Hot on the Highstreet Week 26

Try to contain your excitement... LANVIN is hitting H&M this week. On Tuesday 23 November giddy girls will follow the crowds to H&M for their most exciting collaboration yet.

The collection has a cocktail hour theme and includes oversized floral prints on minidresses and one-shouldered hot pink puffed sleeve pieces, fabulously tempting shoes, smart jackets, and cute accessories too. With 48 pieces this range covers every possible party dress need! I adore the embellished hand-drawn t-shirts, of which there are three designs to collect.

Alber Elbaz, artistic director of Lanvin says about the collection: ‘The range is all about colours, shapes, flowers and happy clothes, inspired by Lanvin’s recent past. It is very much about melodrama ... and also full of humour... Lanvin and H&M share the same philosophy of bringing joy and beauty to people around the world.’

Prices range from £14.99 for intricate chandelier earrings, to £149 for some of the most extravagant dresses. I can’t wait!

View the collection here, and start your shopping list now. Doors open at 9am... I’ll race you there.

Fabrication at The Print Room

London’s newest and quirkiest theatre The Print Room launches its first season with the UK premiere of ‘Fabrication’ (‘Affabulazione’) by Italian film maker Pier Paolo Pasolini, translated by award winning poet Jamie McKendrick.

This play has been turned down by theatres before, most likely because of the shocking extreme nature of the material. It is a powerful piece that explores the relationship between a father and son, focusing also on a reverse of the Oedipus myth and the thoughts of philosopher Sophocles, that at times completely possess and poison the father’s mind. He is tormented by finding an answer and desperately tries to negotiate reason with his gradually deteriorating mind.

I found I was disturbed at times by the play, but this emotion was quickly overtaken by my amazement at the superb acting and the realisation of this tricky subject matter and script. Fabrication is a vehicle for a male actor to showcase everything he has got, and Jasper Britton steps up to the task as the father. He is both physically and emotionally very energetic, acting the self-destructive man with intelligent insight. I also very much enjoyed Max Bennett’s acting as the abused son, his concentration makes the role totally believable from start to finish.

Lucy Bailey’s staging is physically noticeable from the moment you sit down in this small theatre space. I have seen The Print Room as an exhibition room and could barely believe the transformation it had undergone. Immediately you feel claustrophobic and lost. A central black box gradually separates to reveal the almost bare ‘stage’, covered in grit and glistening with raw heat from the surrounding burnt umber walls. It is imaginative and unique, I have never seen anything quite like it. The passage that the audience looks through is narrow and I found it really focused my attention. It echoes with the all-important moment in the play when the father observes his son through a keyhole. There is a theme of obsessive voyeurism and this is definitely felt by the audience too, thanks to the innovative staging.

While others might sneer at this daring debut, I think it a brave feat and am impressed by The Print Room’s first steps into the world of London theatre.

Fabrication continues at The Print Room until 4 December, book on 08444 77 1000, or book here.

Don Giovanni at The ENO

This production of Don Giovanni has a modern urban feel, and is eerily creepy. The interpretation of Mozart’s famous opera is much darker than other shows I have seen recently at the ENO. We are warned before entering that we will experience strobe lights, a strange sensation when sitting in a big opera house. Besides the visual effects, atmospheric breath noises are used and throughout the performance masked demons sneak and run about on stage, an appropriate production for Halloween.

Kirill Karabits is an energetic conductor and he seems to empower the orchestra which is in fact a lot smaller than it sounds. Unfortunately I found the orchestra’s rendition of the overture a bit lacklustre and boring, which didn’t set the scene particularly well. The cast is made up of familiar names, with Iain Paterson in the lead role, bellowing maliciously as the callous Don Giovanni. His only fault is not being quite charismatic enough for this lecherous role. Brindley Sherratt is the most convincing actor on stage as the greasy sidekick, Leporello. He is surprisingly hilarious as well vocally brilliant. I particularly enjoyed Leporello’s catalogue aria that director Rufus Norris re-imagines as a doctor’s statistical presentation, clever timing provides the audience with many laughs. I must also mention the witty translation of Jeremy Sams, that brings some entertainment to an otherwise rather dreary night.

I found Norris’s overall production idea bewilderingly strange. I was confused about where the action is in fact set, at the start it resembles the skate track on the Embankment, and later in the performance is more like an underground drinking dive. The vile Jesus t-shirt costumes worn by the rampaging demons are also very bizarre, and muddle the already complex storyline.

All in all I found this to be a disappointing setting for Mozart’s great opera, and with the late start I was relieved to be leaving at 11 o’clock.

Don Giovanni continues at The Colliseum until 3 December 2010, book tickets here.

Christian Marclay at The White Cube: The Clock

The Clock is a very special piece of work by artist Christian Marclay that I feel privileged to have seen. I only wish I could have visited the exhibition earlier in its run, so others could have seen my review and experienced it for themselves. Although I hear that the 'film' is now being shown in Nottingham, and I think it is so good it is almost worth the trek.

Essentially this work of art is an example of film collage, but I will include a quote from the White Cube Gallery (where it was shown) to explain it better:

‘The Clock is constructed out of moments in cinema when time is expressed or when a character interacts with a clock, watch or just a particular time of day. Marclay has excerpted thousands of these fragments and edited them so that they flow in real time. While The Clock examines how time, plot and duration are depicted in cinema, the video is also a working timepiece that is synchronised to the local time zone. At any moment, the viewer can look at the work and use it to tell the time.’

The construction of this idea is immaculately realised and seamlessly presented. Despite lacking narrative coherence the visual and audio clips work with many elements of association so the viewer can follow recurring themes. Clocks of every kind are used in such an entrancing way I wanted to stay and watch it all day. I recognised the occasional clip, Hugh Grant was featured at one point, and I’m sure if I’d stayed all day I would have seen many more celebrity actors. However the parts I enjoyed most were the older, more obscure moments of film, some of which must have come from the earliest days of the cinema.

I visited from 1.15-2.15 pm on Saturday afternoon, the final day of the show. And as befits this time of day, I watched characters rushing to appointments, eating lunch, being late, meeting friends. It truly was one of the most mesmerising pieces of art I have ever seen.

Rob Ryan at The Air Gallery

Last weekend I visited The Air Gallery on Dover Street to see Rob Ryan’s enchanting exhibition ‘The Stars Shine All Day Too’.

Having seen snippets of information about the show dotted about in magazines and on blogs I was very keen to see Ryan’s work for myself. The exhibition displays new works by the artist, both handcrafted paper cut works, and more affordable prints of his most evocative designs.

I felt like I was entering a fairytale world. Each piece offers a fragment of a story which I enjoyed augmenting in my imagination. Often I feel contemporary artists shy away from letting their work be too romantically inclined, perhaps to stop it becoming commercial, or perhaps they feel it makes their work less unique. Rob Ryan’s work is the perfect example of the romantic without cliché and kitschness.

The works come in all shapes and sizes, one of my favourites is a little red cut out design on white, that pictures a high heeled show, with a highly decorative background. Others are more fantastical and reminded me of films like ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’. I later found out that in fact Tim Burton and Helena Bonham-Carter had visited the show and bought some pieces.

Also on display is the spectacular collaboration between Rob Ryan and accessory designing goddess Lulu Guinness. Together they have created a beautiful one-off clutch bag that is soon to be auctioned off for charity. It shows two lovers on a bench kissing beneath a starry sky. Inside it is signed by both artists and has a touching embroidered message.

Some pieces include thoughtful poetry, the words of runaway lovers, and hopeless romantics, or just a few words that conjure up a memory or emotion, a moral or a statement. The wonderful thing about Ryan’s work is you can take from it what you want, there are no obscure concepts or abstract truths, just beautiful work that shows real craftsmanship and creativity.

‘The Stars Shine All Day Too’ continues at The Air Gallery until 20 November, 2011. Check out more on Rob Ryan here.

CANTEEN Restaurant

Canteen = 4 award-winning London restaurants. Great British food = honest food, nationally sourced, skilfully prepared and reasonably priced.

This is how CANTEEN restaurant describes itself, rather modest considering every time I’ve been I have had to wait in line with the rest of its keen fans. It is always full, and seems insanely popular.

I first went to Canteen, Royal Festival Hall branch, about a year ago with a good friend. After the first delightful visit it became one of our regular meet ups after work. The atmosphere suited us perfectly, and the warmth of the food and service was too good for us to resist. Considering the large portions, the prices are reasonable but not cheap, about £20 a head for drink, main, and side plus 12.5% service.

The name, I’m guessing, comes from the canteen-like layout of the restaurant, no fuss tables and chairs ordered neatly in an open plan room. It encourages casual, stress-free dining and is open for food, snacks and drinks all day. The breakfast menu, although I’ve never tried it, looks great.

The food has always been delicious, with maximum taste but also leaves you feeling completely satisfied and healthy. When I went last week I ordered the amazingly large portion of roast chicken and chips with garlic mayonnaise, plus a green side salad. The chicken was succulent with beautifully crispy skin, perhaps it had been cooked in one of those magical rotisserie machines. And the chips were perfectly cooked and cut, dangerously moreish. As a meat lover this is a good restaurant for me with numerous tasty meaty options, from freshly baked pies to roasts and bangers and mash. Canteen can also proudly say that all their meat and poultry comes from farmers who rear traditional breeds and practise good animal husbandry. It is free range and additive free.

This is hearty feel good food, the best of British cooking. Go visit one of their four branches, or buy their cookbook, which recently came out.

Visit the Canteen website here.

Hot on the Highstreet Week 25

Every now and again the fashion world has a crazy moment, an occasion something unimaginably silly becomes suddenly very desirable. This month that special piece is the ‘onesie’, which is essentially an adult babygro! Now I must admit this is not my first experience of such a garment... I actually had a fleece one from Land’s End when I was about 15. I adored it, and as a true summer girl felt it was the only thing able to keep me warm in the cold winter months.

The fashion world first noticed the onesie when it began to be showcased by a few brave women at Paris Fashion Week this year; those sporting the look included Carine Roitfeld and Mark Ronson’s girlfriend, Josephine de la Baume. We have Norway-based company OnePiece to thank for these snuggly outfits. They started up their UK website a few weeks ago and are already struggling with the phenomenal demand. Onepiece say their inspiration came from a hungover need for a more comfy garment.

I am adding my name to the long waiting list, but can't decide on a colour. They come in plain shades, mostly bright and fun, or with more elaborate designs – stripy or even one replicating the American flag. Varying in price from £80-110, they are not cheap, but when you consider how much you would spend on skirt, top, tights and jumper, it works out to be a bargain. And there's a long term saving too – they are the perfect way to save on electricity bills.

Things to do in Paris

Paris, oh Paris, I adore Paris. I went last weekend for three days, and even with the torrential rain (it really did pour non-stop) it was still charmingly beautiful and a wonderful weekend away.

There is so much to do in the city, it is difficult to know where to start. So I thought instead of giving you an all inclusive guide, I’d just mention a few things that I enjoyed:

MUSEUMS: The city is littered with them. Quai Branly is relatively new, and has a wonderful collection of worldly artifacts. The Louvre is, of course, a must... a little tip though – the first Sunday of every month offers free admission to most major Paris museums and galleries, which is a great idea in theory, but in practise means waiting in three hour long queues just to get in. The Picasso Museum, which I am dying to see, is closed until mid-2012 so don’t waste your time like I did seeking out that one!

RESTAURANTS: Where to start? French cuisine can be absolutely divine if you know where to go. Unfortunately with the Pound-Euro conversion being so dreadful, even the snackiest of meals becomes pricey. On our first day we stumbled across a hip vintage cafe called ‘Etienne Marcel’ and in the Etienne Marcel region. We ate delicious ‘LOVE Burgers’ which arrived in the shape of a heart (!) accompanied by the most delicious skinny french fries. A very yummy lunch, but for just main and drink for two it came to 45 Euros, which is about 43 pounds. La Coupole is a fun restaurant too, with a lovely feel of tradition and celebration; the food can be a bit on-off though. The man at our hotel recommended a restaurant, just around the corner from Bastille metro, called Les Banquettes (3, Rue de Prague) in which the food was thoroughly tasty and had a perfect ambience; definitely my nicest meal in Paris to date. I ate stuffed poussin with fois gras sauce and vegetables. It had such a friendly atmosphere, with no tourists at all, they made us feel very welcome and gave us complimentary glasses of wine.

AFTERNOON TEA: The one and only Angelinas (on the grand Rue de Rivoli) really is a treat; you will have to queue, but their famous thick hot chocolate is worth it. A beautiful setting too – I felt like I was Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffanys. I must also mention Cafe Camille (that I love for obvious reasons) located just a few streets away from Place des Vosges (24 Rue des Francs-Bourgeois); this gem is always packed full of Parisian darlings.

SHOPPING: Vintage or Designer? Take your pick. I found that very few people could give me exact information on good retro shops in Paris. Go to metro station Etienne Marcel and explore around that area. Killiwatch (64 Rue Tiquetonne) is the well known warehouse-like vintage shop, but if that daunts you try Episode down one of the side streets... revolutionary prices – I bought a colourful silk top for 11 Euros and suede knee high tassle boots for 45 Euros, bargains me thinks.

HOTEL: We stayed in the Bastille area which is a little like the ‘Notting Hill’ of Paris. If you want to stay nearer the big attractions like the Eiffel Tower it is likely to cost you more. When I stayed more centrally, the hotel was not as high quality and didn’t have half the atmosphere of Pavillon Saint-Louis Bastille, where we were staying this time.

With the Eurostar so cheap, easy and quick it is all too tempting to hop on a train to Paris every weekend.

War Horse

As my dad pointed out, there seems to be a theme emerging from the recent shows I have seen... World War 1. Last week I went to see The Railway Children ( a little earlier), this week War Horse, and then in a few days I will be seeing Birdsong. So theoretically, I should be learning some history as well as enjoying good drama.

War Horse has exceeded all expectations, starting life as a book by Michael Morpurgo, and then onto the West End, via The National Theatre. Soon it transfers to Broadway, and Steven Spielberg is currently in the process of directing a film of the story adapted for the big screen by Lee Hall and Richard Curtis. The transformation of book to play is something few productions manage really effectively. Nick Stafford’s adaptation for War Horse is seamless and natural , however I do feel that at times it drags slightly and is perhaps a little too long. The book is essentially a children’s novel, and the production states it is suitable for kids of ten and over, I would disagree. Aside from the gruelling subject matter and sheer length the show, War Horse has some scary moments with frequent loud gun shots, often aimed towards the audience. I found it worrying and I am 22!

Reputation can be a dreadful curse on a show, and I think this was the downfall of War Horse for me. I had heard such enthusiastic things about the play so I was expecting a masterpiece. I cannot deny that the show is stunning, and completely unique in its approach to puppetry. Not only are the animals beautifully constructed, but the movements are breathtakingly real and accurate. I did in parts forget the horses are not alive.

The acting is on the whole convincing, Matthew Aubrey plays Albert Narracott with an endearing quality and strength that is appealing, but I found he shouts rather too much. I loved watching Zubin Varla, who takes on the role of Kavallerie Hauptmann Friedrich Muller, and amusingly tackles three languages for the part. The best actors of the night though are those agile people who move and dance as the horses, at times there are four of five people moving one animal.

Millions of horses died during World War I, War Horse is a play that remembers these forgotten heroes. Its popularity is justified, there is nothing like this play anywhere else on Broadway or in the West End, and it is very innovative in its use of puppetry. It is a story that touches many, though surprisingly I found I did not cry for long. I am disappointed not to have enjoyed this play as much as I hoped, but still found I was happy to experience the magic of these brave horses and the actors that make them come to life.

Book tickets here.

The Ice Bar - Below Zero

There is a lot of hype surrounding the Ice Bar (otherwise known as Below Zero) in central London, but it’s something you have to experience once. Located in the beautiful square on Heddon Street it sits next to several nice restaurants and bars, including my favourite, Piccolinos!

Winter is probably the worst season to choose to visit the Ice Bar, but it meant when I left I was pleasantly surprised by London’s temperature, which doesn’t often happen. Time slots are every 45 minutes, and it is sometimes worthwhile to book beforehand, because certain times do get busy and there are only a limited amount of spaces. There were various rules and regulations recited to us before we entered the exciting room, then we were told to put our arms down as large poncho type coats were thrown over our heads, complete with hoods and attached gloves! We looked hilarious.

It was freezing inside, really cold. Coincidentally I had my cosy Tory Burch boots with me, and for that I thanked God. All those smiling photos I had seen from friends' visits to the bar had given me a false idea! We shivered our way over to the bar where we collected our free drink, which comes complimentary with the £13.50 entrance ticket. There is a large choice of cocktails to choose from, but most seem to just be a shot of spirit with a top-up of fruit juice. The drinks arrive in delicately crafted square ice glasses, rather difficult to drink out of, but very pretty to look at. The bar itself it smaller than I expected, it is just one room with pillars and ice drawing on the wall; in one corner there is even a TV, covered over with ice, playing music videos.

After finishing our drinks and taking lots of photos to remember the occasion by, we found the comfortable ice sofa, complete with cushions which is actually quite warm. After about 20 (out of 45) minutes we were over the excitement and ready to go back to warm civilisation, but that felt like a bit of a cop out, so we found ways to keep warm. I myself did rather a spectacular little solo dance routine, that warmed my feet and raised my spirits!

We had fun but I think this is more of an experience for foreign visitors to London, we get enough cold weather as it is.