Image source: Hermès

Hermès is calling in the recession. The luxury house’s Collier de Chien cuff bracelet can now be yours - free, with a little effort and glue. Possibly one of the most knocked-off cuffs, you can stave off buying the fake and make your own in any pretty paper you fancy. Simply download the pdf, cut along the lines, and follow the step-by-steps.

Make your paper Hermès Collier de Chien bracelet here.

And don’t they have humour. The flash to the pdf gratifies the less fortunate with a knowing line: “I want it, I’ll have it!” Easy, you get the iconic dog collar cuff bracelet in paper. Nevertheless, the helpful suggestions are some very good looking examples when made out of graph, purple tartan, or water-colour splashed pattern paper. Art Attack gone haute!

As luxury brands would go, the Hermès website is a bit of a pleasant surprise - fun things packaged in both luxe and wit. Alongside the usual run through of the brand’s history and iconic products, they’ve allowed bandwidth for quirks such as a charming, stop-motion animation of an aeroplane assembled from the distinctive Hermès orange boxes, and a classic fruit jackpot slot game using its Fruits and Arche de Noé wallets.

Progressive luxury branding that makes for a fun click-around. Yay! I’m youthful, not rich yet, but I’m impressed.

Japanese art and fashion initiative Cosmic Wonder Light Source has seemingly taken its A/W09 collection to a prairie where the knowing gather to diffuse light. Find melange knitted pullovers paired with patched denim;  softly worn madras checkered shirts, decked with a jaunty bow tie, and tiled mosaic pattern dresses that sometimes have circular plastic and foil screen printed on. Welcome to Alternative Prairie Fashion Week. Not the easiest pieces to wear perhaps, but if you could… the light is yours.

Cosmic Wonder Light Source 3 A/w09 is available at Front Row | 5 ann siang road

The pictures finally came in. A rather long wait since the runway show took place at the 72-13 Resuscitation exhibition last month…

There’s so much to look forward to from Woods & Woods though. Its A/W09 collection is an antidote to banal design; Woods & Woods heightens national design pride with its traditional tailoring techniques updated with male/female interplays in its A/W collection. Featuring mostly menswear, the collection is a robust autumnal palette of heather greys, roasted browns, , true blacks and white washes, accented by surprises of jade bottle green and canary yellow.

The tailored jacket and the shirt-full-of-hidden-details is a constant feature in the Woods & Woods’ signature, and designer Jonathan Seow has made his key A/W statement in these. New jacket silhouettes moved from tapered oblongs to boxy to cropped.  And none were left to fend on their own as the look intended is only a look when paired and layered with a shirt peeping from behind a collarless jacket and paired with exposed, reflective zips and inner seams on rolled-up trousers - recalling those worn by courier cyclists (though the press release says the collection is inspired by Russian Constructivism).

The pieces that craned a few necks in the audience were a jacket with a shawl lapel that crossed over each other, and a canary yellow cropped jacket with a white funnel collar - adorable on the boy-model with the pout and jawline. “Morning…”

Shirts were given the block treatment with contrasting fabrications that went from  cotton to wet-look coated silk, or made merry with clever pocket details. There was particular interest in a sheer viole collarless shirt worn under a coated-silk gilet that fastened with a zip and traditional button loops, traditionally used on the pockets inside jackets.

This is a preview of the collection and not available in-store yet. Watch this space in the coming weeks though. We are optimistic about its arrival.

These are amazing….

Was updated to this gem of cool from postings that’s been making shared-rounds on FB. Could be huge, could be of cult value, maybe not…doesn’t ney matter!

Talk about royal satchel lineage: these Cassette clutches are made by Corto Moltedo, a luxury bags label designed by Gabrielcorto Moltedo (his family owned Bottega Veneta before PPR bought it into its luxe stable). The flagship’s store in Paris, with a pop-up store due to pop at Galarie Lafayette but there are ways to get this without chalking up carbon footprint. Via the Mayor of Asia apparently….

Word is it’s available in patent bubblegum orange, gold/ blue/pink lame and a slew of other colors - enough for every day of the week/month…including a new one that’s pink nappa. PINK NAPPA! Just the SKU description is enough to make you go all valley-girl-speak: CUTENESS!

Image source: Corto.com

Paulus came into the store last week as a force of fashion. Stylist, Furqan Saini was bringing him about town to suss out the local retail scene and there he was, all lovely smiles and witicisms (proper english, ain’t he?!), in an all black ensemble - bringing a touch of Hoxton to Ann Siang. Paulus helms Issue One, the glossiest of magazines filled with the most decadent fashion and beauty imagery. Hate the expression, but these are fierce. Issue One is so decadent it gives its photographers uninterrupted 14 page spreads, giving leeway to creative ideas and colour stories aplenty.

Quiet Storm (Phenomenon)

Quiet Storm (Phenomenon Issue)

Midnight Never Came (Kinky Issue) Photographer: Vincent Alvarez

Moalienated (Kinky Issue) Photographer: Ali Mahdavi. Art Director: Antoine Kruk. Fashion Editor: Paulus

Almost Ready (Phenomenon Issue)

Sins of the Father (Furious Issue) Photographed by John Rusnak. Styled by Treemayne Taylor

Issue One is available at the brilliant Basheer bookstore.

Jonthan of Woods & Woods says the Man at Basheer is a legend. He’s a walking directory on all important, avant-garde, up&coming, underground (and even forgotten) books, mags, publishers, and designers. He knows who’s helming which, who’s publishing what, and the who’s who of the creative, mag and rag trade. He knows.

Why hasn’t anyone interviewed him?

Front Row makes a business out of dressing up its favourite people, and Tracy Philips & Valerie Wee are in our favourite group. Tracy, a name as recognisable as Zouk is synonymous with this country’s clubbing routine, needs no introduction. Val is a real trooper, it’s expected of cool people with cool jobs since she’s a copywriter at creative agency, Doodleroom. We invited them to tea and dress-up. The Brief? Disco Chicks go to high-tea. It was giggles.

Tracy and Val wear – (Left) Cosmic Wonder Light Source jacket; YoviaJogia metallic tights; Belt by A.P.C; Vivienne Westwood for MELISSA Ladydragon heels. (Right) green tulle top and inner dress by Pettifogr, Belt by A.P.C; Lime green scarf and floral tights stylist’s own, mint green Vivienne Westwood for MELISSA 3-strap flats. All available at Front Row

Midway through tea, the tête-à-tête inevitably went in the direction of “What’s Tracy Philips doing now?” In the week when it was announced that Tracy was leaving Zouk after10 years, it created a conversation fodder for many, even landing substantial inches of news coverage in the papers.

While the chat digressed several times to growing vegetable/herb allotments (Front Row’s interest), 10 workmen (she just moved house), and her ex-neighbour’s blooming cactus that perfumed the street, we finally found out what Tracy Philips is headed.

Tracy and Val wear – (Left) Demisemiquaver striped dress, green lacquer A.P.C bangle; pink lacquer A.P.C bangle; (Right) cotton shirting cum striped pullover top by Cosmic Wonder Light Source; Star necklace by Cosmic Wonder Light Source; iamwhoiam black layered skirt with coloured ropes; nude leggings with knee slits by U’tter. All available at Front Row

Rife with creativity and creation from what’s potentially a very exciting project, Tracy’s new thing is a social enterprise. That sort of took the bang out didn’t it, but wait! Not only will her new company, Sputnik Projects, manage, craft out programmes and curate a space in Orchard Road for young entrepreneurs and creatives, she’s also proposing engaging platforms in the form of retail, exhibitions, workshops, installations, bazaars, performing arts etc etc. If judging by her illustrious portfolio at Zouk (purposeful-while-seemingly-random-and-ridiculously-fun themed nights), this is a project that gives us high expectations of what’s to come. The way we understood it, Tracy’s going to take all the complaints you had as a suppressed, creative youth, whilst drunk and whinging on 1-for-1 whines about the lack of opportunity, and provide you and your lost creative youth a chance of a platform… funded. The Sputnik Project is slated to be up and running by June 2010.

Tracy and Val wear – (Left) Navy dress with asymmetrical drapes by United Bamboo; nude leggings welted knee slits by U’tter; necklace by Cosmic Wonder Light Source; (Right) Vermillion draped dress by United Bamboo; necklace by Cosmic Wonder Light Source; flora stockings stylist’s own. All available at Front Row

FR DAILY: What would be on your wish-list for Sputnik Projects?

Tracy: An affordable Art Fair. It will be an initiative to grow art appreciation and support local artists. Ranging from $50-$500

FR DAILY: Approve! I think alot of us are in a hole where we would love to own some art but can never really afford it. Budget is key. Who are your favourite local artists then?

Tracy: Xin (of Maki Squarepatch) and Melvin from Phunk Studio.

FR DAILY: Music for a revolution: what’s your guilty-pleasure song?

Tracy: I’m walking on Sunshine, KC and the Sunshine Band.

FR DAILY: Favourite labels.

Tracy: Margiela, Bernard Willhelm, Preen. The same few for many years already!

FR DAILY: Favourite street…

Tracy: I like the trees along Gilstead Road, where I used to live. There was a neighbour’s cactus that blooms every once in a while at midnight, and filled the whole street with a beautiful scent.

FR DAILY: Your thoughts on Front Row.. you know we have to ask.

Tracy: I think Front Row is great - charming in design, thoughtfully put together and carries great brands. And it’s genuine, not manufactured. I’m grateful it exists in Singapore so I don’t have to buy everything on-line. Most importantly, it stands for something, and it’s supportive of young local talent.

FR DAILY: << You see why Tracy’s one of our favourite people? Star.>>

FR DAILY: So what do you want to tell the World right now?

Tracy: one thing… I want to share one of my favourite quotes from Robert Frost: ‘I can sum up life in three simple words. It goes on.’

Credits:
Photography: Mark Lim
Styling: Front Row
Make-up: Joanna Koh
Hair: Oba (for Tracy), Akira (for Val) | Kizuki + LIM | 6221-6320

Also part of the Resuscitation project is WeatherMAN, a conceptual fashion magazine, which further expounds on the collaborative dialogue between Woods & Woods and its collaborators. Resulting output from Resuscitation project have been assembled into a series of fashion spreads and features from contributors such as WORK, illustrator/photographer Liu Xuan, photographers - Mark Lim and Ivanho Harlim & Shysilia Novita, fashion critic and journalist Hywel Davis, and visual artist Lizzy Oppenheimer. Designed by 2many designers and published by Basheer Graphic Books.

Photographed by Ivanho Harlim & Shysilia Novita; Clothes: Woods & Woods Man, Shoes by Dr. Martens

www.ivanhoharlim.com

one of my favourite looks in Weatherman; shot by Ivanho Harlim & Shysilia Novita

We’ve taken notice of photographer Mark Lim’s work for a while now. A pedigree from Parsons School of Design with a BFA in photography, Mark now lives and works in Singapore. He has contributed a few spreads to WeatherMAN. More of his fashion work can be seen on his website, along with some really nice urbanscape patterns. He seems to favours moody, textural contrasts… Last we saw him, he had the most delightful mustache, not unlike Poirot’s pomade-perfect tache. He should be at the Woods&Woods show tomorrow, will update on its progress.

www.marklimphotography.com

Photographed by Mark Lim; clothes by Woods&Woods X WORK

"Lookback" photographed by Mark Lim; clothes by Charlotte Wang (one of the 6 new designers who re-used clothes to recreate a new collection)

Clothes: (Left) by Mae Pang, (Right) by Sunny Lim

Front Row in WeatherMAN. Front Row has a contribution in there and loves it.

Here's another that Mark took for Front Row

The mood of the Front Row ad is spot on. Everything that we wanted to say or meant to translate visually has been said. A friend of ours that we showed the initial ad images to was particulary impressed by the model’s hair and the ad’s colour composition. The hair was done by the good folks of Toni & Guy, you know they’re mavericks you can count on. They just get it. They get what you want.

Credits:

Photography: Mark Lim

Make-up: Joanna Koh

Hair: Toni&Guy

WeatherMAN is available for sale from 2-8 July 2009 @ 72-13, and thereafter at Front Row & Basheer bookstores.

A week long exhibition at 72-13, creative-in-residence of the arts space, Woods & Woods, have put out a 3 part exhibition comprising of “The Shop” Installation (a Shop-as-Installation in collaboration with Thesus Chan from WORK), “Look back away from the glare” (a photography/video installation exhibition of 6 new fashion designers who have reworked used clothing into a collection), “The Show Representation” ( an invite-only live-fashion presentation of Woods & Woods A/W 09-10 collection), as well as “The Showroom Exhibition” ( a press showroom doubling as exhibition, by invite only.)

The set-design for The shop installation, a work in collaboration with Thesus Chan from WORK

“The Shop” Installation features an actual shop as an installation piece itself. The Wardrobe installation is comprised of shelves and closet space in a cluster of oddly-sized and awkwardly-angled cupboards. A plywood nest that is outfitted with some really, really nice menswear pieces from Woods & Woods X WORK. The devil is in the details, and we have the photos to prove it. Best of all, these pieces are for sale. You can literally buy them out of their exhibition confinements… (stockist details are yet to be announced, but we are very excited…).

Resuscitation presented by 72-13/ Theatreworks, 2-8 July 2009 | 72-13 Mohd Sultan Road, Space 1& 3.

Woods & Woods A/W09 “Stranger than Fiction”, 8 July 2009 | 72-13 Mohd Sultan Road, Space 2. By Invitation only.