Weekend Plans: Feasting, Footwear and Fun

What: Street Feast London
Where: Scalter St Car Park, Brick Lane
When: Friday 4th May, 5pm-12am
Why: Formerly a victorian bird market, and now home to many a vintage shop. Scalter street will be undergoing another transformation for the next 12 weeks into a night market. Street Feast opens tonight and features lot’s of culinary delights from some of the capitals leading street vendors, think gourmet burgers and wood fired pizza’s. There is also a long bar serving wine, cocktails and beer until midnight. To celebrate their opening night, they will also be hosting an after party at a secret location, find out more on their website.

What: Christian Louboutin Exhibition
Where: Design Museum
When: Until the 1st July
Why: We have probably all wanted a pair at some point, and we all instantly recognise that infamous red sole. Yes we are talking Louboutins and lots of them. Until July, The Design Museum is presenting a retrospective of iconic footwear designer, Christian Louboutin. Celebrating his lasting career, the exhibition has over twenty years of designs and inspirations on show. From stiletto’s and boots to trainers and jewelled pumps. The focus of the exhibition is a unique look at the design process behind the shoemaking. From the initial sketches all the way through to the final product. Definitely worth checking out whether you are a shoe connoisseur or not, just be prepared to be very very jealous….

What: Land of Kings Festival
Where: Various venues around Dalston
When: Friday and Saturday
Why: Land of Kings is a music and arts festival taking place in the nooks and crannies of Dalston. While music obviously features high on the agenda over the two days, the festival also embraces and celebrates other creative fields. There are various art installations and spoken word events taking place, such as a Literary Death Match, billed as part game show, part literary reading, it pits four authors against each in a battle or words and wit. The music line up is quite electic, and looks a little hit and miss, although Slow Club and Caze Nove are sure to be highlights.

Have a lovely long weekend! Xx

04 May 2012 filed under Uncategorized

Weekend Plans: Trick, Treat or Tech

# 1 – DANCE

What: Tricky at the London Sundance Film Festival

Where: O2 Greenwich

When: 26-29th April

Why: The first ever Sundance London comes to the O2 in Greenwich from April 26-29. Over four days, the event will present the British premieres of 14 new American documentaries and dramas freshly picked from the original Sundance Film Festival. Alongside this there are also live music performances, tonight seminal trip-hop artist Tricky, who carved out his own brand of dark, claustrophobic dance music will take to the stage to perform the whole of  his groundbreaking and genre  defining 90′s album  ’Maxinquaye’. Performing alongside him will be long term collaborator, the soulful Martina Topley Bird.

Here is one of our favourites from the album;

# 2 – EAT

What: The StockMKT Night Market

Where: Bermondsey Square

When: Friday 5.30 – 10.00pm

Why: After a successful pilot market in December, The StockMKT is back tonight in Bermondsey. Inspired by the night markets of the Far East, with their plethora of delicious cheap eats and opportunities to shop for unique finds long into the night, The StockMKT takes this buzz and atmosphere but with a distinctly London feel. The StockMKT is a welcoming night market offering the best in Londons street vendors such as Bhangra Burger and the Pizza Pilgrims. There also be mobile bars serving delicious cocktails, live music and DJ’s, vintage clothes and craft stalls and a collaborative installation from guerilla artists, The Light Collective. Music, food, cocktails, art and shopping……..erm yes please!

 # 3 – SHOP

What: Capulet Trunk Show

Where: Wolf & Badger Notting Hill boutique

When: Saturday 1 – 4pm

Why: Capulet is a London-based luxury women’s accessories label creating super stylish and practical cases for iPhones, iPads and laptops. Redefining the relationship between fashion and technology its bags look amazing but are also incredibly useful. Perfect. Elegant and simple, the bags are all designed in London and hand crafted by skilled leather works in Spain. This Saturday they will be offering a preview of their new collection, as well as serving some drinks and nibbles. There is also an exclusive on the day 10% discount. Why not pop down and make your iPad the envy of the office on Monday.

Have a lovely weekend! Xx

27 Apr 2012 filed under Uncategorized

Mind, Body and Soul

# 1 – MIND

What: Vogue Festival
Where: Royal Geographic Society, 1 Kensington Gore, SW7 2AR
When: All day Friday and Saturday
Why: Fashion is constantly branded as being more superficial than cerebral, and lets face it it is sometimes difficult to fight this stereotype, but for those interested in the reality behind the glossy surface then the first Vogue festival is a must. The biggest names in the industry (Stella McCartney, David Bailey, Natalie Vodianova) will be distributing their pearls of wisdom in a number of seminars, talks and workshops across the two days. Invaluable for every stylist, designer, image-maker, entrepreneur or if you just want to see if Tom Ford looks that perfect in real life.

# 2 – BODY

What: London Marathon
Where: Greenwich Park to Buckingham Palace
When: Sunday for as long as you can last…
Why: Hopefully the sporadic weather we are having will be forgiving to all the amazing people who are running the London Marathon and the people supporting them. Head to Tower Bridge for the best views and atmosphere as the crowds develop a street party vibe and the runners gain an extra boost of energy crossing the iconic bridge. If you prefer fewer elbows in your sides then we recommend Mudchute Park and you could always pop into Mudchute Farm for a break from the crowd.

# 3 – SOUL

What: Gypsy Hotel
Where: The Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Road
When: 8pm – 4am Saturday
Why: For those of you who are not running the London Marathon the next day and need to let off some steam, Gypsy Hotel is holding a decadent night of Balkan boogie bands, swing, burlesque, magicians and vaudeville sideshows with Missy Macabre, Ophelia Bitz and The Future Shape of Sound. It sounds like a crazier than normal night out in Kings Cross and definitely one to restore the balance in your soul after a stressful week of work.

20 Apr 2012 filed under Uncategorized

Wolf & Badger wakes up Dover Street

Our new Dover Street flagship is finally open and we couldn’t be more excited!
Get yourself down there to check it out, 32 Dover Street W1S 4NE.

We threw a launch party last night to celebrate. A massive thank you to everyone involved, particularly our amazing architect Augustus Brown and his team who have done a fantastic job.

There was a great mix of stylish guests, designers, bloggers, press and the Made in Chelsea crew who were out in force. Delicious cocktails, provided by Buffalo Trace and Brokers Gin, and ice cold beers from Asahi kept the party going. Fashion illustrator Andy Bumpus showcased his unique illustrations downstairs in the Gallery space, with an animated catwalk illustration of Wolf & Badger’s best picks to entertain guests.

DJ Goldirocks played an amazing set which kept the crowd energised until it was time to kick guests out and move onto the after party at Le Baron.

To see all the action from the evening click here. Photos courtesy of Chris James

19 Apr 2012 filed under Uncategorized

Weekend Plans: Hunt, Fly, Row

# 1 – HUNT

What: Alternative Easter Egg Hunt
Where: Berwick Street
When: April 6-9th
Why: Monkey Shoulder is hosting an Easter event with a difference, it combines whiskey and chocolate and is billed as a grown up version of an Easter Egg hunt. Monkey Shoulder have teamed up with the London Cocktail Club and chocolatier Niko B for this boozy extravaganza. Find an Easter Egg hidden amongst the foliage and you can swap it for a whiskey cocktail paired with a handmade chocolate that complements your drink; for example find a green egg and you might get a mint julep and a spearmint chocolate. Clever!

# 2 – FLY

What: Flight BA2012
Where: Shoreditch High Street
When: Until April 17th
Why: Another weekend another pop up venue….BA2012 is an airline themed venue in the heart of Shoreditch that is showcasing the best of British talent in art, food and film in the run up to the Olympics. The space comprises of a dining room, bar, art gallery and cinema and features talent from the BA Great Britons programme. It includes art work by Pascal Anson and a short film called ‘Boy’ starring Timothy Spall. The film has been written by up and coming write Prasanna Puwanarajah and is the story of a carpenter who maintains the track at the Velodrome in the London Olympic Park. There is also a bold British menu in the dining room (although tickets to this have sold out) created by Simon Hulstone under the mentoring of Heston Blumenthal.

# 3 – ROW

What: Oxford and Cambridge boat race
Where: Along the Thames
When: Saturday
Why: A quintessentially British tradition, the Oxford and Cambridge boat race takes place this Saturday. Up to 300,000 spectators will be spread out along the 4 and a quarter mile stretch of river that the race takes place on. The route, which runs between Putney and Mortlake in West London is littered with lots of lovely riverside bars, pubs and café’s to hang out in before and after the race which give the whole stretch of river a great atmosphere – and also make great places to shelter in if the weather doesn’t hold!

Have a lovely Easter weekend! Xx

05 Apr 2012 filed under Uncategorized

Goodbye 2011… Hello 2012!

Have you ever wondered how designers in the 1930’s would have predicted fashion to be today? We came across this short video which tells you just how they thought we would dress in the 21st century and guess what… they weren’t far off!

With predictions like transparent netting and aluminium dresses, big hair, inverted heels and wedding dresses made of glass, it sounds just like a description of Lady Gaga’s latest looks! Most of these can even be seen on the Spring/Summer 2012 catwalks, well, apart from the glass wedding dress!

Gareth Pugh and Mark Fast hit the predicted “transparent netting” trend this season.

“Aluminium” dresses were seen on the catwalks for Reem Acra and Jasper Garvida.

Even though they weren’t made of glass, wedding dresses were a big trend for S/S 2012 with the most anticipated dress of the year being Alexander McQueen for the royal wedding.

Overall, 2011 was a fun and exciting year for all of us at Wolf & Badger and although we are still reminiscing on the past year, we can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store for us. The new Spring/Summer collections will soon be delivered and available in store & online early this year so make sure to keep an eye out for the new designers joining us and also the new collections from our established brands. We are also looking forward to London Fashion Week in February, which, as you know, is always super exciting for us!

This coming year is going to be full of surprises and we have some exciting news to share with you in the near future but we will reveal all at a later date! We want to thank all of you for your ongoing support this year and we wish you a happy new year and hope you’ll continue to be a part of our journey for 2012!

Wolf & Badger x

30 Dec 2011 filed under News & Events, Uncategorized and tagged with Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012, London Fashion Week 2012, New Designers, New Years 2012, Wolf & Badger New Year

Graduate Design Awards 2011

Following the success of last year’s Graduate Design Awards we have set out once again to find the lucky hopefuls that will present and sell their graduate collection in our flagship boutique in Notting Hill.

The competition is split into three categories of product, jewellery and fashion design. Each category has now been narrowed down to five semi-finalists and YOU, the public, will have the opportunity to choose one nominee to present his/her collection alongside two nominees chosen by Wolf & Badger in front of the selection committee in the finals on 1st September at the Wolf & Badger boutique.

Here is how it works:

1. Go to the Wolf & Badger Facebook page: www.facebook.com/wolfandbadger
2. Browse through the three category albums, which present the five nominees, and chose your favourite designer.
3. Simply “Like” the image of your favourite designer (not the album) and that will count as your vote. The designer with the most “Likes” wins this public wild card.

And here we go….

The nominees for the category “Fashion”

Gemma Land – “Strawberry Hill: Part 1″

“Strawberry Hill: Part 1”, is a series of five monochrome prints of London’s much-loved Strawberry Hill House.

Gemma Land’s background is in Fine Art Photography graduating from the much-acclaimed MA at London College of Communication.

Her style is unique, fusing her photographic art into printed scarves; she likes to play with architecture and often uses symmetry to create impossible structures and hallucinogenic patterns. Her style lies between the romantic and the gothic; creating beautiful and yet often somewhat unsettling imagery.
She aims to push the photographic print in fashion to new directions, whilst also exhibiting her artwork in galleries internationally.

The collection, which is due to be presented at “Capsule” for Paris Fashion Week, is created and hand finished within the UK which in turn supports the local manufacturing industry..

To vote for Gemma click here.

Biancha Samuel – “Symmetry Beneath the Surface”

Biancha Samuel graduated in “Innovation in Digital Media and Design” from Ravensbourne College this year.

Her collection “Symmetry Beneath The Surface” encompasses the exuberance and magnetic ambience of the city. This collection presents itself to be young, edgy and contemporary. Each piece heavily focuses on intricately engineered and desirable placement prints.

The print artworks have been inspired by the linear and symmetrical space of the London underground network. With strong structural and clean silhouettes, the bold and dynamic digitalized print projections explain a narrative of weaving and geometric forms. Displaying a creative use of techniques such as digital draping and silkscreen printing on exotic and luxury leathers.

To vote for Biancha click here.

Hannah Cumming

Hannah Cumming graduated from the Edinburgh College of Art with a Fashion BA (Hons)
Hannah’s work is based upon the time she spent living in South America, exploring the emotions associated with travel, how we feel traversing, the boundaries of cultures and how we collect memories as we move among different people and places.
Hannah began to explore how to represent these emotions through garment design, twisting and manipulating fabrics, colour experimentation and studying the use of contrasting materials.

Billowing a-symmetric full skirts and dresses are intricately panelled with warm richly coloured sheer silks against bright leather inserts and pleating to create contrasts in structure and movement. Hannah’s skirts are panelled with brightly coloured chiffon and suede inserts, whilst her dresses and trousers are constructed from flowing silks and jerseys with elastic suede inserts. The soft garments are contrasted against the structured wooden accessories.

“I believe fashion should be used as a tool to give confidence and beauty to all women” – Hannah Cumming

To vote for Hannah click here.

Liam Freeman

Liam Freeman is a Graduate from the BA Fashion Design course of the University of Westminster.

The student riots at the beginning of 2011 acted as a catalyst of sourcing inspiration for Liam’s collection: ‘Woman of Mass Destruction’. Imagery of the demonstrations bore a great resemblance to the miner’s revolt against Thatcherism, who in turn acted as a muse. Love her or hate her; Margaret Thatcher epitomises a woman of power, strength and determination embodied in the collection’s atomic silhouette, monochromatic palette, industrial details and clean lines.

The body’s contours are streamlined by the fusion of garments, notably the leather all in one suit and the ‘troots’ that combined a trouser and boot all in one piece. The mushroom cloud silhouette was achieved through the complex cutting of a ‘uni-sleeve’ while foiled black leather was used to represent the shimmering of broken glass.

To vote for Liam click here.

Vesna Pesic – “Poetry in Pose”

Vesna Pesic is a recent MA Fashion Artefact graduate from London College of Fashion.
She has 14 years of experience as a milliner and has spent the last 6 years working for Stephen Jones Millinery.

Vesna’s collection Poetry in Pose is a collection of sculptural leather headpieces and hats. The concept lies in poetry, symbolism and abstract art, it questions who we are: do the illusions that we create then create us? What is it that we want to hide or reveal?

Vesna’s practice is concerned with questioning the traditional use of the materials and the accepted associations of beauty, usefulness.

To vote for Vesna click here.

The nominees for the category “Jewellery”

Birgit Marie Schmidt – “I can’t seem to get rid of the horses”

Birgit Marie Schmidt graduated with a masters in Goldsmithing, Silversmithing, Metalwork & Jewellery from the Royal College of Art.

For her final installation and collection Birgit transformed her own recurring childhood fantasies of wild horse adventures into wearable jewellery pieces. The pieces are physical manifestations of surreal equestrian creatures, reminiscing early childhood fantasies made up sitting underneath her grandmother’s kitchen table. She used repetition and form manipulation as a tool to communicate the constant reoccurrence of her own infantile world of make-believe.

To create her pieces; which come in the form of necklaces, pendants, rings, bracelets and earrings, Birgit carved and combined wax figures to later cast them into brass and silver before gold plating.

To vote for Birgit Marie click here.

Rachel Boston

Rachel Boston recently graduated from Central St Martins.

Rachel’s jewellery collection concept stems from a fascination with insect collection. Collecting is itself an exertion of power, one that is remarkably successful when compared to our attempts to dominate and control living things. Rachel is fascinated by the incongruous nature of the insect collector who professes to love insects but in the process kill them and display them as trophies.

She has created a collection of wearable insect trophies cast from exotic beetles and incorporated real beetle wing cases into the jewellery to produce a collectable medley of man-made and natural objects.

To vote for Rachel click here.

Victoria Kelsey – “Precious Grime”

Victoria Kelsey graduated from Middlesex University with a BA (Hons) in Jewellery and Accessories.
During her time at University she took advantage of a year out assisting the designers “Husam el Odeh”, “FS Augusta” and “Fred Butler” on their seasonal collections and catwalk pieces.

Precious Grime is inspired by the marks and traces of age left behind on discarded objects at flea markets. Victoriaappreciates beauty in the layers of dust, grime, rust and filth gathered over many years. Victoria is interested in the uncanny nature of how these dormant objects fall into disrepair altering their original form. Her jewellery explores an exaggerated representation of dust, transforming the subtle dirt into something more precious and beautiful.

To vote for Victoria click here.

Wei Wen

Wei Wen’s collection is based on the Chinese zodiac signs.

In Western culture, the horoscope consists of 12 signs to represent 12 months. However, in Chinese culture the zodiac signs of 12 animals represent a 12-year repetition. The Chinese zodiac signs are determined by the lunar year in which one is born. The Chinese believe the animal ruling one’s birth year has a profound influence on personality, and destiny.Therefore, the concept of this work is for celebrating the birthday of each client.

The rings can also be used as engagement rings. The Chinese is often used for choosing the most auspicious date for a wedding.

To vote for Wei Wen click here.

William Huynh

William Huyhn is a recent graduate from Middlesex University.

William’s collection, originally inspired by birds, has a sleek contemporary take on Renaissance jewellery meets the Greek god Hermes. He believes the pieces to be wearable sculptures that appeal to both sexes, as the pieces have both a feminine feel and a touch of masculinity.

To vote for William click here.

The nominees for the category “Product Design”

Hazel Thorn

Hazel Thorn graduated in Jewellery & Silversmithing BA (Hons) at the Edinburgh College of Art.

Hazel’s sculptural vessels are an exploration and celebration of experimental metalwork techniques. The joining of seams, molten layers and experimental alloys build up complex internal structures within the metal forms. Chemical patination reveals these structures which create contrast by reacting with each metal differently to produce a bold range of colours.

Inspired by the beauty of imperfection and by the limitless possibilities of metal as a material, these painterly sculptural vessels show more details with each viewing, and are intended for decoration and for thoughtful contemplation.

To vote for Hazel click here.

Jonathan Smith – Landscape (Hot Blown Glass)

Jonathan Smith is a recent graduate from the University of Sunderland in Glass and Ceramics BA (Hons)

Jonathan’s art is a hybrid vestige of mind and feeling; experiences transposed into colour, paint and glass, creating a dreamlike segmentation and lucid storylines fractured then reassembled as an abstract form.

Jonathan preserves in glass, these fragmentary emotions that would have otherwise been forgotten. For this collection Jonathan spent a lot of time taking Polaroid photos, from which he then translated the colours into glass. He looked at the human relationship between spherical forms and vision and chose to use this form to represent the human eye.

To vote for Jonathan click here.

Makiko Nakamura – “Baronage Declass” (One Hundred years after the party)

Makiko Nakamura studied MA Ceramics and Glass at the Royal College of Art

Makiko finds the process of decay fascinating, a notable transformation of materials as they become imperfect over time.
In this project she wanted to express the passage of time and the beauty of imperfection, impermanence and incompleteness by destroying porcelain tableware and adding extra and excessive decoration. The destruction of excessive superfluously decorated tableware accompanied withthe layering of such objects isa way of creating unseen landscape.

To vote for Makiko click here.

Sara Fell – “Precious integrations”

Sara Fell is a recent graduate in the Applied Arts BA (Hons) course, Plymouth College of Art

Sara Fell has an enquiring mind. Never content with being either a jewellery designer or a glass artist; her work is often a collaboration of both skills with a conceptual twist.

The “Precious integrations” series is a celebration of the ‘high altar’ of femininity and of the ritual beautification that forms the essence of the dressing table.
This series is a continuation of Sara’s intrigue into the hidden and precious elements of jewellery, “why do we hide away what we perceive to be our most treasured possessions”.

Taking inspiration from the glass dressing table sets of the 1920’s, Sara bestows a contemporary take on them by integrating hidden elements of jewellery such as rings, bangles and necklaces within each of her sets.

Sara has received the following acknowledgments for her pieces:
Contemporary Glass Society’s New Designers Associate Award 2011, Inspired by… at the V&A 2008 (the Access Prize sponsored by the Louvre), The Warm Glass Prize 2008 and Pewter Live 2007.

To vote for Sara click here.

Theo Brooks – “Seductive Qualities of Sneakers”

Theo Brooks graduated in Three Dimensional Design BA (Hons) at the University for the Creative Arts: Farnham.

A lot of Theo’s designs derive from urban environments, particularly urban fashion and architecture. He is inspired by strong dynamic lines, slick flowing curves and abstract patterns.

The collection “Seductive Qualities of Sneakers” explores the themes of desire and obsession within consumer behaviour in relation to urban fashion. Theo was inspired by footwear; he loves the vibrant colours and the strong dynamic lines that are contrasted with slick curves to create beautifully designed objects whilst paying the up most attention to the combination of plastics, suede and leathers. The colour layering for his range is produced whilst the pieces are molten he carves back through the layers allowinghim to reveal inner qualities of the glass. The process leaves the glass seductive to touch as it is based on the ergonomics of the hand.

To vote for Theo click here.

15 Aug 2011 filed under News & Events, Uncategorized and tagged with Graduate Design Awards 2011

Weekend Plans: All work, no play?

With a lot of work on our plates our weekend plans are unusually lopsided. This weekend is necessary for catching up with outstanding work.

And oh boy, a tough job it is…

Saturday sees us scouting new designers! What better place to have a look for the freshest new design talent then at New Designers.

The first part of the exhibition (29th June to 2nd July) shows the best work from Graduates in Textiles, Fashion & Accessories, Contemporary Applied Arts, Ceramics & Glass and Jewellery & Precious Metalwork. So tomorrow you will definitely see us with our critical scouting hat on.

Furthermore we will seize the opportunity and make graduates and tutors aware of our Graduate Design Awards. A chance not to be missed and maybe a stepping stone into a successful career.

Saturday sees us also as curious guests at Violet Darkling’s exclusive private preview of their new collection.

We are already very excited to see the new collection and are looking forward to be spoiled with a brunch and cocktails.

Last but not least we will pop down to the boutique and enjoy the trunk show of Saskia B by Natasha Banham.

After the great success of her last trunk show we are very excited to see her again.

This time she has organized an exclusive Summer Preview Sale.
Not only will Natasha spoil you with discounts on her stylish jewellery and give you a consultation, but of course she has organised some more treats.

Enjoy Natasha’s great host qualities and let her treat you to champagne, live music and a free raffle!

After this full but very fun day, we are looking forward to a relaxing Sunday. Sleeping in, late breakfast, and strictly no programme …

Ok. We might be lying here… We might try to join one more show that fits our craving for a relaxed time and sounds too good to be missed.

In collaboration with the Barbican Duckie created the show Lullaby and transformed the pit into a tranquil communal bedroom for an audience of dreamers.

“Lullaby by Duckie is a gentle, slumber show designed to send you to sleep. Bring your pyjamas and toothbrush and pile up the zzz’s at this romantic rock-a-bye nocturne. Book a single, a double or a triple bed and sleep with us on a summer night in the city. Enjoy your reveries as sister songstresses H. Plewis, Harriet Plewis and domestic dreamers Matthew Robins and Tim Spooner create a nod-off narrative of soothing storytelling and choral cradle song.”

After seven hours of slow-wave sleep the show finishes with breakfast.

Pancakes with nutella and banana please!

Have a nice weekend x

01 Jul 2011 filed under Uncategorized, Weekend Plans and tagged with Barbican, Duckie, Graduate Design Awards, Graduates, Lullaby, Natasha Banham, New Designers, pancakes, Saskia B, trunk show, Violet Darkling