Mini Forecast, based on Jim Hodges show at Gladstone Gallery

Images from the show:

These images from the show made me think of the graphic, nature and space inspired prints that I've seen on garments, as well as the use of metallics in fashion.

Christopher Kane Galaxy print

Andrea Chaves shoes

Alexander McQueen clutch

Jeffrey Campbell shoes

After taking History of Design this past semester, I learned and was interested in the postmodernism/pop movement. The use of space imagery during this period was very popular due to the space race, and in America primarily after their success in reaching the moon. Space imagery was mainly seen in the shapes and literal interpretations found in product, fashion, and interior design.

For example:

Eero Aarnio's ball chair

Pierre Cardin's "Space Age Fashion"

Joe Colombo's Rotoliving System

Now that technology and media are much more advanced than they were 40 some years ago, space imagery and high-tech looking metallic surfaces can be made more sleek and less literal to the point of tackyness.

For my final trend forecast in Trend Spotting class, I focused on the illusion that metallics and the use of space (not outer) can create. I think that this relates, and as outer space imagery was futuristic in the 1970s, avant-garde looking silhouettes and advanced technology are quite futuristic for our age now.

If Jim Hodges type artwork, subtle influences from the past, and optimism for the future have anything to do with what is to come as far as silhouettes and prints are concerned, I think that we'll be seeing more garments such as these:

Proenza Schouler

Alexander McQueen

Sandra Backlund

Lady Gaga's space orbit dress (maybe a little less literal)

Elohim by Sabrina Goh

Proenza Schouler

Hussein Chalayan Bubble Dress

WGSN Forecast

This is a forecast that I did for our WGSN competition this year in Trend Spotting class.
I chose the theme "Achromatic," because of all the lack of colour I tend to see around me, especially going to Parsons.
Composed of personal street shots, blog images, artwork, etc.

Once in a blue moon...

Continuing with colour forecasting, this is a board I put together during Trendspotting class last week that is based on blue/green.

I honestly chose these colours - a minty shade of green that adds to and metamorphoses with blue, leading into teal and Tiffany blue shades - because well, I love them and I think they go very well together.

In constructing the board however, I realized that this colour scheme could go very well with any season, and the blue/green shades I think can work in different economic times. Blue is serene and peaceful, and can be highly saturated to become something quite loud and upbeat, but it can also certainly indicate sadness or lack of personality.

Something old, something new, lots of neutrals and some orange & blue.

This past weekend I went home to Texas as a little birthday present, and it was a much needed visit. I decided to briefly interview one of my friends, Kaidon Ho, who is a senior at the University of Texas for Fashion Design, about what his ideas for colour trends currently and for the rest of the year are. Sometimes a point of view from another angle aside from the eyes of a New Yorker can be quite interesting.

His answers were quick and to the point: "Of course the neutrals, and orange and blues and greens. It's like colours that complement neutrals."

I had been noticing a lot of neutrals quite often as well, not only on runway but on the streets and in the hallways of Parsons, and even in big stores' campaigns such as H&M's "Conscious Collection" that they did for the spring of this year; it was based on the concept of sustainability but I remember the colour scheme (or lack thereof?) being one of the first things I noticed when walking into the store in May before I went back to Texas for the summer.

Kaidon comes to New York for spring and fall fashion weeks and interns for various designers. On colour schemes for some of the shows he worked this fall, Kaidon said "for Timo [Weiland there was] orange, blues, greens, neutrals and red. For Lela [Rose], yellow, grey, white, orange, and blue."

Neutrality seems to be an uprising of sorts in regards to many current events, and fashion provides an outlet for many issues, especially with the impact that the youth and street culture have on the industry.

Maybe we're all slightly shifting towards neutrality, with a bit of colour to complement just how neutral we want to become.

Here are some notable looks from S/S 2012 that show the popularity and execution of neutrals combining with complementary tones, particularly orange and blue:

I have a few photos that I've taken also that convey the idea of this "new neutral":

On the street in Meatpacking District, and the shoes of Karen Dietshe, a professor at Parsons the New School for Design.

The Beatles' Influence on American Fashion

This summer, I had to research fashion from every decade starting at 1900 and continuing up to the present. My favourite era(s) were the 1960's and the 70's, and I even did a little collection based upon The Beatles and really cool mod interior design.

What I noticed and think is really interesting about The Beatles' fashion is the impact it had on America. When John, Paul, Ringo & George landed here in the US of A in 1964, essentially, everything changed.

These men brought British fashion to America like no other, and fashion from across the pond continues to influence American design as well as Americans' personal style (I personally own a beautiful pair of winklepickers, aka "Beatle Boots," and I've seen them all around New York) on a very continuous basis. 

I found this article a nice read about some of the things I've picked up on, take a look.

First image from Flickr, second image of me in my vintage Beatles boots.

Inspiration Is All Around Us: First Post

As an artist and creative thinker, I find inspiration on a daily basis, especially living here in New York.

So I'm going to let you in on some things that really get me going, in little posts I'll call "Inspiration Is All Around Us."

This is post number one: Quail Eggs. 

                                                           

I've had this recent obsession with M2M, the Asian convenience store/market on 3rd Ave between 11th and 12th. 

The last time I went, my roommate and I were browsing around, and she picked up this tiny plastic carton of eggs to show me. They were beautiful little quail eggs, and I immediately became enamored by their colour and patterns, and the fact that each of them is unique. Since they were only $2 for a dozen, I snatched them up immediately.

I've been using them in my ramen and to put on different little things. Last night I fried two of them and put them on a salmon burger that I was making for dinner. They're pretty delicious, just very small.

Anyway, I've been saving the shells to photograph, and the above photos are ones that I took yesterday morning. I think the patterns would look divine on fabric, and I find them so appealing and inspiring. I'm thinking about doing something else with the shells besides just admiring them, as they're sitting on my desk with nothing to do. If anyone has any ideas let me know!

Next time you're at the market, look out for these little gems. And check out M2M if you live in New York, because it is fantastic!

Cheers!

Daphne Guinness at FIT Museum

My roommate Laura (as seen in my previous post!) and I went to the Daphne Guinness exhibit at the FIT Museum last week, and it was so great. I highly recommend going; it's an efficient use of space (about 100 pieces in a little part of the museum) and there are garments and shoes that I just drool over, and you will too.

Also, if you missed the McQueen exhibit at the Met, well first of all I'm sorry! but you should definitely go see Daphne Guinness' collection here because there is a very good amount of McQueen's work.

A few pieces from the exhibit.

If you'd like to read more into the exhibit, this is a nice article.

Look up Daphne herself too, she's quite a character. Did you know she's in a Kid Cudi video?

Cheers!

Sheer Madness

Looking through New York Fashion Week S/S 2012 shows, a trend that I noticed a lot (and quite enjoyed) was the utilization of sheer fabrics.

Whether it be a racy sheer top, panelling in dresses that was very much less than opaque, or sheer layers flowing over other fabric, there was a lot of this stuff. It's actually a look that I've been noticing on the streets for awhile now, but designers are keeping it on-trend.

Take a look at how some of NYFW's designers used sheer materials this fall:

To see how these runway looks can translate to streetwear, I have a few photos from fashion week that I shot of some sheer tops:

That's my roommate, Laura, with her cool sheer top that she bought when her and I went on a little shopping spree at the boutiques on 9th street.

Some other lovely ladies throughout New York:

Now for other sheer street style [that's probably shot much more eloquently], I've turned to The Sartorialist and StreetPeeper:

That dress is so beautiful!

Sheer garments were once deemed inappropriate and even tacky looking, but if made right (that's the first step!) and styled well, they can be quite elegant.

In Trendspotting class we've talked a bit about sex appeal and desensitization; if designers keep showcasing the same body part in the same way, sex appeal is going to dull down and eventually desensitize the opposite sex to this body part.

By switching up what to expose, designers keep things fresh. I think sheerness is actually quite clever because it is an exposure of a body part, but without completely baring it to the world. It's almost sneaky if you think about it.

I've even been participating in this one, not gonna lie.

For my shape, the best way to style this sheer lace crop top was with something high waisted. Those shorts are from Topshop, they actually belong to one of my good friends from back home who accidentally left them here when visiting for fashion week.

If you can style this "sneaky" sheerness, go for it!

Cheers!

A "Mini Forecast": Power Dressing, Women in Television, Studs & Glitter - yet another 80's throwback?

So for Trendspotting, our assignment was to do a nice little mini forecast.

I've been looking through fashion blogs, news sites, WGSN, and even IMDB, and this board I've slapped together is a medley of a few things that caught my eye, that seemed cohesive:

Glitter.

WhoWhatWear,  Sea of Shoes and Gucci S/S 2012 are all in support of some sparkle and shine. The sparkly Miu Miu heels are everywhere! Seen on Francesca Burns, photographed by The Sartorialist. (Side note: The beautiful woman with the shaved head and sparkly dress, also by The Sartorialist) 

I also talked to a woman by the name of Niki Jepson on a street in Soho who was on her way to buy said Miu Mius, because she could not live any longer without them.

Studding, Industrialized.

Luxirare, Jane from Sea of Shoes again, a few people I met on the streets in Meatpacking, Ibiza, and Donatella Versace sport and talk about these babies. Go read Luxirare's post about them, the things she has to say are always interesting.

The Woman on Television.

Zooey Deschanel, Whitney Cummings, and Kat Dennings are all leading ladies in their own new shows. This article from the New York Times talks in further detail about this and reviews their shows if you are interested. Also, IMDB's top news directed me to this article telling me about how Zooey seems to be kicking..sigh, everyone's favourite television series (I say this extremely sarcastically. Everyone around me is Glee crazy it seems, except for myself. Just cannot do it, sorry Gleeks) Glee to the curb.

The economy in one of United States' shopping hotspots, seeming stable.

The headline from the LA Times that I put on this board may seem sort of irrelevant, but I threw it in because California is a place known for its shopping. The fact that it is predicted to not "slip back into recession" seems like a promising statement for all those fashionista-frequented stores.

An 80's Throwback All Around.

The theme to this board really reminds me of the 1980's power dressing and women's equality. Yes, I know that women have been "equal" in society and the workplace for awhile now. But I feel like when we (females) dress up, especially with flashy accessories that involve glitter, shine & studs, we feel pretty damn good about ourselves. I love to shop so that I have a variety of options in my closet, and so that I can feel great every day. I included that metallic Giles S/S 2012 number in here just because it kindof had that same powerful, 80's thing happening.

The fact that icons such as Lady Gaga for example have fused couture and the "unwearable" into everyday makes me think that we could be seeing even more women in the future dressing up just to run their errands. This whole power dressing, feel-good vibe is what I get from all of this.

What do you think?

A cute little New York trend.

I wanted to upload this little graphic I made about Frenchies, because they've been a big obsession of mine for awhile. I also notice how many people I see in New York that have them, and I've been trying to get one.

I haven't updated in awhile because classes finally picked up this week. As in way more homework and also more confusion because of the new curriculum. But not only that, for some reason last Saturday I was in bed sick all day, and Sunday and Monday it was wearing off. I feel like I'm always so worthless when I get sick, it's like I just cannot get out from under my covers.

Anyway though, I wanted to share the cuteness of my favourite little canines. Will be posting more later.

Bri

Trend: Platforms

Platform shoes are definitely making a comeback from the 1970s, and these street shots that I've taken over the past week prove it.

Having a platform on a high heel, or even a more comfortable one, makes it much easier to walk in them, especially for longer periods at a time. I have a pair of sky-high Jeffrey Campbell Litas that have about a two inch platform on them and I was just walking around Soho the other day for about 5 or 6 hours with ease.

Having heels that are easier to walk around in for extended time periods makes hot heels and longer looking legs much more accessible for the woman who isn't a fan of walking in vertigo-inducing heels.

Here are some options that I've found on the streets of Meatpacking District, Garment District, and East Village:

Alexander Wang over-the-knee boots

Aldo platform heels

Pierre Hardy for Gap platform sandals

Unknown/possibly Topshop small platform sandals

Marni platform sandals

Unknown brand, platform sneakers