Fashion has a wonderful way of making everything ok.
Spring summer 2012 and fashion tells us it’s ok to dress like a dazzling twenties flapper (Ralph Lauren) or a souped up athletic taboggoner (Alexander Wang).
Yet so often we just let these opportunities go by. As grown-ups, we are so concerned with other people and their perception of what we are wearing that often we don't have the cahoonas to wear whatever the heck we like and own it.
I am one of these grown-ups. But now that 2012 is here, a new year, I am resolving to try a little harder and take on the challenges fashion presents to us.
You want me in pyjamas Stella, head to toe in a flowery stickers Mr Kane, ok.
So to get started and show willing, with the knowledge that fashion says its ok to do all of the above. I fashioned a dress out of disused Homebase warehouse packaging plastic, tied a piece of black ribbon around it, stuck on some Velcro, donned a pair of wellies and went skipping through the woods.
Spring summer 2012 and fashion tells us it’s ok to dress like a dazzling twenties flapper (Ralph Lauren) or a souped up athletic taboggoner (Alexander Wang).
Yet so often we just let these opportunities go by. As grown-ups, we are so concerned with other people and their perception of what we are wearing that often we don't have the cahoonas to wear whatever the heck we like and own it.
I am one of these grown-ups. But now that 2012 is here, a new year, I am resolving to try a little harder and take on the challenges fashion presents to us.
You want me in pyjamas Stella, head to toe in a flowery stickers Mr Kane, ok.
So to get started and show willing, with the knowledge that fashion says its ok to do all of the above. I fashioned a dress out of disused Homebase warehouse packaging plastic, tied a piece of black ribbon around it, stuck on some Velcro, donned a pair of wellies and went skipping through the woods.
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| Peek-a-boo |
Like a meercat in a sandwich bag, my eyes scanned the surroundings for any potential human movement before I remembered the brief I had set myself and started to have fun.
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| In the woods in a plastic dress. Enough said. |
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| Rabanne and Miyake do plastic fantastically |
In autumn/winter 1980, Issey Miyake went super fetish sexy, constructing a pillarbox red plastic bodice which followed every contour of the beautiful female form - using plastic as second skin, Miyake synthesised the ultimate embodiment of Jessica Rabbit.
With the mass of gold seen in the autumn/winter collections (Gucci, Proenzer Schouler, Balmain etc.) and the gathering of ethereal, irredescent shimmering tones seen in this year's spring/summer collections (Christopher Kane, Maxmara, Chanel etc.), I decided to put my best foot forward and create my own metallic masterpiece.
Now I'm no graffiti artist, let me tell you, but I do feel there's a lot to be gained from having fun with a spray can. So I decided to get my Banksy on.
I was on a budget so I used a can of interior gold paint my sister gave me (the top had fallen off but this was fine, I could hold it).
Attempting to be sensible, I took my chosen item of clothing (a plain cream M&S jumper), my can of spray gold, marigolds and a sheet of plastic into my open garage (lots of air is a must), shook the can and sprayed away.
Unfortunately, my unending optimism didn't quite help the spray can top to stay firmly on whilst spraying, so as a consequence, there was a constant, very cold and very numbing drip of condensed gold paint dripping from under my finger.
I carried on regardless. There was nothing I could do to remedy the splodges which had already imprinted themselves onto the fabric and actually, I ended up quite liking the result.
In under ten minutes I had created something very very slightly reminiscent of Proenzer Schouler’s electric catfish prints spring summer 2010.
Now, I like Proenzer Schouler.
Big time.
There is something so beautifully unintentional in their designs, I feel like I’m dipping into designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez's whirling brains when I watch one of their catwalks. The fabrics and prints are devastatingly sumptuous.
Obviously, my creation has no where near the skill of design or vision, but its definitely wearable and I've seen a lot worse. There's also something quite like Stella McCartney does military about it.
Now I'm no graffiti artist, let me tell you, but I do feel there's a lot to be gained from having fun with a spray can. So I decided to get my Banksy on.
I was on a budget so I used a can of interior gold paint my sister gave me (the top had fallen off but this was fine, I could hold it).
Attempting to be sensible, I took my chosen item of clothing (a plain cream M&S jumper), my can of spray gold, marigolds and a sheet of plastic into my open garage (lots of air is a must), shook the can and sprayed away.
Unfortunately, my unending optimism didn't quite help the spray can top to stay firmly on whilst spraying, so as a consequence, there was a constant, very cold and very numbing drip of condensed gold paint dripping from under my finger.
I carried on regardless. There was nothing I could do to remedy the splodges which had already imprinted themselves onto the fabric and actually, I ended up quite liking the result.
In under ten minutes I had created something very very slightly reminiscent of Proenzer Schouler’s electric catfish prints spring summer 2010.
Now, I like Proenzer Schouler.
Big time.
There is something so beautifully unintentional in their designs, I feel like I’m dipping into designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez's whirling brains when I watch one of their catwalks. The fabrics and prints are devastatingly sumptuous.
Obviously, my creation has no where near the skill of design or vision, but its definitely wearable and I've seen a lot worse. There's also something quite like Stella McCartney does military about it.
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| Jolly cold in gold |
After my stint at reinventing an old jumper, I wished to carry on pursuing my new hobby so I took my inspiration from the warped Christmas season.
I try to do my bit when it comes to the environment; recycling and reusing is a must in my house. So with Christmas long gone and crazed present opening well and truly over, it was time to reuse the poor wrapping remnants.
Sprucing up a cotton shopper bag with super shiny gold wrapping paper seemed the perfect antidote to post-Christmas boredom. After my dip into DIY accessorising, and whilst perusing online fashion magazines like a kid scans the toy section of an Argos catalogue, I found images of the delightful Blake Lively wearing Gucci’s gold leather pleated skirt and smiled with great satisfaction. The similarity in appearance of the two items was uncanny. Well almost.
So, to sum up. I made a dress of plastic wrapping, pranced around in the woods wearing it, DIYd a gold Gucci-inspired bag, graffitted a jumper and wore it out on a cold day.
Fashion, BRING IT ON.
Fashion, BRING IT ON.
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