bits and bobbins

i’m seriously thinking about attending this panel discussion sponsored by gen-art & epicenter:arts about one of my favorite areas of interest, and a big focus of this here blog, street fashion!

and whatta ya know, it’s in my ‘hood!
i’ll report back, most surely.
i already know how i feel, but it’d be interesting to hear what the alleged “experts” have to say on the matter.

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“Popular Culture and Fashion-Does the street influence fashion or vice versa?”

PANELISTS
Simon Ungless, Director of Graduate Fashion, Academy of Art
Julie Chaiken, Fashion Designer, Chaiken Clothing
Melissa Leventon, Curator and Author: “Artwear: Fashion and Anti-fashion”
Cari Borja, Fashion Designer, PhD in Anthropology
Allison Nelson, Fashion Designer, Redthreds

Wednesday, September 20
(please note date change!)
7:00 – 9:00pm

7:00pm: Reception
7:30 – 8:30pm: Panel
8:30 – 9:00pm: Q&A

W Hotel
**Mezzanine Level**
181 Third Street
San Francisco, CA

Please join Gen Art and Epicenter:Arts for the fourth in a series of thought provoking panel discussions focusing on the arts. In preparation for Fresh Faces in Fashion this September, we are pleased to present: “Popular Culture and Fashion-Does the street influence fashion or vice versa?”

This panel will discuss the influence and inter-dependency of “street” fashion on high fashion. Who is borrowing from whom? Is this exchange defined by the times or era? A panel of industry luminaries will discuss.

diane von furstenburg:

glad to see color hasn’t disappeared completely this coming spring. *phew*
i love that DVF has used what some (not ME! ) might consider to be clashing colors (orange and fuchsia), and has also teamed a medium-scale floral print with what appears to be a supergraphic print. this appeals to my life-long-love-of-color side…i can never let it go, even if i have been feeling a recent obsession with grays and blacks of late.

same dress different buttons? i just love it. bright YELLOW seems to be the coming thing…
i’ve always loved that gorgeous kelly green shade. DVF is clearly the master of easy dresses that suit *real* women…i would personally buy this in every color.

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karen walker:


bonnets! hah…*nudges dearbirthday*
that’s curious, for sure.
also, i must say, the first model reminds me of melovescookies. again…curious!
i also like the super popping colors, mixing with neutrals and the higher waists, though the latter looks awful on me personally. it’s just nice to see this coming back after years of ridiculously low pants/skirts. also, note the tucking in of the shirt! something we haven’t seen a while either (a different way of styling than what has been hot for many years).

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marc by marc:





marc jacobs was all about the 20s/30s look in both of his eponymous lines…all the drop-waists and such.
i’m liking that silhouette, actually, it seems a bit fresh and could be open to a myriad of interpretations.
leave it to marc to come up with at least one denim item i really love (that denim dress above)…he does it every season, of course.
but generally i’ve not been feeling the last couple of seasons from marc by marc, as they don’t suit my general aesthetic (especially the huge saggy man pants for fall/winter 2006, yuck!), but any of these pieces above could be mixed and layered and paired with my usual favorite bright colors for a fresh personal statement that diverts from this type of styling suggested above.

and hello, what a great garter stitch sweater! i’m all about the oversized knit gauges.

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marc jacobs:


i really like marc’s main line…it’s got that overall 20s/30s feel…but also feels really futuristic with the sculptural quality, and those holographic fabrications.

maybe “modern” fashion these days is somewhat about taking the old shapes, tweaking them, and experimenting with those new shapes using the latest new fabrications coming out of the textile world (some of which are very highly scientifically engineered and complicated)? it’s one theory i’ve been tossing around in my little head for a while…

in the top photo, i’m all about that mix of super glamorous, shiny, holographic fabric in the top, with the dull, casual look of the fabric in the pants. and the sculptural shape of the pants is absolutely divine, with the side swooping up to reveal more leg. sooo good.

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united bamboo:

more dropped waists. more bubble shapes. nice, nice, nice.

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jay mc carroll:

yay, jay finally showed! seemed like a lot of the same themes as from his PR show a few years back…
i really hope he is successful; i love his aesthetic sense completely, his use of traditional hand/needlework (quilting, piecing, knitting, crochet) not to mention his use of color.

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erin fetherston:


a romper! i’m all about rompers…i’d like to design some when my studio stuff finally arrives here in SF. this one by erin fetherston looks somewhat like one i designed for one of my classes at parsons earlier this year…more curiousness.

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overall, there wasn’t anything at NYC fashion week that bowled me over completely (except maybe some of the marc jacobs collection).

i am really looking forward to seeing what comes out of london this week, and later, milan (of COURSE)…show me something AMAZING, fashion world! i’m curious to see what eley kishimoto comes up with, for starters…

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all photos: style.com

rock on.

apparently banksy did a show in LA recently. the photo above is from this blog entry by jamie o’shea @ supertouchblog.com, and has many more shots of the work at the show and celebs that apparently were there (brad pitt, perry farrell, etc.):
http://supertouchblog.com/?p=317#more-317
i love banksy.