We are delighted to host the premiere of Venus Has Risen.

SOLD OUT: Limited number of walk-in tickets available on the door.

Venus Has Risen is the result of a creative partnership between designer Emilia Anne Smith and visual artist Tom Oliver, culminating in a short film that brings to life Emilia’s debut collection.  

Emilia Anne Smith is an emerging womenswear designer and recent graduate of the London College of Fashion. Her work explores divine femininity and the ways in which the female corporeal experience exists beyond the male gaze and patriarchal systems.    

Tom Oliver is a visual artist, filmmaker, and recent graduate of Central Saint Martins whose work encompasses moving image, installation and photographic practices. This is the second project the duo have worked on together, marking the beginnings of a successful collaboration.  

The collection considers a phenomenological approach to femininity and the corporeal experience of existing in womanhood. With external influences dictating how the female body may look, behave and exist, the designer imagines a divine feminine utopia that lives outside of the patriarchal gaze. This collection creates a space for femininity to thrive unrestrained in the absence of oppression, constructing a space where feminine exploration of the body is facilitated without the influence of others. The garments work to create these experiences and develop visual and tactile stories for those who wear them.  

The short film, shot across striking locations, depicts an abandoned utopia reminiscent of Eden, void of Adam’s male presence. The collection's marriage of soft pinks and oversized silhouettes motivates the delicate yet determined tone of the film while spoken word guides the viewer as our protagonist reclaims her feminine softness as a source of power. Follow, as she roams on hillsides, in ruins, and submerged in water as she moves in celebration, contemplation and power.  

The display, curated by Alex Blackbourn, showcases the short film, garments from the collection, jewellery by Kiki Li, selected photographs by Yemi Oyato, and original writings by Francesca Gilbert to create a universe that mirrors the intention and aesthetics of the collection.  

Brought to you by The Salon x CSM Fashion Alumni Club.    

DETAILS

🗓 Tue 22nd February I 19:00 - 23:00

📍 @kiosk_n1c | Lower Stable St, N1C 4DR

The short film dedicated to the faces of queer Finland is a collaborative project of London-based Finnish designer Ella Boucht, director and photographer Heather Glazzard, videographer Nora Nord and producer Bryanna Kelly. Building on Boucht's previous body of work, it seeks to find a new representation for butch and masc identities within the contemporary LGBTQI+.    

Ella Boucht is a Finnish fashion designer, who established their label after graduating from Central Saint Martins fashion MA in 2020. Through their tailoring and design practice, they manifest new ways of thinking about beauty, sensuality, the body, sex, style, and gender expression today; which puts non-binary, trans and gender nonconforming bodies center-stage.    

HÄN is a director’s debut for Heather Glazzard, who started their creative career in photography, aiming to create a new narrative of queer and trans bodies in fashion and portraiture. Nora Nord is a visual artist focusing on sexuality and mental health, especially an impact of ADHD on identity and creativity of today’s youth. Both based in London, Glazzard and Nord are a couple and frequent collaborators exploring queer intimacy and beauty in all their glorious complexities.     

The display showcases a range of Boucht’s tailoring and leather pieces, Glazzard’s photography and the film titled HÄN, which is a visual ode to contemporary Finnish queerness filmed in Iniö in the archipelago of Turku. HÄN aims to show LGBTQ+ people from different backgrounds living in Helsinki, focusing specifically on butch, dyke, non-binary, trans and masc-presenting queer people whose spirit, beauty and life perspectives are often overlooked by the mainstream culture.     

The short film takes place among forests and the sea, taking queerness out of the often implied club or urban settings – showing that queer identity and community can thrive beyond the busy cities. It puts Finland’s LGBTQ+ on the map of global culture, while also building the bridge between queer communities in Helsinki and London – a temporary queer utopia free to visit for all.    

Following its Helsinki premiere, HÄN is set to make a London debut at The Salon x CSM Fashion Alumni Club, on the 25th of October in what will become a full-circle moment for the artists who once were students at the neighbouring institution. The Salon separates itself from other galleries in that it acts as a safe space for artists to share their work amongst peers in an environment reminiscent of the earlier Parisian concept.    

We invite you to join us in this final momentous step in the development of HÄN!

DETAILS

🗓 Mon 25th October I 19:00 - 23:00

📍 @kiosk_n1c | Lower Stable St, N1C 4DR

Our first ever lo-fi and uplifting soirée showcasing newgen artists, designers & musicians. Expect to be challenged & excited by:

 
Shenead | @shexead

All-round creative on a mission to deliver disgustingly naughty house numbers

sasha B | @sashaburavsky

Crackhead LA druid

Yoav Hadari | @yoavhadari 

@mafcsm Class of 2022 and @sarabandefoundation Student will showcase his installation: Neuro-inspired fashion. Digital acid trip. The in-betweens of our external and inner worldviews and their biology. Up cycling fabrics through fabric manipulation. A study of being a human being, regardless of gender

SBUERS | @sbuers

Artist and DJ with a masters degree in Emotional Electronic Excellence

TaliaBle | @TaliaBle

I-D 'one-to-watch' performing her dysfunctional opera-style rap

Jenny Sparks | @j3nnysparks

Professional wubcrafter from north south london playing unprogressive post industrial bassline music through a cdj mixer

DETAILS

🗓 Tue 12th October I 19:00 - 00:00

📍 @kiosk_n1c | Lower Stable St, N1C 4DR