McQueen Dress for Givenchy

McQueen Kimono Top

Museum Curiosities #002

primitive layering. exquisite craft. rigid lace.

metallic grimace. unearthly colour. organic spine.

fallen monument. oceanic whimsy. textural contrast.

Closet #002

Museum Curiosities #001

layered armor. bottled organisms. crystal formations.

textured filigree. irregular repetition. tribal wear.

delightful smile. natural geometries. eroded line art.

Closet #001

sometimes one simply must be the rabbit

Love Looks Not With The Eyes

If you are a fan you should buy this book.

Sunday Night Theme

 Hijab. Black Rabbit. Electric Wizard. London Punk. 

Wild Berry

McQueen Dress for Givenchy Final

Finished version of the Givenchy dress found here. Stable woven fabric from Lida Baday. Composition: 56% linen, 35% cotton, 9% polyamide. Do want to make this again in other fabrics. Will have to wear it properly at some point.

Bonus: Have  you seen Masters of Style featuring Alexander McQueen (season 1, episode 1)? It features a lot of McQueen's work at Givenchy and variations of this dress are included. Here are some stitched together screen grabs.

Random

bigoni mortemard

Sedna: an Inuit Goddess

In Inuit mythology, Sedna (Inuktitut Sanna, ᓴᓐᓇ) is the goddess of the sea and marine animals such as seals. A creation myth, the story of Sedna shows how she came to rule over Adlivun, the Inuit underworld.
A number of versions of the Sedna legend exist. In one legend Sedna is a giant, the daughter of the creator-god Anguta, with a great hunger that causes her to attack her parents. Angered, Anguta takes her out to sea and throws her over the side of his kayak. As she clings to the sides, he chops off her fingers and she sinks to the underworld, becoming the ruler of the monsters of the deep. Her huge fingers become the seals, walrus and whales hunted by the Inuit.
-Wikipedia

The skeleton of Sedna is depicted in the work with techniques inspired by carvings in Ivory from the Inuit tupilak figures. The human side of Sedna shows a more vivid figure expressed through the patterns and fringes covering the garments. Silhouettes inspired by Victorian menswear contribute to the atmosphere of the horrendous story.
-Coute Que Coute

Creation Story. Myth. Underworld. Immortal. Gods. Transformation. Undead. Curse. Cultural Artifact. Corrupted Human Form.

 

http://www.annesofiemadsen.com/

A Colour Story

Black and White and Green

Damir Doma pop up shop captured by http://www.garbagedress.com/

Prabal Gurung AW 2012 + Thoughts on Inspiration

Three seemingly unassociated but equally romantic works—Jan van Eyck’s haunting, religious oil paintings, Georgia O’Keeffe’s famed image of an ethereal, decaying cow skull, and a genetically engineered blue rose were pulled together by the designer into one achingly amorous theme. “I was inspired by the process of creating something new. Part of it was the uncursing of the rose and part of it was spiritual,” explains Gurung. 
-Vogue.com

Always always finding the process of inspiration fascinating. Thinking about it, it would appear that there are three main motivations for design: a woman in a narrative, an object, and for the sake of the garments themselves. 

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Some collections are designed for a specific person. That collection can tell a story, and the onlooker understands who the woman is. Inspiration may come from a film, a historical person, a celebrity, a book. There is a story. There is a person. Styling, hair and make-up drive home the point. Story tellers: McQueen, Galliano, Dsquared2.

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Other collections are less obviously created for one woman. They may lack a narrative, and the identity of their woman is less clear. These collections are inspired from everything else in the world: art, photography, architecture, nature, objects, and so on. They look for ideas outside of the fashion world and transform them into clothing. Prabal Gurung is today's example.

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Finally, there are clothes that are designed to be clothes. They are functional and practical and don't have an elaborate back story that explains their creation. They are designed to fit a need, to be comfortable, to be flattering, to fill a void, to fit a budget, to save on wasted scrap fabric. Less exciting perhaps, but it's no less noble than the other inspirations - just more to the point.

Gurung Moodboard http://www.vogue.com/collections/fall-2012-rtw/prabal-gurung/preview/#

http://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/autumn-winter-2012/ready-to-wear/prabal-gurung

A Collection Name

Thinking about inspiration and giving it a name. Labeling garments for archival purposes. History is important.

inside label of a Rick Owens cardigan

page of the Rick Owens book listing his collections' names

McQueen Dress for Givenchy Process

Totally didn't realize that there were patterns available from Vogue when McQueen was designing for Givenchy. Upon discovery, a mad flurry of frantic research ensued ending with a trip to this blog: http://blog.pattern-vault.com/alexander-mcqueen-series/ All McQueen x Givenchy collaborations are accounted for.
Two designs are loved above the rest. Here's the favourite. Always love for asymmetry and tailoring. Production commences. Using a linen-cotton blend... might not be the best choice, but it was at hand. Goal: finish cutting this week.