The happy-go-hippy underpinnings of this festival ready look are way more considered than the original Sixties’ and Seventies’ free-lovers would have dreamed of, but the tropical print Versace for H&M leggings, hippy headband and yellow lace DMs are as well tuned for the festival field as the urban street. There’s a hint of Eighties’ teen angst too, as the buttoned up shirt, chunky knit and oversized classic denim jacket add up to the sort of Eighties’ layering that happily co-opt the Lennon style round frame shades for a look that The Breakfast Club’s Ally Sheedy would have been proud of. Her achievable yet introspective gothic edge comes through in the dark plum lips and pulled-forward fringe. Jade stones set in the statement pendant draw the tropical tones together with the top half and the printed headband. Added up, it’s a retro infused outfit that nonetheless feels current; its oversized elements making an intelligent foil for the leggings and the thrift store chic combining well with the high street’s recent designer buy-in.

Proud Galleries is putting on an exhibition of Justin de Villeneuve’s photography called Faces of The Sixties. The show features shots from de Villeneuve’s archive and includes iconic images and newly uncovered portraits of Sixties’ celebs.
Some of the show’s headline images are of Twiggy, who de Villeneuve is credited for making into the world’s first supermodel. He was her manager and in a romantic relationship with her and it was only when photographing her that de Villeneuve embarked on his photographic career.
Born Nigel Jonathan Davies, he took the name of Christian St Forget when training as a hairdresser under Vidal Sassoon, but it was after his chance encounter with Twiggy and subsequent career volte face that he took the name that will be lit up at Proud Chelsea between tomorrow, May 17, and July 8, when the show closes.
On show will be intimate black and white Twiggy shots (showing the young model at his Notting Hill flat) as well as Italian Vogue shoots with Pattie Boyd, images of David Bowie and Marsha Hunt and de Villeneuve’s collaborations with legendary Sixties’ designers Barbara Hulanicki, Bill Gibb and Ossie Clark. His work with Klaus Voorman (the artist behind the Beatles’ Revolver album cover) which led to his experimental color re-touches will also be on show.
www.proud.co.uk

Images:

Twiggy poses with David Bowie for the cover of his ‘Pin Ups’ album, Paris, 1973 © Justin de Villeneuve

Twiggy wearing a silver fox fur coat by Ossie Clark in a promotional shot for Ken Russell’s ‘The Boy Friend’, 1970 © Justin de Villeneuve

American singer and novelist Marsha Hunt at the time of her appearance in the stage musical ‘Hair’, 1968 © Justin de Villeneuve

Twiggy wearing a fitted satin evening dress in a promotional shot for Ken Russel’s ‘The Boy Friend’, 1970 © Justin de Villeneuve

An achievable yet very individual take on Americana here takes a grungy hobo chic and collides it with the graphic US leitmotif of the stars and plush accessories to create a luxe-edged star spangled street styler. The multi-holed slashed leggings add a dancewear edge in their layered effect as pink peeks out from under the classic black and their holey wonder resonates with the faggoting-fringed laddering on the hem of the Americana knit to describe the deconstruction. That gently destroyed used-and-found theme is echoed in the trilby plundered from Dad’s wardrobe, while the quilted tote reminds us that there’s a plush side to this rustic round up.

David Bailey’s photography is coming home this summer as he returns to his East End roots with an exhibition of pictures all about the part of London he was born and grew up in.
Fifty years’ worth of his photography will be split up into three sections as the boy from Leytonstone sets up in the new venue at the Royal Docks, near to where he lived. The three sets of images focus on life in London’s East End. The first hails from the 1960s, the second from the 1980s and the third were all taken in the last five years. The large-scale prints are of the people and places that have stood for the area over the years depicted and include a never-published shoot of the notorious Krays.
Despite his legendary status in photography, Bailey has said that now is the hardest time to document, because people object. “Now it’s like you have to have a special licence,” he says.
The exhibition has been organised by local arts charity Create as part of its summer programme. “The fact Bailey is from the East End was really important for us,” says Hadrian Garrard, director of Create. “We always try to work with artists who have links to the area and he’s a local hero.”
A three-volume publication chronicling Bailey’s East End images will also be published by Steidl in November.
The show opens on July 6 and runs until August 5.
www.createlondon.org

The V&A is opening its first dedicated fashion shop. The retail space will be located in the museum’s redesigned and restored Fashion Galleries, and will stock a range of dresses, skirts, jackets, tops and T-shirts as well as jewelry and accessories.
Opening tomorrow, the shop, which has been designed by RFK, will host a seasonal fashion collection that reflects the popularity of its much-visited fashion galleries, one of the most popular areas in the museum.
The V&A has a history of fashion retail and has created collaboration pieces with the likes of Louise Gray, Memphis, Annie Lennox and Lily & Lionel in the past. This though is the first time the museum has devoted an area to just fashion product.
The museum describes the retail space as sophisticated, elegant and contemporary and pre-released images show it is an open fronted area within the Fashion Galleries designed to encourage easy transit to and from the museum space. There is also a fitting room for customers to try clothes on.
The V&A’s commercial director Jo Prosser says: “Fashion is a vitally important aspect of our brand: visitors, customers and readers all respond to our collaborations with designers, makers and authors from across the spectrum of contemporary fashion. The opportunity to build on this, by opening a new retail space within the most popular galleries in the V&A, is incredibly exciting.”
www.vandashop.com

Images: Metal Bow Ring (Silver) £8.50. Available from V&A Fashion Shop, www.vandashop.com or by calling 0207 942 2696.

Gold Sculpted Collar £20. Available from V&A Fashion Shop, www.vandashop.com or by calling 0207 942 2696.

Double denim gets subtly smartened here, as it layers up in a poetic balancing of mid blues, punctuated by red color pops. The trio of the softly laundered woven, mid-gauge knit and slim jean jacket combines rustic – but not rugged – textures; and the buttoned up styling is given a dandyish dénouement in the red bow tie. The bottom half is yet more casual and sportier too, with the white and blue paneling finished off with red deck shoes helping to create a flag bright tricolor. The gentlemanly take on denim is given a very current styling with the two-shouldered backpack, rolled hems close to the ankle and the curly mop top, which segues into a shaven back and sides. Those gentle proportions and the blend of smart styling and casual pieces adds up to a very modern fusion.

Having offered a pre-order capsule for the first time last season, Marni is again releasing a limited edit of key pieces from the Autumn/Winter 2012 range for pre-order.
The early release pieces from the Foulard Marni Winter Edition 2012 feel ready to wear for the summer with Mondrian-esque graphic windowpane brights and grids on full skirts, dresses, blouses and bags while LA illustrator Brain Rea – a former art director at The New York Times – has enlivened separates and bags with his sweet hand-drawn images featuring girls and penguins. Bright lace-up loafer styles with gold block heels, knitted cardigans, necklaces and scarves widen the line up.
Bold and quirky, the mood is typically arty, with the Consuela Castiglioni handwriting coming through across the range. Styling for the publicity shots takes a creative swerve with stop-motion style un- and re-dressing displaying the collection’s versatile mix and match-ability.
For Marni loyalists, the preview sale ends on May 25, with delivery dates set for July.
Prices go from $310 for a scarf, $350 for a tote, $430 for a necklace, $700 for the shoes and $740 for the skirt.

www.marni.com

In a summer overloaded with colorful options, a streetwear reminder of the impact of black and white. With the only concession to color coming in the form of Minnie Mouse’s flash of pink and red on the charm necklace, this is an achromatic paean to the power of cutesy dressing layered with tougher outerwear and accessories. The classic 8 holed DMs come in a rare animal finish with the zebra stripe quickly echoed in the Everton mint stripe on the shirt dress. The well-kept black leather Perfecto jacket underlines the monochrome mood; with a contrast of soft and hard forming a familiar juxtaposition in the world of womenswear. The bleached flame underlayer hair, lip piercings and bare legs, inject a yet more rock and roll, devil-may-care feel than ever with black frame clubmaster specs completing the look.

Iris Apfel has teamed up with Eyebobs to launch a range of eyewear that reflects her very distinctive style.
The ninety year old style icon, who was wearing oversized frames way before Rachel Zoe even thought about it, has put her name to a range of elliptically shaped frames called “Iris” that come in three colorways and two lenses, to kick off the collab in a taster capsule this spring. The full collection is set to roll out in collaboration with the specialist designer reading glasses brand in 2013.
Thickened at the edge where the arm meets the frame for a slightly owlish look, the statement making Iris sunglasses come in tortoiseshell, red and, for true Apfel style, plain black.
The geriatric fashionista, who launched a cosmetics range in a team up with MAC late last year, says: ““Without a doubt, eyewear is an important accessory because it can change your whole look, and I think accessories are the most important part of a woman’s wardrobe. The beauty of Eyebobs is that the price points allow for different frames for different looks.”
The tinted Iris glasses are released in both polarized and sun-reader magnifications, which retail for $99 and $75 respectively. For every sale of the Iris glasses, a donation is made to Lighthouse International, which fights vision loss and is reportedly one of Apfel’s favorite charities.
www.eyebobs.com

A traditionally formal garden party outfit gets given a downtime swagger here as the wide brimmed statement making Ascot-ready hat and vintage floral dress are paired with the juicy strawberry shade DM shoes and cameo design tattoos. That collision of hardcore androgyne and pretty femininity encapsulates a thrift store sense of style as a base layer created with sub-cultural swerve is overlayed with a more mature and thoroughly retro womanliness. The generation spanning ethos is brought together with the clean lined trench coat in traditional taupe and the wrist borne scarf. The gentle mismatching at play sees the bold dark navy hat, and red DMs both catch the eye more than the softer background shades in between.