PROJECT RUNWAY - A NEW SEASON

Another season of Project Runway has been launched, namely season 8, which will be released tomorrow 29 July in the US.

But as usual, we have to be patient here in Denmark, as it will probably only be shown on TV3 next year.

Update! Initially you were able to follow the Series on Lifetime' website, but not anymore. Instead take a look at the three Finale-show contestants here.

LE GRAND BAL DIOR

While we were waiting at the Lounge in Montreal, I stumbled upon Les Beaux Arts Magazine. To my big surprise I found that Christian Dior (1905-57) apparently has his own museum, that I never heart of before now.

On top, it was his home when he grew up and it is situated in Granville in Normandy, France.
This year it displays a big exhibition with more than 50 ballgowns from the masters own hand, until the 26th of September.
I would really like to visit it once. You can take a look at the Museums official webpage here.

PATTERN MAKING

Since last, I have been busy constructing the three very different "wedding- dresses", I have on com-missions. All three customers have had their measures taken and these measures is the basis for their very personal patterns, that the dresses is based on.

The next step is to copy it in silkpaper and make a muslin/calico. The muslin/calico is a basic model made up in a cheap cotton, that is used for the first fitting.   

After these steps, every single customer is appointed to a fitting, where the dress is adjusted. Depending on the cut and figure, more fittings can be necessary. But usually 1-2 fittings is enough.

The final design and details is decided, the fabric chosen and a deposit payed.

The last fitting for fine-tuning adjustments is agreed upon and the dress is being finished. The result is a very special One-of-a-kind dress. If the customers don´t mind, I will show the results later on.

Photos: John Frantsen

FABRIC HUNTING IN MONTREAL

Here in the middle of a Heatwave in Montreal, I finally succeeded to find some fabric for "Wedding dresses", that I hope my customers will like. I had these colors as a reference.

-And I found this lovely heavy silk/viscose on Rue Saint Hubert, where there is a big selection of fabric-stores.

-As well as this nice changing silk-taffeta for another customer.

Photos: John Frantsen

TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

-Because Denmark has been able to produce international fashion designers too.

Kunstindustri Museet in  Copenhagen, is currently showing the exhibition, Walk on the wild side, with the groundbreaking fashion design of Margit Brandt from 1965-80. From the mid-60's, her design helped create the concept of Danish fashion, also on an international level.

Margit Brandt (b. 1945) is a graduate designer from Margrethe-skolen (Fashion Design School) 1961-63, where she was judged by Holger Blom.
She subsequently took a course at Tilskærerakademiet (Patternmaking School) in 1964. Then she went to Paris, where she was hired as a House model at Balmain, for a later apprenticeship. She has among other things, also worked for Louis Feraud.

Margit Brandt is married to Erik Brandt, who is also her partner professionally.

After a several year long  period of other tasks, including abroad, the Brand was successfully re-launched in 2005, now with her daughter Julie Brandt Dam as designer.

You can read more about Margit Brandt on the brand-owners officiele website here, as well as on the website of Aok´s here. The Exhibition can be seen until the 19th September 2010.

AMERICAN WOMAN

 

If you were to come to New York in the near future, then you should look into American woman - Fashioning a National Identity, which is an exhibition on display at The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art until the 15th of August this year.

The exhibition shows the evolution of the perception of  the American woman from 1890 until 1940 and how it influenced the perception of today's woman.
By focusing on American female archetypes through dresses, the exhibition shows how fashion develop-ment reflected her social, political and sexual liberation. How the "Gibson girls", bohemians and film divas laid the foundation for today's American women.

In July American Vogue publishes a report from The Costume Institute´s big Ball on the occasion of its opening on 3 May. Check out the exhibition at The Met´s official website here.

H FOR HAUTE COUTURE

In connection with my previous post, I suddenly remembered the special exhibition, H for Haute Couture, that The Collection of Time  were organizing in 2007.
The exhibition showed examples of the 20. century greatest and most outstanding danish Createurs, which was the master, Holger Blom and his two apprentices, Erik Mortensen and Jørgen Bender.

Holger Blom (1906-1965) created a lot of elegant creations for the Divas of danish theatre, like Liva Weel, Bodil Kjer and Helle Virkner, as the Wedding-dress for Danish Princess Anne-Marie in 1964.

Erik Mortensen (1926-1998) went to Paris after his apprenticeship at Blom and made a career in the famous fashionhouse of Pierre Balmain.

Jørgen Bender (1938-1999) took over the Salon of Blom after his dead  and created among other things, the Royale wedding gowns for Queen Margrethe of Denmark, Princess Benedikte and former Princess Alexandre.

During this exhibition I was offered to do two weekend-workshops by the request of Cæcilie Ning Hage, the Head of The Collection of Time. Because she thought it would be a good idea for the visitors to see how dresses like that are created. It turned out to be a good idea and was a great attraction.

I was very honored to sit there among all the creations of my heros and work on my own stuff. Though it was limited what I was able to do, because people were so interested, talking and asking questions. I even spoke with somebody who had known Holger Blom.

Apart from that, Jørgen Bender was one of the judges at the 1998 DM ( The Danish Championship ) for students of tailoring and clothes-craft at Holmen, Copenhagen, where I was participating on the sug-gestion from one of my teachers.

In 1988, when I together with my friend Karen went to see the special exhibition "Stars in French Fashion" at  Designmuseum Denmark, and to hear Erik Mortensen´s  speak, we were so lucky to meet him and to have his biography "Ej blot til pynt" (Not only for decoration) signed.

KISPUS

Do you know the old danish movie, Kispus? The Movie by Erik Balling from 1956, was the first danish movie in color.
The movie, that was inspired by Holger Blom, one of the Great Danish couturiers of that time, is a sweet and subtle love comedie. A movie that I recommend, if you are into old danish movies and fashion history.

The fabulous costumes of the film were created by another danish couturier though. That was Preben Birch, who did costumes for danish movies through many years. These two were together with a third couturier, Uffe Brydegaard, named The three B´s.

The movie is about the exccentric couturier, Mr. Marcel, played by Angelo Bruun. He is giving one of his nice dresses away to the daydreaming seamstress, Eva Møller, played by Helle Virkner, when he discover how well it suits her.
He is betting with the Actress, who actually ordered the dress, that he is able to present the seamstress as a glamour-girl wearing his dress at the coming premiere-party. -And he is wright.

At the premier-party, Eva meets and falls in love with Jakob, played by Henning Moritzen, that drives around in a big limousine. They both think of each other, that the other one is rich and she fears that he is going to discover her modest background.

But Jakob himself is a poor student, that works as a chauffeur and has to sell his books to invite Eva out.
This leads to many misunderstandings and "kispus"-playes. But after many complications, love prevails over snobbery at the End.
                                                                                                                            

FLAX JEANS

First, a warm welcome to new readers. I hope that you will be inspired and happy to follow me here on the blog.
My latest project have been a pair of summer jeans, because I am traveling to Montreal tomorrow. And there is a heatwave right now.

Besides that, I'm counting on, catching up on some blogging while I am there. I am going to look for fabrics for a few new customers.
Montreal has this very long street with only fabric-shops. So the selection of fabrics is quite big and there is something for everybody´s taste. But I will get back on that.

For these flax jeans, I actually took an old couple of my worn-out favorite denims apart to copy the pattern and used flax instead, to be more comfortable. This is the result.  

Photo: Daniel Clement