valen-whatnow-tine?

All you need is love,

All you need is love,
All you need is love, love,
Love is all you need.

So love makes the world go round? Indeed since the times of Petrarch's struggles with his overwhelming love for Laura there seems to be more art made, more poems written, more songs sung, on the topic than any other imaginable.
Forget about the heartache it can bring because today is love day. Love a lub dub... Now call me cynical but I'm actually quite opposed to the whole notion of Valentines Day; I think if you're really in love with somebody then you ought to let them know through small, thoughtful everyday things, or express your affection those times when you get a resurgence of your passionate emotions, and not just because Hallmark says you should spend a lot of money buying x, y and z on this specific day to show how you feel.

But in the spirit of things... isn't it lovely?...

and then for the lovely loners of us:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBC7pilGoPc (sorry I can't upload the video, but just click the link instead)








images 3-9 from teen vogue

Pret a Porter

And so I've finally got my hands on a few photographs from my recent class trip to Paris. Firstly I have to put up this picture because it's of me with my camera the last time it worked. A tragic loss; where are the kleenex when I need them?


So yeah, the reason we were there was to attend the Pret-a-Porter show in Porte de Versailles.

Basically it's a big trade fair for designers to showcase their ss2011 collections and brings the designers together with manufacturers, buyers, and other professionals from the fashion world.

Women's wear fashion and accessories are exhibited according to three different market categories or "universes". There's the designers and creator's universe with 'Atmosphere' and 'The Box'; the new market universe with 'Shibuya' and 'So Ethic'; the heart of the market universe with 'Go Easy', 'Go Magic' and 'Creative By'. I thought the 'So Ethic' section was particularly interesting as all the clothes were concerned with ethical means of production and taking into consideration the relationship between man and the environment. Appearing for the first time last year it was not only host to brands who manufacture their products from organic and recycled materials, but it makes a plea to those in the industry to revise their means of production and move towards investing in sustainable development - make a stamp on its carbon footprint etcetera etcetera

It was an amazing experience being right there in the middle of all the action, to think that what I was seeing wouldn't be seen in the shops by anyone until this time next year... It was SO big, and there was something like 1,500 designers so I was definitely overwhelmed like I was probably walking around in a daze with my mouth hanging open for the half of it!

Two designers who stood out, in my humble opinion, were:

Fleamadonna ( South Korea)


Loa Andriamasomanana (Denmark)
























Jei Kim is the creative force behind Fleamadonna, and she says it's the bling of 1980's muisc divas (like Madonna) that inspires her designs . I like this.

We spent the day walking around with our special bright pink passes round our necks, oohing and aahing and asking lots of questions. There were things going on the whole time, like little fashion shows on small runways, I even saw some flamenco dancing. And in one of the corners on the second floor was EXPLOSION DE MODES which was all about the future of fashion, how influences come together to form the style of an era, the different effects various forms of art have on fashion, and a look at the expectations of where fashion is going.

Fashion of tomorrow? It's pretty funny if you think about it, considering I remember a time when we thought that by 2000 everyone would be dressed all in silver and wearing some weird futuristic version of moon boots...

RUNWAY

I remember once saying my favourite sort of photography wasn't when it looked like the photo was taken because the photographer thought it would make a good photo, but when he wanted to capture what he saw in a moment in such a way that we could see it as if seeing it for ourselves through his eyes. I was then laughed at for being "profound". But that's exactly how I would describe Steven Meisel's latest editorial for Vogue Italia. In this January issue his photographs cover an 80 page spread wherein he shoots an array of models from behind the scenes and on the runway, giving us an enchanting insight into their working world.















Models featured: Agyness Deyn, Alla Kostromicheva, Aminata Niaria, Anna De Rijk, Anna Selezneva, Constance Jablonski, Daria Strokus, Freja Beha Erichsen, Frida Gustavsson, Gwen Loos, Hanne Gaby, Irina Kulikova, Iris Strubegger, Isabeli Fontana, Iselin Steiro, Jac Jagaciack, Jamie Bochert, Kamila Filipcikova, Karen Elson, Karlie Kloss, Kasia Struss, Kendra Spears, Lara Stone, Lily Donaldson, Liya Kebede, Magdalena Frackowiak, Mirte Maas, Natasha Poly, Patricia van der Vliet, Ranya Mordanova, Rianne ten Haken, Rose Cordero, Sasha Pivovarova, Sessilee Lopez, Sigrid Agren, Siri Tollerod, Snejana Onopka and Viktoriya Sasonkina.

building blocks

How well do well all know the feeling of having put essays and assignments on the long finger only for that finger to suddedly stick out and poke you really hard in the stomach? You can no longer put things off until tomorrow because there are no tomorrows left! Dreaded drasted damned deathly deadlines...

In the midst of my busy toiling I did however come across these photos from iD october 2008, from a shoot styled by Robbie Spencer that was inspired by Bauhaus performance art and architecture.


The idea of the Bauhaus was to create a 'total' art where all the arts would be brought together; designs were to be created according to first principles and thus avoid following precedent, every idea was to be a new idea. And that, was a good idea.

ALOHA summertime!!!!

Today around 5pm I noticed something was different... What was up?... IT WAS STILL BRIGHT OUTSIDE hurrah for the coming to an end of wintertime! At last, the dark dreary evenings are drawing to a close and I can look forward to endless days and long summer nights of fun fun fun. Waking up at 7am without it feeling like the most unnatural thing in the world, going to sleep at a bedtime that doesn't matter because your body clock isn't in hibernation mode slowing down by six pm. Lying in the grass doing absolutely nothing whilst forgetting to worry about all the studying you should be doing. And going out almost every night because it's just so easy to! Gone is the effort of having to brave the shivers of getting dressed up then drag yourself out of doors further into Siberea, and come has the time of finding abounding adventures after hours because everybody knows it's too nice of a night to go home yet

I'm feeling along the lines of this:



and this



What's that you say? I'm getting carried away with myself? Ptish, stuff and nonsense



See, these guys know what I'm talking about

oh yeah!!!



Lets look to pretty things in nature for inspiration for our summer wardrobes:









Or when all else fails, there's always good old TOPSHOP





are you feeling it?