Paul Gorman has a CV that would make your average lover of pop-culture physically ill with jealousy. Having successfully worked as a journalist, a music and fashion historian, an author, a DJ and club-owner, and a creative consultant, Gorman has now switched his focus to the promotion and development of his innovative new fashion label, The Look Presents. With limited edition t-shirts already on the hangers at TopMan and two more books in the pipeline, you’d think Gorman would be just about ready to call it a day and, you know, give some of the rest of us a go? Instead he’s tackling ready-to-wear men’s fashion with the aim of giving casual wear a much-needed shot in the arm. The current designs available in store, by iconic Wonder Workshop duo John and Molly Dove, include reworked versions of the ‘Wild Thing’ tee, originally worn by Sid Vicious and Marc Bolan, and the ‘Hawks and Doves’ design once worn by Paul McCartney. The garment designs to be released next will be designed by Nigel Waymouth (co-creator of famous fashion boutique Granny Takes a Trip) and Antony Price (fashion designer renowned for collaborations with Duran Duran, Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music).

Not in the least; it all happened by chance. But the pop star interviews I did were partly responsible for my book The Look. I often found the artists and musicians were more interested in talking about clothes (and many showed a surprising knowledge which would put your average fashion writer to shame) than answering the same old questions about their new album/single/tour.

Then the label sprang from the book; I felt sympatico with many of the people in it and found it ridiculous that great talents such as Antony Price, Wonder Workshop and Nigel Waymouth (to name just a few) were being all-but ignored in fashion circles. It was also clear that their work was being “referenced” without credit, so the label was a way of paying them their dues. Read the rest of this entry »

This ‘Featured:’ article is the first in what will hopefully be a long series of regular interviews with some of Desirable.co.uk’s most loved artists, designers and entrepreneurs. We aim to support local craftspeople and business people, and we like being nosey! We hope you enjoy the ‘Featured:’ series. So without further ado, meet our first interviewee, Di Overton:

Di Overton is a well-known figure within the British design industry. With a solid background in advertising, Di, along with her partner Harvey Roll, set up the website WhereDidYouBuyThat.com, an innovative online store which sells unusual designer items. After a move to the country and the sale of the WhereDidYouBuyThat.com business, Di and Harvey decided that it was time to try something new - and thus Ghost Furniture was born. Ghost Furniture is an innovative business which is centered upon the philosophy of giving quality vintage furniture a new life and a new home. Di also runs an inspirational design blog, Designers Block. We’re thrilled to be able to share our interview with Di, as we believe she is the perfect role-model for any up-and-coming designer or craftsperson within the UK.

What initially drew you to the idea of ‘ghost furniture’?

I had the idea when I owned wheredidyoubuythat.com but never had time to put it into action. When we decided to sell wheredidyoubuythat.com and our advertising agency I, at last, had that time.

Our youngest daughter lives in Paris so we were going to France quite a lot and it is just the BEST place for vintage items. I have always seen the best in discarded pieces of furniture, they are like old people, sometimes you can look at an old person and think – you must have been so beautiful or handsome when you were younger – well furniture is like that to me. Neither should be discarded.

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