Ultimate Fashion

Archive for the ‘Fashion Collection Inspiration’ Category

Inspiration can come from anywhere at any time so say artists and designers. Keep one eye on English weather for it too can change at any time. It, nature has been the subject matter of many period artists the world over, through to the famous Bloomsbury Group of London; even in modern times, fashion designers draw from archived or active inspiration from nature.

The hills and valleys become a collage of colours as the sun stoops through the clouds at timely intervals, intervened by even more timely rain.

A very famous depiction of nature at its best, the Willow pattern, no doubt the most copied crockery style in history. Thus avoids any illusion of the contribution Britain has made to everlasting styles, albeit, seemingly borrowed from the orient.

India and the orient have never been to far from our English shores, brought even closer through the advent of internet, shedding light expressly on foreign cultures’ natures’ influences now seen in clothing and accessories.

As far drawn as the Polynesian isles, Hibiscus flower were ferried to fashion houses. More recently straight off the catwalk men’s floral suits, again using Hibiscus ready to be watered down for high street store conservatism. Keep one eye on the weather it can change at any time, perhaps a return of dandyism is immanent.

Now for a change in tone, but the subject matter still follows a thread. To properly construct a rock and Roll song you need verses, dynamic lifts (a change of chord placement at certain intervals) a chorus, bridge interlude (instrumental solo) quite simple.

But the success of a rock and roll song, amongst many other things, depends greatly on its chorus to achieve top ten status. Bruce Springstein hit number one with “Born To Run”, listen closely to the song.

There is no actual chorus, but dynamic lifts are myriad. He was one of a kind and wisely drew from his own natural environment to produce art, not flowers and rolling hills, but from Asbury Park New Jersey, from its multi cultural inhabitants on the streets. A song is a culmination of many different artistic talents.

Similarly, individual artistry on canvas is transformed through complex intervention. Dyes, computerized looms are weaving silks around the clock around the world. Nature a culmination of many things becomes a prime subject of inspiration for fashion designers. The finished product in it self a true depiction of artist’s vintage and contemporary.

The silk tie an ideal medium to reflect natures’ brilliance, a subtle rendition by Vivienne Westwood is a favourite of dedicated followers of fashion.

The Point Sienna petal is a perfect scaled replication of the actual flower in full bloom. The realism captured and repeated in colours beyond natures’ scope makes it a true designer silk ties in essence.

And miniature cufflinks fashioned from gold, silver, enamel and crystal are blooming. In fact clothing and accessories in general are treading a trendy path into hills and valleys, where blankets of flower petals beckon inspiration. What is true of nature is mimicked in fashion, both constantly changing. Keep one eye on the weather it can change any time.

To close this article appropriately here is a poem by William Wordsworth, inspired by nature.

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o’er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed – and gazed – but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

It’s not easy for budding fashion designers to get a good start from the blocks. With so much talent around you have to run many laps, jump hurdles and take the odd tumble, hitting the finish line. Then you have to start the race all over again, every season. And just as you’ve made a little head way, someone wants to conscript your inspiration.

It’s a bit like kick starting a Triumph Bonneville on a cold morning. Perhaps these old machines were not so functional but certainly poetry in motion, even at a stand still. Inspiration can come from anywhere at any time, be prepared.

All you budding designers get hold of a triumph photograph and pin it on your studio wall. It will be a constant source of inspiration as you delve deeper into its mechanics. This machine encapsulates all the elements of good design, in principle, proportionately perfect, mathematically correct.

Shapes will emerge and you begin to hinge onto an almost forgotten era. Wretchedly poor workers stooped on cold factory floors. While the middle classes clung like barnacles to their own self importance as the light began to dwindle on class distinction.

Bowler hats, swank cufflinks, three piece suits, drab silk ties. Everything seemed to mirror the bleakness of an industrial revolution drawing to a close. When designer brands seemed as futuristic as putting a man on the moon and fashion accessotries for men

never heard of. And then came the Beatles and things were never the same.

Mimicking other designers will only weaken your own creativity. If all the trend setters go east, then you go west. It worked for Vivienne Westwood . There’s enough inspiration in a single triumph to create a whole wardrobe of styles, from working to upper class. And even the brand name is their, Bonneville or variations of, it sounds a little Scottish. So you could throw in some tartan. Bring back the flat cap and caw blimey trousers. All you have to do is delve deeply into its mechanics, which will reveal an era of unique styles

Here is an interesting anecdote from that era: 1969 Nutters of Savile Row opens on Valentine’s Day and unleashes the Tommy Nutter/Edward Sexton style on swinging London. Backed by Cilla Black and The Beatles’ record company Apple’s executive Peter Brown, Nutters of Savile Row dresses the entire social spectrum from the Duke of Bedford and Lord Montagu to Mick and Bianca Jagger and The Beatles. Nutters is the first shop on Savile Row to pioneer ‘open windows’ and wild displays executed by Simon Doonan. Mount Street bespoke tailor to the stars Douglas Hayward dresses Michael Caine in the infamous gangster caper The Italian Job. Caine’s skinny suits and tone-on-tone white shirt and tie combinations set a cocky, sharp tailored style that resonates today.

To dampen your enthusiasm: Fashion is business so if you don’t have business acumen amongst your skill set, then find someone who does. Otherwise you’ll jut be another little sapling struggling for light amongst all the tall trees

It’s easy for us to talk up these subjects, but we’re kind of talking from experience, because we’re at the front end of retail, online shopping, and provide an avenue for budding designers as well as a few big names like Westwood, Everest and Flaherty.

There is one name we recently that our radar system picked up. And I’ve seen some of his styles washed up by the tide. It’s easy to see where he gets his inspiration. His, name Chris Hawkins Jewellery.

If you want to be part of it you know where to find us.

Here at Patrick McMurray we do our best to bring out the best in fashion designers.

A quick and simple way to research before buying online is via critiques and product reviews; novices and professionals alike base their trust and opinion on the opinions of others. Critiques are often short and to the point, we want information at our fingertips quickly so we can get on with our busy lives. Now like never before we can share knowledge and information freely, breaking down the barriers of this archaic protectionist society we live in. This suits us just fine, we can draw on our research data and inside information, share it you and accomplish. Many of the brands we critique are personally known to us. For example we know precise details of the SS 2008 collection of cufflinks and silk ties by Vivienne Westwood. Although not available for a few months we’ve handled and photographed the cufflink collection, so we can comment first hand. One thing you can predict from Vivienne is her unpredictability. If you like surprises then make a note on your 2008 Calendar. Like all her styles they’re collectable and will always hold value.

Here is a name no one knows of, Victoria Richards; her silk ties are designed from inspiration, they look and feel different from those pulled from scrap books or archives, driven by market research, or forced by trend setters and style gurus. The difference is inspiration, the result, silk ties that will never hang darkly in your wardrobe, bright and cheerful, free from classification: Colours of dawn and dusk, tropical, Mediterranean, even arctic, autumn, winter, spring and summer, a Victoria Richards Silk Tie, Jo Snow, Chanel 4 anchor man displays them regularly.

Some may say Timothy Everest silk ties are quite ordinary, well; at first glance they appear so. But you must remember we are dealing with a Savile Row Tailor and very often the differences are very subtle, it may be the colours, or the arrangement of pattern, or variation of classical style, or the texture and choice of weave. At closer inspection many subtleties become obvious; for example in his current paisley collection, he used solid dark colours to form a background to display effervescent paisley patterns, as though stitched to the fabric. Look even closer and you’ll notice the texture framed inside the paisley differs slightly from the background. The fabric, the pattern arrangement and colours are enhanced by a variety of subtle textures that make you feel you’re in touch with very high quality. This is an example of needle craft at its best. It’s the subtle differences that give everlasting appeal. Gaining a reputation on Savile Row is not like pulling a name out of a hat, you have to put in the hard yards, it’s a lifetime commitment.

A Savile Row Historic Anecdote: Richard James, the first of the ‘New Generation’ tailors, opens a shop on Savile Row. James introduces Saturday opening (a revolution on Savile Row) and a fashionable edge not seen since The House of Nutter’s glory days.

Tommy Nutter dies. As a fitting epitaph, one of Nutter’s final commissions is the outlandish purple suit Jack Nicholson wears playing The Joker in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns.

Duchamp; predictably out of the ordinary, bold and vivid, but still dependant on classical forms, there’s no getting away from paisley, stripes, checks, floral, polka dots and variations of. The thing with Duchamp, in spite of there luxurious appearance, they are predictable and highly stylised, you know what to expect, no surprises. And since the original founders jumped ship, under new management and ownership the essence has been lost to a large degree. Some of their products are like the old Duchamp we know so well and others are straight out of the archives and resemble any number of other brands. Still they side step being pigeon holed completely and set a good benchmark.

A historic anecdote about the tie: In the 18th and 19th centuries, British sailors often wore white and blue uniforms, complete with a silk or cotton bandanna, or scarf, usually blue.

The sailor suit began to be worn in the mid 1800s as yachting became popular. This has had its greatest impact on clothing for women and children. The modern sailor’s suit was introduced for boys around 1860 and became an instant success. Still worn today, the white and blue outfit also comes with a dress for girls. “Hello sailor”

Michelsons, makers of fine neckwear since 1937: a good honest silk tie, no frills, no extras, no fancy stitching or quirky labels. They have an archive of about 10,000 designs that go back many decades, so variety is never an issue. If you want a conservative every day work tie that will take the hard knocks, then a Michelsons tie is the best economical solution. Their best seller is the classic hounds’ tooth, a style that has seen countless fashion cycles and still a seasonal choice of many well known brands.

Finally: The floral tie has been hanging darkly in wardrobes far too long, it’s time for justice. And just because autumn is upon us does not mean we have to reflect gloom in the clothes we wear. Add some cheer to grey sulky skies with this tribute to the Designer silk tie exclusive to Patrick McMurray, an artist’s rendition of Point Sienna flowers, woven onto ultra fine satin silk

That’s about it for now.