Louis Vuitton Fall/Winter 2012/13

All aboard the Louis Vuitton Express!
One of the stand out shows of Paris fashion week was the Louis Vuitton Fall/ Winter 2012/13 collection. The romance of a great train journey was the inspiration for Marc Jacobs show, 'The time it recalls was filled with cinema, literature, thoughts of a better life' were the word Jacobs himself used.
And indeed it did, models alighted the Vuitton express wearing beautifully embroidered A-line coats, sheath dresses and tunics worn over straight legged trousers. Accessories included floral brooches and oversized buttons. If that wasn't enough, each of the 47 models had their own porter, carrying must have pieces from the latest Vuitton luggage collection including frame bags and suitcase bags. Marc Jacobs does not disappoint with his show-stopping spectacles that we know he does best.

Follow the link under the pictures to see the full show

See the full show here

To celebrate the Queen's Jubilee, London's Topshop on Oxford Street was turned into a stage for Meadham Kirchhoff's spectacular dancing fashion show. Using signature pastel wigs, the models danced down the escalators and around the store, leading you to Britannia, a statuesque model stood on revolving plinth, surrounded by more feather- holding models. A fun and exciting way to celebrate all that is British in tribute to the Queen.

Meadham Kirchhoff jubilee fashion spectacular

The T-Shirt House

A brand new, exclusive handmade T-shirt company by up- and -coming designers based in Leeds.  The designs feature silhouetted faces of the worlds most iconic people including Twiggy, Bob Marley and David Bowie. All T- shirts are hand printed, therefore each one is an individual piece of artwork directly from the designers.

Check out the Blog and Facebook page for more info
https://www.facebook.com/thetshirthousecompany
http://thetshirthouse.blogspot.co.uk/

New English Dandy Style

Cropped trousers tucked into high leg socks, glitter accessories

Button up shirt with rolled sleeves, woollen socks worn with classic mens brogue

Casual, vest top worn with rolled hem shorts and sports trainers 

Fun Hawaiian shirt, layerd over printed tee, finished with classic Ray Ban sunglasses

Patterned shirt layered over plain tee with bold coloured shorts, finished with classic men's trilby 

Classic tailored shirt worn with turn up hem jeans, finished with fun coloured hair

Breton striped tee worn with rolled hem ankle grazing jeans

American sports vest worn with raw hem cut- off jeans and baseball hat  

New English Dandy

DANDY, noun
A man unduly devoted to style, neatness and fashion in dress and appearance.

Image from Cicolini. A, The New English Dandy

Image from Cicolini. A, The New English Dandy

Some kind of cool handmade robot, made from old junk found around ship yards. Seen by the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield, W. Yorks

So I was researching for my current project and I came across this weird and wonderful architecture. It was built in 1997 by Czech artist Vlado Milunic in collaboration with American architect  Frank Gehry. Situated in downtown Prague, CZ it vaguely resembles a pair of dancers, reflected in its name of Tancici Dum- translated as 'The Dancing House'.
Photo from http://www.prague-guide.co.uk/articles/dancing-house---tancici-dum.html

I have just returned from my placement in London, working with fashion designer Georgie Ichikawa. One of the reasons why I chose this placement was that I really like his design aesthetic. Taking cultural inspirations from his Japenese origins, he combines them with contemporary pattern cutting and tailoring techniques, producing garments that are both unique and personal to himself. I feel that this is quite similar to my own aesthetic as I too look at ways to explore innovative pattern cutting.

While I was working with Geogie, I got to see first hand what it is like designing and running your own label. As Georgie is a fairly new designer, I was able to get much more involved than I probably would have done if I was working for a more established brand. I undertook tasks such as photographing and editing garments to be put in his online store and was even entrusted with pattern cutting, grading and sampling of T-shirts, again to be sold online.

Through my time working with Georgie, I feel that I have learned new skills which I can develop through in my own work and I have a better understanding of what is required when running your own business.

http://www.georgieichikawa.com/

http://www.jhb-gi.com/

Hacktivate: Application of Design
Design work:
Taking the inspiration from the rounded, child-like shapes, I wanted this collection to be wearable but still edgy, contemporary and fun. The season is autumn/ winter therefore my designs are able to be combined and layered up, not only to be practical in terms of warmth, but also to create multiple outfits with 16 key pieces. Innovative fabric choices, such as clear PVC- used on the sleeves of the pink coat and for the whole of the biker jacket- reveal the clothes underneath, giving the illusion of exposing mechanical inner workings. Loose knits and macrame suggest the tangle of wires within electronics and the colour scheme reflects those on childrens toys and retro electronics.

Hacktivate: Application of Design
Inspiration: Retro inventions, retro toys, electronics
Materials: polyester, jersey, cotton, quilting, knit
Colours: blocked pastels contrasted with shades of black and grey

Beautiful Marc Jacobs Shoes

I was researching Marc Jacobs' past collections and I came across these beautiful shoes, from one of his 2009 collections.

image from http://loloscube.com

Louis Vuitton Spring/ Summer 2012

1950's ladylike silhouttes meet fairytale styling for Loius Vuitton's 2012 collection. Colour direction were mint greens and sorbet pinks, accented with lace and macrame. The white horse carousel in the centre of the runway gave it a whimsical and ethereal feel. My favourite show of the season for sure!

So as I was reading Tank magazine, I came across an article about media today. I love listening to music and most of my collection is on records or CDs. I much prefer these formats to it being digital on a computer. I guess because I like the feel of having something you can hold in your hand and the sounds of the crackling on a really old record. This picture that was with the article really sums up how i feel.

Following on from previous post ...

Beautiful Chanel beaded shell clutch.
(photo from Tank magazine, as before)

Spring/ Summer 2012 trend - under the sea

The beauty of the sea is the inspiration behind this trend. Shell shaped clutches at Chanel and coral inspired jewellery at Alexander McQueen were the pieces to look out for. Give a nod to this trend by accessorising with pearls and shell-toed heels as seen by Nicholas Kirkwood.
(image from Tank magazine, volume 7, issue 4, Spring 2012)

Vintage Americana

I am totally obsessed with the 50's. The clothes, the hair, the makeup, the cars, the music. If only there was indeed a time machine. But for now I guess I'll have to stick with fantasising about Pradas Spring/Summer 2012 collection. I love the Grease inspired cartoony prints of cars, made into skirts,dresses and cute little crop tops. The oversized jackets give it the feel of that cool summer night, when you're dressed up in your best dress and your boyfriend offers you his coat. What better feeling is there than wearing an item of his clothing? 

Finally, those shoes! I can't begin to describe how outrageously comical, cartoony, novel,  yet oh so beautiful they are! I was singing Grease Lightening from the word go!

"One is never over-dressed or underdressed with a Little Black Dress."

— Karl Lagerfeld

Vintage Americana: Design Realisation
Design Work:
Taking inspirations from shapes of 1950's classic cars such as the Ford Thunderbird, the innovative pattern cutting reflects the cars defining features such as the headlights, bumper and car tail. These details are combined with classic 50's styling such as the circle skirt and playsuit.

Vintage Americana: Design Realisation
1950's inspired: feminine shapes and figure accentuating
Materials: silks, cotton, leather, denim
Colours: Pastels such as lemon yellow and baby pink contrasted with earthy tones such as brown and cream