HEBE X ICS

We met ICS back in October 2010. Team Hebe attended a Harvey Nichols event and saw the boys perform for the first time alongside a catwalk. We loved their sound which was, and still is, difficult to pin down, so we introduced ourselves to the band and so began the Hebe/ICS love affair.

In May 2011 we produced Leeds In Barcelona: A Creative Encounter which took Leeds creative talent over to Barcelona for a special showcase event. This was the perfect opportunity to collaborate with ICS for the first time, which was what we had been wanting to do since we met them. It gave ICS a great opportunity to perform to a European audience of opinion-formers and we knew they were the perfect band to take as they are ‘fresh, innovative and heavily influenced by the underground of the city and the fashion scene (Lee, Hebe May 2011)’.

Josh performing in Barcelona

After the Creative Encounter

The Barcelona Creative Encounter was great for many reasons but one of the most important was the relationships that were formed on the trip. When you have fashion designers, DJs, bands and media specialists hanging together for three days you are constantly talking creative collaborations and getting to know more about what each other is about. 

On the trip we introduced ICS to our friends at Back to Basics: Dave Beer and Tristan Da Cunha. The guys got on like a house on fire and we were soon talking of what we could do when we got back to Leeds.

We all already knew in the back of our minds that we needed to work together in an official capacity, but obviously first we had to drink lots of beer, watch documentaries about The Clash and party together before any deal was agreed!

After this hard work was done, so was the deal and now ICS are officially managed by Team Hebe and Dave Beer! The boys performed at the Back to Basics 20th anniversary bash with Bez and Pritch which was fun and are scheduled to play Live at Leeds on May 5th. Keep checking the ICS website and Facebook page for updates about upcoming gigs and track releases. In the meantime check out a track from the new EP, Cassette Tapes below...

 ICS do a one-time acoustic set at Lee's birthday party

HEBE X BACK TO BASICS: EXCESS ALL AREAS LAUNCH

On Friday 17th February we held the launch event for the new Hebe produced, Back to Basics exhibition at Leeds Gallery. The night was so much fun, not many art exhibitions kick off with DJs, smoke machines and the sounds of Dave Beer talking about aliens, but thats how we roll :)

We will be talking in more depth later this week about working with Paul Fryer, and you can read this earlier post about the work in the exhibition and the story of how everything came together, but for now we wanted to say a big "thanks" to everyone who came and remind you that the exhibition is on until March 17th and you can buy all the work on show:

A2 Giclée Prints - £100 - Signed, Limited Edition sets of 50 (Also avaliable framed)

A1 Giclée Prints - £125 - Signed, Limited Edition sets of 25

A3 LED Lightbixes - £500  (Framed)

You can check out more pictures from the launch night here and on our our Facebook page.

February In Pics

Kong Lear

After a busy week getting everything ready for the launch of our Excess All Areas exhibition at Leeds Gallery, I have finally found five minutes to write about another art exhibition that is open until tomorrow at Bar Lane Studios in York.

Kong Lear is the outcome of a collaboration between two artists, Claire Hind (pictured above) and Gary Winters. The pair held a special preview last week, and talked about the development of their work together and the multi-media exhibition that punctuates their progress to-date.

Claire and Gary came together around the writing of a solo performance project, Ghost Track (coming to York Theatre Royal in April), in which Claire explores the "complexities of the psyche, the workings of the vocal chords and the intricate and anxious lives we can lead" through successive and often comical re-tellings of act one scene one of King Lear. As Claire explained, "Kong Lear came about from a slip of the tongue, an unconscious play on words, that revealed what we both felt was a potential worth persuing." That potential is exposed in the interplay between the two charachters (King Lear and King Kong) and two locations (York and New York), and in Claire's interest in the work of Sigmund Freud. "We like the idea that Kong is inside Lear's psyche – imagine that. And we like the idea that Kong Lear is a woman. Freud would have a field day."

The exhibition, which includes prints, text and sound installations and an 8mm film, documents Gorrilla Mondays, a programme of events during which Claire led small groups on a performance through the streets on York. If you find yourself on those streets yourself this weekend, I'd highly reccommend that you head down to Bar Lane Studios to check it out - especially the film, which is beautifully made and hilariously funny. There is a special, early evening viewing between 4pm and 7pm tomorrow, after which the exhibition will close.

STP'S FAR EAST FEATURE: 2011 TOP 10 FEMALE TRENDS @ TOKYO HARAJUKU

We've talked about Men's Top 10 Trends in 2011 a couple of weeks ago, and now it's time to reveal what the women of Harajuku were rocking last year. Harajuku is one of the fashion hotspots of Japan, it is colourful, bold, and playful. In this little trend report, we can see that the Far East shared some similar trends with the West last year, but in terms of colour and pattern use, Harajuku girls always go the extra mile.

 

See Through

When I think of see through materials, the iconic trend would have to be YSL's 1969 sculpture gowns. Since 2010, this trend was popular among all styles, in 2011, Harajuku girls mainly use it with contrast materials.

Mixed Materials

Combinations of different materials have been introduced by many big brands since the Fall of 2011, and it soon became trendy for the Harajuku girls, who are really good at pulling it off. The denim and leather match was particularly popular.

Tartan

2011 Tartan was big among boys and girls in Harajuku, men wearing kilts, and the women love tartan coats, vintage style is preferable.

Colour Block

 Everybody knows this trend last year, it was very popular before the earthquake struck Japan, but then did not seem to fit with the mood of the country. But the Harajuku girls brought it back to lighten up people's mood.

Volume Coat

This look was seen in many big brands in A/W 2011, Japanese girls generally like oversize knits to contrast their tiny frames. Last year, big sleeves were particulaly popular, with beige, camel, and grey colour to soften it up.

White Tights 

White tights appeared in Harajuku from late 2010, and became more popular in 2011. It represents the lolita spirit which is always popular in Japan, it was also a big element in Bottega Veneta 2011 Fall collection.

Collar

The 'collar trend' was probably one of the most dominant trend last year. Who knew a tiny collar could make such a difference to one's style! Some say the collar trend in Japan began when Princess Diana visited Japan in 1986.

Platform

Following the boys, platforms was big for girls as well. Platforms are always trendy, but you can see a lot of Converse, Dr. Martens platforms last year.

Vintage Glasses

2011, vintage glasses were very popular. They name girls that dare to wear big old school glasses "Akiba Girl" in Harajuku. 

American Apparel Bag

Cool, simple, chic, and cheap, the American Apparel tote bag was very popular among the Harajuku girls, especially the younger crowd.

Source & images from Fashionsnap.com