Steven Arpad’s Shoes

After a lot of vacation, trips, party, etc. I’m back my friends ! Unfortunately I’ll be giving up on the ‘’lebanese designer’s reviews’’, because I just can’t find pictures to describe my words. So I bring to you today a discovery I made a while ago, a true artist who’s name must be restored and put on a pedestal.

Steven Arpad was a french shoemaker who worked around the thirties. I discovered him while browsing the web, and I was personally amazed by his work. It was way ahead of his time, and perhaps still ahead of ours, but nowadays shoe designs involve so many detail that we can find in Arpad’s work and that is simply amazing.

Okay, he might have worked for the House of Balenciaga, but I can’t believe he’s not well-known in today’s fashion culture. That is why I bring to you pictures of magical, avant-garde, and sculptured wonders in an attempt to spread his name on the web, not only his, but all of the ones we tend to forget, the pioneers that should receive more attention, think Vionnet, Poiret, Patou, Grès, or Schiaparelli, whose works become more scarce on the web every time bloggers write about today’s designers who are not only uninteresting but also copycats of forgotten artists.

Back to Arpad

Spot the cubes heels don’t they remind you of something ? And what about the fan-like one ? And the first one ?

If you don’t see the similarity with some of today’s designs then you must be blind or really uncultivated. But if you do see the resemblance, tell me with what and who, I’m really interested !

Anyway, my work for today is done, and I’m leaving you with these astonishing designs, and you can even see more of them here. I’ll be back soon with more discoveries, new designers and artists to watch, perhaps even lebanese ones…

See ya !

Photos source: Fashionising.com

Georges Chakra Fall 2011 Couture Collection

Today I’m attacking Georges Chakra’s Fall 2011 couture collection, I think we can place him fourth on the worldwide popularity scale of lebanese designers, as he dressed celebs like Jennifer Lopez, Katy Perry, and Blake Lively. And that’s why, after Elie Saab, Zuhair Murad, and Georges Hobeika, here’s a review of Georges Chakra’s Fall 2011 couture collection.

I have to start by saying that I always find Chakra’s collection really intriguing as they are totally heteregeneous, and filled with great ideas, unfortunately often badly executed… So I divided the dresses in three categories, the best ones, the almost-good ones, and the bad ones… And if I don’t show you all of the dresses you can see the rest on his site.

(Very Mugler-ish, but amazing suits !)

 

(So ethereal !)

(Vivienne Westwood style, love it !)

 

(This one’s stuning, somehow reminds me of Alexander McQueen)

(Classy and original, you’ve got to love this !)

(Somehow glamorous…)

Now let’s check the good ideas that could have given wonderful dresses…

(It should have been the same black on the upper part…)

(Shorter, shorter…)

(I don’t know what, but something disturbs me in the dress, although I love the work on the shoulders…)

(Shorter, and other colors…)

(Without the rhinestones…)

(I love the bottom, but the top just doesn’t suit in…)

( A less stiff fabric for the bottom would have been better…)

And now, the ugly dresses, the weird ones I’d never want to see someone wearing as I would probably start laughing…

(No comment…)

 

(Oh my…)

(Sheep-ish, much ?)

(The ‘’What Le Fuck’’ dress of the collection…)

To sum up, Georges Chakra is a designer whose work deserve more attention, but also more sophistication… I think he should be looked at, as a pioneer, he is truly one of the sources of lebanon’s designs, and a designer that dares some architectural cuts that are really original if you look at them from a specific angle…

Bleeeh ! It may not be the best post on my blog, I got distracted by some firends and TV… Anyway I hope you’re enjoying these reviews, and I promise to be back soon with another one, but I don’t know when cause I’ll be really busy for a while my friends… You know how it is… Summer, trips, friends, etc.

See ya !

Photos source: Reportrunway.wordpress.com.

Salvador Dali’s Bird Compact

This thing I discovered last day is so awesome I’m dedicating a whole post to it ! Whoever knows me, knows that Dali is one of my favorite artists, a source of inspiration, nothing can describe the genius that was that man, he was so above average and you can’t look at his work without being moved, without feeling some kind of sensation whether it is astonishment, disgust or admiration. Any way, last night, stumbling on this magnificient and ingenious, sophisticated accessory… I was just amazed.

So basically it’s a bird-shaped compact he created around World War II, where everything is so intelligently structured that it is stunning! It contains make-up (Powder under the wings, lipstick behind the head), a pillbox under the tail, and a mirror. Looking at this jewel I just realize how soulless designers can be today, I mean they’ll never ever do something as brilliant as this, because today we’re too lazy to even think, I mean electronics are here for that, aren’t they ?

   

Oh, and if you somehow want to buy it, (or offer it to me) it only costs 1,695$…

And because I know some of you won’t be satisfied with a bird-shaped compact, here’s my latest drawing, entitled: ‘’La Mécanique Des Lendemains’’ which can be translated into: ‘’Tomorrow’s Mechanics’’. I really like it, and enjoyed doing it, basically I started out of nothing (actually the lady’s shoe) and step by step I found myself drawing this fresco… I won’t talk about it or explain what I see in it, I’d like to hear it from you…

 

(The scanner ate the bottom part…)

(And it’s black ink on paper, for those wondering…)

See ya!

Georges Hobeika Fall 2011 Couture Collection

As I promised, in the reviews of lebanese designers collections, after Elie Saab and Zuhair Murad, I’m glad to present Georges Hobeika,  because it’s one of the best collections of the season (Yes, better than many many designers), as you’re going to see.

As a general matter of fact Georges Hobeika is one of the local designers I’m starting to like, as Zuhair Murad, his work really evolved throught the past years, and his last collections have been really well executed, really simplified and adjusted. Looking back at his first collections you’ll understand what I mean by ‘’simplified’’, it’s not the chaotic abuse of details and colours anymore…

Anyway, for this Fall 2011 collection the inspiration was Anthea, greek goddess of flowers and flowery wreaths, that’s to explain the details you’ll see crawling on the dresses. In addition to these amazingly well executed vegetal sculptures, pay attention to the way he used lashes of fabric to create some surprisingly beautiful texture.

Enjoy my favorites and check the rest on his site.

(Gaga-ish !)

(Love this ! It’s absolutely stunning, isn’t it ?)

(The movement of this dress is mesmerizing especially when you realize that they are all lashes of fabric (look at the bottom), consider the hours of work ! It could be my favorite…)

(Flawless assymetry, wow !)

(So classy, so chic ! So stunning ! Perfection !)

(Beautiful, quite impressing the way he revisited a straight dress… Mixing two techniques.)

Next up these three dresse I can’t make my mind about:

I mean the ideas are very good but there’s something disturbing me, though I can’t say what. (Help ?).

And of course no collection is perfect here are two fails…

 

(Huge ‘’What Le Fuck’’ here…)

(I’m not too keen on all these lashes pending it somehow looks like a mop…)

And to finish: the wedding dress that is quite impreessive, the shape, the details.

  But I have to say I’d have preferred the flowers without the shape or the shape without the flowers…

I guess I’ve said it all, let me know what you think about all of this… And… See ya !

Photos source: Fashionwindows.net.