Antimonide - fashion spot -

The new SS2011 accessories collection from Forget-Me-Not is inspired by Mythology. Designer Coco’s 100% silk scarves – which are are digitally printed in Como, Italy – depict scenes featuring characters whose tales of heroism, romance and mystery have captured mankind’s imagination across the centuries.
As always, the Forget–Me-Not muses appear in the form of delicate female characters depicted in dreamlike scenarios. Fine featured and full of mischief, these sylphs are surrounded by winged creatures and fantastical beings including butterfly, ornate shells and tropical birds. Twisted ropes of pearls snake through elegant tuniques whilst Coco’s unique geometrical abstractions add a graphic quality that compliments the whimsical nature of her illustrations.
In a palette of ocean blues, rich purple and midnight black, on which brighter hues are set off against a backdrop of neutral tones to give each composition a beguiling sense of depth. Moreover, with every design meticulously rendered by hand, this latest collection in the highly successful Forget-Me-Not series is a covetable extension of Coco’s work as a sought after fashion illustrator.

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In Borba Margo’s approach, there is the constant quest for innovation. The designs are always looking for the now and tomorrow, even if they are inspired by historical or classical references. Throughout the time, with the signature style evolving and maturing, the key elements stay the same: modern proportions, the interplay of construction and new shapes, illusory play and inspiration. Sometimes it is the material that triumphs, other times it is the shape. For Borba Margo, to date, shape has been heart and consequently the victor but for this season the duo has re worked their previous striking shapes, grounding and  reassuring the label‘s signature, and shifted their focus to the surface. With a starting point of close up photographs representing 15th century stained glass of religious murals, Borba Margo collaborated with print/textile designer Ricardo Matos to develop and produce a series of silkscreen prints. These were then examined through digital photography and reworked into abstract design compositions. By combining the manual print technique of screen printing, flock transfer and laser cutting – depending on the individual imagination – these compositions began to resemble animal prints, paint splashes and burn holes.

The newly employed processes has added a new layer to the surface both as a texture as well as configuring a new meaning to existing shapes which has re emerged with a new presence. A luxurious leather’s selection which includes fine leather nappa in a sober colour palette in different shades of dark; dark brown, dark burgundy, dark navy, dark brown and black, where prints being mostly tone on tone create a subtle play of light and shade with the exception holding a vibrant crimson texture print.

The look of the collection is sensual, simultaneously sculptural and tactile. The ideas are modern but possess a classical feel and a fantasy quality; they are pieces that you can live with. The production of Borba Margo has been re located to Italy. The majority of the pieces are now being exclusively ready made to a superior quality by highly skilled artisans in a factory on the outskirts of Venice.

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HEL YES!, creatively directed by Klaus Haapaniemi, is a temporary restaurant and exhibition imagined and realised by a distinguished team of Finnish designers and food visionaries. The space, which is already attracting  rave reviews, will be unveiled to the public on the 15th September in a former depot in East London. For 2 weeks, during London Design Festival, it will serve as a melting pot of people and ideas.

We hear that Kenzo has set up a collaboration between British designer Ron Arad and French perfumer Aurélien Guichard, resulting in a new and, yes, revolutionary fragrance.

Available from March 2009, this new scent presents itself as a “perfume-object”, combining unusual yet attractive smell with a sensual as well as industrial looking bottle. Indeed, the main feature of this bottle resides in sleek steel curves, giving it a very tactile aspect, espousing the shape of one’s thumb.

This very appealing and contemporary look can be previewed at “No Discipline“, Ron Arad’s retrospective at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, opening on November 20 2008.