CSM White Show; Beaded tights – DIY

Question, what would you do with 2 metres of felt and cotton? My first DIY instinct would tell me to lay the felt sheet flat on the floor, then lie down and the pull the cotton sheet on as blanket. OK, that’s probably the flu residue talking. This CSM White Show was the end product of this equation= [(2m felt + 2m cotton + 5 weeks) – sleep] x pixiedust. Every year, First Year CSM Fashion Design students collaborate with its own Fashion Communication students to put on a full-scale runway show. I’d agreed to ‘model’ for Emily this time, and therefore got tossed into this lovely mess. 150 models, or should we say ‘doing-friend-a-favour’ models, had to accept there were to be only one bagel and banana per person throughout the 5 hour wait, and those unlucky few had to remain standing in heels due to the fragile construction of the dress. I’m not complaining (much), when would I ever experience a strut down any runway? It was an educational experience, if not fun.

Emily’s design was inspired by a story of two lovers who forcefully disunite as one passes away in a field of mushrooms. Hence, the design is derived by the shape of mushrooms. Check out more illustration on her blog.

Thank you for your well-wishes, I’m much much better now xx

Shoes – Emma Cook for Topshop, Sweater & cut black jeans & black Outerwear Sweater – Zara, Bumbag – ASOS, Coat – Kappahl

I’ve had this post draft open by my bedside for about 30 hours – I have the flu equivalent of a death sentence in the 17th Century, or at least that’s what I like telling everyone around me to evoke sympathy and donations. (Le boyfriend keeps asking if he can have my DVD collection once I die) But when you’re 1) horizontal in bed and 2) 39 degrees and steamin’ from the ears, coherent sentences don’t come together, especially not for a blog entry. As I was drifting in and out of sleep the photos above started to merge into one dream and in a state of semi-high I somehow managed to relive this day trip I took to Oxford visiting Jen with Jill and Kit. Of course, this being a dream the trees were broccoli and Harry Potter was frolicking in the field with the cows (bits of HP were shot in Oxford)… but what an awesome way to re-experience a wonderful day in a beautiful city.

BTW, remember to get your annual flu shot, because as cool as it sounds to stay in bed the whole day and pick your own dream subject (should’ve watched Avatar…) to feel like you’re going to DIE is not very pleasant.

Shots of moi by Jen, thank you!

Urban Outfitters Pressday SS11

I wish I can do short and sweet when it comes to pressdays, but that’s just my personality I think, can’t keep things concise. I once left a fridge post-it note for my brother that went on about 4 notes just saying that the food is in the fridge. Well, I had to include introduction, literary review, argument and conclusion, no? At least that’s what they taught me in school, I guess you wouldn’t know because you didn’t stay in school or something… HRMPH FINE good for you and your short note writing skillz. So I guess my point is… I’m growing tickling fondness for the vinyl trend in footwear (refer to annex); blisters-in-the-making is apparently the new Behind the Scenes in SS11. I find that Urban Outfitters has an exceptionally good taste in their boutique section; they’re taking in different brands that somehow speak a similar language, or alike enough to carry through that quirky chicness of UO. Another favourites are those flat wedges by Won Hundred– very Anywho!

Thank you Amber for the invitation!

Annex: Since this will only be affordable once I join the Ocean’s Eleven team and be able to fit in a casino cart.

Jacket – Vintage; Cardigan & cashmere scarf – Uniqlo, Bag – Courtesy of Chanel, Shoes – H&M, Gloves – Dorothy Perkins #teenvogue

Thank you Macku for the photos!

Oh the joy of internet scandals… in one corner there’s a bloke blatantly copying the style and practices of another blogger, and in another corner there’s a blog of a major magazine with no apparent education on copyright and, well, human-to-human manners. (Read about it) It doesn’t really matter at what age you start exposing yourself to the internet and committing yourself into these small communities (blogging, in our case) but concerning the game rules there’s really not much to it. It’s not rocket science, or brain surgery, or knitting hair from your back – you take something from someone – a newspaper from their lawn or a JPG from a blog, you let them know and credit accordingly. Well, I mean, don’t take the newspaper and yell across the yard THIS NEWSPAPER IS FROM 23A. My point is, you learn this when you’re 3, so there’s really no excuse.

This reminds me: ‘TFS’ is not a source. If the image was a scan from Vogue Jan ’10 issue that was uploaded onto TFS, then the correct source is ‘Vogue Jan ’10 found on TFS’.

CSM BA Fashion Design Group project; Black heels by Office; FDM – Hester Kitchen, Victoria Kwong; Fashion Print – Catherine Gertner, Paula Kim; Fashion Knit – Hye Sun Choi, Gyu Won Do , FCP – Marcella Saads, Derek Ho;

Don’t look at me, I have no idea how I ended up ‘modelling’ (used in the loosest form possible – if I’m a model, a pillow would be one too) either – clearly Gyu was desperate. Remember Gyu, the CSM knitwear student I visited in June? Time flies! I’ve known her since before Foundation and now this is her collaboration project in her Second Year (with BA Fashion Communication, BA Fashion Print & BA Fashion Design students). The inspiration for the pieces was the myriad that is the CSM Charing Cross campus, and a story of a new girl getting lost. This girl, Ariadne, finds a red thread that leads her to a mysterious room and ends up living there for the rest of her life. The ‘red thread’ refers to the colour of the corridor floors. The patterns and prints are based on photomanipulated images of the room (actually exists apparently), notably the carpet, and the ‘face’ of Ariadne.

Usually I find that students’ garments incredibly fragile but the knit, print, and panelling skills on the four outfits were impeccable – sophisticated enough to go straight to market. Being around the team through the fitting, photoshoots, last alterations and the line-up at the final crit I really really got to experience how much work goes into a collection, not to mention team tension and shared responsibilities… They basically created a brand – tags, website, press release, packaging…the whole shebang… in about 5 weeks. Now I want to study again, this time properly.

Disclaimer: there is no mad old lady, living in a room in the CSM Charing Cross building.