Chrysalis

  I've always been obsessed with transformations. Whether it’s as simple as a youtube tutorial or watching a time-lapse of a butterfly exiting a chrysalis, change has always fascinated me. There’s something magical about taking one thing and transforming it into something different. Truly, modern society is obsessed with those people who change their image all the time, whether it’s Lady Gaga going from electro-pop to jazz or Beyonce releasing a Christian gospel track, it’s become something expected.

  That obsession deeply impacts the way I dress. I think of every outfit as a “character”, and usually ask myself “who am I today” instead of “who am I going to wear”. I allow myself to be a suited “serious businessman” in the day while rocking ripped jeans at night and acting like a sleazy rock star. Sometimes I’ll become the minimalist artist who paints every day in their Parisian loft or the LA fashion blogger who has an inherent ease about everything they wear. Some may call that a lack of focus, but I think it’s quite the opposite. In essence, my style is every style, my taste lies exactly within finding the most interesting parts within certain style groups and putting them together.

  I chose to take these pictures at Battersea Power Station as it belies the core of what I’m about. Previously a coal-fired power station, this iconic London landmark is now firmly on its way to becoming a vibrant and diverse lifestyle building. The project aims to lift the station out of the soot and into the sunshine, transforming its purpose entirely, yet keeping the core exactly the same. That’s me in a nutshell, I can change my look and what I wear a million times, but underneath it all I’ll always be exactly the same person. 

Wearing:

Top: Zara

Trousers: Topman

Backpack: Asos

Sneakers: New Balance
Sunglasses: Ebay

photography by Alice Malyon

Third Culture Kid

  I've never felt like I belong to a certain culture. Whenever I’m asked where I’m from, it takes me a good minute to sum up an answer, and even then it’s a long ass answer. Should I say I’m from Africa, because I was born there? Am I Serbian because my Mom is and I lived there for 6 years? Or am I British because I live in London and my Dad was born in Kent? 

  It’s never really seemed right. A few years ago I stumbled on an article speaking about “Third Culture Kids” - people who have spent a large portion of their formative childhood years in a culture different than their parents. Pollock wrote that TCK’s assimilate all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any. That seemed right; I was part of a culture defined by the fact that they have no culture, while having characteristics drawn from all of them. This notion has strongly influenced the way I dress; I often employ elements drawn from Eastern European kitsch, British punk and the comfort of African life. 

  Now that I've officially started working in London, and can no longer go all over the place to visit my extended family, I’m starting to feel caged, like I have to belong here. That’s why I love this bookstore so much. Daunt bookstore is mainly centered around collecting literature on all the different countries of the world. And the fact that it’s stayed mainly untouched since the Edwardian era means that it could belong anywhere in the world. This is one of the rare places I feel like I belong, a place where the boundaries between cultures are paper thin, and I can let go and believe I’m wherever I want to be.  

P.S: See, I do smile

Photography by: Viktoria Gzibvoska

An Introduction.

My name is Alex Gilbert. I am the last person you’d ever expect to see in the front row at fashion week.

 I’m not the spouse of a ridiculously wealthy Russian oil magnate, or an ex-model who looks way too perfect in all his instagram posts. I’m not even the BFF of Anna Dello Russo or Grace Coddington. I’m a 21 year old “just marketing” graduate who works in pharmaceutical recruitment. 

  I was born in Zimbabwe, raised in Serbia, and moved to London just three years ago to do my degree. I have no fairytale back story explaining why I love fashion. I never watched with awe as my mother picked out which Chanel suit she was going to wear, and my Dad’s idea of a dinner outfit is comfortable shorts, a t-shirt that fits right and shoes you can walk in. But somehow, I just really fucking love fashion. I love watching live streams of Paris fashion week, following blogs of impossibly cool people, and buying way too many editions of Vogue. Unfortunately, it all just seems so unattainable. Sure, watching models saunter down the Met Gala red carpet in Elie Saab is exhilarating, but I’m not one of those people. I’m just a relatively insane person who lives in zone 2 London and happens to love all this stuff. So, I’m starting this blog is for you, someone like me, who wants to be sitting next to BryanBoy at Prada, but is actually lying in bed eating Tesco brownies watching Netflix. 

We are the last people you’d expect to see in the front row at fashion week, we are the front row underdogs. 

Enjoy my first outfit post. 

photography by Kim Martyn
P.S: I'm not usually this serious but it was about to rain and I was worried, bye x

-Alex