i wish...

i was this cool....

geeez, Nicole from America's Next Top Model really turned off the geek look and turned on the super chic, alternative scene look.


I kind of want striking red hair now...




Nicole Fox by Kathryna Hancock

thanks fashiongonerogue

oh, i love a good romance.

in love with romance was born's 2010/2011 ready to wear look book.
absolutely devine.

http://oystermag.com

exploring colour...

Exploring colour as part of my latest collection is an important factor. I want my collection to stand out and as I have not used my colour in a lot of my design work I thought it would be useful to get out some old projects that I used colour in and see what works...
Below is a styling project I completed focusing on colour as the main concept behind the editorial. Styling and photography by myself.

oyster.

So much love for Oyster mag.

oystermag.com

the journal.

Each time we get a brief I get excited about putting together my design journal, it's something that I take quite seriously and always find myself going back to many months or years later and browsing through them, getting inspiration or just to see how much I have grown as a designer. In a way they are like my own little personal collection of story books, stories about my journey as a designer and a student and a journey of my life and how I have grown through my design processes.

Lately I have been exploring dyeing and trying to obtain the right colours for my collection. I find dyeing a bit of a slow and annoying process at times but if you keep at it you really can achieve some really good results that will set your collection apart from the rest.


A sample of a page in my design journal for 2010, exploring dye and colour. Trying to obtain the right balance of a lime green and a turquoise blue to set off my palette of greys, whites and silver.


A few more samples from my journal, exploring the design process through sketch and collage. My fabrics are always on hand when designing my collections so I know exactly what I am dealing with and how the material works.

playing with print.

Below are some print ideas I developed for my collection, they still need refining but I think the ideas are working well.
I am thinking of using a mixture of digital and screen printing within my collection so my next step is to render some of these prints so they are suitable for screen printing. Enjoy looking.

a frocking good day.

A few weeks ago fellow fashion friend Kate and I took a stroll down Harris Street to the Powerhouse Museum to check out the latest attraction: Frockstars!! Yes it has taken me forever to file through the photos and get them up on here but lets face it, life has been a massive roller coaster the past few weeks so finding time to sit down with a coffee and sift through photos has been kind of rare.


I'll just give you my little insight into the exhibition instead of taking you on a tour. (you can just look at the photos) Firstly, I enjoyed it, it was relaxing to be away from uni and to carelessly walk around the exhibition and devour all things fashion, I have to say that I think the 15 years of fashion from Fashion Week could have been a little bit more exciting, the highlight was ofcourse Romance Was Born's 'Iced Vovo' look.


So, as we strolled through the exhibition from the clothing to the event invitations it was really exciting, and I really enjoyed looking at all the random pieces collected from past fashion events, the little souveniers designers left for their guests, the incredibly innovative and creative invitations were a massive hit with me.
That is about it for this morning...I will be back to post more on the exhibition and share my thoughts and my photos but for now toilles are calling and who can resist that!!

Photos taken by myself.

overwhelmed.

I have these feelings when designing, one week I am on top of the world and I know that I'm doing something good and I'm on the right track and the next week everything feels like it is a mess and not going to work and I'm basically hating what I'm doing and thinking it will never eventuate into something great. This always happens to me, I doubt myself at times which I need to overcome because there is no room for doubt in my life. I think it just comes down to such an overwhelming year that I have embarked on so to get myself back on track I like to emerse myself with some of my favourite design things...including the work of Richard Avedon, I studied his photography when I studied graphic design for a year before I moved onto fashion, he is such an inspiring artist and art is where my passion first began before I discovered fashion so I like to go back to my roots and let these people inspire me...


"I think all art is about control -
the encounter between control and the uncontrollable."
Richard Avedon



http://www.richardavedon.com/

a world full of colour.

Finding inspiration for colour is never really a difficult thing for me with all the fantastic colours that surround us in every day life. I love seeing the inspiration behind a colour palette and seeing how that small piece of inspiration has come to life in a collection. Below is a snippet of my my colour palette for my 2010/11 Women's wear collection. It is a fusion of the future, metals, machines, robots and evolving life. The colour palette is quite subtle at first with shades of grey, silver and white and then it hits you with a strong splash of turquoise and bright lime green. I have always loved playing with muted colour palettes and adding slight spots of bright colour to the mix.

design development

It has been a while since I last made a post due to the fact that I have been extremely busy with getting the first bits of my collection together. (I am almost jumping out of my skin with excitement) I have a lot of ideas and thoughts running through my head and it is kind of hard to keep up, so much so that I found myself going to bed last night and trying to sleep only getting up half an hour later and working on photoshop developing textiles prints to god knows what time...

In a way I like this motivation, though I'm not sure you could call it motivation, it's more that my mind couldn't turn off so I could get some rest.

Just to get some ideas out of my head and on the page....
I'm thinking of doing lots of digital print, all scales, sizes, proportions.
LOTS AND LOTS OF METAL, metal embellishments, perspex embellishments as well as perspex and metal accessories.
Then there is the styling...god, so much to do..
I'm looking for 6 pairs of grey platform ankle boots that I can decorate the S**T out of with all my embellishments and print work etc.

So, stay posted...
I will be back with loads more exciting ideas and even some pics of my progess.

a date with romance.

Romance was born are always a treat...Anna Plunket and Luke Sales have a real vision each time it comes to presenting a collection and that vision is never compromised which is what I love about the label. It still has that air of creativity about it that has not yet been squashed by consumerism.

This collection was a mix of dark gothic glamour and beauty, romance and other world creatures. The duo took me on a fantasty ride which is what I am studying this year in relation to my own collection, fashions ability to allow us to engage in fantasy and transform our identity to whatever we want it to be. Romance did this for me!! I was lucky enough to get a glimpse of Anna and Luke at last years UTS Graduate Industry show which let me tell you was one of those wet your pants moments (sorry for the disgusting image) but it really was, I am so inspired and in awe of these two designers and seeing them in the flesh was amazing, they have such an effortless look about them like they just threw on this cardigan filled with dollar bills and they don't care. Being in their presence was amazing and I wish I could have as much style as them...unfortunately we are not all blessed with that cool gene!!


Behind the scenes images from: http://oystermag.com/oysters-pick-of-the-year#more-969

Images from: www.vogue.com

the madness continues...

Alice McCall is always a favourite, she always produces such girl and feminine collections so I am actually quite suprised that she is one of my favourites. I find that she really knows how to keep a collection feminine with still being able to add cool detailing and give it a bit of an edge!!






Image: www.fashionising.com

Attention to detail was a highlight in the collection, these lace-esque pieces were inspiring!





Images: http://littleblackbook.typepad.com/little_black_book/2010/05/rafw-2010-alice-mccall.html

Karla Spetic showed that simple and understated can really pay off. Though I am not usually one to go for this style it really works, the colour palette is cute and very summery and the soft drapes of the jackets and pants are a winner. The cute windmill prints add a bit of a fun and quirky touch which I love.


Images: www.vogue.com

Konstantina Mittas's collection was a definite highlight for me. It was dramatic, costume-esque, daring, grunge and a little bit sweet at the same time. Very much my aesthetic so you can imagine my excitement when I was browsing each image from the collection, every garment was creative, exciting and it really left me wanting more!!

Images: www.vogue.com

Gary Bigeni's collection was effortless, it was soft, drapey and sweet. The muted palette is a favourite of mine and he really succeeded in creating a laid back glamour like off duty model collection. I would definately purchase most of his collection.


Images: www.vogue.com