ACOFI Launch

Tantrum were kindly invited to attend and celebrate the launch of Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration (ACOFI). On a very chilly Friday in the heart of east London there was nothing more you could ask of. Held in the bunker café of the soon-to-launch 123 eco fashion store on Bethnal Green Road. We were greeted with a never ending choice of teas from Pukka served in vintage tea cups. The intimate setting harboured an exclusive atmosphere.  Unbeknown to the outside world, what little treasures were lurking inside!

Never ones to pass up on sweet treats, we indulged in some delicious cakes courtesy of Lilli Vanilli who provided the sweetest  mini scones to the nuttiest chocolate brownies – truly a sight for hungry eyes!

The room was full of some of the most talented illustrators who had been featured in ACOFI. The book was created by Amelia Gregory the brains behind Amelia’s Magazine It joins her first book ‘Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration’ and both of Amelia’s books show a great understanding of illustration and capture the spirit and style of emerging illustrators.

Just a glimpse of ACOFI’s front cover ensures it’s hard to resist picking it up to appreciate the beautiful content. The book features the work of 30 emerging illustrators around the world, combined with almost 50 ethical fashion designer profiles. It shows great character and gives full recognition to each illustrator which crafts a personal feel. It’s unlike any other fashion book - it is a burst of colour, art and fashion.

The event was a perfect way to celebrate the book and virtually brought it to life, everywhere you looked there was an illustrator capturing the moment. We were even lucky enough to have our illustrations done by the very talented Jenny Robbins and Joana Faria.

Illustration by Jenny Robbins

Illustration by Joana Faria

After being spoilt with tea and cake we were treated to an incredible goodie bag full of many treats from Tatty Devine, Moleskine, and products from Dr. Hanschka.  The cherry on top of a brilliant day!

ACOFI can be bought here Amelia’s magazine  and in all good art bookshops

View video interviews youtube.com/user/ameliashouse

FACT: Only Anarchists Are Pretty.

If you've never wished you could have been a part of the 70s punk era, look away now....

Those of you who are still reading, good news - we have just the book for you!

Only Anarchists Are Pretty by Mick O'Shea is a semi-fictionalised account of the Sex Pistols, from their days of being 'Kutie Jones and his Sex Pistols,' to their now infamous appearance on the 'Today' show, providing a chaotic, compelling tour through the heyday of punk.

The name of the book comes from shirts made at SEX (for the uninitiated, this was the shop run by manager Malcolm McLaren and his wife), iconic even today, with the slogan 'Only Anarchists Are Pretty' across the front - true genius from the DIY era. Sitting down with headphones and the Pistols back catalogue we found that this book is better than vodka and ten times as addictive.

Including John 'Johnny Rotten' Lydon, Steve Jones, Glen Matlock and Paul Cook, Malcolm McLaren, Sid Vicious, the Bromley Contingent, Siouxise and the Banshees, the Buzzcocks, and the Ramones plus more, this book is an unstoppable ride through the punk movement from where it all began.

As brilliant for die hard fans as it is for hopeful punk enthusiasts, Only Anarchists Are Pretty is more than just a book - it's a way of life.

Only Anarchists Are Pretty by Mick O'Shea is available from Helter Skelter Publishing here.

MICK ROCK : ROCK MUSIC

To celebrate the legendary Mick Rock’s recent book ‘Mick Rock Exposed: The Faces of Rock 'n' Roll’ the Idea Generation gallery, Shoreditch, welcomed him with open arms, exhibiting some of the renowned music photographer's best work.

Stepping into the tiny entrance to the gallery was like stepping out of the wardrobe in Narnia (cheesy, we know, but it's true!) The white washed walls and simplistic layout of the gallery was offset by the colourful, explosive collection of Rock's work, featuring an extensive mixture of rock 'n' roll royalty - from huge David Bowie wall hangings to images of Andy Warhol and Lou Reed chilling out on a sofa. 

“Andy Warhol once said to me, years ago, that I was to be in music, what he was to the visual arts. You can’t define it. But its all happening the way he said it would. The man’s amazing” Lou Reed - 1974

There also included a short film piece of Rock talking about his recent book, telling us about how he photographed the striking Debbie Harry in the 80's, urging her to almost impersonate Marilyn Monroe. 

'Mick Rock Exposed: The Faces of Rock 'n' Roll' is and inspiring and uplifting exhibition that really shouldn't be missed, and for all you hardcore Mick Rock fans out there, the gallery is also staging an evening with the legend himself on the 19th of January! It's perfect way to mark the end of the coolest exhibition you'll ever see! 

Mick Rock Exposed: The Faces of Rock 'n' Roll is available on Amazon for £12.49, or can be purchased at the gallery.

words: Amy Edgar

images via dazeddigital.com

Wanna be in their gang? We do...

Quirky. Individual. Talented.

We'd forgive you for thinking that we were talking about your favourite bloggers, but today we're talking about something just as cool - The Like.

Described as a 60s girl group/beat combo, their perfect brand of off the wall pop will have you feeling like you've walked right out of a movie... so long as the movie had kick ass characters, classic fashion sense and witty dialogue.

This is never seen any more clearly than in Narcissus in a Red Dress - 'High school skinny fades away, and you're just left with Polaroids capturing your fifteen minutes. Ain't it great?' That's not to say that they can't do the cold hard truth wrapped with a bright musical bow; just try He's Not A Boy or Wishing He Was Dead. And if you can listen to Walk of Shame without humming it for days afterwords, you are better people than us!

Think a Kate Nash production of Grease and you're halfway there, but don't just take our word for it - The Like have stolen our hearts and we're pretty sure you'll feel the same.

Release Me by The Like is out now at any of the usual sources.

The rise and, erm... rise of Anna Sui.

By now, you guys have probably noticed that we're kinda big on fashion. You've probably also realised that we are total book-geeks. So imagine how excited we get when we recieve BOOKS about FASHION.

Then treble that level of excitement when the book in question is a dazzling black and purple-clad retrospective about one of our most favourite ever designers: Anna Sui. Now that is one rather excited bunch of Tantrumettes you've got on your hands.

The long-awaited Anna Sui book chronicles the 20-year long career of New York's premier rock & roll fashion queen and features over 400 amazingly high-quality images. Oh, and it features a preface by Jack White (yep, that Jack White) and an introduction by none other than Steven Meisel. 

Sounds impressive already, right? Well, it gets better. Within its sparkly purple-edged pages, the book details the inspirations behind each of Sui's collections from 1991 through to 2009, including sneaky peeks at initial sketches and moodboards. Not only are there catwalk images from every collection, but editorial images shot by the likes of Ellen Von Unwerth, Peter Lindberg, Patrick Demarchelier, Steven Klein and of course, Mr Meisel himself.

This book is without a doubt one of our newest favourites at Tantrum; A beautiful book about a woman with an eclectic, bohemian rock & roll outlook on fashion, filled with 20 years worth of gorgeous images? Now that's one history lesson that you wouldn't want to miss...


Anna Sui by Andrew Bolton is published by Chronicle books, £35


image from chroniclebooks.com

psst...we're now live on FACEBOOK! come on, show your love and 'like' us! x