Song of the Rainbird

Good Morning lovelies,

One of the things I really love about being a blogger is unique designers I hadn't come across before sending me press releases and imagery of their collections. Imagine my joy at finding one such email earlier this week from Australian designer Kelly Love. I had not come across Kelly's work before and I am so pleased that she has shared it with me because I adore her AW11 collection - 'Song of the Rainbird'.It is a collection inspired by the 60's with references to the correlation between muses, fallen rock stars and beautiful birds in cages. I really love the print work, black and white mixed with navy contrasted against bright pops of yellow. I wanted to know more about the collection. So contacted Kelly back and asked her a few questions:What is your inspiration?
Inspiration can come from anywhere but my label is mainly inspired by femininity, 1940's and 1960's, textured fabrics, foreign films, Parisian actresses, folk music and antique furniture.How do you start designing a collection?
I start by writing - anything from a short story to a song. For my AW2011 collection 'Song of the Rainbird' I collaborated with the band Nova's Basement who wrote music to my lyrics. You can listen to the song here! Whatever I write is written as the girl who would wear my collection, almost like an imaginary muse. I then do a mood board, start sketching and pick colours and fabrics.What made you move to London?
The Industry is so much bigger in London than in Sydney so I knew there would be more opportunity. I also love to travel and there are so many places just a hop, skip and jump away? Plus it is such an inspirational city with so much to do and see.How long have you been designing?
I started designing at school and loved it. I've always known I wanted to do something creative. My label started in 2o08 when I launched my first collection "Beautiful Side of Everything" at the New Generation Show of Australian Fashion Week. My latest collection for SS12 'Pocket Full O'Posies' is my third collection in the UK and is inspired by bunches of posies, vintage lingerie and 1940's cocktail parties.I really like this collection and enjoyed speaking to Kelly! I hope you do too!
Best wishes,
Fashion Fantasist xx

P.S she also has a shop on her website!!!

All the Jewellery I Never Got

All The Jewellery I Never Got from GrandBoy on Vimeo.

Don't you just love it when you stumble on to wonderful fashion whilst browsing the Internet? Natalie Coleman's hand drawn quirky illustrations caught my eye recently. Her Spring Summer 2012 collection features hand drawn, water coloured jewels digitally printed and pleated. The collection is flirtatious, sexy and full of whimsy.Natalie Coleman is a fashion design MA graduate from Central St. Matins and has worked for threeASFOUR in New York, Ragna Frodadottir a textile designer in Iceland and Joanne Hynes, Ireland.'Inspired by the stories, the secrets and longings for individuality in all women and with a background in strong narratives and quirky romance, Natalie has recently established her own fashion business and label NATALIEBCOLEMAN.'I really like this collection and with the weather turning cold I am already thinking about next season when the sun will hopefully come back!

Enjoy,
Fashion Fantasist xx

'Tweet Tweet Tweet'

Once again David Longshaw has captured my imagination with his descriptive stories and beautiful prints. This collection for Autumn Winter 11/12 is an exciting mix of narrative, photographic and illustrative prints, and collaboration. So obviously I needed to find out more about it and contacted David to explain the inspiration behind the collection and the collaborations involved.What is the inspiration behind your collection?
Here's the story-A/W 2011/12 Inspiration.

Seriously Rose, I can’t bloody believe it here, they’ve stuck me in the middle of sodding nowhere with these religious nuts who expect me to go to church with them and sit shitting cross stitching by the fire ‘of an eve.’ What do they think it is, the bloody 15thCentury?’ They don’t drink and they don’t f****ing swear. There’s no one my age I’ve met other than one or two who are destined to die virgins unless one of them changes sex and their parents force them in to an arranged marriage to procreate more dull, weird looking bastards! ‘Don’t even get me started on the sodding birds! It’s supposed to be quiet in the countryside, but every morning at 5am all I get is bloody tweet, tweet, tweet; they even tap on the window- I thought it was someone at the front door at first. It’s a nightmare when you’ve got a hangover. I managed to smuggle in some booze but I’m running low.'

Tora, a wayward girl, gets sent to live with her tea-total, religious, cross stitching, aunt and uncle in the middle of nowhere, to try get her on the straight and narrow. She takes a soft toy named Frank with her, which has a pet shoe and a love of whisky.

Who have you collaborated with and how was it that you came to work with them?
This season for the first time I've teamed up with footwear designer Heather Blake. And for the 3rd season with Kirsty Ward on jewellery and the milliner Katherine Lee on a special show piece.

Heather was in the year above me at the RCA (She won the accessories prize at ITS#5), she exhibited at Somerset House during LFW, in my first season there and the LFW newspaper borrowed Heathers shoes to shoot with my garments on the blogger Katie of 'what Katie wore next'- They looked great together- so Heather suggested a collaboration.

With Katherine Lee we've worked together since my MA, were friends from home. She's a milliner now but when she first started collaborating with me she had been designing fabrics in Italy for the big fashion houses.

With Kirsty we first met at Alberta Ferretti, in Italy where we were designing. We've worked together since I started my own label.

Have any of your characters helped you with this collection?

The new characters from my A/W story have obviously helped, but also Selnec &Harriet, her rabbit (who I write with for Fashion156) are both decorating the scarf collaboration with Dominique Mosley (The S/S ones have already sold out in Rome and Hong Kong).

I hope you enjoy this collection as much as I do!! I am already saving my pennies for that beautiful shirt! As always I eagerly await the next season and hopefully another wonderful story accompanied by truly beautiful and creative clothes.Look out for articles by David and his friends on Fashion156 and his website.

Speak soon! Have a lovely style post coming up and some seasonal trends from Cabot Circus.
Fashion Fantasist xx

Spined

I am gutted that I am not in Paris as I am missing the launch party for Georgia Hardinge's online shop - I can wait to have a browse as I have fallen once more for her latest collection.Her Autumn Winter 11 collection titled 'Spined' combines architectural style with empowerment and sculptured contours. The prints and fabric manipulation struck me as very animalistic like an insect or fish. But the inspiration comes from the unorthodox and macabre photography of Joel Peter Witkin, combining the morbid concepts of death - destruction, mutation and disfiguration with those of the anatomy. Which I find truly fascinating and from such a disturbing inspiration she has produced some really beautiful pieces.The collection starts off with blacks but then whites and greys are introduced through the strange vein like print. This then changes into whites and nudes with the garments that structured with triangle shaped pleats and slashes. I love those trousers with the fabric manipulation that goes all the way up the legs.I like how the print has been used to create curvaceous shapes along side structured tailored folds, these flatter and accentuate the female form. The strong tailored shapes are teamed with softer and more wearable everyday pieces - I would love a printed maxi dress, dress or top!!!! Materials add to the variation with classic wools, leathers and jersey are brought together with exciting new-technology Neoprene fabrics.All in all I really enjoy this collection and see something new every time I look at the prints - which is something I like very much! I look forward to browsing her online shop which should be fully up and running tomorrow (Sunday 6th March) Please check it out Here!


Enjoy
Fashion Fantasist xx

March of the Penguins... and Friends

Exquisite!!

This is the word I would use to describe Charlotte Taylor's new Autumn/Winter 11/12 collection. Beautiful prints in mood-altering colours, bold contrasts and snippets of African, English heritage and Hungarian Gypsy inspiration.This is the third season from Charlotte Taylor and it is focused on the beautifully brave prints. Old favorites from previous collections have carried over in new colour ways. Penguins and robots are now joined by new friends - lobsters, ants and elephants. The colours are pleasing to the eye and mix soft with bright.There are huge printed scarfs - the size of duvets!! Classic silk blouses and shirts that I am yearning to own - Will make the prefect addition to my growing 'work wear' wardrobe (More on that in a later post). But they have a timeless elegance, but with quirky prints brings them bang up to date, and of course the CT headscarf is back in a big way. I am very pleased about this as I have been rocking mine recently to keep my ears warm in this lovely spring weather.The styling of this shoot is just perfect I really like the play of classical elegance in contrast to the unusual prints.

And if beautiful clothes wasn't enough... There is also a limited edition wallpaper which is to die for!! Imagine an army of penguins lining your bath room walls. I am not allowed to decorate my abode but I am tempted to buy some rolls just for when I can!I hope you love this new collection as much as I do - I will be saving to add to my head scarf some friends to keep it company in my wardrobe!

Enjoy!
Fashion Fantasist xx

Tramp In Disguise

At Vauxhall Fashion Scout I met the talented Sini Moilanen from Tramp In Disguise. I was immediately drawn in by this printed dress. Beautiful colours and almost like a kaleidoscope. The inspiration was the volcanoes - every aspect from the explosion, the dust cloud and the craters. The collection was a mix of printed silks and embellished knits.

I emailed Sini after VFS and asked her a few questions. She responded but I waited to write the post to go with the professional photographs she had taken recently. Worth the wait they look amazing. My favorites are the dress and the jumpsuit above - but they photograph really well!What is the starting point for your collection?
The new S/S011 Volcano collection is based on the fiery beauty of volcanic eruptions occurring all around our globe. An old tale tells that eruptions were caused by Pele, the beautiful but tempestuous Goddess of Volcanoes, during her frequent moments of anger. She could cause earthquakes by stamping her feet and volcanic eruptions by digging the ground with her magic stick. The Volcano collection is designed for the urban goddess of today, to show the fire and the magic she embodies.What is your studio space like?
At the moment I am working from home and I have got sewing help elsewhere. I am looking to share a studio with another designer in Brixton. Hopefully we will get that early next year.What is your favorite piece?
I have several favourite pieces, It is hard to say which is my favourite, because I have a few. I love the knitwear pieces and I like the prints, my favourite print piece probably is smoke trousers.

What can we look out for in the next collection?
The next collection is still a secret, but you can expect more printed garments and experimental knitwear. Well I have to say I am intrigued to see what comes next. But I do really like the print in this collection.

Enjoy
Fashion Fantasist xx