Album of the Week! - Bright Eyes, I'm Wide Awake, Its Morning

A couple of days ago I became re-acquainted with a beloved band of mine called Bright Eyes. They are the perfect sound to listen to when you are indoors on a drizzly day painting or drawing on a creative afternoon.



I was listening to this particular album when painting my final artwork for the HSC back in 2005 and am always reminded of the process and those long days and nights painting away with Bright Eyes softly chiming in the background.

Cassandra Rhodin

Another gorgeous fashion illustrator I have been inspired by is Swedish born Cassandra Rhodin. She uses pencil and watercolour to create wide-eyed, alien-like female forms. If you check out her website at the moment you will see her exhibition "Animal Planet" where the female forms in her work have been teamed with animals such as chameleons, zebras and leopards.

Fashion Illustrator - Judit Garcia-Talavera

Judit Garcia-Talavera is an amazing fashion illustrator based in Barcelona, Spain. Her medium is watercolours and inks creating soft, feminine works of art. I have included some favourites of mine below including one of Dita Von Teese, but have a look on her website for more gorgeous illustrations and follow her on her blog as well!

DIY High Fashion

The days of DIY and handcrafts are coming back and in a big way! Couture houses such as Chanel and Dries Van Noten are even joining in with Chanel creating gorgeous headpieces out of standard printer paper for their Spring 2009 runway show and Dries Van Noten discovering eclectic jewellery from vintage collected bangles. Vivienne Westwood is another designer showing fashion is a mix of the new, old and recycled, from top to toe, realising this concept in her Spring/Summer 2009 collection.

Album of the Week! - Muse 'Neutron Star Collision (Love is Forever)

Muse has to be one of my favourite all time bands. They originally hail from England and have been making incredible music since 1994. To see them live would be an amazing experience as they bring the stage to life with their electric energy, putting together extravagant performances with incredible light sequences being a trademark in their productions.



I could not find an image of the soon to be released album so I added an image of an actual neutron star collision, I thought it looked pretty cool! Their new album release coincides with the release of the new instalment from the Twilight Saga, 'Eclipse'. The title track 'Neutron Star Collision (Love is Forever), which I am sure you all are familiar with by now because it features in the film, is unbelievable and of course a favourite. If you had not hopped onto the Muse bandwagon yet, you will be now because they are incredible artists and never cease to impress. Don't forget their previous work though! I highly recommend the whole album Absolution, every single song on it, check it out!

Below is some more album artwork...

Lady Gaga - A Walking Art Piece

While researching stud work for my collection this year, I came across this fantastically menacing look donned by none other than Lady Gaga. This heavily studded hood looks like some kind of torture device from the middle ages, dripping with spikes, it looks like it would be a huge weight to bare for a long period of time! I liked the harsh contrast between the hood and the cream conservative coat she is wearing.

Below are some more of Gaga's eccentric headpieces...

Iain Crawford's Creative Photography

Iain Crawford is a London based fashion and beauty photographer. Crawford is a visionary in capturing powerful moments in time through his fashion photography.As bright, bold splashes of ink and powder impact his subjects, Crawford captures the intensity and drama of these chaotic moments. His photographs look delicious and edible through his use of vibrant, hybrid colours and exotic textures.






You could imagine there would be a lot of cleaning up after Crawford's photo shoots, imagine how the models must feel!

Album of the Week - Florence and the Machine 'Lungs'

Florence and the Machine is the the creation of UK's Florence Welch and is classified as a mixture of indie rock, experimental and alternate rock. Florence and the Machine was highly praised and recognised in the industry before hitting the mainstream and has made leaps and bounds ever since. Florence's voice is unique and otherworldly, creating happy, fun-loving melodies which remind you that life is beautiful and not to be missed!




Lungs released last year is an inspiring album and her new album 'Cosmic Love' is released on the 4th of July so don't miss out!

Phantom Research Foundation

The Phantom Research Foundation is a group of designers, artists and musicians who work on individual projects however are members of a common network of creativity. I discovered this unique group in the design book Romantik which holds a gorgeous collection of works from various international contemporary designers.

It is impossible to show all their different projects but i have included a few which really caught my eye. Follow the link from my blog and have a look for yourself. There is such a diverse range of work from the Phantom Research Foundation's website that I am sure you will find some inspiration too!

Paolo Roversi

Paolo Roversi is an Italian born photographer. Roversi was assistant to British photographer Lawrence Sackmann who not only taught but inspired Roversi, one piece of advice was "your tripod and your camera must be well-fixed but your eyes and mind should be free”. His work consists of mainly portraits and female subject matter. I am drawn to his black and white work, particularly Roversi's portrait of Russian model Natalia Vodianova. There is a gorgeous sense of depth, mystery and angst portrayed through her eyes in this shot.



Below are more portraits from Roversi, who uses prominent women in fashion such as models Kate Moss and Guinevere van Seenus and women from the screen such as Tilda Swinton and Vanessa Paradis.

Ink Drops

While researching inspiration for silhouette and form for my collection I was drawn to the beautiful, smokey lines created when ink is dropped into water. I would not necessarily use this concept as inspiration for my collection as my collection is more industrial and raw. However I thought it was a nice idea and could translate into design work quite effectively.