As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m a big fan of designs coming out of Australia and the surrounding area because of their wearability. The s/s 2006/7 collection from New Zealand designer Kate Sylvester is a good example of this fine-tuned practicality. Inspired by the fusion of East meets West in Shanghai and Hong Kong, Sylvester’s “Young Ideas Go West” collection draws in part from the Shanghai Moderne culture of the 20s and 30s, complete with variations on the cheongsam.
Kate Sylvester’s “Jade Dress”, s/s 2006/7 www.vogue.com.au
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Even under a microscope, Nature’s lessons in design range from simple structures to complex patterns. German (Prussian) zoologist Ernst Haeckel’s Art Forms in Nature was originally published around the turn of the 19th century and influenced practitioners of Art Nouveau such as René Binet and Louis Comfort Tiffany. Haeckel’s artistic rendering of the “structural peculiarities” of organisms emphasized the ornamental aspects of natural forms. Browsing through Art Forms in Nature provides me with all manner of design ideas for garments, interior decorating, character sketches and sci-fi landscapes or architecture.
“Discomedusae” from Ernst Haeckel. Art Forms in Nature Prestel Publishing, 2004
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In conversations with Rita Saardi I was struck by her uninhibited, stream of consciousness response to my questions. Her free spirit reflects a rich background: Lebanese by birth, she grew up in Sweden and moved to Paris to learn French, remaining there to study fashion design. Her discipline, persistence and refusal to be reigned in by trends are successful qualities that propel her forward. She feels that, “Fashion is about l’air du temps, as Coco Chanel once said. It’s true, but today it’s more about you’re own world, your own air du temps. If everyone else is using color and you want grey, well then it should be grey. It’s your mood, your air du temps.”
Rita Saardi s/s 2006, “white bird top”, detail
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Collections created with a thoughtful foundation give me a keener sense of interaction with the designer through their work. Such is the case with the Japanese brand, minä perhonen. For their a/w 2006-7 collection, “White Swan in Black Dress”, the theme is the relationship between outward appearance of a person and the “existence of hidden internal essence”. Clothes can either communicate or cover up personality and emotion. The idea is directly expressed in the fabrics of the collection as well. The “sunny spots” fabric has irregularly shaped holes with embroidered edges, inspired by the play of sunlight through trees. I had the privilege of corresponding with Akira Minagawa, the garment and textile designer for his brand, who explained the concept further: “There are always gaps between visible facts and essential truth. I sometimes realize that invisible things are the essential beauty, or beauty within.”*
minä perhonen a/w 2006-7, cascade dress
photographed by Norio Kidera
hair & make-up by Hiromi Chinone (cirque)
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Variations in menswear are spun from a few basic ingredients and when the occasion calls for formal dress, it is understood to be - or at least I understand it to be - a suit and tie affair. Regulation uniform. Where a woman’s cluster of diamonds or crystal beading catches a person’s eye a man must rely on his charisma, reputation and at times his tailor to stand out. I understand so little about menswear and am likely minimizing its potential, but I believe a man looks best in basics. So, instead of listing favorite menswear designers (the list is very short), I thought I would approach it from another angle: if I designed menswear, who would be my muse? Asano Tadanobu.
Asano Tadanobu, SO-EN December 2005
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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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