Post Ten: Text(ile) Message

If you remember my garden post a few weeks back, then you'll remember that my dad is an upholsterer.  As such, I've been around these gorgeous, expensive fabrics my entire life.  While I've always enjoyed them, I have never really been able to appreciate them until this year, during my interaction with them and various readings required.  Maybe it's because I was, before my enlistment as a fashion student, previously uneducated in the field, and my exposure to it now has sparked my interest.
Whatever the cause, I love fabric -- patterns, weave, weight, classification, pretty much anything I can attempt to identify.  Fabric choice is usually the first thing I notice in a garment, whether I'm designing, constructing, or simply viewing it.  In Integrated Studio 1, our next project is Body As Narrative, and we're invited to use prints, so I've been looking into how prints are informed by the design and how they help to communicate the idea behind it.
So0o0o, I took a trip on down to my dad's upholstery shop, and perused his showroom.  In terms of fabric, it's pretty decked out.  There are so many different kinds that are just exciting; most have wound up in the back of my head as I'[m thinking about future and/or current designs.  
Being that there so many textiles there that it would be too overwhelming to try to absorb them all at one time, I decided to focus on a choice few.  I looked at patterned ones that made reference to nature; I chose this because I feel like, in fashion, patterns and prints are a prominent outlet for expressing nature as inspiration.  Texture is equally expressive, and the fabrics I came across in the showroom have texture up the wa-zoo.

I think this is ridiculously luxurious.  I like the way the crushed velvet's color makes the leaves look fossilized.  But rich, at the same time!  

The stylized branches are a bit of three-dimensional pizzazz.  The fabric was used on a small, simple pillow.  Because the fabric is such a loud one (meaning that it is visually potent; its texture, palette, and print make it an attention-grabber), it's used strategically.  If it were used in fashion, by me at least, it would be used sparingly -- never in too large a quantity at once or in too complicated a garment.  

The folds make it difficult to tell what's going on in the print.  It makes me want to play with prints and the effect that darts and seams have on them.  Also, the fact that this is a picture of draperies reminds of draping in fashion.  I don't know how to drape yet, but I always picture it kind of exactly like this.  Carol Burnett style.  

I know this isn't really a textile, but come on.  It's amazing.  Look at my first post, and you'l know why I love it.  But anyway, I posted this image from Alexander McQueen because I feel like it utilizes texture and materials to communicate the ideas behind the piece.  

What struck me about this image from an Oscar De La Renta show was the 3D pizzazz element!  I think some of the roses are 3D pizzazz.  I think the cleanness of the overall print and its classic subject matter allow for the success of the 3D pizzazz element.  

Post Nine: Jackpot!

I went to a casino in Westchester this weekend.  I'm aware of how tacky that sounds, but it was pretty exciting.  The atmosphere was very...alive.  Though all aspects were completely overdone and contrived, the entire ambiance was visually and aurally intriguing.  When I got passed the oddly themed slot machines and their equally odd illustrations, I was able to see some interesting colors and textures that make me think of techniques I learned last year in 2D, and things I'm learning now in VC1.  After seeing some particulars that stood out to me, I decided to apply to them the things I've been learning.  

This is the tablecloth at the in-casino restaurant, Nonna's Trattoria.  The ambiance was very cheesy, hence the all-too-classic, red-and-off-white check/gingham thing they've got going on.  

I liked how the pattern looked because of the angle of the picture I took.  I did a little experimenting in Photoshop, playing with spacing and widths to try to get a similar effect.  

They had these strange, rainbowish panels on these pillars; depending on the angle from which you looked at them, they looked different colors.  I guess it was because of the flash of my camera, but all the pictures came out the same color.  I though that was pretty cool.  I also dug the panel's texture; it was a kind of foily something.  

I took this as kind of a joke because my friend was making fun of me for taking pictures of random inanimate objects.  But later, when I looked back at it, I really enjoyed the cork.  I never really looked at it so closely before this picture.  

The two preceding photos' textures both affected me; I wanted to see how they would look together. A classmate of mine did the last project out of cork, so for the past few weeks, the material has been in the back of my mind as an interesting textile.  The stripes really made me appreciate the value gradient in the foily panel.  

Post Eight: Not A Hair Out Of Place

We Mazzolas are usually fashionably late; yes, even when it comes to spring cleaning.  This weekend was devoted to combing through our closets, and these photos are from my mom's.  She's had these two fur coats since before I was born, before my sister was born, and maybe even before she was married.  I've had to do my fair share of research on the fur industry for various class assignments, and I've come to the following conclusion: its methods and principles are absolutely horrific, but the product is phenomenal. Feeling the softness in your hands is like nothing else.  These two jackets in particular remind me of the glamour of old Hollywood; they just seem so lavish and elegant.  1930s Hollywood is a huge inspiration for me; I've always adored vintage-y things, but my appreciation for this particular decade was solidified a couple of months ago when I was working on the summer assignment.  What affects me most about the time is the attitude; there's a certain ownership of self that the women who wore those clothes possessed and exuded.  Looking at and feeling these coats was all I needed to whisk me away into that time.  Ahh.  

Drop dead gorgeous (too soon?) -- seriously.  I love how the horizontal lines are so prominent; it's like getting to peek into how the jacket was constructed.  

The softness and silkiness is almost unbearable.  In this rabbit jacket (obviously, I put it on), I can't handle how fabulous I feel.  Could you imagine making someone feel that amazing when he or she wears your clothes?  Ahh.  One day.  

This one's mink.  It isn't as soft as the rabbit, but, trust me, it's soft enough.  The thin vertical lines, for me, evoke a very specific image of the woman who wears it.  She's pretty fabulous, just so you know.  

Joan Crawford.  1932.  Letty Lynton.  Meow.  

Post Seven: An Apple A Day

I'm not a huge Apple person; I use a Macbook Pro, but I'm a PC at heart.  In light of my personal OS preference, I do respect the company very much for both its devotion to design consistency and its revolutionary strides in product development.  The ever-evolving iPod line, the iPhone, and the iPad have engendered an entirely new market within the fashion world: accessories for these products range from the easily accessible mall kiosk covers to their higher-priced designer counterparts.  

A few days ago, my roommate showed me what looked like her watch; it turned out to be so much more!  I was floored!  I love that kind of innovation and function in design -- especially the wearable kind!  There was a time when I thought gadget accessories verged on tacky, but, after seeing this "watch" and coming across functional designer accessories, My mind was changed.  I think that's a wonderful avenue for a designer to explore -- accessories can help to define the aesthetic of a brand as well as keep it up-to-date with the latest habits of lifestyle.  Sidenote: I learned in my Accessory Industry class last week that the cell phone pocket found inside virtually all purses today is was initiated by the high-end market; they saw a need, so they made something to fill it -- with style.  

Here is what I first saw: an inconspicuous-enough watch.  I'm not one for that jelly-type stuff, but it's cute, what with its square face and bold color.  

My mind exploded when my roommate detached her iPod Nano from the wristband.  For the preceding few days, I had thought she was wearing a mildly edgy watch.  The Nano can be set to screensaver mode during which it displays a working clock face.  Ahhhhhhh!  

$79.95 -- I went on Apple.com to see what other accessories would affect me.  I came across this unexpectedly cute clutch wallet [from Michael Kors] made just for the iPhone 4.  I assume the 4S will fit.....

$129.95 -- Michael Kors also sells this matching iPad case.  I'm not as moved by this one though; it only has one function: iPad case.  

Here's a glove from Karl Lagerfeld's fall 2009 collection.  It's a glove.  It's a phone holder.  It's everything you could ever need.  

Post Six: Checking Out

I come from a suburb (Monroe!), and for as long as I can remember, my peers have complained of its underdevelopment; "There's nothing to do in this town," they would say.  I like to consider this attitude in conjunction with the 

When I was in third grade, they built us a Wal*Mart on a road that went through a wooded area.  As of this weekend, there is a multi-leveled shopping commons consisting of several strips, twenty-something stores (about nine box), seven restaurants, a bank, and a dentist's office.  I find it absolutely fascinating -- terrifying yet impressive -- how quickly the woods were "developed" into stores -- I used to have to travel at least a half-hour to go to these stores.  I know it sounds stupid, but it blows my mind.  I watched that entire area transform from what it was into what it is.  I still haven't decided if its good or bad, but it really made me think.  

The latest addition is an Old Navy, whose subtleties of branding I hadn't before fully appreciated.  

This is the sign that greets you.  One of the signs that greets you.  I had never been to a Target before this one opened.  There's another party store on the other side of the plaza.  I had to go in the Old Navy (what kind of Monroeian would I be if didn't visit?!).  

This was quite possibly my favorite thing about the new store; it's a very neat display, and it completely appeals.  I appreciated the chromatic ordering of the shirts.  I bet the numbers on the fake scoreboard mean something.  I'd like to look into that.  

Gah this is so attractive.  I love these block letters and how they interact with the clothes behind and below them.  

This is what you see when you first walk into the store.  They're creepy, I know, but I like them.  They remind me of the Old Navy commercials, and I really appreciate the store's branding.  I like observing the image a company puts forth with its advertising; I think these mannequins are a pretty accurate exemplification of Old Navy's.  

This is just fabulous: so many of my favorite things.  Clean block lettering, chromatic ordering, expressive t-shirts, and intent shoppers.  I love this display more than that basketball one.  The other was adorable, but this is much more elegant -- even so, it still maintains the casual, jovial attitude put forth by Old Navy.  The displays made me think a lot.