The world of abstraction

WEEK13- DAY7

1. Soundatrack of the day

2. Places to go

New York City,the Big Apple

3. People to discover

Yves Saint Laurent

4. Question of the day

5. Inspiration

Continuum’s D.dress application. A process of triangulation. A virtual collection of black dresses made by everyone, for everyone.

“In short, the “D” collection is actually a piece of software. The D.dress app lets you draw a dress, turns it into a 3D model, and exports a cutting pattern to make the real dress, sized to your measurements. A laser cutter or plotter cuts the pattern out of fabric, which is then sewn into the dress. All the designs are unified around the theme of the little black dress, and the triangulation used in the software. This allows basically everyone to create their own innovative dress design.”

Yves Saint Laurent - “I am no longer concerned with sensation and innovation, but with the perfection of my style,”
“Over the years I have learned that what is important in a dress is the woman who is wearing it,” - Yves Saint Laurent.

“I have often said that I wish I had invented blue jeans: the most spectacular, the most practical, the most relaxed and nonchalant. They have expression, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity - all I hope for in my clothes.” Yves Saint Laurent

L'amour fou - video - and Pierre Bergé

6.Homework 

Today, we relax and catch up on the week’s homework. But you could also explore the world of abstraction! Imagine what it would be like to wear your very own scribbles… You could draw and make your wearable 3D meshes!
If you feel like it, go ahead and add your own dress to Continuum’s “D” collection.

It's a fashion magazine kind of afternoon

WEEK13 - DAY6

1. Soundtrack of the day

Vogue - Madonna

2. People to meet

Vogue world run by Anna Wintour, the language of fashion has become a melting pot of all styles, of the high and low culture.

3. Places to go

Condé Nast Building in New York City

Condé Nast publications

4. Question of the day

5. Inspiration

Vintage Vogue Magazine on Instagram and on Pinterest. 

What is style?

Orson Welles -  “Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.”

Miuccia Prada -  “Fashion is instant language.”

Alexander McQueen -  “It’s a new era in fashion - there are no rules. It’s all about the individual and personal style, wearing high-end, low-end, classic labels, and up-and-coming designers all together.”

“I never wanted to be called an artist. I wanted to be called a photographer.” Richard Avedon 

Audrey Hepburn: the muse of givenchy. Here, some pics. 

Irving Penn and Issey Miyake collaboration.

Voguepedia...

Balenciaga’s archive.

Bill Cunningham’s “On the Street” segment for the New York Times.

“Elegance is the only beauty that never fades.” Audrey Hepburn

“The only real elegance is in the mind; if you’ve got that, the rest really comes from it.” Diana Vreeland

“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” Coco Chanel

6. Homework

Relax and flip pages of a fashion magazine

Today is already Sunday, not Saturday. And the weather really sucks. It's a great afternoon to lay in bed and flip magazines alright! 

Dedicated follower of fashion - The Kinks

They seek him here, they seek him there,
His clothes are loud, but never square.
It will make or break him so he's got to buy the best,
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion.

And when he does his little rounds,
'Round the boutiques of London Town,
Eagerly pursuing all the latest fads and trends,
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion.

Oh yes he is (oh yes he is), oh yes he is (oh yes he is).
He thinks he is a flower to be looked at,
And when he pulls his frilly nylon panties right up tight,
He feels a dedicated follower of fashion.

Oh yes he is (oh yes he is), oh yes he is (oh yes he is).
There's one thing that he loves and that is flattery.
One week he's in polka-dots, the next week he is in stripes.
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion.

They seek him here, they seek him there,
In Regent Street and Leicester Square.
Everywhere the Carnabetian army marches on,
Each one an dedicated follower of fashion.

Oh yes he is (oh yes he is), oh yes he is (oh yes he is).
His world is built 'round discoteques and parties.
This pleasure-seeking individual always looks his best
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion.

Oh yes he is (oh yes he is), oh yes he is (oh yes he is).
He flits from shop to shop just like a butterfly.
In matters of the cloth he is as fickle as can be,
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion.
He's a dedicated follower of fashion.
He's a dedicated follower of fashion.

In the mid-1960s fashion in Britain was becoming increasingly daring and outrageous, driven by the youth-oriented culture of Swinging London.Boutiques such as Biba, designers like Mary Quant, and the television personalities like Cathy McGowan who popularized them became celebrated as much as the entertainers who wore their mod clothes.
Fashion trends changed rapidly, and the Carnaby Street shops did a brisk business from those trying to avoid seeming out of step with the latest craze.Ray Davies saw all this and satirized the hypothetical extreme, a superficial dandy whose "clothes are loud but never square / It will make or break him so he's got to buy the best ... He thinks he is a flower to be looked at ... In matters of the cloth he is as fickle as can b

(From wikipedia)

Say cheese

WEEK13- DAY5

1. Soundtrack of the day

She's in fashion - Suede

2. People to meet

“All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth.”- Richard Avedon

Darkness and Light - documentary for you to check and learn more about him.

The moment Nastassia Kinski got kissed by a python - photo

Dovima with elephants photo.

3. Places to go

Rotterdam, Netherlands

4. Question of the day

5. Inspiration

AMO, OMA’s research studio, were founded by Rem Koolhaas.

One book he wrote (in collaboration with Bruce Mau) - S, M, L, XL. 

Amo has been collaborating with Prada for a few years now. They make buildings for them like stores and museums… They also make some films
and scenographies, mixing fashion with theater and architecture.

The Real Fantasies video  for Prada’s Spring/ Summer 2011 collection. 

Fall/Winter 2012 video.  The archive.

“It’s time to be bold,” -  Miuccia Prada.

“I always loved aesthetics. Not particularly fashion, but an idea of beauty.” Miuccia Prada

http://www.thesartorialist.com/

“People can inhabit anything. And they can be miserable in anything and ecstatic in anything. More and more I think that architecture has nothing to do with it. Of course, that’s both liberating and alarming.” Rem Koolhaas

Antonioni’s Blow Up, inspired by David Bailey.

6. Homework
Today, you will make a photo shoot. Find the right playlist to get you in the right mood, the mood you want to create.Then, go to lookbook.nu, and post your best picture for the world to see...

 

The world needs fantasy

WEEK13 - DAY 4

1. Soundtrack of the day

Lady Gaga - Bad romance

2. People to meet

Alexander McQueen

3. Places to go

Maldives

4. Question of the day

5. Inspiration

Plato’s Atlantis, Alexander McQueen - video and the collection

Studio Nick Knight

Savile Row - here - and Central Saint Martins - here - were important in S. M. path.

Isabella Blow - here - and Philip Treacy - here


Steve McQueen: “The world needs fantasy, not reality. We have enough reality
today.” 

The horn of plenty - Runway show with the mountain of garbage in the middle of the stage, when his models wore big/red lipstick?

Moodboards tips. Visual information about a mood, about textures, lines, people, objects, landscapes or animals...

“Behind the scene” into some designers Fall 2010 moodboards. If moodboards interest you, here are a few tips to get started.

McQueen’s Armadillo shoes? Those Lady Gaga wore in her Bad Romance video. And guess what? We found a how-to for us to make it ourselves!

McQueen’s Savage beauty exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum
in NYC.

And here is another McQueen video that shows his rebellious and  uncompromising nature.

“An absorbing, astounding walk through the extraordinary convolutions of his
mind, and the technical virtuosity could summon up in order to turn his ideas
and thoughts into reality,” said Hilary Alexander.

“A button-pushing marvel: ethereal and gross, graceful and utterly manipulative, and poised on a line where fashion turns into something else,” - Holland Cotter.

One last quote!
“I find beauty in the grotesque, like most artists. I have to force people to look at things.” Alexander McQueen


6. Homework


Today, you will document the making of your “dress”. Make a how-to, a “pattern” for others to use. Create a world, a context, a language for it to come alive. You need to make your classmates copy, paste and save your how-to onto their own computers. Some of them might even print it out, or in the best of cases, share it with others. And for them to do so, you better make them feel and want how it would be to make and wear your very own creation! This is the way we share knowledge today. Go ahead and make us fall into your dream!

7. Extras

Purple rain, purple rain

WEEK13-DAY3

1. Soundtrack of the day

Prince - Purple rain

2. People to meet

Anni Albers was his wife and she made really beautiful textiles. You should definitely check them out. There are very easy to find online!

3. Places to go

Grand Bazaar, Istanbul

4. Question of the day

5. Inspiration

Ottoman clothing

A plate from Max Tilke’s Oriental Costumes: Their Designs and Colors.

A collection of people in costumes, illustrations of seams and garment patterns from the Oriental world.

“We cannot reconstruct unless we can compare,” -  Max Tilke.

“A piece of fabric can get me going,” - Anna Sui.

The color purple

Tyrian purple? The royal one?

Prince’s “Purple Rain Tour” 

And let us guide you to the purple rain...

Aamu Song’s Reddress. It’s not purple, but it was designer for 238 people and is made out of 550 meters of fabric...

“I was a punk before it got its name. I had that hairstyle and purple lipstick.”
Vivienne Westwood!

Vivienne video

“When I costume, I am not a fashion designer nor a clothing manufacturer, but a builder of character, concept, and physical movement.”

The Costumer’s Manifesto: (A statement of Purpose and Ethics for Costumers).

6. Homework

Pick a piece of fabric for the project. It has to be purple.

7. Extras

Sonia Delaunay textiles

A full scale paper model

WEEK 13 - DAY 2

1. Soundtrack of the day

Right said Fred - I'm too sexy

2. People to meet

Nanni Strada

3. Places to go

Milan at the fashion week

4. Question of the day

5. Inspiration

The Mappamodello. A photographs, illustration and patterns’ catalog of historic
Eastern clothing and working attire. A collection of patterns, reinterpreted by her and all contained on a singular pattern!

Here’s an article about Nanni’s work on Domus.

By the way, her first truly famous work was “The cloak and the skin”, but she is also known for having made the world’s first seamless machine-knitted dress!
“I have not done anything else than designing clothes. My entire professional
career is dedicated to fashion, which I regard as a project, such as design projects or architecture, far away from the rules of couture,” Nanni Strada

A guideto the Parallel Practices in Fashion and Architecture exhibition. A very nice reference to keep.

Nanni Strada said: “I will never make another curved line, a design like a silhouette, I’ll only make geometries.”

Elements and structures obtainable with square pieces of cloth, and with cuts, folds and stitches. Link.

Mary Quant - “Fashion is not frivolous. It is a part of being alive today.”

Five nice and free designer sewing patterns to download, get started or simply inspired:

A kimono-like top by Alexander McQueen
A dress by Martin Margiella
Another dress, this time by Junya Watanabe
A pirate jacket by John Galliano
A mysterious jacket by our beloved Yohji Yamamoto

“You have a more interesting life if you wear impressive clothes.” Vivienne Westwood

First, you need to learn the rules. Then, you need to forget about them...

Denise Bonapace
Very nice images and inspirations from “The Hot House: Italian New Wave Design”, a book Andrea Branzi wrote in 1984.

Rick Genest. Or, as Cher would say: “For someone who likes tattoos, the most precious thing is bare skin”

6.Homework 
Today, you will plan, draw, make a full scale paper model of your future “dress”.
Think about it’s volume. Think about it’s fit. But above all, think about the seams. How will you put your “dress”’pieces together?

I will not make a dress. I have 4 purple dresses already! Also I know a little about sewing and to make a proper dress will take me a lot of time. I am not that skilled! So I'll make a skirt. Well, I will not make a skirt either. Find more in my next uploads.

7. Extras

Nick Wooster - photos

"The tail is the hardest part to peel"

With all due respect, that’s right, organization couldn’t show physically a lot of works. But there are other ways of showing works and not that expensive. But, ok, they wanted to display a physical exhibition in Berlin. To know that a piece is in Berlin and that it can be viewed in a gallery is quite a thrill for many students. So if it’s something that special it’s hard to consider it and behave as if it’s just another task. It’s now something that not all can aspire because of the limited space hence one more reason for organization to use the best criteria in selection.

I see the participation on that exhibit as the perfect corollary to sum up the lived experience in Design 101 not just another ordinary weekly task. As for the persons who discovered the course in the last weeks, 3-2 weeks ago, and are catching up, or for other persons who are just now about to discover it, I have to ask: What about the initial “journey”, “the collective exploration” concept? What about the “community” concept? Aren’t those pillars of the course experience? Aren’t those pillars of any MOOC and as important as the transmission of knowledge? Then, wow do organization legitimate selecting works these persons will create? Out of good will? Out of sympathy? Isn’t Design 101 a course with an academic team/real university to back it up? Would this kind of detour be something acceptable if this wasn’t an online course? Organization is stretching the possibilities because they can, because it’s nice, but in fact this means just decreasing Design101 standards. Look, let me show an example of compromise. To access the exhibition students should have done at least a percentage of the tasks (and knew about this rule at the beginning of the journey, of course. )

Just think for a minute about the reason why organization have different certificates to give away. The reason why is because organization decided  torecognize that those who worked more deserve more. I know that this was the 1st edition of Design 101 and that possibly organization were “absolute beginners”. Maybe on a 2nd edition it can see this questions differently. And I also know that all things considered there may not be so many participations for the blue flowers show. Oh, and the reason why I and so many students are upset is because we like Design101. I would worry a lot if we were all silent…

To be in the community, or not to be, that is the question

The final show. The competition. I am trying not get upset by all this situation but it seems it will be impossible. This sentence that I found on FB Arena Group by a kind of Design101 Embassador does not look good anyway you look at it - "this is a chance to all of you who enrolled in the course independenly if you did the assignments or not to show your talent. " , says Sara.( She's iversity Ambassador) Well, it also reads in the blog that "101 designers within the design 101 community will be chosen to exhibit a work ". A mere Design 101 enrolled person is part of the Design 101 community?!! Since when? In what part of the world? Do you know what makes a community? This kind of opinion really makes a lot for this MOOC's prestige and objectives...and students that commented every day, made assignements, shared links, helped each other, shared stuff by emails. And I must say I don't consider myself as one of the most hard working persons here, not even close. At this moment I am SO PISSED that I am honestly thinking of not doing anything else, not for the exhibition not even for this week. I don't feel I need to prove anything because this is a FREE ride and I don't need Berlin to show the world my stuff. I am not a designer, this course did not make me a designer and probably I will never be one. But I loved being a part of DESIGN 101 COMMUNITY. That final show wasn't the reason that brought me here and still isn't. Specially with the format you came up with. Oh, by the way, I organized all kind of events for a couple of years, and, yes, you can't take the work of many in this course because you did not think a way of making it possible since the beggining. It's a MOOC people, not an art school class. That was your starting point. It's not about space, you know. This is getting silly by the hour. Oh, please... Make me shut up.

Lady in red

WEEK13 - DAY1 - DRESSING PEOPLE

1. SOUNDTRACK OF THE DAY

Chris de Bourgh - Lady in red

Ru Paul - Supermodel of the world

David Bowie - Fashion

2. PLACES TO KNOW

Offenburg, Germany

3. PEOPLE TO DISCOVER

Aenne Burda

4. QUESTION OF THE DAY

5. INSPIRATION

Burda Style Pattern Store - In 1950, Aenne Burda published the first issue of “Burda Moden” magazine. People immediately loved it! And then (two years later), the magazine became even more popular because it included patterns to make clothes.Today, the magazine is published in 16 different languages and spread all around the world!

“My aim is to put together practical fashions at an affordable price that can be worn by the largest possible number of women,” said Mrs. Burda.
“Dressing up. People just don’t do it anymore. We have to change that,” John Galliano.

“I am attracted to people who make this effort in knowing what suits them - they are individual and stylish.”

“If you wear clothes that don’t suit you, you’re a fashion victim. You have to wear clothes that make you look better.” (Vivienne Westwood)

Coco Chanel.

“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”

“Where should one use perfume?” a young woman asked. “Wherever one wants to be kissed.”

6. HOMEWORK - Making clothes


7. EXTRAS

Fabulous fashionistas - documentary
100 years of fashion video
Origami with clothes - Contribution of Rosanna Li
Elementum - Contribution of Katjha Mathan