TOPSHOP A/W

I styled the brand conference show for Topshop recently, a proper big mid August fashion show where they present all of the upcoming trends to everyone that works there. Of course i love this, as i get to preview of all of their new collections and hang out with the girls in there who are all super cool and fun.

My favourite look that i assembled was this Stepahnie Seymour/Axl Rose/November rain inspired super-trash wedding ensemble. I want to wear this to my wedding, i think its amazing.

This is Alys from Next, she'd arrived in the day before for a casting with home bleached eyebrows in skinny jeans looking all 'Twilight' and vampish. I think she should wear this to her wedding too. Thanks Alys.

AT THE END OF THE DAY

This is one of my all time favourite images ever, it's just so pure and perfect. I think Corinne had a way of capturing that youthfull intensity and naiveity like no one else. Even when the images were beautiful there always seemed to be lurking a darker underbelly like a wolf in sheep's clothing.

R.I.P Corinne Day (1965-2010)

SPEARSMINT RHINO

+

+

=

The new POP magazine with that iconic celestial face of pop music that is Britney Spears on the cover.

Firstly there are two deliciously hazy, sunburst-y covers to choose from. Above Cover 1, the immediate thoughts that came tap dancing into my mind were of the tragic child pageant beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey. Maybe thats just the tiara and the freshly blown out golden halo of blonde hair so popular with beauty queens, child stars etc...or the spray of teeny white flowers around the crown of the head? or the big doe eyes? or the pink lipstick on those perfect cupids bow lips stretched nervously over bleached out pearly white teef?

This is starting to sound like one of those books that tells you how write a number one pop song....except this is with human beans not music....it's a formula....15 extra eyelashes here, some botox there, some hyper shiny bulking extensions for that, spray tan all over, vaseline on the teeth, lipo underneath, lose two extra ribs to accomodate 300 fast backflips in row then into the splits, extra artificial cartilage in the hips for that and all before the the age of 11.....

Squeezed to one side by the undeniably seedy sexy undertones of Courtney Love, also a fan of the tiara for casual outings, but to be honest, tiara's aside, i think they just look the same.

It makes total sense that Cindy Sherman's name is on the cover too (it comes with a free bookzine by the artist like some smaller twisted side order of a three toothed teratoma twin).

Cindy + Britney = Cibri (sounds like a delicious cocktail (ps. I know it sounds like seabreeze with out the z))

In my opinion a beautiful fusion of perfectness like chips and tomato ketchup, bananas and white chocolate, beans and cheese, beer and peanuts, Hula Hoops and Primula spreadable cheese in a tube with ham bits....

Cindy Sherman's, Untitled 276

All of this gorgeousness is jizzed up with some Japanese cartoon characters and happy, open mouthed, giggling flower face fonts by Louis Vuitton favourite Takeshi Murakami. Makes you think of those Vending machines where Japanese business men can buy day old knickers. Talking of underwear vending machines and the obvious fucked up slash amazing Japanese porn insinuations the second cover number 2 is pretty hot. Love a teenage bride in swimwear with her honeymoon gear in her back pack all ready to go.

.... and after all that..... it's just brit brit shot through a lens with what looks to have a reasonably intense layer of vaseline smeared over it.

I love it/them both/everything.

DAZED DOES ROCHA

Young Simone Rocha's hyper pink veil from her MA St.Martins collection debuted in Dazed this month on Julia Stegner styled by the blonde bombshell that is Katie Shillingford. She also has the Fashion East office headed up by Lulu Kennedy madly in love her.

http://lulukennedy.blogspot.com/

..and an interview with ID http://www.i-donline.com/i-spy/i-ntroducing-simone-rocha

Simone will be showing her first main collection as part of Fashion East during London fashion week this September. Watch this space, in the words of Buzz Lightyear... to infinity and beyond.

BAMBI AND EVERYTHING THAT COMES WITH HIM

The other day for reasons unknown to myself I was compelled to paint Bambi onto the back of an old green military shirt. So off i went to do some research on Bambi pictures so i could paint the little fella true to his iconic form.

I also watched this clip from the film early on Monday morning and i must say the word cute and everything it stirs up deep within us was created for things like this. It should come with a warning, this clip is actually so cute it will probably cause you pain.

It's okay to feel emotional watching beautifully made kids films like this because it reminds us of our childhood. For me about a minute in, i could smell freshly cut grass and i could see my dad on the lawnmower, and me running around behind him in my bare feet and the sun beating down on my back and the grass all in the air and if like me you had ponies i reckon there will be some pony memories in there too, smelling sweetly of molasses and leather and hay.

The intense memory of my beloved ginger tom cat Frisby came to me a bit later on and i could distinctly remember the weight of him in my arms and then i went looking for pictures and found these...they made me cry.

I loved that cat so much, he was an exquisite comfort to me as a child. He got an earfull of everything that was going on in my young life. He consoled me when i was sad, celebrated my victories, he also agreed that it was never my fault when things went wrong and everyone was blaming me.

Frisby died of Pneumonia in the summer of 1991, i remember when he was sick, getting an electric heater and putting it in front of him in his basket, i heated him half to death thinking if i could get him warm enough i'd just knock that pneumonia right out of his body.

Anyway it didn't work and he died. I buried him wrapped in a red blanket in my pet cemetary where i also buried any local road kill i found on the road beside my house. I painted a big stone with his face and put his name under it for his grave.

WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER

Yeah god...dont forget it.

Photo by Ross McDonnell, a photographer and film maker who is so good it hurts. http://www.rossmcdonnell.com/

KYDD ING

Diver, Corniche Beirut

Beautiful boys in Naples

Mega picture of Don Brown and Sarah Lucas looking all wicker man ish in Suffolk.

House on motor way , Naples

John Osborne, World war One Veteran born May 11, 1900

Love Johnny Shand Kydd's pictures http://www.johnnieshandkydd.com

OH NO VIDEO OH OH OH

Here's Marina and the Diamonds brand new video for her next single Oh No, it's a bit like Batman and Robin, popping candy, sherbet fizzers, wham bars n ring pops, it's lucky dip bags and bubble gum with rub on dolphin tattoos inside the wrapper. Directed by wunderkind Kinga Burza, styled by me and make up by my friend Hiromi Ueda.

All designer archive pieces.....
Sequin map of Italy dress, gold sequin trousers, yellow peace symbol vest and perspex light up shoes by ASHISH
Dollar Dress and Credit card dress by Jean Charles de Castlebajac
Pink Sweetheart dress and red bandage dress by Christopher Kane
Panetone pink dress and purple suit by Henry Holland
White square glasses by Linda Farrow for Luella
Dancers wear pastel latex dresses by Atsuko Kudo

BARE BONERS

Bare Bones is a free quarterly zine filled with general irreverance, taboo, boobies and blasphemy, it's independently published by the artists themselves which would explain some of the gloriously un-edited stuff you find in it. I have written before about BB and mentioned that if Bare Bones was a person it would be a criminal and in prison. Bare Bones Da however, Harry Malt commented on this saying it wouldn't be in prison cos it would have broken out. This is Harry below doing biniss on da phone

Whatever way you look at it Bare Bones is definitely electronically tagged and probably has an alcohol monitoring ankle bracelet like Lindsey Lohan and all the other fun people in Hollywood.

Which is good cos on the 29th of June Bare Bones is going to NYC and having a launch party at Envoy Enterprises Gallery, 131 Chrystie Street complete with a glass eating punk band to get everyone dancing in fear and joy.

So on the cusp of this great American introduction I interviewed the proud Bare Bones daddy Harry Malt here about his delinquent son......

Where did the name Bare Bones come from?

It came from the red wine fuelled brain of the wonderful bastard Neal Fox.

The type was forged by Luke Frost of Heretic Print Studio.

It is the perfect summation of what we do, we're stripped back, efficient, fast as fuck and enjoying it.

If Bare Bones was a person (dead or alive) who would they be?

BB is us.

Describe what Bare Bones stands for in 5 words?

Our Friends

Good times

Progression

Fuck You

Art

If Bare Bones was to have a soundtrack to its life going from its

1.conception

Any song by Crass

2.to getting it off the ground

Hello Old Friend, East Coast Novas.

3 producing the first issue

Sure 'Nuff 'N Yes, I Do, Captain Beefheart.

4. your first show

Pink Frost, The Chills.

5. its imminent arrival in NYC

Fuck You, Pay Me. ARE Weapons

If Bare Bones was on Death Row what would he/she (depending on above answer to question 2) what would the death row meal be? Starter, main course, desert and drink

Starter

Oysters & Champagne

Main

Cheese & Crisp Sandwiches

Desert

Tirimasu

Drink

Gallons of Sancerre will do.

If there was to be a Bare Bones celebratory dinner what special guests (dead or alive) would you invite and what band would you get to perform at the party?

For a nice quiet sit down it'd have to be;

Shane MacGowan

Elvis

Jonny Ramone

GG Allin

Ghandi

Gandalf

The Rubbish Men

Jay Adams

Captain Beefheart

Sebastian Horsley

Jesus

Allah

Buddha

Stephanie Seymore

Alex Higgins

Lara Stone (not her husband)

Joan Jett

Band.

Pogues.

What artists would you like to have contribute to Bare Bones 4?

I'd like to see work from people from all over the world.

Unknowns, vagabonds, people doing their own thing.

For love n lust, y'know.

What are Bare Bones dreams for the future?

Just to keep on keeping on, maybe get a sponsor or some sympathetic rich old lady.

A permanent space to use for shows etc

Editions set up in different cities, all publishing on the same day, a global free press, a resource for art and artists for art sake.

Have fun.

If youre in NYC on the 29th June go to the opening it will be sexy mayhem and you'll get to meet all the funny attractive people involved, here's the invite above, click on it to make it big if you have bad eyesight and can't read it here....Check out the whole issue of BARE BONES 3 in motion on the website here http://www.ourbarebones.com

LITTLE CC

This is one of my assistants Cecilia, since we both have names beginning and ending with the letter C, she is known as little cc. She is also Irish and so she understands it when i pray to Saint Anthony to help me find things i've lost, why i put excessive amounts of kerrygold butter on everything and why i feel funny about putting a dunce cap on Jesus.

Little cc is quite the phenomenon, she's an awesome flower arranger, has the most impeccable taste, probably knows more about fashion than most editors and she just turned 18, so she's only a babby.

Her blog is beautiful check it out http://www.acresandgold.blogspot.com/

She even gives cake recipes in here too. I sometimes feel like Little cc was a gift to me from the world when i needed her most. She walked into my garden quite early on and told me i needed to take better care of my plants, she gazed upon my bloomless camelia with a sad face like it were a featherless budgie in pet shop and said it wasn't flowering cos the pot was too small. Thanks world for sending me little cc, she is awesome.

MY LIFE IN PICTURES

My new website is live........ http://www.celestinecooney.com/

OH NO

Vogue TV shot backstage at the recent Marina and The Diamonds video I styled for her new single OH NO. If this video was an Ice cream Sundae it would have strawberry cheesecake, lickitty lemon sorbet and blue raspberry ice-cream with sprinkles and cherries and bubblegum balls all over the top in one of those fancy expensive cornetto cones with chocolate on the inside. The video is not ready yet but you can see what went on behind the scenes here....

http://www.vogue.co.uk/video/voguetv/player.aspx/exclusives/video,9634/

SU PREEN BEINGS

I just did the Preen Pre collection lookbook with Justin Thorton and Thea Bregazzi, they are gorgeous and i loved working with them. Their moodboard was all my favourite things including Linda Evangalista with short hair and the doe eyed, plump lipped Bardot as a side saddle riding cowgirl.

Justin took this picture of me putting looks together on Ellie the day before the shoot, i love this picture cos i look like a transformer. Here are some looks from their beautiful Pre S/S11 collection, you can see the whole collection here on...

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/review/2011RST-PREEN/

Vogue TV were there too http://www.vogue.co.uk/video/voguetv/player.aspx

..and so was Willis the French Bulldog (above) who was being babysat by the photographer Nick Dorey who is ace and takes beautiful pictures http://www.nickdorey.com/

Willis despite being a 'toydog' was super hardcore and a bit of a hooligan so i loved him. He can also talk and i mean when he was talking i was looking and him and i was thinking seriously this is not a dog, he's an alien, it was like in the excorcist when the little girl opens her mouth and the antichrists voice comes out.

GINGER RAD MAN

Two of my best friends are Gingers and this is one of them Duffy, he's very good at hair and he's one of the coolest funniest guys i know. Models.com just did an interview with him......check it out here http://models.com/

I like the bit about getting the snakes out of Raquel Zimmermans hair during the McQueen shoot the best. Duffy rocks. Above photo by Rankin