College Shop Two

After a hugely successful run last Autumn, College Shop, London College of Fashion’s very own pop up retail space makes a welcome return to the Carnaby Street area. Perfectly nestled on the ground floor of Kingly Court, the new space once again offers unique and one off creations by its legion of multi talented alumni. With stock rotated daily, the College Shop is a place of discovery.

The intimate boutique setting offers the perfect opportunity to own a piece of design future, now. With items from recent graduates in womenswear, menswear, footwear, accessories, jewellery, fashion photography and illustration, alongside more established LCF graduates including hot young designers Ada Zanditon, recent London Collections: Men prospects Joseph Turvey and Domingo Rodriguez, recently launched fashion labels Antithesis and Coeur, and back by popular demand, last year’s  top sellers, womenswear designer Para Manko and fashion illustrator Rosie McGuiness.

The space is open for one more week (the two week pop up runs through to 1st November) so if you can make it down, you should. It is a place to get lost in. A treasure trove of affordable discoveries. Below are a few of the items that caught my eye.. 

A selection of finds from the likes of Joseph Turvey and Coeur.
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We love nothing more than showcasing emerging designers on these pages but it can be frustrating (for both you and us) that the designs are often unattainable. With the growing success of the College Shop, LCF are leading the way in showcasing their talent and in providing the first real opportunity to buy in to them.

LCF BA Graduate Showcase: Makoto Taguchi

The footwear design craft of Makoto Taguchi

Over the last few months we have been treated to an array of graduate design talent from this years crop. I have shared my highlights throughout and there is more than enough time to showcase another. At the beginning of the month I shared the talents of Minako Tsuda whose playful leather schoolboy rucksacks and gentlemanly document holders harked back to a different, altogether more romantic sartorial era. Tsuda was of the LCF BA Footwear, Accessories and Clothing students graduates on show at the pop up gallery space on Carnaby Street that left me inspired. Makoto Taguchi was the other and I can now excitedly share images from his intriguing footwear collection. I was taken by this Cordwainers Footwear graduate's talent at combining various shoe making techniques, from traditional hand sewn methods to modern glued shoes, with the introduction of his own, fresh ideas. Taguchi's design philosophy is simplicity after complicated process. The best way for me to demonstrate this to you is to show you his collection in some detail...

I'll begin with my own personal favourite. Taguchi's Derby, removable boot.

A closer look at the Derby boot from all angles.

Transforming the boot in to a shoe with the help of beautiful leather lace work.

I love the sense of well crafted quality that exude from this pair.

Taguchi's second design. Classic plus whole cut.

Once again the boot transforms...

I love the combination of the contrasting leather and wood sole.

Ornament, Structure, Button. This boot seemingly has it all.

A close up at a few of the key details.

Ornament, Structure, Ski hook. This is certainly Taguchi's most adventurous design but once again there is a real balance.

A closer look, ski hook and all.

The last design is simply titled, Cut.

A look at a few of the processes involved.

A closer look at the shoe's profile.

Makoto Taguchi's graduate collection displays an array of techniques, traditional and otherwise. The graduate ultimately showcases a real and exciting passion for shoe making. Each design is close to bursting point with meaningful details but nothing feels superfluous. There is a real balance between them. The diverse details combine to create shoes to covet. The real surprising element for me is that each shoe exudes a well crafted quality that is most rare to find in a graduate collection. I for one am excited to see what Taguchi does next but one thing is for sure, my feet will no doubt be treated to a pair one day soon.

Style Salvage Speaks to... Asger Juel Larsen

The recent GFW and various graduate shows reminded us all that there is so much young talent out there in the UK and there is little better than discovering the emerging talent. Though the LCF press show was disappointingly low on menswear (where was our good friend John Howard Little?), Asger Juel Larsen shone through with his take on modern chain mail. Larsen created a modern adaption of armour by producing 'futuristic' ideas of chain mail using alternative materials such as leather, PVC and rubber cords. We wanted to find out more about the designer and his impressive graduate collection so we asked him a few question about his time at LCF and his hopes for the future...

Asger's modern take on chain mail was the highlight of the LCF Grad Show. Photography by Ellis Scott

Style Salvage: Describe the moment you realized you wanted to be a menswear designer?
Asger Juel Larsen: I have always been interested with how men and women dress. The exact time I cannot remember but it has always been there in the back of my mind.

SS: What attracted you to LCF in the first place?
AJL: It is their historical approach to combine sharp tailoring and at the same time still be able to be experimental.

SS: What was the best thing about your course? And the worst?
AJL: The best and the worst thing go hand in hand. The third year was an absolutely amazing learning process for me by literally working my ass off and having a great design teacher in Tom Adams to push me even further in my ideas. That has without a doubt made me the designer I am today. The worst thing might has been the bickering between the students and teachers rather than just getting on with their work.

The glasses saw Asger collaborate with his good friend Mauricio Stein

SS: Aside from your own, which was your favorite of the graduate collections?
AJL: There were so many great menswear collections this year, and if I had been in the jury I would have picked at least 7 menswear students to go to the press show. To mention a few I really liked Cherry May De La Cruz’s collection featuring three dimensional boning. Another collection that caught my eye was Dandan Zhang’s white collection with extreme proportions and voluminous shoulders and collars.

SS: What next? Do you have any aspirations to pursue an MA?
AJL: I have a lot of stuff going on right now. Some I can talk about and some I can’t. I got picked to show my collection at the Mittelmoda fashion Award in Italy in September and I might do my MA at LCF this fall. I will keep working on my own collections so hopefully there will be a spring/ summer collection 2010.

SS: Describe your graduate collection in your own words?
AJL: Essentially it is a mirror image of me. The collection is very masculine and heavy, both in my silhouette and the materials I have used. If I had not chosen to study menswear fashion I would probably have studied war history or costume design. My collection has gone through solid research into materials and the historical era of the medieval knights. Paco Rabanne’s use of alternative materials was also a big inspirational source. When everything is said I find it very important that the feeling inside is right and the collection looks amazing.

SS: Your modern take on armour saw you use alternative materials such as leather, PVC and rubber cords; was it difficult working with these materials? How much did your chain mail top weigh?
AJL: It’s funny you ask because it was actually very hard and very time consuming to work with. Every evening/night in the first term I made my metal chain mail. The next term I knitted my rubber cord amour and in the last term I did my PVC/leather cord top. 2 bottles of baby talcum powder was used to knit the rubber cord amour. My chain mail top weighs 20 kg and was probably not the most wearable piece for the models to wear during the shows.

SS: What advice would you give a prospective menswear fashion student?
AJL: You only get what you put into it. No matter what you do, work hard!

SS: If you could go back in time and experience any fashion moment, what would it be?
AJL: I don’t think it is a fashion moment but I would love to have experienced the last Coronation of the Russian Tsar Nicholas II. It’s the most elaborate event I mostly admire in recent history.

SS: What item of clothing (if any) do you wish that more men wore?
AJL: Men these days are becoming more and more fashion conscious than before, so at the moment, I do like the progress of what men try to wear daringly lately.

SS: What would you like to achieve in 2009 and beyond?
AJL: Career wise I would like to see how far I can push my graduate collection. Personally I would like to go on some silly vacation to Mallorca or Grand Canaria and relax by the pool, drink cheesy drinks and relax my mind.

SS: What's the one question you wish people asked you but you've never had the opportunity to answer?
AJL: It would be the questions people didn’t ask.

SS: Lastly, have you got any recommendations that you'd like to share with our readers?
Givenchy is the future, and keep an eye out for the photographer Ellis Scott (who took these great images for the look book).

LCF BA Graduate Showcase... John Alexander Skelton

Over the last few years the LCF BA show has emerged as a real calendar highlight as we've been introduced to a plethora of real design talent. Year after year, the pulse of my eyes is left racing. With the likes of Baartmans & Siegel, Asger Juel Larsen and Jade Jung Sun Kim as recent alumni, the moment we enter June my blogging stomach begins to rumble in anticipation. The Class of 2012 did not disappoint. As many eyes drift eastwards with the Olympic countdown ticking on, the show itself shuffled from its usual home inside the V&A to Hackney House but despite this move it was business as usual. As the latest crop of graduates inaugurated the new space we were treated to innovation and promise at every turn. For me, the standout menswear talent of the year is John Alexander Skelton.

Entitled British Lion, John Alexander Skelton's accomplished collection explores the depths of a familiar working class style. Growing up in Margate I often found myself huddled against the railings in an anti-social formation on the long pavement that dissected the sprawling mass of arcades and the sweeping golden sands. Clad in the standard issue uniform (late 90s at least) of a crisp Lacoste polo shirt, black Nike jogging bottoms tucked in to the whitest of white socks and a pair of Reebok classics, I engaged in social camouflage. However I felt about myself at the time or even now, from the outside at least, I would have appeared the archetypal chav. Away from the coastal seafront of my youth and the sartorial stereotype, Skelton was drawn to the uniform worn by two notorious gangs from Liverpool and offers progressive tailoring that fuses minimalist tailoring and sportswear.

"The two gangs had gained media attention and notoriety for their use of extreme violence, even at young ages. I in no way deem any of this as inspiration as such but rather, I was drawn to the the clothing that they wear. I had read a number of articles about them over the past few years and slowly I became fascinated by their almost uniform way of dressing. They all wear all black, consisting of brand's such as North Face, Low Alpine and Nike. This is done so police have a harder time identifying who belongs to which gang. For me the aspect of taking something that is designed for a completely different purpose and targeted at a different audience in to this context is extremely interesting. The teenagers will strive to have these items, they have become fashion, this is now there fashion but it is also an item that middle class, middle aged man will wear on a camping trip."

Skelton was captivated by a particular working class style that is prevalent and thriving in so many areas across Britain but developed his inspiration to create a considered collection. Whilst drawing on examples of Brutalist architecture including the Barbican and Trellick Tower (used in the look book) "with their boldness and irregular block type formations in concrete are very beautiful, the cold structures and sharp lines provided endless inspiration," Skelton reimagines the chav style thanks to a refined eye. "Basically, it is what I would love to wear, I regard ease of wear as essential to my process. I believe that it is a very grounded collection that has a strong air of identity and sense of attitude," the graduate proudly adds.

As with so many of the LCF students, Skelton's Showtime profile is an absolute delight. A digital treasure trove of inspiration, illustration, look book imagery and even a film. Having acquainted ourselves with the talent and discussed the graduate collection in some detail, it is time to explore the concrete estate and take a closer look at the designs...

Lookbook imagery shot by Ben Benoliel and modelled by James Taylor alongside the designer's own FMP Illustrations and the film by Duncan Roxburgh.

Having recently discovered the design talent, don't be surprised to hear the name John Alexander Skelton uttered in the coming months and beyond. "I have a few projects which are ongoing at the moment, I am doing something with Nike involving a few established London based designers as well as my self which will be exhibited in September." Beyond this showcase and looking further ahead, Skelton talent reveals that he "would then like to refine my concepts and skills on the MA at St Martins or in industry, in order to launch my own designs into the market." However, much like Aitor Throup announced this season, he has a growing problem with the concept of collections and is likely to explore an alternate path. "I would like to approach fashion in a different way, something interesting and exciting to challenge the tediousness of what is current." An exciting future is guaranteed.