Gianni Versace

Here are some garments from Gianni Versace's Spring/Summer 2009 ready to wear collection. The reason i picked them out is because i noticed that the printed pattern on the clothing was illustrations by Julie Verhoeven, and i love them. The print contains beautifully drawn images of sea like objects, collaged with other imagery, including women's' faces. They are eccentric, fun and dreamy and in a pale colour palette.

julie verhoeven

Is a designer and fashion illustrator who began her career working as an assistant to John Galliano, where she did print designs, t-shirts and artwork for invitations to shows. Her illustrative work has been used for the print on clothes.

Her idiosyncratic work, is highly rooted in drawing, where she uses traditional media like a pilot pen, pencil and charcoal that she "Always feels comfortable with." She enjoys collage and multi layering of things. She treats the designs as pictures that should stand alone as a drawing. "I lose interest if i start putting things into repeat." Her preferred fabrics to print on is chiffon or georgette, because it reflects the multi layering of her artwork.

I like her originality of the illustrations and the fun, eccentric style of her work.

Hannah Jefferies

Hannah Jefferies is from Loughborough School of Art and was awarded the print prize by Diane von Furstenberg for the Textprint organization.

Her inspiration came from a 3 month trip to New York from which she produced expressive paintings. Her designs include hand printed and digital prints, where she experiments with scale, mark making and clashing colour combinations. i really like this expressive technique of painting she uses and it reminds me of some missoni pieces.

http://www.texprint.org.uk/

Megan Park

http://www.meganpark.co.uk/

Megan Park is a designer who is recognized for her artisans touch. I love the elegance and femininity of her collections. In the past she's designed textiles for a well-respected agency working for the likes of Givenchy, Dries van Noten and Kenzo. She has now set up her own company. Her inspiration comes from travel destinations around the world, such as the Parisian flea markets, street vendors in Hong Kong, and the bead markets of Old Delhi.

She spends 3months of the year working closely with artists in Delhi, using traditional print methods and hand crafted techniques like embroidery. Block printing is used and the designs are carved out of wood. She explains "Block printing will never be perfectly aligned and this lends to it a certain beauty." Print is an important factor in Park's work and her prints are sourced through old textile design books or findings in flea markets or vintage stores.

She layers her patterns and this is something i admire about her work. She says " The layering of pattern is important to me; it is essential to the look. Print is the background, and from that i can take the design in new directions with beading and embroidery."

Carolina Melis

I adore these illustrations by Carolina Melis, they are so simple and beautiful. Her work explores ideas of delicacy, organic development, life cycles and living relationships.


http://www.carolinamelis.com/

Ghada Amer and Reza Farkhondeh

This piece below i think is really nice. I like the combination of media and variation of line giving it interesting qualities; the expressiveness of the watercolour with the definition of the line. It is very subtle, with a plain background and the pastel colours of the butterflies and is something i also like about it.Apple Picking for Adults. 2007. Acrylic, watercolor, embroidery, and ink on STPI paper

http://www.artnet.com/Artists/ArtistHomePage.aspx?artist_id=425152493&page_tab=Artworks_for_sale

Fred Tomaselli

These pieces by Tomaselli caught my eye when looking through a craft magazine, with the rich colours and exquisite detailing, they looked really enchanting. When i looked up the artist further, i found it very interesting to find out the unorthodox materials he uses in his work. These include prescription pills, medicinal herbs, hallucinogenic plants and images from books and magazines like butterflies, birds and flowers. The use of herbs and pills seems to add to the magical, supernatural aura of the painting. He claims his aim is “to seduce and transport the viewer in to space of these pictures while simultaneously revealing the mechanics of that seduction.”

Eleanor Bowley

http://www.eleanorbowley.co.uk/

Eleanor Bowley graduated from the Arts Institute in Bournemouth with a BA Hons in Illustration. She recently produced a limited edition line of clothing for urban outfitters, based on recycling second hand garments. i like the collaged style of her work and the combination of various media to create quirky, vintage looking pieces.

Eleanor Bowley uses an element of recycling in her work, which links in with the idea of Eco- friendly and sustainable products, which i thought would be useful for my current project on innovation. She re-uses waste textile materials, and second hand buttons; things that are considered to be waste. Bowley deconstructs pieces of clothing and uses fabrics as a base to work further with combining the collage process. Her inspirations are fabrics buttons and vintage text.

David Downton

David Downton was commissioned to design these stylish 'eco' friendly shopping bags for Marks and Spencer. The designs are very iconic and stylish and is definitely a great thing for the environment. I think it's good as it's a transformation from the boring plastic bags adding a sense of style to food shopping. It is apparently a "must-have style conscious accessory." Great for the Fashionista's!

http://www.daviddownton.com/

Beata Boucht

I think this is just beautiful...lo kauppi novel
http://www.beataboucht.com/portfolio/

Nadia Flower

Nadia Flower's illustrations are really edgy and fantasy like. I admire the piece above with the exotic theme and bright, fresh colours. I especially like the composition below, which i could imagine as a repeat for wallpaper. i find it really inspiring and love how the figures all blend in together and how areas are detailed with a print or detailing of clothes. The figures are very high fashion and quirky and the whole piece has a glamorous, feminine feel, which i adore.

Sara Singh

I love Sara Singh's illustrations because of her expressive use of watercolours, which is something i also like to work with. In her fashionable pieces, the watercolours give a really beautiful, subtle feel while complimenting her subjects; accentuating female figures and flower forms,