If there’s one person who knows how to bring the glitter and deliver a head-to-toe wake-up call for your eyeballs, it’s Katy Perry. The pop sensation has been wowing audiences with her outrageous fashion get-ups since she first introduced us to her musical candyland back in 2008.

From cupcake bras and Burlesque outfits to Queen of the Jungle and Seapunk wigs, it’s impossible to miss Perry on any red carpet, and with quirky stage props including giant lip balms, life-size clam shells and twerking ice-cream cones – her bubblegum pop world is like an overflowing fountain of fantasy and colour, the stuff that DayGlo lip-synching cat GIF Tumblrs are made of. Perry describes her style as “Lucille Ball meets Bob Mackie. It’s about innuendo. I want everybody to get the joke, but I want them to think about it for a minute.”

So we’ve thought about it for a minute and in homage to K Pezza’s upcoming 30th Birthday, we bring you 7 of the singer’s most eye-popping outfits.

HOW TO MAKE AN ENTRANCE

Arrive on stage inside a giant banana at the 2008 KIIS FM Jingle Ball in LA. Yes Miley, KPez was besties with bananas waaaaay before you straddled the inflatable version on your Bangerz tour.

ALL THE FUN OF THE FAIRGROUND

India’s best-known fashion export Manish Arora is the go-to guy for celebrities who want to make a sartorial style statement. So obviously he dressed KPez in an outfit shaped like a merry-go-round from his SS09 ready-to-wear collection.

WE ALL FALL DOWN LIKE TOY SOLDIERS

Martika sang about them back in 1988 and KPez paid homage to them into 2010 by dressing as a Nutcracker version for the H&M Jingle Ball in New York. No, we’ve never seen a toy soldier outfit with white patent knee-high lace-up boots either.

WE SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE

If you’re going to promote your movie (Katy Perry: Part Of Me), then obviously it makes complete sense to rock up to the screening at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles with two film reels on your chest. We’re assuming they didn’t go straight to DVD.

UM, WATCHA GOT IN THAT BOX, FIREWORKS?

Art and Fashion collided with a spot of millinery cubism as KPez turned heads while accepting an award for her “Firework” video at the 2011 MTV VMAs. Let’s file that under ‘the most bizarre headpiece seen since, well, after anything Lady Gaga has ever worn.’

IT’S A KNOCKOUT

KPez is all about girl power, so naturally she delivered a fierce “Roar” along with a few punches inside a life-size boxing ring for the 2013 MTV VMAs, channelling Tarzan-meets-Tyson of course.

EVERYONE’S FAVOURITE TEENAGE DREAM

Remember back in 2001 when Britney and JT were a double denim thing? Well fast forward to 2014 and this year’s VMAs where KPez rocked up with rapper Riff Raff in coordinated outfits as a tribute to young love and stylists who should know better. Aww, those were the days.

Words: Kate Lawson

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We check out the seriously stylish smörgåsbord that is Stockholm Fashion Week

So Stockholm has just seen the return of its biannual fashion week – an event where the Swedes consistently translate a seriously stylish smörgåsbord of cool into a clothing and lifestyle mix – one with the emphasis on practicality, simplicity and an organically appealing aesthetic – much like the Scandi’s themselves.

Alongside the city’s more established designers including Ann-Sofie Back with her experimental BACK label and its multitude of referential aspects, there are the ever- progressive visionaries such as eclectic duo AltewaiSaome and the new generation making a name for themselves with the help of Lady Gaga – rising talent Isabell Yalda Hellysaz created the singer’s futuristic ARTPOP face visor.

We caught up with seven of the designers who presented their SS15 collections to find out more about their inspirations for the season.

ISABELL YALDA HELLYSAZ 

Tell us about your key theme for this season’s collection?

‘Lunar Exodus’ – The inspiration of SS15 is staying true to the original ethos of the brand. The strong influences of the ’60s, Space Age and the army uniform are still shaping the collection. The designs are sharp and the mood is modern and futuristic, colour blocking and mixing materials have shaped the collection.

You designed the ‘Antidote Visor’ which Lady Gaga wore for ARTPOP – that must have been a great profile boost for an emerging designer?

Of course! Once a worldwide icon wears your design for a big announcement like that it means a lot. As an emerging designer it does give you a push and opens doors that would take longer to get through.

BACK

You’ve said many times that you’re inspired by things that annoy you – so what bothered you so much it inspired this SS15 collection?

This is how it works, BACK, the line I’m designing now is inspired by my previous collections that has been inspired by themes that I find disturbing or social phenomena I don’t understand. Therefore BACK SS15 is inspired by a number of previous seasons, for instance SS06, where I totally ran out of inspiration and pretended I was another designer, someone who was inspired by forms in nature, like seashells and shit like that. I know it’s complicated…

Design-wise, uncomfortable is your comfort zone – do you think it has become easier to translate that vision into something commercial?

I think this is quite normal in fashion these days, look at Miuccia Prada or Christopher Kane and many more – I will not pretend this is ‘unique’.

DAGMAR

Tell me about the collection and how it evolved with the singer Elliphant as your muse for SS15?

I was at a dinner with, among other people, singer Elliphant – and she and I got talking about how much we both care for the environment. Elliphant’s stage name is a mix of Ellinor and Elephant, because she cares about the grey animals that are threatened to extermination. We got so inspired that we ended up agreeing on her writing us a song, which we would dedicate the next collection to.

Your silhouettes always embrace the female form, how do you experiment and keep that fresh each season?

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Next time you’re looking for something a little musically calm to ease you into the evening, or maybe it’s chucking it down outside and you’re feeling melancholy; pressing play on anything by 6-piece ensemble The Night VI will fit in perfectly with the mood.

A fusion of raw lyrical hypnotic heartbreak with electro synths, blissful dream-pop and retro ’80s Americana elements, their eclectic blend is the kind that bursts at the seams with emotion and translates into a totally absorbing sound.

Aside from the music, the band are also aesthetically easy on the eye with their good looks and unique mix of effortless cool, in part due to their British / French roots – attracting the likes of fashion houses such as Burberry, who invited the collective to appear in the ‘Sparks’ sunglasses campaign in 2013. The luxe label which has built its signature around ‘Cool Britannia’ also used one of the band’s tracks in their Prorsum Menswear AW14 show.

Having met the band last year, Wonderland re-visited members Sophie, Anna and Jack to find out what’s coming next in 2014, and as their profile is on the rise, why they still work to a “no heroes” policy.

Hello again! So just for those people who aren’t familiar with The Night VI, how does it work collectively? Who writes the songs, plays the instruments etc?

Jack: Sophie and I write the songs as a duo. She sings, I play the guitar and then produce a demo. We then share our new creation with the rest of the gang and if they approve then typically I’ll meet with Bogart and Bo (drums and bass) and work on rhythm section ideas. We’ll also have a separate session with Anna and Kristy to write keyboard, harp and harmony parts.  Then we’ll get together as a 6-piece and start to knead it together. We have 5 voices and 5 instruments to account for so we have a strict “no heroes” policy  -meaning that every element should bring it’s thing but never dominate too heavily or for too long. It’s quite a long process with so many steps forward and back sometimes it feels like jogging on the spot but when it all clicks into focus it’s a great moment.

How does the French / English mix influence your sound and visual aesthetic?

Anna: Half the band is bilingual and half isn’t which creates a certain exotic atmosphere within the group. It doesn’t separate us though it gives us a unique identity that I feel bonds us together. In terms of sound 60’s singers like Francoise Hardy are both musical and style influences – her sense of style is just an immaculate combination of nonchalant cool and chic.

Which is best then – London or Paris?

Anna: Paris is best for fashion and London is best for music.

So do you think the music industry here in the UK is still passionate about signing new song writing / recording talent?

Jack: I think there are two sides to this. Traditionally the major labels were (invariably) obsessed by making money and risk averse. As a developing and burgeoning talent one needs guidance, belief and space in equal measures. The major label environment currently seems to offer the absolute antithesis of this. Having said that managers have never been so powerful and with so many start up, outsourced and independent labels, press agencies and services springing up, there are tonnes of ways to get practical support, belief and passion from people that genuinely care.

And what about elsewhere in the industry, which other artists / groups have influenced you and who would you like to work with given the opportunity?

Sophie: Currently some of my favourites are FKA Twigs, Rosie Lowe, Jungle, Temples. They are all totally self sufficient from their productions to their image to their song writing. I love that, that’s what we are doing more and more now, it’s very inspiring. I would love to work with Damon Albarn, I love his song writing, I’ve been a big fan for a very long time. Some people don’t get it but it’s like my own secret love affair, we all have one with someone.

You supported Bruce Springsteen on one of his live dates too – how was The Boss?

Anna: The boss put on an incredible show and was just so relaxed. We saw him hanging out backstage without security or entourage, just speaking to people and looking GOOD!

So let’s talk about fashion – can you define your style as a collective and is having a visual identity as a band important to you?

Sophie: As a group we’re all about being timeless in what we wear, we have classic pieces we pull out for shows, often second hand vintage McQueen, Saint Laurent, Burberry and we make a conscious effort to select show outfits together. Visual identity is hugely important to us, we don’t just throw anything on. Attention to detail is Anna’s first name and in the way we write, record, create – it’s all about that.

And talking of Burberry, they asked you to appear in their ‘Burberry Spark’ sunglasses campaign which showcased up-and-coming British musicians wearing the shades. How did that come about?

Anna: They contacted us stating that Christopher Bailey had heard one of our songs and was really interested in working with us on the campaign. We couldn’t believe it at first and it ended up being a great experience as they are a creative powerhouse driven by young talented people passionate about visuals. It’s really inspiring for us as we do everything ourselves nowadays from artwork to production.

Christopher also liked our acoustic cover of a Jeff Buckley track (‘Lover You Should Have Come Over’) that Sophie and Jack had done in our little studio and it ended up being used in the Burberry Prorsum AW14 Menswear show too.

Your debut single “Thinking Of You” was dream-pop at its best – that haunting melancholy meets atmospheric romanticism is something you do very well. What kind of mood and environment do you find inspiration from when writing / recording?

Jack: I would say your chosen words “romantic and melancholy” are fairly apt descriptions of Sophie and I’s respective personalities, so it’s perhaps unsurprising those qualities come through in our writing. Inspiration wise Sophie’s lyrics, my favourite few classic records and the other incredible musicians we work with all prompt and motivate me to do what we do.

So what’s coming next for us all to enjoy?

Anna: The video for our latest single ‘Wonderlust’, which we are working on at the moment with new young director Jo Jo Lam. There’s also a new single coming up which has been entirely produced by Jack which is a first and we’re really excited about that!

Are you planning to release an album soon?

Sophie: There are talks of an album for sure but right now we are focusing on releasing our singles and ‘Heroine’ is to follow in September – it’s my personal favourite and I think the most exciting production yet!

For more information on the band, head to www.thenightvi.com

Wirds: Kate Lawson

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If you take a trip inside the creative minds of jewellery designers Yunus & Eliza, you’ll arrive in a mystical place where sci-fi minimalism clashes with heroic portraiture, in a subversive and fantastical mix of hand-made designs. Inspired by the “monumentality and rebellion of thought,” the duo explain, that their vision is moulded around “Distilling the feeling found in huge sculptures into something that can be worn.”

Exploring the way structure interacts with the body, their signature pieces include super size rings the eye can’t help but notice, tough but with a resilient beauty. “They are light, comfortable and lie low on the skin, in a way you feel like a cyborg wearing one, it is almost part of you,” says Yunus.

With a theatrical and gothic vocabulary, their designs unfold stories which invite you into a world of Goddesses, Dali Puppets and Poseidon. “It could be a classical sculpture, or a story you catch a distant glimpse of in your memory,” says Eliza. “An image from an Ayn Rand novel, a surreal dream, futurist architecture – it all comes out in the mix.”

Their bespoke metal designs come to life via a symbiosis of their signature vision and aesthetic. “Yunus is more patient and fascinated by beauty,” says Eliza. “I am interested in tensions and darker content. We balance and challenge each other”.

Both hailing from an artistic background, their designs have earned them critical acclaim including the BFC / ELLE Talent Launch Pad award, Designer of the Year at London Jewellery Week and LFW’s Rock Vault sponsorship for the past 4 seasons. Their designs have been worn by everyone from Helena Christensen to Coco Sumner and they’ve worked with leading costume designers including Sandy Powell and Joanna Johnston. Hollywood is hot on their tails with a recent showcase at Stephen Webster’s LA boutique. “I would say it works well there” Yunus explains. “It’s rebellious and unashamed – the product is a good fit.”

A bronze and leather cape collaboration with designer Rob Goodwin also adorned the shoulders of Madonna on her 2013 Harper’s Bazaar US cover – although the duo are keen to play down their rising status and celebrity connections. “We kind of don’t care who wears our pieces,” says Eliza.  “It’s more about the process, the artistry and the product. We love to see things worn, but really by anybody who’s feeling it. Our clients range from young hipsters who have saved up, to eccentric geriatrics and everything in between, what unites them is the attraction to epic-ness!”

When I push them to choose their ultimate celebrity collaboration though, they both take no time in answering, “Prince. The guy is a genius!”.

The pair plan to open an atelier in the future, but for the meantime they’re absorbed in a top-secret costume collaboration and planning a romantic liaison befitting of their fantasy world – they’re getting hitched this Summer – and yes, they’ll be wearing Yunus & Eliza originals.

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