Fashion and Exhibition: "Naomi In Fashion" Opens at the V&A Museum, London - June 22 2024 - April 6 2025

Supermodel Naomi Campbell, who is known for her unparalleled contributions to the fashion industry, needs no introduction.

Naomi Campbell is pictured with a silver beaded dress by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, which she wore in December 2019 when receiving the Fashion Icon Award at the British Fashion Council's awards ceremony; and a bondage dress by Azzedine Alaïa.
Photo by Dave BenettGetty Images for the Victoria & Albert Museum

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London is set to celebrate Naomi Campbell's legacy through an exhibition that highlights her trailblazing career, advocacy for diversity, and status as a cultural icon. Naomi has not only transformed the fashion industry but has also significantly influenced broader discussions about race, beauty standards, and representation. With a career that spans 40 years, and now a mother of two, she continues to be a symbol of excellence and resilience, inspiring new generations of models and fashion enthusiasts.

This marks the first exhibition of its kind, as noted by the V&A, exploring the extraordinary career of Naomi Campbell. It will cover her creative collaborations, activism, and vast cultural impact through the work of leading global designers and photographers. 

Born on May 22, 1970, in London, Naomi's career began at a young age and she quickly soared to international fame. She was one of the five original supermodels who dominated the 1980s and 1990s, alongside Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, and Claudia Schiffer, solidifying her status as one of the most iconic and influential figures in the fashion industry.

 Azzedine Alaia was one of the fashion designers for whom Naomi Campbell modelled.

 

Renowned for her commanding walk and presence, Naomi Campbell's runway performances are legendary. Numerous fashion show footages in the exhibition testify to her iconic catwalk moves. She has graced the catwalk for virtually every major fashion house, including Versace, Chanel, Valentino, Thierry Mugler, and Azzedine Alaïa, the Tunisian-born couturier who became her mentor and father figure when Naomi was starting out in Paris. He frequently cast her in his shows and featured her in his campaigns, significantly boosting her career.

From the Thierry Mugler Archives. 
Photo courtesy of V&A Museum.

The infamous Vivienne Westwood blue platform shoes that have become iconic since Naomi's fall on catwalk in 1993, representing a daring moment in fashion history. 
Photo courtesy of V&A

The show includes more than 100 pieces of fashion, as well as personal photographs, and keepsakes like backstage passes, all pulled from Campbell’s personal archive. One particular window in the exhibition is done up like her personal dressing room, giving an intimate insight her chaotic life in the 1990s when she often stayed in hotels such as London Claridge's.  

A dressing room styled by Naomi Campbell with Virgina Rates, based on a room at London's Claridge's Hotel where Naomi often stayed in the 1990s.  It included Naomi's personal items and clothes, as well as furniture from Claridge's and the Soup Hat by Philip Treacy. Photo by Lucia Carpio

Siginificant items on show include the hazmat suit and poncho she famously wore to travel post-COVID, and  the Dolce & Gabbana silver gown she wore when she completed her community service as she wanted to walk out with her head held high.

Naomi is also famous for her little tumble on a catwalk while modelling for Vivienne Westwood. She was wearing a pair of towering, nine-inch (approximately 23 centimeters) blue platform heels. These shoes, designed by Westwood, are now infamous for their extreme height and the role they played in the fall. The platforms, known as the "Super Elevated Gillie," were made from luxurious materials and featured exaggerated proportions, epitomizing Westwood's bold and avant-garde design aesthetic.

An archival footage shows that despite the fall, Naomi handled the situation with grace and professionalism, quickly laughing it off and getting back up to continue her walk.

Naomi's first cover was on British Vogue December 1987 issue, photographed by Patrick Demarchelier.
She is seen wearoing a gold jacket with blue breeches by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel.  From Naomi's private collection, as shown at the V&A exhibition.

Naomi has graced the covers of numerous high-profile magazines such as Vogue, Elle, and Harper's Bazaar. Her frequent appearances broke barriers and set new standards for diversity in fashion media.

NAOMI In Fashion at the V&A, 22 June 2024 – 6 April 2025. Photo by Marco Bahler

Often referred to as a trailblazer, she is noted as the first black model to appear on the cover of French Vogue, in 1988, and the first black model on the September cover of American Vogue, in 1989.

Naomi Campbell's impact extends far beyond her modeling achievements. She represents progress and empowerment for black individuals in a predominantly white industry. 

Promotion of Naomi Campbell in a shop window of Hugo Boss (a sponsor of the V&A Naomi exhibition) on London's Regent Street.   To celebrate the exhibition at the V&A, BOSS has designed two limited-edition garments exclusively for the V&A.  Photo by Lucia Carpio

Naomi has also leveraged her platform to advocate for diversity and inclusion within the fashion industry, vocally championing increased representation of people of colour on runways, in magazines, and in executive roles within fashion houses.

Naomi In Fashion is running at the V&A Museum, London from June 24 2024 to April 6 2025.

Craft: Pottery Art for an Artistic home on show at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

There's a renewed interest in handmade crafts for interior design, as the decorative wares are instrumental in enhancing an "artistic" home and the recently held London Crafts Week put creativity and innovation at the forefront of crafted art appreciation in everyday life.

Left and centre, Leonard King's Anglo-Persian vases produced under the "Burmantofts Faience" name decorated with attractive compositions in blues, greens and purple, influenced by popular "Persian" ceramics
of William De Morgan, c1885-90.
Right, "Parti-Coloured" vase made by Burmantofts, Leeds, c1895-1904.
Earthenware, painted and glazed.

For two centuries, displaying art pottery has been key to creating a fashionable home with artistic tones in the rich and dynamic history of British art pottery, encompassing various movements, styles and individual artistic expressions.  

A group of flower vases, plates and tile from Doulton Lambeth, painted by Mary Butterton, Lizzie Shettleworth,
Matilda S. Adam and Alberta L. Green, among others.
Earthenware, painted and glazed.

Now an interesting mix of fine examples of pottery art from the late 19th and early 20th centuries showcasing an eclectic mix of British art potteries and their artists, many of them women, is currently showing at London's Victoria and Albert Museum in Kensington, until 25th September 2023.

Entitled "The Artistic Home", the impressive exhibition of British art pottery are from the private collection of Ian and Rita Smythe who generously gifted it to the V&A in 2018.  

The Smythes started collecting pottery art from the 1960s, and put them on display throughout their house, complete with wallpaper, furniture, lighting and stained glass from the period.  One can imagine a truly artistic home that the Smythes created for themselves with the beautifully hand-crafted pottery art on show.   These stunning wares will give us inspiration in our contemporary homes.

Made by Doulton Lambeth, a mermaid vase, a fairy vase and a vase with female figures all by Margaret E. Thompson about 1900.  Earthenware, painted and glazed.

In pursuing beauty during the Aesthetic Movement between 1870s and 1880s, art potteries and studios began to open, where pieces were made and decorated by hand, marking a departure from traditional ceramic production.  Artists were given the opportunity to gain recognition for their work, experiment with decoration and create novel designs. Amateurs, art students and professional artists all became engaged with what was often called "china painting".  Many of these were women who had previously been unable to enter employment or practice art professionally. 

During the ensuing Arts and Crafts Movement in late 19th century to early 20th century, influential figures such as William Morris and Charles Robert Ashbee, advocated for a return to craftsmanship and the integration of art into everyday life. In the pottery world, this led to the establishment of workshops and studios producing handcrafted, artistically designed pieces. 

Framed charger with female portrait painted by Rebecca Coleman at Monton's Art Pottery Studio, London 1871-5.  Earthenware, painted and glazed.

In the current V&A exhibition are beautiful vases, chargers, candle sticks, dishes, wall plaques, tiles, a fireplace surround and panels, in bright colours, lustrous glazing, featuring such well-known factories as the Della Robbia Pottery and Burmantofts in Northern England, and William De Morgan, Minton Art Pottery in Stoke-on-Trent, and Doulton Lambeth in London. Notable artists at Doulton Lambeth were Mary Capes and Margaret E. Thompson, while at Della Robbia were Alice Louisa Jones, Alice Rathbone and Routh Bare.   With the success of artistic stoneware in companies such as Doulton Lambeth, women, many from the middle classes, were employed to carry out painterly decoration, creating a new style to suit the artistic Victorian home, according to the V&A.

A "Parti-coloured" jardiniere and stand with peacock made by Burmantofts, Leeds, C1895-1904. Earthen ware, moulded, painted and glazed.
Large decorative pots and jardinieres were created to house exotic plants brought into Britain and Europe.

There is an array of eclectic design themes as artists took inspiration from various sources, including Islamic art, Italian Renaissance, gardens and the natural world. Featured motifs range from flowers and foliage, to plants, animals, fruits, birds and peacocks, fairies and mermaids even.

Two dishes with female portraits painted by Charlotte H. Spiers, London, 1883, 81; on Minton blanks.
Earthenware, painted and glazed.

On show were also designs by independent artists.  As the fashion for painted pottery grew, artists who had trained in other fields often tried their hand at "china painting" and retailers sold factory blanks for independent artists to decorate and offered to fire them in their kilns once painted. Large chargers, dishes and tiles were the most popular objects as it was easier to design and paint onto a flat surface.

As contemporary British art pottery continued to thrive, a wide range of approaches and styles can be found today, including traditional techniques, experimental forms, and conceptual installations. Artists like Turner Prize 2003 winner Grayson Perry and renowned ceramist Edmund de Waal have achieved international acclaim, pushing the boundaries of ceramics as an art form.

Grayson Perry's "Matching Pair" vases.

Marking once of the entrances to the ceramics section of the V&A is a pair of large Vases, glazed earthenware, hand-built with incised, painted and printed decoration.  These were not part of the Artistic Home exhibition.

All photos above by Lucia Carpio.

On the White Road set of four bone china plates.
Image from Victoria and Albert Museum website.

Edmund de Waal has created a limited collection set of four bone china plates, On the White Road, as shown above, produced in collaboration with the V&A and Wedgwood in Stoke-on-Trent.  

Fashion in Motion at the V&A features Thebe Magugu

The Victoria & Albert Museum in London is launching Fashion in Motion, supported by Libbie Scher Mugrabi, presenting a series of live fashion shows featuring leading fashion designers from across the world. 

First to present will be South African Thebe Magugu.  There will be four free fashion shows at 13:00, 15:00, 17:00 and 20:00 on Friday 7 October in the Raphael Court.  Limited tickets will be available on the V&A website from 29 September at 10.00. Booking is essential.

This Fashion in Motion takes place during the Africa Fashion exhibition, which displays a key look from Magugu’s Autumn/Winter 2021 collection, Alchemy.

This will be Thebe Magugu's first fashion show outside of Johannesburg, showcasing highlights from his collection 'Discard Theory', inspired by fabrics discarded by Europe and America.

Magugu, who combines traditional African silhouettes with western styles and graphics, describes the collection as "trickle-up fashion," as he seeks to invert the theory of "trickle-down" luxury, which depicts fashion as a hierarchal and class-based industry.

Magugu created 25 looks in this Fashion in Motion series, after visiting Dunuza – a well-known site in Johannesburg for secondhand clothes discarded by Europe and America. Working with luxury ready-to-wear collections, across womenswear and accessories, his designs interweave African motifs, craft and silhouettes to create vibrant and celebratory looks exploring the history, culture, and politics of Africa.

Magugu said in a statement: "For this collection, I thought about national identity politics, and how western influence has penetrated indigenous dress. Often, I see a woman in downtown Johannesburg wearing a shweshwe wrap skirt, a fabric often worn for traditional ceremonies, but paired with a Vodaphone or Manchester United tee."

This summer. following the launch of its mainline tennis collection in August, Adidas partnered with Thebe Magugu for a new Tennis range.

The Adidas x Thebe Magugu collection celebrates culture, heritage and inclusivity through a range of apparel pieces and footwear featuring unisex styles, gender-neutral pieces and inclusive sizing. The collection also features Unitefit technology, created and tested on a range of sizes and genders, offering "a comfortable gender-neutral fit".  In terms of sustainability credentials, the apparel collection features the Unisex Tee and Unisex Short in Made with Nature fabrication, and all men’s styles are Made with Nature. The rest of the collection is also made in part with recycled materials, including the Avacourt shoe.

V & A's FASHION IN MOTION: Daniel Lismore featured on August 5

Multidisciplinary artist Daniel Lismore,, hailed by Vogue as "England's Most Eccentric Dresser", will be the next featured designer in the V&A’s Fashion in Motion series. 

To be held in London Victoria &Albert Museum's Raphael Court on the 5 August, the four free fashion presentations will showcase highlights from Lismore’s recent exhibition Be Yourself, Everybody Else is Taken, alongside his new ‘Jubilee’ look on view for the first time.

Lismore is recognisable for creating three-dimensional sculptural ensembles which mesh together past, present and future. His work is a psychedelic mash up of haute couture, charity shop finds and vintage fabrics, and sustainability sits at the heart of Lismore's design philosophy through reuse and upcycling.

Sustainability sits at the heart of Daniel’s design philosophy, and with each ensemble he practices creative re-use and upcycling. 

Twelve life-size ensembles – standing at 6’4” – will be showcased, examining social, historical and cultural themes central to Lismore’s work and life as a ‘living sculpture’. 

Daniel Lismore said: “I am delighted that my sculptural looks will be showcased at the V&A. The pieces are a product of 20 years of collecting, collaboration and travel – each individual accessory, textile and adornment has a unique and personal story. I hope that visitors will be inspired and empowered by my life as a living sculpture to express themselves however they choose.”

Oriole Cullen, V&A Senior Curator Exhibitions said: “Daniel Lismore’s spectacular sculptures embody his unique lived experience, we are excited to present his dramatic and uncompromising vision of beauty and authenticity as part of the V&A’s Fashion in Motion series.”

A prominent fixture on the London Fashion and Art circuits, Daniel was Creative Director of luxury label Sorapol where he dressed Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey, Naomi Campbell, and Boy George amongst others. Daniel has designed for English National Opera and has exhibited at the Venice Biennale, Miami Art Basal and Reykjavik Arts Festival in 2018.

FASHION IN MOTION: Daniel Lismore is supported by Libbie Scher Mugrabi  

Catch “V & A Secrets of the Museum” on BBC iplayer

The V&A Museum's blockbuster exhibition in 2019: Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams 

Photo: Lucia Carpio

If you missed it the first time around, you can still catch up on this six-part documentary – Secrets of the Museum – a unique behind the scenes series filmed at the famous London museum of art, design and performance - the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A).


Great programme to find out more about Pumpie the Elephant, a comforting favourite from the V&A Museum of Childhood, or an exclusive look at the extensive preparation that went into the sell-out blockbuster ChristianDior: Designer of Dreams exhibition.

All public places, museums and galleries are closed.

While the UK is taking  all precautions to battle the spread of the Covit-19 pandemic, many public spaces are now closed, including galleries and museums, non-essential shops, fashion and electronic retail outlets.









Although I planned to visit the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) in Knightsbridge, London which was hosting a major exhibition on the Japanese national costume, entitled Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk until 21 June 2020, I decided not to do so in order to restrict my possible exposure to the virus in public places, and now with order of the prime minister we are all to stay at home.

However, I'm able to show here pictures sent from PR agency Totem Fashion, which was representing Yoshikimono, a partner of the V&A on this exhibition.

London’s iconic V&A has been collecting Japanese art and design since it was founded in 1852 and now holds one of the world’s most significant collections, including important holdings of Japanese textiles and dress.

A major focus of the exhibition, 

Japanese brand Yoshikimono founded by famous rock star Yoshiki,

 is a partner for the new exhibition on kimono in London.  The brand  was created 10 years ago by

 iconic Japanese rock star Yoshiki, the founder of 

rock band X Japan which has sold internationally more than 30 millions albums.

While the kimono is widely reconised as the ultimate symbol of Japan, perceived as traditional, timeless and unchanging, the new exhibition aims to counter this conception by presenting the garment as a dynamic and constantly evolving icon of fashion.  
Over 315 works were being featured in the exhibition, including kimono especially made for the show, half drawn from the V&A’s superlative collections and the rest generously lent by museums and private collections in Britain, Europe, America and Japan.

Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk revealed the sartorial and social significance of the kimono from the 1660s to the present day, both in Japan and in the rest of the world.   Rare 17th and 18th century kimono were displayed for the first time in the UK, together with fashions by major designers and iconic film and performance costumes.

The kimono’s recent reinvention on the streets of Japan was also explored through work by an exciting new wave of contemporary designers and stylists.

Highlights of the exhibition included a kimono created by Living National Treasure Kunihiko Moriguchi, the dress designed for Björk by Alexander McQueen and worn on the album cover Homogenic, and original Star Wars costumes modelled on kimono by John Mollo and Trisha Biggar. Designs by Yves Saint Laurent, Rei Kawakubo and John Galliano were to reveal the kimono’s role as a constant source of inspiration for fashion designers.

Paintings, prints, film, dress accessories and other objects were featured throughout the exhibition as well, providing additional context to the fascinating story of the style, appeal and influence of the kimono.

Anna Jackson, curator of Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk at the V&A, commented: “From the sophisticated culture of 17^th -century Kyoto to the creativity of the contemporary catwalk, the kimono is unique in its aesthetic importance and cultural impact giving it a fascinating place within the story of fashion.”

Mexican style and sensibility by Christian Dior at the Designer of Dreams exhibition, Victoria & Albert Museum London

Christian Dior, Designer of Dreams at V&A Museum, London.
Photo by Lucia Carpio.

To look at the influence of Mexican cultures and sensibility in fashion we enjoy today one goes back not just to the highly popular Frida Khalo exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum last year, but also to Christian Dior, the French fashion couturier whose Designer of Dreams exhibition (a sold-out event) currently running at the V & A as well.

Monsieur Dior (born 1905 and died 1957) took inspiration from influences around the world for his ground-breaking looks.  He loved to travel as early as in his twenties when he visited places far and wide, from London to Athens and Istanbul, he had spent a year in the Balearic Islands.

Born in Normandy, his love of global cultures grew as his business prospered.  Recognising the importance of the international market, he had made references to different countries through his various creations and collections,  exhibiting his admiration of countries that included  India, Egypt, Japan, South Africa Mexico and Australia.  Monsieur Dior named several of his dresses after a country and several of these are on show in the Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams exhibition currently running at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London until 1st September 2019.

This dress above is one of the dresses that demonstrated Dior's interest in Mexican style and art. His bold A-line skirts, which have become a signature of the house, are reminiscent of the Tehuana style, complete with a sombrero hat. 
The current house creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri also revisited the Mexican journey with her Escaramuza Charra show last year.

Christian Dior, Designer of Dreams at V&A Museum, London.
Photo by Lucia Carpio.

The creation above here is another Mexican-inspired dress by Monsieur Dior,  It was referred to as a dance dress with a label  'PRINTEMPS-ETE Christian Dior MADE IN FRANCE' on the inside.

According to information provided by the V&A, the dress was featured in French Vogue (March 1953) and L'Officiel (April 1953).  In the summer of 1953, the Duchess of Windsor (née Mrs Wallis Simpson) chose a Dior dress made in the same fabric and printed with a dot and scallop pattern to wear at the Circus Ball in Paris (American Vogue, 15 August 1953).

Further information from the V&A stated that this is a Mexico evening dress made in Paris in 1953, designed by Christian Dior, and made by Bianchini-Férier, Atelier Germaine.

Materials and techniques used included  printed silk organza, boned, net foundation, crêpe de Chine stiffened with net and organza, metal hooks and eyes.

It's Cherry Blossom season in Japan and lifestyle brand Muji opens hotel in Tokyo's Ginza district.

It's Spring time in Japan, and tourism is booming in this oriental kingdom as visitors flock there to admire Cherry Blossoms.

A luxurious gown  from Christian Dior SS 2017 haute couture collection designed by Maria Garzia Chiuri, elaborately embroidered to channel Japanese cherry blossoms as a nod to the Hanami - Japan's National Cherry Blossom Festival - and echoing Monsieur Dior's 1953 "Jardin Japonais" dress.  This is one of 200 rare Dior haute couture gowns now on show  in the Christian Dior - Designer of Dreams Exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, until 1st September 2019.

Photo by Lucia Carpio.

According to BBC business news earlier this week, the blossom season is worth billions for Japan.  The season attracted nearly five million people and boosted the economy by some US$2.7 billion, according to figures from Bloomberg.

Cherry blossom represents the nature of life and a season of renewal in Japanese culture.  Events and festivals are held in Japan each spring during "Hanami", or "flower viewing" season.

If one has the luxury of time to travel to Japan this Easter break, you may like to try out the Muji Hotel Ginza, operated by the Japanese retail chain Muji - known for their minimalist designs.

The hotel is to open this Thursday in Tokyo as a novel way to experience the brand's wide range of lifestyle products.

The hotel offering 79 guests rooms which will be decked out with Muji's own lifestyle-related products, from furniture, to slippers, to toiletries and toothbrushes.

The hotel is situated above its shop - from 6th to 10th floor - above the commercial complex.  This is very handy because if guests like any of the items, they can buy them at a Muji store below.

The hotel is viewed as a kind of showroom where guests can experience using their products, according to officials at the chain's operator, Ryohin Keikaku, which has revealed that sales of Muji products are on the rise, mainly in Asian countries, and they hope the new hotel will further boost its brand recognition and help expand sales globally.

The Ginza hotel will be the company's first in Japan; it follows ones already opened in China, in Shenzhen and Beijing.

Fashion and Sportswear brands take urgent action to utilise recycled material waste

SEAQUAL ™ changes plastic waste to filament yarns.
Photo © Lucia Carpio 2018

There is no time to wait and see with the critical problem we are facing on this planet after many years of not realising the damage that plastics, despite their amazing range of usefulness, have contributed to polluting our environment, our oceans, our cities, our countryside, and affecting the health of all living beings, ourselves, our nature and our wildlife.

The BBC nature programme Blue Planet II had driven the message hard and highlighted the immense urgency we are facing in one of their critically-acclaimed programmes hosted by nature guru and UK national treasure David Attenborough.

One shocking fact we have learned is that less than 50% of the 480 billion plastic bottles sold in 2016 were collected for recycling. It is indeed a responsibility of all of us to take action and tackle this irreversible global crisis.

Sundried sportswear made from
recycled plastics.

While politicians, activists and environmental agencies are reportedly taking action plans to promote recycling and minimising waste, many companies and brands are giving new lease of life to recycled plastic bottles by turning the waste into new ethical and environmental friendly products.

One such company is activewear brand Sundried whose sportswear range is made from 100% recycled materials including plastic bottles.

While helping to clean up the global excess of plastic bottles which would otherwise take thousands or even millions of years to decompose naturally Sundried are also reducing harmful emissions and water waste used to create new textiles.

Sundried was founded by personal trainer and triathlete Daniel Puddick. His goal was to create a brand that his children would be proud to be associated with in years to come.

Puddick says: "Being a parent makes you think about the bigger picture for the world, so business for me now is more than just creating a financially successful brand."

From the ten-piece pilot collection launched in 2016, Puddick has grown Sundried in size and together with his small team of designers have created sportswear made from recycled materials whilst ensuring a low carbon footprint.

Sundried activewear made from recycled materials
including coffee waste.

Sundried founder Puddick adds: "Creating collections made from recycled plastic bottles and recycled coffee waste has been a really exciting part of this journey and we are continuing to research the best, ethically-sourced materials available."

Fashioned from Nature exhibition - Victoria and Albert Museum, London until January 27 2019.
Photo © by Lucia Carpio 2018.

Of course Sundried is just one of many brands and designers who are all too aware of the plastic crisis and material waste.  Designs by the likes of Nike, Calvin Klein and Stella McCartney are on show among fashion specimens highlighting the close relationship between fashion and the environment at the Fashioned from Nature exhibition currently on at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London.  Forming an important of the exhibition is the forcus on practices in the fashion industry that threaten people, the lives and the environment.  Running until January 27 2019, this is billed as the first UK exhibition to explore the complex relationship between fashion and nature over the last few centuries, from 1600 to the present day.

Recognising that urgent action is required quickly to tackle marine plastics pollution, a Spanish company of textile fibres has recently unveiled its commitments to initiate a new eco-friendly yarns called SEAQUAL ™ filament yarn made out of plastic waste retrieved from the ocean.

Seaqual 4U was founded in 2016 to tackle marine pollution with as a starting point the recovery of plastic waste collected in the oceans and recycling them into a range of continuous and discontinuous yarns.

Its ingenious plan is to dredge then upcycle plastics from the bottom of the sea and turn them into fibres and yarns.  The company partners with some 400 fishing boats off Spanish coasts that help it to collect the plastic waste.

The company has thus set up a virtuous chain involving various stakeholders in the textile industry including spinners, weavers and brands. 

SEAQUAL ™  fibres is a real catalyst engaging the entire textile industry and thus inspire consumers to buy products made of sustainable fabrics made from recycled plastics.

New innovations from SEAQUAL ™ will include exclusive yarns in staple fibres for blending with other fibres such as recycled cotton, Tencel ® , viscose, wool, linen and will be available as both continuous and discontinuous versions in their natural ecru shade or dyed into different colours. 

The I LOVE LINEN campaign has landed in London

I LOVE LINEN being promoted in the atrium of the Peter Jones department store, Sloane Square, London.
Photo © Lucia Carpio 2018

Sharp-eyed shoppers and eco-conscious consumers probably already notice that an extensive campaign is going on in London this month in major retailers and brand name shops around town where a natural and wonderfully versatile fabric – Linen - is being promoted.

Following successful campaigns in Milan (2017) and in Paris (2016), the I LOVE LINEN campaign has arrived in London to raise the awareness on the wide range of applications and qualities of this eco-friendly natural fabric.

Billed as the world’s oldest fabric, linen comes from flax, the only fibre of plant that originates from Europe, here 80% of the world’s supply is grown along Normandy and the northern coasts of France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

During the month of April until May 13, a series of special events are held at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and in a network of some 40 local partner brands. The I LOVE LINEN message is splashed across some 200 shop windows representing the best of British fashion and home furnishings.

Jaeger is one of the brands promoting
linen in their Spring 2018 collections.
Photo © Lucia Carpio 2018

For example, at John Lewis and Peter Jones department stores in London where metres of linen fabrics are hung in the centre atrium of the stores promoting the I LOVE LINEN campaign.

Other participating brands include Poetry, Oska, L.K. Bennett, Ally Capellino, Jigsaw, Uniqlo, Vivienne Westwood, Jaeger, Skandium, Brora and Velorution, to name but a few – all promoting the qualities of linen through men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, children’s wear, sportswear, home furnishings and fashion accessories etc.

Just opened this week at the V&A is the event Fashioned from Nature and it is the UK’s first exhibition to showcase the complex relationship that fashion has with the natural world.  The comprehensive and informative exhibition highlights how fashion has been inspired by nature, and the demand the industry calls for raw materials, the enormous impact on the environment and the technology advancement is affecting our daily lives.   The European Confederation of Flax and Hemp - CELC, the authority of linen, is the major sponsor of this landmark exhibition which runs to January 27, 2019.

Also at Chelsea College of Arts – University of the Arts London, third year BA textile design students explore the fibre and fabric as part of a special creative project, in tandem with the V&A.
For more information on linen you can visit the ilovelinen.uk website.

I LOVE LINEN is jointly financed by the flax/linen industry and the EU. 

Photo © Lucia Carpio 2018.

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty - V&A to open throughout the night due to popular demand

If you still haven't seen the immensely popular Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty which is on at the Victoria & Albert Museum until August 2nd, you may be pleased to learn that the V&A has announced that  the exhibition is to open throughout the night for its final two weekends, releasing additional 12,000 tickets, due to unprecedented demand.

While on-line advanced booking maybe closed, tickets are available on day of visit at the V&A, London.  And it's worth the £16 they charge for standard admission unless you've joined the membership then of course it's free.
For full information, click HERE.

The legacy of McQueen needs no introduction and this retrospective exhibition does not disappoint.

While McQueen's ingeneous work on show are awe-inspiring, throughout the exhibition one feels the presence of the designer by the quoting of McQueen's own words offering valuable insights into the thinking behind his visionary creations.

Here is a sampling of some of McQueen's great words:-

"You've got to have the rules to break them.  That's what I'm here for, to demolish the rules. but to keep the tradition."

"I oscillate between life and death, happiness and sadness, good and evil."

"I want to be the purveyor of a certain silhouette cutting, so that when I'm dead and gone, people will know that the 21st century was started by Alexander McQueen."

See if you can spot them at the exhibition.

Photos above by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect.

London's Fashion and Textile Museum extends Riviera Style swimwear exhibition due to poppular demand.

As the temperature soars, you  may choose to stay indoors, or go look at something that can cool you down.
Now here's something for you to admire, if you haven't been there yet, and is the next best thing to going to the seaside.

The Fashion and Textile Museum in London has extemded their “Riviera Style” exhibition until September 13th.

According to the FTM, the Riviera Style exhibition, which showcases 100 years of swimwear from 19th century bodysuits and Fifties’ bikinis to the 21st century burkini and mankini, is attracting record numbers to the Museum in Bermondsey with visitor figures up 19% on the same period last year.

Due to this, the show, which opened on 22nd May and originally scheduled to close on August 30th,  is to be extended to 13th September.

The museum has also seen record sales of exhibition prints thanks to a partnership with UK art publisher King and McGaw, with the most popular image being the Clacton-on-Sea Butlins’ poster designed in 1941 for London North East Railway (top), closely followed La Plage de Calvi by Roger Broders c.1929 (at right ).
Picture credits: (top) Butlin’s Clapton-on-Sea, LNER Poster, 1941. Design J. Greenup © NRM / Pictorial Collection / Science & Society Picture Library
[right] La Plage de Calvi, Corse, 1928 (Colour Litho) by Roger Broders (1883-1953). Private collection. Photo © Christie’s Images / Bridgeman Images.

Dreaming of a Place in the Sun? Exotic tableware from Creative Tops

Although spring is upon us, the weather has not exactly turned warm in the UK and we may be dreaming of a holiday to a place where the sun is shining and the culture is rich.

A stunning new tableware collection from Creative Tops will help us escape to the shores of the eastern Mediterranean.
This fine china collection of plates, mugs and bowls features exotic patterns adapted from Iznik plates, held in the Victoria & Albert Museum collection.  
Iznik pottery became highly sought after in the 16th and 17th century and the town of Iznik became an established centre for the production of simple earthenware pottery with an underglaze decoration.

The meticulous designs combine traditional Ottoman arabesque patterns, with Chinese elements.
The exotic patterns are reminiscent of the beautiful eclectic ceramic tiles one would find in the eastern Mediterranean region.

Creative Tops hold a tableware licence with the V&A and their ranges incorporate designs from the V&A’s archive of textiles, wallpapers and prints.  Over the past three years, a strong relationship has been forged and beautiful commercial tableware collections for the retail industry have been created.

Another great result of this dynamic relationship is the Toile range above.
The Toile range is designed so individual pieces can be mixed and matched. The tea cups and saucers are elegantly shaped and the plates have scalloped edging.
Each fine china piece feature illustrations adapted from a 19th century printed textile book, and the designs have been sympathetically placed and shown off beautifully on each piece.
The Toile range is perfect for a quintessential English tea party indoors or in the garden when the weather finally settles.

Images courtesy of Creative Tops.