The September Issue..

On the subject of films..Last night I watched the September Issue..all about Anna Wintour the American Vogue Editor..It's sort of a real life Devil wears Prada documentary about how they put together Vogue magazine and how important Anna Wintour is to the Fashion Industry. I thought it was really good.. it showed you lots of behind the scenes clips and scenes of all the big names and designers. The film also includes Sienna Miller's photo shoot for the cover of the September 2009 issue of Vogue in Rome which is really cool to see.. a very fashioney and clothes film that is really interesting to watch...definitely recommend it!

The September Issue..

COCO BEFORE CHANEL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvDFPjx-uBUA

A little while ago I went to see Coco Before Chanel at the cinema..I missed the first 5 minutes..but as my Mum and I walked in..with both realised it was in French with subtitles..so we were a little put off at first..thinking we mustnt just sit back, but concentrate a little more..but as with most films with subtitles, we found that it was very easy to forget about them and watch the film normally.
I really loved the film..It showed an account of Coco as a young girl, having love affairs with rich men..and wearing and making very masculine clothes compared to all the flowery dresses and big hats the rest of the women of her time wore.
What is briefly touched upon by the film is the fact that Chanel will not marry and is revolutionary not just in her fashion design but in the way she reshapes the roles of women.
I also only recently realised that the director Anne Fontaine, is also a successful shirt designer and has a shop in London.

Colin Mcdowell "One of the world's top fashion commentators"

Tuesday afternoon I rushed the rather long walk to the Conference Auditorium, arrived a little late and a lot out of breath, only to peer into the empty room..Then suddenly hit me about the change of location and quickly rushed back up towards the Design School...
Eventually found a seat in the right room and sat and listened to Colin Mcdowell the Chief Fashion Journalist of the Sunday Times. I definately thought it was the most interesting lecture that I have been to. He was a great speaker, very funny and extremely informative. He compared Designers to Athletes referring to how they "couldn't run at the front of the race all the time" Designers can't sustain a position at the top. Which is obviously very true..New Designers appear with better collections, bolder ideas and bigger attitudes to take the top spot. He went on the describe Chanel as not a "great designer" but a "great activator". He explained that Chanel was more about attitude and changing the thinking than the clothes themselves. She wanted women to be modern and to be as good, if not better than men. He perhaps rather controversially stated that Chanel failed as a Designer because she was so ahead of her time. Unlike Calvin Klein who was exactly in the right place at the right time...NYC..and brought about great lines of masculine clothes for women, including the renowned CK suit.
Colin Mcdowell then continued to chat about great designers and artists of the past that's set out to create and design because of something they believed in.Today, everything is about making money and how much can one get.

He appeared to know everything about everything and all designers back to front. He delivered is speech with such humour and interest. It really gave me something to think about..he jokingly expressed that he was the past and we were the future.."design for yourself and no one else".

TM COLLECTION...Portugal.

In early September I went to Quinta do lago in the Algarve,Portugal I have a house there and have been for years. This summer they opened a textile shop with a great collection of clothing and interiors..It had an amazing collection of dresses that are so special and different to anything I've seen before. The colours were so fun and in season..aubergines, raspberries,lime greens and browny purples.. and the stitch work on the dresses was so inventive and creative..for example the way
the dress Ive shown above is decorated with lime green button holes. I thought that they were more works of art than clothing..and with their colours and texture I almost wanted to frame one and put it on a big white wall. There is a showroom in Lisbon which I definitely plan to go to on my next visit. For now I have the website and a few photographs..I think its really fun finding a new shop or a new gallery or a particular piece of work that really inspires you and gets you excited about ideas and potential designs for your own work.

http://www.tmcollection.com/novo/

Wondering past the window displays of London..

I have lived in London all my life and think that as textiles student and a hopeful designer it is a hugely inspiring place to be. Aside from the thousands of great museums and galleries, some of the shops themselves are so inspiring and arty. The window displays the Conran shop, Harvey Nichols,Ralph Lauren and Priscilla Carluccio's new shop Few and Far for example,are so exciting and creative it makes me want to go home and design something! The shop windows in London have become a key point of inspiration for me. Whether it is for clothes, interiors or food,I think that it is one of the most creative and theatrical way to present something.
Without trying to sound like a tour guide.. Wondering around Liberty, through the Duke of York market and down Portebello road even, all have such an air of artyness and inspiring fun.. There are restaurants and cafe's that are great to look at..Daylsfords and Baker and Spice are both cafe/shops with artfully presented flowers, special foods and home and garden things..

"Baker and Spice is an Aladdin’s cave of delicious, colourful, tempting home cooked confection. Trays of soft sponge cakes, plump shiny fruit flans, creamy cheesecakes, gooey brownies and huge fluffy meringues adorn the window display tempting passers by." (http://www.bakerandspice.uk.com)

Obviously you would want to sit and eat at these kind of places..but they are also interesting to look at for colours and presentation and creativity..It would be fun to photograph and draw or stitch little scenes of the shop..