BYE BYE BOWIE 0 Comments

The world has spent the day in a quiet and saddened way, mourning the loss of David Bowie, the man whose creative genius spanned nearly 5 decades.I have worked whilst listening to Radio 6 plotting his life against musical notes - each one more poignant than the last.
I grew up dancing and nodding to Ashes to Ashes, Low, ALadIn Sane,Fame, and Let's Dance, whilst my mother ironed and we watched, jaws-dropping at his mesmerising videos on television. Later I was lucky enough to attend the Royal Premier of the film "Labyrinth" which was created for the BFI to raise money to appoint my father to build them their wondrous Imax Cinema at the then derelict Bull Ring in London's Waterloo.I walked the red carpet as a young teen, clutching my programme, praying I'd bump into him on the way to my seat.

I later spent 8 hours queuing with friends at Wembley's gates to see him in his Glass Spider Tour and as we ran across the pitch to get the best position, we laughed and screamed at how incredible it felt to be part of his musical adventure. We returned to school hoarse and unable to take part in the daily register for 3 days.
I fell out of step with his experimentation with drum & bass and Tin Machine but never failed to enjoy his ever-changing stage personas and avant guard fashions. He was a huge part of my creative influences as a teenager, bulldozering into my life as a designer.

I had never questioned his sexuality his use of makeup and outlandish costumes - it was just that he was an artist, choosing to go his own way, on his own terms.He was unafraid of the shock or ridicule it caused and rather revelled in creating a stir. I feel now, as a designer working for myself, that it's so important to be creatively TRUE to yourself - not yield to "celebrity" and other sheep-like "trends" - if you do, you might as well be employed by a High Street retailer, feeding the masses with what's safe and sanistised- the whole point of me starting my own brand from scratch is to strike out alone and hope that others will start follow and endorse what I do. So 2016 is the year I do more and more designing for ME - I might make some strange decisions or eyebrow raising colour combinations, but it will be a truth that fits into my St Leonards soundtrack - " The challenging 5th Album " (winks) And funnily enough, as I type this up now, I'm staring at a mood board I created this Summer with black and white photos of Joan Jett, Bowie and Robert Maplethorpe - there's a slash of metallic leather, patents and a slice of neon orange too...Feels like it might be the right time to be a Rebel Rebel after all.

Bowie, you will indeed be missed and never forgotten x