Daphne Guinness
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ou are no longer a person; you are a concept.” It was with these most insightful words in mind, once uttered by French arch-philosopher/ journalist Bernard-Henri Lévy, that I arrived excited and expectant at Harvey Nichols, Dundrum for the first Sunday Times Style lecture to be held in Ireland. The subject of the above comment was of course Daphne Guinness, heiress to the sizeable Guinness fortune, mother, divorcée, muse to the most respected of couturiers, bastion of British elegance and more. This premier Irish lecture featured Guinness being interviewed by, acclaimed fashion historian Colin McDowell in the environs of the terribly chic and sophisticated Harvey Nichols restaurant. It all sounded too good to be true and unfortunately, was. Having retired from a rather bustling bar into the dimly lit restaurant, selected one of the few remaining seats which provided an actual view of the goings-on and perused the paltry goody-bag (though the Space NK
complimentary makeover may have pleased the female demographic to a greater extent than myself) laid out, I wasn’t – nor were many of those surrounding me – exactly elated. Note, though, that this was mitigated somewhat by the ample volume of particularly good champagne available. However, crap goody-bags or no, the appearance of Guinness herself was more than enough to appease the slightly disgruntled audience. That was, of course, if one was lucky enough to hold a vantage point, which enabled them to actually see Ms. Guinness approaching the platform. Clad in a provocatively short, almost body-con, inkblack Gareth Pugh number, her trademark armour-esque elbow-length gloves and sporting vertiginous heels Guinness certainly dressed to impress the Irish faction of her fan base. Following much rapturous applause she finally seated herself next to a jovial McDowell and thus the inteview began. In retrospect, it was at that very point that I now realise I should have, perhaps,
Tattoo-lite
Cillian O’Connor on the designer and heiress’s visit to Harvey Nichols
left. Any assumptions of Guinness I had previously held – “She’s not merely an immaculate dresser,” I would assure my peers, “but also an intelligent, aware and very much involved personality” – were soon, quite frankly, quashed. To illustrate, when Guinness was questioned as to whether she
In retrospect, it was at that very point that I now realise I should have, perhaps, left considers herself a “political person” she promptly answered in the affirmative and quite unsuccessfully attempted to prove to the onlookers why this was. Perhaps even more frustrating was her unabashed statement that fashion is a sure signifier of a civi-
Patrice Murphy explores tattooing’s latest guise and discovers that now, it would seem, no needles are required
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attoos are where it’s at. C’mon, you know it’s true – it’s exactly like smoking, drinking ‘til you pass out and sex before marriage. Everyone’s doing it and you know it’s cool. Who doesn’t know someone with at least one star as seen on Rihanna’s back? Thoughts on Kate Moss’ anchor? Well, it’s cuter than her new boyfriend. Will you be as cool when you’re a parent as to have a commemorative tattoo á la Angelina? Even “fashion icon” Victoria has been showing off her Hebrew tattoo with her admittedly adorable pixie cut. Yet again, it can go badly wrong – need we mention Amy Winehouse (‘nuff said), Britney’s meltdown, or any Celtic tattoo in the vein of Sporty Spice or Robbie Williams? Fortunately, this year’s mini-trend allows a nod to the bad-ass coolness of tattoos, without the scary “‘til-death-us-dopart’ aspect.” Christian Audigier is the French designer and entrepreneur behind, amongst others, the brands Von Dutch and Ed Hardy, and has appeared on America’s Next Top Model and Janice Dickinson’s Model Agency. His brand Ed Hardy is slowly but surely infiltrating the market and his iconic t-shirts and logos have made appearances on the likes of Paris Hilton, P Diddy and Britney Spears. The label’s distinctive imagery is based on the work of Iowan tattoo-artist Don Ed Hardy, “the Godfather of tattooing,” who’s emphasis is on the fine art aspect of tattooing, as well as it’s traditional Asian heritage.
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13 January – 26 January, 2009
lised society and specifically – according to Guinness – of Western civilisation. Since when is fashion and the way we all dress exclusively a phenomenon of the Occident? Fortunately for her, Guinness did recognise her error when subtly criticised by a member of the audience during the subsequent open Q+A, agreeing that many African tribes’ indigenous clothing is “beautiful.” Maybe I’ve been somewhat harsh; especially considering Ms. Guinness probably isn’t accustomed to addressing audiences. But, honestly, her get-up was the only remotely intriguing element of her appearance at the lecture. Other highlights of the evening included the delectable canapés (although few, as always in fashion, were interested), McDowell’s wit and Guinness’s assurance that to be as flawlessly elegant as her adorned self is not dependent upon one’s financial resources but rather on innate creativity. This coming from a woman in Gareth Pugh during a recession, I left unconvinced.
The Ed Hardly line is, like Von Dutch Originals, marketed directly to celebrity clients and, by opening stores in high profile fashion districts, the designer has made it difficult for a lot of us to get our hands on the line, raising the exclusive profile of the brand. The range offers not only men’s and wo-
menswear, but also childrenswear, the like of which suits only the coolest celeb babies – the Beckham boys, the Brangelina brood, Kingston Stefani, etc. If the prints of cartoon-like skulls or lovestruck coyotes, tigers, flowers, koi fish intertwined with gothic roses, broken hearts and traditional banners of significant phrases
like “Love Kills Slowly” or “Death or Glory’, were not recognizable enough, much of the range is emblazoned with the famous tattooist’s signature. The most popular items in the range are the wide variety of bright t-shirts and the eye-catching, bedazzled phone-covers. However the hoodies are fantastically decorated with bright colours and intricate designs and the underplayed track bottoms, often with only one statement block of coloured design, are also worthy of interest. Ed Hardy Intimates is a sideline to the main range and offers a unique selection of underwear which, whilst not overly sexy, is well-designed and comfortable. Not quite as well-known as the rest of the line, Ed Hardy denim is not for the shy retiring type – with loud tattoos on a variety of dark blue to lightwash and ripped denim. The jeans are surprisingly classy despite their descriptions – even those with the label scripted across the bottom. Whilst Ed Hardy is the iconic mini-trend to be seen wearing this year, the similar, lesser-known Shiroi Neko products are also worth checking out. They’re available to buy on www.bluebaldur.com. DeVille, the range from Miami Ink’s Ami James and Chris Munez is too. If, as Oscar Wilde wrote, “fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable we have to alter it every six months,” a tattoo on a tshirt will be much easier to remove when the trend passes.
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