Browns fakes it

I was slightly confused when London fashion store Browns began to stack cotton totes with the imprints of Chanel, Hermes and Louis Vuitton bags - surely these things can't be real ? Turners out the designs are as genuine as modern realty TV show, they are in fact a project of Oonah O'Hagan for Browns Focus. And for some reason there's been quite a bit of this in fashion lately - for instance Jessica Kagans 'My other bag is Chanel' slogan clad tote. Humorous, quirky and slightly ironical gestures like this seem to be popping up everywhere which for me sparks healthy curiosity. Does all of it have a deeper meaning ? And what inspired O'Hagens jab at it ?

Jason Wu's Collette

The french superstore Collette has become synonymous with all things wonderful in luxury retail. With past collaborations that include the likes of Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfelt its safe to say that they only roll with the best. Their most recent venture sees newly crowned prince of new york fashion Jason Wu create a collection garment for dolls. "Sarah (Lerfel) came came in to put an order, and saw a doll on my desk, and it just went from there," explains Wu. The dolls come clad in a variety of Wu's latest most glamorous creation and are set to sell like sell like hot cakes. Unleashed in August to bless Collette's 10th anniversary something tell me Jason's next order with may be for a tinier glamazon.

GooGoo GaGa Gonzales

Every so often you see a painting that invokes your inner child, making you feel all tingly inside. A series if painting and watercolors by Mark Gonzales do exactly that, curated by Emma Reeves they will be showing at New York's Half gallery until August the 4th.

Coming to America -

Alexa newly settled in her Williamsberg, Brooklyn apartment

Ever since she was thrust in to the spotlight as part of the London social scene Alexa Chung has been nothing but style to the up most. She names Jane Birking and Marian faithful as some of her most admirable influences and is often to be seen in rather boyish 60s inspired looks much like her icons. Recently her image in the British tabloids has become inescapable although her daily activities do not seem quite as outrages as some of her piers. What i found personally unusual about her sense of style is that whilst she was often given clothes by Charles Anatase and Sophia Kokosalaki Alexa doesn't hesitate to wear the looks with a piece from the high street. There is a 'to hell with it' attitude in her appearance which also represents her strong sense of self. This Cambridge educated journalist is now taking on the big apple for a new MTV show - Its on with Alexa Chung

There's No Place Like Erin's Home

I rarely get excited about interior design because frankly, thanks to affordable retail phenomenons like IKEA everybody seems to have a rather trendy home - or should that be 'pads' given the circumstance. None the less I was fascinated when I stumbled upon photos of supermodel Erin Wasson's home, like the Alexander Wang muse her New York apartment is full of life, uniqueness and that intangible coolness that she has naturally become known for. It's the raw certainly lived in manner complete with retro 60s furniture and lamps, nostalgic in pea-green, oatmeal and tan. The beautifully bohemian trinkets are dotted all over the place - from the sketches of superheroes and fictional characters framed on the wall to the tiny wooden symbols and fossils. There's also an exciting collection of art often unassumingly placed next to Erin's favourite poster or personal photo. As far as 'pads' go this one defines California girl cool - and that's not because some clever decorator thought the vision up but because one actually lives there. In other words you couldn't buy this vision you'd have to have lived the life to build it.

No Love Like the Cosmic Kind

Glasgto is looming so why not wet your musical apatite with a festival shoe-in. 'Cosmic Love' by new comers Florence and the Machine is bound to get you feeling exited with it's dreamy melody and fairytale-like strings. With debut album 'Lungs' set to be released on the 6th of July I guarantee lead singer Florence's soulful performances will be the story of their scheduled events, that include Glastonbury, Oxygen and T in the park to name a few.
http://www.myspace.com/florenceandthemachinemusic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tpW-OqIxWo

Proenza's Edge

I'm elated to document the Proenza Shouler boys latest venture that was an art filled fashion experience. The experimental pair not only showed there latest collection in Florence but along with them brought there three favourite artist - Kalup Linzy, Haim Steinbach and Kembra Pfahler to present there works. The tripod of dynamic artist displayed completely different ideas and perspectives, however all of which featured some sort of ode to Proenza Shouler."Especially since it's inherently a more commercial collection, there's room to balance that with something more showy." Hernandez told WWD

Amids industry insiders marveling over Proenza's collection was a white rug complete with Proenza accessories, plastic onions and a metal bed frame - could the items be anymore random? this particular instalment was created by Haim Steinsbach who has forever been exploring the open theme of shelves - http://www.haimsteinbach.net/. And then there was Pfahler who was surrounded by go-go dancers (all of which were wearing proenza of course). Danced furiously as Hernandez laughed uncontrollably from the side-lines - www.myspace.com/vhokb

But the most interesting of all came from Kalup Linzy who created two videos starring himself, Chloe Sevingy and Lyia Kebedevered. Both were short dramas that Linzy has become known for and featured his melodramatic characters soap-style plots, audio dubbing and the ever strange soundtrack of Linzy's brilliantly awful soul vocals - http://www.style.com/video/?bcpid=4765160001&bctid=26412679001