Cycle away...fashionably!

I love bicycles I cannot hide it! They have a romantic feeling that still stays strongly attached to my youth, and I love the fact that people have started taking their bicycles more and more often these days...even in Athens!

And yes, I'm realistic -don't even mention it-, I know that we lack of proper bicycle roads, we lack of security, we lack of beautiful city scenery, but...thank god we don't lack of romance because that's what bicycles represent to me..romance! I once stayed at Aix-en-Provence near the French riviera and I thought that the picture of women with retro bicycles and baskets full of baguettes and flowers would be a myth...but guess what, it wasn't! And when I traveled to Barcelona a few months ago, I stared at all those beautifully dressed girls riding their bikes so carelessly that I was actually jealous!

And I was amazed by what these 2 guys did at Cape Town (credits for the pic, too). In their own words:

"We've noticed that in South Africa, especially in the major centers, very few people use bicycles as mode of transport. This is very strange since we have no proper public transport infrastructure, and that which does exist is expensive and unsafe. Given all the benefits of cycling - independence, fitness, cost-effectiveness, environmentally friendly - we would love to encourage the use of bicycles in South Africa amongst all social classes.

For our project we are looking at who rides bicycles, why they ride them, and if they love using bicycles as a primary method of transport. Through publishing this book, we want to be able to assist the underprivileged cycling community through our project - be it teaching bicycle maintenance skills, providing necessities like helmets, tires, tubes, locks…"

Wouldn't it be great if something like that happened here in Athens, too? Find out more about the project here.

I also wanted to tell you that from today I'm guest-blogging at Stylista.gr and my first blog post was also inspired by bicycles! Cycle chic is a trend I'm really fond of, I love all these Sartorialist images with fashionable girls riding their bikes! I love the fact that they wear their heels without worrying about the difficulties of riding! Anyways, if you're Greek check the post here!

p.s. Thalia was also inspired by the picture above, last week!

source: www.dayonepublications.com/Bicycle_Portraits/

Celestine Cooney for SoHo Symposium

Celestine Cooney is one of those girls that I put in the category "You walk carelessly in the street and all girls envy your style, without you even knowing it". Being a stylist for -among others- Vogue, V, Dazed&Confused and the Fashion Director of the biannual Twin magazine, of course she has direct access to all beauties, but as she confesses "Girly stuff look weird on me"! So, she has decided to dress according to her taste and that's why Garance' Dore has photographed her unique style for Vogue and the Street Photographers love to capture her pictures during the Fashion Weeks!

Celestine was kind enough to answer some questions exclusively for SoHo Symposium and the only thing I have to say is a big Thank You!
You have worked for magazines such as Vogue, V and Dazed& Confused. On the other hand you are the fashion director of the bi-annual Twin and you also have a blog! How liberating is, to work for something that's your responsibility in the end?

Twin was kind of a dream come true for me i know that sounds cheesy but i always wanted my own thing that i could give 120% to and love completely from head to toe. So being a fashion director i get to do all that.We have such a mega team at Twin and it's been a pure pleasure.

What's your opinion on the internet fashion revolution and where do you think all this will take us?

I think the internet is making everyone more savvy, it's so fast, information comes in by the mili second and if you blink you'll miss it. Blogs are the future in my opinion and real way to get a feel for how people are reacting to certain things including fashion, film, music its all relevant to our industry. The great thing about Blogs is they are uncensored opinion, it's like a public diary most of the time. I think they are so revealing about a person and essentially fashion is all about people.

You have styled some of the best 'style icons' of the moment, such as M.I.A., Daisy Lowe, Florence and the Machine and Marina and the Diamonds! What's different in styling these young ladies? They all seem to have a very unique style and they are all considered as trendsetters for their uniqueness! Do you think that personal style is where the emphasis is given right now?

Yeah for sure all three of these girls are very sure of what their style is, it's not like x factor where the kids go in one end like a basic sponge cake and come out the other all iced up with a cherry on top. These girls are all super bright funny girls, Marina and Florence write their own music and they have a very strong sense of their own image. I guess i just kinda find cool stuff for them to wear, i never ever tell musicians what to wear i will try to get a sense of them and then using whatever i know about fashion suggest designers i think they'll like or encourage them to try new things in the same vein as what they are doing already, just to keep things fresh and fun.

..And can you still be a trendsetter if you have a stylist?

Yes totally. When you have your own opinion you are essentially dressing yourself, stylists just get all the mega stuff together for the artists or actress to choose from. Styling a musician is about knowing what suits their body shape, what they need to perform in, what colours they like, what designers, new cool stuff they would love etc....it's not like dressing models where you can do whatever you like and they can't say this is gross i don't want to wear it.
Style editors and stylists are photographed even more than celebrities during the Fashion Weeks! Why do you think that the world is suddenly interested in them, while in the past they remained "hidden"?

I think in the beginning nobody knew what a stylists job even was they were very much behind the scenes but it works out now that most stylists are a bit more like creative/art director too and work really closely with the photographer and hair and make up on a whole shoot. The stylist is as involved as the photographer now, they work very closely together. Good styling can make a mediocre picture great and bad styling can make a beautiful picture look awful, when you get the two right, that's when you get great images.

You have styled the up coming video clip of Marina and the Diamonds. Christopher Kane, Henry Holland and Ashish were some of the designers you chose for her. How important do you think it is to promote young designers right now?

Well I've worked with Ashish for 4 years now doing his London Fashion Week show and i adore him he's my buddy and he's so talented and his pieces are perfect for the more creative fun music artists, Rihanna and Katie Perry, M.I.A, Santogold (the last two I've worked with also) all love his designs and they work so great on stage his pieces are so graphic they look awesome all the way up there under the lights.

Henry too is such a gorgeous boy and his work is fun and bright and i love Christopher Kane I've been collecting his pieces since his first collection. They are all pretty established but for young designers being worn by a big artist can be really valuable publicity for them to get their name out there so they can be seen and recognized.

Describe your ideal daily outfit of the moment!

hmmm I'm either in massive heels or Reebok classics!! My style is pretty tomboyish but with heels, girly stuff looks weird on me!

Find out more about Celestine Cooney at:

www.twinfactory.co.uk
www.celestinecooney.com
celestinecooneyblog.blogspot.com

pic sources: wallpaper.com, the selby, modeview.com, the fashion spot, streetpeeper.com, vogue.co.uk, jakandjil, seventhavenueaustralia, screenshots of Marina and the Diamond's new video found here

I'll Weave A Lei Of Stars For You

Random thoughts, random photo inspiration and now...back to work!

source: giselafilc.com, cassandreamy@flickr.com, lesprairiesdeparis.com

Down Town Cooler!

Right when I found myself complaining about the heat, the fact that I haven't gone to the sea yet and that if I was a child my vacations would have already started...a really COOL bag full of summer goodies arrived!

Flip flops, bathing suit, tanning oil and other summer inspired accessories and make up goodies were enough to make me smile, forget about the possibility of a sunstroke and goof around wearing my new hat! The West Coast Cooler drinks are already inside the fridge ready for me to drink them tonight!

Let the Summer begin!

p.s. I know I'm a bit late for saying that...but I actually felt it's summer just a week ago!

H&M Fall 2010 preview!

Wool, leather, knits, cardigans, scarves, boots are actually...Winter terms! When clothes that consist of these previously mentioned, terms appear in front of your eyes- while your are wearing nothing else but a mini dress and sandals because it's like 38 degrees outside- you can't actually appreciate the clothes viewed!

That's exactly what happened a few hours ago! I was invited at the H&M showroom for the Fall/Winter 2010 clothes preview but I just couldn't even stare at those woolen trousers!!! Instead I preferred to chat with H&M's Maro Zannia and Fashion Echoes' Marili about Summer, Jack Johnson and...Costa Rica* !

Now, after a refreshing bath and an ice-cream I can actually imagine myself in some of these Winter beauties!

No pics were allowed, but Pascal from Zurich has all the inside pics I know you're craving for!

Ice cream and French songs...

...That's how my Sunday, passes by, as I'm not one of those Athenians that headed to the beach today!

Instead I preferred to stay at home, listen to French music (blame Vanessa Paradis and L' Arnacoeur movie I saw yesterday night), take a midday nap, eat cherries and ice-cream and... find the time to make this quick post in order to show you my most recent buys...oh yes, l couldn't resist to this little "twitter bird" from Sfera and the simplest but cutest little floral skirt from Zara!

Simple things that make me love summer Sundays even more!

Shoot my Design

Oh God, how happy can a girl suddenly be just with the view of a name! So..some days ago and while doing my usual stroll from blog to blog to blog to...blog, I found a name that actually sounded familiar...Athena Procopiou it was and it rang a bell!! It suddenly all sounded Greek to me!!!

And in fact..Athena is a Greek-born that after doing illustration and graphic design at Central Saint Martins has decided to create her first scarf collection for AW 2010/11! As mentioned at her official site, "she wanted to illustrate that something so "hard" could also be beautiful with the use of strong and graphic elements"!

Well...call me crazy but during Winter I miss the careless sunny dresses and during Summer I miss..scarves like these!

On Sunday we Swap!

People swapping!...
Chic&Ethic lab, doing DIY's!...
Cute red details...
....even in the minnie-mouse edition!...
Older (but oh-so-elegant) and younger!...
Fashion Bloggers..without borders that meet for the first time! (Princess Margot I loved your lipstick!)...
Always creative-always positive Strigla!!!...
...and some partners in crime wearing the DIY headbands/brooches I made together with Strigla!!!

In general..it was one lovely Sunday full of clothes and good looking people! See you next time!

It can all be made in 48 hours!

48 Hour Project is well known here in Greece! It all started some years ago with the 48 Hour Film Project, where even some friends of mine have participated-and shared their memories of the endless hours of stress to complete the editing of the film, even minutes before the deadline!

This year, for the first time, the 48 Hour Fashion Project is organized and the winners will be announced on June 6! Three members of each of the winning teams will then travel to London for an Intensive Fashion Course at London College of Fashion!

Lambros Kapetanakis and his team have created in only 48 Hours the above shown swimsuit and their project has made it to the finals! Today almost 3 days before the final results, Lambros was kind enough to answer a small Q&A exclusively for the SoHo Symposium readers! Enjoy!

1. What made you decide to take part in the 48 Hours Fashion Project? How did you choose your team and are you considering yourself one of those that can draw inspiration even in the most stressful experiences?
I decided to enter the project with the determination to show that I have talent and to win! I selected my team members with the confidence that they too would be determined and have a passion for what they do! Even under the most stressful situations the best ideas come to mind.

2. You have studied graphic design, then moved to NY for a very short period and worked for Victoria's Secret. Now you're back to Greece...What's your opinion for the Greek Fashion Scene? Do you think there's room -and possibilities- for the newcomers?
There are so many scenes so I cant give an opinion on all, but I can say that in general Greek Fashion can be so much more!
I do believe there is room for newcomers and great possibilities! There are so many talented designers trying to make it! I do know from experience though that " here in Greece working alongside some of the largest women's fashion brands...the better you are; the more they hold you down". It's a shame! I feel that most Greek companies are scared that the younger designer or even a talented employee will some day be a competitor! It sometimes seems as if they don't want you to go higher. As for in the US they push you higher to reach your goals and dreams.

3. In almost 3 days, the winners of the contest will be announced. What are you looking forward to take from the Intensive Fashion Course at the London College of Fashion if you are one of the lucky winners that will get to travel to London for this course?
I look forward to expanding what I already know in fashion and make my style of designing more distinctive. I learn something new everyday that goes by!

4. Are you planning on creating your own line some day? What would be the ideal future for your fashion career?
I am working my own line and hopefully will be showing it for the first time in Athens! My goals are set high! The "ideal career" will be to work alongside many talented people and to make my fashion label an unforgettable brand in the fashion industry, in Greece and all over the world someday!

Vote for your favorite creation at 48hourproject.gr/fashionvote/ !