DIVINE

Divine also known as Harris Glenn Milstead (1945-88), was a big, fat, bold performer!

From a young age he soon became overweight, this would be problem that he would have for the rest of his life. From this he was bullied at high school as well as the fact he wasn’t ‘tough and rough’ like the other boys.

From the age of 17 he came to realise his sexuality as he became interested in boys and girls, because of this his parents took him to see a psychiatrist (this was frowned upon at this time in America).

Shortly after this time he went to beauty school and learnt the trades that his whole career will depend on later.

Later on in life Divine had said he was most properly ‘your American spoilt brat’, he obviously got what he wanted from his parents if he thought this.

At the age of 21 he met John Waters, an aspiring film maker. Waters intended in making ‘the trashiest motion pictures in cinema history’.

From this meeting they became good friends and Waters came up with the name Divine that was used for the rest of his life.

Divine often appeared as bizarre acting roles in John Waters’s films; such as a smoking nun, Jackie Kennedy (where he kidnapped models and forced them to eat their makeup), Diana Linkletter (a teenager who rebelled against her parents then committed suicide) and a blonde bombshell (who ran other a hitchhiker). However it was not until “Multiple Maniacs’” hit the public did either of them become noticed. This was a movie in which Divine ran around on the streets threatening to kill anyone passing and at the end scene was shown being raped by a giant lobster. A quote said ‘Divine was incredible and could start a whole new trend in film’.

He was also described as ‘Trash. Filth. Obscenity.’ This was something that he decided to progress and stick to, this then became very popular.

At the age of 23 he moved to Massachusetts opening a vintage store that was short lived, he then travelled to San Francisco because of the renounced gay culture. At the age of 27 he moved back to Baltimore where he crashed his car and charged his parents the damage, they then cut him off taking his two dogs away, from this they didn’t talk for 9 years.

Up until the 1980’s he continued playing both male and female roles in cinema and theatre. This is when the New York Times wrote "Those who could get past the unremitting weirdness of Divine's performance discovered that the actor/actress had genuine talent, including a natural sense of comic timing and an uncanny gift for slapstick."

In the 1980’s he hit the club scene in Fort Lauderdale, Florida where he unscripted shouted at the audience ‘Fuck you’ at the audience then getting into a fight with another drag queen. Thankfully this proved popular and helped his career move along. Each show that he done the next had to be even more outlandish then the last, once he entered the stage on a baby elephant!  

He then produced singles from and more disco shows; however in this time he came back into contact with his parents were he bought them expensive gifts and told them about his wealth, although according to his manager he was already in a great amount of debt because of his spending habits.

In 1988 Divine landed 2 massive roles in hairspray one female, (Edna Turnblad) and one male (Arvin Hodgepile). However one week after the release Divine died in his sleep due to an enlarged heart.

Milstead and Waters for Hairspray

Andy Warhol and Divine

Divine as jackie Kennedy

Designers: LP.BG

LP.BG is an exciting new co-operation between a designer and a previous model.

Lily Parker studied a post graduate at London College of Fashion, and then went onto working for Henry Holland which then gained her a job with Richard Nicoll as a studio manager concentrating on pattern cutting; then going onto to be a tutor at Middlesex and Kent University.

Ben Grimes was a model for seven years; she inspired Karl Lagerfeld, Christopher Bailey and Helmut Lang. Being a muse to Richard Nicoll for six seasons gave her the link to Parker which then brought them together and produced LP.BG in 2008.

Designers: Skyes

Sykes says math is very important when constructing outfits ‘it’s all about the triangle’.

Sykes studied at Central Saint Martin’s in 2001 and graduated with first class honours. Then going onto working for Giorgio Armarni, Alberta Ferretti and Matches’ Freda Label and a year ago was the new Creative director at Aquasctum.

She has a ‘Fantastic eye for detail and cut produces clothes you want to wear.  

Designers: Vivienne Westwood

Westwood was born in Derbyshire and at the age of 17 moved to Harrow, London with her family. She joined Harrow School of Art and started studying a fashion and silversmith course but left after saying ‘I didn’t know how a working – class girl could possibly make a living in the art world’. She then went onto being a primary school teacher whilst making her own jewellery and selling it on Portobello road.

Later on, after she was married, she met Malcolm McLaren. They moved in together and opened a shop called ‘Let it Rock’ where Westwood produced clothes. McLaren was interested in Bikers, Fetishes and prostitution. This became quite an influence on Westwood and it appeared with in her clothes, including safety pins, razor blades, and lavatory chains amongst other things in her designs.

McLaren became the manager of the Sex Pistols who then went onto promoting the clothes through the punk era, tartan fabrics were then later added become a main part of some designs.

In 1981 McLaren and Westwood produced their first collection called Pirates. It evoked the Golden age of piracy, highway men, dandies and buccaneers. All of the outfits were unisex. This collection was a major start to Westwood’s career and blew the country away.

From 1988 – 1992 became the ‘Pagan years’ were her influences changed from Punk to Ragamuffins then to Tattler girls. From 1993 – 1999 was called her ‘Anglomania’ and from 2000 until present is the ‘Exploration’.

Throughout her career she has incorporated political issues and in 1989 dressed as then Prime Minister Margret Thatcher, in a suit that she has bought but not yet delivered. Thatcher was not happy with this mostly because of the title ‘This woman was once a punk’.

Today Westwood has five exclusive shops; three in London, one in Leeds and one in Milan, therefore making it very exclusive. Westwood also has a couple of areas in larger shops but obviously they don’t have such a wide range

This video is Westwood’s current S/S 2011 collection. Since her previous days it seems a lot calmer with a more tailored approach, there are still quirky things involved in the designs e.g. collars and sleeves, but it seems to be more aimed at older generations rather than the younger as it was once upon a time.

Designers: Craig Lawrence

Lawrence is originally from Ipswich, Suffolk a lot of his work has influenced him. Being a seaside town Nostalgia, decadence and decay comes across with in his work wear. The knitwear that he has created comes across as extreme and reinventing, because of this quirkiness he was able to work for Gareth Pugh for six seasons while he was still studying at Central St Martin’s.

 Craig Lawrences personal blog

Designers: Holly Fulton

Fulton was educated at Edinburgh College of art and graduated in 1999, she then later went onto studying an MA in fashion women swear at Royal college of Art and finished in 2007.

Fulton says that her inspiration is ‘Art deco styling, graphic realization and clashing material’. This took the catwalk in 2009 by storm ‘standing out against muted colour palates and predictable designs’. When Fulton designs she thinks what do I want to wear? Many think this is a selfish approach however if you don’t love the design the chances that everyone else will isn’t so great. However, she does prefer seeing people around the streets in her designs she gets more of a buzz as this person has actually liked it for what it is, rather than celebrities are usually dressed by someone else!

Designers: Alexander McQueen

McQueen started his career as a fashion designer at the age of 16, where he was taken on by Anderson & Sheppard tailors, where he then moved onto Gieves & Hawkes. After these experiences he then moved onto theatrical costume designers Angel & Bermans. He travelled to Milan to carry on his career before travelling back to London and applied as a pattern cutting tutor at Central Saint Martin’s, however the board of the university told him that with his background of work he should become a student. He then graduated with masters in fashion design; this gave him the stepping stone into Isabella Blow’s life, where she became somewhat of a mentor towards him. Blow bought the whole of his graduate collection, where every week he would come to hers with the clothes in a bin bag and McQueen would go with Blow to the cash point.  (‘Jack the Ripper’ (Graduate collection)).

McQueen’s catwalk shows brought controversy and shock, this would partly be to do with the fact he worked with costume design, giving him that intellectual edge.   

For example his s/s 2005 collection called ‘it’s only a game’, has a magical complexity to it, the model seems to weave in and out of each other on the catwalk and end up in rows of suited women, Latin Americans, Red hairs, Americans, Japanese etc. I feel this paragraph I found explaining the concept of the season’s catwalk shows it to its full potential.

Using a futuristic chess game as mise en scene, McQueen this time offers up an intricately worked and determinedly youthful collection featuring pieces that whisper of fashion fantasy although always with a typically tough edge. And so a floral print, primrose yellow baby doll dress is finished with signature leather harnessing, for example, amply demonstrating the play between power and vulnerability that the designer has by now made his own. The starting point is filmic again. This time clothes are inspired by Picnic At Hanging Rock - quintessential McQueen territory given its ultra-feminine and innocent spirit undermined by a significantly dark undercurrent. Everything from Edwardian children’s wear to embroidered fairground horses makes an appearance. The chessboard motif allows the designer to explore different types of women – Americans face Japanese on the board, redheads are placed opposite Latin Americans and so forth.  .Text Source

Here is the first part to the catwalk show.

And here is the second part.

Unfortunately on February tenth McQueen committed suicide and was found the next day hung in his wardrobe by his house keeper, an ambulance was called to the scene but he was declared dead at the scene. However his name and image still lives on.