Sunday 11 March 2012

Yasamin Zafar's "Rites of Passage"



Trudging deep into the steamy jungle, near the rivers of Borneo, is where a young Dane designer, Yasamin Zafar, fell intrigued by the indigenous native tribe, the Ibans. What would become the inspiration for her latest collection, “Rites of Passage”; their way with the world – the spiritual world- would become the source of creativity for the creation of a Ready-to-Wear collection for AW12.
 
Image Courtesy pof www.artsthread.com
“Rites of Passage” symbolises a young Iban’s journey between childhoods to adulthood. Reputed for their traditional practice of headhunting - now a thing of the past - their engagement with the spiritual world is still at the forefront of their ancestry and is very much at the heart of their existence. The collection is a visual interpretation of their customs and rituals and a reflection of her moods and feelings of her journey through the jungle, as she watches and studies their communication with the spiritual world, to protect them from evil spirits and prepare them for a world outside the one they live.
 
Image Courtsy of www.flickr.com
Inspired by working with different materials, the textile design graduate of The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Design, has juxtaposed simple silhouettes dominated by a monochromatic printed catsuits, a laddered knitted gown and a bodice bearing a soft shade of sand teamed with a white sheer layered fabric to create a soft and simple aesthetic, all of which possesed intricate details illustrating their strong connection to the land of mysterious Gods, legends of the forest as well as posing Borneo tribal tatoos.
 
The designers interpretaion of tribal tatoos are prevalent throughout the collection. Images of mythical creatures, in abstract and reality, are ubiquitously the main attraction. Used for cultural identity, standing within the community and protection from the evil spirits in the forest; common designs take form in the dog, scorpions, tigers and  other images depicting nature.
 
 
Image Courtesy of www.muuse.com
Each piece tells their own story of being born into a tribe of warriors showing strength and resilience when protecting their territory; the mysterious might of the wilderness; the rituals of death in which the model wilts, exemplifying an emotional and crushing pain one feels when one goes beyond this world but to the spirit world and the three stages of life - birth, child to adult and death.
 
Image courtesy of www.pimawards.com
 
The strength of a woman is a flowing theme throughout this collection.  A woman with a daring personality, who isn’t afraid to stand out from the crowd, is what a Yasamin Zafar woman is.

Thursday 1 March 2012

Stephane Rolland's SS12 Couture


Nominated for the prestigious Melier awards, Stephane Rolland can truly bear the label as an Haute Couture designer.
 
 Image Courtesy of www.firstpost.com

The Frenchman studied at the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicate de la Haute Coutre before taking his position at Balenciaga at the tender age of 20 as Creative Director of menswear until he joined the Haute Couture fashion house of Jean-Louis Scherrer as Artistic Manager where he remained for a further ten years.

However, now, he has created pieces of art of his own for his own Haute Couture fashion house of Stephane Rolland. In the illustrious surrounding of the Cite de l’architecture et du Patrimoine at Tracadero Place, it seemed befitting for the French designer to present a show of floor-sweeping gowns encapsulating the sophistication and elegance of Paris and its history for high fashion, during the Haute Couture Paris Fashion week.
 
 Image Courtesy of www.belleabouttown.com

Inspired by the kinetic art of the late French artist, Michel Deverne, whose fascination to reinvent public space with art whilst working with a variety of materials to create shapes that play with light were a clear explanation for Rolland’s  visual interpretation and attention to detail of architectural space. Taking defined shapes of spiral creations and fragmented scales on broad shoulders and sleeves - often created when playing with cellular characteristics; these shapes were signs of the Deverne’s creations but Rolland’s exquisite craftsmanship.
 
 Image Courtesy of www.styleftw.tumblr.com

The strong colour palette of pearly whites, fiery reds and lustrous blacks with hints of pistachio greens represented a colour palette to be adorned by the beauty and strength of a powerful woman. Beautiful gowns skimmed the models silhouettes, elongating the body in every way, wore a series of plunging necklines, accentuated shoulders and cinched waists. The French designer’s deliverance of elegant fabrics of silks; gazar, chiffons, organza and a cascade of ostrich feathers, daring cut-outs with gold accents, leather gloves, only covering their fingers, took precedent throughout the collection as a display of chic sophistication.
 
 Image Courtesy of www.constancezahn.com 


 
Image Courtesy of www.saintnn.blogspot.com

But, it was Rolland’s show stopping finale that had the audience is total awe of his amazing exhibition of skilful craftsmanship. Wearing a fierce some red dress, weighing more than a 100 pounds, former supermodel Yasmin Le Bon, escorted with two smartly dressed assistants, is a stature of grandeur in this skilfully crafted open-back gown embellished with a sequin of blood red detailing streaming the front and expansive trail trailing behind her, artfully displayed as a work of art, brought the show to a satisfying end of radiant glamour.
 
Image Courtesy of www.flutteryonby.net

Image Courtesy of www.heleiastyle.blogspot.com