Everything you need to know about Spring 2021 Haute Couture Week

January 30, 2021

Let’s talk Couture! In case you have missed the latest Virtual Fashion Shows for Spring 2021 Haute Couture, we are here to bring you the Highlights and keep you updated on the latest runway looks! Couture week has just come to an end, and despite having to present virtually to no physical audience, Couture Houses have delivered some stunning looks this year that have brought attention back to the Fashion World.

Schiaparelli

Starting with a stunning and rather surprising Spring 2021 Couture Presentation from Schiaparelli, Daniel Roseberry has managed to execute an ideal comeback for the House of Schiaparelli. Only recently, last week during the Presidential Inauguration we saw the brand dress Lady Gaga in an unforgettable black fitted jacked, a red silk ball skirt and a striking golden dove brooch to sing the National Anthem. Designer and Creative Director Daniel Roseberry, has been playing out of the box to pull the brand out of its past stagnancy and surely, he does not disappoint. Vogue reports that Roseberry feels a shift of mentality, a focus and confidence that comes from his relationship to his process and the atelier.

“It isn’t about being too perfect for me, but it is about shutting the moment down.”

We certainly see this shift in its most glorious form in the latest Couture collection, which contains elements of homage to Elsa Schiaparelli and presents the opposite of the extra feminine nature of expected Couture garments. Through structured muscular bustiers, accentuated abs and biceps, a dress knitted with more than 200,000 Swarovski crystals, folded voluminous sleeves and the dazzling golden bijoux, this Spring Couture collection brings back the powerful female heroine.

Christian Dior

Ah, Christian Dior! The House never disappoints in delivering artistry through their Couture shows. This year, Dior presented the collection through a carefully curated film and accompanying series of photographs. The inspiration of Maria Grazia Chiuri comes as a consequence of the chaotic year of 2020, and lies in the hope that arises from negotiating with fate. Tarot cards come to life in this film, such a theme stemming from several stories. Christian Dior himself believed in the power of Tarot and their ability to see into the future and first sought out the help of signs when his sister disappeared.

This is Chiuri’s interpretation:

“We decided to film a story about this girl who goes inside a castle. It’s a labyrinth which represents an interior trip. When she meets each of the tarot figures, she has to reach a decision about her life. And on the other hand, she meets aspects of her own personality and learns not to be scared of the future.”

The collection includes period Renaissance inspired pieces, including high waisted corsets, brocade fabrics and a balance of feminine and masculine energy. The merge of the mystique, magic and spirituality are incarnated in the embroidered fabrics, golden details and mysterious allure that prevails throughout the collection.

Giambattista Valli

Volume and more volume! There is no better term to describe the signature style of Giambattista Valli.

“Sometimes I look at other couture houses and I see a lot of decoration. Couture is not about decoration. Couture is about volumes,” he asserted. “When you sketch ready-to-wear, you have to be a designer. When you create haute couture, you have to be a sculptor. It’s the difference between building a space and decorating it.”

Spring Couture 2021 brings another series of extravagantly voluminous gowns, catered to clients that seek drama and flair! The presentation took place in Seville, a place where the Spanish and Islamic cultures melt together and create a new third culture, as a symbolism about the world coming together into a global culture.

Iris van Herpen

For this Couture collection, Iris van Herpen collaborated with Parley for the Ocens to utilize Ocean Plastic® fabric made from upcycled marine debris. The Dutch designer claims that the quality of manmade, natural and sustainable materials has reached an even point, and the selection of sustainable materials, above all, remains a change of mindset. The inspiration for this year’s gowns and fabric selections comes from a book by Merlin Sheldrake titled “Entangled Life” which focuses on the way fungi maintain their life systems on Earth. We can see this inspiration reflected in silhouettes and details, with gill-like pleating and mycelium lace, some of which was produced on a collaboration with an artist that grew lace patterns from wood.

This past year for Iris van Herpen has been about maintaining communication in a time of isolation and separation. The system that fungi create to communicate in a “wood wide web” has been particularly fascinating, providing a context for this couture collection to fit right into our timeline.

Viktor & Rolf

Viktor and Rolf Spring 2021 Couture collection comes as something fun and lighthearted! The designer duo decided that after a grim year they should offer some escapism for their audience and clientele, something carrying a lot of energy and power! For this reason, the collection appears more youthful, and carries on a theme of upcycling and DIY, which is unusual for a couture show, but also what sets this collection apart from others! A clash of colors and textures pulls together two piece outfits, each of which releases exhilarating energy!

Chanel

Chanel Spring 2021 Couture show has transformed the Grand Palais into a country wedding in the South of France, decorated with floral arches and a bright atmosphere of celebration. As always, Chanel presents outfits that include the brand’s iconic boucle fabrics into cardigan jackets and vests, now more encrusted and embroidered than ever. Other garments are hand-painted and made from custom lace, hems finished with re-embroidered blossoms.

Creative director Virginie Viard describes this year’s couture collection as a “bohemian style wedding, a family celebration in a village including the mother, the aunt, and the 15-year-old girl dressing up for the first time”. The silhouettes bring both feminine and masculine energies, by including layers of petticoats for the most voluminous gowns and skirts, paired with button-ups and more traditional menswear.

Armani Privé

Armani Privé Spring 2021 Couture show was set for the first time at Palazzo Orsini in Milano in front of no audience. The collection showcased a variety of feminine gowns, elaborately embroidered sheer fabrics, encrusted florals, translucent layers of tulle and sequined details, in a fresh color palette of cool mint, soft taupe, and navy.

In Armani’s words:

“Couture is rooted in fashion history. It represents the pinnacle of creativity and sartorial skill, but is a world available only to very few. Today, through the democracy of the Internet, we are able to offer a front row seat to everyone.”

Valentino

Yet another Couture show with no audience, this Valentino Spring 2021 collection served to honor the intricate and irreplaceable nature of couture as a process and valuable legacy of the brand. Couture celebrates the human, the mind that conceives and the hand that creates and gives value, were the words of the Designer. He called the looks Temporal, as they will survive time and outlive trends to come.

"Through a work process that sits above time, they produce timeless objects moulded on the individual."

This year’s Valentino looks were uplifting in their color palette and simply illuminating. The collection is inspired and constructed only with the surface and garment quality in mind, as opposed to a more intangible concept. When compared to past collections, this lineup has flipped the ratio of evening-wear to day-wear, making the pieces much more wearable and versatile.

Fendi

Fendi Spring 2021 Couture, also marked Kim Jones’ debut collection, turning this into an important event! The show attracted a lot of attention when they recruited some of the most well-known models in the industry; Naomi Campell, Kate Moss, Cara Delevigne, Bella Hadid Demi Moore, and Adwoa Aboah.

The collection was visibly inspired by Virginia Woolf’s time-traveling, gender-blurring novel Orlando and the visual language of Bernini’s Marbles. The lineup also served as a celebration of the legacy for Fend;, incorporating pieces of significant elements of the brand, and family; emphasizing the idea of unity and collective energy.

In his notes for the show, Kim Jones pointed out as follows:

"Fendi represents artisanal quality of the highest order, and it is all about family. It is in its third generation with a Fendi at its helm, and I am guest starring while bringing in the fourth. Here, I am surrounded by strong, powerful women who I love and respect, and want to bring their energy into what I do."

This concludes our Report for Spring 2021 Couture Week, and we are inspired by the artistry and craftsmanship showcased this past week! Which show was your favorite this Couture Season?

Sending joy and creative stimuli your way,

XOXO Lori / Design Land NYC

The Gift of hope for 2021

December 24, 2020

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you! We are excited to have made it to the end of December, and even more excited to join the festivities with you!

In many ways than one, 2020 has been a historic year.

We underwent a global pandemic, experienced a universal shutdown and complete modification of our lifestyle habits, and we had a universal awakening of social justice. Although much of our personal lives has been put on pause, our group initiatives and sentiment towards social and environmental causes have had time to jump-start and prepare to fight for a better tomorrow. What’s more, the vaccine for Covid-19 has already been distributed and many individuals at risk such as the elderly and the ones with preexisting conditions, as well as members of the medical staff have already been vaccinated. To us, these and so much more, are cause for a great 2021!

It turns out, there really is light at the end of the tunnel. Noticing patterns throughout our past history, humans have never made more progress on any disease in a year than during this case, given that many vaccine developments take as much as 10 years to be officially completed. That information alone sheds light into a much wanted resolution for progress in the medical field, at a time when this particular virus has affected the global population entirely.

Among the two reasons to be hopeful for the future are the usage of masks and social distancing, and the new vaccine.

The vaccines developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, and Moderna are the ones that currently received emergency approval in the US and UK. Following the two companies examples, there are many more conducting clinical trials and exploring new ways to help immune our bodies. However, before deciding to get the vaccine, we suggest that you research how the vaccine is preparing you against the virus, as they do function differently and approach the problem on various ways. The existing approved vaccines are both mRNA based, meaning that they do not contain the Covid-19 virus, and cannot infect you. They work by using mRNA messenger to code for a spike protein that is then detected by your immune system, helping it familiarize and prepare to fight Covid-19.

We are making progress by staying united

The real hope here stands in the united progress that we are making in working together with governments, scientists and well-funded companies to help make these big steps into a safer future. Countries are adapting and sending aid where needed to pull through this global health emergency together. We see a world that is collaborating globally to ensure bringing back a certain normalcy and sense of security in the next year, and that helps us cope with a new beginning, as well as a farewell to 2020.

Good News in Climate Change and Clean Energy Innovations

In other good news for the near future, we see a reintegration of the US in working on issues of climate change and will join other countries in their meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, for the first major United Nations summit on climate change next year. We are hopeful that the US will begin establishing the clean-energy innovations to eliminate greenhouse gases. In other trends, whether design or marketing we expect a significant rise in eco conscious choices and varied available options for educated consumers. Because of our involuntary reset in life, consumers have become more sensitive to pressing issues like climate change and social justice. Knowing how demand controls the market, 2021 will become a year of change and beneficial progress. We expect 2021 to bring noticeable change and we are ready to experience it.

Hopeful for 2021

2021 will be a significant improvement from 2020, simply for the fact that the world is working on solving current problems that have disrupted life as we know it, and having provided multiple solutions to tackle a global pandemic and reduce its death rate, we are very much hopeful and looking forward to a brighter year!

We hope you are feeling more joyful this Christmas holiday, knowing that the world will be set in a better place only moments from now and that we are all working together to stay safe and healthy. That being said, please wear your masks and continue social distancing! The fight is not over yet, and we should show our sense of solidarity to all the people around us. Christmas is a holiday for sharing, and what better to share than secure proper health for your loved ones! At Design Land NYC, we are happy and healthy, and excited for the New Year to begin!

Stay healthy and safe and we wish you a most hopeful Winter season!

Sending joy and love:

XOXO Lori / Design Land NYC

The Gift Of Hope For 2021

Pantone Colors of the Year 2021

December 13, 2020

As this year slowly comes to an end, Pantone Color Institute has proceeded to release the forecasted color to best represent the upcoming year 2021. In a fairly unusual manner, Pantone CI has selected a two-color combo: Ultimate Gray and Illuminating [Yellow]. The forecast occurred much later in the year than expected compared to previous cases.

At Design Land NYC, we attended the official Online Webinar presentation of Pantone Color Institute, focused on the Pantone Color of the Year 2021 and the way this color trend is affected by the ongoing events. During the Webinar held on the Pantone Color of the Year 2021, Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of Pantone Color Institute, expressed that the delay was a result of perpetual consideration of current events, in areas of social, political and economic change. Working in forecasting color often has much more to do with the social and political climate in understanding what people will engage and react to most, than will mere aesthetic. Both colors picked each represent two different aspects of our recovery from 2020, and offer a peaceful rejoice for the year that is about to begin.

Yellow Flowers Laoyout.jpeg — **Why Gray and Yellow**

Meaning behind the colors:

Ultimate Gray: Gray stands for resilience, strength and emotional encouragement. It forms fortitude, a firm foundation and creates hope and clarity for the human spirit. Gray is our solid piece and commonly composes gravel, stones, everything that our feet stand on.

Illuminating: This hue of yellow represents brightness, brings a cheerful attitude into the future picture, adds optimism and brings light after the darkness.

The combination of Grey and Yellow is a splendid blend in its natural state. The two colors can be observed in nature together, in pebbles in the stream, bumble bee jasper stones, and sunlight radiating in changing leaves. Together these colors offer the much awaited reset and new beginning, reflecting the wanted strength to overcome past hardships and joyful attitude to the future.

Leatrice Eisemen pointed out that 2021 is not the first year that the Pantone Color Institute selected a pair combo, something that occurred once before in 2016 “a marriage between soft blue and pink”. During the 20 years the Pantone CI has been announcing their color forecast, this year is the first that is partially represented by a neutral color, something that has never happened before. Yet, although some colors of the year are derived from the same family they are always reinvented and Pantone CI has never repeated the same hue.

Application: In application, we can expect the colors to appear in combination, or on their own. They can be incorporated in prints, fabrics textures and accessories, in accent walls for interior, and in monochromatic creations.

The major telling factor in the decision making, was considering all major events occurring in 2020 to understand what emotions people are looking to find in the near future. This year, the Pantone Color Institute had a clear idea that the color should convey hope and resilience as to affect change in the ever less pleasant current reality.

It is generally accepted that one of the colors most people associate with feelings of joy and happiness, or perceive as bright and positive is within the family of Yellow. Yellow alone seems too happy and bright, and would not accurately reflect a recuperating and recovering society. Knowing how difficult and challenging it is too pair yellow with any other color that clashes, or adds on to the cheerfulness, the only best alternative was to pick a mute or neutral color that balances out the positivity with some physical grounding. Gray is one of the most common neutrals used in design, easily found in capsule wardrobes, interior decoration, and is simultaneously modern and timeless.

Our conclusion

After a year of a major global crisis, we are all in need for some bright colors in our environment. This color pairing, sparks a newfound affection for parts of nature that are fleeting, as the combination appears in instants of time that we can only catch a glimpse on, such as the first moments of sunrise, and certain reflection of light on still-water. This pair is also present in industrial elements, in the solid structure of cement and constructed roads foundations, in contemporary interior and futuristic raw designs.

We feel that this color combination is a proper one that will spark joy this year. How do you feel about this color after reading on the reasoning behind their selection? We hope you are healthy and happy and may your world be Illuminating next year!

Xoxo Lori / Design Land NYC

Bumble Bee Jasper Stones: Image Via The Crystal Council

Freelance Designer Starter Pack: Tools and Resources

November 30, 2020

When starting out as an independent designer, especially in the Fashion industry, it can be overwhelming to choose among the many tools and expertise provided online. In this post, we will be listing our Top Design Tools that assist us in all projects, some more popular than others and followed by alternative options. Keep on reading for an additional list of free resources to inspire, motivate and to help you easily navigate through your projects.

Vector Design

Adobe Illustrator

This powerful piece of software is our most utilized vector design tool, perfect for logo design, fashion technical flats and floats, pattern and print making, as well as icon and art mock-up. Let’s say that at Design Land NYC, we prefer Adobe Illustrator to Microsoft Word, but that’s only because we are more visual than we are wordy! :). As of recently, this software just became available for iPads, so guess what we will be playing with lately? Adobe Illustrator APP for iPad

Pixel Design

Adobe Photoshop

Our second most used software of Adobe Creative Cloud, Photoshop is great for photo editing, pixel art creation, Fashion CAD illustrations, collages, and so much more, giving you absolute freedom to create just about any image combination you like. You can utilize this app for image manipulations, layout and with the help of an external tablet, you can create elaborate multi-layered artwork. There are many free available brushes that are built into the app, and many others you can find on free brush databases like Designious.

PIXLR & Gimp

Alternatively, you can utilize PIXLR and Gimp as free versions of this photo editing software. PIXLR can be accessed and used directly on your browser, providing numerous in-site tools to add onto your design projects. Similar to PIXLR, Gimp is another free image editor app, which can be downloaded and works in most operating systems. Gimp is similar to Photoshop in its format, photo manipulation tools and useful artwork creation.

Procreate

This app is made for freeform art on your IOS devices, and it is best when utilized on IPad Pro. Procreate can be used for a myriad of artwork shapes, from Lettering, to elaborate Illustrations and Photo Collages. Now, you can have Procreate Pocket on your iPhone, and enjoy its powerful illustration tools specifically made for the iPhone.

Fonts

Fonts certainly come into use in many projects, and they are crucial in setting your tone and mood when compiling content. Our favorite font databases, where you can download free fonts or acquire customized fonts for your preferences are: Dafont, Fontfabric, Google Fonts and the subscription base service Adobe Fonts.

Templates:

Canva

Our to-go site for templates, layout inspiration and visual formatting is undoubtedly Canva. This template database contains professional designs for Social Media content, Website layouts, Logos, Presentations, Infographics, Newsletters, Cards, Brochures and so much more. Aside from using and downloading templates, Canva can also serve as a catalyst for your original creative ideas.

Free Photos and Illustrations

For design work that does not require original illustrations, but can be executed acquiring stock images some of the top free image resources are the following websites:

Flickr

One of the most used image websites that can be utilized for graphic manipulation is Flickr. It is also a great site to refer to regarding photo editing ideas and composition.

Unsplash

Similar to Flickr, Unsplash is another source of images, available for personal and commercial use, you can choose from a variety of themes and subject matter. Feel free to download the app for easy mobile use and check out the site’s blog for more tips and resources.

Pexels

Another great free stock photo and video source that can be utilized for manipulations, content creation and various projects is Pexels. You can also contribute to the image database by becoming part of the community and creating your own photography boards.

Humaaans

In contrast to the previous free image resources, Humaaans is a site that offers a great range of free human illustrations, with interchangeable outfits and styles to fit the design’s theme.

Background and texture

Aside from free image sources for your design manipulations, you may need to acquire background images and texture patterns. The following websites are our top two to find one of a kind background options and texture:

Subtle Patterns

Simple, clean and easy to use, Subtle Patterns is dominated by free Geometric Pattern Prints that can be effortlessly modified to fit your intended work. You may also submit your own patterns into the website’s library and such contribute to common resources for other creators like you.

Lost and Taken

Lost and Taken is a unique image library, where you can get a hold of special realistic texture paper, old, vintage backgrounds, high quality tactile material textures, high resolution painted surfaces, etc. This website is a solid background resource and can be easily inserted in multiple projects. Whether you want a new background for your digital illustrations, a realistic vintage print on your brochure, or a fascinating texture on your website’s home page, this is the website to go to!

Information and online classes

Most importantly, make sure to constantly improve upon your skills by enrolling in classes and acquiring new information on your area of interest. These are our top sites for free informative classes:

Skillshare

Skillshare has a wonderful selection of content creation, graphic design, digital marketing, branding and social media management and other skill-specific classes. You can sharpen your Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop practical knowledge and build authority on topics that relate to your chosen design career path.

Coursera

Another similar free course-offering website is Coursera. Over 200 universities have collaborated with this site in tailoring many online programs to help you succeed in your selected and desired skills.

EdX

The last resource for classes and training that we will share is EdX. On this website, universities share their free and paid online programs, many of which are valid for school credit. While these classes are mostly linked with their corresponding college programs, EdX offers other self-paced classes that you can take for self-development requiring no payment or certificate.

We agree that tools are important in delivering quality work, but practicing and nurturing skills is by far the wisest investment in your career. This list was curated to help you in your own independent learning ride, and we wish it was helpful in providing some resources that you have not encountered yet and has served as an incentive to stay motivated.

In any case, you can always contact us with Graphic, Website and Fashion Design requests here, check out our services here, and we will get back to you shortly.

As always, we wish you are all safe and healthy! Sending joy your way,