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SPOTIFY PLAYLIST:
YOUNG GUNS As part of our new talent special issue we’re celebrating some of the musicians who hit their stride early. For your listening pleasure – some seminal debuts from precocious young talents
KATE BUSH ‘Wuthering Heights’ From The Kick Inside Aged 19 (1978) As debut singles go, ‘Wuthering Heights’ was a well-chosen and it remains her only UK no. 1 to date. LAURA MARLING ‘Rambling Man’ From I Speak Because I Can Aged 20 (2010) Despite releasing Alas, I Cannot Swim two years previous, Laura Marling didn’t see true success in the UK charts until 2010’s beautiful I Speak Because I Can.
DIZZEE RASCAL ‘Fix Up, Look Sharp’ From Boy In Da Corner Aged 17 (2003) Little more than a boy in da corner when his first album was released, Mr Rascal shot to stardom off the back of a Mercury prize win, with debut this single landing comfortably inside the top 20. Altogether now: ‘Ooooiiii!’
LITTLE RICHARD ‘Tutti Frutti’ Single Aged 19 (1956) While Richard Wayne Pennimen – what is it with the youngsters and their alteregos? – was at the ripe old age of 19 when he cut his first album, he’d been performing on stage for six years prior to that. He quit rock‘n’roll in 1957 at the dusty old age of 24, when he found God. Thankfully he worked through it, and is still going today, aged 78.
ASH ‘Jack Names The Planets’ From Trailer Aged 17 (1994) With an early biography littered with anecdotes about requiring written permission to bunk off school to tour and record, Ash at least had the common decency to put off releasing their debut album till aged 17. LISTEN TO THIS FULL PLAYLIST (WITH MANY MORE TALENTED YOUNGSTERS’ SONGS ON IT) AT: BIT.LY/SPOTIFYYOUNGGUNS
O P I N I O N Fashion forward
As part of style blogging collective Les Garçons de Glasgow, Jonathan Pryce knows a thing or two about fashion. Here he talks about the Scottish collections creating a buzz at last month’s London Fashion Week, and assesses Scotland’s fashion future Christopher Kane; below: Jonathan Pryce
F or a small country with an estimated population of just over five million, the volume of creative talent that Scotland produces is astounding. This season at London Fashion Week, it was the Scottish designers who stole the limelight. Christopher Kane is still the name on everyone’s lips and for a boy from a wee town near Glasgow, it means a lot that people from Tokyo to New York know his designs. The usually bright and frivolous vision seems to be taking a more mature turn, with this season’s techniques – weaving and crochet – reminding me of a mix between vintage Missoni and Prada. Obviously working with an Italian fashion house is having a lasting effect. Holly Fulton is also a Scot making waves. This season it was great to see she returned to the Highlands for inspiration, the same place where Chanel first got her fascination for tweed. This influence may not be instantly visible in her collection of graphic prints, but it seems she has merged her London aesthetic with the Scottish core perfectly, to create what she calls ‘Chanel on LSD’.
Scottish design had a strong presence in the menswear shows of AW11. Topman Design continued its work with Harris Tweed this season, supporting one of Scotland’s oldest textile producers with a series of designs, which would happily sit on the shoulders of any diner at Balmoral Castle. JW Anderson pushed the envelope too, as the models walked down the catwalk with shoes covered in what looked like Highland Cow hair and a uniform of wool jumpers and buttoned
10 THE LIST 3–31 Mar 2011
shirts. This preppy look is a trend I see more and more in Scottish street style – slick hair and buttoned shirts. The concept of looking back to move forward is nothing new to fashion, but it’s the appeal of Scottish heritage that is really making a difference in fashion today. Alexander McQueen, House of Holland and Mulberry all paid homage to our home country in some form, creating a street style littered with plaids and tweeds. There wasn’t a day that went by at Fashion Week when I didn’t spot someone with a tartan scarf on.
fair Scotland seems to be the place to get inspiration, whether a native or visitor. It’s the place to learn and grow. I’m proud that our small country can act as such a muse to so many, as well as offer trade sustainable, production such as the Macintosh factory which works with International brands like Louis Vuitton and Gucci. As I capture the most interesting trends I find on Les Garçons de Glasgow, I’ll be interested to see how this season’s catwalks will be reflected in people on the streets. And after such a successful year for many Scottish designers across the fashion world, there really is a question mark over who will win the prizes at this year’s Scottish Fashion Awards in June.
See lesgarconsdeglasgow.com for more and check out Jonathan Pryce’s independent styling event Bold Soul at Sub Club, Glasgow on Sat 5 Mar and monthly thereafter.
‘CHRISTOPHER KANE IS STILL THE NAME ON EVERYONE’S LIPS’