Sunday Inspiration ~ Wild, wild West

Whether or not you dig the "Western Look" there's no denying this vogue spread is gorgeous.


Magazine: Vogue China May 2011
Title: Wild is the Wind
Model: Liu Wen

Art, Tech & Batman

Just thought I would share the final project from my art & technology class. The assignment was to either create a 3 look mini collection or chose 3 looks from our final collection, create flats, color & fabric swatches, description and digitally rendered illustration to go with it all on a layout.

I chose to do a 3 look mini collection, my original inspiration was Batman but it ended up being more and more inspired by Batgirl, specifically the original t.v. series Batgirl and her secret identity Barbra Gordon.

I love old t.v. shows, especially the superhero kind like Batman, The Green Hornet, Wonder Woman and the Hulk. I mean, look at that bike! What I would give to cruise downtown in that. Anyway, here's my final project~

I went with a very bright color pallet based off of the t.v. show costume and a layout design to get that comic book feel. I used a set of 'sound effect' paintbrushes from DA to decorate the blank spaces. My favorite piece from this being my 'batdeau' kekeke I love fashion puns.

I should probably mention Batman (and Batgirl) (TM), ® & © is a registered trademark of DC Comics and Warner Bros. All logos used on this website are registered trademarks of their respective companies. All Rights Reserved. This is a not for profit school project

Thanks for reading, stay classy internet.

Muse musings

Hey everyone! I'm not dead, just been incredibly busy with school. I figured I would post this to prove I haven't been kidnapped and since the draft has been sitting since March.


Blatantly copying fellow fashion student and blogger Evan from An Introduction to Manufacturing I've decided to share a post of muses. Muses are a common inspiration for fashion designers from Karl Lagerfeld to Gianni Versace to Matthew Williamson and countless many others. Although I personally find inspiration from sources like history, comic books, videogames, other cultures etc. there are a few famous ladies who I find quite a-MUSE-ing. ;{D

ZOOEY

Zooey Deschannel. She's gorgeous and has a voice that could make a wolverine purr. She's the balls. I adore her vintage style, her piercing eyes and hair I would give up my first born to have. 500 Days of Summer helped me move past a lot of things in my life, she actually might be more of an idol to me than a muse. Her band She & Him played in Vancouver this past year and a part of me died inside when I missed it.

UFFIE

To be honest I've only recently discovered Uffie. A Paris-based underground electronic artist, fashion designer and socialite. Aside from her party girl persona she's to die for. A hipster's delight. Her music is constantly playing on my ipod especially while I'm pattern drafting.

AUDREY

Because I had to insert some cliche in here somewhere. Audrey Hepburn, if you don't know why please get out from under your rock and watch any of her films.

ANNA

Anna Tsuchiya is a Japanese singer, actress, film director and semi-retired model. She's been a muse of mine since she did the soundtrack for one of my long time favorite anime series, Nana, as the singing voice for Nana O. Even though I've moved on from this era in my life her unique look, since she's half Caucasian, and edgier style is what really draws me to her. If you're interested in her music I'd recommend Bubble Trip, which is one of my favorite of her songs.

EMMA

As suggested in an earlier post, I love Emma Stone. American comedy actress. I don't know why. Aside from Zombieland she's yet to do any spectacular roles or anything overly impressive. She actually seems like your average "coming of age" movie actress who will disappear in a few years tops. I adore her none the less, I think it might be her psycho red-head appearance. She's Gwen Stacey in the new Spiderman movie.

In conclusion I've come to realize that my muses have one major thing in common. Multi-talent. I don't think I could ever be inspired by models or socialites or women who only ever do one thing. There's a lot more to beauty than looking nice, at least for me. I think that's what really inspires me, the drive to do everything. Being gorgeous helps though. Also note, the women I find inspiring are not limited to this list, these are just the first few that come to mind.

Stay Classy, internet.

Bibian Blue F/W 2011

Some fabulous photos from this seasons collection by Bibian Blue I just had to share. The whole line has a very costume and steampunk feel to it. Not to mention the obvious historical influences.
J'ADORE.

The more I look at this collection and past ones from this amazing designer out of Barcelona the more I believe I've found a new favorite designer and an answer to Lisa's question "Who do you want your clothes to hang with?"

http://www.bibianblue.com/

Promotional Image from her site

Promotional Image from her site

What do you guys think? What are you favorite autumn & winter 2011 collections?

Betsey Johnson Fall/Winter 2011

As we all know New York Fashion week has kicked off and is in full swing! So far I've seen some fabulous collections, The Blonds, Diane Von Furstenberg, Michael Kors (surprisingly... I normally find his collections rather bland), Jason Wu, Prabal Gurung and the list goes on. And of course everything at fashion week is subjected to opinions.
In my opinion Betsey Johnson was the biggest failure ever.
The woman sure knows how to put on a spectacle. Her collection was appropriately shown on Valentines day and at the catwalk’s entrance, a huge illuminated sign read, “He loves me not”; notes on the seats read, “Hey Valentine!”


I'll start with the good aspects of this collection. It also stands to mention that I love Betsey Johnson, I've always been a huge fan of her work and strive to own more than a pair of Betsey socks. Now that's out of the way...


The Pink Patch line. I'm seriously incredibly excited for this, I would love one of the over sized sweaters from this. Pink Patch is her response to the trend of designers releasing "affordable" lines. Classic Betsey Johnson designs revived and all priced under $100. Refreshing considering they're actually affordable and it was done without the aid of a big box store and lot of hype *ahem * Lanvin.


Now for the bad and the ugly.
Considering the release of the Pink Patch line her regular designs for the Black Label were, well, boring. Not necessarily boring in the sense where there was nothing to see. Boring in the sense where we've seen it before. I love Betsey's quirky hippie-goth-rock-punk-sugar coated-vampire aesthetic, it's part of what's made her stand out to me. But it's getting old. Lots of plaid, animal print, and red rosettes set against black fabrics and lace, it's something we see from her every season. Not to mention with over 100 looks in this collection, it got stale fast. It's time to renew yourself Betsey, don't change but show us something different.

Next up is her choice to use "Real" people as models, a.k.a. Betsey Johnson store employees. What is the obsession with "real" models? And why are we using that word? Are models suddenly not real people? 

This annoys me to no end, as there is nothing more painful that seeing someone walk down the catwalk when they don’t have the skills and confidence of a real model. I must say that the word “real” here is being overused, so I will clarify… regardless of body type a professional model is a professional for a reason. She or he is experienced on walking the catwalk in shoes reaching incredible heights, getting changed quickly, not to mention all the photography skills a good model has. Contrary to what media has led us to believe it's not JUST a job for someone who looks pretty. So when you stick someone, pretty or not, on a runway, and they've never walked a catwalk before, it just looks bad. The job is exclusive for a reason. Maybe we should start letting "real" people fight fires, fix our cars or act in movies with no training at all? 
The employees on Betsey Johnson's catwalk just embarrassed themselves. Controversial or revolutionary or not. It was embarrassing and a terrible representation of her clothing.

It's like the beaches of Normandy out there.

I think the part that bother me the most was the hypocrisy of her high-end Black Label. The black label, in contrast, was worn by the super tall, thin and primarily Caucasian professional models. Way to send the right message. If you want to be a trend setter and set new standards for modelling, do it the right way. There are curvier, healthier models out there of all ethnicities who are trained models. Why not just hire them instead of turning your runway into a gong show?

It's okay to be any shape or size, just as long as you're not part of my main label

Boo, Betsey, you whore.

Long Live McQueen

Today marks the 1 year anniversary of the loss of the fashion industries most eccentric genius. It also marks the beginning of the bastardization of his label, McQueen rugs anyone? 
However, my displeasure with the line now aside, I truly miss Alexander McQueen. Although I can't quote him as the reason I decided to embark on my adventure into the fashion industry as so many can. Most, fashion students who likely never heard his name until he died and aren't familiar with anything more than is most recent few collections. Vivenne Westwood is the woman who did that. But, McQueen is still one of my greatest inspirations and represents all that I love about fashion, art and Britain. While Parisian fashion is often described as classic, elegant, chic only one word comes to mind with British fashion, rebellion. Alexander McQueen was just that, the fashion world's rebel.  
With the fashion weeks beginning words cannot express the gigantic void his passing has left in the fashion world.

Long Live Alexander Lee McQueen.