MIRROR MIRROR

Mirror Mirror, a modern re-telling of the infamous story of Snow White, but told in such a witty and new way. I watched this film the other night, I had heard so many bad reviews about it, but you know me.. I don't care about reviews. It's my own opinion that matters.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, it was so beautifully made. The story, the casting, the scenery and of course the costumes! All the costumes were designed by the late Eiko Ishioka (more info here), this was his last piece of work. His designs are so visually stunning and quite surreal, they take the story of Snow White to a whole other level.

The beautiful Lily Collins plays Snow White (such a perfect choice in my opinion) and her costumes are among my favourite. The dress above is so utterly gorgeous, historical in silhouette but modern in choice of fabrics and colours. The juxtaposition of simply decorated bodice with the huge printed skirt is amazing and I'm even loving the big mint green puffed sleeves. Not something I'd say often! The floral prints/motifs were chosen by Ishioka as he wanted Snow to be really connected to nature.

Another beautiful costume Lily got to wear was this huge saffron yellow cloak, which when in motion moved and billowed with grace and pure magic.  

The biggest and most extravagant costume in the entire film is the Queen's (played by Julia Roberts) wedding dress. When I say this dress was the biggest, it really was.. it weighed a topping 60 lbs and was 8 ft in diameter, that's pretty big!

I absolutely love it, I can't even imagine how long and how much work went into creating this masterpiece. It's crazy that it was only shown on screen for a couple of minutes. 

Oh, just one more thing. Can we all just sit back and appreciate how cute the Prince (Armie Hammer) is in his costume for the ball. Super cute. 

So everyone, I totally recommend this film. You'll love the alternate storyline and of course, the beautiful costumes.

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THE FLINTSTONES - STONE AGE COUTURE

Yesterday I watched a film that I hadn't seen in years, not since I was a kid.. The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas. A live-action prequel to the first live action film, The Flintstones. It tells the story of how Wilma and Fred get together, how Betty and Barney get together and they're backgrounds.

It was badly reviewed at the time, but I'm not one for going by reviews.. if I like it, I like it, a review by a 'film critic' is not going to change my mind. It's a great kids film, it's funny, it's quite campy and very colourful! What struck me most though were the costumes, as a kid watching it I never noticed them but now I paid great attention to them.

The costumes were designed by Robert Turturice, over 700 costumes were made for the film and a staggering million plus 'rock crystals' made. Yesterday I researched more into the costumes and what went into making them, it was really interesting. Most of the costumes were made of leather or suede, the seams glued together but then top-stiched by hand with thin leather strips to make them look 'hand-made'.

My favourite costumes were the ones Joan Collins wore, it was practically stone age couture! The bold colours, shapes, the huge fur coats and of course the rock crystal jewellery (which were cast from actual stones, for a more authentic look). Robert Turturice said.. 

"I think they were looking for outrageous, flashy clothes and someone who wasn't afraid to just take the risks and go completely over the top. I mean what does couture of BC look like? Plus there were fashion class distinctions even then." 

I think he was the perfect man for the job and would have loved to have seen his research and sketches for these costumes!

Joan Collins, who plays Wilma's very snobby mother Pearl, very closely resembles a costume that Cruella De Vil wears in 101 Dalmatians!

Love the tuxedos, might even be a little bit tempted to sew up one for myself.. they do look quite simple to make. There was only one rule to the costumes in this film.. there are no sleeves, trousers or shoes. To others that would sound like a dampener on the creativity of the designs, but I think it was a positive, it opens you up to think more outside the box. 

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THE LONDON ADVENTURE: PART ONE

So I had a great adventure this week, an adventure up in the great city of London. It was a busy 3 days, was meant to be 4 but as I'm ill at the moment I just had to come home.. missed my own bed.

So got there Monday lunchtime, dropped off my bags at the hotel (which was horrible and I don't even want to talk about) and went straight to the V&A.. my favorite museum. Unfortunately the fashion exhibition was closed for renovation but the rest of their collections was awe inspiring as usual, they did have a good selection of stage/theatre costumes on display though and The House of Annie Lennox included some of her outfits she's worn throughout her career which was quite interesting.

The rest of the day was spent visiting Harrods, I spent ages walking around the womenswear designer floor.. having a good look at everything. I found the Harry Potter shop which was quite the experience, it had everything Potter related.. even actual costumes used in the films on display around the store!

As every Fashion Design student should do I was looking at how each garment was made, what fabrics were used and finishes. I was surprised at how on some of the dresses that cost thousands actually used quite simple but effective design features.. even I could replicate the techniques. I found the Victoria Beckham Collection, was so amazing to actually see and feel the pieces in real life. I was really surprised that on one of the dresses it didn't actually have a lining! It was a stretch dress but with lots of seams and they were all visible on the inside.. not even finished!

I also found the Victoria Beckham handbag collection.. which I absolutely died over!! They were the most stunning and well crafted bags I had ever seen and held in my life.. you could feel the quality and now I understand the high cost. I got to hold a few of them, including the one I've been lusting over ever since the collection was unveiled.. the black crocodile 'Victoria' bag, £18,000. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture taken holding it as we got told off but to actually hold it felt amazing.

I'll talk about the rest of my trip in my next post, I would post so many more pictures but somehow took about 300 in the space of 2 days!

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MOST WANTED WEDNESDAY #24

Another wedding dress, but I just couldn't not upload this.. it's so beautiful.

This weeks Most Wanted Wednesday is Fleur Delacour/Weasly's wedding dress from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One. This dress is just visually stunning and quite different from any other wedding dress I've come across.

It's an elaborate layered white tulle dress with a over-lied lace motif in a gorgeous dual phoenix design that starts at the bust and carries on around the dress, what makes it so different and enchanting is the use of black lace on the white background in such a unique motif.

Although after researching more into this dress created by costume designer Jany Temime it seems like the design was blatantly copied from an Alexander McQueen dress from his Autumn/Winter 2008 collection.. at first I did think it was an altered McQueen dress but I'm really surprised she has been allowed to copy to such detail. McQueen's team failed to comment, maybe they are Harry Potter fans and felt maybe flattered.

Plagiarism issues aside, this dress is absolutely gorgeous and fit the character, the theme, the film perfectly.. the phoenix bird is a symbol of love in a way because there is rebirth, love never dies.. it is born again.

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THE VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED

A couple of nights ago The Village of the Damned (1995 version) was on telly, it was really late at night/early hours of the morning and I was going to go to bed but decided to watch a bit of this. I ended up watched all of it, it was really good! I had heard of this film but only seen it referenced in other films and telly shows, like in The Simpsons. It was quite creepy! I love horror films, but this was less horror more eerie.. with a slash of gore. The bit I hated most was when that asian woman put her hand into the boiling pot of water, I could totally feel her pain!

Anyway, apart from it being a good film what I really enjoyed were the costumes! Not so much of the other cast, but the costumes that the children wore. They all wore a similar monochromatic grey-tone uniform, but each child had a different look. Tailored pinafore dresses, smart trousers, collared shirts with bow-ties and sleek outer-coats all of which had a slight 60s mod feel to it.

I absolutely loved each and every outfit they wore, I'm a big fan of the 'school uniform look' anyway, it's my signature look.. tight black jumpers with crisp white shirts and sometimes a statement tie/bow-tie. It's a great look and despite the nature of a uniform it's a look you can customize and change up a lot. My 'school uniform look' is black and white, but after seeing The Village of the Damned I quite fancy trying out a all grey look, but using various shades of grey to keep it interesting just like the children had e.g. light grey shirts with  a dark grey jumper.

I don't know if this would work with any other colors, as in a full uniform outfit. Black would possibly work, white I'm not too sure of but say green or red, that wouldn't work at all. So the key to making this look work is to keep within the monochromatic color spectrum of black, white and grey.

Oooh, actually.. cream might work quite nicely! Tell me what you think, either in the comments below or on my Twitter.

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BURLESQUE

I had one of the best nights out on Saturday, I went to see my very first Burlesque show at the Milkwood Jam bar in Swansea.

It was amazing, not only the performances but the audience, the bar and the general feel of the whole night! I have never seen a Burlesque show before or really watched a performance, but after Saturday I want to go to any and every show there is from now on. The ladies were mesmerizing, the way they moved their bodies and the way they totally owned that stage.

I absolutely loved the costumes too, and how could I not love all of those nipple tassels! Anyway, here are some videos of my favorite performances, they're not the greatest quality.. I had to use my Blackberry, didn't take my camera because I didn't know we could take pictures. These are possibly NSFW so wait till you get home to watch!

'The Pink Panther'

'The Witch Doctor'

'The Dragon'

'Victor/Victoria'

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MOST WANTED WEDNESDAY #15

Hey guys, hope you're all having a good week so far! I had originally planned a post on my visit to a Burlesque show yesterday, but I am having trouble uploading my videos which are pretty vital, sorry guys, I will try and get that posted sometime this week!

So from that post I had planned to lead onto this weeks Most Wanted Wednesday, and since the show I have been thinking more about Burlesque and its stunning costumes (which don't exactly stay on for long!). The costumes I saw on Saturday were gorgeous, so I decided to look a little further and found this...

OMG ISN'T STUNNING! I had totally forgotten that the Queen of Burlesque, Dita Von Teese, had walked the Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture show last year, in the most amazing corseted bejeweled costume I've seen. It's skeletal design mixed with the fine tailoring and boning of the corset just gives the most beautiful silhouette and impact. Just look at her waist!

I could never make something anything like this, I mean hopefully one day, but it looks doubtful. I could design it, but lack the skills to actually make it. But then again, isn't that what highly skilled seamstresses and tailors are for?

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Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again...

Hey everyone, just a quick post today. I was watching one of my favorite movies the other night, Mamma Mia! The Movie. Afterwards I was inspired, I loved the ABBA costumes featured at the end of the movie so I decided to come up with some designs inspired and influenced by that era.

Drawn with pencil in my Fashionary. For more information on my Fashionary, click here.

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