30.5.12

my dolls

it's almost the end of may.

it's (usually) officially winter here in june.
the weather is getting chiller indeed.
i have been busy sewing and so the lack of blogging.( ̄。 ̄ノ)ノ 

i was browsing through my old hard disc and found some very old works of mine. ( ´ ▽ ` )

here is a picture of a porcelain doll i have. i found her when browsing in a second-hand shop. i can't really remember but i bought her home for $20 i think. 

she is huge, almost like a size of a teenager. i had even given her a name. she is now being kept inside the closet back in melbourne, and i felt sorry about that.

well it was intentionally for a collection of mine based on tailoring. i put on a tailored jacket on her and that's what inspired me for the collection. sadly, i couldn't recall what the collection was called.


my doll
 
sketches of the collection
around the same time, i bought another smaller doll back home too. this time was for another small project. 

i remember how my friend who went hunting with me said that she could see a smile on the doll's face when i picked her up. believe it or not. hehe.

i had chosen the word 'abandoned' and so i bought her into play.

a doll.

you love her. you play with her. time goes. you got tired of her. you left her. you threw her away.


i wished i did better with the design and photoshop thing; looking back at it now.



hope you don't get too irritated looking at these images. 

i'm sorry if you do. (´゚Д゚`)

21.5.12

~ like ~ Akira Isogawa: Printemps Été

i was tidying up my table and came across this catalogue. 
thought i should scanned it and share.

this had to be one of the first few exhibitions i went during my first year in uni ( ̄ー ̄;)

fresh and exciting.
so i bought the catalogue back home and then brought it along with me from mel to perth.

akira isogawa, one of the australia's leading fashion designer who loves textiles and colour. 
he always has original concept in his designs, not forgetting to merge his background cultural into it.


he had an exhibition installation back in 2004; opened at the national gallery of victoria, melbourne.

this particular installation documented his inspiration for summer Printemps-Été Collection 2005 and displayed his development from early stages to finished objects.
 
his journey indeed.







and what caught my eyes first were the huge cut-out paper-dolls!




 
for this particular collection, it was revealed that there are two important sources that inspired him.


the first would be the paper-dolls; where he played his abstract ideas by dressing the paper-dolls with found objects.









and the later was origami - the japanese art of paper folding. 
left: Origami: Diamond; middle: Diamond: Initial stage toile - small diamond; right: Diamond: Initial stage toile - enlarged diamond; 2004 designed, 2005 spring summer


these were them transformed into final garments.

i had put a few of my favourite pieces together so you could easily observed the transformation (・ω・)

left: bib top with sequins, circle layered skirt and belt with bear wallet ; right: series of paper dolls (detail), 2004, paper, collage
left: series of paper dolls (detail), 2004, paper, collage ; right: cathedral dress
 
left: earring singlet and sarong ; right: series of paper dolls (detail), 2004, paper, collage


left: series of paper dolls (detail), 2004, paper, collage ; right: feather bolero and japanese song book crop pants

left: leaf dress ; right: series of paper dolls (detail), 2004, paper, collage
left: flower embroidery top and circle skirt ; right: series of paper dolls (detail), 2004, paper, collage

left: hand-painted dragonfly top and feather petal skirt ; right: series of paper dolls (detail), 2004, paper, collage



what i love about is the concept and exploitation behind these; and of course the incorporation of dolls ♪♪

observing his titles from past years to today, i think (sorry if i got it wrong) he still exploits this particular inspiration into his collections. 





" i have so many ideas that it is almost frightening. if i started to write down ideas there would be hundreds or even thousands - so it is a matter of finding something relevant to what i am doing. ideas are always there in abundance... " Akira Isogawa

 


visit his website to view his past and current collections.




which one do you like?




(images courtesy from akira isogawa printemps-ete catalogue)






15.5.12

~ like ~ Théâtre de la Mode 1945

random stuffs.

the weekend was actually quite warm here,
and i hope it would stay longer.

going to do some sewing later
so i thought i should write something instead in the morning.

it's gonna be quite a long one today (・ω<)”
i'm going to introduce and talk about this particular event happened back in 1945. 
 


poster for Théâtre de la Mode exhibition in New York, 1946





Théâtre de la Mode 1945 ,
have you heard of it ?











there was a story behind this project with a strong message. 
but i'm just going to briefly talk about it, cause i just wanna show you how magnificent it was !


Théâtre de la Mode was a defined event of postwar couture. 

this project opened its door on 27th March 1945.

it was intended to mark the freedom and celebrate the survival of French Couture after second world war.

furthermore, the couturiers were attempted to entice back the international market after the war when condition was deprived and under threat. 

la théâtre by christian berrard

it was a display of 237 miniature dolls dressed by fifty three well-known couturiers. 



but why dolls?

presenting fashion in real-life size was considered impractical when fabric were in short supply during war.

however, what would happen if the garments were presented on a division of adult size instead? in limited supply, dolls became practicable to prototype French couture, showing what could be visualized full-size when situation returned to normal.


evening dress by balenciaga




even though they were all in miniature version; the sewing and construction details were all done in perfection and finished meticulously.even their accessories were all made exactly like a real one !




  
one of the dress from la théâtre by christian berrard





 
 













Jean Saint-Martin constructing the structure of the dolls
the structure of the dolls



no harm to point out is the status of the dolls (*´ω`*)

the figures did not resemble 'dolls' or even figures at all. if you noticed, they were actually constructed in wires.









day dress by molyneux, ensemble by georgette renal
 
day ensemble by lucile manguin,sport suit by dupouy magnin



it is understandable that raw materials were difficult to obtain that time thus metal which once lay all around the city by the Nazis were then used. 


 

  

evening dresses by jean patou
navy wool day dress by marcelle chaumont

How amusing (ノ∀`)



the metal which once proposed to destroy Paris now became the skeleton and foundation of the dolls.



evening dress by madame gres




nevertheless;

despite well dressed and graceful; the dolls actually invited us an interpretation of the dissipated life after war with the presence of the wire structure as the body.
evening dress by balenciaga
i guess that this event is still remarkable today as the matter of fact that it was born under difficult circumstances and during a period of crisis after post-war.


dinner dress by lucile manguin






indeed, those dolls stand as a hope for future and also an honour for the creativity skills of the couturiers and artists of France; for been able to work together and bringing a symbol of new life and return of hope.












 
i think it is worth mentioning too about another project The Gratitude Train that took place a few years later.

this project marked the friendship of the americans and french.
the americans were generous enough to help and rebuild the french people's shattered lives after war by sending over boxcars of necessities in a train back in December 14, 1947.

touched by their kindness, the french decided to return their gratitude to the americans by sending back gifts in a total of fourty nine boxcars called The Gratitude Train two years later in 1949.

designed by maggy rouff


the Syndicate de la Couture de Paris which had designed
the théâtre de la mode dolls was involved in this too.
 




designed by callot soeurs










this time, the couturiers dressed forty nine dolls which were constructed from the same wire design as the Théâtre de la Mode in period costumes that portrayed the changes in french fashions from 1715 to 1906.



designed by charles frederick worth
designed by elsa schiaparell



























these delicate dolls were donated to the brooklyn museum in new york as a part of their costume collection today. (visit the link i provided if you are interested to look at the other incredible dolls)




and here is a video i found regarding the théâtre de la mode exhibition held in phoenix art museum last year  
take a glimpse !



wished i could have a close up look at these dolls one day (ू˃̣̣̣̣̣̣︿˂̣̣̣̣̣̣ ू)

maybe they would take a tour to australia someday? 




hope you found it interesting too ♡♡


and now it's time to continue my sewing.



(images courtesy from brooklyn museum, théâtre de la mode: fashion dolls: the Survival of haute couture)

10.5.12

★motivated week ★

been doing lots of cutting, tacking, sewing since the beginning of the week. 

early morning to late evening.

i feel good.
hehe (((o(*゚▽゚*)o)))

it's been a while since i last did so much works.
in fact, quite time-consuming Σ( ̄皿 ̄;;



just share a quick fun tips today!

i use a lot of bobby pins for hair-do.
but always have problems looking for or keeping my bobby pins.
it seems like they've disappeared day by day. (´Д` )

even though i do have a little box to put them in.
and a small paper-card to clip them to but it's too shabby to clip onto now.


sometimes i would spot them somewhere unlikely to be seen.




solution ٩ʕ•͡וʔ۶


toilet paper rolls! 


just the right size to keep hair elastics and bobby pins secure anytime.
whats-more you can find one in any toilets. 
practical;
recycle;
a great deed as well.



i might keep one in my bag too, perhaps?








(images courtesy and tips from sousstyle)





8.5.12

~ like ~ Yuken Teruya part II


continuing from my previous post ( ´ ▽ ` )ノ 
here is another project done by yuken teruya.
                     


                   the giving tree project 

 



the giving tree book
this project surrounds itself around a children's book - the giving tree by shel silverstein, published in 1964.


giving tree project, the giving tree book, 2007


yuken teruya transplanted his beautiful cut-out trees into the pages from the book; creating a child's memory and desire as well as giving life to the tree in the book.
 

giving tree project, the giving tree book, 2007
i had a search on the story, vague memory that i actually read it before, perhaps ? 
it is beautifully written but very sad, like it's title - giving is the theme, not forgetting to mention love, life, growing up and selfishness.


here is an animated movie narrated by shel silverstein himself if you're interested to watch (i would recommend it) 

oh and his animated website is a must-visit ♪♪
there are actually other animated stories if you wanna watch ♪







enjoy ♥

it's raining crazily here nowadays, windy autumn. cold! (´Д` )