Here come the girls!
Blondes In The Basement is the title of this great short from Shop At Maison Bertaux’s Madame Pippa Brooks, based around a shoot she styled for photographer Constantin last week.
Set in a dank basement to the strains of The Dress by Blonde Redhead, Pippa and her friends Alex, Gwen and Johanna are seen having a bit of a cavort in some great items – see if you can spot any of the following:
Laura Ashley dresses from Golborne Road’s premier vintage emporium Rellik;
Bodymap numbers from the archive of the supreme Stevie Stewart;
A yellow top and grey mini-dress from Eley Kishimoto’s S/S 08 range;
A purple dress by Deborah & Claire, whose shop in Beauchamp Place in the late 60s also sold flowery, puff-sleeved shirts with long sleeves to the likes of Cream.
Here’s a Getty Images shot of D&C looking very groovy:
Stevie, who has worked with Pippa and her partner Max Karie realising clothes for their various Soho shops as well as their Shopgirl brand, also contributed some of her new knitwear, including the bonnet worn by Alex.
While we’re mentioning Ms Stewart it was great to see this clip of her 80s label with David Holah, Bodymap, and their joyful participation (to the amazing track After The Rainbow) in 1985’s Fashion Aid, as highlighted by Susie Bubble last week:
Fashion Aid is covered in Chapter 26 of THE LOOK: among those giving it some for Bodymap are Leigh Bowery, Boy George, Helen Terry and Alannah Currie of the Thompson Twins.
Bodymap sadly ground to a halt in the early 90s, having been confronted with the gamut of problems encountered by British street fashion at the time, as well as having been emulated out of existence (King’s Road shop Boy London is only one of those who successfully translated the formula for popular consumption).
Yet, today, the Bodymap spirit lives on, not just with tributes from the high-end likes of Cacherel and Louis Vuitton but also in the broader appeal of Stevie Stewart’s work for such clients as Kylie Minogue, as commissioned by Minogue’s creative director and Bodymap fan William Baker.
Among Stewart’s contributions to the Kylie cannon are the jersey paneled catsuits with silk waist cinchers studded with Swarovski crystals. The white version appeared in the Kylie fashion exhibition, while the singing budgie also wore this fantastic French beat-inspired version in black on tour.
Stewart’s place at the cutting edge remains undiminished, designing, consulting, directing ads and set-designing, not least for old spar Michael Clark. And it’s great to report she has maintained the Bodymap archive, as evinced by this photo-shoot for V Magazine styled by Tabitha Simmons and shot by Craig McDean.Not only is it way beyond time Bodymap got it’s props, it looks like it may well happen. And not before time, if you know what we mean.
Meantime check out the following:
Madame’s blog for Shop at Maison B
Michael Clark Co is oranj, kurious.
William Baker says “Never trust a stylist” and, as Annie Lennox pointed out, who are we to disagree?
David Holah’s history of Bodymap and V Magazine’s Bodymap shoot.
Hey, great article, and thanks for the info on Body Map, Stevie Stewart etc. For my A Level Art personal study I’m looking at 80s fashions and how it’s still affecting modern day fashions, and I wanted to find an 80s designer who isn’t famous, or at least not as well-known, unlike Vivienne Westwood, for example. After much searching on the internet I found out about Body Map, and loved their designs! It’s very difficult to find information about them on the internet, but I have found quite a bit now, including this blog, which has contributed greatly to my study!
Thanks again, Jenny x