A.P.C. SS11 First Drop

The excitement created by the arrival of an A.P.C. delivery seems to be at odds with the cult Parisian brand’s minimalistic approach, but often it’s the simplest things in life that makes us most happy…

For almost a quarter of a century A.P.C. have been responsible for effortless and understated dressing, expertly combining obsessive emphasis on fit and fabric with rock n roll and military undertones. The result is devastatingly cool wardrobe essentials that transcend age and occasion while screaming ‘Parisian chic’ louder than almost any other label we can think of.

In our first drop from the women's A.P.C. Spring/Summer 11 collection we have received a number of classic t-shirts, perfectly cut with cropped sleeves and a wooden button fastening at the neck in versatile navy, white and grey, along with a red polkadot heart t that strikes the perfect balance between cute and cool as only A.P.C. can...

Keep your eyes open for more new arrivals from A.P.C. at Coggles.com over the coming weeks.

Coming Soon - Repetto Shoes

Bridgette Bardot in her trademark Repetto flats at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival, courtesy of The Independent

Repetto was created in 1947 by Rose Repetto, who at the request of her son – dancer and choreographer Roland Petit – began making ballet shoes in a tiny workshop just a minute away from the National Opera of Paris. Twelve years later Rose opened her first shop at 22 Rue de la Park in Paris and before long it became the place to go for Prima ballerinas from across the world, with Bejart, Noureev, Barychnikov, Carolyn Carlson, the kirov from the “Folies-Bergeres” all wearing Repetto ballet shoes.

But it’s not just ballerinas who have fallen in love with the French dance shoe brand. Bridgette Bardot, Serge Gainsbourg and Kate Moss are just a few of the brands more revered ambassadors.

So, what’s behind all this adoration? The secret of Repetto’s light and flexible shoes? Since day one Repetto have used a “stitch and return” method, stitching under the sole before turning the shoe inside out, stretching the soft leather upper over a last and stitching it to the thicker leather sole inside out. When the shoe is turned the right way, the left foot becomes the right and vice versa. This results in a near-invisible join between the shoe and the upper – and an extremely comfortable fit too!

More than just comfortable though, Repetto make some of the prettiest footwear you’re likely to find; For Spring/Summer 11 we have bought a series of dance shoes from classic ballet pumps to fiery salsa heels in a colour palette of navy, cream, grey and scarlet.

Repetto will be available at Coggles.com in January.

Robert Montgomery - Words in the City at Night

Part poetry, part enquiry into our collective unconscious, Robert Montgomery’s ‘Words in the City at Night’ project hijacks advertising space in the city replacing brands with melancholy, intimate messages that encourage reflection.

They are intended to be encountered by commuters who do not know that they are art, and attempt to describe in public space what it feels like to live now.

Robert Montgomery works in a public melancholic post-Situationist tradition. Since 2005 he has carried out his WORDS IN THE CITY AT NIGHT project where, echoing the Situationist concept of detournement, he hijacks advertising space in the city, often illegally. He covers illuminated advertising billboards with austere black posters with white letters, which assume the colour of the ad posters underneath and take their light, parasitically. His texts are part poetry, part an enquiry into our collective unconscious. They are intended to be encountered by commuters who don’t know they are art, and an attempt to describe in public space what it feels like to live now.

For more from Robert Montgomery check Dazed Digital for an interview, or robertmontgomery.org where you can find a biography and selected works.

Florence Welch: Letter from LA

From Nowness comes a Short Film Exploring Life on the Road With Florence and the Machine's English Songbird.

Tabitha Denholm's "Florence: Letter from LA" is a sunny meditation on pop stardom, premiering exclusively on NOWNESS today.

It captures Welch during her fall 2010 American tour for her debut album Lungs (which earned her a Best New Artist Grammy nomination). We see the flame-haired British songstress swimming in pools, driving on highways and marveling at the surreal nature of fame and the places it has brought her. "I wanted to record this unique time in Florence's career because I knew it would be a one-off," explains Denholm, who co-directed several of Welch’s early music videos with Tom Beard, notably for the single “Rabbit Heart.”

This new short film is one in a three-part series collectively titled Letters From America, which also trails Welch to New Orleans and New York. "Florence has this energetic whirlwind side, and then this incredibly quiet introspective side," Denholm reveals.

Welch says she decompressed from touring by taking in the country on foot: “I saw so much beautiful American stuff—the bewitching buildings of New Orleans, a crazy Halloween in Boston. If I wasn't playing a gig or flying somewhere, I was just walking; constantly lost, constantly overwhelmed by the beauty of what I was seeing." 

Click through to Nowness to watch Florence Welch: Letter from LA.

Drapers Top 100 2010

Coggles.com Creative Director Mark Bage has been named the 40^th most influential person in fashion by Drapers, the fashion industry’s bible.

Mark Bage’s endorsement - or rejection - of a brand makes the rest of the industry sit up and take notice, so it was no surprise that Bage and his team won this year’s Drapers Award for Buying Team of the Year.

Sarah Coggles, the premium boutique he owns and runs in York, also took the prize for Best Independent Retailer, as it has firmly established itself as one of the leading stores - of any sort - in the country.

Affable Bage is recognised by his peers in both the indie and the multiple sectors for his detailed product knowledge, an uncanny ability to spot a successful new brand well ahead of the pack and his knowledge of wider market issues. He has also created one of the best indie etail operations in the business.

Click here to see who else featured in the Drapers Top 100 most inflential people in fashion. 

Modernist Cuisine: The Art of Science and Cooking

A revolution is underway in the art of cooking... Borrowing techniques from the laboratory, pioneering chefs are blowing through the boundaries of the culinary arts, incorporating a deeper understanding of science and advances in cooking technology into their culinary art.

In Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking, Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young, and Maxime Bilet - scientists, inven­tors, and accom­plished cooks in their own right - have cre­ated a six-volume 2,400-page set that reveals science-inspired tech­niques for prepar­ing food that ranges from the oth­er­worldly to the sub­lime.

It is an indis­pens­able guide for any­one who is pas­sion­ate about the art and sci­ence of cooking.

Howl

 

Composed from court records, interviews and Allen Ginsberg’s infamous and incendiary poem, Howl stars James Franco as Allen Ginsberg – the young poet, counter-culture adventurer and chronicler of The Beat Generation.

The film takes us on a journey that recounts the road trips, love affairs and the search for personal    liberation that led to Ginsberg’s controversial Howl and the court case that followed its publication.

Howl is released in the UK on the 25th February. Click here to see the trailor.