Spatial reasoning

I feel like I'm arriving quite late to the party, but I just came across a London-based designer (via Fashion156) by the name of Aitor Throup who makes (among other things) amazing pants. I.e. pants with built-in (but optional) spats. I wonder if Gary Fisher knows about Aitor. There's a lot more to be said about Aitor, but I'm off to Europe for the first time ever, and I can't concentrate on one thing for more than 5 minutes. Take care of each other, and see you in a couple weeks! Also, wear some spats if you can.

The Travellers

I wanted to post this yesterday morning, as it set the soundtrack for my final bout of Italian studying. However, I couldn't seem to find a website for the label/collective responsible for these looks, The Travellers, and had to shoot off an email to await further information. Fast forward a few hours when said email had arrived, but my brain had completely shut off. The Travellers website (at least as my checked-out brain read it) does not provide too much more information, so all I know is that its a collaborative effort, its unisex, it likes Joy Division (or I'm assuming, based on the 'Love will tear us apart' t-shirt, not pictured here), and it involves a lovely designer named Maria Manrique.

Anyone else want to know more? Or at least wear all of the above? I'll see what I can do...

(Photos via NJAL)

Yiqing Yin, S/S 13

As I'm sitting here, putting off making the dreaded cup o' instant coffee (I'm desperate!), I was scrolling through some old posts and noticed that my wee post on Paris-based designer Yiqing Yin is one of the most viewed posts on kOs. And, since my brain is not yet working this morning/has already flown to Europe, I couldn't remember anything other than the name, so I added one more view to the post. Which led me to Yiqing's website and her S/S 13 collection. I will definitely be dreaming of that teal dress (the colour and drape of which reminds me of the sadly now defunct Verlaine, R.I.P.), and probably of that multi-lapelled/draped-shoulder jacket too. So, thanks to my unfortunate coffee situation, let's raise our mugs to the good things that can come from someone forgetting to tell you we're out of coffee beans. Even when those good things are frightening and impressive at the same time, like this piece...

...and these pieces. I'm not sure what is going on, but I like them. They also remind me of Stacey Grant's brilliant MA collection.

Remember kids, friends don't let friends drink instant coffee!

(Photos by Shoji Fujii, via Yiqing's website)

In Memory of Elizabeth Howe, Salem, 1692

I've been having a bit of trouble lately with being able to write the words I'm meaning to say, as I've been working on my last paper of my first year of grad school and I've pretty much used up my word bank in the 100+ pages of (English) writing I've produced in the last eight months. So, I'm not sure I can connect these two things together, but I'll try. Around the time Alexander McQueen's A/W '07 collection went down the runway, I was finishing up what I thought would be the last I wrote on Sulpicia, supposedly the only female Roman poet who's work survived long enough to reach us. I quite vividly remember handing in my 60+ page manuscript to my advisor and, as I walked away from her office back down the long hallway, as I was on the verge of tears. I had lived and breathed Sulpicia for the last year, and wasn't sure what to do with myself when that was taken away from me. I also remember feeling quite depressed for the following summer, feeling like I had absolutely no direction, sure that I was permanently separated from a great love, namely university. Now, 6 years later, I feel like I've reversed time somehow and am walking backwards in that same hallway, about to take back my manuscript, return home and un-write it. Of course I'll have to stop rewinding the tape soon, as I now have another 100 pages on Sulpicia to write. At least. Anyway, these two looks from the McQueen collection came out at the time I've now re-arrived at, so their strange ancient history/sci-fi hybrid aesthetic fit both my time traveling experience and area of study.

Funny thing is though, the collection was actually inspired not by sci-fi, but by the women that were killed in the Salem witch trials, including some of McQueen's own distant relatives. This subject speaks to me on a different level, having just completed Damien Echols' book, Life After Death. Some of you were probably more aware of Damien's case than I was since I was too young/sheltered when it began, and too self-involved/in a daze when it came (somewhat) to a head. Due to my reliance on Henry Rollins' show to get me through some of the tough 'in a daze' nights, and then through the healthier 'translating a lot of Latin/Greek' nights, Damien's name at least entered my subconscious, and so I thought I knew what the documentary West of Memphis was going to be like when we saw it was playing at our local indie theatre. I didn't. I immediately bought Damien's book after watching the film and devoured it within a few sittings. Damien's book contains some of the most beautiful passages I've ever read, as well as some of the most heart-wrenching ones. I have not been able to get it out of my head in the last week since I finished it, though I truly don't ever want to.

Here's the runway video of the McQueen show, if you're interested. It has some NSFW material playing on the screen above the runway, so proceed with caution.

(Runway photos via Style.com)

The Polyomino Game

Do you remember Lisa Shahno's 'Iteration collection', which was based on the fractal cosmology theory? Well, I think Lisa has one-upped that with her newest collection, 'The Polyomino Game'. The collection is actually a collaboration with Canadian jewelry designer Tania Hennessy, and it's in the nature of the collaboration itself that I'm most fascinated. Without meeting each other (Lisa's based in Moscow), each designer created their contribution independently over six months, guided only by the same set of rules: each had to create seven pieces, each piece could only be made with squares of a particular size (30cm x 30cm for the clothing, 1cm x 1cm for the jewelry), and only black, white, grey, and violet could be used. The photos here catalogue the final result, when the designers finally met. It's fun to figure out how the abstract photo on the right results in the piece Lisa designed, particularly the skirt below.

The Internets is such a prime place to make other collaborations like this happen, and I'd sure like to see it. Just think of the epic international Tetris tournaments we could have...

(Photos via NJAL)

Ümit Ünal

It's been quite a while since I last thought 'I want those pants'. But thanks to my determination this morning to find something post-worthy and NJAL, I said those very words multiple times in a row. The label is Ümit Ünal* from the Turkish-born and -based designer of the same name. The collection is A/W 13/14, or 'Heaven's Gate'. The lookbook is awesome. The pant/skirt hybrids are relevant to the paper I should be writing.

*The website has the name written both with and without the umlauts. My apologies if one is more correct than the other.

White Lines*

I've been slowly watching my new home take shape, with practically everything being ripped out and replaced to make it suitable for my issues. After seeing the fantastic work of Scott Carter (via iGNANT), I wish that I could've taken part in the demolition portion of the project, so I could've made something with it. Unfortunately, my new landlords would not take kindly to me ripping up the drywall just to make some new furniture. I really want a big armchair though, and am in need of a desk. And perhaps a bust of a Roman emperor...

And perhaps a topographical map of my thoughts on Sulpicia (though it would defeat the purpose of getting rid of all the carpets)...

(Photos via Scott's website)

*Song title from Happy-Go-Licky, the post-Rites of Spring, pre-Fugazi band. Definitely worth checking out if you're interested in the history of Fugazi. Just listen with headphones - they never properly recorded an album, so the awesomeness of the live recordings gets lost in diffusion.

MORPH

Ever wonder what the baby of Ovate and a pair of knitting needles would look like? The answer is this, the S/S 13 collection from Angela Thornton's Portland-based knitwear label, MORPH. That cotton one-shoulder dress and one-shoulder knit bustier (see below) are absolutely spectacular. Pity that, aside from the price (decent for handknit, just out of my budget), I don't think I could pull it off without long black hair and fringe. Goodness, that model's hair and Vulcan eyebrows are gorgeous. 

Ah, who am I kidding. I need some MORPH, sans black hair or not. I can reallocate the funds once used to dye my hair black to get black-hair worthy clothes...This is my new favorite collection.

One more miracle, Sherlock, for me.

I had bookmarked this collection by Barcelona-based label [m] marc lago, and then proceeded to watch the last episode of Sherlock. Little did I know that it would foreshadow the events of the episode. Not that anyone died of hypothermia, but I saw my new favorite face looking very very dead. TV/movie writers have no heart.

(Photos via NJAL)