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Ladybird by Design Exhibition (House of Illustration)
Last Thursday evening, I had the pleasure of attending the opening of ‘Ladybird by Design’ at the House of Illustration, which I recently joined as Chair of the Board of Trustees. The exhibition marks the centenary of Ladybird design with over 120 original illustrations from Ladybird titles from the late 1950s to the early 70s,… →
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KOESTLER LECTURE: Art not Crime
As Head of London College of Fashion and Pro Vice-Chancellor of University of the Arts London, I am delighted to welcome everyone to the college this evening as we are so pleased to be hosting this lecture, which serves as Tim Robertson’s swan song after 9 years at the Koestler Trust. In my mind, the… →
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Working in London's East End: Social Responsibility, Art Against Knives
ART AGAINST KNIVES, an organisation based in Hackney, works with at-risk young people living in London, affected by knife crime, and facilitates creative opportunities to help them secure employment, education or training. During Easter 2014, our Social Responsibility team worked with ART AGAINST KNIVES for the first time on a ‘Design + Make’ workshop at… →
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INTELLIGENT LIFE: Inspiring Innovators
Last night I attended a private supper hosted by the Economist’s Intelligent Life Magazine for contributors to the ‘Inspiring Innovators’ feature. For this feature I wrote about Yohji Yamamoto. Other contributions were from the likes of David Lynch who wrote about on Mikhail Gromov, James Lovelock on Charles Harington and Melinda Gates on Mother Teresa.… →
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Nightclubbing with Richard Young
Last night I went to the launch of Richard Young’s book ‘Nightclubbing.’ Richard has always been so supportive of the College and the students, and this book is a wonderful representation of his work over the past 40 years. His very first job was gatecrashing the party that Elizabeth Taylor had thrown for husband Richard… →
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Horst (V&A)
On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of attending the Horst exhibition, a definitive retrospective of the work of Horst P. Horst (1906-99), one of the 20th century’s master photographers, with Carmen Dell’Orefice and David Downton. From left clockwise: Carmen, David and me, Carmen and David. Horst P. Horst (1906-99) created images that transcend fashion and… →
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On Books
The recent death of Gabriel Garcia Marquez prompted many people, not just writers, across the world and from all walks of life to highlight just what an influence he had been in their lives. His death reminded me how hugely inspirational ‘100 years of Solitude’, the book that ensured his Nobel Prize for literature had… →
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Glasstress: Art and Fashion (Fashion Space Gallery)
I have always been interested in the shift that took place during the 20th century when fine art moved away from a realistic representation of the natural world to a focus on works of art that are self-contained within the parameters of their concept, theory, structure and media. The collapse that then took place between… →
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Glasstress: The Students (Fashion Space Gallery)
On the eve of the opening of the Glasstress exhibition here at the Fashion Space Gallery, I thought I would ask for some student perspectives on the exhibition in Venice, where many of the pieces have travelled from. Nadia Saccardi part-time Ma Fashion Curation student has shared her experiences here… “On the early morning of… →
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Opinion: Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is an extraordinarily stimulating event. Not only does it act as a crucible where ideas, arts and crafts are brought together to be juxtaposed, shared and challenged but the backdrop of the city itself shows the relationship between fashion and art. Its physical infrastructure shows how form, function, ideas, culture and craft… →