Sabina Lucia

My love affair with vintage clothes started early; collecting corsets from the ’50s and ’60s at jumble sales as a teenager and shopping at Planet Hollywood vintage store (sadly no more) in Edinburgh, prompting many enquiries as to the source of my outfits. So I was really excited when I got an invitation to Frock Me! Vintage Fashion Fair at Chelse Town Hall on King’s Road. Print is key this season and you could do a lot worse than to stock up on some unique pieces from a vintage fashion fair like Frock Me!

There was such an exciting array of print designs from painterly and tribal to  bold, block ’60s graphics. Jean Dubberly, one of the exhibitors, mixes different vintage fabrics and re-works them, turning them into beautiful skirts, dresses and eye-catching chokers. What I love about these fairs is that they’re a cornucopia of trinkets and treasures from past eras and you feel like Mr Ben of ’80s children’s cartoon (anyone old enough to remember him) embarking on an adventure as you chose your outfit. Accessories were fun too with everything from kitsch costume jewelery in bakelite to sparkling antique diamonds and aptly-named fascinators like this Lady Amherst feather one worn by the creator Lilly Lewis.

The pièce de résistance of the whole fair for me though was a fabulous Zandra Rhodes wedding dress with a very flattering knotted waist and pretty netted skirt with flower corsage which you can see it soon at Anita’s Vintage Fashion Fair on Sunday the 18th of April in Battersea. If you’re a bride-to-be and you fancy a vintage dress for your big day there’s also The London Vintage Wedding Fair on Sunday 11th April. Happy vintage shopping everyone!

© Sabina Lucia 2010

The other day I found myself, serendipitously taking an impromptu trip down the Thames on The ‘Tate Boat’ from Tate Modern to Tate Britain when re-reading a text, I realised I was at the wrong gallery! Having seen the Damien Hirst-spots-decorated, state of the art catamaran ferrying people up the river since 2003, I was really pleased to have the chance to travel in this quick, cheap (£4.50 with Oyster card) way for the first time and take in some of the outstanding scenery along the way, including stunning views of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. If you haven’t already travelled this way I really recommend it as fun alternative to playing sardines on the tube.

The journey only took about 15 mins and despite my detour I arrived on time to meet my friend and her 2 year old daughter, Daisy. It’s a good year or so since I was last at Tate Britain and I was pleased to find the first piece we saw was David Hockney’s portrait of his parents from 1977 which I instantly recognised as one of his, having studied for a short time at Bradford College of Art where he trained, I am very familiar with, and love, his clear, realistic style and use of vivid colours. The Tate is also the proud owner of the largest of Hockney’s works: ‘Bigger Trees Near Warter’ 2007. An enormous painting made up of 50 canvases, measuring 15ft by 40ft (4.6m by 12.2m) it was impossible not to be awe struck by this amazing feat. We also saw another work on a very large scale, this time a towering knitted sculpture: Pyramid Piece, inspired by a rock he stole as a young boy on a trip to Egypt and years later returned to the pyramid of Cheops in Giza.
On walking round it you get a sense of how his mild guilt chipped away at him and the peace he gained from returning it. There is also an accompanying video documenting his return to the pyramid. The free exhibiton,  Art Now: Pyramid Piece and Retrun of the Pyramid runs until the 10^th of April.

© Sabina Lucia 2010

Twitter is a gateway to all sorts of cultural connections; last year it was responsible for getting me back into art in a big way when I got talking to the director of A Gallery – the leading predictors of hot new art talent – and last week I won a competition with a prize of tickets to London fashion weekend courtesy of Lavazza. Since I was last at LFW the venue has changed and I must say Somerset House as a choice is genius. Of course also famous for the Courtauld Institute art gallery, which houses works by one of my favourite artists, the wonderful, spiritual Wasily Kandinsy, the grounds lend themselves well to a fashion emporium with all the smaller rooms of the East Wing showing lots of hand made, artisan goodies that you normally only find online, including Dulcie, VC Cashmere and The Rubber Cow Co. plus some old faithfuls: (Lulu Guinness and Vivienne Westwood (which despite not appearing on the programme had queue upon queue of bargain hunting hopefuls)) and, with a client list including Cheryl Cole, Sienna Miller and Sadie Frost, it’s easy to see why Clara Francis’s hand-made jewellery is becoming so popular with her luxury girlie, fantastical creations featuring colourfully beaded unicorns, sea-horses, foxes and solid silver wishbones.

Of course a trip LFW isn’t complete without a fashion show or two and I certainly wasn’t disappointed with the three I watched (after recovering from a minor Argh!-I’ve-lost-my-iPhone panic). The sugary named CANDY ROCK segment championed the blush and nude palette with Jasper Conran’s detailed floral leather cut out work and chiffon. More chiffon teamed embellished with embroidery from Christopher Kane and Dior. Next up was the ‘Saved by the Bell’ inspired SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS with the ever popular faded denims of Twenty8Twelve, Frost French and Disaya accented with accessories from Eley Kishimoto. But by far my favourite section was VINTAGE GLAMOUR by Shikasuki (vintage boutique that also sells contemporary fine art http://www.shikasuki.com/). We were treated to a cornucopia of goodies reminiscent of The Good Life’s Margo Leadbetter  with ’60s Jack Bryan  pleated cocktail dresses in mint, black and turquoize beautifully accompanied with ’50s crystal necklaces; a Zandra Rhodes plum and turquoize print dress with sash, a stunning 2 piece yellow trouser suit (perhaps not for the banana-allergic amongst us) which managed to remain current with wonderful, soft ruffles and possibly one not for Margo but definitely my favourite of the evening: a black body con mini dress with hot pink sequin boyfriend blazer completed as with all the outfits, with mini woven Lucite box bag.

But the highlight for me of the whole afternoon was the presenting by the fabulous Louise Roe, who, showing no nerves, talked us through the trends and designers and managed to involve the audience (will you be trying the orange lipstick? No and I won’t be recommending it to my friends any time soon either unless they’re tanned to within an inch of their life and 16!

© Sabina Lucia 2010  Catwalk photo -  © Simone Hathaway 2010