Nick Hissom's Extravaganza

London; one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, and as LBF likes to say, the 'Paris of New York' also has some of the best nightlife in Europe. Male model Nick Hissom confirmed this with his winter 'Extravaganza' night out at the Merah nightclub in Mayfair. Collaborating with the notorious 'Space Dance' club 'Van Der' and 'Magnalinx' bracelets, he crossed countries in bringing the island of Mykonos to the isle that is Great Britain.

All the waiters wore specially customised 'Space' t-shirts, and the club even had their resident DJ GK Apsis flown in from Greece specially for the occasion, bringing an electrified taste of summer to the London winter.

Who's on your list this year?

For LBF Alexander McQueen is a definite contender. Yes they may be electric purple, with a 4 inch platform, and visually look as though they've been constructed from the mouldings of a battered alien skeleton, but, desire is desire. McQueen's footwear was inspired by myths of Atlantis and in that sense, the heels live up to the mythology quite well.

Studio Visit- Alastair MacKinven

A graduate of Goldsmiths, with work now in the Saatchi gallery in London, artist Alastair MacKinven is on the rise. LBF travelled to his studio in Islington to see some of the pieces he's been working on, varying from the inspirational preliminary ideas he composes on his computer to the full-blown end result. MacKinven says his work is focused on 'Abstract Capitalist Realism,' one of the original terms used widely in Europe before 'Pop' was coined; the artist takes prints from his British Gas and water bills and uses them as a pattern source from which to enlarge and repeat prints, making intensely diverse surfaces to work on. In his words he says it's like 'paying for your life.'

One of my personal favourites, this piece is the artchild of an American Express bill. Despite today's stony financial climate MacKinven is able to satirize through his art.

Measuring, experimenting, the artist (above) plays with the composition of his pieces to suit what he believes is right to frame the piece.

A storyboard of ideas. One of MacKinven's postcard-sized templates will eventually be transformed into a metre-by-metre piece.

HELLS HALF ACRE

Paul Insect, 'Object Desire'

The natural light slowly gives way to a dim illumination within the tunnel, and the brick walls plastered with graffiti shine as I walk past them, colourful and fantastical in their construction. As I carry on deeper into the tunnel, people start to appear, and slowly, as in within the eye of a storm, the full force of the event emerges, with an amassed group waiting to enter the solitary black door that'll lead into the exhibition.

I'm in the dilapidated underpass near the London Eye, on my way to see 'Hells Half Acre,' an enigmatic exhibition of talented new British artists put on by the Lazarides gallery in the Old Vic tunnels in East London. The show is a word-of-mouth event, only available to those in-the-know, with Kevin Spacey as one of the co-ordinators, and the space is phenomenal, intensely urban down to the concrete floor and wet, damp walls.

The art mirrors the harsh setting well. In the first room I see a hanging orb, beautiful and serene it glows a hypnotic green and rotates slowly, but as I get closer I realise with a harking sensation that it is not an orb at all, but a circle made up entirely of slotted syringes. I am horrified, and yet grotesquely humoured. The collection of art displayed is a combination of sculpture, film, photography, painting and even, taxidermy, with each piece of work having its own unique twist.

Quite possibly my favourite piece in the show; layers of transparent acrylic panels placed one behind the other when stood directly in front of reveal that the collage of fragmented images make up the two forms of naked women in prayer. Jonathan Yeo is the artist to be congratulated, often constructing such technically fascinating images.

A smoke filled room boasted an incredibly serene atmosphere, the light glowing from another, yet crystallised, orb.

George Washington or Bernie Madoff? I believe the irony makes it both. At the end of the night someone noticed that a particularly engrossed viewer had tacked a ten dollar bill to the subject's mouth. Quite fitting I thought, and indeed, so amusing, that a member from the gallery team went up to congratulate the gentleman for his innovation.

Photographs by the quizzical 'Boogie'

Reflected onto a pool of water, and framed in an elegant arch, this video installation of bursting flames is the creation of artist Doug Foster.

Conor Harrington, a series of paintings entitled 'Holy Smoke Quintet'

Mark Jenkins, Chrysalis