Monica D. Murgia

Where art, creativity, and fashion meet

Archive for the ‘language’ Category

July 12th, 2012 by Monica Murgia

Yayoi Kusama for Louis Vuitton

Marc Jacobs is one designer that loves to collaborate with artists.  After becoming creative director for Louis Vuitton, Jacobs has done several collections in collaboration with artists like Stephen Sprouse and Takashi Murakami.  The latest collection will feature designs by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama.
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Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama.  Image courtesy of http://blogs.wsj.com
Kusama is 83 and lives in Tokyo.  She has been painting since the 1960s, and gained recognition for her sprawling “Infinity Net” paintings.
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Infinity Net by Yayoi Kusama.  Image courtesy of dariostyling.com
Her artwork is full of repetitious patterns, focused on geometry and vibrant colors.  Kusuma has been affectionately been named “The Queen of Polka Dots”, which makes sense after you have seen her work.  For the past three decades, Kusuma has  voluntarily lived in a psychiatric hospital.  Her art is said to be inspired by her hallucinations.
Kusuma’s collection for Vuitton feature her iconic polka dots:
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Louis Vuitton’s new collaboration with Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama includes polka-dotted shoes, purses, watches and jewelry.  Image courtesy of http://blogs.wsj.com

 

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The Polkadot Queen, Yayoi Kusama at work.  Image courtesy of http://mooiobsession.blog.com
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Image courtesy of http://luxuryes.com
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Images courtesy of http://www.patternpeople.com

For more information, please visit:

Louis Vuitton Kusama

The Louis Vuitton Kusuma Collaboration, Facebook Album

 

 

 

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April 26th, 2012 by Monica Murgia

More Spectacles from The Fashion Commentator

Yesterday, I was talking about buying a new pair of prescription glasses.  I’ve been combing internet sources to find the perfect pair.  Much to my delight, one of my favorite sites just posted on the same topic.  The Fashion Commentator, written by Alessandro Masetti, talks about round frames being the biggest trend.

Round Frames by Gucci - Fall Winter 2012/2013. Image courtesy of http://thefashioncommentator.blogspot.it

 

French Architect Le Corbusier, c. 1938. Image courtesy of http://thefashioncommentator.blogspot.it

 

Massetti, a native of Florence, has such a knack for picking items that make me want to max out my credit card.   He showcases chic European styles, while romancing me with the history of fashion and the evolution of the trend.  And to top it off, each of his posts are written in English and Italian.  (Alessandro – sei veramente l’uomo perfetto!!!)

Please check out his latest post, Trend Alert: rounded glasses

And if you’re just itching to buy a new pair of spectacles, you may want to investigate the sites below.  They have the latest styles at a fraction of the price.  I’m seriously considering these round tortoiseshell frames.  I hope The Fashion Commentator approves!

 

Round Tortoiseshell Frames, available at Zenni.com

 

Zenni.com

Lookmatic.com

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April 10th, 2012 by Monica Murgia

Semantically speaking . . .

From left: Blue dress illustration by Tatiana Aldaco, grey dress illustration by Katherine Chinn, and brown dress by Charles James, 1951. Illustrations courtesy of the artists. Photo courtesy of metmuseum.org

Dearest readers, I’ve not forgotten about you!  When my personal schedule becomes chaotic, I don’t have much time to write.  Recently, I started teaching 2 new courses: fashion forecasting and textiles.  As you can imagine, I’ve been quite busy.  But I have written some new material for Worn Through that I’d love to share.

If you’ve visited my blog before, you know how much I love fashion as a language.  (New to my site?  Please take a moment to see How to Speak Fashion, Part I & How to Speak Fashion, Part II.  Part III is in the making!)  Before I had considered pursuing fashion, I dreamed of becoming an Italian professor.  Aside from the language sounding so beautiful, I was fascinated by learning vocabulary.  I was particularly taken with how Italian words and concepts varied so greatly from English.  One language may have a precise word for a phrase or group of words that exists in another.  (For example, qualunquismo is a word to describe someone who is apathetic about politics.)  Semantics, the study of meaning and interpretation of meaning, adds another layer of interest.  The meaning of words are solidified in the brain by experiences and memories.  This is what can make communication tricky; word meaning can vary slightly from person to person.

Curiously enough, once I started teaching fashion, semantics reappeared.  I was introduced to the work of Roland Barthes (1915-1980) during my first year teaching.  Barthes was a French philosopher that pioneered the study of semiotics, semantics, and also how these linguistic disciplines are replicated in fashionThe Fashion System is Barthes attempt to “read” clothing and determine its system of meaning.

When I taught in LA, I used semantics to stimulate creativity in my students.  Want to know how?  Please read my posts over at Worn Through:

On Teaching Fashion: The Semantics of Creating Fashion

On Teaching Fashion: More on Semantics

I bet you’re dying to know about the dresses above.  You’ll find out in my posts.

 

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