Since the Venice International Film Festival is currently on, let's continue the cinematic thread for another day by looking at something that doesn't exist anymore - the film novel.
The latter was a proper magazine, entirely dedicated to a specific movie. The publication usually featured a novel adaptation of a recently released film with several images taken from it and a couple of additional features about the movie industry in general.
The cinematic novel featured in this post was published in July 1934 as the monthly supplement of Italian magazine Cinema Illustrazione. This issue was dedicated to The Scarlet Empress directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Marlene Dietrich.
Apart from being a sort of memorabilia for all the movie fans, the magazine was also a good option for those ones who couldn't afford going to the movies.
Times have changed and the film novel has died, but if you can't afford going to the Venice Film Festival there is a cheaper option - the digital schedule.
Internet users can indeed watch 8 films from the Orizzonti section and 3 films from the Biennale College laboratory online (800 admissions per screening; the films are in their original language with English subititles; tickets are priced 4 Euros each and can be purchased from the dedicated online box office; you can check out the full programme here). Dedicated to all those ones who may be able to live without the film novel format, but can't live without films...
Federico Fellini's La strada (The Road) celebrates this year its 60th anniversary. The film was indeed presented at the Venice Film Festival on 6th September 1954. Though critics received it rather negatively at the time, the movie won Fellini the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1956.
The film follows the vicissitudes of brutal strongman Zampanò (Anthony Quinn) and naïve Gelsomina (Giulietta Masina). Sold by her own mother to the street performer, Gelsomina joins him in his shows, but, while Zampanò is always rude and in a bad mood, Gelsomina is eager to learn to play the drum and trumpet, or dance and jump around to please her audience.
The film ends in tragedy, but Masina's talent in portraying Gelsomina the sweet, naïve and melancholic clownesse, earned her the nickname "the female Chaplin", and helped turning the movie into a very inspiring story for quite a few fashion shoots and fashion collections. Some of you may remember for example Douglas Kirkland who celebrated Italian film in a cinematic shoot for the Italian edition of Vanity Fair in October 2008, or Scarlett Johansson portrayed as Gelsomina and shot by Tim Walker in the June 2011 issue of W Magazine.
In past menswear collections, Dolce & Gabbana referenced instead Zampanò's torn and dirty vests and jackets; Gelsomina's stripy sleeveless shirt, battered coat and bowler hat also proved key references, but it is her natural vocation for clownery that was quite often referred to in different collections.
An exhibition about Fellini that took place in 1994 featured two pieces by Moschino that borrowed from Gelsomina's character: the "Harlequin" (A/W 1993-94 collection), a coat composed of hundreds of different swatches of fabrics that formed a multi-coloured costume, but also called to mind the casual look of Gelsomina the clown; and "Ballerina?" (A/W 1991-92), a dress that could be considered as a tribute to the awkward, but fun, sweet and angelic Gelsomina. The evening gown with a tight bodice featured indeed a trompe l'oeil motif of a dancing ballerina on the skirt and a short tulle ruffle around the waist, so that, under certain lights, the wearer looked like a ballerina standing en pointe. Looking for further inspirations? Just re-watch the film!
The Spring/Summer 2015 womenswear shows are kicking off soon and panic reigns at the moment in many designers' studios.
Yet there was a time when creative minds seemed quicker at problem solving.
For example, in 1973 Ruben Torres found himself on the brink of a nervous breakdown when his collection didn't turn up on time for his fashion show in Paris.
In a moment of genius he drew the clothes - including buttons, collars and pockets - onto the bodies of his models and saved the day.
"No more problems with fabric and sizes," he declared while indirectly relaunching the trompe l'oeil trend.
Throughout the centuries the art of tricking the eye with clever illusions that confuse reality and perception has been employed by many artists, but also architects and interior designers.
Fashion obviously borrowed this illusionary trick applying it to garments in a successful way: designer Elsa Schiaparelli created simple hand-knitted sweaters with make-believe bows, scarves and sailor's tattoos, and, since then, the trend kept on coming back, decade after decade.
Hermès created several trompe l'oeil pieces in 1952, from dresses to raincoats and belts; Roberta di Camerino was considered instead the "queen of trompe l'oeil".
In 1983 Chanel's Haute Couture collection featured garments with embroidery by Lesage that imitated a set of jewellery, while in more recent years Jean Paul Gaultier, Moschino, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac and Comme des Garçons played with his trend (in the following image: a Gaultier jacket from 1996; a design by Moschino from the 1990s and a coat from Comme des Garçons's A/W 2009 collection).
Fast forward to the Spring/Summer 2014 collections with Chanel's flap bag featuring the fashion house trademark quilted bag sprayed on basic white canvas and decorated with multi-coloured ropes for a final DIY touch.
In a previous post we have also seen Band of Outsiders' A/W 2014 collection that borrows from Hermès's 1952 designs, but it looks like the trend will continue well into 2015 as this dress from Alice + Olivia's Resort 2015 collection proves.
In two minds about the trompe l'oeil trend or just too skint to jump on the bandwagon? Just get a blank canvas, paint on it your own dress (Hermès docet...) and join the trend in DIY style.
Going through Emma Bell's pictures posted on her Instagram page is a bit like stepping into a magically surreal world made of thousands of colours, flowers, cute animals and smiling anthropomorphic inanimate objects. Bell's images are indeed a pretty and crazy visual diary mixing photographs from her recent holiday to Japan and pictures from Korea, where she is currently living.
Rather than getting trapped in the stressful and conventional routines and rhythms imposed by the fashion industry, the artist and fashion designer decided indeed to embark onto a series of exciting creative experiences and projects. Since we last spoke to her, Bell has worked in Vienna, Taiwan and Slovenia, and has recently moved to Korea.
In Seoul, Bell is exploring the local culture, traditions and language while experimenting with new materials, colours and shapes. While Bell has never been afraid of mixing colours, textures and patterns in her designs, this new experience is definitely allowing her to absorb other influences. The shoulder line of some of her designs has started evoking the gently sloping roofs of Korean temples, and who knows which other traditional or architectural references she will be reworking into her wearable art pieces while living there.
Irenebrination is honoured to have Emma Bell taking over the site today and sprinkle on it her colourful magic.
How did your holiday to Japan go? Emma Bell: It was magical, thank you! I spent a few days shopping, temple hopping and people watching in Tokyo, before whizzing far up north into Hokkaido where I sampled the more rural side of things. I spent some time in a beautiful little town called Furano which is famous for its rainbow-like, striped fields of flowers; it had been a longtime dream to see these colourful hills, so it was really awesome and gave me a tonne of inspiration!
In the last few years you have been working in other countries as artist in residence. Can you tell us more about your experiences? Emma Bell: I embarked upon my first residency a few years ago as part of the Quartier21 AiR program at the MuseumsQuartier in Vienna which was a really exciting experience and started a new chapter in the way I was working. Prior to this, I had been mainly concentrating on my fashion label and working freelance as a designer. My first residency gave me the chance to explore more artistic avenues by focusing more on print and textile methods and aiming to bridge design and art by creating wearable art pieces. I found it really exciting to be able to step away from the commercial constraints of design and work more on pieces that were able to use unconventional materials and didn't necessarily have to have a practical or functional purpose. I went on to work as artist in residence with a project based in a tiny village called Mino in Japan which has a long-standing history of washi (paper) making and is home to various skilled craft masters such as lantern makers. This was a totally different experience for me as I got to explore working with traditional, handmade paper and combining with modern medium such as plastics and latex through knit, weaving and print. I made an intentional decision to spend some time travelling and working as artist in residence, so that I can place myself in new surroundings and amongst a different network of creative talent and produce culture specific collections of work based on a particular period of my life. I since participated in residencies in Taiwan, Slovenia and Korea which all gave me a chance to develop news series’ of work as well as focus on collaborations with locally based artists, photographers and fellow creatives. Last year I spent 3 months working with a contemporary art centre here in Korea called ‘Incheon Art Platform’ and, during this time, I was based in a little yellow bungalow on Baengnyeong-do Island. It was incredibly rural, very remote and essentially a military frontline as it sits only about 10 miles away from the North Korean coast. It was a really interesting project to be part of and also gave me great insight into Korean lifestyle and culture which I totally fell in love with.
Do you feel that all these experiences and residences have influenced your design processes/collections? Emma Bell: Definitely! I find being thrown into a situation where you have to adapt to either new environments or cultural expectations to really push me into a different way of working. When I'm in an alien scenario I'm much more switched on and observant because everything around me is so different, whether it be something as simple as a little back street to a split second glimpse out of a bus window and also down to the relationships and exchanges I have with people that I meet on the way. Likewise with my approach to physically producing work as I have worked on projects which have been in total contrast to each other in terms of access to resources and available facilities, so I like the idea of sometimes having to adapt and create regardless of the ease of what you have at hand. For example, there have been times when I've had everything on the doorstep from digital printers to endless fabric markets and then other times such as last year on the island when I was so cut off from the world for weeks on end that I had to pack myself off on the boat from the mainland with enough fabrics, trims and yarn to see out the duration of the project. My attitude to problem solving in terms of my design process is one thing that has been massively influenced by my time overseas.
When did you move to Korea and how long do you plan to stay there? How are your Korean language classes going? Emma Bell: I arrived here just over 4 months ago and the time seems to have whizzed by! My plan is to just go with it and see how life here pans out, so, as of yet, I have no end date in sight! I really want to make the most of the experience here, though, and take as much from it as possible by learning more about the culture, so the idea is to stay at least a year and then evaluate it all. My Korean classes are beyond a challenge! It's the first time in about 10 years I've had to do homework too! Learning Korean is pretty much a double whammy affair as on top of the complicated lingo there is also the task of learning how to read and write in Hangeul characters! I feel it really helps here to be able to communicate and it opens a lot of doors, so I'm hoping I start to get a better grip of the language and eventually be able to string a sentence together. So far I can ask for a trash bag and say "It’s 1 p.m. in Moscow"!
Will you be working on any new fashion collections/shoots/exhibitions while in Korea? Emma Bell: Yes, I am currently working on building a new series of wearable art works which are influenced by my daily life and experiences here. I began collating research and scribbling in my journals from the moment I stepped off the plane and have since been developing new concepts and sampling before moving these new ideas into finished garments. I have been looking at traditional Korean craft techniques such as folk embroidery and quilting and experimenting with ways of working them into contemporary design. I've got some exciting shoots scheduled working with some talented photographers and creative teams here in Seoul which we will hopefully go on to present at an exhibition here in the city. I also like the idea of using Seoul as a base to engage more with the Asian platform as I feel it works well with the direction of my design so it's been great whilst being in this neck of the woods to start to make connections also with publications and new networks in other Asian cities such as Manila, Tokyo and Kuala Lumpur. Most recently I've been involved in a project with a contemporary boutique and creative space called LLL+ which is the brainchild of a store called LAH'LAH'LAND that works on exposing both Malaysian and international designers, it's great to get involved with creatives in new places!
Did you find any unusual materials to incorporate in your looks while travelling in Korea/Japan? Emma Bell: Being in different places is a great chance for me to collect new materials and experiment with mediums that I might not otherwise encounter. I like the challenge of working with fabrics or items that wouldn't usually be used in commercial fashion such as bamboo, paper, metal and polypropylene. Being in Asia there is a lot more exposure to such materials such as bamboo fibres being woven into cottons; back when I did my previous residency in Japan I got to visit a factory that makes socks and thread out of paper! The socks were amazing, you would never know they were made from super strong washi threads and they could even go in the washing machine! It's great to get to pick up on both new technologies and traditional materials that are specific to certain regions as it helps create so many new ideas during the design process.
What's the fashion scene like over there at the moment and are you stocked in any Korean stores/shops? Emma Bell: I really love the fashion scene here as it's so diverse. Just out and about on the streets - regardless of neighbourhood - you see so many different types of looks ranging from the typically Korean super frilly, girly fad to people imitating their favourite K-Pop stars, a lot of the younger ones are mega into the Hip-Hop angle, so it's a real free for all out there! I really love that there are so many independent designers working out of Seoul and there's also some really interesting brands ranging from the more commercial high street labels such as 'Style Nanda' to wonderfully talented designers that I really admire such as Steve J & Yoni P and Heezin Jung. As of yet, I'm not currently stocked in Korea, so it would be great to find an outlet here that fits with my brand!
Your Instagram images are always extremely colourful – what inspires you the most about Asian culture - art, fashion, film, the music scene, food or temples? Emma Bell: So many things! I absolutely adore the culture and the pride that people in Asian countries have in their heritage, it's really amazing to observe. I also love that you can find colour almost everywhere from the magical temples to the flashing neon and even down to the rows of weird packaging on the supermarket shelves! I like the mixture between nature and urban here, as you have these huge, overwhelming cities surrounded by glorious green mountains and beautiful forests, so there just always seems to be so much to take in!
Do you have a favourite Korean musician or film at the moment? Emma Bell: I love a bit of K-Pop, although I've got a good few years on the general fan base! It's blaring from every corner around here, whether I'm passing a bakery, riding the subway or even sitting at home as it seems to drift through the window from the various shops below on the street! Likewise, every time I go into a cosmetic shop, supermarket or convenience store I can guarantee there will be a gaggle of life-size cut outs of various K-Pop stars promoting their products! I particularly love G-Dragon, one of the guys from a group called Big Bang as his videos are super weird, fun and colourful! I also love 2NE1, Girls Generation and Sistar!
Which is the most extraordinary/bizarre thing you've seen in your travels in Korea/Japan? Emma Bell: I see so many strange sights here on a daily basis such as sparkling holographic visors on the over 60s, extreme hiking gear when people aren't actually hiking and, often, dogs with their ears dyed pink wearing little backpacks. I have also seen people pushing cats and puppies in prams like babies! One of the most bizarre sights in Korea is 'couple dressing'. This is when couples dress identical from head to toe and it's really common here, I find it really weird and kind of creepy! Also sometimes children get their hair permed and, often, when passing little neighbourhood salons, I've seen 6 year old boys with a head full of curlers which is a super strange sight!
Can you recommend us a shop, cafe/restaurant or place to hang around in Korea? Emma Bell: Hongdae is one of my favourite areas of Seoul. It's kind of like Seoul's equivalent of Harajuku, but way more tame and a bit more studenty as it's right by Hongik University which has a big art school, so it's an awesome creative area. It's a really fun place full of little boutiques as well as endless cafes and restaurants. There's even a Hello Kitty Café there which is all bubblegum pink and ridiculously cute! It's loud and brash with K-Pop playing at max volume and it tends to get overrun by teenagers at weekends, but I love the energy of this part of Seoul! The neighbouring area of Hapjeong is a bit more of a grown-up version of Hongdae; it reminds me of Shoreditch with a bunch of nice cafes, little eateries, independent boutiques and contemporary art spaces. This is where I mainly opt to go if there's an evening of dinner or drinks on the card as the place has a great atmosphere and there's so many great places to check out, so it's fun to hop from place to place! I also love it around Hangangjin as there are some great little bars and places to hang out around there and it's home to the creative crowd. I particularly like a place called Takeout Drawing which hosts exhibitions and has really great coffee and cakes!
Selected designs by Emma Bell will be featured on 31st August 2014 at the "Japan Expo Thailand" as part of the Lah Lah Land pop-up store event at Central World Bangkok.
All images courtesy Emma Bell
1. Photographs by STREETHING at LLL+ launch.
2, 7, 8, 9. Photographs by Jessica Berggrun.
3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11 and 12. Photographs by Yuji Watanabe.
So far quite a few creatives have been using Rijksmuseum's Rijksstudio since it became available last year. The products developed employing this online archive comprising thousands of works from the museum collection have been surprising and, in the case of Studio Droog, simply unique.
Droog researched and studied the museum collection to develop entirely new products that move from the Rijksmuseum's archives, but that are also characterised by a modern eye and a fresh approach to design.
For the Autumn 2014 season Droog will be launching a new product - a line of wallpapers - inspired by the classic art works from the Rijksmuseum and Dutch church buildings (available from 2nd September from the Droog Store in Amsterdam).
The collection - featuring designs by Studio Droog, and graphic designers Irma Boom and Mieke Gerritzen - includes six different wallpapers. People who are into floral murals and patterns can opt for the "Berries and Branches" one that moves from the "Silk Fabric with Colourful Painted Floral Pattern" made in 1775-1800 in Kanton, China; tapestry lovers can surround themselves with the idyllic indoor forest of "Pleasure Grounds", inspired by the original wall hanging "Park View with Seated Pair and Resting Hunters", made by Fransçois Coppens between 1685-1740 in Delft.
"Stucco" is instead dedicated to people who are into architecture and fine interior details: the wallpaper integrates a selection of the best stucco reliefs, found on the walls and ceilings of churches and palaces from Amsterdam and beyond, redesigned into a contemporary composition by colouring, mirroring and scaling.
Paintings are celebrated via "Flowers" and "Old Masters": the former consists in a wallpaper displaying a large bouquet of blooming roses, irises and tulips, from the original painting "Still Life with Flowers" made by Coenraet Roepel in 1721 in The Hague; the latter is an ironic take on people who may be in two minds about getting this or that painter up on a wall.
Mieke Gerritzen's "Old Masters" offers the chance to have an entire wall of famous painters (while allowing all of us not wealthy enough to afford to buy original art to boast about having a wall full of Vermeer and Rembrandt's...) in an optical key: from a distance, the images form indeed a clever diagonal pattern.
The craziest wallpaper design remains "Rijksmuseum DNA": Irma Boom created this design by using the colour palette she developed as part of the new house style for the reopened Rijksmuseum in 2013.
The wonderful inside story is that Boom spent ten years deconstructing the museum's paintings and works of famous artists to distill their colour DNA - the six colours that make up the painting. These colour schemes and DNA swatches of an individual painting (including Vermeer's "The Milkmaid") are available as wallpaper in narrow or broad striping (that at times very aptly calls to mind aerial views of colourful stripes of tulip fields from the Netherlands...) that can be mixed and matched.
Whoever said that wallpaper is soulless, humourless and does not display any conceptual research behind it, simply didn't imagine Droog's wallpaper.
In the mind of many fashion fans Philippe Jarrigeon's name is linked with several quirky campaigns for popular designers and brands including Baccarat, Chanel, Dries Van Noten, Margiela, Roger Vivier and, more recently, Kenzo, Opening Ceremony and Delfina Delettrez.
The key to Jarrigeon's success is his style that at times calls to mind a glossy magazine, at others reminds of still life paintings. Besides, his carefully studied and composed images always have an ironic twist.
Born in France, Jarrigeon graduated in photography from the ECAL / Switzerland, and took part in the following years in prestigious international photographic competitions. Throughout the years he has collaborated with Document, Double, Liberation, Numero, M le Monde and Vogue US and, in 2009, he founded, together with curator and journalist Sylvain Menétrey, the magazine Dorade, review galante, photographie et formes critiques, a platform for avant-garde artists and the recipient in 2012 of the Swiss Design Award and the Award for best cultural magazine from the Art Directors' Club.
In September Jarrigeon's works will be featured in a special exhibition - "Grand Magasin" - at Galeries Lafayette's Galerie des Galeries. The exhibition is set to celebrate ANDAM (National Association for the Development of the Fashion Arts)'s 25th anniversary since Galeries Lafayette has been a partner of the fashion award since 2003.
Founded in 1989 by Nathalie Dufour, the award was originally launched to spot new talents based in France and help them showcasing their work during Paris Fashion Week. In the last few years, the prize finally opened up to international designers (the winners of this year's award are Iris van Herpen and the Coperni Femme duo).
The exhibition will feature a series of images inspired by the Department Store theme and paying homage to 15 iconic talents spotted by the ANDAM prize - Maison Martin Margiela, Viktor & Rolf, Christophe Lemaire, Véronique Leroy, Jean Touitou (A.P.C.), Jeremy Scott, BLESS, Felipe Oliveira Baptista, Yazbukey, Gareth Pugh, Giles Deacon, Anthony Vaccarello, Yiqing Yin, Julien David and Alexandre Mattiussi.
While celebrating the world of these designers, the exhibition also looks at the visual semantics of fashion in a wider and more general way, via portraits of staff and customers, juxtapositions of different themes and sub-themes or contrasts created by staging vignettes featuring models and desirable objects.
Jarrigeon's images quite often feature installations that he recreates in his studio. All the photographs are characterised by a vivid sense of colour and by perfectly arranged scenes. The best challenge for the visitors of this exhibition? Spotting which images borrow from precise periods in the history of art and which ones are derived from the world of advertising and glamorous magazines. You're warned, though: it will be a challenge infused with Jarrigeon's trademark dark humour.
"Grand Magasin" is at the Galerie des Galeries, 1st floor Galeries Lafayette, 40 Boulevard Haussmann, 75009 Paris, France, 23rd September - 15th November 2014.
Yip has just released the latest product range - the Candy Pops line. The main idea comes from dipping cake pops in candy melts: the four Fashionary sketchbooks included in this line look indeed as if they had been entirely dipped in pools of vividly bright shades - Cherry, Blueberry, Mint and Lemon (also the bookmark threads, elastic bands and book edges come in the same colour of the cover).
The Candy Pops Fashionary sketchbooks (womens figure; 14cm (W) x 21cm (H)), feature 130 template pages plus the usual information section including tips about measurement tools, brand index, knitting information, fabric dictionary, laundry labels, seams and stitches, fashion and trade events and monthly calendars. The sketchbooks are currently available from the Fashionary online store (price: US $24.90) or from dedicated stationery and book shops.
The Candy Pops range was launched last week with a special photoshoot: Penter Yip told Irenebrination the conceptual shoot was inspired by traditional Chinese Tangram puzzles that employ seven tans or shapes (five triangles, a square and a parallelogram) to make different outlines.
As fans of this type of puzzle know, more intricate and varied shapes are possible with more Tangram sets, so, if you genuinely want to play a fashion Tangram with the Fashionary, you may want to get more than just one set of colours.
Jokes aside, though, Yip's comparison with the Tangram was really apt: Tangram puzzles contain serious and playful mathematics, but so does the Fashionary, since the latter can be used as a fun tool to draw and sketch or to keep tracks of complicate measurements for clothes and patterns.
You can keep updated on the latest Fashionary releases by checking out its blog, Facebook or Instagram pages (check out on the Instagram page the lovely illustrations and sketches by Fashionary collaborator Vikki Yau).
All images in this post courtesy of Penter Yip/Fashionary.
Knitting by computer? Wondered the LA Times in 1987, reporting from the Consumer Electronics Show and mentioning how Japanese video game maker Nintendo had displayed a rather bizarre system that consisted in draping yarn across a loom-like device that, interacting with the NES, allowed users to automatically knit pieces with intricate patterns.
The flyer advertising the system announced "Now you're knitting with power", explaining that the machine was capable of making sweaters.
Unfortunately, the device was never released and the project was soon abandoned.
It is currently unlikely the Nintendo Knitting Machine will ever be resumed: I contacted via email Nintendo Japan in March 2014 and they kindly replied they are not considering developing a new knitting device at the moment.
This is a bit of a shame, though, as there would probably be designers and knitting enthusiasts interested in such a device.
The knitting application wasn't the only project that linked video-games to crafts: the Mario Family cartridge for Nintendo Game Boy Color (released in August 2001 only in Japan) was for example developed to function with a sewing and embroidering machine manufactured by Jaguar, the JN-100 (released in 2000).
The machine received instructions from the Game Boy Color and with these instructions it would embroider special designs onto fabric.
Shortly afterwards, Kirby Family - a collection of 32 pre-set patterns forming the characters from the Kirby series - was developed by HAL Laboratory. The successor of Mario Family, Kirby Family never saw the light.
There is currently an interest in video-game graphics and patterns in fashion: while some designers and artists such as Nukeme have been hacking knitting machines, or developing the possibilities of neuro knitting, others have been integrating images inspired or borrowed from video games into their pieces.
Nelson-Blackle - winner of this year's Hong Kong's Young Designer Contest (and celebrated today during a special Sunday event at Hong Kong's Design Market @ PMQ) - showcased in February a highly creative menswear collection that included Pacman-shaped capes, knits with motifs of animated clouds and One Up symbols directly borrowed from the semantics of video games printed on shirts and trousers (not to mention the Game Boy cap...).
Maybe Nintendo should ponder a bit about the company's decision to kill too soon its dreams of developing a knitting machine and launch a more modern and updated version of this device that could allow designers and knitting enthusiasts to come up with designs incorporating pre-defined graphic patterns or create and customise their own characters and textures. (With many thanks to my video games obsessed nephews for inspiring me this post...).
Visitors and buyers used to the fashion spectacles prepared by Lineapiù Italia in the spaces of its stand at the Pitti Filati yarn fairs, were probably slightly disappointed not to find proper garments and dresses that showcased the possibilities offered by the various yarns.
There was a tangible shift towards art, architecture and interior design in the stand created by Artistic Director Naira Khachatryan. The main inspiration behind the Lineapiù yarn collection was austere chic and severe boarding-school and bankers' uniforms.
Rigid structures and lamp-like elements representing three-dimensional geometric figures covered in knitted samples hung around the main entrance and in a dedicated space inside the main stand.
Though they took away the magic of the dummies clad in extravagant knitwear creations, the geometrical structures and panels represented a more financially viable option in times that are still proving rather challenging, and a way to hint at the various possibilities that specific yarns can offer when applied to different disciplines.
Some of these structures were characterised by a spherical shape, others had a jellyfish-like consistency, with frills and layers forming mushroom-like heads and tentacles.
The most elegant ones were based on three-dimensional diamond and rhomboidal forms with embossed or embedded motifs (Filclass's yarns Kikka: 26% Merino Wool, 24% Polyacrylic Fibre, 21% Superfine Alpaca, 10% Viscose 19% Polyamide; Polo: 40% Polyacrylic Fibre, 30% Superfine Alpaca, 30% Poylamide).
In some cases several viscose, alpaca and merino-based yarns (Filclass' Dream, Incas, Mini, Rust, and Joel; the latter is a bulky wool yarn with macro-graphic two colour twists that create innovative 3D tartan patterns) were used to create the shell of icosahedron-like structures.
In others the company hinted at another sub-theme of the collection - cake decorations, macaroons and fluffy marshmallows, with padded woollen yarns with soft elements that brought to mind spumoni, or fading motifs in bubblegum pink reminding of cotton candy (Dalì: 36% Polyacrylic Fibre, 18% Kid Mohair, 18% Superfine Alpaca, 28% Polyamide).
Elegant and chic inspirations were tackled in a separate section via arty knitted panels in black and white tones with some sparkling and shiny elements thrown in (Giga, Sinfonia and Zen yarns; the latter consists in a laminated fine wool gauze made with a shiny, metallic polyester).
The airy wool Luce (25% Superkid Mohair, 25% Extrafine Merino Wool, 34% Polyester and 16% Polyamide) is among the best ones in this line of the collection since it integrates inside it subtle iridescent reflections.
Fur was also another theme with mohair and merino wool-based yarns Visone, Camelot Melange and Yak replicating the effects of animals with long fur, or Bruco (69% Extrafine Merino Wool and 31% Polyamide) and Tiramolla (88% Polyamide and 12% Elastan), combined to create curly or pompom motifs.
The samples inspired by graphic art and combining more yarns together like Sweet (83% Rayon Viscose and 17% Polyester), Image (80% Rayon Viscose and 20% Polyester), Ambra (87% Extrafine Merino Wool and 13% Extrafine Polyester) were particularly interesting.
Some yarns were also employed in samples that echoed the effects of early computer graphics (Sugar: 60% Extrafine Merino Wool and 40% Polyamide).
The new collection also includes yarns ideal to create architectural and sculptural effects or to reproduce the consistency of concrete, one of such yarns is Fjordo (18% Superfine Alpaca, 49% Extrafine Merino Wool, 14% Polyamide and 19% Polyacrylic Fibre).
Knitwear designers who are into crinkly surfaces and bas-relief-like effects inspired by the carvings on historic buildings or into three-dimensional ribbed motifs can opt for combining 100% polyamide-based yarns (Zeta and Tiramolla,for example - the latter inspired by interplanetary journeys and space travels) with blends of alpaca and merino wools mixed with acrylic fibres (Parsival).
There are actually really good news for the next Winter season, but they are not for professional designers, but for individual knitwear enthusiasts: the company has indeed launched a line entitled Knit Art and revolving around three main points - imagination, texture and three-dimensionality.
Inspired by art in general and graffiti, the line is aimed at individual knitters who would like to come up with fancy projects with an arty twist about them.
These yarns are characterised by pretty and unusual colour combinations: Spray (64% Wool and 36% Polyamide) is available in a series of inspiring space dyed blues, while Graffito (49% Merino Wool, 26% Polyamide, 25% Polyacrylic Fibre) comes in a series of multi-coloured shades.
The Knit Art line also includes special voluminous yet light yarns, such as Blow (29% Superfine Alpaca, 33% Polyamide, 38% Polyacrilic Fibre), and feminine and sophisticated ones like Trilly that gives a glamorous metallic touch to wool (49% Wool, 48% Polyamide and 3% Polyester).
Nuvola (66% Extrafine Merino Wool and 34% Polyamide) - a wool and nylon twist that could be described as a sort of Winter tulle - remains the most original yarn from this collection. This yarn is meant to be light and impalpable like a cloud, and the most striking colour it comes in is a pale mint shade.
While the variety of Lineapiù/Filclass yarns will be terrifically inspiring for professionals working also in other fields such as interior design, the best thing about the Winter 2016 season is the fact that also passionate knitwear fans will be able to use from then on the sort of yarns that designers at haute couture level employ for their creations. The real challenge now will be patiently wait until the next season before being able to use these yarns.
In yesterday's post we focused on yarns to create eco-friendly fur pieces, so let's start this feature with the same theme, and briefly look at Zegna Baruffa/Chiavazza's Autumn/Winter 2015-16 collection. The latter features three yarns, Mousse, Orsetto and Teddy, inspired by fur but created keeping in mind lightness.
For the next Winter season the company has been experimenting a bit along these lines, coming up with lightweight yet bulky yarns such as Thyme (93% Fine Merino Wool and 7% Polyamide), a chain like yarn produced employing Air-Spun technology conceived and patented by Zegna Baruffa.
Further technological experimentations inspired Sailor (60% Fine Wool and 40% Polyamide), a worsted yarn suitable for casual knitwear, and the chunkier Supersailor, ideal for jackets and coats.
The newest product of the collection is Cashwool Paint, a yarn with a trichromatic and three-dimensional effect.
Zegna Baruffa's colour range for the next Winter season is inspired by art, but also by modern social issues and features soft colours contaminated by greys and shadowy nuances or by light and golden hues, and cold tones with just a touch of warmer elements.
Known for the broad range of woollen spurn yarns, Chiavazza worked around the theme of country-chic knits for the next Winter with yarns such as Azhar, Daphne and Hedera, but also looked at elegance with Begonia (80% Superfine Wool and 20% Silk) a fine woollen spun yarn with a silk finishing, and at extreme softness with the newest Cashmore Soft, made with the finest cashmere yarn available.
As usual Chiavazza's collection also includes yanrs such as Supergeelong and Must Supergeelong ideal for embossed, three-dimensional or geometrical elements, another sub-theme of the Zegna Baruffa/Chiavazza collections.
Apart from being used as showroom for the new yarn collection, the company's stand at Pitti Filati 75 also featured samples created by three young designers. Diana Lee was inspired by the soft movement and graceful colours of clouds.
This theme allowed her to create fluffy and voluminous dresses made with extraordinary chunky yarns with some transparent elements in between that she employed to reproduce the consistency of clouds.
Hae In Yang moved instead from impressionist paintings by Monet: rather than focusing on the themes or the colours of the actual works, the designer looked at the constant changes that the landscapes in Monet's paintings go through.
Concentrating on the process Monet followed while making his paintings, Hae In Yang took into consideration the light and season changes in the environment, mainly working on three precise themes, mirrored pastels, water reflections and sheer laying, elements that he hinted at using a sort of iridescent yarn.
Yu-Chen Chiu transformed instead a traditional Chinese symbol into the knitted patterns and decorative geometric motifs for two dresses.
Rusty and burnt orange and aqua tones suggested in his pieces the passing of time and the transmission of ancient wisdom.
The lurex elements contributed instead to give a sort of contrast and provided a vivid texture with luminous feel to the ensembles, pointing towards other themes and issues such as nostalgia and the beauty and decay dichotomy.