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ISSUE ONE SUMMER 2011

THE MODERN CLASSICS ISSUE

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art direction: rebecca gilbertwords: rebecca gilbert & holly taylor

styling: holly taylor

{ looking glass } issue one summer 2011

Printed in the UK

on the cover & oppositeboth by laura restrepo

Contents © 2011 rebecca gilbert, holly taylor. !e views expressed in { looking glass }

are not necessarily those of ourcontributors, editors or publishers.

chapter onetelling tales

EDITORS LETTER 5

CONTRIBUTORS 7

INSPIRATION 9

NEWS STAND 10

LO LEE TAH 14

SUMMER LOVE 15

CATWALK STORY 16

MUSICAL 18

JUDGE A BOOK 20

CLASSIC STYLE 21

PENGUIN 22

WOMEN 24

FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE 26

chapter twogreat adaptations

CAREY MULLIGAN 35

THE GREAT GATSBY 36

ON THE ROAD 40

REBECCA 46

CLOCKWORK ORANGE 52

chapter threelost & found

POSTMAN 55

WHAT WE FOUND 56

IN WRITING 58

CHARLIE’S LETTERS 60

PLAYGROUND LOVE 64

DOODLES 70

SCANDAL 72

DICKENS 73

Camilla Morton is a fashion journalist and author of the best selling How to walk in high heels. Her latest venture into the world of fashionable !ction see’s her take on the classic fairy tale Sleeping Beauty and give it a modern day designer twist.With over thirty years experience telling stories on the catwalk, Christian Lacroix was her dream candidate to play Prince Charming and Fairy God-mother in her version of the tale, wherein the heroine is in need of a fashion makeover not a kiss. Morton, with the aid of Lacroix’s beautifully detailed artwork, re-tells the story of Sleeping Beauty whilst combining it with the memoir of the de-signers career in fashion. “You can read it as a fairy tale or as a light breeze through a designer’s biography,” Morton Explains. Her own interest in fairytales growing up in"uenced her choice to enter into the fashion industry as a career, “I always wanted to work in a world that created dreams and “happily ever afters.” I started going to couture shows, and the escapism, beauty and fantasy of the collections pulled like a magnet—it was like a real life Disney extrava-ganza, and I had to be there to witness it.” For Morton, a designers creative magic cannot be displayed only with words and her Fashion Memoirs series is set to continue with the develop-ment of the Elves and the Shoemaker later this year, a perfect !t for shoe designer Manolo Blahnik. #ese re-interpretation’s will enchant readers, with their unique take on both the classic fairy tale, and designer biography, and are perfectly illus-trated by the designers themselves in their own individual style.

Christian Lacroix and the Tale of Sleeping Beauty: A Fashion Fairytale Memoir is available at www.amazon.co.uk

fashion fairytale

Camilla Morton invites fashion royalty to re-tell Sleeping Beauty.

words rebecca gilbert

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news stand

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‘Folding pages is heresy! Bookmarks all the way’

Readers are always divided on they like to save their place in a book. Many people see it as a crime, (a punishable o$ense!) to dog-ear a books page, by bending and folding the pages, disrespecting the paper on which the works of literary greats are inked. Preferring to use something, wheth-er it is a scrap of paper or a shiny, metal marker you found lying around from last years Christmas cracker to remember the page where you last left the book.

#is great debate is a question Urban Out!tters have explored for their latest project, the bookclub. For this project UO have asked ten young designers to produce a bookmark each to give away to customers who purchase books from their website. {But fear not if you aren’t planning to buy any books online anytime soon but still want to get your hands on one, as they are also available to pick up for free in store.} Each bookmark has been designed by an individual creative giving you a good selection to choose from, allowing you to pick something !tting to your taste. If it is fashion you are interested in, why not pop by your nearest Ur-ban Out!tters store and pick up Mike Lemanski’s design? Mike’s work spans across a variety of creative areas, from typography to illustration. Very keen on exploring ideas and concepts, his work has a strong sense of realism to it. #e story and inspiration behind his design stems from the question, ‘What if all your clothes came to life whilst you were out and liked to read and write too?’ If, questioning how many megabytes of RAM is in your new macbook is more your thing then you can always pick up the pixeled design by Olly Moss. London-based designer, intolerable nerd and bedtime reader, he has designed this bookmark in correlation to saving your progress in a video game and saving your position in a book.

#ere are eight more bookmarks to choose from and more information on each designer can be found on www.urbanout!tters.co.uk

Are you a turner or are you a marker?

words holly taylor

news stand

Kate and Laura Mulleavy, the two sisters behind Rodarte, often take inspiration from the scenery of their childhood home in California. #eir latest collection stretches this concept further by taking inspiration from their own childhood back-yard, through to the pastoral plains of Nebraska and Kansas. #e !gure of Dorothy Gale walks the runway in sky blue with wind swept hair and long dresses printed with corn that seemingly swayed in the breeze. As the show comes to a close, two !gures cut through this bucolic scene, one appearing almost angelic in silver and yellow, whilst the other in a devilish shade of ruby red. It seems we have been transported to the land of Oz, where the witches of the west and south !ght over a pair of magical party dresses, rather than slippers #is collection certainly requires us to look deeper at their images of pastoral

pleasantry, does something darker lurk beneath the surface?

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Tin Manheart watch necklace

by accessorizeru%e jacket and dress

both by topshop;shoes by asos

Scarecrowra&a bow by topshop

fountain hem dress by miss selfridge

lace up shoes by urban out!tters

Dorothyhouse ring by urban

out!ttersdenim pinafore by

topshopred heart melissa shoes by vivienne

westwood

Cowardly Lionlion cameo pendant

by river islandsuede playsuit by

topshop fur clogs by bertie

rodarte fashion story: look book

words and images by rebecca gilbert

mix tapewords and mixtape by holly taylor

Mad World (Tears for Fears cover) Gary Jules

Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now – #e Smiths‘In my life why do I smile, at people I’d much rather kick in the eye?’

Between the base – Elliott Smith

#e State I’m In – Belle & Sebastian‘Oh love of mine, would you condescend to help me ‘cause I’m stupid and blind’

One Man Guy – Rufus Wainwright‘One man guy when the sun goes down I whistle me a one man tune’

Something Vague – Bright Eyes

#e Only Boy living in New York – Simon & Garfunkel‘Half of the time we are gone but we don’t know where, and we don’t know where’

E is for Estranged – Owen Pallett‘Haven’t you heard I’m a "ightless bird. I am a lier, feeding facts to a false !re’

I’m So Depressed – Abner Jay

Teenage Angst – Placebo‘Since I was born I started to decay. Now nothing ever ever goes my way’

Atmosphere – Joy Division‘Your confusion, my illusion, worn like a mask of self-hate, confronts then dies’

Serve the Servants – Nirvana ‘As my bones grew they did hurt. #ey hurt really bad’

Teen Age Riot – Sonic Youth‘Miss me, don’t dismiss me’

I Hate my Friends – Sebastian Grainger

Creep – Radiohead‘But I’m a creep. I’m a weirdo. What the hell am I doing here? I don’t belong here’

#e Real Me – #e Who ‘Can you see the real me? Can you?’

Ever wondered what a character would listen to if iPod’s had always existed? We have taken the time to create the playlist we think would belong to Holden Caul!eld, 17 year old protagonist of the classic book on teenage angst, #e Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger.

Holden is a universal icon of the longing to protect childhood purity, rebellion and the resistance to grow old, with hatred for phony qualities he would much rather spend time alone than associate himself with ‘phony’ people.

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illustration by laura restrepo

holly taylor takes a closer look at the cover of george orwell’s animal farm.

words and images by holly taylor

book by it’s cover

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styling and photography by holly taylor; art direction by rebecca gilbertmodel stacey rivers

purple tie back dress topshopsilver ring accessorizepearl earings models own

black collared dress by tfncpearl earings models own

cream lace dress river island purple "ower stylists own

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If anyone was going to be late it was always going to be Tom Buchanan. In London on business, Tom has requested the interview took place in person over afternoon tea at the Ritz. As I sat alone waiting, I glanced around the room to the lavish ladies stirring their tea with the silver spoons plucked from their own mouths whilst they idly gossip over fresh scones. At 2.14pm the squeaking of shiny black brogues reverberated down the hall ever louder as the shoes approached, Tom !aunted e"ortlessly straight for me. Tom was a large man with a very athletic build, his crisp, sharp suit exposing his powerful frame, clearly bespoke, a Hardy Amies poster boy. #e dark navy pinstriped three-piece suit loomed over me as he waited for the chair to be drawn before sitting at the table. Tucking the napkin into his collar, we were ready to begin. As a well-educated man, is reading important to you? If you want to excel at Yale, a great deal of reading is of paramount impor-tance but fortunately an aptitude for academia has always come naturally to me. From an early age I read a great deal of Greek mythology, identifying myself with the likes of Achilles, the most powerful warrior of the Trojan War. Metaphorically speaking I was running before my peers could walk. My vast knowledge of Greek mythology and fervent interest in the !eld led me in later years to explore Classical philosophy. Did the Classical philosophy in!uence your character? Having studied at great length the works of Aristotle, Plato and Socrates. I struggled to align myself with the principles of the aforementioned philoso-phers. ‘No one errs or does wrong willingly or knowingly’, a Socratic para-dox that only demonstrates their primitive understanding of human nature. More modern philosophy however has in"uenced me greatly, the teachings of Machiavelli and Nietzsche in particular. #e Machiavellian political treatise #e Prince imparted on me the leadership qualities I demonstrated so authoritatively on the sports !elds during my college years. My mantra that ‘It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both’ is something I have carried with me o$ of the playing !eld and maintained since the days of studying at Yale. I am the Prince, I am the Lion and I am the Fox. So it is clear how Machiavelli has shaped your ideals, you mention Nietzsche has he had as great an impact? I have Nietzsche’s ‘will to power’, the zeal, the achievement and the desire to reach the pinnacle of one’s own potential. #e tenets of Nietzsche re"ect my own in as much as I have the morality and nobility of the master and do not possess the weaknesses Nietzsche associates with ‘the rabble’.

#is achievement and ‘pinnacle of one’s own potential’ you speak of, is it something you are striving for or something you have already ful$lled? I have achieved not just substantial wealth but an enlightened perspective that ‘bootleggers’ and especially those gaucherie types from West Egg could not ascertain. Certainly, not with any class, if they were to try. Okay, to steer us back towards literature, are there any books you would

recommend? #e rise of the coloured empires by this man Goddard. I would really recommend it; it is all proven, very scienti!c. It explains that we, the white race, have a duty to look out for each other and protect our heritage. Civili-sation is going to pieces. Oh, another book, which comes to mind, something that I really enjoy and have read several times, is Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. As well as the novel being a monumental tale of voyage and discovery, the men in Mel-ville’s oeuvre show authority, a favourable quality I see in myself of course. And what about the books you wouldn’t recommend? Mark Twain. Another bootlegger. He is a man who has received little to no education but parades about, amongst European royalty and presidents, squandering his money earned from writing broad, unimaginative literature. #e work by this Mark Twain makes me ashamed of American literature and it won’t be long before these novels are soon forgotten. #ey will never be considered classics. Who is your favourite character within literature? My favourite character, let me see, I think it is most likely to be a character from one of William Shakespeare’s plays. I often travel into New York to see his plays performed. My favourite would have to be Iago the schemer in the tragedy, Othello. He is a clever and cunning man who outwits the other players, some would call him manipulative I suppose, he moves them around like he is moving a checker to another square. #ere is something I !nd so entertaining in a villain and with one as deceptive and conniving as Iago, what is there not to take pleasure in. I think it was Samuel Taylor Coleridge who described the character as a ‘motiveless malignity’. What a glorious way to describe him. #ose two words conjure up the idea that Iago wreaks havoc on people’s lives for no ulterior purpose. I would relish in it, if I were given the opportunity to play the part on stage. I’d play it awfully well. [Laughs deliriously]

So, what do you think your choice in books says about you as a person? Well, as you mentioned previously I am very well educated, knowledge and learning has been always been connate. My ideas have seldom been anything but vanguard, which is apparent in my choice of reading material. As the Machiavellian Prince, the philosophers I read position themselves as my wise counsellors advising me on matters. It is hard to say what the books I read say about me because I read such a vast quantity covering many topics, !c-tion and non-!ction. In order to quench my thirst for knowledge I turn to books. You can always learn and discover something new from a book you don’t enjoy just as much as a book you will read time and time again. And $nally, what book do you plan on reading next? Well, there are thousands of books gathering dust in my library back at one of my homes in East Egg. It has been suggested to me to read #eodore Dreiser’s latest novel, ‘An American Tragedy’. #e narrative is based on true events, but I am unsure however whether I will read it, because of the nature of the protagonist. He is raised by poor parents and is anxious to achieve better things. In my opinion what the character is in search of cannot be mastered later in life. Class stems from upbringing alone. #is is not to say I won’t consider picking it up, apparently the protagonist is quite the ladies man and I feel it is important to keep abreast of modern literature.

Well it has been very enlightening speaking to you, Mr Buchanan, I think you have answered all of my questions, thank you for $nding the time to sit down and talk with the magazine [And with a palpable "ash of his wallet, he was gone].

For such a busy, occupied man, one wonders where he !nds the time to immerse himself in such a great number of books!

Holly Taylor interviews F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tom Buchanan

words and illustrations by holly taylor

holly taylor interviews: tom buchanan

o$ the beaten trackBRITISH TEXTILE ARTIST LAUREN SWAIN TELLS US

HOW JACK KEROUACS BIBLE FOR THE BEAT

GENERATION ON THE ROAD INSPIRED HER

LATEST COLLECTION.

interview by rebecca gilbert

textile & photography by lauren swain

Lauren is a British textile artist originally from Kent, who developed her interest in textiles whilst she was studying fashion at college. Since then she has accepted a place at the London College of Fashion, and has developed her interest into creating her own works of art. We discussed her latest work, along with her other inspirations.

Your latest pieces were inspired by On #e Road, what in particular about this novel caught your attention? I’ve always had a fascination with America and the romantic idea of the great American road trip, On #e Road was a story I really felt that I could con-nect with. America is a land of massive contradictions, extreme wealth and ambition, the American Dream... “the notion that the American social, eco-nomic and political system makes success possible for every individual” (I found that in a dictionary online somewhere) and crippling poverty and apathy. Kerouac allows his characters to escape this in favour of being a part of the ‘beat generation’, separate from the materialism and ambition prominent in the USA and living a poetic, hedonistic, mad but free existence. Reading this book just awoke a desire in me to pack my bags, hire a cadillac and set o$ along Route 66.

Can you walk us through the individual pieces? #e !rst, (a rectangular series of overlapping stitches) was inspired by the character Dean. It’s quite a dark piece, as I felt that Dean is a dark character. Once pristine, but worn by time and being on the road. #ere are these bursts of colour (life) and also of black (sadness, depression) that I really feel express Dean’s erratic character. I felt quite sorry for him whilst reading the book. I think he was a depressed character and was desperately trying to chase normality and love. I found this quote, which summed up my feelings of Dean; “Roads that lead everywhere and nowhere at the same time.” Other pieces were inspired purely by quotes “there was nowhere to go but everywhere so just keep rolling under the stars” It’s a beautiful, poetic, quote, I wanted to keep the piece as simplistic as this quote, because for me, it just sums up the book and the romanticism of travelling. It says it all. #e idea of the American Dream was the inspiration behind the "ag and maps. Kerouac is disillusioned with the notion of the American Dream. I think with this quote, “O$er them what they secretly want and they of course immediately

become panic stricken” he is mocking the ideals of middle America. We are constantly striving for happiness, so much so that we are incapable of being happy with the now, or without what the American dream says they need to be happy; the job, the house, the car...

“THERE WAS NOWHERE TO GOBUT EVERYWHERE SO JUST KEEPROLLING UNDER THE STARS”

What other kinds of books do you enjoy?I think my favourite book is Love In #e Time Of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez. It’s a heartbreaking story about the many guises of love. As a bit of a hopeless romantic, I LOVE this book. I also really like Dracula - the gran-daddy of vampire stories. It’s a brilliant horror story but also I think theres a great love story there. Zen And #e Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig (everyone should read this book), like Kerouac, I was initially drawn to the road trip aspect of the book, but it’s so much more.

What else has in!uenced your work over time? #e Indian designer Manish Arora is hugely in"uential, his use of wild col-ours and patterns and his contemporary use of traditional Indian techniques such as applique and beading is really exciting. Indian dress and textiles is an area that really appeals to me; I !nd the use of colour, pattern, embroidery and the attention to detail absolutely incredible and would say that an ap-preciation of Indian culture is obvious in a lot of my work. Zandra Rhodes, Missoni and Erdem are designers I also really admire. Outside of fashion, I !nd Tim Burton !lms incredibly inspiring. I remember watching Edward Scissorhands for the !rst time and thought it was abso-lutely beautiful - he has an incredible eye for detail, his imagination is out of this world - I’d love to climb inside his head for a day!

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model alice vinerstyling by holly taylor

photography by vesko nickolov layout by rebecca gilbert

last night i dreamt i went to manderley again...

sleeveless dress mangofur coat river island

strapless jumpsuit halston heritagesnakeskin platforms miss selfridge

green jumpsuit topshopfur stole stylists own

lost & found

Birthday Inscription. #is birthday message started our love for collecting second hand books for their inscriptions. #is one in particular, “Happy 21st Steve. You’ll get there one day...! Tim.” made our day when we turned the !rst page and discov-ered it waiting for us. Seeing it always makes us wonder, did he ever make it to Japan?

Pretty Paper. Bookmarking a page in a library reference book, this round piece of note paper found its way into our pockets, because of it’s decorative peacock motif and the sweetly child-like handwriting in pink pen. We imagine the Sophie who wrote this, must be a child at heart <3

Teenage Crush. A part of our fascination with second hand books is nostalgia, remembering the ones that entertained us when we were younger. Beccy collects Point Horror books in particular, hunting

them down in local charity shops and !nding herself far too pleased when she !nally spies one. Flicking through one of her own originals, we came across this sticker from the equally extinct Smash Hits maga-

zine and a very young looking Leo DiCaprio greets us.

We can’t help but get excited when we turn the page of a second hand book to !nd something that other readers have left behind. We have collected the makeshift book-marks, inscriptions, even hand written letters that we have found, and realised that we enjoy !nding these mementos almost as much as reading the books themselves.

words rebecca gilbert

Your New Best Friend. Equally amusing and bizarre, this letter found it’s way to us by leaping out of a library book. It really is the kind of let-ter you could imagine forcing it’s own way out of a text book somehow judging by it’s commanding to do list, “...do it now before you forget. are you reading a book? Go and take one from the library. Smile at passing strangers, hold doors open and give up seats.” Of course we didn’t call the number they left at the bottom, Beccy has read one too many Point Horror books recently, and this letter had the makings of “Your New Best Friend Part 1” all over it.

Holiday Snaps. #is retro snap far surpasses the train tickets and scraps of paper that usually mark our book pages.Sadly

we can only guess the story behind this boat trip, perhaps we should write our own story?

Christmas Tag. Peeking out of a book in a local charity shop, was this personalised christmas tag. Rather than buy the

book itself, this make-shift bookmark founds it’s way home with us. Reading the detail on the cat’s music sheet still

makes us snigger now.

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photography by danny ford; post-production rebecca gilbert jewellery by nicola crawford

Nicola Crawford is a 34-year-old jewellery designer from south east England, whose latest work is inspired by the lost art of hand and letter writing. #ree years ago she left her day job at a local newspaper, where she worked with layouts and graphic design. Craving something even more creative she decided to start something new, “I got bored” she sighs, “I looked at doing a graphics degree but found jewellery was more my thing. I went towards craft and taught myself using precious metal clay, which is silver and clay.” Once she found the jewellery workshop she hasn’t looked back.

Inspired by a Japanese paper-cutting artist Hina Aoyama, words from her time spent at the newspaper, have transferred to her latest jewellery col-lection. “#e art of handwriting has been lost due to technology and time, we do not use pen and paper any more like we used to,” she explains. “I get my inspiration from anything I might see around me,” so her time spent at the local newspaper has gone to good use. Her work is made up of intricate letters, pieced together to form rings and pendants. She evokes her ideas through her !ne jewellery and has sourced inspiration for her work from old writing at the Goldsmith Library archives. #ere is something in-novative and charmingly individual behind her pieces, which she would describe as “nostalgic, feminine and evocative.” Her jewellery resonates char-acter and time consuming dedication, each individual letter taking hours to prepare. However, if time (and money) were limitless Nicola would happily complete a statement piece with the same theme, “I would love to create a scarf out of joined up letters. I would do that in titanium (a precious metal), but if money were unlimited then gold!” Her plan for the future involves promoting her unique brand, hoping to one day see stars like Pixie Lott wearing her designs. When asked what she would love to be if not a jewellery designer, she replies, “there is nothing else I would like to do... I have had many jobs, but this is my passion.”

Nicola’s store can be found at http://www.silverleaves.co.uk/

in writinginterview by gemma seager

edited by rebecca gilbert

Collecting everything we could of theirs, the Lisbon girls wouldn’t

leave our minds but they were slipping away. The color of their eyes

was fading along with the exact locations of moles and dimples.

playground love

the virgin suicidesby jeffrey eugenides

styling and model photography by holly taylorart direction and still life photography by rebecca gilbert