Pick of the Day: October 30, 2011

Vivienne Westwood Red Label Autumn/Winter 2009

I was checking up on London Fashion Week (http://www.londonfashionweek.co.uk/) and browsing different designers when I came across this. It's an older collection, but the vibrancy of the colors caught my eye. Bright colors in winter are a sight for sore eyes, and I think this embodies that idea well. I adore the color and loose fit of the sweater, and while I'm not the biggest fan of the mustard yellow color of the knee-high boots, they do add a little extra something to the look. Note to self: don't be afraid to take risks with fashion. It can produce unexpected results, in a good way.

New Books!

Saturday, October 29, 2011

During English class on Friday, Anita gave me her old ISP research books! She looked into fashion design for her ISP last year, although her topic was slightly different from mine, and she didn't have any more use for the books, so she passed them on to me. I flipped through them, and they are absolutely beautiful.

The first book, produced in collaboration with Vogue magazine, not only debriefs each decade of the twentieth century in terms of fashion trends, but also contains descriptions and pictures of the works of hundreds of individual designers and fashion lines. I skimmed through it, and it is truly incredible. If I find anything I particularly like when I go through it more closely, I'll post it.

The second book contains over 1100 colored illustrations of the clothing worn by women throughout the whole of the twentieth century, ranging from underwear to leisure wear to wedding gowns. Each picture comes with a detailed description of every article of clothing and accessory that comprises the outfit. When I start designing my own pieces, I think this will be a very useful source to reference.

I'm even more excited about this project now. When I get a chance, I'll start looking closer at each era and pick out which ones to concentrate research in. I have a good feeling about this project.

A million thanks to the beautiful Anita for giving me these amazing books!

Pick of the Day: October 28, 2011 and Galaxy Duck

Christopher Kane Spring/Summer 2011 Pre-Collection: Galaxy Print

I was working on my IBSO Duck today, and couldn't decide on how to design it. Luckily, I wandered across these gorgeous galaxy prints when I was looking for inspiration. The design is vibrant, lively, simple yet intricate. I would love to possibly replicate it sometime in the future. The duck project makes for excellent preparation! I tried to recreate a preliminary design using a bizarre mix of acrylic, watercolor, and oil paints on computer paper (which, given how much it caused my paper to wear and tear, I assume is a medium mixture I will not be revisiting in the future). I based my colors off of the Orion nebula, although I couldn't resist throwing in a spiral galaxy, as tribute to our own beloved Milky Way.

The Orion Nebula

As I was working within restricted time and materials, I was unable to develop an especially effective method of creating the nebula effect. I began by painting the white computer paper black with acrylic paint, and then randomly squeezing dots of color in random areas on the surface. Initially, I experimented with an array of golden hues and even green, but ultimately, this ended up looking more like an organic smoothie than a nightscape. When this initial failed coat dried, I went back over it, using the same random dotting and blending method, but with shades of blue and violet this time. Satisfied with this color scheme, I finished off by adding white stars of various sizes in white acrylic paint. This entire process spanned about two hours. The ultimate final product is below:

(Finally) Finished IBSO Duck!

The method and pattern could use a little more adjustment and improvement, but overall, I'm happy with how this turned out. If I choose to use the galaxy print in the final presentation, this has been good practice, and definitely one of the most fun homework assignments I've had in quite a while. Not a bad way to end the week!

Pick of the Day: October 27, 2011

Givenchy Fall/Winter 2011 Pre-Collection

Today's weather was actually vaguely reminiscent of fall, which was a pleasant surprise, and what better way to celebrate than with a quick look into cold weather fashion? While I adore formal wear and eccentric design, I found the more traditional, humble appearance of this ensemble to be aesthetically appealing. Best of all, it doesn't look too flashy, meaning that this could probably be worn for venues as casual as school.

Pick of the Day: October 26, 2011

I intend on starting a new pick of the day stream, so that I'll have something to show for even if I don't have the time to sit down and do full-out research. These will probably just be random articles of clothing, patterns, designers, etc. that I like or find inspirational, mostly for personal future reference than anything else.

I came across this dress on another blog, and absolutely fell in love with it. Purple is my favorite color (closely followed by navy blue), and this just has a gorgeous, flowing elegance about it. The asymmetrical design, with a short front and a long train, is an interesting, but beautiful idea. I wish I knew who designed this-- I'd love to view the entire collection!

Elizabethan Era - 1

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

I've been studying for my Euro test tomorrow for hours, and figured it was about time I allowed myself a little break. Which basically translated into, "let's find indirect ways to continue subtly doing Euro."

I did some research into the Elizabethan era style of dress, though I only had time enough to skim the text and note down a few resources for future reference. Some sites I found useful that I might return to in the future are:

http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-clothing.htm

http://www.the-tudors.org.uk/tudor-clothes.htm

http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-clothing/index.htm

In the Elizabethan era/Tudor dynasty/medieval times/whatever you choose to call it, clothing was very strictly moderated. Clothing worn by higher and middle or lower classes differed significantly. Women, in particular, were required to wear several pieces of clothing simultaneously, including multiple layers of undergarments and various accessory pieces. Certain laws, called Sumptuary Laws, governed the apparel worn by different individuals in society. Failure to adhere to these strict guidelines could result in severe punishments, from fines to loss of property or title, to death. It's little wonder there was not much room for creative fashion design back then...

Getting Started

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Although I'm still not sure how I intend to carry out this project, I have decided upon the basic goals: that it will deal with principles of fashion design in relation to historical circumstances and that I hope to ultimately produce my own fashion show.

Arguably, a wise place to start in investigating something such as historical change over time would be at the beginning of the timeline. However, I feel instead that perhaps moving backwards--tracing change over time from the familiar present to the foreign past-- may be more effective in understanding how such changes in culture and society have their impact on the aesthetic world. Or perhaps even moving about with the liberty to teleport at any given moment to some point in time on a evanescent whim; there are many paths to take that will all lead to the common final destination. Which path this blog will take can only be determined by time itself.

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I had some free time today, so I spent two hours following Paris Fashion Week online at http://www.parisfashionweek.com. I'm especially impressed with the Fall/Winter 2011 collections of Zac Posen (who makes elegant use of sheer and gradient dyes), Alexander McQueen (which employs fabulous creativity in variety and implementation of inspiration), Givenchy (which seems to be focusing on sleek animal prints and black and white color schemes), Hermes (a leathery Western theme), Lanvin (whose flowing, zipper-embellished designs were both elegant and also dangerously bland in their monochromatic colors), and Valentino (who delivered, as usual, stunning formal pieces).

My favorite collection though, was that Elie Saab's Fall/Winter line. I have always been a fan of the designer's loyal engagement to flowing, elegant patterns and eye-catching prints, and this collection, like so many others, did not disappoint.

I will start to compile design trends sometime in the near future, and start separating the years into general eras by which to investigate characteristics.