this is a man's world ?

Now more so then ever, menswear has played a predominant role in fashion. With men becoming more aware and conscious about their appearance and what they wear. In their previous runway shows designers including YSL and Dolce & Gabbana showcased drop crotch trousers for men in an array of fabrics such as Denim. HIgh street stores such as Topman and All Saints have adopted this trend as well as low cut v-neck, teardrop t shirts, scarfs, and braces. Pop culture influences such as pop bands JLS and The Wanted, and television reality show Geordie Shore have lead to these trends having a surge of male followers who unlike the average woman are not phased by the fact that someone stood right next to them is wearing the exact same outfit. Did I miss something here ? Since when are men more conscious about what they wear then women. And since when and why did women become attracted to this new breed of "males" ? In my opinion a man who has a knowledge of fashion is a keeper, and every woman loves a good six pack. But the fashion choices some men are making today questions their masculinity.

Gerodie Shore's Gary in a low cut vest !

Geordie Shore's James in an even lower cut vest !

Drop croth chinos.

Luckily Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have put the masculinity back in menswear with their Spring 2012 collection. The influence for the collection was netting whether it be the net of an Italian fisherman or the net of an Italian footballer. Netting was apparent throughout the collection from jackets, to trousers to shoes. The collection consisted of silhouettes of casual, smart and sportswear in colours and tones of black and grey. 

Watch - Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2012 Menswear Collection

The design duo did what they do best creating beautifully tailored and crafted suits. Which were made even more beautiful by Dolce & Gabbana model, David Gandy. Like my mum says there's nothing better then a man in a suit.

I'm thankful I can count on two gay Italian men who know how to dress men !

This link is dedicated to my mum - Watch !

Photographs from Style.com and MTV

Videos from YouTube

till death do us design !

The wedding dress of Kate Middleton during her royal wedding to Prince William is been hailed as the perfect tribute to Alexander McQueen. The dress designed by the late designer's protegee Sarah Burton consists of a lace applique bodice and sleeves with a high waisted, full-skirted silhouette and a long train.

Tributes to Alexander McQueen were also paid at this years Met Gala. A-list stars attended the Costume Institute benefit in New York which this year honoured the life of the British designer. Madonna spoke emotionally on the red carpet about McQueen who committed suicide in February 2010. "I miss him terribly." the singer said "Not only as a person but as a designer. I think the fashion business is a little bit dull without him and I loved his provocative punk rock attitude"

The star studded event proved that although Alexander McQueen is no longer with us. He is still ever present in the fashion industry through his influence and designs. Celebrities such as Salma Hayek, Gisele Bundchen, and Sarah Jessica Parker all wore Alexander McQueen in his memory  There was controversy from the start of the red carpet as Vogue editor Anna Wintour arrived to the McQueen themed event wearing Chanel.

the way of the dragon !

Through film, art, music, tv, food and drink, we learn about other countries cultures. By eating a meal, learning a language or visiting another country we gain an insight into that countries history and way of life. 

I am mostly fascinated by many aspects of the chinese culture.

Geisha are traditional female Japanese entertainers. The most literal translation of geisha into English would be "artist" or "performing artist". Historically, geisha often began the earliest stages of their training at a very young age, sometimes as early as at 3 or 5 years. 

Geisha always wear kimono. The colour, pattern and style of kimono is dependent on the season and the event the geisha is attending. In winter, geisha can be seen wearing a three-quarter length haori lined with hand painted silk over their kimono. A kimono can take from two to three years to complete due to painting and embroidering.

The chinese culture still has an impact and influence on our lives today, especially in the fashion world. 

Spring 2011 Ready-To-Wear collections demostrated the influence of orientalism

Here are images from the Louis Vuitton Spring 2011 Ready-To-Wear show where it is evident that Marc Jacobs has drawn inspiration from Chinese culture and fashion for his designs.

It may be of interest to know that many famous and emerging designers that we highly fond of are of chinese decent.

Jimmy Choo is a Malaysian of Chinese descent, Choo initially handcrafted his own shoes and bags. Choo’s shoes are known worldwide, and he has a celebrity clientele including Nicole Richie, Katie Holmes, and the late Princess Diana.

Anna Sui is an international fashion designer. She studied at NY's Parsons School of Design. She opened her first boutique in New York in 1995, later opening an additional stores in Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Osaka. In addition to clothing, her lines now include shoes and cosmetics.

Derek Lam studied at the Parsons School of Design. After graduation, Lam worked under Michael Kors for 12 years. Lam’s clothes, like Kors’ reinvent American sportswear. He launvched his own line in 2003. Lam’s clothes have clean silhouettes in feminine fabrics. He also has a line of jewelry and shoes. He has many fashion design awards, including the CFDA Perry Ellis Swarovski Award.

Phillip Lim is noted for this feminine streamlined clothes and his attention to detail. He currently sells his clothes under the label 3.1 Phillip Lim. He launched his collection in 2004 and found immediate success. Lim says about his clothes "make them feel respectful, yet desirable all at the same time"

Vera Ellen Wang was born and raised in New York City and is of Chinese descent. Her parents were born in Shanghai, China, and came to the United States in the mid-1940s. Wang is a successful fashion designer best known for her wedding dresses. She started her career as a fashion editor for Vogue magazine. After failing to find a suitable wedding dress for her own wedding, she designed one herself. Later she opened her own bridal boutique, initially selling dresses from other designers but later own she launching her own line of wedding dresses. She got international exposure from the dresses she designed for skater Nancy Kerrigan, who wore them to the 1994 Olympics. 

Hollywood Education 101

My current fashion photography project requires me to look at the word and meaning of education. Through research and my personal thoughts I have diverted away to what most might think about this word and referenced Pink Floyd, Sports and from sex education i looked into erotic fashion photography. 

My next path of thought has led me to research in films, more in particular Hollywood movies based in High School.

Firstly, there is the 1978 blockbuster musical Grease.

Secondly, the 2004 movie Mean Girls, starring Lindsay Lohan.

And thirdly, Disney's 2004 global hit, High School Musical

All three of these movies, although their releases span over almost three decades, tell a similar story. They look into the everyday life of High School where everyone is trying to fit in and where stereotypes are created to form different groups. 

The jocks ! The pretty girls ! The emos ! The geeks !

In my opinion it would be an interesting concept to look at the stereotypes created in High Schools and try to adapt these into a high end fashion editorial.

 I found this photograph my photographer David Lechapelle and in my opinion it evokes the idea of different groups within High Schools, this one being the more alternative group. I think the way in which a scene has been constructed for the image works well. I would potentially use this image as inspiration although I am not inspired by the styling within the photograph. I would consider this idea for a possible concept for my group and my final editorial. I hope to develop this idea further after more research. 

Sex Education !

Carrying on from my research into the word education as part of my new fashion photography brief, I thought of the education of sex and how that can be interpreted into erotic fashion photography. 

I found this series of images of supermodel Lara Stone taken by Steven Klein. In my opinion they are highly controversial but if you look past the concept of the editorial Lara Stone looks visually amazing and her poses are subtle but successful.

Rihanna is a Trashion Icon !

Since posting on my blog about my groups decision to have a recycable material concept for our fashion shoot, I seem to be spotting this idea slowly evovling into a trashion (trash as fashion) trend.

Most recently I spotted Rihanna in her new controversial video for S&M wearing in a full length newspaper print dress.

todays newspaper will be tomorrows dress !

While on a day trip to Blackpool I saw this outfit in a window next to the Winter Gardens. The garment is an evening wear dress made entirely of newspaper. The execution of this garment is amazing and anyone including myself could be fooled that the fabric of the dress is actually newspaper.

Seeing this dress was oddly a coincidence as my fashion image group and I have decided to use recyclable materials within our photo shoot for this module. As well as using newspaper we have decided to use black bin liner bags and toilet roll. Through a mixture of design and trial and error we have create three outfits that are on trend and wearable.

Our concept idea for this photo shoot reminded me of an episode of Project Runway where the designers had to construct garments out of paper.

 Here are my favourite examples !

Dress by Christopher Straub

Coat by Irina Shabayeva

Here some further examples I have found on the Internet !

love is in the air !

For my fashion photography module I have been asked to document my day to day life through photographs.

Day 1 

On Valentine's Day my boyfriend came up to Preston to stay with me for a couple of days whilst on a rare occasion we both had some free time. Hayden (the boyfriend) stayed in my flat whilst I went to a lecture which was very annoying as no sooner had I said hello, I had to say goodbye.

However, when I did return back at my flat, I came back to a balloon filled bedroom. Hayden had spent the last two hours blowing up around 40 balloons.

This was my Valentine's Day card !

a black and white cycle !

These next several images are from Cycle 11 of America's Next Top Model and were photographed by supermodel and host of the show Tyra Banks.

I have decided to add these photographs because they show how successful modern photography can be achieved in black and white through styling, lighting and location.

I love the exposed brick wall in the location, the hard rock and roll look of the model and the raw atmosphere created in this photograph.

I love the styling in this photograph and the avant garde pose.

I love the androgynous look in this photograph.

I hate goodbyes !

I decided to add this video because it is one of my favourite songs from Gentleman Prefer Blondes starring Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell. I love how flawless both their hair, make up and styling is. Woman especially hollywood starlets of this time had impeccable personal taste and style when it came to fashion.

Everybody Hearts Mario !

Venturing into the world of fashion photography, a name I'm already familiar with is Mario Testino. He has become one of the world's most well known and celebrated fashion photographers. Mario has shot fashion stories for a whole host of designers such as Salvatore Ferregamo and Versace and fashion magazines including Vogue, Allure, GQ. His celebrity cliental include Madonna, Lady Gaga, and models such as Tyra Banks and Kate Moss  He is credited for revival of designer house Gucci, after fashion stylist Carine Roitfeld and himself drawn in attention to the house through provocative advertising campaigns in the mid 1990's.

Here is a video clip of Kristen Stewart shot by Mario Testino for February 2011 Vogue magazine. In my opinion the video has the effect of being shot like a home movie, which makes the video charismatic and appealing.

This next series of images is photographs taken by Mario Testino for the Valentino S/S 2005 Couture collection. I adore the 1950's glamour and elegance of the styling and photographs which still have a modern twist.

The photographs have a timeless feeling to them which in my opinion is due to the fact the photographs have been taken in black and white which is my on preferred method of photography. However through the styling of the clothes and through the photography the essence of the fashion house is kept alive.

This is my favourite photograph from the fashion story. It reminds me of a 1950's Hollywood starlet such as Elizabeth Taylor or Marilyn Monroe.

fashion sees red !

With Red Nose Day approaching the fashion world has decided to leave its mark on the charitable event, Comic Relief in many ways. 

Firstly her majesty of British fashion, Vivienne Westwood has designed a collection of t shirts that are available to buy online http://shop.rednoseday.com/Group.aspx?GroupId=33 and in TK Maxx stores. 

There are several designs mostly featuring celebrities dressed as historical figures. The t-shirts cost between a mere £9.99 and £15, with £5 of the proceeds going directly to Comic Relief. 

I'm sure these will be flying off the shelf !

It isn't just designers who have caught the charity bug, supermodel Lara Stone launched this years Comic Relief campaign by recreating the iconic seen of Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch (one of my favourite films). Lara said "I had so much fun being Marilyn Monroe for the day and recreating such an iconic shot with a Red Nose twist"

Buy of the Week !

This edition of Buy of the Week is slightly belated due to the fact that Amazon's estimated delivery date was indeed an estimation and decided to deliver my package a week after its so called estimated delivery date !

But it did arrive . . .

The Fashion Book is described as an A-Z guide to 500 clothes and accessory designers, photographers models and iconic individuals who helped instigate fashion movements. Although it isn't on my module reading list for my course I thought it would still be useful and an interesting read.

I'd Die to Be a Model !

Nearly all women envy them ! Their looks ! Their dress size ! Their lifestyle ! But not all is perfect in the modeling world. The glitzy lifestyle we see on such programmes as America's Next Top Model and Project Runway mask the true severity of a underlining problem. 

The hidden issue surrounding the fashion and modeling world was brought to everyones attention when in September 2007 Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani's photographs of anorexic model Isabella Caro were used in an advertising campaign to highlight and promote awareness of anorexia.

French model Isabella appeared on C4's Supersize vs Superskinny which aired on 11 March 2008, in which she spoke to journalist Anna Richardson about her anorexia.Caro was hospitalized for the first time when she was 20. At her worst, in 2006, she slipped into a coma, weighing just 55 pounds (25 kg). The doctor said she wouldn't survive the coma but she did.Caro was also interviewed in the second episode of TV documentary series, The Price of Beauty, which Jessica Simpson and her two best friends Ken Pavés and CaCee Cobb travel all over the world to explore the meaning of true beauty. Jessica would like to know how female models for fashion modeling have become obsessed with being skinny as one of bad beauty regimes.

Today it was announced that Isabella Caro died on 17th November 2010 at the age of 28, Her longtime acting instructor, Daniele Dubreuil-Prevot, told that Caro died after returning to France from a job in Tokyo. Dubreuil-Prevot said she did not know the cause of death but that Caro "had been sick for a long time," referring to her anorexia.

R.I.P Isabella Caro