Monday 25 March 2013

Project | Textures of the City.



Firstly I would just like to point out that this post is a continuation of my post, Project | Question Everything. Since that last post I have been working on making project more focused. As I mentioned in that post I was looking at street culture and its meaning. I wanted to somehow use our project 'Future Fashion' in order to portray an idea that as fashion evolves, people will want (as I explained with the Punk Revolution) clothing that is self-expressive and reacts to its environment.

We have had our exhibition showing our 'body pieces' that we developed from triangular pieces, which you can see here, Δ . I was/am so disastrously unhappy with mine (hence why I haven't shown you all!), I am prepared to hide it away forever (burn it after the year is over / chuck it under a train / send it into space / drown it in a river) and I want to create a much better constructed and executed piece piece in the next two weeks while we are on holidays!
(Most definitely NOT using plastic. Plastic is a Bitch.)

In the pictures above you can see the four mood-boards (you can click them to make them bigger) we were asked to create in order to easily show the aesthetic influences of our ideas. I was having massive difficulty focusing my ideas and these boards have slightly helped me in trying to focus on some clear aesthetic points. But I am still massively underwhelmed with my creative output, lets just say...... I have a lot of work to do! 

Monday 18 March 2013

If I was a rich girl!

All labels clockwise from top right. Rings: +Balenciaga  | Transparent Clutch: Chanel | Wedges: 3.1 Phillip Lim 
Printed coat: +Mary Katrantzou  A/W13 | Bag: Céline  | Printed Jumper & skirt: +Mary Katrantzou   A/W13
I am completely in LOVE with the style of Mary Katrantzou's new prints!
Globe Bag: Chanel | Ring: Pomellato 67 | Bag: Alexander Wang

Both Looks are +Proenza Schouler, and ultimately so beautiful, simplistic, minimalistic and amazing.
Both the Catwalk looks are my favorite designer on the planet Giles Deacon | Ring: +Kelly Wearstler 
Another amazing +Proenza Schouler A/W13 look | Ring: Delfina Deleffrez | Necklace: Carven
Necklace: Giambattista Valli | Statement Heel Shoes: +Balenciaga | An amazing colour and cut coat from Céline|
 
I am in Love with this +Christian Dior Clutch Bag! | An amazing wooden heel by Aperlaϊ

There we have it. 
If I could take my pick of exactly what to update my wardrobe with right now, on an open budget, I would have all these things please! Unfortunately otherwise they are all terribly out of my budget...
 Here's to wishing!
All Photos have been taken from www.style.com, all credit to them and to the original owner.

Wednesday 13 March 2013

HELP! | Fashion Merchandising Presentation Survey

Hey everyone! Today's post is slightly off the normal topic... myself and some friends have begun our 'Fashion Merchandising Group Presentation' (Please leave your Yays and celebrations in the comment box, or any other social media platform..... ) in which we have been set a brief which in short will see us planning a jewellery range for a existing fashion business. 
So, to kick start or plans we need to collect some research...... and this is where YOU come in! 

Please, could you be super amazing and fantastically awesome and fill out the super quick survey... 
It is 8 really short questions (selective, not descriptive so pretty simple) and will take literally less than a minute (if you click fast..... but helpfully accurately).

Heres the link,,,,,,,,,,,,, 


HAVE FUN~!

Saturday 9 March 2013

Accessories | Pylones




I have decided to create a post showing this fabulous +pylones  ring, because before I bought it I had done a little internet search on some of my favorite online shops looking for some kind of clear plastic ring. Usually I simply know what I want and wait until it finds me but I wanted a ring of that kind so bad. But, as usual I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for and ultimately gave up my search on the hope that one would find me at some point. 

But then while I was in Germany this ring found me in the shop of one of the galleries. It is made from hand-blown glass and pearl, and is just what I was looking for. And, then when I made a post featuring the ring (The Tate & Tessellation), I found out on Twitter that there is a Pylones shop on Kings Road and also on Carnaby Street....... how have I missed it?

Thursday 7 March 2013

POP | James Rosenquist

So, after the epic magnificence of a visit to Tates Lichtenstein retrospective I began to think about what other artist would I love to see such a grand exhibition. My first thought was Andy Warhol, his work has had a massive influence on my turn to textile printing as apposed to fashion design ( and I admit to many thoughts of wanting to turn my hand to fine art printing). Perhaps another exhibition from Banksy would be an amazing treat? Although I do gain much more pleasure out of hunting Banksys stencils out on the street rather than seeing it on the white walls of a gallery. But, then I came to the conclusion that I have seen a pretty vast number of Warhols, perhaps some exposure to another big pop art player is in need. And so, my thoughts went towards James Rosenquist, I believe I have seen one or two of his paintings during my life so far, and was first introduced to his work during an art history class. So, here is my visual homage to Rosenquist, in the hoping that a magnificent London exhibition is in his future plans!
Time stops the face continues, 2008.
Speed of Light Illustrated, 2008.

The Stowaway Peers Out at the Speed of Light - Speed of Light. 2000.

Campaign. 1965. Lithograph

Untitled, 1980

I Love You with My Ford, 1961.
Landmark (Detail), 1965.
 

Wednesday 6 March 2013

Style | The Tate & Tessellation





As mentioned in my post on Monday (The Tate Modern | LICHTENSTEIN - A Retrospective)
I took a visit to the amazing Roy Lichtenstein retrospective at the Tate Modern, I am admittedly a massive slacker when it comes to style posts. So the plan was to go to the exhibition, get lunch and actually take some pictures. I have a massive habit of going some place, thinking about the possibility of some pictures for a style post and then not actually taking them.... but I promised myself not take care too much about the outcome (i.e. not actually looking at the pictures on the camera until I got home) and to just go with the flow, as I have often taken pictures and not created a post because the pictures aren't sharp or not as I intended or some other silly reason. And, here is the result....
 
These boots are the most comfy (and notably most used and abused) boots I have ever worn!

Coat: Monsoon
Top & Necklace: New Look
Skirt: ASOS
Boots: Office
Ring: Pylones

The amazing book I bought in the Tate Shop, you can see more in my previous post!



Monday 4 March 2013

The Tate Modern | LICHTENSTEIN - A Retrospective

 

Today I took a visit to the incredible Tate Modern to have a look at an exhibition that it feels like I have been waiting an eternity for. I don't think I can explain just how much I have been looking forward to visiting this exhibition, and seeing such vast array of works from one of my favorite artists. I have only ever seen the Whaam! painting which you can see below, on the walls of the Tate a good while ago and more recently a collection of 3 paintings by Lichtenstein in Berlin. 
The exhibition was simply incredible. I spent over two hours walking through the 13 rooms in awe and splendor. I for one understand, like many, the difference between seeing a work of art in a book or on a screen and in the flesh, but the scale and the power of the works were more than what I could ever had imagined. The colours and the lines alongside the scale of some of the canvases are engulfing, and to those who have dismayed Lichtensteins 'plagiarised' paintings as art, they are incredibly emotional, inspiring and have an strong visual impact. 
I bought a book after the exhibition which shows an article from January 31, 1964 in Life Magazine which describes Lichtenstein as "one of the worst artists in America." I understand that perceptions of art were different at the time, but they must have looked at his paintings with their eyes closed.

This is the introduction to the exhibition from the Tate website;
"Tate Modern is proud to present a retrospective of one of the great American artists of the twentieth century.
Lichtenstein: A Retrospective is the first full-scale retrospective of this important artist in over twenty years. Co-organised by The Art Institute of Chicago and Tate Modern, this momentous show brings together 125 of his most definitive paintings and sculptures and reassesses his enduring legacy.
Lichtenstein is renowned for his works based on comic strips and advertising imagery, coloured with his signature hand-painted Benday dots. The exhibition showcases such key paintings as Look Mickey 1961 lent from the National Gallery Art, Washington and his monumental Artist’s Studio series of 1973–4. Other noteworthy highlights include Whaam! 1963 – a signature work in Tate’s collection – and Drowning Girl 1963 on loan from the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
The artist’s rich and expansive practice is represented by a wide range of materials, including paintings on Rowlux and steel, as well sculptures in ceramic and brass and a selection of previously unseen drawings, collages and works on paper.
Room after room pays tribute to his extraordinary oeuvre, celebrating the visual power and intellectual rigour of Roy Lichtenstein’s work."
…at its best Lichtenstein’s work is sensational – his style may be controlled but the effect is vivid and seductive. ****
Ben Luke, The Evening Standard
Lichtenstein’s cool, dry wit retains its overtly uncomplicated eye-catching strength. But now the curators set out determinedly to show us something more.
Rachel Campbell-Johnston, The Times
Profound or simply effective, Lichtenstein knew how to make a canvas leap out at you. ****
Adrian Hamilton, The Independent
The exhibition is on until the 27th of May 2013, so you have plenty of time to head to the Tate and check it out. Also, pretty annoying for my blog.... but no pictures! 

Here is a an interesting video which will give you a little insight into both the exhibition,  and Lichtenstein himself.




I love looking at artists sketches and studies and seeing how they progress into a finished piece.
Drawing for 'Whaam!' 1963 © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein 
'
Whaam! 1963 © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein
 "'Whaam!' is based on an image from 'All American Men of War' published by DC comics in 1962. Throughout the 1960s, Lichtenstein frequently drew on commercial art sources such as comic images or advertisements, attracted by the way highly emotional subject matter could be depicted using detached techniques. Transferring this to a painting context, Lichtenstein could present powerfully charged scenes in an impersonal manner, leaving the viewer to decipher meanings for themselves. Although he was careful to retain the character of his source, Lichtenstein also explored the formal qualities of commercial imagery and techniques. In these works as in 'Whaam!', he adapted and developed the original composition to produce an intensely stylised painting." 
Above text taken from the Tate website, www.tate.org.uk

I had also seen this magnificent scarf on in the Tate shop on their website and when I saw it in the shop I had to have it! Its based on Lichtensteins 1964 painting 'Oh, Jeff... I love you, too... But...'  

 
I also bought a book as I was eager to have a good read and find out more about Lichtenstein and his art. I decided not to buy the exhibition catalog as I prefer something with a lot of text and some pictures of the artist at work and his studio, so that you don't just get an understanding of the art but also of the artist himself which I think is just as important.

So, the book I went for was the catalog for an earlier exhibition in Milan in 2010. I haven't started to read it yet, but  I am looking forward to it!