TREND: Shimmer and Shine

Top: Dress by Reem Acra, suit by Nathan Jenden, dress by Barbara Bui, jumpsuit by Richard Nicoll. Bottom: Iceberg's metal mini, Gucci sequin leggings, dress by Balmain, dress by Marc Jacobs.

Sparkles and sequins are making waves long before New Year's this year. From lame jumpsuits to metallic leggings to reflective gowns, it's a gold rush!

Product: Big Game

Big Game is an product design studio out of Switzerland. This pic is from their solo exhibition at the Musée du Grand-Hornu in Belgium, 2008. Check out their site, my favorite is their ball lamp.

Womens Wear Florals

Just a few of our favorite florals from our collection. The one on right was used on Cole Haan shoes.

ART: doodle of the week

Happy Holloween!!

Prints by Pattern People

ART: doodle of the week

(Click on pic too see bigger)
I think I'll start posting more artwork that's not for commercial intentions. Here is a drawing I was just working on. Drawings like this are so much fun. Having my full attention on a creative task just for fun feels so free! Yay!

Spring 10: Wunderkind

Patterns mix and match in Wunderkind's Spring line. China blue, sepia red and faded blacks in soft dye techniques create the sophisticated country girl look that seems to be all the rage right now. The looks shown above seem disconnected from the rest of the line, which was graphic and stark, but isolated from the rest of the collection and seen in terms of print, it was interesting indeed.

Spring 10: Geos

Mary Katrantzou, Eley Kishimoto, Kenzo, Matthew Williamson, PPQ,
Background: Pattern People

Jonathan Saunders, Nicole Farhi, Karen Walker, Eley Kishimoto, Issey Miyake.
Background: Pattern People
Gorgeous geometrics everywhere. I especially love Karen Walker's flag print, Kenzo's mosaic, and Eley Kishimoto's colorful folksy prints.

Content 09

This Sunday, October 18th, local collective How We Develop presents Content at the Ace Hotel here in Portland. The event is a showcase featuring 38 of Portland's finest independent fashion and accessory designers inhabiting the 28 rooms on the second floor of the hotel. Like an artist in a gallery, each designer has been tasked with creating an installation within their room that paints a picture of their brand. The installations will be accompanied by live music and art installations extending into the Cleaners event space and the hotel's lobby. Visit the site for tickets and event details.

LIGHTS OUT

Although this video has been on the circuit for awhile, I just ran across it last week and was completely enamored with the unique use of prints and colors throughout the song. The video for Lights Out features Santigold performing in front of various colored walls and patterns including cheetah, black and yellow gingham, tropical scenes, tiger stripes, peacock feathers, and more. Patterns and shapes are also created through shadows and even painted on her lips. See the complete video here.

photo: Chris Hodney
We blogged about this project before but the Panic lobby is finally finished and Chris Hodney sent us some great photos. The space was designed by Holst Architecture and the foyer by Osmose Design. We created a hand-drawn illustration based on a Persian rug, but incorporated personalized elements about the company, like hamburgers and chips (they love crazy snacks,) original mac icons, and our own versions of their software logos. The illustration was also applied to curtains, pillows, and table.

FASHION COLLECTIVE RUNWAY SHOW

This coming Monday night, the collections of Emily Ryan, Fuchsia Lin, Idom, and Liza Rietz will be presented on the runway at Portland Center Stage. Doors open at 8pm and tickets can be purchased at Idom or through the etsy sites of Emily and Liza.

Insider sources say we'll be wowed by the designs that include hand-cut leather that looks like lace to intricate draping techniques. Come show your support for these local talents.

Spring 10: Alexander McQueen

Wow! I hate to gush but McQueen is in a league of his own, embracing new technology, pop culture, and social change in a thoroughly compelling and creepy way. For Spring 10, short dresses were digitally printed in reptilian, futuristic, and alien-like prints, creating an apocolyptic vision of the future in which beautiful cyborgs have been cross-bread with snakes and humans have started to morph into aliens. It's H.R. Giger meets Bjork meets Stanley Kubric. Fantastic!

Spring 10: Ditsies

Rebbekah Taylor, Roberto Cavalli, Christian Dior, Stella McCartney, Richard Chai
Ditsies are all over the Spring 10 collections, just as in the current retail market. Even unlikely candidates like Christian Dior used a teeny-scaled floral, creating a homey but sexy effect. The look is all about country girl grows up and moves to the city.

Spring 10: Ethnics

Givenchy, Karen Walker, Trussardi, PPQ, Paul Smith
We're seeing some new-but-familiar takes on prints inspired by Native American, African, Mexican and other cultures of the world. The prints above feel warm, whimsical, colorful and fun.