperative that I had to go somewhere inspiring as a source of inspiration for my final major project. I decided to go to Goa, India, where my mum's side of the family are from. I did so many sketchbooks out there as the research process is never hard when you're constantly inspired by such beauty and foreign traditions and beliefs. 

TSL: Tell us about your homemade studio.

NS: Having graduated in 2010 I never thought three years later i'd still be at home with my parents. The decision to setup my own business meant that renting a flat in London wasn't a realistic option and so, very kindly my parents helped me build my very own studio detached from the house in the garden. Its very modest and just the right size for me to do my thing; get messy, throw some paint around make things. I love it and have gradually been able to make it more personal through little DIY projects.  I think its important when working for yourself to have your own space so that you can separate work from home as initially It was something I used to really struggle with. Because I freelance for several design studios, having my own space means I've got the room or organise all my different projects and ultimately keeps me focused and inspired. 

TSL: What sounds have you been listening to on the late night sessions?

A few tracks I've been listening to in the evening whilst working:

London Grammar - Metal & Dust

iamamiwhoami - Bounty (Album)

Poe- Haunted/Angry Johnny

Young Wonder - To You

Dangermouse/Sparklehorse - Little Girl

 First Aid Kit-  Lion's Roar (album)

Anna Calvi - Eliza

TSL: Can you name a few designers who have been a significant influence? Who have you collaborated with so far and is there any lined up you would love to work with? 

NS: Having been lucky enough to work backstage at London Fashion week for the past 6 years, I've been able see a whole range of designers' collections up close before they're revealed to the public. Seeing designer's prints up close and in detail really got me inspired as a young designer, particularly when digital print became a massive trend and designs became crazier and more complex.I worked as a dresser at several Basso and Brooke shows and it was always a privilege to do so. Their designs had me in awe, their placement prints were always so precise and positioned so cleverly, that the print would compliment the silhouette of the model so well, it never looked too much or too busy.  Over the years I've also been a big fan of  Indian designer, Manish Arora who's work always blows me away and almost punches me in the face with its intensity of colour and pattern.His love of his home country is always found in his collections and I love how he incorporates it so heavily in this brand; whenever I look at this work I want to go on an Indian adventure. 

For me, a designer i'd love to work with is Mara Hoffman, as her bohemian, colourful and travel inspired designs, reflect her brand and her free spirited  identity so well.  Her prints always have so much energy and excitement to them and her photoshoots always leave me wanting more. She seems like she's being really true to herself through her work and that in itself is inspiring. 

TSL: What's been your breakthrough moment so far within the industry? 

NS: My main breakthrough isn't so much a breakthrough but more gradual progression (which doesn't sound half as exciting). I think the hardest thing is to keep coming when somedays you feel like giving up and so I'm proud that everyday I give it my best and work the best I can as working alone can be hard. This year has been the first year of my accessories label and I've learnt so much already. Getting on Not On The Highstreet was a really important step for me as it's helped get my work out there and given me a steady platform to help my business grow. My range of accessories is progressively growing, and with Christmas coming up, I will be adding art prints and iPad/kindle cases and some Christmas products to the mix. With the new year, i'd really like to add scarves to the range as I've had lots of request, so fingers crossed it all goes to plan!

TSL: Talking about working on a sole basis, what do you think about House Brands who replicate and have known to tarnish fresh designers work? A lot of Mainland brands have been known to outsource prints, illustrations and overall designs from young, emerging talent and showcasing it as their own innovation. 

NS: I think its pretty disgusting when you hear of a big company stealing or identically copying a small businesses' or independent designer's work. In a time when massive companies have so much market power and are major competition for smaller businesses' who cannot compete with them, its awful to think that some companies find it acceptable to steal artwork. I'm not sure how common it is, but I have heard of some cases and think there needs to be more rights for designers to ensure this doesn't happen. I guess the problem is with fashion moving so quickly these days, and with large companies able to bulk manufacturer and process orders efficiently, its too easy for them to find artwork online and take the shortcuts. 

TSL: What are your plans for the end of the summer? 

NS: Relating to my inspirations, and travel being one of them, i'm off to Bali for 5 weeks at the end of Sept! I plan on doing lots of sketchbooks out there for my next Spring Summer collection. I will also be documenting my time there via my social media pages so keep an eye on them for some inspiring pictures as I will be keeping an eye out for lots of found patterns and gorgeous landscapes.

TSL: And finally, Spring Summer 2014 collections on the rise in a few weeks at London Fashion Week. Any idea of print forecasting? Any new designers to watch out for?

NS: With regards to print trends, having gone to Premiere Vision in Feb and having been looking at lots of trend research I think there will lots more prints focused on escapism and surrealism. Lots of high saturated coloured landscapes and mystical places & inverted florals. I think that hand crafted prints will be making an appearance with inky textures and mark making, going back to basics rather than going completely digital.  Cant wait to see what its in store! 

TSL

EXCLUSIVE - INTERVIEW W/CLEAN BANDIT

This is a recent '13 interview I did in collaboration with UPRAW Magazine with up & coming orchestrated phenomenon Clean Bandit. Here they talk Concepts, Peckham and late night Duck Waffles.

TSL: It's nice to see such a niche take on music for 2013! Can you tell us a little of the origin of the band? How did you guys team up together?  

CB: We started as a string quartet and then Jack made recordings of us playing Dvorak and Shostakovich. He secretly began writing some beats and bass lines around the little snippets he took from these recordings and so Clean Bandit was born. We were at University together at the time and our college friend Ssegawa laid down the vocals for Mozar'ts House. We put on a club night and started to play this stuff live. 

TSL: Last year, artist and producer Benji B and The Deviation String Quartet played on the London Eye for The Red Bull Revolutions in Sound which was a pretty nice idea! Would you guys consider doing something like this? 

CB: Yes! That sounds amazing. Would love to go on The London Eye and play our tunes! 

TSL: You're well known for your live performances with people stating how refreshing it is to witness a visual performance in contrast to the overwhelming scene of DJ's at the moment. What has been your favourite show and memory of performing so far?

CB: Probably on the opening of Frank's cafe on the roof of a 10 storey car park in Peckham. You could see the whole of London behind us and then the sun went down during our set-it was amazing.  

 TSL: Your videos are also very innovative and hold a fresh concept. Can you talk us through a little of the inspiration that goes into creating them? 

CB: Well we think of the visuals as one with the music: both are equally as important to us, so the ideas of the music videos tend to come at the same time as writing the music. Sometimes we think of a visual concept before writing the song: this happened with our video UK Shanty.

 TSL: You also recently did a BBCR1 Live lounge session. Are you set to be collaborating with any major artists coming up? 

CB: That was really fun. We're doing a lot of collaborations and there are some major artists that we love ( of course!) so possibly. 

 TSL: Here in London we've got some hints of sunshine creeping through the clouds and it's getting us excited for summer! Can you tell us what festivals we can find you at this summer?

CB: Glastonbury, Beatherder, Blissfields, Secret Garden, Reading & Leeds, Creamfields, Wireless and many more! And we have our own show at XOYO in London on July 7th! 

TSL: And lastly, we see you guys are London based, any hot spots in the city we should know about? Where can we find you guys when you're not on tour?

CB: We like Duck & Waffle a 24 hour restaurant on the 48th floor of the Heron Tower, Liverpool St. It's nice to enjoy a leg of duck on a waffle with syrup at 5am after a long night in the studio! We think the best club is Plastic People.  

TSL // UPRAW MAGAZINE