DW by Kanye West

This week I chose to review the past to collection by Kanye West, both of which have received mixed reviews by American and European publications. Kanye West
debuted his first collection during Paris Fashion Week for Spring/Summer 2012.

In my own opinion, this was a good "Fall/Winter" collection. Kanye presented 24 pieces which consisted of leather, fur, and number of other luxury style fabrics. The fashion critics bashed Kanye for deciding to show a collection with the likes of Paris Fashion Week big names such as, Chanel, Lanvin, and Louis Vuitton to name a few. (Pictures below)

All and all, for Kanyes first run, this was a good collection. There were several things that needed to be improved, such as the fit and construction of some of the garments. There were clearly a lot of ideas floating around and it seemed as though it was 3 collections in one.

For his Second collection, Kanye received a lot of mixed reviews, with most of the negative responses coming from Europe. This collection fit the Paris trends for Fall/Winter 2012 perfectly whether or not people want to admit it. The catwalks this season featured a lot of dark gothic romantic vibes with splashes of out of the ordinary shades of colors such as yellows, reds, and greens to name a few. It it clear that the media does not want him to be successful in both the music and fashion industry, which can be read in the review from UK Vogue. Its time for a new voice in fashion and I believe Kanye is that person.

http://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/autumn-winter-2012/ready-to-wear/kanye-west#

What is happening in my studio this these days....

One thing that Ive been keeping in mind lately design wise is a high fashion style

with a punk/gothic twist. Ive decided to use that design idea in the following sketches and garments.

This first sketch is my 20th century design take on the Abaya. I wanted to stick with the color of the original garment, since I feel the layers of black are a powerful statement, even though the garment has no shape to it. My design has a drop waist, to continue with shapelessness of the original abaya. There is a pleated organza skirt with a chiffon column style dress underneath.

Last semester I designed a fur trimmed wool coat with zipper trim accents, the image above is the sketch of the garment The dress is made of gathered chiffon as the shell, with a gold satin as the backing, with zipper trim as the accent around the waist. In the design of the dress I wanted to have this "slow and easy" feeling to the dress so I made the hemline of the dress very narrow

and gathered, so the wearer would have to move slower than usual to walk.

For my competition garment I wanted to continue with the style of high fashion meets punk. The artist movement that I had was the Dada movement. I wasnt as inspired by the content of the art but more so the color palette. The main colors of the Dada images that I researched were browns, golds, and black with pops of red. The jacket was made to fit the body oversize, also as if wearing an oversize mens coat. I wanted the fit to almost swallow the form. The coat is made out of fox fur and with leather sleeves. I used gold pyramid studs and wool patches as accents. The skirt, pictured in the sketch, is a modern take off of a school uniform, the skirt is made of wool and has a yoke at the waist.

Stories and Themes 2012

For my first storyboard, I decided on the theme of a new style of boy scout. Boy scouts are known for their uniform and being well put together, almost like someone in the military. Inspiration for the color palette came from Louis Vuitton spring mens show, which featured a very distinctive plaid print, I decided not to use the plaid but each color that made up the pattern. The colors consist of reds, blues and a soft tan. I decided on the slouchy look since it was the opposite of what a boy scout is, it takes away the uniform aspect and makes the clothes more comfortable and easy to wear.

For my second storyboard, my theme was this grunge mixed with a little bit of tribal influences. The image of the tattoo and the exaggerated nose and earrings helped bring the tribal aspect together. The silhouettes are more form fitting to the body, a lot tribal wear are loose on the body and have some kind of flow, once again I decide to go in the opposite direction. The color palette is very neutral with a pop of color, being the bright blue.

The many shoes of Denton...

Shoes are the basis of every outfit. Me personally, I always start with the shoes and work my way up when looking at someones outfit. Denton is not a place of high fashion, or any fashion for that matter, but fortunately there were a select few individuals shoes who's stood out to me the most. Some of the best shoes to me are the ones that are worn in and roughly damaged, it gives the shoes some character and personality. The pair of shoes that stood out the most to me were the boots, most everyone owns a pair, but these had that extra spark to them. These boots could be dressed up or down, and still make the outfit.

"What inspires me......."

Christian Dior Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2010 by John Galliano

Givenchy Pre-Fall 2012 by Riccardo Tisci

What inspires me most is the mix of two different subcultures, high fashion and skater/grunge. To most people these two subcultures have no connection and are completely different in every aspect, but to me they flow together effortlessly.