thewalkingopen

Question – Answer with Brittany Bathgate

Posted on January 28, 2015 by thewalkingopen

As I continue with the rubric Question-Answer, I am continuing to look at different people from different backgrounds and perspectives. They are all different – the only thing that unites all of them is the love to fashion. The second persona that I am writing on my blog about is a very interesting Instagrammer, who is also a style contributor for the http://www.nor-folk.com – Brittany Bathgate.

Brittany’s style is very simple but yet fashionable. She finds herself in fashion by creating minimalistic looks that will still express her emotions and feelings, without bright and standing out pieces. Her looks are very chill, but that makes them very stylish because of the combinations and the attitude. Her photos are also relaxed and simple – mirror selfies, food, nice compositions and much more – everything adds up on the amazing style of Brittany.

Question: When did you first realize that you were into fashion?
Answer: I can’t really pinpoint an exact moment in time when I realized I was into fashion but I can vividly remember high school was when I definitely became more and more conscious of what I was wearing. I started to take ownership over how I wanted to look rather than just letting my dad pick out my clothes.

Q: How did you form your style? Were there any inspirations?
A: My style has changed ALOT over the years and I think it’s only in the past 4-5 that I’ve really found my own style and found what works for me. It’s just formed organically through trying out lots of different styles. I’ve always been inspired by classic style and contemporary style but could never pick between the two so I’ve combined the two to create my own style I guess.

Q: How can you describe your style?
A: I’d like to say effortless and a mix of classic and contemporary.

Q: What does fashion mean personally to you? How can you relate to it?
A: To me fashion and style are two different things. Fashion is what we see on the catwalks, its the trends we see every season. While I appreciate the catwalk shows a lot of the time I personally don’t relate to it because as I have grown up and developed my own style I’ve become less inclined to follow trends as such. Sometimes though there will be a trend or something I see at a fashion show that I really love and I will incorporate that into my style, so I guess that is how I relate to it.

Q: Do you think your life would be different if you were not into fashion?
A: Yes definitely, styling is a way for me to channel my creativity. I went to an art and design school after I left college, I loved it however after I graduated I neglected my love for making art and followed a more fashion based career path so I think if I wasn’t into fashion I would have channeled all my creativity into my art.

Q: If you had to give an advice to a persona who wants to work in the fashion industry, what would it be?
A: Be prepared to work hard and be passionate no matter how little you are being paid.

I am so happy for the opportunity to ask some questions to different people, and I am especially grateful to Brittany that she has replied to me. It is always interesting to know what fashion is to other people, as it means a lot to me personally. It is a good experience to talk to others in the fashion industry and explore opinion of the others and their vision of fashion!

My Style – Coffee in Uptown

Posted on January 26, 2015 by thewalkingopen

Sometimes you have to experiment with everything – clothing, places, food, people to talk to. I used to always stay in my comfort zone, but always wanted to do something that I wasn’t used to. And recently, maybe about less than a year ago, I have decided that nothing will keep me from doing what I really want to do and I just started experimenting. I went where I always wanted to go, bought what I wanted to buy, talked to who I wanted to talk even if I needed to overcome something for that. And then I have realized that you can never stay in your comfort zone – you always need to push down boundaries and set new goals!

Your style depends on who you are and what you do and like. I, personally, can’t simply sit in one place and do nothing – I need to explore new things and get inspiration from somewhere. For me, the best sources of inspiration are music, books, movies, people, and of course different cities. I like traveling and seeing new places – watch how everything is different, observe people and find some interesting and cute places. But when I don’t have a chance to travel, for example like in the middle of the school year, I like to explore Kiev. You might not expect it, but it definitely has a lot of sources of inspiration.

Sometimes I just like to go Uptown – districts like Podil are very old, but have a special charm. It is not like the old districts of cities like London, Paris or Rome, but instead it has it’s own personal vibe. Some people find it depressing, but for me it is the place where you can mentally relax. There is no buzz, no busy people, nothing that will make you feel the rush of the city. There, you can just sit down in a small ‘hipster-like’ cafe, buy a coffee and chill while talking to your friends. It is the best place to come after a busy week and to just refresh yourself. And that is the key to inspiration – finding a place that you can come back any time that you feel sad, tired, depressed or just want a blast of good thoughts in your head.

Some people say: “Books/movies are much more interesting than life”. I don’t agree. I think that you should MAKE your life more interesting than anything else. It is your life and you live only once – everyone will die one day. So do what you want to do now – while you have a chance to make mistakes.

Street Style – The Moon-Lit Cafe

Posted on January 26, 2015 by thewalkingopen

I love street style, as it helps me to see what fashion is for other people. It is very important for me personally, as I am very interested in it. As I have decided to start off my street-style rubric with my friends that come from different backgrounds, families and personal cultures, I have decided to look at what fashion is for them. The second person that I have looked at and asked a couple of questions is Anastasia Pyshna – one of my closest friends and just an amazing person. She is a Ukrainian girl, who lives in Kiev and goes to the Ukrainian school. Most of her life she has been in the sphere of the international students and the international sphere, and that was one of the main influences for many of the things in her life.

Question: How can you describe your style?

Answer: My style is a mixture of ladylike looks consisting of skirts and dresses, as well as tomboy combat boots with leather jackets, frankly speaking there is no particular “style”. Certain clothes that hang in my wardrobe are so different it may appear they belong to people with distinctly opposite personalities. My personal favorite garments are accessories, I have a weakness for bags, boots and oversized sweaters, later it is just comes down to my state of mind, mood and imagination. For an evening occasion I prefer feminine dresses which emphasize my figure, I would deffinately always go for the black dress, because “you can never be overdressed, or underdressed in a little black dress”. Sometimes, however I like to go for a more masculine look like black pants, blouse paired with a “boyfriend jacket”this look is slick and very to the point.

Question: Where do you get inspiration for your looks?

Answer: As much as I am obviously subconsciously influenced by certain trends, I can’t say I am a fashion victim, which falls for any new “hot” seasonal item, or trend. I believe that fashion is like history- it repeats itself and if your wardrobe is based on classic items, paired with the right accessories they will always remain in trend. When I do feel like I need a little inspiration, I look on pages of Instagram fashion bloggers like: neginmirsalehi, sincerelyjules, nativefox and annaegias. And this list obviously continues! I also get inspiration from my girlfriends, items currently in stores, as well as my main fashion critic- my mother.

Street Style – Lights in the Dark

Posted on January 25, 2015 by thewalkingopen

Sometimes, you can be walking with your friends and get inspiration. Inspiration can come from anywhere and everywhere – streets, people, food, interior and streets. Recently, I have been realizing that my personal style is based on the inspiration ,but I was wondering what my friends felt about it. I wondered whether they are inspired the same as me, or they form their style based on something else? So to start off the street style rubric, I wanted to focus on my friends first.

Ivanna Voronovych – a student in Pechersk School International, one of my closest friends and a person who has her own personal style. Fashion for her is important, but not to the point that she’d like to form her life around it. So what is it then?

Question: How can you describe your style?

Answer: My style varies from day to day. it always depends on my mood. I would say I’m free spirited. How I look and what I wear often reflects either on my personal mood, or on the current event in my life. In general I would say that I stick to the simple clothes, but I always like to have a statement in my outfit. May it be a watch, a necklace, a bag, a shoe, or even a flashy top, something must stand out. I like to experiment with both casual and more sophisticated styles.

Question: Where do you get inspiration for your style and looks?

Answer: Inspiration for my style and looks comes from various aspects in my life, as well as the external influence of media. I often see people on the street, and notice their outfits, and sometimes try to recreate the same look using the clothing that I have. My style, without a doubt, is influenced by the street fashion. As much as I would like to say that what I wear is unique, it really isn’t. I like to stay up to date in style, and I like to wear the things that are considered “in”. But all of that becomes less important when my personal emotions come into play. I like to wear what I feel. My clothing and the colors that I wear, always represent my mood. I am my own inspiration for my style.

My Style – A Day in the Fog

Posted on January 24, 2015 by thewalkingopen

When creating this blog and writing about the fashion on the global perspective and what it means for other people, I have been thinking about what it means to me. I am interested in fashion, but what is it to me on a deeper level? How can I relate to it? So in order to figure it out for myself, as well as to present it to others, I have decided to create a first look-book photoshoot, that will show my style.

I am lost somewhere in-between the simplicity and layers – I can’t choose one. Personally, I keep switching from one style to another, while trying to figure out what I really like. And maybe that is actually what I like – I like changes, something new and unknown. I definitely hate boring clothes and outfits and hate staying the same. By staying the same I don’t just mean how you look, I also mean the inner qualities – a person should always develop and reach for something new. This can be also applied to clothing – you should always develop your style and look for something that suits YOU personally.

For me it is important that I show my feelings, emotions and thoughts through my style and fashion. It is not only about clothing – it is on a deeper level. I find it as the way of my self-expression, something that helps me to make a statement. I like clothes that fit me, and not the ones that I simply like. If the clothes look good on you – it is immediately a win. But if clothes doesn’t fit you – why would you even buy it? Buying and wearing clothes just because they are ‘trendy’ makes no sense – they have to match you and make you feel and look better and not visa-versa.

I love details – they can be easily played around with. They can make or break the outfit, it all depends on how you use them. Sometimes, when your outfit is all-black, adding a bright detail will make a statement and attract attention. Speaking about colors – I like when there is a mix. I don’t like outfits that are all in a simple and similar color scheme. I feel like there should be a blend of warm and cold, neutral and bright, natural and extraordinary colors. I feel like I am not a very simple person – there are always a lot of emotions and thoughts inside of me. That is why I just would not stand being simple in clothes.

My Designs – Prada

Posted on January 24, 2015 by thewalkingopen

Another designer who’s personal expression is widely shown through the clothes that she creates is Miuccia Prada. The brand Prada is one of the leading Italian brands and is loved by everyone – men, women, fashionistas, street style and much more people. Prada is all about bright color and self expression through color block. There are not a lot of smooth graduation of color – rather sharp divided sections that show where is which color. Also, the fabrics that are the most used in the brand are synthetic: nylon, crunchy polyester and others. The shapes are very destructed and simple: knee length skirts, straight dresses, skinny belts, and others. This became something that makes Prada recognizable and famous in the fashion world.

Prada is feminine, but rough – everything is shaped by straight cuts and silhouettes, complicated fabrics and designs. Even though everything sounds like the clothing has come out from some ind of sci-fi movie, it is much simpler than that – the clothing is quite wearable, still it is a fashion statement. Prada doesn’t stand for masculine costumes or men-like clothing – it stands for femininity being transformed into something that would be appealing to every woman.

Therefore, because of everything that Prada is expressing through the clothes that they create, I have created my first look based on their double-costumes. These costumes are usually a skirt and a shirts, that nearly match in colors and patterns. They come together as a set and that is what Prada is conveying for their daily looks. They like organization and a total look, that is why I have decided to picture all of it.

For the evening attire, Prada is all about making the dresses festive and standing out. It is important that the dress is something that will be unforgettable, therefore it needs to look just perfect. Sometimes it is just the texture, other times – it is the embellishment or the decoration that says the final word. This is exactly how I have decided to picture the typical evening formal attire by Prada in my illustration.

International Fashion – Brazil

Posted on January 23, 2015 by thewalkingopen

When discovering fashion of different cultures and countries, I have decided to come across all the continents and to talk about fashion in at least one country from there. I want to talk about fashion in Brazil right now – the country is located in South America and has its own conceptual style. Brazil is the country where fashion industry is just developing. There are no particular designers who have modified the view on Brazilian fashion, or there are no specific ideals in it. But fashion is highly developing right now in Brazil. People there pay a lot of attention on what is going on in the world of fashion on the global scale. The designers in the country are divided into two groups: cheap and expensive. the only main difference between those two are quality and price. But still, there is a certain style or traditions present.

A lot of the fashion outfits and looks are brought back to the cultural and ethnic aspects of the culture and the country. There are a lot of patterns that connect the modern people with the past, as well as they express the inner part of the culture. Many of the clothing has different floral patterns, but at the same time there are ethnic drawings. A lot of natural and fresh colors, like orange, yellow, green, red are present throughout the designs and in street style.

The street style in Brazil reminds me of the Australian one, but with a little more natural touch. As the weather is rather hot and humid, there is not a lot of clothes that can be worn. But Brazilians find a way to look good – a huge amount of different types of skirts, dresses and shorts are present in every wardrobe. Bright colors own everything – from blue to green, from red to yellow and beyond. Accessories, shoes and clothes create something like a confetti blast that sparkles from street to street and carries the fashionistas from place to place.

Fashion Show Review – Commes Des Garcons Menswear FW 2015-2016

Posted on January 23, 2015 by thewalkingopen

As the fashion shows continue to make us happy with the new collections, I like to explore something new in them. For example like the menswear collections are not wearable for me personally, I still like to briefly know what is going on. It gives me a source of inspiration and some kind of joy to just look at what is new in the fashion sphere and to see what trends are coming up. Therefore, I have decided to look at the new Menswear Fall Winter 2015-2016 collection of the french brand Commes des Garcons.

Commes des Garcons are known for their wide experiments with clothing and presenting them in a very unique way. This collection is not an exception. Mystical combinations of clothing is just one thing. At the show, there were also clothing presented that imitated the tattoos on the men’s bodies. Everything was crazy in the way that it resembled fashion. But what you really see and what is actually right there are suits. They are made in dark shades of blue and have very geometric cut. But the suits are not just regular – some of them have culottes instead of pants, others – shorts. The hemline of the jackets are cut diagonally and have an insert of the application in a variety of colors and textures. They add up on the total geometry of the suit and bring it forward as a fashion statement.

When you read about it, you think like: “Suits, just with a little twist. What is so strange?” The hats. They cover half of the model’s face and don’t allow the audience to see their eyes. That is the actual twist of the look, and not the geometrical insert on the suit that might seem like it. But that is not all – some of the suits are made of the colorful spandex material that has small drawings on it. They represent bot the tattoos and the masterpiece on the clothing. These silly bodycon suits balance out with the masculine models, making them look special and different from anything else that can be possibly seen.

And the last thing about the show that can not be not said is the white color. Mixed with different patterns and put into everything, it makes the looks not as dark and boring as they would be expected to appear in the fall winter collection. This white color brightens up the look, makes it fresher, but still does not make the impression of the summer period. This white color also gives more masculinity to the looks, yet it is mixed with other patterns to balance everything out.

What else is there to say about the show? What I definitely can say that it has reflected the vision and the position of the brand perfectly well. Everything was just like it has to be – stylish, but fun; playful, but masculine. And that is why we love Commes des Garcons, right?

My Designs – Alexander Wang

Posted on January 22, 2015 by thewalkingopen

This time, I have decided to focus on the personal expression and style of the Asian-American Designer, Alexander Wang. The designer started his own brand in 2005 at the age of 19. He dropped oft of Parsons The New School of Design and started his own brand with the hep of his family. The first pieces for the collection were based on the unisex silhouettes which formed the style of the brand further on and made him known and distiguishanable. Right now, Alexander Wang is considered one of the most successful young designers in the world and his clothing can be seen on everyone, up to Anna Wintour.

Alexander Wang is known for creating simplistic clothing, but at the same time he shows the dark side of fashion. There is a lot of black present in his designs, as well as leather. It helps to show off what he is trying to convey to the public, as well as it is something that he finds himself interested in. Throughout the whole career he has been carrying the same but priceless mood – model-off-the-runway. It is relaxed, but stylish and high-class at the same time. Something that would perfectly fit a modern fashionista on a busy day.

This first look was inspired by the original Alexander Wang style: a lot of leather, black color and synthetic materials. Also, the iconic Rockie bag is present, because it is one of the main things that the brand is very famous and well-known for. The ‘net’ materials and textures are always present in all of the collections, as well as they are the key details and inserts in many of the garments.

The evening attire look was influenced and inspired by the dress that has been worn by a couple of celebrities on the red carpet. Alexander Wang doesn’t do too many formal gowns or dresses -he is more about short, leather or synthetic. But if he creates pieces of the formal attire, he does it with his own style. There are going to be inserts of something like plastic, or complicated designs. But in all of it, we of course see Alexander Wang himself!

Fashion Show Review – Rick Owens Menswear FW2015

Posted on January 22, 2015 by thewalkingopen

When talking about Rick Owen’s Menswear Fall Winter 2015-2016 Collection, I can’t not mention that he doesn’t cheat on his style. His personal expression and style is kept and shown through all of the collections, this one included. Dark clothing, a lot of leather, simple cuts, sophisticated designs and the all time darkness is present in the collection of the American Designer.

This collection is about adding different neutral colors together into complicated looks, sharp images and refined designs. There are many of simple garments mixed together with some more complicated ones, sneakers mixed in with classical looks, huge cutouts in the leather clothing and much much more. Adding together brown with black is risky business, but Rick Owens makes it all work. Contrast collars with white inserts bring the geometry into the clothes. The straight cuts of the woolen coats in different shades of brown together with leather bottoms or tops make the look strange but in Rick Owen’s vibe.

The models look sharp and dangerous – their hair is either with a ‘greasy’ effect or bold at all. This adds up to the sophistication of the clothes themselves: sometimes the looks are not masculine – they are dress-likes, informal and crazy. Rick Owens has referred to his own collection as to Sphinx, which makes more than a lot of sense. It seems like the collection was made in ancient Egypt, but with a strong scent of modernism and even futurism. The looks are crazy, people get confused in them, but at the same time they love them.

The looks remind of the futuristic blend of natural colors, but compensating them with a strong and sharp image of the designs. Everything makes you want to go crazy, as the clothing is just out of this world. While looking at them, there is vision like the models come from the movie “Back to the Future”. But then you remember that this is Rick Owens. And eevrything gets clear. Personal expression over here.