Source: Ragtrader March Issue 2011

There’s only one thing that erks me more than tardy blog entries…excuses for tardy blog entries, so don’t take the following as an excuse. In the last couple of weeks my post code has changed to a zip code and I’m finally in New York! I hopped on a plane to NYC and started my internship at Proenza Schouler four days later. Sorry to disappoint, but two weeks into the internship there are no horror intern stories to report! Everyone has been so welcoming and I can’t wait to see how the SS12 collection develops.

Now for some backtracking. During this year’s Loreal Melbourne Fashion Festival, Ragtrader approached me to come up with a list of questions I would like to ask respected Melbourne designer Arthur Galan. As a graduate you always have more questions than answers so it was pretty easy to come up with a list-the hard part was narrowing them down to ten. Arthur was really generous with his answers so I recommend having a read of the article. Thanks to Assia for putting the piece together!

During the RMIT Level Ten Exhibition at GPO I was invited for a quick Q & A with the team at tradecreative. They captured the spirit of the exhibition beautifully, doing justice to the hard work on display and behind the scenes. Enjoy.

Here’s one of the last images I haven’t uploaded from the shoot in December. It’s one of favourites because it shows the detail of the garment really well, putting on show all that hard work.

In other news, it’s taken a while but here’s the link to an article RMIT published on their website- it’s always great to have your achievements recognised. This is another post I found on my travels at wonderMODE.

And finally, I’m slowly starting to get ready for the US of A. Seeing all the coverage from NY Fashion Week is making me wish I was there already- I’ll have to wait another month until I can get my New York fix! More details to come.

Hope you like.

All Images: Dazed Digital- Morgan O’Donovan

Iris Van Herpen showed her first couture collection in Paris last week and I haven’t been able to stop googling images from the show. I first came across her work last year whilst studying. Graduating from the repected Arnhem Academy in July 2006, her profile has been on the rise since, releasing amazing collections and collaborating with designers outside of fashion. Every interview I have read on her lets me in on her process a little more. I posted a collaboration she completed with Benthem Crouwel, two renowned Dutch architects, last year. Listening to other designers talk about their work, I can’t always relate to their philosophies, however Iris’s work is quite unique in that she is totally driven by her curiosity in the mundane. Philippe Pourhashemi described her work as a ‘reinterpretation of reality’ (I love it when writers can put things so simply).

Iris’ aesthetic doesn’t necessarily align with my work, yet her search for the newest innovations and technologies to push her designs does. “I like surprising myself and being amazed at things”. For me that’s why I love design, it’s a blank canvas that has infinite possibilities that you could never begin to scratch the surface of (hope that doesn’t sound as pretentious as it did when I was typing it).

Follow the links for more coverage of the S/S11 Couture coverage.

Dazed Digital
A Shaded View on Fashion
Fashionista

I’m going to try and slowly update some images that have been left in the 2010 archives waiting to see the light of day.
The first round of images are from my second shoot of the year, which was my collection. After only having the one image of my first dress for so long it was exciting to see all of my work on the body. After assessment I still had a full months work to complete so I never felt that it was over. Working on the final pieces and then shooting the collection was stressful, rewarding. It’s fair to say luck was on my side because I managed to get a great team together at short notice. Photographer Viktor Nilsson, Makeup and Hair Stylist Leah Meurer and model Christina Dietze each brought a little bit of magic to the shoot and made my day, month- possibly year! We achieved a clean look that put the focus on the designs, not overly complicated styling. I can’t thank these guys enough for pulling off such a beautiful result.
A special thanks also to my friend Kasia for helping out on the day ;)

My first post for 2011! Considering how packed 2010 was, I can’t wait to see what 2011 has in store for me.

I’m back tracking a little here, but I didn’t have much time to update the blog in December. I was lucky enough to speak to Michelle Bateman from The Modernity Project before Christmas. Sometimes I forget that my blog is read by people other than me, so it was great to have a conversation about my year so far (that would be 2010). Spending so much of my time refining how I explained my project at Uni, the words can sometimes loose meaning when you constantly repeat yourself. Reading the article gave me a chance to look at my work with fresh eyes. Thanks once again Michelle!