fun times with friends of mine.

do it yourself - the ballet flat

Last year while my sister and I were out looking for Christmas presents we found a pair of flats, 2 for $14. They were both some bronzy ugly colour but 7 dollar shoes seemed worth it at the time. A year later, not so much. So I took these old bronzy shoes and decided to make them useful. After looking at Susie Bubble's shoes I took my old ones, some black shoe polish, and covered the shoes in black. Black shoe polish dyes the shoes so that none of the bronze shows through. Then I poked holes in the side of the shoes and wove black ribbon through them. Now I've got some cool kicks. 

Mark Fast

Born in Canada, Mark fast is a new young designer of 28 years old.  Presently residing in London, he studied at Central Saint Martins for five years completing both his BA and MA degrees. As his website states "Mark knits everything by hand on a domestic knitting machine. His work is formed onto the body as he knits, and he has devised innovative stitching techniques, blending lyrca with viscose, angora or wool [...] sculpting areas of tension and areas of volume over the body. Mark also finds inspiration in the past, translating historical costume and style into a contemporary aethetic."

After taking on London Fashion Week this year he received rave reviews and is continuing to gather attention in the media. As Fast states "I believe that there is a growing attention to craftsmanship in fashion these days, as opposed to quick-fix disposable pieces. I am focusing on timeless classics." You can see more of Mark Fast's work by clicking here. 

Vinyl Riot Magazine

A new magazine created by my friend Chris Petres, Vinyl Riot is a magazine based on the home-made and the innovative. As Petres states " These hard times are just a chance to start over... Room has been made for emerging talent and the new blood. With that in mind, I came up with the idea of creating Vinyl Riot, a magazine anyone in the world with an internet connection could contribute to. A magazine for dreamers, fashion freaks and art geeks." Featuring interviews with Maja Casablancas and the like you can check out the magazine by clicking here. 

Read the list and click to enlarge. 

Louise Gray FW 09

 Fall/Winter 2009 was a scene of mostly black. Louise Gray, a designer from London, greatly contrasts this trend by having colourful hues for this coming Fall. Gray first studied at The Glasgow School of Art and then went on to earn her MA at Central Saint Martins so she is certainly well studied and, as her website states, she "has spent the last three seasons building a label based on brightly hued, boldy textured garments whose shapes are simple and where movement and embellishment take center stage."

This collection was a great molding between the 80's and 90's. Using the electric colours and embellishments from the 80's and putting them in form fitting 90's silhouettes. Following the motto of "contrast is key" her label is full of class and just a bit of sass. You can see more of Louise Gray's work by clicking here.