Here are a couple of images of Samantha Gradoville, posing in pin up for November 2013’s issue of GQ. I feel like a need a subscription sometime, they always feature these fantastic editorials with lovely lingerie.
Bra: Victoria’s Secret. Skirt: Louis Vuitton.
Garter: Trashy (really. trashy.com if you’re interested) Hold ups by Agent Provocateur.
Model: Samantha Gradoville. Photography: Stevie and Mada. GQ UK, November 2013.
Images from here.
Fashion month for Spring 2014 ready-to-wear collections are soon coming to a close. While we’ll need to wait a few months for the collections to hit stores, hopefully this will tide you over for now. Below, I’ve paired a few favourite pieces from the past month’s runway shows with lingerie that are up for grabs now. Enjoy!
All runway images from style.com
Images of lingerie can be found/purchased here!
1. Lonely 2. J Crew 3. Dolce & Gabanna 4. Araks 5. Agent Provocateur 6. Agent Provocateur 7. Bordelle 8. Bordelle 9. Dolce & Gabbana 10. Only Hearts
Photo by Gilles Berquet.
Top bra: Lejaby archives, 1930’s. Middle bra: Lejaby archives, 1939. Lower left girdle: Chantelle archives, 1940’s. Lower right pregnancy belt: Chantelle archives, 1930’s.
Today, I had the chance to visit the Lingerie Française Exhibit that has finally made it’s way to Toronto. The remarkable show, curated by Catherine Ormen, has toured London, Paris, New York, Dubai and Berlin. It features 150 highly curated pieces and takes the viewer across a long history of French lingerie in chronological and thematic order.
Lingerie Française: in Toronto September 26 – October 13, 2013 at the Design Exchange
The exhibit features pieces from the archives of Chantelle, Lejaby, Aubade, Simone Pérèle, Lou, Empreinte, Princesse Tam.Tam, Passionata, Lise Charmel, Barbara and Implicite.
The show begins with corsets and early 20th century lingerie. Following are sections which have been separated by decade. A carefully selected assortment of lingerie representative of the period is accompanied by a brief overview of the cultural landscape of the time, and innovations that would had an impact the industry (such as the invention of Lycra in 1959). The show ends with a life size striptease hologram; need I say more?
Below are a few favourite photos that I took at the exhibit today.
Close up of a “Bust Support” in elastic weave. Mother of pearl button closure in front, laced in back, straps of cotton satin ribbon. Chantelle, 1905-1910.
“Bust Supporter” with open cups, cotton sateen. Lejaby, 1930’s
Pregnancy belt in stretch knit. Chantelle, 1930’s
Simone Pérèle unwired bra, 1970’s
Contemporary lingerie at left, hologram striptease at right.
Lingerie Française is at the Design Exchange, 234 Bay Street, September 26 – October 13 in Toronto. Admission is free.
images from style.com
“I saw them as strong, visible fighters. We need to be fighters in general. There is this debate about women again, and I want to interpret it. My instrument is fashion. I use my instrument to be bold. I had this idea that if you wear clothes so exaggerated and out there, people will look, and then they will listen.”-Miucci Prada, backstage at Prada’s Spring 2014 runway show
Miuccia Prada wanted us to see feminism when we look at her clothes from Prada’s Spring 2014 collection. Feminism, women, and art. Prada commissioned 6 artists from all over the world to paint “active, strong women” with no other constraints. You see the results both on the clothes and in the massive murals that served as a backdrop to the show.
Bras were inevitably a big part of the show; just not in a conventional way. They were a part of the clothes, stitched into the coats in a patchwork manner, or jewelled into the dresses like an ornate accessory. The playful bras, combined with footballer socks and vivid portraits of women certainly put out the message that the show was an explosion of bold women and politics.
Images from Prada’s runway show, from wallpaper.com (click link to see all images) – photography by Attilio Maranzano
I won’t lie, when I was first clicking through images of Prada’s Spring 2014 show, my first thought was “what am I looking at?” Which, I like to think, Prada would have wanted. It caught my attention, and piqued my curiosity to further research the collection. I gained a better understanding and appreciation for the collection after getting a sense of the bigger picture.
I’m a huge fan of street art, and I fell in love with the murals that weren’t readily available to the casual onlooker who weren’t at the show. The murals were obviously a huge part of the shows message and ambience. Upon further research of Prada’s political and feminist statements, the collection became a favourite of mine. It’s fun and playful, and unlike any other collection this season, in light of it’s bold feminist and political statement. This is exactly why I love fashion; it never ceases to surprise me.
Links to the artists websites from Prada’s Spring 2014 show – please check them out!
El Mac from the United States
Mesa from Spain
Gabriel Specter from Canada
Stinkfish from Colombia
Jeanne Detallante from France
Pierre Mornet from France
After much anticipation, the royal baby is here! And with the royal baby comes a handful of maternity bras for Kate, fit for a Queen (or Duchess, in this case). Below are a selection of beautiful nursing bras… both functional and pretty. Who knew there was such a thing?
Clockwise from top left (click for image links): Lorna Drew, Topshop, Elle MacPherson, Elle MacPherson, Hotmilk
Clockwise from top left (click for image links): Freya, Bravado, Bravado, Panache
Kate Middleton image from here.
MISS MILADO 