Showing posts with label S/S 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label S/S 2008. Show all posts

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Reminiscence: Galliano for Christian Dior #3 - S/S 2008 Haute Couture


S/S 2008 is definitely one of my favorite seasons from Christian Dior haute couture show; how can't it be anyway? Channeling the subtle sensuality and scandal of John Singer Sargent's infamous portrait of society beauty Madame X, the collection was just rolled on along as a visual treat. The colors! The lightness! The embroidery! It was magical. Technicolour treat of ruffles and virtuoso twists of satins, taffetas and lavish embroidery sauntered past on the world's highest heels: it screamed luxe, luxe, luxe! I love it so much that in fact, I just realized I had actually created a post of this collection before. Does it deserve a second post anyway? Hell yeah, absolutely.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Christian Dior S/S 2008 Couture

Images source: TheCelebrityCity

I remember growing up and following the work of John Galliano, I was always half entranced, half frightened by his models; there was always something alluring and seductive yet dark and sinister about the makeup, the styling, and the stage. And the outfits; it's like whatever the references were, Galliano's vision at Dior was to click on an image from the past and drag it like a screen icon into a new world. The silhouette he created seemed to grow out of a 21st-century body. It was magical.

The spring/summer 2008 couture collection was probably the last collection by Galliano for Dior that still had its magic for me, before the financial crisis came and affected the couture industry greatly. All the acidic colour, the headpieces, the big hair and chunky jewelries gives off a 60's futuristic Pierre Cardin/Paco Robanne vibe which I love. There's a cue of slightly futuristic take on the symbolist art movement with dramatic volumes: cocoon, A-line and souffle-like poufs, even so dramatic that if there were giant roses bursting from the hem of a purple dress, the bodice was sinuous and fitted. A cocktail dress would swell, Poiret-style at the hips, but the rest of the duchess satin would be restrained as a sheath. There's also meticulously executed rich and rare color combination (lime, chartreuse, fuchsia), and exaggerated headpieces in shapes of metallic bowl, flowerpot, and flying-saucer shapes, that created the perfect wardrobe for a modern-day couture clients.


p.s Kate Donnelly from 'From the Desk of...' wants to see how my desk looks like. The site itself is dedicated to a person's work space; it compiles snapshots of working desks from various people of different backgrounds. I found the site's really interesting and also inspiring, and it was quite a delight to see the desk of some creative artists which works I adore, such as KwangHo Lee and Grace Bonney from Design*Sponge, to name a few. Read the full article and interview here.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Marc Jacobs S/S 2007-2011 New York


Marc Jacobs has always been one of my favorite designer, so I've been wanting to make an illustration of his outfit since like, forever. But somehow I never manage to do it because simply I couldn't choose which collection should I sketch! Then one day I came up with the idea of sketching one outfit that I like most from his spring collection from four years back until the recent spring 2011 collection, and what an idea it was; I certainly had a lot of fun drawing it. (:

Among all the collections, S/S 2008 would be my favorite Marc Jacobs' collection, ever. I never ever get tired of this very wearable interpretations-of-the-surrealist outfits and these misplaced pumps are just adorable, and remember the bag-on-bag bags? Well they just counts as another layer of adorableness, which makes this collection....hang on a second while I make some quick calculations...mmhmm...carry the three...ah yes, double adorable.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Dries Van Noten S/S 2008 Paris


A fashion rule says that it is either the colors should coordinate, in which case the patterns can clash, or the patterns should coordinate, in which case the colors can clash; but definitely not both. Well that certainly doesn't apply to Dries Van Noten in his spring/summer '08 collection, which I think may be his most extroverted collection yet, up until now.

I remember seeing this collection back in my first year in fashion school and was struck in awe. The styling was outrageous and actually quite genius, I guess. A flawless juxtaposition of prints and patterns is a major feat to achieve, and only few designers can deliver it perfectly. The way Mr. Van Noten mixes them, thanks to his creativity and ability to actually do it, resulting the collection not looking too heavy, instead it felt fresh and bright and the silhouette was very young, but strangely it also did suited any age.

I guess this collection really demonstrates the depth of Dries' talent; and his understanding of the diverse cultures and places that influence him. He's not just a tourist who picks up random ethnic inspirations and crashes them all together without any understanding of local aesthetics. But what I saw was an excellent collection, extremely traditional in a way of staying true to the roots, to the inspiration, and amazingly modern at the same time. What more a woman can ask for summer?