With the gift of sound eye sight we are privy to a world of colour, but that doesn’t take away from our appreciation of the black and white image. Black and white imagery can evoke a range of emotion and convey a sense of history and mystery that the full spectrum of colour somehow robs us of. Here are a few of my black and white work that demonstrate this, I hope you like:

Since the raise of Banksy, a film was released in the cinema that involved his antics in ‘Exit Through The Gift Shop’. Now a DVD set of the film is to be released next week, which will include deleted scenes and two new short films. The set also includes exclusive 2D glasses, stickers and artwork.

The film features exclusive footage of Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Invader and many more of the world’s most infamous graffiti artists at work, ‘Exit Through The Gift Shop’ is the hilarious true story of low-level criminality, companionship and incompetence. The story of how one man set out to film the un-filmable. And failed.

Pre-order ‘Exit Through The Gift Shop’ from Amazon. The DVD is to be released on September 6th 2010.

Inkygoodness present their latest exhibition inspired by the theme of ‘Play’. The exhibition is going to have 38 international artists and illustrators- including Steven Silverwood and Jason Devine- making and creating anything with playful with their resources.

There’ll be new artwork, limited edition prints and lively installations for you to gawp at and even buy, so it should be a fun exhibition for everyone in attendance.

PLAY is being held at East Gallery, 214 Brick Lane and it’s open between 1pm-7pm. Admission is free, so come out and play!

Check the photos below of what can be expected at PLAY.

Photos from Inkygoodness.

The Café is situated right off the high street, next to the Deptford mainline station and perfect to stop off at any time of the day. Their food is home made from locally sourced ingredients and from first hand experience I praise their chef! Their coffee is sourced from farming projects around the world, so on top of being scrumptious its sustainable too!

The converted train carriage is certainly something trendy and new that had me smiling whilst sipping on my cappuccino. Its exterior is something to admire, it is covered with artwork that gets re decorated from time to time by various artists. This keeps the carriage looking fresh and acts as a canvas for artists to explore.

So if you’re looking for the “new Shoreditch” pop along to Deptford, get lost in Deptford’s art scene by visiting the galleries on their art map then stop for lunch at the Deptford Project Café!!

www.thedeptfordproject.com

YNG SQUIRE

Make Something, invites local youth to participate in workshops such as sign painting, photography, skateboard graphic design, toy design, filmmaking, tattoo art, footwear design and zine making. Workshops are hosted by renowned artists from the school of Losers and includes; Ed Templeton, Tobin Yelland, Geoff McFetridge, Shepard Fairey, Mike Mills, Todd James, Cheryl Dunn, Kaws and Mr Cartoon. The work created in each location will form an evolving exhibition, which will be open to the public.

Carri Munden, one of our finest exports from the UK who owns the clothing brand, Cassette Playa, is known for bringing fun and colour to fashion. It was exactly that sense of fun and excitement which ran through the Make Something School this week as Carri guided the students through the design and construction of their basketball inspired costumes for the upcoming World Basketball Festival at Rucker Park. The students designed their costumes off the back of a brain storming session focusing on the unique traits of the countries involved in the WBF- Puerto Rico, France, USA, China and Brazil- bringing a virtual global feel to the school!

Check out the videos…

Carri Munden costume making:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Ari Marcopoulos creating a zine with the kids:

Click here to view the embedded video.

When we entered, without knowing anything, this place was colourful and fun to be a part of. The creativeness of the kids was all over the walls, tables, clothes and even hanging from the ceiling!

For me, the most eye catching thing was the Jordan/Converse/Nike collab shoe that had no details, no label, no signs… NOTHING- just a shoe in a box in the corner of the room. This really got my attention and I am now wondering if they are going to be bringing this shoe out as a special edition.

The next post is going to be at Rucker Park and Radio City where we were in the presence of greatness… Michael Jordan to be exact.

Stay tuned…

After leaving the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan Garroudi opened up his first small boutique. A year later he moved his business to Soho Manhattan where he stayed for ten years and eventually opened two more boutiques, one in Chelsea and one in East Village.
Now Garroudi has decided to take the leap and move to London where he feels the people are more open minded to fashion. “Every one comes to London, people come to study, they come for the fashion, they come to shop, to go clubbing, they come for the music, they come to improve their English. There is so much attraction in London, people are wild!”

So lets go back to the beginning, you studied at the Fashion Institute of technology in New York. What aspects of this institution have you taken away with you and helped your career as a designer?

How I feel is that school is good, but it is not the main ingredient. The main ingredients is your will, your stamina, your passion, if you have passion for something you will make it.

Where did you discover your love for fashion? And what pushed you into perusing it as a career?

I have always been creative. Creativity is an ingredient you put into fashion, but it can be used for many other things, I paint, I make lights, I would love to make furniture and architecture. I think of it as different containers that your pour your creativity into.
When I was a child my mother had a big Singer sewing machine that I always watched her use it. When I was a teenager I started to wear unusual clothes and I was the only one in my neighbourhood so I guess my love for fashion started there. I feel that you don’t know your talent until you grow and gain confidence. So I just love creating and fashion is one part of that love.

Who do you respect in the fashion industry?

Of course late McQueen, Galliano, Comme des Garcons, Yohji Yamamoto, Victor and Rolf, John Paul Gaultier, mostly the creative crowd.

I bet you get asked this question all the time but where do you get your inspiration?

Let me tell you something first, nobody invents anything, all they do it copy them. So when you start on a project, the more you do the more you find. You face problems and you work around them to solve them. So I started by doing a lot of draping in my black collection with small manipulation details. I listened to feedback and everyone loved the details so I decided to do full manipulation on my next collection. I saw the responses again and people were excited. So I created my red collection but in this I used a lot of wools and satin, which were too heavy, so the next season I used poly-cotton. I am constantly learning from myself, people say my work is origami but its not. People say Issey Miyaki but he pleats and the work is made by machine, mine is by hand. I am creating a new trend.

What kind of girl do you see wearing you your clothes?

It is hard to say, different people have different characters. If you put something different onto some one it can change who they are, this might provoke a different characteristic from them. This is like wearing a mask; you can walk into anywhere and feel confident because no one can see you. With my dresses you need to feel confident to wear them because they are going to attract people.

What are your favourite fabrics or materials to use in your collections and why?

Organza, silks, chiffon satins because they are so light and work well with my methods of manipulation.

I have noticed your work doesn’t follow a set trend, but more of a creation. Are trend forecasts something you stay away from? And if so, Why?

The thing that differs me from the rest of the industry is that I use one colour only per season. Some designers might use black for a collection, but they don’t change to one particular colour every season. The other thing is that I manipulate all my fabric and no one does it how I do, it is a very long process.
The trends and the industry is too commercial for me, if you follow what every one else is doing you won’t make, you must set the trend. There’s a saying, you better be the first class of you than to be a second-class version of somebody else. So be yourself, you don’t have to hide behind something.

What is your preferred method of designing? i.e pattern cutting? Or draping?

I do not use any patterns. I make the ribbons myself, manipulate it then drape the ribbons into a dress.

Wheres your favourite place to go clothes shopping in London?

All of my money goes into my fashion. It is hard to be a “fashionista” and at the same time create, because you don’t have the time. To be a fashionista you have to go out, mingle, see whats around, this takes lots of time. If you want to create you cannot do both, you need the time and all your energy to be a creator.
If I had the time to do more shopping I would go to the designers I have mentioned, John Paul Gaultier etc. I also love boutiques for something very different.

What advice would you give to aspiring designers?
Follow your passion, there’s a saying, if you do not stand for something, you will fall for anything. You cant do everything, you have to tell people your busy, if they ask why you tell them its because I want to be a fashion designer, or the greatest fashion journalist, the next Anna Wintour.

Has any of your friendships suffered through your years due to your fashion?
You are who you hang out with, if you have friends even family members who do not lift you up they will pull you down. Then you have to get the “big scissors” and cut them off… why?… because it doesn’t help you. You are not in the business of following people; you are in the business of following fashion or what ever it may be. That is what you need to pay the price for.

Where do you see your self in 5 years time?

I believe I am going to become one of the creative directors of one of the couture houses in Paris. I would also love to do as many lines as I can because I know I am capable of doing it, you just need the right team that know what they are doing.

And finally, is there anything you would like to add? Or a message to our readers?

My gallery is always open for people to come in and see my work. I am available for interns; I get a lot of interns from all over the world wanting to work here so I am happy to have more people. I also want to send a message to all the couture houses that I am available.

(picture of London fashion week and a friend of WeAreHQ Sarah-Mei modeling in the top left hand corner)

Here is a sneaky peak of Garroudis detailing for his next collection!

If you would like to see Pierre Garroudis full collections visit his blog on,
http://www.pierregarroudi.blogspot.com/

Or check out his website on,
http://www.pierregarroudi.com/

60 artists from all over Europe and the UK will be showcasing their unique skills and talents at the International Meeting of Styles.

The free block party event also will have a BBQ, bar and DJ’s spinning. Check out the above flyer for more info on artists, and DJ’s.

It all takes place tomorrow (the 21st) at Highbury Studios, 3 Hornsey St, N7 8GR.

Get yourself down there for some weekend fun!

Don’t forget, it’s FREE!

More info here.

Keep On Running: The Story of Island Records is a beautifully illustrated book which is being published to celebrate the record label’s 50th anniversary. It is a collection of album artwork and photographs telling the story of label founder Chris Blackwell’s immense role in introducing Jamaican reggae and ska, and other fringe music to the world.

The book starts with Blackwell explaining how his sole intention in 1959 was to release Bermudan pianist Lance Haywood’s album. Also, having seen that jazz-inspired tunes were infiltrating UK pop music, Blackwell evoked upon his Jamaican roots to import the sounds he knew and loved most- establishing one of the biggest independent labels of all time in the making.

The aesthetics of vibrant album art work helped define the music, as Blackwell explains in the book, “If you felt that the artwork was intriguing then there must be something going on inside,” describing how the imagery “developed and transformed itself, always seeming a reflection of the larger world.”

Island has become one of the most influential pop music record labels of all time, spearheading contemporary music with it being the home to heavyweight artists such as Bob Marley, U2, Paul Weller, Grace Jones, Eric B & Rakim, Tricky, Florence and The Machine and Amy Winehouse.

‘Keep On Running: The Story of Island Records’ is due out in September. Pre-order the book from Rizzoli.

MO LI HUA CHA