black cult

Words are inadequate to describe this fantastic fashion/motion graphic reel for Gareth Pugh’s Fall 09 show.

The clothes are great of course, there’s a bit of wizardry and madness in them, but I love everything about the video, the whole cyber gothic cult feeling brought to us through the rigid movements of the model, the repetition and symmetry, the fantastic use of eerie, cult-like background music, and the excellent use of the ink as motion graphic effects. One might argue that such an artistic video might not give added value to the fashion but I think this really suits Gareth Pugh’s vision very well. In particular I love the part where the model ‘grows’ legs from the coat, like a beetle. It gives a little touch of nature, of growth, to the mechanical robotic concept so apparent since the first shot.

Also, I’ve been extremely interested in the use of ink/liquids as part of motion graphic videos for some time now. This reel reminds me of a fantastic short clip done by MIL:

And some experimental photography catching ink in motion, by yours truly:

   

Luxury in fashion RECONSIDERED

Here’s my report for the exhibition held at MOMAK (Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto) – “Luxury in fashion RECONSIDERED”.

The exhibition was very interesting, using luxury as the key word and vantage point for looking at fashions from the 17th century to contemporary times. The exhibition was divided into three parts. The first section, Ostentation, included displays of dresses from the 1800s taken from various countries, mostly England, Italy and France. Court dresses and weddings gowns as well as men’s suits were all created with elaborate fabrics and garments with painstaking detail, most notably beadwork and applique. As can be imagined, most of the clothing created during that era were handmade, so the amount of labour that must have gone into the dresses must have been incredible. Some of my favourite ones included an ivory-colored dress with swirling patterns created from sewn-on jewel beetle wings.

The Balencianga set and Louis Vuitton coat certainly received the most attention though, probably because they stood out amongst the many court dresses and definitely screamed couture. I do like both pieces very much; the cut and embroidery of the Balencianga jacket is beautiful, and  I ADORE the LV coat because it’s just gorgeous. Interesting how fur has always been associated with luxury and gives a sense of glamour.

We then moved on to the next section Less is More, which was certainly quite a switch. Here, minimalism was the key, and ornamentation was reduced to an absolute minimum while silhouttes and overall shapes were emphasised. Here, the Chanel and Balencianga dresses demonstrated simplicity that met the need for both comfort, function and yet modern sophistication.

The third section, Clothes are free-spirited, was certainly one of my favourites – here, “the intense relationship that is generated between the designer and the wearer”. Pieces from the Commes de Garcons collection by the talented Rei Kawakubo displayed craft, beauty and a new level of fashion as interactive art. The garments, formed from either one large piece or a few seperate pieces, were laid out and photographed as a plan, the result of which appeared as an irregularly-shaped wrapping paper.

Finally, Uniqueness which featured one-off garments by Maison Martin Margiela attempted to ‘represent contemporary concepts of luxury, such as “one-off,” “recyclability,” and “hand-made.” ‘ This took fashion to yet another more artistic level, with pieces created from found objects including bottle caps and poker cards. Particularly impressive was a new wedding dress created from the parts of three cut-up wedding dresses.

Overall a worthy visit. The exhibition will be moving over to Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT) from Oct 31, 2009, so do check it out if you are in the area!

CHANEL MOBILE ART now online

I was very fortunate to have visited the CHANEL Mobile Art Container in its Hong Kong stopover.

You can now experience the exhibition virtually HERE.

The voice in the background was the guiding voice visitors listened to through headsets given out during the exhibition. The one at the website mixed in different languages so you won’t be able to get an actual picture of the entire tour, but it’s still nice to look at nonetheless.

Also don’t forget to check out the other sections of the website. In particular I like the short film under THE TOUR > HONG KONG > VIDEOS & PHOTOS > PARTY. Very nice film there. I laughed a little when Karl appeared in the tiny gap of light.

Clean lines.

IZZUE COLLECTION S/S 09

I have to say, I am loving everything about this set.

Kate Cusack also has some super cool zipper interpretations that take the form of wristcuffs and other sorts of jewellery. (via hkfashiongeek)

banal chic bizarre

One of those quirky, indie Japanese brands that really embodies the essence of original Tokyo street style. Some stuff you might not wear every day, but is interesting enough to look at.

banal chic bizarre

The nihonjin way

Sometimes, only the Japanese can.

Oh yes, I will be blatant about my biased love for Japanese street fashion. People’s creativity never fail to amaze me. All in a good way, of course. There’s something about this country, its people and its culture that has won my heart and undying love.

All images from the wonderful dropsnap.jp

Here are some of my current favourites…

And YAY for harem pants making the comeback *_* Now that has motivated me more than ever to grab a pair. Mmm.

Arena37c SP feat. Aoi (the GazettE)

Arena37c is a Japanese music magazine featuring mostly Jrock artistes from the visual scene. The latest Special issue featured Aoi (guitarist of the GazettE) and I loved the photoshoot. It was very different from the typical visual rock photoshoots and I really like the saturated colors, the vintage grainy feel, the nostalgic lomographic colors… It’s got a bit of Rolling Stones meets Vivienne Westwood XD Enjoy the photos even if you don’t follow Jrock. Click on the images for a bigger view.

All scanning credits go to rawkstarr23 of livejournal.

Chanel Spring ‘09 couture

Personally, I am more of a F/W person, since I like layering and dark colors. It’s either alot of black or shiny dark fabrics, or a riot of vivid colors, and not somewhere in between. That’s why S/S always makes me a little apprehensive, as no doubt there will be pieces of dreary earth tones such as faded, sandy colors or weak cactus greens. I’m biased that way – the color palette is the first thing that speaks to me.

Which is why I am a little torn over Karl’s Chanel Spring ‘09 couture line. The all-white procession was very… Chanel of course. But after 16 pieces I started feeling a little cross-eyed. You can give me an all-black collection (think Y-3) and I won’t be bored; but all white? Not so much. The saviours were probably the black and white pieces that came at the end. You have to give him credit though – he made WHITE leggings look wearable!

tiptop Spring ‘09

After looking at hundreds of collections, things get a little hazy. But there were a couple of things that stood out, and these I classify as my favourites (and probably as reference for my personal look book!) of all the runway gorgeousness that is Spring 2009.

First of all, my favourite ready-to-wear collection would have to be… Louis Vuitton.

There seemed to be a lot of mixed reactions to this collection but I personally loved it. I am not the biggest fan of huge slaps of ethnic influences and prints, but this collection changed my mind. There was a great use of colour and I love the details, especially the bags and the shoes… Omg the shoes! The obi belt reinterpretations also worked really well with the outfits.

YSL was another one I liked – sleek, stylish, shiny and lots of black. There were so many pieces I would love to wear.

Chanel had some lovely pieces (even though everyone’s tired of the tweed jackets, but I still appreciate the reinterpretation of something so classic, so Chanel), and the men’s pieces were very chic too. Karl’s own Karl Lagerfeld line was simple but beautiful, and I really liked the play of organdie as well as the leather belt-and-corset clinchers that held everthing together. Rodarte also presented an amazing collection with the most inventive use of leather and zippers to produce some really refreshing pieces.

Finally, we all know about florals and Spring, but the use of fabrics by Christian Lacroix was breathtaking.

The make-up and hair of the models stole the show at John Galliano, and I’m still not sure what to think about Rick Owens’ use of the nun-like headscarves. Haider Ackermann’s runway show also had some very ingenious use of zippers on leather and satin, as well as asymmetrical draping which I adore.

Rue Du Mail’s collection of architectural silhouettes is impressive and worth looking at; it was kind of amusing to see miniature louvres on dresses, actually. LIMI feu’s collection was so… Japanese, hahaha. It was a cool, street-style lineup.

Over at London, I’m not surprised that Christopher Kane got the greatest attention with his flapping, scaling, scalloping pieces. My favourite would have to be Roksanda Ilincic’s runway collection though – she delivered some intricate constructions with illusive fabrics.

Now… onto my least favourites.
Issey Miyake had a color palette that was supposed to reflect the mighty amazon jungle but just made my stomach a little queasy. Vivienne Westwood’s Gold Label runway was a bit too much for me – perhaps it wasn’t meant to be an entirely cohesive collection, or maybe it was just the black lipstick…

And yes, I am aware that NY Fashion Week has finished and some of the Fall collections are looking delicious but I will get to them real soon, after I finish digesting the remaining few Spring Couture shows.

Wonderland tribute to Aya Kato

I absolutely adore this series of images entitled “Wonderland tribute to Aya Kato”, photographed by Paco Peregrin. Aya Kato is my favourite artist, so it was wonderful to see somebody come up with an interpretation of her work through fashion photography. I love the stylist’s take on her art, using objects such as snowglobes and miniature carousels as part of the headgear, and giving Aya’s art a rougher edge with the use of deconstructed umbrellas with metal spokes, or even a European touch with the use of cavalry helmets and Napoleon-esque outfits.

See the rest of the set here at behance.net