Monthly Archives: April 2015

Client Branding Project Part 1

Posted on by under Client Branding Project, Fashion and Culture, First Year

gilbert-adrian-greenberg_3-profile

This is a photo of the costume and fashion designer Adrian. He is also known as Gilbert Adrian, although he was born as Adrian Adolph Greenberg. The photo comes form the Fashion and Model Directory. The page discusses how Adrian was vital in creating Hollywood as a center for glamour in the 1930’s, designing costumes for 250 films including The Wizard of Oz. He created iconic looks for actresses like Joan Crawford with her broad-shouldered suits and dresses.

(“Gilbert Adrian Greenberg – Fashion Designer | Designers | The FMD.” The FMD. Accessed April 23, 2015. http://www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/designers/gilbert-adrian-greenberg/.)

PDF: AdrianPart1

SONY DSC joan-crawford-mildred-pierce 20_gilbert_adrian-theredlist

Adrian designed countless costumes for MGM in the 1930’s. He is known for designing gorgeous gowns and costumes and for making Hollywood the center for glamour. In a time when Hollywood and cinema became a form of escapism for people, Adrian’s designs gave women something to admire and a fantasy they could play into. He dressed many famous actresses including Katherine Hepburn, Jean Harlow, Greta Garbo, and Joan Crawford. One of the most iconic styles that he designed is the broad shouldered look for Joan Crawford (pictured above). This style and puffed sleeves he designed for Crawford for the movie Letty Lynton became a major style for women of the time and still inspire designers today. Another major project that Adrian is known for is designing the costumes for The Wizard of Oz, including Dorothy’s ruby slippers.

(“Gilbert Adrian : Fashion, History.” Gilbert Adrian : Fashion, History. Accessed April 24, 2015. http://theredlist.com/wiki-2-23-1249-1254-view-1930s-profile-gilbert-adrian-3.html.)

(“Joan Crawford – the Forgotten Queen of Style.” All Aboard For Skinkers Swamp. July 16, 2012. Accessed April 24, 2015. https://allaboardforskinkersswamp.wordpress.com/2012/07/16/joan-crawford-the-forgotten-queen-of-style/.)

PDF: AdriansWork

 

Adrian’s New Project:

—“The Philadelphia Story” (1940) is being remade current day. The Story will follow the basic plotline of a high society woman (Tracy) who is preparing for her second marriage to wealthy man after she ended her first marriage in divorce. Her ex-husband, a writer for a newspaper wants revenge and takes a fellow journalist with him as we gets involved in the wedding. Tracy, finds herself confused, conflicted and learns a lot about herself in the process. Adrian designed all of the costumes for this movie. For the remake, the garments will stay true to some of Adrian’s signature elements.

Bjork Response

Posted on by under First Year, Integrative Studio 2

IMG_0518 IMG_0519

This piece was one of my favorites in the exhibit. It appealed to my visually the most out of all the pieces in the exhibit. The moment I saw this, I thought of a modern, woman samurai. The unconventional material used for the garment appears to be bells of different sizes and looking at the garment as a whole, it looks like a very protective piece – from the high collar like wall and the density and hardness that comes from the look of the metal bells. I love how her long, feminine hair is used as a mask. This also reminded me of samurai ponytails and buns. This adds to the strong and warrior like look but it is contrasted by the fact that its her own hair, something personal and vulnerable in a way. This idea was very appealing to me. This relates to my research project on Japan. Although I am not focusing on samurai in my report and studio project, I have done some reading on them and their influence in the shift to the Meiji period which is a big part of my report on Japan. This also matches my studio project, where I am making modern styled/inspired kimono garments. This dress is like a modern samurai look.

Body as Trace

Posted on by under Time: Embodied
Body as Trace
Humans leave traces of themselves everywhere and we have been doing this
from the beginning of time. Even the caveman’s simple tools made out of rocks can
be considered traces – extensions of themselves. In today’s technological age, I was
thinking about how everyone spends so much of the day online. We now not only
leave physical traces of ourselves, but digital traces of ourselves as well. It is so easy
to go back in your phone to find an old message or to go back into your browsing
history to find a website you were on earlier that day. Potentially, you could sit
down at an unknown laptop and you could learn a lot about a person by looking at
the traces they leave on their Internet history. Indeed, a person’s browsing history
can share too much – secrets. In contrast, people clear their browsing history to hide
their secrets from people that they do know. I wanted to show this through the
contrasting voices and visual screenshots. Paired with the dusted latent fingerprints,
I aimed to convey how these are secrets that people do not know about individuals
because they are deliberately hiding them. These secrets are invisible, but they leave
evidence physically, although not immediately visible. The immediately visible trace
of the browser history can also be deleted, and once again the secret is invisible.
Video Link: OliviaSwinford

In Class Make-a-thon Prototype

Posted on by under First Year, Integrative Studio 2

IMG_0550 IMG_0555IMG_0552

 

Researching Japan in the 19th century for my final project/paper in Studio and Seminar, I have read about the kimono and its significance in geisha’s attire. I have also read about how the kimono was adopted by the West and how it was a garment that wealthy men would wear as a night robe. I have decided to make a few kimono inspired garments that I will dye with indigo and experiment with shibori techniques on. Indigo was commonly used as a dye in Japan for garments. After having read this, I noticed how blue is found in many prints from the 19th century depicting women in kimonos. Shibori is a set of Japanese techniques that were used to create patterns on kimonos and other garments when they were being dyed. For the in class make-a-thon, I made a prototype of one of the garments I plan on making to dye.

NY77: COOLEST YEAR IN HELL DOCUMENTARY

Posted on by under Fashion and Culture, First Year

1.)Take notes, and names of people that are of interest to you for future research.

IMG_0400 IMG_0401 IMG_0402 IMG_0403 IMG_0404

People: Blondie, The Ramones, Ed Koch, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, 44 Caliber Killer, Bambaataa

 

2.) Name the neighborhood and venue names where these different groups were forming.

Hip-hop: The Fever and in parks in The Bronx, block parties.

Punk rock: CBGB in the Lower East Side

Disco: Studio 54, Times Square area, Paradise Garage

Gay culture: The Loft

 

3.) Which scene do you think you would’ve been involved in, in 1977? What job would you have liked to have at the time?

I think certain elements of the Punk Rock scene would have been really fun to experience, especially the music scene. I think it would have been really cool to hang out at CBGB a few nights. I also think that going to some of the DJ battles and parks in The Bronx would have been like a party to witness.

Stephen Burrows In Class Assignment

Posted on by under Fashion and Culture, First Year

 

 

IMG_0366

Stephen Burrows was born in Newark, NJ in 1943. He went to an arts high school and then Philadelphia Museum College of Art. Later he graduated from Fashion Institute of Technology in 1966. He initially became interested in fashion because he loved to mambo dance and wanted to design dresses for the girls to wear while dancing. In 1973 he was invited to as one of the first American designers to show in Paris. He has received multiple awards from CFDA and Coty American Fashion Critics Awards. Burrow’s clothing is often bright and disco styled. His clothing also captures the hippie-esque freedom of the 60’s by incorporating fringe and free flowing silhouettes.

1.IMG_0364 2. IMG_0361  3. IMG_0362

 

1. Pat Cleveland, 1969

2.  Stephen Burrow’s “Commune” in his first collection for Stephen Burrow’s World for Henri Bendel, 1970

3. Deanna Lambert, 1969

(Pictures from “Stephen Burrows: When Fashion Danced”)

Skip to toolbar