Here is some of the stuff that inspired our AW08 collection
Quilting! We just love crafty stuff. V&A has a very good selection of textiles in their archive, worth visiting.
Protective clothing in work wear and sports was a strong influence on the collection. We like the idea of creating a shell and protect the body from the outer world
Photo by Norman Parkinson
Menswear by Pierre Cardin. Extremely cool!
“The Apollo Prophecies” Photographs by Nicholas Kahn and Richard Selesnick
We love drama queens! This lady was famous as the mistress of Napoleon in mid 18th century as well as a political player that loved fancy dress. She was also known to be one of the first photo models and she loved to be in front of the camera. One of the most fascinating stories about her is however what happened when she grew old. She settled down in Paris where she had the rooms of her apartment decorated in funereal black, the blinds kept drawn, and mirrors banished, apparently so she would not have to confront her age and loss of beauty, she would only go outside at night.
We found these images in the book: La Divine Comtesse : Photographs of the Countess de Castiglione by Pierre Apraxine from a catalog for a 2000 exhibition of the Countess de Castiglione photos at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
August Strindberg was not only one of Swedens most famous writers and one of the fathers of modern theatre, he also was an incredible expressionist painter. We love the colours and expression in these emotional paintings.
“Celestographs” 1894
“Night of jealousy” 1893
By the way, googling August Strindberg and we found this website- hilarious!
We really like her work! These pictures, taken at a hospital for mentally disabled people and at a circus was featured at an exhibition at the V&A (13.10.2005-15.01.2006). They seem to live in their own world, inside our normal world but still outside. They seem very happy.
