Isabella Blow at Somerset House

There is an absolute must see show on at Somerset House at the moment for anyone with the slightest interest in fashion, textile techniques, iconic imagery, etc. In my opinion it's the best show they have put on for a long time. You can get up close and personal with fashion and hat designs from some of the true greats.: Philip Tracy, Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Mr Pearl, Shaun Leane, the list goes on and on. Along with this, there is interesting information and film about her life, from her early years up to the end. You also get a chance to see graduadtion shows from McQueen and Galliano.
At the end you will find fabulous books as usual, but also stunning posters and postcards photographed by Nick Knight.

Antwerp

Alex and I are just back from a short trip to Antwerp. It's a strange city, on Monday and Tuesday it almost seemed as though we were the only visitors. Look how empty the Grote Markt was.

But on Wednesday it was busy, busy, busy. It's a fabulous city if you are into fashion. The Momu (Fashion Museum) is a wonderful museum where they let you take photos and have a marvelous bookshop along with great displays.

 

The architecture is wonderful and the cathedral is well worth a visit; beautiful windows, paintings, including some by Reubens, carvings, candles and the unusual. 

 

 



We had lunch one day in a great Dutch cafe which was full of photos and biscuit tins featuring the Dutch Royal family. Lunch was lovely and even the bill bought a smile to our faces. 

 

Although there were lots of very posh, designer shops, some of them having window displays which made them look like art galleries, they weren't too daunting. 

 

Finally of course typical of a city like Antwerp there were lots and lots of wonderful doors for me to photograph. 

 

The Big Knit

I've been having a bit of fun creating some cute little hats for Inncocent Smoothie bottles. I even managed to get Alex to knit one too.

The top of the Royal Festival Hall

After Alex's graduation ceremony I took some photos from the 6th floor of the Festival Hall. I'd never been up there before and in the sweltering heat it offered a lovely reprieve from the crush of bodies filling the building.
It's also worth mentioning for anyone who hasn't used the lift that it's an (Martin Creed) experience not to be missed. The real thing is even better that the video suggests

The best day out for us

Tuesday saw Alex officially graduate from Uni. She has already been working for over a month, but Uni life finally ended on 16th July 2013 with her graduation ceremony at Royal Festival Hall on The Southbank. It was a brilliant setting; one of our favourite places in the world and with the tremendous weather we're having at the moment, nothing could have been better.