Scheherazade Collection ▸ ▹ Jumpsuit.

Hey guys!!

So today I wanted to show you my second outfit for the project I've talked to you about in my last post - if you've missed it, click on the link here :)

My second outfit is a one piece, and it's a jumpsuit!

Let me know what you guys think with a comment in the section below!

Enjoy :)

Scheherazade Collection ▸ ▹ Ensemble.

Hey everyone!!

So today I wanted to show you guys another creation of mine: a skirt and a top for my Thinking it Cutting it (TICI) project. So in the brief we were given a Postmodern designer (if you're wondering what exactly Postmodernism is click here) to research in depth, and then we had to create amongst others a 10 pieces collection and make 'in real life' two outfits. My fashion designer was Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy, which I totally ADORE! I was incredibly lucky to have him, first of all because he's an amazing designer and secondly because my aesthetic is very close to his own.

Anyway I will stop boring you guys now…so here are the pictures of my first outfit!! Enjoy :)

So what do you guys think? Let me know with a comment!

x, Val.

Tailoring Project - Refined Freedom.

Hi everyone!
I really need to apologize cause I haven't been updating my blog in a very long time :(
Let's just say that my life got really busy all of a sudden and I wasn't expecting it! Second year of uni turned out to be more challenging than I thought: I've had two main project, Made to Measure and Thinking it Cutting it, and a minor two days 'challenge' Ready Steady Cut; in the meantime I've had a part-time internship with the japanese designer Satoshi Date (you can check his website here) from early October to the end of November, and I just finished my full-time internship with the British fashion designer Ada Zanditon (check her out here).
Finally I'm having some spare time to pay my full attention to this blog, and I wanted to show you guys some of the things I've done/made in uni during the past months :)

In this post I'm gonna show you guys the coat I've made for my tailoring project, Made to Measure. We had to start during the summer with a very detailed research of tailoring (if interested in knowing more check out my post about a tailored jacket autopsy). We then continued the research after being properly briefed and had to design a full 16 outfit collection for both Menswear and Womenswear. The project lasted 9 weeks and the main goal was to create contemporary tailoring designs, while learning and perfecting the techniques related to the craft of tailoring, creating a jacket/coat from scratch.

So after this looooooong introduction, here is the result!

 Image by Paul Astley published on http://fashiondesignrochester.com/made-to-measure/

 Image by Paul Astley published on http://fashiondesignrochester.com/made-to-measure/

So my collection - and final coat - were based on Scandinavian Design and the idea of the link between men and nature - key element of the scandinavian minimalist design. Apart from using some traditional tailoring techniques, I've used the felting technique - which you can notice on the shoulder area, front and back, using some white wool fivers to represent the snow.

So, what do you guys think of my final coat?? 

Let me know with a comment in the section below! :)

x, Val.

Ready Steady Cut - Project Runway style!

Hi everyone!

I wanted to talk to you guys about this completely insane two-days 'challenge' called Ready Steady Cut, which was a two days workshop I had as part of my course. We were divided in groups and were given a designer each - my group got Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy! I was so happy about it because he's definitely one of my favourite designers - his aesthetic is one of the most interesting out there at the moment, and the quality of his work is impeccable.

So we were given a picture of a garment from one of the designer's previous collections, and we had to make an inspiration board, illustrations and technical drawing and remake the whole outfit from scratch (to look as similar to the real garment as possible).

Image by Sam Chick on http://fashiondesignrochester.com/ready-steady-cut/.

From Club to Catwalk: London Fashion in the 1980s

Hey guys!
I have to apologize for my absence but lots of things have happened since I moved back to uni and the course with its new projects is actually driving me crazy (but I love it so I am happy anyways! - such a workaholic!). Anyways I promised a post about the exhibition at the V&A's in London about the street styles and fashions of the 80s and here it is people! :)
Alright so first of all the exhibition is located on the first "level" of the museum, and it is the purple area highlighted in the map below.

There are plenty of interesting and amazingly executed garments to look at; being an 80s fashion exhibition, "Club to Catwalk" showcases over the top and exciting looks by the most experimental designers of the (crazy and amazing) decade, including Vivienne Westwood, Betty Jackson and John Galliano.

The exhibition is like a dreamy walk down memory lane, and everyone, even people born in the 90s, feels familiar to this decade - blame it on the music (which plays all over the rooms at the exhibition, bringing an explosion of vitality), the movies or the influences which the fashion of this decade has had on the following eras.
It all starts with the emerging theatricality in London fashion, so highly influenced by the birth and popularity of its clubs (i.e. Heaven, Taboo), going on to the vibrant imagination and creativity of a whole new generation of designers.

This outfit above reminds me very closely of the movie Metropolis (check it out here), where the female protagonist is turned into an evil robot by a crazy scientist.

Along the path inside the exhibition, there were some TV screens showing fashion shows (all original footage from the 1980s); I have to admit I've never seen 80s runway shows before and this was definitely a pleasant and interesting new thing! Forget about super skinny and all-look-alike models, forget about plain music and... think about loud club music, fancy (and happy) models dancing down the runway, crazy choreographies with models playing instruments and singing: imagine how cool would that be - and how cool it was!

If you're really interested in this exhibition or in the 80s in general and want to know more check out this video here , by CraneTVVideoMagazine.

So do you like the 1980s as a decade or do you think it was a bit too over the top? And if you've visited the exhibition, what is your opinion about it??

x, Val.

Fashion & co: London.

Hi everyone! I apologise for my absence but I've had LOADS of things to do since I've moved back to the Uk on the 18th and I've been sorting my new house and room out :)
Thank god now everything's done and I've started university again so I can also come back to my blog.
Being very close to London I'm always very interested in what's going on there; I love London, it's one of my favourite cities and it's not only a cultural melting-pot, but a "fashion melting-pot" (if that makes any sense) as well! It's such a diverse and fascinating city, and the people who live there are as part of its charm as the buildings and streets.
Right now there are some really nice exhibitions going on, all worth checking out.

• "Club to Catwalk: London fashion in the 1980's" at the V&A Museum - this exhibition is going to be open until the 16th of February 2014 (Ticket price: £5) and I will go see it on Saturday, 28th September, and hopefully I'll be able to tell you guys how it was and show you some pictures if it will possible to take any. In the meantime if you're interested, you can check the website out here.

• "The glamour of Belville Sassoon" at the Fashion + Textile Museum - this exhibition will be open until the 11th of January 2014 (Ticket price: £8 adults; £5.50 students). You can check out what this exhibition is about here.

• "Miles Aldrige: I only want you to love me" at Somerset House - hurry up, this exhibition will be open until the 29th of September (Ticket price: £6 adults; £4.50 students). You can find more info about this exhibition here.

• "Isabella Blow: fashion galore!" at Somerset House - this exhibition will be open to the public until the 2nd of March 2014 (Ticket price: £12.50 adults; £10 students). you can find more info here.

• "Pearls" at the V&A Museum - this exhibition will end on the 19th January 2014 (Ticket price: £11 adults; £6 students). You can check it out here.

• "Fashion Rules" in Kensington Palace - this exhibition will be open until Summer 2015 (Ticket price - including tour of the palace: £15 adults; £12.40 students). There will be dresses from the collections of HM The Queen, Princess Margaret and Diana, Princess of Wales. You can check it out here.

So have you seen any of those exhibitions?? If yes which one(s) and did you like it/them?

x, Val.

Food & Co.

Hello everyone!

So I wanted to write a post about my day yesterday. I stayed home for the whole morning to pack - tomorrow I'll leave from Rome (Italy) where I've been staying most of the summer, and I'll go back to London :)

I am actually really happy I'm going back; during the whole (academic) year I've got used to living on my own, being able to do what I wanted when I wanted. Independence is addictive: once you get a taste of it, you just can't let it go. Or at least that's how it worked for me...

Anyway as I was saying, I spent the whole morning packing my things, and then I went out for dinner with some friends and family to a new Chinese Restaurant called "Platinum": it was a very nice place, with great interior design and very nice food. The atmosphere was lovely, and the karaoke corner we had in our private room was so fun! I wanted to post some pictures of the restaurant and food, and then show you guys what I wore for the occasion :)

Zara blazer

Zara trousers

(Zara's website)

Aldo hat

(Aldo's website)

What do you guys think of this place and what do you think of my look?? Do you like hats? I personally love hats! Someday I'm gonna write a post about them, and I'll show you all the hats I've got :)

x, Val.

Mary Katrantzou S/S 2014: fab as always.

Mary Katrantzou is stunning as usual. Her collection was amazing; the prints were so expressive - as they always are - and the designs were very interesting. The silhouettes were quite varied, from some fitted dresses or ensembles to looses fits (pictures below).

The prints this time were pretty different from the last collections' - and btw I totally loved her Resort 2014 collection, there were some amazing sweaters and trousers (you can check it out here) and her Fall 2013 collection, with the amazing prints showing fairytale landscapes and views (check it out here). The prints in this new S/S 2014 collection were more definite, they were pretty direct and vivid, different from the dreamy landscapes of the Fall designs, and the cuts were again different from those of her Resort collection.

So here's a big THANK YOU to the great Mary for presenting such a beautiful collection, executed with great verve and polish.

1. Here's the first "type" of print: dresses and ensembles are like big canvases showing the English shoe for excellence: the Oxford shoe.

2. The second print seen on the runway is a a close up of trainers shoes, very colourful and I would say appropriated since one of the newest and hottest trends is "sport-chic".

3. The third and last print seen at the show is a very vivid, colourful and alluring floral print, presented by the Greek designer in different colours and versions. I think this one if my favourite print from her collection, and also the designs are amazing (I love the third picture showing the light blue dress with the purplish flowers and the last picture).

So do you guys like this S/S 2014 collection??

x, Val.