urban zen

Urban Zen

I came across Donna Karan's foundation and new label Urban Zen on one of my ventures out into the big world wide web. I was immediately attracted to the fashion, the same thing that used to happen to me in the early nineties, most of what I saw of her work was inspiring and intelligent, made for a woman's body, I was so glad to know she was over there in New York. I feel like with this label she's gone into the core of her style and heart. And then to make things even more enthralling, ten percent of sales from the Urban Zen stores goes to the people in Haiti. It reminds me a bit of the inspirational Anita Roddick. Thank God for powerful, humanitarian, and creative women like this, they give the rest of us such an excellent reference point.

the Goddess alive and well at Paco Rabanne Spring 2012

Manish Arora says he found something about himself when he explored the Paco Rabanne

archives for his wonderful futuristic Spring 2012 in Paris a few days ago. I think he found something about the female body, such sensuality, power and beauty, even

though there was so much structure, which is not what I would normally associate with femininity.

The above ensembles were the ones which got to me most, but his ending of frill-necked lizard cup-cake style constructions were full of life and humour, and reminded me of the early eighties when Issy Miyake's sculptural ensembles looked like they might take flight.

Lanvin Spring 2012

There's this dream fashion designers like Alber Elbaz have when

they sit down to explore the muse which will furnish them with their

ideas for the season. Here you could see that Mr. Elbaz went to another 

plain of consciousness and found angelic, (which he grasped hold of

and pulled right down to Earth in his office wear set.) I love the ethereal

silvery grey chiffon and the tattoo-like ornament, bringing a slightly diablo

bikie element into the halo.

the beauty of bold colour and resin

Resin!

I'm very excited to be rediscovering the beauty of resin. It really is such

a delicious material to use, its so generous with its chunkiness and translucent colour, and some of the opacity is so hearty and strong too. Its so much nicer than plastic!

And this isn't even the lovely organic style of Dinosaur designs, its flatter and

probably mass produced, but I am excited about how its giving me a sculptural layering ability.

I can go crazy with the colours. I love the way jewellery is now becoming acceptable as 'big' again.

I got so bored with all that girly-wirly ubiquitous silver charms look...

Woman need to start wearing their power really now..and colour, shape and

boldness is the way in my opinion anyway!

elegance in the thick of it ~ South Sudan: The World's Newest Nation

(Steve Evans, photographer, click on image for link to Life Force Magazine, where I found this image)

How elegant is this beautiful woman from South Sudan?! Even though she's standing in front of a war machine, she holds her own in her beautiful subtle coloured drapery. The combination of prints, which

look like indigenous traditional patterns (but I don't know that for sure), the way she is standing, so feminine and graceful..

And there she is standing in front of the brutish looking tank, on dusty dry ground, probably barefoot (but I don't know that for sure either). Inspiring...

Edward Steichen's photograph of Marion Morehouse (Mrs e.e. Cummings)

This is surely an amazing moment in time! The photograph by Edward Steichen, the model is Mrs ee Cummings: Marion Morehouse; and the dress is by Louis Boulanger, and taken in 1926. I so wish I could take a time machine back to the twenties and thirties, the fashion, photography, art, design and architecture was extraordinary, especially when you compare it to the late nineteenth century, and Edwardian times, which were pretty interesting. Even the beginning of the awakening in Art Nouveau, however magnificent and iconoclastic at times, doesn't compare in my opinion.

BTW:Thanks to Gatochy on flickr for the shot...

Patrick Demarchelier invigorates and inspires

I was just browsing around some of the sites I've collected lately, 

just quietly in the late afternoon, suffering a little from what I call 

'late-afternoon-lag' (not unlike jet lag, only there's no excuse), 

when I came across these beautiful pictures of Patrick Demarchelier's, 

from his site. I felt like I'd drunk a strong espresso laced with theta frequencies

 and the delights of an image which just gets everything right in the fashion

 and photography stakes. And that's not even talking about the movement/dance 

Spiritual and physical expression!

Is Marilyn Minter's work even more relevant now than it was when she created it?

Here is an artist I've only just discovered.

Her work reminds me a bit of Cindy Sherman, because of its lurid erotica or (at times) confronting content. They also have in common that they are not trying to create beauty, but they are both questioning what beauty is.

If you put her name in your favorite search engine and just look at her images spread across the web, you will get a sense of what she's saying.

I find her work important and relevant at this time, when fashion is often a mash of mixed up fads, styles, and genres, and quite often ugly and contrary to our programmed wish for it to wisk us away into a world where everything is beautiful and perfect. When we cannot find beauty in the classical or traditional sense, we have to start questioning what it is that soothes us rather than what is provokes us into a reactive state.

Here is an artist whose mash-up shows integrity and cohesive enquiry.

More about her work is here: Marilyn Minter. 

Alber Elbaz at Lanvin ~ such a master

The Fall/Winter 2011 collection at Lanvin, is such a beautiful mixture of structure and flow. I always find something which makes me stop in my tracks. He somehow captures that formality of Lanvin, and yet the feminine and intuitive flow of fabric and colour together, which I think is a rare feat.

a London Fashion Week jewel ~ Mary Katrantzou

I haven't heard of this designer before, and she might not do more seasons, but her beautiful story of a delicate and playful feminine spirit has touched and inspired me.

You can see the whole range Style.com or if you'd rather The Cut at NYT.

Inspiration from a master photographer: Patrick Demarchelier

As nearly always when I see a photograph that shifts some deeper ingrained notion I have about the role fashion, the media or celebrities play in our lives, Patrick Demarchelier's photographs pull the rug from under my feet.

Here we see an image which on the surface could almost be a photograph of 1920's flapper getting her portrait taken on her way to a soiree.
On closer inspection one finds the theatre of a Japanese Geisha girl, or the wild and woolly outrage of a girl today defying her parents wish for her to be the ingenue of their dreams.

I continue to be inspired by his photography as I have for the last twenty years or so.

a moment in Paris 1911

I saw an exhibition of Jacque Henri Lartigue at the Pomidou Centre in Paris when I was last there in 2003.
I loved the life and humour his photos were full of. And in this photo, you could just change the fashion, and it could be a scene from any city today, the rush and movement. And  guess the fashion is rather like 'slow food' or 'slow music', it would have taken more time to make, more time to put on, more time to take in all the details. Such was the way of that world.

Hermes - fall 2010

At Hermes, Jean Paul Gaultier brought his humour and street sense and married it with the classic style of Hermes. There was a lot of leather, a la Emma Peel and the Avengers, and the hats and tailoring alluded to the very British way of referring to historic notions and rituals.

Jean Paul Gaultier AW10

 

Jean Paul Gaultier showed his universitality in Paris this week, with his latest A/W collection.

There ethnicity, a Chinese influence, and yet always style, timelessness, and his own take, his signature, which I find one of the more consistently alluring and inspiring...

"Stop buying clothes.." Vivienne Westwood

 

Vivienne Westwood is still one of my very favorites, as is Jean Paul Gaultier. I also love what she said! 

Charles Anastase AW10

 

Charles Anastase only showed 19 things in London a few days ago, and they were all absolutely original and intensely refreshing. There was a style sensibility, and even though there was deconstruction, there was a tailored feel of someone who knows what he's doing with the body and clothes. After paging through derivatives, wannabees  and copies mostly, I went: "ahaaa! At last!"

Proenza Schouler Fall 2010

 

This was such gorgeous collection of schoolgirl, late nineties style, but with a slight 'lady-like twist, as shown above. All the girls had ragged locks, and dark lips, and that peak of thigh showing if they were wearing the little dresses. Or there were graffiti-ed leggings all the way up to their chins almost, which had some humour and street wisdom about them. Lovely show. You can watch the video here.

Stan Douglas, precision to the core

Stan Douglas, Hastings Park 16 July 1955. This picture is also part of the 'Dress Codes' show on at ICP. (see links to these in the previous blog entry). Apparently each one of these people was styled, costumed and made up and photographed individually, then put together like this. I found this a fascinating idea. You can create which ever scenario you wish, so it's almost like theatre. His other photographs are very interesting as well, quite dry and informative, yet with a subtext of investigation and enquiry. I think this picture is aethetically interesting, the shapes and colours give me the feeling of a flock of birds.

OMG Pinar Yolacan!

I found this exhibition through AnotherMagazine going on at International Center of Photography called 'Dress Codes'. There are quite a few other artists there doing some very interesting stuff, which I will put up here in the next few days if I get a chance. Pinar Yolacan photographs women wearing amazing garments made out of animal entrails. And the person still holds there space, their dignity, serinity, pride and all of that. I thing they're so interesting, and even though it reminds me a little of that famous website 'hats of meat' (which is kind of prosaic and hilarious), Pinar Yolacan's portraits are beautiful even though confronting when you know what's going on.

Peace, Love + HOpe bracelet

I made this bracelet in response to the season we are in now, where so many emotions are afloat in the ethers, ranging from ecstacy to despair, loneliness, fear, Love, humility, hope, faith, emptiness and so on. You could add some more in the comments below if you feel to.
The pendant charms are just some little Indian things I found in a bookshop, but they are so beautiful and detailed. I have added fluorite hearts, agate fish, Tibetan turquoise, green turquoise, and Czech glass. Its definitely one-of-a-kind.