Colour inspirations.....



Anyone that knows me will know I am a bit of a black, navy and grey girl. However, I've been really feeling yellow this season. After putting yellow in my project I did for Helmut Lang (check it out on laurensanins.com) and then seeing their use of it for their SS 12 collection in an edgy and contemporary way, I think if coupled with the right colour it can really work. A particular fave is the yellow armchair with cactus and hint of turquoise in the little pot in the photograph. I've found myself looking at a lot more interior recently, and I feel the overall colour balance looks really new and modern.

1. Inbetween Dreams  2+3. Vanessa Jackman blog  4. www.solid-uncoated.blogspot.com  5. Inbetween Dreams  6. Dazed Digital  7. A Year in Photography, Magnum Archive 2010 (love this book)  8. Image from Fashion 156 Daily blog, by Lucinda Beeman

Barbara Hepworth Gallery

That particular weekend I went to the Sculpture Park, I also took the opportunity to visit the newly opened Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield. The 1600 square metre exhibition space is the largest purpose built gallery outside of London and all this is literally down the road from my grandparents! The actual building itself seems to rise out of the River Calder, and was intended to sit right on the edge of the waterfront, not only for the aesthetic but to use the flow of energy. With Barbara Hepworth being one of my favourite artists of all time, I couldn't believe I didn't know she was actually born in Wakefield, where most of my family have lived for decades (not sure if it is a good idea to admit this!)   

All images by Lauren Sanins

Trend: Seeing Stars...

With my lack of blogging for the past year, I have an incredible amount of images stored up on my computer that I've been sorting through. My first observation... I have a lot of star images. The current Acne collection deals with the star symbol in a bold and effective way without making it look too naff/'kiddish' and makes it desirable and contemporary.

1. www.hedislimane.com 2. Own archive 3. Own archive 4. Own archive 5.Lula Scrapbook 6.www.hedislimane.com 7. www.streetfsn.com
8.www.vanessajackman.blogspot.com 9. Own archive

The Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Judging by the location of the photos from my trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park,the fallen leaves, Autumnal colours, you can probably tell that these were taken quite a while ago (maybe October...maybe!) I am a massive fan of Henry Moore and the whole concept of his work sitting in the natural setting so felt the need to put these up at last. I didn't see as much as I would have liked due to an inappropriate footwear/mud situation but saw a lot of his better known pieces. The actual scale of the pieces is really quite phenomenal, something you can't judge in books or from photographs.

  I was really excited to learn that as well as the gardens, there is a gallery within the park that holds major exhibitions. Annoyingly I don't have the exhibition information, seeing as it feels like an age ago that I actually went. Fortunately I do remember the artist's name, Jaume Plensa, a Spanish artist that deals with spiritual issues through his sculpture with an interactive element, which made a change. Some of his pieces were exhibited in the park space outside and continued nicely into the rooms in the actual gallery, including a room filled with giant gongs that the onlooker was allowed to strike, filling the place with a chaotic yet calming sound. Rarely do I look at pieces in exhibitions and feel blown away but his illuminated heads were unbelievable.

The illuminated faces were a particular highlight, the way they were carved/lit/the proportion of the features made them look as if the faces were projected onto the stone. The backs were crumbling as if some ancient artifact that had been around for thousands of years. The execution was perfect, as something like this could have ended up a disaster without having the same impact. It was refreshing to be able to walk in and around the sculptures, something I admire with artists that want people to look and interact with their work rather than observing the 'Do not touch' signs that often accompany art and sculpture. Not only was it unexpected, I was impressed with the exhibition and people that know me will know how picky I am with my art and the style that I like.

ps..Liu Wen was not at the exhibition... I came across the image on Jak and Jil soon after the exhibition and noticed the same sculpture. It helps that I love her jacket too!

Image from www.jakandjil.com.

A.T.S.H.C 2011...Trend...Knit Knot

A.T.S.H.C Trend...See through..

I wanted to call this trend other than 'Sheer', as I feel its a trend thats been around for a lot of seasons and a few pieces around have been completely transparent; sheer wouldn't cover them. Not that I'm complaining, I do love seeing different interpretations of the trend and this season, there have been some interesting translations. It can go into the realm of conceptual design, like the smaller London show by Simon Ekrelius, who I posted on previously.

On a more wearable level, there were beautifully sheer pieces in colour tones to add a different dimension, seen at Dries, or happy canary yellow seen at Cacharel. The thing with sheer is that it can be a bit repetitive, seeing as it seems to be around all the time, whether it be in sheer knit, more evening pieces or finer jerseys. The Dries collection in particular had sheer elements that felt fresh because of the colour, which wasn't too overpowering with the sheer; there was still a delicacy and cheeriness to it which made it feel new.

Dries Van Noten

The brightness alongside the sportiness and simplicity of the shape makes this look work from Cacharel.

Jeremy Laing, who showed in NY, mixed sporty silhouettes with a darker blue sheer, effective against the white. By mixing the more athletic inspired silhouettes with the sheer, it somehow makes it less feminine, but still beautiful.

Gabriele Colangelo's interpretation of see through was varied throughout the collection, whether through texture and distorting lace, or changing the gradient on trousers, ranging from white, grey, pink and black. It ran through the collection subtly and created something with an incredibly sculptural quality, while being modern and desirable.

Perhaps more ethereal than the other looks, the see through trend was interpretated on wearable dresses in white that added more of a femininity at BCBG, NYFW. There was a prettiness to them, although not the most fashion forward of the trend.

Pale and dark was mixed on the street, toughening up the otherwise ethereal quality of the white. This piece particularly interested me; trousers with a sheer cape attatched at the rear?

I feel like after Spring/Summer 2011, there was a lot of white, which became repetitive and after a while, a little bit dull. The see through trend was interpreted beautifully in white by Colangelo, but by mixing in different dimensions, it felt like it was something new.

Images from vogue and style.com

Other images from Dazed Digital and AnOther magazine

PFW...Celine vs. Chloe

Chloe

Versus..

Celine

Chloe and Celine have been two shows I've been looking forward to, to see how their take on beautiful, minimalist and desirable clothes. Chloe still had the beige it has become known for, but white added a lightness to the Spring/Summer colelction. There were beautiful tones of red in 70's inspired sportswear shapes.

I think, in terms of desirability, looks, colour and as an overall collection, Celine was my favourite out of the two. Like Chloe, the general tones were pale in white and ivory, but I think what made it stand out was the colour combinations, used cleverly retaining the Celine minimalism and prints.

I really liked the flowing trousers, with subtle details, like the double layer where the pocket bag is.

The green, blue and orange worked as a palette against the freshness of the white. It is reminiscent of the flash of print on the side of trousers at Peter Pilotto, although this is feels more considered and part of the collection.

From all of the minimalism, this was unexpected, but probably one of my favourite looks because of how different and at the same time, part of the collection it felt.

Images from AnOther magazine and Dazed Digital and style.com