Wednesday, February 17, 2010

INSPIRATION Tina Leser 1949... BOTTEGA VENETA SS//2010

Tina Leser was an early and very successful proponent of an American design aesthetic inspired by textiles and clothing from non-Western cultures. She traveled through Asia, India, and Africa as a child, and lived in Hawaii after her first marriage in 1931, which may explain the ease with which she later adapted influences from those areas into her designs. Although she is remembered today primarily for this gift, her success was not confined to that genre, but also encompassed references to other folk and historical traditions. Her earlier work was done in Hawaii, where she opened a shop in 1935 selling high quality ready-to-wear and playclothes of her own design. She used Hawaiian and Filipino fabrics, and even hand block-printed sailcloth. In 1940 she brought her work to New York where she was to open her own firm, but only began to be a force in fashion in 1943, when she joined the Edwin H. Foreman sportswear firm as designer.


Saturday, February 13, 2010

INSPIRATION Mademoiselle Magazine 1956... LACOSTE SS//2010

The models Dolores Hawkins and Nan Rjis photographed in Jamaica by Herman Landshoff in 1956 for Mademoiselle [left] and a some outfits by Lacoste for SS//2010 [right].