The Boutique Gallery Launch Party at Jaeger - SS13

This week has been a roller-coaster of innovative canapes, air kissing and cooing over very fine things, with our press day at IPR, meetings all over London and a buzzing launch party for The Boutique Gallery at Jaeger. Here are a few snaps of us and various Boutique Gallery guests including Laura Bailey, Daisy Lowe, the lovely Lara Bohinc, Laura Jackson, Becky Tong and Monica Beatrice of the Elgin Avenue. We also spied press representatives from Vogue, Marie Claire, Company, Cosmo, Easy Living, La Petite Anglaise and Stylenest. It was great to finally see everyone's collections in the flesh and start getting excited about our SS13 scarf collection being stocked on Regent Street. 

Age of Reason designer Ali Mapletoft- by Lea Salomone

Laura Bailey - photo courtesy of Jaeger

Daisy Lowe - photo courtesy of Jaeger

Lara Bohinc - photo courtesy of Jaeger

 Ali and Charlie Mapletoft Age of Reason photo by Lea Salomone. 

 Ali Mapletoft Age of Reason-  photo courtesy of Jaeger

Laura Jackson photo courtesy of Jaeger

Becky Tong photo courtesy of Jaeger

Monica Beatrice of the Elgin Avenue blog- photo by Lea Salomone. 

Age of Reason at The Boutique Gallery - Jaeger Regent Street

It's been an exciting week for Age of Reason, with the launch of The Boutique Gallery on Monday.  We're pleased to be part of it alongside Preen, Charlotte Taylor, Mawi, Orla Kiely and many more.

Housed on the 2nd Floor of Jaeger's Flagship London store, the space has been re-vamped into a new luxury shopping emporium complete with tea-room and panoramic views over Regent Street. Cuppa anyone?

 Bringing together the best of emerging and established British brands, The Boutique Gallery manages to be both stylish and thoughtful, offering everything from high end apparel and accessories to beautiful Taschen art books. 

 For a full list of brands follow this link to the Jaeger Boutique Gallery Lookbook. So far our favorite pieces include bangles by Nicholas King, and Charlotte Taylor's dresses. We also hear rumours about Tusting Bags in menswear, which we like a lot. We always carry our samples in a Tusting bag. We're also looking forward to seeing new jewellery pieces by Lara Bohinc. 

The press launch will take place next Tuesday. We'll keep you posted!

The Rime of The Ancient Mariner, Kurt Cobain, Hidden poetry and Art

In my lifetime it's never been cool or trendy to like poetry. In fact as a teenager I probably hid my love of poetry underneath my love of Kurt Cobain. Looking back it seems ridiculous, but nobody my age wanted to look like a) a nerd b) a geek c) a dweep. (By the way all of these things are now cool and Topshop has the T-shirts to prove it.)

How things have changed. It may still be a social faux-pas to speak poetry in public, but I'm using Coleridge to inspire the new collection. And when I think about it, it's really not that different to using Nirvana. Also all the best people I know where nerds, geeks and dweebs once, so bring it on.

Ali

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, written in 1797–98

(Excerpt) 

 Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down, 

 'Twas sad as sad could be;   

And we did speak only to break  

  The silence of the sea!      

All in a hot and copper sky, 

 The bloody Sun, at noon,  

  Right up above the mast did stand,   

No bigger than the Moon.    

  Day after day, day after day, 

 We stuck, nor breath nor motion;  

  As idle as a painted ship  

  Upon a painted ocean.   

 Water, water, everywhere,  

  And all the boards did shrink; 

 Water, water, everywhere,   

Nor any drop to drink.

Monica Beatrice of The Elgin Avenue Age of Reason

Marie Claire Blog Awards winner Monica Beatrice of the Elgin Avenue blog recently posted pics of herself wearing our Zulu scarf. We've never seen it worn this way, twisted to reveal only the border, and it reminded us of the never-ending versatility of the humble scarf. One minute intricate and elaborate, the next minute graphic and simple. We love the colour combinations she chose to accompany it. Roll on SS13! 

Style Photography by the talented Lea Salomone http://www.leasalomone.com/

Product Photography by the mysterious Capture Factory  http://www.capturefactory.co.uk/

Age of Reason in Suitcase Magazine

This beautiful Far Eastern shoot in Suitcase Mag features our "Key to My Heart" scarf alongside Alexander McQueen, Nicholas Kirkwood and Atsuko Kudo.

It reminds us of Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge


"In Xanadu did Kublai Khan
A stately Pleasure-Dome decree,
Where Alph, the sacred river ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.

So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers was girdled ’round,
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery."

Read the rest by clicking here.

You can also view the entire shoot, credits and a Suitcase making-of video here  http://www.suitcasemag.com/post/oriental-valentine-271/

Valentine Exclusive at Coco de Mer

This week our darkly romantic "Key To My Dark Heart" scarf hits Coco De Mer's Monmouth Street shop as a limited edition exclusive. 

The scarf was inspired by Susanna Clarke's lavish novel "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell" set in 19th Century England. An antique key on a ribbon sits at the centre of a wreath of roses bordered by bees and a darkly gothic floral border. Twisted roses intertwine on a deep burgundy red silk background, with half the blooms thriving and half becoming twisted thorns. As subtle Union jack motif hides behind the main image, retaining Age of Reason's signature Brit-punk look.

This scarf may sell out before it becomes available online, so customers are advised to call the shop to check availability or reserve. http://www.coco-de-mer.com/ 0800 011 6895

Sketching

I normally work in pen and ink and thought I'd try combining it with some other materials. I've been using oil pastels in this mixed media experiment, with mixed results. The process is challenging because the oil naturally repels the ink, (which can help or hinder). I based the image loosely on my pirate queen character, and while I really don't think it has the poise or attitude of the original we use on our scarves, I like parts of it. Blues and vermillion reds are going to crop up in future collections I'm sure!

   

MEN'S FASHION WEEK - THE POCKET SQUARE

To celebrate Men's Fashion Week in London this week we're praising the pocket square; that small square of silk, which transforms mundane to elegant with just a few folds and a tuck. While there are conventions in pocket square styling, we like to think there are no rules. 

 What we love most about the humble, and affordable pocket square, is its ability to convey a little personality onto a very plain suit jacket or blazer. Our "Orgy" square below is intentionally cheeky but it takes a second glance to notice the saucy print. We were delighted at Best of Britannia when Grey Fox took to this one with such enthusiasm and styled it on his excellent blog. As you can see we've taken a little inspiration from the rakish folds he created.

Pocket hankies are a great way to add a dash of colour without looking like a children's TV presenter. Keep the suit or jacket muted and opt for a striking hue in the pocket square like our God Save The Queen square here.

Learning to fold pocket squares can be really satisfying. Silk works best for the louche, soft folds shown.  For crisp lines try cotton or linen options (we'll be making some of our own cotton versions next season for AW13).  There are some great online video tutorials on how to wear pocket squares and this blog post has one of our favourite collections of photos of dapper chaps wearing them. 

Enjoy! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM AGE OF REASON

Happy New Year from Ali and Charlie at Age of Reason! We're looking forward to another creative year, looking forward to being quintessentially us and nothing else. We Will Never Surrender.

 Here's to 2013. 

A MONTH IN PICTURES- DECEMBER 2012

It's been an absolute whirlwind this month, with party planning, gift wrapping and pop up shops a-plenty. Festive preparations, from tree decorating to hand making hundreds of gift tags were the order of the day, with our annual pre-Christmas sample sale in Brighton taking centre stage. We've been blown away by the number of people lovingly choosing our scarves as gifts for friends and family.  It's the ultimate in satisfaction for us. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM AGE OF REASON

Ali and Charlie wish you a fabulous Christmas! We're so delighted that many of you will be finding Age of Reason scarves under the tree this year.

Thank you for all your support in 2012! 

AGE OF REASON AT WOLF & BADGER

We're pleased to announce that our Owl and Pirate Queen scarves are now available at  Wolf and Badger's shop in Notting Hill. 

Wolf and Badger is a beacon of cutting edge designer talent, stocking labels like Bex Rox, Fury Shoes and  Helen Ruth  so it's an honour to find our scarves amongst its treasures. We hope that some of you will make it down to Ledbury Road for a spot of Christmas shopping. 

Don't forget to have a look at our gentleman's pocket squares too! 

Wolf and Badger Ledbury Road, Notting Hill. 

https://www.wolfandbadger.com/shop/designers/age-of-reason/

020 7229 5698