Pattern, Picture, and Principals

I love finding random artist inspiration trawling on the internet. I came across prints by Japanese artist Shintaro Miyake (such as the one above, Someday, the truth will (2008, Acrylic and pencil on paper), and instantly felt the need to wear this crazily-floral patterned butterfly sleeve minidress, that I found in a topshop bargain sale (£6!!!!) at the beginning of last summer. Miyake, born in uses paintings, sculpture, photography and performance art to create childish and dream-like fairy tale images, with hints of traditional Japanese art. I love all of it! Especially the long tongued Youkai above.

At any rate, I'll return to an old favourite for the design world, and see what I can pull up in terms of inspiration, shall I?

 

Detail of Sea Serpents IV (Klimt)

Since we're going with this, I'll look at Klimt's colourwork shall I? Sex and sexuality is the obvious core of Klimt's work; women his preoccupation. A rather "pudding-faced" man, he nonetheless seemed to be magnetic, having fathered at least seven children despite still living with his mother and spinster sisters. (Must be the same magneism that...well...Lucian Freud). At any rate, his paint work is sensual, his colours vivacious, and the aesthetics inspiring, still as groundbreaking today as in 1897 when Klimt was one of a group of artists wanting to break free of the stuffy, constricted Old Vienna that had formed them. (and, undoubtedly, added to the quality of their work) They established “the Secession” (stylistically allied with Art Nouveau). Soon everything from fashions to furniture changed as the artists experimented their way through. Klimt was the first president of the Secession and led the way in a most sartorial; he favoured long, voluminous indigo smocks with embroidered white epaulets.I'll have a go at tracking down some easy luxury, eh? And while I'm at it, anything indigo that one could move in. For instance, such a jumpsuit (really, I'm not obsessed with jumpsuits. Ok, maybe a little, but it's because I don't own one! yet.)

Costume national Jumpsuit @ Luisaviaroma

I come back to Costume National time and time again... for window licking. Don't you love that the french call window shopping "leche-vitrine"? You can just see les petits enfants du bois with their noses pressed up at the window of the patisserie. Or spying on something particularly interesting...

Anyway, moving on..... (I do tangent, you must forgive me). Perhaps we'll rhyme? I present a look from Society for Rational Dress (Such a brilliant name.) Dazzling. I want to meet this girl and take her out to coffee and talk about Klimt.... yes ok so I know she's 'fictional and infact a model, but anyone this well styled *must* be interesting.

(look! I even got the blues and burnt orange in there. SFRD fall 09, you are a saviour)

It's ironic, as thore clothes would make me behave in a most irrational manner. However, the name is actually a cultural reference, dating back t the Victorian suffragette/women's rights movement (I should muse as to whether I should switch the movement back to "Sister Suffragettes!" from Mary Poppins). The rational dress society was the Eglish equivalent of the bloomer movement and, founded in 1881, it encapsulated its directive  in an article in the Society’s Gazette:

“The Rational Dress Society protests against the introduction of any fashion in dress that either deforms the figure, impedes the movements of the body, or in any way tends to injure the health. It protests against the wearing of tightly-fitting corsets; of high-heeled shoes; of heavily-weighted skirts, as rendering healthy exercise almost impossible; and of all tie down cloaks or other garments impeding on the movements of the arms. It protests against crinolines or crinolettes of any kind as ugly and deforming….[It] requires all to be dressed healthily, comfortably, and beautifully, to seek what conduces to health, comfort and beauty in our dress as a duty to ourselves and each other.”

Nifty historical information, that. Oh, one does like to drop all over the place in this blog.

Now, moving on to his fondness for gold and silver, I would just like to put out there, that everyone's so obsessed with Balmain's jackets that this little beaut has dropped right by them...

Balmain boucle Jacket @ Luisaviaroma 

 Oh, and his Japonisme....

Jean Paul Gaultier @ LuisaViaRoma sale

Patterns patterns. The man knew a good pattern. Talking of patterns, Suno, that Kenyan label I mentioned here? Well, it was founded by Max Osterweis, a filmmaker in his 30s based in New York City. He was was so horrified by the violence that ravaged Kenya's following the messy election run (understatement), that he decided to try and introduce industrial contracts to artisans in the slums, starting Suno. His statements completely match my own ideas regarding the best solutions for africans themselves in the long term, saying "Writing a fat check doesn't always help... I wanted to create long-term employment and also set an example to show that investment in Africa need not be about building more safari lodges." Designed by Erin Beatty, a Parsons New School for Design graduate, the collection uses vintage Kangas and Kenyan-crafted fabrics and designs, but it is not going to be a kitschy "ethic collection; every silhouette had to work first in plain black, wearable to an art opening or the red carpets of NYC.

 According to Time, he's right on trend...

P.s. AONY has now been reincarnated for a full week! 2 posts a day... aren't I nice?