Fashion has followed-the-leader in terms of world trends and remained overall restrained for this autumn/winter. The statement pieces come with super angled shoulders and sleeves reminiscent of the architectural aesthetic of Zaha Hadid.
Many of the season's key features are traditional winter themes of lace, black, red, tartan and paisley. Belts are replaced by statement bangles and costume jewellery, worth noting are Dries Van Noten's bangle-like necklaces. Colourful gloves are on track for a comeback, the difference this season is that they are finishing firmly halfway up the forearm.
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McCOUTURE
McDonald's unveiled its new 'designer' uniforms in April. They are expected to roll out over the 1,200 UK stores and 67,000 employees this summer. The uniforms have been designed by couturier Bruce Oldfield.
The uniforms were received with a heavy serving of pastiche from fashion and food journalists alike. It was the combination of McDonald's efforts to go 'upper class' and a 'Couturier' designing the outfits that sent them wild. Giles Goren noted in The Times;
'And anyway I don't think punters really want to be served by a better-dressed burger flipper'.
Well, Field Grey disagrees, but we would challenge the use of a couturier. Not that Bruce Oldfield cannot rise to the challenge of uniform design, it's just an unimaginative choice given that the uniforms were meant to have a 'more premium feel' so the solution was to dress them as white collar workers might, complete with scarves, suits, blouses and a kick flare hem. One member of staff was noted to say;
'I feel like a businesswoman in it'
This is no bad thing but we would argue that these styles are at odds on many levels, firstly with the new interiors that have been introduced over the last two years with colourful Arne Jacobson style retro chairs, wooden floors, leather armchairs, chrome and Perspex tables and the olive green exterior. Secondly, does this look fit with the average age of a McDonald's employee and more importantly the job spec?
We think that McDonald's staff deserve a well-designed uniform, and we applaud the efforts to motivate a large workforce, however we believe there could still be a sense of Premium achieved with more ergonomic design and product. This premium approach was too literal.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7360276.stm
www.thesun.co.uk
women.timesonline.co.uk
PITTI IMMAGINE FILATI NO 63
Pitti Filati is an observatory where international fashion trends are analyzed and launched. Pitti Immagine Filati hosts a bi-annual world preview of yarns for the knitwear industry for Autumn Winter 2009/10.
The focus this season was 'Turbonatura', looking at the contemporary alchemy of nature and technology. Colours for 09/10 are traditional autumnal foliage browns, greens and yellows coupled with bright magenta, orange and electric blue.
New techniques to produce fine yarns from raw materials were also introduced, such as hemp and also milk. Milk casein is a natural antibacterial fibre with the same PH as human skin. In addition a range of products were presented that came from recycled cotton, polyester and nylon, dyed with low environmental-impact processes.
See more images here
www.pittimmagine.com/en/fiere/filati
'ITS YELLOW, UGLY AND IT DOESN'T GO WITH ANYTHING, BUT IT CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE'
Another couturier, French this time, has been spotted sporting high visibility vests in billboards all over France. Karl Lagerfield is backing a campaign to inform the French that it is now a legal requirement to wear a flouro jacket on the roadside.
Lagerfield is seen sporting a High Viz jacket with the strap line, 'its yellow, ugly and it doesn't go with anything, but it can save your life'
www.ambafrance-uk.org
CHA CHA MOON
Alan Yau the restaurateur has opened his first Cha Cha Moon in Ganton Street W1. The second is expected in Whitley's soon. Cha Cha Moon is all about Chinese noodles or 'Mein Dong'. Yau's motivation behind opening Cha Cha Moon was a lack of decent Chinese soup stocks in London.
Yau has exquisite taste and is constantly on the search for perfection. This extends to the uniforms. He sometimes uses three different designers for one restaurant. Designers have included Hussein Chalayan for Hakkasan and costume designer Tim Yipp from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon for Yauatcha. This search for perfection has paid dividends, earlier this year Yau sold Hakkasan and Yauatcha for £31 million to Tasameem, a property arm of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
Yau for Cha Cha Moon has the waiters wearing statement t-shirts in the style of Katharine Hamnett with the slogan 'Are you going to the moon'.
ORBEL
Whilst at a Design Council event recently we were introduced to product designer Adam Sutcliffe who has developed Orbel.
'Orbel is a personal alcohol gel dispenser specifically designed for healthcare workers. Existing systems fails to address the workplace ergonomics and the social, and psychological, factors, which are essential in cementing a rigorous, hand hygiene culture. Orbel is intended to help tackle these, thus making it easier, and more likely, for staff to achieve hand hygiene compliance targets.'
This remarkably clever product is now undergoing prototype development; expect to see it in hospitals near you soon...
www.mental.co.uk
LUXURY REDEFINED
Made in England. Grown in Peru. Developed in London. In a bold move to look in finite detail at our industrial processing of textiles, Better Thinking with John Smedley created Luxury Redefined, the ultimate in sustainable clothing.
You can currently find Luxury Redefined in Selfridges
www.luxuryredefined.co.uk
COMMON PROJECTS
Finally in our constant search for new fine-looking things please go to www.commonprojects.com if you wish to see well-considered simple and beautifully manufactured footwear.