vendredi 22 décembre 2017

dias de los muertos & cultural celebration





We had a special colours walk for Sue's birthday at her favourite place in London, Old Spitafields market, also celebrating day of the dead time.  So I could sport my day of the dead outfit with skulls & flowers headpiece and calavera denim jacket (that has gone to Australia since!) 
The embroidered calavera was originally  a cushion. I liked the contrast between the casual of the denim material and the intricacy of folk art.  

By Richard Kaby


As a gift, I made Sue a multicultural necklace with a main dio de las muertos theme.  This traditional hand painted calavera was normally designed to be put on the wall but nothing is too big or too flamboyant for Sue Kreitzman who prefer to wear art than putting it on her wall.  Then, I drilled holes and stitched it on an ethnic &  pompoms base, an embellished decoration from Afghanistan normally worn my cows in religious ceremony.  Sue didn't find the "cow" bit very flattering.  
The reflection of your soul By anthony lycett 
I may shock some people thinking this is the opinion of a white privileged woman,  but I think nowadays, the concept of cultural appropriation is used in an abusive way. 
It feel it is a concept invented by white privileged westerners (especially North American) overly politically correct with a guilty  on science of their own History tackling any form of alternative creativity wanting to feel clever and superior.   

High fashion shoot for Vogue and other magazine inspired by Frida Kahlo and day of the dead aesthetic.  Cultural appropriation or cultural celebration?  

Weirdly, on instagram I received attacks and criticism of "cultural appropriation"  from white western uncreative people. When you visit their profile they seem pretty boring & beige  and not trying to create anything new.  
In the contrary, I received positive and enthusiastic comments from the people from the culture I got the inspiration from. They are not offended of feeling ripped off  but shows appreciation & admiration. For example, a Mexican woman even bought one of my day of the day inspired headpiece.  

By anthony lycett 
If you push the logic to its paroxysm, everything become cultural appropriation. You shouldn't be able to buy a souvenir from Mexico and bring it home, or an african necklace on a local market in Ghana and wear it.  Yet, buying cultural goods directly from theses minorities support the local economy and spread the culture & skills.




By anthony lycett 
Obviously, I think cultural appropriation exists when it is done in a commercial way , like for example a big brand rip off some traditional design in a very unethical way and make a lot of money that doesn't benefit the tribe. Like when Urban outfitter stole a traditional Navajo pattern for a t shirt line.  
Also obviously, when you take the inspiration from another culture, it has to be done in an elegant & subtle way and always with respect.  Taking the piss like for example brown facing which is totally unacceptable.  
By anthony lycett 
Doing a lot of research on costume and identity, I realised "appropriation" is the essence of costume & dressing up. You borrow someone identity the time of a performance a party, an evening. You not trying to rip off or abuse, you are just playing being someone or something else.  
With Sue Kreitzman and Cherry Stevenson By Richard Kaby 


By Richard Kaby 


By anthony lycett 


Also, this autumn have been marked for me by the release of a TV5 video, in the programme #versionfrançaise about my work & projects. It was a special edition about French in London.  This is what I am always filmed for, portrait of French people in London.  I am usually the eccentric one among the chef and the luxury estate agent.  


each headpiece as a persona and can influence your mood! 


I think my style fascinated French people because it is really unusual and beyond what they can imagine according to their creative standards whereas it is quite average for London arty scene.  
I get Press in France, but buisness in London! 
A very well documented and well edited small documentary that tackles the complexity  and diversity (I like to think so) of my work. 


I have a real sympathy for TV5, as it is the international channel for French people  lived abroad.  
As a kids when I lived  in the Emirates, it was like the Holy Grail, we had to go Alliance Française to watch it and it was a link to french culture.  
 I got very positive feedback and lovely messages from all the francophone community, from Algeria to Switzerland. 


showing how my studio is organised, everything is in a box, the only way the fight my pathological messiness, Lego, dolls heads, feathers, beads, little cars, they all have their own drawer! 

working on an alternative style wedding dress entirely embroidered with golden sequins 
behind the scene, photoshoot of a kawaii look by Anthony Lycett 
At the early stage of my collaboration with Godiva, with a skirts entirely covered with brown chocolate gaudets.  



Alice Pins, model & artist wearing my peacocks headpiece By anthony lycett for Self.Styled 


As Anthony Lycett keeps on doing it Self.styled documentary, I am lucky enough to collect some beautiful portrait realised on the side of the main shoot.  The blue background is just behind the white one, and if models agreed to pose with my designs, I get amazing material as a bonus that beautifully stage my creations.  
Alice Pins, model & artist wearing my wonder woman neckpiece By anthony lycett for Self.Styled
sometimes my piece got so much more effective on a simple lace black top, the intricacy of the design strike out more by contrast. 


As Sue is always asking me to outdo myself, I choose for my last creation one of her favourite pop culture character from her personal mythology: wonder woman that embody a certain movement of feminism by being powerful and sexy at the same time.  As Sue is only working with feminine figure, I collected female super hero (who are harder to find then their male alter ago).


Because I like to create piece with a deep meaning with several reading level, I wanted to evoke the female empowerment by the content and also the form. So all the figurine are stitched on a wax african fabric, handmade by a tribe in Ghana, where women support the local economy through their craft.  
 The aesthetic refer to the cartoon character of super shero comic book with the pop art onomatopoeia "boom".  


By anthony lycett 
wearing garden gnome necklace with Scorpio and Maria Fernanda at Old spitafields market
Alice Pins, model & artist wearing my tribal beaded inspired headpiece By anthony Lycett for Self.Styled


Photoshoot with ✨the sparkly @sparkledropper ✨ modelling some of my bespoke pieces. I love when I lend my creations to creative soul and they just interpret it their own way. 
photographer: @grungekittyphotogeek 
make up 💄 by @louiselerego
In a green jungle with Jurassic park dinosaur jacket 


With memento mori day of the dead headpiece
bespoke hand stitched pearl jacket and mermaid & shells 🐚 headpiece ✨ 

with Kawaii Hello kitty neckpiece 

With tribal elephant neckpiece

Postcard from a sunny place with plastic ducks dress 
sliver sparkle fairy 

With circus clown neckpiece

With Hello kitty necklace 

point presse: 

Another article to add to my press book, about the positive aspect of being a "foreigner", very interesting and complex article about the power of diversity in a Brexit context.  


find the all article HERE 

mercredi 18 octobre 2017

duck & bees at fashion week



by Marie-Paola Bertrand-Hillion
Twice a year for London fashion week,  you play the same game, you dress up, show off and pretend you are important in the world of fashion. All the world's catwalk and this season I rocked up my plastic duckies outfit on the street of London. 
plastic dukcs are not only for your bath! by Marie-Paola Bertrand-Hillion
With it neoprene base and stitched on plastic ducks, it is  perfect outfit for London uncertain weather where the streets could turn into giant pond! I remember my joy when I found this whole lot of plastic ducks in the baby care section of Pound land, with the combination of colours and texture, I could straight away picture a new design.  I am sure I looked manic filling frenetically my pound land basket with all this plastic toys on front of dismayed  non-yummy mummies.  







by Marie-Paola Bertrand-Hillion

I was lucky to meet with my favourite street style photographer Marie Paola, that travel all the way from Paris to capture British stylish & eccentric  people.  

We decided to meet at Gareth Pugh in Waterloo but anti fur militants where blocking the way and making it impossible to shoot.  We then decided to migrate to the iconic waterloo bridge which match well with the outfit as it seems that my little duckies are ready to take a swim in the Thames! 


by Marie-Paola Bertrand-Hillion






with  very talented designer Sadie Clayton at her LFW presentation

with  the singer Fleur East at  designer Sadie Clayton LFW presentation



with Kala Kala colours by Jimnemer 

by AL G Vizcaino 
Queen Bee By Anthony Lycett 
Queen Bee By Anthony Lycett 





For september colour walk, I opted for an autumnal  look, wearing a vintage 60s deshabillé, it is a bit like going in the street in your dressing gown but who cares in London?  

Don't worry Be Happy By Anthony Lycett 



Combined with a bees and flowers headpieces, bucolic and pastoral, I felt I look a bit like a Shakespearian character in "Twelves nights" and people said painting my eyebrow in such a bright colour really changes my features and is a bit disturbing.  
By Anthony Lycett 


By Anthony Lycett 
like always, Sue Harding now how to capture the moment making us look like atemporal characters from a children illustrated book.   






 I was at my desk playing with a soft toy barbie (only heads and limbs are plastic and the rest is like wooly toys) and bending it around my neck where the fit reach the head, I realised it was making a bracelet.  So I decided to adorned it with colourful chunky beads & pompons to make a bendy yoga bracelet barbie for Sue Kreitzman.  I am pretty proud of my invention because I think no one has never done it before! best things always happen when I daydream and idea just connect to each other by accident.  

Sue Kreitzman over the moon with her new bracelet 



Why do you have to go out when the world of style and fashion comes to you? extremely lucky to get portraits of beautiful & weird people wearing my design through the unique specs of Self.styled project

  musician @joeyfourr for Self.Styled 

I found this collector vintage gnomes of a great quality in a car boot sale, colours  of the clothes and shape gave me the idea of the neckpiece, in a car boot sale is always more  interesting when you find a lot, several of the same item.  I decided to create a story and revisit disney fairy tales.  I reworked the clothes of the gnomes.  In the original story, the dwarfs are working down the mine to extract diamonds.  
In the follow I imagined, they wear the diamonds on their outfits and are turned into a bling-festival version of themselves.

 musician @joeyfourr for Self.Styled wearing hello kitty necklace 


 musician @joeyfourr for Self.Styled 

Digital Artist miss meatface shoot for Self.styled wearing my dinosaur neckpiece 

Performer Von Wager shoot for Self.Styled wearing by Ken & Barbie bad romance necklace 

Artist Cherry Random shoot for Self.styled wearing my snow white & dwarfs neckpiece
Artist Cherry Random shoot for Self.styled wearing my dinosaur collar 

Artist Cherry Random shoot for Self.styled wearing my cat necklace

Artist Melting body shoot by Self.styled with my dinosaur necklace 

Emily Malice, tatoo artist photographed by Self.Styled wearing ice cream neckpiece & headpiece.  
🍦💕🍦 the torment of tantalus 🍦💖🍦 when you love ice cream so much and you can't have it ✨ 

Emily Malice, tatoo artist photographed by Self.Styled wearing mermaid headpiece & can can necklace 
Emily Malice, tatoo artist photographed by Self.Styled wearing ice cream neckpiece & headpiece.  

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