holy shit

Just came across some new fash' that made my heart skip a beat: 

All by Colombian designer Johanna Ortiz

Being a massive Delpozo and Vika Gazinskaya, this is absolutely right up my alley. It's sculptural, unexpected and incredibly feminine while incorporating menswear elements, not to mention the latina ruffles and dash of nostalgia and romance. Not to mention I can picture this looking amazing across all sizes... Seriously though, what a sight for sore eyes.

Trunkshow at Moda Operandi here, plus a few more (I think older) looks for you to feast your eyes upon:

Perfection. 

Things I saw and liked.

Angela De La Cruz
oil on canvas

Angela De La Cruz, Deflated (Green), 2010
oil on canvas

New ways of wearing a button down shirt. 

Agata Wierzbicka

Jarbas Lopes, Punch Buggy

Washington-based painter Tyree Callahan modified a 1937 Underwood Standard typewriter, replacing the letters and keys with color pads and hued labels to create a functional “painting” device.

Boys have it easier.

Men's colour palettes and choice of shapes tend to be smaller and simpler. It's like there is a distinct sobriety in masculinity that manifests itself through an absence of fuss, less nonsense and little to no discomfort. They don't have to be cold or squeeze into tight clothes to look attractive, which perhaps only suggests men don't compete among themselves the way we do. There is also less  camouflage for physical shortcomings but, then again, I do think the less they try the better they look. Boys have it really easy.

I really like it when girls integrate these concepts into their style. I love the ambiguity it creates and, althought it is less revealing of a woman's curves, it only makes me notice her all the more.

Furmidable

These Gucci fur loafers are so bonkers. If they were Maison Martin Margiela no one would bat an eye, but when it's heritage brand coming up with such a conceptual shoe - that's a little ballsy. I love that; not the shoe so much, but just how far it pushes the (originally conservative) design of Gucci's iconic horsebit loafer:

Say hi to Furnando. 

Plus some more furry shoes for good measure: 

Margiela

Alexander Wang

Céline

Céline (the furkenstock from a few seasons ago)

fendi

Simone Rocha 

Beautiful things

Delpozo

Oscar de la Renta

Ellery

Johanna Ortiz

Haney

Charlotte Olympia

h&m

Stella Jean

Stella Jean necklace

Ctrl C + Ctrl V

There's no denying how huge a role high street brands play when it comes to delivering the latest fashions to us mere mortals. Sometimes they work around key styles - using them as references but making them their own (or just more wearable and realistic) - while some other times they just stick the whole thing in the photocopier and stock up their stores in all those polyester clones we love (yet temporarily):

So which one's Gucci and which one's Mango? The big dolla' version is on the left, while on the right you have one very sad-looking young lady wearing Mango's take on this charming floral number. (Cheer up, love.)

Hard to tell these twins apart, eh? So the one's on the left is called Uterque, and the one on the right goes by the name of Miu Miu. They look identical but you can easily tell them apart simply by looking at the price tag.

You guys, remember back in the day, when trainers were made by sports brands? yeah, neither do I. Anyway, a while ago I was having wet dreams about those weird-ass looking Dior trainers, which I obviously never got because 850€. Sadly, my burning desire faded in the meantime, just when "designer" Sarah Summer has given the world a 260€ version of the same crazy shoe. In the exact same colour palette as Dior too.

But wait! Ms. Summer isn't alone on the replica business: see those tweed Chanel sneakers on the bottom left? They also exist in a budget-friendly version, and you have Elena Iachi to thank for that.

And a last one for the road: another massive coincidence if you look at Isabel Marant's ethnic-inspired jacket and Zara's ethnic inspired jacket. What a small world. 

Candids on tapestry

These are works by a young american artist called Erin M. Riley. They're all tapestries representing the type of image we're all bombarded with everyday on facebook, tumblr, instagram, films and popular culture in general. The girls are anonymous and faceless, because that's how this image bombardment operates: depersonalizes the depicted and desensitizes the viewer (Andy Warhol had warned us about that). But then it's their technique - tapestry - that gives them their much needed gravitas. One the one hand it's a celebration of vulgarity, while on the other hand it's carefully crafted like you'd expect from representations of classical themes, where the female body materializes only the purest of virtues. 

Click here for Erin's website.