Graphic giants of the fashion world, 2K, are changing their course slightly this summer. A new range of organic t-shirts are to be released in 2008 as well as trucker caps made in Los Angeles.

John Amis from 2K by Gingham said: “We are admittedly a little behind on the organic scene, but have answered the call and are printing select art on organic t-shirts. We continue to produce a custom t-shirt body made entirely in the U.S. We are constantly trying to improve upon the fit and feel, it’s never ending.”

The brand is also planning to work with fewer artists this year to hone in on a leaner menu of graphic designs. Amis said: “As we see from our wholesale site, the range of artists and designs is extensive and ‘artistically overwhelming’ as some would politely comment. Therefore, it may be an opportune year to make subtle adjustments to our line up with a little artful belt tightening.

We look forward to a colourful summer.

AW

This month saw Daniel Day-Lewis collect a well-earned BAFTA and Oscar for best actor in the epic film “There will be blood.” Nailing the role of Daniel Plainview, a dedicated oil prospector, Day-Lewis picked up his third BAFTA award and his second Oscar.

Fashioning a Paul Smith Bespoke suit that had been commissioned especially for him from Westbourne House, Daniel Day-Lewis gave a speech so beautiful that it could have been mistaken for an epilogue in itself. “In Greenwich Park, Blackheath, the streets of Deptford, Lewisham, New Cross, the bombsites on the Isle of Dogs, the wharfs and shadowy lane ways of the southeast London Docks, the terraces of Millwall Football Ground, those are the playgrounds of my early life. We carry on playing and we need playmates. Or otherwise we’re just playing with ourselves.”

Day-Lewis is one of many actors who do justice to the elegance of Paul Smith. But, stealing the show at the British Academy Film Awards with his genuine humility and cultured flair, the team at Paul Smith are very proud of the London-born actor…and rightfully so.

AW

An insight into the enigma that is Vivienne Westwood is now in print. The Vivienne Westwood Opus was launched this month revealing a deeper understanding of her designs, her passions and her manifesto. Teaming up with Kraken Opus, the groundbreaking fashion designer aims to encourage all intellectuals to fight propaganda. 2005 saw Westwood collaborate fashion with international politics as she designed t-shirts with ‘Leonard Peltier is Innocent’ across the front to challenge the Government’s policy on detaining people without trial.

Quoting the dystopian writer Aldous Huxley, Westwood is continuing her anti-propaganda theme in the new book, which is available to the public worldwide.

Vivienne Westwood’s philosophy resonates like a Che Guevara rallying call. She said: “I make the great claim for my manifesto, that it penetrates to the root of the human predicament and offers the underlying solution. We have a choice: to become more cultivated, and therefore more human; - or by not choosing, to be the destructive and self-destroying animal, the victim of our own cleverness (To be or not to be).

Only 900 copies of the book will be published but glimpses of the manifesto can be found on her website. Each Edition is priced £1400 www.viviennewestwood.com

I wouldn’t mess with this woman.

AW