she lives in oakland, her self description is brilliant:  

a sleepy-eyed girl, in love with the estuary.
hiding out in oakland with stitches and songs.
learning how to talk to birds.

fashion designer, a personal inspiration to me; selene’s flickr photostream is magnificient.

dreaming in color, of softly kissed lips and quiet, memory ridden spring afternoons

color balance; mini proper, this n that dazzling vintage glam. romantic snippets

empty; love this vintage bag; her hat, gloves, cinder block, and the sexy of rusted corrugated metal

paint; the velvety rich wine back wall, tattoo expression, delicate fingers and artistic composition

lean; the juxtaposition of her bubble gum mini-dress, messy borderline hair–againt the slats, graffiti ridden, pickled, painted, remnants

she’s smart, a bit stiff…surrounded in ties and trims of color; vignette of stylish thinking; the flash

tonal, textural, oatmeal thoughtfulness. touch of whimsy, shaped and balanced color selection

lover’s photography. park whimsy. the sexy of holes. a perfect mix of blurred colorful expression

precious time. a personal adventure; parasols, and petticoats, so pretty smart and friendly

abandon, innocence, adventure…sibling care…to really fly and spin, in pretty, playful bliss

these images, they captivate.  my creativity thrives on a mix of pretty and messy. the ability to interpret real life applicatons of these kinds of visual compositions; this line, a fashion line, gibbous fashions, amazing. found via the lovely my folk lover blog.  

i wouldn’t apply these ideas literally in fashion or for interiors.  a bit more tailored might be. when preparing for a client presentation or composing a fun studio vignette, this type of inspiration coats my soul and sets the creative ball rolling. what stirs and ignites your creativity?

The runway visual below, intrigued me for a variety of reasons.  I wanted more.

I was off to visit his website.  I may not be a fashion lingo girl, but I know what pretty is (channeling Mr. Gump).

What about his work drew my attention?

• • fabric combinations
  • vintage interpretation
  • softness
  • applique and ornamentation
  • minimal use of lace, metal, other raw materials
  • blend of constructed and deconstructed shapes
  • tone on tone
  • the lines his pieces create

I selected pieces from several collections to give you an overall feel of his work.

I reviewed many of his current and past collections, dating back to 2001.  These are a few of my favorites.

Antonio is primarily a self taught designer, beginning his career as a fashion designer in the late 1980′s. His first haute and ready to wear collections followed in the mid to latter 1990′s.  The website houses generous illustrations of his showroom, three retail shops, and many photo shoots supporting past collections.  His company maintains a loyalty to his roots, annually supporting artisans from in and around his home country of Alghero, Italy.

So, what about his surroundings, interior expressions impresses me the most?

• • Use of refined and raw elements
  • washed brick, worn wood, discolored concrete, rusty elements
  • light, tone on tone palette, textured fabrics
  • incorporating raw elements, wool, wheels, open frames
  • blending elegance with crystal chandeliers, crushed velvets
  • lover of decay depicted as beauty
  • feminine floral handpainted/embroidered decor
  • inlighting, unexpected lighting
  • decor in unlikely locations/directions
  • classy use of a funk factor
  • smart use of negative space
  • accessing both the inside and outside of a space
  • simple vignettes that communicate his taste

I’m off to make good use of this new found inspiration.  Peace to you all.  I’d love to hear what inspires you, visually or otherwise.  Thank you for being here with me, really, it makes me happy.

p.s.  I couldn’t get the bullet points/indention to work right on my two lists above, so bear with me; I will figure this out as I go, and wanted to share his work today.

I do love fashion, and I pop in to certain fashion blogs now and then just to take a peek. There is not a lot of frivolous buying going on in our house right now, but a girl can dream, right?.  I had to post this pic and yes, the fashion is stricking——but the backdrop, are you kidding me?  I am loving the texture of the pitted concrete wall, the distressed flooring (looks like cork?), with it’s cracks and discoloration at base of floor and all.  My eye is replacing this darling, style maven in black with a clean line organic wood bed or chair, with simple texture and a pop of color; well, like this for instance:

Do you ever find yourself visualizing completely revamping a space?  Tell me about it; I’d love to hear your experience.