RODARTE PARIS COUTURE

It felt quite fitting after re-watching 'Black Swan' this past weekend, drooling over those stunning Rodarte costumes, that I should wake up on Monday morning to see images from their debut show at Paris' Couture Fashion Week (their first away from their native NYFW).
There were so many stand-out moments, it was hard to choose which images to include in this post. But, all I can say is, if ever there was a collection that embodied everything I love about fashion, it's this one. Feathers, florals, bows and tulle. I love it all! Ethereal beauties adorned with babies breath, floating through a garden in full bloom.
I did choose one of the softer options to illustrate (No pink! Shocking!) as I wanted to focus on colours closer to nature.

Rodarte Spring 2018 photographs © Kelly Taub + Giovanni Giannoni / WWD

DIOR COUTURE BEAUTY

Christian Dior Couture SS'17 / via fasionista.com

Christian Dior Couture SS'17 / via vogue.co.uk

Some quick beauty sketches from last week's Christian Dior Haute Couture show for Spring/Summer 2017. I had intended to get these up last week, but I was away and forgot to take the connection for my laptop so I was unable to finish them off until now! Whoops.
While Maria Grazia Chiuri's first Couture show for Dior was a little reminiscent of her ethereal work for Valentino, it was undoubtedly beautiful, feminine, and fantastically whimsical!
The stars! The florals! The incredible head pieces!
As soon as I saw it I was transported to the pages of a fairytale; a Midsummer Night's Dream or a Secret Garden.
Given my latest project, it was a given that I would have to capture some of it, albeit it quickly.

Stay tuned for another illustration based around one of Paris's biggest shows.
This one, however, is going into the storybook series and gracing a fictional femme...
 

THUMBELINA

I can't describe how inspired I was by last week's visit to the Viktor & Rolf exhibit at the NGV in Melbourne.
One gown in particular struck a huge cord with me, along with this quote the boys had left on the wall at the exit;
"We design clothes that look like they were made by the birds in Cinderella."
UM, YES!
I feel like this idea encapsulates everything that is so whimsical and beautiful about fashion - and, in particular, Haute Couture.
These gowns are less about wearability and so much more about the fantasy of a character or mood, lending themselves so beautifully to that sort of suspension of disbelief we adopt when we read our favourite fairy tales. Which is exactly what I'm trying to achieve with this series of work.

Currently working my way through my favourite childhood stories, that quote paired with the stunning ribbon gown from
Viktor & Rolf's 2005 'Flowerbomb' collection really resonated when it came to my next effort - 'Thumbelina.'
It's probably quite clear to everyone how much the story and concept of 'Thumbelina' influences my work - just in my approach to scale, alone!
So, when tackling my illustrated version of this little lady I wanted to bring her into the world of fashion and have her 'mother' be a Parisien dressmaker; one who would create a gown for her from scraps of fabric and off-cuts from the floor.
Of course this particular gown was unbelievably fitting to my idea and as soon as I saw it in the exhibition I knew it was The One.
The mouse is also a nod to one of my childhood heroes, Beatrix Potter. After all, the mice in the building would no doubt help Thumbelina's mother stitch this beautiful gown!

I think this has to be my new favourite of the series <3

See more 'Thumbelina' inspiration below:

Lily Cole by Tim Walker for VOGUE Italia, 2005

Andressa Fontana by Amanda Pratt for Karen, Issue 12

The Tailor Mouse by Beatrix Potter

Viktor & Rolf, Spring/Summer 2005

VIKTOR & ROLF : FASHION ARTISTS

Viktor & Rolf, Autumn/Winter 2008

Viktor & Rolf, Spring/Summer 2005

Magdelena Frackowaik photographed by Josh Olins for Dazed & Confused, 2010

While in Melbourne last week, I had the pleasure of visiting the brand new exhibition at the NGV
'Viktor & Rolf: Fashion Artists.'
To say I was excited is an understatement! I have loved the Dutch designers for years, their 'non-conformist' take on fashion is always so intriguing and inspiring and allows them to express so much creativity. As the title of the exhibition states, they are true artists; each piece a stand-alone artwork in itself.

Of particular note for me were the unbelievable tulle pieces from Spring 2010, as well as the rotating gown from their 'Van Gogh Girls' 2015 collection (cue gif!) which was similar to the gown I illustrated at the time the collection premiered.
I vividly remember wondering what on earth had possessed me to take on the illustration of one of these particular gowns (that line work took for-ever) and seeing the construction and detail up close and in-person brought it all rushing back. The design is just next-level!

If you have a chance, I highly recommend paying the Nation Gallery of Victoria a visit to see the collection in person. 'Viktor & Rolf: Fashion Artists' runs until Feb 26.

TITANIA PRINTS

Another new print has been added to the shop.
Created last year for the 'Les Petit Fours' exhibition, 'Titania' is inspired by the couture shows of John Galliano and Giambattista Valli, along with the character of the same name from William Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.'
Limited to a very small edition of 25 A2 prints only, including one very special framed metallic print, 'Titania' is available to purchase now.
www.birdyandme.bigcartel.com

DIOR

Next in the Couture series is the always polished, and a little bit bold, Dior.
One of the major stand-outs of the show was the hair. The hair!
I feel like those glorious ponytails require a moment of quiet reflection, to ensure that they are fully appreciated.

One of the things that I LOVE about Dior, and especially since Raf Simons took the helm, is that each collection becomes a modern reflection on time.
Fashion is always re-inventing itself, and I feel like Raf's designs for Dior epitomise this notion.
While the last collection was influenced by a Marie-Antoinette-esque 18th Century silhouette, with large bustles and exaggerated waistlines, this season Dior have ventured a little further into the future/past and revealed a collection that is heavily inspired by the silhouettes of the 60s. Mod shift dresses and poodle skirts are given a contemporary reinterpretation through psychedelic appliqué, cut out waist panels, and shimmering pleats.

It was hard to choose just one look as they were all so incredibly different. So I went for two.

Image Credit: vogue.co.uk

VIKTOR + ROLF

The second illustration in my series of Couture looks is a whimsical beauty from Viktor + Rolf.
Never a pair to shy away from a dramatic silhouette, the SS/15 collection had it all.
I was so in love with this show from the moment it hit my feed.

Encased in huge structured 3D florals, with over-sized straw hats covering their milk maid braids, the models looked like ethereally zany garden gnomes floating down the runway.

While initially I put it down to yet another wonderfully insane "Alice" like offering from the duo, upon further investigation I discovered that the inspiration for the collection was, in fact, the landscape renderings of Vincent Van Gough, and named after thusly.
*Insert face palm here*
Being an art school graduate I should have been onto that far sooner than I was.

It was hard to choose my favourite look from 'Van Gough Girls' to draw, but this horizontal, gravity-defying dress was the winner as I thought it would have the most impact and make for an interesting shape on paper.
I hope I was right!

Image Credit: 1 + 3 - Peter Stigter / 2 + 4 - Philip Riches for Viktor + Rolf

GIAMBATTISTA VALLI

Inspired by last week's series of Couture shows in Paris, I started illustrating some of my favourite looks from each one!
First up is the always incredible Giambattista Valli.

With a colour palette that resembled a twisted garden in full pastel bloom, the models glided down the runway in a sea of coral feathers, fairy floss pink, and bold yellow petals, their eyes covered in black veils creating an impacting sense of drama.

I don't think there's ever been a GV collection that I haven't loved. Valli is, after all, all about whimsy, drama and the most AMAZING textures I have ever seen. SS/15 was no exception.

Photo Credit: vogue.co.uk