My Final LBD Editorial

My whole concept started from the socialite Mona Bismarck who was a client of Cristobal Balenciaga's and a specific picture of her by Cecile Beaton, i loved the whole image for its attitude, sophistication, relaxed atmosphere and the pose she had portrayed in the image and initially i was going to shoot on location but after examining the locations i wished to use it wasn't sufficient to use due to a busy area and comings and goings from the building, one initial location i wanted to use was the steps to the courts that would of perhaps required permission and due to the fact the specific image i based this upon could of been shot anywhere i went for the studio and although with the ease of location, it was still difficult due to working with a difficult model who deleted half of mine and another team members work, great team work, eh! 

After editing them drastically because the images were initially lackluster (not down to the photographers abilities, but the models, your not an 80's supermodel) the final product i have got to say is amazing and I'm surprised at how well these images have been transformed using software for my Mac called gimp where i sliced images and re-pieced them back together after turning parts black and white.

I hope you all like the final product and i'd like to thank my team for all their help during the shoot! 

Art Nouveau - Contextual Studies.

Art Nouveau.

This specific art movement was at its peak between 1890 and 1910 and is mainly reflected in architectural references such as Gaudi's famous Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona, Pavillon Cambon Capucines in Paris & The Hotel Crillon in Paris (Where Balenciaga stage alot of their recent shows).

Artists renowned for this art movement particularly are Gustarv Klimt who's work i find striking and elegant with his use of color and shape. Gustarv Klimt in this modern day inspired John Galliano at Dior on quite afew collections including Couture Spring 2008 and Spring 1998. 

Art Nouveau wasn't particularly favored by artist but more so by Architects in the Czech Republic and France.

Ede Magyar who is a famous Hungarian Architect and was nicknamed the Hungarian Gaudi for his style of work, He studied as a builder in Budapest but moved abroad to further his studies, his most famous piece of work is the 'Reok Palace' in Szeged in Hungary but his career was short but sweet when he committed Suicide at the tender age of 35.

The Art Nouveau movement is also echoed in many famous pieces of Architecture such as the Grand Palais (that houses many of the Chanel Shows and in the past many Dior shows and also hosts art exhibitions) it was closed to the public in 1993 after a ceiling panel fell and wasn't fully reopened until 2007. 

Designers who have staged their shows in the Grand Palais (also known in English as the Grand Palace) have played on its phenomenal features and grand ceilings and wonderfully detailed architecture which is entirely what Art Nouveau is all about. 

Designers who have been inspired by Art Nouveau have including Miuccia Prada, John Galliano, Peter Dundas & Nicolas Ghesquiere. 

Plato's Atlantis.

Although this collection doesn't necessarily link directly to our project of Metamorphosis, it does however look at ingenious and creative ways to reference when making my final piece. 

for McQueen's collection 'Plato's Atlantis' for Spring Summer 2010 his whole collection was based on digital prints and he was constantly looking at ingenious ways to cut his collection, which leads to my point, his talent stretched so far as to be able to make one complete dress out of one pattern piece with clever nicks and folds leaving barely any seams. 

The collection does however link in one respect to our Metamorphosis theme, he referenced Mutation and Metamorphosis and he took back from the land and back to the sea.

The Models were intended to look like humans Morphing into a sea-creature after their ship had sank. 

Flower Power.

Defining my inspiration for Metamorphosis has been a much easier task than i first anticipated when given the dreadful task of getting my head around my new project brief (back in june).

I'm not looking at silhouettes created by flowers and plants and the possibilities are endless really when it comes to creating my end structure. 

I looked at a variety of flowers looking directly at texture and structure.

Life in a Cocoon.

Using initial ideas of Bulbs as a starting block and nothing else, i portrayed its shape and size around the body, looking at different ways to proportion it around the body and with our very limited color pallet, shape and structure play an intense part in crafting our final look.

I chose this sketch out of 5 because it fits more directly with the direction I'm taking my sketchbook into, from bulb to structure. 

I also Linked to Balenciaga and Valentino for their unique take on Cocoons and rounded shapes, Valentino using a softer structure as opposed to Balenciaga who had a more hard edged finish and feel to it. 

Fragility.

Pursuing a more clear direction after my first mini-crit and taking a clear and direct inspiration from Blossom trees that only grow their pale pink leaves during the spring. 

fragile and soft bunches branch out giving a much more softer edge to my research of quite hard edged research.

I linked to Giambattista Valli's Spring 2009 collection which was inspired by Metamorphosis as he claimed to Sarah Mower of Style.com "It's about a metamorphosis. There's a big change going on in these times." 

He also looked at the classic cuts of Cristobal Balenciaga and his high-waisted, voluminous collections.

My sketch links to the fragility and giving a tiny hint to the outline and texture on the floor length gown with a sweeping side swinging cape constructed of fragile chiffon/silk flowers that have been crushed and aged.

giving a soft but voluminous texture in a heavy quantity and still gaining a very oriental-esq feel to the final idea almost as if the blossom tree lost all its petals at once is the feel my final idea gives off.

The City of Mermaids and Marines.

Riccardo Tisci based his Spring Summer 2007 Haute Couture collection for Givenchy around a myth and legend of his home town in Puglia called Taranto in Italy about the Metamorphosis of Shells and Seaweed transforming into Mermaids. the city is also regarded as the city of Mermaids and Marines.

The collection was a stunning display of talent from Riccardo and i loved every aspect of it, his color palette and use of embroidery was possibly my favorite if i were to pick one aspect of this collection i loved the most. 

Hussein Chalayan.

Hussein Chalayan from Passot Delphine on Vimeo.

Multi-Purpose pieces that have some form of interest to me have been very thin on the ground and when looking through the archive of Hussein Chalyan i stumbled upon his Fall Winter 2000 collection that saw models dress themselves in seating covers and various other amazing transformations, which links me to the Viktor and Rolf Fall/Winter 2010/11 show that saw models being dressed live by Viktor and Rolf transforming pieces such as voluminous skirts into jackets and various other ways throughout the entire collection.

Hussein Chalayan- Afterwords, Autumn / Winter 2000 from tolga yilmaz on Vimeo.

Honeycomb Effect.

Natural forms have been a deep interest of mine throughout the research of the project over the summer and honeycombs were something that sprung to mind when brainstorming about something that evolves naturally, as such.

Which also links to the Prada store located in Tokyo Japan, one of their 'Epicentres' also known as a Flagship, designed by Herzog and De Meuron and our Birmingham Bullring designed by Benoy.

Japanese Artist Yayoi Kusama is known for her trademark artwork that are creatively adorned with polka dots in garish colors that oddly work.

This has however inspired designers Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel and Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton to use her influence as inspired to base pieces upon in their collections.

Yayoi also once met Marc Jacobs and gave him a custom Louis Vuitton bag that she adorned with Silver dots. 

(Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2005/06 & Louis Vuitton Spring Summer 2007) 

The Art of Folding.

Origami hasn't at all been a focus of mine throughout researching for this project and it won't be an intention to research it that much, however i have been looking at way's to creatively fold fabric in a creative and influential way, from the dramatic to the realistic. 

Trembled blossom by Prada explores in Cartoon form of what i've been researching, the growth of plant life and foliage.


TREMBLED BLOSSOMS, MUSIC BY COCOROSIE from Quiet Color on Vimeo.

My Concentration has been set upon a different form of Metamorphosis, that of plant life forms and their growth from Bulb/Seed to Petals - it's been something of which that has given me many ideas more than that of life forms such as Caterpillars and their transformation into butterflies and such and it seems such a cliche focus for this project and that hasn't at all appealed to me either. 

My research material i have gathered for my sketchbook features the work of Tom Ford at YSL and his last collection for YSL that focused on typical Japanese dress (and the show featured 400 black orchid plants flown in from Japan especially).

John Galliano For Dior (throw a cliche reference in, why not) and Haider Ackermann and his brilliant drapping technics that have huge references to typical Japanese Dress, Alexander McQueen, Miu Miu, Commes Dec Garcon, Louis Vuitton, Viktor and Rolf, Givenchy and Chanel.