Friday Night at the John Snow

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to share my thoughts on the Kiss-in that happened on Friday night at the John Snow. The event was a response to the two guys who kissed in the pub while on their date and were ejected by the landlord.

The event was organised via facebook and was open to everyone who believed that the actions of the landlord were wrong.

The pub decided not open so we were all stood outside, the atmosphere was great, there was intermittent applause of support when two people kissed, gay or straight. We hope that the event raises awareness that everyone should be treated equally and hopefully people will consider their actions.

I borrowed the picture from Bobby Creger, who has some more images from the event.

I will place my soapbox away for the time being and say congratulations to all those attended.

O

x

Good News Friday!!

Hi Everyone,

As a protest to the amount of bad news we get fed, Original HQ has decidedto list the top 5 things that we have enjoyed in the office this week. In no particular order.

1. Ukrainian band Kazaky performing at Anouki Bicholla A/W Fashion Show – Not only do they look amazing in heels they manage to dance and out perform the models (you can see one model struggling to walk). You also have the Gaga inspired egg-head head piece which probably seemed a good idea on paper but is obviously impossible to walk in!! Thanks to Bobby Creger for the link.

2. Old School Gladiators – We are not entirely sure how we got onto this but ‘Welsey Two Scoops’ Berry made us all smile as we realised that despite the team not knowing each other in the mid 90’s we all remember ‘Two Scoops’ Berry who smashed the Gauntlet. He was amazing although we had foolishly remembered him as being British. We also chatted about the legend that is Eunice Huthart. Good Times!!

3. Pete Tong – Past meets the present with Pete Tong’s Original Essential Mix

being pumped out to help the creative juices flow. Barely aging in the 16years since the last one was aired and the new one sounds great too.

4. Terry Tibbs - Talk to me – WARNING: There is some use of profanity in the video. Just watch it! So funny, tears were shed into our coffee mugs.

5. Cheeky bit of Chipmunk – We like a bit of Chip Diddy Chip and his Live Lounge performance was amazing, was not expecting the cover of Rage Against the Machine but the stripped down version

worked well.

So what do you think of our list?

Pikachu kitten added for extra goodness

Have a good weekend.

O

x

Park Life

Hi Everyone,

So London Town was basking in the glory of Mediterranean temperatures at the weekend so the sensible thing is to enjoy some time at North London’s Parks, specifically Finsbury and Clissold.

Obviously there was some Frisbee action, a few refreshing drinks and some general frivolity. Both parks were lovely and the atmosphere was amazing (aside from some random chump swearing like a sailor around the boating lake). However, I was a bit surprised by the amount of toplessness on show, we are not prudes over at Originals HQ but watching a sweaty late-to-middle aged man strut around is enough to put anyone off their mini-milks

I think the Great British public do panic slightly when we see a bit of sun but there is a time and a place for such shows and it is definitely not on when I’m enjoying a picnic egg and coleslaw!!

This brings me beautifully onto park fashion, we don’t think that this falls into the traditional ‘Summer’ and ‘Festival Trends’ category as it’s too early to be really hot and the type of activity you may be undertaking may vary (easy now) from tree climbing, boulles (bit of culture for you), cooking on a disposable BBQ or just recovering from the stresses of the week.

So here are our tips for looking good in the park:

Cover up – The sun is still hot and as funny as it is watching the fools and their red faces it is not really advised to colour block using your face.

Layers – It will get cold at some point and there will be some shadows cast by clouds so shawl it up or have a jacket close by to shelter under until things heat up.

Deck shoes/pumps – As well kept as parks are there will be some mysterious objects nestled in the grass so make sure that you’ve got your trotters covered.

Loose light fabrics – If you get the fabric right then it needn’t be tight. You just need to create some space in between you and the item, physics will do the rest to keep you cool.

Sunglasses - Get those Original Frames on to complete the amazing summer look!!

PS Don’t climb trees in skinny jeans, they rip something rotten at the crotch.

O

x

Marketing, Minority Report and McDonalds

Hey Everyone,

I watched The September issue in the week and came away with a new hero, Grace Coddington. I love her. I can bore you with the details but I recommend that you watch it. It has been well written about in other places but Grace undoubtedly outshone Anna Wintour. Bearing in mind the film took place only with Anna Wintours approval and it is believed it was part of a campaign to soften her image. Whether or not it is successful or not is debatable but it has gotten me thinking about marketing in a bit more depth.

The September Issue is a great piece of marketing as regardless of your personal feelings about the people, Vogue is still being promoted to the hilt in the film. This type of marketing is not available to most companies is shifting due to social media. We have been quite studious recently and attended conferences and expos related to social media and its use for marketing. We at Originals HQ see the benefit of social media (thus this blog) and there are great examples of it working well (KLM and Google spring to mind). Equally mistakes can be made and as social occurs in real time there is less of a review cycle to catch any slip-ups.

The main point that all seem to agree on is that social media and consequently the associated marketing is only in its infancy. As company’s attempt to pry your hard earned cash from your mitts with new and innovative ways we are all subjected to marketing of different types. The Minority Report style retina scanning style personalised adverts will be here sooner rather than later.

I suppose at the end of the day it is all about choice and as long as people can chose whether or not they are subjected to the marketing then its all fair game.

Right I'm off to see if I can win on the McDonalds Monopoly Game!!

O

Not Saucy, but Reggae Reggae Drinks

It may not have anything to do with vintage fashion or even anything to with London's art, music or fashion, but here at Originals HQ we are amazed by the news that fellow Londoner Levi Roots is to launch a Reggae Reggae drinks range.

This week Vimto Soft Drinks agreed to license the Levi Roots brand, producing a range of Caribbean-inspired carbonates and juices next month

Now, we love Reggae Reggae sauce and we certainly love the enigmatic lead man Levi Roots, but this has blown us a way! If you take Lilt out of the market is there another tropical taste inspired soft drink? The answer is no there isn’t and this is why this is a masterstroke.

Fair play to Levi and his “Dragons” Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh they have seen the market potential and smashed it.

It won’t be long before Reggae Reggae drinks are in the Originals fridge alongside the much loved sauce!

Paul Mellor

Paris and Lewisham Fashion Shows

Hi Everyone,

The magic of sunshine! Everyone is happy, well apart from the people on the tube this morning (it nearly got a bit crazy on the Piccadilly Line).

If we swoop past the gossip from Paris Fashion Week (Kate Moss smoking and Kanye West not getting in anywhere) there has been some cool collections. The Louis Vuitton collection (see below) shows some strong vintage influences which confirms what we were seeing at the London Fashion week.

We also had the pleasure of attending the fashion show that was organised, managed and devised by the students at Christ the Kings Sixth Form College. It was probably the most high energy fashion show we have ever been too with music and performances blended into the show. The Originals frames we donated were also shown off with as part of some very cool outfits. Well done to all involved!!

Not long until the weekend so have a good one!!

O

x

Gaga hits the catwalk for Mugler

So. As predicted the Nicola Formichetti debut at Mugler turned into quite a scrum. Here are a few things we learned from the show ...

1. Gaga has to show up to stop everyone talking about Galliano for two bloody minutes.

2. Formichetti is the hottest property in fashion right now. Backstage was intense.

3. Italian blogger Giovanna Battaglia loves to throw a shape or two. She was itching to get those twickle toes dancing.

3. Loud, shiny music makes a show more exciting.

4. Anna Wintour actually smiled, making the Mugler show a triumph...BOOM.

8. Franseco Scognamiglio is the only label to drop should you find yourself in the company of Anna dello Russo. So does some woman called Gaga, oh and Madonna.

Loves and Hugs x