Je Suis Belle, bien sûr!

You may have already heard of Je Suis Belle's spring 2010 collection from eerily quick on the uptake blogs such as Style Bubble and Kingdom of Style. I generally avoid repeating content but for this case I'll make an exception, as the relatively unknown brand deserves more press and they were kind enough to send an info package filled with lovely high-res images directly to my inbox. I love being able to see the details for a change! I'm rather bored of using tiny style.com photos over and over again.

Je Suis Belle is the brainchild of Dalma and Tibor, who met in university in Budapest and have since been on a mission to create clothes for the self-confident woman, who seeks gracefulness, playfulness, and appreciates a sense of individuality. The spring 2010 collection was inspired by the works of contemporary Hungarian artist Attila Szűcs, whose paintings were printed all over the body, on lightly draped dresses and blouses. Straw hats were sliced in half, creating a casual visor, perfect for picnics in the park or lounging on the beach. I was a bit confused by the shoes. Were these clobbered together backstage before the show or are they intentionally made so haphazardly unfinished? Sure looks like an easy DIY...

I set runway shots side by side with images of Szűcs' paintings below. I enjoyed browsing through the online gallery, definitely worth a look-see! I love the mysterious hazy images. Especially the ones depicting the curious electrical engineer Nikola Tesla. Yes. Oh, and I just wanted to add, the painting names were taken directly from the website. I'm not sure if the typos are intentional or not...



Donkey

Dog with christmas-tree lightnings

Two standing figures

Figure with pinkish blindspot

Tesla in a desert

Restlers on singularity



Photographer: Hendrik Ballhausen, painting captures from szucsattila.hu

“Always watch where you are going. Otherwise, you may step on a piece of the Forest that was left out by mistake.”

Prada's fall 09 lookbook has sold me on the collection. Seriously, I loved gazing at every page of it. It's very surrealist, sometimes haunting and sometimes tongue-in-cheek. Maybe even making references to the occult? I've been seeing so many uninspired lookbooks lately that this rather random photoshop job suddenly seems so appealing. The cave-man dress paired with a wolf's head is a nice touch, but my favourite is probably the men's runway shot with a full moon shining overhead.










See the entire lookbook here.

Couture Fall 2009

"Haute Couture should be fun, foolish and almost unwearable."

- Christian Lacroix

Below are my favorite picks from the Haute Couture fall 2009 shows. In particular, I am eyeing Valentino's lace shorts, Stephane Rolland's long and loose blazers, Gaultier's future/classics woman, and Josep Font's standout new variation of the statement-shoulder trend. I am also eagerly awaiting high-res photos of On Aura Tout Vu's tree branch dress.

Images from via thefashionspot.com

Wrap Me Up

Images via Coutorture

As soon as I laid eyes on the Opening Ceremony for Pendleton collection I fell in love. The 100-year old heritage brand lent it's iconic Navajo prints for a celebratory capsule collection. This is probably my favourite brand collaboration as of yet. The pieces are extremely modern, with on-trend peplum and cape silhouettes, yet the stunning traditional prints are steeped in rich history. The colors are simply amazing. I can't stop staring. Below is an excerpt from the Pendleton website.

In 1863, traveling down the Atlantic seaboard, crossing the Isthmus of Panama on a burro, and sailing up the Pacific coast was a grueling four-month passage. Yet for Thomas Kay, a young English weaver, it was a dream come true. An old hand at sea voyages, he had already crossed the Atlantic years earlier to work at east coast textile mills. With skills honed, he was now headed to an area with ideal conditions for raising sheep and producing wool. A place with moderate weather and plentiful water - America's newest state, Oregon.

Kay helped organize Oregon's second woolen mill in Brownsville, where he oversaw the weaving operation. Soon he was made a superintendent of the company. In 1889, Thomas Kay opened his own mill in Salem, Oregon. From these humble beginnings rose a dyed-in-the-wool American success story...

...The production of Indian blankets resumed as the Bishops applied intuitive business concepts for quality products and distinctive styling. A study of the color and design preferences of local and Southwest Native Americans resulted in vivid colors and intricate patterns. Trade expanded from the Nez Perce nation near Pendleton to the Navajo, Hopi and Zuni nations. These Pendleton blankets were used as basic wearing apparel and as a standard of value for trading and credit among Native Americans. The blankets also became prized for ceremonial use. Under the direction of the Bishop family, Pendleton expanded into other areas of woolen manufacturing. In 1912, the addition of a weaving mill in Washougal, Washington, broadened its capability for fabric variety, including suitings.

As I was browsing the Coutorture website for the above collage, I noticed a commenter who claimed that Opening Ceremony was ripping off designer Lindsey Thornburg. Having never heard of her, I did a quick search and discovered more wonderfully cozy wool capes! For her most recent collection, Lindsey journeyed to Machu Picchu where she was very inspired by the Highlanders' boldly colored attire. I can relate to her love of their traditional costumes, as I have myself admired them (sadly only in books) many times. I'm not really bothered by who copied who, but I would like to snag a similar item myself. My only hope would be to a) miraculously discover something at a thrift store or b) wait for a highstreet store like Zara to pick up on the trend. Actually, I have seen similar blankets around, but they are far too rough and itchy to wear as clothing...




Images via LindseyThornburg.com

After having been inspired by these two amazing collections, I decided to wrap myself in a few cozy pieces of my own. Not quite the same, but it's a start. Luckily, we're having a very chilly and rainy 14 degree day today. I'm wearing a thrifted Ralph Lauren Polo cardigan, thrifted grey wool cape, Zara jeans, and a Romanian scarf handed down from my mum. I should have shown the scarf a bit more in the photo. It's much larger than it looks and the beautiful print is very much in the theme of today's post.

McQueen Resort 2010

Images via wwd.com

Alexander McQueen and his genius strikes again! I can't believe I managed to miss the resort collection for a week before I stumbled upon it at the fashion spot forums. McQueen has been heavily inspired by artists, a motif that hearkens back to his menswear collection. But the inspiration was taken even further with Escher-esque prints gracing leggings and dresses, and LeWitt-style mind-bending line arrangements. I wish those sheer leggings would be mine right now.

The funny thing is, the above-mentioned artists were the two I turned to just a couple of months ago for inspiration. I even made a collage featuring Alaia's ss 09 collection with an Escher piece as a backdrop. Maybe McQueen can read minds. Maybe he's like Sookie Stackhouse from True Blood but with a far greater field of reach. Maybe True Blood should have aired another episode last weekend instead of taking the week off. Because I'm a little obsessed. Obviously.

Anyways, the my diy dress project has started. I went to Dressew this morning to pick up the fabric and my grandmother is helping me replace the sheer panels. Hopefully it will be finished today!

Layers of Air

Left to right: Matthew Ames spring 2009, Damir Doma spring 2010 via The Fashionisto, The Sartorialist

Nothing like light and airy layers of fabric to match the nice breeze and sun combination we have been having here in Vancouver lately. Slightly chilly, slightly warm, and just right. Does anyone think Matthew Ames is the Damis Doma of womenswear? Or vice-versa? I love both of their aesthetics.

By the way, note the intentional color palette of this collage. Happy Canada day to the Canadians out there reading the blog! I'm off to hit the beach now.