Images courtesy of Calvin Tang

Calvin Tang is a designer that is always looking for challenges and unconventional materials to work with when designing clothes. In his latest collection, and also his graduate collection for Central Saint Martins, he took on a quite difficult task.

Using cork - provided by a 150-year old company called Jelinek Cork Group - as the base material for his graduate project, the London based designer decided to challenge the stiffness of the fabric and see how it worked on the human body.  

Or as according to the designer told me the other day, it was about “to see how it turned out on the body and making this raw material beautiful and how to make cork wearable”.

The result was an assortment of mid length dresses in black and dark grey with a hard sculptural shape, yet with surprisingly soft lines. The draped dresses communicated an effortlessly yet firm look and were beautifully accompanied with belts folded into an asymmetrical maze of wool and cork.  

Loosely arranging fabrics around mannequins is somewhat a signature look for the designer. As seen in his “Odd beauty 11” and S/S 10 collection, draping has always had a central role in Tang’s work.

However this year it had more of a graphic look. It was a three-dimensional graduate project where the Hong Kong-born Tang found his inspiration in furniture and a Swiss artist with an affinity for centaur-inspired figures.

Working on the collection for more than 16 hours a day it was like many challenges a time consuming project. “The only time you don’t work is when you’re on the bus”, he tells me without looking a bit tired.

Maybe, I think, because he was fortunate enough to get caught in a traffic jam and steal some sleep. Or maybe because he is like the Duracell bunny that never runs out of battery. Either way Tang is not afraid to take new challenges on board.

He is after all the designer who turned wine bottle corks into something rather exceptional.

Image courtesy of Calvin Tang

Courtesy of Bedazzled

Bedazzled designs statement jewelleries that are big enough just to wear with a simple white tee. Drawing your thoughts back to medieval princesses in armour suits, the rough touch to the accessories is unmistakable.

With a variety of knuckle rings, shaped as hats on your hand, not many would dare to mess with you. But feeling a bit more on the romantic side, the beautiful head jewelleries are perfect to top up a bohemian inspired look.

The Swedish German brand is based in Stockholm and Berlin, mixing the Scandinavian simplicity with Berlin boldness. Behind the label stands Jennie Rhönnstad, a 22-year-old designer from Sweden.

She was nominated in the 2011 Rookie of the year, a competition focusing on young and up and coming designers during Stockholm Fashion Week.

According to Jennie Rhönnstand she finds her inspiration from the 1920s and the anatomy of animals. The mix between the swanlike feather collars and necklace head skulls makes it just wild enough to bring out the sophisticated animal in you.  

Please visit http://www.bedazzledjewelry.se to see more.

Copyright Madelaine Triebe

Shao Yen is a designer with many talents. Having studied at Central Saint Martins College in 2003, interning for both Alexander McQueen and Hussein Chalayan, as well as dressing eccentric Icelandic singer Bjork, the 28-year old Taiwanese fashion designer is not unknown to success.
 
His presentation at this weekend’s Vauxhall Fashion Scout was once again a triumphant experiment of shapes and material.
 
In this year’s A/W 12 collection at the Freemasons Hall in Covent Garden, it was all about formal wear inspired by sportier elements. It was British traditionalism intertwined with vibrant youth subcultures. Presenting jackets and trousers in brown checked tweed, blended with decorated wool fur hoods in dark turquoise, Shao Yen introduced the Earl to the London youngster.
 
Presenting his work with models standing impressively still on white podiums accompanied with live classical music, Yen gave the audience plenty of time to soak in the relaxed atmosphere. However, used to the tight schedule of fashion weeks, photographers, friends and journalists hurriedly snapped away on their cameras in what looked like unanimous admiration of his work.
 
His combination of old school tailoring and young comfort between stiff couture and the physicality of sportswear, was perfect for anyone who wants to dress fashionably yet casually athletic for the upcoming London Olympics.    

Images courtesy of www.erikbjerkesjo.com
 

Erïk Bjerkesjö is keeping it unchangingly old school. Forget about big-scale productions and think banging sweaty men in leather aprons sledging away on soles that your feet soon are getting the honourably honour to wear.

In a small factory in Tuscany, together with some Italian shoemakers, Bjerkesjo makes men’s shoes with a hammer and some nails, neatly hand-sowing together calf-leather-skin into shiny well-designed footwear. For the shoe fetish the dream doesn’t get wetter than this.

The Swedish, Italian-educated shoe designer is a man who truly believes in craftsman traditions. It may be because of his upbringing on Gotland, the historic hotspot in Sweden still hosting the annual “Medieval Week” every year. Or maybe it is because of his classic Italian "we-are-the-cradle-of-design-education", at the renowned Polimoda Fashion School in Florence. Either way, for anyone looking for quality and timeless foot pieces, there is no more time to waste.   

His shoes are not extravagantly looking or are anywhere remotely close to the elaborate Christian Louboutin leopard-skin studded shoes. Instead, Bjerkesjö’s pieces are straightforward and classic. Some would perhaps say they are boring. I simply say they are fantastic.

To see more, please click here.
 

 

When you find the right kind of necklace, you know that it is going to change any outfit you’ll ever wear, whether it is all black or a mix match of block colours. However sometimes you need to be reminded of the great effect it can have on an outfit. To once again have this epiphany, it is a good idea to have a look at the work of Israeli jewellery designer Hagar Satat.

The designer creates a great selection of it-accessories to spice up your everyday dressing; 24-karat gold and silver-plated jewellery beautifully united with leather. It is an interesting combination of materials that re-defines the traditional concept of accessories. Especially the items that are kept simple and clean cut: the necklaces with square-shaped and hexagonal gold metal plates with a black leather band, and the braided leather hoop-bracelets. At is absolute best Hagar Satat jewellery is stylish and minimalistic with a splash of extravagance.  

Hagar graduated from the fashion and accessory department at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem and she founded her eponymous brand in 2004 in Israel. In the studio and outlet shop in Tel Aviv on 13 Levontin Street, the designer pieces are put together by a handful of women. It gives the visitor an insight to a small-scale production. It’s a truly uniquely intimate shopping experience. However, it is not necessary to go all the way to Tel Aviv to buy some, as the brand is internationally distributed in both the States and Europe.

As the British Fashion council showcased some of the country’s most promising emerging talents in menswear in Paris this weekend, I feel it’s time for me to dive a bit deeper into one of the gifted designers. Of the labels presented, the one who mainly drew my attention was Agi and Sam. With the vivid colours used in the S/S 12 collection, I became a child hypnotized by the intensity of the rainbow. 

It reminded me of how boundaries can be refreshingly pushed into oblivion and stereotypes playfully broken using the right element of creativity. In fashion there should be no rules. The garments from the British duo show a similar attitude; clothes should be fun, never be taken too seriously, but always be wearable. 

In a long wildly grown beard, with sun-tanned leather skin and tattoo-sleeves on his arms running from his shoulders down to his hands, the model of Agi & Sam’s latest collection casually poses in colourful prints, knee-high bright socks and occasionally with a potato or pink mug in his hand. Filled with bespoke prints and string vests layered with white cotton shirts and checked blazers, there is not a single piece that lacks a purpose. It is pink, it is turquoise, it is playfully manly and metrosexual, but most of all it’s full of humour.

The collection is delivered by two designers with absolute confidence in their craft and its ability to enchant the viewer or wearer by its perfectly measured amount of comedy. It makes me wish I was a man, and that I believe is a sure sign of the collection being one of a kind.
 

It’s January and the time that has to pass to get to those (hopefully) warm and sticky summer nights seems long. However, and thankfully not if you’re a devoted fashion enthusiast.

As the industry is already getting ready for its February fashion weeks that’s going to give you a sneak peak of what to wear this coming fall and winter, it’s time for you to think about your summer wardrobe and be refreshed with some bright colours.

A rookie on the market, but a highly talented one, Swedish clothing designer Ida Johansson brings you a wide selection of bright garments with a stylish bohemian touch.

Her S/S collection for 2012 is made up of flowing asymmetrical draped dresses and skirts, making her clothing perfect to wear either at a night out on the town, a fashionable day on the beach, or a warm afternoon in the city. 

The collection named “Reflecting Roots” has a consistent and varied range of outfits and is boldly mixing loose attires with a mix of colours and cuts.

It is only occasionally I feel the playfully styled outfits do not work; where they have an unflattering fit on the female body, rather than being a daring fashion statement.

However, overall it’s an impressive and inspiring assortment of clothes and its creative feel easily makes up its rare flaws.  

Johansson has been nominated to the Rookie award at this year’s Stockholm Fashion Week and is based both in Barcelona and Stockholm.

If you want to check out more of her stuff please visit http://www.idajohansson.com/. 

"Image Credit: (courtesy of amirluqman.com)"
 

In a world where most of the fashion we read about is coming from big cities like Paris, New York and London, I sometimes find it easy to forget fashion from the rest of the world, which is a shame as there is a whole range of undiscovered global talents out there. 

Amir Luqman is a Malaysian designer who successfully founded the label in 2004 in the South East Asian country. Designing for the Asian woman with a soft spot for haute couture and long gowns, Luqman makes clothing perfectly fit for someone wanting to add a bit of glamour to their life.

His latest S/S 2012 collection was made up of long ruffled silk skirts in bright red and orange, beautifully accompanied with white blouses. The collection struck the perfect balance between the simple and the extravagant. It showed us a line made for a confident woman with a flair for luxury and sophisticated fashion statements.

Not a stranger to designing costume made dresses and gowns for the Malaysian celebrities, the designer was appointed to make the national costume for Miss Universe Malaysia in 2011.
If you would like to check out more please visit http://www.amirluqman.com/
 
 

"Image Credit: (Naama Bezalel)"
 

Naama Bezalel is somehow the modern vintage queen of Israel. Her clothes will make any Audrey Hepburn fan’s mouth water and as vintage has become a big thing the last decade, I bet her designs will not go unnoticed in Europe for much longer.

Her dresses are made with a particular eye for clean cuts and the female body, making the dresses look like they are custom made for every single person wearing it. Although newly produced it is like you have picked the dress straight out of your grandmother’s wardrobe but given it a modern twist of your own.  

Inspired by the 50s, 60s and 70s the characteristics of Bezalel’s design are classic pieces, made for the modern woman. It celebrates femininity and nostalgically looks back to the days where women only wore skirts and dresses.  

Usually I am not a huge vintage devotee, not because I don’t like it but simply because I can not make it work. However, in Bezalel’s design I can really see the beauty of it. Her clothes are wearable, well tailored and so utterly feminine. It makes me envy all those Audrey Hepburn look-a-likes out there and although a sucker for the 21^st century and trousers, it secretly makes me want to jump into a Bezalel dress and go and have breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Please visit http://www.naamabezalel.com/ to see more.