Crowned with feathers and glittering with gold face paint, Bat for Lashes is a British singer-songwriter pedalling a whimsical line in alternative folk melodies with a sombre gothic edge. The woman behind it all is Natasha Khan, a talented musician and visual artist based in Brighton. She chose the band name because she liked how the words sounded together, and a similar method informs her debut album, Fur and Gold, which freely mixes eerie strings, autoharp and piano with electronic beats and tribal drumming. Natasha’s influences span decades and cultures - from growing up in the stifling Greater London suburbs, the exotic flavours of childhood trips to Pakistan, cult movies of the eighties and the empty highways of California road trips - resulting in a timeless, otherworldly music. In her own words: “I love the dark, ethereal things. But there’s an element to me that also loves Bananarama.”

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Scarves teeter back and forth over the line dividing what’s hot from what’s not, but this season they are most definitely in the fashionable camp. “A printed silk scarf is the summer’s most versatile add on,” pronounced Marie Claire earlier this year, and the catwalks were full of different ways to wear these versatile strips of fabric. At Rag and Bone they were tied over the head and knotted under the chin, Thelma and Louise road- trip fashion (a look best accompanied by oversized shades), while Cynthia Rowley draped them loosely around the shoulders. Other designers showed them worn long and flowing or short like a choker, knotted like a tie or fastened around the waist like a sash, as well as wrapped, hippie-style, around the head.

Hermès is the godfather of the scarf and offers a range of gorgeous and original prints, all decorating squares of gossamer soft silk. This season, inspiration comes from the East, and the playful, Indian-themed designs include a proud elephant and a regal tiger surrounded by palms, as well as pictures of the faithful in different postures of prayer and meditation, all in rich hues of ceremonial pinks and gold. Another variation on this classic French accessory comes from Louis Vuitton, where the logo is used as a repeating pattern to great effect in pastel pop tones. For those seeking a hint of the jungle, there’s also a military camouflage and a leopard print. Whatever you go for, it’s sure to come in useful, now and forever. A scarf’s for life, not just for this season.

It began with a leaf… in this case one that happened to resemble a shoe (at least, when seen from upside down). After noticing the likeness, New York-based artist-photographer Michel Tcherevkoff was inspired to design a “virtual collection” of footwear and handbags, taking pictures of carefully selected fresh plants and blooms at close range, then assembling imaginary accessories out of the images. The resulting creations, entitled Shoe Fleur, are now published by Welcome Books in a glossy volume, with an introduction from Diane Von Furstenberg.
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Laura Robson is a 14-year-old Londoner who recently won the Wimbledon girls’ tennis title—a home victory not seen since 1984. Beating the third seed to become junior champion in front of the biggest crowd of her life was a huge personal achievement for the young player, who endearingly told reporters afterwards: “I thought I was going to be sick when I walked on court, there were so many people watching.” But her win is also a big deal for England, whose relationship with Wimbledon is fraught with the anguish of near misses. Desperate to crown a British champion on those smooth green lawns, the media have been guilty in the past of piling unbearable pressure on rising tennis stars, namely poor old “Tiger Tim” Henman, who was built up too quickly as the Great British Hope and never quite managed to pull it off. Now all eyes are on Laura, who has already seen her picture splashed all over the nation’s newspapers and been crowned the new “Queen of Wimbledon” by Mail on Sunday, garnering more column inches than Venus.

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Before I came to Buenos Aires, the good looks and canny fashion sense of the locals were repeatedly impressed upon me. When I stepped off the plane, however, it wasn’t the dapper dressing or the beautiful faces that most struck me, but the hair. Hardcore eighties fans will be happy to hear that the mullet did not die; it’s alive and omnipresent in Argentina. In fact, it’s so common here that they don’t even have a proper word for it-just your regular cut.

It’s only foreigners who view the mullet as a fashion disaster; for Argentines it’s a perfectly acceptable style. The mullet transcends class and age; you see trendy young things sporting highlighted takes on it, creatively shaped around the face and gently brushing the shoulders at the back, as well as the classic bus driver look, achieving maximum contrast between the short, conservative trim up front and the long, greasy rocker coiffure behind. Many girls also proudly model a female version, which makes going to the hairdresser’s a terrifying experience.

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