Ashish & Topshop Back Together Again!

Ashish Gupta is known in the fashion industry for his bold use of colour and prints, as well as those must have peep-toe boots that he designed for our favourite High Street Fashion Monster - Topshop!

Well... he is back! With a capsule collection that is fun and quirky. Ashish will be releasing a variety of oversized t-shirts and sweatshirts on the 10th of January 2011 in Topshop stores nationwide! It was a sweatshirt that got Ashish his first big break in fashion and I for one am glad that he has decided to hit us with some contemporary original designs 10 years later!

Ashish for Topshop Capsule Collection - January 2011

Why am I so excited about this range? Well its mostly to do with the inspiration.... JUNK FOOD! I love junk food! and those of you that know me will remember that... for my college textiles project I made a recycled dress out of crisp packets/coke wrappers so this collection really floats my boat!

The designs are bold and the prints have a fabulous sheen - Ashish has strayed away from the vintage/worn looking sweatshirts we have been seeing on the High Street recently. This collection is a breath of fresh air and affordable as prices will range between £40-60.

I have to say my favourite item has to be the breakfast smiley face! I dare you not to smile when you see it... its near impossible!

FILL THE CELEBRITY CHARITY BOX OR..

Tomorrow is World Aids Day and as I explained a few posts ago many of our favourite online celebrities will face their digital deaths to raise money for, and to raise awareness of, HIV/AIDS. As well as this online campaign, a new concept to raise money for the 'Keep A Child Alive' is also being launched by Alicia Keys. The concept involves scanning the bar code t-shirt a celebrity is wearing so that you can buy their online life back and in turn you raise money for people with HIV/AIDS in Africa and India most artists have vowed that they will not return to the digital world until they have raised $1million.

Isabella Blow - Fashion Icon.

So everyone who knows fashion, knows Isabella Blow. But it only occurred to me yesterday that all I could remember about Blow was that she was super cool, slightly odd and was loved by Sophie Dahl and introduced Alexander McQueen to the world.... but I knew that she had done so much more! I just couldn't remember what. How embarrassing, right? I did the unthinkable today by using Wikipedia to find out exactly what she had done. And what an interesting life this woman had...

She studied at Columbia University and then left to become an assistant and friend to Anna Wintour (Editor of Vogue.) While working in New York, she befriended Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. She returned to London and became fashion director of Tatler and the Sunday Times Style magazine. In 1989 she met Philip Treacy who designed her wedding head dress and this sparked the start of a beautiful relationship that sealed her signature style. Blow had an eye for fashion which is why she discovered and purchased Alexander McQueen's entire graduate collection! She launched Sophie Dahl into the modeling world with a single comment. She became the muse of many people which resulted in her modelling and film roles.

But as most of the great and talented people of this world she committed suicide. I still have a cut out from the newspaper from 2007 on my pin-board which broke the news of her death and those that would be most affected by it. Slightly morbid, but then again this is me. 


The time has now come for a biopic to be made of Blow's life and I for one can't wait to see it. At the moment there are no certainties and we haven't been given a date, a title or a cast but there is certainly a film in the works! I'll keep you posted! 

House! House! HOUSE MUSIC!

In most genres the youth prevail and the old are shelved, the Techno and House underworlds are no different - but why is it that in these particular genre’s older producers refrain from mentoring their youthful counterparts?

There is a great divide between the producers that coined this genre and those that we see today, not only do they differ in style but also in technique and notoriety. Robert Babicz aka Rob Acid is a polish producer that has been DJ’ing for over two decades, he has also been one of the main artists to recognise this great divide in his genre spectrum. How can Techno and House progress if the old won’t help the new? Well, one of the main reasons that the masters refuse to help up-coming DJ’s is because of their attitude. Those that have been in the game for over a decade appear to be down to earth, yet, newer acts seem to live the life of a Rockstar which obviously involves believing their own hype.

There have been a few older DJ’s such as Nick Muir that have helped mentor some of the greatest artists of the naughties like Neil Quigly and Claude VonStroke. If we see more of this wisdom being passed down through the generations of House and Techno music it can only get bigger and better. 

We certainly hope a few more oldies take some newbies under their wings, if the results resemble anything like Claude VonStroke!

LIL’ BOOSIE’S - INCARCERATED.

This is Lil Boosie’s third solo album which has been released after innumerable mix-tapes. This album has been recorded and released at a pivotal time in his life - he is currently awaiting his sentencing on 7 counts of murder. Despite the circumstances, this is Boosie’s most well rounded album to date, showing his growth as an artist.

The first few songs on the very literally named ‘Incarcerated’ album, talk about his current situation dripping with paranoia and hatred for the oppressive system he is locked into. The main topics of discussion are Judges, Cops, fake friends and haters.

If You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them!

Kelly Rowland has always been in the shadow of her band-mate Beyonce. Both tried to make it as solo artists and whilst Kelly struggled to reach the top 20, Beyonce’s career skyrocketed. Kelly’s career didn’t take off until she cleverly noticed the recurring theme - that the remixes of her music always superseded her originals. Like any logical business woman, she teamed up with the producers that had independently remixed and released her music including the likes of David Guetta -  to give the masses what they craved and this time fully reaping the benefits! A serious case of ‘if you can’t beat them, join them!’ Her new release, a ballad called ‘Forever is Just a Day Away’ has definitely got the David Guetta stamp on it - if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, right?

What Do Alicia Keys, New York and Egypt have in Common?

Well its pretty simple: Alicia Keys gave birth to a little baby boy called Egypt in New York! Three months after being married to hubby Swizz Beats, Alicia gave birth to Egypt. So if we do the math... that means little Egypt was occupying the womb when Alicia walked down the aisle in July!! If his parents are anything to go by Egypt will not only be very talented but he will most definitely be a hit with ladies! What a lucky boy!