ALL THAT GLITTERS

How long is it since you went to a proper party? With girls in tulle and men in tuxedos and black silk bow ties? It's one grown up ritual I never want to abandon. 

On Saturday night we hosted our Midnight in Manhattan Ball and decorated the raw loft space at the Surry Hills studio with glittering silver stars, and disco balls from huge to tiny scattered along the bar. I wore a sequinned ball gown the colour of a gleaming skyscraper at dusk and quite serious high heels. Nick wore a black evening suit. And our closest     friends interpreted the theme in everything from Studio 54 disco diva heels to a Marilyn Monroe worthy lipstick red halter dress.

We served canapés that could only be described as New York Nostalgia classics: piping hot Rueben sandwiches, pizza, and tiny apple pies by way of homage to the big apple. Carbs? Yes, there really were carbs and cold champagne, a bit of hip hop and Frank Sinatra and a lot of emotion to share so many memories with so many people we love.

Moving to New York is like wishing on a star but the good will and vision of so many creative and joyful contemporaries collapses the sense of distance. It's five weeks and counting now…

WES ANDERSON

I wouldn't say that I'm particularly bothered or obsessed with detail.

Wes Anderson 

Don't you love a quote that utterly contradicts the entire signature of a famous artist?

Wes Anderson's films are made of the most delicious details. The apparently unnecessary details and nervous tics that end up BEING the story.

Margot Tenenbaum is a great example. Will we ever find out why she only wears an old Lacoste tennis dress and a dank mink coat with too much black eyeliner? No, of course not. Her clothes are her character and she is meant to be an enigma.

Then there is the little cotton dress worn by the teen heroine in Moonrise Kingdom. It's a dress that is too elegant for a child and too small for an adult, so it's impossibly beautiful.

I even like the yellow brunch dress worn by Mrs.Fox in the fantastic Mister Fox. It's as if Wes imagined Catherine Deneuve in fox form and got her 1968 hem length just right.

It makes good sense that Prada chose Anderson to make some short films for their fragrance CANDY. He has that way of fusing luxury with whimsy that is just his. Maybe he is the only director on earth who makes you want to wear a particular starchy dress, or tennis socks or an ironed tuxedo shirt right now. But I'm not completely sure about old mink the colour

GOING GOURMET CRAZY

                

 There are everyday things we all buy and it feels like a treadmill: milk, butter, eggs, milk, butter, bread, milk, butter….And then there is sexy shopping that feels like you are in the lingerie department of food.

This week I indulged at the newly opened Gourmet Life on Edgecliff Road and stocked up on the sort of condiments that make every day pantry staples go zing. In some ways I like to tell myself it’s a very luxe form of house keeping (and vicarious travel), as I can take a bag of basmati or plain pasta and make something kinky, posh or simply a bit more sophisticated for 'drop of the hat entertaining'.

On my maiden voyage to Josh Rea’s exotic food emporium I chose the blue Persian salt, chilli angel hair, some truffle oil, a bottle of black currant vinegar, some very curious kamut pasta, some black hawaiian salt, and a smattering of caviar. The shop also stocks lovely oddities like Rome’s oldest coffee, the best European Porcini mushrooms and summer truffles from Tuscanny. I am already planning my next visit to buy the lavender infused olive oil, kiwi fruit jam and a special honey…. amazing. 

      

http://gourmetlife.com.au

I WANT TO WAKE UP IN A CITY THAT DOESN'T SLEEP....

http://xperigryn.deviantart.com/art/New-York-City-251245758
Sourced from Pinterest - Font artist is unknown and overlayed on a pinterest board
 http://pinterest.com/pin/238479742739136788/ 

  

I have to share some big news. My husband Nick has accepted the position of BBC correspondent for the United Nations in New York so, in turn, I am going with him for the adventure, setting up an office for my label in New York and jumping feet first into all the things I love about the big apple.

We are in a tumult of planning right now and I am designing a winter collection but one thought is to settle in Brooklyn. I am so looking forward to exploring nearby places such as Mexico, Cuba and South America and letting all that bring a new spice of life to my lines and our family life. Our Sydney studio continues to blossom as I begin to mobilise and yes I will be running two offices. It's not that unusual for a fashion label.

The change is a bit BIG, but It's a nice thought that we will be travelling into another summer and that the children will have a major three dimensional geography lesson. Manhattan is mad. But there is tranquility too. Expect future blogs from obscure Brooklyn tea rooms, the community gardens in the heart of the city and the courtyard at MOMA, my favorite place in New York by far...so far.

THE LAST DAY OF SUMMER

There are no fixed rituals for the changing of the seasons and in Australia seasons often bleed into each other, even if the changes are very very subtle.

Autumn light is sharp and crisp. In the wind we feel a delicate chill. At dusk we carry cardigans. Rainstorms and wind seem more extreme. When rain falls it is like a curtain between one season and the next. Act 2: Leaves fall on a steaming street.

But of course the end of summer is a melancholy day even if it is marked by an arbitrary date and why not hail it decline with a celebrative ritual all your own?

Here are seven ways to celebrate this very special day, a small homage to transition, movement and that relentless invention we call time:

1. Decorate a freshly made bed with fallen summer flowers, frangipanis are ideal.
2. Fill a custard tart with all the sliced fresh fruits of summer…strawberries are all but gone now.
3. Make any excuse you can to cut work early and go jump into the ocean.
4. Make a list of everything beautiful that happened this summer (ask your children to join in).
5. Make a compilation of all your favourite summer songs (they can span back decades).
6. Take your favourite summer dress and gently hand wash it and hang in the sun to dry. Do not iron it!
7. Wear perfume behind your knees. Vanilla essence is fine.

Summer Music

What have you been listening to this summer? We’ve had a few new tunes on high rotation in the studio this month, a great mix of blues, chillout, and some cool Frenchies (I love Mélanie Pain).

I wanted to share them with you so that you can add them to your playlist, too…

FLOWERS BLOOM/ HIGH HIGHS

SAY THAT / TORO Y MOI

MY NUMBER/ FOALS

7 OU 8 FOIS/ MELANIE PAIN

SERPENTINE (FEAT.RAP LISA) WOLF + LAMB

LOST / FRANK OCEAN

SPILL THE WINE / ERIC BURDON

LES YEUX JAUNES/ LEONARD ARI

CRUCIFY YOUR MIND / RODRIGUEZ

THE AIR THAT I BREATHE/ ALBERT HAMMOND

Click through below to listen to:

LOST / FRANK OCEAN

7 OU 8 FOIS/ MELANIE PAIN

SAY THAT / TORO Y MOI

Will you be our Valentine