March/April 2013

London

In London again after many years. I was eager coming back in this buzzling and unbelievable town. Just for some days – better than nothing. London remains the thrilling place I knew from long time ago. Also, after some tough years that saw its status as an international fashion centre drop, the city is now back at the heart of the fashion universe, boasting a new firmament of young stars who have caught the collective eye of the fashion pack.

The influence of London´s designers continues to spread well beyond the capital. The “British Fashion Pack” still work at, or run, the major Continental fashion houses such as Chanel, Givenchy and Chloé. A trend that has come out of London over the past couple of years is the celebrity lines being sold in bargain chains. Karl Lagerfeld and Stella McCartney have designed lines for H&M, Kate Moss and Beth Ditto for Top Shop, and Lily Allen for New Look, each one generating huge excitement.

Sex and drugs and Rock’n Roll

I think London fashion has always been about street wear and as a result London is definitely exciting on a global scale and nobody with an interest in street fashion will be disappointed by what they find here. But there is much more. For example, Soho, has its own history of Sex and drugs and Rock’n Roll. Here Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd did their early gigs at the legendary Marquee Club, which used to be on Wardour Street. Soho had long been known for its seediness but when the hundreds of prostitutes who served the Square Mile were forced off the streets and into shop windows, it became the city’s red-light-district full of drinking clubs. Gay liberation soon followed, and by the 1980s Soho was the hub of London’s gay scene, as it remains today. The neighbourhood has a real sense of community, best absorbed on a weekend morning when Soho is at its most villagelike.

I did not miss the so called Guard Mounting, the changing of the guards in front of the royal homes. The old guard comes off duty to be replaced by the new guard and I gaped at the bright uniforms and bearskin hats of shouting and marching soldiers for just over half an hour.

Back to London downtown. The tiny backstreets and ancient churches are today confronted with skyscrapers and office blocks. The famous St. Paul’s Cathedral is a must for all visitors, same as the Tower of London and the iconic Tower Bridge. The Tower of London was first on my list of London’s sights. But with more than two million visitors a year, this place was so crowded that I decided to stay outside.

Vintage and Saatchi

I went on to Hyde Park, passing Speaker’s corner which is the only place in Britain where demonstrators can assemble without police permission. Speaker’s corner has a long history: It was frequented by Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and George Orwell.

Back shopping again. I visited some Vintage shops. London is famous for it. The city’s love affair with vintage apparel seems to be a lasting one. When you are lucky you find Vintage designer pieces from Chanel, Dior, Miu Miu, Vivienne Westwood and other odd bits and pieces from the 1920s to the 1980s. What for a pity, I had no time to stroll around for many hours, so I missed the really good things offered in the extravagant shops.

There is still so much to see in and around London. Next time I will go for the flea markets, as Greenwich Market, Clocktower Market and Portobello Road Market.

One of my personal London highlights was my visit at Saatchi Gallery. The place provides an innovative forum for contemporary art, presenting work by largely unseen young artists or by international artists whose work has been rarely or never exhibited in the UK. Therefore the gallery also operates as a springboard for artists to launch their careers. Just great!

Another great thing was meeting my friends Tania and Caroline, who are living in London. We didn´t see in years and we had lots to talk.

Meeting the Royals at Windsor
No, I did not! Even when the Queen was there for the mess at St. George’s Chapel. British monarchs have inhabited Windsor Castle for more than 900 years. Today it is well known to be the Queen’s favourite residence and the place she calls home. A disastrous fire here in 1992 nearly wiped out this incredible piece of English cultural heritage. A 37 million £ restoration followed, completed in 1998.

Windsor town hit the spotlight in 2005 when Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles were married in a civil ceremony (shocking!) in Windsor’s Guildhall. The Queen did not attend the wedding.

Starting out as a wooden castle erected in 1070 by William the Conqueror, and rebuilt in stone in 1165 is easily accessible from London. But it is not the only attraction in the area.

Eton, the school of the rich and famous

Across the River Thames lies Eton College, the famous school of the rich and famous. It educates over 1.300 pupils, aged between 13 to 18 years and was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI.

Eton is one of nine English independent schools, commonly referred to as „public schools“. Following the public school tradition, Eton is a full boarding school, which means all pupils live at the school. The place has a long list of distinguished former pupils, as British Prime Minister David Cameron as well as generations of British and foreign aristocracy and members of the royal family, the most recent being Prince William and his brother Prince Harry.

Eton has traditionally been referred to as „the chief nurse of England’s statesmen“, and has been described as the most famous public school in the world.

„No other school can claim to have sent forth such a cohort of distinguished figures to make their mark on the world.“

Historian of Eton

After that trip I needed indeed some quiet days at home!