Thursday 25 August 2011

Model of the month: Ros Georgiou for Gorgeous

Meet 17 year-old Rosanna 'Ros' Georgiou. 
She started modelling in October 2010 and got a few 'double-takes' in Paris Fashion Week 2011.

  “Quando l’arte diventa vita la vita diventa poesia!”
When art becomes life, life becomes poetry.
— Gabriel Caruana, Italian artist

She is simply stunning. A true representation of poetry in motion. Blessed with an unusual facial structure and an adorable freckled skin, she's already been 'judged' by people who know models and modelling. They say she's not versatile, but not boring, and some seemingly have a clear idea already of who she is and what she can do.
I say she's young and with a mother who is also a model, her natural abilities are in  her genes so all we have to do is watch her cruise to stardom. I believe she will be a top model soon. Her looks are reminiscent of '90s Guess and Calvin Klein campaigns. I think she pulls-off the 'hipster/rock chick look' and haute fashion. But that's just my personal view.

Here are some photos I found for you....Hope you like them.
So what do you think of our newcomer?

Bacissimi,
Joy x

 


Photo credits:

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Tuesday 23 August 2011

Why music is important for runways... and some free tracks

Tsumori Chisato Fall 2011, Paris FW, Image via busk.com

Hi everybody!
Is it just me or is everyone brimming with excitement each day for the London Fashion Week and the London IFB (Independent Fashion Bloggers) conference?

In the meantime, I've been tripping on Soundcloud and found these tunes for all you fans of the runway.

Music is an indispensable part of any collection during a fashion show. If clothes are the heart of any collection, then music is the soul. When the models are released on the catwalk wearing the designer's creations, the music accompanying their movements is critical. It can swing the collection either way - it can boost the desirability of the collection, or kill it and relegate it to the concept bin.

I hope you like my hand-picked selection. The artists that I've chosen are absolutely talented, and if you like music, put your dancing shoes on right this minute. It all begins with a shimmy....

Enjoy...

PS. Let me know what your favourite runway tunes are. I'd like to think there are lots of you who can't live a day without listening to music.

Joy xx

Issey Miyake, Fall 2011, Paris fashion week, Image via busk.com
For maximum pleasure, I recommend leaving this page on (if you're working or browsing) so you can carry on listening to these delightful tunes.

❤ Laurent Garnier
Laurent Garnier - Wake Up by laurent garnier


❤ Adam Beyer
Adam Beyer - Simple Maze by Drumcode

❤ John Tejada
John Tejada "Subdivided" (from the new album "Parabolas") by Kompakt

❤ Röyksopp
Röyksopp - This Space by grayleaves

❤ Scottie B uk
Scottie B - Drama by ScottieBuk

❤ Drum & Bass World Records
Drum and Bass - DETAIL - Living In Liquid Harmony by Drum & Bass World Records

❤ Oni Ayhun
Oni Ayhun - OAR003-B by electralina

❤ Killing Joke's Asteroid (track by Scott D Thompson)
Try and listen to Killing Joke here to feel the full effect of 'an army of drummers'
Dave Grohl did the post-production drums for this phenomenal band!
Scott D Thompson Asteroid by Scott D Thompson



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Thursday 18 August 2011

10 Things I like about the 1990s

Hi everyone!
Hope your week's going great so far.
This week, I'm back to the world of blogging and today I'm continuing my '10 Things I like' series.

The '90s feel like only yesterday, yet they began twenty-one interesting years ago. For fashion, this fascinating decade seems never to have ended.

Kate Moss & Johnny Depp in the '90s, Image via fashiongrunge.com

1. Fashion (con)fusion
After the garish fashion trends of the '80s and the residual glamorous, seductress look, there was an urge to tone things down. This resulted in the first wave of eclectic trends. Retro, grunge, preppy, goth and everything else in between seemed to be going off all at the same time in the early '90s. Clearly, consumers started to use their own styling skills rather than wait for the next fashion trend. We saw a lot of 'reverse influence' – when street style appeared in high fashion collections. The book Fashion Since 1900 states that Dolce & Gabbana showed Hippie, Karl Lagerfield for Chanel used B-Boy and Surf, Rifat Ozbek had Rasta, while Jean-Paul Gautier focused on ethnic-subcultural styles.

Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista for Anna Sui, 1994; Image from blogs.sun-sentinel.com
Dominant colourways of the early '90s were coral, hot pink, and turquoise. Later on, The Gap and Banana Republic popularised black, white and khaki. Flannels were in and jeans were a staple of most wardrobes. Come 1998 to 1999, fashion houses used ultra-luxurious materials like super-fine suede, leather, fur, tweeds, exotic feathers and hand-felted wool.
 
In my previous post Soleful Monday, my shoe designer friend explained that the economic recession of the '80s resulted in higher heels — a projection of denial from financial worries. Historically, heels were associated with wealth and rank; in modern times shoes with higher heels have remained a signifier of wealth, although this is decreasingly true nowadays.
A major feature of the 1990s was financial recovery in the developed world. High-income countries were enjoying affluence, and fashion seemed to relax – becoming more casual and eclectic. Ladies were happy to wear flats and chunky boots.


Image via Felipe Gcomweb40.com
2. Doc Martens and the fat, chunky ones
DMs, trekking boots, and any kind of boots were favourite footwear. Women paired them with floral dresses, jeans or shorts, to go galavanting with friends or on dates.



Lulu Guinness 2011, Image via Retrotogo.com

3. The rise of handbags
Towards the end of the decade, accessories gained momentum and fashion houses focused on the all-important and lucrative handbag as the ultimate accessory. Handbag designers like American Judith Leiber and British Lulu Guinness hit a roll. As glitteratis were photographed everywhere clutching handbags, demand skyrocketed.


4. TV series
Right. This is a bit tricky as I like most of the '90s television serials. My best four are as follows:

Friends became the most popular sitcom because it was funny and everyone can relate to the intimacy of friendship as a universal language. Jennifer Aniston also started the "The Rachel" hair phenomenon. Girls would copy her hair style. This solidified Aniston as an icon of 1990s sitcom and she hasn't left the pages of celebrity magazines since.
Dawson's Creek was the first teen drama which highlighted music as an integral part of the show. I remember waiting, wondering what song will be featured at the end of each episode. The singer or band were also usually up-and-coming artists, which made me admire the series more.
❤ The original Beverly Hills 90210 aired first in October 1990. It featured beautiful, wealthy, troubled teenagers living their lives in a fictional upscale community. All viewers had a crush on most of the beautiful characters and people loved the idea of spying on how residents of Beverly Hills 'live their lives'.
Northern Exposure was my all-time favourite. With its unique combination of poetic comedy and drama, clever story lines and great actors, it was indeed an intelligent TV show. I'll never forget the day I first saw John Corbett and the way he played his part — an unassuming gorgeous DJ in the deepest, coldest Cicely, Alaska. I'm surprised the place didn't melt.



Image from movieposter.com
5. Nirvana
Every decade has its distinctive sound as fashion has its distinctive look.
To say that Nirvana, a band from Seattle, was the last best band of the 20th century is an understatement. Regardless of the controversy that it copied the opening riff of "Come as You Are" from UK's Killing Joke, which, in turn, is said to have copied from The Damned, Nirvana successfully became the premier ambassador of grunge music and fashion. Listening to its Nevermind album opened several layers of delicious tunes for me. 
Grunge fashion was further supported by Anna Sui and Marc Jacobs.


Image from nypost.com
6. Alexander McQueen
Dubbed as "l'enfant terrible" of British fashion due to his unconventional designs and theatrical runways, he was awarded British Designer in 1996 and 1997. His designs were easily recognisable because they broke the mould. Lisa Armstrong of the Times Online summed it up perfectly — "It was not just the props and the models that provided the frisson...showers of live moths; amputees; walking on water; a woman reclining in a vast glass box, almost swallowed up by her rolls of fat and naked apart from her elaborate breathing apparatus; the model Shalmom Harlow being spray-painted by a machine in Jackson Pollock style".
He was credited for the return of low-rise jeans or "bumsters". He never stopped concocting new designs until his death in 2010.


Keanu Reeves, The Matrix (1999); Image via fanpop.com
7. The Matrix
The film that changed movies forever. The action sequence of Keanu Reeves bending backwards to dodge bullets in slow-motion and characters floating and walking on walls, since then, have been the standard of achievement of many good movies in the 21st century. One of the highlights for me was hearing Massive Attack's "Dissolved Girl" quietly playing in Keanu's headphones whilst he was asleep on his desk.

Image from kingygraphicdesignhistory.blogspot.com

8. Nokia phones
We can thank the Finnish company Nokia, for revolutionising phones and digital communication. I remember going through three different mobile phones, trying to have something 'cool' – settling with the 3210. It was the first handset which looked streamlined, thanks to its hidden antenna; it had a bigger screen for text messaging, and a composer function, where you could create your own tunes. I remember creating the X-Men animation's theme tune and thought it was a pretty cool phone.
Without Nokia, there won't be iPhones.

Image from Retail-Guru.com
9.  Ebay
The world's first-ever internet marketplace reinforced globalisation — anywhere in the world, one could suddenly purchase commodities locally or internationally. It may have caused auction houses to lose business but it gave untold opportunities to work at home and sell on-line. It also paved the way for on-line shopping.
Without Ebay, there won't be Etsy.


Image from Wikipedia.org
10. Google
Microsoft's Hotmail may have rocked the world in 1996 as the first free web-based email service, but Google, which officially launched in 1998 as a result of a research project two years before, became 'dot.com's' search engine authority. 
Remember the thrill of 'googling' your crush on the internet? Year after year, it has gone from strength to strength and so we're currently enjoying the maturation of the digital age. These days, there is little that we don't Google.


So what are your memories of the 1990s? Was it a good decade for you? Are you a '90s fan? What don't you like about the decade?

Thanks for reading.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.




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Source:
Wikipedia.org

More to read:


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Monday 15 August 2011

I love You with My Beating Heart

Image via noupe.com
How are my lovely friends doing?
Hope you all had a great weekend. It's great to be back after last week's unrest in our English cities. The future is always uncertain but life goes on.

So here are my Monday inspirations.
Hope you like them.

Image via favim.com

When my daughter was three, I said: "May you find true love. That is my greatest wish."
Yesterday, I asked her: "what's my greatest wish for you, Olivia?"
She said: "true love".


Image by Nymphont via deviantart.com
Love is multi-dimensional.


Image by Jeffrey via deviantart.com
Love and lust intertwined. 


Image via vickyautumn on weheartit.com
My husband brings me coffee on my sidetable every morning
from the first day we shared our love nest.
Tomorrow, I'll make coffee and bring this toast to him.


Paper Illustration by Yulia Brodskaya via illusion.scene360.com
Paper art is one of the most difficult medium in art and design.
It requires the steady hand of a surgeon.


Marian Bantjes for Saks Fifth Avenue; (I found my name inside this heart!)
Another stunning art from Canadian Marian Bantjes.
Did you find all the words?
Visit her site. You won't be disappointed.


Image via sayingimages.com
Today is Italy's Ferragosto ­­­­­- a national holiday to celebrate the end of hard labour in the fields.
Last night, we watched their impressive fireworks from the marina.
Since my camera was playing up, I found this photo instead.


Paper Illustration by Yulia Brodskaya via illusion.scene360.com
Love is a magical feeling.

Sans toi, les émotions d'aujourd'hui ne seraient que la peau 
morte des émotions d'autrefois.
Without you, today's emotions would be the scurf of yesterday's.
-Hipolito (Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, 2001)



Image via someprints.com
Love's infinity is a mystery that will never be solved.
Why would anyone want to?


Image via With Love & Such/tumblr
True love leads to eternal happiness.
Life is short but always sweeter when lived in love.

I hope that everyone's still in love.
For those seeking: "don't give up until you drink from the silver cup".

All my love,

Joy x


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Tuesday 9 August 2011

A black arm band for London Riots

Do not forget the lives lost of those who fought so that peace may be restored.
Our lives begin to end
the minute we become silent
about things that matter.

- Martin Luther King

My dear friends, as much as I'd like to carry on with my life, a few thousand miles away from the place I  call home, England is currently in deep trouble.

The London Riots which started as a peaceful protest for a man shot by the police a couple of days ago are now simply full-blown. Utter chaos and random looting are sweeping across cities of Britain. And whilst the mobs destroy innocent lives and buildings, police, fire and emergency services are working overtime to contain this nonsense violence. I've just watched a video of a young man nursing a nose-bleed when another man approached him, purportedly to help, then opened the injured's rucksack and helped himself with the contents. Absolutely disgusting.

I'm all for demonstrations and all that (I was young once)  but I prefer peaceful ones and to set fire on other people's small businesses and steal their properties in these economically hard times is a complete disrespect for human rights. End of. 
Having a retail shop doesn't mean the owner is rich.

It's disappointing to realise that Britain and the Commonwealth's triumph during the two World Wars has now gone to waste. We're supposed to be acknowledging courageous efforts of both surviving and fallen civilians and soldiers when they fought to stop tyranny so that the future generations may have democracy, peace and wealth. And now, we're in complete decline.

As much as I'd like to pretend everything is OK, I can't ignore this unrest. As my protest against the senseless riots, I'm taking a few days off blogging and I'm hoping that this horrendous situation that's gripping the country will soon be resolved.

Keep safe, everyone.

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Photo: Flickr by Michele Catania


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Saturday 6 August 2011

Eye Scandi

Art + Design = Scandi sweetness

Happy Saturday, everyone!

For quite sometime I used to buy and sell mid-20th century furniture. About four years ago, I realised vintage design has finally gone viral. I knew then it was truly thriving and will do so for a long time. I hope.
Amongst my collection, Scandinavian pieces are always popular, just after Americana. I believe it's because they are organic, useful, and radiates unparalleled elegance and simplicity.

Kathryn Tyler's kitchen
❤ Furniture
Last week, I sent an email to Kathryn Tyler, a young interior designer whose Falmouth home was featured a year ago on Channel 4's Grand Designs. Originally, I was going to ask her a few questions as part of my blog Q & A. She replied to my email immediately but politely declined because she's been constantly subjected to similar things,  presumably as an aftermath of her TV appearance. Nonetheless, she was happy for me to have her home photos shown here.

Kathryn's Corkellis House

Kathryn's house — which she designed herself and project-managed — exudes magnificent sense of space, fluidity, and freshness. Thanks to her understated aesthetic ideals and her choice of Scandinavian furniture.

Sweden's Acne Resort Collection 2012 via blogg.flingly.com
❤ Clothing
When it comes to fashion, Scandinavian designs are now getting more noticed. With their history of producing high-quality textiles, it's no surprise that the next logical step is to create clothing designs that are well-researched, well-constructed as influenced by their love of architecture, and are  affordable.

Finnish brand Marimekko SS11 via 2pintaa.com
Marimekko has been one of the leading textile companies since the 1950s in Europe and now that vintage is back, they're stronger than ever. Spots, stripes, and big flowery pot prints are their trademark and they've never stopped re-inventing them. 

Image from Vogue.it, Black Noir, Henrik Vibskov, Moonspoon Saloon, Peter Jensen, Vilsbøl de Arce, Wood Wood

From furniture to clothes, Scandinavian design is true to its roots - minimalistic yet sophisticated, luxurious yet functional, and ethical (as in not a 'rip-off' like most fashion brands we see globally).
I personally would wear any Scandinavian clothing, anytime.

How about you, any thoughts on Scandinavian designs? Are you a proud owner of their clothing lines or using their furniture in your lovely home? I'd love to hear from you.

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Credit:
Jobingco.com for Kathryn Tyler's house 
Linea-Studio.co.uk Kathryn's design studio



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