Raffles Design Institute X OC

Orchard Central is one of the latest malls to hit Singapore's shopping belt. Yesterday we visited it again to view the graduation showcase by RDI, one of Singapore's leading design school. Spread over areas on L2, 4 and 5, the exhibition displayed works by the Advanced Diploma graduates in various fields of design, ranging from fashion to interactive media design.

Some really creative pieces of jewellery design were on display. I love the concept of gears fused in jewellery. The graphic design campaigns featured some extensive marketing and design research, and the variety of work was quite impressive.

The most eye-catching one was a campaign regarding chinese funeral and incense burning. The concept was creative and different. We also managed to collect quite a few freebies like a badge and a fresh apple!

Spotlight: Tribute to Lacroix

On 7 June I rushed down to the National Museum of Singapore to catch Christian Lacroix the costumier. The exhibition brought in numerous fashion illustrations and costumes from Lacroix's atelier. Through this exhibition, I got to come up close and discover for myself the couturier's ingenuity as a stage costumier.

Firstly, the illustrations of the costumes for various theatre pieces truly reflect the Lacroix aesthetics. Behind each stroke of ink and pencil was spontaneity, vibrancy and humour. His sketches were the first signs of innate creativity as a designer, expressing the silhouettes and dazzling colours on paper.

Lacroix definitely finds theatrical solutions to couture dresses. Each costume was intricately crafted with vibrant textures, such as a corset-like belt embellished with upholstery fringes and heavy layers of taffeta, lace and tulle. The tutu in Les anges ternis were my favourite. Tulle mini skirts in full swing - a depiction of elegance and grace. Lacroix commented on the ballet tutu, "It's a mad invention, both magical and surreal. But tutus are part of tradition. And that's where they take their full measure, their full value."

Les anges ternis (Tarnished angels)

Carmen

Cendrillon (Cinderella)

Il re pastore

La femme sans ombre

Lacroix's illustrations and embellished costumes paint a picture of spectacular elegance light-hearted fantasy revue. One thing to note even in the face of a shaky future for the couturier's house, Lacroix remains an unforgotten legacy on stage.

Let the Ad out of the Bag -- Glorious Light of Nature

Hermes S/S 09

A picture speaks a thousand words. I can faintly hear the wind caressing supermodel Angela Lindvall's hair, I can smell the whiff of fine sand grains, and I can feel the warm heat radiating from this gently-sunkissed ad. Hermes' ad campaigns never fail to stun. What more can I say? The ad is glowing gloriously, and the background - be it the sky or the desert - glitters beautifully against the divine bags and shoes.

Hermes was not the only campaign to embrace mother nature this season. Sisley too, shot the ad in a desert, but with a more abstract concept. The clean compositions and down-to-earth perspectives are definitely a thumbs up for a perfect juxtaposition with the rich flowy textures of the clothes. While the clouds and sand patterns converge to the middle, leading the eye to the models, the golden frame adds an element of interest to the neat campaign, giving an ancient classic touch to the ad. All in all - the simplicity is overwhelmingly powerful. It feels as though the ads are singing a song of praise to nature, and celebrating the creation of light at the same time.

Sisley S/S 09

Image source: The Fashion Spot

Arty-farty: Extreme Beauty in Vogue

Unknown Models, by Clifford Collins

WWD.com- Dolce & Gabbana, American Vogue and the mayor of Milan will fete the Extreme Beauty In Vogue exhibition at the Palazzo della Ragione with a red-carpet event on Monday March 2, with the likes of Kate Hudson and Naomi Watts. “This show is about the beauty in its most challenging sense,” Vogue’s Anna Wintour said at a press conference Saturday. “It’s not about lipstick, it’s not about hairspray, but about the very definition of beauty in complicated and sometimes disturbing ways.” The exhibition is designed by French architect Jean Nouvel and features 89 photographs from the past 80 years of American Vogue, exploring contemporary ideas about beauty and coincides with Dolce & Gabbana’s launch of its debut makeup collection. Photographers include Edward Steichen, Erwin Blumenfeld, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton and Steven Klein, plus an entire section is devoted to Irving Penn. “The photographers that you see on the walls have thought deeply and creatively about these questions,” Wintour continued. “Looking at their work from the perspective of the challenges that we are all facing today, offers a reminder that sometimes the most difficult times can be the most productive in the arts.… As [Italy’s] own great poet Dante wrote, ‘Beauty awakens the soul to act.’ I hope you will feel this after the show.” The exhibition opens Wednesday March 4, in Milan and runs through May 10, before moving to London, New York and Tokyo.

Beauty is "the only thing that time cannot kill. Philosophies die, religious creeds vanish, but the beautiful lives forever. It is the gift of all the ages, the sustenance of all peoples everywhere, and an eternal treasure" - Oscar Wilde

How I wish that I were in Italy! This exhibition is simply breathtaking -- I love how the photographs look like paintings, esp. the work of Clifford Collins, which appears to emerge from the Surrealist movement. Aimed to investigate the role of beauty in our culture, this exhibition captures the cultural attitudes towards female appearance and self-expression while audaciously challenging the limits of contemporary ideas about beauty as we perceive and aspire to it. I'm amazed at the diverse range of ideas of beauty executed in the masterpieces, for example the two works above. While one portrays an abstract fleeting moment of beauty, the other is a classical portrait of Coco Rocha, depicting a traditional concept of beauty. In all, 'Extreme Beauty in Vogue' is definitely an iconic exhibition, what do you think?

NAFA Open House 09

We visited NAFA on saturday to take a look at the student works and the campus (even though we were going to junior college). There were many other young sec 4 students too. It was really an eye-opening experience and I particularly enjoyed the works which won the Crowbar awards done by the Design and Media students, and touring the fashion campus.

I really loved Ridhwan's illustrations on anorexia (first came upon his work at here through vogueite's blog). They were really stylish and fun. The fashion campus on bencoolen street was not very big, but it had really high-tech equipment used in the industry other than just sewing machines, such as those that create buttonholes, smocking and so on. There were student works like mood boards and sketches, and photos of graduating collections on display that were rather impressive. We also attended two talks on the fashion industry.

The one titled Insights into Fashion Business was by lecturer Stephanie Besserer, who is a swedish visual merchandiser and fashion designer, who worked for H&M (wow) before, and studied at ESMOD tokyo. She designed many window displays and described her job as something challenging yet interesting, as fast paced fashion retailers will need to change displays often and she has to follow with the flow. She is now starting a label in dancewear.

The second was by designer Bernie Xu, who gave us a talk on Starting a Fashion Label. He talked about the research and design process, followed by a Q&A. It became more interesting when he talked about an interview he had with the board of Central St Martins when he studied fashion in NAFA. They rejected him and encourage him to join London College of Fashion instead. He was really frustrated and when he asked them why he was not accepted, they told him that he has no tattoos, does not drink/smoke etc. which was prevalent in their school. Now he's really thankful that he did not enter CSM too as the school's culture may not be suitable for everyone.

The trip to NAFA was really enjoyable as we got a free goodie bag! And we learned much about fashion education and this competitive business. Will definitely look out for more similar opportunities in the future.

Model Moment: Serafima V.

Serafima V. is with IMG models and Ave management in Singapore, thus she landed a cover on Style: Singapore Jan 09! We bought this issue as it is the ART issue and the cover is really funky with Stephen Sprouse for LV's neon graffiti prints. It has successfully channelled the 80s bright colours with Serafima on the cover. There is also a feature on Dior's collaboration with Chinese artists named When Dior met Mao and a Spring 09 review of the major catwalks. Serafima is also on the Bazaar Singapore Jan 09 cover.

Dior spring 09, Prada fall 07, Haider Ackermann spring 09

Standing at 1.81m and with a face like a wide-eyed pixie, she burst into the scene during fall 07's fashion shows, scoring a Prada exclusive in Milan amist several other shows in Paris. This spring, she walked a total of 12 shows, including Christian Dior and Marc by Marc Jacobs.



source: style.com
John Galliano spring 09

She has an outstanding forehead, but nevertheless looks so fairy-like in pastel pink cheeks and cherry lips. Her cheekbones and dolly eyes go so well together, especially with her bold bangs. With such an impactful face, this 20-year-old sure has a long way to strut down the catwalk.

So fur so good

Ai tominaga appeared in French Revue de Modes f.w. 08/09 in a fur editorial Wild World. Everything about it is mindblowing, the stark contrast of black, white and red and her varied poses and fierce facial expressions. I particularly love this close up.

source: thefashionspot

The crimson red lipstick and her face somehow reminded me of the startling truth behind the affinity shared by fashion and fur. I immediately linked this editorial's fur theme to these two collages.

I saw them in the French-Chinese book titled Sortir de la Routine in my school's art lab. They are created by the author, a Chinese designer who studied in ESMOD paris. He was inspired to create the collages after watching some haute couture shows, where several animal activists would courageously riot against the fur trade at the top of their voices before the shows. Sadly speaking, fur is still a symbol of luxury and its importance undeniable in the fashion industry. Well, Singapore's weather is intolerant of fur and even in the most chilly days during the monsoon season, I will choose faux fur over the real thing though.