Designers You Should Know: Ralph Pink

I had the pleasure of stumbling on London designer Ralph Pink’s website, Gorgeois.

You should know him because he’s just embarked on a year long project to create and document his debut collection, consisting of 30 RTW outfits and 10 COUTURE show pieces. Not only a documentary, but as he explains on his website, “a basic/intermediate resource for undergraduates who are looking into fashion as a career. Alongside this blog will be a series of in-depth hands-on-tutorials, showing you the basics of many different aspects of Fashion Design.” Sounds interesting!

Here’s one of his previous garments from his portfolio:

He already finished Episode 1 and 2, which you should go and check out. He seems really quite sweet (as well as talented) and I’m excited to see what he comes up with and what I’ll get to learn from him.

He uses Flash, so it was hard to grab any images of his work to tell you about him. So, instead, you should go and watch the Video Blog and learn more about him. Ralph already seems like he’s doing something promising, and I’m glad he’s sharing his work with the world.

CHECK HIM OUT.

Designers You Should Know – Lie Sang Bong

Lie Sang Bong = Korean designer who shows his collections in Paris. He was designer of the year in Seoul in 1999.

What you really need to know about him is that he’s creative. He has workmanship to admire and beautiful execution. An archive of 634 magazine pages? Ya, I’d say he’s been around and paid his dues. Lie Sang Bong. You gotta learn who this guy is.

This is from RTW Fall 2009. OOH THE LEATHER CUT WORK!!!

Below is his latest shoot taken from Vogue Korea Jan 2010. Wish I could read Korean to tell you more about it. But, after my close eye and careful scrutiny, I discovered all the clothes are from Lie Sang Bong’s Spring 2010 collection. Some of them are FIERCE. Others. not for me, but maybe for YOU.

Indulge.

I wanna know how long it took to make that fabric do that. Philip Tracey inspired hats for the entire shoot?

This is my absolute favorite outfit from the collection and I want it. The white/silver/grey thing is really working right now. I wonder if all those strings are leather? It would feel good if they were all elastic, but by the looks of it perhaps it is just cord?

This picture below is how I realized whose clothes these were. I noticed that this print was the same as the print on the leggings of Lie Sang Bong’s in the Fixed Gear shoot I just showed you. Quick jump to his website says it’s his first look from Spring 2010. See his other wickedness here.

Ooh it’s magic in metallic… (but maybe sans leggings?)

This is so the hat from the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, right, right?? Either they are in an art gallery and someone has convinced the curator no harm will be done to the art during the photo shoot, or they’re in someone’s apartment building foyer. The clothes totally match – good job location discoverer! Feeling this outfit. (Can you remember his name yet??)

You have no idea how hard is is to do all that detailing on the leggings/jumpsuit. WAY.TO.GO!

It looks like the cat is dragging the curtains off her, hehe. THE BOOTS are nothing short of amazing-ness.

I dig it. All these shots and more. Lie Sang Bong Spring 2010. Gimme Gimme!

Designers You Should Know – Hob “I made it myself”

The entire time I was at the weekend market in Bangkok, I only took one picture, and that was of Hob of “I made it myself”:

Hob spray paints leather and makes wallets, watches, art (canvas), as well as painting on shoes, among other things.

I got a bag which I suspect is his from HuaShan second hand from Tara:

But had to buy something new cuz I liked it so much, so I got this wallet:

Which looks like this on the inside:

You can find him at the Weekend Market – Section 16 – Soi 3 Room 385-6. He doesn’t have a website per se, but you can find him on facebook.com/hobshop.

I think I might buy wholesale and sell some to you people, that is if you’re interested? I like supporting indie designers. Hob is a nice guy. If you’re in the Weekend Market, go check him.

Fashion Week Schedule for Fall/Winter 2010

Fashion weeks are magical. They are the first look by the masses at a designer’s new collection, 6 months before they are sold in stores.

I am gonna make sure I don’t miss out this spring, because I think we are in for some surprises from a few designers showcasing their Fall/Winter 2010 collections.

Here is the schedule of the big four (NY, London, Milan, Paris), along with what designers I wanna keep an eye out for! I decided not to mention the super big name designers that are known for their steez (aka seen it before, and it’s not new anymore) or who don’t really make much groundbreaking WOWZA designs. I know I prob missed a bunch, but just wanted to give you some to look up if you’ve never heard of them before. Especially Paris. You should get to know all of them.

NEW YORK FASHION WEEK

Thur. Feb.11 – Thurs. Feb. 18th

The big news is that this will be the last year at Bryant Park, as they are moving to The Lincoln Center complex, also home to Opera and Ballet, for the Spring 2011 shows this fall. I wonder if they’ll have Project Runway shows in the new place too?

Designers to watch: Proenza Schouler, Rodarte, 3.1 Philip Lim, Betsey Johnson, Jason Wu, Phi, Jeremy Laing, Christian Siriano, Jeremy Scott (who is returning after 3 years showing in Paris)….I suppose Marc Jacobs, but frankly, I’m getting a little bored of him. I hope he does something totally different.

Rodarte Spring 2010:

London Fashion Week

Fri. Feb. 19th – Wed. Feb. 24th

The cool thing about London is that they have all these emerging designer showcases – like NEWGEN and Fashion Forward, as well as The Alternative Fashion Week, where smaller designers can show their creations on the catwalk.

Designers to Watch: Jonathan Saunders, Julien MacDonald, Matthew Williamson, Danielle Scutt, Vivienne Westwood (Red Label!) Gareth Pugh and Giles Deacon…. so many young designers to discover that are really pushing the future in design!

Julien MacDonald Spring 2010:

MILAN FASHION WEEK

Thurs. Feb. 24th – Wed. Mar. 3rd

I searched and searched, yet couldn’t find just one location they have seem to have all the shows at, which led me to believe there are multiple locations. Different strokes, different folks, and I think a designer should be able to fully take you into their world.

Designers To Watch: Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Fendi, DSquared2, Costume National… they definitely got some heavy hitters showing here.

CNC Costume National Spring 2010:

Last of the big four, most exciting, finale……..

PARIS FASHION WEEK

Wed. Mar. 3 – Thurs. Mar. 11th

They really do save the best for last. In my opinion, Paris is the best fashion week out of all them. The best of the best show in Paris. The major Japanese designers all show in Paris. It’s what fashion dreams are made of. I really wish I could speak French sometimes.

Designers To Watch: Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Comme Des Garcons, Junya Watanbe, Balmain, Hussein Chalayan, YSL, Undercover, Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester, Martin Margiela, Rick Owens, Chloe, Tao, Viktor & Rolf, Castelbajac….. the list is seriously CRAZY WICKED AWESOME. Those are just my favorites…

Alexander McQueen Spring 2010:

So there you have it. The order the world will follow for Fashion Week, starting on Feb.11th in New York and ending in Paris on March 11th. One month of crazy fashion, which this year, I’m gonna try to follow and let you know what I see in there for the future.

Designers You Should Know – Ruffeo Hearts Lil Snotty

Sometimes, you come across really fucking rad clothes. So rad, in fact, that you wished that you designed them yourself! Instead of keeping this little gem all to myself, I really want to share it with all of you.

I’ve never met the two designers, (who I also think make a super cute couple) but I wish I lived in Brooklyn so I could be their friend. Don’t all the coolest people come from/live in Brooklyn??

I stole this picture from their Etsy site to show you, and I hope they don’t mind I’m promo-ing for them:

I first discovered them on Etsy – where you should go check out all their AMAZING clothes for sale and spend lotsa money!!

Then, I rediscovered Ruffeo and Sarah aka Lil Snotty on Threadbanger, where they have all these awesome DIY projects, including:

-Fanny Packin Heat Watch the vid and learn how you can make a Fanny Pack out of recycled backpacks.

-Belt Factory Raid -Where they find this gold mine of stuff in Brooklyn.

-Boy Shorts – Vid where they use old T-shirts to make boy shorts at Parachute. (Also a really good vid to watch to find out their background and they do a funny inspiration dance, too)

You must also check out their website - HEREHEREHERE

They have the most interesting descriptions on their Etsy site, including,

“SARS GUARD* Yes! The velcro fastening sars guard really protects you agaist sars, anthrax and international terrorism. Plus it holds your hood up while bike riding, and conceals your identity if you want to put up art in a public place.” I’m sure it protects against H1N1 too.

I’ll leave you with a few photos, but only so you’re inspired to go check out all their pics, and drop some mad money. They have awesome style and the best part about them is that they use all upcycled or reclaimed fabric. NO waste!

SUPPORT!

Clothes for guys too!

Cresencio, YOU need these shorts in your life!

Speaking of Schiaparelli

Just got the Japanese Vogue for October. I thought this was interesting cuz of the brief Bio I just wrote on Schiaparelli here. Check out this new spread, I’m not the only one being inspired of the pioneer of the zipper in clothing:

Japanese Vogue Oct 2009

Japanese Vogue Oct 2009

The year shown for inspiration on the page is 1937, in Paris. Many exciting things were happening. The World Expo, for one. Rise of the Surrealists. Dali painted this . The first successful flying car. Snow White top of the box office. Fantasy.

Found an ad of Schiaparelli’s famous gloves with red fingernails on the outside, they don’t look like press-ons!

Reprinted in Japanese Vogue Beauty 2009

Radar – Leather Corset Belt

Been seeing this leather corset belt by Ann Demeulemester everywhere:

US Vogue Sept 2009

Vogue Australia Sept 2009

Makes for a pretty easy DIY piece. You just gotta find a nice big piece of leather. I found a site selling the shrunken version at Browns in the UK, for £285.  The shitty thing about that is that it has only 5 buckles, instead of the 14 shown on the runway & these pics.

Top view for DIY copy cats:

Ann Demeulemester Corset Belt

*Jezelda

Trompe l’oeil, Shocking Pink & Schiaparaelli

Schiaparelli

(1890-1973)

A highly creative and unconventional designer, Elsa Schiaparelli produced clothes of extreme elegance and extreme chic. She had a great sense of mischief and was particularly successful with avant-guard sweaters. Schiaparelli was part of the brilliant artistic likfe of Paris in the 1920s and 1930s. She has close friendships with Surrealist artists like Salvador Dali, Man Ray, Jean Cocoteau and was not only influenced by them, but also commissioned them to contribute to the prints and fabrics she used.

Shown here is her Skeleton Dress, with quilted sections representing the spine and ribs.

Some interesting background information is that she was Italian, born in Rome to a professor of Oriental languages and studied philosophy. Perhaps studying philosophy lead her to question her environment and look to others (like Dali) for a different opinion on the world.

Schiaparelli had a great sense of humor and often used trompe l’oeil (French for ‘trick the eye’) in her creations. Schiaparelli’s signature color was hot-pink, and her signature perfume was named “Shocking”, after the color. She made witty lapel ornaments in the shape of hands, teaspoons, hearts, gloves with red fingernails on the outside, and hats shaped like upside down high-heels (perhaps this is where Lady Gaga got her inspiration?) or lamb chops.

She pioneered the use of synthetic fabrics, creating her own design from press clippings of articles about her and used the material in scarves, blouses and beachwear. Schiaparelli was among the first to use colored zippers, and also used unconventional fasteners like dog leashes, padlocks and clips.

Inspirations for the week?

Use hot pink and grab some Surrealist inspiration! Keep your eye out for trompe l’oeil in this fall’s collections. 1940s are everywhere! Even though Schiaparelli’s high point was in the late 30s, she was still highly influential and innovative during the 40s.