Sandra Backlund’s brilliant new collection, “Don’t Walk”:

Our unrestrained consumption of disposable goods reflects a disposable society. The amount of pride we take in our community can be measured by the energy devoted to securing its future. Handicrafts are a large part of our heritage and by nature aren’t disposable – they are made to last a lifetime. Thomas Mahon, a bespoke Savile Row tailor, spoke to me about his plan to build a vibrant community at Warwick Hall in Cumbria to, “…ensure [his] craft’s long-term survival and the happiness of the people working in it.”

Mr. Sheppard’s shears

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What makes a street style website stand out is originality of the looks and good photography. These qualities define the fixed point at which sites stop bleeding together, my interest anchors and vision comes back into focus. Liisa Jokinen and Sampo Karjalainen’s HEL LOOKS is one of those fixed points. Begun as a tribute to Shoichi Aoki’s FRUiTS and STREET magazines, HEL LOOKS documents individual style on the streets of Helsinki. “In our opinion original and personal looks are much more interesting than mainstream trends/fashion. Original looks are about creativity and self-expression.”

Kirsi (25)

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Bright color palettes, bold patterns and youthful shapes indicate an optimistic outlook for next spring. Favorite looks of this type are from Leonard, Josep Font, Kenzo, Tsumori Chisato and Eley Kishimoto.

Leonard s/s 2007 www.elle.com

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A nomadic lifestyle demands that you streamline. Shed anything that resists movement, whether that means possessions that are too awkward to move or quirks in your behavior that are too awkward to adapt. You learn as you go, being careful to keep values intact and yet flexible enough to adopt new perspectives. Perhaps having had a nomadic life is what gives Renata Morales her willingness to experiment. Born in Mexico City, she lived in Paris and the U.S. before moving to Canada. The variations on pleated fabrics for her spring/summer 2007 collection emphasize movement. “I’m always trying to experiment with new things and learn as I go…I had never worked with a pleater before and started trying all kinds of treatments to hopefully arrive at an exciting product in the end. Pleating in light fabrics mixed with different weights provokes beautiful movement.”

Morales s/s 2007 www.flickr.com

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The intrinsic value of fashion as a function of art is diminished when we define it in terms of this season’s lines, shapes and the next must have accessory. Being a sucker for strict categorization, I am as guilty of this as anyone. Speaking with designers in an artistic capacity has reaffirmed for me the value of abstractions that set the mind wandering. Sandra Backlund’s design process with knits is often an exercise in discovering a garment’s shape, which may be lurking just beyond awareness. Improvising from ideas rather than sketches is what makes Backlund’s designs, such as those from “Diamond Cut Diamond”, so unique and progressive. “I think I work with design as a form of therapy. When others write poems to deal with themselves, I do fashion. Because I work like that I cannot tell you so much about how a specific collection develops. The only thing I know for sure about Diamond Cut Diamond is that I suddenly got obsessed by the story of diamonds. The typical symbol of wealth, power and success, they hold the interesting double nature as both a glamorous messenger of vanity and a natural everyday working tool. It is the ultimate combination of beauty and purpose.”

from Backlund’s “Diamond Cut Diamond” collection

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