like a dream in the night, who can say where we're going

Today I spent the sweetest sleepy Sunday strolling around Shoreditch with my friend & fellow camera and aesthetic-obsessed pal Hawabibi, visiting a £1 vintage sale in Whitechapel in the morning, then walking down to the Whitechapel gallery and seeing a little bit of art, having a stroll down to Brick Lane and scouting out every single coffee shop before finally deciding on one to hang out in. We settled on a teeny little one on Cheshire Street and it was so pretty and I probably will be back on a regular basis.
I've been so tired and over-worked these last few weeks, even though I haven't really felt like I have got that much work done or got very far in regards to school or blog work. I'm trying to keep more up to date and document everything as my current state of near-existential-crisis has meant I have a real need and urge to make something of every single day this year, which I'm not sure if I have achieved so far but I am giving it a good go.
So far London Collections was definitely a highlight, and of course writing for both Written Citizen and Local Riot. February hopefully holds more exciting opportunities - London Fashion Week, concerts and hopefully more writing and artwork should make it a good and productive month.

I adore exploring London and it makes it even better when you explore with someone who also loves finding hidden treasures and taking photos of everything that moves (or everything that doesn't, too). Hawabibi and I started hanging out some time last after bonding over our love of Victorian Literature (I leant her a copy of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, one of my favourite Brontë novels) and realising that not only did we both love visiting galleries and coffee shops (we have an ongoing photo series of me being excited in art exhibitions...and have a plan to visit at least one exhibition a month this year) but we are actually the same person. It's crazy. We have a cute tradition of sending each other all the photos we take after hanging out, which we now do naturally without having to ask. Basically speak up about what you like and you will meet amazing people with the same interests!
(My jacket is vintage from Margate, the jacket and navy shirt from Beyond Retro, the leopard shirt from Brick Lane, and bag from a french market).

I've not been up to too much over the last week - mostly spent working on art, getting stressed about art foundation applications, wearing way too many patterns and planning summer holiday adventures. I feel a little out of touch with everything right now but I think that's just being tired. I plan to get better nights sleep this week.

I'm currently working on covering a sofa in memories for art and wearing as many patterns as possible every day. My journal is being kept a little better and I want to keep that up, as well as taking more photos on my film cameras. I hope you all have a lovely February, and I will be back with more cohesive posts within the week!

if this moment passes as if it hadn't happened

My mock exams are over!!! It feels like it's been forever despite only actually having three exams including art. I quite enjoyed the study leave though - it's so nice actually having some free time to get work done rather than having to stick to the strict structure of regular school days. It was a welcome break too - I had time to immerse myself fully into the buzz of LCM, as well as go sale shopping (American Apparel bodysuit and shorts in the above photo were almost 75% off in store!). I've got back into my old ways of trying harder with outfits and basically just not holding back whatsoever - I think the loss of Bowie really woke me up and made me realise that if you like something, do it - life's too short to do otherwise. (The shirt is from Lazy Oaf).

I haven't had time to take proper photos but I will do as soon as I can, for now here is my latest roll of film from New Year's Eve up till now. I apologise to my friends for not asking whether I can post these or not but they are generally cute / aesthetic photos so hopefully they won't mind.

New Year's Eve was a glittery dance party affair that saw my friends and I wear as much sparkle as humanly possible. I also got to see family on New Year's day which was super cute also look how tall I look (I'm like 5ft so looking tall is a huge deal for me).
I then have some photos from after seeing the Kinky Boots musical in Covent Garden, and got overly excited after finding a little elephant statue on the way home.

My LCM outfit minus the amazing jacket (if I say so myself). Berets have transformed my life as have roll neck tops, layers, triple sole creepers and cropped jeans. Basically this outfit is my new favourite combination / silhouette and I intend to wear it as much as possible.

I used the rest of the film last Tuesday when I visited the David Bowie mural in Brixton, which fans have turned into a sort of memorial by laying flowers, burning candles and leaving notes. Bowie meant a lot to me and it felt right to go and pay my respects, and it was such a beautiful mural with so many amazing flowers that it really warmed my heart and reminded me how nice and vigilant people can be when they all come together - pens were left to share so everyone had the chance to leave a note on the walls, the department store the mural is painted onto had no issue with this, and there was no limit to who could go - it was an entirely inclusive and encouraging environment, meaning absolutely every kind of person with every kind of style, nationality, job, or age could go and lay flowers or pay their respects in any way they saw fit. It was a truly breathtaking scene at night, with the candles illuminating the piles of brightly coloured flowers, the Ritzy's "Our Brixton Boy" sign standing out on the main road. 

It was a weird week, what with the excitement of LCM mixed with the shock of losing Bowie, and then Alan Rickman only a few days later. Mocks were stressful, but its nice to know that after my art exam tomorrow I can really relax a little for the first time in a while. I hope you all have a good week - if you would like to read an article I wrote for Written Citizen about what Bowie meant to me, you can see it here.

London Collections Men AW16 Part 2

I woke up this morning to the news of David Bowie's passing - if you've been following this blog for a while you will know how much of who I am today I owe to him, and so can probably imagine how empty the world now feels for me knowing he is no longer with us. The sadness has seemed to sweep over London today - shops, fashion shows, everyone paying some sort of tribute to the man everyone seems to have some sort of personal connection to. He touched so many lives across the world and helped many (including myself) become who they are and have the confidence to stand out and try to make something of themselves. I can't begin to express how big a hole he will leave in our world and my thoughts and prayers are with his friends, family, beautiful wife and children.
I had a show this morning as part of LCM, and although I nearly switched my outfit to black in respect I decided to stick to my original outfit of bold red - it is because of Bowie that I dress the way I do, and so I thought that instead of hiding that in dark colours, it would be more appropriate for me to pay tribute to him through fashion as this is one of the ways he inspired me the most. I wore a shirt from Lazy Oaf, jumper from Beyond Retro, Skirt from Rokit, and roll neck from Urban Outfitters. I didn't get the chance to take full outfit photographs due to the weather.

 I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the Sean Suen show, presented by GQ China. Through GQ, talented Chinese designers such as Sean Suen are enabled to showcase their work on a worldwide scale, bringing the growing force of Chinese menswear to the global stage. This collection really channelled this east-meets-west feel, through playing with opposites reminiscent of Chinese chess. Facial piercings and safety-pin jewellery, combined with cropped skinny trousers and platform loafers, give the initial impression of 80's British punk and post-punk, while wide legged, flowing trousers, oversized structured coats and long patterned jackets show a distinct link to ancient and traditional Chinese fashion and silhouettes. The contrast of messy hair meets sleek suits, blazers revealing bare chests, and the general idea of tattoo-like body paint at a high fashion show really promoted the idea of opposites, suggesting a new era of style and a break away from what you would normally expect to see at a menswear show. Garments were intricately layered, with mixed fabrics and contrasting cuts, that really emphasised Suen's concept even more. A personal, and very fitting, touch was added by the addition of 'RIP David Bowie' in body paint on the back of one model.

I was fascinated by the use of safety pin piercings - not only are they linked to punk culture, but also featured in yesterday's incredible Alexander McQueen show (see image below, from here). I am intrigued as to whether this might be the start of a new wave of punk style - most other subcultures have come back into fruition over the last decade (80s new wave, 90s grunge etc) and so I wouldn't be surprised if this sort of jewellery and accessorising becomes more widespread over the course of the year.

 (All inspiration photos from Tumblr or here)
I hope you all have a lovely week - after the excitement of LCM I now have to get back to the usual daily grind, especially as I have my mock exams later this week. It's weird how fashion events make you feel so separate from the real world - for those few, precious days a year you live in this weird but wonderful world of eccentric outfits, nothing but coffee and the occasional bag of free popcorn, endless inspiration and many friendly faces. You forget that there is a world outside of LCM or LFW. I should probably try and revise for my exams now, though!