Poor old Britain's Next Top Model aka BNTM has always been the very poor relation to the glittery, America's Next Top Model aka ANTM. Despite a decent promotional push this show has always struggled to nab decent ratings as well as respectability. It is a real shame because the models in the show actually look like they could have a career as a proper model unlike their counterparts in the US who look like your average Joanna or at best a catalogue model. BNTM is now five years old (I know I can't believe it either) and to commemorate this occasion, Living has stepped up a gear by launching a huge marketing campaign that kicked off six weeks ago. Enter a brand new concept for the show that is based on a 'New Model Army' which is basically a take on the 40s style wartime with presenter, Lisa Snowdon as the commander of the troop.
We have been bombarded with TV ads on Channel4, E4, ITV2 and MTV and BNTM has been dominant in websites such as Heatworld and glamourmagazine.co.uk. The all new BNTM concept has been produced on over 3000 posters which have appeared in shopping centres such as Bluewater, Lakeside, Birmingham's Bullring and Trafford Centre, and Westfield shopping centre. As a marketer I will put my hands up and say, a job well done - Holler, the creative team behind the campaignn should pat themselves on the back for doing a 180 on what was a tired show and representing it into a sexy and glamorous product. The effect has been amazing with fantastic imagery that emphasises the 'cool' in Britannia. With Lisa Snowdon going up the list in the celebdom after her stint in Strictly Come Dancing I am sure the show will gain more viewers so lets hope that the content is up to par. With the talent we have in this country and our reputation in fashion, this show should really be up there with ANTM.
How many times have you picked up a magazine and come across a guide to the movers and shakers of fashion, business and media? London's Most Influential People by the Evening Standard and The Media 100 which is brought to us by The Guardian. Now we have Online Fashion 100 which gives us the heavyweights behind the UK's online fashion industry. Online Fashion 100 is a 'who's who' guide for everyone who wants to know about online fashion and in there you will find entrepreneurs, bloggers, marketers and photographers. Online Fashion 100 is brought to us by Leon Bailey-Green who is an online fashion consultant, digital marketing strategist and blogger. After reading this guide - which is well overdue - I decided to seek out Leon and ask him a few questions about this exciting project.
How long did it take you to compile the list and did you have anyone working on it with you? I began working on it in January, although most of the work went into it six weeks before release. I did everything myself - the research, writing, images, design etc.
They were really keen on the idea and it was great to get the support from both of them. Schway is going to be everywhere soon!
I am a big fan of Nicky Hambleton-Jones and was delighted to see her involved in the project. However, some would say that she is an 'interesting' choice. What were your reasons for choosing her?
I've met Nicky and all I would say is that she's creative, business savvy, successful and genuine. She was an obvious choice to give an all round view of the impact of online in the fashion industry.
We had four bloggers in the top 40, do you think that we are now at a stage where bloggers are taken seriously and seen as here to stay?
I should stress the list is compiled in random order to make everyone equal. I think there is still a way to go but nowadays if a blog can demonstrate its visitors numbers and quality of audience it'll go places, and be taken seriously.
What are the medium and long term plans for Online Fashion 100?
Medium term, it's a secret! But long term I can tell you that there will be another one in 2010 around March. I will use a panel to suggest names, but it will still be my final edited choice and will continue to contain names of those on the fringes of the industry not just those deep in it.
Your own blog is very lively, how much of your time does it take?
I find it quite relaxing. When I write it gets me thinking. I get a lot of emails from brands, pr agencies and students, asking for advice and opinions. That's the rewarding side and makes it all worth it.
Describe a typical day in the life of Leon Bailey-Green.
Working, lunching and numerous meetings!
I have a few exciting things coming up like my next eBook which is going to take quite some time to produce.
You can download a copy of Online Fashion 100 here. You can also check out Leon's fantastic blog here.
I have often viewed John Rankin aka Rankin to be a rather detached figure; from his input to uber trendy mag, Dazed & Confused to holding the position as one of the nation's coveted photographers. He has snapped everyone from The Spice Girls, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Kylie Minogue, Queen Elizabeth and Tony Blair. Rankin has also had his fingers in other pies; a quick look at Wikipedia tells me that he is co-owner of the Proud Galleries and publishes Another Magazine and Another Man. So watching him gush over the work of veteran photographers in the documentary, Seven Photographs that Changed Fashion is very endearing. The programme paid homage to great photographers past and present and looked at iconic images in the history of fashion which you can see above. To add a twist to things Rankin recreated each photograph with his own team of stylists and make up artists as well as contemporary models. You can see the new Rankin versions below.
Cecil Beaton - the quintessential British photographer. "He help set the template for fashion photography. Packaging a world of decadent beauty and above all selling a dream," says Rankin. He recreated the 1934 photo in Vogue that showed off a white Panama hat. "Beaton brought to it his typical wit and elegance so that what she is wearing is secondary to the beauty of the image." Rankin enlisted the service of pop star and model, Sophie Ellis Bextor to pose as the model as she was ideal for the 1930s and 1940s look.
Erwin Blumenfeld - the innovator and pioneer. "Blumenfield was all about visual experimentation. He was an innovative fashion photographer of his era and a pioneer for colour photography. His stunning Vogue cover in 1950 shows the influence of the surrealist but also shows the excitement of the country looking forward to the next century," says Rankin. Heidi Klum was chosen to be the muse for this shot due to her chameleon tendencies and stardom.
Richard Avedon - the first celebrity fashion photographer. "Classic styling with energy and creative spirit. Daring, stylish and ambitious, his pictures reflected the optimism of 50s America and turned him into the first celebrity fashion photographer. His status was confirmed by Funny Face, a film based on Avedon but was was made famous for starring Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire. His photo of a model with elephants that was in Harpers Bazaar in 1955,"says Rankin. He chose supermodel, Erin O'Connor for the recreation because of her tall frame and demeanor.
David Bailey - the man who brought sex to photos. "Before Bailey, fashion photographer in Britain was still a gentleman's trade however he broke through all that bringing an energy, charm and incredible life to his images. Bailey is the perfect fashion photographer combining technical brilliance with sheer force of personality to create photos that have a sense of total spontaneity. He created some of the most iconic images of the 60s and most of them were with his muse and girlfriend, Jean Shrimpton, " says Rankin. It is the image from Vogue in 1963 that Rankin chose to recreate with his own girlfriend, Tuuli Shipster.
Helmut Newton - the voyeur. "In the era of sexual liberation, pornography going mainstream and conventions being challenged; Newton's voyeuristic images of strong women in often highly charged sexual scenarios often captured the new mood. His pictures also suggested that fashion photographs could be more than just a beautiful snapshot. His images felt like frames from a slightly seedy film and moved fashion photography forward again,' says Rankin. The photo that he recreated is the one taken for Vogue in 1975 with an androgynous and mysterious feel taken in the Rue Aubriot in Paris outside Newton's apartment. Rankin has gone back to the same street for his shoot and is using models, Jade Parfittand Mollie Gondi.
Guy Bourdin - one of the most imitated fashion photographers of all. "His highly saturated look and dramatic scenario seem to suggest some hidden tension or trauma. His influence is incredible not just in photography but in pop culture," says Rankin. He chose to recreate Bourdin's 1970 Vogue cover because it captures the sleazy glamour of his work with none of the admiration of women normally seen in traditional fashion photos. He invited model and socialite, Daphne Guinness to pose for the shot.
Herb Ritts - who brought homoeroticty into the mainstream. "Ritts' work has been described as so dark you can see the shadows and the light. He wanted to make beautiful images with beautiful people and in doing so was responsible for the way men were portrayed in fashion. His image 'Fred With Tyres' which was about workers in denim was shown in Italian Vogue in 1984 and caused quite a stir," says Rankin. To recreate this image, Rankin invited top male model, David Gandy who is the face of Dolce and Gabanna.
I learnt a lot from this documentary, as well as what a passionate and dedicated photographer, Rankin is but also the enormous respect he has for his peers and craft. He even took one of the images in a digital format but still achieved the same effect. Seven Photographs That Changed Fashion has also given me a great introduction into the artists who made their mark in photography.
I cannot believe that hip hop is 30 years old. It was back in 1979 when the music genre came onto the scene with the block parties that took place in the Bronx, New York where a certain DJ Kool Herc took to the helms. Those humble days are a long way from the billion industry that hip hop is now as well as a global phenomenon that is has become. I will be honest I used to get confused between hip hop and rap music and it took me a while to differentiate between the two. While rap is a genre of music that involves a vocal rhyming over a beat, hip hop is a cultural movement that consists of clothes, dancing, language, art as well as music. Last week Tim Westwood and Zane Bowes hosted, Most Hip Hop which was a five hour marathon that celebrated 30 years of hip hop cultre by counting down to the most important people in the genre. The likes of Pharrell Williams, P Diddy, Public Enemy, Eminem, Barack Obama, Kanye West and many many others were in there along with Jay-Z who headed the list. It was certainly an interesting line up which many will dispute (read Janice's Mad News' blog about it here) and it got me thinking about my own influences in hip hop so I sat down to jot down a little list and ended up with this below.
Back in 1987 this was the first hip hop concert I ever went to and I believe their first ever gig in London. Their debut album, Hot, Cool & Vicious was doing some serious damage in the charts with singles, Push It, Tramp and I'll Take Your Man burning the airwaves, so London was ready for a live Salt-n-Pepa act. I went to this concert straight from little Saturday job on Oxford Street and as the tube (subway or metro to others) pulled into Green Park and a number of people piled in and more and more people got on at Victoria, Pimlico and Vauxhall and by the time we got to Stockwell, lets say the tube was totally packed with Salt-n-Pepa fans with a few donning the jackets. The whole train got off at Brixton and made their way down to the academy. The show was very entertaining and the ladies from Queens certainly know how to put on a show. There was no Kid 'n' Play though which I was very disappointed about as I was looking forward to seeing their flash dance steps but it was all good and I left happy feeling that I got my money's worth.
This group was my initial introduction to hip hop and boy what an introduction it was. Good old Public Enemy or PE as they were fondly known were really conscious brothers who were bursting with strong positive messages. Chuck D, the lyrical assassin, Professor Griff, the hyper intellectual, Flavor Flav - the eccentric clown , Terminator X, the DJ with a mission and the formidable S1W. During the period of 1985 and 1990 they reigned supreme with albums such as Yo Bum Rush the Show, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Fear of a Black Planet and Apocalypse 91, The Enemy Strikes Back. I went to see them in 1989 at Brixton Academy and 1990 at Dockland Arena. The atmosphere at both stadiums were electric but the concert at Brixton stood out to me. Not because it was on my door step but because the size of the academy was just right to cram in enough people to feel like we were in a real gig but also enabled us to feel like we were close to PE. Chuck D's performance was mesmerising as usual and Black people as well as white got down to a night of dancing and jostling.
While other rappers on the scene presented the elements of street culture into their music, Big Daddy Kane brought a form of sophistication to hip hop. Other rappers wore trainers, tracksuits, t-shirts and jeans; Big Daddy Kane did not. He lounged around in beautiful suits, elegant shoes and the occasional hat and he looked fine! His music was not too shabby either with classics such as Ain't No Half Steppin, Set It Off, The Wrath of Kane and Smooth Operator. He also paid a trip to Brixon Academy in the late 80s with his two lookalike dancers called Scoob and Scrap and kicked ass. Decked out in a blue suit that was so sharp it would have made Ozwald Boateng cry, Big Daddy Kane performed his pioneering fast rap and executed some outrageous acrobatic dance moves that took the place down. In 2005 he was honoured in the VH1 Hip Hop Honours where he performed with Scoob and Scrap and showed that he might be a bit older but he had not lost any of his dance moves. It is on the video above, check out Common's breakdancing skills.
Sadly I never got to see this guy live but listening to his music and speeches made up for it. Having a powerful orator such as Chuck D was blessing enough but to have KRS-One on top of that was totally amazing. KRS-One (which stands for Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone) is the co-founder of Boogie Down Productions along with DJ Scott La Rock who was tragically killed in a shooting. Their first album, Criminal Minded was released in 1987 and contained the iconic tune, South Bronx with scratch beats that are still used today. After Scott La Rock's death KRS-One joined forces with D-Nice and Ms Melodie and released a second album, By All Means Necessary. As well as exemplary songs such as My Philosphy and Ya Slippin which talked about police corruption, safe sex and violence in the hip hop community, it was the cover of the album that got a lot of attention. The image showed KRS-One adopting the famous stance of a certain Malcolm X holding a rifle while looking out of the window. It would be safe to say that a large part of the album pays homage to Malcolm X from the title to the overall message. KRS-One was the first hip hop artist to use Jamaican culture into his music by sampling the ZungaZung melody that was brought to us by Yellowman. According to Wikipedia, this album was a huge landmark in hip hop.
"The album is widely seen as one of, if not, the first politically conscious efforts in hip-hop. Allmusic.com described the album as "a landmark of political rap" and Rolling Stone praised its social commentary.[4]Anthony DeCurtis of Rolling Stone wrote that "Over irresistible beats provided by his BDP cohorts, KRS delivers the word on the drug trade, AIDS and violence – three forces that threaten to destroy minority communities".[5]
I am a fan of KRS-One for many reasons and these are just a few:
In 1989 he kicked off the Stop the Violence Movement - a response to violence in Black communities which resulted in the single, Self Destruction and a video that featured prominent hip hop artists of the time. The campaign raised a lot of awareness about Black on Black crime. He has relaunched the campaign this year and the single features the likes of Syleena Johnson and Twista.
His berating of that muppet Tim Westwood back in 1997 accusing him of being a sell out and so not true to the game. Makes me laugh till this day.
He brought us that magnificent song, Sound of da Police which is aimed at the police in the Bronx. The lyrics, 'Whoop-whoop, that's the sound of da police', makes fun of them.
I don't really listen to much hip hop these days. A large majority of it have formed into a concoction of hip pop that leaves a nasty taste in my mouth. The rest of it is so negative or comical that all I can do is shake my head. There are a few gems out there such as Mos Def, Kanye West, Nas and Common but they are all too far and between. Still I have my memories. What are your hip hop memories?
The Musings of Ondo Lady is a slice of pop culture in the form of films, magazines, books, TV, fashion and music.
My name is Ronke Adeyemi and I am a creative with a background in journalism, marketing and PR. I have a passion for fashion, travel, magazines, books and property. What's the deal with Ondo Lady? Well Ondo is a town in Nigeria where my parents are from. It is located in the south west of Nigeria and holds just over 4 million people and is nicknamed the Sunshine State.
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Poor old Britain's Next Top Model aka BNTM has always been the very poor relation to the glittery, America's Next Top Model aka ANTM. Despite a decent promotional push this show has always struggled to nab decent ratings as well as respectability. It is a real shame because the models in the show actually look like they could have a career as a proper model unlike their counterparts in the US who look like your average Joanna or at best a catalogue model. BNTM is now five years old (I know I can't believe it either) and to commemorate this occasion, Living has stepped up a gear by launching a huge marketing campaign that kicked off six weeks ago. Enter a brand new concept for the show that is based on a 'New Model Army' which is basically a take on the 40s style wartime with presenter, Lisa Snowdon as the commander of the troop.
