Clio Peppiatt Fall 2014

As mentioned a bit earlier, I wanted to discuss Clio Peppiatt's collections starting with the most recent and then take a step back in time. It was in Fall 2014 that I recognized the brand's genius, which was largely facilitated by the over sized faux fur coats and photo editing featuring hand-drawn iconography by the founding creative director. I had always found the fusion between handmade and high fashion extremely charming, but Clio Peppiatt also proves that it can be sexy. Naturally as someone who dresses for herself and not for men (or other women), looking sexy isn't something I really care for. But the latex bustier tops in pastel colors with heavily sequinned hearts are the perfect balance between man repelling and sexy. There's something to be said for clothes which are fun and empowering for women. I think Clio Peppiatt does just that, it attracts the offbeat girls and women that march to the sound of their own drum and gives them an aesthetically super charged sanctuary. 

It's hard to ignore the backdrop to these photos which is so reminiscent of Froots (the Marine and the Diamonds album, not the food type). Florals were another strong element of the photo-editing, emphasising the blue photo-realistic roses on a few of the fur-lined jackets. As if that weren't enough, hand-drawn illustrations from none other than Clio Peppiatt's creative director are the finishing touch, and appear across the website. The website itself is a thing of beauty and features some designs which don't feature on the clothes. Although Tumblr doesn't quite have the pulling power that it once did, combining DIY with high fashion still seems to be popularized (as evidenced by Grimes playing at Dior). It's definitely an aesthetic which I very much admire because at its core it promotes creativity and individuality. Imagine if every member of the community were as obsessed with personal branding and celebrating their own uniqueness, rather than clamoring to become a member of an online following. The world would be a much more magical place, and a bit more eccentric in the way that Clio Peppiatt evokes. 

A number of pieces are the best of both worlds in my opinion: their sexy but still retain a sense of creativity. I'm specifically referring to the crocheted turtleneck bodysuit with pink flowers and latex sheer latex, bell sleeve dress with hand-painted motifs but it seems to reoccur within a number of Clio Peppiatt's collections. Yes, I've mentioned this before but it's worth pointing out a second time with two very cool examples. A lot of the clothes I wear are hard-wired as being "cute" and "fun" and I could hardly be accused as dressing sexy. However, colourful bustier and crop tops, as well as mini skirts are pieces produced universally, but typically for young girls and sometimes lucky tweens. In much the same way Courtney Love pioneered the kinderwhore aesthetic, I'd love to see more brands appropriate clothes which look like they were made for young girls but make them for women. Molly Goddard is another excellent example, coincidentally from London as well. Clearly what I need to do is accrue the skills to make my own sassy subversive clothes- but that might take too long (for now I'll stick to writing about what I know!)

Where is My Mind

It's hard to believe it's been over a year since I first penned these journal entries (remember that I wrote my 2014 journal entries in a 2013 diary?) and a lot has changed since then. These feelings of uncertainty towards my partner have since been resolved, or rather I was able to express them and feel so much better for it. We're back together now but that feeling of freedom and being in touch with my own body and soul was so grounding. Anyway given that I spent a lot of time composing these thoughts and creating little doodles to accompany them I thought they needed to exist online as well as tangibly. Or that maybe someone would find these photos at just the right time and deem it some sort of miracle and take comfort in these words frozen on the page. The human experience is always an embarrassing debacle but there are rare moments of exceptional beauty. Not the stuff of art films but memories which crystallize in our minds and we will hold on to for decades to come. I take comfort knowing that people have extended such kindness and warmth to me in the past, and those moment are just as powerful as being told that I am loved. In those moments words are not needed, I feel it all around me and there can be nothing more perfect or powerful.

girls! girls! girls!

Last month I went to see the Girlhood Art Exhibition at the Union Club Hotel in Fitzroy with Kelly from glitterous clitoris, possibly the greatest named blog ever, since she made two of the works on display there. I really wanted to go since it had been ages since I last saw her and I was extremely mad at my boyfriend and needed to surround myself with lots of art made by awesome girls. For anyone who cares he did apologise to me for that thing. Like the name would suggest there was lots of pink, my favourite piece being a small child-size tent (OK that sounds super creepy but it was magical, I promise!) decked out in Where The Wild Things Are sheets, pink tablecloths and paper doilies with secret messages on them. The tent floor was also covered in glitter which was an added bonus, so after we got up there was a glittery trail following behind us like a pair of snails. I preferred seeing the exhibition with someone else because as always Kelly wore an amazing outfit and I got to photograph her interacting with the other works.

What I found really interesting was the sheer amount of nature referenced by a number of different artists, whether that be portraiture in the woods, flowers or sketches of beetles. The more I research insects for my university project, the more critical I am of how they appear in art. I was unable to enjoy some of the more stylised interpretations and could only think within the parameters of a scientist, instantly dismissing that which was not anatomically correct. It's interesting to not how my brain is changing because I very much doubt I would have cared about that kind of stuff when I was studying insects for zoology. 

While it probably would have been better to attend the exhibition's opening on a Friday night, I enjoyed getting to mill around and view each piece at my own leisure. Also the mid-afternoon sun tinged each of my photos with a certain nostalgia which I then exaggerated in post-production. The various holes in the walls from the last girlhood exhibition and slightly tacky flooring (which I was totally into) had nuance all of their own. The muted noise from the punters downstairs were constant reminders of the exhibition's location above a pub, but I much prefer it over tonnes of people. There were only a couple other people on the Sunday that we went, one girl who was taking pictures on her Nikon was also wearing black Dr Martens. Kelly and I were also wearing the same shoes which was super cool. The only thing left is to pick which pet animal you need to join our witch cult. But seriously you guys, it was like being surrounded by all cool feminist blogs and instagram accounts.