The Brian Jonestown Massacre

You can now read my review of the band's show O2 ABC at Is This Music?. Enjoy!

Noir! at Hawke and Hunter

Backstage at the recently renovated Hawke and Hunter in Edinburgh, Anna Freemantle is having her legs wrapped in metres of shiny, black bondage tape. “I’m getting strapped in,” she laughs in her Dutch accent. Freemantle, a model by trade, and her husband Jonathon are the organisers of tonight’s event, Noir! which is based upon similar principles to that of Andy Warhol’s Factory; this is a night which aims to fuse together art, music and fashion, albeit with sponsorship from Red Bull and lots of booze.

I am in the models’ dressing room and Freemantle is, in a word, fierce. Tall with a sharp jaw line and a hair net covering her white-blonde hair, her eyes have been highlighted with fluorescent orange and electric blue shadow that makes her look almost tribal. She epitomises the style of the models showing off the collections at Noir! Fashion show, so much so that hanging around the walls of the catwalk in the room beneath us are huge posters painted by Jonathon, a South African artist, which depict her slick outline in stark black and white. “Have a look around,” she encourages.

I stay in the dressing room for now. Stylists buzz about Freemantle and models flit in and out as I am introduced to James Faulkner, the “rogue milliner” who will be showcasing his first collection of hat designs - made from road kill - tonight. He sweeps out of the adjacent toilet wearing a cape made from spun gold and trimmed with the soft white fur of an Arctic fox. The look is accessorised with a fox tail dangling from his belt (at least I hope that’s what it is), a top hat with pheasant feathers reaching out from its brim, and last but not least, a tie pin embellished with a stuffed humming bird, which I am assured is an antique. To say this man has a thing about taxidermy would be an understatement.

We share a clammy handshake and he twiddles nervously with a packet of cigarettes and a lighter as he talks about unveiling his designs to the public. The hats are laid out on a table together forming a rich mosaic of fur and feathers, the golden orange of cockerels and deep pheasant emeralds shining amongst the soft dark hides. I am strangely enchanted and reach out to touch some feathers. “My friend had sixty cockerels that needed culled so that’s where they came from,” Faulkner tells me. “People just show up at my door with dead things now but I have to be careful what I use.” He nips out for a cigarette just as a bewildered journalist enters the foray to speak to Freemantle, whose legs are now completely covered in bondage tape.

I leave them to walk down a stark, winding wooden staircase to the main room where tonight’s entertainment will be held. There are various musicians sound checking, the noise bouncing off the wooden floor and around the high vaulted ceiling. Introducing himself simply as ‘Tim’ one half of the duo Top Hat, who will be first to take to the stage tonight, greets me as he eyes up the surroundings with his girlfriend. He is tall and cuddly looking, and later he will be lost in a guitar trance on stage as the band’s singer Asta Petkunaite shakes her thang in red heels, the tiniest black sparkly hot pants and a bow tie. On either side of the catwalk/stage are eerie kinetic sculptures made with surgical masks and skeletal limbs created by artist Kevin Thornton. As their fingers begin to move in a ‘come hither’ motion, Tim frowns: “We have a skeleton to put on stage too. I don’t know if he’ll fit in with these guys…” Petkunaite’s mother appears and circles the room with the video camera (“I’m their biggest fan!” she gushes proudly) as Top Hat’s skeleton is wheeled out complete with tartan scarf and bottle of vino tucked into its pants. He fits in just fine.

On the projection screens around the hall I catch a glimpse of the video piece by Rachel Mclean, recent graduate of Edinburgh College of Art. Representing mutant glamour and deranged takes on Paris Hilton and Lady Gaga, it is, in a word, disturbing and also eerily reminiscent of the Pickle Surprise video that did the rounds on YouTube.

Next into the room is Marie-Jane Kelly, or M.J. as she is known, from Belinda Robertson, cashmere specialists. She is the picture of chic in a neat grey dress with opaques and black heels and is delighted to be involved with tonight’s Noir! “Anna modelled for us at a fashion show last year and we got on great and kept in touch. Noir! is a great club night for Edinburgh because there isn’t really anywhere to go that isn’t mobbed by hen and stag dos, and it gives us an opportunity to show our cashmere to a new audience; it may be one of the oldest materials in the world, but it doesn’t have to be for older people.” Indeed the stylist for tonight’s show, Ian Tod, has lined up the models’ rail with cashmere dresses and the Belinda Robertson cashmere pants with silk satin bows which are truly lust-worthy. “Everyone loves the cashmere pants,” M.J. tells me knowingly. (To see them for yourself visit here.)

Belinda Robertson’s Black Label collection is another popular choice for customers, with cashmere items made to order and customised as you see fit: “Swarovski diamonds, lace, you name it we can do it, and we’ll advise on what works best.” M.J., like designer Faulkner, is passionate about her product and it is a real treat to talk to people who are so excited by what they do. “I love cashmere,” she says. “I would never wear wool now. Wool? No chance!”

Our conversation is interrupted by a gaggle of teenage girls who are modelling for the show heading through the hall. One is wearing the smallest pair of denim shorts I have seen yet. “I know her parents,” M.J. says, “And I know they wouldn’t have let her leave the house like that.” Freemantle appears to discuss who’s wearing what. “I think it’s all sorted, but I’m not sure who’s going to close it [the show],” she ponders, then pauses before deciding, “Danni can close it in the G string. She won’t mind.” And with that she stalks of to talk to the models, MJ goes in search of a glass of wine to ease her nerves and I stare in wonderment at the creativity of the people around me as the doors prepare to open...

Visit the Noir! Blog.

Visit Hawke and Hunter.

Snood news...in Summer

This is where my love affair with the snood (and Emma Watson) began; with her hands in the pockets of an effortlessly chic trench, tousled hair and a checked cashmere snood nestled around her neck like an effortless after thought, a last minute addition as she ran to the shoot, latte in hand.

Burberry's sales leaped by 10% following Watson’s A/W09 campaign and a positive slew of snoods appeared on the high street, but nothing that quite met our expectations. That’s just the problem with trends; you struggle to find the high street incarnation of what you lusted after at the season’s catwalk shows, and when you do find it, it’s not something you can justify with the ‘investment piece’ tag. I spent half an hour in front of a mirror in Gap fondling a soft, grey baby knit snood before deciding the wool would probably snag and I was therefore unwilling to spend so much money on it. Sadly, I returned it to its shelf, giving it one final farewell pat.

I’ve discovered that it’s not just me; there has now been a positive backlash against such luxury items. Following, dare I say it, The Recession, knitting has found a place in the heart of a new generation. Knitting and sewing groups like Stitch ‘n’ Bitch and websites like Ravelry.com, the Facebook of the knitting world, have made DIY clothing chic again. It is perhaps though not just the result of the economic climate but a response to today’s throwaway culture. More and more people are enrolling in evening dress-making classes at community colleges, and once they’ve got the basics the world’s their oyster. Who needs Topshop Unique when you can make your own one-of-a-kind dress? Similarly, you can knit something yourself that will last for years and actually keep you warm rather than lazily buying into the latest trends from Primark; they may be under a tenner, but they will be in a black bin bag on their way to a charity shop next season.

With that in mind, I jumped on the bandwagon and knitted my own dream snood. Now I know what you’re thinking: easier said than done. This is true, and I’ll admit that after ripping out my first attempt (the knit was so chunky that when I put it on it was slightly Burkha-esqu) I eventually found a ribbed pattern which was simple enough, knitted until it reached my desired length, stitched the two ends together and voila! A snood with the pattern, colour and thickness I wanted and all for the price of a few balls of wool. And after visiting sites like Ravelry I was delighted to find I wasn’t alone; there are thousands of people out there who have finally finished that piece they have spent hours lovingly creating, and are willing to share hints and tips with newbies like me. My next object of lust may prove a little more unrealistic: suede trousers by Maje for Fenwick. Wish me luck…