My new obsession - 'Shoes', Tiga

One quarter of a century!

Today is the 25th year of my existence, and instead of relaxing in the sun I am chained to my desk at work. I have managed to squeeze in a little fashion research however, which is brightening up my day. I'm not going to reel off a load of excuses as to why I have not been posting as much recently, but things have been very busy with interviews and work/mini-projects for said interviews....so please keep you fingers crossed for me - the best birthday present I could receive would be to hear back from this one job which I am perfect for! To celebrate, I'm having a little party with the theme of 'Fashionista', and I have to come up with a fabulous outfit (on the cheap) - any suggestions? I may just post the pictures up next week, if you're lucky! HA.

Anyways, back to the point. Whilst doing my research this morning, I found a Swedish design student with some really interesting work - Stina Randestad. Her work is far beyond the calibre I would expect of a student, and shows great potential. Most of her projects are only explored in one final outfit, however I would love to see her expand on some of her ideas, and create a full collection. She has a brilliant understanding of shape and form, challenging the ideals of the silhouette. She actually makes me slightly envious that I no longer have the time or the freedom to experiment in the way that you do when studying!

Fashion156 shoot!!!!!

I'm SO chuffed...these are (obviously) the images from the London Calling competition, by fashion156. I received them from Guy and his team today, and had to share them with you - SUCH a beautiful shoot. The dress looks perfect and I couldn't have asked for anything more. Not sure what I did wrong when I uploaded the images, but they looked brighter on my computer! I have submitted it to the NJAL shop, so cross your fingers, yet again, for me!

London Graduate Fashion Week

Yesterday I went along to London Graduate Fashion Week, mainly to see my old university's (The Arts Institute @ Bournemouth) catwalk show. The show was excellent, and I shall write about that later, however it was the stands from other universities which really impressed me. Unfortunately I was rushing around and didn't take down the names of the designers above,. let alone the universities they belong to...for which I apologies. If anyone does know who the work belongs to let me know and I'll promptly update this post.

There are some very interesting ideas, with beautiful fabric combinations, intricate detailing and some beautiful silhouettes. The colour palette throughout the show was generally muted, with a lot of neutrals, black and white with flashes of pastel. Obviously I didn't get a chance to see any other catwalk shows so I cannot comment on any forming trends, however as you can see from the images above, the graduates' silhouettes continue to be experimental, but are a lot more commercial and wearable than my turn on the catwalk in 2006!

P.S. - Does anyone have access to one of the major trend websites (WGSN etc)? I desperately need access for a few hours, so if anyone is willing to help drop an email in my inbox :)

The Fall

Whilst browsing through Filep Motwary's blog yesterday I noticed a post about the costumes of a beautiful film called 'The Fall'. It is about a young girl who ends up in hospital after suffering a bad fall, and befriends a bedridden man who tells her stories. I am going to watch it tonight, so I cannot comment on the film, however the trailer and the stills look amazing. It is wonderfully imaginative, with amazing costumes and shot beautifully. The fabulously talented costume designer is Eiko Ishioka, who also desined the costumes for 'The Cell', Cirque du Solei's Varekai and the 1992 Oscar winning Dracula.

Also, AsianCajuns posted about the film. Check out their blog to see some great stills from the movie. 

The wanderer returns...

So I've been away for a while for a number of reasons, one of which being a holiday in La Manga, Spain, with my beloved family. To be honest it came at the perfect time, and has been a welcome break from this industry we like to call fashion. It is so hard to keep your head held high at times, when it feels like all you are getting is knocked-back. We all know about the recession and the economic downturn and how this is crippling the fashion trade as we knew it, and for a while I went unscathed but recent months has seen the company I work for sink deeper, and faster. Before my holiday I was told I'd have to work only 4 days per week, and then just after I was told this may be reduced to 3 days a week - something I simply cannot afford to do.

Obviously I have been looking for alternative employment, as some of you know, and I've had a couple of interviews which didn't go well or weren't suitable for me (grr @ recruitment agency), I took up some freelance which was poached from me while I was on holiday and on top of all this I found out I didn't win the fashion156 'London calling' competition. I would however like to take this opportunity to thank Guy and his team at fashion156 for selecting me for the final and wish the winners all the best for the future - I know how hard you have worked for this, you deserve it!

Anyways, I wanted to explain my absence and let you know that posting will resume as normal now. This blog has always been a great relief for me, creatively and I look forward to getting back into the swing of things. It's been a tough month, but things can only get better...right? Right?