It really shouldn’t surprise me, but somehow it still does. Yes, it’s another celebrity fashion line. Sigh. This time it’s the omnipresent, ever scowling Peaches ‘my dad’s Bob’ Geldof. If it had been her little sister Pixie, I might have been a little bit more excited. I know they’re essentially one and the same, but somehow Pixie is the lesser of two evils in my book. But anyway, back to the clothes. News reaches us today that young Peaches is set to add another job to her CV (as if DJ, rock star, model, journalist and A-level student aren’t enough?) by designing a capsule collection for hipster Brit label, PPQ.

Peaches has been pally with the PPQ guys for a while, and even modelled in a show for them last year, so this news probably shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Still, as far as I know Peaches doesn’t have any design skills, and to be honest I don’t even think her personal style is all that special. It’s a shame really, I like PPQ and they make some really strong collections – this all smacks of a money-making, press-grabbing act. Of course moolah and press are both essential to the success of any brand, but this isn’t my bag at all. Still, it will be interesting to see what the senior Geldof sister comes up with.

I spend at least an hour every day trundling around the London public transport system on my way to and from work, and it never ceases to amaze me how many women use the bus journey as an opportunity to apply their daily slap. Whilst I’m all for spending 10 minutes extra in bed in the morning, I’d rather apply my face in front of a well lit mirror, with all the relevant accoutrements available to me. Hunching over a tiny compact mirror as the 453 Routemaster bendy bus jerks its way through the windy (and bumpy) streets of Peckham seems strange to me, yet looking around the bus it seems I’m in the minority. Dabbing on a bit of face powder is one thing, but applying liquid eyeliner (a challenge enough in itself)? Risking raccoon eyes and/or temporary blindness by wielding your mascara as you fly over the road humps? Jabbing your fellow commuters in the eye as you add a sweep of blush? I swear I’ve even seen eyebrow plucking, which is not only a tricky manoeuvre to pull off without elbowing the guy next to you in the face, but is also a little bit gross, when you think about it.

What do you reckon? Is applying makeup on the bus easy peasy and a handy way of getting a lie-in, or is it just downright estate*?



*For the non-George Lamb listeners, that’s a nice(ish) way of saying, frankly quite skanky.

As if the H&M collaboration isn't keeping them busy enough, print-meisters extraordinaire Marimekko have just announcedanother collabo-range. This time it's not clothes that will be getting the magic touch, but a whole range of makeup from Avon. The iconic Unikko print (above) is being used to draw inspiration for a whole line from the cosmetics company, with eyeshadow, lip colour, mascara, face powder and accessories all expected. Hopefully the prints will be limited to the packaging on the face powder...

Unikko is the brand's definitive print, and was designed by Finnish textile designer, Maija Isola in 1964. As the principal designer for the label, she was repsonsible for creating many of the iconic designs the brand is famous for.

I know I'm not the only one who found Fiona Shackleton QC's watery makeover a vast improvement. Ms Shackleton is (was) Paul McCartney's divorce lawyer, and shortly after the verdict was served up, Heather Mills decided to dump a jug of water over her head in a fit of rage. Not cool, Mills, not cool. But I can't deny it, lady Shackleton looks about 10000000x better with wet-look, slicked down hair. That before look is way too Camillia -- way too 80s bouffant. But after? It's like a new woman!


PS, check out this (almost) action reply.

Nan Goldin is my all-time favourite photographer, so I was pretty psyched to see a new collection from her in the New York Times this week. Nan has taken a series of photos of celebrities/models/socialite-types dressed in this season's couture, but this being Nan, these aren't your average fashion shots.



See more under the jump, or check out the whole series over at the NYT site.

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