Yesterday I was mainly reclining and enjoying the December issue of UK Vogue - the ‘Fantastic Fashion Fantasy Issue.’ I have to admit to having mixed feelings about fashion magazines, but for me, this issue of Vogue is absolutely what it should be all about. Ridiculous Christmas gift ideas aside (magnum of Moet with bespoke Swarovski crystal lettering, anyone? £175 leather rubik's cube? nope, thought not) it is a delight - an imaginative wonderland of beautiful and inspirational images, showcasing high fashion at its most fabulously outrageous, playful, romantic and whimsical.
Tim Walker’s brilliant ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ shoot is a hugely enjoyable tribute to Roald Dahl, starring a gleefully grotesque Tim Burton, Helena Bohnam Carter and Karen Elson, accompanied with a text by Sophie Dahl. The ‘Unbelievable Fashion’ spread by Nick Knight takes unapologetic pleasure in fashion that pushes the boundaries, celebrating couture at its most experimental (and utterly bonkers). There’s also some beautiful new fashion illustrations, including Karl Lagerfeld’s ‘Secret Ball’ and even a fantasy shoe designed by who else but Manolo Blahnik.
I enjoyed four new ‘fashion fairytales’ commissioned from writers Rose Tremain, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Poppy Adams and Linda Grant - whose twist on the original ‘Little Mermaid’ featured surprise, surprise a pair of strangely compelling red shoes - and was also intrigued by the ‘In My Dreams’ feature revisiting a project from 1967, when Yves Saint Laurent was invited to illustrate a ‘dream wall’ for Vogue bringing together ‘favourite people, colours, ideas, things not yet or ever done... places, sunsets, faces’ (Yves Saint Laurent, Vogue, 1967). In this issue, fashion creatives including Giles Deacon, Rick Owens and Bruno Frisconi were invited to create their own visual representation of their favourite things: I especially liked the response from the wonderful Luella Bartley (you have to love a fashion designer who calls their shows stuff like 'Dial F for Fluro' or 'Daddy I Want a Pony') which included “my 2 sheep”, “Wednesday Adams’ plaits” and “geeky girls like Thora Birch in Ghostworld.”
I got thinking about what I might include on my own ‘dream wall’ and started making a list of ‘a few of my favourite things’ - Von Trapp chorus optional - though once I got started it was hard to stop. This is highly recommended as entertainment for dismal grey November afternoons...
- ginger chocolate
- velvet ribbon
- teapots
- libraries
- hot baths
- striped socks
- daisies on the lawn
- crayons
- mexican food
- red shoes (obviously)
- rum and ginger beer
- 1950s rock and roll
- old photographs
- earl grey tea
- sleeper trains
- meadows
- french accents
- children’s books
- sausage dogs
- ballet shoes
- red poppies
- typewriters
- snowfall
- old records
- date and walnut cake
- blankets
- attics
- black ink pens
- bluebell woods
- vintage illustrations
- pecan pie
- polka dots
- candlelight
- piano music
- seafood
- all hats, especially berets
- hammocks
- moomins
- bonfires
- raspberries
- penny sweets
- stationery shops
- wellington boots
- leopard print
- the smell of the sea
- butterflies
- victorian novels
- bicycles with baskets
- line drawings
- cherries
- breakfast pancakes
- knitting
- sketchbooks
- sushi
- fairy lights
- eyeliner
- cinema popcorn
- chinatown
- scrabble
- pavement cafes
- earmuffs
- 1940s/1950s dresses
- treasure boxes
- black cats
- amaretto
- cinnamon tea
- stripy jumpers
- red lipstick
- bare feet
- yellow lined paper
- roast chicken dinners
- swimming in the sea
- coca cola in a glass bottle
- black polo necks
- ponytails
- lemons
- radio 4
- blue skies
- super 8 films
- junk shops
- country lanes
- chandeliers
- hot water bottles
- peanut butter
- satchels
- rock pools
- woolly tights
- drinking through a straw
- brown paper
- peep toes
- bread sauce
- red umbrellas
- allotments
- glass milk bottles
- postcards
- breton stripes
- shuttered windows
- cocktail glasses
- foreign stamps
- secret gardens
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3 comments:
chandeliers. i love them too.
i've been writing a story about a girl who has a big hang up on chandeliers. they just look so decadent and exicitng.
Hey (again)! I LOVED this! And the list is SO YOU! Of course, it got me thinking, and yesterday I jotted things down as I thought of them - it's not difficult to get to a hundred is it?!? So here are mine (!!):
1)my mum
2)360+ thread count white bed linen
3)Dior mascara
4)champagne
5)Agent Provocateur lingerie
6)diamond earrings
7)handbags – esp Mulberry ones
8)cashmere jumpers
9)chip butties
10)hats
11)corsets
12)cups of tea
13)Ugg boots
14)Elemis facials
15)Christian Louboutin shoes
16)sunshine
17)ciggies
18)love letters
19)vanilla ice cream
20)Carrie Bradshaw
21)Zippo lighters
22)bare feet
23)roses
24)gin and tonic
25)madeira cake
26)bread and butter
27)Manchester United
28)silk stockings
29)New York City
30)leather gloves
31)lip gloss
32)steak bearnaise
33)fishnet tights
34)maps
35)Moleskin notebooks
36)Pomerol
37)open fires
38)black pencil skirts
39)log cabins
40)bed socks
41)the smell of rain
42)glasses of milk
43)Hotel du Vin
44)Alfa Spiders
45)gerberas
46)vintage Halston
47)white shirts
48)Radio 4
49)Philosophy perfume
50)Chanel Le Vernis Rouge Noir nail polish
51)corsages
52)Cabaret
53)short dark bobs
54)the smell of old library books
55)flea markets
56)massages
57)toe rings
58)net petticoats
59)hot baths
60)early nights
61)tiger lilies
62)ASOS.com
63)pedicures
64)John Keats
65)old Roberts radios
66)silver Tiffany jewellery
67)L’Occitane hand cream
68)chocolate eclairs
69)Galleries Lafayette
70)Vogue magazine
71)scented tissues
72)Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
73)stirrup tights
74)curly hair
75)men in spectacles
76)painted toenails
77)1940s lingerie
78)ice cubes
79)Victoria Beckham
80)jacuzzis
81)Paris
82)black kohl pencil
83)Routemaster buses
84)skinny jeans
85)Ray Ban aviator sunglasses
86)flower shops
87)sausage rolls
88)Yankee Candle scented candles – esp Fresh Cut Roses
89)black lace
90)parcels wrapped in brown paper and string
91)Sex and the City
92)vintage nightdresses
93)proper ink pens
94)snow
95)pashminas
96)Judith Lieber clutch bags
97)red telephone boxes
98)diamante hair slides
99)barbeques
100)jacket potatoes
God I read this and thought 'hooray, another reason to write a list!' and then I read yours and realised that actually, it is pretty much all the things I would have in my list, so I don't need to.
I failed miserably at Nanowrimo. So let's meet up soon, do you fancy mulled wine at the Christmas markets, next week maybe?
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