I vomited while interviewing John Waters about his love of Christmas for Noon, went back to school for Sunday Times STYLE Magazine, binge-watched Parenthood for The Guardian, perspired profusely on my date with Matthew McConaughey and Channing Tatum for Wonderland, talked self-help with Starlee Kine for The Gentlewoman, went to Terrywood for i-D, discussed fashion and fragrance with Alia Raza for Dazed Digital, wore my best plaid shirt to interview My So-Called Life’s costume designer for Refinery29, almost got into a car accident with Maddie Hasson for Interview, rediscovered feminist artist Margaret Harrison for AnOther Magazine, chatted compulsion with Alex Prager for Bullett and discovered why Clueless was out to give grunge a bad rep for Hint Magazine.
More links, below. Please assume that I wrote the good stuff and someone else sub-edited the bad. I would never knowingly use “awesome” as an adjective.
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It’s Lit
My column for Refinery29 UK, “It’s Lit”, was about books and who’s reading what. It ran from 2016-2020 and featured interviews with women in the creative industries. You can read the full series here. Links to a selection can be found below:
Author Helen Phillips on Living with Alopecia
It has been almost seven years since Helen stopped covering up her scalp and when I ask her how she feels about it now, she tells me that, “at this point, I love basically everything” about being bald.
What Made My So-Called Life So Special
The man responsible for the show’s iconic wardrobe is Emmy Award winner Patrick R. Norris, a TV director who spent 20 years designing costumes before making his directing debut in the My So-Called Life episode, “Resolutions.” Norris thinks “plaids are soft and peaceful.” He punctuates his sentences with “like” and says “dude” a lot. In other words, he’s exactly as you might imagine.
’90s Fashion with Blossom
Long before Blair Waldorf and her Gossip Girl cohorts stylised the small screen, ’90s teen comedy drama Blossom paved the way for budding fashionistas fresh out of junior school.
In Defence of Crying at the TV
I keep a box of tissues by the couch. It’s a necessary precaution because I cry at nearly everything on my TV screen.
How To Dress Like Parker Posey’s Party Girl
Mary’s librarian-on-acid wardrobe is super-easy to recreate. Here’s how.
Annie Lennox Gets Vocal
Why the singer-songwriter is lending her voice to women that have none.
Born to Run
Roll down your windows, crank up the radio, sit back and enjoy the ride as we take to the open road.
Crafting a New Career
Ever wondered what it’s like to quit your day job to pursue your creative hobby? We meet the people who made the jump and never looked back.
Lost and Found
Persephone Books has built its name by championing forgotten female literature.
Shedloads of Style
The modern man cave is stocked with far more than tools and tins of paint. We take a look inside stylist Simon Foxton’s room of his own.
The First Cut is the Deepest
From the thrill of early martial arts movies to falling for a bronzed Charlton Heston, three Soho House members – Jonathan Ross, Barry Jenkins and Jany Temime – remember the films that shaped them.
The Book of Life
Six Soho House members share the titles that inspired their careers, ignited their ambitions or transformed their view of the world.
An Interview with Reader of the Month: Sharon Rooney
“That period doesn’t feel that long ago, but people really didn’t talk about sex in the same way as we do now. I didn’t realise how much of an impact these parties had on women” -actress Sharon Rooney on the legacy of Ann Summers parties.
An Interview with Reader of the Month: Jacqueline Suskin
Poem Store offers customers an original piece on a topic of their choice, for a sum they set. It’s a novel concept that has taken Jacqueline and her typewriter from a regular spot at Hollywood Farmer’s Market to Art Basel via Kris Jenner’s 60th birthday party.
An Interview with Reader of the Month: Jenny Lee Lindberg
“The record may be very vulnerable, but I’m not a scary and dark person – I can be silly too. I wanted the title to hint at that.” Warpaint’s Jenny Lee Lindberg on her debut solo album, ‘right on!’
An Interview with Reader of the Month: Starlee Kine
“For my 16th birthday, my mom got a Columbo impersonator. I remember being mortified. I’m sure there was a lot of, “Mom, you’ve ruined my life forever!”” – Mystery Show’s Starlee Kine.
An Interview with Reader of the Month: Helen Nisbet
Fed up of feeling homesick, Shetlander Helen Nisbet decided to bring her beloved native Isles to her new hometown of London when she moved down south ten years ago.
Do Yourself a Favour and Make Awkward Your Next Box Set
Blending super-sharp humour, emotional sincerity and a preoccupation with sex, Awkward is both a send-up of, and homage to, the high-school genre.
Why You Really Should Be Watching Parenthood
You need a lot of confidence in your material if you’re going to give episodes such unpromising and vaguely sermonising names as Qualities and Difficulties.
Jon Snow: Journalist, Presenter, Style Icon
It turns out that the man who once declined an OBE has also refused another prestigious award: Tieman of the Year.
Milan Fashion Week Misdemeanours
Prim and proper at Versace as per usual.
Fashion Statement
Roberto Cavalli once said: “We should think more about fantasy.” I agree; we should fantasise about a world without his clothes. What a wonderful world that would be…
A Closer Look at the Confessional Works of Marion Wagschal
The feminist painter’s bold oeuvre comes to life in a new exhibition celebrating Canada’s leading female artists.
A Story To Tell
An exhibition of street photography from three names who have dedicated their careers to documenting inner-city stories with a focus on communities marginalised by mainstream society.
Billy Childish on Creativity
The hard-to-define Billy Childish once famously declared: “I am not a painter, I am not a musician, and what sort of idiot would want to be a poet?” The truth is, he is all these things and more.
Paige Powell on Photographing Basquiat
“I remember getting off the elevator and Jean-Michel walking right into me like a magnet.” – Photographer Paige Powell remembers her relationship with Jean-Michel Basquiat.
Culture Talks: Charlie Anderson
Scottish artist Charlie Anderson is known for his epic scale pop art paintings. At first glance, they appear to be cut-and-paste collages – but Anderson creates the post-punk effect purely through painting.
Tim Walker, Story Teller
Yesterday, Tim Walker told us, “If you’re going to do a show there’s no point in just putting a picture on a wall, you have to educate and explain”. ‘Tim Walker, Story Teller’ does just that.
In Pictures: Aspen Magazine
Providing a time capsule into the period it dominated, the 1960s magazine Aspen was one of the first to embrace multimedia, a 3-D sensory experience that paved the way for the future of art publishing.
Antony Penrose Remembers Lee Miller
Cover girl, artist’s muse and the first lady of Surrealism, the work of photographer Lee Miller is celebrated in a new exhibition at Galerie Hiltawsky in Berlin.
Culture Talks: The Hilton Brothers
“Rest is for the weak. A good night’s sleep is perfect. Once your work begins to make you tired, it’s time to pack your things and get on the bus.” – The Hilton Brothers discuss their past, present and future.
Culture Talks: Tim Noble and Sue Webster
The artists desire for an element of surprise has led them to hold back on revealing every detail of the work, which they have created as a journey of exploration.
Culture Talks: Margaret Harrison
As other powerful yet neglected women artists are being re-evaluated – Alice Neal, Yayoi Kusama, Rose Wylie and more – I Am Fantasy invites Margaret Harrison out of the retrospective 70s box to which history wishes to relegate her.
Adam Brody on Some Girl(s), Re-enacting Porn and the Whereabouts of Captain Oats
In his latest film Some Girl(s), Adam Brody is not just some guy, he’s the guy. We caught up with the actor formally known as Seth Cohen to talk about acting with friends, ending relationships on a high note and filming Lovelace.
Jamie Chung on Her Harrowing Turn As a Sex Slave in Eden
“It’s pretty rare that you come across a script that’s written for a Korean-American girl that doesn’t involve a samurai sword, or an action star, or any of those other stereotypes” – Eden‘s Jamie Chung.
Troian Bellisario on Lauren, Her Short Film and the Return of Drunk Spencer
Los Angeles native Troian Bellisario plays the title role of soldier and sexual assault victim Lauren with an understated ease that is sure to catapult her from computer to movie screens in no time.
Alex Prager’s Compulsive Viewing
Marrying the surreal with the sublime, Prager’s Compulsion sets up a series of apocalyptic scenes with visible artifice, creating a narrative that could have been lifted from a B movie.
Discovery: Maddie Hasson
When I spoke with actress Maddie Hasson on the phone last week, our conversation began with her in the bath washing her hair, was frequently interrupted by the cries of my cat and her dog, and culminated in a car accident—almost.
Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation: Lesley Arfin
While most of us hope to escape our awkward teenage years, Lesley Arfin has made a career in revisiting and retelling the mistakes and misdemeanours of her youth.
How watching teen dramas helped me bond with my parents
The first “sex scene” I ever saw on-screen was in Top Gun, a film I was allowed to watch with my parents as long as I closed my eyes and put my fingers in my ears during “the rude bits.” Of course, I peeked, and years later as I careened through puberty, I remember thinking how much easier it would have been if we had kept that same censorship technique in place – how it might have saved me (and, I suspect, them) from the inevitable awkwardness that ensued every time we sat down to watch television.
Interview with I. Marlene King, Pretty Little Liars Creator
As a tween, I used to go to sleepovers where Now & Then was constantly on repeat – in particular, that Devon Sawa skinny dipping scene. I’d always wondered who was responsible for this slice of cinematic history, so imagine my surprise when I learnt that the screenwriter of this coming-of-age classic was none other than I. Marlene King, creator of my current guilty pleasure, Pretty Little Liars.
Magic Mike: Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey
At 19, Channing Tatum was thrusting his way towards stardom in an all-male dance troupe, gyrating to Ginuwine for a fistful of dollars. Now he’s returned to the scene of the crime with Magic Mike. Wonderland sits down with Channing and co-star Matthew McConaughey to discuss their first times.
Interview with John Gallagher Jr.
Tony award-winner John Gallagher Jr. is the latest Broadway star to trade the stage for the small screen. Starring in Aaron Sorkin’s new TV series, The Newsroom, John took five to tell Wonderland why making the move from theatre to television has been an easy one.
FRUiTS: An Interview with Shoichi Aoki
Long before Gwen Stefani put Harajuku style on the map, photographer Shoichi Aoki documented the Tokyo locale’s cult fashion scene in his street style bible FRUiTS.
Artist Andrew Curtis’ Wild England
In his first solo UK show, artist Andrew Curtis finds himself lost in suburbia. In ‘Wild England’, Curtis manipulates his suburban surroundings to reveal a landscape that is a far cry from its projected image of perfection.
Mick Rock’s Rock Music
“The modern acts are exposed so heavily by media. They can’t be the rebels that they used to be because society won’t let them. The older generation were like criminals – living outside the moralities of the time, they were cultural revolutionaries in their own right” – Mick on music’s golden era: the 70s.
Just Loomis Is Just Fine As We Are
American photographer Just Loomis swaps fashion for faces in his latest exhibition, As We Are. Just’s recent work provides a social commentary on contemporary America, exploring social alienation amid the vast American landscape.
Instant Newton: A Collection of Helmut Newton’s Polaroids
Those familiar with Helmut Newton’s work will recognize his cast of glamazon warriors, supine nudes and power dressing super-women alongside endearing polaroids of the man himself who appears to have had as much fun on camera as he did off.
i-N Conversation with Gillian Zinser
Articulate, warm, switched on and straight-forward, the precocious 90210 performer is graduating from West Beverly Hills High to the big screen this year with high-profile parts in upcoming features Manson Girls and Oliver Stone’s Savages.
Finding Cindy Sherman
London plays host to a new family of misfits this month courtesy of artist Cindy Sherman. Taking residence in Spruth Magers gallery, the photographer’s most recent creations include a medieval soldier, juggling performer and a dancing bohemian.
Frankie Goes To TERRYWOOD
Hollywood undergoes yet another transformation courtesy of mega image maestro Terry Richardson in his latest exhibition, ‘TERRYWOOD’.
Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel
With every issue and exhibition, Diana Vreeland took her audience on an epic visual journey that continues to educate and inspire twenty-three years after her death.
Talking GIRLS with Costume Designer Jenn Rogien
Jenn Rogien knows what girls like. Specifically, what they like to wear. The costume designer responsible for dressing the cast of Lena Dunham’s precocious hit show GIRLS told us that she would like to think the clothes play the part of an additional character; “a key supporting player, if you will.”
Not So Clueless: Q&A with Costume Designer Mona May
I’ve lost count how many times I’ve watched Clueless, the 1995 camp classic responsible not only for injecting a host of words-as-hand-gestures—Whatever, Loser—into pop culture, but also introducing millions of teenagers to the world of high fashion.
The Beautiful Mind Isn’t Just A Movie – It’s A New Perfume
These days it seems like everyone has a fragrance, but few actually appear on the bottle.
Marc Jacobs – Simply the Bäst
The designer cites Wes Anderson’s ‘weird luxury’ film aesthetic as the key inspiration for his new collection but Bäst told us he doesn’t know who the director is…
Chevi Chevi Chevignon
A must-have for big kids and reformed rude boys, Chevignon is relaunching its iconic Togs Unlimited ski jacket hybrid for a new generation of street-smart teens.
MISC.
First Day Back
Going to school in civvies can be a trial. With no uniform to fall back on, do you follow the pack or break out in your own style? Frankie Mathieson talks sixth-form trends to teens.
Alia Raza’s Le Viol de la Méduse
Her latest project creates a beautiful, yet bizarre parallel universe, where Julia Restoin-Roitfeld reigns as the Greek goddess Medusa in a film produced by Derek Blasberg, featuring Tavi as story editor.
Blonde Ambition: Interview with Britt Robertson
Britt Robertson – TV-star turned twenteen movie sensation – talks to Rollacoaster about baby jaguars, Steve Carell and OCD.
P.S. LIKE EVERYONE ELSE, I USED TO HAVE A BLOG…
Below, links to some posts that don’t make me cringe, much.
And the award goes to… + He was robbed
Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: The Bowl Cut
A child is for life, not just for fashion week…
It hurts to look at you (again)
That’s all folks.
© Frankie Mathieson
Frankie Mathieson Writes 