pigeonhole treetop store launch

Pigeonfanciers, look up. Pigeonhole, Perthie hipster favourite for jewels, gifts & stationary has just launched their latest instalment, the Treetop store, on Forrest Chase. Being one of the larger spaces you can expect to find duds from the likes of Nudie & Romance Was Born, eyewear from AM & Colab, homewares and polaroids aplenty nestled among the branches. I love seeing what wee new designs have appeared in Pigeonhole's signature stud earrings and delicate necklaces - the rope bows are a winner!

Pigeonhole Forrest Chase

Level 1 Forrest Chase Concourse (west facing)

Perth

www.pigeonhole.com

VM: ACNE BROWN PAPER PACKAGES

Taking cue from Acne's utilitarian brown cardboard shoeboxes (second favourite only to MiuMiu's muted, textured pink in my wardrobe), I merchandised their recent collection with brown paper everything for Elle boutique. Turns out entirely wrapping mannequins, boxes and furniture takes a bloody long time - many thanks to my assistant Lauren who patiently covered the fiddly things while I pfaffed around with mannequin arms! Good things come in brown packages, I was really happy with how these turned out.

through the looking glass

Photo by Emma Bergmeier-Varian

Portraiture has always been a genre of art that fascinates me. Holbein's The Ambassadors with its exquisite technique, complex imagery & visual trickery was one the first pieces that really captured my attention, but I've since come to appreciate contemporary portraits in all shapes and forms (David LaChapelle has some doozies, Ben Quilty's almost impressionist After Afghanistan series is superb & I hang out for the Archibald every year - while it is, admittedly, overwhelmingly aimed at crowd pleasing, it offers an interesting cross section of non-traditional styles). In this world of profile pictures I find myself analysing the photos that accompany bylines in newspapers & magazines, and one quickly realises that a portrait is not merely a flattering snap of someone. Indeed, often they aren't especially flattering! But the good ones say something, and that is what appeals. A portrait is(/should be) a tool that communicates an attitude, a personality, a set of values or a single, strong idea with visuals alone...those of you who have met me know I'm more of an observer than a talker, so I'll take a picture over a thousand words any day.

This portrait is from a project I helped Emma from Dropstitch with - it actually didn't make the final cut, but I think what she's captured is pretty true-to-form, and really like the somewhat-awkward expression (aided by creepy purple eyebrows, probably won't be doing those again). I like to think of it as studious confusion, how my point of view causes me to challenge so much of what I see in the world...never was one for fitting in. Thanks Em, I will treasure this!

outfit: cutout corsetry

I don't know if it's a testament to my enduring good taste (*ahem*) or just that I'm predictable, but when you know & love a brand you can tell straight from the runway which pieces will end up in your wardrobe. When I first saw Willow's Dream Possession collection last year the cutout corsetry really struck me - unlike anything else I've seen (and you know how I feel about referencing) the shape had future vintage written all over it, and being realised in a number of garments & fabrics I knew I'd find something to suit. While the tulle gown is haunting my dreams I just couldn't justify it with the wealth of occasion pieces already in my wardrobe (and realistically very few occasions to warrant them) so the more sensible crepe option won out - but if I ever find the strapless version on sale you can bet I'll be finding a reason! I love that it can be layered for a more day-appropriate look without losing the detail in the bodice.

wearing:

dress - willow

t - bonds

heels - givenchy

glass necklace - a present

design focus: colony sunglasses

Photos c/o Colony

Y'all should know by now that I am rarely seen without a pair of specs glued to my face (less the Wintour factor & more that it genuinely is glarey here way out west), and by far my favourite are a pair of serious white catseyes by Australian label Colony, which I picked up at Alice Euphemia a year ago. The bold, clean form of the style had immediate appeal, and the more I wear them the more I value their graphic weight and versatility - how they bring a contemporary twist to vintage outfits and a bit of vintage sass to a sunday-morning-shorts-and-tshirt getup, how even though they get thrown in my bag and shoved on my head they still look immaculate. They weren't cheap, but they were well worth it. These, I thought to myself, have been designed by someone who gets it.

And they were, too. After stalking Colony's instagram and amazing tumblr I found myself wanting to know more about the lady behind the lenses, so caught up with Jess to find out what drives her design practice:

Sunnies - a pretty specialised art form. What got you into eyewear?

I studied product design at university, and kind of battled with the degree, as I wanted to be studying art or fashion more. In my final year I got really obsessed with fashion and trying the find the perfect version of every item in my wardrobe (a never ending project am i right?) when perhaps I should have been trying to design the most ergonomically sound chair out of recycled wood. So in that process I was on the search for "the perfect cat eye, I settled for a vintage pair of Christian Roth's but they felt too retro, and when a suitable project came along I ended up designing my own take on the cat eye.

Your products are beautifully made - do you assemble everything yourself?

Actually no!  While high quality craftsmanship and materials are very important to me, it's also very important to me that the business not rely on me having to make the product- it leaves very little room for growth.  I'd rather source amazing craftspeople who specialise in sunglasses or whatever products I may do in the future.  Though I have been known to fondle plastic, make rough models and emboss and hand sew soft leather cases ;)

You're originally from QLD, now live in VIC. Having made a similar move myself I can see the appeal, what do you dig about Melbourne?

I grew up moving a lot, so moving just felt like a natural progression after I graduated.  I have a love hate relationship with Melbourne.  I hate the fact that it's not New York.  Also Melbourne isn't a place you explore so much, you find what you like and stick to it (a double edged sword), which for me is Smith Street Fitzroy/Collingwood. I love the lifestyle of riding my bike into the studio, frequenting places like Everyday Coffee and Proud Mary for amazing coffee, being only a few minutes walk from my clients and friends, having a cheeky wine in the studio.

The fashion industry is a hard slog, most of us have to balance with a day job...how do you spend your for-money-not-love time?

It is!  In addition to Colony sunglasses I consult fashion brands and other businesses on social media, online strategy and business growth and also do lots of graphic design and book layouts.  I'm so fortunate to have only amazing clients who are already creative and have excellent taste, but together we take things to the next level.   I'm super opinionated and can't help but offer my advice to almost everyone I meet about their business' design and marketing, and this often leads to them wanting to get me involved in a more formal way.  I'm very passionate about what they do and love seeing them succeed!  I am also a trend reporter for WGSN on Australian fashion, which I love.

Inspiration/motivation/favourite things?

I am very inspired by what is new, what is next.  I love finding images and designs that are totally fresh, something I haven't seen before. 

Any plans to explore other areas of adornment, or happy delving deeper into the current stream?

All areas of adornment! But one step at a time, it's a challenge but I'm learning to pace myself and grow organically, even though I am very Gen Y and want to do everything right now.

Jess has been working on Colony since 2011, but releases collections at her own pace as she feels they are ready, which I have a lot of respect for (development & refinement are such important stages of the design process, but seem to get skimmed over all too often these days). The next one, Future Be Kind, is coming soon - keep an eye on her website, I know I will be!

punk attitude/blame vyvyan

Punk was my first sartorial subculture, and remains dear to my heart, so I'm fanging to see photo coverage of this years Met Costume Gala, and more importantly, the exhibition itself (in this world of everything-now-right-now one can, of course, live stream the event, but I'm finding the interviews with un-punk celebrities about how punk their frocks are too awkward to bear). To be fair, my middle-class upbringing  hardly warranted running riot against anything, but I liked shouty music & safety pins, boots & boys in leather, so gravitated towards it anyway (I blame Vyvyan). I still love shouty music, safety pins, boots AND boys in leather, but the thing that has stuck with me most is (my take on) the punk attitude: not why, but why not? It's an attitude that I call on when I need a bit of a kick up the backside (or particularly want to annoy normals), and I suspect I'm going to hate 90% of the outfits from the ball because that attitude is patently lacking - but there's always good old Dame Viv to inspire a bit of mayhem.

interview: shipyards & slow fashion

Photo by Michael Dooney

I met up with Perth expats Mahaila and Michael a little while ago to talk inspiration, industry values and  general Gen-Y issues for their blog, Ficklesense, where Mahaila writes about her efforts in running a sustainable label, documented by photos taken by Michael on proper, old school film cameras. Her questions really gave me cause to reflect and define what I actually give a shit about in fashion - you can read about it here.

Mahaila also runs another blog, which I highly recommend you take a squiz at: I GIVE 2 HOOTS discusses slow fashion attitudes and practices, and details four accessible ways in which one can actively partake. The categorising of Creators, Enthusiasts, Nostalgics and Minimalists is spot on - which one are you?

VM: TEAM PLAYER

Wanna know a secret? Bunnings is my #1 go-to for VM inspiration/supplies/general life excitement (Officeworks is #2, but only because it's the most economical printing option and I've had to watch the staff slowly...go through...the options...[I'm talking to you, Knuckle Sandwich] so many times that I can now generally tell them which box to tick and get on my merry printing-something-other-than-plans-on-the-plan-printers way). Rope, spray paint, tubes, shiny things, flat plastic hose, neon chain (!), plaster, spray paint, nuts&bolts, dropsheets, spray paint...I should probably just work there.

Sporting vibe for the Elle windows a few weeks ago made good use of my aisle wandering (though, as evidenced, these windows don't photograph particularly well. But hey, bonus, if you squint at the reflections you can see me taking said photos which might be entertaining). Pretty keen on the sneaky number/letter typography for this one, not to mention the fact that I got the word 'player' on there.

*Disclaimer, PS: I know that buying cheaply manufactured mass crap at Bunnings on a regular basis is just as bad as buying cheaply manufactured fashion crap on a regular basis, but I only have the capacity to understand/preach about one industry, and home-improvement ain't it.*

BUY AS CLOSE TO THE SOURCE AS POSSIBLE

American web superstore NastyGals' 600,000+ fans are now privy to DI$COUNT's designs - unfortunately, they don't know that the Melbourne based label, run by RMIT glitterati Cami & Nadia who have been busting their arses to create something cool, has been unceremoniously ripped off by Sydney-based wholesaler Reverse Clothing. But they will.

Buy as close to the source as possible.

I have some self-imposed design-rules-to-live-by, and this is the most important.

As someone who has studied, practiced and generally respects design, I don't approve of knock offs.  What I DO approve of is originality, innovation and new ideas - and do you know how those happen? With time and money (and research and experimentation and mad geniuses, but mostly time and money), which is precisely WHY you should buy from the place the ideas come from.

I want the designers with the ideas to continue to be creative and amazing and develop new fabric technologies and apply the master craft of tailoring to spectacular new silhouettes and develop good fit blocks and put on runway shows and have functioning websites and be available, and they can only do this if people buy THEIR versions of their ideas.

One can't know what every (proper, innovative, creating-something-special) designer in the world has ever made but it's blatantly naive to walk into a store (or more often than not, open a new tab) where the price point averages below $100 and think 'oh wow look at that great thing I bet the design team behind this label spent aagggeeeeeeessss thinking this up!' because I can tell you, they didn't. But some other designer behind some other (smaller, niche-er) label did, and that knock off hurts them more than you could ever imagine. 'But I can't afford the original it's sooooo expensiiiiiiive' I hear you say. Well, tough luck. Being original costs money. So if you suspect there is an original FIND the original, then save up, or DIY it, or just don't have it, but don't give your hard earned cash to someone who couldn't be bothered putting the effort in. No good comes from saying 'that's just the way it is' - we as consumers have to hold the industry accountable.

WHAT DOES DESIGNER MEAN, EVEN?

"Luxury is a word that has become so overused that sometimes it can be hard to remember what it actually means. A bit like the word designer. Marketers have been throwing 'designer' in front of things for so long that it's now basically meaningless. Although you could argue that it has always been meaningless as surely every product - good or bad - has been 'designed' by someone at some point in the production process. Maybe what marketers really mean is that a good designer, or a designer with actual design qualifications, was responsible for whatever it is they're trying to sell."

- David Meagher in his editor's letter, The Australian WISH magazine April 2013

I have a design degree. I'm hesitant to call myself a designer - but I have a fairly substantial understanding of the field. Aesthetics may be subjective, but one can be objective about design, and design practices. The fashion industry is built on design. That 'YES they've nailed it that's AMAZING' feeling you get when you respond well to good design is magical - so it stands to reason that poor design has the opposite effect...and I've been feeling extremely design depressed lately.

To me design is, first and foremost, about solving a problem. We need clothing to protect us (both from the elements, and the horrors of being nudists), and being generally vain creatures we want to look good. The fact that we all define looking good in different ways (& have different means to do so) brings the challenge into place and creates the industry dynamic. Of course, there are certain standards of dress which vary culturally and socially, but more and more anything goes, so the onus falls on coming up with something new and hoping the consumer believes the hype. When the cycle of fashion moved more slowly there was time to develop ideas, really create new things of beauty and function, but now it's completely acceptable to just be 'inspired' by something that's already been done 4 million times because of the tail-chasing pressure of delivery deadlines and profit margins, rather than thinking about why something is being brought into existence. It's safe to say this isn't working for most of the industry any more. There's too much half-arsed crap being produced (at varying levels of the market, mind, I'm not pointing the finger merely at the Valleygirls of this world, though they are serious offenders) that no one wants, let alone needs, and the industry as a whole is suffering for it.

I'm not suggesting for a minute that pure aestheticism isn't a valid reason, but I believe design needs motivation, not just inspiration. What do you value in 'good' design?