MAALI

Fashion Week is back!

Wednesday, 14 September 2011

Sorry, we have been away for a bit and have not been able to blog. We have been busy preparing for our fashion show which will be taking place at the Jewell Picadilly 4-6 Glasshouse Street London on the 18th of September by 8pm.

We are soooo excited about it. The Sunday show is for emerging designers and I hope to bring you the inside scoop of all the happenings during this week's shows but before then, just a few mentions on the African inspired designs/designers in New York Fashion week.

Duro Olowu's Spring 2012 ready to wear collection was called 'allure' inspired by Jamaican immigrants who came into England on a boat called the Windrush and also a mix of Nigerian influences.

Duro Olowu Spring 2012 Ready-to-Wear

Suno in black and white Prints
Suno Spring 2012 Ready-to-Wear

Hervé Léger by Max Azria Bandage dresses

BCBG Max Azria Spring 2012 ready to wear

Sunday, 21 August 2011

Love this song and the video so much. I can watch it like 5 times back to back. Apparently this type of music is called deep house (me likey).

Siji--Ijo

Wednesday, 10 August 2011

I am not much of a writer but there is one question in my head that seems to be unanswered. I am writing this post in order to clear my doubt by researching more on this particular topic and also to share some of my ideas and hopefully answers with you. Did people in history have more talent than people now?

From an artistic point of view, I have noticed that most of the art that is being sold and appreciated today was created years ago. Why is that? An idea is that back then, people had more time to improve on their arts and crafts. Whatever people seemed to do then, they did very well. They did not have that much television or the internet as distractions and as a result of that, they produced better and more acknowledged works of art.

It is a widely known fact that human beings are way more productive when they restrict themselves from indulgences like television or internet usage. I am not saying that people these days are not talented in the arts field. I just think that if they spent less time watching television, using the internet (Facebook, twitter, even possibly blogs) or the new obsession with blackberry phones, then maybe the art being currently produced can be compared to historical art.

Personally (as a designer) I'm used to looking at a lot of magazines and fashion books etc with hopes of getting into the whole spirit of design (or something). That did not quite work out and I realized that those magazines and books just distracted me and made me more paranoid and less creative. I eventually just let myself be and started trying to read more(educative) books and watch old inspiring movies.

Now I am going to give a few examples of historical art and compare them to that which is being created now (Mid 1900's to now). *Note this is just what I believe. It does not necessarily have to be fact.

This is a Piet Mondrian painting. Personally, I do not really see the awesomeness. I understand that it was inspired and that it took a lot of thought, but it does not really exude talent.

This is 'The Creation of Adam'; a part of the fresco painting of the Sistine Chapel by (genius) Michelangelo. You can see that a lot of creativity and devotion was put into these paintings.

This is a closer picture of the one above. (Click to view larger picture).

This is the famous Campbell's Soup Cans work of art by Andy Warhol. I am sorry (Andy Warhol fans) but can't you be more creative and paint something other than soup cans?

This is the 'The Night Watch' by Rembrandt. It is one of the most famous paintings in the world ever. This painting is amazing, from the light contrasts to the details. It is evident Rembrandt was a talented painter.

So what do you think?

xx.A

Thursday, 4 August 2011

So this past weekend was fun! We were invited to an underground party in Leeds and we were glad we went. Cosmic slop parties in Leeds are held in Hope House Gallery-so there is an entrance fee (also money made from the bar) which is a recommended donation that goes toward the charity which runs the youth education projects at Music and Art Project (MAP).

These parties are held often, usually the last Saturdays of the month and are well attended by the cosmic community. People just come to have fun, to party in a relaxed atmosphere with lovely music and an eclectic mix ranging from hip hop, to reggae, techno, disco, funk, soul and house. DJ Tom did a really good job with his hand-built soundsystem and had everyone on their feet by playing and mixing the different genres/types of music. Overall good night...

Pictures Below:

on our way out

DJ Tom

Wednesday, 3 August 2011

Came across this video by Pope. Apparently it came out in 2010, wondering why I have not seen it before now. He sampled Fela‘s 'Shuffering & Shimiling', so its like a modern take on funky Afro beat with a bit of jazzy feel to it.. Love it, really nice video. Watch Below:

'Enjoy' by Pope

Sunday, 31 July 2011

So I was browsing randomly and I ended up on the http://www.the4acesdate.com/ blog. They had this post on pictures from runways in the 90's with a link to where they got the pictures from. I quickly clicked on the link and found myself in heaven(lol). Almost every picture was unique and amazing at the same time. The designers were really creative. Their creativity had no bounds. Everything inspired them. It seems like people used to put in a lot more effort to create pieces that reflected them and pieces that they could look back and still be proud of (not wonder, hmmm what was I thinking then).

Anyhu..I am going to be posting something very soon about art in past and art in the present with relation to talent or the lack thereof, so watch out for it..For now though, I will put up pictures of some of the outfits that really moved me and some of the really creative ones. Most of the pictures are Haute Couture. Although the ready-to-wear (prêt-à-porter) has become more popular and kinda made Haute Couture irrelevant, I am still a big fan of it and hope it gets revived (at least for the creativity). Linda will be posting something about that soon.

P.S. Most of the models modelling the clothes were actually supermodels (how cool is that)?

I heart...