>> london windows: selfridges – july 2008

Frozen Symphony, an eye-catching installation by Aishleen Lester, is on display this month at Selfridges.  The installation is hosted in The Wonder Windows, the space that since the beginning of the year has been dedicated to showing the work of up-and-coming artists who, in the words of the store’s creative concept manager Rebecca Bateman, “otherwise may not have been able to find such a high-profile space”.

>> london windows: selfridges – may 2008

Very colorful windows in Selfridges this month, with a sports theme.

Or rather, a fantasy sport theme. Mannequins are all donning Vespa helmets for protection, but they don’t actually seem fazed that they are floating about as if in a lunar module. Although they are employing some rather futuristic devices (in the way that Leonardo’s projects were ingeniously futuristic), it all looks like a whole lotta fun, and not a don’t-try-this-at-home advertisement for extreme outdoor activities. Along with windsurf sails and inflatable dinghies (here comes the summer!), it’s all a fabulous jumping and flying with the aid of spring-propelled seats, giant winged turbines, 3-wheeled pods and flying umbrellas.

Always worth a good half-hour stop on the Oxford Street pavement.

>> london windows: harvey nichols – march 2008

The HN windows this month are undoubtedly eye-catching, if a little overwhelming. As usual, it’s all about the installation and very little about the clothes – but this time round one has to look really hard to actually spot the mannequins hanging somewhere in there.

The theme is a “fluo waterworld” full of gigantic neon-shaded starfish and jellyfish, where the mid-air dummies are probably intended to be floating, and the waves are big iridescent strips of cellophane.

>> london windows: selfridges – march 2008

Here are the installations in Selfridges windows for March: long red-haired castaways in designer clothes, who may be stranded among wrecks, rotting buoys and rusting chains, but have certainly not lost their fashion compass!

>> marimekko @ h&m – the preview

Yes we have them – preview pictures, and the date! The H&M collection featuring Marimekko classic prints will be on sale on April, 10th.

Here is a small anticipation of the collection:

>> marimekko @ h&m – whoever said I don’t wear prints??

It all started with Stella McCartney. It was a new idea and it worked. Then it went downfall – anyone remembers Madonna’s collection, or Kylie’s bikinis last spring?

Yes, we are talking about H&M‘s collaboration with fashion designers/icons – a great idea in itself, if a little too exploited recently (although, admittedly, the Viktor&Rolf one wasn’t bad at all). So, after ‘celebrities’ of all kinds started ‘designing’ for virtually every high-street brand out there, and rock bottom was hit with Lily Allen’s collection for New Look, it looked like the fad was over – and we all sighed a sigh of relief.

Or maybe not?

Maybe not, because they’re at it again. Good old H&M, never short of tricks. Only, this time the trick is so promising that I actually cannot wait to have a date to put down in my diary. To say that I’ll actually go queue outside the store at 5am on the day is still pushing it – but I’m planning to make a dignified appearance at around 10am, and then stock on as much as I can!

Because this time it’s not just any collaboration with any name that we’re talking about. This time, it’s with über-cool print designers Marimekko.

And that’s not even all! We won’t be getting just any flavour-of-the-season print. Marimekko have actually digged deep in their archives, and original prints from the 50′s, 60′s and 70′s emerged, which will feature in H&M’s Spring 2008 collection. Could it sound any more exciting than that?

Not much else is known about the collection, but the mood sketches the company are circulating already tell me that I’ll be sporting long bold-colours gowns this summer – just what I needed, to go with my signature giant-sized necklaces, and those great wooden-sole Trippen clogs….

Relevant posts: >> marimekko @ h&m – the preview