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Pip Pop Magic Ride Relived

>> It's rare that I'd ever post about the same collection twice within a month but my love for Romance was Born's Mushroom Magic collection has proved enduring, fed by a neverending trail of inspiring imagery that definitely augments my own magic mushroom ride experience of the show, where creative lighting meant my own photographs were a little on the haphazard/shady side.  Sydney-based photographer Dan Boud comes to the rescue though with his extensive backstage photography portfolio of the show, where the snap, crackle and pop of the clothes, with all its masterful candy-hued embellishment can really be seen properly and where you can also relive the show atmospherics of Val Garland's extraordinary make-up and Alan White's mushroom wigs.  Interspersed amongst this colourful cacophony are additional up-close images of Brisbane-based artist Pip & Pop aka Tanya Schultz' sugar sculpture set, which she created for the show out of 500kg of sugar and a whole host of other magical kitsch ingredients.  Fortunately for the purposes of feeding my brain, Romance was Born's show isn't a one-night-only affair.  It lives on.  And having just received a lookbook with a tasty personal order form attached to it, I'm deciding whether a ushroom Day Coat", a "Miss Belle Dress" or a "Crescent Crop Top" are things that will radically amplify my wardrobe, so that hopefully the magic mushroom ride continues on.      

Romance was Born backstage photography and collage photography by Dan Boud, Photography of Pip and Pop set by Tanya Schultz for Dazed Digital

Lost in the Woods

On my one and only visit to Moscow, Russia, I felt I had only scratched the surface of its fashion underbelly, discovering that the designers who were supposedly at the top of the designer hierachy there aren't necessarily the most interesting ones.  I think I'm due another visit just to meet younger fledglings such as Lesia Paramonova, although she has charmed her way across continents, making impactful visuals that don't necessarily need to be seen in person.  Her first few collections based around tulle and florals have been scattering their florid notes across Tumblr and since then she's picked up a little collaboration with Kiehls as well as more Russian stockists.

Paramonova has done it again with her latest collection inspired by her own surreal image of a Soviet teenage school girl with plays on uniform mixed with woodland mythology.  As opposed to real life fauna though, Paramonova imagines plants merging with animals - a duck might sprout leaves as wings and a blackberry bushes might have little mice popping up instead of berries.  The pencil-drawn prints reflect this charming bit of make-believe.  The shapes are a throwback to Paramonova's own memories of traditional school uniform, heightened perhaps with more girly flourishes such as bows, stockings and pinafore detailing.

Dotted in amongst the lookbook images here are some fantastic stills from what promises to be a rich short film that accompanies the collection, which is in the process of being edited right now.  Paramonova shot seven girls (Masha, Polina, Yliana, Alisa, Aliona and Nastya) and one boy Vova, who is the central character.  He finds himself in a world of mythical plants, a warped biology lab in a girl's school.  Boy falls in love with one of these fantastical femmes but it turns out they are in fact a flock of white geese and their transformation leaves behind a pile of evocative Lesia Paramonova clothes.  It's a modern and surreal take on Swan Lake if you will and from the visuals alone should be a promising little short to get lost in.  In any case, beyond the spritely film, Paramonova is proving that a strong visual language, imaginative personal stories in addition to atmosphere-imbued clothes can certainly find their niche even in this increasingly crowded space.

Eyeballs and Skulls

>> I'm a cartoonish simpleton.  I like ridiculously literal things.  I like cho-kawaiiiiii!  I like mega cute.  Therefore prints with little emojis all lined up as per Antipodium's pre spring/summer 2013 hero print, designed by British Vogue's art director Jaime Perlman, with googly eyes, tiny bows and roses cooing at me with their cuteness are always going to be instant pleasers.  In Sydney, I picked up another print that has a slightly more twisted edge but is nonetheless in a similar vein of verbatim bluntness. Illustration power duo Craig & Karl, who just keep adding to their varied and rich portfolio (and incidentally have worked with Antipodium on many of their prints), teamed up with another duo Lyn and Tony, a jewellery label that I discovered whilst out in Sydney, to collaborate on a print.  Eyeballs, pills, Cluedo weapons of murder, keys, bones, molars and skulls come together in a pop macabre arrangement, which graces a range of shirts, collars, scarves, ties and charm pieces.  A skull or an eyeball thrown about can be a cliched sentiment but it's hard not to like them here in its composition.  Like I said, I loves me a memorable motif.