Exclusive interview with emerging fashion designer Giuseppe Virgone

For my last interview of the year, I am proud to introduce you to the work of Giuseppe Virgone, an Italian emerging fashion designer who launched his first collection in 2010. Let's dive into his gothic and almost theatrical universe paved with historical references.

When is your brand born?
The project started in late 2009 when I gave birth to a first collection called "An animal must die". It wasunveiled at the RA shop in Antwerp a few days after its opening. I presented mywork as a performance with an installation which related to this universe.

Who, from the fashion or "creative world" doyou take inspiration from?
I am inspired a lotby the past, by strong characters, Greek mythology, and religious belief.  Also from the works of contemporary artists suchas Romeo Castellucci, the Chapman brothers etc. and strangely music inspires mea lot too.

Can you tell us a bit more about your backgroundplease?
I am a young fashion designer based in Brussels trained at the National Schoolof Visual Arts of La Cambre in Brussels.

After an internshipat Gaspard Yurkievich as a “modist”, I launched my first men winter collectionin 2010 called "An animal must die."

This collectionevokes the fate of a mortal man, an unconditional love for an animal and the incomprehensionof unjustified actions. Space and movements of the body are the essential focusesof my work.

Can you tell us about your latest collection?

I called this collection "Broken agreement" becauseit defines what Savonarole (an Italian Dominican friar) lived. First, there was a religious belief. This belief drove himmad.  Politics and religion were mixed inhis mind, he wanted to control everything but nothing worked. All this power drovehim to his loss and his death.

This collection reflects the time when the religious soul is confronted with a half human, half monster shell!

It is a portrait ofGirolamo Savonarola, a priest who died in the bonfire in Florence, Italy in1498. This character took over the city, censored nudity and the vanity ofpainters of the time. Contemporary thought was not welcome.

This collection is atransformation of the body and the mind. We begin with a very simple world, a mixof sacred and religion which then breaks down and merges into more contemporary shapes, materials, animal tissue, aggressive embroiderystifling the body.

In the end it willgive way to fantasy where reality mixes with dream. Bodies arecracking, the power falls, burns the vanity, the mind becomes king! The garmentis made up as if the body wanted to say something, a moment of pure grace inwhich all souls oscillate. Nothing has value,while there, everything disappears. There is not even a border between thebody, between words and surfaces.

My work is very dark.

What do you think about French Fashion's scene?

I really like Paris for the Menswear fashion week.  Collections are always right, but perhaps a little hard to penetrate when you are a young fashion designer. I wish for a Belgian fashion week. It would make things easier for us to show our work.

Have you had any support from other fashion figure?

As we speak, I am alone showing this body of work.

What are you expressing through your designs?

First of all I dress a space, a movement and then the body. I like to create a tragedy before suffocating the body. 
I really like the ritual of dressing and undressing. I like to say that throughout our movements, a celebration will be born.

Are you showing at Paris Fashion week or any other fashion weeks?

Yes, I will present my work as a video-performance-look book. I don’t have any space yet.

Where can we find your designs?

My first collection was sold in Antwerp at the RA shop and next month it will be available on: www.ledressing.be

To finish with, what would you wish to this blog and what do you think about it?

Your blog is well designed, a kind of diary for fashion. If you need any fashion information, your blog surely gives the answer.
I’d like to see a list of buyers and some "showroom space".

Thanks to  Giuseppe.

Exclusive interview with fashion film Director Jason Last

SCALPEL/STRADIVARIUS from JASON LAST on Vimeo.

Meet the incredibly talented and well-established fashion film Director, artist and friend Jason Last. Jason has been an Art is Alive supporter since the beginning and exclusively for Art is Alive he agreed to provide more insights on his inspiration, his next projects and his amazing artistic approach.


Can you introduce yourself please?
Hi, I'm Jason Last.

How did it all start for you?
I've always been drawn to moving image & sound - especially growing up watching a lot of music videos & seeing video art. I've always somehow played & worked with video. When I decided to study in Fine Arts,  I specialized in video & from there, it grew - technically & mentally.
In terms of fashion film; defining the genre personally came from my early (to recent) collaborations with Jaime Rubiano. We experimented with, & blended the worlds that drive & inspire us creatively; art, fashion, film, performance, photo. It was quite a natural process.

Can you tell us about your recent projects?
Right now I am working on a longer film with complexgeometries, featuring their SS12 collection w/ Andrej Pejic, & a score composed by Grimes - who is amazing.. called The King's Son.  
Also, completing a film from last year, Barrel Of A Gun (BOAG), which tells somewhat a story through narration. 
Jaime & I just completed Scalpel/Stradivarius (first video above) which we are quite excited about. It is presented by Vogue Italia & features live performance by Sarah Neufeld (Arcade Fire/The Bell Orchestre), who composed the score for the film, & model Meghan Collison. It won Thecorner.com prize at ASVOFF4 in Paris this year, & is circulating to various festivals/ screening at the moment. It features all kinds of designers from Ackermann to Demeulemeester to Givenchy. (http://vimeo.com/31196193)

THE KING'S SON - PREVIEW from complexgeometries on Vimeo.

Which one are you most proud of?
I don't know if we are more proud of one more than others. Each piece has it's own life & identity. I know that as the work grows & develops; so does our ability to make stronger work. We're always defining & redefining what we do.

Is video the best medium to showcase fashion? 
I don't think so. There is definitely an intimacy with the clothing & design that can be achieved with video for the viewer, & there is control over presentation & concept; with music, narrative, whatever... but there's nothing like a strong runway show, & the energy & experience of live performance. Video is an incredible & important vehicle for fashion, but it's only one.

Jason

Who or what do you take your inspiration from?
My past, art, a lot of music, nature. normal things.. too many things. I work very closely with Jaime, who's creative mind continuously pushes hard at our work.

Who would you be interested to work with if you had the choice?
A lot of the people I want to work with are in music. Creative subjects that bring their own art to the table. My art reflected through my idols.
Crossover of genres is very interesting to me. Collaboration is everything. Music, art, fashion, performance - these worlds have always worked somehow together, & those incestuous combinations fascinate me the most creatively.
In fashion, again there are too many designers & models that I want to create & collaborate with.

Would you consider doing something else if you were not an artist? 
No.

To finish with, what do you think and wish to this blog?
Art Is Alive is one of the first sites I remember looking at years ago. & I always have connected to the way it integrates art & fashion. 

More info on: http://www.jasonlaststudio.com

Thank you so much Jason.

Exclusive interview with fashion pioneer Diane Pernet

Diane Pernet needs no presentation but for those who don't know her, she is a world-renowned fashion critic and video journalist based in Paris. Previously a photographer and designer in New York, fashion editor of Elle.com and Vogue Paris.com amongst other responsabilities, she recently reinvented herself as documentary filmmaker, talent scout and fashion blogger on her site A Shaded View on Fashion (www.asvof.com). In 2008, Diane launched A Shaded View on Fashion Film, the world's first fashion and film festival. 

I had the huge pleasure to catch up with her ahead of the Barcelona edition of A Shaded View on Fashion Film Festival which will be held from 24 to 27 January 2012 and I touchedbased on various topics, from her contemporary art tastes to her love for koalas and the programme of the festival. Enjoy !

Tell us something we don’t know about you as a matter of introduction.
I fell in love with a koala bear when I was in Perth, Australia in August and ever since then have become obsessed with saving them from extinction.

Who or what inspires you the most?
Lighting by James Turrell and  Olafur Eliasson, architecture and design by Joseph Dirand, fashion and furniture by Rick Owens. Soichiro Kanbayashi’s amazingly beautiful sculpted wooden chair, films by Mike Figgis, John Cassavetes. I love directors who can make great films. Anything Miguel Villalobos does from photography to sculpture to jewelry, cooking...,  Daido Moriyama, Nobuyoshi Araki, Erwin Olaf, Pierre Gonnard….

How did the idea of A Shaded View on Fashion Film Festival come about?
When I first started this back in 2008, somehow I instinctively knew that ASVOFF would fill a much needed creative gap.  I guess it was because I understood there was already an audience waiting to be served.  But what I could never have anticipated was just how quickly the cross-over between fashion and film would evolve from wild experimentation into a bona fide art form and a valuable commercial outlet.  To begin with, I think the ‘fashion film’ was born out of a real need to breathe life into the old static medium and set fashion in motion through the magic of cinema.  What ASVOFF does is to give people in both industries – and talented outsiders too – a platform to let this genre flourish.  Hopefully, by rewarding excellence in the field, it also keeps pushing them to push the boundaries forward too.

Do you feel that fashion films are the future of “fashion marketing” i.e complementing catwalk shows, streamed live catwalk shows, lookbooks etc. ?
Four years later, the two disciplines have grown even closer thanks to the incredible impact of the digital revolution, new commercial realities and a mutual fascination between fashion and film industry leaders.  But it’s not only that.  As online, tablet and smartphone media channels grow ever more important, ‘fashion film’ is also filling important business niches and offering artistic solutions to challenges we could never have imagined even a few years ago.  It’s also creating totally new, sometimes unexpected opportunities as it goes along.  ‘Fashion film’ makes perfect sense in today’s world where we have the live streaming of catwalk shows, click-to-buy video e-commerce functionality, behind-the-scenes and fly-on-the-wall fashion brand documentaries – not to mention video ads spreading virally like wild fire through social media networks.  There’s something in the bigger picture too, you know.  Fashion is still a hot topic for reality TV shows; there are biopics of fashion designers coming out left, right and centre; designers are moonlighting as Hollywood film directors – and actresses as designers.  I don’t think there has ever been a better moment for a festival like ASVOFF than now.

Why a Barcelona edition for the festival? Is Spain an inspiration (I guess so given the mantilla which is part of your look)?
Actually 4 or 5 years ago I did my first fashion festival called You Wear it Well in the Arts Santa Monica  on la Rambla in Barcelona sponsored by B-Guided magazine. I think it was 2006 and later I did ASVOFF in Santiago de Compostela. I do like Spain a lot. Alex Murray-Leslie (Chicks on Speed) and I have been talking about working together on ASVOFF Barcelona for about a year. ASVOFF will be customized for Barcelona with a new jury, two new competitions one for students with a one word brief AMUSE for a 1 minute film, deadline January 1st and a one minute mobile phone competition. You can visit www.asvoff.es for more information on the Barcelona edition.

What other cities do you have in your radar?
I just came back from an ASVOFF screening in Tokyo, we are currently planning ASVOFF in Miami Basel, followed by Barcelona and then we plan to go to Cannes again in May and in between maybe NYC and next year back to Australia. I’m not sure where else at the moment. Probably Milan again.

What events can we expect to attend in Barcelona?
New jury, new competitions , some Spanish archival fashion films, concerts, special appearances….work in progress at the moment.

How important is it to promote young fashion designers?
I like to promote young talent be it fashion, film, art or music. I think it is very important as that is the future.Young designers need a platform , they do not have the means to advertise and they deserve to be seen.

Do you feel there’s not enough visibility in the press or online given to young fashion designers?
Blogs and online websites and e-commerce and festivals do provide plenty of opportunity for designers to be seen.

Who do you think we should most watch as designers of the future?
At the moment I think Jean Paul Lespagnard is a good one to watch. I’ve been watching his work for about  4 years now ever since he was participating at the festival d’Hyeres. Aganovich is also making a name for themselves. MaMe in Tokyo is an interesting brand.

Same question for fashion film directors or photographers?
I really like the work of Elisha Smith-Leverock, Alex Prager, Lernet + Sander, Justin Anderson, Suzie Q + Leo Siboni, David Bedoni, Jason Last + Jaime Rubiano, I could continue but maybe should stop there.

What are your contemporary art tastes like?
I like Theo Mercier, Takahiro Kimura, Gregory Crewson, The Quay Brothers, Marc Quinn, Anish Kapoor and Yayoi Kusama.

Have you seen any recent striking exhibition?
Yes October 10th the Yayoi Kusama exhibition opened at Centre Pompidou.

What are your next projects? Directing a film yourself? 
Like I said working on ASVOFF Miami Basel and ASVOFF Barcelona also trying to raise money for the Save the Koala fund by doing an event in London probably with the new Le Baron, just in the planning stage at the moment but the Koala bear situation is very dramatic. If something is not done soon they will be extinct. I like to direct low fi documentaries, for the moment only very short ones my dream is to one day assemble a series of short films and make it into one long film which will be a patchwork of the people that I find inspiring, interesting or entertaining.

To finish with, what do you think about this blog and what would you wish it?
I think it looks great, clean and interesting texts.


Thanks Diane !

Exclusive interview with emerging fashion designer Etienne Derœux

Meet Etienne Derœux, an emerging French fashion designer who recently presented his debut S/S 2012 collection in Paris at Six Showroom, which features an amazing sense of purity. His approach of fashion is intellectual and that's what I found really interesting...


When is your brand born?
The Brand was Born on april 1st  2011. 

Who, from the fashion or "creative world" do you take your inspiration from?
I read a lot, I watch a lot of movies, I listen to a lot of music, I go to many exhibitions. 
I try to nourish myself with what I see, what I discover, that's my inspiration in everyday life. Besides That, 'My Dear Bomb' by yohji yamamoto is a book I often go back to when it comes to Fashion,  as well as Madeleine Vionnet's and Mme Grès' works among others.

Can you tell us a bit more about your background please?
I decided I wanted to do fashion quite early but really decided to give it a try when I finished high school. I started as an intern at Jean Louis Scherrer Haute couture in Paris with Stephane Rolland when I was 17. Then I moved to Australia where I took short courses in Fashion to prepare my entrance exam to Antwerp royal academy. In 2008 I entered Antwerp fashion school where I stayed one year, then moved to La Cambre in Brussels. 
After two works experiences at Peter Pilotto in London and Matthew Ames in New York, I realized that the condition to my freedom of expression and creativity was to be my own boss and to launch my own label.

Can you tell us about your latest collection?
My Spring summer collection is based on three major inspirations which are 'L'être et le Neant' a book written by Jean-Paul Sartre, the work of photographer william Eggleston and elementary geometry book for children.

Through these topics I was willing to create a collection of elegent basics along with innovative shapes, with very high quality finishes and materials.

The main purpose of my cloth is that they can be worn either in a casual or a more classy way, since their goal is to suit the body and adapt to 
different kind of styles. Each piece in the collection is conceived as an extension of the personality made to bend to the desires of the body they dress up. It's about being what you want to be thanks to cloths, not being ruled by a piece of fabric.

What do you think about French Fashion's scene?
The french Fashion scene is a bit antithetic, the contrast between the big houses and the young designers is obvious, there's no such things as the British fashion Council, The Ecco Domani foundation, the CFDA or even big awards to support small French fashion structures. 

In beetween Hyeres festival which is a great place for a designer to be discovered, and l'andam price for confirmed talents, there is nothing in between, when designers would actually need help to grow. That blocks the French Fashion scene in my opinion, and influential new designers have troubles to emerge.

It's actually an economic nonsense in a country where the fashion and textile industry is so important.

Have you had any support from other fashion figure?
A lot of people are showing me their support and interest. Some people are fashion related, some aren't. I'm making clothws for people, not for fashion figures.

What are you expressing through your designs?
A desire of freedom and novelty at first, and also a way to consume fashion differently. 
I refuse to use synthetical fibers in my collections, so everything is basically 100% pure natural fibers. I also number every garment by hand and limit my production to 100 copies of each styles to preserve rarity and exclusivity for my clients.

Are you showing at Paris Fashion week?
I'm presenting my debut S/S 2012 collection in Paris at Six Showroom.

What projects do you have upcoming?
I'm currently working on my winter collection, there are new challenges because I'm willing to develop some exclusive knits for this next season, and also start working on shoes that can be produced and sold in the future.

I also have a photography project to illustrate my collection that i'd like to present to festivals for fashion and photography in order to introduce a different vision of my work.
then about more down to earth projects, I need to find a Press agency and to work on my website and E-shop.

Where can we find your designs?
My Designs will be available at 'Hunting & Collecting' in Brussels, 'Front row' in Moscow and at www.etiennederoeux.com from january 2012, and hopefully, there are more stores to come.

To finish with, what would you wish to this blog and what do you think about it?The only thing I can wish to a blog is that the internet forever stays this perfect place for self expression.

I'm proud to be featured among all those prestigious topics and I hope my work will be better known thanks to this article.

More info on: http://www.etiennederoeux.com/
Photo credits: ©Tine Claerhout Photography

Exclusive interview with Spanish designer Roberto Piqueras

I had the chance to interview with Roberto Piqueras, a Spanish emerging fashion designer who recently launched a 1992's Barcelona Olympic Games inspired collection. 

When was your brand born?

My brand was born in 2007 when I moved to Madrid.

Who, from the fashion or "creative world" do you take inspiration from?
One of my favourite fashion designers is Jean Charles de Castelbajac.

Are you originally from Barcelona? Can you tell us a bit more about your background please?
Yes, I am from Sabadell, a little city around 20 km from Barcelona. I studied at Felicidad Duce in Barcelona and all my life I’ve been interested in art and music. I played violin for 4 years and painted oil on canvas for 5 years. I also danced jazz until the age of 13.

Can you tell us about your latest collection and the impact of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games?
In 1992 I was 7 years-old and I witnessed how everyone around the world was talking about Barcelona. It was exciting for me. This is why 20 years later I decided to pay that tribute to my city and show how the tourists of the city envisage the typical souvenirs. It’s like if nothing new had happened.

What are you expressing through your designs?
I wanted to show the funniest parts of clothes and fashion. I waned to design something
relaxed, not pretentious. This is why my brand looks “sporty” and “streety”.

Are you showing at Barcelona or Madrid Fashion week?
This time for the Summer 2012 collection I am going to be showing in Barcelona during the BAC Festival in an art gallery and in London at the Primitive London gallery, located in Dalston.

What are your upcoming projects?
Well, last week I won a prize with Burger King and they are going to help me work on my brand and show my new Winter 2012/13 collection during London Fashion Week. So right now I need to move there from Barcelona and start working on my new collection. I am also waiting to receive the orders for the new stores to start to produce.

Where can we find your pieces?
In Barcelona you can find it in KR Store, in London at Primitive London, in Hong Kong at Voulez Vous & Gallery de Vie, online on my own onlinestore and soon on http://boysboysboys-shop.de/ and http://www.saturdayguy.com and for new summer 2012 season you can find it at WUT Berlin in Tokyo. 

To finish with, what would you wish to this blog?
I wish an endless of posts with a lot of visits and love.

photos by César Segarra ( cesarsegarra.com )
More info on: www.robertopiqueras.com

Exclusive interview with London stylist and artist Julianna Sseruwagi-Nisbett

Meet Julianna Sseruwagi-Nisbett, London born and bred stylist and artist whose next show  is part of a group show that will open at the Saatchi Gallery in London on 14th October.
She agreed to take some time and reflect on her amazing career as well as her relationship with Italian brand Moschino.

 
How would you describe yourself and how would you describe your art?
My work involves styling but there is an artistic thought process behind it. I want to explore the many reasons why people wear the clothes they do as well as dress them up! Of course fashion in the immediate sense is aesthetic, but there is depth to it as well; it is one the most basic forms of individual human expression. So when you remove the business element from fashion what remains is pure creativity or nothing.

Which exhibition are you most proud of?
I have only had one so far! It was about exploring my relationship with Moschino from the nineties (when I was a teenager), to the present day. The exhibition allowed me to reminisce about the people and places that formed part of the person I am today. Moschino was just as much a part of my teenage years as jungle music, raves and my first love. I think this importance of clothing can be overlooked in fashion today, which is why I try and explore it in my work. I grew up in a quite a deprived area of South London and designer clothes were a status symbol for people who didn’t have much. Nowadays, middle class people wear the same Moschino I used to wear for the opposite reason of wanting to look ‘street’. I find this cross pollination of cultures quite humorous.

Currently, do you have an exhibition and where does it take place?
No. My first exhibition ‘OFF-KEY’ finished last month. You can still see the pictures on my website though.
 

Where do you take your inspiration from?
My inspiration comes from family, friends, strangers, memories, the city and popular culture. I’m also interested in the overlap and the alienation between fashion and the classes.

If you were not an artist, what would you be doing?
Going a bit crazy. I’ve had an eclectic past with events, music, politics and fashion, so hopefully I’d be expressing myself creatively in some way.

What is your next project about?
I am obsessed with Nietzsche; particularly the book Will to Power. He believes all ‘truth’ is just a set of beliefs constructed by one person to dominate others. I am exploring the idea of what is real and what is fake in fashion advertising. As with all my work there are more personal aspects to it as well but I don’t want to give it all away! One of the things I love about each project is that it is constantly evolving so who knows what the final outcome will be.

Do you consider that Art is Alive?
As I said, my work is constantly evolving so I feel like it’s a living being. I believe art is alive as long as we are and it manifests itself in many forms which is what I find so beautiful about it.

Is London an inspiration?
Yes, because it is my home. I believe the place that you grew up in will always be an inspiration as it is a part of who you are, whether you are embracing it or trying to get away from it. In my case it is a bit of both! I am fortunate that London is one of the most diverse and multi-cultural cities in the world which means I can access many different people, places and life experiences in one bus journey. I don’t think of it as consciously as that because it is all I have ever known, but when I reflect I can see it in myself. I went from being an rnb club girl, to an indie band manager, dabbling in politics and philosophy along the way before presenting my love of fashion and art. There are not many places in England you can do that without barely moving postcodes!

What do you think about this blog and what would you wish it?
This is a really lovely way to collate different mediums within art and design. I love getting hints of other people’s inspiration and passion within popular culture and I’m very happy to be part of it.

Thanks Julianna !

Pictures are courtesy of Annin Arts

Alexey Kurbatov's present

Thank you Alexey !

Exclusive interview with graphic artist Alexey Kurbatov

I am bringing you an amazing Russian graphic artist. His name is Alexey Kurbatov and he produces BEAUTIFUL artworks which look like collages... 

How would you describe yourself and your art?

There is a divergence familiar to everyone: who I am and who I want to seem. For instance, I wanted to paint disturbed lyrics, a second before a catastrophe, insecurity or the loneliness of a little man the way it would not look like a soap opera or a melodrama. Sometimes I want to make thriller - to convey horror so that it would become inexplicably terrifying. And sometimes to make all these topics together and with a shade of absurd. Probably it turns out to be something else. But at last it's unimportant if it caught someone's attention for more than 5 seconds.

Once, two women were listening to one of 46 Haydn's symphonies. Both were excited after listening and close to tears: one was scared by sinister untrodden wood, the other worried about furry rabbit running about meadow. I'm sure that Haydn himself had imagined these options...

Are you represented by a gallery and do you currently have a show?

I held an exhibition in July this year. Now I'm preparing the next one. But in my point of view it has relative benefits. Back to musical analogies: the majority of people is satisfied with recordings but only 10% attend concerts. You can see all my works on the Internet without leaving your armchair. You can buy magazines in any kiosk and not visit any gallery. In my opinion, that's great. Exhibitions are important for those who are really unique in their creation, whose works are worth your three hours trip to the megalopolis. But painters-illustrators can be mostly noticed in magazines.

Have you ever collaborated with other organisations?
I am glad to work with concrete people. I understand people better than organizations. So that I do not belong to anything like that somehow. I work with writers, musicians, priests, journalists, magazines, banks, design-studios, press agencies and with those who just want to make a birthday present to their beloved...

If you were not an artist, what would you be doing?
Maybe I would have chosen something sounder, indispensable for people and different for my family and friends. Something reliable and irrefutable...

Do you consider that Art is Alive?
Of course. And first of all because of an effect, that it produces, it can't be taken to screws. How can books written hundred years ago in Russia make huge impressions on Japanese living today? This happens. Can one predict art? No. All of these are signs of alive processes.

Who would you be interested to work with?

I'd like to work with some foreign magazines a lot. Overall, I'm interested in seeing how people work abroad. Will I be understood in other countries and will my works be considered interesting? This is a task for the next year. Yet I'm gaining experience, trying to paint more. It takes it's normal course. I'm not in a hurry.

To finish with, what would you wish to this blog?

First of all I wish you not to be mixed up in the visual streams that exist on the Internet. Everyday thousands of images appear on the net. There are more and more authors, all write, sing or paint. It's great but in such a stream one may miss unique things. I wish you to have a sincere interest in the creations of people all around the world. We should be attentive to everyone if possible.

More info on: www.kurbatov.net

Exclusive interview with scriptwriter and singer-songwriter T-ka

I rarely write about music, only when it's worth it. In this case, I wanted to interview with T-ka, a talented artist who's got her own creative universe. She agreed to answer my questions, here it is for you only!

How would you describe yourself and how would you describe your music?
I am a scriptwriter and a singer-songwriter. My music is a mix of soul and pop mainly. But my music is under a lot of other influences too...

What are you inspired by?

I'm inspired by a lot of things: but mainly by the observation of others and well, myself and my relationships to the others...

What are yor upcoming projects?

I have just finished a feature-length comedy script called the Nagger with my co-writer Hugh Prior. And I am currently composing a new album for T-ka as well as a new album for a riot girl band called My car is Black. As a result I'm looking for band members. Found the drummer and the bassist yet but we're still looking for a keyboardist and a guitarist. Must be all females of course and London-based.

If you had the choice to collaborate with someone, who would it be?

Prince. He's the guy whose music is so rich I could listen to it forever. However his collaborations aren't really collabs. I don't think anybody has managed to impose anything on Prince yet...

What is your favourite theme for lyrics?

At the moment I write songs where I'm taking the piss about myself. And all the weird stories that have happened to me...

When is your next concert?

Good question: I just did my last gig as T-ka in December. After 10 years spent under that name, I want a new one and won't perform again as long as I haven't found it: should be early 2011. As to when the first My car is black gig will take place, it all depends on when we find the missing members for the band - hopefully by May 2011.

To finish with, what would you wish to this blog?

"Bon vent" as we say in French and that more and more people read it... Also that you manage to interview and meet all the people you've always dreamt to meet!



More info on: http://www.myspace.com/tka

Exclusive meeting with French fashion designer / contemporary artist Jean-Charles de Castelbajac a.k.a JC/DC

Thanks to Reebok again, I had the chance to meet with Jean-Charles de Castelbajac a.k.a JC / DC, as nicknamed by Beyonce and Jay-Z (said Castelbajac himself). Castelbajac is  a French fashion designer / contemporary artist / graphic designer / designer.

Jacket worn by Diana Ross

He opened the doors of his archives, a unique and amazing moment. He is famous for many things, from the costumes of "the New Avengers" to some of SJP's in Sex and the City. Inspired by Warhol, Jeff Koons, Malcolm McLaren and the Sex Pistols, Keith Haring or Basquiat whom he has worked with in the 80's, JC/DC has an amazing career and talent. Plus he's a really nice person.

Enjoy this exclusive video where he explains that he has worked with Beth Ditto and Lady Gaga!

Katie Perry's dress

 Is it JC/DC's car?

More info on: www.jc-de-castelbajac.com