I’m so cold right now. I cannot wait for my two week Tokyo summer. I normally hold winter in great contempt but these photos I found of Central Saint Martins graduate Hanako Narahira‘s work make me a bit more forgiving. This is her amazing Trace 2008 knit collection. The London based Japanese designer apparently drew inspiration from the graffiti on the Berlin Wall for it. I would happily hibernate for the entire season wearing any of it.
This is what I consider the perfect outfit. Somehow many of my favourite colours and elements – knitwear, patterns, floaty and feminine, grey and purple, socks with heels, ethnic – worn together equal sweet synergy and that is not the easiest thing to achieve.
It’s from the Dries Van Noten Autumn Winter 08 collection, which featured bangle necklaces as the accessory du jour. They retailed at something ludicrous though, $750 US or something.
I was reminded of them the other day and strung my bangles on my ultra soft skinny silk scarf which helped with the weight of the bangles. There are a million DIYs for this very necklace on the interwebs and I get why. Mine took a few minutes to make maybe, and I received lots of comments and compliments about them.
I look like death/Cory Kennedy. So no face. <4
An open letter to Australian designer Josh Goot – Re: Autumn Winter 09
Dear Josh,
Thank you for making the genius collection on display in this blogpost. I would not mind any of it. Nope, not one bit. I bet you look great today. I like your shoes.
Love,
Sheena
If there was a dorkathon, I would hands-down, no-contest, beat everyone down, so when I met Garance Dore at Cutler and Co in Melbourne on my birthday, I giggled and told her how much I love her blog and her photos, and that I’m glad it’s in English too now even though I used to make my Tahitian boyfriend translate it for me and send her messages in French about how much I enjoy her work. Then we talked about how she has a good translator and that he does justice to her sense of humour even in another language and I may have said something about her ‘great personality’. Sometimes I think I should be locked up and made to wear only polyester for a week for my cringeworthy gushing. The party on May 3rd, was some sort of Sartorialist casting for Saba and many Melburnians dressed to the nines were out in droves, probably hoping to get shot by Scott Schuman, but errr.. he pretty much only shoots in natural light. Hah! I knew that. But Scott was lovely, charming and a really great conversationalist, I’ve always loved his finds and photographs, I just prefer Garance’s eye and optimism. But they’re a match made in sartorial heaven.
Thank you to David Johnstone for the photos.
General Pants were at Fashion Palette, hosting a little workshop at their stand, where people received free Converse Chuck Taylor shoes and Levis jeans to customise with studs as they please. Each person was given 15 minutes but studding by hand takes far longer and tonight I finished my pair. Believe it or not, these are my first Converses. I fucking love them. I’d been wanting to get some and stud them for ages so I’m incredibly pleased that I got the chance to. I’m going to add more studs, maybe some smaller ones in a few weeks once I tire of them being like this. Here are photos from both Sydney and of my attempt.
Not mine ^
Mine ^
I just used a bunch of big silver studs, a flat-nose jewellery plier and my late-night perfectionist tendencies. You do not know what thumb pain is until you a) break your thumb and/or b) stud canvas by hand. I’ve done both. Bike riding and stud symmetry are well worth it.
I just found the collections of Spanish designer Cruz Castillo and there’s something about the pieces makes me want to be an artist or a dancer. Killer colours, and a lot of movement. There isn’t much information on the designer in English and since my Espanol is limited to not much more than – Quiero dos tacos y una cerveza pronto! (I’ll have two tacos and a beer stat!), I only know he’s had an Winter 08/09 and a Spring/Summer 09 collection thus far, he’s a Taurus like myself and if I go to Barcelona next year, I’ll be catching an el taxi to here then it’s off to Ibiza.
I haven’t published one of these in a while and tonight I stumbled across House of Holland’s SS09 collection – Sex, Lies and Volleyball, inspired by Beverly Hills 90210 and it included the following. The pieces are also part of Henry Holland’s capsule collection for Levi’s 501 jeans and included these shapes, laser cut polka dots and printed florals. They’re over the top, ugly and totally playful. If I do not want them, then I don’t know what I want anymore.
Even though I’m a practicing recessionista at the moment, I’ve seen several incredible stores in Melbourne lately so prepare for an influx of words and pictures about them. I’ve blogged about Lenko before albeit briefly, so here are some more photos from the Melbourne Central store that make it the happiest place on Earth. Well, after Disneyland, The Fairy Shop on Ponsonby Rd, American Apparel..
They have unlucky dips. Curiosity got the better of me and I tried. They’re really unlucky, it’s not even ironic.
Despite Edward Said making me miserable when I had to write research papers at university, I’d like his face on my lapel.
They sell funny gum.
And hilarious tees.
This is their website.
Lenko Boutique, Shop 308, Level 3, Melbourne Central, Melbourne, VIC 3000
I’ve been admiring Croatian designer Damir Doma for a while now. Dazed and Confused Japan sought out Damir Doma and ten other designers to self style their Spring Summer 09 collections and theirs (pictured below) was my favourite. I even like the bare feet.
And more Damir Doma.
FW0910
FW0910 Photo by Sonny Vandevelde
FW0809
SS09 Photo from Jak and Jill
I’ve always kind of preferred menswear. I drool over collections pour hommes and my boy friends have to deal with missing wardrobe items. Mwahahahaha. (Hiiii.) Apart from my slight adoration of dandy, I have an oedipus complex when it comes to menswear. It’s disturbing, but fuck it, I like men in clothes with lots of movement (Editor of Oyster Mag, Paul Bui is my dream) and Damir Doma do silhouettes that sate that whim. Plus multiple seasons of braided scarves? Hello, that’s just begging to be DIYed.
I guess it’s the voyeur in me but as far as non-editorial high fashion photographers go, Sonny Vandevelde is probably my favourite. Like an exclusive backstage pass, he offers a behind the scenes look at fashion week collections and he’s tight with my boy Bryan. (Not that I’m tight with Bryanboy, but shut up, this isn’t about me)
I love Sonny’s work because I think just about anyone can take decent runway shots. Heck, I’ve been in a photo pit at Fashion Week with a cheap fixed lens and my photos weren’t half bad. The lighting is perfect, all you need is a good angle and a quick shutter. I like that his photos are a glimpse into the models personalities and a different, more dynamic look at the collection.
Here are some of my favourites from Fall/Winter 09 in Milan, Paris, New York. I spent hours choosing these, they’re delicious, I love you Sonny! My eyes are burning from the greatness of these outfits. You can see whole collections at Hint.
Milan
Missoni
Paris
Jeremy Scott
AF Vandevorst
Sophia Kokosalaki
New York
Karen Walker
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Tagged Artists, Fashion, Fuck Your Recession, Photography, Style
