Monthly Archives: March 2016

It's not uncommon to see today entire libraries or reading rooms being partially dismantled and turned into computer laboratories or being simply abandoned to themselves, without offering visitors intriguing environments where they may be inspired to carry out their researches. … Continue reading →

Yesterday's post focused on voluminous sleeves: you can actually find amazing examples of exaggerated sleeves not just in costume archives and fashion museums, but also in paintings. British painter Margaret Sarah Carpenter portrayed for example Ada Lovelace in 1836 wearing … Continue reading →

In fashion at the moment there is a lot of talk about voluminous, exaggerated or just embarrassingly gargantuan sleeves. This is not just a trend for the Spring/Summer 2016 season, but it will extend into the next Autumn and Winter. … Continue reading →

One of the most recurrent question students ask me is how can you take inspiration from a previous garment or accessory without blatantly copying it or ending up infringing copyright. The simple answer to this rather difficult question is to … Continue reading →

Women aviators have always been a great inspiration for fashion designers and Amelia Earhart often reappeared here and there on fashion runways. Yet there are other ways to get inspired by aviator suits: looking for example at their construction is … Continue reading →

Controversial copyright cases come to mind whenever you mention in the same sentence the words "law" and "fashion". Yet law and legal matters or legal documents can lead to great fashionable inspirations and installations, rather than just litigation, as proved … Continue reading →

In previous posts on this site we often looked at the possibility of making connections between puppet theatre productions and fashion, at times suggesting readers to spend some time in dedicated institutions such as Glasgow's Museum/Research Centre The World Through Wooden … Continue reading →

The fashion industry is going through some major changes, but it's not the only one: students currently enrolled in fashion design courses are wondering a lot about their identities and what they should become – Designers? Journalists? Editors? PR Officers? … Continue reading →

Quite often in fashion, designers and critics talk about transnational identities, but it is worth reminding to students and young designers willing to go down this path that they should try and avoid the major traps they may fall into, such … Continue reading →

When we talk about fashionable characters, our minds immediately conjure up visions of modern times and maybe peacocks showing off outside catwalk show venues and at some selected fashion trade fairs. Yet there has always been a so-called "fashionable society".  … Continue reading →