Nov 28, 2012

Weekly Look 29.11.12

Hi everyone! I'm a little bit late with weekly look but I finally got my photos :D ...We had nationals this weekend so our program got crowded. 

My inspiration for this look was a siren, since I was a child I wanted to be one. That's why I decided to make a dress based on this idea.


 The inspiration...

















The actual dress...









On this photo shoot I worked with Engi Brigita the model, Gina Bordas make up artist and the photographer Engel Levente. You can check his work here.

I hope you liked my dress :D ...Stay tuned cuz a new kids collection is coming soon....

Nov 26, 2012

The Pyramid Costume

Generally the ancient Egyptian Empire is placed in time between 3000 BC and 300 BC.


Given the warm climate of Egypt, the clothing was made of thin materials and with an easy construction. The raw material was flax, a plant which was grown along the Nile. Once harvested, the flax was prepared and woven into linen. In colder periods they used woolen coats and sometimes leather but these materials were considered impure. Along time, their garments were always simple in their construction and cut. The style changed very little in those almost 3000 years. As time passed the major changes occurred only in the quantity of the material used. As the Empire took control, the amount of material used, grow ample.




 





















The clothes had an important social role. The Cast System defined the costumes of the various social groups.  Slaves and children were generally naked; the commoner class wore loin clothes. The kalasiris, a kind of tunic, was worn by every social class above slaves. Basically it is a large piece of fabric made from a rectangle of sheer linen and held up by a girdle or shoulder straps. This varied in length along time. In the Old Kingdom they were short to the knees.



   
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Later, in the Middle Kingdom kalasiris gained in length, until it reached calf for men and the ankles for women. The shendyt, a kind of skirt worn around the waist, typically extending to above the knees, didn’t grow in length. It was a garment, which allowed freedom of movement. Shendyts are depicted on pharaohs, deities, and commoners in a variety of situations in various Egyptian artworks.
Rich women wore colored shoulder straps, sometimes studded with precious stones, and even decorative collars, those, who could afford it. Most of the time women’s breasts were covered, but now and then, hanging out was the fashion. The clothes usually were secured by a belt.
Upper class Egyptians frequently wore clothes made from thin, transparent linen. The degree of transparency indicated the wealth and status of the wearer. The same was standing for the amount of colored linen and gemstones used.


 








 [REF] 








The Pharaoh’s royal garment, the royal apron, was most expensive and elegant look. The material was transparent; it came in one piece and with a belt decorated heavily with expensive rocks.






 















Jewelry was worn by women in every social class in form of ear studs, rings and necklaces. The pectoral was a trapezoidal piece of metal, made mostly of gold and plated with gemstones, worn around the neck by nobility. The fillet was wrapped around the head to hold the hair for both sexes.
The pharaoh had some reserved jewelry as the false beard named postiche and the crown. Representing the Lower Egypt was the Red Crown and for the Upper Egypt it was the White Crown.
It was a common tradition amongst Egyptian people to shave their heads. Wigs were an important thing in fashion, worn by both sexes made from wool, vegetable fibers or human hair, depending on the social status of the wearer. Usually they were made straight. They had an important practical function: in the hot climate it could be taken out for cooling, unlike the real hair and also protected from the heat of the sun. Te wealthier one was the more elaborated the wig it was. They adorned the wigs using ribbons, flowers and gemstones.
When actual hair was in fashion women had a bit longer style than men, so they had one more support to braid with jewelry.

 
Both sexes wore makeup. They believed that cosmetics had magical power. As the eye of Horus was a powerful symbol in their religion, people wore green eye paints along the known black, to ward off evil spirits. The green paint was made of malachite. The famous black eyeliner was called kohl. It was a black powder, traditionally made by grinding galena and other ingredients. Actually it was used in South Asia, Middle East and across many other parts of Africa also. In the first period it was used only by queens and noble woman in Egypt as protection against diseases of the eye. It was providing color for the eyelashes, eyelids and eyebrows.
Egyptians used to paint their hand, nail and even their hair with henna.



As footwear they used sandals made of leather, papyrus or palm leaves. Most of the time people walked barefoot and only carried them to have it in case they needed to protect their feet. Only the pharaoh had his sandals always on and everyone in the same room with him had to take them off. It was the highest honor, when the pharaoh gave someone the right to keep his sandals on in his presence.

This article was corrected by Mathe Klara. I hope you enjoyed it! Stay tuned for weekly look and like us on FB!

Nov 20, 2012

Weekly Look 20.11.12

Hi everyone ! It's a new week with full of life! That's why I designed something really comfortable :D I wanted to recycle and re think things. This particular piece is made of an old sweater mixed with leather and chain.

On this Photo-shot I worked with  Sziodonia Siklodi (the model) and two photographers Bandi Andras and Engel Levente.








I hope you like my new design! On this week Style Mile crew goes to nationals!!! Keep your like up and support us on Facebook! Stay toned cuz the Pyramid Fashion post is coming soon. 

Nov 12, 2012

Weekly Look 12.11.12

Hy everyone! It's a new week which means I have a new design for you. My inspiration for this look it was college life :D I miss it sometimes. On this week I want to wear something casual and funky. How about you?





Make-up by Gina Bordas.






On this photo shoot I worked with Gina Bordas make-up artist, Engi Brigitta model and two photographers:

Bandi Andras you can check his work here


Engel Levente you can see his work here.


I hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to like my page or follow me on G+. Stay tuned!

Nov 11, 2012

African Art as inspiration (Part 2)



Royal Art and kingship in Western Africa

“Just as the early Asante weavers unraveled European silk cloths to obtain the yarn with which they wove the royal kente textiles. So quantities of brass trade goods were imported from Europe to Benin from the sixteenth century, where many were then melted down to provide raw material for the already long-established tradition of making cast brass art in this powerful West African kingdom. ”

There are many usages of bronze in Africa. Ancient bronze objects were found in the river called Niger, but the earliest tradition known when they used technology was in the ninth century.
The metals that were considered precious were brass, gold and copper. They all are “golden” metals. These ore were used to make royal regalia. The technique African people used was the wax modeling, usually over a clay core which they covered with further layers of clay.

“The whole was then fired, thus melting the wax and allowing it to be drained off, leaving a hollow mould into which molten metal was poured. The finished object could only be extracted by breaking the clay- and is it therefore unique.”

Baga Nimba Mask 11, Guinea 






Coral regalia (shirt and hat):














“Apart from brass, two other materials were closely associated with the Oba: coral and ivory Coral is relates to the sea god Olokun, and legend relates that the Oba’s coral regalia was taken from Olokun after an epic battle. Coral therefore represents the Oba’s dominion over Olokun and Europeans who came across the sea to Benin.  ”

It’s really inspiring, using so many “pearls” sewing together and making a wearable garment. I can imagine this technology being used at a modern dress. 

Head of Queen Mother


 







This head is outstanding for it's contraction and the cut of the hat. This head is a memorial to Queen Idia. People of Benin remembers her “the only woman who went to war”. In Benin art the head represents destiny and inborn hereditary powers.

Mask. Ivory, brass and copper wire 16th century.



 Helmet with horns 

 











“Helmets with horns are associated with the office of sword-bearer. The use of ram’s horns may refer to the proverb ‘a ram fights with its heart, not its horns’, indicating the value placed on loyalty and commitment. The amulets attached to the helmet refer to the power and strength of the ruler. For instance, red seashells imported from the Canary Islands signify power over the sea, its gods and those who sail across it: Europeans.”

 

Power of the hand! (Tools and arms)

“There was no Bronze Age in sub-Saharan Africa, so the coming of iron technology must have had an extraordinary impact on societies whose agricultural implements and weapons of war had previously been made of stone and wood.”

The smith himself is perceived as having magical power, which set him apart from the rest of the community. Iron bladed weapons inspired the colonial authorities in Africa to start their production. African arms and armory were viewed by many, the material and symbols of primitive savagery; it was durable, easily portable and involved sings which represented the local tribe.

“The equation between forged metal, power, leadership and personal achievement is still strong in Africa.”


Shields

Shields were made for protection throughout history. The decoration of shields were carried a very important aspect. In each army every shield had a personal decoration which represented it's wielder and his community.

South African Trivia, Phrases & Words








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Masai Shield and Spear
 











These are some templates which African people used for decorating shields:


 








A good idea and example of how you could use these shield forms and patterns in fashion design:

 




You can check out the whole history of swords and knifes here . I think it's really inspiring how they used the forms to make weapons out of it. I want to show you army costumes:







[REF]

 














Ceramic classics of Africa

The work of a potter is closely connected to the smiths and is not coincidence that the husband of a potter was very often a smith. Potter making in Africa was an exclusive female activity.

Many African societies believed that the potters created the natural world and blacksmiths the cultural world. Pottery is one of the oldest arts of Africa.

“The potting process of giving form to clay and its transformation through fire has a primitive quality.”
Potting is also used as a general way of understanding the human change. The process involves a series of rituals.

The most striking fact about African potting is the simplicity of raw materials which required using a little earth, a few stones, a corn and some firewood. The primary tool for this technique is the human hand. African pots are cheap, versatile but functional. The technique of making pots is simple but it got a formal beauty.

African ceramic bowl:
These artifacts made simple but the pattering is significant, each color or symbol means something. I attached some photos which I consider really inspiring. Just look at the coloring and forms.




[REF]













The most inspiring pattern which I saw at the whole documentation it was this amazing chemical plate. I can’t take my eye off this picture.






Bibliography:

I hope you enjoyed it, hopefully is going to be a third part with a little help from Telena Cassell(California) . Stay tuned!