Created for a Cause

Last Saturday I attended one of the most peculiar events I have ever been to.

 This fun filled gathering of hundreds of strangers with pillows was held at New York's Washington Square Park.

 Here we were all directed by police officers to the correct area... And then it began...The largest pillow fight I could have ever imagined.

 The sun was shining, pillows were flying and laughter filled the air. It was a great afternoon for all ages, interests and backgrounds. 

The best part was all the pillows were donated to the homeless after the fight. 

It is shocking how many people live on the streets of this City. With such extreme weather here I really do feel for the homeless. For a small amount of money you can add a little comfort to someone's life and also have fun in soon it... So a win win situation really! 

Look out for an event near you ( or this one next year) and enjoy! 

Big

Hats, rabbits, celebrations: I overheard one tourist say "New York can make anything big"... This is true, it is the big apple after all! 

The Easter parade was to be honest not what my peers and I expected. Men and women in wacky bonnets gathered and walked around the streets of fifth avenue, basking in the sunlight and excitement. 

Easter Sunday was definitely a day to be thankful for my good fortune and this amazing opportunity! 

To add to the beauty the Rockefeller was spectacularly laden in flowers which were being admired greatly by the crowds of happy people. 

An extra bonus for me was I could eat chocolate again! Safe to say I visited the Lindt shop on Fifth Avenue... And maybe Bouchon Bakery too haha! 

Happy, sunny and colour-filled days are the best days! 

Free, fabulous and with feeling

Last night a friend and myself went to see "On Prosperity" performed by The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. 

Being informed about this show by one of the actresses who works in Myers of Keswick ( see a previous post), and the fact that it was free, did I will admit, make me wrongly sceptical about the quality of both the play itself and the acting. But I am ashamed now that I was so narrow minded. My friend and I really enjoyed the performance and were absolutely fixed on the stage with interest as the plot played out and eventually in a very clever way came together in an effective affecting conclusion. 

I would strongly urge others in the area at any point to try and get to one of these shows. The actors and actresses from all nations are destined to be great. Previous attendees of the legendary school include Paul Rudd, Jessica Chastain, and Kim Cattrall to name but a few who have won many prestigious awards between them. 

"On Prosperity" has it's last showing tonight at 7pm. To reserve a seat email: nyreservations@aada.edu

If you can't make it I definitely recommend checking out the academy's website for future performances! 

Producing Patterns

I would say this is the season for pattern...but many many many style seasons see the use of print, embroidery and embellishment. However, do we as consumers appreciate print? I know many have a fear of wearing it, and I will admit what to style a decorative garment with can be a bit of a baffle! But this beautiful art work really needs regarding and respecting more regularly!  

I have recently been made aware of how much work is involved in producing prints for fashion: both through first hand experience,  with my own pattern based project; and also by watching the designer at my internship.

Pattern can never be the after thought to a garment; it must compliment the silhouette, trend and the collection's colour pallet. It can often make a garment, and be the stand out area in a collection. 

To see the process of pattern production had to be completed for my project please follow the link below. 

http://jessicajasminefdm.tumblr.com

This was a fun but time-consuming  task... and this did not involve finalities, such as pattern placement on a garment! 

 Here are some reference points to inspire purchasing pattern seeing as it is popular for Spring 2015:

Lavin [Image from Style.com]

Valentino [Image from Style.com] 

MP Massimo Piambo [Image from Style.com]

Louis Vuitton [Image from Style.com]

Dolce and Gabbana [Image from via Google Images]

John Gallioano [Image from Childrensalon.com]

Learning, Inspiring, Creating

I am so glad I visited the Rubin Museum of Art last weekend. Oddly a rather tranquil experience- yes even on a Saturday in the busy city! The beautiful imagery, colours and even the building's structural elements were extremely inspirational to me. 

Mainly focusing on Budist and Hindu religion and the art involved on them, I know some people will be sceptical about visiting. But all I can say is that I personally learnt a lot and felt it enhanced my creative thought process. So I would urge anyone in the vacinity of NYC to plan a visit! 

Fashion For Flying

I was that person that visited a museum by herself this weekend. Don't worry parents, this was by choice! There's just something unusually satisfying about walking round an exhibit at your own pace and contemplating it's origin and how it can inspire you. 

Oddly I ended up at somewhere my brother would prehaps have more interest in than myself, however it was unusually influential to me. 

The Air, Space and Sea museum is home to some of the most famous service vehicles in history. This includes a concord, something that has had me in awe, disbelief and confusion since a child. How could something travel so fast whilst carrying so many civilians?! 

But for me the most interesting area of this magnificent museum was the uniforms of those that travelled on/ in these means of transportation.

The precise details on each garment from : embroidery, to cut, to button; these garments are of a quality every designer who has a fear of fast sewing machines aspires to!

Yet more inspiration: I'm a very lucky lady! 

Looking Good Isn't Easy

I have given up long ago making myself look more than presentable on a daily basis- far to tiring to face the day! 

I am in awe of how models and style icons do it to the extreme, but effortlessly, day in, day out. 

As they do fashion designers, people create a certain stereotypes for catwalk queens such as Cara Delevingne, insulting their interlectual ability among other things. But what is needed to become successful and strive in such an industry is extreamly underrated. 

With the start of Delevigne's film featuring future, Vogue celebrates the geneous of this gorgeous girl. For further coverage of this cover girls talent view Vogue.uk's various articles on the newly aclaimed actress.