mary has a little lamb

and that lamb's name is 'creative genius'! Originally from Athens, Greece, Mary Katrantzou was 19 when she went to study at the Rhode Island School of Design before transferring to complete her BA in textiles and MA in fashion at Central Saint Martins. She's worked with the likes of Sophie Kokosalaki and Bill Blass, to name a few.

Since launching her namesake label Katrantzou has created waves in the fashion industry for her innovative use of print, pattern & colour in shapes and forms that flow with the designs. She has gone from strength to strength in every way since launching with fairly simple, plain shift shapes with amazing Art Deco trompe l'oeil jewellery inspired prints to garments that really are stand-out works of art in terms of design as well.

Click image to enlarge (author's work)

The greatest thing to me about her work, apart from the sheer boundless imagination & passion that goes into the pieces, is how she really incorporates such different design inspirations into the collections. And the fact that this provides the capacity for collaborations with different people in creative areas.

For example, the London's Institute of Contemporary Arts latest exhibition, Sketches for Regency Living, showing Argentine-born but London-based artist Pablo Bronstein's retrospective drawings and architectural works, includes two choreographed dance pieces for which Katrantzou has designed costumes. The collaboration has resulted in two pieces: a gold clock print pant and peplum jacket combo for the morning show, and a draped flowing gown that includes a window print to 'frame the dancer's torso'  for the afternoon matinee. Her aesthetic lends itself perfectly to the project. The exhibition runs until September 25.

The London Regency-inspired dance costumes (fashiontelegraphuk)

Then there's the mind-tripping series of images shown below featured in Nomenus Quarterly. The custom-made sets, by photographer Erik Madigan Heck, were inspired by late-nineteenth century interior paintings by Pierre Bonnard and Eduoard Vuillard. The overall effect when combined with pieces from Mary Katrantzou's AW11 collection, and the model's blue hair, is so striking.

Above editorial images: Nomenus Quarterly/Erik Madigan Heck (pagesdigital)

i just won the lotto

now let me show you the ways I can spend it...

requesting a custom-made Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci cropped jumper

getting custom-made snood & leggings with fringed reflective metal from Gareth Pugh

on a specially-for-me Stefano Pilati for Yves Saint Laurent leopard-sheen print dress & sparkling noir front-lace-up corset

my very own night porter outfit a la Louis Vuitton AW11/12 by Marc Jacobs

by ordering up a sexy storm starting with a rich teal Haider Ackermann gown

Editorial images: 'The Simple Life' Dazed & Confused Jul '11/Sharif Hamza/Karen Langley (stylist)/Beyonce Knowles (fashiongonerogue)

blowing a wad on a womanly black lace & velvet custom Tom Ford dress with shiny, hot pink heels. Fruit Loops optional.

Beyonce rocks high-end trailer park glam in this feature timed to coincide with the up-coming release of her new album '4', and also providing her with a platform to speak out about her recent 'break' from the music scene. Love the 60's hairstyling and blue-rimmed eye makeup with pastel pink lippie. I'm sweet for your cocoa-skinned sexiness Beyonce!

andy's stuff

I've always wanted to start a diary, but figured I would never be bothered writing in something every day. However, I did/do collect hoards of 'things' which remind me of events, past achievements etc. Imagine trying to do this on such a scale as an artist like... Andy Warhol. He would've received so much volume daily from everywhere that he combined the idea of a diary and collecting 'things' into: the Time Capsules.

Into cardboard boxes retained from a recent move, he began placing picked through correspondence, magazines and newspapers, gifts, photos, business material... basically anything passing through his hands had a chance at ending up in a Time Capsule. Once one was full he would tape it, mark it with the date and sometimes a title and it would get archived, a process beginning in the early 70s and continuing up until his death in 1987. 

 
His few assistants who dealt with the 612 boxes, nicknaming them Andy's Stuff, had no idea of their contents. So, when back in ol' '94 The Andy Warhol Museum formed allowing scholars etc. & the general public to peruse such items, the discovery was a unique revelation not only into Andy Warhol's life, work and practice but also the past co-existing broader cultural landscape particularly socially & artistically. A fascinating project & legacy for a man so interested in consumer culture.

Time Capsule images and info courtesy of 'the warhol: resources and lessons'

How cool would it be getting to unseal these treasures? Like one certain day a week... you'd have to draw straws. And spend the rest of the time researching and making links between things you've unpacked. The 'Andy Warhol Time Capsule Archaeologists'. By the way did you know Andy Warhol was a big supporter of Keith Haring?

karla of all trades

One of my favourite Australian designers at the moment is Karla Spetic, I've had my eye on her for a few seasons since her SS10 collection, but she had started her namesake label 2 years earlier in 2008 when she threw herself into the deep end at RAFW, having graduated just 2 years prior to that. She studied at the prestigious Sydney Fashion Design Studio at TAFE (with previous alumni now big name Aussie fashion designers) followed by a good grounding in retail space running & what actually sells through 18 months work with the team operating The Graduate store in Sydney's The Strand Arcade. 

Karla Spetic SS10

Reading interviews it seems the Croatian born but Sydney based designer (she came here aged 10 as a refugee) has a pretty organic creative process, yet is hard-working, persistent & obviously super-talented. It was the combination of beautifully cut, simple designs in a gorgeous colour palette with the dynamic graphic prints she employs that caught my eye. Similarly her SS11 collection 'Centre' using photographic prints to depict the iconic Australian outback & a colour selection inspired by that which was fresh, eye-catching and easy-to-wear.

Currently out is 'Borderlands' AW11, drawn from her everyday burbs' surroundings & shown in four prints: Yellow House, Front Porch, Suburb and Factory. The predominantly pale palette is taken from the exteriors of the older terraced homes which she noted mix-matched with vibrant teals, brick reds, mustard yellows & lilac pink. The collection has a wintery edge with leather-backed patterned skirts & tops, yet is also completely wearable.

Karla Spetic AW11

Now quickly to her next collection, SS12, which recently showed at RAFW which I cannot wait to see in the flesh - clean-cut silhouettes, bold use of colour and pattern and a collection that is completely interchangeable and wearable for a wide range of ages to a wide variety of occasions: from casual to (maybe creative) office to party & special occasion. Can you tell I'm frothing much? Much of her inspiration came through her research of interiors as she recently moved house; the patterns from Portuguese tiles she discovered; and for the first time through the work of Venice Rish intricate jewellery is pieced throughout the collection, engraved glass & sterling silver that complement the pieces perfectly.

Ah, the evolution. Definitely my fave collection so far (and this is only a snapshot). My picks:
- tiled skirt w. orange            feature
- white cut-out shirt
- apple green long-sleeved shirt
- choc cut-out dress
- dress to the right, so beautiful w. that necklace too!

For interviews with Karla Spetic see:

Map Magazine

The Vine - Karla Spetic

The Vine - Karla Spetic, bright spark

Official Page:

Karla Spetic

(also source of images, as well as Vogue)

Facebook Page:

Karla Spetic

bang-bang-banging-it with beyonce

Let me just put it out there right now, I've got a massive girlie crush on Beyonce. She is beyond gorgeous and super talented. One of my biggest regrets is not seeing her when she toured. Well, DEFinitely next time! For now, check out her video clip/workout video called 'Move Your Body', an updated version of her song 'Get Me Bodied' which was part of a campaign in the US (it's got a bit of national pride in it) by The First Lady to help fight childhood obesity. It is off the chart. Things to note before watching:

• Her necklace - this is nOir's Keith Haring Triple Drop Necklace
• Her shoes - the most amazing colour-block patent lace up booties, with cut-outs, by Christian Louboutin
• The popping knee high socks she teams with them - in vibrant lime green!
• Her makeup and nails are also awesome:)
• The kids in it are pretty darn cool

(Thanks to osochic for the details)

Beyonce out and about in a Keith Haring designed dress (heart the bag):

Images: chictopia

kirkwood x haring

Ok, so this sure isn't breaking news or anything but to the unaware, Nicholas Kirkwood shoe designer absolute extraordinaire is opening his debut stand-alone boutique on Mount St, London on July 1st. Here he will be showing the complete collection of his one-off shoe designs inspired by the late artist & social activist Keith Haring. He showed a very edited range at Hong Kong's JOYCE late last year when launching his first exclusive retail space and I remember seeing some of those images then.

 

The 31 year old Kirkwood is British based but was born in Germany, and whilst he has created some incredible shoes for the catwalk shows of designers such as Erdem, Rodarte, Pollini and John Rocha a lot of his work now is focused on his self-named label started Spring 2005. I highly recommend the video below, which shows clips from interviews regarding his Keith Haring Foundation collaboration with Swarovski, and also shows him working on various pieces. Such an interesting glimpse into the world of a creative genius.

Nicholas Kirkwood x Keith Haring on Nowness.com.

Sources of images: cultureshoq, sonnygroo, essence-of-entities