Design Crush

I must share this Marchesa Spring 2012 ready-to-wear collection!  It's a totally give me a designer crush.  Also, I can't believe this is "ready to wear".  You'd really think these are made to order pieces.  Regardless, they are absolutely lovely confections and I'm loving the smoky colors & wispy fabrics! 

The center one is SOOO pretty and reminds me of spun sugar!

Bishop sleeves have been something I've been toying with this summer.

I picture Julianne Moore walking the red carpet in the gown on the left!

FEATHERS!  More proof of the feather trend.

Weirdly Wonderful: Chinese Designer Guo Pei

Imagine if an avant garde Chinese opera hit the fashion runway.  That's the best way I can sum up the work of Chinese designer Guo Pei.  Her designs impractical but undeniably stunning works of wearable art, deeply rooted in traditional Chinese culture.   Her models are very brave to wear the shoes, risking a broken ankle with every step.  She gives Alexander McQueen a run for his money in the weirdness department, that's for sure!   Yet the intricate craftsmanship, down to the most minute details, is what makes her designs so breathtaking.   With their bold and exaggerated shapes, the designs are like a colorful fantasy that's both frighting and fascinating.

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday everyone.  I hope you are having a better day than me so far.  I'm currently dealing with a leaking water heater that's flooded a portion of our basement.   I've gotten the pool of water under control and while I eagerly await the plumbers I thought it might be nice to escape into the lala land that is the work of legendary Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani.  While he isn't my most favorite designer of all time, during his life Valentino produced some of the worlds most stunning garments.  He truly met the definition of haute couture in that his designs were often so elaborate and impractical to produce, requiring an immense amount of labor to create.  They are truly art pieces.  Here is a sampling of some of his most dramatic creations.

Vintage Christian Dior

I've always loved the designs of Christian Dior.  The 1947 "New Look" blew my young mind the first time I saw it.  I recently came across some wonderful vintage Life Magazine photographs of the designer and some of his stunning work, and I just had to share them!

Dior in his work room in 1947

Designs from 1957

1954, outside a Paris cafe a model wears matching check coat and spats

tailored wool day dress, year unknown

Dior in his work room with assistant preparing for the spring 1957 collection

A classic Dior suit from 1951

Dior models pose outside the Kremlin, 1959

Fashion Sketches by Leanne M.

Periodically I click over to Leanna Marshall's blog page, Leanne M.  You might remember her as a contestant on Project Runway.  Well now she lives in NY and does a lot of design work for individual clients.  (Pretty much what I'd like to be doing, minus the NY part.)  Anyway, I love popping over to her blog now and then because she really gives you a behind the scenes look at her work process, instead of just showing you the perfectly finished garment.  Recently she posted some photos of fashion sketches she's done, including a fantastic mixed-media sketch using some scrap silk.  If you're lucky enough to see it first, you might even be able to purchase once of these little works of art in her etsy shop.

Magazine Crush: RUE

Yesterday Apartment Therapy shared the news about a new online design magazine called RUE.  I'm already crushing on it!  It launches Thursday and will cover homes, entertaining, recipes, trends, products and more — including some downloadable stationery as a first issue bonus.  The word on the grapevine is that RUE will be published online bi-monthly and it's features will cover a wide range of cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and of course New York.  You can check it out with me on Thursday here.

What I'm Working on Now

Just wanted to share one of my projects I'm working on.  It's a custom-made bolero for a local bride-to-be based on my East Lake Bolero design.   We are using special silk dupioni to match her dress.  It's so fun for me to work on projects like these because it takes me back to my designer roots.  The photo below is after doing a custom drape to design the pattern on muslin.  Here I've marked out the pattern pieces and will be making up a muslin sample before her next fitting. 

Style Review: The Limited Wedding Collection

With the major success of J Crew's Bridal line, other mall retailers are following suit and jumping into the bridal market which had previously been reserved to specialty boutiques and high-end department store bridal salons.  Like J Crew, Ann Taylor launched their line this past spring with a select number of sophisticated & chic bridesmaid dresses aimed more towards women in their late 20's and 30's.  It's been a welcome change from the bridesmaid dresses at Davids Bridal which are so juvenile they are interchangeable with prom dresses.  Both J Crew & Ann Taylor developed their own distinct style while still providing ample variety and a full collection of dresses.  The same cannot be said for The Limited's collection which is, well, limited.  One could hardly call it a collection when it consists of only 2 wedding dresses and just 4 bridesmaid dresses.  More over, the collection seems to copy-cat the successful designs of other retailers, but with less sophistication.  The 2 wedding dresses mimic J Crew's high waisted A-line silhouette.  Bridesmaid dresses are obvious knock-offs of Ann Taylor and The Dessy Group dresses.  One thing differs dramatically however; the price.  J Crew & Ann Taylors wedding collections all fall into the typical bridal price range ensuring high-end construction techniques.  The Limited dresses start at a mere $89 making them a steal.  Can you see the difference?  No question!  But for the bride on a limited budget, the Limited's wedding collection fits.   Grade: C

Vera Wang Spring 2011

Now I don't usually go all gaga over designer duds.  I couldn't care less what label I'm wearing as long as the outfit works.  But I am a huge fan of Vera Wang!  If I have an idol it might be her.   She is truly talented.  Just when you think every thing's been done already, that there is no possible way to make a new & original dress, here comes Vera carrying a big ol' bag of talent!  Whenever I see one of her new bridal collections for the first time I always have this "Man, I would've never thought of that!" reaction.  Below is a look at her bridal collection for Spring 2011.  While it's not as jaw-droppingly different as her Fall 2010 collection it is none the less stunning.  The collection is pretty small, just 11 dresses, but is smartly planned & very detail focused.  She uses muted hues in addition to traditional whites & offers a range of silhouettes to suit any figure including the sheath, mermaid, & of course ball gown.  In keeping with her fall collection, texture reigns supreme with all gowns being very architectural in the way they are sculpted.  Features include multi-tiered skirts, vertical pleating, & a-symmetrical bodices, meaning that these gowns are not so much sewn as they are built!   The draping on the mermaid gown is particularly sublime & whisper light pastels like pale peach and washed out charcoal are safe colors for any complexion.  The collection is frothy and breathless, going off the theme of "fragile femininity".  Well Vera my dear, you've certainly left me breathless!