The designers behind Reality Studios know how to speak right to my weaknesses: muted colors, lots of layers, and easy, progressive shapes, but even cooler than the baggy, tailored pants and oversized collars is the inspiration behind them all. The legend of Atanarjuat is a story carried down for generations by the Inuit tribe located in the north Canadian Arctic. Love, jealousy and courage swirl through the tale of Atanariuat as he battles against his enemies and fights not only to save his own life but the lives of those he loves. Handed down in the Inuit community for nearly 5 centuries, the tale of Atanarjuat the fast runner is kept alive by elders to teach the dangers of placing oneself above the needs of the tribe as a whole. The 2001 feature film adaption by Zacharias Kunuk was the first movie ever to be written, directed and acted entirely in Inuktitut, the native language of the Inuit people and was the basis of creative inspiration for this Fall ‘09 Reality Studios collection.
**Note: I’ve been researching and writing so much the past couple of days that many a wire has gotten crossed. This collection was originally tagged as an Adddress collection and not Reality Studios, I profoundly and embarrassingly apologize for the confusion**
I don’t confine my love of aesthetics to merely the fashion world, I am indeed a bit awestruck over all facets of design. Sometimes it’s architecture, sometimes it’s interior but right now it’s product design and I’m fascinated with this teapot from Swarthmore alum Joey Roth. Called the Sorapot, Roth’s unique design takes the ancient art of tea brewing and marries it with modern, minimalist design. Through it’s clear, Pyrex body you can watch your tea leaves come to life and and it’s stainless steel body is designed to outlast even the most avid of brewers.
Buy online at UncommonGoods or Sorapot.com and check out more of Joey Roth’s product design at JoeyRoth.com.
Shoe company L.D. Tuttle has quickly positioned itself as my favorite footwear line and designer Tiffany Tuttle’s Fall 2009 collection has me singing her praises once again.
An awesome mix of rugged and chic, Tuttle’s eye for lived-in sexiness makes her pieces perfect for pairing with the likes of Alexander Wang or recent collaborator Victoria Bartlett’s line VPL. Bartlett and Tuttle paired up for another collection of footwear, this time to accompany the fall/winter ‘09 VPL presentation and you can view the results on Tuttle’s blog.
Stocked from New York to Hong Kong in places like Oak, Saks, Creatures of Comfort and Joseph, L.D. Tuttle is poised to join the ranks of the most seriously lusted after shoe brands on the market.
Fall 2009:
Last week I had the pleasure of speaking with 16 year old Swedish fashion designer Bec Wonders for Evil Monito (read the Q&A here!) and learned that she was hoping to meet and potentially work with one of her favorite designers, Diana Orving. I’ve seen Orving’s pieces scattered throughout various online boutiques but never a whole collection together, and side by side it’s as intrinsically cool as you would expect a Swedish collection to be: simple silhouettes and muted colors with expert draping and pleating.
The self-taught designer started selling her pieces to small boutiques in Sweden at the age of 15 and was later picked up by a Japanese agency while showing in Tokyo. The daughter of an artist mother and an architect father, Orving has a decidedly mathematical approach to design which she balances out with aesthetic sensibilities. For her designs she focuses on bringing out the natural characteristics of the materials she uses rather than forcing them into particular shapes and cuts. Nothing is too complicated but neither is it too basic, Orving’s pieces find a great middle ground between intelligent design and cool wearability.
Spring 2009:
Fall 2009:
Pics courtesy of Hanky and Fashion Week by Berns.
You can purchase Diana Orving’s pieces online at Revolve Clothing, Creatures of Comfort, and +46.
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Vintage, cinematic, seductive…these are the words that toss around my brain when I find myself getting lost in the photography of Tom Hines. Like still shots from an old Hitchcock thriller, each photo leaves you reeling with unanswered questions and longing to crawl inside the photo to figure out what happened next…
After studying at Cooper Union, Tom Hines took his talents into the realms of fashion, art and music photography, showing the world the designs of Lorick (whose lookbook is below), Samantha Pleet and Bodkin and the artists behind indie bands like Grizzly Bear, Violens and Au Revoir Simone through his enigmatic filter.
More Tom Hines pics after the jump
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