We dashed in for a quick spin around a very busy Frieze Friday – and grilled video artist Elizabeth McAlpine – of the super-slick and refreshingly friendly Laura Bartlett Gallery – about her 2011 fair experience.

WJ: What does it mean for you to be part of Frieze? 

EA: Its exciting to be shown under the same roof as your heroes, and for my work to be visible to such a wide audience. I’m looking forward to seeing what the outcomes are.

WJ: What are your Frieze recommendations?

EA: Susanne M. Winterling of the Silverman Gallery (Frame) for the way the work was hung and Stuart Shave/Modern Art (D13) was just great. Other highlights include: Rosemarie Trockel at Sprüth Magers and John McCracken at Lisson Gallery. Although I still have half of the fair to see so I am sure that there will be a few more stand out works.

WJ: What role do art and artists have in society?

EA: An essential one, but that’s for each artist to work out and for society to interpret.

WJ: Money’s no object and there are no limits on space or time – what’s your dream art work?

EA: Nancy Holt’s Sun Tunnels, 1973-76 Lucin, Utah. But obviously leaving them where they are!

WJ: What is the weirdest thing that you have done in the name of art?

EA: I had three pigeons crap on my head while filming in St. Mark’s Square, Venice but unable to clean it away until the 20 min tilt shot I was filming was finished.

Words: Martha Alexander

Image:  Alison Jacques Gallery booth at Frieze. 

Thursday’s pick from Frieze Art Fair was painter Ryan Mosley, represented by Alison Jacques Gallery, whose paintings have an understated beauty, intriguing narratives and a playful sense of the carnival. We managed to catch up with the London-based artist for a debrief:

WJ: What does it mean for your work to be part of Frieze?

RM: It means the work is seen by a larger audience in a relatively short time frame, it’s more of a snap shot of an artists work. The audience through out the duration of the fair will include, students, collectors, critics, other galleries and writers. It’s sometimes the knock on effect of these people seeing the work that can generate future interest and opportunity.

WJ: What role do art and artists have in society?

RM: Artists create art, which attempts to voice their interests. This often gets overlooked with the circus that art fairs can become. Frieze or the other big fairs generate revenue for galleries and artists. Collectors feed their passion however, going to a museum or art gallery to look at art in traditional setting probably tells us more about humanity and is more thought provoking.

WJ: What part of your working process do you like best?

RM: My favourite part of the making process is being in the studio, working through ideas, making problems and attempting to solve them.

WJ: If you had all the money in all of the world what works would you buy?

RM: I would love to have work by Guston, Ensor, Goya, Doig. As long as it was art that told me something I would be happy.

WJ: What is the strangest thing you have done in the name of research for your work?

RM: I once spent four weeks traveling through fairly remote Australian towns and villages researching the various locations used in the Mad Max trilogy. The Silverton challenge was strange.

Words: Martha Alexander

As you probably already know today is the first day of the London Frieze Art Fair. For the next three days the biggest names in the art world will be gathering their belongings and setting up base in Regent’s Park for one of the biggest dates in the art caldendar.

With over 170 contemporary art galleries from all over the world taking part in the fair and with many of London’s own galleries hosting special events across the weekend we thought we’d give you a run down to the best bits.

Frieze Projects

Commissioned every year for the fair the projects and this year curated by Sarah McCrory seven artists have made site specific works that will be on display across the fair. Our pick of the best is a full sized ‘live’ scoreboard by Bik Van der Pol which will be animated live by assistants who will constantly change the text to spell out a number of abstract idioms, quotes and maxims.

Sculpture Park

Situated in the English Garden this will definitely be one to check out if the weather is any good. Hosting work from new and well established artists such as Neha Choski, Des Hughes and Will Ryman. It’s free entry so you can check it out at any point.

Haroon Mirza

Taking up residency at the Camden Arts Centre during the fair young British sculptor Mirza presents a collection of his works including furniture, synths and turntables to create a techno soundscape. Sounds a bit confusing we know but trust us when we say check. it. out.

Tracey Emin

The controversial artist will be creating a site specific piece in an old Georgian house on Fitzroy Square including Picasso style self-portraits.

The EMDASH Award: Anahita Razmi

The winner of the 2011 EMDASH Award Anahita Razmi was chosen from 550 applications from artists situated all over the world and her work is being presented in a video installation at the fair. Inspired by the 1970s work ‘Roof Piece’ by the artist Trisha Brown – a piece that took place over 12 rooftops around a ten-block area in New York – her piece has been praised by art critics and lovers alike so make sure you try and take a look at this young artist to watch.

What we’ll be doing

We’ll be down at the fair over the weekend and reporting back on WJ Online about all the goings on so make sure that you keep checking back for more of the best bits and those bits that just aren’t worth your time.

On the new improved site you’ll find plenty to whet your appetite whether you’re in to music, fashion, art, film or just want to know what’s going on around London. As well as keeping you up to date with all the latest news and goings on across your favourite subjects we’ve also added a number of new functions which we hope will make your experience of WJ Online even more enjoyable.

To start with each of our categories now comes complete with it’s on homepage meaning there’s more news, reviews, videos, interviews and insight than ever before.

Next up is our new events calendar, a function that allows you to see the best of what is going on around London. Unlike other listings sites we’ve filtered out all the crap bits so that you only see the bits that are truly worth seeing.

Lastly we’ll soon be offering our readers the chance to sign up to become an even greater part of WJ Online. Once signed up you’ll be privvy to lots of exclusive features such as:

* A customisable homepage which will allow you to move the subjects around so that your favourites are higher up.

* The chance to sign up to subject specific news letters. Just interested in music? You’ll be able to let us know and we can send you a monthly news letter filling you in on the latest music goings on.

* The WJ Blog Line. For the first time ever you’ll be able to host your own blog right here on WJ Online. Once signed up you can begin blogging about whatever you want but to help you on your way we’ll also alert all our bloggers to the coolest parties, launches and exclusive events and to attend them all you have to do is let us know. We’ll also be pulling in the best content across the WJ Blog Line on to the main website so that you can benefit from our traffic flow.

* And lastly, if all of the above wasn’t enough for you, you’ll also be able to link up the events calendar with your computer calendar so that you never have that ‘damn I forgot!’ feeling about an event you want to attend again.

If you want to be the first to know how you can sign up for the above and loads, loads more just join our mailing list and we’ll alert you as soon as it’s all live.

In the mean time, take a look around and enjoy the new look site and as always, if you have any feed back we’d love to hear from you so feel free to drop us a line at tellus@whosjack.org.

Happy browsing Jackers…

With a current flare for all things NAIL orientated, the fashion-world phrase ‘accessories dahhhling’ has taken on a whole new meaning. Our humble nails, those things that we were actually born with, are the new PERFECT accessory to any outfit.

Who’s Jack introduce to you BOOM Nails, bringing in a whole new era of nail-art-fashion.

Emma Zentner, a North London lady, with a graphics degree and an incredibly steady hand, has embarked on a journey into the nail art world. A hobby, but one which she is incredibly talented at, Emma’s nail art is rivalling even the most well known manicurists, such as WAH nails. With clients such as Eliza Doolittle, and an ethic that NOTHING is too tricky to put on nails, Emma is as cool as a cucumber, and has a professional flare to match.

Boom Nails are summed up as pretty much anything you want. Be it fancy dress, weddings, sophisticated events or fashion conscious needs, Emma can handle it…with ease.

Check out some of her work below, and enter the world of NAILZ NAILZ NAILZ. Once you pop, you won’t stop. Addiction central. Welcome to a nail frenzy. Any outfit will POP with these bad boys on your hands!

You can find Emma, with her Boom Nails, at SUGARLESQUE, a lingerie shop in Kingly Court, just off Carnaby Street (London), Every saturday from 1pm.

Felicities provides emerging fashion brands with the whole shebang including PR, brand management and the crucial support and mentoring necessary to lead young talents on the path to professional success. With clients including this year’s Fashion Week break through designer Ada Zandition (everybody has been talking, trust me.), we were eager to see who Felicities had declared the faces, or more importantly, the brands,  of the future. Presenting and proudly explaining their collections to the viewers were the  budding fashion geniuses Beautiful Soul, CC Kuo, Funlayo Deri, Phannatia and Tramp in Disguise who all had their own unique creative flair as was apparent in their dynamic and extremely varied collections.

Starting with Beautiful Soul, their signature look is a blend of timeless evolving style with true global consideration to juxtapose the quintessentially English with an international appeal. The brand offers both a ready-to-wear collection, ‘Beautiful Soul London’ alongside a bespoke ‘Kimono Collection’.

Next, it was time to peruse the wears of CC Kuo  who lifted the looks straight off the mannequin and wore her own design, a sleeveless maxi shirt dress horizontally striped with blocks of black and sand with an intricate coffee brown print. A Central Saint Martin’s graduate, her acclaimed graduate collection resulted in a feature in POP magazine. Previously known for her bold use of colour, her SS12 collection takes a more relaxed approach to keep the pieces luxurious and sophisticated whilst retaining a striking and somewhat quirky edge.

After a few more sample of the lemon drizzlecake and chocolate brownies, we’re onto Funlayo Deri who describes her brand as a “celebration of the female form” to emphasize curves using the most lavish fabrics and fine detailing. The SS12 collection has a definite Coast vibe, suitable for an event that requires a guest’s elegance and formality without being overly serious. Classic strapless shapes are given an element of the unexpected through high cut sheer detailed panels whilst plain cocktail dresses are given  box effect volume around the hips and teamed with a monchrome, delicately crafted cropped evening jacket.

A quick white tea (non-alcoholic, baffling.) later and onto Phannatiq. Previously having made an appearance with her first collection at AW11 Fashion Week, Anna Skodbo is back with  a collection inspired by “forgotten London, urban industrial decay and street art”. The collection features a series of figure huggings shapes with contrasting and sassy anti fit. For Phannatiq, the real design is in the detail as delicate printed silks are adorned with press studs, leather piping and rivets to add an urban edge to feminine wear.

And finally, Tramp in Disguise which is a name that really doesn’t fit the collection on show. According to Felicities, the label offers “dazzling collections that are fun, youthful, modern and edgy”, yet, at first glance, the clothing on show seems distinctly grown up with its head scarfs and high necks. Again though, the proof is in the details. The youthful edge is in the sheer chiffon maxi skirts and near scallop edging, and when looking at the other clothing in the next room their brand aesthetic becomes all the more clear with striking digital prints and knits.

Camilla Hunt.
Little Myth Blog

However, Sunday afternoon had me ducking and diving under the any umbrella and cover I could find with its oscillating combination of heavy rain  and short bursts of glorious sunshine , leaving me exceptionally pleased at my choice of head gear (bowler hats are practically a small umbrella on your head, I promise you.).  After the fascinating Cristina Sabaiduc show in Covent Garden, I hot footed back to Somerset House for the much anticipated Fred Butler SS12 reception (drinks ahoy) high above the BFC tent in the Portico Rooms where I had only recently watched Craig Lawrence.

A reknowned and rather fabulous maker of the wildest accessories available, and friend to a favourite of mine, Patrick Wolf (who created a sound installation especially for the event),  Fred Butler was the place to be. Overlooking the damp grounds and sour faces below, we inside found ourselves in a rainbow world to mark the celebration of her first ever on-schedule presentation, after quite a few seasons of exhibiting off site. Colour pop and volume was paramount. And the shoes!  Tonal platform stilettos adorned with shell like circles helps evoke ideas of under water fluorescing marine life leaving me feeling rather bland in comparrison. On such a drab and dismal day, this was just the thing to liven our spirits.

The original musical score (provided by a favourite of mine, Patrick Wolf) and even more original designs were only let down by their sponsor, sodastream. A neon under water esque party this may seem but those bubbly drinks tasted like something right out the sea. Eck! And of course, anything but drab herself (himself?) , Pandemonia made an appearance in a outfit covering every inch of skin including using rubber to look like skin. However, this blow up Barbie Doll talking through rubber lips was enough to make me think of every kind of vile horror film in which faces are implanted onto innocent, screaming teenagers….so  I made my exit.

‘Until next time…
Miss C. x

We were invited to new LFW venue, St Luke’s Church, Old Street, to soak up the pre-show atmosphere backstage.  Here we saw a sneak preview of the dark lips, plaited hair, and killer shoes that would be presented in the 1pm show.

The show was comprised of the collections of four London based designers: Jane Bowler, Fanny & Jessy, Shinsuke Mitsuoka, and Eleanor Amoroso.

Jane Bowler opened proceedings with pretty pastels, scalloped details and skull caps, giving a 1930′s twist to a modern looking collection.

Next in the running, Fanny & Jessy presented oriental-like printed trousers, jackets and shorts, sat back with suede tassels.  The collection had a 1960′s feel with black piping details highlighting patch pockets, exposed zips, and bell-bottom trousers.  Vivid reds and greens were paired down with neutral open weave knits.

Next was Shinsuke Mitsuoka’s collection: Liberium Arbitrium.  Here we saw fetish detailing, lots of draping and black, black, black.  What gave the collection depth was the range of textures from fine open-gauge knits, to suede, and leather.  Blacks were layered up in varying lengths to give a grungy look.

Eleanor Amoroso closed the show with long, trailing fringed skirts and macrame details in black and neutral.  The collection proved tricky work fr the models, demonstrating that fringing + sky-high wooden wedges = high risk of falling.  At least 5 of the models took a stumble or three during their moment in the limelight!

Fringing and killer wedges proved common themes across the board at Blow Presents today, so we better get practising our walks if we want to emulate these looks next season.

Words: Jo Bevis

Photography: Alexander Kyriacou

After taking my to my seat ready to the Ashish show to begin, I notice a flurry of photographers making their way to my left to snap away and the very obliging Paloma Faith. Dressing as a true Brit in red blue and white, she appears to have also received the sequins memo as she dons an outfit entirely made by Ashish including a black ‘Faith Charity’ jacket with ‘Save the Whales’ scrawled along her back. Her outfit is fun and so is she as she gives me a grin and wave. No, she doesn’t know me from Adam (or maybe she does?) but I appreciated the gesture.  However, my attention was soon turned to my brunette woman sitting alongside her – Daily Mail and fashion journalist, Liz Jones. I’ve been reading her column in the back of You magazine for so long I can hardly remember and decided to strut over and introduce myself. Chatty and complimentary (and with really good skin), Liz asked about what I’m doing and told me I looked amazing (but of course) before wishing me luck with the future. As I returned to my seat, she took out her notebook and smiled to herself so maybe she rather enjoyed the introduction as I did.

At Jasper Conran, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (also known as Curtis from Misfits) was spotted wearing a casual ensemble of beige chinos with a white tank and blue shirt. The orange jumpsuit was noticeable absent.

Elsewhere, I’m  currently in the press lounge confused by the mans’s voice that came from the figure in 6 inch wedges and a sparkly mini dress. Everyone, however,  is talking about the wet paint on the benches scandal at JW Anderson. I have a feeling a massive dry cleaning bill will be coming their way shortly…

As I prepare myself for Craig Lawrence and John Rocha, rest assured I’ll be keeping an eye out for all the goings on.

Until next time…

Miss C. x

I’m Steph, a 21 year-old recent English Literature graduate and fashion intern at Who’s Jack. As well as writing for Who’s Jack, I have interned in the fashion departments of both More! and New! Magazine, as well as at PR companies, the BBC and Handbag.com. I also write a fashion and beauty blog called British Beauty Blagger.  Now I’m really excited to be covering my first London Fashion Week with the lovely WJ team and searching for some exciting new talent!

Having been a student, I am used to shopping on a student budget, so I would describe myself as much more of a high street girl that mixes and matches her existing clothes. I like fashion, beauty, magazines, dancing, going to the gym, gigs, and films. Things that wind me up are people chewing gum loudly, Jedward, and not getting the milk to cereal ratio right.