Bloomsbury – The Cultural Exposé

What we’ve been up to… VQ, Great Russell Street

The Cultural Exposé — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 11:00:34 +0000

24-hour restaurants in London aren’t exactly new, but it’s good news to us that one of the flashiest venues for a 3am T-bone steak – or whatever late night snack you fancy – has now extended its reach to Bloomsbury. After 18 years of feeding and watering Chelsea’s revellers, we expect the new VQ to be an even bigger hit for reasons we discovered this weekend. It’s mere minutes away from Tottenham Court Road station and while they can whip up a mean Cosmopolitan on the drinks front, we were pleasantly surprised that such a non-stop operation could also deliver with the eats. There’s a 24-hour breakfast menu, but we personally loved the merguez sausages with harissa & tzatziki dip for starters, followed by the grilled salmon with spinach & hollandaise (with mashed potatoes) and the warm chocolate brownie to top it all off – so visit soon while they’re currently offering 20% off the food and experience all this goodness and more for yourself…

For more info, visit: www.vq24hours.com

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Something you should see… A Quiet American – Ralph Rucci & Paris

Jane Duru — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 10:00:17 +0000

The public fascination with the inner workings of the fashion world shows no signs of slowing down; witness the rash of street style blogs springing up all over the internet, the hordes of fashion bloggers attending the shows, not to mention the numerous books and movies providing the inside take on the fashion world. Who could forget the fabulosity (and sometime-ferociousness) of Valentino The Last Emperor, or the bitchy world of The Devil Wears Prada?

Which is why it’s refreshing to see a documentary celebrating the pure craft and the passion of an industry veteran. Ralph Rucci may not be a household name on this side of the pond but the couturier, who celebrates 30 years in the business this year, is the only American designer to have been invited to show at haute couture since Mainbocher in the 30s.

C. S. Leigh’s documentary follows the designer through four years in Paris in New York, as he negotiates the haute couture process from conception to catwalk, working with the world’s best artisans along the way. Featuring interviews with industry heavyweights Andre Leon Talley, Suzy Menkes and Cathy Horyn it seems this unsung great of the fashion world is finally taking his bow in the spotlight.

A Quiet American – Ralph Rucci & Paris is showing at Horse Hospital, Colonnade Bloomsbury, WC1N 1HX on September 17. For more info, visit www.thehorsehospital.com

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Something you should see… Frank Laws: London Bits at the Orange Dot Gallery

Matilda — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 10:00:36 +0000

As the hype around the Olympics starts to simmer, expect questions about the state of East London post-games to re-emerge, with sceptics fearing the area could return to the less glorious state it was known for. But that’s just how urban re-development tends to go – buildings quietly losing their stature, inhabitants flocking to destinations elsewhere or those who choose to stay ageing along with the neighbourhood.

Frank Law‘s new exhibition London Bits dabbles in some of these ideas, with his precise paintings of former 20th century new builds presented as lonely, reticent – and in some cases, ominous – dwellings which unlikely resemble the gleam of their birth. In one image – Bits 2012 – a mosaic of sections from an estate suggests the importance of the people within a community, with the only evidence of life being the clothing hung on lines and the England flag. Another, Valette House, is a cold, gothic depiction of the Hackney building, lit up by street lamps and the lights spilling out from flats. A shadowy figure in a window adds to the bleakness.

Beyond the medium’s message, the detail in each piece is remarkable, and that’s a credit to Laws as not only a fine artist, but one who has an in-depth appreciation for his subjects. But where he really succeeds is in his ability to showcase an often ignored aspect of the capital in such a beautiful, thoughtful manner, which mildly questions the present state of society and our unknown future. Worth seeing.

Showing at the Orange Dot Gallery, 54 Tavistock Place, WC1H 9RG until August 24th. For more info visit www.orangedotgallery.co.uk

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