Balenciaga and Sketches

I thought of a design in my head and quickly jotted it down. It's a mixture of fabrics combined like patchwork. One of my lessons from my illustrations teacher from Paris is once I sketch one outfit, take the parts I like and make it evolve by sketching more with the parts that I like. It's simple logic, really. So I'll have more later.

I'm heading to the Balenciaga exhibit at Queen Sofia Spanish Institute. Influenced by yesterday's party, I decided to throw on layers including my Inhabit tank and cardigan, my army boot inspired Converse, and G-Star coat. So not couture but hey.. who's going to walk around in the rain like that? I will report back but meanwhile you can see an article here . Looks amazing!

Happy Birthday G M D

Just want to pay tribute to G, which his birthday party was tonight. I know he has nothing to do with Haute Couture, but shoot, this is my blog and I can post what I want damn it. The fact is, there was an array of creatives in one room -from photographers to DJ's, to fashion and graphic designers. They all contribute to this creative world, which is very important to take note of.

 His website shows the range of his photography, which also includes the photo shoot we did together last summer. Can you guess which fashion shoot was mine? I guess you would just know by going on my website, minnak.com. Good night.

Anne Valerie Hash

I'm currently working on sketches which will take a few days to do. 

In the meantime, let's look at various couture topics. Anne Valerie Hash is an "official" member of Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. I came across this photo from a blog called "The Excellent People". It's the fitting room of this couture house. I was really in awe by the beauty of this room. Imagine yourself getting fitted into a gown in this room. Beat that Macy's! 

Photo from Jacqueline Hassink from "VIP Fitting Rooms"

Project => Theme Boards

"After the Storm" - This is the theme of this project.  Due to recent experiences that caused a major imbalance in my emotions,  I feel that dark cloud releasing and the rays peeking through. I know it's corny, but hey... makes a more interesting design process. Plus, I believe emotions play a great part in creating - I chose these morbid looking fabrics during a time of sadness. Now that feeling has passed, I'm able to balance it with lighter palettes.

In addition, my mood board is a mix of textures that came from photos of La Sagrada Familia, of which were taken during my brief trip to Barcelona. After reading all the Sp 2011 Couture shows, I found my favorites were Gaultier and Givenchy.

The boards are all done on the computer, so it looks restricted - it's better to cut and paste by hand - I would do this if I were making an entire collection.

So... there you go. My rough sketches will morph into more focused styling. Keep in mind I'm making one article of clothing so not all fabrics and colors will be used. It's more for me to choose from.

Franck Sorbier

I thought I knew the couture houses in Paris... but no, I don't... here is one that has been in fashion for over 20 years, at Haute Couture status for over 5 years and I just now discovered this couturier.
Franck Sorbier. Mixing art with couture. It's not like his usage of dreads is a new idea, because obviously you see people on the street with dreads all the time. It's the fact that he used a creative approach to couture to tell a story. I can't seem to embed the video, but you can watch it here

Valentino

I felt Valentino's Spring 2011 Haute Couture show had substance, and it was a beautiful and cohesive collection. I do have to say that I wasn't really into the minimalist approach to some of the pieces. They looked like Ready-To-Wear, which to me, Haute Couture should always have more intricacy and details. If I'm going to have a handful of workers put in thousands of hours for one piece - it should look just that. Regardless, this white dress stood out in a good way because she looks like she is floating.

Chinese New Year

Next on the line is putting together my mood board and working out more sketches. First, I'd like to talk about Chinese New Year. It's the year of the Rabbit on February 3rd. I'm celebrating it by having dinner with a close friend, New Year's Eve at a Chinese restaurant. As we emailed, she told me her favorite place was "Super Taste" and she also liked "Excellent Pork Chop" and "Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles". What's up with the names?

Speaking of interesting names, ever heard of the movie "Curse of the Golden Flower"? The costumes are stunning, that I wonder how many hours it took to make each dress or headpiece. I won't ever know since I didn't live during an Emporer's reign but I assume it is as intricate as Haute Couture pieces, maybe even more.