Indulging in Fashion with Naag

Fashion isn't a topic we discuss much here on Pica + Pixel but I do indulge in the the occasional romp through a fashion magazine now and then. So, if you're feeling the urge to indulge in a little glamour, fashion or beauty extravagance, may I recommend Naag?

Naag was created by model Agyness Deyn and journalist Fiona Byrne and features all the topics usually covered in a fashion magazine -- beauty, travel, fashion and culture. The design is clean, the writing is humorous and fresh and looks are downtown chic.

Edward Steichen Photography in KC

[Fred Astaire from Vanity Fair 1928, from National Portrait Gallery]

The Nelson-Atkins Museum is currently featuring an exhibition of photography called Edward Steichen In High Fashion: The Condé Nast Years 1923-1937. The exhibit will include almost 150 images of from his time at Vogue and Vanity Fair including celebrity portraits, fashion and prints never before seen. Steichen influenced many of the great modern photographers like Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, and Bruce Weber. The show opened last weekend and will be on display through July 25, 2010. Over the course of the exhibit, there will be several lectures around the work. See the Nelson-Atkins site for more details.

Liberty of London brightens Target's Spring line

Target launches their Spring line featuring Liberty of London on March 14 to include fashion, accessories, and home decor. I'm ready for spring!

Couldn't embed the video so check it out here.

Anthropologie meets Hatch Show Print

[Images of the catalog from DesignWorkLife]

For the June catalog, Anthropologie teamed up with Hatch Show Print to create a different look for their mail order catalog. The interior photos have a casual, Southern flair and snippets of various posters. View an interactive version of the catalog here.

When my worlds collide

Anyone who knows me outside of the design world knows that, besides my love of Vespas, MINIs and yarn, I collect Blythe dolls. So, when Target launched its new ad campaign for the Alexander McQueen line featuring Blythe (customized by Minklet, one of the best Blythe customizers in the US), I had to find it.

Will the doll generate interest in the clothing line or will the ad and marketing generate more interest in the dolls?



More images of the dolls from the ads and the assorted marketing materials are posted on Flickr.

Book Mining: The Age of Feminine Drawing

[1. Miyuki Ohashi, 2. The Age of Feminine Drawing Cover, 3. Jeffrey Fulvimari, 4. Jeffrey Fulvimari, 5. Bella Pilar: Bhind the Scenes, 6. Ohgushi: Behind the Scenes]

The Age of Feminine Drawing is another Japanese publication focussing on the new crop of fashion illustrators. The range of stylings in the book is pretty diverse from brushy watercolors to digital superflat to loose pencil sketches. There is certainly enough range to appeal to most everyone. The book is also printed in a combination of full color pages on both coated and uncoated sheets, and short-sheet translucent overlays. There's even a Sketchbook section in the middle of the book printed on newsprint and butcher paper in black and white only.

My favorite part of the book was the Behind the Scenes pages at the back of the book which showed artists' work areas, book shelves, process drawings and reference photos. The more I flip through the book, the more I appreciate the format and the extent of work.

Don't forget the Flickr Set with larger sneak peek images and the ISBN info.

Behind the Scenes Video from NY Magazine

New York Magazine has a short video feature that shows behind-the-scenes of the photo shoot for the Fall Fashion Guide. The images for the article were shot all over New York in iconic locations like Coney Island with the models dressed in vintage styled dresses and suits to create a storybook romance. Beautiful photography and beautiful clothes. Nicely done.




Photography by Rodney Smith, direction by Harriet Mays Powell.

More stylish then a black dress

This year clothes aren't the only things getting done up for Milan fashion week. Coca-Cola is unveiling 3 limited edition bottle of Diet Coke designed by fashion designer Roberto Cavalli. Don't run and try to get here in the states. They will be only available in Italy.

[via NY Times]

OOO, Blog Love!

Through the crazy twist of events that can only happen on the internet (from Operation Nice to hit counters to Amazon to...) I found the Orange Beautiful blog. Officially, Orange Beautiful is a customized design firm out of Chicago specializing in letterpress invitations, cards and an assortment of paper ephemera like bookbinding, screenprint posters and more. All of these are truly lovely. The big news for me is the fun, pretty blog filled with fashion, interiors and design that accompanies the official site. Its my very own dream version of Lucky magazine. I mean really... how could we not love girls who include photos of gnomes in her travel photos (and drives a Mini)?



[Photos from Orange Beautiful. Card available through Etsy.]

That's My Stop

Justin and Nick Miles decided to represent their neighborhood pride through their nearest El stop. They created That's My Stop as a place to buy t-shirts featuring each Chicago El stop location in the appropriate color for the line and in a couple other colors per location. Kindly, the pink line is also available in manly grey and blue. 

[Thanks go out to Chicagoist, my link to my hometown for the tip]

Most Innovative Company: Threadless

Imagine my surprise when I saw someone the we actually know on the cover of a magazine? The June 2008 issue of Inc. Magazine features a cover story about what they are calling the most innovative company in America, Threadless. I'm thrilled to see Chicago hometown boys getting recognized for their online, community-driven t-shirt (and now posters and much more) company. Threadless has been the shining example of user-generated content creating successful product people want to buy.

I'm also just a little bit proud to have known Jeffrey Kalmikoff in his early years when both Kirsten and I worked with him at KBA. Its so awesome to see someone achieve success! Congrats Threadless! It couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of people.

Washing Care Instruction Labels

Since I had a three-day weekend, I had time to do some chores. One of those chores was of course to do the laundry, including the hand washables. This led to the debate about the proper method for washing several items. I poked around inside the garments in search of the ubiquitous washing instructions only to discover that I had no idea what all those little symbols were supposed to mean. What exactly is a triangle symbolize? How embarrassing! As a designer, the kind of person who might have been responsible for creating symbols like this in the first place, I felt lik I should be able to discern their archaic meaning. Alas, no. I had to go to Google and look it up. Is there some way these symbols could be easier to understand? Isn't this the quintessential design problem?

In the meantime, I thought I'd share my research. Textile Affairs has a document (and a printable PDF to post near your washing machine) to explain what all those symbols mean. On Wikipedia, you can get information about washing instructions for several other countries as well. Until there is a better solution, these sites should keep you from damaging anymore sweaters.

Lucienne Day for Converse

Lucienne Day created some of the most memorable Mid-Century patterns for fabric and legendary shoe manufacturer Converse decided to pair their classic Jack Purcell sneaker design with a sunny yellow version of Day's 1954 pattern called Trio. Sure to be a summer classic and now on sale in Converse's online shop for $66 US.

If you'd rather design your own (and what designer wouldn't?) try the build-it-yourself option on Converse's site as well. Choose either Jack Purcells, Chuck Taylors, slip-ons and suede One Stars are going to be an option soon. Prices range from $45 to $80 US.

[We seem to love designer classic sneakers. Remember our post about Eleanore Grosch for Keds?]

Blog: Diesel Cult

Combining product placement, music, art and trends, Diesel has created Diesel Cult – a blog with posts from an illustrious list of "preachers" including an array of international design, trend and culture bloggers like Poppy Talk, Swiss Miss and Art Skills. Designed in Flash, its pretty to look at it, but its a little buggy at times. I'm not sure that it offers much more than a Diesel-themed portal for design and trend blog. Maybe I'm too jaded.

Doc Martens Returns

[New Dr. Marten's ad to appeal to young fashionistas, image from the NYTimes]

Since the punk rock/grunge look went out of fashion in the 90s, Dr. Martens has been trying to revitalize its image. Following a negative response to an ad campaign created by Saatchi + Saatchi earlier this year, Dr. Martens has had to retool and rethink its marketing and brand strategy. The failed ad campaign was an effort to link its brand to well-known (and dead) rock icons. Saatchi + Saatchi did not get permission from the artists' estates to use the likenesses which caused a backlash among fans.

After firing Saatchi + Saatchi, Dr. Martens is launching a new campaign to try to appeal to a new audience, as well as hosting an online contest to custom design boots and working with renowned fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto on limited edition boots used in his recent runway show.

Can a brand recreate itself?


[One of the ads created by Saatchi + Saatchi that caused such a stink]


[Yohji Yamamoto runaway model wearing Dr. Martens, image from Fashion Tribes]


[Limited edition Yohji Yamamoto boots for Dr. Martens, images from Rare Daily]

She is a very fashionable bunny.

Fifi Lapin is a bunny character that a mystery artist repeatedly draws in runway fashions, often posting the actual runway photo side-by-side to Fifi Lapin in the same outfit. Somehow, the clothes always look better on Fifi. Prints and artwork are available for sale on Etsy or you can follow her adventures in fashion on her blog. [link]

You love it or hate it

A 24 karat gold covered Macbook Pro by Computer Choppers. Get yours today for $1200-$1500. Also check out the amuzing comment war after the Wired wrote a post about it.

[Via Wired]

MFA Thesis: Jodi Green

Printmaking MFA student, Jodi Green has chosen to pursue the quandry about printmaking for fashion and home decor and its potential value in comparison with what people see as traditional studio art printmaking. In the proces of her thesis, she has chosen to create or recreate the clothing she wears by adding more textural printing.

The most fascinating aspect is her almost daily photos of herself wearing her creations. You see her work change and develop as well as how she presents herself. I notice her efforts to create visually interesting photos while featuring her latest printing design and the opportunity to see the layering effect on each article.

New Eleanor Grosch shoes from Keds

I love these shoes!!! I bought a pair over the winter and have worn them most of the summer. They are comfortable and cute! And they are designed by the lovely and talented Elenor Grosch. Keds puts out a new set of patterns ever season and past collections have included owls, frogs, giraffes and even elephants. The new collection out now features bluebirds, swallows and doves.

And if you missed the past seasons, check out Zappos. They have my favorite pattern (and the one i bought last year) in stock right now.