My Friend Brix

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

I'm currently at Babington House about to assist in an event named "An Evening with Brix Smith-Start." A lot of people find it an unlikely pairing, but nevertheless the fact remains Brix is one of my dearest friends and I adore her. Which is why tonight, at 7.30, I will be interviewing Brix in front of a live audience who have paid to see/hear her at Babington. I compiled a Power Point presentation full of images of Brix's life from her as a big-haired precocious L.A teenager who counted Bret Easton Ellis as a friend, to a rock star in the group The Fall (and living in Manchester), to the girl friend of violinist Nigel Kennedy and now fashionista, pug lover and co-owner - with her husband Philip - of the Start boutique in Shoreditch. Not forgetting of course her growing television career. Brixie has co-hosted Gok's Fashion Fix, Promzillas, and pops up regularly on This Morning as fashion correspondent.

Brix with her bass guitars

To assist in the presentation, I've put my two favourite Fall videos in here - plus a hilarious interview with Brix and Mark E. Smith of The Fall, and more of Brix the fashionista. They wouldn't work within the Power Point...Grrr... So what better window than here?

GHOST IN MY HOUSE



L.A





Interview on Snub tv




The Start of Start



Brix at LFW

MEET TERRY

Posted by the Fashion Editor at Large

 

The word plushie amuses me and I admit I do have a thing for strange looking toys. In fact, may share my green "Jackie" teddy with red clown lips with you one day soon (named for Jackie Stallone), and reveal my collection of "Bed Head" dolls.

My very part time hobby for plushies explains why I was like a kid in toy shop with excitement when one of my friends Brix Smith Start of the Start Boutique in London's Shoreditch commissioned a woman called the Felt Mistress aka Louise Evans to create a bunch of plushies (felt and fun fur toys to you and me) to adorn her London Fashion Week window. Brix is nothing if not off the wall; she is a woman who made up a song and a dance about the cloaca. What more could you possibly expect from her other than a menagerie of plushies running rampage in her store while all the lights are out?

The toys arrived at Start Boutique yesterday and Brix has already made this short film to showcase them. My favourite plushie so far is Terry, below. Apparently, Terry (who you will meet halfway through) is inspired by Brix; when you shake him, he growls. I like that he is wearing a The Fall T-shirt. Is this how Brix felt after a night playing guitar in the full flow of her Rock n Roll life with The Fall in the 80's? I shall be treating myself to a Terry, and may even commission the Felt Mistress to do a plushie of my girlfriend for her forthcoming significant birthday.

Since the above video was done the plushies have been been made into a window display at Start. The Fashion Junior at Large will be photographing the window on her way to work in the morning. Brix says that "Terry is the naughtiest toy in the shop. He is pulling the wig off one of the mannequins, and earlier was looking up one of their 3.1 Phillip Lim dresses."  

The plushies are for sale! From £70 to £600. Find some of them here at the Start website.

Start TV: www.youtube.com/user/starttelevision

http://twitter.com/feltmistress

http://feltmistress.blogspot.com/

THANKYOU BRIXIE!

A huge big thanks to my dear friend Brix Smith Start who accomodated my last minute trip to Paris. I stayed at her families' fabulous Paris apartment, in the "Brix" room, which is dominated by the sweet painting of her.

While I'm at it, me and Brix dug these up the other night.

Brix with her ex-husband Mark E. Smith in her The Fall days.

Brix performing with The Fall in mid-eighties

We laughed hard when we saw this one.

My favoutite - she looks so beautiful here.

Check back soon to read a life-story epic interview with the woman herself.

UPDATE!: GET THEE TO SAVE THE CHILDREN IN CLAPHAM!

Posted by the Fashion Junior at Large
Wondering what you can do to help the people of Haiti today? Here’s the answer: Get your butts down to Save The Children’s Clapham branch this afternoon where Brix Smith-Start is generously donating a van full of designer goodies from her boutique as well as items donated by her customer's including these summery little numbers:

See by Chloe flower dress with pleat detail: WAS £385, NOW £120!!!

 

Lungta de Fancy grey dress: WAS £329.50, NOW £100!!!

  See by Chloe flower skirt with pleat:  WAS £229.50, NOW £70!!!

"I wanted to do something with the clothes we had left over from the season, and turn them straight into cash that went directly to help the people of Haiti," says Brix. "I started a Twitter campiagn last Friday and yesterday we realised we had collected hundreds of items and were running out of space, so we called Save The Children!"

There are hundreds of items, not just high fashion womenswear from Charles Anastase and Phillip Lim, but menswear tailoring and shirts, and clothes from the hip east London skate shop, Wholesome.

Save The Children, who have already spent £400,000 on water, sanitation and hygiene and £300,000 on emergency protection, education and getting the kids back to some semblance of normal life in the wake of the earthquake, are using all the proceeds to continue their good work in Haiti. All you have to do is go shopping. The clothes will be priced at around a third of their original cost and we have it on good authority that the drop will include a SS09 3.1 Philip Lim dress which was originally £650 and is now £200! On your marks, get set…GO GO GO and tell your friends toooooo...

Save the Children

36 High Street
Clapham
London SW4 7UR
Telephone: 020 7978 2542

CLOTHES ARE BEING PRICED UP AS WE SPEAK AND WILL BE AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE FROM 6PM THIS EVENING!