PARIS FASHION WEEK

This month, (just like Kylie Jenner said) i started to realise things. Okay no seriously, the year has been passing me at a tremendous pace and I'm pretty sure February did not even happen, much less January. I've realised that I'm my own self- living by yourself in a completely different city, surrounded by completely different people with different thoughts, with a different setting and a different bed to go home to.. it was strangely refreshing and not as scary as I thought it would be. Although it did hit me (today actually, a mere 2 days into moving into my own apartment) that I am completely and utterly alone. Not in the way that I cannot talk to anyone, I'm so thankful for the people I have met over the past 6 weeks, but just in the sense that ... there's no one here to look after me anymore. Living in a house with loving, caring parents like mine (which I am so thankful for every day) and then being plunged into the polar opposite of that; not having someone to pick you up, not having someone to come home to , not having someone ask you questions about how your day was over late night coffees.. it hits you sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I love the solidarity. I'm a huge introvert and living by myself is probably the most refreshing and awesome experience ever- i love it- but little things like that hit you sometimes. Mostly, it hit me that I'm by myself in a big city... nevertheless; i enjoy every moment of it. To me, there's nothing more serene than waking up in the morning and conquering things that you want to achieve, doing things that you want to be doing and just... loving life. Although it's hard being away from family, and not having a stable income anymore... I can safely say that this is the first time in my life where I have felt truly content. Content with what's happening around me. Content with my feelings. Content with my relationships with people. Content with my own sense of being. Just.. content. I don't want to say happy, because happiness is subjective. And I am happy too.. but happy and content are two different things. And content is , to me, much more important than being happy. Although happy comes very close.

I told myself four things this year. Firstly- wake up joyful, over the moon that you're alive and breathing. There are so many people out there with disabilities, without limbs, without proper working organs.. I'm so thankful to wake up everyday and walk over to my kitchen and make myself a coffee and then go do the stuff I need to do; please be thankful for the body you have. Secondly- try and do one good deed everyday. Whether it be picking up a piece of rubbish of the side walk, helping a stranger, or a friend, just do something. It feels amazing, trust me. Thirdly- be kind to your parents, always. I am so grateful for everything my parents have provided for me, and still continue to provide for me to this day- no amount of money or praise could repay the things they have done for me. I remember how much anger and frustration I aired out onto my parents in moments of not being in control of my emotions, and I instantly felt horrible after. Respect and love your parents because you never know when you'll talk to them last. And you'll never know how much they give up for you. And how much your happiness makes them happy. Please. And lastly- the things you work for are the things you achieve. getting accepted into design school in one of the worlds top universities for design has been one of my proudest moments thus far- and I plan not to ruin it. My illustration teacher told us a quote which will forever resinance in my head "you dont get what you want, you get what you work for" and I think that is completely true. I promised myself that this year, I will work my absolute hardest to improve myself as a person and as a designer, keep pushing and never give up. I want to work as hard as possible to get to my goal, and nothing will stop me. not even myself.

Stay true to yourself kids, you're the only one you got.

Absolutely love the avant garde look a lot of designers are going for this year for the fall/winter season runways. FUCK YES I say. Beautiful, innovative, delicious. If there's anything we can learn from the Japanese apart from how to cook, it's how to design. Designers like Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto have been on the forefront of avant garde since what it seems like the dinosaur ages and it pleases me to see them as inspiration fashion wise on an international scale. Love the new direction balenciaga is going into as well (even though I'm really cut at A wang left ), as well as a different take on fur this season. Long gone are the full length fur coats, now replaced with minor fur detailing to add dramatic effect- such as a fur collar, sleeves, even just an overthrow. Adds dimension to the garment and is completely different from anything I've seen before. Also can we pay special mention to Sacai for being so amazing this year??! Didn't know they could make such masterpieces ?? each and every single one of those pieces would've taken forever and they look so damn good. The styling is on point too. ALSO!!! Japanese inspired silhouettes are making a sure comeback and I'm so excited- as that's exactly the direction where I want to take my original designs, and am so pleased to see the traditional Japanese dress honoured and be an image of inspiration for everyone !! not only are the modern designers being praised right now, but traditional Japanese culture is as well and it's amazing. Everything is amazing in fashion right now. I love everything. And Balmain surprised me too- going off from their usual vibrant colour palette and opting for soft, pastel colours (a good change in my opinion)- so thank you for giving us something beautifully refreshing.


Here are some close up details from beautiful designers

I LOVE YOU ALL. it's a beautiful day to be alive. Don't take it for granted.

An apology, NYFW and 1st Assesment Portfolio Sneak Peek

Hi kids,
So sorry for the lack of postage. So much stuff has happened in the last 4 months it's crazy. I've been involved in a heap of work, moving states, making weird life decisions, getting myself into situations that I never thought I'd be stupid enough to be found in, trying to be an adult,  living off instant noodles and 3 hours of sleep daily, pricking myself with pins, cursing the schools sewing machines, spending ridiculous dollars on transport and art supplies.... just to name a few.

I was kind of thinking that I should just abandon this blog , but since starting up my course, I think that would be a stupid thing to do. Rather, I'd like to use this as a platform to showcase my assesments and designs , as well as keep up the previous stuff I've been doing for y'all before. Not sure if any of you actually care about my experience in fashion school thus far but I've discovered a few things about fashion school already;

- the teachers are basically all best friends and go out with each other on the weekends
- you can never be early enough for it to be counted as ridiculous
- in saying that, being 2 minutes late is grounds for a glare and a late note
- my favourite place to go on break time is the dirty alleyway right next to the entry doors, where all the other smoking kids hang out 

- never upset the illustration teacher by not doing the homework
- the overlocking machine is the scariest thing known to mankind and should not be fucked with AT ANY TIME EVER UNLESS YOU WANT TO DIE
- you think you loose something from your bloody expensive technical kit at least 3 times a day
- hold in your pee until break time during patternmaking or you'll be 1000 steps behind when you come back and the teacher will not help you until you're 1000000000 steps behind
- the tracing wheel does not work unless you slam your whole body weight onto it
- it is okay to not know wtf you're doing. It's not okay not to try
- the communal fridge is probably breeding new life forms.. 

- noodles taste disgusting after the first 2 weeks of eating them for lunch 

- the idea of carrying around a massive suitcase on wheels is becoming more appealing

- everyone is not actually a bitch (contrary to popular belief) but are the best people in the world 

- THE LIBRARY IS FILLED WITH MAGAZINES
- never use the school printer

I've been loving it. Even though it's getting intense (we're only 4 weeks in and it's crazy) I'm very excited. this is something i've wanted to do for ages, and I'm finally doing it. That being said, our assessment is due in week 10 ? and it goes to panel in week 13... model, styling, photo shoot , complete assessment piece, finished portfolio. Yeah, nervous is an understatement.
First assessment: Skirt. Brief: Encounter Culture, SS16/17 

Here's a few pics of my draft portfolio thus far (incomplete)

 I've actually got my final design (skirt + top) approved by my design coordinator but the above sketches are experimentations of my designs (not showing the final design till the finished product). As you can tell, I'm doing Japanese culture and traditional dress- linking it back to the traditional mens formal kimono 'hakama' culotte and moulding it into a modern day womenswear ready to wear piece. We are designing and making the whole skirt, but we get to buy and re-create the top (to complete the look obviously) so the top half, you'll just have to see once it's all together I guess. Primary colour of choice is Black Plum (SS 16/17 Encounter Culture colour chosen by the professionals within the fashion industry).  Secondary colour of choice is off grey/marble grey. Wanted to do grey black but it was a bit too wintery, so this grey will do just fine. 

I'll post more update pics regarding my design as time progresses, including construction shots, model prep etc. 

x

Anyway, enough about me. NYFW FW16/17  has been conjuring up some good stuff lately. I don't have time right now to do what I did before and pull out reviews under my sleeve for every collection I'm interested in, so I'm just combining beautiful looks from various shows together. Some featured include Alexander Wang, Tibi, Vera Wang, Tommy Hilfiger, Altuzzara, Hood by Air, Fenti x Puma, Ji Oh, Phillip Lim & Delposo (Just to name a few) 

Amazing work. Loving the influence of street wear in the luxury setting. Loving the fur details, including the return of the fur vest as well as new additions like the fur sleeves and the fur turtleneck collar. Dark earthy tones shine through as the winner for the FW season and designers take on a playful approach with lettering and logos slammed on basics; casual yet still a statement. Japanese silhouette influences as well as some Victorian era inspired cuts- and we cannot forget the quirk of it all. New York is my favourite place to watch (apart from Paris, of course) because of it's individuality, expression, modernity , evolution and of course- the acceptance and show of new and emerging designers. I love seeing more and more designers names on the catwalks, it makes me inspired to be there one day too. We all know that winter is my favourite season, so no matter what New York had lined up, I would love it nonetheless. Some of the shows this year really made me gasp and my jaw drop to the floor in awe- Like the Marc Jacobs show and Alexander Wang show. Can't wait what the rest of the world has in store, but New York definitely set the standards high. 

x

SEPTEMBER 15

September.

Its a mere 3 months away from being a new year & i'm completely petrified at the pace at which days at flying by. It's started to get significantly warmer, although still freezing some times of day... which makes it extremely difficult to decide on an outfit that'll carry you from day to night. Nonetheless- for the summer season, I'm set on stocking up on some bright tops in quirky designs, high waisted shorts and trusty dresses. My favourite top styles right now include v neck wrap kimono tops, fluted sleeve fitted numbers and super oversized, lightly tailored asymmetricals. Loving crepe knit in dress form- adding sophistication and a touch of high end to simplistic summer dress shapes, and am totally keen to find myself a good pair of faux leather boxy loose fitting shorts. No matter what season, I will always be loyal to my trusty boots, but am excited to slip into some gorgeous platform sandals- fur lined preferably - from time to time. For nights out, i'm sticking to the rule of showing one- either legs or bodice. Never both. Both is tacky. A midi skirt and a high neck crop/knit, a pair of tailored shorts and a loose v neck blouse, or some classic high waist skinnies with a bustier and a luxe belt- plus a leather jacket draped over the shoulder when it gets too chilly. Accessorise with simplistic outfits and less  busy garments - a good balance is always the winning number. I love pairing blacks with a red lip, and a nude lip with statement pieces in my wardrobe. Make up ties the look together, always. And always remember, less is more.



I have an extensive wish list of stuff I NEED to own pretty much always, so these are my current must-have items for the month of September. Needed in order to carry me through the summer months in peace and style.
- A pair of miu miu sunglasses
- fur lined sandals
- bustier body suit
- a good hair mask
- wrap tops ( in all colours and fabrics)
- a statement clutch bags for clubbing/nights out
- snake skin boots
- anything & everything from the Scanlan Theodore ss15 collection

thanks for reading& stay tuned for more... 
Vera x

NEW IN - SPRING SUMMER 15

we have turned the fashion switch onto spring-time mode & what better way to celebrate the coming of all things new, than a blogpost ? I love new clothes and love witnessing new releases from brands & designers... each season the clothes get more and more extravagant and I add 10,000 things to my wish list before reminding that I still want a half living bank account. Not much to talk about other than this season we are seeing an emergence of shape play & focusing on one unique detail on garments rather than focusing on bright prints and colours. The colours are more muted (except for the bright pops of yellows and magentas here and there) and the clothes are more versatile. With a large influence of previous fashionably-iconic silhouettes, ss15 brings on a youthful elegance with a sheer simplicity and is a perfect combination between the bold and the minimalistic.

Cue SS15 is my most favourite season Cue's ever done to date. Colour palette, shapes and styles are to die for, the fabrics are absolutely gorgeous and the versatility factor is through the roof. For this season, Head designer Chloe Gray focused on a perfect balance of the understated and exaggerated- bringing an influence of the 70's to the forefront whilst combining modern colour palettes and asymmetrical silhouettes. Flared pants, knitted t-shirts and playful sleeve lines, each piece of ss15 has one detail about it that makes it so unique. Perfect for both corporate and modern-day power women who love to dress to impress; from the clothes themselves down to the jewellery and bags, cue summer 15 contains the perfect statement pieces essential in any woman's wardrobe. 

Kicking off the ss season with clean-cut, edgy simplicity, Scanlan Theodore has good things in store for us minimalism lovers, and pleases the part of us that's wild at heart. Featuring the classic crepe knit fabric- a very loved luxury fabric choice of Scanlan Theodore- pieces are softly tailored to mould seamlessly around the body whilst creating a unique shape & look. Adding in minuscule details into designs- such as texture to simple crepe knit high neck tops, dropped leg on a classic slim leg corporate pant, asymmetrical peplum design to challenge the norms of the peplum silhouette..... all designs portray a uniqueness that creates sheer appeal. Daring to play with fabrics, Scanlan wasn't afraid to play around with polyester, faux fur, lace & leather - in addition to crepe knit- to add complexity to the line up. Muted down neutrals in warm shades combined with fluorescent vibrant pops of colours- if anything is perfect it would be Scanlan Theodore's ss15 collection.

With a myriad of inspirations for the new season, Veronika Maine has wonderful stuff in store for everyone for the upcoming season. Taking heavy inspiration from Japanese silhouettes, VMSS15 focuses less on tailoring and more on fabric choice & construction. Liquifying structured silhouettes in place with simplistic designs made fabulous through one major detail inclusion- such as the Kimono wrapped cotton blouse; simplistic and crisp made different with the inclusion of the wide cut fabric belt perfect for creating and manipulating shape. Asymmetry & colour play play a major part in the summer line up; unconventional cuts mixed with stripes & bold colours paired with simple silhouettes all makes this collection worthy of praise. Tied off with a killer collection of belts; from the shoelace belt to the gigantic triple tie bulk belt (all in real leather), VMss15 is for every girl who wants to look killer & be comfortable doing it.

Manning Cartell ss 15 is exciting for me because it includes all things I'm loving this season; print, asymmetry and funky necklines. This season is all about playing around with colours & styles whist pertaining to your key aesthetic, which is why I love Cartell's ss line up. There's styles for the daring & styles for the toned down- styles for the classic silhouette lover & styles for the girl who wants to experiment with cuts. Vibrant tangerine oranges for shoes, and the incorporation of a dropped pant denim jean, are just some of my favourite aspects of Manning Cartell ss 15 line up. Manipulating sheer fabric to create a desired effect from the pattern choice is one of my favourite looks & the way MC played it out is perfect.

Carla Zampatti is notorious for their gorgeous evening wear - and ss 15 was no exception. I think sometimes people forget that although Carla Zampatti is a great evening wear line, they carry a range of absolutely gorgeous, delicately crafted day-wear as well. For ss15, Carla Zampatti opted for a bright colour palette- including vibrant yellows, bright magenta pinks and deep blues all with the classic black + off white colour tones to balance out the collection gracefully. Picking unconventional fabrics and designs- Carla Zampatti wasn't afraid to stand out this time around with the addition of exaggerated silhouettes& crazy shapes to add complexity that's both feminine and daring. Nothing better than a hint of pink- Carla Zampatti's full length short sleeve coat with gigantic bow - in a bright magenta pink- definitely stole the show for me. Love.





Great designs from great designers.. cannot wait for more & so excited for the upcoming season.

Thanks for reading& stay tuned for more... 

Vera x

AUGUST 16/ MARY-KATE&ASHLEY OLSEN

 It feels so weird knowing we've past the halfway mark in the year and are closer to the end than to the beginning.... I remember celebrating the new year in like it was yesterday. I read a quote, or a saying more like, a few weeks ago that said "I expected change in 6 months, but not this" which made me ponder greatly about the amount of change that has happened in my life over a mere 6 months. People say years change you... for me, I'd say it's more like months. I always tend to get myself into trouble, or in a situation which I'm not fond of- and always work my ass off to get out of the situation as soon as possible. Needless to say- the me 6 months ago would have NEVER thought that the me today is actually real... it just shows that life can sometimes be the most wildest thing that throws you out of span whenever. For the month of August, the beginning of the transitional phase from winter to the warmer months, colour is the main attraction. Paired with the classic neutrals of cool greys, jet blacks and crisp whites - neon oranges, yellows and greens work to brighten up the mood and get us in the spirit for the summer season. On another spectrum of colour- olive greens, khaki, blood red and deep blues work their way into the transitional wardrobe with inspirations from the 70's and 90's driving the major silhouettes of ss16. Modern elegance turns edgy with the emphasis on unconventional lip products and khol eyeliner work, and pinstripes begin to make way into everyone's wardrobe through culottes, long-line blazers, full length wide pants and youthful playsuits. Although winter will remain my favourite season- there's a magic to spring which I cannot fathom. The designers see it and embrace it. I sometimes feel like spring is just like a foolish teenager; Making mistakes and wild decisions, daring to be different, full of life and joy and happiness, carefree and ignorant of the world around them. There's something to spring which is great. Watch out for the flared pant, pin and riviera stripes, neon pops of colour and an emphasis on simplistic elegance. Less is more, more is also great.

I'm a big fan of the Olsen twins not only for their killer style, but for their utter determination and contribution in the fashion industry. The Olsens have been in the limelight since they were toddlers and have been the centre of attention & inspiration for young girls all around the world. They are small bundles of fashionable, determined and charismatic business-women that get stuff done, and look good while doing it. 

One main aspect of my Olsens love is their amazing sense of fashion. You will never see an Olsen looking unfashionable and put together- whilst looking like they spent a mere 10 minutes getting ready. The effortless, gothic-inspired modern edge, with a hint of boho, creates a look like no other that I admire so much. Full length skirts paired with black boots, floor length duster coats , gigantic bombers and long-line blazers paired with classic loafers and effortless sandals... The Olsens know how to layer layer layer, and make each outfit look just as unique as the last. 

In fashion, I think it's important to experiment and have fun (cause fashions fun!) but at the same time remain your aesthetic. Think about it... if your aesthetic is normally neutral colours, it makes no sense for you to go out and buy bright neon outfits, shoes and bags in order to suit the current trend of 'pop art' fashion. If that aint your aesthetic, then so be it. Similarly, people who hate wearing neutrals will not go out and buy themselves jet black dusters and a dozen white button ups- it's not in their personal aesthetic. And whilst people change their aesthetic all the time, I think it's important in the fashion world to not only have fun with the clothes you're wearing, but let the clothes tell people a little bit about yourself. THAT'S what I adore most about the Olsens; keeping things minimalistic and instead opting the fabric, the cut & the style do the talking for them tells us that the twins love casual looking yet high end fashion and have extended knowledge in the art of garment construction and manipulation. Shirts tied on waists, scarves used as part of an outfit rather than an accessory for warmth, branching out into different fabrics to create visual appeal, and layering layering layering all demonstrate the sheer talent the Olsens have for understanding fashion and how to dress to impress. 

All whilst keeping their key aesthetic time and time again, both Mary-kate & Ashley know that the best tool in anyones wardrobe is quality essentials; like black trench/duster, a good few pairs of leather shoes, black skinny jeans & sweaters. Have the essentials, and you can build the rest. The magic is all in the layering and combining, and we all know that the Olsens have mastered it long before anyone else dared to. 

Here are a few of my favourite Mary-kate & Ashley Olsen looking pieces I think are essential in anyone's wardrobe who wants to look as effortlessly put together as the twins. 

Essential pieces for layering purposes & to create just about any Mary kate & Ashley Olsen inspired outfit ever. Love the Olsens approach to modern dressing, and am inspired every day by their gorgeous outfits. Their own label 'The Row' has been proven to be an international success and is praised by the big guns in the fashion industry, as the girls won Womenswear Designer of the Year Award 2015 not that long ago. Their aesthetic is minimalistic, relaxed and bohemian/japanese inspired & i'm loving each piece from the Row. Killer girls with killer style. 

Thanks for reading& stay tuned for more...

Vera x