Amanda Palmer

While fantasising generally about wearable art and space in which to make it, I found this image. The combination of textures and natural tones is pleasing to me. Plus, Amanda Palmer ftw.

Taken on: 15 October 2009, from http://www.amandapalmer.net 

BLACK. Masters of  Black in Fashion & Costume

From the recently closed exhibition on the same name at the MoMu, Antwerp, Belgium.

Local Profiles: Anne Leon

This afternoon I'm flying home to visit the Shire and see some local artists' work. Anne Leon is a textile artists and educator based in Byron. I've taken classes with Anne and worked in her studio, such inspiration! Below is some of her work featured at the recently renovated Art Piece Gallery in Mullumbimby.

Scarves, Wraps and Blankets - Plant died wool.

Hitchcock's Women (via Vanity Fair)

Revisiting a Vanity Fair shoot from 2008 which I was reminded of recently during and English Literature lecture. We were looking at Marnie and its adaptation. Rear Window has always been my favouite Hitchcock film, the wit, but mostly the clothing makes it so watchable for me. In fact I'm getting nostalgic just thinking about it.

Felting brooches and visiting the Shire

On a recent visit to my hometown of Mullumbimby, NSW, I had many creative urges, one of which can be seen below.

Felted brooch, front view.

The first version of a felted brooch, it reminds me of a Triffid.

Plum blossum, Spring comes earlier each year it would seem, not long until the blue berries.

McQueen: Legacy 3 (Shoes)

I'm not sure words can justify these shoes. In fact words fail me. This collection of Alexander McQueen’s was featured in an earlier post. I felt, though, that these shoes deserved a post of their own. They are alien, reptilian and seem to draw on these sci-fi influences with the materials. I'm a little in awe, can you tell?

Vintage as a lifestyle

I'd never really thought about vintage fashion and activities as a lifestyle, until I read Lee Tobin's article in Upstart magazine. It made sense that a generation, like mine, who reap the benefits of technology and live the fastest lives (or so we've been told - "they grow up so quickly" is the oft repeated line), to choose to pursue an interest which defies our consumer focussed society.

‘I think modern society popularised technology that was fast and to the point, but has lost sight of doing things beautifully. The art of calligraphy and letter writing was lost upon the invention of email and texting.'

Then there's the rebelliousness, hidden at first, but perhaps the stereotype of younger generations isn't completely wrong.

‘There is something subversive about wearing a vintage dress,’ Lovasz writes. ‘One feels one is cheating the fashion industry, one-upping it even.’

Below is a selection of garments from Autumn ready to wear collections, in which I see some of the fascination with vintage continuing. The lady-like silhouette has been present for a while now. It's interesting to see how these things morph and change over time.

Louis Vuitton

Dries Von Norton

Dries Von Norton

Christian Dior

Tough shells

These Autumn women have a tough exterior. Leather, earthy tones. Striking colour highlights their shiny outer shells. Leather gloves and boots, like armour, supports their slight frames. I admire the way the leather looks fluid - ruffles, pleating and surface textures suggest to me that Autumn is all about what's on the outside. Protective. Safe. Guarded.

Click for larger view.

Ann Demeulemeester

Christian Dior

Issey Miyake

Christian Dior

Christian Dior

Christine Dior

Burberry Prorsum

Burberry Prorsum

I particularly like the fabric of this last outfit. It looks naturally died, but I can't confirm that. I'd like to imagine the large design houses are using natural dying processes, like eco dyes, in their ranges, but I haven't heard anything to confirm this. Would love to find out though.

Recycled Textiles and Fibres

Our clothes are very personal and intimate and in using them to make these sculptures they embody the work with these qualities.

Mary Barron

Image taken from Mary's profile on the National Association for the Visual Arts.

Christian Dior: Shoes

A salivating selection from the Christian Dior Fall 2010 Ready to Wear collection. Needless to say these have 'want' written all over them. In big glorious leather letters. Mmmm!

McQueen: Legacy 2

The selection below are taken from Alexander McQueen's Fall 2010, Ready to Wear collection. This season was among his most theatrical, glamorous and awe-inspiring.

The great loss of his passing was made all the more evident in the artistry of these garments. I will leave it to others to catalogue his achievements. For now, I'll continue to admire these garments. They say so much about where he could have gone, and importantly, where he had come from.

Rambling #4

The following is a selection from Issey Miyake 2010 and 2009 Ready to Wear. My choice for the ultimate versatile and exciting winter garment. Miyake is always surprising, which is certainly what we need in winter. Call it a distraction from the cold.

Rambling #3

Exploring wintry layers and colour today. I'd like to see more colour this winter, especially here is Melbourne where black is uniform. I think I'd go mad without a bit of colour. SO here we go.

Tsumori Chisato, Fall 2010, Ready to Wear

Issey Miyake, Fall, Ready to Wear, 2010

Tsumori Chisato, Fall 2010, Ready to Wear

Tsumori Chisato, Fall 2010, Ready to Wear

Theorizing Wearable Art

Photography by Cuba Gallery.

What is Wearable Technology Art? an article by Susan Elizabeth Ryan, co curator of the Social Fabrics exhibition hosted by the LEONARDO Educational Forum at the College Art Association in Dallas Texas. This article was published in Intelligent Agent.

Throughout the 20th century the dialogue between garments and technology is as persistent as the dialogue that particular garment styles also continuously sustain with both their forebears in the past and their imagined counterparts in the future.

Textile work published

My review of the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT) has been published in the May issue of the Textile Fibre Forum (TFF) magazine. The APT included a brilliant selection of textile/fibre related works from artists such as Isabel & Alfredo Aquilizan Shinji Ohmaki, who I discuss in said article.

McQueen: Legacy 1

I've always adored Alexander McQueen's work. His virtuoso use of materials, from silk to latex and anything in between, it is nothing short of awe inspiring. But enough lyrical waxing. The piece pictured here are a catalogue (in the early stages) of McQueen's diverse use of materials. And a homage to his legacy cut short.