Want A New Tattoo?

If you haven't at least heard of the Don Ed Hardy/Christian Audigier tattoo craze that has taken the world by storm then you have been taking a seriously long break from fashion trends. This dynamic empire of lifestyle goods has inspired a movement of ornately embellished items that speak to the mindset of the inner rebel that wants a conversational edge in basic items.

This very popular look has been the wellspring of several look-a-like lines that have surfaced since the brand's meteoric rise to being a celebrity driven style. For several seasons now, Christian Audigier has raised the bar and made the novelty T-shirt (Above) and funky board shorts (Below) more than just a picture screened on a garment.

His style of imaging is easily recognizable and borrows from many forms of graphic art to render designs that are unique and in alignment with the line's objectives. There are comic book and animation references (Above) and 70's vintage concert poster looks (Below) that are very up to date and make for must-have items for the cool & hip.

The image of a skull (below) has become a favorite tattoo symbol with this particular customer base and he has paired it with virtually everything imaginable to keep breathing new life into this ageless icon of danger and revolution.

Available Nordstrom's, Ed Hardy & Christian Audigier Shops

Dress Prints @ J. Crew

The Print Collection on dresses this season @ J.Crew is like a walk through the impressionist gallery at the Louvre in Paris. The florals are dreamy watercolor viewpoints that set the tone for a fantasy escape in Renoir's garden.

1. Abstract watercolor floral


2. Indigo dip-dye

3. Rosette applique

4. Country calico floral

5. Organic botanical floral

Accessory Highlights:

Patchwork beach tote

Floral ballet flat

ALL AVAILABLE @ WWW.JCREW.COM

WUNDERKIND: understated genius

Wolfgang Joop (Below) was a pioneer of innovation when he departed from traditional styles and standards of design with his globally licensed brand "JOOP!" His Spring '09 collection for Wunderkind delivers a stellar command performance during London Fashion Week. He unveiled a Japanese military feeling with hints of an era that still very influential by today's design standards.

Some Looks from the Collection:

1.Strategically arranged square shapes in a grey scale proves to be the "non-plaid" plaid of the season.

2.Bold and quirky geometrics (above)that could be worn as jazzy seperates add spice and just the right amout of pattern to revive pieces already in the closet.

4. Mixing and matching prints is simple when you balance the +/- spacing and keep the colors coordinated(above, below).

5. The lotus bloom is an asian textile staple and still has calming properties even after being laced with a soloarized color palette for a youthful effect (above, below).
6. A very feminine floral camouflage(below) is a clever thread in the overall military theme of the show.

7. Eyelets and applique (above,below) are always a reference to yester"year" and add a note of nostalgia to the collection with an updated contemporary technique.

Dressed For Court?

Thom Browne has become the man of ill-proportion around the fashion community with his dramatic emphasis on the cut or better yet, the lack there of. As usual, his show was completely unpredictable, capricious and of course eccentric. He stepped things up a bit this season and added some playful elements to his collection that were as entertaining as they were wearable.
Adding conversationals to menswear is very rare these days but he successfully plays with a sporting motif ,combining the references of classic of lawn tennis and urban street wear looks.

The prints are almost elementary in comparison to the complicated structuring of the garments, but the nostalgic reference pulls the looks together nicely.

*style notes-1. Dropped waist lines

                         2. Above the knee shorts

Asian Persuasion

Prints that are of an Asian derivation seem to always connote a regal and ornate feeling regardless of what they are printed on. The most common of which are the floral motifs screened on fine silks in bright tones and pefectly composed repeats.
Vivenne Tam takes this classic motif and applies a brushstroke (Above) to give it a more random feeling and a freehand style for the liberated and rebellious look of the season.

This technique is not new to the runway but her choice of color and scale makes this century-old idea new & appealing all over again. (Above) It is applied to a floor-length look that can easily be worn as an evening gown or with sandals for a pache resort look for the day.

Embroidery is far too often overlooked as an art form that pays homge to texture and pattern in a three demesional format. She applies it to the bottom of a dress (Above) to give it a feeling of luxe seperates.

Summer Paisley

The official kick off of Summer is right around the corner and retailers are pulling out all the stops to offer something new and familiar.  Paisleys rank among the highest in looks that are re-worked to fit into every season.  For women, Miss Sixty (above) offers a graphic and bold take on the classic motif, to give it an explosive charge for the young at heart.
For the guys (above), Cavalli stays with the formal intricacies found in ancient tapestry and opts to interject lively and vivid punches of color for a cool summer look.

Dignitary Style

All the world is watching the stylings of Michelle Obama since she has made a stand to support American designers and especially those who are ascending to new heights with their collections. The French have their own sytlish first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, who has her eye on a fashion new-comer, French designer Alexis Mabille. He isn't afraid to take chances while he is building a name for himself and carving out a niche with the fashion elite by showing during Couture Fashion Week in Paris.
Mabille creates a playfully sophisticated conversational look (above) that is somewhat kitchy, but the effort to put some originality in the novelty of a nautical theme is absolutely adorable. A muted & tonal fractual print (below) is used on one of his evening looks by using an abstract applique to create an elongated hombre effect that is elegant and scintillating.

Gucci Pants

Since taking over the house, designer Frida Giannini has taken the Gucci brand in a much more leisurely direction for the luxury consumer. This season she took a whimsical idea and intertwined a serious textile pattern with sophisticated colors to create looks that are distinctly her own in menswear.

The subdued floral wallpaper pattern (above & below) is a subtle tropical scenario that plays on a masculine yet romantic theme for a look that will turn heads. The idea of mens trousers playing host to a print is a novel idea in the market place, but Gucci is quickly putting an end to that age old concept and hopefully making it commonplace.

Top Prints at The Met/2009

1. LIYA WINS AGAIN!!!!!

Mega model Liya Kebede is in full stride and seems to be getting it right every time these days. She created a photo frenzy last night at The Met's, "Model as Muse", when she showed up in a sawed-off Derek Lam mini that was as expressive as it was daring.

2. JESSICA STAM in Rodarte

3. ALLISON SAROFIM in Giambattista Valli


4. CLAUDIA SCHIFFER in Chanel


5. IRIS STRUBEGGER in Givenchy Haute Couture


6. LEIGHTON MIESTER in Louis Vuitton

7. CHANEL IMAN in Zac Posen

8. ANNA WINTOUR in Chanel Haute Couture

9. LIZ GOLDWYN in Rodarte

10. OLUCHI ONWEAGBA in Oscar de la Renta

Models, Artists, & Designers: A Creative Conference

The airbrush technique is the modern watercolor for creating beautiful patterns of luminous motifs and textural designs that celebrate the season of Spring/Summer. Master artists, especially from the Impressionist era, forged a path that epitomizes this very principle and is still very relevant today. A look from Elie Tahari (above) demonstrates this concept in an updated botanical design that will definitely be on the trend boards for the season.

For centuries, artists have used models as a source of inspiration. George Seurat's painting style of fusing softness with light has been inspiring the world in every way possible. His famous painting "The Models" (above), has the kind of tones and hues that have stimulated color stories for every maket imaginable. Its timeless appeal and classic reverence was rendered as if he had an airbrush tool himself.

Today we are celebrating the Model as "The Muse" for sparking the vision of designers and influencing the path of fashion.

Liya Kebede, Natalia Vodianova, Anna Jagodzinska, Isabeli Fontana, Lara Stone, Jourdan Dunn, Raquel Zimmermann, Caroline Trentini, and Natasha Poly have been crowned the Muses for this season.

African Market Place

It is virtually impossible to run contemporary apparel lines without using the influences of African textiles. The prints that have emerged from the looms of the village artisans for centuries on the African continent has helped shape western design in color theories, composition and direction for as long as there has been fashion. Rachel Roy had a most interesting take on color blocking (above) by using a batik as a textural background to add a sense of complexity to the garment. (Below) Anisa Mapungwe of South Africa, achieves this same feeling by engineering a retro stripe coloration for an international feeling of cultural diversity.

Indian Summer

This is the first real peak at Fall 2009 done right "a la" Matthew Williamson. Sienna Miller is radiant as the summer sun over the blazing desert sands in this ethnic print over lame'. Matthew's entire Collection for the season was a stunning spectacle of intricate prints that gave the audience the experience of being in a royal suite at a luxurious desert resort. The prints and beadwork were perfectly chosen & lavish symbols of the desert's beauty by day and by night. This show is easily going to be rated in my Top 10, so stay tuned for the video of this fabulous show in the May posts.

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Abstract To The Future

A painting by Marko Blazo called "Taxi Marathon", 2007, was the NY.ArtSlant.com winner for the month of March. The vivid coloration gives the piece movement and a sense of orderly chaos. The line between art and fashion is virtually non-existent in modern culture and it has become my mission to highlight how one is an outward expression of the other. It is more than appearent that the age of the future is upon us and being expressed in every format by mass media outlets.

Cynthia Rowley has a spring collection that is all about the future of textiles & utilizes brushed metallics and textural fabric selection to broaden the scope of space age lifestyle choices. The patterns in this collection bring a sort of cosmopolitan whimsicality to the racks that will appeal to the cultured and street-wise fashionistas.