Archadian Skies

An Eastern Opera

2012-02-11T20:45:00.000+11:00

As per my last post, I've continued to use Dame Nellie Melba for as inspiration for my Fashion Capitals of the World entry. However, I decided to incorporate another culture that has quite a long history of opera too- the Chinese.

The Chinese are intricately woven into Melbourne's history beginning from the gold rush and continuing today. With that in mind, I've designed an Eastern-Edwardian evening gown using the distinct 1900s silhouette highlighted with Chinese silks.

The ensemble consists of a taffeta drawstring cloak, a sheer blouse with a Mandarin collar and bishop sleeves, and a trailing skirt with lace overlay.

It seems a little daunting, but since I graduated I have no classes or other projects to take up my time! Luckily enough, since this shall be rather time consuming!

Wish me luck!
-Annie

Dame Nellie Melba

2011-12-06T13:48:00.001+11:00

A sneakpeak of what’s going into my submission for the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival “Fashion Capitals of the World” exhibit. Trying to tackle everything 'Melbourne' is a big ask, and one of our fashion tutors has urged us to "highlight the interplay of diverse cultures that gives rise to something uniquely Melburnian".

Being the only costume designer on the team, I've decided to highlight our Performing Arts culture using Dame Nellie Melba as the key figure. Her operas mix many cultures to portray something 'uniquely Melbournian'.

Explaining the Creed

2011-11-26T23:44:00.002+11:00

First of all, my process of getting a Tumblr was suddenly expedited upon the creation of this particular post. It was humbling enough to have had an article written about my work, let alone to suddenly see it all over Tumblr!
My Tumblr bears the same name as this blog, so if you're the Tumbling type you can find me over at Archadian Skies.

Now that my graduate show is over, I can take the time to explain my year-long project! There's no better way to explain this than by using the boards I made as part of my submission report. Let's begin!

My collection started off early in the year based primarily on Neil Gaiman's Stardust- both the graphic novel and the 2007 film.

My original designs were for the 3 main females and the 3 main males but as the year went on (and my teacher grew more and more concerned) I ended up with 3 main females and 1 male.

(Work by my ever talented friend Lilly Higgs)

The fabric/colour board

And they were no longer from Gaiman's world but archetypal characters.

The Heroine & The Rascal

The Heroine (dubbed Stardusted Girl) was inspired by Yvaine and I wanted her to look as if she'd been dressed in a piece of the night sky. Her dress features 11 hand-beaded accurate constellations:

Andromeda, Ara, Columba, Corona Australis, Corona Borealis, Cygnus, Libra, Monoceros, Phoenix & Virgo.

I chose constellations I thought reflected Yvaine's character and a general good female character- strength & a regal demeanour.

The Rascal (dubbed Tristran di Auditore of Mayfair) was an amalgamation of not only 3 Gaiman characters (Tristran, Septimus & Cpt. Shakespeare) but also Daniel of Mayfair (Amnesia: The Dark Descent) and Ezio di Auditore (Assassin's Creed).

He had to embody the good, the bad and the chaotic neutral all in one: the capacity for great good as well as frightening evil. A Devil-may-care, lackadaisical attitude with a hint of self-doubt and a burning hunger for adventure (and maybe trouble!)

Finished designs!

The Villainess & The Gypsy

The Villainess (dubbed Assassina) began as Gaiman's Lamia, the witch after Yvaine's heart. I wanted her to be just as seductive and glamorous as she was powerful and sleek. I thought of the assassinas in the Brotherhood game, whose beauty is hidden beneath a hood and a sharp array of weaponry.

The Gypsy (dubbed Alegria or 'Neither Here Nor There' as my teacher called her) based on Gaiman's Lady Una, she is the sassy yet regal gypsy-cum-lost-princess chained to her captor's caravan in the Faerie Market. She had to look carefree and passionate, with a bit of sass like the courtesans from the Assassin's Creed II & Brotherhood series.

Her additional nickname 'Alegria' came from my talented friend Siera lending me the heavy petticoat from her Cirque du Soleil 'Alegria' cosplay of The White Singer.

Finished designs!

I hope any of this post made actual sense and helped to explain the characters behind my collection. I still have yet to shoot this collection in a studio setting which will then capture the details worked into each garment.

Thank you for reading!

Gameranx on 'Amnesia Creed'

2011-11-23T13:54:00.000+11:00

A fellow gamer-girl friend of mine writes articles for various gaming sites, including Gameranx. My graduate fashion show was held on Friday November 18th and Liz very graciously wrote up an article after interviewing me and gaining Elias' permission to use his wonderful photos.

(Click for article)

I was absolutely delighted to have been able to share my inspiration (and gaming geekery!) with Liz and through her, with other fellow gaming geeks. What I did not expect, however, was for this to happen:

That's right, Frictional Games got a hold of Liz's great article and shared the link with their followers! Words cannot fully express the utter elation that went through me when I saw them share the link. I feel very humbled to have them acknowledge my small nod to their amazing game.

Why I don't take photos

2011-11-14T13:38:00.000+11:00

Bonus post! My last post showcased wonderful photography courtesy of my dear friend Elias Lopez, whom I have had the pleasure of working with for a few years now. I am lucky enough to know and work with a team of photographers, each with their own particular talents and style.

Elias has an amazing way of processing colours to richly reflect their appearance which is crucial when taking fashion photographs. This is why I chose him for my Visual Communication assignment, which required us to have our garments photographed and processed for high quality print.

As for me, I am absolutely rubbish with a camera and I am not ashamed to admit it! In fact, let me prove it to you all- this is precisely why I leave photography to photographers!

For fashion last term we had to take very simple photographs of our garments- not modelled on a person, but a mannequin. This led to a crazy regretful idea to borrow a Canon DSLR from the photography faculty and a crash course from a very indulgent, patient tutor whose lesson I forgot by the time I went into the studio and attempted to set it up.

I hope you've enjoyed this very humorous post which should, no doubt, prove why I leave this to my trusty team of photographers!

The Star-Seeker

2011-11-13T18:59:00.003+11:00

Finally, an actual sneakpeek at my Graduate Collection to be debuted this Friday on November 18th 2011! This has been a long time coming and to see my dress in a photoshoot seems to drive it home for me.

This is the villainess from my 'Stardusted Opera'. She's loosely based on Lamia from Stardust, crafted on the archetypal Witch who is both beautiful and terrible. My talented friend Lilly Higgs is responsible for all of my illustrations, but you only get to see this one for now!

The gown is made of heavy materials to give her a very grounded, earthly feeling. The top is a bottle green stretch velvet and the bottom is a non-stretch Mikado velvet. The beautiful embroidery is exquisite Anthea Crawford trim, which matches the swirling green burnt polyester print.

Her hooded jacket is made of Mikado velvet and black silk-satin, lined with chartreuse silk-satin.

I seek a Fallen Star by ~warui-chan on deviantART

I Will Not Fail by ~warui-chan on deviantART

Youth. Beauty. by ~warui-chan on deviantART

Makeup Closeup
(click for bigger)

Makeup used:
-Archetype Cosmetics 'Salummbo' mineral eyeshadow
-Illamasqua Sophie Pencil
-Illamasqua 'Incubus' eyeshadow
-Illamsqua 'Furore' Pure Pigment
-MAC Studio Fix foundation
-MAC 'Lagoon Blue' eyeshadow
-MAC Fluidline liquid liner
-Nature Republic Lipstain
-Too Faced 'Sun Bunny' bronzer
-Urban Decay Primer Potion
-Urban Decay Naked palette

There's just something so exciting about seeing my work in a photoshoot- it's like capturing finality and telling you you've achieved something and 'here, look at it, it's done!'

Many many MANY thanks to Elias Lopez for his wonderful photography, and Lisa Blackcrane for being my badass model and thank YOU for reading!

-Annie

City Weekly Magazine: The Young Moderns

2011-11-10T22:19:00.001+11:00

I was lucky enough to be interviewed and photographed for the City Weekly Magazine, which is circulated within the heart of the Melbourne CBD.

It was a lot of fun, and an honour of course- I receive this magazine on my way to work every Thursday so it's charming to be published in it this time!

It also really drives home the fact I'm graduating very soon- and the fact the show is next week! *___*

Oops, back to the sewing machine for me!

Archadian Postal Services

2011-09-10T19:34:00.000+10:00

As part of Graphics last Semester we had to create postal stamps. This taught us how artwork and branding had to survive enlarging and minimizing. Of course, I tied it all into my Stardust theme and after seeing this magnificent marriage of makeup and typography I knew I had to give it a go.

The font I chose was Kingthings Willow because of its Art Nouveau curls and stars. The volunteers I chose really had no idea what they were getting into!

The final stamps

Stardust 'ST' by ~warui-chan on deviant ART

Stardust 'A' by ~warui-chan on deviant ART

Stardust 'R' by ~warui-chan on deviant ART

Stardust 'D' by ~warui-chan on deviant ART

Stardust 'U' by ~warui-chan on deviant ART

Stardust 'S' by ~warui-chan on deviant ART

Stardust 'T' by ~warui-chan on deviant ART

The letters were painted using a mixture of Illamasqua sealing gel and black gouache paint, then various eyeshadows for the stars. After each letter was photographed, I then had to wipe the entire face and start again!

So of course I am forever in debt to:

Mina (A, R, T)

Lilly (S, T, D)

Siera (U, S)

Aly for her photography and patience between each shoot.

"The Little Black Discount" photoshoot

2011-07-11T19:21:00.000+10:00

-is now a mini video! Many thanks to Sammeh for being our secondary photographer on the day, and for making this amazing video!

The photoshoot and blog entry can be seen over here.

Thanks for reading!

The Age: Design a Career in Fashion

2011-06-14T19:52:00.001+10:00

It is with a rather sheepish grin that I say hello to you all again. I do apologize- life swallowed me up and to be honest I'm still wallowing in its stomach feebly pawing at its insides (read as: all my assignments are due in a fortnight along with Semester exams)

In the time that passed, I was interviewed by The Age newspaper to talk about my decision to swap courses from History at The University of Melbourne to Fashion and Costume Design at The Australian Academy of Design.

It was an exciting opportunity and one I was very thankful for. It also shows that good work doesn't go unrecognized!

Do expect more updates in the following fortnight as several of my assignments tie in together for my graduate Stardust project.

Thank you for stopping by!

Starry Eyed

2011-04-15T22:03:00.002+10:00

The first step in my graduate collection was experimenting with makeup to create a look reminiscent of Yvaine the Evening Star from Neil Gaiman's 'Stardust'.

One of our subjects required a magazine to be created, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone and get one of the looks sorted out! This look was a lot of fun to create and as we shot this in the laneways of Melbourne we left glitter patches wherever we went |D

Everybody's Starry-Eyed by ~warui-chan on deviant ART

See the Bright Lights Shine by ~warui-chan on deviant ART

The makeup list for this is a lengthy one, but good heavens it all came together beautifully in the end!

Archetype Cosmetics eyeshadows
Coastal Scents eyeshadows
Etude House eyeshadows, blush and liquid liner
Illamasqua pure pigments and sealing gel
MAC lipgloss
Daiso false eyelashes
Tarina Tarantino nail polish in 'Starchild'

The Stars are Where you Belong by ~warui-chan on deviant ART

And Everybody Glows by ~warui-chan on deviant ART

The dress itself was made last year but I never got around to shooting it. It was originally 'raincloud' themed, but upon further inspection it looked quite star-themed too!

Lilly ever so graciously painted all of the stars for me.

She used a mixture of eyeshadows and sealing gel to form a 'paint'.

Lastly, my favourite item that day was Urban Decay's Lickable Body Powder.

We glitterfied everything and it was glorious 8D

*~*~*

Many many MANY thanks to Lilly for being my assistant on the day, Fair for being my beautiful model and Sammeh for being my photographer! Be sure to check out her blog entry too!

JETAA 'Anime in the Arvo'

2011-03-29T16:39:00.004+11:00

As most people would know (and should know), the earthquake/tsunami disaster in Japan happened recently and in lieu of that the JETAA held a fundraising event called 'Anime in the Arvo' in Federation Square on March 26.

The event called for cosplayer volunteers to go around asking for donations on behalf of the Red Cross, so I jumped at the opportunity. I attended to lend a hand because I have a family friend teaching over there right now, as well as a beloved host family.

I decided to cosplay as Ronald Knox from Kuroshitsuji

I was partnered with the lovely Fair (who makes for a lovely, leggy Alois)

In the back is an elusive Lilly!

Kirby lends a hand

How can you resist Kirby?!

South Korea (Hetalia) lends his brother a hand

An Ookami cosplayer!

Hungry tigers make for hasty donations!

There was a protest that ended up encroaching on our space, so it made for an awkward quarter of an hour until they moved off. Then we picked right up where we left off!

After a screening of Summer Wars (one of my favourite recent anime movies) there was a Taiko performance

After that was a Koto performance

She played a beautiful piece that was a song of gratitude.

*~*~*

I know this isn't fashion related, and only rather loosely cosplay related but I know I'll be forgiven since it was for a great cause. I've known it to be a part of our culture to keep giving in times of disaster, but on this particular afternoon I experienced it first hand: Australians are always generous.

It really lifted my spirits and made me proud to be Australian.

I do encourage everyone to keep donating to the Red Cross to help the Japanese rebuild their lives.

Many thanks to Lainey & eLo for the photos!

LMFF Opening Night report

2011-03-29T16:00:00.006+11:00

Oops! How time flies! The opening night for The Complete History of Lust went fashionably well and a great time was had by all. It was a nerve-wracking night for me, being surrounded by prominent figures in the fashion and art industry and underneath it all it was a very humbling experience.

Magdalen (my lovely model), Sam, me and Lilly

Sam tagged along as a photographer, and be sure to check out her blog entry about this event!

Lilly, me and Siera

My boyfriend Alex and Elias Lopez being bros

My wonderful parents, who make all things possible with their love and support!

Did I mention a fabulous night was had by all?

*~*~*

All in all, a fabulous night was indeed had and I felt truly honoured to have taken part in this exhibit. I got to work alongside such wonderful, creative people and for a student like me it really was a dreamlike experience!

Thank you to David Simmonds for the additional photos.
An additional blog entry can be seen here at the Racing Fashion Australia website.

Save or Splurge?

2011-03-08T13:07:00.002+11:00

I was extremely lucky to receive an invitation from Paris Kyne, a master Milliner in Melbourne, to take part in his exhibit 'The Complete History of Lust' which is part of the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival.

He wanted us to explore, using our particular genre which in my case is costume and fashion, the human tendency to always want more. I decided to explore what fashionistas struggle with every new fashion season- do you save money and buy a replica, or do you splurge an entire paycheck for the latest look?

With that in mind, I created the 'Little Black Discount'.

The Little Black Discount by ~warui-chan on deviant ART

I focused on three aspects:

The Audrey Hepburn LBD: a classic, timeless piece that every woman is told to have in her wardrobe.
The 'it' bag: in this case, from Chanel.
The Christian Louboutin shoes: a definite 'lust-have' for any woman who loves shoes.

Now, everyone has encountered cheap 'Engrish' knockoffs whilst shopping and they can be great novelty gifts or discreet ways to buy into the latest fashion without spending a fortune. I came up with the following design, which parodies both 'Engrish' knockoffs and Louis Vuitton graffiti bags (do pardon the naked Marc Jacobs but I make no apologies for his fabulousness)

(Illustrated by the wonderfully talented Lilly Higgs)

The first part was of course to make the dress, and there came a very sad moment when I stepped back to look at the tailored piece and realize I had to swipe white screenprinting ink allllll over it T___T

Next was to create the Chanel clear bag with a collection of cheap knockoffs inside. Lilly and I used simple cardboard to draw to-scale items. We then laminated it to give it the clear, floating effect.

Inside are:

Mercedes Benz 'Expensiva' keys
A 'Blockberry'
An iPod playing Breakfast at Tiffanys
'MAK' pressed powder and lipstick
'Channel no.4' perfume
'Platinum Pretentious', 'Obscene Express Platinum' & 'Platinum Really Offensive' credit cards (Pretty Woman references!)
Sunglasses

Unfortunately I don't have a closeup of the shoes, but they're a cheap pair of shoes I bought and Lilly made 'Sale' stickers to cover the soles.

The finished look!

Save or Splurge? by ~warui-chan on deviant ART

Many many MANY thanks to Elias Lopez, who photographed all my work, and Madgalen for graciously agreeing to model for me!

Like a Magnet

2011-03-02T00:51:00.003+11:00

How terribly tardy of me! A whole week without another post and inspiration log! But I do have a good reason, I promise- two of them in fact! I was busy with a cosplay as well as an exhibition piece for the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival.

First things first- my latest cosplay was the Magnet version of Meiko from Vocaloid.

If you've browsed my DeviantArt gallery you'll notice she's the only Vocaloid I've cosplayed because she is in fact my favourite. She was the first Vocaloid (contrary to popular, uneducated belief) and the oldest out of the family canonically too. She's a little overlooked, but to me she's the original and the best!

All the materials minus the plastic tubing

Me at Lilly's apartment cutting feathers to size.
(Can you guess what we're watching on her laptop? ;D )

The finished product!

I Want You to Kiss Me by ~warui-chan on deviant ART

Repaint My Body by ~warui-chan on deviant ART

As Dawn Breaks by ~warui-chan on deviant ART

Welcome!

2011-02-21T19:02:00.006+11:00

If you have stumbled upon this blog, then I extend you a warm welcome and hope you enjoy your time! For more information about who I am and what I do, please refer to the pages in the right sidebar.

To kick things off, I'm going to do a little 'Current Inspirations' post that I shall refresh every week. I'll post 10 or so things that currently inspire me!

A 1920's 'Robe de Style' which was an alternative to the drop-waist sheath Flapper dresses of the time. These dresses took their inspiration from the French Rococo era garments such as those Marie Antoinette wore.

The Disney Princesses in era-accurate dresses. It's no surprise I love Princess Tiana's dress. I'm such a sucker for the 20s and 30s!

This. I need a hideaway just like this one, away from everything and nestled safely with all that I could ever want- peace and quiet. And pillows. And lace.

Artwork with a 'Sleeping Beauty' feel to it.

Military. I will always love military inspired fashion. It combines strict, neat tailoring with a flair that isn't gaudy or tacky.

A Steampunk Plague Doctor. What more could you want? This may or may not have anything to do with my brother playing Assassins Creed II.

Elie Saab; Couture show Spring/Summer 2011
'The King of the Red Carpet' as they call him, never fails to make me coo and sigh over his designs. They seem to float and drape and swish with a magical quality so few designers capture.

Christian Dior; Couture show Spring/Summer 2011
The dress from John Galliano's Dior S/S11 collection. This dress is perfection and needs to be seen in motion to be correctly admired.

Valentino; Couture show Spring/Summer 2011
To be honest, the new team at Valentino rarely impress me with a whole collection. This was no different, but I do love the beautiful butterfly collars they created.

Last but not least, my beautiful friend Lilly (Pink Like Me) made the life-changing move from America to Melbourne not too long ago. It takes a lot of guts to do that, which inspires me to really go for my dreams. Here I am, along with Siera (Be Good Siera-Butt) picking her up at the airport dressed as Grell and Madam Red like the good cosplay dorks we are |D