God Save McQueen

Seeing Alexander McQueen's latest and last collection re-affirmed that the fashion world lost a unique and amazingly talented designer. For this "McQ" collection, McQueen took the London skinhead, and modernized it using a combination of gentleman and total bad ass. This collection is so sexy it makes my heart break.

All photos courtesy of ViewOnFashion.Com

Oh My Marchesa!

I was flipping through my roommate's In Style magazine, and came across this beautiful Marchesa dress worn to the Emmy's by Olivia Wilde. We were recently assigned to design a Marchesa wedding dress for a Textiles assignment, and I really wish I would have found this photo! But since I can't cut it out, since it's not mine... I'm going to blog about it! The front is a little risqué, but the super dropped back with the pleats (?) and folds of fabric and lace is where it really sells me! It's such a beautiful dress... intricate, timeless, a work of art... oh, but you know... a picture is worth a thousand words!

Necessity Becomes Fashion Accessory

If you're like me and are visually challenged then you know what it's like to spend $400+ on glasses. My last pair were Ralph Lauren transition lenses. But, those broke on an unfortunate day, and me, without my parents' usual medical coverage, couldn't afford to get another pair. But!!! There is hope!! Zenni Optical has $8 frames - no that's NOT a typo... EIGHT DOLLARS. So, I got 4 pairs for about $40, including a pair of sunglasses. All you need is your prescription and pupil distance The downside, you can't see what they look like on, and sometimes the prescription might not be 100% right. For example, out of my 4 pairs, there is 1 I wear all the time, 1 I wear sometimes (although it's kind of weird wearing them, takes some adjusting), and 1 I never wear because they make me feel cross-eyed. My sunglasses are great though!
I've thought about getting laser eye surgery or contacts... but I'm so attached to my glasses... I've worn them since I was in grade 3. So rather than fighting it, why not make it a fashion statement? With a website like this, it's fully possible! No $500 on glasses for me!
Here's some lovely pairs I'm looking at picking up for myself, the last pair my friend bought, and conveniently enough I was looking at them myself, and got to try them on!






Ahhh, so many choices, I can't decide!

Fear and Loathing in Lethbridge

"There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die."

"There was only one road back to L.A. - U.S. Interstate 15. Just a flat-out high speed burn through Baker and Barstow and Berdoo. Then onto the Hollywood Freeway, and straight on into frantic oblivion. Safety. Obscurity. Just another freak, in the freak kingdom."

"We'd gone in search of the American dream, it had been a lame fuck around. A waste of time. There was no point in looking back. Fuck no, not today, thank you kindly. My heart was filled with joy. I felt like a monster reincarnation of Horatio Algier, a man on the move, and just sick enough to be totally confident."

"How long could we maintain? I wondered. How long until one of us starts raving and jabbering at this boy? What will he think then? This same lonely desert was the last known home of the Manson family; will he make that grim connection when my attorney starts screaming about bats and huge manta rays coming down on the car? If so, well, we'll just have to cut his head off and bury him somewhere, 'cause it goes without saying that we can't turn him loose. He'd report us at once to some kind of outback Nazi law enforcement agency and they'll run us down like dogs. Jesus, did I say that? Or just think it? Was I talking? Did they hear me?"

"You better take care of me, Lord. If you don't you're gonna have me on your hands."

"Yeah, I know. I'm guilty. I understand that. I knew it was a crime, and I did it anyways. Shit, why argue? I'm a fucking criminal, look at me."

"We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a saltshaker half-full of cocaine, a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers... Also, a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer, a pint of raw ether, and two dozen amyls. Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get locked into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can. The only thing that really worried me was the ether. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge, and I knew we'd get into that rotten stuff pretty soon.

"Everything was automatic. I could sit in the red-leather driver's seat and make every inch of the car jump, by touching the proper buttons. It was a wonderful machine: Ten grand worth of gimmicks and big-priced Special Effects. The rear-windows leaped up with a touch, like frogs in a dynamite pond. The white canvas top ran up and down like a roller-coaster. The dashboard was full of esoteric lights & dials & meters that I would never understand — but there was no doubt in my mind I was in a superior machine."

Hail to The Queen!

I found out this morning when I came on Facebook... some of the 2nd year students were already heartbroken.

Here is the People's Article on the death of the designer.

British fashion designer Alexander McQueen, 40, was found dead at his London home on Thursday morning, his office confirms.

"Alexander McQueen today announces the tragic news that Lee McQueen, the founder and designer of the Alexander McQueen brand, has been found dead at his home," his family says in a statement to PEOPLE. "At this stage it is inappropriate to comment on this tragic news beyond saying that we are devastated and are sharing a sense of shock and grief with Lee's family."

"Lee's family has asked for privacy in order to come to terms with this terrible news and we hope the media will respect this," the statement continues.

According to the Scotland Yard report, "Police were called by London Ambulance Service at approximately 10:20 a.m. [Thursday] regarding a man found dead ...The deceased is believed to be 40 years old and from London. Next of kin have been informed but formal identification is awaited. A postmortem examination will be arranged in due course. The death is being treated as non-suspicious at this time."

Britain's Daily Mail reports that he hanged himself in his luxury apartment.

McQueen's death comes days after the death of his mother, Joyce, and almost three years after the May 2007 suicide of his close friend Isabella Blow, who discovered the designer and helped launch his career. The designer was so upset at his friend's death, that he dedicated his spring-summer show at Paris Fashion Week 2008 to the late Blow.

Designer for the Stars

The youngest of six children, the designer was born Lee Alexander McQueen. He was trained in tailoring in Savile Row, and in 1994, McQueen enrolled in London's Central Saint Martins fashion school. After graduation, he began his own business in the city's East End. In 1996, he was named head designer at Givenchy, before joining with Gucci, who bought 51 per cent of his company, bolstering his eponymous line.

During his career, the designer won many accolades, including being awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and being named International Designer of the Year at the Council of Fashion Designer Awards. McQueen was also named British designer of the year four times between 1996 and 2003. He was known for his exquisite, couture-quality gowns and over-the-top theatrical fashion presentations, with fashionable stars such as Nicole Kidman, Penélope Cruz, Sarah Jessica Parker and Katie Holmes often wearing his creations on the red carpet.

McQueen was expected to present his latest collection on March 9 during Paris Fashion Week. One of his contemporary lines, McQ, is scheduled to be shown at New York Fashion Week on Thursday afternoon.

His contributions to the fashion world will be missed :(

Soundtrack to Brocade

Working on a pretty elaborate and totally rad Haute Couture Textiles design... one of these days I'll start posting pics of my work...
But! It's been a while since I posted, and since I have nothing else better to talk about (plus I'm mostly trying to finish this damn thing so I can go to bed!), I figured I will provide you with tonight's playlist!

1) Tom Gabel - Harsh Realms
2) Tom Gabel - Random Hearts
3) Tom Gabel - I Can't See You, But I Know You're There
4) Asian Kung-Fu Generation - Mirai no Kakera
5) The Flatliners- These Words Are Bullets
6) Memoirs of A Geisha Soundtrack - The Chairman's Waltz
7) None More Black- Majestic
8) Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Cheated Hearts
9) Danzig- Sistinas
10) The Cheats- Springheeled Jack
11) The Flatliners- Mastering The World's Smallest Violin
12) SoundCity Hooligans- 1984
13) David Bowie- Let's Dance
14) Talking Heads- Psycho Killer
15) NOFX- Leave It Alone
16) Angel City Outcasts - Ten After Midnight

And Yay! I'm Finished my rendering! And it's only 10 after midnight! That's really strange that also happens to be the last song I listened to! Now it's time to do the write up and call it a night!
Bed sounds great right now.