Well, we missed Uncle Richard's birthday last weekend! Not good. And he is a big Tile Envy fan!
So we've decided to dedicate this post to Uncle Richard. And for this week- instead of delving into industry or tech stuff as I'm meant to do - I took a break to create one of my favorite of all posts - Tile + Style.
COUTURE
A dying art, couture is the meticulous process of handcrafting clothes to fit a specific client using the finest fabrics and the most exquisite of details. Most all "fashion" was couture until the evolution of ready-to-wear. One of my favorite things about couture is that in order to qualify as "couture" a designer must comply with specific regulations. The couture law! I wonder if there are couture police?
Couture is synonymous with glamor. You can certainly have glamor without couture- but you sure can't have couture without glamor. And since I may never afford nor may ever want to afford such a luxury - here are some couture ensembles for us all to try on. AND they just happen to feature a bunch of design houses with whom Uncle Richard has spent the majority of his career.
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Josephus Thimister has returned to design after 10 years of being out of the limelight. And he returns with a couture collection. Well known for his modernism and pursued by such clients as Madonna, this show featured an anti-war message. However, for our purposes it also featured the most beautiful shades of red. As any tilemaker can tell you- red is one of the most difficult colors to create in the tile kingdom. But here Bisazza has created a glass and resin combination that seems to have accomplished it perfectly.
2. VALENTINO & NEW RAVENNA
If you are a fashionista you've certainly seen the hilarious documentary - The Last Emperor - featuring Valentino's final days before his unbelievable retirement celebrations. Now that it's taken two people to fill his shoes- I can't say that I recognize his signature in this collection. But hey- it's a new era I guess. I'm lovin' this pairing with New Ravenna's amazing peacock feathers. I kinda think Valentino would like the mosaic more than this namesake collection.
Galliano will always be a favorite of mine no matter how out there he gets (or maybe because of that). But his Spring 2010 Couture collection was all about prim and proper and riding crops. This piece was one of my favorites primarily based on the colors. I love the deep olive and purple combination and all the more when it's next to one of Oceanside's Elevations series.
4. ARMANI PRIVE' & TILEVERA
Just as Armani is probably the most classic amongst this small group of couturier's, platinum has gone from being a sheer luxury to a classic staple. Here, Tilevera's platinum glass tile is a silvery white or a dreamy blue chameleon.
5. SAAB & ARTISTIC TILE
A red carpet favorite, Elie Saab produces those red carpet kinds of dresses. All flowey and Cinderella-like. I generally don't go for this type of fashion- but I would have to say that Saab manages it with true artistry. And speaking of artistry- Artistic Tile's South Sea Pearl collection manages this same luminous quality without a hitch.
I was a big fan of Givenchy when Alexander McQueen lead the way. And now it's a bit melancholy looking at the line even though he hasn't been there in 5 years. Here, Givenchy's gold detailing saddles the purple in much the same way that it does on Bardelli's 24kt gold finish applied over this yummy purple glaze. Purple was a strong color for the 2010 collections.
7. MABILLE & FORNASETTI
I wasn't familiar with this Parisian designer until putting this post together. I was, firstly, surprised that there were only 10 couturier's making the 2010 Spring Season. And, secondly, surprised that I'd never heard of a couple of them. So I did a quick search and found that Alexis Mabille is the darling of Parisian fashion. And since Fornasetti has been emerging in the longest comeback in the furnishings design community- it seems a perfect pairing.
8. GAULTIER & BLAKE STUDIO
Speaking of Madonna, does anyone think of Gaultier without thinking of Madonna? And that's actually unfortunate because Gaultier is so much more than that connection. We probably wouldn't have embraced Dries Van Noten as readily without Gaultier, for instance. It was very fun to mate this fashion and tile pair. Blake Studio's tiles-that-would-be-sculptures are as exotic as Gaultier's concoction.
9. HASH & WALKER ZANGER
Here's that other couturier of whom I had never heard. But even though Anne Valerie' Hash is pretty new on the fashion scene, she was still able to round up some pretty impressive friends to lend their personal affects to her first couture collaboration - Alber Elbaz, Tilda Swinton, Charlotte Rampling, Gaultier, and so on. Of course Walker Zanger fits right in with that caliber of celebrity!
I do love white and silver together. And this season's Chanel couture collection was all about this combination. So to make this marriage complete I've paired these nuptials with Tilevera's Script Glassware tiles that boast a 24kt metallic font.
Well, did you notice I had way too much fun with this post? Two of my favorites - fashion and tile. Now just throw in a cupcake and that would be all she wrote. Oh- that is all she wrote-
(And thanks again to my favorite fashion site- www.style.com - for their supremo fashion photos and info)