profile – modacarta

M for Missoni

May 11, 2016Posted in Brands, Industry ProfilesTagged designers, fashion, knitswear, moda, paper art, prints, profile, spring2016, style, trends3 Comments

The colourful zig zag pattern has represented the house of Missoni since it was started by Ottavio and Rosita Missoni in 1953. They first sold their iconic knitwear in America at Neiman Marcus. Italy has always been known for knitwear and innovation in clothing manufacturing and the Missoni brand is a testament to that.

Season after season Missoni delivers colourful knitwear and accessories that add flare to your wardrobe. They also have a Home line with pillows, throws and towels all with iconic zig zag pattern. Missoni did a collab with Target a few years ago and on launch day the Target site crashed because of the demand for this brand! Here is an ad from that collab featuring Margherita Maccapani Missoni modelling some of the pieces from that famous collection.

For SS2016, Missoni featured tons of stripes in multi-colours or black & white like these outfits below. I love the use pattern and solids – it makes black & white so interesting.

Looking at Fall 2016, colourful sweaters and over-sized blanket scarves were featured.

I have several Missoni scarves and I love the pattern and colours. I also have this adorable bear from Christmas 2013 when Missoni partnered with Holt Renfrew to raise money for African relief efforts. I spent an hour looking at every bear until I found one with the cutest face and placement of the pattern that I liked.

Check out my post on scarf tying. The video uses Missoni scarves to demonstrate the techniques.

Crazy about Tiffany’s

February 21, 2016Posted in Brands, Industry ProfilesTagged Accessories, designers, documentary, fashion, film, jewellery, moda, profile, style, TiffanyLeave a comment

Film Review

I recently saw the documentary Crazy About Tiffany’s by Matthew Miele at Hot Doc cinema in Toronto. It was an excellent brand profile that included the history of the brand, designers and creative directors, the special Pantone 1837 that is a heavily guarded secret and of course the celebrities associated with Tiffany.

I enjoyed learning about Gene Moore an innovative window designer at Tiffany. He would break crystal glasses and unstring pearls all in name of creating dynamic, interesting and ground-breaking window displays.

It also went into the detail about the deal with Paramount pictures for Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Audrey Hepburn was required to promote jewellery for the brand in exchange for using the store in the film.

I enjoyed the behind the scenes glimpses of artisans setting diamonds and sapphires in a bracelet. The Creative Team working on the blue book and watching it come to life. As well as the making of the Lombardi trophy. Who knew that was Tiffany’s?

I’m proud to say I own 2 pieces of Tiffany jewellery. I have an Elsa Peretti initial “L” and Somerset diamond ring. Both are cherished pieces and they are stored in their lovely Tiffany blue sleeves when I’m not wearing them. Wish list – The bottle pendant that holds a tiny flower and the T ring!

If you love Tiffany this film is worth seeing!

Optimistic Luxury

February 11, 2016Posted in Brands, Industry ProfilesTagged Accessories, brand, designer, fashion, handbag, Longchamp, Luxury, moda, paper art, profile, style, tote bag4 Comments

Longchamp defines itself as optimistic luxury. Their bags and luggage have been created by the Cassegrain Family since 1948. The “Le Pliage” line of bags is one of their most popular. These bags fold up securely so you can pack them or carry them with you when you’re out shopping. You can tell I’m a fan by my collection of Longchamp bags in the feature image.

Le Pliage comes in several sizes, formats and tons of colours. There is a mini bag with short handles (orange) perfect if you bring your lunch to work. A tote bag with long handles (grey) great for traveling, shopping, or the gym. There is also a knapsack which folds down (light blue) so you can always throw it in your suitcase. The distinctive tan leather wears well and develops a patina over time. These bags are lightweight so they don’t add any additional weight to what you’re carrying but are sturdy so you can carry a lot.

Longchamp releases special edition Le Pliage each year. Sometimes working with an artist to create a unique print. The navy blue and turquoise bag I have is named Ravenna and is from the SS2014 collection.

Le Pliage also comes in a heavier weight, tone-on-tone version called NEO (burgandy and black). What’s great about these bags is they have a removable shoulder strap so you can wear them crossbody.

Longchamp also has a full line of leather handbags (purple) in a variety of shapes and sizes.

I couldn’t resist making a paper Longchamp tote bag for the doll. I chose this green/aqua colour because I considered that colour for my first Le Pliage tote bag. I ended up going with grey because it was neutral and I knew I would be adding more bags later on!

Do you have a love affair with Longchamp or another brand? I want to hear your story.

Movie Wardrobe

January 21, 2016Posted in Trends, Vintage ThursdayTagged designers, dresses, fashion, film, moda, paper art, profile, style, trends, vintage, wardrobe2 Comments

Over the Fall season there were lots of references to Margot Tanenbaum from the movie The Royal Tanenbaums 2001. Her wardrobe or style was a jumping off point for many of the Pre-Fall and Fall 2015 collections. It wasn’t the content of her wardrobe as much as Margot’s style and look.

If I had to choose a movie wardrobe for content, I would pick Renee Russo’s wardrobe from The Thomas Crown Affair 1999 where she played Catherine Banning an art insurance investigator. Her entire wardrobe would still be relevant today. It is still classic and elegant almost 20 years after they were selected from Celine’s 1997 collection. That collection was designed by Michael Kors and has a lot of his signature style cues in it.

The wardrobe in this film was what Catherine took with her from Switzerland to New York. It leaves me wondering what her full wardrobe was like…

Paper Art

Catherine Banning wears a lot of shift dresses in the film. She has dinner with Thomas Crown several times and wears a different dress each time. She also has several of wool coats that match the dresses or suits. I chose this pale blue printed paper because I just completed the Resort Report and wanted to carry the feeling into something new. I also created a white coat to go over the dress.

What movie wardrobe would you choose? Are you Margot or Catherine?

Fashion ARTographer

November 6, 2015Posted in Industry Profiles, Vintage ThursdayTagged art, blumenfeld, fashion, fashion photographer, fashion photography, graphic, moda, photo, photographer, profile, vintage, VogueLeave a comment

Recently I watched the documentary “The Man who Shot Beautiful Women” about Erwin Blumenfeld. He was a fashion photographer for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar starting in the 1940s and 50s in New York. His approach to fashion photography was artistic, graphic and original. His influence can be seen in contemporary fashion photographs.

This cover for Vogue 1950 tells the viewer straight away that this issue is about beauty. The use of white space and over exposure of the face create a mystery about the model and pace the emphasis on the lipstick and eye make-up. Another great Vogue cover is also a beauty issue, from May 1945. This time Blumenfeld used a visor shadow to create visual interest and make the model’s lips pop. Again we see the use of white space. This graphic approach can be also be seen in Blumenfeld’s self portraits like this one.

My favourite Blumenfeld image was one he shot in Paris when he lived there before World War 2 and before immigrating to the U.S. The model dangerously swings off the Eiffel tower in her full skirt. There is so much energy and life in this photograph. It has been copied many times.

Immerging Talent

October 18, 2015Posted in Industry ProfilesTagged alwayssupporttalent, CanadianDesign, designers, fashion, moda, profile, style1 Comment

Good design solves problems but what about good fashion design? Doubtful? Then meet Roxana Khoshsokhan the designer behind the brand Beerox. Roxana wanted to provide the women of her native Iran with a fashionable alternative to the head scarf. Fresh out of the George Brown College Fashion Design program, she designed the beautiful infinity scarf featured in the lead image. She sells them online, through friends and word of mouth in Iran.

Recently, I had coffee with Roxana and we talked about fashion and design.

mc: What inspired you to become a fashion designer?

RK: I studied car design at the Domus Academy in Milan, Italy but I was always watching the fashion students and what they were working on.

mc: Car design? How did that come about?

RK: My husband and I were interested in studying in Italy. We had some basic understanding of the Italian language and felt that if we studied together as a team we could help each other and both succeed instead of struggling individually in different subjects. We are both creative so we chose industrial design and went to Rome.

mc: Wow. So then how did car design come about?

RK: One of our professors recommended us to the Domus Academy in Milan and we received a scholarship.

mc: How did your transition into Fashion come about?

RK: I’m really interested in accessories -specifically bags. A friend of mine recommended I take some courses to learn how to sew. Now I apply my skills as an industrial designer with my sewing knowledge to create bags.

mc: Now I’m excited. Tell me about your latest project.

RK: Well it’s a briefcase. I designed it with my husband in mind but also wanted to capture the colour ways used in Italian Fashion design. Italians are not afraid of colour like Canadians.

mc: How so?

RK: I did an internship at Roots and one of my projects was to choose the colour ways for their argyle socks. The design lead said my colours were too wild for the Canadian market, in fact she said we’re not Italians. Canadians would never wear those colours. Although since then I noticed Roots argyle socks are a little more colourful than when I was working there.

mc: What designers inspire you?

RK: I love Gucci. I think their bags represent Italian luxury and design. I also love Chanel and Louis Vuitton. The manufacturer I am working with on my briefcase told me that a Louis Vuitton bag still takes hours of work to produce and is produced at the highest level of workmanship. Parts of the process are automated but some of the finishing is still done by hand.

mc: With so much fashion news and access to runway shows online, do you think printed fashion magazines are still relevant?

RK: As a student I referenced magazines a lot but fashion blogs are also important and provide a lot of information about fashion.

Here are some photos of Beerox designs. Modacarta wishes Roxana all the success possible with Beerox and we’ll be checking back with her on future projects.

Schiap!

October 3, 2015Posted in Industry Profiles, Vintage ThursdayTagged art, designers, fashion, modern, prada, profile, schiap, schiaparelli, shows, style, vintageLeave a comment

Elsa Schiaparelli had a name no one could pronounce but it was a name everyone knew. They simply referred to her as SCHIAP! and her modern, avant garde designs continue to influence and inspire designers today.

When Elsa designed dresses she felt she was creating art not just clothes. She along with Coco Chanel offered women modern, less constricting clothing in the 1920s and 30s. She drew inspiration from sports uniforms and took them into everyday apparel.

When Elsa began designing evening wear her creativity knew no bounds. Gowns and dress jackets were heavily embellished with palettes, mirrors, pearls and gold embroidery. Opposite to this was the minimalist skeleton dress that used trapunto quilting to create bones on a stark black plain. The skeleton motif has been reincarnated many times on the runway.

In 2012, the Costume Institute at the MET in New York held an exhibit where Miuccia Prada and Elsa Schiaparelli had a conversation about fashion and design. It was favourite show to date! The show juxaposed Prada and Schiaparelli designs so visitors could see the parallels and influence. There was also a film by Baz Luhrmann that played in the background showing the 2 designers having dinner and conversing. Elsa Schiaparelli was played by English actress Julie Christie. One topic the designers explored was Waist Up/Waist Down. Elsa designed for a cafe society where women were seated and on display so waist up was important. Prada focuses her attention waist down to the organic, earth bound female. Evidence for this is Schiaparelli embellished jackets, Prada embellishes skirts.

Here are two images from the show catalogue that represent this idea:

I chose to do an embellished jacket for the doll. I used different papers to create a parrot which is a nod to a costume Elsa wore to a party in 1952.

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