3/27/2013

Fashion Corner - Katie Eary

Overview
Very sexy, sensual and different. The two collections Katie Eary produced that are on display on Style.com are stellar! I've always loved designs that are sexy, high-fashion, and a slight dramatic touch. Katie Eary's collection are definitely all 3. Her Spring 2013 RTW collection were very high fashion, with baroque-inspired spring fashion. The model in Fall 2013 RTW were very sexy in the clothes and her vampire fangs. The collections are definitely very eye-catching ones to wear to the street. My favorite selections are in the "overview", because they are relatively simple and not over-complicated, but still very chic and fashionable.

Katie Eary is a London-based fashion designer. Apparently her focus is on Men's Wear, which explains the little women collection, and her style is usually described as aggressive. She garnered a lot of attention when she graduated from Royal College of Arts in 2008.

Check out her Website!

Also, if you want to own some of these awesome clothes, Go shop! There are certainly a lot of T-Shirts that are super stylish and fancy that I would love to have.

Fall 2013 RTW

3/25/2013

Cheap Monday - Featured Designer of Stockholm Fashion Week A/W 2013

Cheap Monday Logo
Stockholm Ready-To-Wear Fashion Show has one spotlight - Cheap Monday! I first noticed Cheap Monday on my favorite Korean Pop band, 2NE1. It is a Swedish brand that has weird quirky designs and funky shapes. I think all of the dresses and bottoms in the collection is super badass. The garments are all perfect for everyday wear. My favorite would be the jeans on the last look. The red and black and white blend created a very unique texture that will look great on anyone.

Their Spring/Summer 2013 Collection is on sale now, and do check it out, it is totally worth it. I will be putting together a huge list of what to get from there so, wait for a new post within a few days! Cheap Monday Shopping edition coming soon!

Visit their websites for more!

3/20/2013

Academy of Art University - Featured Designer of New York Fashion Week A/W 2013

Fall 2013 RTW - Overview
Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week is a one of the biggest celebration for all fashion designers. Only with rare opportunity will a designer be able to be part of it. Fortunately for fashion students from Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA were able to participate in this week-long celebration. I must say, I am very impressed with this group of students. Fashion designing students collaborating with textile students creating the perfect balance of style, beauty, and high-fashion. I thought it is so great that Mercedez-Benz gave them their chance to show their talent. 

Designers included are Chenxi Li, Heather McDonald, Heather Scholl, Janine M. Villa and Amanda Nervig, Qian Xie, Teresa Field, James Thai, and Leah Aripotch, Yuming Weng. They are all very talented students and each presented six to nine pieces during the show. All of their designs are displayed below, please look at them and more information about each collection may be explained in details later!

Check it out below, and stay tuned with the university's fashion communities, there are a lot of rising stars there and they may be the future of the fashion scene! 
Fall 2013 RTW - Janine M. Villa and Amanda Nervig
Designer(s): Janine Villa and Amanda Nervig 

Degree: M.F.A. Fashion Design; M.F.A. Knitwear Design
Inspiration: Vintage Welsh Rugs. 


3/19/2013

Trend - Fashion Week A/W 2013 GLOVES



Gloves is always important during winters, and this season it is a highlight during fashion week. Granted, not all designers utilized gloves, but many have and they are gorgeous! They are generally chic and stylish, emphasizing the looks over form. However, there are some that looks both stylish and warm. Alexander Wang's boxer gloves inspired furriness is one of the great examples. I would love to wear a pair and experience the warmth. Chanel had four pair of gloves that are super stylish looking. Some of them even look like those armors in video games. Finally, Alexander McQueen has the most unique gloves. They are not really gloves per say, but they are the coolest looking. They are as if claws. 

Keep looking to look at the variety of gloves we have this season, you may be surprised :)

3/17/2013

Fashion Corner - Wren

Overview of Wren
Melissa Coker, the founder and designer of Wren, was born in Illinois. She started her career by interning with Helmut Lang, then she worked in Vogue, Detail, and W. She finally began her own line in 2007 and named it after Jenny Wren. The line is based in Los Angeles, which is quite evident with the happy colors the collection has.The collection is, according to their website, "emblemized in the line's air of free-spirited exuberance, restrained elegance and low-key sophistication.

So far, I like what I see with the collection. They are very chic and some are quite girly. I believe the description of the collection actually is spot-on because they are all designs that are a fun and interesting, but at the same time they are all elegant and well made enough to be worn to any formal events. Every season has a pretty clear theme, and they are quite easy to distinguish between the spring and fall seasons. It may because it is a designer based in LA, so there aren't many heavy jackets or fur or thick sweaters for fall. There is actually not much leather either. The designs are all pretty light and happy. My favorite collection is probably Spring 2012 and Fall 2013. They are all simple enough for me to buy them without worrying about whether or not it is worth it, and they are all unique enough for me to want to show them off. Great collection!


Fall 2013: Ready-to-Wear

3/15/2013

Trend - New York Fashion Week A/W2013 SHOES

I've been intending to do this post for a long time now... SHOES! I've loved shoes for the longest time, and whenever I can choose between an awesome pair of shoes and a great jacket, I will go for the shoes 9 out of 10 times. For me, the choice of shoes are one of the easiest way to dress an outfit up or down. As a student, I usually wear a simple pair of jeans and knit top. However, if I feel that today is a special day, I will wear a pair of fancier shoes instead of a pair of sneakers, or wear a type of shoes to impress people. So it may not be a huge surprise that I want to talk about the shoes trends this season. 

there are six general forms of shoes presented for the Fall 2013 collection: heels, ankle booties, mid/lower-calves boots, knee-high boots, strappy heels, and alteration looks of traditional shoes (I'll explain in a bit). I've gathered photos from the runway shows and hopefully provided an easier view of this season's beautiful shoe collection! I had There are a few designs that are my ultimate favorites, but my favorite designer throughout the season would be Prabal Gurung. His designs and I looks chic and empowering, and I would do anything to get a pair (especially one of these boots!)

Now, let's start analyzing the season!

Ankle Bootie
A/W 2013 Ready-to-Wear: Ankle Bootie 

Lace-Up and Leather. These boots are generally ankle high, and some has platform, some doesn't. Platforms are slowly beginning to phase out and we may be able to see that in more pictures below.

3/14/2013

Looks - Urban Outfitters Skull Shirt!

The sunshine makes me so happy!

The weather has been very badly lately but it finally got better yesterday! It was a glorious day with bright sun and nice breeze. As you can see above, I was very pleased. To celebrate such a great day, we did another photoshoot! We are not having as much photoshoots lately because it is the joyful midterm season for us students, and we need to study before we can take pictures. Plus the weather wasn't ideal anyways. And now we can finally have a new set of photos out, yay!

The main garment to introduce is the skull shirt from Urban Outfitters, which is currently on sale for $9.99. It's a great deal in my opinion. The shirt is incredibly comfortable, flowy, and the design in the front is just so creative and awesome that it has a bit McQueen-esque to it (probably because of the skulls). I paired the shirt with a knitted jacket from American Eagle, jeans from Forever21, and a pair of knee-high boots from DSW. The look is more casual and comfortable, emphasizing chicness. I wore it to my midterm today actually. There are also a lot of different ways to dress this shirt, which is its advantage too since you can change the tone so easily by simply using different outerwear. Go check it out!

Although the shirt is the focal point, but these boots are awesome nonetheless.

3/13/2013

Artist Corner - Evgeniy Shaman




Evgeniy Shaman is a Russian photographer. His photos are very cinematic, as they are more like certain fragments from a film. These photos are very emotional, and I can always read many stories from a single photograph. The technique of multiple exposures he uses is especially appealing. Through such multiple layers, he put the figure into several settings in one photograph, and tell the story from different angels. Also, most of his photographs are monochrome. They have strong contrast and a very dark tone. He also published his own works as a book. These cinematic photographs are very fascinating, and extremely unique in style. 

Here are more of his works!

3/11/2013

Fashion Corner - Vika Gazinskaya

Highlights of Spring 2013 Ready-to-Wear
Vika Gazinskaya is probably the cutest designer I've written about so far. If you look closely, you can discover the childish elements and motif within the sophisticated silhouette and constructions of the garments. You cannot deny the maturity of her Spring 2013 Ready-to-Wear collection, and you cannot deny the young hear that is within it either.

Vika Gazinskaya


Vika is a Russian fashion designer who started in Spring 2007. Her collection each season has awed me by the creativity, adorableness, and the high-fashion taste. I was only able to steal the lookbook photos from Style.com, and only Vika's Spring 2013 Ready-to-Wear was available. However, there are a lot more to impress. Please go take a look, you will not be disappointed, I promise!

3/10/2013

Shopping Cheap - Head-to-Toe of the Blues

Blue has always been a gorgeous color that many adore (other than black and white of course). Many of you may notice that "blue" is one of this spring season's "in" colors (specifically Monaco Blue), along with red, emerald, and yellow. Many celebrities now are wearing this beautiful color, such as Emma Stone, Rihanna, and Jessica Chastain. So basically  a person will be a walking "blue". If a person has the ability to pull this off, they will automatically become the style icon on the streets. Here is a simple guide to helping you become that style icon. Below are shirts and bottoms, dresses, jewelries  and bags that will help you! The prices of each pieces are kept under a $50 budget so you won't break the bank as you become the central of attention.

How to pull off such a unique look? Attitude! A lot of the times when one does something bold, the best way to not get "noticed" or judged is to have the right attitude. Strut with pride!



3/09/2013

Original - "STEREO-TYPE" MusiCouture Fashion Show + Lookbook Shoot

Stereo-type  Collection
Gallatin School of Individualized Studies is one of the schools in New York University. It's a great school for people who has a lot of different interest and have no idea how to channel it into a traditional major. Another cool thing about Gallatin is that it holds an annual runway show ever since 2009. The first year starts with a eco-friendly themed show, and 2010 was a gender-awared theme. This year, the theme is "music". The show is to explore how music and fashion are interconnected. The name of the show is MusiCouture.

The name of my collection si named Stereo_type. 


Music and Fashion are connected in many ways in my opinion. Whenever I am designing something I always turn on the specific tone of music and start sketching. For this collection, Stereo_type, it is about combining the two cultural identity I have. I was raised in Taiwan until seventh grade and studied in boarding school for five years. The eastern and western culture inside me clashes a lot of the time and I had an era of identity crisis. However, I understand that sometimes it is the multiple identities and cultures that make one so beautiful. This collection combines my eastern heritage and the western culture, exhibiting the different side and colors of music in a fashionable manner. Each look is inspired by a specific type of music from one of the two cultures. There are the eastern traditional music and pop music, there are also the western classical, neoclassical, and pop music. The elements of the looks may be stereotypical, but the looks in general is innovative and modern, turning something that is old into new.

Me introducing my collection during the Runway Show

3/06/2013

Alexander McQueen - Featured Designer of PARIS Fashion Week A/W 2013



Sarah Burton, the creative director for Alexander McQueen, is pregnant and she did this collection while she's in the last stage of her pregnancy! In other news, the collection was mediocre! (Please don't hate me). 

However, let's talk about the positive before we move on to the negatives. There are a lot of beautiful and detailed craftsmanship, awesome runway show, and the theme of the show is very clear. Below are the detail shots of the show, and needless to say, it looks like it took a lot of hardwork. The head-cage itself are made of beads and combined together, presumably, by wire or those fishing threads. The result is beautiful. My favorite would be the corsets in the last set of the photo. The very traditional silhouette along with the complicated needlework (along with more beads), it's not hard to imagine how long it took. 

The details and craftsmanship are on par, just as usual.












The show was fantastical, unique, and emphasizes the show is just as important as the collection itself. Alexander McQueen's show has never fall short from a drama point of view, and today is the same. There are 10 looks in total, when actually its five themes with two variants. The theme was the Catholic church. The theme is divided into five different subgroups: Communion, nuns, cardinals, popes, and angels. If you really look at it, the inspiration is clear as day. This centraled inspiration helps the collection to be more grounded. 

The video below is the show itself. The music and how the models walk down the runway, interweaving into each door and synchronizing with each other, the show did not disappoint.


The McQueen signatured meticulous craftsmanship is still there, the out of the box thinking is still there, the signatured silhouette is still there, so what was missing?  I guess I was just expecting more.

3/05/2013

Vivienne Westwood - Featured Designer for PARIS Fashion Week A/W 2013


Vivienne Westwood design has always been crazy and very different from usual designer wear.  This ready-to-wear collection was inspired by Illuminated Medieval Manuscripts. They are those old book pages with drawings. The color-scheme certainly matches the inspiration, and some motifs are similar to these manuscripts. To be honest, I thought that it may have been inspired by Zombie's too, since the make up for the models are all kind of gross and icky, while the garments are all drapey and dirty looking.

None of the looks are wearable on its own, but each garments are certainly edgy and they may be cool additions to one's wardrobe! I was a little shocked when I saw this collection. Even though she is known to be a bit out of the box and crazy, her "Red Label" tends to go on a bit safer side than this. This was an eye-opener and I admire how she executed such a complicated design. There are some looks that are beautiful and some that aren't on par as much, but in general, it was a striking collection that I would love to see again next season!


























3/04/2013

Fashion Corner - Dean Quinn

His quest for becoming a fashion designer is magical. It is just like one of those inspirational movie that is released in the summer. Dean Quinn is a great fashion designer who went through a fairytale like story to get where he is now. He left home at 16 and went to London to find an apprenticeship. He finally got an offer from Zandra Rhodes, who encouraged him to get a degree in Women's Wear Designing from Central Saint Martins. Upon graduation he got an offer from Versace and his door went wide open. He created his own fashion line and they are stunning.

Both season he only created 14 looks, which is great for me to pick and choose because they are all beautiful and it would've been difficult to narrow down only a few to display. His style is very simplistic and elegant that is suitable for almost any occasion. I wanted to find more information about him, but unfortunately there aren't much digital footprint for him. Hopefully we will be able to see a more beautiful website soon.
Spring 2013

3/03/2013

Looks - Prabal Gurung's Floral Crush Shorts



Well it has been a long time, but we finally got another styling shoot! Today we are featuring the super cute pair of shorts featured in the Prabal Gurung for Target - LOVE collection. The collection was sold during the mid-February (during Valentines Day) and it was an absolute shopping frenzy. When I first went to the store, it was already sold out and I was lucky enough to find it in the Target at New Jersey. The shorts was adorable and comfortable. The print is one of the signature prints in the collection (along with the "First Date Print").

Because the print is already so colorful and eye-catching, there is no need to match it with crazy tops or some big chunky jewelry. In fact, big jewelries may cheapen the short because of its adorable nature. I matched it with a black top and cardigan simply because I want it to stand out, but it'll do great with other color tops too as long as its something that coincide with the palette of the shorts. If you really want to pair it with a crazy top, make sure the pattern matches and is from the same corner of the color palette to avoid looking like a clown. I wore it with heels, but it is also perfect for sneakers or flats, as long as the color matches!

3/02/2013

Shopping Cheap - Forever21 Spring Shoes 2013

I have so many pairs of shoes that my room doesn't have space to store them, and yet there are so much more pairs that I want to have. Here are the shoes that I think is pretty awesome and would love to own if possible. They are all from Forever21, well under $50 bucks, and quite good quality. There are three different themes I love for my spring and I think Forever21 did quite a good job of giving the buyers enough variety to shop. They are "Pastel.Light.Elegant", "Stud.Metallic.Punk", and "Casual.Cutout.Funky". Don't you think they are just awesome?

Wishlist - Forever21 Spring Shoes 2013

Artist Corner - Dane Shitagi









Again, a photographer! Don't blame me for only talking about photographers, LOL, but as a photographer myself, I am personally obsessed with artists who utilize photography as a medium to to express and explore artistic visions. And they definitely inspire me a lot in artistic practices. I would definitely introduce more contemporary artists who has strengths in other visual art practices.

Okay back to the artist. Dane Shitagi is a photographer whose inspirations and artistic perspective is based on New York City! All of his works tend to depict the relationship between the figures and the city, as each of his photograph would have a subtitle stating the place where it is taken, such as brooklyn bridge, central park, coney island, canal street, washington square, astoria queens, or even a nyc taxi. These titles enrich the meaning of the photographs themselves, and let the audience feel how people are connected to this greatest city in the world (sorry being so pretentious I just love this city).

Another distinctive I believe everyone would notice at the first glance is that most of his works are black and white. As we all know New York City is a place full of its own colors, the light of the Empire, the different colors of the subway line, and the iconic yellow taxis. But the photographer chooses to represent the essence of the city without the wrap of color disguise. And certainly highlight the beauties of this city and the gestures of the figures that we normally neglect under the cover of immense colorfulness.

Here is the collection of his art works. Dane Shitagi has many unique photography projects in the city. All the photographs come from his personal website: http://www.daneshitagi.com/