#4

Sty ltoenic

Get ready
it’s party time
www.style-tonic.com
TONIC Traveller

Diary
Dates
Damsels in distress, the art of fashion and
frilly knicker heaven. Pencil these unmissable
events into your little black book.

Hung, Drawn
and Corseted
Before the catwalks, the models,
the fittings and even the fabric, the
humble fashion drawing is where it
all begins. Straight from the creative
consciousness of some of the world’s
leading designers, an exhibition in the
Design Museum in London is paying
homage to the squiggles and swirls
that define a masterpiece. Including
drawings from the collections of
Chanel, Commes des Garcons,
McQueen and Victor & Rolf, and a
series of talks, with veteran fashion
journalist and historian Colin McDowell
in conversation with visionaries
Manolo Blahnik and Stephen Jones,
it promises to draw quite the crowd.
Drawing Fashion, November 2010 –
March 2011, www.designmuseum.org.

Cover photography by
Guy Aroch/trunkarchive.com
2
hot shots
MoMA’s annual New
Photography exhibition
features work by Alex
Prager, Roe Ethridge, Elad
Lassry and Amanda Ross-
Ho, all inspired by the vast
pool of images from the
world of print media and
advertising. Exploring, and
in some cases subverting,
the construction of the
fashion image and role
of the female muse, the
exhibition promises to
intrigue – look out for out-
takes from fashion shoots
by Ethridge, and Prager’s
visceral retro narratives, Alex Pragers’s pho-
complete with doomed tography explores
heroines and fabulous the anti-heroine in
popular imagery.
bouffant hair. Until January
2011, www.moma.org

Craft Work
Don’t know your cross-stitch from your slip-stitch? The ladies at Irish
ethical fashion initiative Re-dress are here to help with a range
of crafty courses, including a beginners’ design crash course,
upcycling textiles class, bow-ties & Bellinis, mums to be embroidery,
basic pattern drafting, and (our favourite) French knickers &
cocktails. From November, www.re-dress.ie

www.style-tonic.com 3
A/W Tonic Trends

#3

#1

#3 Inna bow-tie blouse

by Dagmar, €235, www.
style-tonic.com

#1 Bronze silk dress by

La Petite S*****, €1,449,
www.style-tonic.com

#2
0
/W1
ji A
Sho

#4
i
ash
Tad

#2 Cotton skirt by Fifth

Avenue Shoe Repair, €225,
www.style-tonic.com #4 Aurelie wool dress
by Dagmar, €190,
4 www.style-tonic.com
 #5 Rose chiffon top
by John Rocha, €429,
www.style-tonic.com
#6

#7

#6 Purple frill
dress by La
Petite S*****, €1,499,
www.style-tonic.com
#7 Knitted top
by Catherine
Malandrino, €295,
www.style-tonic.com

#5

Get Your
Fashion has gone soft around
the edges this season with
pussybow ties, ruched seams
and playful ruffles.
#8 Natayla dress
by Dagmar, €260, #8
www.style-tonic.com

www.style-tonic.com 5
 A/W Tonic Trends

seventies revival Think Love Story, Woody Allen

heroines and Farrah Fawcett in retro
prints, strokable fur and soft wool.

#1 Printed blouse by
Isabel Marant, €420,
www.style-tonic.com

#2 Print dress
#1 by Catherine
Malandrino,
€475, www.style-
tonic.com

#2

#3 Fur Gilet by Meteo

by Yves Salomon, €495,
Mis

www.style-tonic.com
so
ni A

#4
/W1
0

#3

#4 Knitted skirt by
Missoni, €295,
www.style-tonic.com

6
 #1 Into the

Take a walk on the wild side

with sexy leopard print.

#2 Darkside jeans by
Zadig & Voltaire, €185,
www.style-tonic.com

#3

#1 Leopard-print
dress by David
Meister, €330,
www.style-tonic.com

#3 Leopard-print
#2 blouse by Catherine
Malandrino, €325,
www.style-tonic.com

www.style-tonic.com 7
A/W Tonic Trends

#2
#1

#3

#1 Marlo dress by RM by #2 Ivory wool dress by RM #3 Nox dress by RM by

Roland Mouret, €1,195, by Roland Mouret, €1,295, Roland Mouret, €575,
www.style-tonic.com www.style-tonic.com www.style-tonic.com
Isabe

#4
l Ma

#5
rant
A/W1
0

#4 Wool-blend coat #5 Asymmetric skirt

by Isabel Marant, €585, by John Rocha, €499,
www.style-tonic.com www.style-tonic.com

keep it simple
One of the hottest trends this season, sleek,
pared back minimalism means less is more.

8
 #1 Black coat by
John Rocha, €1,429,
www.style-tonic.com

#1
it’s a
wrap
Look smart with this season’s
sharpest tailored coats.

#2 Embellished
coat by John
Rocha, €1,639,
www.style-tonic.com

#2

A/W10
t
Moure d
Rolan

#3
RM by

#3 Wool-blend trench
coat by Fifth Avenue
Shoe Repair, €530,
www.style-tonic.com

www.style-tonic.com 9
Runningforward
fashion head

The By The No
collection is an
avant-garde take
on the label’s
distinctive draping
and edgy tailoring.

10
 Astrid Olsson
and Lee Cotter
founded Swedish
design brand
Fifth Avenue
Shoe Repair
in 2004.

Pleading
the Fifth
Swedish design duo Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair
never fail to surprise and delight. Garrett
Pitcher of Indigo & Cloth ventured to the
Scandi capital to find out what makes them tick.

I
t’s 6pm, dark, cold and February. I am boarding my
first flight to Stockholm, Sweden. At this stage I have
completed 90% of my buying for the store, due to
open in September 2007.
Sweden in Winter is definitely an experience. The
following morning, it’s still dark when I head to my
appointment in the Södermalm area of Stockholm. I had
only ever seen pictures of this brand, and few at that, but
enough to make me fly to Sweden. The minute I walk into
the environment of Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, I feel at home.
We chat a little and outline our plans to each
other before I am taken down to the basement
to view what will be the A/W07 collection. I
remember the feeling to this day; people will be
talking about this brand for generations to come.
Astrid Olsson and Lee Cotter established
their clothing company, Fifth Avenue Shoe
www.style-tonic.com 11
fashion forward

“ classic tailoring,
pattern making
and authentic
knowledge have
Pleated silk dress
by Fifth Avenue
always stayed
Shoe Repair, €315, a priority and a
www.style- necessity in the
tonic.com
collections”

Repair, in 2004, naming it after

an old shoemaker’s shop. Since
then, classic tailoring, pattern
making and authentic
knowledge have always
stayed a priority and a
necessity in the collections.
Using a draping technique to create
sculptural pieces, the duo contrast this
with classic tailoring, such as chinos or
plain white shirts. Exploring and blurring
the boundaries between femininity
and masculinity is a constantly
recurring theme. The colour range
has a solid base of black and
white with all shades of grey in
between. For every season new
colours are chosen, mainly from a
faded palette.
Astrid, who finds inspiration in her
surrounding environment, has a
design degree and a background
of pattern-making and sewing.
Lee Cotter is self-taught in the
field of design and cut his teeth
working as a buyer and freelance
designer for different men’s

12
Looks from the
A/W10 By the
No collection
by Fifth Avenue
Shoe Repair.

brands. Together they form a

design collaboration determined
to redefine the art of innovative
tailoring and make themselves
heard amongst the clamour of
cool Scandinavian brands.
Their experimental
Shoerepair By The No collection
is an avant-garde take on the
signature Fifth Avenue Shoe
Repair draping and edgy
tailored effect. Initiated as a creative
experiment that wasn’t expected to
generate any money, the collection’s
larger than life personae pushes
the boundaries of the Fifth
Avenue Shoe Repair innovative
aesthetic. Pompoms, oversized
bows and diaphanous
ribbons abound, paired with
layers and layers of soft,
fine jersey. Not a casual
look, By The No is the result
of the creative duo’s
uncensored expression,
not for the faint-hearted
but that’s what they’re
all about. ✚

Black trench coat

Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair by Fifth Avenue
A/W10 collection at Shoe Repair, €530,
www.style-tonic.com www.style-tonic.com

www.style-tonic.com 13
One to Watch

14
Upclose &
personal Irish photographer
Neil Gavin’s dreamy,
elegant portraits are a
regular fixture on the big
bad London fashion scene.
But is he ready for his
close up?

www.style-tonic.com 15
One to Watch

Did you always want to work in fashion photography?

I did want to be a fashion photographer when I was
younger. After working as an assistant for some very
well established fashion photographers and starting
my own career, I began to move away from fashion
photography and towards portraiture. However, more
recently I’ve been trying to combine portrait and
fashion work. I’ve been using more “real” people
instead of models for fashion photographs.

16
What can’t you live without?
VANS trainers and Guinness.

What’s been your most bizarre

experience as a photographer?
Shooting the Beastie Boys around New York city.
They were the one subject I had always wanted to
photograph. I spent a few hours walking the streets of
NYC with them, and I was constantly thinking to myself
I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M DOING THIS while they jumped and
ran around and posed for my camera.

Neil Gavin’s editorial

work has appeared
in Vogue UK, GQ,
Arena, Dazed &
Confused, Nylon and
Wallpaper*, amongst
many other.

www.style-tonic.com 17
One to Watch

You assisted Perry Ogden for four

years, have you taken on your own
assistants now and if so, how does it
feel to be on the other side?
I mostly work with freelance
assistants. It does feel differet to be
on the other side. It’s good to have
a professional relationship as well as
a good personal relationship with
assistants, as you spend so much
time together.

His commercial
clients include All
Saints, Selfridges,
John Rocha
and Matches.

18
“ I spent a few hours walking the
streets of New York with the Beastie
Boys, while they jumped and ran
around and posed for my camera.”

www.style-tonic.com 19
One to Watch

How do you find the contrast between

editorial and commercial shoots?
There can be a big difference
depending on the client –
magazine or commercial. The ideal
situation is to find commercial
clients who will just let you do what
you want, who don’t necessarily
need to see every detail of the
clothing etc. On the other hand,
there are plenty of editorial clients
who will swamp you down with
briefs on how a shoot should look.
What I really enjoy is having a
variety in commissioned work. I find
some of the different situations I’ll
be in over one week very amusing.

Neil’s masterful
use of light gives
his soulful portraits
infinite depth.

20
www.style-tonic.com 21
One to Watch

What advice would you give to young

fashion photographers starting out?
I think when I started the best step was to
work as an assistant to the most established
photographers possible. However, a lot of
younger photographers are approaching
their work in fashion or portraiture from a
more fine art perspective.

And finally.. What do you miss about Dublin?!

Guinness.. But I’ve found a few places with a
great pint here too! ✚

www.neilgavin.com

22
Preferring to use “real”
people rather than
models, Neil blurs the
boundaries between
portraiture and
fashion photography.

www.style-tonic.com 23
Style Hero

Girl

Irish stylist Celestine Cooney is not

your average “fashionista”. She tells
Hazel Pfeifer about Betto Ditto dreams,
wearing kangaroo suits to the shops and
why it’s not cool to be a bitch.

24
Irish stylist Celestine
Cooney, by Chad
Pitman. LEFT
Editorial shoot
styled by Celestine
with photographer
David Dunan.

www.style-tonic.com 25
Style Hero

C
elestine Cooney’s first ever shoot
was on a cover. Back then, she
didn’t even know what a stylist
was. When publisher Trevor White
asked a fresh faced Celestine
to style a shoot for The Dubliner over a
decade ago, he had to explain to her how
to get the clothes and to put them on the
model. The shoot was used on the cover
and Celestine’s career took off from there.
Since then, she has worked for Dazed &
Confused, British Vogue, Chinese Vogue,
Teen Vogue, V and many others. Now, as
the fashion director of Twin magazine, she
hasn’t forgotten how it all began. “I don’t
think I thought it was that big a deal at the
time,” she laughs.
That’s one thing about Celestine. Apart
from her clearly ferocious work ethic,
innate style and generosity of spirit, she has
one of the most wonderful laughs I have
ever heard. Spontaneous, unmistakable
and hugely infectious, that laugh is the
antithesis of icy fashion maven. Celestine
is flying to New York the next day, and her
house in Hackney is rammed with heavy
clothes bags and tantalising boxes. Over
Jaffa cakes and endless cups of tea, it
becomes clear how her earthy, wicked
sense of humour and refusal to succumb
to the gilded eccentricities and diva
tendencies rampant in the rag trade have
kept her sane, although it hasn’t always
been easy.

26
Loving the
aspirational feel
of countryside
locations, Celestine
shot these images
with photographer
by Ben Toms.

www.style-tonic.com 27
Style Hero

28
 “ I was so naïve, someone could
have beaten me up and I would
have thought that they did it by
accident because they thought I
was someone else!”
“Any of those rumours about the Playful and a little
fashion industry being bitchy are true, rough around the
I can confirm all of that,” she says, on edges, her distinctive
style is apparent
a more serious note. When she first throughout her
moved over to London at 23 and work. Photography
assisted creative director of Dazed by Paul Wetherall.
& Confused, Nicola Formichetti, for
two years, she was catapulted into
the heart of the London fashion
scene. “I was so naïve, someone
could have beaten me up and I
would have thought that they did it
by accident because they thought
I was someone else! I had this mad
innocence that really helped me
through because I never would have
thought anyone was trying to be
mean to me. Now I value that down-
to-earth Irish innocence so much
because I didn’t lose it and I did
have to hold onto it with both hands,
because it is such a seductive world.
Sitting front row at a fashion show, you
can almost feel your ego expanding.”
She has seen people become their worst
nightmare but gets how it can happen. “You’ve
got to just stay so strong because fashion is
an industry that allows for assholes and where
being a bitch is a good thing. It’s a really tough
industry. Everyone knows that but I don’t think
you really realise how tough it is. I’ve gone
through massive phases where I’ve thought,
www.style-tonic.com 29
Style Hero

“ I remember
thinking, ‘Oh my
‘I cannot do this if this is what this God, why did
is’. A lot of people get really badly nobody tell me
treated and that doesn’t sit well the model was
with me.” Beth Ditto? All
Far from the green fields of Co my clothes are
Meath, the hotbed of Dazed & sample size!’”
Confused was like another universe.
Shoots now involved Terry Richardson and David Bailey,
and Kate Moss regularly wandered through the office.
Celestine smiles in reminiscence. “I look back at the times
when things were hard, when I was packing boxes and
crying at 4 o’clock in the morning, knowing I had to get
up at 7am and go to Paris. But when you think about it –
getting up and going to Paris – you forget that what you
do is really amazing.”
After two years, it was time to move on and Celestine
established herself as a freelance stylist, working with
companies such as Topshop and Roxy and styling
catwalk shows for alternative fashion god, Ashish, and
music videos for the likes of Marina & the Diamonds. (A
pair of stars and stripes boxing gloves from
Hollywood hang from her coat-rack). Last year,
when Twin magazine approached her to be
their fashion director, all the hard work had
finally paid off.
RIGHT Above,
photography by “I really love my job, I never wake up in the
Irish photographer morning and dread something.” I ask if she still
Boo George. Below, has pre-shoot insomnia? Not so much now but
photography by
Linda Brownlee for she does admit to having hilariously “fashion”
Dazed & Confused. dreams. “I arrived on a shoot and the model
was Beth Ditto and I remember thinking, ‘Oh
my God, why did nobody tell me the model
was Beth Ditto? All my clothes are sample
size!’ I was like, ‘Everyone hold tight, I’m going
to Evans to buy some stuff!’” More laughter.
She is however, “quite geeky” about her work,

30
www.style-tonic.com 31
 Style Hero

preparing thoroughly and ensuring she always has

plenty of options (and sizes).
“I still do get nervous about the creative stuff because
when a shoot is good, the feeling you get from it is
amazing. It must be like being an artist and painting
something that everyone goes mad about. It’s just clothes
and they’re just people but I love getting the feeling that
it’s a bit aspirational. It makes you dream a little, as it’s
fantasy.” Like many of the most creative stylists, inspiration
for Celestine stems from characters and stories, rather
than colours and trends. She still doesn’t see herself as
very “trend aware”, despite being on top of her game.
“It’s about finding a group of like-minded people. That
for me is what fashion is all about. That’s why with Twin, it’s
not crazy fashion – not like the way Dazed & Confused do
things that are absolutely mad. I’d like to
make pictures that someone like me, living
in Co Meath who wasn’t able to get Dazed
& Confused unless Tower Records had a
copy, can relate to.”
Her sense of fashion as fantasy, as
inspiration and self expression,
“ I’d like to make as artistic freedom rather than
pictures that a set of rules to conform to
someone like me, are some of the reasons for
living in Co Meath her success, soon to go stellar.
“I think if you want to wear a
who wasn’t able fucking Kangaroo suit to the
to get Dazed & shops, then wear it. I hate the
Confused unless idea that people would feel like
Tower Records they can only wear a certain
had a copy, can thing. Lady Gaga is relating to
relate to.” all those kids who wanted to
wear something in school and
got bullied for it. I think it’s so important
that everyone is allowed to be themselves
and not feel like they have to be a certain

32
A fan of people
and characters,
Celestine finds the way. I think I’ve always been just a bit odd.”
human element
to her work the
If odd means not your average, then Celestine
most interesting. certainly fits the bill. “I take my job seriously
Photography by and I work my ass off and I’ll always be the best
Mel Bles.
that I can be, but at the end of the day, there
are certain times where you have to draw the
line and if the Dior jacket doesn’t arrive from
Paris, there’s no need for histrionics. It’ll probably
arrive and be the wrong colour anyway.” ✚

www.celestinecooney.com

www.style-tonic.com 33
 Revelations

We’ve got the travel bug this issue, so we

asked some of our favourite fashion insiders to
reveal their hidden hot-spots.
Photography by Viktoria Panik and Johnny McMillan

34
CICI CAVANAGH DJ/Club Promoter
HIDDEN HOT-SPOT Ye Old Carlton Arms Hotel,
160 East 25th Street, NYC, www.carltonarms.com
I stayed here during New York fashion week,
2009, and I can honestly say I’ll return year
after year.
The hotel opened in the 1980s, when a small
group of creative people decided to paint
the walls of what was, at the time, a “dark
and ill shelter”. Each one of the 54 rooms
and 4 hallways are decorated and themed
by different artists from all over the world.
The sheer creative energy in the building is
indescribable... You really have to feel it to
believe it. It’s in an ideal location on the east
side of Manhattan, only a walk away from the
bars and nightlife of the hip lower east side,
the theatre district to the west and Greenwich
village to the south. It’s a constantly evolving
conceptual art project.

www.style-tonic.com 35
Revelations

EMILY QUINN, Photographer

HIDDEN HOT-SPOT Bibi’s Cafe, 8 Emorville Ave,

Dublin 8.
It’s connected to Dolls boutique, so getting
to do two wonderful things on a Sunday
afternoon (brunch with a friend and
coveting all the beautiful garments) is a
great way to end one week and begin
another! Last Sunday, we sat outside and
my latte arrived with a
“ my latte arrived taste of heaven, in the
form of a brownie with
with a taste peanut butter. That was
of heaven in followed by eggs and
the form of a mushrooms with a truffle
brownie with dressing that made the
peanut butter” dish. For dessert, we
browsed in Dolls boutique,
planned festive outfits and drooled over the
amazing collection. The staff are very friendly
and welcoming, which is really appealing
nowadays. These little touches will keep me
going back for more.

www.emilyquinn.com

36
MARK ANDREWS, Stylist, image and design consultant.

HIDDEN HOT-SPOT Public House, 54 Islington Park

Street, London N1 1PX, www.boutiquepubs.com.
On a visit to my friend’s new place in Islington
during London Fashion Week, we fancied a
drink to celebrate her new venture into the
great unknown that we call Life. Not knowing
the area well, we stumbled upon Public House.
Reasonably priced and beautifully decorated
with Art Deco and antique French
furniture, it’s owned and run by four
charming guys who were only to
delighted to sit and have a drink with
us, and tell us about the area. It’s a
collaboration of different personalities
and tastes, it’s down to earth and,
although it doesn’t necessarily suit
its surroundings, it’s a place that’s
way too cool to care. It was a great
evening and we’ve agreed it’s our
new haunt whenever I visit.

www.style-tonic.com 37
Revelations

AMANDA Murray, Personal shopper and

general fashion obsessive, Indigo & Cloth

HIDDEN HOT-SPOT The Dublin Flea

Market, The CO-OP, 12 Newmarket,
Dublin 8, www.dublinflea.ie
On the last Sunday of every month,
the Dublin Flea Market is a wonderful
bazaar of vintage clothing, furniture
and bits and bobs. There’s some
incredible old stock sales, but also
some brand new pieces from the
likes of Indigo & Cloth, if you’re lucky!
There’s also Irish hand-made jewellery,
some very cool vintage furniture (I
got an incredible lamp with a resin
base from the 1950s), delicious
food and bric-a-brac all in Dublin
city centre. It’s the perfect way to
spend a hungover Sunday morning,
meandering through the various
stalls. I often pick up something
really special there and always meet
creative and interesting people.

38
“ The shawls
and pashminas
are woven by
local women in
their own back
gardens”

JOANNE HYNES, Fashion designer

HIDDEN HOT-SPOT A tiny pashmina store in the Himalayas.

The shop doesn’t have a name, but it supports enterprise
for local women and their families in villages of the
Himalayas. You can go in and try many varieties and
weaves in different colours and weights and have some
tea while you experience the luxury of hand-made pieces
before your eyes. The shawls and pashminas are woven
by local women in their own back gardens. Surrounded
by nature, they sit in the sun, using their feet to
weave the looms, as they chat and listen to the
world going by. The little enterprise store was an
experience to treasure and remember.

Joanne Hynes A/W10 Collection is available from

Brown Thomas, Level 2, Grafton Street Dublin.
www.joannehynes.com

www.style-tonic.com 39
“Fashion is not something that
exists in dresses only. Fashion
is in the sky, in the street,
fashion has to do with ideas, the
way we live, what is happening.”
Coco Chanel