Illustrated Sunday Part II

Three weeks ago I posted about trying to illustrate for OLYA NOVA project.

Well, guess what, the clothes did have materialised miraculously shortly after! Have a look! I am pretty thrilled...

And this one is for today's Sunday. This dress was imagined by a lovely woman who was inspired by the KENZO flower.

How can one NOT be inspired by poppies anyway?.. 

Have a good week!

AB

Dressing up the world

Guess What? I got my first commissioned photographer job! Yoo-hoo! I had to photograph this bubbly beautiful woman who wants to dress up the world. Literally.  I have met Olga accidentally in a small cafe in a little town in Switzerland. After five minutes of thoughtful glances we realized we had many things in common.

Being both Russian to begin with. Being involved in various creative projects - check. And we both have weakness for dresses. The love of dresses alone is more than a sufficient pretext to start a life long friendship, don't you agree?  ;-)

Although I must admit, Olga's affection for dresses goes a tad deeper that mine, I mean, she has a whole philosophical theory about femininity and feminism, where dress is a focal point. I don't know where you live, but in our geographical coordinates comfort and rationalism took over elegance and femininity some while ago. Dress has become an obsolescent item. Am I right or am I right?

Ok, perhaps I am exaggerating, but only a little. Sooo, Olga has this theory that each woman has to have at least one perfect dress...for each occasion. :-) A dress which is made to measure! Luxury, you'll say. Although according to Olga it is possible. 

I forgot to tell you that she is extremely vivacious, and with that energy I am sure, she'll dress up the world, at least my measures has been taken and I can't wait to see my perfect dress. 

I will sure be keeping an eye on her project which is still in a development stage now, so I'll keep you posted.

Good weekend and

Love,

AB

China Girl

A year ago the art world was buzzing over one of the pearl treasures of China. The Emperor's Eastern Pearl Court Necklace (Chaozhu), incorporating 108 flawless natural freshwater pearls, gold, coral, and other gemstones, was sold for a staggering price of US$ 8.7 million at Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong. 134 cm long and with pearls measuring from 9.6 to 10.65 mm, this necklace belonged to the emperor Yongzheng from the 18th century Qing Dynasty. 

 

© Sotheby's 

The pearl court necklace, incorporating a Buddhist rosary design, had been introduced as a part of the official ceremonial dress by the Qing Dynasty in 1636.

The portrait of the Yongzheng emperor wearing formal court attire depicts him wearing almost identical, if not the same necklace as the one that has been auctioned. There are only five other known Eastern pearl chaozhu in China, all located in the Palace Museum in Beijing. The Eastern pearl necklace is considered to be of the highest cultural significance. 

  

Inspired by the rare beauty I checked my collection of gemstones. See, I smuggle bring the colourful bits from all over the world: pearls, jade, lapis lazuli, turquoise from Asia, malachite from Ural, amber from Latvia, corals from the Dominican Republic, crystals are available in abundance here in Switzerland. One must have a hobby, n’est pas? 

The idea of making a Yongzheng-inspired piece was sitting in my head for a long while rather quietly. Until a few days ago Ralph Lauren presented his Fall 2011 ready-to-wear collection in New York (no, unfortunately I didn’t watch it from the front row or backstage, I did it online, eating chips on the sofa; a nice option too: no need to splurge on a flight ticket and new boots).

Can you even believe it?...when everybody else is desperately waiting for spring, fashion designers are already looking forward to next winter, brrrr. Although I wouldn’t mind a three month winter extension if I got to wear one of  Lauren’s pieces… 

 Photo: Gianni Pucci / GoRunway.com

 

Like Oscar de la Renta in his last collection and Marc Jacobs last season at Louis Vuitton, Lauren looked to the Orient for inspiration - China specifically. The models wore jade earrings and coral lips, red lacquered heels on the equally glossy runway. I can empathise :-). And I finally made my version of the Emperor’s pearl necklace and a pair of matching earrings. Thank you, Ralph. 

Art of Dressing up an Oligarch

Being an artist often means being skint… The artist has to eat and buy nice shoes… Family members are supportive and generous, waiting patiently for the Muse to strike; but they really do need an occasional help.

So, when I am asked to do some work I am pretty happy.  Not having a career but various temporary jobs with no particular direction has its plusses (yes, it does); it means trying out different roles and learning diverse skills and information. I can narrate about the history of Swiss cheese-making for hours or tell you the depths of Swiss lakes by heart…

Where was I?.. Ah, work.  So last night I get a phone call with a proposal to assist one Russian oligarch in finding a suitable coat while he is visiting Zurich.  I agreed with an easy heart: how difficult can it be, right? Wrong! I was phoned by 4 (four!) different people to tell me how IMPORTANT this man was… so at the end of the evening I begun to imagine it was Putin himself  roaming wintry streets of Zurich - coatless and incognito.

What does a professional anyone do before jumping into business? Right, he investigates. So I decided to make a check of the best shops of men’s fashion in the city. Getting up early and pulling the best clothes on I am wondering if they let me in the shop in MY coat… They did, all right, and they have been so polite and caring, I might go back there again just to get that special treatment…

My first destination is Tom Ford house. When an exceptionally well groomed Adonis hurriedly opened the door for me, I forgot the purpose of my visit, I swear. All I could say was “May I come in?” (Duh, it’s a shop, you fool…) I pull myself together for the next boutique (PRADA was it) and at the end I am actually having a kick of it. By the early afternoon - armed with a nice list of nice shops with nice coats - I head for a café at Zum Storchen to get some rest: shopping is a tiring business (shopping for the others that is…)

I order a cappuccino and start planning the upcoming meeting. Ten minutes before the appointed time I become nervous and unsure of my ability to advise to Putin… Twenty minutes AFTER the appointed time I order a glass of prosecco and become a little suspicious.

The oligarch cancelled. Telephone calls followed, apologies were made and costs covered….Surely, there are more important things to do than buying a coat (pfffffff….). The sun slowly starts to lean behind the Alps, and the lights of Zurich get ready to twinkle and I am contemplating the idea of ordering another prosecco…  

And that is how my career of a personal stylist has died without producing a single blossom. It is not a very Christmassy story, but I hope it made you smile…what else matters?

Merry Christmas to all.

Love,

AB

P.S. If you want to know who the Rolls-Royce of the world of coats is, give me a shout. :-)