Anna Scholz Blog

The German shoe designer and artist, Iris Schieferstein, has created a somewhat controversial and apparently none-too-comfortable line of shoes made from taxedermised animal parts.

The shoe-creations include pistols combined with horses hooves, stuffed doves and snake heads. Unsurprisingly, Lady Gaga is a big fan.

What do you think of these pumps? To die for, or just dead?

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Here at Anna Scholz, we celebrated the Royal Wedding in our own way by offering customers the opportunity to win a £500 online shopping voucher in a prize draw.

The crowned winner of the draw is the lucky Regine Collee from Germany.

Congratulations, Regine– we can’t wait to see what you spend your voucher on. Whatever you select, you’ll be camera-ready for all of your public appearances. Now you’ll always be poised and stylish, even when the paparazzi catch you unawares. (Sorry we can’t help you with what fork to use for salad at that important state banquet though–we’re not very up on our etiquette…and we’d really struggle with that rule about having to stop eating whenever the Queen is finished with her food…I mean, what’s up with that? Anyway, enjoy your voucher!)

Customers, stay tuned for more such offers in the future. You never know what we have up our sleeves.

Amanda sent us this photo of her wearing Anna’s orange floral silk cowl neck dress (shortened for salsa-ing!) when she performed in a music video in Havana, Cuba for the famous salsa band, Los Van Van (the Rolling Stones of Cuban salsa music).

She traveled to Havana and performed in the video as part of a holiday package with Key2Cuba travel agency (hence, the Key2Cuba Dancers credit).

Here is the Los Van Van video for the song “Me Mantengo.” See if you can spot Amanda shakin’ her thing!

Amanda sent us this photo of her in Anna’s crepe jersey jumpsuit and lace crop jacket.

There have been a number of artists who have grabbed and presented compelling images from Google’s Street View, but I really enjoy Jon Rafman’s selection.

Here are a few of my favourites from his Nine Eyes of Google Street View project. Some of the images are funny. Some are disturbing, some are poignant or haunting. They remind me, as I sit at my desk, that all sorts of things are going on in the world at any given moment.

As everyone is by now aware, several years ago, Google started a project called Google Street View, attempting the gargantuan task of photographing every single street in the world as an additional feature to Google Maps. Google sends out fleets of cars, each vehicle armed with a GPS, three laser range scanners and nine cameras on a single pole. Every ten to twenty meters, the nine cameras take a photo of whatever happens to be within their frames. Computer software then links the photos together to create a panoramic image. This allows Google Maps to provide access to 360º horizontal and 290° vertical panoramic views of any street on which the Street View car has cruised.

Google’s mission is “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful;” but Rafman’s fascination is with the Street View camera as a “systematic pursuer of fleeting moments.”

Though their identities are blurred, most people captured in Street Views seem to tolerate or even enjoy being caught on camera. Rafman reckons that it’s quite a recent development for online surveillance to be not mistrusted by people, but almost welcomed as a friendly invasion, a little taste of fame. Street View photography, writes Rafman represents our search as humans for a sense of “connectedness and significance” in an “uncaring, indifferent universe.”

Rafman also was attracted to the immediacy and rawness of the Street View images and how the Google cameras are impersonal and so seem to genuinely deliver fragments of captured reality.

Jon Rafman is an artist who lives and works in Montreal, Canada.

To see more of Rafman’s Street View images, visit http://9-eyes.com/.

To read his essay on his Nine Eyes of Google Street View project, click here.

Anna and our sales manager, Darren, had a blast hosting a special shopping day at the Emma Plus shop in Brighton last Saturday. The store offered a number of new styles to customers as well as nibbles and good conversation. Lots of women came — some sporting cool vintage Anna Scholz designs — and tried on tons of clothes.

Here are some photos of the event which include the shop owner, Emma, and her staff, stylish guests, Anna selecting a prize winner and Pickles, the shop mascot!

Thanks to everyone for a wonderful time!

Anna’s gearing up for her visit this Saturday, May 7 to the Emma Plus shop in Brighton for a special in-store event. For this one day, the shop will be featuring a number of styles from Anna’s  Spring-Summer 2011 collection that aren’t usually available at the store.

Anna herself will be there from 2-5 pm to meet and mingle and offer expert fashion advice. There also will be a special prize drawing for £250 worth of Anna Scholz clothing.

You must pre-register for the drawing, so please visit the Emma Plus forum/blog to register and for detailed information about directions and parking on the day.