The Vuitton Negotiation.

If the bible was re-written today, Louis Vuitton would be in it. It's incredible what this brand has managed to achieve in terms of global reach and appeal since it was founded in 1854 as a small leather goods company in Paris.

Which brings me to this pretty young lady that was unknowingly minding her own business (shopping) when I approached her from behind that she nearly jumped. She had the biggest 'lou-wee' scarf (as pronounced in popular urban culture), I had ever seen and to add to that some very interesting accessories underneath it screaming for attention (which I thought was a very clever nice touch).

'She had to be shot!' I thought, but the problem was she had a male companion with her who wasn't so keen on my proposal.

I once again deployed my negotiation skills by telling them that it would be a sin to deny the people their right to Visual-Stimulation (which tantamounts to capital punishment in fashion court of law. I lie not).

After this revelation, I was given the go-ahead and also asked the guy to jump in (who I also thought looked stylish in the oversized stripy top, leather jacket, bowler hat and nikeys).

To top it all off, the icing on the cake was the... Smile!

The Smiling Sisters.

What do you do?
When you've done all you can,
And it seems like you've can't make it through.

What do you do?
When all your friends turn away,
And you're all alone.

Well... you just... Smile.

Through all the rain and the pain,
Keep your head up... and...


Smile!

The Value Factor.

Investment Buying vs Fast Fashion.
Scarcity breeds value...



Familiarity breeds indifference.

The Yellow Number.

Everybody Loves Marian.


The first time I saw Marian, many many seasons ago, she was wearing this yellow number. I later came to find out that she is the formidable force of fashion behind multi-platform fashion website mariankihogo.com

What struck me first was the richness of the colour and as she came closer I realised the detailing of the thing. It stood out so much from the sea of black that is ubiquitous at fashion week and to add to that was the unusually large bag (I thought she had her whole house in there!) that her 'partner in crime' was carrying for her (bottom right).

I asked her to pose for me before a flurry of camera-totting photographers swooped in on her.
Since then, every fashion week, she's one of the three people I look out for on the first day to see what they are wearing. Marian, Kate Lanphear and Erin O'Connor.

These three individuals have that rare natural ability that I call 'intrinsic style.' They get it! It's always exciting to see what they are wearing from day to day during fashion week and I suspect it does not stop there. It carries on daily.
For example, Marian has this number she is wearing on her site(Crave A Dress Day, March 25th) and she explains her thoughts behind it among other things.

We have become good 'fashion week friends' since then. The other day I was going through my old and new fashion week shots and her pictures kept coming up and to add to that the other day I was at Vanessa Jackman (thank you Photodiarist) and look what I found in her archives!
She was kind enough to let me use these.



Très chic!

The Politics Of 'The Pit.'

When it comes to shooting a show, the best vantage point is that area at the end of the runway demarcated for professional photographers that I refer to as the 'The Pit.'


I have been to numerous shows over the years and until recently during the last fashion week did I discover the politics of the pit. Now for those of you that do not know what I am banging on about, please, allow me to explain.


You see, there is only enough space at the end of the runway to accomodate a certain number of photographers. This area has been a source of more conflict between photographers than Palestinians and Israelis for Jerusalem.


The BFC says it's on 'first come first serve basis' but that does not apply here because show times normally over lap each other and certain photographers are stuck in one show when they are supposed to be in another. So they usually send their assistants ahead to the next show to grab the best area for them before they arrive.


Those that arrive before the show starts get the best spot. It goes as far as cellotaping a small square of about (30cmx30cm) and writing the name of the person or publication which is a synonym for 'do not tresspass.'


Some people disregard this saying they got there first which has led to many a tussle. I once saw a woman stamp her unipod onto a guy's foot to get him out of her marked area! 


Those who are wiser wait just minutes before show time when the lights go down and then they swoop in like an eagle aiming at it's prey right at the front of the pack lying down taking as much abuse as possible. I did this once at a John Rocha show (upon taking advice from a photographer) and boy did I get it!


When the show starts, the first face that appears from backstage onto the runway endures the most intriguing sound of hundreds of cameras clicking and flashing away till about 15 seconds later when the model turns and it begins all over again for the next one. It sounds and looks as though James Levine (of the New York Metropolitan Opera) is invisibly conducting this symphony.


For that one hour before show time, the pit looks like a map of the world with each country well demarcated with some neighbours hostile to others wanting to annex them for more acreage. It all provides a source of entertainment for the security team (who wisely stay out of it) and for outsiders like me. 


For those fifteen to twenty minutes, this piece of real estate is more valuable than that on Fifth Avenue between Central Park and 42nd Street.

The Louis Vuitton All-In-One.

In the past four years, there has been an explosion in the popularity of the Louis Vuitton brand among the 25 to 40 age bracket. This can be attributed to the ever increasing 'product- placement' of it's products in movies and urban music culture. The L.V. logo is meant to symbolise success and wealth which can help to explain its popularity among this demographic.

I usually do not succumb to the band wagon effect but in this case I took an exception to the 'all-in-one' personal organiser.

At first I thought it was the usual L.V product but I took a trip to the Sloane street store in London and was pleasantly surprised by this little booklet.

It contains;
1. A mini calculater (in case you are in a business meeting).
2. A 12-page leather-bound business card section (takes 36 cards in total).
3. A credit card/any other card you might want to carry section (takes 5 cards).
4. A bi-annual calender page (in my case 2007 and 2008).
5. A 16-page address section ( 4 per page).
6. A 48-page note book with the L.V. insignia on each page.

Here's the kicker, how they managed to fit all this in to one little booklet is what sold me; plus it's so damn good looking, light and can fit into a small bag.

There's no better feeling than when you want to take someone's details and you unleash this secret weapon. The expression on their faces says it all which compensates for the hefty price tag (which I will not reveal for 'tax purposes', let's just say it's in the higher 3-digit range).

May be I'm shallow, but then again, aren't we all?

Now here's some optical nutrition.

The Shady Lady... Liberty, London.

The flower entrance at Libertys provides a great source of never- ending flow of the fashionable crowd.

In this case, it was this stylish lady who was rudely interupted by me as she was on her way into the store with her friend.

At first she thought I was a mad man trying to hustle her until after further tactical negotiations the likes of which are seen at the United Nations, she gave me the green light.

Her huge shades first drew me to her, then as she came closer, I realised this was a serious fashionista that had to be photographed.
The textures, colours and fabrics of this whole ensnemble were well thought through (plus I hadn't realised this until after editing), that the flowers provided a good backdrop as well.

Nice surprise.

The £41.5m Tudor Question?

According to The Press Association, 3 days ago, the distinctive Tudor-style building occupied by upmarket London department store Liberty has been sold in a deal worth £41.5 million.

In a sign of increasing demand for prime freehold property assets in central London, Liberty said the price represented a "significant surplus" on the valuation of £30.25 million placed on the flagship store in December.

Under the proposed agreement, it will lease back the building and continue to operate from the 125,000 sq ft site on Great Marlborough Street, off Regent Street.

Details on the new owner have not been disclosed, although reports said the buyer was a German private investor.

The sale-and-leaseback deal is expected to pave the way for a £40 million takeover of the Liberty retail business, which is 68% owned by property firm MWB. It is thought that Marco Capello, the former managing director of Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity, is in talks to buy the business through his investment fund BlueGem Capital Partners.

Liberty will use the proceeds from the proposed sale to repay bank debt and other liabilities, including short-term loans from MWB. It has agreed a 30-year lease on the building at an initial annual rent of £2.1 million.

The Peep-Toe Leopard and Chanel.

A while ago, I was street hunting( which by the way felt like I was about to do a drug deal) on the corner of Argyll street and Great Marlborough in the west end when I saw this lady coming towards me.

She stood out from the crowd so much that I had to shoot her even though she was on her phone.
I quickly noticed the ring, the hair, the skully scarf, the stressed demin, the lace around the stomach, the wool-collar leather jacket, the see-through chanel, the peep-toe and of course the style.

So I used sign language in the hope that she would understand and give me the go ahead.

She was kind enough to do so and these were the results.

The Corner... Swagger Like Us.

Marcus... Paperac.

This shot reminds me of a scene from the movie American Gangster and these lyrics from a song by Jay-Z: (D'Evils-Reasonable Doubt. 1996).
whoever said illegal was the easy way out,
couldn't understand the mechanics or the workings of the underworld,
'9 to 5 is how you survive,' I ain't tryin' to survive,
I'm tryin' to live it to the limit and love it alot,
Life's ills, poison my body, and they got me breaking bread with the lay hands picking their brains for angles about the evils that the game will do.

The Bag and The Girl.

The Blogger... London.

As I was looking through my fashion week pics, I came across these shots of this stylish blogger that I took but was in a hurry somewhere that I didn't take her details.
Anyone?

The Preppy Guy Of Soho, London.

The Smoker Of Soho, London.

The Biker Of Soho, London