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Walk That Walk, Talk That Talk...

   A whimsical coverage of an ego-tripping,
   name dropping, heterosexual air-kisser..



    It all started off rather quite unexpectedly.   Wanted to be a HotShot architect.   Wanted to do Big Drawings of great, timeless buildings, make own personalised bathroom, with sleek lines, and chrome burnished bathtubs.   That was way back..   Maybe it was because I had a year off with which I had to fill in by doing something quite useful, and frivolous.. Fashion Design at the York St Art College.   Just a lark.. A lark that turned into something that was, perhaps due to all these models running around buck naked, a lot more fun and fast shifting than sitting on some staid project deciding on the Depth of the Toilet Bowl..

    Spent three , maybe four years, at the Belfast Art & Design Center, shashaying around a lot of pattern books, color by number Mannequins, dodging flying pins, mastering the dreaded How to Hold a Pair of Scissors Properly, but mostly, it was in the local pub..  After getting all sloshed up and proper, it was off for a couple of years (call it Irish withdrawals) at the Royal College of Art in London, GrandMaster Flash in Fashion.   London pubs weren't as nice as Irish ones, but the cinemas were brilliant.  So were the Chinese restaurants.  Aaand, to top it all off, somehow (still figuring today), managed to win a major UK (HONEY) Design Competition, that included a return flight in Australia as Bounty!.. All three weeks of Down Under, and sheep farms.. and Australian lager. And Kim Hunt, and Jo Fairley.. and emus and koalas, and Sydney Harbour Bay Bugs, grilled.




    My first job was at Alberta Ferretti, as design assistant.. and beachcomber extraordinaire.. However, it was three seasons of toil, trouble and strife as I had to give up the Chinese food, and English cinemas.  Gin is still called gin, and vodka vodka.. It was pretty cool, going to Italy, especially to a seaside job.

   All those Italian Clubs along the Riveira! All those late nights.. And major fashion shows, so much name dropping, fine Italian shoes, gaudy prints, but then I decided to go looking for the Next Stop at the other company in the same small town.. Gilmar, just down the road..

    Gilmar.. Iceberg.. Iceberg... Travelling about all over the place, Moscow, London, New York (The RainForest Concert -Sting, Tina Turner, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Jones, Bryan Adams, George Michael, Don Johnson, James Taylor, like.. No, this isn't the real name dropping bit), Milan, Paris, Singapore,.. I must have been here ages by now, long enough to go thru a wide spectrum of the different aspects of the Fashion Designer.  Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.. The seasons change, the looks change, the modus operandi change.. My hair changed..

    Trends come and go, buttons fall out in the middle of a Show, and I think I'm stuck here in Cyberspace..



Guinvere     Actually, it was never easy!  Well, it was and it wasn't.  Nevertheless, it was at Iceberg Jeans (Such a LONG time ago!), and I was also designing Sport Ice (all those graphics!), and Iceberg Donna, and Uomo, with a few stints at Gerani Donna.  These are all different lines within the same company.  Same Boss.  A new line, Cento X Cento by Iceberg came along, and so did Anna Sui.

    Marc Jacobs was another designer on the Iceberg Donna line.  He's SO cool..  Well, yes. Brilliant.   And then, there was also Mika Mizutani, a wonderful person, who brought lots of Dim Sum from Paris.  And Lori Goldstein.. Barbara Bui.. Corrine Cobson.. Jimmy Taverniti.. Cool Cats all..

    Favourite model has to be Chandra North and Guinevere Van Seenus (The girl in the pic on the left in Gucci).. Well, it was Kate Moss and Georgina Grenville, and before them, it was Shalom Harlow.  And before Shalom, it was Christy Turlington.. (Going off in a tangent here..)

   .. More to come, soon.. Don't hold your breath!..




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    However, as of September 96, I am involved with the Graphics Department of the other Studio.   Graphic Head Honcho at Iceberg Jeans Donna & Uomo, Anna Sui Jeans.. All of which meant a major departure from the stress filled environment of the old Studio..

    No more meadows of cattle grazing, no more cowgirls.. No milkmaids.. No more mooos.   Finally!   I am back at what I do best, which is getting to grips with the actual graphic problems of the Collections.   Also, I get a bigger office, more freedom, longer coffeebreaks, better all-round working conditions, more holidays, and I get to use Photoshop and Freehand more often.. again!   And get to look at a lot of Comics.. Yeah!   Research.   Actually, how do you use StrataStudio Pro Blitz?

    Now, what do you care about the World of Fashion Fiction?   Quoting Moschino: Fashion is Full of Chic, Waist of Money, For Fashion Victims Only, Oh! De Moschino.. Cosmic Couture.. Shop! Shop! Shop!

    Trends? Lengths? Colors? Cut? Diets? Hair? Make-up? Gossips? Scandals? Secrets? Tax Evasion? Retro? 70's? 80's? Bauhaus? Cool Wool? Sweaters or Pullovers? Minis or Midis or Maxis? Sheaths? Sheer? Runway Sizes? Stiletto Heights? Glam? Patent? PVC? Lycra? Holograms? Tropical Trompe-l'oeil? Wedgewood Porcelains? Faux Alligator? Fashion Cafés? Turquoise Eye Liners? 17th-century Italian Bronze Angels? Objets D'art? La Dolce Vita? Hair? Breakfast at Tiffany's? Saturday Night Fever? Le Café De Paris at Monte Carlo? Sears Catalogues?



Christian Dior? John Galliano? Christian Lacroix? Gucci? Pucci? Lucy? Alexander McQueen? Prada's Body Bags? Twiggy? Blumarine and Anna Molinari? Meghan Douglas? Helmut Lang? CK One? Fiorucci's Angels? Vogue & Madonna? Hervé Léger? David Bailey & Marie Helvin? Butler & Wilson's trinkets? Miu Miu? Saint Laurent Rive Gauche? Halston? Body Map? Jean Muir? Cher? Burberrys? JC de Castelbajac? Suzi Menkes? Anna Wintour? Naomi Campbell? Versace's Donatella? Marks & Spencer's Underwear? Playtex? Vivienne Westwood? Levi's Slingbacks? Hussein Chalayan? Charles Worth? Chanel No5? Courtney Love? Ernesto Esposito?
Marie Claire? Patrick Cox? The Face & i-D? Romeo Gigli? Dolce & Gabbana's D & G? Gap? Rifat Ozbek? Katherine Hamnett? Oleg Cassini? Carla Bruni? Estée Lauder? Martine Sitbon? Mary Quant? Linda Evangelista? Ann Demeulemeester? Missoni? Jean Colonna? Biba? Isaac Mizrahi? Adidas? Ter Et Bantine? DKNY? Sofia Coppola? Tina Chow? Philip Treacy? Courrèges? Manolo Blahnik? Sonia Rykiel? Bergdorf Goodman? Louis Vuitton? Jean Paul Gaultier? Cheryl Tiegs? Polo Sport? Tommy Hilfiger? Anne Klein? Antonio Fusco? Antonio Lopez? Elsa Schiaparelli? Neville Brody? Man Ray? Max Factor? Kenzo? Joanna Lumley? Wallis Simpson? Anna Piaggi? Hermès? The Village People? Audrey Hepburn? Dries Van Noten? Stella Tennant? Walter Chin? Tony Viramontes? Emporio Armani? Pat Cleveland? Diana Vreeland? Lawrence Steele? La Perla? Cecil Beaton? Julien D'Ys? Issey Miyake? Jean Shrimpton? Jackie Kennedy?
with Shalom
Shalom Harlow in Iceberg
Fall 96


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