Violet Swan?

Violet Swan? ;)

It has been a while I didn't update this blog.
Life kinda busy right now, with my newborn nephew, Arif Danial Hakim… (get well soon sayang… his jaundice level was quite high), work - im still struggling to get used with some of the drastic changes on my daily work, I need to move out from my current house in about 2 months, and yeah … bla bla bla… some other 'lousy stuff' which gave me a 'crippling' headache… (=_=)"

And insomnia had troubling my life once again. Sigh... (=_=)"
My weight has increased and now I had the pimple all over my face... and guess what, I fell sooooo 'comel' with all of the 'lemak berkrim disukai ramai' on my body and with all of the 'devil' pimple... >:D

Na'aahh... I'm totally unhappy with that man... ='(

Some of you, (Fbians) must be wondering what happened to my FB wall, etc… Apologies for those who may not like it, it just I'm not really in a mood to update my status plus I'm kinda busy these day and need to slooooowly settle down a few things within these few months (could be more than half year!), so - I really need a space, a break from everything for a while. You guys will always support me right, my dearest friends? Right?
I wish… :)

"99 Hari Kisah Klasik Kita" still there… Don't worry… ;)

Okay, enough mumbling. For those fashionistas out there, I would love to share some infos with you. ;)

While resting at home yesterday, I randomly blogwalking to a few of Malaysian's fashion designer's blog and the new black dress from Faizal Hamid really captured my eyes. The reason is, he came with a new collection which is very stunning new collection for Spring/Summer 2011. Little Black Swan. Little Black Swan references the art house film, particularly Natalie Portman in ‘Black Swan’. Her character embodied the traditional undeniable beauty, grace and irresistible yet gradually haunting. As cocktail and evening dresses paraded down, the 10 looks run the gamut of what any fashion-forward woman would clamor to wear. Like the mix of taffeta, chiffon and tulle with elements of demi-couture, intriguing and soigné with the black silk organza mini dress with effortlessly draping for the bodice and exquisite dress gown with a refine construction.

Last few weeks, I do watch the "Black Swan Trailer" which is posted by Nina Gracia on her wall on FB. Owh~ I just loooooveeee the "Black Swan" poster. Natalie Portman is always pretty and gorgeous no matter how. Remember when she had a very short boyish haircut? She still look pretty, sweet and cute. ;)


... back to Little Black Swan from Faizal Hamid, below are some of his collection, 'kidnaped' from Faizal Hamid's blog.

"Koleksi Faizal Hamid, Musim Panas/ Bunga 2011, dihasilkan eksklusif untuk pasaran di New York , Amerika Syarikat. Dengan tema Black Swan, di inspirasikan daripada salah sebuah filem seni (art film) juga dari judul yang sama, lakonan Natalie Portman yang kini cukup mendapat sambutan dikalangan peminat dan pengkritik filem antarabangsa. Watak beliau dalam filem ini cukup mengesankan, penuh mainan emosi serta keanggunan yang amat memukau. Ia cukup memberikan saya inspirasi segar untuk berkarya hingga terhasilnya koleksi ini, yang merupakan perspektif saya sendiri terhadap dunia fesyen itu sendiri.

Sejujurnya saya hasilkan koleksi ini, atas permintaan rakan-rakan saya yang menetap di New York . Koleksi ini paling dekat dihati saya kerana ia merupakan luahan rasa saya sebagai seorang pencinta fesyen.

Menampilkan rekaan gaun koktel dan malam daripada fabrik sutera sifon, shantung, organza, tafeta dan tulle. Koleksi ini menggabungkan kombinasi elemen garisan, tekstur, draping, ilusi dan demi couture. Koleksi Black Swan ini adalah merupakan interpretasi segar rekaan kontemporari yang anggun, sofistikated, polished & refine."

Faizal Hamid

Demi-couture? Okay, I've never heard of it before. (nampak sangat jauh ketinggalan dalam dunia fesyen)
I've heard a lot about couture before. And I must say that most of our local and international celebrities chose to walk on the red carpet with stunning and glamorous couture dress. What is COUTURE, and what is DEMI-COUTURE?
Let's talk about couture first. :)

COUTURE

***Source from Rizalman Ibrahim's blog***

"Fashion was born there (Europe). Gaya mereka, pereka2 fesyen mereka..semuanya handal2 belaka. kenapa ya?. Pastinya kerana fesyen adalah ruji masyarakat di sana. Fesyen dianggap sungguh sacred, hingga ianya adalah suatu tradisi yang tidak boleh dibuat bahan mainan maupun gurauan. Maka dengan sebab itu, lahirlah dunia 'haute Couture'. Saya pasti ramai yang pernah mendengar perkataan Couture? Ya, kini di malaysia pun perkataan itu memang sudah terang2 digunakan di sana sini. Tapi adakah anda tahu maksudnya??

Couture yang membawa maksud jahitan, adalah satu tradisi pembuatan pakaian mewah yang memang sudah begitu sinonim dengan negara perancis, khususnya Paris. Pembuatannya amat berkualiti dari segi jahitan yang kemas, fabrik yang bermutu, potongan yang flawless serta sudah semestinya rekaan yang dramatik. Walaupun saya ketika belajar tidak didedahkan sangat dengan teknik sebegini, namun dengan inisiatif sendiri, kerap berulang alik ke Paris bagi mendapatkan ilmu teknik pembuatan hanya dengan melalui window dressing beberapa couture house disana. kagum! terpesona serta hormat yang tidak terhingga kepada para couturiernya. Kerajaan Perancis juga mewujudkan satu badan untuk memantau para pereka fesyennya yang bernaung dibawah sebarang label couture bagi menjamin kualiti serta tradisi negaranya. Hebat kan?

Malah dari peringkat institusi fesyen lagi para pelajar sudah didedahkan dengan perkara ini, yang fesyen bukannya suatu bidang gurauan tetapi adalah satu profesyen yang dipandang mulia (jika anda berjaya). Para pengkritik fesyen juga lantang bersuara demi atas alasan bagi menjaga budaya dari pudar menjadi rekaan yang murahan. Setiap pereka disana akan menggigil ketakutan menunggu respon serta berita di dlam suratkhabar smada rekaan mereka dipuji atau dikeji..sehingga Valentino yang sudah bergelar couturier hingga berdekad lamanya tetap akan merasai perasaan seperti itu. Begitulah betapa besarnya suara pengkritik fesyen serta penggunanya yang akan menentukan pasaran bagi setiap musim rekaan. Fashion Week merupakan medan bertarung untuk kekal di dalam bidang ini. Samada anda mampu menjual koleksi kepada gedung2 besar(bagi koleksi pret a porter) ataupun mengumpul pelanggan2 yang mampu membayar ratusan ribu ringgit untuk sehelai gaun(bagi koleksi couture). itu adalah satu pertaruhan. Apatah lagi dunia serta pasaran fesyen didominasikan oleh wanita yag begitu berpengaruh-Anna Wintour (pengarang majalah american Vogue). pengaruh beliau amat besar hingga kesemua pereka akur dengan segala komentar beliau bagi mendapat review yang baik darinya,sekaligus meningkatkan jualan barangan fesyen mereka."

Rizalman Ibrahim

DEMI-COUTURE

And curious what is the definition of demi couture, so I'm asking for a help from my 'knowledge sifoo' - siapa lagi kalau bukan 'Sifoo Google'. ;)
So, this is basically what is exactly demi-couture.

What exactly is demi-couture?

To understand this new term, we have to define the meaning of couture, haute couture, and ready-to-wear or prêt-á-porter first.

“Couture” as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is “the business of designing, making, and selling fashionable custom-made women's clothing.” It came from the French word, “cousture,” which means “sewing.”

“Haute couture” literally means “high sewing” and its present day definition is “the houses or designers that create exclusive and often trend-setting fashions for women.”

“Ready-to-wear” means off-the rack, ready-made clothes, and prêt-á-porter is a literal translation of ready-to-wear in French.

And “demi” means “half,” so “demi-couture” literally means “half-couture” or if you want a longer meaning, “half-custom-made women’s clothing.”

With that in mind, it makes sense why demi-couture is still classified under ready-to-wear in the fashion business.

The best way to explain demi-couture is to give examples, and New York, which is best known for its ready-to-wear designers, is a great place to find them.

***Source from here***

Demi-couture is emerging as a major development in clothing design, writes Mark Holgate in Vogue's July 2006 issue. What is it and how is it changing careers in fashion?

Holgate defines demi-couture as

"...somewhere between industrially produced designer fashion (the pret-a-porter, or ready-to-wear) and clothes created entirely by hand and after three fittings with a client (the haute couture)."

It's a big deal, and here's why.

Why Demi-couture Clothing Design?
Demi-couture provides an opportunity for clothing designers to begin making more artfully designed and crafted pieces for a larger number of fashion connoisseurs. If you have the money, you'll be able to buy these pieces off the rack--that alone means much more than a single piece will be produced. And what designer wouldn't want to design a $20,000 cashmere coat over a $100 cotton baby-doll dress that's been done a thousand times before?

Clothing Designers Devoted to Demi-couture
Naturally, top designers are the ones most likely to be producing demi-couture. Some of those Holgate listed include Nicolas Ghesquiere of Balenciaga, Olivier Theyskens of Rochas, and Alber Elbaz at Lanvin. There are many others, however, with high-profile careers in fashion taking advantage of this new opportunity, which some may surely recognize as an important emerging segment of the fashion market.

***Source from 'Sifoo Google (sorry guys, forgot to copy the link) =( ***

Okay, tata for now.

P/S : Getting life back on track. :)

With Love,
♥ ♥