In Talks With... Ned, Founder of Not Another Bill

Laura from NAB

I have previously came across Not Another Bill through their Instagram account and was really impressed by the idea of having surprise boxes delivered to your mailbox each month. Upon subscription, you simply need to fill up a questionnaire asking you about your preferences and Not Another Bill will deliver 2-3 products to your mailbox each month at just 18 pounds/month. It not only makes you anticipate looking into your mailbox, but most importantly, help you discover great artists, designers and brands as well as give support to these young artists.

The products range from small leather goods and stationeryI personally think that this surprise box is much better than subscribing to beauty boxes.
At the recent Design Junction (London Design Festival) held immediately after London Fashion Week, I was delighted to find that NAB had a booth there and chatted up with its founder, Ned
Naked Glory: How did you come up with the idea of Not Another Bill?
Ned: The idea sort of stemmed from the fact that I am a compulsive shopaholic and teamed with being an art director at M&C Saatchi I had interesting items arriving in the post most days. My copywriter and good friend Martin always complained he never got anything, and I think that's where it all started from. So I went about just building a basic site and from there blogs and people started talking.

NG: How do you select the designers and the products to carry each time?
Ned: Finding and selecting the gifts is my favourite part and one I wish I could spend more time on. I have always been surrounded by art, design and creative things team that with my magpie tendencies and you've got a certified hoarder. I went to art college at central st-martins and from there have built up a black book of artists and designers, I also trawl markets fairs and trade shows for cool things. As the business grows I am working more closely with brands i admire to create exclusive one-off presents.

NG: What has been your favourite collaboration thus far?
Ned: I would say I really enjoyed the crispin finn collaboration or the Chris Jarratt DIY catapult, it is very hard to choose just one! Recently the most enjoyable collaboration would probably be with Undercover, creating the recycled A4 leather document holders.



NG: What would you consider are the surprises or perhaps some of the things you've learnt from founding NAB?
Ned: I have learnt to judge how much an item will cost to send just by sight. But I've also realised that there is a lot more than meets the eye setting up a business.

Beautifully designed packaging from NAB

NG: Do you think people in the UK are generally supportive of young designers and enjoy unique lifestyle design products? 
Ned: Yes I believe on the whole they are supportive. However I think that young designers, artists and brands could benefit from more exposure, but the response from our subscribers towards the products we send is always positive.

Tea over Faberge Jewels

I am quite sure most people have heard of Fabergé and its fabled jeweled eggs, but few in Singapore or Asia have seen one in person. Keeping its collection exclusive, Faberge has currently only set up shop in London and New York, where most of its customers drop in via appointments.

I was privileged enough to be invited to Faberge's in London to learn more about its excellent craftmanship and iconic jeweled eggs. Faberge was established in the 1830s by Gustav Faberge, who trained in Saint Petersburg, Russia, as a goldsmith. The Tzar Alexander III was very impressed by his work and commissioned the company to make an Easter egg for his empress, and thus the House of Faberge became known for its petite but precious Easter eggs.

Faberge's key characteristics included a distinctive sense of proportion, signature colors in rich shades, and utilizing each gemstone carefully and also the amazing techniques of enamelling its jeweled egg pendants. For the small pendants that you see above in rich mauve and red tones, as well as pale pink and mint, they had to be coated in enamel and then handpainted with the criss-cross web pattern and recoated several times to ensure that the colors remain longlasting and that the enamel does not crack. The dazzling gemstone bracelet above was made with more than 2,000 gemstones, each cut precisely to enhance its artistic color nuances and then set in to form the flower motif.

I honestly couldn't help but marvel when I look at each piece of jewelry, each one the result of hours of craftmanship and pieced together with techniques that stood the test of time. In fact, the youngest member in Faberge's Paris studio is over 60 years old!

Here's a video from Faberge explaining its craftmanship and heritage. I hope this quick insight into Faberge leaves you more intrigued about these old maisons that still remains astute to getting things handmade in today's age of technology.

London Fashion Week - Marques Almeida and Lucas Nascimento

For the final in my LFW series, I wish to talk about Marques Almeida and Lucas Nascimento, both of whom showed at the Topshop New Gen showspace.

Marques Almeida won me over with their casual, relaxed silhouettes, interesting use of frayed denim and their cowhide boots. Denim jeans was worn lowslung on the hips with a bell bottom cut and paired with denim obi belts which was tied in a dramatic knot as a tube top, suggesting that the Marques Almeida girl's carefree and confident attitude. Subsequent uses of denim also took the form of a jacket with a mandarin collar and coated white denim miniskirts worn over denim jeans, which was a nice reinterpretation of Noughties style.

I especially loved the shoes on the models - skinny strap sandals with a chunky heel - the straps looked very elegant despite the fact that the shoes exposed the foot entirely. A look towards the end with the acid pink jacket and organza pants also caught my eye - the fabric was a great injection to the mix of textures for this collection and definitely a headturner for summer.

Now, excuse me while I go fray up some of my old jeans.



Lucas Nascimento is a Brazilian born designer who was trained at LCF, and given the opportunity to present during LFW under the Topshop NewGen programme. His minimal collection this season was inspired by Brigitte Bardot stepping out in a towel in the film ‘Le Mepris’.

Models stepped out on the runway fresh faced with makeup kept to a minimal, dewy skin and slicked back hair, as though they have just came out from the shower. The dresses resembled towels wrapped around the body - shapeless but yet so beautiful in organza and a towel-like fabric. Spaghetti straps fall loosely down the shoulders and even the sharply tailored jackets and shorts were seamless and came without any fastenings - suggesting a state between the dressed and the undressed. 

I am usually not one to take a liking to minimalism, unless if it is applied together with innovative fabrics and textures, or with a exaggerated proportion, which is why I felt slightly underwhelmed after Lucas Nascimento's show. But when I have gone home and digested the runway looks once again, I found myself appreciating how the dresses suggested intimacy and a subtle vulnerability, despite them being completely shapeless.

And that wraps up my LFW show reports - one month after LFW! Hope you've enjoyed my take on the collections and also the 'film-like' (aka ahem low-res) photos which I've snapped using my iPhone.

London Fashion Week makeup look with Zao Cosmetics

London Fashion Week has just passed by in the blink of an eye and it was a flurry of shows packed back-to-back every hour. Makeup has became routine for me during the 3 days when I attended fashion week and I always do roughly the same look - A brown/dusty purple smokey eyeshadow finished off with cat eye traced in black eyeliner.

I guess for me, that's my go-to look. I'm really quite boring when it comes to makeup, but this look really works for me and I like how easily I can dress it up or tone it down (by skipping the darker shades and metallic shadows). So, I'm going to show you how I do it.

 
For eyes,

• Apply a light brown or cream color all over your eyelids as a base color.
• Apply Zao Cosmetics Eyeshadow in Pearly Garnet on the outer corners of your eyes and blend upwards to form a slight horizontal V shape. Its eyeshadows contain rice powder, which eliminate fat from the skin by adjusting sebaceous secretion.
• Apply a medium brown, light earth gold, or a metallic/shimmery eyeshadow in the middle of your eyelids and blend in with the dusty purple shade.
• Finally, dab a light cream or silver eyeshadow on the inner corners of your eyes.
• Finish off with eyeliner and mascara.

For lips,

• Apply Zao Cosmetics Lipgloss in Brown (1).
• Trace the outline of your lips with Zao Cosmetics Lip Pencil in Orange Brown (2) and then blend with the lipgloss. The lip pencils have added shea butter in them to keep your lips moisturized throughout the day.

For face,

• Then, apply Zao Cosmetics Blusher in Brown Pink (1) on the apples of your cheeks, which is a warm beige peach color that gives my cheeks a natural glow.
• Using a kabuki brush (I'm using Zao Cosmetics' soft and handy kabuki brush), apply Zao Cosmetics Mineral Silk in Clear Beige (2) all over your face, concentrating on the cheekbones, jawline and nose bridge. 
• The loose powder feels very lightweight and gives my skin a satin-like, natural finish. It also contains organic silica from bamboo, which is a component that helps in regenerating collagen and elastin to enhance skin elasticity

Since I've started on my "programme" for clear skin as prescribed by my dermatologist, all my clogged pores did all clear up. However, it also left me with slightly more sensitive skin, and so now I'm quite selective to the type of makeup and other facial products that I use.

Zao Cosmetics takes away all my worries of having clogged pores away as it is developed from 100% natural formulas enriched with fair-trade, organic ingredients. I was very amazed to learn that even its pigmented products like eye shadows, blushers and lipstick were also made from natural plant pigments. It does not contain any of the typical petrochemicals or preservatives in usual cosmetics products, such as paraben, phenoxyethanol, mineral oil, paraffin, DTA, BHT and BHA. Its packaging is also made from bamboo, which is all biodegradable and refillable.

Its range is not only perfect for people with sensitive skin, but also great for people with acne prone skin because its products will not clog your pores, even if you sweat in them.
The full range of Zao Cosmetics products can be found at Origo Creations' outlets below:

International Plaza
10 Anson Road, International Plaza, #02-87, Singapore 079903.
Orchard Central
181 Orchard Road, Orchard Central, #01-17, Singapore 238896.
Chinatown Point
133 New Bridge Road, Chinatown Point, #01-37, Singapore 059413
The Adelphi
1 Coleman Street #04-50
Singapore 179803

My readers get a 15% disucount all regular priced items (except tea, accessories, CDs and supplements) when they quote "NAKEDGLORYVERA" to any of the staff members instore.

London Fashion Week - Fashion East New Gen

Since its inception in 2000, Fashion East has been championing and nurturing emerging British designers. Each season, a seasoned panel selects three womenswear and three menswear designers to present their collection to international press and buyers during London Fashion Week. Lulu Kennedy, as the driving force and pioneer behind Fashion East, also offers these young designers mentoring and in-house PR throughout the season. It is no surprise to find that Jonathan Saunders, House of Holland, Marios Schwab and Meadham Kirchhoff are among some of the notable alumni under the Fashion East programme.

The show kicked off with Ryan Lo's girly, kitschy aesthetic. Models came out in frothy pink tulle and organza skirts, strawberry print shirts and lace dresses in shades of pastel, complete with super cute animal ears. I liked that the skirts were paired with Converse sneakers, which offset the extreme girliness of each outfit. My favourite is a daisy knit cape, which immediately brings me to the warm sun of summer and joyful abandonment. Another favourite is a pink candycane striped coat, with exaggerated volume.

Ryan's maximalist sensibility is a significant departure from the usual runway creations, but at the same time really relevant for today's pop culture. I can totally visualize some of his knitwear pieces on Japanese and US pop stars.




Second to show was Claire Barrow, whose collection in greys, blacks and white cotton drill was a stark contrast to Ryan Lo's. The models paraded down the runway barefoot and many of them were not professional models, but instead casted from the streets. I appreciated the raw, punk feel of Claire Barrow's show, with its unfinished hems, handpainted leather jackets and graffiti-like handpainted motifs.


And finally, my favourite came from Ashley William, showing contemporary womenswear inspired by Miami Vice. The models looked like they have just came back from frolicking at the beach party the night before and were still soaking in the sun rays till the late afternoon. I especially liked how the show opened with a few denim dresses with pleated raw edge front panels, and then progressed to more tongue in chic references to the Miami beach - speedboat motifs, Dream Boat and SOS slogans printed on glossy silk jumpsuits and netted dresses.

The models clutched bags in the shape of the Great White Shark and Hammersmiths - which I expect would be quite a hit when they drop next Spring. I like how even editors and stylists have taken a liking to "sillybags", and are pairing them with a minimal outfit, thanks for Charlotte Olympia and Kate Spade's recent collections. Popcorn bag, anyone? And finally, the appearance of Gary the Snail printed on bikinis and a halter neck mini dress injected much humour into the collection. Ah, finally a designer who doesn't take her work too seriously.

Watch the full show here.

London Fashion Week - Overheard at LFW

My neighbourhood, LFW Day 4

Somerset House square on a good day, finally

Watching people people watch

The crowds outside the show - tourists and peacocks rolled together

Hiding in Fernadez & Wells on a cold rainy day

Streetstyle photographers and some attention grabbing boots

Transporting some food backstage for Meadham Kirchoff 

London Fashion Week was an exhilarating experience, to say the least. There were so many things that made it so exciting and different from Singapore's Audi Fashion Festival or the Women's Haute Couture Fashion Week that is coming up in less than a week's time.

So here's Top 10 Observations from the LFW noobie:

1. I was first very intimated by the throngs of cool people parking themselves around Somerset House. Everywhere I looked, these people look cooler than me - I spotted people with hot pink and green ombre hair, a guy wearing a hat that was at least 50cm tall, and of course fashion insiders with understated designer outfits. 
2. Also, these cool people are outside Somerset House from morning till evening (6pm), when the last show for the day usually ends. Some of them may just be people who wants to be photographed and looking for a lucky break.
3. Even if you're not invited, you can queue up outside the shows and for backstage access and if you're lucky enough, they'll let you in! (at least true for the Topshop New Gen shows that took place in Regents' Park.
4. I got to experience the "fashion circus", as dubbed by Suzy Menkes, first hand. Streetstyle photographers were everywhere and I had people asking for my photo at least 4 times a day, not counting the many that snapped my photo without asking. 
5. Forget the comfy individual seats you have in Singapore, in LFW, everyone's seating on a bench. Including Front Row. 
6. Which also leads to point 5, once you're in a show, you won't really get checked and asked to see your seat number. But of course, as well-behaving, rule abiding Singaporeans, we seat at our allocated seats. 
7. Umbrella is a must!!! London weather is seriously so unpredictable, it can be having a thunderstorm one minute and then extremely sunny the next. And it also rains 5 -6 times a day. (Thank god the weather for this past week has been mostly sunny or cloudy. Praise the weather gods!)
8. People at fashion week do eat! The canapes at the Topshop Cafe included mini lemon tarts, raspberry tarts, prawns on skewers, Mediterranean salads and more...and these are always grabbed and gobbed up very very fast. 
9. Asian people all look the same to them. 
10. Finally, of course. The works from the young designers are particularly refreshing. On the Fashion East runway, Nike flip flops and Converse sneakers were paired with swimsuits or clothes inspired from woodland animals and paraded down the runway. Or sometimes, the models simply didn't wear any shoes. The atmosphere outside each show was just buzzing and there was this constant energy in the air - the mix of professional fashion editors, buyers and stylists, coupled with anxious PR girls and lots of young bloggers and what my friend here call 'wannabes', just make LFW much more interesting than that of Singapore's. 

London Fashion Week - Burberry Prorsum SS14

Backstage Beauty 

The Burberry SS14 show can be summed up in one phrase - Ladies over Tea. Featuring beautiful English lace and macarame lace pencil skirts and fitted dresses in shades of soft pastel, and paired with soft Scottish cashmere cardigans and wool wrap coats, I would say this is one of Burberry's most feminine collections yet.

The color palette reminded me of one of Claude Monet's water lily paintings - generous swatches of rose pik, mint, lavender and pale yellow, paired off with neutral colors of greys and camel browns for the coats. The collection was well edited and elegantly styled - showcasing a good mix of texture and colors. Belts with applique flowers cinched the waist to enhance the feminine silhouette, offset with a merino wool wrap coat, or contrasted with a macrame lace dress embellished with diamantes. The clutches and heels in neon pops of color were especially beautiful together, with the clutch bags carried folded and crushed, almost as though the lady had left in a hurry to catch her next appointment.

I am personally a sucker for lace, so I enjoyed how Christopher Bailey has made use of lace and garters to make the look of English ladies more playful and modern. Altogether, although the collection did not propose any new ideas, it kept to Burberry's British heritage and classic silhouettes and was very beautifully executed.

I was invited to the Burberry flagship store on Regent Street for the livestream of the show and was pretty much blown away by the sheer size of the store. Spanning two storeys with a beautifully tiled domed ceiling, the store offered Burberry's entire womenswear and menswear range and was outfitted with multiple touch screens to help customers with selection of items in the catalogue. I was served champagne and invited to seat on the stools laid out in the store's 'main square'. As the rose petals softly fell down at the final walk through, applause broke and shortly followed by the glowing screens of iPhones as people hurried to snap photos and Instavideos.

No surprise there, because the entirely Burberry show video and digital brand content was shot on the iPhone 5S, placing Burberry once again at the forefront of digital engagement.