Alexander Wang campaigns with Azealia Banks

The new Fall 2012 T by Alexander Wang campaign has been released and the stars are not only the clothes of the Wang's casual line.

Featuring hip-hop singer Azealia Banks, she becomes the New Girl to team up with the designer. 

Filmed mostly in black and white, the video has been directed by Daniel Jackson with art direction by Christopher Simmonds, styled by Alastair McKimm and with Alexander Dynan as cinematographer/editor.

A collaboration that makes completely sense: Banks is ranking up in the fashion parallel world and is invited by designers to perform at private parties. 

Uber cool soft tees, and jersey dresses...

A new explosion of talent by the man who put sweat pants with heels on trend

Music and fashion (10) - Miles Davis

During the rationing times in Britain, when tailors weren't allowed to add turn-ups to the trousers and skirts were not permitted beyond certain length to save on material, some tailors were making the impossible to add their mark to the garments by including velvet edges to jackets and creating tight trousers.

Others focused on the American film industry and imported the double-breasted suits, wide lapels and coloured shirts attracting modern jazz musicians and rock stars.
Different phenomena were occurring in the music and fashion industries during the 40's and 50's. 
Considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century and one of the key figures in jazz history, with Kind of Blue regarded as US national treasure, Miles Davis not only commenced a revolution in jazz but also led changes in fashion.
Davis was a "fashion animal" showing a rebellious streak by wearing loafers and moving from the traditional Ivy League style to slim Italian suits (in part to do with upward mobility).
Called the Prince of darkness due to his whispering voice, damaged after having larynx surgery, Miles Davis pushed boundaries by becoming artistically prolific when critic would not support him and adding a veneer of respectability with his clothes.
The Italian suit would be later incorporated by the mod movement and one of the best British bands ever.
But that's another story.
Til then, a little bit of improvisation

Music and fashion (9): Teddy Boys

In Britain in the early 50's, at the time when a teenager called Elvis Presley was breaking into the music industry with his wild moves, post-war kids were about to commence a revolution. Working class youths popularised the neo-Edwardian look, previously only followed by the upper classes. 

The Teddy Boys were born.

The different colours used to make the suit were linked to the music they listened and the gangs they belonged to: black for the hard boys, duck egg blue if you were into Johnny Ray, shiny silver as favoured by the Walham Green gang.

Teds became the focus of male fashion, but they also had a bad reputation: they were the bad boys, deliquents, rioters. Youngsters fighting the establishment. And also fighting a new movement imported from the US, the beatniks.

The novelist Anthony Burgess confessed that he partly based his book A Clockwork Orange on the rise in violence observing that Teds " were the personification of the Zeitgeist and expressed a brutal disappointment with Britain's post-war decline".

The Teddy Boys gave birth to the first youth cult: they listened to jazz and skiffle music, and even had their own dance The Creep based on the song written by saxophonist Ken Mackintosh. And after Blackboard Jungle was shown at theaters, Teddy boys started listening to artists like Elvis Presley, Bill Haley and Eddie Cochran.

After some years Teds will fade away and blended with Rockers, but that's another story.

The duck-arse (DA) hair remained tho...

Music and fashion (8): The Cure

The Cure played last night at the BBK Live Festival in Bilbao, Spain. They went, played and conquered that small piece of land called Kobetamendi, with more than 35,000 people dancing at the sound of their tunes.
From Easy Cure to just The Cure, it's been more than 30 years since they released their first album.
Those were the days of post-punk and new wave. But they moved away from the regular sound and aesthetics to achieve something darker and more oppressive.
And the style reflected the evolution of the band and its sound: it was eccentric and experimental like the use of Joker-like make-up and hair. Music full of emotions, ups and downs without becoming dull.
Playful and daring. Joyful and intense.
And all with a distinctive image that caused a revolution and now makes us, mortals, put some rough make-up on to go and listen to them.
Provocative and unexpected.
Some of of the best rock, pop or whatever music label you want to use for this magic band.
It's Friday.
13th.
And still, I'm in love.

Music and fashion (7): The Knife

One of the most intriguing bands of the early 21st century. 

With the new millennium a whole universe of experimentation was opened in the music and fashion industries.

It was the end of the world as we knew it and a new era began.

We started hearing about The Knife, an electronic music brother-sister duo from Goteborg, Olof and Karin Dreijer.

They didn't like their picture to be taken. They set apart the artist and wanted to focus on the music. With their politically controversial album Deep Cuts they talked about women's rights, deep love and the citizens' duty to pay taxes (oh! righteous Swedish). It was an image of isolation represented by long black coats and wigs, crow-like Venetian masks, with a cold, dark forest as background. Occult and funny, in their own way. 

For Silent Shout they went deeper and we needed more time to decipher the subtle messages hidden in the lyrics, where they talked about TV addicts, scared housewives and loneliness, dressed as gymnasts from the 80's. 

There is no repetition. Only a big commitment to their music, not to the audience and critics' expectation.

It's raining like hell in London today

But it's Friday, anyways

Take a deep breath

Music and fashion (6): Elvis - Long live The King

What would be about fashion and music without Elvis Presley?

Elvis was just a teenager with greasy hair when he spent lunchtimes soaking up the music of Beale Street in Memphis, while gazing at the fashionable clothes in Lansky Brothers' shop window.

It was a revolutionary time and the gangsters ruled the city, wearing the famous zoot suits at the rythm of the radical sound played at underground nightclubs. He ain't no black, but still he joined the trend of squared-pattern and estructured suits, with wide backs that became the proud symbol of the mexican and black etnicities. 

Elvis' pelbis movements were a threat, and so was the zoot suit to the point at which Little Richard had to wear a softer version so he could play at white clubs.

Again, both music and fashion were playing a crucial role during the events that happened those years, and artists were leading the change.

Elvis, the ever masculine and sexual, dared everyone with his black leather jumpsuit during his comeback special in 1968.

And then the Vegas phase came, and with that the bling and the excess. Of any kind.

Las Vegas, aka "Sin City". Where everything is possible and available at your hand's reach.

He was a kid when he broke the barriers and taboos of music, singing like a black man and with those hip moves.

He was a grown man when he changed the way showbusiness was done. 

Men looked up to him and women cried over him.

Unforgettable 

Always

The King  

Music and fashion (5): David Bowie

This is the story of an artist that has reinvented himself so many times that we cannot but agree that it's very intriguing. Every character was created to suit the music, the mood and the stories told. 

Ziggy Stardust, The Thin White Duke and the feminine and confusing image for the album cover of Hunky Dory. 

One of Bowie's contributions to the fashion industry is that he opened a whole new world of possibilities: glitter, jumpsuits and eccentricity with Ziggy- the man from space, a smarter style with the Duke - the contemporary dandy. Always changing, always evolving, playing with perceptions, rules and sexuality borders, whilst maintaining the expectations of the audience extremely high. 

Bowie's image has been discussed, criticised and subject to different opinions for years. What was never questioned was his talent as artist. 

With Ziggy Stardust, Bowie created the glam-rock in 1972 threatening the traditional American youngsters with all that glitter and declaring himself bisexual, playing with the ambiguity of his acts and words. 

Musicians, through fashion, challenge the audience's believes and rules set by the society.

When David Bowie had his last show as Ziggy on 3 July 1979, many thought that it was also the end of Bowie as musician.

But the show must go on

Music and fashion (4): CSS - Lovefoxx

How does fashion impact on music?

Ask Lovefoxxx, lead singer of Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS) 

They come from the fashion scene, not the music universe

And she learnt how to make clothes because she didn't find the outfits that she needed for the band's performances

Her crazy outfits make an impact and the audience always want more

The expectations grow, we want to be surprised and shocked by her catsuits and excessive make up on her childish sweet face

We want to dance and laugh and jump with CSS

Adrenaline...precious treasure

Music and Fashion (3): PJ Harvey - After darkness comes light

PJ Harvey

As every album has its own personality, PJ's image is a mirror of her sound, as the performance cannot be detached from the music

From sarcasm to protest

Rebellious, aggresive and full of rock fury in Dry (always with her leather jacket) to the more sexual, aggressive eroticism and decandent style in Rid of me

Became crazier and intimate in Uh Uh Her, more guitar driven and underware-like outfits

Unsettling sounds for the piano album White Chalk: Victorian era style for music from other world 

From kinderwhore style (like her contemporary Courtney Love) to modern times witch 

Going back to her folk music roots

Once again. For the good all times

Rid of me

IRO - Rockin' the streets

Brothers Laurent and Arik Bitton changed their rock band and music producers lifestyle in New York to set up their own fashion label in Paris in 2004

And IRO has maintained the spirit of the late nights out, the vibe of the hustle and bustle of the city, combined with effortless femenine french chic
IRO's success is continuously growing thanks to the evolution from the first collections and the originality of the garments
Sequin, oversized, linen and (OF COURSE) leather jackets
Ready to burn the night