Theatre Review by Phil Ryan of Trash by Tom Hunt at the Space East London

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Trash by Tom Hunt directed by Kim Moakes
Produced by LittleBerry Productions

A strong ensemble piece with a slightly frantic pace the audience seemed delighted at this witty and cleverly written piece. The subject matter was well chosen and quite competently explored. A difficult ask of a director, the very large cast (and I think the cast was a little too large) Kim Moakes delivered a bold and amusing vision of a student house with an alternative twist.
Despite the rather unwieldy size of the cast there were some standout performances. These included the nicely laconic Noor Dillan-Night ably and cleverly channelling a wannabe urban revolutionary and excellent and strong physical comedy from Adeline Waybey who perfectly captured the bawdy street persona of wild child freagan Vikki. A special mention is Alexis Coward who delivered a wonderful other wordly performance as Curly Kat, brilliantly inhabiting a child-like modern hippy girl who at times appeared to be in a world of her own.
At the risk of repetition the piece did struggle at times due to the large 12 strong cast with certain parts highly confusing as so much was going on. Plus the acoustic properties of the space itself made certain sections quite overpowering. But that said much of the audience seemed to enjoy the slightly muddled and noisy interactions. And my belief is when a full capacity audience are laughing constantly and uproaringly the play must be doing something right. With elements of high farce the piece was both entertaining and funny to watch. Finally I was very heartened at the broad age range of the audience demonstrating that LittleBerry productions can deliver a mainstream piece of theatre and should go from strength to strength.

Definitely one to watch.

Phil Ryan 16th September 2012

Back Stage at Moschino Cheap and Chic!

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This evening i was lucky enough to be working back stage at Moschino Cheap and Chic show in. The show was held in a dilapidated fashionable building in Central London.

After much hanging around, herding models to the right place and helping myself to the free sandwiches I got a good look at the new collection.

My first impression was that is was classic Moschino, fun, quirky but not something i would necessarily wear. However as the models tried on the outfits and everything came together I fell in love with each look Moschino had created, elegant with a edge and not taking themselves too seriously.

The vibe was 60’s 70’s with bold prints, pineapple shaped bags with matching pineapple earring. Super flares matched with heavy coloured wedges and mini dresses matched with trainers.

The colour pallet worked perfectly and the prints harmonised together to create something truly exiting to look at.

My favourite pieces which (if i save up for long enough) will be in my wardrobe will be the platform wedges which came in orange, black, green and purple. Me and the other dressers decided these were “sensible shoes” what with being wedges and therefore worth the purchase! A great clutch caught my eye which had the appearance of being a notebook.

The star of the show was the Creative Director Rossella Jardini who looked show stopping elegant and sophisticated back stage, chatting to the press, posing with a cigarette in her mouth and generally being fabulous.

The show was very well received and after our dressers duties were performed we got to try some of the delicious cocktails on offer at the after party and keep an eye our for celebrities such as Kerry Brook and Pixie Lott who were mingling about.

Overall Moschino Cheap and Chic had a laid back atmosphere, everyone was friendly and had a great time and the show was undoubtedly a success. Looking forward to when the collections hit the shops!!!

London Fashion Week Review of Day 1 and Exhibition

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My first challenge of London Fashion Week this year was making it through the cobbled court yard in 6 inch heels, without an embarrassing trip in front of the many photographers at the entrance. This was my first Fashion Week and I was excited, if a little nervous and not knowing at all what to expect…

After picking up my press pass,and feeling a little more confident now, and hoping I could pass for someone of at least vague importance I started my exploration of the exhibits around Somerset house. There was a wide range of designers to ogle at, from from Milliner Steve Jones famous and intriguing hat designs to Julian Hakes Mojito shoe, which i fell in love with at first sight. Hakes, originally an architect stumbled across the smooth and modern design which only supports the heel and ball of the foot . Definitely a shoe for the future!

As a fashion design student myself I was especially interested in the work of the NEWGEN designers who collections Topshop sponsors and in the past  have included Alexander Mcqueen and Mary Katrantzou. All the designers work was innovative and inspiring. My personal favorite being Lucus Nascimento textured dresses.  Definitely all designers to watch out for in the next few years.

Another designer that caught my eye was Felicity Brown who creates hand printed and hand dyed womens couture wear. The pieces were beautifully made and reminiscent of an underwater coral theme. The designer who graduated from Royal College of Art with a 1st class honours in Textiles, creates elegant clothing has a distinct style and a exiting approach to textiles.

I was also a fan of Paper London’s clean and modern designs. Their sharp collection has strong silhouettes and their new collection feature material made from recycled materials such as rubber and plastic.

The exhibitions are defiantly worth a look and show case some of the best jewelry, hat and clothing designers of today

One of the best things I felt about London Fashion Week is the street style and amazing outfits sported by the industry models, press and designer. From the truly bizarre to the elegant its truly the place to express your individual style and Somerset House becomes a catwalk in itself.

 

Sophie Estelle

 

UGG Australia For London Fashion Week

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Shoes glorious shoes. Who cares what they look like? Well, everyone actually. UGG Australia the makers of the shoes that are the most comfortable IN THE WORLD have branched out into different styles. I went to see their AW13 collection at Handpicked Media’s One Aldwych Hotel suite.

Alex showed my the collection. I was incredibly impressed. UGGs have not always been thought of as fashionable but even the most discerning fashionista would find something to love in the new collection.  I love the knee-high blue boots below. I was also got a pair of gorgeous ankle boots. Check out Callum from Handpicked Media’s photo below. . They are so comfy and stylish. Top marks for UGGS.

The boots are very well made. The materials are gorgeous and the designs are on trend but also timeless. With winter coming in I might even buy myself some new winter boots. I love the lining inside the boots. Guaranteed to keep you warm.

Sure Maximum Protection statue blogger challenge

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Sure Maximum Protection has revealed that out of 640 official statues in the UK, only a measly 15 per cent of them represent women!

So they invited me to take part in a bloggers challenge. They asked me to put creative skills to the test to customise the ultimate female statue.

Years ago I won a number of art competitions and have always loved drawing. I have been too busy to keep this up and also never really did paint. I have always been creative though so I took the kit that was sent to me and got to work.

I immediately made a few mistakes but managed to recover well. I am annoyed at myself for allowing my creative skills to get rusty but I just decide to paint away and go where the artistic mood took me.

In the end I have a futuristic female statue. My statue has traits that I love in my fellow women: elegant, strong, caring, ambitious, smart, fashionable, individuality.

 

She’s different and cool.. She’s not perfect (blame her creator) but she carries it well and is all the better for it. She has kick-ass red lipstick and smile. What else could she possible need?

 

 

SASS & BIDE SS13 makes strong return to the London Catwalk

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SPRING/ SUMMER 2013

 

LOVESHADY

 

Sass & Bide returned to London Fashion Week after a year’s hiatus with an explosion of intricate seed beading, fluro dipped shells, contrast binds and flickers of diamante & metal form a rich tapestry of geometric detailing

The  LOVESHADY collection explores an ethereal union of gender; a romantic journey where every masculine notion finds counterbalance & softness in femininity. Silhouettes are sharp & honest and contrast the soft flow of ethereal silks, while a monochromatic palette finds fever in hot hues & metallic accents.

 

 

 

This season’s VIP front row included;

Mosshart/  Twiggy /  Poppy Delevigne  / Kelly Rowland  /  Lara Bohinc /  Miquita Oliver /  Dionne Bromfield/  Leah Wood /  Quentin Jones  /   Peaches Geldof  / Jazzy de Lisser  /  Sara Brajovic  /  Tom Hooper  / Willia Keswick  /  Portia Freeman /  Francesca Versace  / Jess Mills   /  Shingai Shoniwa/  Jasmine Guinness/    Lliana Bird

 

New Look Launch New Range at London Fashion Week

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There are three words that always get me excited: “London Fashion Week”. In fact, the only thing that makes me more excited is Handpicked media’s London Fashion Week opening party. I went along to see New Look’s new range at the One Aldwych Hotel. After getting lost and being flustered when I arrived, the amazing Debbie from Handpicked (and blogger of the excellent Life Edit) handed me a glass of wine and I had a great chat with her. I also was happy to bump into the lovely Jessica from Look What I Got and Handpicked Head Honcho Krista.

New Look has always done fun and fabulous fashion, but in recent years New Look has really upped its game. The quality of the clothing is good and so are the designs. They are also collaborating with lots of cool people like Giles Deacon, and have even teamed up with Kelly Brook to design a great range of underwear. The bra Kelly was wearing a few days before was part of the range that we saw. For those dying to know Kelly is a 32E.

The new collection is just really fab. They also have amazing jewelery and shoes. I will definitely be popping into New Look again soon. I really liked the creepers below.

New Looks jewelery range was a big hit. We were all fawning over it. Some of it is quite bling but not tacky. We were told to help ourselves to some New Look knickers which lead to a lot of amusement when we were walking about with underwear in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. On the tube on the way home I got a drink from my bag and the knickers fell out and landed on the floor of a crowded tube. Which was a little embarrassing.

I had my nails done, drank wine, met amazing people and ate canapes. Ah, that’s the life. If only every day was a fashion week day.

Unlock iPhone 4 and 4S cash value for the new iPhone 5

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Mazuma Mobile, the UK’s leading mobile phone recycler has released the current prices consumers can expect to get for their current iPhone handsets as Apple make iPhone 5 announcements. Mazuma expects to see high volumes of the iPhone 4 & 4s to be sent to them as soon as Apple announce the release of its latest handset mirroring the 2011 4S launch. Mazuma recycle over 20,000 handsets per week, with iPhone launches representing the biggest spikes in consumers wanting to unlock the cash value stored in their current handsets.

Charlo Carabott UK MD says: Generally speaking, we expect very high volumes of iPhone 4 and 4S to be recycled worldwide once the iPhone 5 is available. More so than any other iPhone release, simply for the reason that Apple sold more iPhone 4 and 4S than previous models and the iPhone 5 has been long awaited. For consumers wanting to maximise the return they get, we would recommend getting their handsets in early!”

Currently Consumers can get the following prices from Mazuma Mobile for their current iPhones:

·     iPhone 4 8GB- £145
·     iPhone 4 16GB- £150
·     iPhone 4 32GB- £155
·     iPhone 4s 16GB- £250
·     iPhone 4s 32GB- £275
·     iPhone 4s 64GB- £300

*Prices correct at going to press

 

 

Mazuma is committed to safely and efficiently recycling old mobile phones, mainly through reuse. Mazuma’s reconditioned mobile phones are sent for reuse to a number of developing countries where there is a demand for used phone handsets.

www.mazumamobile.com