Textile Swatches

Pink is the Navy Blue of India

'I adore that pink, it's the navy blue of India', declared Diana Vreeland, former editor of Vogue, in 1962. By this she meant that, just as navy blue in the Western culture signifies conservative respectability, pink exemplifies tradition and balance in India.

This was also the title of a photography exhibit I visited at Tasveer, last evening in Bangalore.

It is an exhibit of the works of British photographer, Norman Parkinson. 1913-1990.

In a career that spanned seven decades, Norman Parkinson dazzled the world with his sparkling inventiveness as a fashion photographer. His long association with Vogue, and his numerous assignments for Harper’s Bazaar, Town & Country and other international magazines, brought him worldwide recognition.  Standing at 6 feet 5 inches tall, Parkinson was unable to remain unobtrusive behind the lens and instead created ‘Parks’, the moustachioed, ostentatiously elegant fashion photographer – as much a personality as those who sat for him, and frequently more flamboyant. 

His trip to India, in 1956, was an incredible experience for him and for the readers of Vogue. After the austerity of the war and the focus on Europe, Britain was eager to embrace the larger world. When British Vogue suggested that he do a major photo shoot in India, Parkinson welcomed it. He instinctively knew that his readers wanted to see not only his fashion but also the country. In the 1950s, flights were still expensive and infrequent, so for many people their window to the world was through magazines and papers. His plan was to take Western fashion and combine it with Indian style. It was an ideal marriage, the clothes blended beautifully with the surroundings.

CHANEL Paris-Bombay Pre Fall 2012

'The mix of English chic with Indian influence is something very elegant', Karl Lagerfeld when explaining the idea behind his Paris-Bombay Metiers d'Art 2011/12 shown earlier this week at the Grand Palais in Paris.

The Metiers d'Art show is Chanel's annual show that is a tribute to the gifted craftspeople that produce the amazing workmanship apparent in Chanel products. In 1997 Chanel acquired 7 craft workshops or ateliers including- Maison Desrues (buttonmakers), Maison Lemarie (feathers and plumage), Lesage (embroidery), Massaro (couture shoemaker), MaisonMichel (hatmakers), Goossens (jewellers) and Guillet (floral presentations).

The collection exemplified the elegance and savoir faire of Parisian fashion and Chanel's ateliers combined with the rich, artisanal works of India. Combinations of classic Chanel tweed jackets with Nehru collars with raw silk tunics; metallic evening gowns cut to look like saris and Parisian tailoring all heavily decorated with intricate embroidery. The collection displayed true qualities of design and craftsmanship.

Here's a short video of the atelier of embroidery Lesage and button-maker Desrues working on the Paris-Bombay collection.

 

The Insider's Outsider - The intelligent, artistic fashion of Dries Van Noten

Since my days at F.I.T., I've admired the simplicity and cleverness of the fashion of Dries Van Noten. Reading this article in WSJ I realize that his fashion and aesthetic is very reflective of his philosophy relating to fashion and design. He is a purist, resisting being too commercial and in his words,"Personally I think there is too much fashion in the world." While reading the article, I realized that I share his beliefs in many ways.

When starting my fabric company, I had a similar thought there is too much textile in the world and I need to have a reason for bringing another product line of 'stuff' to the market. My underlying mission and 'raison d'etre' is to support artisans and crafts and through my work and to create new viewpoints and markets for crafts.

The hats and the whimsy!

 
 
Hats, used primarily as head coverings, have been around for a long, long time. Women, from the early days were expected to have their heads covered by veils, hoods, etc. It was not until the end of the 16th century that women's structured hats started to be seen, and in the late 17th century women's headgear started to be seen as fashion. The word, 'milliner', a maker of women's hats originated from the city of Milan, where the best quality hats were made in the 18th century.

The hats at the Royal Wedding were fabulous and so whimsical. Here are some of my favorites...

Pulp Fashion: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave

I'm so inspired by the show I saw last Saturday at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. My friend and mentor, Yoshiko Wada, took me to see the terrific and inspiring exhibit, 'Pulp Fashion: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave'

Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave is a painter by training, who for more than fifteen years, has created an astonishing and original body of work. After a visit to the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in the mid 90s, she was inspired to experiment with fashion design through the medium of paper. 

Painting and manipulating paper, she forms trompe l'oeil masterpieces of elaborate historical dresses. Her work spans 300 years of fashion history from Elizabeth I to Coco Chanel- encompassing the worlds of Mariano Fortuny and 19th c. Venice, the Medici costumes from the Renaissance, gowns worn by Elizabeth I and Marie-Antoinette to the creations of the grand couturiers Frederick Worth, Paul Poiret, Christian Dior and Coco Chanel, and even kaftans of ikat and suzani patterns.

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The exhibit will run till June 5th, 2011 at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco

 

Thoughts of Japan

Hearing the sad news and watching the horrific images of the natural disaster in Japan, helps put life into perspective. Our everyday grievances are so unimportant in the bigger picture..

My heart goes out to the people affected by this tragedy. I reminisce the wonderful times I spent in Japan in the mid-90s, enjoying the caring hospitality of my hosts and friends at NUNO Corporation. I had the fortunate opportunity of working with NUNO. It gave me my foundation in textiles and sent me down   the wonderful journey of textile explorations.

I came across this wonderful interview with one of NUNO's founders- Junichi Arai- a living textile legend! Open the link to check out the video.