My Trend?

And so.....

I started Footwear design on Monday. I love it, and I know it's going to be a brilliant course. I can draw shoes really well! We had to take in our favourite shoe to the first class and talk about why we love it. So I brought in my black suede Alexander McQueen Pumps with Skull trim. I adore these shoes because they are an amazing fit, and as a short person I take full advantage of any height increase I can get a hold of.

We then had to draw our shoe in different views. Its been about 2 years since I last drew a shoe, but I think I did quite well. We have to draw our favourite shoe every day for practise, so I have drawn it in 3 views so far. I will probably just sketch the shoe in simple smaller pics so I can get used to the style again.

Here is what I came up with:

Pretty good for a 2 year break.

I had Intro to Fashion last night, we have to fully develop our story and research and to be honest I am a bit stuck. I found some amazing images, but there are too many figurative ones. So I need to find other empowering inspriational looks. I am sure it will be fine, but its a bit confusing, I really need a printer, we dont have one at home, so I may have to invest in one whilst I am here. I can ebay it before we go back im sure.

Today is Illustration for jewelry design. Eek! Technical skills and patience will be needed! Fngers crossed I can develop a bit more. I didnt do too badly last week but just need to get used to how we work. By hand design is a skill I really want to master, as much as I appreciate computer aided design. We shall see!

Tomorrow is Fashion Styling, I came up with a style montage for the kind of trend I was thinking about.

Vintage Rock - to be called Rockage.

It comes from the Ruth Milliam studded waistcoat I got last weekend. A play on Rock star style combined with feminine vintage elements, and a whole load of large rings! : )

I completed the montage jpeg, and will upload it tomorrow or Friday. I have the outfit also, so will hopefully be able to style it onto a mannequin. Would be amazing to have a model free but it may have to be me, interesting angled shots for sure!

Lots of love all from the chilling London town. Rain today, woop! or something like that.....

Rock Vintage at the Duck Pond....

Had a lovely weekend with the other family : )


We had Monkey's mummy down and got to hang out in Richmond on Sunday with his brother and family.


We were walking and came across a market called Duck Pond - Richmond Artisan Food & Craft Market. I think it was a play on the fact that there was a duck pond/canal across from it, but they seem to have them in a couple of places:


http://www.duckpondmarket.co.uk/duckpondmarket.co.uk/Welcome.html


Curiosity got the better of us and we had a little peak. Small little courtyard market with a few stalls, lots of home made goodies, bought myself some amazing olives in rosemary and herbs and also probably the best brownie and banana cake ever!


After munching down I had a peak into a clothing stall where a girl called Ruth Milliam was. She had this cute little head piece on with a beautiful hat pin adjuster in.


I spotted this rather incredible wasitcoat though. Studded and loose and very rock n roll. It scared my other family a bit, but I had an idea of how it would be worn : )


I am totally using it in my trend project for Fashion Styling this week. I was thinking rock n roll vintage with a shade of girly pink going through.


Here are the pics below, Ruth Milliam's website should be up and running by Feb, will put the link below and let you know when it is up and running. But for those of you in London or coming to visit. Ruth is at Duck Pond Market every Sunday. Otherwise email me and I can give you her contacts.

www.ruthmilliam.com - Feb 2012

A Model friend

Its been about 1 1/2 weeks since I left the Middle East, but its been a good few months since I have seen two very good friends of mine who are now living in Hong Kong.


I met Jason and Phuong about 2 years ago I think, I contacted Phuong on Facebook, she was a model and was coming to Dubai. At the time I was working with Connected Models as a model booker and assistant. One of my jobs was to scout and I used Fb a lot. Phuong is a gorgeous 5'10" Vietnamese beauty who has a beautiful kind heart, a great snappy sense of style and a keen eye for a good bargain as well as a good pair of shoes.


Though her English was not very strong, you fall in love with her personality and she has fully mastered it now. 


I wanted to get her booked in jobs in Dubai as soon as she landed. My boss was not too sure about Phuong but as soon as she saw her, she could see something special to, and she had a KILLER catwalk walk.


I encouraged her to sign with Bareface. I tried to get a job with them when I landed in Dubai, but no such luck. They are a great agency, professional and have the best production and events team around the UAE. One day I hope to be apart of that team : ) And thats when her catwalk shows really took off.


I was so sad when they said they were leaving, but it was an amazing opportunity for them both!


The reason I mention Phuong today is because she is doing Hong Kong Fashion week, and I promised her I would always support and watch her back. It is amazing that she scored the gig and I know she is going to kick butt!


Please check out her website link below as well as some of my favorite images from her portfolio:

I fell in love with Miss Phuong after Jason showed me this shot. Totally cute, rock n roll chic!

Lots of love to Jason and Phuong and goodluck for HK Fashion week hon!


http://www.phuongrouzaire.com/

A new week....

Hey y'all,

Sorry for such a massive gap between blogs. It's been a mad week getting settled in, but I have officially started!

Yay!

Its been brilliant getting aquainted with London, and it helps if you have an iPad with you to download awesome apps like the tube map ; )

I attended my first course last week, Intro to Fashion, a very basic course, but for me a complete re-introduction into fashion design, where I can learn about research and development of my collections in future. Start to delve into ait all a bti more next week. I was lucky enough to get a very cool project to develop on that will be called Carnal Val, a play on the emotion of savage and carnal emotion and carnival. We have complete freedom in what we want for this. Should be interesting.

Wednesday was Illustration for Jewelry Design. Well, I wanted drawing and thats what I got : ) this will be a hard course, very technical and patience will be a major virtue. We have to do spec drawing of jewelry pieces to scale... pretty much. As a perfectionist it may take me a while but im sure I will get there. My teacher is so funky and very talented, Hannah Martin, jewelry for men that girlfriends can steal . Check out the link below under the pics! I may have to buy something myself..... ; ) Not about being teachers pet promise!

http://www.hannahmartinlondon.com/

Thursday was Fashion styling. I love my teacher, she is totally quirky, and threw us into our first project of creating a trend we think would be good for Winter 2012.

I was definitely worried, eek! How do I do this? Create a look that I think is trendy for everyone?

We are not allowed to google trends and we have to really look at people on the street, in bars, clubs, restaurants etc.

We can present it any way we want. So I think I want to try drawing it, one because it will be a good experiment for my drawing skills and two.... well my camera is not working properly so its the only way I feel comfortable doing so. Though I could do a power point.... We shall see.

Monkey and I explored West London a little more towards the weekend, we ended up around Carnaby street and I signed up for a Fascinator course at Atelier Millinery on Feb 4th:

http://atelier-millinery.com/

Lovely little shop and only 4 people to a class so we get some one to one attention. Looking forward to it anyhow!

Its gettting nippy out and I am becoming a true artiste of the layering form, thinking thats where my trend will go....

So anyway ladies and gents, that's a very quick re-cap to a busy week. Promise more blogging will occur this week, will try to keep this updated and add some new pics of my adventure as I go....

A Wonderful showcase of tea party Rock N Roll!

Writing my previous post I was reminded of a photo shoot a very good friend of mine did last year in Dubai. I leant her a load of my clothes, mainly Betsey Johnson. I have 3 dresses, and also a pair of Swarovski covered peep toe pumps by Alexander McQueen.

The beautiful and talented singer Melany Malony did the below shoot with a guy called Joseph Roi. He captured the clothes in a very rock n roll way. Was so happy to see these images, another reason I wanted to get back into fashion. It was great to see, Vivienne Westwood and McQueen Combined!

Here they are!

Also I can see Tarina Tarantino getting away in these shots.

For those of you who don't know Tarina Tarantino she is this American Jewelry/Accessories Designer who creates pieces influenced by Images such as Hello Kitty, Barbie, Alice in Wonderland and the latest collections saw the Wizard of Oz being introduced. She also has amazing bright Pink Hair!

I need to find her in London! Not her literally just her store : ) I usually treat myself to one piece of Tarantino Jewelry on my birthday, which is tomorrow, so I better get searching!

Here is the link for any of you interested in seeing more: http://www.tarinatarantino.com/

xxx

A Sick start to a new day...

Well It's official, I am sick. Snotty nose and scratchy cough for 2 days. Oh what a joyous feeling.

But I am not letting it get me down! Yesterday we ventured out to explore Notting Hill and Portobello Road. With the help of my iPad I was able to map out like a pro. Probably looked like I knew where I was going to.

I had a civilised battle with my bank to stop them charging me 12.50 per month to keep it open when I was not using it, and signed up for a 3 month gym membership. Luckily got a good deal of 99 quid in total.

I found a few art stores and saddled up my provisions for the next 2 months at college, but im sure there will be more needed.

It was a beautiful day yesterday, cold yes but completely bearable, each person who we came across pointed out how mad we were to leave such a gloriously warm holiday destination. Yes it was complete madness, but it was for mainly money reasons that we chose this time of year. I refuse to get overcharged with anything during the summer Olympic months!

I really do love West London, though im a complete newbie my sister saved our lives with the offer of accommodation. The access to college from here is a mere 20 minute tube journey! And only 3 stops to Monkey's brother's house.

My Introduction to Fashion class at Central Saint Martins begins tonight. Im so nervous! And I was planning a gym trip to get psyched up but without the option of even being able to talk, it is probably not a good idea to run for an hour without the options of safe breathing.

I think Im more nervous at not being able to keep up. It has been 3 years since I was in NYC fashionista'ing away the days with some amazing people. What would happen here? Who would I sit next to? What will the teacher think of me? What hat should I wear?

It was a tiny flash back, as I never really got on well with school, but I am feeling positive and excited for the next few months.

I have to bring the following inspirations with me tonight:

On the first day bring one image of:

• Your favorite designer
• Your favorite artist
• Your favorite image.

What did I chose?

Well, there was actually a selection of images. My style and influence is from so many different people. I have always adored Salvador Dali, the surrealist. I mean come on! What a fabulous, weird mind to work in. And I chose his piece "The Ballerina in Deaths Head - 1939." You getting an idea of what style I go for yet? Gothic yes but surreal, interesting and completely unique.

Next was favourite Designer. Well, to emphasise again, I am pulled toward many different designers. Alexander McQueen is a true favourite of mine as he always thought outside the box and delivered a wonderfully diverse range of extraordinary designs. I think Sarah Burton is doing a fab job in his place but Alexander will always be sorely missed. Next I chose Vivienne Westwood. A Quirky Exhibitionist with a genius way of making you feel original in design. And finally Betsey Johnson. When I lived in NYC I was a mere 2 minute walk from her shop in Soho, and I used to go visit it all the time, not to buy but just to look. Fun, playful with an Alice in Wonderland Tea Party feel to her work. All of these designers had a similar draw to me, it was kind of Rock N Roll for high fashion.

So fingers crossed I chose some good images/inspirations. Im taking them via my iPad because we don't have a printer.

Will let you know how it goes, but in the mean time wish me luck!

London Bound

What a mad dash that was!

It was my sisters wedding day yesterday, and I say yesterday as I left straight from the reception to catch the London flight with monkey at 2am.

I am writing this as we wait on the plane to take off on our brand new adventure and apparently with a cold. Joy.

A couple of months ago I made a decision that will either determine my next role n life or be my next failed experiment at a new start.

Obviously I hope for the latter.

I should maybe start from the beginning, or at least a little while back in Order to explain my current location.

I spent 2 years in New York City on a fashion design course and upon graduation I was offered an incredible opportunity to take a post in an events production company. I declined.

I wasn't crazy and I do not regret my decision in the slightest, but I needed to head back to the UAE in order to be closer to someone I was and still am deeply in love with. We have been together 7 years and I have loved every single weird and wonderful moment of it. The long distance from NYC to Abu Dhabi definitely tested our relationship. Neither of us know just how we did it but I can admit that I learned how NOT to do a long distance relationship.

A. Do not doubt or mistrust  - yes they are a very long way away but stop convincing yourself that he/she is being unfaithful just because they have to leave the conversation early on msn or Skype.

B. Do not overshadow or smother one another - as much as you need to show your commitment and strength and involve your partner In how many birds you saw that day.

C. Never waste the opportunity you grant yourself - I was in NYC! A fast paced city full of amazing people and experiences, learn and grow don't hide and sink.

Once I returned to the UAE I began a job search. And with the very little design experience I had obtained I found it disheartening as to how little there was available to me. And so I applied to work in a modeling and events company. Got the job! And spent almost a year pouring my heart into a job that paid VERY little (a lot if you have not worked before!) and spent that time driving up and down between Abu Dhabi in order to prove myself. I ended up losing that job, not because of my work, but due to the company losing funds.

I was lost once again.

My dad offered me a job in his recruitment company, I took it. Good pay, safe visa options and a very good team to work with. 18 months later, I felt stuck. I was working to live, and was not really doing much of that living part. I felt unmotivated and depressed but at the same time I was very much respected in the company. 

I made the final decision to leave. And just before I made it official monkey and I spent a few days discussing the options I had.

I missed fashion, that much was true. I had lost my creative ability and disappointed myself when I attempted to draw.

We debated the states or Asia, but the best option I found was London. Central Saint Martins and London College of Fashion offer short courses lasting about 9 to 10 weeks. Illustration to design, jewelry to hats!

The choices astounded me.

I signed myself up!

Illustration for jewelery

Intro to Fashion

Footwear design

Fashion styling

Yep! It felt right.

I even researched singing and dance classes. If I was going to do this I wanted to make sure that each moment counted.

Monkey decided to come to! The music circuit in the UAE grew stale, and it was time for a reboot for both of us.

And so here we are : ) sitting on a plane ready to fly back to good old blighty!

I know it's a risk, but I knew that something needed to change and that something was hidden within me running around in confused circles attempting to find that light at the end of the tunnel.

I am extremely nervous though. I start on Tuesday and I have still not bought all of my supplies!

Writing this blog was one of the promises I made to myself, to document and experience and share.

"Curiouser & Curiouser." - Lewis Carrol