Sunday, September 28, 2008

Mademoiselle Coco Chanel Biography


Coco Chanel's stylish, elegant designs revolutionized fashion during the 1910s, freeing women from the uncomfortable and stiff apparel worn at the end of the 19th century. Chanel furthered her own image: the woman of the 20th century, embodying independence, success, personality, style, and confidence.

The influential Chanel suit, launched in 1924, was an elegant outfit composed of a knee-length skirt paired with a trim, boxy jacket, traditionally made of woven wool with black trim and gold buttons and worn with large costume-pearl necklaces.

Chanel also popularized the little black dress which had a blank-slate versatility that allowed it to be worn for both day and night. The black Chanel dress was strapless, backless and more than a little risqué. It shocked the general public at large but quickly became a fashion sensation. The Chanel dress premiered in the third-ever edition of Playboy. This added to the controversy surrounding the Chanel name.

Much imitated over the years, Chanel's designs were manufactured across more price categories than any other in the high-fashion world. It was Chanel who also introduced costume jewelry to the fashion world, using a variety of accessories such as necklaces, chains or pearls of several strands. A bag with golden handles, an elegant pearl necklace, and a tailored dress in black are the symbols of elegance and status that marked forever the history of fashion. But it was Chanel No. 5[3] - considered the number-one selling perfume in the world - which helped her become a millionaire. The perfume was created in 1921 by Ernest Beaux at the request of Chanel, who said that it was "a woman's perfume with the scent of woman." Its Art Deco bottle was incorporated into the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, New York, in 1959. Chanel No. 5 was the first synthetic perfume to take the name of a designer. One of her most famous quotes is, "This perfume is not just beautiful and fragrant. It contains my blood and sweat and a million broken dreams."

All her clothes were emblazoned with the famous Chanel symbol, the interlocking "C"s. This, however, was not her own design. The symbol was given to her by the owner of the Chateau de Cremat (a Chateau on the outskirts of Nice in the south of France). In 1923, she told Harper's Bazaar that "simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance." Chanel always kept the clothing she designed simple and comfortable and revealing. She took what were considered poor fabrics like jersey and upgraded them. She was instrumental in helping to design the image of the 1920s flapper, a "new breed" of young women who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to new jazz music, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior. The flappers were seen as brash for wearing excessive makeup, drinking, treating sex in a casual manner, smoking, driving automobiles, and showing a lot of skin.

The German designer Karl Lagerfeld is, since 1983, the art director of Chanel, both for the haute couture and prêt-à-porter.


* source: wikipédia

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Beyond Fashion

manteiga voadora profile
I thought that one of the very first things to do in this blog was introducing myself. I have already done it, (and I think its pretty explicit),but I might have skipped the part where I´m supposed to explain what this blog is about. I decided to do it now because I´m not far from the beginning yet. Although its pretty obvious that this blog is related to fashion, some of you might have been wondering why the description of the blog says "Beyond Fashion"... Well, this blog is just the result of a little bit of the way I think and the way I want my future to be. I said in my very first post that i consider myself an artist. In abridgment, my objective is to become a fashion designer, and hopefully be able to do that for living. ( i´m just saying this because i have friends that graduated in fashion design, and are now working in some other industries...seems like there is no place for them in the fashion world,yet...) But the only reason why i want to become a fashion designer, is to be able to officially sell my Art. I know i might look weird by saying this, but this is just the way i see the world. I've also mentioned what one of my Fashion teachers told me once about what he thought about modern fashion designers (that we are unable to create anything new). Well, he thinks that we are incapable to create, so he simply teaches his students to find out what the fashion dictators are dictating to be the tendencies, and to design something from there. If this is the way people teach students around the world, i honestly think they are wrong. If we are studying to create something that has already been invented, then...why do we need fashion designers for???The ones we call fashion dictators are the ones that crossed the line of the impossible and innovated when everyone else thought that there was nothing beyond. If you think big, you might grow, but if you have small minds, then you just keep in touch with the tendencies... I am simply going to use Fashion Design as an Art tool...i cant promise i going innovate, but at least i´ll try hard. I'm not going to limit myself to follow tendencies neither my objective is to become a fashion dictator myself. I want to do Art in the shape of fashion, and help my customers to dress the way they like, no matter what the tendencies are. Fashion is Innovation. But I'm beyond that...

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Paul Poiret´s Biography


Someone that lives daydreaming and doesn´t manage to discipline himself at work simply had to born to be an artist.Plump, joyful and a dreamer, Paul Poiret was born at the 8th of April 1879. His parents were cloth commerciants in Hallen in the heart of Paris. He served an apprenticeship with Jacques Doucet in the 1890s, moved to the Maison Worth in 1900, and in 1902 opened his own small studio. Dominating Paris couture from 1909 to 1914, Poiret revolutionized fashion with his designs for the “new woman,” ending wasp waists and constricting corsets, reviving a simple, Empire-waisted silhouette, and introducing pantaloons.His first fashion house was on the Rue Auber in Paris. There he produced innovative designs such as the kimono coat, and enlarged his clientele of famous customers. The richness of materials, violence of colouring and style and taste for orientalism in such designs as that for the Sorbet dress all suggest a profound affinity with the Ballets Russes. In 1910 he opened new salon in a large 18th-century house, in the Avenue d'Antin, where he created his famous 'hobble-skirted' dresses, drawn in at the hem.
He adopted an orientalizing style in the theatrical costumes he designed later for Nabuchodonosor, first peformed in January 1911 at the Theatre des Arts in Paris; Le Minaret, performed during the spring of 1913 at the Theatre de la Renaissance in Paris; and Aphrodite, performed during the spring of 1914 at the Theatre de la Renaissance. Alike other famous figures of history Poiret had great moments of glory, and died in misery, forgotten by everyone. However, Poiret was the very first fashion designer of the twentieth century and changed the history of clothing forever.






Friday, September 12, 2008

John Galliano´ s Biography
















"My work is about pushing the boundaries of creation"




John Galliano is one of the hero's of the British fashion. Son of emigrant parents, Galliano was born and was born in 1960 and was baptized Juan Carlos Antonio. Galliano´s mum is Spanish and his father is from Gibraltar, the British colony that saw him born and grow. At his six years of age, his family moved to the south of London. But his past, with the religious ceremonies and the culture full of colour and sun, end up being a constant inspiration for Galliano, who proudly assumed his Latin vanity as his signature and his trademark. After completing Wilson´s Grammar School for Boys, Galliano entered Central Saint Martin’s College of Arts, where he graduated in 1984. His graduation collection, inspired in the French revolution and called "Les Incroyables" was immediately bought by Joan Burstein from Browns and it launched him to success. In 1992, after a past marked by financial difficulties, problems with supporters and collections considered commercially impracticable, Galliano moved to Paris, where he started to present his collections. In 1995, he was announced successor of Hubert at Givenchy house. One year later, he jumped from Givenchy to Dior where he presents his fabulous collections today.




Here´s some of his creations for Dior House:

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Indian Rococo

Another Indian Rococo Sketch! This one could also be inspired in Cinderella (Her trousers reminds me of a pumpkin!)
Another Indian Rococo Sketch! This one could also be inspired in Cinderella manteiga voadora

Monday, September 8, 2008

My Very First Collection

Today I decided to post the sketches of my very first collection. Well, I had already done lots and lots of drawings before,but these sketches are from a collection that we were told to do, in my first year at Magestil Fashion School in Lisbon.
This is a small collection of 8 wedding dresses, each one of them inspired in 8 different species of butterflies.

Hope You Enjoy Them!


sketch croquis inspired in butterfly redsketch croquis inspired in butterfly blue
sketch croquis inspired in butterfly yellowsketch croquis inspired in butterfly redsketch croquis inspired in butterfly green

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Indian Rococo


Another of my Indian Rococo Sketches... it´s not finished because i´ve been trying to paint it on photoshop, but it´s really hard to draw all the details without a tablet pc...hopefully , im getting a brand new one in the end of this month,and then ill finish them, and post them again.
Hope you enjoy it!


Thursday, September 4, 2008

A Fashion Genius


Today I am going to write a little bit about someone that I deeply admire. Someone that completely changed the fashion world.
John Galliano.
More than an extravagant fashion designer, Galliano is a genius.
He is - in my opinion- one of the greatest artists of all time.

Yes, I rather call him Artist than a simple Fashion Designer.
Because that is what he does. Art!
Those things he presents at his theatre-like fashion shows aren't only expensive garments. Those, are masterpieces.

Once a teacher told me that the first fashion designers have already invented what we (humankind) had to invent in terms of Fashion, so what new designers does, is to reinvent what was done in the past.
He also criticized my first collection because my designs were "too different, and too complicated".
That upset me a lot because as a teenager, I thought somehow I could change the world...
and by saying that we were unable to create, but only reinvent, he was...in other words ...tying my hands...
He made me believe that there was nothing we (youth) could do, that no matter how hard we tried, we would never be able to create anything new, because everything is already invented.
And so I saw Galliano´s work.
John Galliano is the living proof that we are still capable to create.
Although its always obvious which part of history he took as an inspiration every time we look at one of his creations, we can also say, that his creations are unique.
I deeply admire John Galliano, because he proved the world wrong, and made me believe.
Viva la Vida!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Indian Rococo Sketches

Today I decided to expose two sketches that I have started for a project last year. I got my inspiration in the exotic ancient Indian costumes and decided to mix it with the exuberant costumes used in France in the XVIII Century, the famous style, Rococo. They are not finished yet, and i still have some other sketches to finish. But I promise Ill show them here as soon as i finish them.

Hope you enjoy watching!


Monday, September 1, 2008

History Inspires Me

History inspires me...
Portugal is a country full of history and legends, and that is one of the things that makes me feel proud of being Portuguese. Its pretty easy to find different stories to use as an inspiration;thousands of worlds inside my world that have never been explored; each one of them full of colour, and little details, that when intelligently mixed with a bit of creativity, can culminate in unique creations.

Let me tell you one of those:


"At a banquet given by a rich landowner in Barcelos, a valuable piece of silver was stolen and one of guests was accused of the theft. He was tried by the court and was found guilty. In spite of the overwhelming evidence against him, he still protested his innocence. The magistrate granted the man a final chance to prove his case. Seeing a cock in a basket nearby he said, “If I am innocent, the cock will crow.” The cock crowed and the prisoner was allowed to go free."


draw inspired by galos de barcelos legend Portugal sketch croquis red and black

With a simple old legend, and a simple image, i decided to create a small colection of five garments, for a fashion contest in 2007. Although i didn't get any prize, i´m still happy with my creations, and for this reason, im exposing them in this blog.

Before starting making judgments about my work, let me just remind you that i am not a fashion designer or even a fashion student. I have studied fashion & textiles 2 years ago, but was unable to finish my course. One of my biggest dreams is to be able to finish what i left undone in the past.

Anyway, hope you enjoy looking at my sketches.
Here they are:



draw inspired by galos de barcelos legend Portugal sketch croquis red and black

draw inspired by galos de barcelos legend Portugal sketch croquis red and black

draw inspired by galos de barcelos legend Portugal sketch croquis red and black

draw inspired by galos de barcelos legend Portugal sketch croquis red and black