BLITZ #56 August 1987
The shoot featured pretty much the entire stock of World, a tiny store owned by Michael and Gerlinde Costiff, who were two of London’s style-setters; they also ran the nightclub Kinky Gerlinky. The merchandise was a mix of ethnic souvenirs they brought back from their travels and urban club kid sportswear. The shoot focused on the lust for labels and the omnipresence of giant companies. I guess this was the start of global branding.
Wear in the world Photographer: David Woolley Models: Chazz, Moose, Pallas Citroen at Z, Tai-Shan at Marco Rasala Make-up: Melvone Farrell at Z Hair: Gordon Pindar for Toni & Guy Clothes: World, Martine Sitbon, Bernstock Speirs, Budweiser, Marlboro, Obsession Calvin Klein body glistener
We were always quite wary of stylists when they came to borrow things but we liked BLITZ the most. We’d say, ‘Take whatever you like. That way you have a bit of choice.’ Those two boys wearing the sarongs. We never sold any of them. I’ve still got some in a box somewhere, and I’ve got one of the Brazil football shirts left that was mine.
L to R: Moose, Chazz
David Woolley, photographer: It was the most exciting experience of my life. A new world was opening for me. BLITZ had a much rawer energy than magazines today. Productions now tend to be much slicker. BLITZ had an inspirational creativity, a vitality and authenticity that inspired my generation.
Chazz Khan, model: I remember the hairdresser putting egg yolk in our hair. You couldn’t follow that as fashion. It wasn’t that direct. It was the feel or the mood. It’s got to be more blatant and obvious now. Your shoots were so brilliant. I thought, I’m never going to be doing this ever again.
Michael Costiff, designer: BLITZ was good to us. You always used lots of things. One thrilling moment was when we went to London Fashion Week and on every seat was a copy of BLITZ with about twelve pages of World. That was when Kim Bowen became fashion editor.
Moose Ali Khan, model: We just wanted to part of anything happening – a show, an editorial or an event. If we were in Paris or Milan there was always the same British contingent of models, then a few years later there would be a different group from a different country – the Brazilians, then the Eastern Europeans. But at that time everyone wanted a bit of London energy, the mixed-race models and the edginess.
Gerlinde had a stall in Antiquarius market on the King’s Road but we wanted our own store, so we opened World in Litchfi eld Street on the Covent Garden/Soho crossover. We had a ball. Our trips abroad were all about the shopping. We never went to the beach. I still love a good airport gift shop. We bought things we never saw elsewhere. Now everything is on the internet, everything is everywhere. It’s difficult to find things that are different. We had exotic taste. World was a very eclectic mix. We lived in a world of our own. I still avoid real life now. It’s just too ghastly. We’d travel and bring back whatever took our fancy. Sometimes we got it right, sometimes we didn’t. I remember when Lycra cycling gear was coming in, so we bought a lot of it in Brazil, by the time we got back it was all Acid House. If we bought stuff when travelling and something sold out, there was never any chance to replace the stock.
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Gerlinde and I were often referred to as pioneers. World was before coffee shops and mobile phones, so it was as much a social centre. People would meet there and leave messages with us for their mates. Soho has had it now. It’s so corporate. And everything has moved over to the East End. I call it downwardly mobile. You don’t have to bother to shave over there.