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Wellies On, Rocking Out
by McQ Studio on 2010-06-23 11:08:54
So it’s that time again – a killer to fork out for the ticket but then all you have to do after that is show up to the festival and have a bloody brilliant time for four or so days. And then come out looking and smelling like you’re from the mountains and it was all worth it. The less said about the rain the better. We’ve done Glastonbury for the past couple of years but this year we’re off to the Secret Garden Party for a psychedelic experience or so we’re told. Here are some others to watch out for…
Offest (September 4-5th)
Playing: Mystery Jets, Telepathe, Lovvers
FYI: A proper David in a sea of Goliaths, Offset takes on the massive sleazy commercial festivals and offers the best experimental and alternative line-ups choosing newer, underpromoted bands bringing the festival experience back to its grassroots: the music. All in a field just outside London – and you can actually get the tube to it. Yes please.Underage (August 1st)
Playing: Crystal Castles, New Young Pony Club,
FYI: No oldies allowed in here (and here is Victoria Park), and it’s the only festival where M.I.A is playing this summer. The Underage bandwagon is a true phenomenon and is hell of a lot better than hanging around outside off licenses looking shady that’s for sure.Mosley Folk Festival (3-5th September)
Playing: Donovan, Fyfe Dangerfield… and the Ukele Orchestra of Great Britain
FYI: A proper British do and a bit different, this one’s up in Birmingham – folk music, food sourcing local produce, bunting, maypoles, basically cosy as hell with dappled sunlight through leafy green trees. If you want a bit of break from thrashing about like a sweaty mess anyway.1-2-3-4 (July 24th)
We only wish we’d gone to Glastonbudget (featuring the finest tribute bands in all the land) last weekend but we only found out about it afterwards.
Playing: Dum Dum Girls, Vivian Girls, Screaming Tea Party
FYI: A day-long-one-night-stand of festival – and for only 15 quid – in Shoreditch, drawing on underground talent heaving in the London area and beyond. A proper bargain for the sheer levels of uncompromised creativity. -
McQ: Banged Up
by McQ Studio on 2010-04-16 15:38:29
McQ: Banged Up
There’s certainly something melancholy about the thought that while externally, London ticks at a hyperactive rate, many interiors sit unknowably abandoned with peeling, cracking walls and gutted fireplaces. To normal intents and purposes, useless. The photos below document when McQ hotfooted about a derelict police station in East London.
It’s definitely strange to be within walls where order was once king, now devolved into a condition that looks in all senses post-apocalyptic, a memory left to crumble. The quietness was jarring, like London as we knew it had been swallowed up.
Abandoned buildings in cities are like the playgrounds for wandering feet, with their past function having a strange relationship with its present state. In this particular case there’s the slightly anarchic feeling that the lawful becomes lawless. Cells with no prisoners, a courtroom with no judge – a whole system now meaningless. With parts of London being massively regenerated for the Olympics in 2012 while other bits silently rot, you’ve got to wonder what it means for these spaces, left forgotten like an ugly child. What do you do something that nobody wants to claim? Every city has its orphans it seems.
By the way, somebody has reclaimed this one. We did. It’s where we’ve shot our new campaign. And it’s pretty hot.
- The police station (from Old Street)
- The police station
- An unexpected stained glass domed roof
- Venturing inside
- Cracking Up
- Prison break
- McQ reaches it's verdict
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I Blame Coco
by McQ Studio on 2010-04-16 15:24:31
So she’s been shimmering at the edges of our consciousness for a while now but we’ve finally sat up and started paying attention to Coco Sumner and her band I Blame Coco, also featuring Daisy, Luca C, Craig and Warren. British Summer has officially started kids and it’s this sort of reggae-inflected pop that’s best heard floating in the air on those hazy days wandering down Brick Lane or around Exmouth Market. While Coco cites Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode and The Cure as influences there’s definitely the spirit of Lily Allen (well, before she went all demure on us) in there somewhere, with a husky forty-a-day sort of voice and electronic bleeps and squelches that make it all her own. Looks good, sounds good. Yep, we dig.
- Blame Her !
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City Skin
by McQ Studio on 2010-03-15 11:52:32
We got back from New York City yesterday where despite everyone’s advice that it was fr-fr-fr-freezing cold it was actually more summery than a wasp on a sunbed. So we walked everywhere and saw the city at its best, as a living, breathing beast, with messages left everywhere from people with pens and paintbrushes and spraycans like ever-swelling tattoos on an immense body. We even scratched our initials onto Coney Island pier so now we’re part of the city’s skin forever…or at least until somebody sands it down.
- Gimme a job
- Images of the concrete jungle, underneath Williamsburg bridge
- Joker in the East Village
- Madonna and child, Siren with a saxophone
- Tarmac as art, Army of one (soho)
- Someone summing it up, seen from Wiliamsburg Bridge
- Roots
- McQ goes to Coney Island
- People with different ideas in Brooklyn
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Rihanna
by McQ Studio on 2010-02-24 16:27:08
Rihanna thinks pink in our Pre-SS shift. We love.
- Pink Rihanna
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Official Statement
by McQ Studio on 2010-02-12 11:58:50
On behalf of Lee McQueen’s family, Alexander McQueen today announces the tragic news that Lee McQueen, the founder and designer of the Alexander McQueen brand has been found dead at his home. At this stage it is inappropriate to comment on this tragic news beyond saying that we are devastated and are sharing a sense of shock and grief with Lee’s family.
Lee’s family has asked for privacy in order to come to terms with this terrible news and we hope the media will respect this.
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Vivian Girls
by McQ Studio on 2010-02-10 11:37:52
With bags of attitude and talent Vivian Girls are an all female band that began three years ago in Brooklyn.
Their angry noise and strong indie style saw them explode onto the local punk scene and has quickly gained them a cult following, critical acclaim and a shared stage with Sonic Youth. The trio released their second album, Everything Goes Wrong in September 2009 after a tumultuous start and a slight change in line-up.Super Vixen band member Cassie Ramone is an illustrator, her pop and folk art influenced illustrations are used as album artwork. Check out her flickr page here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cassieramone
Look out for them playing in a US city near you over the next few months…
- Sebastian Kim for New York Times
- Vivian Girls
- Video for When I'm Gone
- Cassie Ramone
- Picture taken on the highway in Texas
- Cassie's tour posters
- Winter 2008
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Milan Shoot
by McQ Studio on 2010-02-04 10:57:53
Behind the scenes at our recent shoot in Milan.
- The clothes
- Inspiration
- Preparation
- Looks
- Work
- Rest
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Street Art
by McQ Studio on 2010-01-25 13:23:11
We took this photo the other day on Redchurch Street… good to see a bit of lyricism on a grey day even if it is just a bit of chalk. Street art and poetry reinvent the city, turns it from concrete square and corporate spaces into a land of giant rabbits, parrots, octopus, leopards, aliens, political slurs and dark secrets– it feels like an organic form of rebellion which is why we love it so much, and it’s a rebellion that’s got guts and actually means something . It’s one person making their mark on a public space and being seen by an audience that includes EVERYONE.
By skipping the galleries and having a wander round London you get to see what real people have got to say – in fact you can even pay to do a tour, although by institutionalizing it seems to miss the point slightly as well as the element of surprise. But we like this blog (http://blog.artofthestate.co.uk/) and reckon it’s a good way of keeping an eye on it.
The city is like a canvas ready to be claimed, a site for people to leave their mark on, and in times like these it’s never felt more important. And it’s not just London either – the streets of Colombia are filling up with individuals looking for new ways to be creative (http://www.china.org.cn/video/2009-09/22/content_18577625.htm)
Here are some of our favourites bits:
- Lyricism on Redchurch Street
- Mike Marcus
- Paul Le Chien
- Icon Propaganda
- Roa Lenticular
- There is no God (South London)
- Xylo Voyeur
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Rihanna
by McQ Studio on 2010-01-15 13:03:41
Rockin’ pearls and curls like only Rhianna knows how, check her out in LA busting our pre-collection denim and leather mix jacket. Frrrrresh.
- Rihanna McQ jacket
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2010
by McQ Studio on 2010-01-13 11:07:23
Does it feel any different? We still can’t get the hang of writing it down that’s for sure, it looks too weird. And where are the flying cars? What a let down.
It was a bonkers decade where the Terminator got elected, fashion said hi hello to the 80s again, technology pretty much went boom and we all seemed to grow younger. Time might be striding forward but the McQ spirit stays the same with different faces for inspiration. Punk is still alive, it’s just got a wicked synth now.
Here’s some pictures of some stuff that happened in the last ten years.
New Labour gives us the Millenium Dome (2001)
The Libertines release ‘Up the Bracket’ (2002)
Banksy glues one of his paintings to a wall in the Tate Britain (2003)
The last issue of The Face (2004)
McQ has arrived ! (2005)
Winehouse sings about not going into rehab; goes to rehab (2006)
Control, the film biopic of Ian Curtis, is released (2007)
Bye bye Polaroid L (2008)
La Roux pops up with her big quiff (2009)
So far, a LOT of snow (2010)- Millenium Dome - 2001
- The Libertines - 2002
- Banksy - 2003
- The Face ends - 2004
- McQ arrives - 2005
- Amy Winehouse - 2006
- Control - 2007
- Polaroid ends - 2008
- La Roux - 2009
- Snow - 2010
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Fashematics
by McQ Studio on 2009-12-18 13:05:57
Number cruncher & fashion lover Fashematics.com sum up our AW 09/10 campaign…
Keith Flint of Prodigy + CC10’s Bloody Tourist = McQ- Keith Flint of Prodigy + CC10's Bloody Tourist
- = McQ AW 09/10
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You Better Work
by McQ Studio on 2009-12-10 19:05:42
We’re up to our funky little ears in work over here, you’ve got to go through a giant corridor of mood boards if you want to get inside this office. Listening to the Stranglers to get us through.
- Laura's desk
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Cut the Crap
by McQ Studio on 2009-12-06 21:23:49
We put on all our Clash LPs this week – hard to believe in the heady days of the x factor they were once ‘the only band that matters’.
- The Clash
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Look Book Looks Good
by McQ Studio on 2009-11-23 23:10:34
A trip to Dalston for the AW10 pre-collection lookbook shoot – the weather was apocalyptic, we smoked too many cigarettes and drank too much coffee. Our model was Shay (Select model) she rocked it NICE.
Photography: Scott Trindle / Stylist: Sherry Lamden / Grooming: Adam Burrell
Set Design: Matt Duddleston / Studio: Pro Lighting- Set
- Beauty - skin deep after all
- Good hair day
- Getting started
- Woof the studio's dog
- Pins and needles
- Test shots
- Yes? No?
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Suited and little booted
by McQ Studio on 2009-11-19 23:24:26
Best of British: Little boots wearing our acid wash denim jacket at Westwood’s Anglomania show.
- Little Boots at Anglomania Show at Selfridges
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Antlers
by McQ Studio on 2009-11-18 12:58:39
From the streets of Clerkenwell to the hot pink bookshelves of the McQ studio.
- The Horn of Plenty
- Mulling things over
- Organisation skills
- Bodies
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Cakes !
by McQ Studio on 2009-11-13 11:31:31
So on Wednesday for our London press day we combined the two powerhouses of fashion and tea. There were lots of sweets and cakes and pastries, our teeth are ruined. Our nails, however, look HOT.
- Maison Bertaux
- Sugar fix
- Cashew nuts and lookbooks
- Nails and gossip
- Yep, all very professional
- The collection
- Inside the lookbook
- Wordshaker
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Models
by McQ Studio on 2009-11-09 15:22:30
Today we had some models come in for a fitting, here they are with a polar bear.
- Can't bear the wait...
- Fittings
- Ellie from Select
- pre-FW10 Collection
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Little Boots
by McQ Studio on 2009-11-04 13:35:53
Check out Little Boots wearing our Pre-SS10 silk cog dress at the Christmas Carol premier in London last night. Cute!
- Little Boots wearing Dress by McQ
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Now
by McQ Studio on 2009-10-30 13:26:49
In this digital hole of tweets, blogs and www’s, the McQ studio in Clerkenwell Road has decided to clear its throat, make a sound. The streets and gutters out there in the Real World are filled with curious people, and we’ve got the eyes and ears to notice it all…and we’re going to talk about it, too.
The world around us will always leave footprints in what we wear. Style can be shoved down your throat by the pages of fashion magazines, but in the end the best style is always going to be about an attitude. Who we are and the way we think, that can be what we dress ourselves in. An attitude belonging to real people that’s continually being shaped by EVERYTHING.
Here is a door into our collective brain. We got some cells knockin’ about in here somewhere.
Alexander McQueen
McQ Studio
Underground, Rebellious, Outsider, Youth, London, Freedom, Consciousness, Past, Present, Future, Attitude
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