2010년 5월 28일 금요일

Collection Diary No.3-Embellishments


I usually don't like excessive amount of embellishments. I used to add a lot of embellishments to my designs but it was only to disguise my lack of skills. I feel that some designers overuse embellishments to somehow hide their ordinary and bland silhouettes and cuts. Although it takes hours and hours of work, it is very easy to blind people with flashy beads to create momentary excitement. Perhaps this is why I never warmed up to the Haute Couture collections from Lebanese designer Elie Saab (no offence though). I also dislike the association of embellishments with couture. I have no problem with other people expressing their opinion, if they think something is a couture piece, I am fine with that but when young designers call everything they do a 'couture', it shows great lack of confidence in their design and in what they do. I don't need my designs to be a 'couture piece' for me to love them and be confident in them, it doesn't have to be anything other than what it is; I wouldn't care if people called my designs pieces of rubbish as long as I liked them. Same goes for the designers who says fashion is an art and gets very offended if people say otherwise. Fashion may or may not be an art but that is not the reason why I do it. Those designers who do are obviously suffering from inferiority issues. I don't need fashion to be anything other than what it is.
Anyway, going back to the point, I strongly believe that extraordinary designs are the ones that focuses on innovative cuts and silhouettes but after revisiting my favourite Haute Couture collections (mostly from Dior and Chanel), my love for the beads, pearls, embroideries and embellishments was reignited. I realised how John Galliano and Karl Lagerfeld, artistic director of Dior and Chanel respectively, uses embellishments without ruining the silhouette and creates masterpieces of designs.


I have been working very hard on my collection and I'm starting to see the progress (which is about time). Since this is my full collection, I have been putting a lot of time and effort perfecting the silhouettes. This time, I decided embellish my garments with Huate Couture grade beading (hopefully) to create masterpiece garments. It is a slow process but I am starting to pick up speed and it's looking amazing, if I may say so myself :).


Faux leather flower cutouts with jet black beads and mother of pearls in various sizes.


Both sleeves and the entire skirt to go :)



-Seph-

2010년 5월 15일 토요일

Alexander McQueen Empire Clutch


For me, Alexander McQueen's 2008 Fall Pret-a-Porter collection remains his best work, his Magnum Opus. The garments were romantic, regal and beautiful but it was the combination of everything (clothes, accessories, set, music, hair, make up and everything!!) that made the show an absolute perfection.

I was going through my Vogue collection and found in an accessories page Alexander McQueen's faberge inspired Empire clutch which was one of the highlight accessories in his 2008 Fall Pret-a-Porter collection. I fell in love with this bag the moment I saw it and seeing it again in the magazine, I rekindled that feeling and this time, it was stronger. Now that McQueen is gone, I desperately feel that I need a part of his legacy otherwise I will never be able to do so.

I REALLY WANT THIS BAG!

I even dreamed about getting it. I know this bag will be few thousand dollars (that is IF I can find it somewhere) and I am totally aware that this is for women but I think I can rock this bag.

-Seph-

2010년 5월 11일 화요일

Lady Gaga Speechless


Another one of my favourite Lady Gaga performances. Lady Gaga was perched 20 feet high playing Salvador Dali-esque, work of art of a piano in Elizabethan (I mean naturally the Virgin Queen of 14th century England, Elizabeth I of Tudor) red vinyl/leather gown in front of the Queen of England. Need I say more?


-Seph-



Lady Gaga - Brown Eyes Live

Lady Gaga's most passionate and amazing performance to date! I especially LOVE the 'living' costume and you will too when you see this video. It looks like a work of the genius Hussein Chalayan. You left me speechless Gaga.


-Seph-



2010년 5월 10일 월요일

Lady Gaga - Speechless (Live at the VEVO Launch Event)

My favourite musician Lady Gaga performing Speechless at Vevo launching party in elegant Valentino evening dress with bow details (styled with matching hairstyle).
Her outrageous, theatric and out-of-this-world performances are awe-inspiring, but this simple performance really shows that not only is she amazing performance artist, she also has amazing voice to match her theatrics.


-Seph-


Trailer : REMEMBER NOW by Karl Lagerfeld : Chanel Resort 2011

Karl Lagerfeld will be revealing Chanel's latest Resort collection at St. Tropez today along with his latest short film called 'Remember Now'. This film stars one of my favourite models Magdalena Frackowiak as Bridget Bardot and array of Chanel girls including Heidi Mount, Freja Beha and etc. I cannot wait to see the film and the collection!

-Seph-


2010년 5월 9일 일요일

Bronx Ballerina


Wonderful Freja Beha Erichsen by Craig McDean for Interview magazine. I LOVE the contrast between softness and severity in the styling of this editorial (someone called it a 'Bronx Ballerina' series). BTW, those pointe shoes are murderous.

-Seph-



Image Source: fashiongonerouge.com

Marie Antoinette shoes by Christian Louboutin


So utterly indescribably incomprehensibly breathtakingly Romantic!!!!!!!! This must be how women usually feel when they see pair of cute shoes!


-Seph-




Dazed and Confused Editorial with Magdalena Frackowiak

I am not sure if this happens to everyone or if it is just me, but it seems that all my favourite editorials are featured in magazine issues that I do not get an opportunity to check out or buy. when I saw this February issue of Dazed and Confused on the internet few weeks ago, I almost slapped myself in the face. Magdalena Frackowiak, who happens to be one of my favourite models at the moment, in 2010 Spring Pret-a-Porter collection from Viktor&Rolf!!
When every designer was feeling the pressure of recession and was thinking about cutting back, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren took 'cutting back' quite literally and created gowns that looked like it had been hacked by a chainsaw for the fabrics to be reused. It was an optical illusion-like fashion fantasy come to life! I'm glad that I got to see these amazing images now, is there a website which I can preview all the editorials from major fashion magazines? I don't want to miss out on any more fabulous editorials.

-Seph-









Image Source: fashiongonerouge.com