Bustier Collective

More and more we're beginning to see classy ways of wearing a bustier top, be it with a pair of chandelier earrings or pant suit with sneakers. Or you could pull a T-Swift and pair them with high-waisted pants, hiding any trace of a belly button and allowing the world to ponder whether you have one at all. Still, they're an item worn by the extraordinarily skinny women of the fashion world, but there's plenty of plus size women who are making the trend their own. Again, high fashion isn't really pandering to these kind of women, and any kind of progress is small but with Beth Ditto walking at the latest Marc Jacobs collection at New York Fashion Week is definitely a step in the right direction (haha puns). Of course the trend is also trickling down into the high street, with brands carried by Asos such as Missguided making some really cute, pattern bralettes with lace and metallic finishes. I'm dying to know if you guys know of where to buy cool bustier tops!

1- unknown, 2- Kayla Scott by Steven Meisel for Vogue Italia May 2015, 3- Photographed by Theo Sion for for The Gentlewoman FW 15, 4- Vanessa Axente by Josh Olins in 'Island Dressing' WSJ Magazine, April 2015. 5, 8, 11- FKA Twigs performs on Day One of the Osheaga Music and Arts Festival on July 31, 2015 in Montreal, Canada. 6- Frankie Rayder by Raymond Meier for British Vogue, September 2003. 7- Lauren de Graaf at Fausto Puglisi Spring 2016 RTW. 9- Chloë Sevigny. 10- Malaika Firth - Diane von FurstenbergSpring-Summer 2015.

Baby Bear

There's been a whole business of incorporating the humble teddy bear into runway collections, editorials and photo shoots of independent designers. The catalyst for this moodboard was undoubtedly the teddy bears at the Moschino Fall 2013 show, but I wanted to further explore the theme. Jeremy Scott did not champion this idea but social media and the street style phenomenon has popularized his designs above all others. It seems rather unfortunate that the pioneers of underground culture, in particular style such as FRUiTS go unrecognized. However this idea inspired by doe-eyed young girls (and boys!) dragging their favourite teddy around everywhere is universal. It comes as no surprise that the motif does not reoccur as does many major trends, but is ever present in the background rather than at the forefront. The idea of a stuffed bear as a constant companion has therefore been replaced in many instances by a favourite clutch, a pair of trademark sunnies or a cell phone. They are objects which become an integral part of our identity and self-expression and without them we would feel utterly lost.

1- Ashley Williams FW13. 2- The Beckerman Sisters in Coach. 3- Photography by Rachel Louise Hodgson for Haunt-Mag.com Issue 5. 4- original design by Molly Trubody. 5- Björk . 6- 60′s dorm room. 7- Ashley Williams A/W13 via The Guardian, 8- Shutter & Love Girls are Dancin’ on In Tokyo, 1996 compiled and edited by Kotari Iizawa. 10- Street Style at Milan Fashion Week via FashionGum.com, 11- Vogue Australia November 2013. 12- Antonina Vasylchenko by Danil Golovkin for Vogue Russia, December 2012. 13- Backstage at Ashley Williams' Fashion East Show, 14- Moschino Fall 2015 Runway. 9 & 15- original designs by ShopFloorWhore.

I Want Candy

I realise that these images taken from the Australian Vogue X David Jones editorial are literally so last season but I've been drawn to pastel tones and clean lines. This has largely been fueled by Susie Lau's comprehensive archive, Plastic Candy but also comes by way of J.W. Anderson's most recent collections and mainline Jeremy Scott, as well as Moschino. But before I can delve into any of that I felt it necessary to describe what inspired those works and revisit S/S 2015. Spring/ Summer 2016 promises so much and it feels like designers are willing to create the collections they've always dreamed of, experiment with new techniques and invest in the weird and wonderful. Although there's a lot of black and white in this editorial in particular I feel like this dichotomy of hot and cold will play a major role next season. Also I just really admire it and feel that Grimes would totally be on board with this if you added say, fingerless leather studded gloves or something like that?For her it's all about accessories and these outfits are the skeleton of street style magic.

Landscape

I had every intention of making more journal pages in a series of badass alien babes in front of breathtaking landscapes but I haven't been interested in the creative process lately. These thoughts have also been solidified by my acceptance that sometimes less really is more, and that I don't have enough hours in the day to dedicate to everything I want. That's OK, as long as I focus on what's important.

pretty hurts

I was meaning to create more collages before posting these but when it became apparent that that was never going to happen I decided it was time. They're not like my other collages in that there's a stronger emphasis on fashion, as well as less manipulation or altering of the original photos. Normally I feel really insecure unless I have removed all traces of the original context of a certain element or model but that didn't bother me. I know that seems super lazy but for now I am content to curate these images as they are. There's an obvious lack of representation in these images as well which is an artifact of the original fashion magazine content. Where possible I try to combat this in the lookbooks and runway shows I write about, as well as the moodboards I make using my computer. I wanted to draw attention to this with the title "pretty hurts" reinforcing the notion that these beauty ideals may actually be doing us more harm than good. Underneath all those photo shopped images and saccharine sweet tones there is an underlying malice to the detriment of the fashion industry.