Tickets and Excitement

There are no words to describe the levels of excitement I am in about attending London Fashion Week. I am mostly looking forward to John Rocha, Qasimi, Basso and Brooke, and Ashish. I still have to print some invitations that were sent online but starting Friday to Sunday I am going to be in chaotic mode running from venue to venue. I will be feeding my blog with info hopefully every night if I can. I am still upset I am travelling to Qatar on Monday morning and will be missing some shows but I needn't be so greedy. There is always Septembaaa!

Middle East @ The Saatchi

On the eve of fashion week and putting together my first shoot I still made time to go to the Saatchi gallery in Kings Road to catch the new show on Unveiled Art in The Middle East . I was in awe of Kader Attia's Ghost made out of aluminum foil. His explanation of the piece:

In Ghost, a large installation of a group of Muslim women in prayer, Attia renders their bodies as vacant shells, empty hoods devoid of personhood or spirit. Made from tin foil - a domestic, throw away material - Attia’s figures become alien and futuristic, synthesising the abject and divine. Bowing in shimmering meditation, their ritual is equally seductive and hollow, questioning modern ideologies - from religion to nationalism and consumerism - in relation to individual identity, social perception, devotion and exclusion. Attia’s Ghost evokes contemplation of the human condition as vulnerable and mortal; his impoverished materials suggest alternative histories or understandings of the world, manifest in individual and temporal experience.

A Future Collaboration with Anna Fayemi

I am super excited about styling my first ever shoot this Thursday with the talented Anna Fayemi .We met up for warm coffee and Tiramasu cake in Covent Garden's Ponti's (My hair smelt like pasta and pizza for the whole day after that) we put together a photo shoot for this Thursday in Anna's new studio in Kentish Town. I am working with talented people like Charlotte Fisher for make-up and Yann Beyrie from Trevor Sorbie and Thomas Sergeant as a photographer am dare I say a lil nervous for styling my first shoot. But being the organized freak that I am, I have been calling in young designers for the past two days and am getting quite a large collection of clothes/accessories for the shoot. Anywhoo here's a mini interview with Anna the photographer.

Fashion Ambition: How long have you been a photographer?
Anna: 2 years .

FA: When were you first behind the lens and has that experienced impacted you in any way?
Anna: I was around 19, in art school. One of my best friends was really into photography. She put a hasselblad in my hands; she was working on a project and needed someone to photograph her. I got a taste for it and started hanging around dark rooms and camera shops.

FA:What is your style of working as a photographer? What image would be an Anna Fayemi?
Anna: Do I have a style ? I wish I didn’t, I wish I was just doing everything and anything. It's so important to be versatile.



FA: Why did you choose to pursue photography? Did you know it was your calling from the start or is this a recent career change?
Anna: In my second year of art school, one of my teachers told me I was like a monkey going up the tree, eating apples of each branch as I was going up. She told me I should stay still on one branch. She was my photography teacher. She liked my work, I liked it too. I kept still and I still am!

FA: You are from Paris and live in London, what are some qualities you love about London city and what do you miss most about Paris?
Anna: London is an exciting place for me. It's full of craziness, it can be so eccentric! I feel really creative here. But you know what people say...
"The grass is always greener...” I do miss Paris, I love it, I love walking in the streets at night.

FA: Tell me about some exciting projects you are currently working on.
Anna: I'm moving into a new photographic studio in Kentish Town! Really exciting!

FA: In your opinion what is the secret to being a great photographer?
Anna: You need to work . Hard.

FA: I would love to collaborate with ...
Anna: Jean-Paul Gaultier !!

FA: Where do you see Anna Fayemi in 5 years time?
Anna:The big Apple!

One big step for me, one Huge Heart from Whistles

Today I attempted to take my first hard steps from girl walking about London with curiosity in ballet flats to girl armed with laptop and camera interviewing my favorite designers in London in high high heels. As much as I wear them back home in Bahrain (very little walking permitted) I don't wear them at all here unless its for a shmancy event where I feel obliged to. But today after lunching with Steff (Kathy Phillips Assistant+super cool person) I tested out one of my heels around the city. And it wasn't so bad, I event got a proud nod from the sales assistants when I walked proudly into Browns. Okay maybe she was just trying to be friendly but still, I feel today was a major step for me! Anywho I am now off to LCF to catch the next chapter of their Fashion on the Internet series. But until then here's a glimpse of Whistles funksy display window off Oxford Street.

A Primish Update

So if you haven't heard the news Prim Magazine is making the transition from online magazine to print. This is ever so exciting as I am developing a great fondness and friendship with Kristen who is editor of the magazine. It has always been a fantasy of mine to create and develop my own very own publication and watching her put issue after issue together, each one getting edgier and cooler with time really makes me feel like its not impossible. As I read her last issue I was very much aware of how much Kristen and Prim have grown together, it is becoming quite clear that they shift together and reflect each others style. Prim is very much an extension of who Kristen is and its exciting to grasp her style and growth in the pages of her magazine.

So an update of her records were deemed necessary as her learning process and shift to print should be documented and shared with the rest of the world. You can now make your orders of Prim Magazine here, but also feel free to flick through the new issue which is out now.

Fashion Ambition: How have you found the transition from online magazine to print magazine?
Kristen/Prim Mag: Surprisingly, it hasn't been very hard. There's just that one extra step of sending it to the publisher. Sometimes that can be an annoyance, but its well worth it.
FA: Does Prim want to continue being mostly based as an online magazine or do you have plans to have ideally to have it ideally in print?
Kristen: That's a very hard question. I do have plans of shifting completely to print, but then I do want to be environmentally friendly. I think at some point I would like to shift it almost completely do print, but keep it online as a Nxtbook or something along those lines.

FA: Were you able to find support or financing for your magazine or is this a business start- up?
Kristen: No, not at all. All of this is basically out of pocket, or parts of what the company itself has grossed over the past 10 months.

FA: Prim is constantly growing as brand and as a publication and as a publication where do you see it in 5 years time?
Kristen: I couldn't answer that question if you paid me. When we first started out, it was basically a DIY mag filled with, dare I say, subpar graphics. Then we began to move toward chicer fashion, but the graphics weren't there. then we came to the last issue where we really peaked to the publication I wanted. But I do have to say, for the upcoming issue, we went able and beyond . The magazine has truly exceed my expectation full stop.
I think my personal style has a lot to do with the magazine itself as well. when I first began Prim I thought I was very into the whole DIY jewelry and cute flats bit. Then, I moved onto vintage. Now I am at a point where I barely look at anything for inspiration; its all in my mind. I only walk in 3"heels or higher(except when it snows) and my closet is a sea of black, white, and grey articles of clothing with little splashes of colour here and there. If I do say myself, I think I have a cutting edge style, and feel (especially in the next issue) this has directly impacted the magazine. I would say the magazine will go where my sense of fashion goes, but I truly feel I have found my signature style, although I couldn't describe it myself. If I HAD to describe it directly, I would say it's a crossbreed of Karl Lagerfeld, Mary-Kate Olsen, and myself. But I know that description was a complete a failure so I'll take one from a higher authority, French Glamour, and listen to what they have to say: "...a real creature which looks escaped from the 80s New York, fan of Balenciaga boots, vintage and leather." There you go.

FA: As the Fashion Weeks are approaching what are you looking foward to the most?
Kristen: Oh, tons! From NY Fashion Week I cannot wait to see Anna Sui, Zac Posen, Ports 1961, Christian Siriano, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Tibi, Max Azria, Diesel Black Gold, Miss Sixty, Y-3, Diane Von Furstenburg, among many others.

FA: On your shopping list at the moment ..
Kristen: TONS of items from Rock & Republic, specifically these http://i41.tinypic.com/11qqvxh.jpg . How amazing are they ? R & R isn't making my credit card very happy at the moment. I also want my Balenciaga Giant City and new Louboutin pumps. But, I still love to shop at H&M and American Apparel. True fashion is being able to mix high end couture pieces with tops you buy from the 99 cent store and make it look fabulous. Money can buy fashion, but it can never buy you style.

Join the Prim Facebook Group Here

Indian Highway

It must have been the affect of Slumdog Millionaire but me and one of my bestest friends Kajal went trekking into the heart of Hyde Park to catch the Indian Highway exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery. This group exhibition portrayed a snapshot of a young and bright generation of artists working across a range of media to present art being made in the country today.

Out of all the projects there was one that stuck out in my mind, by the artist Sheela Gowda who re-created an Indian sky which we witnessed by crawling inside an installation made out of found object tin barrel. Maybe it took me that much closer to Dev Patel.

Glam it UP - The feature

My relationship with one of my fave online mags Borderline has bloomed. Its not enough that I check out their site every SINGLE DAY but I have written a feature on one of the coolest photographers at the moment - Katja, the Glam Canyon superstar. The feature is now up and running on their homepage, to give it a read here and leave your feebdback on the site or on my blog. I hope I did meeting Katja and her lovely friends justice because the concept of Glam Canyon was a truly refreshing. Am looking forward to the next Glam Canyon event coming up super soon! Below are some more of Katja's photographs that didn't make it in the aricle. Enjoy! You can see more on Katja on her website, on her blog, on her portrait blog, and on VICE mag.

Photographs courtesy of Katja Hentschel