Couture Fashion Week

Here are some highlights of mine from this year’s couture shows! These photos are just a couple of my favorites (I’ll post 1 of each designer who showed this week). Tell us your thoughts about these shows, your favorite pieces and your favorite designers, drop a link to photos of your favorite looks!

Alexis Mabille:

The designer called the collection “Geometric surgery”, and frankly, I agree! I loved it! I’m big on color blocking, and the Cruella Deville look.

Anne Valerie Hash:

Eeeehh.

Armani Prive:

Not bad. The crescent moons were a nice touch.

Chanel:

I think a lot of people know I’m not huge on Chanel, but I like this collection, VERY clean and almost baby doll. It reminds me of the Shibuya district. LOVED the hair.

Christian Dior:

WOW! This collection was very nice, and looked VERY expensive. The buttoned dresses were alright, but over all, a “BRAVA!” to John Galliano. And if I’m not mistaken, Tavi (A well noted blogger) attended, it was a rumor, but the photo looked just like her, with a large obnoxious bow on her head made of pink feathers.

Elie Saab:

VERY romantic! No other words.

Givenchy:

As one blogger stated, Givenchy “channeled Marilyn Manson through make up and black pieces”. There was also a dress with an Ombre effect covering these pompom looking, for a lack of a better word, appendages.

Jean Paul Gaultier:

I could not figure out the inspiration, but the tailored looks and the pirate hats seemed very “French navy”. Only thing that could come to my mind. The basket weaving was really neat! Gaultier has been on a weaving kick since last season, I see. UPDATE: I just read this morning that he was inspired by Mexico and the film Avatar. I was WAY off!

Thimister:

Awesome looks! I loved this Balaclava hooded dress, and the reds!

Valentino:

The blogger BryanBoy called this collection “a sloppy Balenciaga”. Some of the looks do remind me of a mix between Nicholas Ghesquiere’s 2009-2010 fall and 2009 spring collections. Bryanboy called it “Valenciaga”. I don’t think the house or it’s couture will be the same, since Monsieur Valentino left.

Remember, leave your feedback and tell us what your favorite looks were!

-Eddie Martinez

Winter Sports and Winter Fashions

Looking through pages and pages of photos from the latest shows for Men’s Fall 2010 collections, I’ve noticed a lot of athletic references. For example, D Squared2 has sweaters with hockey masks and sequins, and Jean Paul Gaultier referenced back to boxing, featuring boxing gloves, bruised eyes, and championship belts. Men’s isn’t on its own either, women’s is getting gradually more sporty as well, bodysuits, major emphasis on leather, fabric sparing shorts, and structured headgear. What do you think of this trend? Is it worth expanding to major relators, or should this trend be kept on the hockey rinks?

D Squared2 (Via Coutorture)

Jean Paul Gaultier (Via Coutorture)

-Eddie Martinez

What’s New?

If you are keeping up with apparel industry news, you might be interested in Just-Style and its associated blogs.

Some of the headlines from the last few days on Just-Style:

Makers assess Haiti quake damage
18th January 2010 12:49

“Industry executives told just-style that Haiti’s crucial apparel industry has seen production fall 50-70% in the wake of the earthquake, and that it will take at least three months for most of it to resume.”

It will not be business as usual for quite some time.

Ugg boots and Jimmy Choos?
15th January 2010 16:48

“In what must surely count among the more bizarre fashion pairings of recent times, comfy casual sheepskin boot maker Ugg Australia is teaming up with luxury shoe brand Jimmy Choo on a limited edition line.”

A bumpy road to recovery
5th January 2010 13:17

“With the festive season now out of the way, the focus is already shifting to Christmas trading, looking at how retailers performed over the period and also the prognosis for consumer confidence in the months ahead.”

Coach eyes China
21st January 2010 18:43

“The Chinese consumer loves Coach. She rates us highly on all of the attributes she values such as fashion, sophistication, quality, and value and as our awareness increases her future purchase intent is holding among those who have not yet purchased Coach.

“And among existing Coach China consumers, repurchase intent is surprisingly high at 94%, a higher level than we’ve experienced in the US or Japan.”

Au Revoir Lacroix!

To those who didn’t know, Lacroix will not be participating in Couture Fashion Week this year. It breaks my heart to know one of the most creative and detailed minds in fashion isn’t participating in something that only some of the greatest minds in the industry can be a part of. I’m not sure if this is going to be the end of the label,and it might be too soon to find out. Last I heard, there was a buyer attempting to revive the brand, and I’m sure there have to be cuts made, employees, facilities, and maybe even the couture branch! In an article, I read (the publication escapes me) that if the brand was to recieve backing, that they would have to focus more on the prêt-à-porter (Or ready to wear for those who don’t know the other term) and not so much on the large projects that don’t make as much money i.e couture.

Only time will tell, won’t it?

Here is a photo for those who need a Lacroix Refresher:

(Picture via Gaurdian.co.uk)

-Eddie Martinez

Here we go….

If you have a plan you win

 

El Paso Sky Aesthetic

Hey, the semester is over….time to party.

You know how it is when all the intense deadlines have been met!  It is time to kick back, play some tunes, and have a party or two.

Here is a little laughing matter…. enjoy

Fashion 2.0 | Social Media Reality Check

The Business of Fashion has this insightful article on fashion bloggers and the fashion industry.  Click here.

Are we having fun yet?

Did they tell you, you should grow up when you wanted to dream
Did they warn you, better shape up if you want to succeed
I don’t know about you, who are they talking to?
They aren’t talking to me…..     Metric

Dyeing to know…

Off following links again…  and landing for a short time at the Harris Museum & Art Gallery. 

We will not be finding ourselves at the museum any time soon.  But you may.  The exhibit continues through 2010.  And we can take a closer look through links to the current exhibition called,  

Embellished: The Art of Fabulous Fabrics

Court suit

 The notes say, “Take a closer look at textile patterns and techniques in our new Costume Gallery exhibition. From delicately embroidered florals to bold geometric prints, the clothes we wear transform us into living works of art.

 

From Chinese slippers to Horrockses dresses, come and discover a secret world of warps and wefts, stitches and sequins, pigments and dyes.”  The website has a wonderful slide show with detailed photographs of beautiful embroidery embellished fabrics and garments.

 

The current exhibition first caught our eye but then links were clicking.  Madder Modes: The Hidden Meanings of Wearing Red looked so interesting that a side trip to the past was required.  The exhibition was held in 2007.  The page on the exhibition asks, “Did you know that ‘madder’ is a type of red dye made from the root of a plant?  Or that another red dye, cochineal, is made from crushed insects?”  Now cochineal gets us close to home in two ways.  Cochineal is an insect that lives on Nopal cactus, which grows in our part of the world.  In fact, cochineal from Mexico was used to made the Red Coats red.  Cochineal is also something we talk about in Fashion History.

Redcoats

 All those little bugs….and their glorious color.  

The red of the cochineal was as expensive as gold. 

The Red-coats firing during a re-enactment of the Battle of Lexington

 It would be great if there were more garment and textile pictures from the exhibit but even the one picture above of the court suit gives us a feel for the images we could have seen at the exhibition.  There is a short slide show on the website.

The museum notes, “Historically, red has been worn to indicate official status, but it has also been thought to have protective and even healing qualities. In modern times, red is seen as a glamorous colour that draws attention to the wearer. In some cultures red is worn to mark a very special celebration like a wedding. Red is also the colour of romance and passion. This exhibition looks at a variety of red clothing, from hunting jackets to party frocks, and tells the stories behind them.” 

Vivienne Westwood, Red Satin Slash Shoes, c.1991

Costume and Textiles at the museum…

“There are over 6,000 items of costume at the Harris. Although the majority are women’s clothes, there are also menswear, children’s and baby’s clothing and costume accessories. The earliest item is a pair of men’s silk slippers dating from the 1620s.” 

Shall we pull out our passports? 

On a side note… Lana surely loved her dash of red… 

 

That red will take you places! 

Are you still here?  Okay, then how about a little more on the Horrockses dresses?  Don’t you just love it when you learn a term of speech used in an English speaking country that differs in just a small way from the common word in usage in our own country?  Follow the link to the Horrockses dresses and you can find some fun terms of your own.  A favorite of ours is “swing tags” for hang tags.  Yeah, that has a great sound!

Top of playscale haute couture. . .

Sure for the first time you’re wearing the right clothes     …Metric

Reading a great doll board, Doll Divas, caused this post.

Pattern making is a true art.  Just the feel and flow of the cloth will attest to a patternmaker’s skills.  The turn of cloth…think about that concept.  When a patternmaker truly understands the turn of cloth and its affect on a beautiful collar a thing of beauty is created.

Matisse can work a collar in one sixth scale...lovely

 Matisse designs for the 1/6th scale dolls such as Mattel’s  Silkstone Barbie and Jason Wu’s Fashion Royalty.

We have always loved Matisse.  And the photography is designed to do just what it accomplishes…inspire.

Inspire the customer to dream.  With enough dedication, work and love, one day you may read a comment such as this about your own designs ….. “top of playscale haute couture”. 

Matisse eyelash in a wonderful transition color.

Lucky you!  Matisse shares the wealth with a blog dedicated to the art of sewing and design… made to fit.

For example, in Hat Tricks and Tips, Matisse tells us, “I love hats that actually fit the dolls heads the way they should” and “I work mainly with ultrasuede to give the look of real wool or felt  … it doesn’t fray and can be handled during the sewing without losing its integrity etc…ultrasuede lends the perfect finish and with unlimited supply of colors can work into almost any ensemble.” 

Matisse, like fine wine

Something you surely know is still valuable to hear again… Matisse says in Patterns, “You will also want to keep patterns organized, a daunting task…”

In the Tools of the Trade post, Matisse says, “It is not enough to just say, I don’t have that, so I will use this instead, if you want something done right, then you have to have the right tools or materials”.

Matisse chic

How about this antecdote – “First off, I have a great sewing area, a sunny room on the third floor of my home, facing north with perfect lighting and a large window. I have a great view of the cities and feel good when I am in this room. Get the hell out of your basement, I was sewing in the basement for years and I am sure it has scarred me for life.”

Matisse casual

And this tip is a true gift for anyone who lives/loves to design and sew – “I also have on hand plastic handled artist paintbrushes for turning finished garments right side out, pushing out corners as they are blunt enough not to poke through. They are all around great tools for making adjustments and straightening things.” (Matisse adds - “I use them when dressing my dolls as I don’t like to handle the garments too much.”)

Matisse knows proportion

We can see why Matisse can make such gorgeous hats…she says, “A tool that I cannot live without as well is my self healing mat and rotary cutter, but I don’t have this for cutting out the garment pieces, but rather for striping down my ultrasuede for smooth edges on belts, handbag straps and also for cutting out my shopping bags. They are great if you can master using the rotary blade for cutting things out, but I have not been able to do this with the miniature scale sewing. I like to use a 24 inch metal ruler to cut against, this ensures a perfect smooth edge and prevents injury. I do notice that the self healing mats will eventually get used up and need to be replaced. I have had two or three in about five years. I just buy the small ones, 18 inch long by about 6 inches wide so it doesn’t take up much room. My son has a much larger one for his hobbies if I need to use it.”

 

 

Matisse has been in business for many years now.  We have always followed her wonderful work.  Since 2008, we are lucky to have Matisse sharing her knowledge and experience FREE with her online blog.  Isn’t blogging the best!!

 

If you want to learn more about designing and sewing for dolls, you can spend some time studying with Matisse.  Anything created in 1/16th scale can be even more easily created for “real people” specifications.  Enjoy!!

 

Matisse by design