CSM Time 2 - Time to Celebrate

09 csm time to ❖2007 celebrate 5 ✌ 2006 issue 02 01♦2000 march 7 ✑1998↕1999 09 1991❣1990 ☛ 1989

Fast surface, Blind screen and RefleCt­ ive editors Exhibition by Advertise m e n t

Professor Douglas Allsop 9 March – 3 April 2009 weekdays 10 – 6 Saturday 12–4 (Closed Saturday 28 March)

Inaugural professorial lecture Douglas Allsop in Conversation with Alison Green and Christopher Kul-Want Monday 16 March 2009, 6.30pm Cochrane Theatre, Southampton Row, London, WC1B 4AP Tickets (free) from the Cochrane Theatre box office 020 7269 1606 www.cochranetheatre.co.uk

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A SPECIAL YEAR

Welcome. In April 2009 we celebrate 20 years of Central Saint Martins. We’ll also be celebrating the 10th anniv­ ersary of when Drama Centre joined Central Saint Martins.

In this and subsequent issues throughout our 20th anniv­ ersary year we invite staff to reflect on their time at the college. Geoff Fowle gets the ball rolling on p11.

Throughout 2009 we’ll be hosting a year-long programme of special events at CSM and King’s Cross, culminating in 2010’s ‘When Central Met St Martin’s’ exhibition at the Lethaby Gallery.

You’ll find a diary of upcoming events on p26. Visit www.csm.arts.ac.uk for details throughout the year.

The next issue of CSM TIME is out in June 2009. It’s a special graduation issue, so please keep those contributions coming. Thanks.

Email your stories to our team at editor@csm.arts.ac.uk

CSM Time is produced by Marketing and Communication editor@csm.arts.ac.uk in association with Rhombus Writers.

Design by Paulus M. Dreibholz (alumnus and associate lecturer), Yohanna-My Nguyen (student on the MACD course) and Franziska Richter. © 2009 Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design unless otherwise indicated. We have made all efforts to credit images correctly. Please contact us if we have omitted to credit or miscredited an image – amendments will be made in subsequent issues.

+ King’s Cross news (4) (7) + Movers & shakers (11) + CSM is 20 + Art (12) + Innovation (14) (15) + Project – Curation (16) + Private collection + Research (18) + Alumni news (20) (23) + Profile – Douglas Allsop (24) + Artscom + Eyes on industry (25) + What’s on (26) (27) + MA Fashion review (28) + Best of the books + Private view (29) + As seen in…(30) CSM Time to celebrate issue 2—03 / 09

KING’S CROSS NEWS 4

cs m time — i ssue 2 / m a r c h 2009

View from Granary Square. © Colin Buttimer

To Boldly Go Design is a kind of science fiction. When people ask us to design things, they are asking us to create graphic objects that people will want in six months time. So, a big part of our job is imagining the future. It’s not just the same future though.

It’s one that’s different and better than what we’ve got now.

Actually, that isn’t difficult. The reality of graphic design at CSM is of large numbers of students working in limited and inflexible spaces. We’ve moved once already, from Long Acre, and learned from the experience. We discovered that just trans­planting what we do is pointless. We need to move and to change what we do so as to develop and grow.

Thinking about the move to King’s Cross is part of a triplewhammy for us. Coincidentally, we are beginning the process of course revalidation. In the outside world, the economic crisis has called into question the organisation of global capitalism and its political administration. So, we are thinking about what the course is for and thinking about design and society in the 21st century.

Environment and change The developments of modern architecture are predicated, in part at least, on the basis that model environments make the world a better place. Environment, behaviour and change are linked together into a virtuous circle of social emancipation.

The new building at King’s Cross will provide a very different environ­ment and experience for us all. There are likely to be a number of obvious differences from our present circumstances. The first is that the techniques of modern architecture will provide us with large open spans, big apertures and relatively few structurally supporting internal walls. The second change devolves from the unencumbered spaces of the new building – we will see and be seen.

Indeed, our college will face properly outwards for the first time in its history.

Another big change will derive from the consolidation of our activities and student population into one building. Suddenly, our student population will be concentrated around college in much larger numbers.

It’s obvious, in these circumstances, that they’ll see new things, meet new people and share ideas. So, we may expect our stu­ dents to learn new things and to produce new kinds of work.

Practice and interaction The scope for fruitful interaction between students will be much greater in the new building. We’re working towards creating a space where our students can hybridise ideas and practices in design.

Of course, one of the difficulties of this is that we don’t know which elements students will want to put together. So, our only strategy is to imagine an environment where every com­ bination is possible. Teaching and administration will have to become more flexible and supporting of these hybrid practices and opportunities.

More than the sum of its parts The move to King’s Cross calls the present organisation, administration and delivery of our activities into question.

Not because they aren’t good enough but because they are, inevitably, the products of the historical accretion of tradition and practice. Our challenge will be to combine the best of what we’ve got with the most of the opportunity afforded by change. The result should be much more than the sum of its parts. The move to King’s Cross provides a once-in-a-century opportunity to redesign design! Our proposals should be ambitious and exciting.

Dr Paul Rennie, BAGD and MACD

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HOORAY KX! It feels rather lonely being one of the few people who admits to looking forward to the college’s move to King’s Cross, but I’m getting a little tired of being drawn into whispered conversat­ions about the good old days. It appears that the deal has now been done – we need to look forward, be a bit more positive and channel our energy into getting the new building right. That might mean tarnishing the original vision of the architects, and spelling out that good design must not only look good but also function well.

I’m not an alumnus of CSM and did not cut my fashion teeth in the Charing Cross Road building – so I’ll not be sad to leave.

The first time I entered the building as a visiting tutor about twelve years ago I was amazed at how such a famous institution could look so dishevelled. Even now the studios are not the right shape – too big or too small, with low ceilings and in a desperate state of repair, cold in winter and hot in summer.

In fact the whole building is a disaster in terms of energy efficiency and we have a zero recycling policy because there’s no loading bay and no stopping allowed on the road outside.

The draughty windows don’t block noise, and the heating, when it’s working, is ineffective. Then there are the rodents, © Colin Buttimer the lack of a staff room, toilets all over but none working properly, miles of redundant corridor, poor security, nowhere Even so, I – like so many colleagues – have concerns about the to park a bike safely … surely we deserve better? move. The reduction in space is a big issue, but hopefully the new spaces will function far more efficiently, and it certainly So why did I stay? Great staff and students and an amazing looks like student facilities will be a big improvement. And creative spirit – it’s hard to define, but I’m sure it can be a staff common room will be luxury – there are still lots of transferred successfully to King’s Cross. colleagues in my building and elsewhere I’ve never met. Who knows? Maybe we’ll even have a phone system that works.

Chris New, pathway tutor for BA Fashion Menswear

Why did I stay?

Great staff and students and an amazing creative spirit – it’s hard to define but I’m sure it can be transferred to King’s Cross Image of Granary Square from new building. © Colin Buttimer

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Current view of Granary Square. © Colin Buttimer

JOINED-UP OPTIONS FOR BETTER LEARNING I gather the single recurring message circulating around and beyond UAL about CSM’s move to King’s Cross is that we’ll be losing a third of our space. While we know this is largely true in square metre terms, and represents a major challenge to us all, I think we need to highlight the positive gains the move will bring.

The new building will offer space for shared and hosted workshops, open fabrication workshops and project spaces, a large modern library, versatile lecture rooms, a fully func­ tioning theatre and associated studios, social spaces, learning zones, a gallery, museum and archive, large flexible eating/ drinking space, plus the massive, versatile event space of the ‘street’.

The difficulties and logistics involved in moving materials and equipment around our current buildings will be solved. We will finally have warm, watertight, well-ventilated spaces without the risk of window frames falling out of the building!

The most exciting aspect of the move is what will happen when the now separate sites of the college come together. The move creates the potential to generate new kinds of formal and informal connections and dialogues that will bring about a profound change in the way we interact and exchange ideas and information. As a community our task will be to create the conditions in which this exchange and interaction can take place in the most stimulating and energising way.

The potential for both planned and unplanned cross-disciplinary exchange is limitless Really useful insights often take place in unlikely moments and chance encounters. At the moment the way CSM is spread out limits the capacity for the sharing of knowledge, materials, processes and ideas beyond the different courses and subject areas. Consider, for example, how open access to lectures and joined-up elective options could transform learning, or how a fine art student might discover an unfamiliar material being used by a product design student in a shared workshop, or perhaps how a fashion student might catch a glimpse of a performance rehearsal that could unlock a thought that grows into a new collection. The potential for both planned and unplanned cross-disciplinary exchange is limitless.

When asked how Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University managed to achieve a world-leading reputation for research and teaching in a relatively short period the founding vicechancellor apparently said that one of the first things he did was ensure that professors and lecturers attended each other’s classes. It’s worth thinking about what lies behind this simple and seemingly obvious approach to creating a dynamic, progressive place of learning.

Mark Dunhill, Dean of Art

MOVERS drama centre & SHAKERS 2009 marks ten years since Drama Centre became part of CSM, and with an impressive list of recent graduates and alumni hitting our screens and filling theatres, there’s a lot to celebrate. Since its foundation in 1963, Drama Centre has come a long way from its romantically shabby premises in a church hall in Chalk Farm.

Under the visionary and passionate guidance of its Principal, Dr Vladimir Mirodan, Drama Centre has positioned itself right at the heart of Britain’s cultural life

Bradley James in Merlin. Courtesy of BBC/Optomen

BRADLEY JAMES, BA Acting 2007

Lucy Briggs Owen in Private Lives. © Sheila Burnett

LUCY BRIGGS-OWEN, BA Acting 2007

Lucy is already making waves. She played Cressida in Declan Donellan’s impressive production of Troilus and Cressida at the Barbican, and on a world tour. As a complete contrast, she’s currently appearing as Sybil in Noel Coward’s Private Lives at the Hampstead Theatre. Kate Kellaway of The Observer wrote: ‘There is great back-up from the rejected spouses (Lucy BriggsOwen’s Sybil is a hysterical sylph)’.

Playing the young Prince Arthur in the BBC series Merlin, Bradley is already working with some of the most respected names in British acting. Many newcomers might feel overawed amidst such an impressive cast. If that were ever true of Bradley, there’s no sign of it. He plays Arthur with an honesty that transforms a legend into a flawed yet magnetic and (very) human figure.

JONATHAN HUMPHREYS, BA DIRECTING 2006

Having made theatre history as the youngest director to have a show in the West End, Jonathan remains a force to be reckoned with. He directed Owen McCafferty’s Mojo Mickybo at the Arcola Theatre before it transferred to the Trafalgar Studios – impressive at any age, but at 22 pretty miraculous.

How do you follow that? You become staff director at the National Theatre, of course.

Mojo Mickybo. Courtesy of Arcola Theatre

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Oliver Gomm in True Love Lies

OLIVER GOMM, BA Acting 2008

Jodie McNee in King Lear. Courtesy of Shakespeare’s Globe

‘Outstanding’ – Alfred Hickling, The Guardian Actors often claim that they don’t read reviews. It’s not some­ thing that should worry Oliver. It’s just one example of how the critics received his portrayal of Royce in Braham Murray’s production of Brad Fraser’s True Love Lies at the Manchester Royal Exchange.

JODIE McNEE, BA Acting 2005

Soon after her role as Cordelia in King Lear at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Jodie went on to play Jo in A Taste of Honey at the Manchester Royal Exchange. Her portrayal of Jo in the 50th anniversary production of Shelagh Delaney’s groundbreaking play was described as ‘heart-wrenching’.

Sadie Pickering in Waterloo Road. Courtesy of Michelle Braidman Associates Mark Holgate in Romeo and Juliet. Courtesy of RSC

MARK HOLGATE, BA Acting 2006

Mark is building up an impressive CV, having already worked with three high profile companies – Cheek by Jowl, The National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. He’s currently playing Tybalt in the RSC production of Romeo and Juliet directed by Neil Bartlett.

SADIE PICKERING, BA Acting 2008

Sadie Pickering has been cast in the long-running BBC drama Waterloo Road, playing 16-year-old head girl Flick Mellor. She is also working on The Fixer for ITV. Sadie graduated in 2008.

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Courtesy of Curtis Brown

JOHN DAGLEISH, BA ACTING 2007

The BBC’s production of Lark Rise to Candleford has been a huge success, featuring a cast that’s pretty much a roll call of theatre and TV talent. Landing the role of Alfie Arless, John obviously made an impression on his TV mum, Dawn French.

‘Dawn admitted she felt compelled to act in a professional manner around newcomer John Dagleish, whose role as Alf was his first out of drama school.’

© Owen Horsley

OWEN HORSLEY, BA DIRECTING 2007

It’s unlikely that ‘reverential’ is a term that will be applied to Owen’s work. Having been Assistant Director to Declan Donellan at Cheek by Jowl for two years, he went on to direct a production of Marlowe’s Edward II at the Crypt at St Andrew Holborn. It was for this work that he was credited (if that’s the right word) with ‘creative vandalism’, of which he’s rather proud. ‘There are some curiosities in Horsley’s creative vandalism. In one stunning theatrical moment, the young prince stares into the future while simultaneously appearing to bear witness to his father’s death’ —Lyn Gardner, The Guardian.

BEN ASKEW, BA ACTING 2007

Ben Askew in The Winter’s Tale. Courtesy of Shakespeare’s Globe

Ben’s rewriting of the children’s story Hansel & Gretel was performed by Drama Centre students at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The production, generously funded by UAL, was highly successful. Ben has since gone on to two seasons at the Globe and on tour. Of his performance in The Winter’s Tale one reviewer wrote: ‘Among this strong cast, one moment stood out – the performance of Benjamin Askew as Florizel as he faced his father’s objection to Perdita. For such a very young actor, Askew has formidable talent. He had audience members in tears and he is a name to watch out for.’

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Luminous alumni

Michael Fassbender. Courtesy of Troika Talent

MICHAEL FASSBENDER, BA Acting 1998

To say that Michael caused a stir at the Cannes Festival would be a bit of an understatement. As the controversial hunger striker Bobby Sands in Steve McQueen’s Hunger, he was nominated for the Orange Rising Stars at the BAFTAs. And perhaps it’s worth mentioning that he’s in Quentin Tarantino’s new film Inglorious Basterds (sic).

Penelope Wilton in The Chalk Garden. © Manuel Harlan

PENELOPE WILTON, Diploma in Acting 1968

An earlier Drama Centre graduate, Penelope is one of Britain’s most interesting actors. Always generous and always truthful, she recently shared the Evening Standard Best Actress award with Margaret Tyzack. They both won for their performances in Enid Bagnold’s The Chalk Garden at the Donmar Warehouse.

John Simm. Courtesy of Kudos Film and Television Ltd

JOHN SIMM, BA Acting 1992

Can there still be anyone out there who hasn’t heard of John Simm? His portrayal of DI Sam Tyler in the BBC’s hugely successful Life on Mars propelled him to cult status. More recently, he’s been seen as Edward Sexby in The Devil’s Whore, Channel 4’s English Civil War drama, and as The Master in Dr Who. His credits would fill more space than is available here – let’s just say John is regarded as one of Britain’s leading actors.

CSM is 20

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In the first of a regular series in which CSM staff reflect on their time at the college, graphic design’s Geoff Fowle salutes the spirit to dare

Digging over the Turf 20 years of Graphic Design at Central Saint Martins Why would a college want to celebrate the past 20 years of a course that was at times vilified for its difficult and wayward character, making it seem so different from the rest, even calling it ‘Fortress Long Acre’? Was it a kind of wilful, acad­emic delinquency, which set it against the corporate trend to be quantifiable and predictable? Is the very subject ‘graphic design’ so diverse, changeable and even objectionable, that it mitigates away from a regular and stable curriculum towards shifting values, flexibility and constant adjustment? Was it (and is it) to do with the kind of people attracted to this everGeoff Fowle. © Geoff Fowle changing and pervasive subject, perhaps not the types to favour a more fixed discipline?

This kind of attitude makes design a frontline activity; front­ line, where disaster and failure are easy to cop, like a bullet in Never set in its ways, willing to adjust, modify, experiment, the head. Designers are at their best when they are on the edge be both daft and wise, inventive and often a bit irksome, the of crucial tipping points, where catastrophe holds opportunity. spirit of the BA Graphic Design course at CSM was (and is) Cosy certainty, out of the line of fire, where survival by the to encourage the blunder and understand the insecurity of hour is alien, is not the place for hair-standing actions. Cosy, the unassured; to welcome uncertainty and the fruits of polite safety has some benefits in terms of protection, while exploration where established aesthetics can be disregarded; studying, but too much security blunts design distinction. to think, examine and ask again; to contemplate the unthink­ able; to see around corners others cannot; to dally with a Certainties and fixed attitudes have no place in a time of thought, savour and reject; to conform with nothing laid change. We are living in a time of rapid change, where old down; to question the predetermined and never be drawn to values are like jelly beans being shaken up in a bag and its conclusions of convenience. Never. contents thrown across a table top. Attitudes which are flexible can deal with the flow and erratic nature of change. Political Like Spartan warriors, dedicated to the body as a killing determinates are directing change in art schools where they machine, continually sharpening their discipline, attitude, are being normalised to fit nicely into recognised grading approach and skills, the students and staff at their best systems. Tidy regularity may be the aim of bureaucrats, but demonstrated an uncompromising focus, often ruthless, the measurable (or miserable) must not push out the raw and witty and quite deadly. It is still there, still being practised, exceptional. Art schools are naturally about change; their still with grime and grit, still defiant. students understand being ‘different’ and consequently want to explore difference without seeking permission or approval.

This also describes some of the essence of ‘art school’, and They do it without consideration for the possible loss of certainly the style, ethos and everyday attitude of the BAGD reputation, and certainly they should not seek normal course at Central Saint Martins. More, it describes the sprit to academic accolades embodied in a marking system. The tame dare. Daring and its partner, danger, are the opposite of safety. are only interested in grades. Students: try madness before ‘A safe pair of hands’ implies a dull but trustworthy employee. marks.

A daring attitude will mean a tirelessly continuing spirit to try things out, to do something for the thrill of it. Bang.

The coming event ‘Digging Over The Turf’ featuring the BA Graphic Design course should examine attitude as against Disturbing and unsettling as this will feel to the institution­ discipline and should prove entertaining, even enlightening. alised teacher, educational manager or regulator, this attitude Perhaps some surprises. is part of the design persona. Designers are nothing if they cannot innovate and assimilate positively. There is a living and Geoff Fowle taught for some 30 years in BA Graphic Design and promulgating attitude here with an almost spiritual content.

MA Communication Design. This is an excerpt from his forthcoming This transcends the reasoned logic of consequential thought. book Fowle Language.

Such an attitude is an antidote to ‘design geriatrica’, the evidence of which is all around like some dreadful virus.

For ‘Digging Over The Turf’ event details see p26.

Art The project embraced all five 3DD 12

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pathways and offered students a unique opportunity to work along­ side the Whistles creative team

Work by Shi Feng Li, one of the shortlisted students of the Whistles Live Project

Work by Theresa Williams, one of the shortlisted students of the Whistles Live Project

WHISTLES COLLABORATION MAKES BOLD STATEMENT The 3DD curriculum area on the CSM foundation course has been working very successfully with fashion retail chain Whistles, writes 3DD curriculum leader Karla Newell.

The Whistles Live Project embraced all five 3DD pathways – 3D Design 1, 2 and 3, Spatial Design, and Jewellery Design.

Whistles was looking for the best window display and/or design proposal to be featured in-store while offering a unique opportunity for the successful students to work with their creative team. Eleven students were shortlisted.

The collaboration kicked off with a presentation by Whistles chief executive Jane Shepherdson in January.

Work being judged at the Whistles Live Project

Our 3DD students were invited to respond to one of the following briefs: • design a window display for the Whistles flagship store in St Christopher’s Place • create a piece of shop furniture or a display cabinet that can be used for shoes, accessories, jewellery etc • design a lighting feature that could make a bold statement in-store • design a concept proposal for an innovative and engaging spatial in-store shopping experience • design a collection of jewellery and/or fashion accessories for Whistles and propose a solution for packaging and display in the retail environment.

The Whistles Live Project culminates in an exhibition of student design proposals at the 3DD studios on the 3rd floor at Back Hill.

The exhibition follows evaluation of students’ work by the Whistles creative team in February.

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TALENT CAN BUY YOU LOVE Three 2nd year BA Performance Design and Practice students have put their stamp on hot new fashion magazine Love.

In December Love editor and former CSM fashion student Katie Grand invited James Barnett, Hannah Jerrom and Ria Menegatos to contribute to a photo shoot after seeing the students perform on the streets of Clerkenwell.

So impressed was Katie – former editor-in-chief at Pop magazine and co-founder of Dazed & Confused – with the CSM trio’s box head costumes, she asked to borrow them for the specially commissioned shoot.

Courtesy of Condé Nast

LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE KIDS Four recent BA Performance Design and Practice graduates and four current Stage 3 students are running primary schools workshops helping children create their own opera.

The creative collaboration follows a visit by the kids to see the students’ designs for Mozart’s ever popular Don Giovanni at the Brady Centre.

The project is part of a participation programme run by the course’s professional collaborators (EPOC), and is supported by CSM widening participation funds.

Box Head Costumes designed by three second year students of the BA (Honours) Performance: Design and Practice course, featured in the first issue of Love magazine. © James Barnett, Hannah Jerrom and Ria Menegatos

The students received a credit – and fabulous exposure in the latest Condé Nast style bible After creating two new box head costumes, James, Hannah and Ria delivered their work to the Love studios where it was photographed for the launch issue of the magazine.

The students received a credit – and fabulous exposure in the latest Condé Nast style bible.

Mozart’s Don Giovanni

MICHAEL DOES IT AGAIN BA Performance Design and Practice course director Michael Spencer has been reappointed secretary of ACTD (Associated Courses in Theatre Design) for 2009.

The appointment sees him heavily involved in planning PQ’11, the world’s foremost stage design exhibition, and means attending a Moscow symposium with OISTAT (International Organisation of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians) in April.

Michael will aim to ensure students on the BA and MA courses are profiled in Prague 2011.

Innovation 14

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© Lok Ming Fung

© Lok Ming Fung

GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS

FLYING THE FLAG IN PARIS

Following their success supporting Dr Vladimir Mirodan’s talk on DCL’s marriage with CSM at last year’s Annual Report meeting in the Cochrane Theatre, Drama Centre performers enlivened the CAPS (Compact Agreement for Progressing Scheme) Advice Day at LCF in February, illustrating the dos and don’ts of student interviews.

In January a group of graduates from Central Saint Martins, mainly former students from BA (Honours) Ceramic Design, exhibited at the international home and interiors fair Maison & Objet in Paris.

Facilitator at the sessions was Jeraint Hazan, the College Business Development Manager in Performance based at CSM Innovation, whose experience takes in using theatre skills to support events, training and communication.

Says Jeraint: ‘I’m really happy to have supported this NALN initiative, working with a current foundation student and a recent graduate who were paid for their excellent work. Using actors for events really engages audiences and is a fantastic way of learning.’

Established designers in their own right, the graduates presented under the collective banner ‘Central Ceramics – Contemporary British Design’. Having successfully shown at UK trade shows including Pulse and Tent London, they were exhibiting for the first time at an international fair.

The group’s stand was managed by the Graduate Business Support service at CSM Innovation in association with the British Export Design Group, which organises major events showcasing the commercial potential of the UK’s creative industries. In addition to positive press interest, there were orders from companies large and small.

Kate Hill, NALN Progression Manager at LCF, comments: ‘It’s Says CSM exhibitor Tamsin van Essen: ‘It was very busy – great that we have this amazing resource within the university, we had loads of interest in our work from shops and interior and these actor sessions added real value to the event.’ designers, and plenty of orders too. No sign of the credit crunch there! I think it was the ideal setting for our Student feedback included ‘the interview workshop was very complementary ceramic styles.’ informative as well as fun!’ and ‘I get pretty nervous in certain face-to-face situations and the workshop gave me some great As a result of their Maison & Objet success the graduates have pointers and advice to try out.’ been invited to exhibit at ICFF in New York in May. Part of the ‘Make It Live’ initiative, the successful collaboration is a model for other college events at which drama skills can be used to raise levels of engagement and involvement. For more information contact Jeraint Hazan on ext 2144.

Maison & Objet was also the event chosen by one of Britain’s most prestigious interiors names to launch an exciting new wallpaper range by Jo Angell, recent graduate of MA Textile Futures.

Jo worked on the designs as part of a consultancy project for Watts of Westminster, creatively directed by Simon Fraser and other CSM staff members, to develop a new homeware range.

The new ‘Angell’ wallpapers, which draw inspiration from the Watts archive of Victorian and Edwardian church materials, had a very warm reception from international clients in Paris.

Project curation

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An exhibition of work by MA Fine Art students was curated by MA Creative Practice for Narrative Environments students. It was reviewed for CSM Time by BA (Honours) Criticism, Communication and Curation students. The MA Fine Art 09 interim show proved to be the perfect opportunity for a successful crosscultural collaboration

Above: Sanam Khatibi, part-time MA Fine Art; below: Ivy Hon Mei Chen, full-time MA Fine Art

All images copyright Simon Denton

Catch My Drift – MA FA Interim Show 09 Concealed within grey shrouds of Southbank, the ‘Derelictchic’ Bargehouse building was the setting for the annual MA Fine Arts Interim show (a dry run for the degree show in September). Inviting their audience to embark on a voyage through swathes of ideas, media, and expression, 2009’s emerging artists were more than willing to shift attention away from the bleak February drizzle.

As with any degree show, the exhibitors and the audience had to address an inherent absence of a curatorial direction. The overarching objective was the optimal presentation of the individual artist’s work.

The curatorial task was presented to the MA Creative Practice for Narrative Environments course, making the project a crossdisciplinary balancing act between both sets of students. Based on an idea of opening up the naked eye of the audience, the curators disposed of the conventional accompaniment of names and titles beside the works, creating a mild detachment between artist, artwork and spectator. They gave the show its title, ‘Catch My Drift,’ in reference to the Thames’s proximity, and to suggest an unpreconceived approach to the art.

They gave the show its title,

‘Catch My Drift’, in a nod to the river’s proximity and to suggest an ‘unpreconceived’ approach to the art With a group of more than sixty artists exhibiting, the pieces on show shifted through a spectrum of media – from painting to film and video, from sculpture through to a conceptualist intervention of the exhibition as a whole. This year saw a strong collection of works jostling for prime position in the memory of the audience, with many standing out as innovative and exceptional.

Casting a line into the waters of this year’s MA Fine Arts Interim show – despite moments without a nibble – allowed enough bait to land even the biggest of fish from within the pond of creative practice.

By Peter Allison and Pernille Maria Bärnheim, BA Criticism, Communication and Curation

Private coLLECtion 16

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From school nametapes to commemorative ribbons, Head of Context Paul Rennie has a passion for typographic clothing labels

LOVING THE LABEL I’ve always been interested in labels. Not so much the luxurybrand type of label as the old-school typographic clothing labels found in the shirts and tweed jackets that I like. I guess I first began to notice these when I began collecting vintage shirts as a student. I remember the CC41 Utility labels from WW2 and that Hawkins of Preston had a very nice label design in their shirts.

I’m not sure if I ever bought a piece of vintage clothing just because I liked the label, but, it was always a consideration.

I’m always looking around auctions for stuff. Usually it’s graphic design and poster material from the 1930s.

I remember noticing that Sotheby’s were holding a sale of textile sample-books removed from an archive in France.

I decided to go take a look and discovered three lots of albums full of labels. Because of my interest in graphic design and typography I resolved to purchase these albums.

It turned out that the albums were from a label manufacturer in Lyons. They are sample books for sales representatives.

Each album contains hundreds of samples from their production of ribbons and labels from about 1930 to 1950.

If you went away to school, you’ll be familiar with Cash’s nametapes. These arrived a long ribbon woven with your name. They’d have to be cut and sewn into all your school kit.

The clothing labels are a more complex version of the same thing. Different coloured threads are used to create a design of words and pictures. They come as ribbons. Most of them are about the size of a postage stamp.

Looking closely, there are quite a few well-known names including an early Lacoste Crocodile. At the back of the albums are patriotic liberation ribbons from the end of WW2.

Of course, I didn’t just buy the albums because of a general interest. I’d noticed that spread through the albums were four versions of Cassandre’s famous Grand Sport beret label design from the 1920s. This was from when tennis players, winter sport enthusiasts and cyclists each wore a beret to finish their outfits.

I knew from my interest in poster history that Cassandre is the major name in Art Deco poster design. The Grand Sport design exists in two sizes. I’d seen no mention of the variant designs included in my collection.

Anyway, I ended up with four Cassandre designs from the 1920s. Sorted!

To share your private collection contact editor@csm.arts.ac.uk

All images © David Hendley

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Research 18

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We achieved a top ‘esteem indicator’ of 4* in recognition of our status and influence through awards and invitations to exhibit at major events

800 page directory of staff research by the University. © Martin Woolley

LATEST RAE ACKNOWLEDGES OUR STRENGTHS In December 2008 the UAL, along with all UK universities, received the long-awaited results of the latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE).

Our MPhil/PhD student profile also made a significant impact, both in terms of numbers and a relatively high completion rate, with 10.44% of all UK PhDs in art and design being UAL based.

The feedback also noted our ability to attract external research income with a total above the national average. Additionally, we achieved a top ‘esteem indicator’ of 4* in recognition of our status and influence through awards and invitations to exhibit The exercise allocates around £1.5bn of research funding. This or present at major events. is based on peer assessments of the quality of individual and collective research since the last RAE in 2001.

Several of our research centres and units were ident­ified as ‘areas of strength in the UAL research environment’. These Each university subject submission receives a graded ‘quality included the CSM-hosted Design Against Crime Research profile’ drawn from research outputs, research environment Centre and the Textile Futures Research Group. and esteem indicators. Our performance was further clarified by feedback from the RAE panels in January.

The government is currently determining the precise distrib­ ution of funding, and the results will be published on 5 March.

The very good news is that overall the university did well, with More RAE data and analysis can be found at www.rae.ac.uk and 50% of staff submitted in the 4* and 3* categories (i.e. research via online searches of the national press from 18 December deemed to be either world leading or internationally 2008 onwards. excellent).

Feedback packs will shortly be posted to all staff members who In the sector as a whole, the UAL was the highest placed submitted work for the exercise. Congratulations to everyone new university, positioned 44th out of all post-1992 new who helped us achieve the desired result! universities. We were also by far the biggest provider of research in the Art and Design category with 14.75% of the Stop press – for latest on RAE funding outcomes see ‘Research elite national return in art and design. 60.45 CSM staff FTEs were shaken by RAE settlement’ in Times Higher Education submitted this time, an increase of over 19% on RAE 2001. (timeshighereducation.co.uk) 5 March 2009.

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The project investigates how food can be grown sustainably in urban spaces, and examines how textile strategies can help

FOOD FOR THOUGHT The 2008 Audi Design Foundation research grant has been awarded to Rachel Wingfield, CSM Textile Futures Research Group Fellow, for her project ‘Metabolicity’.

The £30,000 project will investigate how food can be grown sustainably in urban spaces with limited resources, and examine how textile strategies and materials can help.

It will also explore the role of the designer in agricultural initiatives and look at how design can be used to promote local participation and engagement with urban spaces.

The project makes novel use of digital technologies and social networking as a platform for communication, and to create a community around the work. www.metabolicity.com

Alumni news 20

cs m time — i ssue 2 / m a r c h 2009

On the eve of the ambitious Stephen Jones event at the V&A, fellow CSM professor and alumnus Iain R Webb recalls his first impressions of the much-loved milliner-to-the-stars ME & MR JONES

I remember vividly the day I first visited St Martins (now Central Saint Martins) in the autumn of 1976. Before I even entered the building on Charing Cross Road, I was convinced this was the place for me. Standing on the pavement outside, plucking up the courage to go in and wondering if I cut the sartorial mustard wearing a liquorice thin school tie, plastic sandals and sloppy orange mohair sweater (knitted by my mum). The doors swept open and out sashayed a boy (or at least I guessed it was a boy) who looked like … well, I wasn’t sure what he looked like, only that I had never seen anyone looking like that before. Not in the real world anyway. He was wearing a skinny matelot T-shirt with giant shoulder-pads, exaggerated peg-top pants and stiletto boots. At his neck was a scarf knotted at the side and the finishing touch (it should have been a clue) a black beret worn at a very jaunty angle.

He looked breathtaking and fearless and stopped traffic.

Literally. He was … Stephen Jones, who would later become the celebrated and much-loved milliner-to-the-stars.

Jones was in his second year of the BA in fashion design when I joined the course in 1977 but we quickly became friends and even shared a flat in salubrious downtown Victoria along with another St Martins fashion freak, Fiona Dealey. Many a morning Fiona and I would come down to breakfast to find Stephen Jones. © Justine Photography Stephen monopolising the kettle to steam another of his highrise hats destined for the heads of Steve Strange, Boy George or any one of the weird and wonderful Blitz club regulars. By day the New Romantic in-crowd would hang out at the soigné salon – all grey taffeta drapes and Greek statuettes – that he opened just a year after leaving art school in the basement of the P.X. boutique in Covent Garden not far from his present showroom in Great Queen Street. During his career he has collaborated with every major designer from Galliano and Gaultier to Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons. His client list is fabulously diverse, from Carla Bruni Sarkozy to Marilyn Manson. He recently received a British Fashion Award for Outstanding Achievement, and has his own fragrance.

He looked breathtaking and fearless and was traffic stopping.

Literally

Stephen’s latest and most ambitious project is an exhibition entitled ‘Hats: An Anthology’ at the V&A Museum.

‘I never ever imagined this could happen,’ said Stephen over the phone from New York where he was adding the crowning glories to Marc Jacobs’ latest collection. ‘My dream at college was just to make it till tomorrow, pay the rent and get some sort of degree. I am totally amazed!’

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Installation shot of the exhibition ‘The Milliner’s Atelier’. © V&A Images

Alongside designs from Stephen’s vast archive, the exhibition will showcase over 400 hats hand-picked by the milliner including Marlene Dietrich’s beret, Carmen Miranda’s turban and even one of the Queen’s Hermès headscarves from the 1940s. ‘The tank driving period,’ laughs Stephen. ‘There will be things like Kylie’s hat from the Can’t Get You Outta My Head video, the showstoppers that the press loves, but there is also a boiled leather beret from 1450 that could be Yohji. It’s so chic and elegant and that’s what gets me really excited.’

The theme of the V&A show is Inspiration, Creation, The Salon and The Client. ‘It’s the lifecycle of the hat really,’ says Stephen who is adamant that creativity is often born out of necessity.

‘If you don’t have a lot of money then it forces you to think alternatively,’ he says. ‘You have to be more creative. Like when I left college I bought hats from Oxfam and reworked them. We have a budget for this exhibition but it’s not millions so we have had to think how to display hats in an ingenious way.’

After a spell of work experience at the London couture house Lachasse, where his head was turned forever under the Expect a very jaunty angle. tutelage of Shirley Hex, for his final collection at St Martins in 1979 Stephen created silvery draped cocktail suits accessorised ‘Hats: An Anthology’ by Stephen Jones is at the V&A until 10 May 2009. with turbans with paradise feathers. The mood was 1950s couture with a punk attitude. ‘The last two looks were white Bill Gibb, A Personal Journey, Iain R Webb’s part-autobiographical court presentation dresses worn with broken tiaras with dead study of the 1970s fashion designer (and CSM graduate) that brings seagulls in them!’ he remembers. together medieval costume and punk rock is at The Fashion Museum, Bath, until November 2009. www.fashionmuseum.co.uk

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cs m time — i ssue 2 / m a r c h 2009

DESIGN MUSEUM HOSTS CHALAYAN RETROSPECTIVE For over a decade Hussein Chalayan has been forcing fashion to confront its future thanks to a conceptual reach that merges clothing with sculpture, furniture, performance and more.

Since his Central Saint Martins degree show in 1993, for which clothes were buried in his back garden for several weeks, Chalayan has built and consolidated a reputation as one of the most original designers of our times. Now the two-time British Designer of the Year gets his first UK retrospective at the Design Museum.

The exhibition is an extension of the avant-garde designer’s cutting-edge collections. Chalayan shows in Paris, where his catwalk events are celebrated for their performance art as much as for their clothes. Because such performance is difficult to stage at an exhibition, mannequins here are pressed into all kinds of service – painting the walls white, balancing on balls, or polishing their display cases.

Courtesy of Praline

The exhibition features installations, footage of the designer’s catwalk extravaganzas and short films, including ‘Absent Presence’ with Tilda Swinton.

CSM DESIGNERS DISH UP LITTLE CHEF RE-BRAND

Other highlights include the modernist wooden coffee table and chairs at the centre of one of Chalayan’s most dramatic collections, ‘Afterwords’ (2000/01). As the slipcovers become dresses, the chairs fold away into attaché cases and the table morphs into a skirt.

Praline, the design studio behind CSM’s prospectus whose small team includes two college alumni and two short course tutors, has re-branded Little Chef.

This retrospective proves Chalayan is very much an artist – and a canny one too. Brilliant craftsman and master tailor, he never sacrifices the cut for the concept.

By Annabelle Ferns, 2nd year BA (Honours) Fashion student

When Fat Duck star chef Heston Blumenthal took up the culinary challenge to reinvent the roadside restaurant chain, it became clear the brand’s visual identity needed updating too.

Praline worked with interiors specialist Ab Rogers Design to refresh Little Chef’s corporate identity, creating a new colour palette that focuses on a spectrum of red through to orange.

‘Hussein Chalayan – From Fashion And Back’ is at the Design Museum until 17 May. www.designmuseum.org

Charlie, Little Chef’s iconic brand character, is retained in the makeover. The designers have made the popular figure look more energetic in his new colours and minimised design.

SOUTHBANK SHOW AWARDS – KEEP ’EM COMING

Praline, in partnership with Ab Rogers Design, has bridged a generational gap. The new brand identity – as expressed in everything from signage and uniforms to restaurants and washrooms – celebrates Little Chef’s rich heritage in a contemporary setting.

At the 2009 Southbank Show Awards broadcast by ITV on 28 January, CSM fine art graduate Peter Doig collected the Visual Arts award for his retrospective at Tate Britain during 2008.

David Tanguy and Al Roger of Praline both studied BA (Honours) Graphic Design at Central Saint Martins. David graduated in 2000, Al in 2007.

The award for TV Drama went to Channel 4’s The Devil’s Whore, which stars two Drama Centre London alumni, John Simm and David was also a 3rd year BA Graphic Design tutor at the Michael Fassbender. college in 2000/02, and a short course typography tutor in 2001/03. His Praline colleague Robert Peart currently Michael Fassbender also stars in the winning film, Hunger, teaches a short course in graphic design. directed by Steve McQueen. The actor’s performance as IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands was highly acclaimed.

The Donmar Warehouse production of The Chalk Garden was shortlisted for the Theatre award. It starred Drama Centre London alumna Penelope Wilton (who won the Evening Standard’s award for best actress).

Profile

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Reflective Editor, 3 horizontal rectangles parallel pattern, 2008, fenster Projektraum4 Mannheim. © Douglas Allsop

Professor of Fine Art at Byam Shaw, Douglas Allsop in conversation with Nickolas Lambrianou

THE MACHINE AESTHETIC Nickolas Lambrianou: I want to offer a reading of your work as something which operates along three directions. First there is the object itself. Secondly, there is the work as reflector or mirror. Thirdly, there is something like a concept or a design could be read as the later technological development of the which evidently pre-exists the objects. somewhat arcane material of paper. It’s a chain of thought which made me think of another great ‘ultra thin’ material Douglas Allsop: I select or choose systems to work with and intervention: Marcel Duchamp’s Mile of String. these are governed by the sorts of rules which are given and utilised within typography: the grid, sequences, architecture DA: In one of his notebooks Duchamp describes a sheet of and so on. This is because I tend to think in terms of a page paper with a hole in it. He says this is something to be studied, being scanned by the eye – typography is governed by a mode and he names it the infra-slim. He says another example of the of looking in which the eye begins at the top left hand corner infra-slim is the sound of corduroy trousers rubbing together. and runs down the page. In all my titling systems I borrow I came across this before I made either the Reflective Editors or from an engineer’s method of description. I am fascinated by the Blind Screens, but it is connected to a projection piece an industrial or machine aesthetic.

I made entitled Fast Surface. With this I was exploring the idea of transparency, of absolute ‘slimness’, of transience, of time.

NL: And the reflective surface?

The speed of things as they move across us.

DA: I am interested in the thought that while we are looking at this vertical mark move across a surface, it might also be looking at us.

NL: Yes, and of course the work not only exists in discrete logical series – double or triple sets most commonly – but seems also to consist of a larger serial development too, which is evident as you move through different rooms.

NL: Like human skin – the minimal distance which separates inside from outside.

DA: Well according to Duchamp the choice of the word slim is deliberate. It pertains to the human body, and I like that. For me it exists in the sensuality of the reflective surface. There is also a sense of loss, something related to the human condition.

NL: Finally, I would like to discuss your titles. Unlike others DA: Yes, there is series in each work and across different who work within what we could call the minimalist idiom, works. Series for me is like an apparatus or a objective method. your works are never ‘untitled’. Indeed the choice of titles – I am interested in the way in which cameras work, the way Blind Screen, for example – seems provocative. they look. There is a phrase I like very much: ‘the inner life of a camera’. The idea of something that is waiting to happen and DA: Yes, my titles are a paradox. Seeing and being blind are which will happen but that one cannot see happen. apparently contradictory but are of course one and the same thing, they belong to each other. The title is pointing to the NL: It sounds like a desire for a sort of efficiency. Your work is paradox of ‘blotting out’ something which can be seen. efficient in that it does three things at once – reflects, edits Painting, for example, is also like this – the obliteration of a and motivates spatial/temporal movement – but all within the surface. most minimal of means. The camera simile is telling too, but it made me think that perhaps your work is more akin to a Dr Nickolas Lambrianou is a writer and lecturer specialising in art movie camera than a still camera. history and the philosophy of art. He lives and works in London.

DA: Yes and of course the material is also reminiscent of camera film. Indeed I have previously made work out of photographic material, as well as the videotape used for the Blind Screens, another kind of film.

NL: Your work seems to return again and again to a sort of ultra thin material – video tape, plastic sheet – which perhaps

Excerpt from an interview first published in Blind Screen. Catalogue Städtische Galerie Villa Zanders, Bergisch Gladbach, 2008.

For Douglas Allsop exhibition and lecture details see p2.

Last issue’s Phil Baines profile, extracted from Eye magazine, was by Christopher Wilson, designer, writer and CSM graduate 1990.

ARTscom 24

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Fancy a creative break with a touch of class?

The ‘retreat’ could be right up your street THE FINE ART OF INSPIRATION From summer 2009 the college plans to offer its fine art short course students an uplifting new experience – the retreat.

The idea of the artistic ‘retreat’ has always stimulated thinking and creativity. With the aim of expanding ideas beyond college boundaries, Central Saint Martins has teamed up with Port Eliot in Cornwall to offer a first-class experience that will attract and inspire artists from near and far.

Expect lashings of grandeur and more than a hint of romance

At the centre of the experience is a 5-day programme of fine art tuition encompassing drawing and painting in oil, acrylic and watercolour. Workshops are open and informal to allow visitors to migrate between sessions. Process is prized above product. Mistakes are celebrated and having fun is the order of the day!

Port Eliot will host evenings, inviting expert friends – includ­ ing restaurateurs, historians and writers – to complement the daytime painting and drawing activities. Expect a uniquely inspiring retreat experience with lashings of grandeur and more than a hint of romance and mystery.

© Noel Chanan

Port Eliot is the beautiful, inspiring, bizarre, magical, haunting, (and haunted!) home of Peregrine, the 10th Earl of St Germans. His wife Catherine, a graduate of BA Fashion Communication with Promotion and former style director for the Telegraph magazine, now manages Port Eliot Lit Fest, the summertime festival that attracts artists and writers to their wonderful home.

This summer we plan to host the first of our fine art ‘retreats’ at Port Eliot, where delegates will stay and be taught by a CSM painting tutor, using the rooms, collections, paintings and grounds to inspire their work – be it figurative or abstract, landscape or still life. © Port Eliot

EYES ON INDUSTRY DRESS YOUR LIPS – TURNING A GIVENCHY SCENT INTO AN EVENT

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Courtesy of Wrangler

The story begins with Alain Lorenzo, President of Givenchy in Paris, meeting CSM graduates Lucy Nunn and Tobie Snowdowne during an Artscom professional workshop.

To ensure continuity, Lucy and Tobie were asked to mentor the students throughout the project, which took the form of a competition won by Florence Bamberger.

Says Alain Lorenzo: ‘We brief the students as if they’re already commercial designers. The quality of the work is incredibly high. If your brief is too vague you’ll find the work is vague too.

So it’s a very good exercise for us as well.’

WRANGLER WILD ONES SADDLE UP Courtesy of Givenchy

The cosmetics house had just launched a new make-up range, designed in Paris, which was selling well, except for the lipstick. Alain invited Lucy and Tobie, now working as agency Two Create, to pitch for the lipstick redesign.

‘Inspired by Russian nesting dolls, we set out to create an object hidden inside another object,’ says Lucy. The result, Rouge Interdit, is a covetable item that does everything a make-up package should do, and then goes further, creating a sense of ceremony.

Says Wallpaper editor-in-chief Tony Chambers: ‘We felt they’d enhanced the ritual of putting on lipstick, but done it in a timeless way.’

The next chapter opens with Parfums Givenchy returning to Central Saint Martins to take the success story still further.

Givenchy wanted to create a special limited edition of Rouge Interdit, and to turn a cosmetic into a theatrical event.

With its brand values rooted firmly in a passion for denim innovation, Wrangler considers itself the outlaw hero of the blue jean realm.

Little wonder the label turned to BA (Honours) Fashion Menswear students at Central Saint Martins to bring the necessary pioneering spirit to its new collection.

Drawing inspiration from rodeo riders, bikers and thrill seekers of every stripe, the students accepted the challenge to design a collection for the next generation of The Wild Ones.

For the students, the Wrangler Wild Ones project delivered real experience of working with industry plus a chance to expand their knowledge of denim and casual clothing design.

In return, Wrangler got exactly what it was looking for – an exciting and innovative denim collection that embodies the brand’s frontier qualities of ruggedness, instinct and adrenalin.

Says Chris New who heads BA Fashion Menswear: ‘Denim is such an important aspect of menswear, but its garment construction is different. We simply don’t have the specialist kit to offer students a realistic learning experience.

BA Graphic Design and Illustration students at Central Saint Martins took up the challenge of communicating Givenchy’s exclusive brand values by customising the product’s packaging, ‘Working with Wrangler meant we tapped into their industry creating a gift accessory, and proposing a theatrical marketing expertise and gained access to their sampling and fabric concept for the shop floor. treatment labs in Belgium – with very successful results.’

WHAT’S ON

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cs m time — i ssue 2 / m a r c h 2009

A YEAR TO CELEBRATE As part of our year-long 20th anniversary celebrations, Central Saint Martins will host an events programme including platforms, symposia, screenings and performance.

Four events precede the summer degree shows in June:

18 May 2009 ‘Digging Over The Turf’ Geoff Fowle and graphic design alumni (1989–2009) debate the virtues of attitude over subject area.

— Cochrane Theatre, 6.30pm —

9 March – 4 April 2009 ‘Fast surface, Blind screen and Reflective editors’ Exhibition by Professor of Fine Art Douglas Allsop

Courtesy of 4 Images Gallery

21 April 2009 Richard E Grant in conversation with Dr Vladimir Mirodan.

— Cochrane Theatre, 2.30pm —

a Courtesy of Studio Harcourt

28 May 2009 Christian Lacroix in conversation with Patrick Mauriès and Professor Sarah Mower.

— Cochrane Theatre, 6.30pm —

The anniversary programme continues throughout the autumn and spring terms, culminat-ing in the Lethaby Gallery exhibition ‘When Central Met St Martin’s’, curated by Judy Lindsay, in April 2010.

11 May 2009 Rodney Fitch CBE (Governor, UAL, 1989–2007) chairs a panel discussion exploring the influence and importance of art and design education in Britain.

— Lethaby Gallery —

20 April – 23 May 2009 Twenty Years of Illustration — Lethaby Gallery —

19 – 30 June 2009 Central Saint Martins Degree Shows 2009

If you have an idea for an event please contact CSM’s events manager Peter Cleak – p.cleak@csm.arts.ac.uk

For programme information and ticket details visit www.csm.arts.ac.uk

MA Fashion Review

Michael Van Der Ham, joint winner of the L’Oréal Professionnel prize

Katie Greenwood, winner of the Puma Motorsport prize

On the opening day of London Fashion Week, seventeen of Professor Louise Wilson’s MA Fashion students showed their collections on the catwalk at the Natural History Museum.

The show kicked off with winning designs for the Motorsport Re-Design Competition, the theme for this year’s Puma Bursary Awards set in conjunction with Ducati. Katie Greenwood won first prize. Second prize went to Wayne Fitzell, and Nicola Lewis and Laura Mackness shared third prize. Katie’s winning jacket will show in Puma Black stores from August.

Oden Wilson, joint winner of the L’Oréal Professionnel prize

The L’Oréal Professionnel prize was shared by Michael van der Ham – for his asymmetrical dresses with their patchwork of colours and rich brocades on a background of black silk jersey – and Oden Wilson, whose collection of voluminous beige and sapphire duchesse satin brought the show to a close.

The Harrods Design Award went to David Koma, whose little black dresses had a punk edge featuring chains and studded detail. Look out for them in the windows at Harrods later this year.

Fashion East’s Lulu Kennedy was in the front row to watch the show. Lulu has helped launch the careers of several CSM graduates, and Natascha Stolle – one of last year’s MA students – showed under her banner this season. Two other 2008 graduates, Mark Fast and Mary Katrantzou, also presented collections.

David Koma, winner of the Harrods Design Award All images courtesy of Catwalking.com

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best of the books

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cs m time — i ssue 2 / m a r c h 2009

HATS: AN ANTHOLOGY

by Stephen Jones and Oriole Cullen, with a foreword by John Galliano Stephen Jones spearheaded the revival of

Today Jones’s era-defining edge continues to attract a celebrity clientele with Marilyn Manson, Kylie, Dita von Teese and Gwen Stefani all donning his creations British millinery in early 1980s fashion.

Using radical materials and designs that ranged from refined to whimsical, his exquisitely crafted hats encapsulated a modern and compelling mood.

MAKING SENSE OF BUSINESS

by Alison Branagan, with illustrations by Tim Bradford Alison Branagan, Business Start-up for Creatives tutor at Central Saint Martins, has written a groundbreaking enterprise skills book.

WELCOME TO MARS: FANTASIES OF SCIENCE IN THE AMERICAN CENTURY 1947–1959

by Ken Hollings ‘Welcome to Mars is a map of the post-war Zone, a non-fiction Gravity’s Rainbow that follows the arc of Germany’s V2 rocket to the end of the rainbow … to America.’

—Erik Davis

‘Ken Hollings has placed his critical focus at the precise point where the high technologies of information control and social mani­ pulation intersect the passionate search for scientific ways to probe the human mind.

Welcome to Mars is a searingly accurate and deeply disturbing exposé of the fantasies of American modernism that have inspired the many nightmares and the few hopeful visions of our new millennium.’ – Dr Jacques Vallée Courtesy of V&A

Today Jones’s era-defining edge continues to attract a celebrity clientele with Marilyn Manson, Kylie, Dita von Teese and Gwen Stefani all donning his creations. The roll call of fashion designers with whom he has collaborated includes Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano for Dior, Marc Jacobs, Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons and Giles Deacon.

Hats: An Anthology offers an unprecedented view of the millinery world, drawing on the V&A’s extensive collection of hats, Stephen Jones’s own archive, and iconic headgear from across the globe. Beautifully illustrated chapters examine the inspiration behind the creation of hats, the history of their construction, the lure of the hat shop and the etiquette of hat wearing.

Stephen Jones is represented in the permanent collections of the V&A, the Louvre, The Fashion Institute of Technology and the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (both New York), the Kyoto Costume Institute, and the Australian National Gallery in Canberra. Oriole Cullen is the V&A curator of Modern Textiles and Fashion and ‘Fashion in Motion’.

Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones was designed by CSM graduate Lisa Sjukur.

Courtesy of Kogan House

Making Sense of Business introduces practical enterprise skills vital for success in business.

Subjects covered include how to focus, understanding risk, networking, selling, presentation, negotiation, legal matters and creative thinking. Special features include apt quotations, explanations of theories illustrated with mind maps, and helpful creative exercises.

The book shows how enterprise activities and skills are interrelated and demonstrates that business plans only work if applied in a practical way. Aimed at visual artists, designers, photographers and other creative professionals, it is equally suitable for those just starting out as self-employed and others who have been running their own business for some time.

Courtesy of Strange Attractor Press

A deeply disturbing exposé of the fantasies of American modernism Welcome to Mars draws on newspaper accounts, advertising campaigns, declassified govern­ ment archives, old movies and newsreels from this unique period when the future first took on a tangible presence. Ken Hollings depicts an unsettled time in which the layout of suburbia reflected atomic bombing strategies, bankers and movie stars experi­ mented with hallucinogens, brainwashing was just another form of interior decoration, and strange lights in the sky were taken very seriously indeed.

‘Ken Hollings shows brilliantly how the extraordinary web of technologies that drove the Cold War have shaped not just our culture but the very way we think of ourselves as human beings. Welcome to Mars offers a rare and fascinating glimpse of the roots of the strange humanoid culture we live in today.’

—Adam Curtis

The first 200 orders of Welcome to Mars receive a free hour-long CD of classy analogue Outer Space Exotica by Simon James.

A small run of postcards has been produced using images from the book – postcards are being sent out with orders placed with Strange Attractor Press.

Ken Hollings is a tutor for MA Communica­ tion Design at Central Saint Martins. He also teaches contextual studies on BA (Honours) Graphic Design. www.strangeattractor.co.uk

PRIVATE VIEw Showcase, Tuesday 27 January 2009

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Course Leader for BA (Honours) Product Design Nick Rhodes

BA (Honours) Ceramic Design student Miles Gavin with friend

Director of Design Against Crime Research Centre Dr Lorraine Gamman (left), Director of Research Professor Martin Woolley

MA Creative Practice for Narrative Environments students Elva White and Karli Jade

MA FINE ART FRIDAY 6 FEBRUARY 2009

Course Leader for Foundation Studies in Art and Design Cally Saunders (left), Mark Dunhill Dean of School of Art.

(left to right) Marketing Administrator Hannah Attwood-Foulds, Artscom Business Manager Steve Whalley, Director of Marketing and Communication Lee Widdows

(Left to right) Jeremy Akerman, Susan Trangmar, Joanna Greenhill, Shahin Afrassiabi, Nooshin Farhid and Kate Love – all members of the MA Fine Art coaching team

All Showcase and MA Fine Art images © Simon Denton Course Leader for MA Fine Art Joanna Greenhill with comedian and writer Arthur Smith

CSM staff Christmas party Friday 19 December 2008 Drummer Ricky Brawn (who just happens to be a member of staff) plied the audience with monster beats as his rockabilly band The Big Six (minus two) got everyone rocking in the aisles at the college Christmas bash.

The Big Six performing at the CSM staff Christmas party. © Jet

As seen in…

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cs m time — i ssue 2 / m a r c h 2009

Here’s a snapshot of our media coverage over the past three months.

If you’ve got a great story you’d like to share with the press, please send it to CSM’s press officer Jo Ortmans – j.ortmans@csm.arts.ac.uk

Elle, March 2009, featuring Professor Louise Wilson with her staff team and a selection of students from her MA Fashion course. © Hachette Filipacchi

Art World, Oct/Nov 2008, Geraldine Gliubishlavich, oil painter and graduate from Byam Shaw School of Art. © B5 Media

Sunday Times Style Magazine, Aug 2008, featuring MA Fashion graduates Louise Markey and Eun Jeong Hong. © Times Newspapers Ltd

Ppaper, Oct 2008, featuring full course listings, a full list of alumni, a feature Head of College Jane Rapley OBE, Carole Collet Course Director MA Design for Textiles Futures, Willie Walters Course Director BA (Honours) Fashion, Jo Morrison Course Director MA Communication Design, Joanna Greenhill Course Director MA Fine Art, Nick Rhodes Course Director BA (Honours) Product Design, Dr Lorraine Gamman Director of Design Against Crime Research Centre, Adam Thorpe Research Fellow Design Against Crime Research Centre. © Pao & Paws

Telegraph Magazine, Nov 2008, featuring John Simm, graduate from Drama Centre London in 1992. © Telegraph Media Group Ltd

Design Week, featuring Dr Lorraine Gamman Design Against Crime Research Centre. © Centaur Media Plc

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Luxury Briefing, Feb 2009, Head of College, Jane Rapley OBE, discusses the changes and challenges facing students and business today. © Atlantic Publishing

i-D, Nov 2008, featuring Craig Lawrence, BA (Honours) Fashion graduate. © F & W publications inc

Wallpaper, Feb 2009, featuring MA Fashion graduate Kim Jones. © IPC Media

Crafts, Nov/Dec 2008, featuring BA (Honours) Textiles graduate and designer of vestments for St Paul’s Cathedral Marie Brisou. © Crafts Council

Eye, Autumn 08, featuring Professor Phil Baines, BA (Honours) Graphic Design. © Eye Magazine

Icon, Oct 2008, featuring Zamir Antonio and Antoine Choissat, both graduates from BA (Honours) Graphic Design. © Media 10 Limited

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2008 ❖

2004♠2005 2003✐2002❀200 1995✍1996✯1997 1994❃1993✉1992