Digital Pirnting Tests

I tested out my prints on the uni printer today!! And even though the colours are off, it is exciting to see them in real actual scale and how they work together. And I think they do work together! I am very happy with the way they turned out. 

maxi dress

I had a big struggle with this one, since I came up with the drawing first. That's always the trouble when you do a cool looking drawing and translating that into patterns. So I started to drape it and the first toile was a big fail and looked like a massive mou mou (is that how you spell it?). Second toile, it's looking better, still not the drawing, but I think it has moved away from it in a good way. The fabric will be silk crepe de shin and will be printed in my lily print which I tested out today at uni and it looked great (although the uni printer's colours were a bit off). That will be in another blog.

Range Line Up Draft

This is a draft of my 12 look collection line up. It will definitely evolve over time, but for now this is it. Please don't mind the rough sketches, the blue with magenta is the lily print and the lime and orange with brown is supposed to be the print of the sandstone wall.

My Prints in Progress.

So I've finally drawn up some designs for my line work prints that are going to be on chiffon.

This one was just random doodling with the intention that it may turn into something good.

This one works a lot better with my digital prints. This is going to go on chiffon which is then layered over ombre and my digital prints. 

This is still early stages and it may all change. I will post more pics as I go along. 

Marc Jacobs Documentary 2007

I know this is not new, but I only recently watched it, so I it is new to me. It provides a great insight into Marc Jacobs' creative process and it is interesting for me (aspiring fashion designer) to see how his mind works and to also see that he doesn't just sit in a big office telling people what to do. He is very involved in the toiling, fabric choosing and overall design process. It is unbelievable that he can do this for 2 labels, so that's 4 collections a year. And he looks very exhausted. Is fashion moving too fast?


And Marc Jacobs is actually steaming...

Metropolitan Museum of Art Fashion Blog

This week has been the week of researching through museums, and I discovered this great blog. It is the fashion blog for Metropolitan Museum of Art, although it is no longer getting updated, browsing through its contents is still quite satisfying and inspiring. It has historical dress, and how contemporary designers are translating this and also unusual designs mostly from very well known names like Rei Kawakubo and Vivienne Westwood.

Tao Kurihara 1973 for Tao Comme Des Garcons 

Vivenne Westwood 2005-2006 'Propaganda' Dress.

Vivienne Westwood doing such a pretty pink dress?

All images courtesy of 

http://blog.metmuseum.org/blogmode

Kyoto Costume Institute Digital Archive

I recently stumbled upon the Kyoto Costume Institute website, where they have a digital historical archive you can download. It is very easy to browse through, it is categorised into era and its predominate silhouette. It is a great reference to have handy for historical dress. There are so any interesting costumes in this archive from 1700s to 1940s. There's also accessories and footwear.

http://www.kci.or.jp/archives/index_e.html

Bizarre New DSQUARED2 ad Campaign...

Last week I picked up the new Italian Vogue, and it was the usual beautiful, flash, glossy and very Italian fashion editorials, it's just such a shame I can't read Italian. And then I turned to this page. The new Dsquared2 ad campaign. There is definitely something off about the male model in the middle. And it is too obvious to ignore. So I wonder if this was done intentionally, and if so, why? Dsquared ads are usually very sexual and seductive, but this one is just unappealing.

The Complexities of wearing Khmer 'Traditional Dress'

Since I am drawing on the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat as inspiration, I decided to also look the the dress of Khmer people. The patterns are not complex, but the complexities lay within the wearing of the garment. The skirt or pant is usually a rectangular piece of fabric, worn with many pleats. Here is a video I found on youtube that teached you how to wear the garment for different occasions. This is very fascinating, as in contemporary Western dress, clothing is more complex in the patterns, and wearing it only takes a few seconds. After watching the video, I realise the knowledge needed to wear the garment. Also it is inspiring and interesting to see how a piece of cloth can be draped and worn, without sewing and patterns. Very sustainable too, since there is no wastage of fabric from cutting patterns.

Vintage Vision of the Future!!

Here's some inspiration for you all. This clip is from the 1930s and the designers' predictions of what we would be wearing in the year 2000. And I can't believe we are now in year 2010 already. Some of these designs are a little weird, but some are not so far off reality.

Enjoy!

Discovery of Marc Rothko!!

Last week my lecturer told me my photo prints remind him of Marc Rothko paintings. The fact that I did not know who Marc Rothko was distressed him very much. After googling Rothko's paintings, I am very thankful my lecturer enlightened me. His paintings are just beautiful, with its simplicity, yet entrancing quality.

This is my photographic print

Here are some of Marc Rothko's paintings from art.com

http://www.art.com/gallery/id--a4/aff--conf/ctid--971991524/rfid--381997/tkid--15051782/mark-rothko-posters.htm

My Obession with Florence Manlik

I first came across Florence Manlik's work in the book Illusive a few years ago, and instantly fell in love with the intricate line work and the mysterious, quirky and fun shapes. It transports you to a world of dreams and fairytales. Manlik also does commissions and her work is now available on wallpaper and as textile prints.

Take some time and enjoy!!

For more of her work: http://www.florencemanlik.com/index.php

Furry Cuteness

I know this is totally unrelated to fashion and design, but I just have to post a blog on the cutest kitten on youtube. I am totally obsessed with cats of all kinds, they are such stunning creatures and give me inspiration and motivation to design.

Enjoy the cuteness.

8-bit Gaming Revival

Nonda Maroulis, a friend of mine, was telling me about this revival of the 8 bit gaming and low resolution graphics reminiscent of the original mario bros games. I found this very fascinating, while the mainstream gaming industry is creating high resolution and realistic 3D CG gaming experience, this is making people go the opposite direction and wanting that old school 80s gaming experience. He described it as,

"the twenty to thirty somethings are getting nostalgic and making 8-bit games. It's part of the indie gaming movement and there's plenty of developers involved all over the world."

He gave me this simple but addictive example,

www.canabalt.com

Here is an artwork by Nonda Maroulis,

Below is one by his friend Alex:

You can contact nonda via email: nonda.maroulis@gmail.com

Colour Palette

I finally narrowed down the million colours I wanted to use for my summer collection. These are the images I will use as digital prints and image of the sculpture gives an idea of the colours in a textural sense.

Friends With Deficits

A friend of mine, Amelia told me she was in a performance art group, this made me very curious, as I have never seen performance art and don't know much about it. I have yet to see their performance, the images below are some photography of their performances Amelia sent to me, and they definitely make you stop and think about the meanings and associations behind them.

Emerging performance artists:

Friends With Deficits 

Amelia Wallin, Lisa Mumford and Maria White are the three in this performance art group and their performances bring curiosity to your lives. 

For more of their work, their inspiration and more on performance art,  http://friendswithdeficits.tumblr.com/

I will post up when their next performance comes up. 

Coffee Mug Cubicle Anybody?

Think twice about going to work in the future as your workspace may become like this. With space around central work areas becoming more and more scarce, employers may just turn to this cute, clever, but claustrophobic design by Brazilian designer Lucas Vieira. It is called the coffee office workstation. 

Images courtesy of The Design Blog:

http://www.thedesignblog.org/entry/workstation-in-a-coffee-mug-with-all-amenities-but-space/

Garance Dore is in Sydney

Ahh gutted I just missed the opening of Garance Dore's collaboration with Westfield and the chance to meet her. It was today at Westfield Bondi Junction. Check out Westfield website or her blog for more info.

http://www.garancedore.fr/en/

Time Warp on Parramatta Road

Does anyone know the little Milk Bar on Parramatta Road in Annandale? It looks like it came from the 1950s and had never been touched since. It looks like it would be such an awesome setting for a photo shoot if i ever get up the courage to actually go in there. The place is in serious need of repair, yet it still has some charm about it. The front glass is boarded up with wood and there are cracks everywhere, don't think the lights work, but the I am assuming the owner wonders about in there everytime I go past it. And I go past that place in all hours almost everyday. If anyone knows what is going on with that little place please comment. It has plagued my mind for a long time.

That was the best I could do quickly taking a photo on the bus

Traditional Chinese Dying

Going through my old travel photos I found some of ladies using traditional Chinese methods of wax dying in a beautiful little town in southern China. The result is the blue and white flower print that is signature of the Chinese country side.

A little town called Wu Zhen

thats my mum haha it was a windy day

LUX for luxurious

Came across the work of Australian emerging photographer Aleksandra Ewa Sarnicka. This series of photos titled LUX gives a glimpse of the chaotic and hysteric subconscious, yet is beautiful and transient.

More of Aleksandra Ewa Sarnicka's work:
http://camouflage-telephone.tumblr.com/

Nature Textures #2

So, here are some more textures I found interesting at Botanic Gardens. I have about 100 photos of moss, haha. Also I will look at if I can re-create these textures with fabric instead of prints, because digital printing is so expensive, so I can only do a couple and then print them on different fabrics as they will look all different on different fibres.

Interpretation Of the Erotic

Alessandro Dell'Acqua has always been one of my favourite designers. Although this is an old collection SS2008, he has drawn upon the inspiration of photographs of Nobuyoshi Araki. Eventhough a bondage, erotic inspired collection does not sound like all class, Alessandro Dell'Acqua pulls it off with plastic and rubber making an apperance, somehow the collections looks fresh, sexy, elegant, chic and bondage-esque all at the same time.

Images courtesy of Style.com:

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/review/S2008RTW-ADACQUA