//New York #1, 1979. Ink and wax on photographs, 37 x 26 cm//
A selection of works by Derek Boshier in the collection of the Imperial College Healthcare Charity go on display this week.
//Starr on location in Let It Rock drape. Note bust darts. From the front page of Disc & Music Echo, December 16, 1972. Photo: Uncredited//
In the autumn of 1972 the small King’s Road boutique Let It Rock, which had been open for less than a year, received a fillip when the owners Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood were asked to contribute costumes to the production of 50s Britrock movie That’ll Be The Day.
//Ben Kelly underneath the Sex sign, 1975. Photo courtesy Ben Kelly//
I’m featuring this image of designer Ben Kelly in his persona of The Photo Kid in my presentation about the design history of 430 at the symposium Dead Or Alive: Popular Culture & The Interior, which takes place today at London’s ICA.
//The four pairs of boots are classic examples of early 70s rock n roll style//
These rare and unusual boots are thought to have once belonged to Elton John; the current owner was told this when he acquired them.
//Detail from 1965 showcard: Derek Boshier and 1965 works. Photo: Annette Green//
//Card for Boshier’s show at the Fraser Gallery, March 30 – May 1, 1965. Design: David Cripps. Courtesy: Pace London//
Thanks to Pace London for providing scans of the showcard for Derek Boshier’s spring 1965 exhibition at Robert Fraser Gallery in Mayfair’s Duke Street.
/Left: Andrew Greaves of Electric Colour Company in the back of Paradise Garage, May 1971. Right: Vivienne Westwood in the back of Let It Rock, January 1972. Photos: David Parkinson//
Preparation for my paper at Ben Kelly’s interior design symposium Dead Or Alive has coincided with the refurbishment of the Worlds End shop at 430 King’s Road in Chelsea.
The address is the subject of my talk; I’ll be detailing the history of 430 and how and why it was an important social and cultural locus over a number of decades.
//Back wall of 430 King’s Road on the opening of Mr Freedom, September 1969. Interior: Electric Colour Company. Photo: David Parkinson//
//Poster 59 x 42cm. Garden Service, Apolonija Šušteršič with Meike Schalk, 2007//
This handsome fold-out poster is for the exhibition Potential Architecture, which opens at London’s Ambika P3 on March 11.
//Clockwise from top right: Pavilion For Vodka Drinking Ceremonies, Alexander Brodsky, 2004; It Was All A Dream, Joar Nango, 2013; Garden Service, Apolonija Šušteršič (co-author Meike Schalk), 2007; Levitation, Sean Griffiths, 2015//
//Pussy Riot on the set of the promo video for I Can’t Breathe. Photo: Denis Sinyakov//
I received a message from Richard Hell: “Check out this wildness.”
So I did.
It’s I Can’t Breathe, Pussy Riot’s first English-language release, about the furore surrounding the death last year of Eric Garner. Hell recites Garner’s final words on the track.
“It felt weird to speak the words of a black man killed by the police, when I’m this privileged white guy,” Hell told Pitchfork. “At the same time, I believe in Pussy Riot. I have faith in them. I think they’re for real.”
Read all about the recording of I Can’t Breathe here.
//A US vintage company is unwittingly featuring this forgery as an original t-shirt from Seditionaries on its Instagram feed. The unpleasant item is an example of the accelerating trade in McLaren/Westwood fakes, where previously non-existent designs – often with repellent overtones – are touted as ultra-rare one-offs//
//Banal content: More examples of previously non-existent designs marketed as McLaren/Westwood originals – complete with Seditionaries-style labels – from a Chinese retailer’s site last year. Note the design at bottom left has a fake label whereas the one at the top of this post does not//
//Above: A selection of more of the crude new designs touted as original garments on Japanese auction site Seditionaries Shop, which claimed more than 300 sales at prices averaging £150//
Since Malcolm McLaren’s death nearly five years ago there has been a palpable rise in the plundering of the designs – in particular the graphics produced for t-shirts – he created with Vivienne Westwood in the 1970s.
//Roxy, 25 Kensington Church Street, 1972. Photo: Masayoshi Sukita//
//Inside Roxy, 1972: Shelley Martin in a flamenco dress designed by Dinah Adams. Photo: Masayoshi Sukita//
//Some of the Roxy crowd photographed around the corner from the shop (from left): The late Granny’s co-owner Marty Breslau, whose ensemble includes a Wonder Workshop top; Louise Doktor; Shelley Martin; John Knight. Photo: Masayoshi Sukita//
I’ve been aware of the existence of the Kensington boutique Roxy for some time, particularly since the store name was used as the title of the feature on London street fashion in a 1972 edition of Japanese magazine An An.
But my curiosity was pricked recently while browsing that same issue of An An which appears in Freddie Hornik’s scrapbook (see last post).
| Paul Gorman is a writer. This is his blog: art, books, conversation, cults, dancing, design, encounters, environments, events, film, galleries, groups, individuals, invitations, magazines, music, opinions, performance, photography, places, press, privacy, spaces, style, thoughts + views. |
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