AT LARGING IT IN RUSSIA

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

It has got so that I'm almost embarrassed to start blogging again after the intense working period I've just experienced. I was hired by a start-up fashion web business as a consultant a couple of days a week, who asked me to accelerate them into BETA launch mode and set the agenda on how they communicate fashion.

After a few months diverting the energy for what I would be doing here to them, I felt rather empty, despite the huge online learning curve and sense of achievement for my client. A light had gone out. Last weekend I was finally forced to admit how much it means to me to have this as an outlet. I resigned from the start-up.

Now, I'm back and taking my ickle blog to a .com in January. Only something extremely special and worthwhile will take my attention away from this again.

There is such a backlog of thoughts to share, and I have got to start somewhere. So will start in St Petersburg, Russia. I visited a couple of weeks ago with Liberatum Global the organisation that, thanks to its inspiring founder Pablo Ganguli, (a fabulous 26 year old anglo Indian man with a penchant for eyeliner - below), brings together global leaders and creatives in the arts and culture, and parachutes them into a city so they can share and educate.

Pablo Ganguli with art critic/writer/film maker/dealer Danny "Boogie Woogie" Moynihan

Last June Pablo did Istanbul/Istancool. Then in November St Peters Ball with the Corinthia Hotel group. Last week he threw a dinner for Nobel Laureate V.S Naipaul at the Langham in London. Next year he takes his cultural caravan to Rio.

Pablo is passionate and totally inspiring. “It is vital to develop greater understanding between nations through cultural dialogues. People need to speak to each other face-to-face, as opposed to solely through the net, from different continents if we are to truly, broaden our minds and gain better understanding of each other,” is the kind of monologue he launches into daily.

The program for St Petersburg was somewhat stymied when a key component of the schedule, artist Matt Collishaw was rushed to hospital with a perforated ulcer a day before he was due to leave London. However other artists, including photographer Polly Borland, the taxidermy artist Polly Morgan and musician and Razorlight frontman Johnny Borrell delivered interesting talks to the culturally engaged Russians who came to the free events.

The divine Polly Morgan

One of the most striking things about St Petersburg was, of course, the Soviet hangover that lurks in the dark corners of the city like so many ghosts. It is a stunningly beautiful city, but even 20 years after the Soviet collapse it looks and feels a bit unloved.

Imagine being a fashion designer in post-Soviet Russia?

I was fortunate to meet St Petersburg's most famous fashion designer on day two of the visit, one Tatyana Parfionova (below). In the year following the fall of communism, Parfionova was the first Russian fashion designer to do the western thing and open a fashion boutique.

Now in her late 50s the designer remembers "We were all still buying food from street markets, the old system had collapsed. There was no new system, and in this situation I opened my shop. I put my name above the door. I put my name in the tag in the back of my clothes."  This many sound a perfectly ordinary thing to do to western ears, but it was revolutionary in Russia at the time, and Parfionova is an iconic figure for it.

Her designs are all handworked one-offs. The clothes have an indy folky couture element to them that harks back to the 1930s. When one of her evangelical staff informed me that "She makes one of everything, and only sells to you if she like you," I was taken back to the 1990's. Tatyana would have to change her approach drastically, if she were fighting to be recognised in the clamour of the London market.

If you want an exquisite embroidered shawl featuring a detail from a work at The Hermitage museum, Tatyana Parfionova is your woman.





Her distinctly old school work is all created by hand by her team of artisans, who specialise in embroidery. Tatyana spends much of her time painting flowers, (below).

Meeting Tatyana was an eye-opener, reminding me how lucky we are in the west to have the freedom to create without boundaries. Progress creates progress.


51 Nevsky prospekt, Admiralteysky 191025
http://www.parfionova.ru/

Photos: fashion editor at large

MOVE OVER DAPHNE??

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

We all know true fashion eccentric’s are few and far between. But surely there can only be room for one woman in the world who wears her edgy Haute Couture with millions of pounds worth of diamonds, outrageous Philip Treacy hats and who is slim enough to slip down a drain when turned sideways? Last week this theory was turned on its head when I saw two of these women in a room at the SAME TIME. I was attending the Istancool arts festival in Istanbul when the seemingly impossible happened. “Daphne Guinness is over there, look!” whispered my neighbour at a lunch in Istanbul Modern art gallery. Everyone’s head swivelled towards a pencil slim woman wearing a giant black and white Philip Treacy hat which was obscuring her face.

Who's that veeeery skinny girl in the Philip Treacy hat?

 “That isn’t Daphne Guinness, THAT IS DAPHNE GUINNESS. We all looked towards the doorway as the in cantered the real Daphne on heel-less silver platform heels, an undulating Tracy concoction floating above her brow.

Daphne took off her Treacy hat to have a quick chat with Gore Vidal

So WHO was this pretender? Let me introduce you to Stacy Engman. Stacy, 32, is the chief curator of Contemporary Art at the National Arts Club in New York. Stacy was typically vague when it came to her family, except to say “my dad is in finance and insurance”. She was more forthcoming about her style, however. “I am wearing Philip Treacy, of course. My shoes are McQueen; my leggings by NY label “3 as 4” and my bag is Chanel. When our eye was drawn to a massively blinging diamond ring, what we were told next made our eyes water. “This is my personal mark,” she said, deadpan. “I was looking for a monogram for my clothes and luggage and I wasn’t happy with anything the graphic company created for me. So I looked for a symbol instead. This is inspired by the “Sheela na Gig” a pagan symbol of a female gargoyle who uses her vagina to scare away evil spirits.” That was me told, then. The ring totals 13 carats and took “my family jeweller ages to create.”

Stacy's "personal mark" inspired by the symbolic vagina of the gargoyle "Sheela na Gig"

Stacy also told us she wears “the world’s most expensive fragrance by Clive Christian.” I adore Daphne Guinness, but have also rather warmed to Stacy Engman. Anyone who is as dedicated to the cause of fashion and personal style as these two women are very welcome to the Fashion Editor at Large world. Let the rivalry commence!!

The feet of from left, Daphne Guinness (you should see Daphne when she flips down to flat position in those shoes; its so cute, and she says she does it to keep her calf muscles flexed and stretched) , Pablo Ganguli, Philip Treacy

Daphne chatting to Liberatum founder Pablo Ganguli, the 27 year old responsible for the Istancool festival.

Photos: Fashion Editor at Large

Daphne Guiness fashion shot was lifted from meccacosmetica.com.au, no credit shown.

ISTANCOOL & DAPHNE - TOTALLY INSPIRATIONAL

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

So at the weekend I was lucky enough to be invited to Istancool (sponsored by Turkish Airlines, though I flew BA and they LOST MY LUGGAGE). It was a brilliant arts festival arranged by Liberatum Global, an organisation headed up by an inspiring 26-year-old Indian man by the name of Pablo Ganguli. I have posted this snap taken by the chic be-turbanned jeweller Waris (House of Waris) because it was taken an hour after I was reunited with all my belongings, among which nestled this winner of a dress by Roberto Cavalli which I couldn't wait to slip into after three days wearing the same T-shirt and Houlihan's. It's the best snap taken of me for ages, and makes me smile everytime I look at it.  I am standing at the gates of the Topkapi Palace on my way into an amazing dinner hosted by Jefferson Hack and AnOther Magazine. See their reports of the event here. It was an unforgettable night. Look out for more about Istancool in next weeks Grazia.

During day two of the event Daphne Guinness (now ensconced at Haute Couture goings on in Paris from where I write) dropped in with her new beau, a handsome philosopher, to the Istanbul Modern contemporary art museum. Here she is on the top floor of the museum having a moment while she overlooks the Bosphorus towards Suntanahmet, the historical centre of Istanbul. She was feeling wistful and told me she had not been to the city since 1989. Following this she sat in discussion with Philip Treacy to talk about their working relationship; she being an avid consumer of his incredible hats. This ine, Philip told me was "inspired by a wimple, and  is made from plasticised net." It all became very emotional when Philip broke down in tears when talking about their much loved and missed friend Isabella Blow. During his teary moment his partner Stephan reached over to whsiper in my ear that Istanbul had been Issy's favourite city.  Of course we all now know that Daphne Guinness is now the custodian of Isabella's entire collectiojn of fashion. Something she spoke about at length in the FT this weekend. Read it for yourself. It will give you a glimpse of the utter one-of-a-kind-ness of this extraordinary woman.

Like I said I'm in a very hot and steamy Paris right now. Off to see Givenchy Haute Couture in an hour. Then I meet BryanBoy for the first time, and buy him tea and cake. Then CHANEL!