If the Yayoi Kusama retrospective at the Tate Modern isn’t on your cultural radar then it should be! Kusama is an artist like no other, not only does she incorporate our favourite round shapes into her work with her punchy polka dots adorning everything from human bodies in the the sixties to her avant garde landscape paintings, but her life is as colourful as her work too!

Kusama went from rural Japan to the male dominated art scene of New York where she mingled with the likes of Andy Warhol before back across the world to contemporary Tokyo where, in 1977, she voluntarily checked into a psychiatric institution and has been living there ever since, she is now comfortably into her 80s. (see what we mean about colourful?!)  We adore the textures and repetitive patterns within her work, the perfect inspiration for the ss12 bold and beautiful looks.

The exhibition, supported by Louis Vuitton, is on until June so no excuse not to get down there and see it! Our personal favourite is where the exhibition culminates, the infinity room, we don’t want to ruin the experience for you but we will tell you this: we literally left seeing spots!

www.tate.org.uk

Earlier this month we reviewed the fabulous album by Nite Jewel aka Ramona Gonzalez here on our blog. The super sweet mix of infectiously melodic 80s synths, bass lines that beg to be danced to and dreamy vocals on ‘One Second of Love’ got us hooked. So we decided to find out a little more about this musical gem. . .

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You know, if someone has told us ten years ago that we would be lusting after collared shirts we would have laughed out loud, but what do you know. We are! Thanks to the inimitable fashion influence of Alexa Chung and her infatuation with collars, the catwalks and high street stores are awash with collared shirts and we just can’t get enough of them.

Whether you go for pointed, peter pan, scalloped, embellished of fancy, one thing is for sure – you need to button up to get ahead in the style stakes!

We like to wear ours with a statement necklace over the top to give it a little edge, as does Mademoiselle Robot who wore our opulent bead necklace over her collared shirt at our store launch! Or try contrasting the sharp cut of your shirt to a super-smooth round pendant for instant fashion gravitas, we personally think our colour reel pendant is perfect for the job!

Two of our favourite things are fun and fashion, so naturally we adore the cartoon-style fashion illustrations by London-based Margot Bowman. And it’s not just us that loves her! Margot has collaborated with some of the most influential brands in the industry, whilst also finding time to be the creative director of ethical fashion magazine The Estethica Review and dabble in a spot of DJ-ing with her friends, making her our ultimate multi-tasking lola&grace icon! We got in touch with her to talk London, work and yellow . . .

Is illustration something you have always been interested in? 

I was always always drawing when I was younger, I just didn’t know it was something you could do for a living!

Who are your greatest influences? 

Picasso, Wolfgang Tillmans, Murakami, Kaws, The Yellow Submarine by The Beatles, and my friends! They inspire me more than anyone.

Where do you feel most inspired? 

Just after I’ve been to the gym I have these sort of mini moments of clarity, it’s that thing, you do your best work when your not working!

What is London’s best kept secret?

That the city loves you!

Favourite London hang out? 

Duck Soup in Soho!

New York, London, Milan or Paris? 

Hmmmmmm, I think the ideal is New York energy, with Parisian food and Milanese coffee all in London!

Any advice for aspiring illustrators out there?

Word hard, be professional, don’t follow trends – be the only person doing what you do and be the best at it!

If you could be a colour… 

Such a hard question! They are all my favourite – I think probably yellow. I did all the packaging for my final hand in for Central Saint Martins in yellow and I got a first, so I think it’s my power colour.

Margot has designed a limited edition top sticker for Kiehl’s Earth Day product. 100% of net sales will be donated to environmental charity Trees for Cities. The products will be available from Liberty and all stand alone Kiehl’s stores. www.margotbowman.com 

This seductively dark cyber-ballad by New York based ASTR will be in your head for the rest of the day! The memorable lyrics and flawless robotic vocal performance are what first caught our attention – and they held it until the very end of the song.