Who is the Whisperer?

KRISTIN KNOX

is

THE CLOTHES WHISPERER

photo by the Facehunter

WHO: I'm a sardonic and sarcastic, half-Japanese, quarter-Danish, 100% type A-New Yorker-turned-Londoner, academic-turned-fashionista taking her first steps in the outside world beyond the ivory towers with a pint-size Pomeranian tucked in my Louis Vuitton and a bounce in my Margiela-obsessing hopefully Louboutin-shod step.  To the detriment of my bank account and the delight of my wardrobe, I seem to have been blessed with some serious shopping karma. If there's a sale on, a sample up for grabs or a fab vintage secret depot, don't worry, I'll find it. Now coming into my second year residing in the borough of mighty Westminster, this blog chronicles the misadventures of myself and the quirky cast of characters whom I am fortunate to call my friends as we pick our proverbial way through the messy melee of the sartorial realm.  Fashion blogger, editrix, stylist and author, there's no place on earth I cannot shop: I speak to fashion and it speaks to me. I also speak to Pomeranians in the privacy of my own home. Hence, Clothes "Whisperer." I am also the author of Alexander McQueen: Genius of a Generation and am currently working on my second book, World Fashion, which is due out in September 2011.

WHAT: This blog is not about me glueing ribbons on to my mary janes and hand-ripping up a t-shirt so as to crown myself the next guru of DIY. Nor is it about who wore what when/pedantic trend analysis/styling tips/oooh-what-am-I-wearing-today. It's about starting a conversation. To me, fashion is art. And art, be it the Mona Lisa, Paradise Lost or Chanel Couture, is meant to provoke thought, ignite and quell arguments, provide the mind, body and soul with food for thought. Or, in fashion's case, food for fabulousness. My hope for this site is not to dictate trends or dispense advice from some sagely sartorial throne merely because my job title reads "fashionista." It is instead to bring you into the creative and artistic world of the Whisperers, the network and discourse at the heart of artistic expression with a dash of dry humor, a crucial component of the human experience not often associated with our glamorous industry. 

WEAR: Where not? Whispering round the world, being a rather well-traveled rogue of an expat with a bit of diversity in my DNA but the big apple in my bones, there's nowhere in the world without its own style worth discovering, exploring. A topic which, in fact is the subject of my upcoming book, "World Fashion" with Bloomsbury Publishers (September 2011). Though currently based in a small one-bedroom walk in closet in foggy Londontown's Notting Hill neighborhood, there's nowhere I won't travel to blog, no place on earth where I can't shop. Since the age of 6 when Mamma Whisperer a la Frakenstein first cast her little shopaholic monster at the original Betsy Johnson shop circa 1992, the fever for fashion has been undeniable. Style is universal and so is conversation--this bloginista will go whence the chic wind blows her...

WHY: Because the industry takes itself too seriously. Fashion is all about self expression, it's the armor into which we strap ourselves each morning to greet the world: we use it as the first layer of ego, the outermost expression of the self. When stylists are on the verge of complete and total mental annihilation because a feather has snapped off an archive Philip Treacy hat or a PR nearly collapses of an aneurysm seeing someone unexpected and un-famous cheekily squatting in a front row seat, it's time to take a step back and ask the question WHY? If we can't enjoy ourselves, take the piss every now and then and step back once and a while to look at the bigger picture, instead shortening our lives with the long hours, sparse mealtimes, chain smoking and pitiful pay, what is the point?
Fashion has a lot more to say than just "fabulous" and "amazing" and "pink is the new black!" If you just open your mind, your heart, and your ears. And it's always willing to listen back. 

  photos by Kumi Saito for Elle Japan July 2010 Issue
 

E-Whisper...click here to email me

I am available to write, be written about, snap, be snapped, style, be styled, consult and more...just don't ask me to eat veggies or give up any clothes...