Red Or Dead Spring Summer ‘09

 

Red or Dead didn't disappoint and gave us quite a treat, and a colourful and one at that, greeted by a very vibrant selection of prints that had a pop art-esq. resemblance, this immediately caught everyone's attention and got the ball rolling Red or DeadRed or Dead style. The print collage of a wall was a great effective introduction, giving an idea of what else was to be expected from Red or Dead in regards to their bags, which very much continued the exciting ‘pic & mix' vibrant mash up that was displayed on the wall…

It was a case of where to look first for some Red or Dead fans, "Oh wish I had eyes on the back of my head, I just don't know where to start…would you look at that! I do like a bit of punk". The bag in question was indeed ‘Punk' no it didn't come complete with large sharp safety pins, or neon crude badges for that matter. However everybody seemed to instantly recognise the print splashed across the large Red Or Dead canvas ‘eco' style shopping bag…"Isn't that amusing? It's very different don't you agree"? Such questions being thrown around the mellowed room, with varied responses…"Urm well I'm not too sure if I'm fully convinced about the Punk slogans, its just been used over and over again more than too many times".

I have to agree and say the ‘Never Mind Other Labels Here is Red Or Dead' wasn't exactly the best example of originality, however the ‘Punk' bags did have practical appeal you could fit a hell of a lot everyday junk in them bags and I wasn't the only girl in the room thinking sensibly, ‘Wow I reckon I could probably fit the kitchen sink in there, perfect!" On a less practical note and more on girly very unpractical one…Red Or Dead had a particular bag that was being swooned over, by ultra girly girls, "Pink! Those clutch bags are adorable; I want all of them for my birthday next year'. That's a greedy and I don't know about you but I have no idea where I could stick such a large amount of clutch bags? However I must admit there was one clutch bag that sparkled and stood out from the rest, only it seemed I had competition on my hands if I was to think about grabbing it, "Clasp's good old fashioned clasps, I love the sound of them when they ‘click', and its dinky brilliant". The compact shimmering pink and silver clutch bags were compact and sophisticated a stark contrast to the brash Punk bags, it was no shock to see nautical theme. For it's many a designer obsession this year and Red Or Dead are dead set (excuse the pun) in continuing the familiar sailor images, with eye watering prints that should not be seen by young children, having said that this could be a problem, "Hello sailor and ahoy! Such a great beach bag"…I'm afraid that's where the ship stops sailing, the ‘ahoy' bag wasn't versatile and definitely not suitable for special occasions unlike the small sophisticated clutch bags. The nautical bags seemed to shout out a loud ahoy for lazy days at the seaside; the good part (thinking practical again) was that these nautical bags were also nice a big to fit a good old sized bucket and spade, there was also a smaller version fantastic for throwing in your sun glasses and sun block!
 

         

Vintage showed its face, once again a designers favourite source of inspiration "I remember my Nan having a bag just like that, only of course without the Russian dolls"…For me personally the Russian twin dolls and bright orange, navy and baby blue colours were the best thing about these vintage bags, I'm not a huge fan of Nan bags. Vintage was all over the place, "Vintage will it ever take a vacation?", if it is, it sure won't be any time soon! Though to my surprise sitting in a corner laid vintage bags with a military twist, this take on vintage received a lot of approvals, showing it self to be a Red Or Dead favourite. "The military bag's, are wonderful though white would get so filthy, so you'd have to pick the orange. It's a shame there's not one in green"…I too agree with this it would have been really nice to perhaps see the military bags in some more bold and bright colours such as red or yellow (but that's just me)…"I don't know, I'm liking the clean and simple white military bag".