a flip through the ethnic craze

July 19, 2014, 5:35 am

≫ Next: one more wizard coming from Kiev

'Special Moment'© by Bubi Canal, NYC

As you know, fashion has felt the fascination of exotic and
faraway folklore ever since Sergei Diaghilev's 'Ballet Russes'
debuted in Paris in 1909 becoming a prime source of design
inspiration. Countless ethnic influences can be easily traced
throughout the 20th century with different periods, from the
Orientalist fad of 100 years ago to the 1970s and the latest
African influences, in which ethnic style became

in effect a mainstream look.

from 'Far' editorial © by Addminimal creative studio
photo © by Dobrin Kashavelov

from ”Multiethnic Gallery” editorial, Vogue Italia,
January 2013 © by Paolo Roversi

both images from 'Cocktail'© by Namsa Leuba
for WAD magazine n° 53

The ethnic touch - provided by African multicolored patterns,
block-printed fabrics, Ghanian kente cloth or by Asian silk
clothing, indigo dip dyeing, mythical dragons, lush florals
and fierce tigers - can actually spice up a look as in

jewelry as in fashion. Indian, Chinese, Japanese and African
cultures widely shape the Western world's fashion industry
(Mexican and Native American styles included) repeatedly
setting enduring trends that know neither gender nor age
strongly influencing designers, stylists and visual artists
as well as editorials and photo shoots.

Jean Paul Gaultier's couture s/s 2013, photo © by Style.com

Manon Kündig's 'Bowerbird', © by Michaël Smits
see 'finders keepers'

Maison Martin Margiela's haute couture s/s 2013,
photo © by NowFashion

from 'Ancient Songs of Praise'
© by Giampaolo Sgura for Vogue Japan, May 2014 issue

Let's celebrate this weekend the never-ending charm of the
ethnic mood through a selection (obviously personal hence
incomplete) of beautiful pictures as a matter of preservation
of indigenous cultures, traditions and techniques worldwide
as well as the right key to blur even more the intercultural
barriers we still have to deal with in our

multiculturally growing societies.

from 'Ancient Songs of Praise'
© by Giampaolo Sgura for Vogue Japan, May 2014 issue

↧

one more wizard coming from Kiev

July 22, 2014, 1:24 pm

≫ Next: don't worry, be happy!

≪ Previous: a flip through the ethnic craze

Thankfully, lots of new fashion talents keep on growing
up in war-torn Ukraine and their work is more and more
part and parcel of the global fashion biz. Kiev-based
young fashion designer, stylist and visual artist
Yana Chervinska studied at the local National University
of Technologies and Design graduating last year

soon after the creation of her own label lately

debuting at Mercedes-Benz Kiev fashion days.

Chervinska's latest collection is a skilled exercise in
shapes and colors, a compendium of her understanding
of clothing through the glass of art and design history,
namely the paintings by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

(even if the beautiful model, Evgenia Migovich, to my
eyes looks like a pop Alice in Wonderland coming
back from afternoon tea wearing a hat as a souvenir),
that emphasizes her innovative approach making visible
the aesthetic research behind it: supple pale-toned outfits
with sinuous lines, sculpted volumes, embroideries and
pleats worn with gorgeous soft wizard-like hats and
chunky coordinated platforms. A true statement

of simplicity and straightforwardness.

> all images © by Yulia Zhdan, styled by Yana Chervinska <

↧

don't worry, be happy!

July 24, 2014, 1:06 pm

≫ Next: Ohkojima's tapestry of delights

≪ Previous: one more wizard coming from Kiev

I met the YÒUYÒU label thanks to a friend's advice:
gifted Singaporean designer Max Tan (click his tag
to look at his works) dropped hints that I would appreciate
the brand's work which is marked by ”a quiet differentation,
an understated sophistication” as their motto goes.
YÒUYÒU is a ready-to-wear label aiming at bringing
forward ”a fresh perspective to the day-to-day wardrobe
of contemporary women, with foremost focus on design,
quality and aesthetics, offering classic pieces styled with a modern twist” the designer duo behind it reveals.

YÒUYÒU is the brainchild of designers Jac and Zhiying:
”Jac has a background in fashion design while Zhiying
used to work in the Central Business District. They met
when both of them landed themselves in the fashion
industry and through conversations, found a lack of
options for young working professionals to dress up
for work, while retaining a youthful vibe and energy.
Thus, YÒUYÒU was born...”

YÒUYÒU's fall-winter 2014-15 collection, called
'Don't Worry, Be Happy!” shows spry outfits in a basic
palette made of black & white and bright blue with a
touch of cool gray for few woollen pieces: tight comfy
clothes ”designed with 'You' in mind” as they declare,
”for youthful or those who are young at heart, who seek
a breath of fresh air in their day-to-day wardrobe.”
A lively take on everyday fashion (you're

absolutely free to whistle Bobby Mc Ferrin's

eternal tune on the way).

> all images by Gavin Yeoh Photography<

↧

Ohkojima's tapestry of delights

July 26, 2014, 3:02 pm

≫ Next: nevertheless, time waits for no one

≪ Previous: don't worry, be happy!

'Mother', photo © by Kenji Mimura

I went into a speechless rapture when I cast my eyes
on the jaw-dropping artworks by young Japanese artist,
painter and muralist Maki Ohkojima; not only with her
fine paintings but chiefly with her murals. Born in
Higashikurume city, western Tokyo Metropolis, Maki is
a School of Fine Arts graduate who's been constantly
inspired by Mother Nature developing through the years
a sumptuous narrative style through her own 'off the wall'
technique, a style she calls ”the mural beyond the frame.”

The Big Monkey that ate the sun' on its wall

'The Big Monkey that ate the sun' framed painting

details from 'The Big Monkey that ate the sun'

Making 'Monkeys shout and sing', photo © by Serge Koutchinsky

colorful details from 'Monkeys shout and sing',
photos © by Serge Koutchinsky

Ohkojima is widely known for her paintings that sprawl
out of their canvases and frames to decorate the walls
around them in intricate hand painted tapestries of lush
foliage, birds and animals: an abundance of wildlife,
exquisitely detailed and sheer as an openwork.

When drawing her pictures, Maki always thinks that she's

merely drawing ”one part of a larger world and narrative”

as she declares, and that's why she goes beyond the canvas,
making ”the land and the picture further connected,
and one piece of scenery, which I could not see

before, starts to emerge.”

The Time Flying' Unknown Black Road with details,
photo © by Kenta Yoshizawa

'Starsong'

'Starsong' detail

Making 'In the Forest', photo © by Kenji Mimura

'In the Forest' series on display, photo © by Kenji Mimura

detail from 'In the Forest', photo © by Kenji Mimura

Mother figures, tangled trees growing out of skulls housing
wide-eyed and screaming monkeys and fairy-tale creatures
that make me think both to Dante's Divine Comedy and
the highly detailed works of Hieronymous Bosch, look true
to life within the luxuriant setting yet her vibrant hues
become darker in 'more Mexican' works like 'The Time
Flying' Unknown Black Road (when it comes to murals
Mexico's tradition can't never be ignored) with inky tones,
spider webs, bones and applied solid birds. Ohkojima
has traveled the world painting murals for the Wall Art
Festival in Ganjad village (Dahanu Tehsil), Maharashtra,
India where Japanese and Indian artists gathered in
February 2013 to show the power of art and to make
learning more fun. She came back a year later and
found her murals alive and well: a proof that

her art is far from being transient!

A Tree Narrates the World', WAF, Ganjad
photos © by Toshinobu Takashima

'Let's Talk About the Story of Big Sky', WAF, Ganjad
photos © by Toshinobu Takashima

'Let's Talk About the Story of Big Sky', WAF, Ganjad
photo © by Toshinobu Takashima

'Big Sky' one year later, photos © by Toshinobu Takashima

↧

nevertheless, time waits for no one

July 29, 2014, 1:11 pm

≫ Next: Miriam Ponsa's hard-working women

≪ Previous: Ohkojima's tapestry of delights

A picture is worth a hundred words, nevertheless
you've got to read the story behind it to grasp what
you're staring at: here comes the hopeful story of
young earthlings living in a dreary epoch but dressed
to the nines by London-educated Korean designers
Steve J and Yoni P who graduated from Central Saint
Martins and London College of Fashion respectively
to establish in due course the eponymous upscale
label which is mostly focused on character printing
expressing ”its unique wit and characteristic through
high casual and contemporary taste embedded in
fashionable outers, denims and silky

and feminine dresses.”

'Steve J and Yoni P' provides a sophisticated take on
streetwear through collections inspired by social and
even political issues stressing the need for freedom
in everyday fashion through gripping design ideas and
a good sense fo humor. The label's fall/winter 2014-15
collection, called 'Nevertheless Time Goes', has been
conceived by the clueful duo as ”the story of a hopeful
journey of young people living in a depressing era.”

'Nevertheless' combines prints and patterns with florals,
pinstripes and camouflage in appealing outfits: comfy
patterned overcoats and biker jackets are worn over
knee-length polka-dot dresses while faux fur is used
for fleecy jackets, mittens and clutches in a palette of
black and ivory, green and navy with touches of khaki
and glitter. All images from Steve J and Yoni P's
collection campaign from Seoul fashion week's
website, uncredited photographer, alas.

↧

Miriam Ponsa's hard-working women

July 31, 2014, 2:06 pm

≫ Next: the 'provo-cut' textile injurer

≪ Previous: nevertheless, time waits for no one

Barcelona-based designer Miriam Ponsa takes us
to an Arabian journey with her latest collection: the
graduate of Southampton University, UK, whose
collections are born and bred products of Catalunya
- each garment is produced in local workshops
strengthening ”values like endeavor, teamwork and
authenticity are important to her as well as the recovery
of traditional handicraft techniques” - emphasizes
once again her distinctive approach as well as

her social commitment.

Miriam Ponsa's s/s 2015 ”Dones Mulas” (mule-women)
collection is also an outcry of dissent being inspired
by the women porters of Melilla - the Spanish enclave
in northern Morocco - who smuggle heavy loads of goods
across the border in conditions of semi-slavery (some of
them make 3 or 4 trips a day carrying up to 80 kg. tightly

wrapped around the body) and that's why hand woven
slings, i.e., ribbons and laces play the leading role: ”the
pieces are created using the arts of basketry, macramé,
rug weaving, braiding and knotting. The knotted strings

symbolize the porters and the condition of slavery

they are subjected to” she explains.

Clothes and backpacks of her mule-women are made
from cotton 'Cotó Roig', 'Red Cotton', the project devised
by two women, Rosa and Ángela, soon after the
murderous accident in a textile factory in Bangladesh,
to prevent cotton grown in Spain to go to Asian countries
prior to come back exported in cheap quality garments.
Cotó Roig provides sustainable homemade threads to
Catalan tailors and designers controlling the whole
process from farming to manufacturing without the
exploitation of natural resources and vulnerable workers.

Miriam's 'Dones Mulas' was recently awarded the
'080 Award' at the14th edition of 080 Barcelona Fashion
week, the annual event that highlights Catalonia's
creativity showcasing the work of renowned

designers and budding talents.

Miriam Ponsa posing with the 2014's '080BFW' Award
all images © 080 Barcelona Fashion

↧

the 'provo-cut' textile injurer

August 3, 2014, 5:49 am

≫ Next: Robert Wun's design ingenuity

≪ Previous: Miriam Ponsa's hard-working women

Zita Bettina Merényi is a young Hungarian designer
who developed an innovative technique which provides
the ”sterile purchased fabrics a new aesthetic and
functional changes” as she declares introducing her
MA (in fashion and textile design) graduate collection
at the renowned MOME, Moholy Nagy Mûvészeti
Egyetem, Budapest's University of Art and Design.

Her 'Provo-CUT' collection ”is a coat collection where
I use soldering rather than tailoring lines which look
like scars, reflecting on the long term and temporary
traces of mankind on Planet Earth and on their own
body, just like scarification tattos” Zita told the press,

”these scar lines generate very new forms, which

are plastic, sculptural and look beautiful

and strange at the same time.”

Her efforts to weld together theory and practice led
Zita to carefully build by hand (pretty impressive, huh?)
all her experimental garments: instead of sewing together

sections of gray neoprene, Zita made use of heat to fuse
the polymeric material into eye-catching oversized coats
with protruding hems and fluid lines looking like rubbery
suits of armor and was brave enough to make slits one
by one - weeks of laborious, painstaking work, a sort of
meditation she recalls - in long satin dresses with the
soldering iron eventually painting their edges.

”I injure the textiles but then I heal up the holes

with a layer of paint” she wittily says.

Zita also used laser cutting in some long gowns to get
more detailed patterns or dangling narrow strings in
see-through looks, yet her carving technique creating

horizontal, vertical and diagonal textures subtly evoking
body marks give a brand new feel to tech materials:
definitely a scarless talent to keep a sharp eye on.

> all images © by Zsolt Ficsór<

↧

Robert Wun's design ingenuity

August 20, 2014, 1:23 pm

≫ Next: Jon Mikeo: 19 seconds to fame

≪ Previous: the 'provo-cut' textile injurer

Glad to be back with the amazing creations of Robert Wun,
a young Hong Kong born designer who settled down to
London where he undertook a womenswear BA course
at London College of Fashion graduating in 2012 with
'Burnt', a collection of burning fabrics incorporating the
asymmetrical defects seen in butterflies and moths which
instantly became the hallmark of his design ingenuity.
Robert briskly developed a sophisticated, a bit futuristic
vision ”through innovative manufacturing yet with uncompro-
mising attention to traditional values” as he states.

”The chaotic interplay between Nature and artificial forms
is the centre of the design ethos through resourcing in the
novelty of nature and the revolutionary forms of the artificial
world...” he introduces his own approach to high-end clothing
which is a constant play with proportions, curved lines,
geometrical shapes and gorgeous details. Robert Wun's
AW 14-15 collection, called 'Volt', is a tribute to Japanese and
African tailoring that explores ”the discovery of energy and how
it interacts and inspires us and our culture practices...” he told
the press adding that ”Japanese and African are the two main
resources regarding the silhouette and the ideas I developed
are actually based on the admiration of those cults for the

sun as the main source of energy in the universe.”

Visually striking, 'Volt' examines nature's inborn energy showing
original garments plenty of tailoring ideas and details worn over
incredible mannish platform boots in pony skin referencing ice
skating boots while nylon tubes suggest the veins inside our
body in two couture dresses aptly called 'the Vein Dresses'.
Wun's manifest adeptness has been recently recognized by
the world of cinema, he came to create lightweight suits for
an advert directed by renowned Hong Kong filmmaker Wong
Kar-Wai and was approached by the makers of 'Hunger Games'
as the guest designer of 'Mockingjay', the third chapter of the
story designed so far by Vivienne Westwood and Sarah Burton.
Wun has definitely the style it takes!

> all images © by Sebastian Abugattas<

↧

Jon Mikeo: 19 seconds to fame

August 22, 2014, 12:48 pm

≫ Next: fixing up the perfectly imperfect

≪ Previous: Robert Wun's design ingenuity

Today's the day of a new Spanish talent to show clear
signs of future success: born in Pamplona, the capital
city of the Navarre region, Jon Mikeo moved to Barcelona
to study at FD Moda, the Fashion Felicidade Duce design
school; became finalist in different fashion contests such
as 080 Barcelona Fashion and CreaNavarra; gained
internship at the revered Santa Eulalia for his tailor training
and came to receive a scholarship to sharpen his skills at
London College of Fashion specializing in womenswear
while making practice at Agi & Sam and Panos Yiapanis.

Mikeo's graduation project, called 'Diecinueve Segundos',
'19 Seconds', ”is born and defined by tradition, nostalgia
and pain. An intimate, sophisticated and avant-garde collection
that expects to catch the attention where volumes, embroideries
and patterns play a sensorial role”, Jon declares introducing
his dramatic garments: wide-brimmed hats and hooded capes,
knitted cardis and trousers, sort of parachute dresses worn
over opera gloves with gripping details like tiny embroideries,
fringed hems made of dangling wood sticks in a coulisses galore.

'19 Seconds' provides a wistful feeling tangling up past and
present in a convincing approach which has recently been
lionized again: during China fashion week, Jon won the
Hempel's international competition for young designers
organized by Hempel Group with China Fashion Association
as 'the best newcomer' and was lately hailed as the 'best talent'
at the MODAFAD Fashion Awards 2014. Mieko is indubitably
an out-and-out talent who's about to reach stardom

and I bet he'll do it right in 19 seconds!

↧

fixing up the perfectly imperfect

August 24, 2014, 1:08 pm

≫ Next: Ooh, glossy lady

≪ Previous: Jon Mikeo: 19 seconds to fame

Young fashion jewelry designer Qian Yang, the mastermind
behind the 'YQY Jewellery' label, graduated from London
College of Fashion with a breathtaking collection all played
around the concept of 'repair' through the Japanese art of
'Kintsugi', the fixing of broken pottery with laquer or gold
highlighting cracks and repairs as typical events of the
object's life in order to embrace the flawed and imperfect.

Called 'The Ceramics Repair Collection', the impressive set
shows second-hand and already broken porcelain pieces
repaired with 24-karat gold plated metal. ”It is a collection

full of fun and I added extra preciousness to these ceramic

pieces” Qian unassumingly declared, yet her gold-dipped

porcelain figures look wondrous.

↧

Ooh, glossy lady

August 28, 2014, 12:47 pm

≫ Next: make love not fashion

≪ Previous: fixing up the perfectly imperfect

Valeska Jasso Collado is a young fashion designer
born in Hamburg who entered London's University of
Westminster attaining her MA with a playfully brave
graduate collection which is wacky and glossy as no
other, plenty of gripping shapes and where pleats are
bolted with steel screws and chrome washers.

Deeply inspired both by the eye-popping postmodern
aesthetic of the Memphis Group design movement
established in Milan in the early 1980s by architect and
designer Ettore Sottsass conceiving furniture and interior
design from the point of view that 'form doesn't automatically
follow function' and by the work of ceramic artist Ben Fiess,
Valeska's ccllection looks like a style utterance

focused on voluminous yet clean shapes.

She gave birth to her sculptural, glossy silicon-lacquered
garments in pastel hues and quirky geometric silhouettes
by skillfully combining metal, foam and latex. She started
using foam to build her playful shapes but was soon in need
to find a stretchy fabric mate to make them shine and she
came to choose latex. Helped by her father, Valeska carefully
developed her foam-latex showy experimental outfits with
futuristic huge hoop skirts and step-in saggy dresses where
outsized pleats in contrasting colors are smartly

fastened with screws and bolts.

A stimulating collection which is actually a feast for the
eyes, thus it couldn't go unnoticed: only four weeks after
the college's graduate show, Valeska was offered a job
in Paris by Jacquemus where she now lives hoping to
start working on her own designs, too. She will certainly
develop more wearable garments in all likelihood

with more comfortable materials from now on.

↧

make love not fashion

September 1, 2014, 12:43 pm

≫ Next: eco-friendly fantasies

≪ Previous: Ooh, glossy lady

Berlin-based designers Karen Jessen, Anna Bach and
Luis C. Zuniga are the masterminds behind Benu Berlin,
a label which is considered the herald of eco fashion
using exclusively upcycling techniques or materials from
textile surfeit. Karen started off as a sustainable designer
with the much lauded 'Diploma' collection turning worn
shirts and jeans into 'street couture' garments building
the basis of Benu Berlin's approach.

”We love to experiment with different techniques like
braiding or macramé and to get inspired by the soul of
every item; special stitching, washings and handcrafted
details” the B.B. design team declares adding that ”all
the items are developed and produced in our manufactory
at Benu Ranch. Even scraps turn into elaborate fabric
manipulations and structures. Benu Berlin proposes a
diagonal view on fashion by creating expressive textures
from decomposed and disused materials the designers
reintegrate into a cycle which otherwise would have

been disrupted in the ever accelerating process

of buying and throwing away.”

The eco-label's first ever RTW collection for s/s 2015, wittily
called ”Make Love Not Fashion”, debuted on the runway of
'Showfloor Berlin', the Berliner catwalk of Berlin fashion week,
showing unique crafted pieces: old military apparel converted
into lovely everyday garments, plissé made from discarded
parachutes and structured leather creations in coral, lime

green and earthy hues. Benu Berlin definitely knows how

to turn sustainability into the latest fad!

↧

eco-friendly fantasies

September 2, 2014, 1:20 pm

≪ Previous: make love not fashion

The growing design philosophy of sustainability is far
from being just a trend; more and more fashion designers
are spearheading eco-conscious methods of production
with minimal waste and environmentally friendly materials.
London-based Korean designers Gyo Kim and Yuni Choe
can be rightfully included: the gifted duo behind womenswear
label 'Gyoyuni Kimchoe' skillfully combines sustainability
with luxury showing their ”respect of life and nature creating
modern sustainable fantasies and eco-friendly myths

out of inspirations from art history, narratives and

contemporary issues” the label's manifesto goes.

Gyo Kim and Yuni Choe met in New York where Gyo Kim
was studying fashion at Parsons School of Design moving
afterwards to London for Yuni Choe to start studying at
Ravensbourne College of Art; they both fine-tuned their
skills at Central Saint Martins. Focused on sharp tailoring
and dramatic draping, 'Gyoyuni Kimchoe'”produces
experimental collections for women of unique personalities”
through androgynous garments plenty of ideas and surreal
details that utterly deserve the Fashion Scout's Merit Award
for the spring-summer 2015 season: they will showcase a
fully sponsored catwalk show at the upcoming London
fashion week where their quirky outfits will patently

have an unalloyed success.

↧

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