Katie Eary vs. Lulu James

Katie Eary likes her men like she likes her clothes: powerful and incredibly good looking. HYFR.

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Designing with the street wear silhouette in mind, London entity and fashion empress Katie uses couture based techniques to bring her elaborate, avante-garde collections to life. Designing both menswear and womenswear, her adoring fans rank high amongst the most powerful fashion dictators working within the industry; both Mario Testino and Yeezy are into it. Concentrating fully on quality and consumerism, this Stevenage-born blonde bombshell doesn’t listen to criticism and believes her own hype. She is the epitome of a strong and inspirational modern woman. i-D online dressed up post dubstep vocalist and breaking talent Lulu James in some of Katie’s choice wardrobe cuts and found out what the innovative designer has been wearing and where she’ll be lunching now the sun is out and proud.
How’s Testino these days? He’s brilliant. But I haven’t spoken to him for a while. You have always been inspired by literature, what are you reading right now? I’m reading Skag Boys by Irvine Welsh. How important is wearable fashion to you? From SS13 onwards it is going to become extremely important. We are pushing the Katie Eary brand to new heights and will solely be concentrating on quality and consumerism. How do you interpret criticism? Criticism is something that no-one could ever escape. But I don’t let it get to me, I only listen to people who I feel are being helpful, so turn it into a positive. Who have been the biggest supporters of your collections? My mum (naturally) and the amazing buyers in the Far East. How important is film for your work? With film you get to show the clothes with a narrative, not to mention movement, it is pleasure for the eyeballs. Who would you like to see wearing your clothes this season? All pro skaters this season please. Where are you off to now? I’m off to buy lunch from The Naked Sausage and then to my leather factory to check up on some sexy jackets. What are you wearing? Yves Saint Laurent backless swimming costume, Vionnet skirt with tasseled felt front, Pierre Hardy heels and studded Burberry bag. What will you be wearing this weekend? Saturday, friends party: Full Céline look. Sunday, Jubilee party: Floor length sequined dress, crystal Miu Miu heels, flowers in my hair, prosthetic elf ears and a bucket load of glitter OBVs. I’m going as an elf.
Jumper with embellishment Ashish, bra Agent Provocateur, hot pants American Retro, socks Jonathan Aston.
lulujames.com
katieeary.co.uk

Text: Milly McMahon
Styling: Shirley Amartey
Photography: Lonny Spence
Hair: Kota Suizu
Make up: Valeria Ferreira
Location: The Yard

i-DJ: Raffa FL

Raffa FL’s production skills are sick and his love of music infectious. Get ill, listen to his exclusive mix for i-D Online.

Nurtured by his father to appreciate the importance of music in life, Raffaele Calza has rhythm flowing through his veins. Living and breathing beats, the production of refined, minimal sounds is his raison d’être and since the age of fourteen Raffaele has been non-stop creating sound constellations. Building in confidence and understanding what works in his accomplished, progressive sets, Raffa FL has been in no hurry to launch his music publicly. His arrival onto record label radars has been gradual and organic… and then the rest of the world caught on! Now signed to Nurvous Records, Say Ahh! Records, Digital Delight and Swink Music, Raffa has also established his own D.i.Y record label Tools and Stuff with DJ friends Dirty Culture and joined the roster at underground UK label Love Not Money Records too. A firm favourite with DJ dons Laura Jones, Waifs & Strays, Wildkats, Droog and Russ Yallop his future is sure to hold many late nights and a lot of international travel. i-D online caught up with Raffa to chat about his top tips for future boogieing places and faces.
“The best producers at the moment for me are Shonky and Huxley. Both of them have a truly unique style that brings me back to the old style house days. Each time I play one of their tracks I feel like I have gone back in time! My favourite label at the moment has to be the Manchester-based Electronique, they are taking the nu-disco scene by storm and have signed-up some huge talents that are going to do a lot of damage including Climbers, Balcazar & Sordo, Julien Sandre, Rebel, Max Chapman and I am also signed to the label! The hottest parties this season look like the ones that will be at Sankeys in Ibiza, in only it’s second year it is already looking like it will be the most interesting meeting place for all the best producers from around the world.”
soundcloud.com/raffa_fl-dj
Text: Milly McMahon

i-D online | Graduate Fashion: Westminster 2012

Eats Everything - Jagged Elbow

Plan B - Lost My Way

i-N Conversation: Drake

“My plan is to make as much music as I can until a story from Drake doesn’t impact you in the way that it used to. Then, I guess I’ll find my way somewhere else.” Drake in The Lights, Camera, Action Issue, Summer 2012.

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Chiselled, sexy and smooth as hell, hip-hop icon Aubrey Drake Graham doesn’t have any skeletons in his closet, every sex tape Drizzy has made he owns. Discovered and signed by New Orleans rap legend, Lil Wayne three years ago, he is now 25 years old and worth 25 million dollars. Just some kid with a dream, Drake came up fast from Toronto and today stands alone as one of the most sought after recording artists in the world. In The Lights, Camera, Action Issue, i-D Assistant Editor, Milly McMahon talks highs and lows with the Young Money Prince, listen into the interview here and catch a glimpse of what unfolded when i-D went to see Drake perform live at The O2 for the London-leg of his Club Paradise tour.
drakeofficial.com
Interview: Milly McMahon
i-Buy: Order The Royalty Issue right here, right now.

South London Ordnance

South London Ordnance Mix - Xfm 25/02/12 by Mary Anne Hobbs on Mixcloud

Julio Bashmore - Au Seve

Rabbit #SOFUCKINFINE ft. Wale

Nelly Furtado - Big Hoops (Bigger The Better)

The Lights, Camera, Action Issue. i-D Summer 2012

May Mixtape 2012

Rainy May, the only cloud you need to concern yourself with right now is i-D online’s SoundCloud. When it rains it pours and for our May mixtape we are knee deep in reservoirs of superior sounds.

Listen to May’s mixtape live and loud tonight at XO, London. Admission’s free, all your need to know here.
There may be a whole year’s worth of water leaking from the skies this month but who cares when there’s enough decent music to keep us dry in the clubs and sweating buckets in Bank Holiday warehouse raves. April’s inaugural i-D MIX night at East London’s XO welcomed a 700-strong crowd of music lovers and fashion followers, bound together by their exceptional taste, a night of uncensored fun ensued.
Selecting a crazy, sexy, wonderful assortment of songs, tracks, remixes and reworks, May’s mixtape stands at more than thirty songs long. A fruitful few weeks of new tunes has thrown-up a stratospheric mishmash of music. Recently rising stars Javeon McCarthy, Kindess, THEESatisfacation, A$AP, Evian Christ and Lushlife make a much-welcomed return to the i-D online SoundCloud, flanked by newbies the insatiable Rainy Milo, Elliphant, Slime, Craxxxmurf and Hoodmode. Hit-making machines Kanye, Usher, Foreigh Beggars and Lee Foss all also make guest appearances, elevating our Brap Pack to greatness. Share the love, social network your affection and continually click play, this is your essential Summer soundtrack.
Freelance designer and illustrator Alex Robbins is the obsessive, experimental image-maker with an eye for quirky detail. Armed with a variety of tools to communicate his outside-of-the-box ideas, his work has been heavily influenced by his past experiences exploring and travelling. Boasting an extensive clientele list The New York Times, WIRED, Stussy, The New Yorker, The Fader, The Guardian and Time Out have all commissioned and featured this innovative graphic illustrator’s masterpieces. For May’s mixtape Alex mocked us up a soggy artwork cover.
Text and selection: Milly McMahon
Art work: Alex Robbins
Browse the full monthly mixtape catalogue by clicking here.