Sweet Valentine.

Just a reminder that Valentine's Day is coming up soon.

Just love the colours of these artistic hand-iced luxe biscuits from Biscuiteers. 
Perfect for the secret  Picasso with romance in the heart.

Mylands launch new paint colours to depict landmarks of London

The landmarks of London and all its spectrum of colour are brought to life in a selection of paint finishes for exquisite interiors, inside and out by British paint pioneer Mylands.

Launched this Spring, Mylands' new collection of London-named and inspired colour palette is indeed a tribute to its British heritage and its longstanding association with the capital – home to Mylands since it was established in 1884.  Mylands’ pop-up showroom will take inspiration from the iconic London skyline which is  displayed on their colour card and paint tin.

Featuring 120 timeless shades, Mylands Colours of London palette is a unique celebration of the capital’s history, diversity and beauty ... from the refined and stylish ‘Sloane Square’ to the Thomas Parsons-created ‘Spitalfields’ and the 1960s vibrancy of ‘Lolly Pop’, said Dominic Myland, CEO

Family-owned and run, and now in its fourth generation, Mylands is the last remaining paint manufacturer in London continuing the family tradition of perfection in paint, with sumptuous rich colours and luscious thick formulations.

The global London Design Biennale will take place 4 - 23 September 2018 at Somerset House

“Emotional States” is the chosen theme for the second London Design Biennale to take place at Somerset House situated on the banks of the Thames in the heart of London, from 4 - 23 September 2018.

The inaugural London Design Biennale was held at the Somerset House in 2016.  Photo by Bradley Lloyd Barnes.

Building on the success of the inaugural 2016 London Design Biennale, this second edition global event will be participated by more than 40 countries and territories, including France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, UK and USA.  The UK entry will be curated for a second time by the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A).

UK entry at the London Design Biennale 2016 at the Somerset House.  Photo by Ed Reeve.

Taking over the entirety of Somerset House, the exhibition will see the world’s nations presenting newly commissioned works in contemporary design, design-led innovation, creativity and research.

India's entry for the 2016 London Design Biennale at Somerset House.  Photo by Ed Reeve.

The theme of ‘Emotional States’ is deem to provoke a broad interpretation across design disciplines, with immersive and engaging installations that interrogate how design affects every aspect of people’s lives – the way we live and how we live – but also influences our very being, emotions and experiences.

Sustainability, migration and conflict, civic responsibility, pollution, water, social equality, and innovative solutions for issues in 21st-century life are some of the big issues of our time being explored.

Just a few months ago, Gallup released their Global EmotionsReport 2017, based on 149,000 interviews across 142 countries, measuring feelings and emotions that traditional economic indicators ignore. This index finds Paraguay as the country with the highest positive emotional experiences, and Yemen the lowest (Syria, previously ranked bottom, was too dangerous to survey).

At the 2016 Year in Focus exhibition at Getty Images London, people of various nations in conflict, civic unrest and various social issues were illustrated through photographs.

The UK is positioned at no 38, alongside Mali, South Africa, USA they were struggling.  In the two years leading to Brexit, there was a 15% decline in the number of people rating their lives ‘thriving’, the largest drop in the history of polling. However, 75% stated that they had smiled and laughed in the previous day.

Thus it will be interesting to see how the various countries will respond to the theme of “Emotional States” at the Biennale event in London in September; their investigation into the relationship between design, strong emotional responses and real social needs.

It is widely expected that the Biennale will see some of the world’s most exciting and ambitious designers, innovators and cultural bodies gather in London to celebrate the universal power of design and explore the role of design in our collective futures. 

Britons spend more on fashion than the French, says report

British fashion shoppers rank eighth on a list of heavy spending consumers in Europe with £1,000 spent annually on clothing and shoes on average, according to an article in Fashion Network reporting on figures obtained from EU statistics agency Eurostat.

Ranking above the UK are Estonia, Portugal, Italy, Austria, Lithuania, Latvia and Luxembourg.  

Putting UK eighth position at the top third of a list of 26 countries, the UK is also ranked much higher than French shoppers who are often regarded as more fashion-concerned.  

The French reportedly spend £600 a year but rank 23rd on the list, above only Hungary, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.

The gap between neighbouring British and France has widened in the past decade with Britons spending 5.6% of their household budgets on fashion in 2016, which was 0.5% higher than in 2006. The French at the same time spent 3.8% of their household budgets, a fall of 0.8% over the same 10-year period.

Of course, a lot of what Britons buy goes unworn.  The article also pointed out that according to a recent survey by Weight Watchers showed that UK women and men have around £10 billion of unworn clothing in their drawers and wardrobes, or around £200 per adult.

SUPER TEXTURE – the new story from TOM DIXON, launching in Paris Maison et Objet fair

Continuing the exploration into the construction of cloth, British interior products and lighting brand  – TOM DIXON – is launching a range of new cushions under the banner of SUPER TEXTURE showcasing tactile materials, fabrics and techniques that dive deep into the weave, the knits and the knots.

Participating  for the first time in the prestigious Maison& Objet home and interiors trade fair in Paris (19–23 January 2018), TOM DIXON’s new cushions take you on adventures that begin in print, in embroidery and in the hand tufting and looping of wool with young emerging talent.  The new ranges are called ABSTRACT, PAINT and GEO.  

ABSTRACT is the name given to a pair of cushions made using techniques from the rug and carpet industries. Thick, woolly, harder wearing and generally more substantial than most cushions, these are hand tufted in Varanasi, Northern India by extraordinarily skilled craftsmen.

Urban perspective sketches and Hippy Wall hangings of the seventies were the initial inspiration for the variety of textures and blocks of saturated colours that come through in ABSTRACT.

Details of a cityscape watercolour from textile artist Josephine Ortega were blown up in scale and separated on graph paper to create a grid a technique familiar in tapestry pattern, but supersized for this project.

The loops, tufts and the variety of pile heights accentuate the hand-crafted nature of these cushions impossible to create by machine. Made from 100% New Zealand wool, backed with natural linen and generously filled with Danish duck feathers outstanding materiality and a human touch.

PAINT is a set of cushions with a subtle painterly print of abstracted urban landscapes rendered onto super soft canvas.

Tom Dixon commissioned young upcoming British talent Josephine Ortega to create a set of abstracted architectural watercolours based on scenes of British urbanism.

Pigment of pinks and indigo were then ink jet-printed onto a textured canvas of off-white linen to form stackable landscapes. Woven from natural linen mixed with lightweight viscose for a soft and natural feel, PAINT is digitally printed, sewn, stuffed and finished in Britain.

GEO cushions are embroidered by hand and machine on a base of natural linen and cotton mix, then filled with Danish duck feathers; lightweight collection with superior comfort. 

Embroidered graphic illustrations inspired by the natural geologies of rock formations and layered sediment, GEO is restrained yet expressive pattern making across two cushions and a double-sided throw. Celebrating the decorative qualities of natural phenomenon in bold embroidered strokes,

GEO is the no-fuss monochromatic that packs a graphic punch, say Tom Dixon.

TOM DIXON add colour and extra texture to the existing SOFT and BOUCLE ranges.  These are also showcased at the Paris Maison et Objet show.

Two new colours Wine and Khaki join the SOFT range this season. This series of cushions and pouches fashioned from Dutch woven fabric is composed of South-African Angora goat hair historically said to be as valuable as gold itself.

Combined with European craftsmanship and a generous filling of Danish duck feathers this range offers superior pile height, durability, and the ultimate indulgence in comfort and texture.

Khaki and Electric Blue are the latest to the BOUCLE colour palette. The blue is more electric, intense and vibrant. The military inspired khaki has the odd characteristic of acting either as a neutral or a highlight. Uncompromising in quality, it is composed of hand-spun and hand-woven yarn, in the exotic remote mountainous region of Rajasthan with wool sourced from New Zealand.

Lamborghini presents new lifestyle collection and the Super SUV Urus range at Milan Men's Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2018/19

At Milan Men’s Fashion Week for the Autumn/Winter 2018-19 season, it was an opportune time for a collection of clothing and accessories from the super sports car brand Lamborghini to be presented to the gathering of VIPs from fashion, luxury and lifestyle media.

On January 14^th, over a cocktail reception held at a great space on via Tortona 32, Lamborghini presented its Collezione fall-winter 2018-19 along with its Super SUV Urus range.  

Ever since the debut of the Urus concept at a Beijing show in 2012, the world has been coming to terms with the prospect of a Lamborghini SUV, wrote Charlie Turner of TopGear recently.  So this is five years and a £170m investment in the Sant’Agata facility later.

The clothing and accessories were on display, under the title of Authentic Living Riva 1920, and an opportunity to have a close-up view also of the Lamborghini Countach 25° Anniversario, Aventador S and Huracán Performante super sports cars.

The focus of the Collezione clothing range for autumn-winter 2018-19 is to present an anthology of essential wardrobe items for the Lamborghini man: a parka, the event parka, the supercar jacket, the wool-tech blazer, the wool jacket, the field jacket, the soft shell jacket, the techno sweatshirts and the leather touch screen gloves.

It is characterized by the Tailor Tech items, very high quality pieces with high level performance and 24/7 functionality, thanks to similar cutting edge approach to innovative technologies.

The three lines of the Collezione – Informal Luxury, Casual and Pilota Ufficiale – is completed by the Special Editions, the new co-branded special editions dedicated to the Super SUV Urus model, in collaboration with Enzo Bonafè, Hettabretz and Tecknomonster: a unique total look for all occasions, from business to weekend travel.

What more does the modern man want if he's got the super car and the suave clothes?

Lamborghini has also announced a new male cosmetics range, Men’s Code, the result of a partnership with Swiss Prestige Cosmetics which is deemed to share a common commitment to research and excellence.

Meanwhile partnerships with Intertrade Group for the fragrances L and with Mizuno for the running shoes will also continues.

Photo Credit: Stefania M. D'Alessandro for Lamborghini/2018 Getty Images

WHITE fashion trade fair in Milan concluded with an increase of international attendance, report organisers

The January 2018 edition of the WHITE MAN & WOMAN fashion trade fair, staged from 13th January to 15th January 2018, in Milan’s Tortona Fashion District, was deemed a great success.  

Under the banner of quality, the inventive displays projecting an open, creative atmosphere, along with new showroom concepts for the eclectic mix of new fashion forward brands - considered unique hallmark of WHITE - had attracted trade visitors from around the world. 

The organisers concluded that international buyers' attendance had grown by 3% growth.  The largest group of buyers had come from  Japan, Korea, UK, Germany and France respectively.   Visitors from Canada and the United States were also prominently felt.  However attendance from its own Italian market registered a slight drop compared to last January.

Massimiliano Bizzi, Founder of WHITE, said he was pleased with the results and this season's success had been brought about by focusing on the womenswear pre-collections at the trade-fair and with strong connection with the showrooms.  Furthermore, he also said the teaser event WHITE STREET MARKET has opened up new prospects.

Come June 2018,  the next edition will see the first B2C and B2B sportswear & streetwear trade event, and will, for the first time, gather together buyers from across the globe, in Milan who will also be attending Milano Fashion Week, as well as end-users or consumers.

Photos: WHITE/Getty Images