Holy mother of gherkins, what is that thing you ask. Remember that moment when you near sprained your eyeball trying to see the unicorn in a Magic Eye? You know where you were on that day. Just like 911. We all know when we first ever ‘got’ Magic Eye. Coincidentally, for me it was at a McDonalds birthday bash where the air was laden with sugar dust and this nine-year-old was one orange Fanta away from sprouting propellers and flying (into a coin operated toy).

Man, the dreams I had that night.

That thing, my readers, is the Chapman Brothers for you – for Louis Vuitton’s 76sqm menswear pop-up in Selfridges – manifested in a 10-feet tall giraffe that definitely should not be fed, and Selfridge’s-exclusive bits from Artistic Director Kim Jones’ SS17 and pre-collection with Chapman Brothers’ illustrations of safari animals who look like they’ve also just ‘got’ Magic Eye. The space is a safari itself – inspired by Kim Jones’ childhood in Kenya and Botswana, with a sprinkle of London punk, on ever-emblematic savoir-faire of the Maison – wherein beasts lurk in monochromatic corners, or hide in plain sight. Depends how many Fantas you have before visiting.

In collaboration with Louis Vuitton. Exclusive leather goods only available until January 15th 2017.

Coat – Max Mara ‘Manuela’. Suit – Dagmar. Clutch – Loeffler Randall. Turtleneck – ZARA.

Alice inhales a bag of potato crisps between each motorway exits on the M4, West out of London. My hands are on the wheels (11-2, I swear, Brian) and concentrating on juggling the gearstick and the clutch. Due to an unexpected delay to our journey we, quite literally, are riding into a golden sunset, and I can’t help but sneakily press a button to peel the roof off the Jaguar F-TYPE and put on Sade’s ‘Smooth Operator’. Yeah, I’d like to think I’d have done well with the girls had I been a man.

It’s another escape, although this time more an escap-ade, with Alice Gao of Lingered Upon, to celebrate her first time in the UK. Like I said before, this is my preferred way of throwing parties: borrowing handsome (read: sexy) wheels and nipping out to the countryside. (It seriously is the best way to spend birthday money, given all requirements such as age/driving experience are met) Screw elaborate, expensive soirees where you end up frazzled by small-talk/up in a closet – borrow a car, grab a versatile camel coat (like this Max Mara beauty called Manuela from Selfridges) and honk from your friend’s doorstep. Roof down, of course.

Our destination? The road. And eventually, Bath – town set in the rolling South-West England, much better known for its natural hot springs and 18th Century Georgian structure. And home to Cereal Magazine, a visit to which is also on our agenda. In the meantime, a thick milky fog settles and we wade through – mostly with trepidation as the road gets narrower – but gabbing about everything and anything, music purring away gently with the car.

Coat – Max Mara ‘Manuela’. Turtleneck dress – ASOS. Clutch – Bally.

Coat – Max Mara ‘Manuela’. Skirt – Dagmar. Trousers & top – ZARA. Scarf – Jayley Cara. Bracelet – X Jewellery

Coach launch at Selfridges + a little special announcement

Here’s an exciting piece of news I’ve been holding off on for some time now – I’ve been jogging in place until that light turned green. On the second day of London Fashion Week, Coach threw an intimate soirée to celebrate the launch at Selfridges, and that was my green light. I’m happy to share now that I will be working with the brand as the UK ambassador for the season, and boy am I looking forward to playing centre field (I mean, have you seen all that shearling). The brand seems to have been given a new lease of life ever since Stuart Vevers took to the archives and emerged with a playful take on what Coach is great for: practical designs and leather. Think Americana, a tinge of of preppy, mixed with classic sportswear. If you haven’t seen the AW15 collection, winter is coming, this may indeed be the ideal time to take a gander. As always, I’m looking forward to interpreting the collection in different visual stories in the coming months, and hope you are as excited as I am with this partnership.

Wearing full Coach look from the AW15 collection

A small disclaimer that while this blog may suddenly be rife of ‘sponsored’ initiatives, everything is my interpretation and edit. Nothing goes up without passing through very strict brand alignment and quality control. And first and foremost, this is still a very personal space for me, so while I feel privileged to be compensated for my time and work (just as one would in a day-job), all decisions for collaborations are made very subjectively in consideration of my readers.

Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama @ Selfridges, London

24 windows based on her poem ‘Love Forever’

Selfridges Wonder Room concept store

After closing hours: the coming together of the Selfridges installation

And your own little Kusama keepsake: Easy-peasy dotty DIY

Many thanks to Anna for the tour around LV x Kusama concept store in Selfridges Wonder Room, and Michelle for helping with photo no 16.

So word on the street was that Louis Vuitton erected a 6-metre-tall Kusama to guard the Selfridges main entrance clock, and seeing that Dr Google wasn’t answering my ‘why am I seeing spots everywhere’ questions (‘It’s just worms in your eyes’ is not helping, dude) I decided to pay Dotty-san a visit. There she was, five whole metres of that red dress (she was born in it, I swear) and a pair of door-sized black loafers casting shadows above my head. It was all too large for a simple Q&A session so I decided to take it up with the

more adequate version in window #23 of total 24 dotty windows. I enquired about her plans of world domination (starting with Instagram) and she stood solemnly answering with blinks (strict orders not to move during daytime apparently, all very Toy Story) – one blink for YES world domination, two for NO world domination – and just that one blink it was.

Make sure to pay her a visit at the LV x Kusama concept store in the Selfridges Wonder Room before the 19th October.

Some tips with the nail-do:

• The Kusama polkadot pattern doesn’t actually have a grid-based pattern, the dots are positioned quite randomly in varying sizes. Best if you start with the biggest size and go for a Marc Jacobs-y dot-spacing then fill the surroundings with smaller dots.
• Red-white is the classic combo, but the LV x Kusama collection features yellow-black, green-black and blue-black. The yellow-black skirt is one of my favourite pieces so I thought I’d put that as an accent (ring finger, right hand).
• When doing the dots, it’s best to get as little varnish on your brush as possible to avoid having a blob and waiting for it to never dry.

That’s all! Easy peasy, dot butt squeasy!