Think Positive Designer Prints

Romance Was Born has always been inspired by the design duo’s love of Australiana, but this season they went in a different direction – in more ways than one. For their Spring Summer 2012 collection Marvel Comics was their none-too-subtle theme, conceptualised with bold graphic prints comprised of the familiar faces of The Hulk (transformed from green to fuschia), The Avengers, The Fantastic Four. Their fresh use of colour gave their designs a feminine touch, with candy pink, canary yellow and baby blue in the mix. The concept was well executed and the clothes more wearable, which they achieved without comprising on their bold aesthetic and theatrical style of presentation. (more…)

Swash London Spring Summer 2012

We were beginning to despair that the beautiful illustrated prints of Swash were no more. After a period of inaction on their website they are back with a brand new site – a true reflection of their work and well worth a visit (as you scroll up their prints become animated!). Each garment from the London-based duo is emblazoned with their hand illustrated watercolour placements and repeats, consisitng of flowers, animals and bric-a-brac motifs in incredible detail. Their work is the pefect amalgamation of digital printing technology and the irreplaceable work of the human hand! (more…)

Digital print vanguard Josh Goot, has released the lookbook for his Spring Summer 2012 collection. Floral reflections of budding orchids and blushing roses are placed on the familiar Goot-style structured skirts, dresses and tops, with a mix of baroque print paneling. (more…)

Laurence Airline is a Parisian-based menswear label that is not only inspired by ethnic textiles, but works to promote and encourage responsible manufacturing practices with local African communities. Their AW 2012 collection is a anomalous mix of Japanese polka dots, Scottish plaid and wax-printed peacock feathers, constructed at their workshop on the Ivory Coast. Designer Laurence Chauvin-Buthaud works onsite, teaching local employers couture sewing techniques. The profits from her collections are invested back into the company, to continue building a stable learning centre, teaching fashion-making skills to help encourage future business.

For their SS 2012 collection Laurence Airline made a beautiful film in collaboration with Under Current magazine, shot in Abidjan, the economic capital of the Ivory Coast.

ABIDJAN: LAURENCEAIRLINE SS/12 from Under/Current magazine on Vimeo.

To view more of the AW12 collection and photos from the workshop…

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“Vision Quest” is a print-powered editorial for the March 2012 US edition of Vogue, shot by Peter Lindbergh. And, of course, we love it! (more…)

Vika Gazinskaya Crayon Top featured in Harper's Bazaar Russia

Russian fashion designer and street style blogger’s darling du jour Vika Gazinskaya has created a unique assortment of print art for her spring/summer collection 2012 – coloured crayon scribble patches, luminous lime green parrots, illusory hand-illustrated jewels and frenetic charcoal scribbles. Against her sleek couture creations the prints add a sense of fun.

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Images from RUSSH, Vogue and Ossie Clark, with Vintage Library Paisley samples

Paisley is one of the most iconic and recognisable prints. The paisley motif originated in Kashmir, India, where it is known as the symbol of fertility, taken from the early shoots of the date palm. The design became very popular in Europe, particularly in the United Kingdom, in the mid-1700s. Original paisley shawls from Kashmir, brought back to Europe by the East India Company, were hand embroidered by Indian artisans and sometimes took up to 5 years to be completed. In some cases shawls were worth more than a London apartment! (Napolean Bonaparte’s wife is said to have used Kashmiri shawls for gowns, upholstery and bedcovers.) To keep up with the demand the Scottish town of Paisley began to manufacture the print, hence the name ‘paisley’, as it is known today.

By the late 1800s paisley was over-manufactured and out of fashion. Then came the 1960s and paisley was back – with a vengeance! Perhaps considered the print of the era, paisley was made famous by the likes of Mick Jagger and The Beatles, and admired for its exotic, elaborate aesthetic and Eastern influence suited to the hedonistic and rebellious hippie culture of the time.

After the spring/summer 2012 shows it would seem paisley is ready for a revival, featured in the collections for Jil Sander, Stella McCartney, Jonathan Saunders, J.W. Anderson, Haider Ackermann and Clements Ribeiro, where the rich earthy spice colours of 60s paisley have been replaced by pastels (Jil Sander and Jonathan Saunders) and blues (Stella McCartney and J.W. Anderson). Haider Ackermann’s paisley motif print was the only one that echoed the traditionally rich colours of the paisley print. Intricate and sensory, a new twist proves paisley to be a permanent…

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It’s is rare for a menswear label to consider itself print-based – digitally print-based for that matter. London-based label Agi & Sam is the product of ex-Alexander McQueen interns Agape Mdumulla and Sam Cotton. Sam completed a illustration degree, while Agi graduated with a degree in fashion design, thus a label with a print focus seemed the perfect way to amalgamate these skills. Believing digital prints to be latent within in the industry, they hope to bring new life and depths to their print art.

For their Spring/Summer 2012 collection they began with the Mexican festival ‘El Dios Del Muertos (The Day of the Dead). It would seem thorough cultural research was an important part of the design process. Agi and Sam explain that after intensive investigation their interest was honed in on the workwear of early 20th-century labourers and farmers of Central America. In particular the story of kidnapped mine workers, known as the Bisbee Deportation. In 1917 Mexican American miners had been striking when they were captured by vigilantes, driven 16 hours through the desert, left in New Mexico without food or water and ordered never to return to Bisbee. Struck by the clash of cultures and the pervading social binary of the lawful and the lawless Agi and Sam developed vivid digital print designs representing these influences. The result: 3-dimensional weaves, traditional geometric Aztec prints, a blanket check with the texture of wool and bright dip-dye gradient prints. (more…)

It’s always exciting to see designers putting digital printing to the test! Dries van Noten took it up a notch for his spring/summer 2012 collection incorporating custom prints of 18th century landscape etchings, Redouté’s rose botanicals, jungle scapes, butterfly wings and macro flowers, alongside the work of contemporary photographer James Reeve. Van Noten commissioned the work of  Reeve, a London-born photographer, whose images of the shining city lights of Marseilles, Beirut and London were used a placements prints on silk cropped t-shirts, full skirts and sleek dresses. (more…)

BALENCIAGA SPRING/SUMMER 2012

It is not often that designers cite references that date back further than 20th century. For Nicolas Ghesquière medieval stained-glass windows were the source of inspiration for his spring/summer 2012 collection for Balenciaga. Textured with painterly brush strokes in regal colours, with a solid breast pocket, the prints were a nod to the label’s Spanish heritage.

But the collection was not without its 20th-century influences. Dipping into the archives of Cristóbal Balenciaga, Ghesquière has been heralded for his innovative use of textile technology, remastering stiff 1960s haute couture fabrics using new-age bonding techniques to form his angular designs. Amongst strong colour blocks of rust, olive, burgundy, navy and black in luminous silks with surprise splashes of sherbet, lemon and lavender, Balenciaga’s printed blouses were a striking stand-out… (more…)