Sunday, December 21, 2008

Nothing's Ever Gonna Stand in My Way...

Tush Magazine Issue 10
Photos by Markus Pritzi











Listening to:
Wilco- Summerteeth

Saturday, December 20, 2008

End Like This

Ever since Prada s/s 08, I've been in love with James Jean's work. He was the illustrator behind the art nouveau prints and that captivating girl sprite featured on bags, skirts, and in the short video on the Prada website. Well, that season faded into editorials extolling the virtues of Prada lace and I'm sure many people are not sad to see those floral platforms go. I'm still not over it, however, and a visit to Jean's website satisfies my cravings for pretty illustrations with a severly twisted overtone. His sketchbooks are also impressive, full of amazing figure studies of the people around him, layered, careless, and full of personality.







Listening to: Rocky Votolato

Friday, December 19, 2008

Suffer for Fashion

Photographic evidence of sewing lab insanity:




A friend fell asleep at the sewing machine, prompting the rest of us to take turns sleeping in ridiculous places... Others included the bathroom stall and inside one of the lockers. The second is just amazing.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Star Witness

More pre-fall!!

Alexander Wang is showing some sophisticated silhouettes, sure, but I'm really in love with the pieces that continue his slouchy model off duty aesthetic. He's kind of all over the place, as if his CFDA award means that he needs to please a broader demographic. While that may be true, his "grown-up" pieces lack a sense of humor. I'd love it if he would stick to his strengths and keep designing young, layered, easy to wear looks.

Key components:
Slouchy trousers that manage not to look overly drop-crotch, sheer overlays and insets, and that zipper jumpsuit! I'm not a fan of the baby blue, but the peach pink/white/black palette otherwise is right on. He showed a few colorful looks, including a crimson velvet oversize tuxedo jacket that was almost too amazing/ridiculous to be true. There was also a single print that seemed too unnatural to fit with the rest of the pieces. Here are my favorites:








(style.com)

Listening to: Los Campesinos!

We Were Sparkling

Exploring CoolHunter turned me on to this great graphic designer/illustrator from London- Nikki Farquharson. She's into design that boils down concepts to pure images or words but also has these intricate mixed media illustrations that totally blow my mind.





















































































She also started a collaborative photo project in March 2007; it's open to the public and based around the concept of combining photos of the same color to create a new image. It's cleverly titled Random Got Beautiful (RGB).


Listening to: My Brightest Diamond

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Desired Constellation

I can't help but continue to post, as my Björk love has led me to another swan photo and then on to a fantastic illustrator based out of Madrid, Spain: Silja Goetz. She's done work for countless magazines and newspapers internationally and works in mixed media, from collage to origami to ink. I'm so inspired to pull out my glue stick and get to work.




























































(siljagoetz.com)

Monday, December 15, 2008

Lighten Up, It's Just Fashion!

Brownie points if you get the title reference...

So, Sacha Baron Cohen's character Bruno has been all over the place lately in preparation for his new movie, even showing up on the runways at Milan Fashion week. Now, I'm no less a fan of couture/rtw shows than the next girl, but can't help but love him for bringing in a little life and humor. I was prompted to re-watch old episodes of "Da Ali G Show", which I used to love, and this clip is too good not to share. Full episode link follows.



Da Ali G Show- "War"

First Aid Kit

Camille of Childhood Flames turned me on to this sweet musical duo, and I love them too much not to talk them up. Klara and Johanna Söderberg are sisters from a small town near Stockholm, Sweden. They blend beautiful harmonies and world-wise lyrics into a mature, full sound that can hardly be attributed to their respective 15 and 17 years on this earth. Their popularity has grown via Myspace and I can't help but compare their predicted success to that of another well known duo, Tegan and Sara.


Fleet Foxes- Tiger Mountain Peasant Song (cover)

Myspace

Walk of Shame S/S 09

First pictures from my collection 1 critique! I was beyond obsessed with this collection, spending far far too many sleepless nights on it throughout the past four months. The photos don't have good lighting or composition but here they are anyways:
























From left:
Outfit 1: Angora/mohair cropped vest, hand studded, with leather fringe trim.
Wool jersey knit tank, hand cut (with scissors!) to create distressed lace effect.
Mini skirt with piped seams, jacquard fabric made in collaboration with a textile design student.

Outfit 2: Wool racerback vest, hand studded.
Sheer cotton buttondown shirt.
Wool jersey knit dress, overdyed for distressed effect.

Outfit 3: Duopioni silk dress with melted organza overlay, trimmed in matte black sequin.
























From left:
Outfit 1: Black wool jacket with cutaway front.
Hand shredded cropped tee, cotton jersey.
Poly/cotton short shorts, hand sequined with hand painted sequins.

Outfit 2:
Metallic jacquard mini dress with poly/cotton chevron bib and wool peter pan collar.

Outfit 3:
Cotton jersey knit tank.
Wool knit oversized vest, hand unraveled.
Stretch wool trousers, overdyed black.

I will be sure to post detail shots- they might be on dress forms but at least that's something. I'm also doing a photo shoot in the city for my portfolio that will make a huge difference.
Hope you enjoy,

xx
K.Hope

Insomnia already?

My semester of sleep deprivation has messed up my schedule, and now that I'm caught up on sleep I can't seem to close my eyes during the proper hours. I'll use it to my advantage, and post some pre-fall collection highlights from Style.com.

There honestly isn't much that stands out; Burberry stuck to the classics under Christopher Kane, though I'm a fan of the color palette considering my recent collection for school (Black, grey, and aubergine of course). Still, I agree that the fabric in this coat is extraordinary. The rest is lavish and elegant, but nothing special.
























Lagerfeld's brush with Russia for Chanel showed some interesting texture and warm color. Personal favorites included the sweater with just a touch of the dowdy, and the embellished piped jackets with metallic pants.















































Do.Ri opened with with a great pair of pants- I must say I would wear a ruffled pair of pj pants all day every day if I had the chance, and paired with a tough top like this (so A. Wang s/s 09, no?) it hits the mark of sweet + sexy.























Check the rest out for yourselves! Even if you aren't a designer/can't afford designer clothes/scorn current trends, it's important to see what's out there and you might have a flash of inspiration amid the mediocrity.

xx
K.Hope

Musical Obsessions

Two very different ladies, both amazing:











First, hailing from Madrid, is Lourdes Hernandez, otherwise known as Russian Red. Her debut album, I Love Your Glasses, has the power of someone far beyond her 22 years. She sings in English, detailing her emotions maturely and with no trace of an accent. Her dark melodies also lack an accent in that they stray from a typical Spanish instrumentation for the majority of the album. Overall, her sound is sweet and folk influenced; definitely worth a listen.

Here's a lovely video of the first song off her album:












Second, a powerhouse from Brooklyn, is Lady Gaga. I'm sure you've heard her single, Just Dance, far too many times. Don't write her off just because she's on the radio, because her album has some of the strongest straight up dance pop songs I've heard in ages. The Fame isn't 100% gold, but with only one awful song and two that err on the side of schmoozy, it comes out on top. Paparazzi and Poker Face were on repeat while I worked in the studio this semester and are featured whenever I'm getting ready to go out. As if that isn't enough, she actually has a head on her shoulders, writes her own lyrics, and has a wicked sense of fashion. Check out the video for Poker Face if you aren't convinced:

Lady Gaga: Poker Face



xx
Keri Hope

Sunday, December 14, 2008

And so it begins again

(foto decadent)

This is my second, no, third foray into the blogging community. First was as a self indulgent personal blogger, then as part of a short lived music review site (EDIT: it's back up and running and I am once again a part of it: check it out). Now on to the world of fashion. I've been reading fashion blogs for ages and obsessively follow far too many worldwide. As a fashion student and aspiring designer I can only hope to broaden your world just a little bit more with my take on current fashion, photography, music, and the like mixed with my own sketches and illustrations. Please enjoy!