displaying the

Join thousands of students at Excel to meet 100s of universities and apprenticeship employers o ering info on di erent further education options. Mar 27-28, 9.30am-3pm, free (registration), ucas.com

Where? Cody Dock Canning Town

DO | Riverside Clean Up + Seasonal Celebration

Join the Cody Dock community for some spring cleaning followed by an afternoon of refreshments, workshops and live music performances. Mar 26, 10am-noon, free, eventbrite.co.uk act fast

by Jon Massey

Seemingly channelling the opening sequence of The Mighty Boosh, a series of art installations in The Beams venue in Royal Docks promises to take visitors on a “journey through the boundaries of light, sound and space”. Thin Air’s opening chapter, which is set to run at The Factory Project venue from March 17-Jun 4 is billed as a transformative experience that “explores the hidden complexities that shape the world we live in”.

Arranged over some 55,000sq ft of interconnecting space in the former sugar warehouse beside Tate&Lyle in Silvertown, the show includes work by artists such as 404.zero, James Clar, Robert Henke, Kimchi and Chips with Rosa Menkman, Matthew Schreiber, Setup and UCLA Arts Conditional Studio. Visitors should expect strobe lighting and loud sounds, meaning the show is not suitable for those who are sensitive to either.

Thin Air is open Wednesday to Sunday with times varying across the ve days. O -peak adult tickets for the show start at £20. Go to thebeamslondon.com for more information

Scan this code to nd out more about Thin Air

There’s still just about time to get a ticket for Move It at Excel from March 10-12. The dance show and exhibition is o ering 10% o standard entry deals with code LONDON10 –bookings must be made by end of March 9 moveitdance.co.uk

Scan this code for more details of the event or to book tickets for entry or the classes on o er want more? @whar ifelive

by Jon Massey

Anyone and everyone can wear Lycra,” said Laura-Louise Erasmus, founder of Wolf Rayet. She creates catsuits, swimsuits, leggings, meggins (for gents), Yoga shorts, playsuits and sports tops – manufacturing the garments from her workshop at The Trampery Fish Island in Hackney Wick.

“I make super-jazzy festival wear which also can also be worn for the gym,” she said. “These clothes are something to be silly in – to dance around in, have a great time and look incredible.

“Anyone can wear these clothes. I’ve taken them to hen parties, and made everyone put them on – whatever their size – and, at the end of the night, everyone just loves them.”

She also designs a new print each year in time for Christmas, and makes pieces for her entire family to wear, ready for a festive walk through the countryside.

“My parents are my biggest fans – they live in Blakeney and, when they go out walking in Wolf Rayet, other people in North Norfolk people are like: ‘Why aren’t you wearing normal clothes?’,” said Laura-Louise.

“But my designs are like costumes – they completely change people’s personalities in a really nice way. That’s especially true for people who would never normally wear this kind of thing – they put a catsuit on and feel great.

“I’ve been going to festivals since I was 16 – I love it, especially the dressing up. I think it’s a British thing.

“I’ve been to festivals in other countries where I’ve been really dressed up and no-one else is.

“Clothes make you feel more confident asically I ake ig elastic bands that people can dance, have a lot of fun and be free in. After a few drinks you can usually get people into some Lycra.” aura- ouise first ca e to London as a student to study fashion at Central Saint Martins but, following a mugging and a series of negative experiences

Years since set designer and builder Laura-Louise started Wolf Rayet as a colourful side hustle 7 decided to transfer to Bristol to study instead. She then returned to the capital as an intern in the fashion industry, quickly falling out of love with the idea after spending a year unpaid, while making ends meet by working in a bar at night.

“We were treated really badly and I didn’t want to be part of that, so I thought I would make my own way and do my own thing,” she said. “That’s when I started doing screen-printing, then I tried jewellery with a grant from The Prince’s Trust.

“From those experiences I realised I had a love of print design, catsuits and a y festi al outfits. At the time there were not many people making these, so I decided to create y own, outfits that people could go crazy in. That’s where it all started o cially in 2016.

“Friends started wearing them and then more and more people. Covid completely changed my business, because people were online all the time and they wanted to look cool on their what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see

Where?

Theatre Royal Stratford East Stratford

Zoom calls, so my sales went from normal to crazy. With the pandemic receding I started doing gym wear as well.”

In addition to selling her pieces online, Laura-Louise has a stall at Wilderness Festival and is hoping to be at Glastonbury this year. Having originally made her pieces from her warehouse home in Hackney Wick, she also recently took the plunge and moved into a unit at The Trampery in anticipation of further growth, sharing the space with other local makers.

She also plans to use the sizeable space for her main profession – a separate creative endeavour.

“Wolf Rayet has always been a side hustle for me – the main thing I’ve done in recent years has een set design for , fil , advertising and live events,” she said. “I’ve lived in Hackney Wick for 12 years – in warehouses – and many of the people here are musicians, often making music videos, so I got involved.

“Although fashion is creative, set design is even more so because you get to build so many wild things.

“Say you want some giant soup bowl to sit in with a load of lifesize noodles – that’s the type of challenge that I want to do. From doing that kind of thing – making all these weird and wonderful pieces – I started assisting people and getting more work.

“With Covid, I got a lucky break – a few people knew I did sets, so they gave me their entire projects to design and that’s now my main job. It’s an amazing thing to do, really exciting and every day is different. I worked as the art director on a fil called In Too Deep, for example, looking after every aspect of the set on a boat in Cornwall and making sure that every single thing is in the right place. I get quite seasick on boats, so it was quite challenging.

“But it s fun, it s creati e and I love being able to do Wolf Rayet as well.”

Inspiration for her prints comes from all around with Animal, for instance, actually based on the iron casting on top of a storm drain in London.

“I started by seeing the water and the ripples, then put loads of colour in to completely change it from the original,” said Laura-Louise. “I draw out the design, bring it into Photoshop or Illustrator and then send it to be printed at a factory in Manchester. I use two different fa rics that are like Lycra, but made from recycled bottle tops and plastic waste.”

Wolf Rayet is named for a kind of massive star that burns brighter than our sun – a little like Laura-Louise’s clients in their catsuits on the dance oor. But make no mistake – her brand is not about making throwaway clothes for a single moment of radiance. Fiercely environmentally conscious, her pieces are high-quality hand-made garments for repeated wear, designed to stand up to the rigours of dance and exercise.

“I want to be as sustainable as possible,” she said. “I try to make everything to order, so there’s ery little waste and the offcuts are kept and turned into bum bags, bikinis and so on.

“I do make some stock for the shops at festivals, also so people can come and see pieces in Hackney Wick and try them on. Having this space is great.

“But if people don t feel they fit in my size range, they can easily give me their measurements so we can make a custom order. People can also have any of the prints mixed and matched – whatever they want.”

Future plans include looser fitting pieces featuring Wolf ayet prints and the steady growth of the business, as Laura-Louise continues making clothes and building sets in east London. Go to wolfrayet.co.uk for more

Scan this code to nd out more about Wolf Rayet

STAGE | Gone Too Far

Bola Agbaje’s Olivier Award-winning tale of two brothers from di erent continents returns to the stage with identity and heritage at its heart. Mar 24-Apr 1, times vary, from £10, stratfordeast.com

Where?

Stratford Picturehouse Stratford

FILM | NT Live: The Life Of Pi

See this National Theatre production beamed live all the way to Stratford as Pi attempts to survive the sinking of a ship and the attentions of a tiger. Mar 30, 7pm, £22, picturehouses.com

Where?

Cart And Horses Stratford

GIG | Rising From The Deep

Expect a line-up of professional musicians who have all worked with various members of the extended Deep Purple family for an evening of tributes. Mar 31, 8pm, £15, cartandhorses.london move fast

East and south-east Asian arts organisation

Kakilang is set to take over The Yard Theatre in Hackney Wick for Taste, a celebration of queer culture on March 18. Standard entry costs £18 for this 7.30pm-3am event theyardtheatre.co.uk

Scan this code to nd out more about Taste or to book tickets for the event want more? @whar ifelive