Photographs for Topshop student style zine

This is a selection of photos of girls I snapped. They are mainly from LCC and CSM in London. It's not the most creative work in the world but it's nice to take pictures of pretty ladies as they usually make for an attractive image...

ALN fashion in the Noughties article

Style in the Noughties- Perfection of regression?

by Evie Jeffreys

Debbie Harry - one of many fashion icons still relevant today [Flickr, Jlacpo]When we look back on the fashion over the last decade, how many new and original trends can we boast? Not all that many come to mind.

With the new millennium came the age of recycling, which encompassed fashion as well as cereal boxes and wine bottles. A great deal of the styles we have seen through the noughties have been rehashes from eras gone past. Whether we buy from vintage or high street shops, there are at least echoes of fashion from the 20th century.

Over the past decade we have come across young people who look like replicas of 40s land girls, wearing headscarves and high waisted trousers, or what seems to be the cast of The Breakfast Club or Quadrophenia, or members of The Ramones.

Can we truly relate with punk or mod phases, or the era of the 50s housewife or moviestar? Is it because everything has been done that we have not created our own fashion identity?

Speaking to our generation's fashion students reveals more about what has happened to this century's style so far. Eliza Conlon is a Womenswear Student at Central Saint Martins and has interned as Jonathan Saunders' assistant for the last two summers.

She says that it is the 'micro trend' that develops now. Because our society has become so diverse, big trends have emerged less and less. She does, however, mention designers who have created a 'look', like Jil Saunder whose is 'minimal and clean'.

On the whole though, she does agree that fashion has hit a bit of a wall recently: "Everything has kind of been done before and it's very hard to be original and create a new sweeping trend."

Recycled

Annie Pheby, a Fashion Marketing student studying at London College of Communication and former intern of Roland Mouret, agrees that the trends of the noughties are not technically new.

What has come about though is the rise in 'youth subcultures', from which certain trends have derived: "In previous years there would have been a couple of predominant cultures, i.e. rockers and mods. Whereas these days there are a huge amount; emos, indies, metros, chavs, WAGs."

Still though, these movements are reflective of past fashion or music movements, for example 'emos' hark back to the 90s grunge trend.

A specific aspect of fashion phases is make up. According to Lucy Pearson, a student studying foundation Fashion Hair and Make Up at London College of Fashion, the most reproduced 'look' is classic 1950s.

"This look is an unbelievably huge trend, the likes of which have never before been seen in a rehash of a certain style of make up. Can you think of anyone who doesn't wear a liquid black liner over their lids or a crisp red lip?". Nevertheless, Pearson also accredits the noughties as "a time for great experimentation and change in make up trends."

Though trends and 'looks' specific to only the noughties have been rare, the generation has still given birth to new adaptations of old style.

Perhaps it is a good thing that we are being nostalgic. It is certainly a good thing that many of us are buying old clothes, particularly if they are from charity shops. Vivienne Westwood is a pioneer of recycling fashion. Though it may be a blow for the fashion industry, how much more do we really need?

http://www.artslondonnews.co.uk/20091124_style_in_the_noughties

New York photographs

Sweet and Sound Dalston article (not my pictures)

The Charm of Dalston

When I thought about what I would write in this article I hated the idea of myself sounding like a middle class Dalstonite, who finds the lovely, little, foreign shops selling strange and intriguing oddities so 'charming' and 'cultural'. Having said that, after observing Dalston and the surrounding area with a vaguely journalistic eye, I fear I cannot avoid it.

For those, of which there are probably few, who aren't familiar with the area, it is the slightly gritty and bedraggled yet charming area into which trendy people have been seeping over the years because Shoreditch is saturated. It has a large Afro-Carribbean community, and further along the road, up in Stokey, huge Turkish and, even further on towards Stamford Hill, Jewish communities.

Ridley Road Market on a sunny September day is like being on some sort of lovely drug that involves zero nausea, nor disturbing images in the corner of your eye. Almost everyone was really friendly - it didn't feel like London anymore. Some stall owners would usher us in and not only allow us to take pictures, but would start posing for the camera, inviting the attention. Others acted all shy or blasé, but then conceded, either giving a reluctant grin or looking comically suspicious. And one or two dismissed us at first sight.

These stalls and shops are pretty cool. Most of them are family-run and have been around for ages. I guess they must do OK because in the current 'economic climate' they seem pretty pleased to be doing what they're doing.

There are shops made almost entirely out of hanging fabrics, or that have every kind of wig, weave or doo rag you could want. Stalls that sell fish, fruit, dodgy watches and Tupac t-shirts. It's sad to think that unless we keep buying from places like these, the big conglomerates may finally have the last laugh.

Some shops along Kingsland Road have been there for years and years. William Gee Ltd, near the big Oxfam, has had the same window display of ribbons for decades and is still going. Nearby is a DIY shop, Kiss the Corner, which has been family-run for the last 17 years. Before that, it was on Broadway Market, another road that once flourished with small independent family-owned businesses. One that is still going is the pie and mash shop, F. Cooks, if you want a taste of old fashioned East end cuisine.

Somewhere that's definitely worth a look is the weekly car boot sale towards Stoke Newington. Every Sunday, the playground of Princess May primary school fills with unwanted junk. But one person's junk is another's treasure. You can get framed pictures of kittens, Kiss badges, £2 vintage dresses, maps of the Wild West, battered Polaroid cameras, Star Trek memorabilia, electronics, old porn magazines, exercise equipment and loads of other stuff that you didn't realise you needed until you saw it.

For a more compressed collection of random stuff, there is Eldica Vinyl and Retro just off Kingsland Road on Bradbury Street. DJs from all over the world visit there for their wonderful and eclectic collection of records. They also sell the usual kitsch stuff like old fashioned phones, record players, vintage floral and african print clothes.

I guess, really, despite how much of a dweeb you can sound if you go on about how cool, arty and cultural Dalston is, the area is a great place to explore and there's a lot to do. It's been described as a bigger Peckham - with charm. Having grown up in Peckham and now moved to Stoke Newington, I'd say that's pretty accurate, and I'm glad it's being appreciated.

Words by Evie Jeffreys, Photos by Scott Cullen

http://www.sweetandsound.co.uk/october/thecharmofdalston.html

Haloween in New York