PETER GRAY

Hair extraordinaire Peter Gray went all out in this amazing spread as part of the 2010 Asia Beauty Expo, I cannot get over how stunning these images are!

Gray and his styling team, which included Nicola Formichetti, created this spread with the help of 16 other stylists in celebration of all that Is contemporary and avant garde in the world of hair and fashion.

The hair is WAY out their, dark and dangerous, edgy and eccentric...Perfectly reflected in the gorgeous clothes, ferocious nails, traffic-stopping poses and maniacal make-up!

Anyway, without further ado...Here are my favourite shots from the series...Enjoy!

P.s. To see more of Grays extensive backlog of work, visit thecollectiveshift.com/Gray

MARIA FRANCESCA PEPE SS12

The new jewellery collection from designer Maria Francesca Pepe is a hot mix of metal, crystal, semi-precious stones and crucifix's...And If I wasn't already loving this mix, the ad campaign alone would be enough to win me over!

The collection is an unusual one. Gone are the standard and simplistic rings, necklaces and cuffs. Instead: Huge beaded chokers with chains, OTT mirrored earrings and extravagant chain headpieces.

The collections style is elegantly seductive and seems to be somewhat pagan inspired...When looking into the inspiration of the collection a little more, turns out I wasn't far off...

''In 'POISON' Maria Francesca Pepe analyses the symbol of the serpent as it was known in Ancient Egypt and then re-invented in the seventies. It is the symbol of temptation and fatal attraction to pleasure, otherworldliness, everlasting beauty and of how all things perish and decay...It is tribal, luxurious, mysterious and ethereal''

 I love how the collection seems to be simplistic and hectic all at the same time...The clusters of chain and 

crystal are restrained somewhat by the simple colour palette of gold, turquoise, silver and gun metal.

The ad campaign itself is STUNNING. I love the use of snakes, it gives the images a dark atmosphere...seductive and dangerous, EXACTLY the kind of woman I can see wearing these pieces!

Anyway, here are some images of the collection. You can also see previous collections from Pepe over at her website mariafrancescapepe.com

PETER GRONQUIST

Ok, so my jaw quite literally hit the floor when I came across the work of American artist Peter Gronquist...His work combines some of my BIGGEST loves: Taxidermy, high fashion, weaponry and the blackest of humours...

His mounted animal heads, with gold/acrylic guns instead of antlers have left me drooling...The clash of gaudy weaponry with taxidermy just screams TACKY...But I've fallen head over heels in love with them. Its this kind of subversive sculpture that really pushes alllll my buttons! The irony of the neon-tube horned cow skull is brilliant, It could also be seen as a political statement about death and the food industry?

Anyway, judge them for yourselves!

Gronquist's designer gun series has crossed my path before...Again i love the gaudiness of the pieces, and I think their is a definite statement behind them, how war is glamorised in todays society. The way in which he has created a series of literal interpretations of this is awesome! Plus ive got a whole lotta LOVE the Fendi chainsaw!

You see more of Gronquist's work, as well as find out a bit more about the man himself over at his website petergronquist.com

GARETH PUGH SS12

Once again Mr Pugh has failed to disappoint with his triumphant Spring/Summer 2012 collection, not that I would expect anything less...

In true Pugh style, the show was a monochromatic and futuristic spectacle...the collection was everything you would expect and more. Pugh never fails to take things that little bit further, constantly improving on his trademark style!

Architectural and grid like dresses where a-plenty, along with voluminous skirts, block monochrome shift dresses, and horizontal print fabric. I love the way that Pugh manages to reinvent what to most designers would be a very limited colour palette... 

The flashes of skin amidst the black and white slatted dresses also gives them an extra dimension...almost like an optical illusion. Another futuristic effect that Pugh often employs in his collections...

The metallic purple gowns at the end of the show however are a personal favourite...With the added headwear, the whole ensemble reminded me of an alien queen, threatening and sexy all at the same time...It's rare for Pugh to branch out with a bit of colour and despite the two pieces not really fitting in with the rest of the collection, I still love them and am glad they where included!

You can also view a previous blog post on Pugh that i wrote back in June here poisonantidoterepeat.com/garethpugh

What do you think of this collection? Where you expecting more? Or like me did you think it was spectacular?? Leave a comment in the box below!

MANISH ARORA FOR PACO RABANNE SS12

Mr Arora has once again hit the ball outta the park with his Spring/summer collection for Paco Rabanne. Not content with his own highly successful self titled collections, Arora was recently appointed as head designer for Rabannes ready-to-wear collections also.

Its good to see that Arora has brought his own energetic approach to design into the his designs for Rabanne, combining his signature futuristic cuts and use of metallic materials, with their signature streamlined dresses. The end results is undoubtedly a labour of love, and you can definitely see both of the fashion giants in the collection.

I think that the inclusion of Arora is a much needed step as Rabanne always seem to play It safe, with a lot of their collections blending into one another with nothing in particular standing out from the rest. A ready-to-wear collection is obviously supposed to be marketable...but their is a fine line between marketable and boring, a line which I feel Rabanne was in danger of crossing.

However just In the nick of time, Arora has swept in, creating a truly eyegasmic collection that has just the right amount of 'marketability' and avant-garde aspects to Its design that will not only sell, but will set tongues wagging for some time.

The collection was a futuristic triumph...dresses constructed from metallic reptile skin, HUGE foil collars, Treacy-esque headwear...The models where seductive, dangerous and fiercely dominant of the runway. The OTT collars reminded me of the Viktor and Rolf SS09 collection...a past favourite! There was plenty of unusual silhouettes and alien-like cuts to the dresses too which completely changed the figures of the models, something that again is much needed in the Rabanne household...

Anyway, here are my favourites from the collection...You can of course view the entire collection over at pacorabanne.com