A beautiful day in the neighborhood

Hubby took the morning off so that we could see the Picasso exhibit that just opened.  I wasn't a fan of Picasso's work until I studied him in art history class.  When I finally understood just what cubism was about, I was in awe of his work.  This exhibit, at the DeYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park, was a great anthology of sorts that took visitors on a tour of the many styles of art he produced.  There were some pieces and styles that I loved and some that I was indifferent to.  

Most people know Picasso's cubist and abstract styles but not everyone may be familiar with his sculpture which references styles from classical Greek statuary to the voluptuous abstract forms that you see in his paintings, to a blocky, geometric sort of style that reminds the viewer of his cubist period.  Most artists change their styles as their techniques improve and grow but Picasso was mind boggling in the sheer volume of work and variety of styles he tried out over his lifetime.

My favorites works were little pencil sketches that were done as studies for larger works.  There were a couple of tiny sketches that were so delicately drawn and perfectly detailed, they almost looked like they'd been stitched onto the page.  Whenever I visit a museum (much to hubby's chagrin) regardless of what city or country I'm in, I end up buying books.  I am very close to reaching maximum capacity on every bookshelf in the house with all my art and fashion books.  As a fashion designer and fiber artist, I find myself drawn to artists who's work triggers my brain to think about unusual color combinations or stitch patterns, shapes and textures that I could use in my work.  When I get blocked during the development phase of a project, I just pull a book from my library and quickly find myself with far more ideas than I have time to complete.  So today, I decided that I didn't really need a Picasso book, I just wanted a few post cards of some of my favorite pieces for my inspiration wall.  Of course, none of my favorite pieces were available on a postcard (grrrrr) so I had to settle for a small book of a few postcards.
 

Bill Cunningham

I finally got a chance to see the Bill Cunningham documentary today.  I had seen his "On The Street" column in the New York Times but didn't know anything about the person behind the pictures.  What a fascinating man!  He lives (at least he did at the time of filming) in Carnegie Hall in a teeny tiny studio that is completely packed with file cabinets which contain the negatives for every picture he's ever taken.  Since he's 82, you can imagine just how many photos that might be.  He rides his bicycle all around NYC taking street photos of people who's style he finds interesting.  Today, the internet is flooded with bloggers who take street style photos of people but Bill was the original street style photog.  He appreciates fashion and the people who put the extra effort into looking their best when they leave the house in the morning.  Whether that's Anna Piaggi, Iris Apfel (one of my favorite style icons) or Agyness Deyn and Patrick McDonald, Bill truly appreciates fashion and people of all ages ethnicities and styles who take fashion risks.

It's hilarious that he's made a career out of his love of fashionable people but he his entire wardrobe can hang on the handles of a single file drawer.  Most of the time, he wears a bright blue jacket that he buys in Paris for about $20 because the cameras would just wear out an expensive jacket.  He works harder than most everyone else who's a quarter his age.  By day, he's photographing on the street riding his bike everywhere, or working in the NY Times offices to edit one of his two columns.  By night, he photographs for his nightlife column at various social functions around the city (which he also travels to by bicycle).  It's kind of crazy to think of an 82 year old man riding his bike around NYC late at night.  He seems to know everyone and everyone loves him.  He treats everyone with respect but doesn't play favorites with anyone who wants to get their picture in the paper.  Throughout the film, Mr. Cunningham is just a very hard working guy, who's very likable and obviously loves what he does for a living.  I highly recommend this film to anyone who loves fashion whether you're in the industry or not.  If you are in the industry, you'll appreciate just how rare a nice, down to earth person like Mr. Cunningham is.  
Photo of Isabella Blow by Bill Cunningham for the New York Times

Lovely!

I had to share this video from Nowness.com.  I find the majority of fashion films are just embarrassing.  They're usually just a huge ego trip for the director or star, who is usually just some dilettante with no film experience whatsoever.  While this film obviously includes the requisite ego trip, it's at least artistically filmed, properly lighted and interesting to watch.  It's difficult to be bored by this subject matter if you love fashion.

I've been a fan of Daphne Guinness for years.  Few women are rich, beautiful and confident enough to wear the craziest Alexander McQueen haute couture fashions right off the runway.  Daphne is just one of those lucky few.  When I think of McQueen, I think of Daphne.  The two are interlinked in such a way that whenever I see the latest amazing runway looks of McQueen, I immediately picture in my mind, how Daphne will look in it.  I loved that she stepped in at the last hour to buy the entire collection of Isabella Blow, another fashion icon of mine, before it was about to be split up and sold at auction.  The couture collections of these two women are perhaps the most important fashion archives on the planet of fashion from the 1980's to the present.  I have no doubt that someday, museums will fight over the right to create an exhibit around these clothes, and a new generation of students will study them for hours wondering what kind of mind could create what is absolutely wearable art.

This film allows us a brief glimpse into her closet and of course, I was in awe and in love of what I saw.  I could never in a million years wear a cape made of black crow feathers but I loved how it looked on her.  The silver foil, hooded jacket was also gorgeous.  I just wish I could have seen the whole garment instead of just the top half.  The chain mail, bejeweled glove is simply amazing and beautiful and terrifying just as I imagine Ms. Guiness is in real life.

http://www.nowness.com/day/2011/6/6/1489/daphne-guinness-undressed

Photo of the day

Cute baby lambs!  Photo from the RamWools Co-op website.

Sorry, I haven't posted in forever.  I've been occupied with all sorts of things but I'm going to try harder to post a little more frequently.

A couple of nights ago, I went to a meeting of my fashion business networking group otherwise known as SFFAMA.  They hold meetings once month that are intended to educate startup designers and retailers.  The speakers included a self-taught designer/consultant, a self-important designer/retailer, a startup designer of a denim line, and a guy who teaches at-risk teenagers sewing and job skills  while also running his own denim repair line and making custom jeans for friends and clients.

Each of the speakers had something interesting to say, although some were more helpful than others.  The designer/consultant had all kinds of helpful tips about how she got started and built her business even though she had no design experience.  She's had a few more advantages than the average newbie, such as an already existent network of suppliers in India, China and the Phillipines along with family members who can keep track of contractors in those countries and her own personal web designer/manager.  We should all be so lucky.

The second speaker has a small retail store and online presence to go with an extremely large ego.  He spent much of his time commenting on how sloppy the audience was dressed, how there are no stylish people in San Francisco, and how his extremely high end fashions are too good for any mere mortals to look at or, worse, TOUCH.  He didn't have a lot to contribute to the group because he made it clear that he thought he was better than everyone else.  The take-away I got from his contribution:  If you're invited to speak to a group of people because someone considers you an expert, DON'T insult your audience and DON'T make snide remarks about the people sitting next to you.  (They can actually hear you.)

I was initially appalled by the jeans that the denim designer was wearing.  I'd seen him wearing them at a previous meeting and wondered if his daughter made them for him because they're essentially baggy jeans made of patch-worked denim.  It turns out, he has discovered a very specific niche market for his jeans among the festival crowd along with ravers and clubbers.  People who go to Love Parade or Burning Man, apparently love his hippie chic baggy jeans with a home-made feel.  Once he'd explained his niche, I stopped sneering and realized he'd done his homework and was working very hard to build his market share.  Besides cold calling every boutique in America that sells designer denim, he sends free pairs of his jeans to agents, managers and stylists for celebrities in hopes that someone will actually wear them in public.  While I can't think of the celebrity who could pull off the baggy patchwork jean look without looking like an idiot, I'm absolutely sure there is one and if there is one, this guy will find them.  Yet another note to self "Not everyone can be judged by their appearance."

The final speaker was a young guy who could easily be a model, despite his waist length dreadlocks and multiple piercings.  His laid back demeanor initially made most of us write him off as having smoked a little too much ganja.  He quickly disspelled those ideas when he explained that while he isn't really a designer, he actually had a good business idea that he was able to start with very little capital. His business not only provides him with a living but also gives back to the community.  He started off with the idea of retrofitting an ice cream cart with a treadle sewing machine and shelving.  The whole thing collapses down and can be wheeled around and set up in high traffic areas and in or near stores where his products are a perfect fit.  On his mobile sewing lab, he repairs and hems denim.  He also creates "carnivorous" stuffed animals which are sewn and stuffed with denim scraps. Finally, he created a program for at-risk teens to teach them, not only how to sew, but also to give them useful job skills (like how to show up on time for work).  He's expanded his business model to include a number of these retrofitted ice cream carts.  I can't wait to see where he takes this idea.

I think every one of the speakers taught themselves how to sew and just had a driving need to create something.  One was an artist who decided his vision was better translated to denim.  Another was in real estate but found a way to match his love of music with a unique denim style.  Still another was in the medical field but had a love of fashion and eventually decided that passion just couldn't be ignored.  It made me feel better about walking away from a lucrative career to pursue something that feeds my soul.  

Take back the knit | San Francisco Bay Guardian

Take back the knit | San Francisco Bay Guardian

I love taking something that reminds many (possibly most) people of something only their grandma would do, and turning it into something more subversive. I've heard of Knitta Please and other groups that knit colorful crazy things in secret and then sneak out at night to display them on something very public like a street sign or public sculpture. I'll just have to make sure my route takes me down Divis sometime soon so I can catch this latest display of artistic talent.

It reminded me of a video I saw around Christmas time of the artist Olek who crocheted a whole bunch of granny squares together to make an entire cover for the Wall Street bull.

OLEK AND THE CHARGING BULL ON WALL STREET from olek on Vimeo.

Local Networking

I've been crazy busy doing couture embroidery for another designer and have not had time to blog for a few weeks.  Now it's time to catch up.

The other night, my friend Kat and I went to a fashion event organized by a local industry networking group that's based in the Bay Area.  Regardless of where you live, if your dream is to become a fashion or jewelry designer or even if you plan to have your own boutique, you need to network with people in your local community who can provide valuable assistance as you build your business.  For some, that may be a local school or club that can help you build skills and knowledge to help you move forward.  For others, there may be business networking groups tailored to your industry that can help you navigate everything from local business regulations to sourcing and finding skilled labor.

In San Francisco, we're lucky to have a variety of resources available.  One of these is the San Francisco Fashion and Merchants Alliance aka SFFAMA.  It's targeted toward startup Bay Area indie designers and fashion boutiques and helping them network, and build their businesses.  I don't remember exactly how I found out about SFFAMA but it was while I was trolling the internet shortly before I graduated.  SFFAMA has periodic networking meetings where a roundtable discussion of people from the local fashion industry discuss how they got their business off the ground.  The speakers range from bloggers to designers to store owners.  I've found the info extremely helpful because you can ask questions of people who know what you're going through.

In addition to meetings, there are indie bazaars,  fashion shows and other activities and events that bring the local fashion community together.  The other night, the event was something called Fashion Feud.  It's like a speedy version of Project Runway, conducted in front of a live audience.  Knowing how long it takes me just to draft a pattern, the thought of designing and making an outfit in an hour is enough to give me nightmares.  My friend Kat and I are both recent fashion school graduates so we were intrigued to see what these designers could do.

To make their task even more difficult, the designers have no idea what the fabrics will be until the start of the competition.  Apparently, for the evening we were there, someone had contacted Mood Fabrics (the same supplier of fabrics for Project Runway designers) and received fabric donations.  All I can say is, Mood must get a lot of these requests and they must be getting REALLLLLLYYYYYYYY tired of them.  The donations this night, consisted of an orange and white reversible gingham/ dot printed fabric and a solid black fabric.  Yes folks, it's bad enough that you have to design and make your outfit in one hour, you also have to do it with Halloween colors.

While the designers cut and sew their creations on a stage, the models are having their hair and makeup done on the same stage.  This makes it difficult for the designers to fit the garments since they have to interrupt hair and makeup each time they need a fitting.  It was interesting to watch the creations come to life and try to figure out what in the heck the final garment will be.  It also made me want to try this at home to see just what I could make in one hour's time.  One designer seemed to spend most of the hour making an overly large sunbonnet with really long straps.  We wondered whether the model would be naked.  The other designer used the aforementioned orange and white print fabric to whip up a cute little bubble skirt that used both sides of the print.  I later realized she'd brilliantly used double stick foam tape  to create the bubble shape to cut down on sewing time.  The top (from the black fabric) started out as a cute and modern tank with an asymmetrical hem that curved up in front and down at the back.  Unfortunately, what could have been an adorable and wearable outfit, was done in when the designer couldn't stop designing.  The back of the tank got a reverse appliqued patch of the orange and white fabric which reminded me of a scarecrow.  Out of scraps of the remaining fabric, she tore strips and knotted and looped them around the models neck to create a neckpiece that unfortunately  overwhelmed what had been a cute top.  The skirt, which was the best part of the outfit, was slashed and shredded for no apparent reason.  Finally, a strip of orange fabric was inexplicably knotted and wound around the model's wrist.  At the last minute, it turned out that the first designer had actually sewn a very simple tube dress with a center gather at the bust and an uneven hem that had a reverse fabric detail inside to imply a lining. The dress was very ill-fitting but that was hardly her fault since it was nearly impossible to properly fit the sitting model while she was getting her hair and makeup done.  I don't even think these girls had time to sew zippers or snaps.  In the end, the sunbonnet's straps were pinned to the tube dress to keep it from falling off and then the straps wound around the dress several times to fit the dress to the body.  It was an interesting concept that in the end, won the designer points with the audience and judges.  The winner of this competition will go on to compete against the winners of two previous Fashion Feuds.  I have no idea whether there's a prize or whether they just get bragging rights.    I took many pics but I wasn't happy with the quality (grrrrrr to all the "press" photogs who rudely jumped into the way every time I tried to snap a shot) so I've posted a link to the SFFAMA website  if you'd like to see pictures from the event.

http://sffama.com/post/3639077044/photos-by-alexander-jacob-scion-presents