An Eye Opener
Online Fashion, Architecture and Design Recommendations
It’s hard to satisfy a healthy appetite for visual knowledge, particularly nowadays, when it streams from and to every location possible. For me, a random wandering around the web can lead to endless inspirations, endless esthetic appetizers which find their way to my world and to the things I want to create and see around me.
As a fashion designer, it’s hard to satisfy my appetite, but every once in a while I come across events, creators and designers that fascinate me. In order to share these experiences with you and also, to keep you busy for a few hours, here are some things that caught my attention during the last week:
My personal affection to hats is far from being a secret. In any given moment I have five different hats within my reach; in the car (at least two), in the studio, at my home and in my bag. As the weather warms up, my forehead becomes more and more concealed – not to mention the immediate style upgrade that comes with it. So, there’s no wonder I was more than happy to discover Moody and Farrel, British hat makers, new site. Eloise Moody, the next generation of the founders, now leads the company.
The highly recommended fashion blog, Style Bubble, went to visit their studio and got a close-up look at the new collection Moody created. Amidst classical looks exceptional materials are discovered, such as veneer and oak, alongside sunny color scale. Definitely a refreshing viewing necessity.
It seems that only Emmanuelle Moureaux, the Japanese architects’ studio, can turn over a dreary concept such as bank branch to a goodexample of colorfulness and a play of form; as they did with Sugamo Shinkin branch in Tokyo, which was launched just a few weeks ago. The form which was chosen to lead this new conception was a square, which was combined and intertwined in a vast array of options and hues on the bank’s façade, in its interior desifn and graphic visibility.
You also might want to take a look in the design they conceived for an Issey Miyake store in 2010. In this project, titled “Sticks”, they set up dozens of colorful sticks around the store, as a visual gesture to a children game name “Mikado”. No doubt this project creates a sense of gliding between the hangers and garments. To be honest, once you log on to their site, you can find yourself immersing in various projects. Take a few minutes to wander around – higly recommended.
It’s interesting to see how the global designer’s community now faces a return to tribal sources on the one hand and re-thinks futuristic approaches on the other. No doubt that this combination derives from the design sphere’ desire to give room to “green” state of mind; not superficially, but as a holistic attempt to work in conjunction with the environment without hurting it. Thus, modern and contemporary techniques of manufacture encounter materials which relate to ancient times. From this encounter, a new visual language emerges. Take, for example, these perfume bottles made by Nasomatto, or these beautiful materials by Materio.
And some more visual thoughts about preservation, from a slightly different angle: Meet Camille Seaman. A few years after she graduated from photography studies, she found herself working for a shipping company in the Arctic Circle. There, at age 32, she discovered the ice’ diverse wild beauty, as well as its exceptional lighting conditions. Surrounded by these extreme conditions she experienced photography in a whole new way. 
Between icebergs, she began creating a remarkable body of works, which later gave her the nickname “the iceberg photographer. Now, when heat descents upon us, it seems that her works create the perfect scenery.
Stin Gam and Enriko Fratesi are an architect duo who created in 2006 GamFratesi studio for industrial design. During the last five years they won a number of prizes, took part in international exhibitions and created a desk you simply must see.
Although “Rewrite” was created for an exhibition in Copenhagen museum for art and design, it is now marketed for commercial purposes by Ligne Roset Company. Stemming from the seemingly basic concept of a desktop, they designed a beautiful space; one that make you want to find something to do so that you can just sit next to it. Take a look in their official website.
And finally, this list will not be completed without another recommendation from us here in the studio: the video art from our spring-summer collection, Minimal Form. As I have previously indicated, in this project we tried to outline the sense of being in the garment, to dwell in the fabric; in the senses it creates in the body and our movement within it. You are more than welcome to take a look and join in the experience.