Hiroshima Art Exhibition

There’s nothing like a good deadline in the form of an art exhibition to motivate and inspire! Hiroshima’s Charity Art Bonanza provided just that… an exhibition featuring work from 8 different artists, including painting, photography, fashion and embroidery. The event was an incredible success, raising just over 100 000 yen for “Brighter than Tomorrow”, a charity run by Estelle Hebert, which supports the victims of the March 11 disaster in the fishing town of Funakoshi in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Sarah, Harriet, Dave and Jackie did an amazing job organising, and thanks to everyone that popped in for support. I couldn’t have asked for a better afternoon in the city: chatting, sipping wine and appreciating unexpected talents.

Check out my portfolio to read more about the three dresses I exhibited as part of a range called “When I grow up”. In hopes of not sounding too pretentious, I did attach personal meaning to each garment, and hope it proves that fashion can also be a personally symbolic form of art. The last two dresses have already been pinched but if you’re interested in purchasing the first white one please drop me an email at trixieandflo@gmail.com. Or just let me know what you think of the range! xoxo 

Trixie + Flo are in business!!

Although a seemingly small venture, this has been a dream in the making for ages and I am so so excited about it. Cheers to making a start! Hopefully this is just the beginning of great things to come. Check out the Trixie + Flo online store for a small range of hand knitted chunky winter warmers, and then let me know what you think! Thanks Emily for the pics! xoxo

They don't make 'em like they used to

A gorgeous leather pullover I picked up on this particular trip to Kloof SPCA, Durban, South Africa. Each diamond is hand crocheted to the next. It’s done so brilliantly I wish I’d thought of the design myself! Also, some good ole Mr.Price shoes thrown in for kicks. I had a bit of a nervous breakdown in the store when I realised how much cheaper home is compared to Japan! Picked these floral babies up for the equivalent of 600yen!!

eb + am

I am in loooove! The object of my affection is eb + am, a fashion label by South African designer Cindy Leigh Armstrong. First I’ll let some of my favourites from her new Spring/Summer collection do the talking, and then let’s get to know the designer...

I met Cindy during my visit home in May this year, and quickly snatched up a few garments from her previous range. Her garments feel fresh and comfortable, her styling is clean, and the quality is great. Most importantly they felt slimming and slightly artsy, two clothing attributes I can’t refuse.

Cindy finished her diploma in fashion design at Design Academy of Fashion in 2009 and went on to launch her label, eb + am, in November 2010. She went on to participate in AND WIN The 031 Collection in Durban in 2011. You can find eb + am garments at various South African stores:

“Coast” in Ballito Lifestyle Centre

“Mooi” in Durban (the corner of Bulwer and Clark Road)

“Mememe” in Parkhurst (6^th Avenue, Johannesburg)

“Mememe” on Long Street in CapeTown

“Pure” on Victoria road Pietermaritzburg

You can also purchase online at the lollyloves online clothing store, or contact the designer via email at eb.and.am@gmail.com. Keep a look out for eb + am’s very own website…coming soon!

Happy shopping friends! Xoxo

Portfolio

I’m slowly but surely putting together a portfolio of personal work. This is where it began: 2008

Exciting, stressful, terrifying. My first ever range. It focused on mixing pre-nineteenth century shapes with colours and attitudes similar to what I’d been seeing in a lot of street style blogs. The shaping ultimately resulted in quite an androgynous look. I wanted to focus on working with a variety of textures (including chiffon, pleather, silk satin and knits) and various fabric distressing techniques like staining and bleaching. I was really happy with the way the range physically moved along the runway (skirt hoops swaying and chiffon flowing) and its result was as dramatic as I’d hoped it would be.

What do Victoria Beckham, Lady Gaga and Blake Lively have in common?

No, this is not a bad joke, just a really great project that gives fashion a brownie point against its usual fickle self. Each of these celebrities, among others, have designed a T-shirt print for UNIQLO and its SaveJapan! T-shirt range:

“The SaveJapan website was established immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake to support the affected parts of the country by providing information on area-specific relief efforts. UNIQLO is working with Condѐ Nast Japan – a supporter of the SaveJapan! website and the publisher of Vogue Japan and GQ Japan – to create T-shirts featuring messages of encouragement from artists around the world. UNIQLO plans to donate approximately 100 million yen through the sale of SaveJapan! T-shirts to the Japanese Red Cross Society, to back recovery efforts in northeastern Japan.”  

It was Lady Gaga’s design that called out to me from across the UNIQLO store – but with my limited Japanese Kanji all I can make out on the T-shirt is “love,” “Gaga” and “small monster.” For the record I also liked Victoria Beckham’s clean design (cringe) but they never had it in stores here.  If you decide to purchase one after reading this post/ or already have one, I’d love to feature a picture of you in your SaveJapan! T-shirt on the blog. Email pictures to trixieandflo@gmail.com and support in style people! To see the rest of the designs visit Vogue Japan xoxo.

Just your average day in Harajuku

Not only is Harajuku Tokyo’s number one shopping district, it’s also one of my favourite places in Japan to just people watch (A bit of a snobby comment for someone that's only been there twice, oh well!). Where else in the world would you see a man wearing fishbowl earrings and a Jack Sparrow lookalike dog all in one day? Harajuku exhibits the weird n wacky, the beautiful and the just plain gaudy in an overt yet very timid way. The few people I experienced were dressed in some of the craziest outfits I’ve ever seen, yet they were extremely shy and seemed to avoid attention at all costs. I wonder if tourists taking photographs make these young girls feel more like freak shows than fashion inspirations? I find myself feeling a bit ignorant and more and more curious about the reasons behind their fashion choices. Time for some research I reckon!

PS. A noteworthy end to the day may have included something along the lines of a deep fried pizza...oissshhiii yo! 

This time last year ...

I was sewing, sewing, sewing.  I have a love-hate relationship with sewing. Imagine pulling endless all nighters, stress to meet deadlines, things never working as planned, sewing machine deciding it hates me last minute (It happens every time!). But these days I find myself missing the creative challenges that come hand in hand with looming deadlines, and the reward of creating something that I’m truly proud of. I made this matric dance (that’s South African for prom) dress last year for a young lady that had exquisite taste, note that it’s 100% ombre silk satin (loooove!!). Looking back at many a sleepless night it makes me realise that this is something I’ve been passionate about for a long time. I’d compare it to having a baby (not that I’ve ever had a baby), but you kind of forget about all the pain that went into it when you see the final result. Yes I just said that, sewing is like having a baby!! I’m going to stop now! Hope you’re all having a great week xoxo

Pattern Magic

Pattern magic is a book for anyone interested in dappling in sculptural Japanese fashion and pushing the boundaries of creative and advanced pattern drafting. I bought the first of the three volume series a few months ago and have managed to finish the pattern of one of the garments, but am yet to attempt the daunting task of stitching it together (I’ll have to show you when it’s done). The book is by Tomoko Nakamichi, and it didn’t surprise me to find out that she was a long time professor at Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo, one of the world’s leading fashion study institutions.

The book is printed in Japanese, but is easy enough to follow if you have a background in flat pattern drafting and dart manipulation. As far as I know there is also an English version of the book available at Amazon. Hope you’re all as inspired as I am.