Enter the world of 3D printing and picture devices spurting out guns, bones, toys and beautiful, functional fashion accessories. Using special software, accessory designers can now create 3D models on screen then instruct a 3D printer to manufacture their design there and then. To visualise what 3D printing is, imagine piping icing on to a cake; the nozzle moves across the cake leaving a sugary trail that can be layered up. Now replace icing with plastic or metal. The printer’s nozzle moves along a baseplate depositing layers of material until the design has been made. It can then be removed from the base and used – or worn, in the case of jewellery, hats and shoes.

Last weekend, I (and four thousand others) attended the first 3D Print Show at The Brewery, London. Here I discovered that with some imagination and investment, 3D printing could transform luxury fashion accessories to the scale of Peter Pilotto’s digital-print-dresses multiplied by Burberry Bespoke: think a new fashionable aesthetic and more customisation options than Christopher Bailey could conjure up – all made to fit perfectly.

The 3D Print Fashion Show added new names to a growing list of ‘Ones To Watch’ in this young strand of design: people making practical and desirable products. Amongst these is Janina Alleyne, whose Exoskeleton collection saw her nominated for the 2012 Mulberry Accessory Award at Graduate Fashion Week. Alleyne follows in the footwear-steps of London College of Fashion (LCF) graduates Kerrie Luft and Ross Barber, who were both awarded prizes – for their 3D printed titanium heels and intricate soles respectively. At present it is easier to 3D print harder materials, hence the focus on footwear.

Unfortunately, none of these designers’ shoes are yet on sale commercially. The current cost of manufacture necessitates a luxury price tag that young designers struggle to fund without sponsorship. But interest is increasing and where demand goes, supply follows. As 3D printing expert Peter Hill explains, the best is still to come.

“We have yet to see what aesthetic 3D printing will give birth to,” says Hill, 3D Design and Technology Manager at LCF. Mary Katrantzou could, for example, create the 3D equivalent of one of her dresses. “Consider what a digital fabric print is – it’s a drawn image on a fabric canvas. With 3D printing, you don’t need a canvas. Imagine a 3D paisley or a 3D William Morris print,” elaborates Hill. Indeed the technology lends itself well to intricate designs not seen since the Baroque and Rococo movements in the 17th and 18th centuries.

In use for over a decade, 3D printing’s first purpose was to make rapid prototypes of designs before they were cast in pricier materials. “But now with more interesting materials, greater awareness and ease of access to 3D, we’re seeing growing numbers of designers accessing it for production,” explains Hill.

This has led to growing numbers of people considering the issues surrounding 3D printing, such as intellectual property; with personal 3D printers now available for under £1000, what’s to stop someone printing a knock-off version of a luxury item at home? A new report by The Work Foundation explores these issues, highlighting the need for a policy framework in the UK to support the growth of 3D printing. Simply put: more needs to be done before Prada, Gucci et al are likely to go near the technology.

Instead, look to designers working with 3D printing companies for a taste of what the technology has to offer. EOS, a company that manufactures commercial 3D printers, sponsored both Luft and Barber to create their final collections. This collaboration between creative designers and technical engineers is vital. “If you tell a designer they can print at 20 microns, it means nothing. If you say, it’s possible to print a stiletto that looks like hair but is strong enough to withstand weight – well, that’s much more interesting,” says Hill.

EOS also works with Digital Forming, a software design company, to help designers understand the world of 3D printing. Recognising the trend for customisation, Digital Forming recently launched an online interface that allows designers to upload 3D product designs, which shoppers can then customise before ordering. Digital Forming then arranges for the item to be 3D printed and delivered.

Using EOS’s new precious metal 3D printer, Digital Forming printed gold cufflinks (personalised with initials) to display at the 3D Print Show. Whilst these were quite tacky, it only takes a little vision to see the potential – think stunning heels, clasps, jewellery and more. Imagine intricate titanium Alexander McQueen heels that you can adjust slightly so that yours is unique.

The image in your head could soon be a reality on your feet. As Hill confirms, “3D printing is here to stay and it will appear in luxury.” The only question is when.

On the 27th of May 2006, Helen Minter, 21, passed away in her family home. Her sister Adele, now 29 and a full-time mum to two young children, recalls how Helen left a notebook detailing her funeral arrangements. “Helen wanted a pink coffin and said Queen’s 'Don’t Stop Me Now' had to be played. She’d written down what she wanted to wear, where her wake should take place and a list of people to contact when she died.”

Helen Minter was in the minority. According to research conducted by Dying Matters (a coalition of healthcare and academic professionals set up in 2009 to promote awareness of death, dying and bereavement) only 19% of people have written down preferences surrounding their death. Furthermore, of the 500,000 people who die in the UK each year, over half die in hospital - despite nearly two thirds stating they would like to die at home.

In a BBC Health column earlier this year Professor Mayur Lakhani, a GP and the head of Dying Matters, wrote, “As increasing numbers of people develop and live with dementia, it is vital that doctors talk about the kind of end-of-life care people would choose, while people are healthy.” Is it time we - young and old - talk about the dreaded D word?

Lifestyle philosopher Roman Krznaric, author of The Wonderbox: Curious histories of how to live, thinks so. Venturing into The School of Life, London’s emporium of big ideas, I join thirty-five strangers for a two-hour lesson on deathstyle. To quote Krznaric, our teacher for the night, deathstyle “is the art of growing old, facing our mortality and dying well,” a subject the writer feels passionately about. “We can only master this art in a culture that talks about death openly and frankly.”

However, Krznaric is quick to point out that our death culture has diminished from its vibrant peak in the Middle Ages when it was a part of everyday life. “The iconography of death was as common and unavoidable as billboard advertising is today,” he explains, citing how five hundred years ago people reminded themselves that death was the end we all face by wearing skull pins and jewellery. The pieces were as accepted as watches are today.

Such artefacts will be on show later this week when the Wellcome Collection opens its winter exhibition - Death: A Self-portrait. “It is my wish that the collection of objects on display will become the visual component for a more serious conversation about the subject of death,” remarks Richard Harris, a former antique print dealer based in Chicago, who personally assembled over 300 death-related artworks. From Renaissance paintings to Andy Warhol prints, the pieces on display seek to uncover what our attitudes towards death reveal about the way we live.

In anticipation of the forthcoming show, the Wellcome Collection hosted Seize the Day, an evening of events designed to get visitors thinking about their own mortality. A band played New Orleans jazz funeral tunes (referencing the nature of their celebratory, community led funerals) as children added glitter to a pink cardboard coffin. Downstairs in a packed out auditorium, the audience listened to Cambridge professor David Spiegelhalter discuss the statistics of death. On the first floor, others illustrated ‘Before I die I want to’ cards, adding them to a heart-warming wall of human ambition.

It was by the string of pegged up filled-out ‘Fantasy funeral’ cards that I met Rosie Inman-Cook, a burial ground manager and head of The Natural Death Centre (a charity that promotes independent funeral advice). “Not knowing what a loved one wanted for their funeral adds extra stress to an already pressured, bereaved family. There’s that additional worry about having chosen the right thing,” Inman-Cook commented. She was heartened by the visitors’ response to discussing funerals. But how do we deal with death outside the safe walls of a cultural institution?

“People are uncomfortable talking about death. Beyond my family, most people are quick to change the subject, even if they have asked how I am. ‘I’m fine, thank you,’ quickly became my stock answer,” confides Adele Neale. Whilst we will tweet our political opinions, share sex stories on the bus and buy hemorrhoid cream in the supermarket pharmacy, death remains a no-go topic.

Mary Kiely, a consultant in palliative medicine working in Huddersfield, believes this is because many people’s first experience of death happens later in life than ever before; “Death used to be more common, but now people live longer, there are lower child mortality rates and most deaths happen in hospital. We’re less exposed to death so there is a tendency to forget that one day you will experience the death of a loved one and eventually die yourself.”

“How a person responds to death depends on their personality, which in turn depends on the environment they’re in and the experiences they’ve had. Both are influenced by the society they live in,” explains Fowz Azhar, 24, a junior hospital doctor in Leeds. He then recalls how, aged 11, his first funeral affected him deeply, even though he did not understand what was happening. “I sat on my own and found myself crying. Despite coming from a medical background, no one had spoken to me about death,” he says, revealing that even now he feels it’s inappropriate to bring up death amongst friends.

And yet, death is part of his day-to-day life. As a doctor, Azhar has first-hand experience of the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP), a medical initiative that recently hit the headlines when some patients’ relatives claimed that it hastens death. Developed in the late 1990s, it is a care model that allows doctors to withdraw treatment medications from dying patients. Attention is instead focused on allowing patients to die a dignified death, by providing anticipatory drugs that ease discomfort (such as sedatives and painkillers). Most doctors – including Azhar – put the recent complaints down to miscommunication and stand by the policy. As Kiely explains, “We need to change our culture and encourage people to think not only about what quality of life they want as they get older, but also what quality of death they want.”

One man who is actively planning for death is 50 year-old John Peters, a motivational speaker and management consultant. In 1991, he was serving as a Flight Lieutenant in the RAF when his Tornado was shot down in Iraq. As Sadam Hussein’s prisoner of war, he was tortured for 49 days before being released. “Too many people plan their finances as if that’s the way to live forever, but I say plan for death.” Indeed it seems when the worst has nearly happened, the small stuff – like finances – falls into the background. Peters goes on to explain how with his current health and socio-economic status he reckons he’ll live until 85, giving him 25 years to indulge himself when he retires.

“A lot of us tiptoe towards death doing nothing, but if you want to live the life you choose then it’s important to recognise how brief our time on Earth is,” encourages Peters. So, like Helen Minter, pick the funeral you want and let your loved ones know. It’s time to talk about death.

‘Death: A Self-portrait’ runs at the Wellcome Collection from 16 November – 24 February 2013

‘The Wonderbox: Curious histories of how to live’ by Roman Krznaric is available to buy now

Recently I interviewed fashion designer Eudon Choi for Volt Café. Below is an extract of the piece.

Catching Eudon Choi in a rare moment away from his studio, Volt Café took the opportunity to hear about what he’s been up to since we last spoke in July.

Hovering 24 miles above Earth, Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner recently said, ‘Sometimes you have to go up really high to understand how small you really are.’ Pairing high ambitions with humble words, he then fell from the sky, becoming the world’s first supersonic skydiver somewhere along the way.

Speaking quietly with one hand to his ear, fashion designer Eudon Choi evokes the same disarming pairing – honest humility and true talent. Since launching his label three years ago, Choi has earned numerous accolades in a story that is fast embedding itself in fashion folklore. The potted version goes like this: Choi works as a menswear designer in his native Korea; moves to London to take his place on the Royal College of Art’s prestigious MA course; designs for All Saints and Twenty8Twelve; starts own womenswear label and rises through London’s fashion ranks. His highlights so far? ‘I’d have to say being featured on Style.com, meeting fashion royalty like Anna Wintour and showing on-schedule at London Fashion Week.’

To read the piece in full visit Volt Café here

The woman who creates fashion’s backgrounds comes to the foreground and talks insects, fear and set design

Rhea Thierstein used to spend Thursdays pond dipping. Weekly school trips to Hengistbury Head introduced her great love. For many, the coastal nature reserve is the site of reluctant rain-drenched geography lessons. Not so for Thierstein. “It was great. We’d dig out mud from the ponds, make miniature clay huts and go canoeing,” she reminisces fondly. “I’ve always been into nature. When I was younger I liked collecting caterpillars, working out what sort they were and looking after them until they hatched.” Seeking out insects under stones in her parents’ garden, Thierstein couldn’t possibly have known where her six-legged friends would lead her. Nor could her parents, who struggle to understand her job.

Today fashion’s go-to-girl for giant insects is sitting in her Finsbury Park studio recalling a job with David Attenborough. With her dark hair swept up into a ponytail, fringe falling over her eyes, she recollects how Attenborough left her star-struck. “It was pretty cool to find out what his favourite insect is. I didn’t realise what a big fan I was until we met on a shoot with Tim,” she says, referring to Tim Walker. Walker, with whom half-German Thierstein often works, is fashion photography’s great enchanter and the subject of Somerset House’s winter exhibition Story Teller. Together they create dream-like worlds, enticing viewers into a land of mechanical-dolls and winged half-humans.

As described by celebrated food industry friend Sam Bompas; “Rhea is the most innovative art director and set-designer this side of Mars. She applies the principles of rock and roll to prop styling.” Known to many in the fashion world – and increasingly less unknown to those outside it – Thierstein simply says, “I make things for fashion, film and music.” Think Vogue, McDonalds and Jessie J. Not bad, considering the thirty-two year old only discovered her job existed less than ten years ago.

It was during the third year of her degree and an internship with fashion film site SHOWstudio, that a friend introduced her to the work of superstar set designer Shona Heath. “I wondered why no one had told me about her. Much of her work, like her sets for Craig McDean, were references in my sketchbook. Our tutors never taught us about the team behind the picture,” she exclaims. Indeed, she thought the renowned photographer “painted the sets, found the props and did the hair and make-up.”

A four-year devotion to Heath followed Thierstein’s first encounter with the set designer. Willingly working long hours, she temporarily put her personal life to one side; “I knew people were queuing up to work with Shona.” Thierstein’s commitment was rewarded with creative briefs, trips abroad and a lesson in everything. “I knew nothing about set design so I learnt the whole business from her – how to sew well, how to manage a team and how to make friends [as opposed to mere contacts] in the industry.”

Such was Thierstein’s relationship with Heath that she gave her a year’s notice when she decided to leave in search of new challenges. “She was really quite special to me and I didn’t want to bail on her. Since she was pregnant at the time, we agreed that I’d stay until she’d had the baby,” she explains, before revealing that for many months she thought she was done with set design. “Having worked with one of the best set designers, I didn’t think I could achieve her level of success so I decided to go in a different direction.”

Then in July 2010, Walker picked up the phone and fate intervened. He wanted her to create props for a Vanity Fair shoot with the cast of Monty Python. Thierstein had left Heath in the spring and proceeded to discover her different direction – a career in food art – was not for her. “I said yes, despite having just received a brief from Wallpaper*. Then suddenly more and more jobs came in,” she remembers. Walker loved her props, the shoot went brilliantly and Thierstein hesitantly decided to set up her own studio; “Making things is a creative outlet for me and I didn’t…” She falters, lost in thought before adding, “I always thought, if things don’t work out I could walk away. I was terrified of jobs.”

There was a lot of fear in the early days – fear of not being good enough, disappointing people and turning down the wrong jobs. “I tried really hard to only take on jobs where it would be clear that I had done them. I didn’t want to be the person people called for a chair and a background.” Those gut-wrenching decisions paid off. As Bompas comments, “Rhea’s work is so strong it spreads through creative networks like electricity. For years, any mood-board we saw from an art director or stylist featured Rhea’s work.” Indeed, her signature style of worn hues, tatty beauty and faded grandeur has captured the attention (and budgets) of many big name clients, from Fabergé to Bombay Sapphire.

In a portfolio bursting with prestigious names and ambitious projects, which is she most proud of? “Probably the flower people. In fact, that whole shoot,” she decides, referring to an Italian Vogue shoot with Tim Walker. “It was really difficult because I knew nothing about flowers. Tim left me to it and it was lovely to figure it all out myself. He didn’t even know what we were bringing to the shoot. I took a risk and did the flower people differently to how he’d said to.” At that point it becomes clear just how strong their working relationship is.

Despite having installed her props in Story Teller and attended the exhibition’s opening night, when we meet she has yet to explore it properly. “I decided to wait until my parents could visit later this week. They still don’t really understand what I do,” she reveals. When I contact her a week after the Thierstein family outing, she says her parents finally get it. Soon the rest of the world will too.

Head here to admire Rhea Thierstein's work further

Tim Walker: Story Teller runs from 18 October 2012 to 27 January 2013 at Somerset House

Missing the buzz of the Olympics opening ceremony? Then the following news is sure to brighten your mood. As of today, the cult fashion store of the same name has a permanent London address. That’s right, the launch of the latest Opening Ceremony store sees the capital join NY, LA and Tokyo in the streetwear style stakes.

Situated on Covent Garden’s King Street, the new OC shop boasts 7500 square feet of the coolest designers. The latest collections from Christopher Kane, Alexander Wang and Proenza Schouler sit alongside fashionable books, fun souvenirs and even an art installation by interior stylist and furniture designer Faye Toogood (of Studio Toogood). The open plan store has wooden box shelves and rails to explore. Expect to find a mix of London’s bright young things and American’s fashion all-stars in the latest offering from founders Carol Lim and Humberto Leon.

Since launching their brand in NY ten years ago, the duo have attracted a fashionable following of star-studded fans - from Ri-Ri to close friend Chloe Sevigny - and last year they were invited to head up the colourful label Kenzo. Speaking in a Q&A with Susie Bubble, Henry Holland and Sevigny at the store’s launch last night, Leon said, "We still get excited when people wear our clothes. We still geek out about it. I take pictures on my iPhone when I see a girl wearing something! We are real nerds."

Nerds? We’re not convinced. Join Opening Ceremony in the race for fashion gold.

Shop Opening Ceremony in-store at 35 King Street, Covent Garden, London or online here

Written for my LCF course; a news story for Grazia Daily to publish on 11 October

Does the future of fashion reside in vintage beauties? Since Julia Roberts dazzled at the Oscars in a 1982 Valentino gown, the value of vintage has soared. Many brands have hence sold faux-fashion-history to today’s fickle consumers. Or so say the team behind Byronesque. Launched in New York earlier today, Bryonesque is an online marketplace that champions authentic vintage - clothes aged 20 or over.

The site’s namesake, English Romantic poet Lord Byron, hints at the brand’s personality – irreverent, intellectual and inspiring. Byronesque’s purpose is, as the site’s online manifesto explains, “to provide a more meaningful alternative to bland, aspirational consumerism.” With a business model like Farfetch, editorial content to rival Net-a-Porter and a dark design sensibility, Byronesque is an androgynous addition to the plethora of online fashion retailers. Gill Linton, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, hopes the site will connect a global audience with the best of vintage fashion, handpicked from a growing network of boutiques – currently Paris’s Quidam de Revel, London’s One of a Kind and New York’s The New World Order. The latter’s owner, Renee Bejil, has in fact closed his store to sell exclusively through the site.

Whilst Byronesque’s luxury products hark back to eras gone by, the brand’s team has its eyes on the future. Next year will see the addition of seven more retailers and the launch of The Back Room, an exclusive subscription service offering industry professionals first refusal of new stock, tailored content and an online image archive. Are vintage clothes where fashion’s future is headed? Only time will tell.

Shop Byronesque here
Admire Byronesque's vision via their Tumblr here

Is art still the highest form of creative output? Some traditionalists would say so. For them, fine art ranks higher than newer mediums such as photography, film and the oft-accused shallow black sheep of the pack – fashion. Yet the narratives of twentieth-century art and fashion are woven together.

It began with Elsa Schiaparelli, the couturier best known for her love of Shocking Pink and her 1937 Dali-designed lobster motif. Influenced by Cubism and Surrealism, a recent exhibition saw her work presented alongside that of Miuccia Prada. The imagined conversations between the two women highlighted their shared approach and bookended fashion’s love affair with art. Yves Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen are two of the countless designers that can be found in the pages between.

An admirer of many artists, Saint Laurent’s instantly recognisable AW65 Mondrian dress is a much-referenced symbol of sixties fashion. With his later tributes to Picasso, Cocteau, Matisse et al, Saint Laurent transformed flat canvases to wearable garments, sending them out to wander the streets in a way the original artworks could not. Likewise, McQueen often used his models as a canvas for concepts. His SS99 collection presented performance art on the catwalk when a model’s dress was spray-painted as she spun on a rotating platform. Energetic, enchanting and enigmatic – his collection introduced a new audience to the work of German artist Rebecca Horn.

For SS13 fashion’s art history lesson is set to continue. With teachers ranging from French conceptual artist Daniel Buren to Ukranian multimedia artist Zinaida Lihacheva, designers are developing their craft. This class has elevated the work of young Spanish designer Emilio de la Morena. Taking inspiration from the nostalgic approach of British artist Rachel Whiteread, he explored his personal history and created a standout collection, hailed his best yet by many fashion critics.

Perhaps the greatest overlap between fashion and art is their shared quest for absolute truths. That is, the truth about beauty, life and all that we are. Will you join fashion’s art lovers in their search for answers come spring?

Written for my LCF course; a Colin McDowell style Fashion Moment

It’s back. The X Factor has returned bringing with it a glorious 8 minutes of singing for every hour the contest airs. That’s less than the 12 minutes of adverts that accompany each show. Annoyed? I’m not.

It’s an often-overlooked fact that we are a nation of advert-lovers. Rather like relationships, adverts are all about give and take: they provide entertainment in return for the audience’s time, trust and thoughts. Like the most rewarding relationships, the best adverts are memory-forming, heart-warming and conversation-causing.

Before you protest, consider the following. Girls, hands up if Google Chrome’s ‘Dear Hollie’ advert had you wishing your dads were that thoughtful? Boys, which of you shop to score with your Lynx-like ‘High Maintenance Girl’? And all together now: who wasn’t touched by the 2011 John Lewis Christmas ad? You know, the one with the adorable little boy who excitedly gives his sleepy-eyed parents a shoddily wrapped present. People who bin cats, reveal the truth about Santa and hate gay couples that’s who, although perhaps the advertisers got to them too. They’re a talented bunch, aren’t they?

And yet, for every genius Nike ad empowering the unfit masses to find their greatness, there is an insurance advert. Meerkats, operatic moustached men and breakdancing car buyers are the lows of the advertising world. But as with journalists and bankers, surely it’d be daft to hate the whole because of the few?

At their best, adverts act as a cultural barometer, benchmarking our values and bewitching our emotions. So this is a love letter to advertisers, an ode to the great ABC of adverts – agencies, brands and copywriters. Without them we would never have known the joys of premature perspiration, rapping farmers and catnapped milkmen. Less adverts during the X Factor? Not on their watch pussies.

Written for my LCF course; an opinion piece about something I love