Fashion & Celebrity Culture book launch

Mrs MDS loves a book launch especially in the hey days of facebook and twitter and pop up shops, a book launch seems dignified and solid. It was especially wonderful to be back in my old college. Nothing much has changed and I was relieved to find I can still get in with charm and no id card! But don't tell anyone.

En route to launch I had a sneaky peek at the Carmen - A Life in Fashion exhibition all the better for no one else being around. It really is well worth a visit and is on until the 14th of January.

I also couldn't resist sitting alone in room, in the is case the visual merchandising teaching area. I just love the classroom and being there. It is somehow detached from the humdrum of work and feels more expansive and creative.

 What's not to love

In which I place myself back in student mode with a better coat - my See by Chloe pea jacket which seems very Sarah Lund these days

 The book of the book launch! Fashion and Celebrity Culture. A wonderful academic but interesting blast through the gamut of celebrity culture. Most importantly a book that toasts cultural studies and is an example of teaching informing research. A must have if you are studying anything to do with Fashion or you have a keen interest in culture and celebrity culture at that. The Daily Mail would do well to serialise it! The enigmatic author is Pamela Church Gibson, who was my course director for my MA in Fashion & Film 

First year MA Fashion and Film student Wei Chan from Shanghai. Wei was impeccably dressed which does not translate as my iPhone pic is so poor but I must interview her for this blog. I was taken a back that she knew me before we met due to a video I made about the course, that in Shanghai she'd watch it and been interested enough to come and study here! I also need to know where she got her shoes from.

The formidable but brilliant Agnes Rocamora who has widely researched fashion blogs so we had a big catch up on how things had changed since the days when they were a mere blip on the blogosphere. I was never late for her lecturers!

Anna the book editor from Berg the publishers

My old chum photographer Lukas Kroulik 

Pamela Church Gibson & Lukas

Yours truly & Pamela - both of us are adopting the non celebrity pose. I'm gushing and Pamela is above these things! The dignified lecturer and the hapless student.

Swoons & Gushes

I'm not big on celebrity anything, Brad & Angelina stuff leaves me cold, as does who Jennifer Aniston is dating etc. I do make some effort to read the odd bits on celebrity but having to digest celebrity mags as part of my MA I went off it all. In fact Melanie Rickey at my graduation showcase told the audience during the ensuing discussion on celebrity after my short film - that she couldn't stand to see another front cover of Grazia with Aniston on it, over a year later there have been quite a few since!

But you could have knocked me down with a feather when I got a Rachel Weisz marries Daniel Craig on my twitter feed. Obviously I'm so rubbish I didn't even know they were an item. however, if there were two people I would have put together then it these too. Talk about beauty - the pair of them.


Although I'm not one for girl crushes, if I did have to say one it would be Rachel Weisz for her beauty and brains (sorry Nigella, okay you are joint first really). She is utterly gorgeous and would be a welcome addition to a dinner party, my mouth would hang open.


As for Daniel Craig until I had to watch Casino Royale (2006) many many times as part of my MA dissertation, I'd not really given him a second thought. And no it wasn't the swimming trunks scene that got my pulse up but his acting and characterisation. After all he got me a distinction. He is a very handsome man.



Therefore I'm having a moment of indulgence and clogging the blogosphere with pap of the highest quality. I'll be hot footing it to their forthcoming film Dream House.

Elizabeth Taylor, one dress, one hell of a woman

It is hard to imagine Elizabeth Taylor as anything other than glamorous and living life to the full.
Her outstanding beauty and her acting ability made her a true Hollywood star. Her contribution to fashion and celebrity were two fold. I'm sharing two extracts from my writing on Elizabeth Taylor.

The first is about Elizabeth's wearing of a garment designed by Edith Head:

'The new market of the teenager was deemed a 1950s revolution and Edith Head had her first success with the sweetheart dress designed for Elizabeth Taylor in A Place in the Sun (1951). The real significance in terms of the costuming for the film is the dress Taylor wore in the pool room scene - a strapless boned bodice top with an enormous white tulle skirt over pale green satin and white violets covering the bust. Edith Head won the Oscar for best costume in the black and white film category and the dress captured the public imagination so much so that every prom had many an Elizabeth Taylor. In fact one could argue that this dress and Elizabeth Taylor has defined the look for proms and brides ever since 1951.'


The second is about how Taylor and Burton defined modern day celebrity:

'Ellis Cashmore would argue that with regard to celebrity and modern culture the earthquake that propelled the cult of celebrity into a new phase was an Italian photographer, Marcello Geppetti and his experimentation with a ‘new piece of technology: the zoom lens...an image of Taylor and Burton...Not just any old image either. Taylor lay on the deck of the yacht...Burton was craned across her body in an embrace that was unmistakably that of lovers’. (Cashmore 2006:19)

In 1962, the scandal of two married person with children, elicited outrage across the world and in particular from the Vatican. It was not so much the detail of the Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton affair, rather the loss of control by the Hollywood publicity machine, suddenly the demarcations between public and private life were gone.'


All that ground breaking stuff and her breath taking beauty means the death of Elizabeth Taylor is a big event and a very sad one too.

Football and Fashion - Fashion Forum Fortnight

My Phd research subject of choice would be on Football and Fashion. I might get round to it one day. There has been no real academic analysis of football, fashion and its relation to consumption for many years.

Movie and music stars are often the subject of fashion but footballers are not. Hence why I like this image so much from today's Daily Mail online.

My favourite celebrity fashion blog - Fashion Forum Fortnight

When my short film was shown as part of this years LCF MA_sters showcase, a panel of people were put together to discuss celebrity and fashion. I insisted that Coco's Tea Party was there as this blog is my go to for all things celebrity.

images from the event all courtesy of MyStyle

I love the fact that Coco's Tea Party is an analysis of the who, what and why of celebrity fashion, which is not in the vain of pulling the celebrity apart. It is witty but respectful. I'm not that interested in celebrities and what they wear but I like to keep abreast of these things. Ella of Coco's Tea Party makes no secret of her love of celebrities and that passion is reflected in her posts.

Do you have a favourite celebrity fashion blog? Do you read any celebrity fashion blogs?

The Celebrity Interview - Fashion Forum Fortnight

Due to irritating spamming I've had to put the word verification thingy on. I hope this will reduce 'hot babe', 'get your gizmo here' and 'gay porn' offerings the comment box has had of late.

Which brings me to the celebrity interview. Is it just me or are they all spammed with name, film or latest record just replaced depending on which ever celebrity it is. Most will seem to have some association or ambassador status with Chanel/Estee Laudee. And yet the cycle of celebrity shows no sign of abating.

I'm never sure whether they are the false gods or the gods we deserve. It is hard to imagine not having celebrities but has the constant sharing gone too far? I mean who cares whether Brad or Angelina are arguing or affectionate with each other.

But then I always think of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor as the couple who created the maelstrom of peering avidly in to the life of stars, particularly as they divorced and then married each other again. I'm looking forward to reading Furious Love! Will there be someone like me in many years to come eagerly awaiting the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie version or has the heyday passed?

Have you ever...? Fashion Forum Fortnight

You know... seen an item on a celebrity, wanted it, bought it.

I remember a time when for one moment I was hooked in by a celebrity wearing a specific item and for the life of me I've forgotten who and what but I do know it happened once. The only other time I fell for a product was on screen - the TV screen - it was a SATC episode and the item in question was the Manolo Blahnik silver shoes...and yes I did buy them.

Go on confession time...get them all out even if it was Fearne Cotton!

Celebrity and Fashion - Fashion Forum Fortnight

Before we get stuck in to celebrity and the impact on fashion, not just clothes but lifestyle, we need to set some definitions.

No, wait a second we need to get this photo of Madonna out of the way.

Firstly, after years of looking a bit 'off', 'irrelevant' and way too photo shopped in those Louis Vuitton ads, Madonna actually looks great. Love the dress, really love the dress. Good hair and make up and a modicum of graceful intent suggests she's on form again. I don't know Madonna, we once shared the same toilets and I found out that I was taller than her. But apart from that, all I have ever gleamed about her is from magazines and newspapers plus her interviews. Oh yes and the Sex book. After years of journalistic analysis what is your take on this photo?

Mine is 'Hello Guy, yes I'm here in London. I've just dropped the kids of with you. It's my birthday. Remember how you messed up and neglected me, well look I'm hot again. Don't worry the Jesus thing is a fling. You either want me back and you'd better go for it or I will be sporting Mr Madonna number three quite soon and you'll be very jealous as he'll be a man's man.'

Anyway, back to the categories of celebrity. There are three acknowledge academic classifications. This is important to note because it explains why we potentially accept or admire some more than others.
1. Ascribed - this is lineage. Itis handed down. Think Prince William, Caroline Kennedy and Sofia Coppola, too name a few.
2. Achieved - personal accomplishment gets you this status. Think Madonna, Brad Pitt, David Beckham and Serena Williams, you get the picture.
3. Attributed - this category is when ordinary people get given a lot of media attention often due to sensationalism. Think of anyone who has had a lot of media attention for no particular reason other than say being the mother of Mick Jagger's illegitimate child or having an affair with a well know person either or any other such example.

For a full read on celebrity then Chris Rojek's Celebrity is a fascinating read.

So, we know Madonna achieved her celebrity status and we know how. The rest of the week will be spent examining the impact of the cult of celebrity upon fashion and our consumption. Oh er!

Fashion Blogging forum Fortnight

Over the next two weeks this blog is turned over to research - yes exciting stuff! I will be asking you lot to give your views on a whole host of fashion, magazines, celebrity and blogging matters. Do take part even if it is only a one line comment. Your views and the dialogue it creates will form a snapshot of social history.

A lesson in over doing it

It is really important to be a weight that suits you, in terms of health and how you feel. But then body discipline can go too far. I'm sorry but this photo of Madonna in London scared me. I'm always one for wanting to lose a few pounds be more toned but after seeing this in the Daily Mail, I rushed straight for my Nigella 'How to be a domestic goddess' Lawson recipe book and made two batches of fairy cakes!

PS Update to post: I've added a photo of my cake baking in case anyone thought I merely mentioned my fairy cake making for dramatic affect!

Check out the bling...

Kingdom of Style have drawn attention to the fact Handbag.com and Cancer Research UK have teamed up to launch Handbag Amnesty to raise money to help beat cancer.

From September to October celebrities will be donating their bags to be sold on eBay to raise money. The bags will then be auctioned from Friday 3rd - Sunday 14th October to tie in with Breast Cancer Awareness month. All proceeds will go to Cancer Research UK.

How cool would it be to win a bag and find some left over stuff in there. I'm going to be looking to see what Dame Shirley Bassey donates! Please let it be blingtastic.

Exclusive and Stacked

These mighty numbers were an Iron Man premier pair worn by Gwyneth Paltrow and snagged after their outing as an exclusive for Russell & Bromley in the UK. Designed by Guiseppe Zanoti they'll be retailing in the £400+ bracket.

This snippet of information formed part of the Elle's trends talk at the Barbican.

image:ElleUK.com

Designer-likey

I was stuck, after my ramblings on my own sudden need to revamp my look, how Derek Lam's A/W 08 catwalk look is possibly upmarket Amy Winehouse? Whadda ya know!