Magical Fashion by Tim Burton

In anticipation of his retrospective at MOMA, filmmaker Tim Burton reimagines the season's dark delights. The photographer was - of course - Tim Walker.

Under Channel 4's Umbrella.

Channel 4 recently unveiled a new public art commission outside its London headquarters. Artist Stephanie Imbeau - winner of Channel 4's BIG4 public art competition - decided to give discarded umbrellas a second chance to shine. (Reminds me of Tim Walker's lit '50s prom dresses.)

Rocky future for Aquascutum.

Aquascutum's entire workforce of 343 (mainly made up of their Corby factory workers), has just been put into consultation. The luxury British brand's Chief Executive Kim Winser departed a few weeks ago after years of consecutive losses.

Parent company Renown confirmed they have signed a "letter of intent" with their Chinese distributor YGM Trading, as a potential buyer of the business. Whether or not YGM Trading decide to pursue a bid of the company will effectively determine the continuation of the brand.

I would be really sad to see the brand dissolve, as speculation suggests. The London based clothing brand is 158 years old and I associate it's British roots in the same breath as Burberry or Pringle. I also particularly loved this season's 'kissing' campaign shot by Vogue favourite, Tim Walker:

"I've wanted to shoot Aquascutum for some time, so working on the spring/summer 2009 campaign has been great,"

"Michael Herz, Aquascutum's head of womenswear and design, and I... worked together on the concept of the group kiss. I hope it captures something of the romance, nostalgia and freshness of the brand."

Andy Hillman - 3-D designer.

I have recently become quite fascinated by the work of  3-Dimensional designer Andy Hillman. I first discovered his work through his collaborations with Tim Walker where he creates elaborate sets worthy of Walker's fantasy land approach to photography. 

I often saw his work in British Vogue as well as the beautiful Lula magazine.

Hillman has also done advertising for the likes of Givenchy, Paul Smith, Selfridges and Liberty's, creating stunning props, costumes and sets. 

Photographer Eugenio Recuenco

I recently came across the work of the Spanish fashion photographer Eugenio Recuenco and I loved it immediately. Some of his work bares a striking similarity in style to that of Tim Walker (see the post I did before on Tim Walker photography) in that he uses lavish sets to create a fairytale image. 

I also discovered that he was the creative mind behind the beautiful Nina Ricci perfume adverts (starring the now, sadly deceased model Ruslana Korshunova). You can also watch the making of this film on his official website.

However there seems to be a darker, more mysterious side to a lot of Recuenco's work which is not present in Walker's work. This eerie element gives his work an edge making it perfect for the world of fashion photography and his work is often featured in editorials for Vogue amongst others. 

Tim Walker 'Pictures'

This quote from The Design Museum's website describes Tim Walkers work so much more eloquently than I ever could. I was given his book 'Pictures' recently as a gift. The images are breathtaking and I have admired his work in British Vogue for the last few years but it wasn't until I flicked through my cousin's (a fabulously talented designer for John Lewis) book that I fell in love with them. Here are a few of his well-loved photographs.