Contact
How typical, you wait forever for a good fashion exhibition to come along, and then two open at the same time. A week after the Christian Louboutin retrospective opened its doors at the Design Museum, Hermès is celebrating its 175th anniversary and its special relationship with London with a new exhibition called “Leather Forever” at the Royal Academy of Arts.
Exploring the brand’s love for leather, the exhibition takes you through the making of the iconic bags (with 2 people actually working on a bag live – sadly you do not get to take the bag with you at the end. I tried.), a tour through the history of Hermès, a look at its iconic bags (more Birkins and Kelly’s you’ll ever see in one place), its equestrian heritage, a room with some fantastic unique commissions (my favourite room by far! I want the winged saddle!), and much much more.
To celebrate the exhibition, Hermès has also created 4 unique handbags representing England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, which will go up for an online auction at Christies starting 14th of May and ending 31st of May, with all proceeds going to the Royal Academy of Arts.
It’s an absolute must-see for fans of the brand, as it’s a great way to discover the brand’s incredible 175 year history. On top of that, it’s absolutely free! But hurry, the exhibition ends May 27th!
Hermès Leather Forever
Royal Academy of Arts
6 Burlington Gardens
May 8-27, Open Monday to Sunday 10am-6pm (10pm on Fridays)
You can find more pictures of the exhibition on the Alex Loves Facebook Page (and maybe “Like” me while you’re at it? Merci!)
For the toddler who has everything...?
The unique bags up for auction at Christies
2012 is a big year for Christian Louboutin: he’s celebrating 20 years in business and to celebrate this momentous occasion, a retrospective of his work (read: lots and lots of SHOES) was opened at the Design Museum in London last week. I was lucky enough to attend the opening and the press conference with Mr. Louboutin, who turned up fashionably late, as he was still putting the finishing touches on the exhibition.
During the press conference, we got a real insight into the man behind the global brand. He was charming, funny, down-to-earth and not at all what I expected. He spoke of his childhood, surrounded by lots of women, and his love for cabaret, which is how he started designing his now iconic shoes. When asked why women loved his shoes so much, he told us about his respect and fascination for women, and how he understood what women want (in a shoe, that is). “I have yet to meet a girl who wants shorter legs” – possibly my favourite quote from the press conference!
He arranged the exhibition in different sections, so that visitors would get an insight into how a shoe is created, a look into his atelier, some of his famous designs, a section on his “fetish” shoes and even a hologram show in which one of his shoes transforms into a dazzling Dita Von Teese. In short, lots and lots and lots of beautiful shoes and a true hommage to Christian Louboutin’s work. I don’t want to give too much away, because the exhibition is definitely worth a visit, but below are some snaps to give you an idea…
Christian Louboutin at the Design Museum
28 Shad Thames
London SE1 2YD
01 May – 09 July
For more images of the exhibition, make sure you check out the Alex Loves Facebook Page
Last week I spent a perfect 24 hours in Paris with the lovely team from Farfetch to celebrate the launch of The Playlist, a new project in which they’ve collaborated with six of the world’s best independent music shops and two emerging bands to celebrate the spirit of independent music stores worldwide and the ever-evolving relationship between music and fashion.
To mark the launch, Farfetch asked both bands – S.C.U.M. and Singtank – to create a fashion film with them, as well as play an exclusive gig, one of those being the reason we travelled to Paris. Myself, Charlie May and Katie Chutzpah were invited to watch Singtank play a gig in the new RA Boutique – one of Farfetch’s partners. Singtank is an up-and-coming French brother/sister pop duo consisting of Alexandre and his sister Josephine de la Baume, a French actress and wife of Mark Ronson. We were lucky enough to have a chat with them before the gig, and they were absolutely adorable, down to earth and my god, I’m pretty sure I’m going to have dreams about Josephine’s beautiful red hair for months to come!
Although the trip was short, we managed to pack a lot into the day, with a visit to L’Éclaireur, another one of Farfetch’s partners and one of the best shops I’ve been to in a long time (full review to follow in another post), afternoon tea at the Ritz, drinks in a secret bar (so secret, I don’t know what it’s called), a midnight Steak Tartare and a few hours sleep at Hotel Le Général (review to follow later as well).
Click here to find out more about The Playlist and make sure you have a look at the lovely fashion film Singtank created with Farfetch below, called “Lonsdale Road” (because that’s where it was shot. Get it?)
A big, massive, huge thank you to Farfetch for taking us, and spoiling us absolutely rotten!
p.s. if you like Singtank, they’re playing at Koko in London this Friday (May 4th!)
Payton and Byrne breakfast on the Eurostar
My new Tusting bag got to go with me on its first trip
These were waiting for me in the hotel room… nom nom
Charlie May aka Girl a la Mode
L’Éclaireur (review to follow)
Afternoon tea at the Ritz (and my midnight steak tartare)
Ready for the party!
Singtank at the new RA Boutique. Never been to an event before where Absinthe was served…
Charlie, Karen and me – I may look wasted, but I wasn’t drunk, promise! Not yet at least…
