infinite variety.

let me tell you a little story about the notorious nineteenth century socialite and one of my personal role models, marchesa luisa casati..

ms casati was definitely what one would call 'eccentric'. never short of suitors and a muse to so many artists and fashion designers she would put lady gaga to shame, she had a penchant for wearing live snakes and walking her cheetahs (with diamond-studded collars, naturally) through the streets of venice, clad in nothing but fur, diamonds and hooker heels. she enjoyed being pampered by her naked servants, and, when she died, she was buried wearing a black leopard skin and fake eyelashes, along with her favourite pekingese pup. in short, she was a boss bitch.

she did manage to rack up a debt of about $25 million (diamonds and cheetahs don't come cheap), but it was fine because she auctioned off a bunch of her stuff and then disappeared to london to live in abject poverty for the rest of her life.

ANYWAY..

with a namesake like this amazing woman, it's only fitting that fashion label marchesa's signature style is glamorous, ridiculous and super OTT.. and their fall 2010 new york fashion week show, inspired by another fascinating woman, courtesan lola montez, is suitably frou frou and glamourtastic (yes, i actually just wrote that). i can't seem to find any good pics from the show, but i won't leave you hanging..

here's a little collage from cathy horyn (new york times), including my personal favourite from the collection - the blue cocktail dress..

and if that's still not enough, check out this wrap-up of the show. you can actually zoom in and check out the details on the garments, which is awesome because the marchesa label is synonymous with quality, workmanship and crazy, 'how-did-they-do-that' fanciness.



if you're still reading, thanks, and here's some nice stuff from their eastern/origami-inspired spring 2010 collection as a gift from me to you. check out the laser-cut roses (woah) and faux tattoos (uncle karl eat your heart out)..

(photos: fabsugar)

xx

p.s. apologies for my dodgy formatting, i cannot work out why my paragraphing is not working. what a n00b! also just realised how small the photos are.. will rectify this next time i post.

happy new year!

i've been so super busy over the last couple of months that unfortunately blogging has really been the last thing on my mind.. i think the best way to get you up to speed would be a nice little collage of words and pictures:

(photo: luis sanchis)

i got a bike for christmas - yayyyy!! no more riding my borrowed little gt with the dodgiest seat i have ever had the displeasure of sitting on, now i'm legit! i got a 24" se floval flyer in brown/tan which is pretty shit hot. i also went to a 'blast from the past' old school bmx show'n'shine last weekend, which was surprisingly awesome! will post some pics when i can muster up the energy to do so.

(photo: viktor vauthier)

on a sad note, my kitty cat, ptolemy passed away last wednesday. at sixteen years old, he had a long and happy life, but it was still very hard to say goodbye.

he was pretty much the boss of our house.. he loved to chase and catch noisy minor birds, walk all over my sewing projects, eat expensive food, and was also fond of clawing/scratching anyone and everything at his whim, so let's hope there are lots of little birdies and scratching posts up in kitty heaven..

(alexander mcqueen, 'plato's atlantis', spring 2010)

speaking of saying goodbye, we have also had to farewell to lee alexander mcqueen who died suddenly last thursday. to say that he was an amazing designer is a huge understatement.

the tragedy of his passing has been felt around the globe, with naomi campbell's 'fashion for relief - haiti' show acting as a tribute to the inimitable mcqueen. the supermodel joined with other industry heavyweights (or should that be lightweights?) helena christensen, karen elson, angela lindvall, heidi mount, sasha pivovarova and natasha poly in parading designs from his 'plato's atlantis' spring 2010 collection. his muse and close friend, daphne guinness (pictured below, centre) wore a glittering, bespoke alexander mcqueen catsuit that was a gift to her from the designer shortly before his death..


('fashion for relief' photo via style.com)

(topshop parisian platform wedge)

in much happier news, i will be heading to the lands of sheiks, topshop, tulips and criossants next week!! i'm off on a two-week adventure to dubai, london, amsterdam and paris, and i could not possibly be more excited.. unless of course the temperatures over in europe miraculously rose to double digits within the next week or so!

if you have any suggestions for things to do or see, or if you know of any amazing vintage markets, please let me know!

au revoir!!
xx