A Parade of Hats

"Where do they get inspiration?" is a question I often ask after seeing a designer showcase, especially fashion where designers are required to quickly {and regularly} come up with fresh seasonal collections. It's the same question on my mind after I attended the "Schiaparelli-Prada: Impossible Conversations" exhibit at The Met.

Yesterday, we dug around to find where Miuccia Prada gets her inspiration when designing her collections. It turns out that she will use anything from an era, a car, to festivals from all over the world, and turn out a spectacular set of outfits and accessories.

Today, let's investigate where Elsa Schiaparelli gets hers, especially when she designed her outrageous hats.

via People.com

Remember the Royal Wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton? Guests were dressed in their finest and the ladies wore hats. Princesses Eugenie & Beatrice came in these over- the-top hats. These were not designed by Miss Schiaparelli, but I'm quite sure they're right up her alley.

You see, Miss Schiaparelli loved to shock people with her fashion. This allowed her to be different. Here are some of the hats she designed: 

via metmuseum.org

A cocktail hat made of grapes and leaves.

via metmuseum.org

A hat that looks like a thatched roof from an 

exotic location or a gold Christmas tree. 

via met museum.org

A hat made of feathers that closely resembles hair. 

via ironingboardcollective

A lamb chop-shaped hat. 

via thecultureconcept.com

Her popular shoe hat.

At the beginning of her career, Miss Schiaparelli worked closely with other artists like Surrealist painter Salvador Dali. This collaboration could have sparked her out of the box thinking, inspiring her to create her most memorable pieces like this shoe hat and lobster dress.

So the next time we're in a rut, going through creator's/writer's block or feeling uninspired, maybe a collaboration with another crafter/artist/writer is in order? We might just come up with our best work yet.

Head-turning Footwear

Today, instead of crafting, let's talk about inspiration, specifically, where does one gather it? And once you've found it, how do you translate this to your work?

As a crafter, I find my inspiration in visual media like magazines and blogs. I like taking "inspiration excursions" -- just a few hours at the flea market or the museum. "Finding inspiration" was my mission when I visited The Met where I popped into the "Schiaparelli-Prada: Impossible Conversations" exhibit.

via fashionologie.com

One of the highlights of the show was a wall of selected hats/necklaces by Miss Schiaparelli paired with shoe designs by Miss Prada. Miss Prada makes normal, everyday shoes like heels and sneakers, but boy can she make attention-grabbing ones, too! 

I spent a lot of time in this part of the exhibit marveling at the details and craftsmanship, each shoe begging the question, "What's the story behind this?" Naturally, a Google session was in order once I got home.

Let's take a look at Miss Prada's S/S 2012 shoe collection:

via trendland.com

via trendland.com

via trendland.com

via trendland.com

via trendland.com

Bright, shiny, with flames at your heels, right? Well, this collection was inspired by classic American cars, 1950's hot rods, complete with spoilers, wings and flames.

via the stylist.com

This is the "Smoking shoe", surrounded by controversy because people asked if it encouraged smoking {which we all know is blah for your health}. I'm not sure about the back story of this shoe, but it's faithful to Miss Prada's {as well as Miss Schiaparelli's} desire to be different and therefore, producing rebellious fashion.

via anothermag.com

This multicolored woven sandal is drawn from the carnivals of South America. 

via anothermag.com

via standard.co.uk

These ones meld three designs into one shoe: wedges/brogues with espadrilles and sneakers. My first impression was, "Cool, these add height but must be easy to wear since espadrilles and sneakers are associated with comfort," and again, '"What possessed Miss Prada to design such a shoe?"

via en.paperblog.com

I happen to like these whimsical heels. The shoe and sock combination are derived from school-girl outfits.

via shoerazzi.com

These leather platform pumps with hidden heels and Mary Jane straps is a nod to the 70's.

via districtofchic.com

And finally, these confident pair of pumps are inspired by Roman centurion helmets.

In these examples, Miss Prada presented literal translations {no subtlety} of what inspired her {which she found everywhere}, resulting in much-talked about, highly-coveted pieces. Isn't that what fashion is about? To set trends and to make a sale?

I'm not certain if I can pull off this look, but I'm pretty sure these shoes can turn a simple attire from blah to TADA! And if anyone turns a critical eye, simply say, "It's Prada!"

Plastic Fringe

One of the things on my bucket list is to see a show during New York Fashion Week. I still don't know how to get a ticket, though. This is the reason I like to visit special fashion exhibitions at The Met. This year, it's all about two Italian designers, Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada.  It's the closest I can get to seeing haute couture up close, and indeed, the dresses are mind-blowing -- talk about well thought of and well-crafted.

At the "Schiaparelli-Prada: Impossible Conversations" exhibit, these are some of the dresses that caught my eye:

via idiosyncraticfashionistas

This dress by Miss Prada is made of nude silk organza embroidered with orange and dark red plastic pailettes. It reminds me of fish scales.

via idiosyncraticfashionistas

This skirt, also made by Miss Prada, is made of silk twill and black felt with plastic fringe and orange feathers at the bottom. It's plastic but doesn't look cheap at all.

via labelholics.com

Miss Prada's focus on many of her designs is on the back. Her coats and dresses have something protruding like this brown-orange ombre' wool cloquet with orange feathers and plastic fringe. It's very dramatic.

I thought the plastic elements {pailettes and fringe} were quite quirky. It's the inspiration for today's blah to TADA! craft:

blah: plastic boxes that once

contained salad greens

Cut out the curved sections in favor of flat sheets. Then cut them into 1/2 inch-wide strips in varying lengths. {Just be careful, the edges might be sharp}.

Make holes at one end with a craft punch. 

Attach the strips to a necklace chain with jump rings. You can put 2 to 3 strips {use different lengths} on each jump ring to create several layers.

 TADA! A fringe necklace!

It gives the illusion of lucite pendants.

But only you and I know what this 

necklace is really made of!

The Exhibit at The Met

It's that time of year again.

It's when I trek to The Metropolitan Museum of Art to visit the Costume Institute's exhibition.

This year, it puts two Italian female designers front and center: Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada. 

courtesy of Models.com via the shades and scarf

It begins in a dark room. A few benches invite you to sit and view a short film directed by Baz Luhrmann: In a fancy dining room, two women are in deep conversation. The woman on the left is Miss Schiaparelli, and the lady on the right is Miss Prada. They talk about their beginnings as designers, and their views on design. Miss Schiaparelli is feisty, while Miss Prada is reserved.

Here, I slowly understand why the show is called, "Schiaparelli-Prada: Impossible Conversations".  This "girl talk" would never have happened {at least not in the current time} because Miss Schiaparelli passed away in 1973. She is played by actor Judy Davis, with her actual words lifted from Miss Schiaparelli's biography, "Shocking Life." Miss Prada is played by the real Miss Miuccia Prada who is still at the peak of her career.

Later in the exhibit, I find out that Miss Schiaparelli hated talking to designers, and Miss Prada rarely talks about fashion with other people. I wonder, though, if they ever met?

So kudos to the Costume Institute for making this fictional exchange highly believable, engaging, and impressive as it follows the heels of last year's Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty. 

The exhibit is divided into three sections, and pieces by both designers are grouped side by side to point out similarities of design even in different eras.

Part 1 is called "Waist Up, Waist Down":

via fashionologie.com

All the pieces for "Waist Up" is Miss Schiaparelli's, which feature embellished and well-tailored jackets. She lived in a time when the cafe society was so popular -- women were seated in restaurants, and the upper portion of the body got a lot of attention. She wanted to focus on the visibility and photographic possibilities of the wearer.

via wallpaper.com

Miss Prada's intricately made skirts make up "Waist Down". She found this area of the body feminine and instinctive, active and dynamic, basic and grounded. It's about sex, making love, life, and giving birth. She wanted to accentuate the natural vitality and spontaneity of the lower body with the dramatic possibility of skirts. How's that for a point of view?


Also in this section is "Neck Up, Knee Down".

via fashionologie.com

"Neck Up" displays hats and necklaces that Miss Schiaparelli was known for.

via wallpaper.com

"Knee Down" showcases Miss Prada's famous shoe designs. She says, "I think you have much more freedom to be outrageous with shoes. There is more room for craziness, for exaggeration."

Part 2 is entitled "Hard Chic, Ugly Chic, Naif Chic":

via The World News Magazine

"Hard Chic" are designs inspired by menswear, military and service uniforms.

via wallpaper.com

"Ugly Chic" are outfits made of colors/patterns that have discordant combinations.

via artnet.com

"Naif Chic" uses the sugary sweetness of children's clothes and translates this to clothing for the "not so young". 

Part 3 is called "The Surreal Body":

via wallpaper.com

The mannequins are enclosed in glass boxes and many of the dresses are more playful with the use of feathers, fabrics printed with an image of a lobster or medicine pills.  

via The World News Magazine

Noteworthy also are the masks on the mannequins made by Guido Palau. 

This week, our blah to TADA! crafts will take inspiration from this exhibit. See you tomorrow!

Two-in-One Special

Hip, hip hooray, it's Friday!

Today, I have not just one, but TWO bracelet ideas for you. Both are made from leather cord that you can get at any craft or jewelry supply store.

Apart from the leather cord, I'm using this fish pendant for the first bracelet. I also got this at the bead store.  It's hollow inside, allowing the cord to go through.

After looping the leather through the pendant two times, and adding clasps at the end, I've got this adorable bracelet! TADA!

The second one is made of a collection of vintage beads. I used this beaded wrap bracelet tutorial as a guide to build my bracelet.

I folded a piece of cord in half and knotted both ends. I tied clear string {in the same length} beside one knot, and strung on the beads. I finished with a double knot on the clear string, and attached this on the knot at the other end of the cord. This strip of beads must be positioned in between the two cords. I used binder clips as "extra hands".

To secure the beads to the cord, and to add some color, I introduced yellow embroidery thread in a crisscross weaving pattern. 

 TADA! Here's what the finished bracelet looks like.

The loop and a sewed-on button become an instant clasp. 

Wear it solo. 

Or provide some company. 

I hope you enjoyed this bunch of bracelets we made.

Have a marvelous weekend!