Circus Store & Gallery

Just hot on the shelves in Circus is the S/S 08 edition of Amelia’s magazine, a bi-annual based in London. The magazine serves as a showcase for design ideas, illustration, fashion, photography and music. With its eye candy covers, it’s difficult not to pick up! A limited edition Tatty Devine necklace came free with issue (02), issue (03) featured a scratch n sniff cover, issue(05) was glow in the dark, and the current edition available in Circus store comes with a specially designed reusable USB stick, with music tracks from the likes of The Lounges and Adem. The magazine serves as a showcase for design creatives at home and abroad, the current issue displays over 100 pages on the Brazilian arts scene. The fashion pages are particularly interesting with profiles of elusive fashion heads like Noki (the man who wears a mask to work) cutesy menswear label Mjolk and Avsh Alom Gur the rubbish reclaimer/oven designer who has just become the new design director for re-launched label Ossie Clarke. In addition, there are 12 pages of beautiful illustrations from various artists that can be ripped out and framed (optional of course!). For 25 euros you get a collectible magazine that really is more like a book than a mag.

A Brief Biog of the incredibly talented Marjan Pejoski
• Marjan Pejoski was born in Macedonia.
• He studied jewellery design at Westminister, shoe design at Cordwainers, fashion illustration at Chelsea Art School and proceeded to be awarded a BA in womenswear from Central St Martins London in 1999.
• His graduate show for St Martins caused quite a stir when one of his models appeared in a tropical fish filled dress.
• After graduation he befriended Bjork one of the worlds most unique style icons. He designed a spectacular meringue of pink tulle which he fashioned into a lantern type structure. She this piece of art to the Cannes Film Festival in 2000. The dress was designed for Absolut Chameleon and his design can be viewed in the book Absolut Art. The friendship with Bjork continued and in 2000 he gained worldwide press when Bjork paraded gracefully down the red carpet of the Oscars wearing the unforgettable Swan Dress.
• The label Marjan Pejoski was launched in 2000, he showed in London for the first four seasons and then moved the collection to Paris where he continues to show in the Marais district. His collection is non conformist, non ageist and often unisex. It appeals to a vast range of customer in particular it attracts those who wish to express themselves through their clothes. His collections combine the androgynous as well as the pretty.
• The current SS/08 collection features the most incredible origami zip up jacket in an unusual tobacco hue, other highlights of this collection include: the studded biker jacket, a cotton shirt with an overtly exaggerated ruffled bib and a cutting edge cocktail dress with studding shoulder detail.
• He is co-founder of avant-garde boutique Kokon to Zai (KTZ) in London which stocks Vivienne Westwood, Bernhard Wilhelm and Henrik Vibskov.

CAMILLA STAERK is a Danish label which has based itself in London since the re-launch of the label in 2003. The SS/08 collection is inspired by Japanese culture with an emphasis on their traditional method of dressing. The Japanese story appears in the form of inconspicuous origami folds, the mix of hard and soft fabrics, and the structure of the garments. The collection is predominately black which is unusual for a spring summer collection, but for those of us that survive on a wardrobe of black it’s ideal. Key pieces include: the silk jumpsuit, a PVC and jersey mix dress, Knit tunics, and a peach silk dress with a front panel of black hook & eyes. The collection is undoubtedly a trans-seasonal collection as all pieces can be worn either with black tights or bare legs.

www.camillastaerk.co.uk

(1) When did you decide to pursue fashion design?

Actaully, I never did. It just happened. My ambition was to become a dancer or choreographer . The fashion design was only an interest. I started to sell handmade one-offs to small boutiques in Stockholm, when I was 15 years old. Then I hurt my knees and I realised I wouldn’t be able to work with dance. I created more and more clothes and got really good responses from stylists and media. I guess I got more and more interested in what I created and also found ways of integrating my influences from literature, dance and art into my work. Two years ago I decided to take it more serious and started with production. I started to work with agents in Japan, USA and Canada, so it feels really exciting that my clothes are now being sold outside Sweden. Swedes have a great sense for fashion, but the market is too small for good quality avant- garde brands.

(2) How does living in Sweden effect your work?

I think Sweden is quite calm and sometimes a boring place. Being bored is sometimes really good for your creativity. At the moment I really love Stockholm and I am not bored at all. I work in a wonderful studio in central Stockholm, which I share with 40 other artists, writers, photographers and designers. I get really inspired by all those creative and talented people. There are vernissage parties, book launches and clubbing almost every night, so you need to be really disciplined to keep focused on your work!…But I work constantly and love it.

(3) Draping appears to be a recurrent theme throughout your SS 08 collection, where does this design technique originate?

I have no formal education, so I didn’t learn any of the rules when I started creating clothes, I developed my own techniques. The method of creating directly on living bodies rather than on paper is essential for me. I always get inspired by bodies and their movements. I think that in some kind of a way that I make clothes that encourage movement, every piece should ask for altering. Often when using the draping technique the result can never be directly cut out or even closely foreseen. Instead it’s a paradoxical process of constantly improvising and following the fabrics own characteristics.

(4) Is there a story behind the beautiful print that you used in the SS/08 collection?

The print visualise my process that I explained in the previous question. When I start a new shape I work with fabric and drape it on a mannequin, on a friend, or on myself. The prints are photos of some of my draping experiments. I like the way people first think the print is a big flower, then, they look closer and realise it is something else…..

(5) Mannequin Neutral and The Seven Person Costume are your two previous art installations, do you plan to create more in the future?

Yes, definitely. At the moment I plan to complete an art exhibition. I will work with textile sculptures and the result will be shown in a big hotel lobby in Stockholm from mid-August. During the process of my AW/08 collection I worked with actresses from the Swedish Royal Dramatic Theatre. I organised workshops where we talked, wrote, and improvised. Instead of having an ordinary fashion show they showed the collection on stage. It was some kind of performance based on stories about their experience of clothing and the everyday masquerade. I imagine actresses are more conscientious about the power of clothes as they use costume as tools for expression in their work. I think we all use clothes as stage in real life, we dress as the person we want to be seen as. My point of departure is people, their bodies and their movements. I draw inspiration from personal stories, expressed in the way that all people stage their personal persona whether they have formulated an interest in fashion or not. Fashion is interesting because everyone can relate to it. Fashion is about dreams and shortcomings.

(6) What is your preferred piece from your current collection?

It is so hard to choose. I really liked the Bomber jacket and the printed silk dresses and scarf.

(7) Who is your favorite designer/artist?

My favorite artists are Sophie Calle and Louise Bourgeouise. I love their work!

Interview by Ciara O Donovan

www.dianaorving.com

The SS 08 Julian Red collection is like its previous seasons a clean and simple line with a futuristic edge. Included in the 2008 collection is the infamous Munki hood, it is fast becoming a staple in the JR collection, it comes in the signature black and a soft grey tone. The abstract t-shirt prints take inspiration from French cubist painter Amedee Ozenfont, architect le Corbusier, and the starting of purism. There are two options in the colour way, the black print on white or white against a cloudy blue colour. According to the SS/08 lookbook “the idea of the collection is not minimalistic, thus reduced in structures.The idea is rather to reduce form to the core object. Purity form without the loss of momentum”.

www.julianred.com

Ottoman princesses, former descendants of the King of Egypt and a design portfolio that boasts the likes of Martin Margiela, Jeremy Scott, and Christina Lacroix as previous employers. Enter the world of Yaz and Emel Kurhan the sister duo behind exciting jewellery label Yazbukey launched in 2000. They even have celebrity endorsement sorted with Bjork being their number one fan.The SS/08 collection is according to Yazbukey all about “blond ambition and how to make women succeed in an easy way without working from nine to five, so seek the Marylin Monroe attitude that sleeps in your soul!”Indeed the Andy Warhol impressionist Marylin Monroe necklace and brooch is the most playful piece in this collection. Playfulness is the keyword to use in describing the rest of this crazy jewellery collection: rosette style pins, painted finger brooches, a camera necklace and telephone bangles. They even produce a range of accessories for your pet!

www.yazbukey.com

Berlin based label Reality Studio always has an interesting tale to tell behind its construction. This seasons collection was inspired by designer Svenja Spechts recent travels around Morocco. The travel element prevails from the garments structure to the names of the pieces, such as the ‘Africa’ necklace an eye catching threaded necklace in a ray of neon colours, and the ’salam’ jumpsuit which imitates dress worn by Moroccan natives. The spring/summer collection is as experimental and avant garde as her previous seasons. The shiny raincape a conceptual piece in its own right, looks and feels like PVC , but in fact is a treated cotton. It also comes in an oversized bag version and tuxedo style coat. Reality Studio is a collection that requires a personality to match.

www.realitystudio.de

When it comes to fashion the French always seem to get it just right. Independent fashion designer Gaspard Yurkievich is the first french born label to be stocked in our store. Previous achievements for Gaspard include winning an award at the prestigous festival of Art and Fashion at Hyeres (1997) and training with the likes of Jean Paul Gautier and Thierry Mugle. The SS/08 collection aptly entitled ’sheer memories’ is a delicate line of dresses and coats in transparent chiffons and light, luxorious tweeds. The glamourous but edgy shoes are perhaps the most exciting part of this collection; cuban heels come in a palette of bright gold and beige patent mixed with the softest black leather. Ultra cool hoisery in gold and red lurex completes this collection, as if the shoes weren’t amazing enough!

www.gaspardyurkievich.com

Check it out: www.zoozoom.com ‘The will of the dreamer-Pierrot & La Sylphide’ for a beautiful photoshoot that includes some key pieces from the Gaspard Yurkievich SS 08 collection. The shoot is styled by Circus’ very own Aisling Farinella.

Mono-Kultur is a new interview magazine from Berlin. Each issue is dedicated to one person; in a full length, unedited interview. There are 15 back issues that have been carefully selected and designed. We’re very lucky to have this magazine as we met the publisher Kai over dinner in Berlin. One of our favourites is the David La Chapelle issue….amazing!! Watch this space for new magazines to come soon…

A great concept can make a label, some get it right and some get it very wrong. The people behind Slow and Steady Wins the Race have nailed it. Using inexpensive materials and clever design, the team behind Slow & Steady have created a collection where each season they add a new category such as “The White Shirt” or “Knits” that are fundamental in clothing design. Everything from the shoes to the shirts is €100.