EYE SPY

 

MM PARIS

 

BERNHARD WILHELM

 DEL KATHRYN BARTON

I love eyes. They're not just fun to draw. Some believe they are the window to the soul while others believe its representation can ward off bad spirits!

They can be hypnotizing, mysterious, beautiful, haunting or all four of these at once!
Here are some pictures I've collected from my scrapbook that I find inspiring.....

Artists featured:
MM PARIS
http://www.mmparis.com
BERNHARD WILHELM 
http://www.bernhard-willhelm.com 
DEL KATHRYN BARTON
http://www.kalimangallery.com/web_pages/artists/barton/barton_bio.htm

SONNY AT ADELAIDE FASHION FESTIVAL

What an fantastic week for the Adelaide Fashion Festival! 
I was luckily selected to be part of the Chambord SA Emerging Designer Showcase, showing my latest collection 'Peachy Keen'.


Here are some shots taken from the night by photographer Sonny, who deserves a big clap! 
Sonny captured the models backstage in their most candid moments while some cut loose for the camera. 
Its hard to believe just hours before they were the same serious-faced girls during the parade fitting!


Check out more backstage photos by Sonny here:
http://sonnyphotos.typepad.com/sonny/2010/11/sou.html 

TIMOROUS BEASTIES

I love Timorous beasties Because they're not afraid to take risks. 

You could easily describe their contemporary textiles and wallpapers as beautiful, but there is a deeper meaning beyond its surface. I was lucky enough to see their works at the famous Timorous Beasties store in Glasgow.

Looking around, I saw a design I rather liked. It was an intricate floral pattern in a beautiful colour scheme. After telling the shop assistant how pretty it was, she replied "yes, but its actually a threesome". On second glance, a layer of transparent ink that shone in the light, showed thighs darting in different directions with one woman's face stretched out in ecstasy. I thought, "how dare they!" and had to find more.....

The next was a traditional looking piece reminiscent of 1800's wallpaper. It looked like a pleasant suburban scene, but on further inspection, it wasn't quite! An addict on a park bench was shooting up, the ladies next to him were prostitutes and a famous statue was being peed on. While the piece was extremely humorous, it was an alarming reminder of reality.

While Timorous Beasties may offend many, they're certainly fearless!  

Click here to view more of Timorous Beasties

www.timorousbeasties.com

BLANDINE BARDEAU

Meet Blandine Bardeau. This London based french artist, fashion designer, jewelry designer, illustrator and creative director is versatility personified.
I admired Blandine's work from across the globe for some time, and hoped to meet up with her while staying in London. It just so happened that we were both studying at Central St.Martins this September. We met for coffee the talked fashion.

Like Blandine, her work is something hard to pin down - it spans across art and fashion, where she creates a kaleidoscopic whirlwind of colour in the shape of a garment, a drawing, or a bracelet on her sleeve. At first glance, looking at the silhouettes and style of her garments, they seem to take influence from traditional tribal costumes. But she's used that influence to invent a whole new style and language that is all about social unconventionality and transformation.

Blandine draws from her own free imagination and finds inspiration from stage persona's adopted by musicians such as David Bowie. Bowie once said
     "I would like to see the lines between visual art and music to be blurred and even disappear."
Blandine's relationship between her artwork and wearable clothing does just that, which is why I find her work so darn fascinating!

Her aesthetic is colorful and playful, free-flowing and never rigid.
She's always rotating and ever-changing. I was excited to hear she's recently decided to focus more on visual art and painting.

She runs a busy schedule. From designing the windows of Selfridges London to collaborating with Louis Vuitton and Converse to the band Cocorosie - Blandine's work is in hot demand. 
One to watch.

Blandine Bardeau website
www.blandinebardeau.com

Click here to see Blandine interview Cocorosie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ7If9FP9_E

YARIMAKI

I was walking through east London the other day when I  saw these giant eyeballs on a girls legs - oh the colour and excitement of a 2D drawing come alive!

A Japanese designer by the name Yarimaki, took a life long dream of drawing and made it into a killer street wear label. Specializing in printed tees and leggings Yarimaki is dedicated to making his drawings wearable. It's a label I love.

 see for yourself

http://www.yarimaki.com/

RYAN NOON

Ryan Noon is certainly an exciting new designer on the rise...... 

While he's not busy talking to animals or hiking mountains, he makes fashion collections very much like neo-tribe wear. In between this he works with brands like Nike, Henrik Vibskov and Alexander McQueen and he just finished a BA in Fashion Design and print at Central St. Martins.


Watch out for this man because this is just the beginning! 

See much more here:www.ryannoon.com

SHOP 172

I was so impressed visiting SHOP 172 on Brick Lane that I had to come back many times -
It's certainly a place for those who know good clothing craftsmanship when they see it!

Here you can find some of the most exciting pieces from independent London labels, which are carefully selected and displayed like paintings on well-spaced racks.

I was thrilled to see labels stocked such as Migh-T ( http://www.kumikowatari.com/ ) a label which I have only seen in Aussie Magazines that was now touchable and in the flesh!

visit the stores website here:

www.shop172.com 

NEUROTICA

While staying in London I had the exciting opportunity to work with Neurotica. The Neurotica team was a talented bunch, producing intricate and decorative fabric prints for their concept based collections. 

Each print starts from a drawing penciled by hand and is developed into print for their beautiful soft silk jerseys. What I like about them is that their prints are original, made with love and never mass produced.

Click below to see their new A/W collection 'Thief In The Night' that hit stores just last week. Its a video look book!

http://www.thisisneurotica.co.uk/collections/video 

BEYOND THE VALLEY

Strolling around oxford circus area today I came across a little boutique called Beyond The Valley.

The shop is a mix of fashion and art, featuring clothing and accessory labels not often seen on the market, as well as random goodies such as the extra giant post-it notes bigger than modern TV screens. Here are a couple of pics from the stores self-titled label.

See their latest Autumn/Winter collection just released here:

http://www.beyondthevalley.com/

BELLE SAUVAGE

          

Despite this label being quite young to the London fashion scene, designer duo Virginia Ferreira and Christian Neuman are not afraid to be bold. 

They produce garments that are structured with sharp silhouettes and striking digital prints. The label's aesthetic is inspired by industrial imagery found in German expressionism. The vivid colour combinations prove to be rather eye catching and I dare say quite hypnotic.............................. quite smitten

View their collections here:

http://www.focusart.com/bellesite/website/