Pastooshian Ramblings

Finally! My Autumn/Winter 2010/2011 collection :)

2010-03-09T23:59:00.000-08:00

So here are pictures of my first collection! It's small, simple, wearable and cozy. Lots and lots of lessons were learned in the making, and many obstacles were and continue to be something I have to work through. For now, I'm very happy with the result and can't wait to move on to the next one :)

p.s click on pics for a larger image and a close up on the details.

Round up of AW 2010/2011 fashion weeks

2010-03-01T22:37:00.000-08:00

So far, these are my selected pics of the Autumn/Winter 2010/2011 fashion weeks. We have yet to wait for the big kahuna, Paris Fashion Week.

Enjoy!

Marni

The Row

Suno

Rodarte

Prada

Peter Pilotto

Mathew Williamson

Marios Schwab

Marc Jacobs

Marc by Marc Jacobs

Louise Gray

Louise Goldin

Helmut Lang

Basso and Brooke

Antonio Beradi

Stationary

2010-02-23T02:23:00.001-08:00

My stationary is almost complete...yaaaay :) The design work is done and off to the printers.

This is my simple and sleek recycled paper business card:

Soon I'll be posting the format of the order form and line sheet as a reference for those who need a template to help with their set up. There was alot of research done and I must say that 'The fashion designer survival guide' by Mary Gehlhar is the best I've found so far. It truly is the fashion business set up bible. Buy it (amazon) ,Use it and enjoy it :)

RIP Lee McQueen

2010-02-11T08:38:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it!

What a tragic loss :(

These are pictures of his last collection. They show the magnitude of this man's talent, at just 40!

More Behind the Scenes

2010-02-10T04:50:00.001-08:00

More behind the scenes taken by Jawad El Hashem. This time with a Lomography Diana camera.

The Supercalafragilisticexpialidocious Team

2010-02-10T04:47:00.000-08:00

KAGE

2010-02-10T04:39:00.000-08:00

More new designer's on the scene in Dubai!

The designers, Arwa Abdul Hadi and Basma Abu Ghazali, have had instant recognition since KAGE's inception. Their collection was picked up by Boutique 1, a super cool store in Dubai and in Lebanon.

Kage is simple, easy-to-wear, on the go, sexy and flirtatious fashion. You can see more of their work on www.bykage.com

Behind the scenes

2010-02-10T04:10:00.001-08:00

The photo shoot is over! It was such a lovely day and such a lovely team. Everything worked out beautifully.

The Model, Marina, said that it's rare to have the model, the designer, the photographer and hair and make up artist all have such perfect chemistry. They all loved the clothes as well, which made it all the more exciting.

Here are some behind the scenes shots taken by Jawad El Hashem. He took them with his mother's old minolta camera.

The black and white shot was taken by Candy Kennedy.

Bird of paradise all dressed up :)

2010-02-10T03:28:00.000-08:00

This is a sneak peak of one of the characters that Mariam has created for my website. It's not final! But I love it already :)

Humorous Bio

2010-02-04T04:34:00.000-08:00

Writing a biography for a website, press pack, retailers pack.. or whatever reason, aint so easy! I simply couldn't write about myself in the third person. So I thought the best person for the job would be none other than my hubby 'biggles'.

This is what he sent, which shocked me as it was so short visually.. it then made me laugh so it had to find a place on my blog.

'Lana is always in the right place at the right time. It's been scientifically proven! She grew up, and still resides, in a country that shares her birth date (always has a vacation on the day). She went into labour at the least congested hour (a process that took only 2 hours!). Between those 2 dates, life just assembled itself in systematic harmony. Today, she chooses to launch her first collection amidst possibly the worst recession the planet has ever seen. Hopefully, that will trigger the recovery we've all been waiting for.'

Naturally, I won't be using this text!

Couture Darlings

2010-02-03T01:26:00.001-08:00

The Couturiers are out!

These are my picks for the season. My favourites this Spring 2010 are the designs from Maison Rabih Kayrouz (Watch out for him.. he's simply amazing!) and none other than Riccardo Tisci for Givenchi.

Maison Rabih Kayrouz (yummy yellows)

Givenchy

Alexis Mabille

Anne Valerie Hash

Dior

My Collezioni

2010-02-03T00:39:00.000-08:00

Here are a few detail shots of the collection that is almost complete... pheeeew! What a roller coster ride!

Marina

2010-02-03T00:30:00.001-08:00

Meet Marina, the lovely model who will be working with me on the shoot.

It's getting closer and closer and I love the names of the people that I will be working with: Candy Kennedy (the funky photographer with a huge tattoo on her back) and Dennie Passion (hair, make up and producer of the shoot) who has the most trustworthy and soothing voice you'll ever hear.

Sneaky peaky

2010-02-02T23:23:00.001-08:00

Prototypes are done, samples under way! Here's a sneak peak.

Definitely trying to tone it down for the first collection. Instead of trying to create fireworks I had to bring myself down to earth and think... wearable! Obviously leaving in the small funky elements that create the interest.. I do find though, that sometimes I get carried away and feel that the maturity in design does come after years of experience and the chance to experiment a bit. So I do get those 'Eff it!' moments, go nuts and think 'well now is the time for me to go nuts'! Nevertheless, the collection is toned down and I would wear every single piece that's been made.

As for my learnings so far:

The raw silk fabric that I am using has a life of its own. I felt like it simply didn't want to mould in certain ways. Pleating for example was very difficult. As these are handmade fabrics the weave is not completely straight and equidistant in certain areas so manipulation becomes difficult. The fabric just wants to rest and be flat.

Although this was a frustration, I did remember that to start something new is to get rid of part of your perfectionism.. It is to have the humility and understanding that it is the start of a learning journey that is not without mistakes. Sometimes the learnings from your mistakes will be your biggest asset in the future.

Mariam Yakan

2010-02-01T22:41:00.000-08:00

Mariam is the wonderful woman that is designing my website. I found out about her because she did the illustrations for the website of a common acquaintance of mine.

She's one of those people that makes you feel like you've known her for ions. Warm, full of smiles, child like laughter and great vibes.

The reason I decided to work with her, is because I wanted an illustrative website that had a child like aesthetic.. a style that I've always been appealed to and feel I am leaning towards for the website. The brief was: it has too look child like but for adults.. there has to be a dark side NOT a cute one.. Tim Burtonesque maybe.

She has already shared some directions, but for now I'd like to focus on her work before we get to what we've narrowed down to together for the website (that will follow in the next days to come).

Here are some of her artworks:

You can see more of her work on http://mautomata.blogspot.com/

This is Mariam.

Mariam admiring my coloured clouds.

Dress forms

2010-02-01T22:28:00.000-08:00

I bought 2 dress forms :) A UK size 10 and a UK size 12. They're both full bodies, with the arms and legs, and are from a company that are considered among the elite for fitting mannequins.

I must say that they were quite expensive, but you really do get what you pay for. Alvanon are the only company, based on my research, that had extensive scanned data of approximately 10,000 people to arrive at the standard sizing they now use.

I receive my forms end of March, but have attached the following photos from the fashion incubator site www.fashion-incubator.com (an extremely useful resource on the entire fashion process), to demonstrate the level of detail they have paid attention to. The style lines are more extensive than other mannequins and the curves on the form are closer to a real life body than most brands out there.

Machination

2010-01-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

I just purchased my first JUKI Overlock machine. I understand that they are more efficient than other makes in terms of being eco-friendly. This page on their website shows how:

http://www.juki.co.jp/eco_e/index.html

So we ditched Immamudine's old machine that barely worked:

and opted for THIS instead :)

This is a 4 thread overlocker. I chose it because in addition to the option of using it as a 3 thread or 4 thread for woven material, it works well for medium to lightweight jersey or knit fabric (don't know exact gsm weight minimum or maximum by fabric).

Ethical!

2010-01-28T04:26:00.000-08:00

Part of the concept of this brand is to create an ethical fashion label.

I am approaching it in two ways:

a) To work with environmentally friendly fabrics, and to try and integrate environmentally friendly practices throughout the manufacturing and supply chain.

b) To support small communities through fair trade manufacturing.

However as a start up designer based in Dubai, I am finding it quite difficult to integrate this fully as resources are limited,scattered and difficult to source. It is clear that this is something that will happen in stages as information becomes more accessible.

For now what I have managed to do is the following:

I highly recommend that anyone interested in creating conscious fashion, sign up with them as they are assembling a rich resource of information in this area.

To develop eco-friendly labels and size tags BCI labels (bcilabels.com) give you the option of selecting micro-organic cotton. This can be found under the eco-friendly tag on their menu, HOWEVER, not all labels on that particular list are eco-friendly. Specifically ask for the ORGANIC cotton. My labels are currently under production and I'll post more on service and quality once i've received them:

As for my stationary, I have approached a Dubai based company called 'Birdie'. They have a division called birdie 'friendly' which includes a whole bunch of stationary that is green. They are currently designing my business cards, look book folders, etc... all of which will be printed on recycled paper. They go as far as providing the option to print with recycled 'ink' believe it or not!

http://www.birdieuae.com/

I've also sourced fabrics from a market called 'Dilli Haat' in South Delhi. This market supports artisans and communities that come from different villages in India. Most fabrics are natural and handmade, woven on hand looms. I will be using the following fabrics for my collection:

100% Silk

75% Silk 25%Cotton

Combined the two fabrics together and kept the blue edges rough to unravel naturally.

Signed up to annually donate part of my sales to theclimateproject.org . Al-Gore set this organization up and I sincerely believe that he has done alot in this area to spread awareness of climate issues more than ever before. Signing up and donating helps mitigate your CO2 emissions... and this is necessary as we haven't found complete solutions to FULLY go green.

I hope for more integration within the year and for the following season (as i have sourced organic cotton jersey and bamboo).. yaaay.

Until then, that's it for now :)

LOGO HELL!

2010-01-26T03:18:00.000-08:00

I never thought it would be so difficult to create a logo. I believe I went to 4 or 5 different graphic

designers to finally arrive at the SIMPLEST one.

First I wanted something crazy with fireworks and mania, then something unusual, then something that represented the overused statement of 'classic with a twist'....

The process was quite endless, however it did get me closer and closer to truly understanding how to define what i want.

The lovely Carol Ghantous, was the woman who kept bringing me down to earth in the end by repeatedly saying 'the simpler, the better.. it's more timeless'.

Carol helped me land at the following logo. I decided to go with a system font that I personally kept gravitating to (although i understand that it is now against graphic designer principles to use it ...who cares though!). There is rhythm in the appearance of the letters within the name, and this font revealed the rhythm quite clearly that it almost looks like cursive script.

Carol, thanks for bearing with me :)

p.s minus the purple blog border.

YAAAY! local talent finally emerging :)

2010-01-20T00:23:00.001-08:00

I live in Dubai, and that means that most fashion purchases made here are from international brands and designers. The local design scene is really itsy bitsy teeny weeny, but now something is cooking and the situation's changing.

One of the reasons I have started this blog, is to hopefully share information with the designers emerging here so that we can all encourage and help each other out to hopefully manage sustainable businesses in Dubai.

Among the most recent designs to pop up onto the Dubai stage, is a brand called Dju dju by my friend Tima Ouzden. She recently won the S*uce (Dubai based super successful boutique) competition and managed to sell most of her cute capsule collection.

Mabrooook Tim Tim :)

Inspiration - up on the wall!

2010-01-20T00:04:00.000-08:00

Concepts coming up in my head:

* Dark.. in commemoration of

* Doors of heaven: turquoise for colour maybe?

* Arches everywhere: Curvilinear

* Layering

* Repetition

* Some level of asymmetry

* Outside community differs from the inside... maybe use a different colour on the outside vs.

inside.. maybe maybe!

* A mood of something dark, but also romantic and maybe a bit mysterious

* Contrasts - in colour, and also maybe in shapes

And how to bring this all together?????.... lol!

The Great Imamuddine

2010-01-19T23:47:00.000-08:00

Imamuddine is the in house tailor at XVA gallery. He's been working here for almost 4 years and is lucky enough to be living here as well.

Mona was kind enough to allow me to work with him half time, and he has been handling the production side for me with full dedication, love and care :)

He's a man that has left his hometown to support his family back in India. But what's special about him is that he is always ready for a good hard laugh and a smile, despite the difficult circumstance of being separated from his loved ones.

I owe this man alot and respect him for everything he stands for.

Please meet the Great Imamudine:

32º57'57"N 25º29'54"E

2010-01-18T09:37:00.000-08:00

During the summer of 2009, I had been reading quite a bit about happiness. What kept recurring was that the 'pursuit' of happiness is what keeps people from attaining it. We're meant to accept what is beyond our control and surrender to the universe. We're meant to live in the 'now' and not perpetually in pursuit.

This notion targeted a place of placeless-ness within me. My personal pursuit of belonging and that cozy comfortable feeling that people feel when they're in a familiar place called home.

I've never been to my home... Safad.

Safad is in the Northern part of Palestine (occupied since 1948) and the highest city in Galilee. It is a place that is considered one of the most mystical and beautiful in Palestine...It's old city is so beautiful that people have painted the doors blue because it reminds them of heaven. It's winding stairways have no systematic order but serve to both connect everything but also get you lost in its web. It is a city of layers.. layers of history that are left as traces through its architectural diversity. Layers of stone built homes that are leveled like showpieces at a 900m elevation.

It's a place that I have wondered and fantasized about many times. I have yearned to wake up there and smell its morning smell; yearned to get lost amidst the old city's alleyways; yearned to know that I could hop over to my neighbours and find my grandmother 'Im Zafer' there.. hop over to her neighbour and find my aunts, uncles and cousins all in homes forming a radius around my own.

I can write about my fantasies forever... but this led me to the decision that my first collection had to be about Safad and my fantasies within it. I had to make an experience or something out of it that I could touch. It's my fantasy, my home, my pursuit of the unattainable and what I think has alot to do with my happiness.

It all started when...

2010-01-17T02:48:00.000-08:00

'Littles' finally went to nursery!

I picked up the phone and called an old friend, Mona Hauser (owner of XVA gallery in Dubai), and asked if she had a studio space available for me to work in. Luckily, there was a cute and cozy room in her charming gallery calling me to make a mess of it's floor and walls.

Yes, a space is needed and according to Julia Cameron's 'Artist's way', all you need to do is show up... so I did :)

This is what it looks like:

This is the 2nd courtyard of XVA

The main XVA Courtyard

View of XVA's artist in residence, Halim al Karim's, work. I've taken the picture from the outside as it looks like a harem from the window view.

The long nose directs you to the entrance of my office

This is the front of my office, where i've hung coloured clouds to look at everytime i arrive.

Cute coloured pom pom's on my door

Pictures of my family from the thirties to the sixties

And there you have it, a tour of my inspirational space :)

Ahlan Ahlan :)

2010-01-16T11:59:00.000-08:00

So this is my first post! It feels like I'm about to give a speech in front of alot of people..............

So I'm going to cut to the chase, get over the screen fright and get cozy with this new friend of mine 'Pastooshian Ramblings'.

Ramble #1: I've taken the firm decision to create my own clothing label...aptly named 'lananahawi'.

Ramble #2: Although, I've already been through a series of stages in the last 2 months.. I plan on posting all the steps that I went through, and will continue to go through, to document and to share information with those who could find this process useful.

Ramble #3: Inspiration's included ;)

Ramble #4: That's it for now!