Rockett Mansion Vintage

Oldies but goodies.

Petrou/Man S/S 10

The Cypriot designer turns his hand to menswear for S/S 10 inspired by deconstruction of men's active sportswear.

Nicolas Petrou is an MA graduate from CSM who has been occupying his time in NYC working for a number of design companies including his own (PETROU). The launch of PETROU\MAN sees the Cypriot designer turn his hand to menswear for SS10. Inspired by men's active sportswear, the debut offering is a deconstructed mix of patterns, mesh and a reinterpretation of the classic jacket.

Merci Beaucoup!

A 1500 square meter charity shop laden with style and concept in Paris.

If you look for ‘Merci’, it is likely you will miss it. All one can see is a flowershop and a seemingly unrelated bookstore. But if you take time to push the door, you’re in for a surprise. At the back lays an enormous, luminous loft – reminiscent of Berlin, which petite Parisian architecture usually doesn’t allow.

Merci is Paris’ least well kept secret. Opened in March, it is a charity shop à la Française, or rather, a charity concept store. It is the result of several years of hard work by Marie France and Bernard Cohen, the creators of French luxury childrenwear Bonpoint. The 1500 square meter (16,000 square feet) space was previously a fabric factory; today, it is like a contemporary cavern of Ali Baba: split up into three stories, it offers a multitude of books, clothes, flowers, furniture, but also a café and an elegant canteen.

Better, yet, is the fact all the benefits – minus the costs and salaries – go to children in Madagascar, one of the poorest countries in the planet where a child dies of malnutrition every five minutes. “I had worked with Madagascar during my Bonpoint years,” explained Marie-France during an interview, “my priority is to help little girls and train them towards a job.”

And this is a joint effort: Merci offers specially designed pieces by Stella Mc Cartney, Yves Saint Laurent, Paul Smith. These are 30 or 40 percent cheaper because the designers gave up their profit margin. The collection includes YSL’s famous Safari Jacket, specially re-edited for Merci in white and Khaki.

Situated in between the Marais and République, Merci has rapidly become a nest for Paris’ Bobo(= Bourgeois Bohemian)population, who stroll in on lazy afternoons, or chose to spend the day – what better way to spend the weekend than bumping into Charlotte Gainsbourg and doing a good deed? Amen.

Merci, 111 Boulevard Beaumarchais, 75003 Paris, +331 42 77 00 33

Source: Dazed Digital

MAN S/S 10 Line Up Announced

The MAN showcase unveils the line up for London Fashion Week S/S 10.

Continuing to support creative talent in menswear, MAN, a collaborative effort between Topman and Fashion East, is out to showcas the best of emerging menswear talent in London. In the past, Man has supported innovators such as Kim Jones, Derek Walker, Siv Stoldal, Cassette Playa and James Long to name but a few.

For the coming season, MAN has set the sartorial bar high, welcoming back Christopher Shannon and JW Anderson to the runway. Showing for the first time at MAN will be exciting newcomer Katie Eary, discovered a mere season ago by Fashion East, and whose installations at the Old Embassy Town House were received with gushing accolades.

S/S 10's MAN participants will showcase their collections alongside the new Topman Design range, and in celebration of the event, Topman will be including the A/W 09 mainline collections by Christopher Shannon and James Long (shown at last season’s MAN show) as part of their retail collection at Topman Oxford Circus. The new retail space on level 2 of the flagship store will be unveiled, along with the new names fostering there, during fashion week in September as part of a huge overhaul of the forwarding thinking high street brand. A special project between JW Anderson and Topman will also come to light later on in the year.

Christopher Shannon

Christopher Shannon

JW Anderson

JW Anderson

Katie Eary

Katie Eary

Source: Dazed Digital

Purposely Tacky

Umit Benan’s Spring/Summer 2010 collection is inspired by an imaginary Cuba, filtered through cinematographic references.

S/S 10 'Cuba' Collection

Umit Benan is not thirty yet, but he has already travelled extensively in his life, moving around the world from one country to the other. Born in Germany in 1980, Benan worked and studied in Istanbul, London and New York, before finally settling down in Milan. After contributing to collections for Marc Jacobs and Motu Tane by François Nars and Sophie Théallet, Benan became head designer at Cacharel Homme in 2008 and launched in the same year his own line. Benan’s first menswear collection, entitled “Day 77” (A/W 2009-10) was inspired by his own life experiences. For the next Spring/Summer season the young designer has instead focused on cinematographic references, mixing them with his passion for Slim Aarons’ work. Benan has showed through his collections he has a genuine talent for tailoring and a passion for researching fabrics and materials.

A/W 09-10 'Day 77' Collection

Source: Dazed Digital

My Apartment...Eventually

I just need my apartment, or any living space, to look like all of these things. Preferably with white concrete polyurethane floors. Homespun minimalist design is so beautiful. I want it now.

La Rabida Summer Fest!

Just got my ticket today!

(click picture for more information)

The Child Advocacy Center of La Rabida's Children Hospital is a safe, child-friendly environment for children who have experienced psychological trauma and for alleged victims of sexual abuse and other violent crimes. The CAC provides investigative, therapeutic and support services free of charge to children and their families throughout the Chicagoland area. This celebration will highlight CAC's efforts and accomplishments while providing an opportunity to learn more about the free services that CAC provides. Also, if you are unable to attend, please make a charitable (and tax deductible) donation at http://www.giveforward.org/larabidasummerfest. Thanks for your support!

Let's Start a Movement

Why don't we all do this? Give the middle finger to the money makers and stick-up kids.

Source: The Diary of a BROKE College Student

Monochromatic Love

Source: Facehunter, Street Peeper, Style Bubble, Hel Looks, Garance Dore

Rockett Mansion Vintage

First Clue: Dominic Jones

Much has been written about hot new jeweller Dominic Jones- like how model Alice Dellal put her own money towards the label after pulling on a ring off the designer's finger at a party and never taking it off...and how his superhot lookbook was shot by the team of the fashion crop, photography by Matt Irwin, styled by Katie Shillingford, with Sophy Robson on nails and Tomo Jidai on hair. Jones jewellery, influenced by rose thorns, studs and fangs is a smash hit, with an outlook on being investment pieces for a younger generation. But what I love are these hot metallic nail gloves? No need to worry about your manicure getting lost this winter, now you can show off your ore dipped tips with these babies...

Pink leather with rose gold tips

Black leather with white gold tips

More Dominic Jones, please.