oooh where to start.....where to start.... So, this week saw me unveil my brand new collection for AW09 titled "I'm Saving the Dogs"..... As I'm sure you can imagine the past couple of weeks have been absolute mayhem and there is many a tale to tell....from me almost taking out half of Kingsland Road with a ball of wool and my favourite mug....to my eyes turning grey....tra la la.... but I'm going to start with letting you in on the concept behind my new collection...... "Following a magical adventure around South East Asia Emma Bell came back with a backpack bursting with painted folk masks, local handicraft skills under her belt and a tattered copy of Lord Tennyson’s poems. Emma’s AW09 collection sees a plethora of inspirations deriving from the Medieval realms of Camelot, the romantic tragedy of Ophelia, the utilitarian value of Chinese communist military wear, and the brutal realisation of cruelty to dogs in East Asian cultures. AW09 uses block printing and bold knitwear pattern formation influenced by traditional batik techniques. Woollen embroidery embellishment, hand painted fabrics of illustrated, urinating canines, freehand quilting and pixellatedintarsia. Using a colour palette of brights, neon pastels and her signature metallics. Constructions of Perspex shapes, printed jerseys and quilted PVC’s." So there you go.....! It has been amazing being able to learn new techniques and I have really enjoyed creating this new collection with all of my heart! My recent trips to Asia over the past year have really inspired my work...and i really wanted to express a more in depth insight in my personal values on such issues. During a trip to China last year I witnessed in the space of one day seeing about 15 dogs crammed into one cage in one of the most traumatic markets I have ever visited in my life....(but to get to the sparkly buttons I had to plough through it...) later that day I saw a dog killed by bashing it's head against a wall in the street...and the pinnacle of the day saw me sitting at the same table as a girl tucking into a banquet of dog....this all got me thinking having been a vegetarian for ethical reasons for 20 years...and my thoughts were re-affirmed on this during my most recent trip to Asia. Whilst I appreciate that poverty in such countries leaves little option to what they whack in a pan...at the same time animal cruelty is something that I can never endorse. I paid homage to the dogs in the form of beautiful headpieces constructed by the amazing Finch as well as incredible acrobatic pissing dogs painted into the fabric. Another inspiration derived from the utilitarian value of Communist military clothing in China. People buy ex military garments opposed to new as a result of the local economy and also because the clothes are well made and durable. This idea pushed me to look at shape and silhouette and allowed elements such as conical outlines and broad rounded shoulders to seep into the collection. Epaulets in the form of beautiful hand painted Vietnamese masks collected on my adventures and mimicked in my signature quited PVC's. Tennyson remains one of my all time poets ever since reading the tragedy that is the "Lady of Shallot"...I wanted to incorporate a whimsical and romantic twist into my new collection which was translated into the wool embroidered florals, tiny hearts sequined into garments and the robust blanket stitched yarns. So....I hope that my bit of spiel there gives you a bit of an insight into the ideas behind my collection for AW09..................... Love and "I am kinda scared of dogs...but lets not be mean to them", Emma xxxx
HELLO CUPCAKES!! Here's a sneak peek at some footage from my show on Friday....dont' know what's up with the sound quality....sounds like theres a few different bits of music being played there?!?!But watch this space for now...just to get the idea!!!
errrmmm I don't know where to even start...the past 7 months since my last show have been super hardcore in the preparation of last Friday 19th September...even from last December when I found myself trekking around the Far East scribbling in journals and sketchbooks and sourcing the perfect fabrics in the weirdest markets ever.....BUT TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!!From the design, to sourcing, to pattern cutting, to making....to spending months knitting and bejewelling, to juggling special freelance projects.....it's been incredibly intense!
And finally on Friday my new collection was unleashed!!!
As my SS09 collection was unveiled on the catwalk of London Fashion Week at Vauxhall Fashion Scout....we saw an amazing presence from my ULTRA ULTRA SPECIAL creative director and stylist Miss Alexis Knox....http://www.alexisknox.com/....as well as INCREDIBLE phantasmagorical hair directed by the AMAZING superstar stylist Charlie Le Mindu...http://www.charlielemindu.com/....FANTASTIC accessories from KekoHainswheeler...http://www.kekohainswheeler.com/.....JUICY make-up by Rachael Wood and SPARKLETABULOUS jewelled masks by Melissa Lee!!!!
A brief bit of spiel about my latest collection for SS09.....it was inspired by weird twisted fairytales involving magic tablecloths and bizarre entities living in glitter encrusted shacks courtesy of a food-stained skanky book I found in Oxfam for £2.....all you can eat buffets where you can gorge yourself.....Russian folklore involving arrogant, cheating, super hot princes with curly moustaches, French Revolution style decadent dinner parties on a mystical planet at the other side of the galaxy.....
Ok now for some special thanks.....now there are A LOT of people who have helped me soooo much and it would not have been possible to do this without them....
I would firstly like to thank MY AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING first assistant Katie Mudford...who has spent months knitting with me as well as well as EVERYTHING else including entertaining gossip sessions....trips to the co-op...getting shat on by birds who had been eating blackberries......burning the midnight oil...tra la la la......THANKS KATIE!!!! OK....now I hope that I am not going to forget to mention anyone here....my brain has still not recovered since the show....
SUPER BIG THANKS to John, Martyn and ALL of the guys and girls at Vauxhall Fashion Scout.....thank you so much for inviting me to be part of your incredible line-up, and all of the advice and everything else! Thanks to my sponsors...Lambrini, Toni and Guy, Benefit, DR.Martens.......... HUGE THANKS TO DOREEN.....FOR EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!! BIG THANKS TO DAVIDE F! MASSIVOMUCHOMUCHOMUCHOGRACIAS to the wonderfulJackee Mitchell who proved to be a lifesafer and was uterlly incredible in every single way....including having to have me feed him frozen pizza and potato salad a million times! TROPICAL DANKESHOENS (URGH is that even how you spell it?!?!)to my amazing manager JOBOT! JUICY THANK YOU'S to all of the SUPERHUMAN assistants who worked so incredibly hard to make everything possible.....ALENI, HARRY AND LOUISE! MAJOR thanks to JOLDINE....who totally saved my bacon!!!
MASSIVO THANKS TO THE MAGICAL ROSIE LLEWELYN....she's awesome!
BIG BIG BIG thanks to Zarah at Exposure! HUGE THANKS to the make up team at AOF.....
GOURMET MERCI BEAUCOUPS to Liam...
MYSTICAL WOOLLY THANKS TO GINA DAVISON!!!
I OWE MY LIFE TO ALL OF MY INCREDIBLE SUPER HOT MODELS......thanks to ROSIE,RAEL, MATTY, GUI,ROSE,MICKY, CALLUM, GUY,OLIVIA, TARA, SARAH, TIFFANY,CYN,REBECCA, KTYNA,SUKI,HEIDI,VASALISA,DAWN AND MARIANA!!! OH YES...and one more thanks....THANK YOU to the GATECRASHERS who provided us with entertainment as we watched them SHAMEFULLY fill their bags with bottles of Lambrini to take home with them...you have been caught on camera...THAT IS SOOOOO HOT guys! Jeezzzz what a list!!! Ok so now feast your eyes upon these beauties.......here are a few pictures taken backstage by Billa...http://www.billabaldwin.com/...thanks so much....they look SUPER HOT.....
Also...here are a couple of catwalk shots by THOM WILL!!!THANKS!!!!
Evening Jubbly's (yep, that is the cheap Iceland version of what was once called a Sunlolly...I prefer the Tropical and Blackcurrant varieties...although if all that is on offer in the freezer is orange, then I'm really not fussy!) So on this roasting evening...where it's actually too noisy outside to crack the window..I discovered a new little video where you can cop a spy at my last catwalk show for London Fashion Week at Vauxhall Fashion Scout with Super Super magazine.....there's also an appearance by Samanda...love a bit of Big Brother action...yes please! It also features the collections by fellow designers Thomas Sels, Dharma Taylor and Scott Ramsey Kyle who showcased also!!! So, get your chops around this bad boy and keep an eye out for my hot models sporting my AW08 collection!!! Love and Exotic Temperatures, Emma xxxx
British Fashion Designer & Visual Artist currently based in Seoul~South Korea. My work has showcased on the catwalk at London Fashion Week and Vienna Fashion Week alongside selected exhibitions and presentations internationally.
I have a background working as a Creative Consultant which involves projects ranging from exhibition curation to art direction, wardrobe to writing...Partners, collaborations,clients & various projects have included Irregular Choice, Vauxhall Motors, Soda Stream, Quartier21,Lambrini, British Embassy,Designers Against Aids, Notion Magazine and Helen Rochfort...
Awarded positions as Artist in Residence include Austria, Japan, Taiwan, Slovenia and South Korea.
Selected press publications include: Dazed & Confused, VICE, WAD Paris, ELLE Germany,Paper Magazine NYC,Cosmopolitan and Time Out.Additional media features include BBC,Radio MARŠ, FM4 Vienna, Channel 4 'SKINS' and ARTE:TRACKS Germany/France.
