Rodarte Sisters - Think Design Magazine Fashion Feature, May 2012

So how do two sisters new to fashion, having designed all of ten pieces in their parent’s home, at the kitchen table, get a meeting with Anna Wintour, the style making editor of Vogue and a cover of Women’s Wear? Sheer talent, luck or very good contacts?…We have no idea but it sure got their career started.

Since starting their label in 2005, they have drawn a lot of attention by creating collections that continued to defy the laws of cultural gravity, they have remained fresh and interesting. Natalie Portman an early fan and current friend of the sisters, feels that wearing their clothes is like wearing art.

Laura and Kate Mulleavy, aged 26 and 28 respectively, have had unfathomable success since appearing on the fashion scene in 2005 with their label Rodarte (their mother’s maiden name). Days before their debut in New York during the spring 2006 shows they landed the cover of Women’s Wear Daily, an event almost unheard of for new designers in the run-up to Fashion Week. But editors fell in love with the look-book the girls sent, lovingly crafted hand-made paper dolls in Rodarte’s collection of seven dresses and three coats.

Kate and Laura Mulleavy are young and ambitious sisters from central California, near Santa Cruz who attended UC Berkeley. One sister studied literature and the other art history and somehow their clothes seem to reflect this juxtaposition. When they returned home, no clue what to do with themselves, they spent a year reading art books and coming to terms with themselves. They are descended from an interesting mix of an artist mother of Mexican-Italian descent and a botanist father of Irish descent. Quite a flammable combination. The name Rodarte comes from their mother’s maiden name as a way of preserving it and preserved it is. Their parents started out as California hippies living in a cabin in the woods, with no heat or electricity. Living in the town of Aptos provided them with a window into the world of surfers, Punks, skateboarders, hippies and Hare Krishnas among many other native species of strange humanity, all in ample supply in their town and in nearby Santa Cruz.

From our neck of the woods in South East Asia, we look for references that are closer to home in things like fashion and artistic influences. The sisters have just come out with their Fall 2012 collection and it takes its main inspiration from the Australian outback.

Referring to the Fall 2012 Collection, Robin Givhan from the Daily Beast, reported, “Wool lace blouses with dolman sleeves topped slim matching skirts in shades of pea green and mauve. Urban shearing coats were worn with silk dresses printed with patterns inspired by aboriginal art. Slim cargo pants were matched with cropped fisherman’s sweaters that were thick and almost masculine in cut. Cocktail dresses were suspended from a jeweled strap. Evening gowns were constructed from tiers of ruffles and called to mind carved totem poles. Patterns referenced aboriginal art; hand prints were inspired by ancient cave paintings. And instead of putting models in daunting and fragile stilettos, the designers had them wear chunky shoes with heels that looked like cantilevered, mechanical sculptures, and boots that were embroidered with beads in the manner of an Indian medallion. The inspiration “came out of nowhere,” explained Laura Mulleavy in the crush of well-wishers after the show. “We’d done so much research and looked at photo books of different eras.” But they kept coming back to the idea of Australia, along with the Victorian era, which inspired the hairstyles and some of the simple and reserved silhouettes.” Her sister Kate added, “The show was based on the rugged outback.””

The Mulleavy sisters are still somehow considered to be and happy about being fashion’s outsider nerds. They both have an inner intensity but are also content not to be particularly noticeable. They have taken their education and knowledge of historical context into new arenas including painting, books, opera and film. It seemed to have started with the movie Black Swan where their designs brought a fresh aspect to the movie and their work was widely praised. Soon thereafter the MOCA museum picked up the costumes and created an exhibit for them, which also received rave reviews. Then they introduced their first book project titled Rodarte, Catherine Opie, Alec Soth. The book features Rodarte pieces and the subject matter that has inspired their work.
Now comes the really fun part,

To continue reading this article go to: http://www.thinkdesignmagazine.com/Fashion/rodartesisters

Think Design Magazine: Interview with Gomez Bueno - Artist, Critic and Social Provocateur

The Spanish artist Gomez Bueno has created a diverse and amazing collection of work in the last 20 years which places him far from the stereotype of the surf artist, which he seems to embrace. His paintings, which feature cartoon like drawings at times presented in vibrant colors, are a mix of political messages and social commentary in a fast paced pop culture style. His subjects cover the range from current events to movie memorabilia and beyond. They also include a large selection of Los Angeles surfing culture criticism as well. We had the great pleasure at Think Design Magazine to be the first publication in Asia to interview him. Originally from Santander, Spain, he has lived in Los Angeles for many years and continues to be inspired by the crazy nature of the city which can drive some people mad. Before reaching L.A., he lived in Madrid while attending university there and earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts from Madrid Computense University. He then headed west and I was extremely curious as to how he would compare the two polar opposite cities.

Gomez Bueno is a smallish man with the obvious looks of an artist, the un-kept hair and the intense and disorienting gaze that belie his laid back Spanish nature. The city of L.A. is his canvas so he can usually be found with paint splotches on him as he paints billboards, vans, sails, on canvas (how boring) and on anything else he can get his hands on. His critical eye is always looking for a new opinion to express with his brush, no matter the location. He is fond of a patch of beard on his chin, which makes his face appear to stretch downward. For me however, invariably, the Spanish warmth inside always comes out of a Spaniard even when entrenched in an Anglo-Saxon enclave and it does with Gomez.

To describe his work concisely is very difficult if not impossible in a few paragraphs. His long and varied series of paintings about the movie industry are a good example. His critical premise is that because advertising, marketing and promotion dictate the content and concept of the production that follows, fictionally it is he who decides the direction of the film. He places the movie poster at the center of the film and the poster that you see is described as having had more to do with what developed on-screen than the producer, director, or even the story-boarder. Gomez Bueno in his role as artist-auteur all but determines beforehand his film’s eventual success or failure with the movie-going public. But they will tell you where the credit is due when the credits do roll-- and that is likely to be somewhere in the lobby, not on the screen. So what are we to make of this entirely fictional exercise? What is he trying to say beyond commenting on the sad state of the Hollywood movie industry?

Continue reading this article at:   http://www.thinkdesignmagazine.com/Art/Artists/gomezbueno

Think Design Magazine Fashion Feature February 2012 - Daphne Guinness

Imagine you go to a party and come upon a fashion trendsetter lying in a coffin with a diamond encrusted golden glove she has designed propped up on her hand for all to see while she plays dead. You might wonder how someone who is a beer heiress can hate parties or you might be impressed with the interesting way that Daphne Guinness found to show off her glove design without having to engage in small talk. The glove is currently being sold for $1.76 million dollars so she must be doing something right. To top it off, while she lay in the coffin, she wore an Alexander McQueen cat-suit and meditated for 3 hours. This is just a small part of the life of the fashion influencer of the moment. She has reached that consciousness point, that celebrity situation where we begin to hear a name, quietly and scarcely at first and ignore it, like we did with Lady Gaga in the beginning, then the voices get louder until they are shouting in your ears and you have to listen. Once you do, you find a complex and interesting person behind all the celebrity ruckus. Then we begin to realize she has something to say about fashion.

Guinness is the daughter of Jonathan Guinness and his second wife, Suzanne Lisney, and part heir to the Guinness Beer fortune. During the 80s, she lived in New York City with her sister Catherine Guinness, who was then a friend and companion of Andy Warhol, which surely had a strong influence in both of them. She married Spyros Niarchos, the son of a Greek shipping billionaire at the age of 19, but divorced in 1999 with a reported settlement of about $40 million dollars. She splits her time between London and Manhattan. Her relationship with married French intellectual Bernard-Henri Lévi has been acknowledged by most American society writers and confirmed by Guinness herself.

How has Guinness come to be such an influencer? She has designed for Dover Street Market and released a fragrance with Comme Des Garçons. She has collected fashion, specifically haute couture, for a number of years, and in 2010 bought the entire wardrobe of the late Isabella Blow. Guinness is also prominent in the fashion world as a journalist and in September 2010, NARS Cosmetics launched a new collection dedicated to her. Valentino and Tom Ford clamor to have her wearing their clothes. Steven Klein shot her in couture for a spread in Italian Vogue that is among the magazine’s most buzzed-about photo shoots in recent years. The pop star Lady Gaga, with her sky-high platform shoes and mop of blond hair with a thick streak of black running through it, seems to be virtually pillaging Guinness’s closet for ideas. According to the Times of London Newspaper the aforementioned Bernard-Henri Lévi once told her, “You are no longer a person; you are a concept!”

Fantastic stuff! Continue reading article at:  http://www.thinkdesignmagazine.com/Fashion/daphneguinness

Think Design Magazine January 2012 feature

IN A STORY THAT COMBINES GIVING WITH CLEVER BUILDING METHODS, THE KARUNA-SHECHEN CHARITY ORGANIZATION IN NEPAL HAS PARTNERED WITH THE LOCAL ORGANIZATION, SAMATA SHIKSHA NIKETAN, TO BUILD SEVEN BAMBOO SCHOOLS, PROVIDING QUALITY EDUCATION TO A LARGE NUMBER OF STUDENTS, WITH HALF OF THEM BEING GIRLS, SOMETHING QUITE UNUSUAL IN THAT PART OF THE WORLD. WHAT MAKES THIS UNIQUE IS THAT THROUGH THE INNOVATIVE USE OF BAMBOO AS A BUILDING MATERIAL, COSTS HAVE BEEN REDUCED AND CONSTRUCTION TIMES HAVE BEEN CUT IN HALF. For those unfamiliar with the advantages of bamboo construction, bamboo as a building material is strong, earthquake resistant, abundant, and inexpensive. Using bamboo lowers construction costs by a staggering 60%. One school can be completed in just four to six months for a total cost of $110,000. So far, Karuna-Shechen has funded Bamboo Schools in various regions of Nepal and the long-term goal is to build a Bamboo School in each of Nepal’s 75 districts. Karuna-Shechen plans on building three schools a year in order to meet this goal and it is fantastic to note that the results obtained by their students are consistently above the national average. These children, who would not otherwise be able to attend any school due to poverty or location, are given the opportunity to thrive in an atmosphere that teaches benevolence, cooperation, dedication, truthfulness and commitment to peace. There is currently a need to hire additional teachers for schools in remote areas where there are as many as 40 students in a classroom. Karuna-Shechen is raising funds to be able to provide these teacher’s salaries. Nepal’s extreme poverty and the lack of a government infrastructure deprive many Nepali children of an education. These children, especially girls who are rarely allowed to attend school, have little hope for a better future. The first Bamboo School opened in Jorpati in 2001 and now has 4,000 pupils and 100 teachers. It was soon followed by more schools providing an education to over 30,000 children (over half of whom are girls) and in 2011 Karuna-Shechen supported the construction of the first Bamboo College. As mentioned bamboo’s use as the main construction material, along with corrugated iron roofs, lowers the construction budget significantly.

Article continued at: http://www.thinkdesignmagazine.com/Architecture/bambooschools

Donations can be given at www.karuna-shechen.org