Ron Isaacs' Art of Illusion

It is hard to believe that the sculptures you see below are made of plywood. The fashion + flowery art pieces are the creations of Ron Isaacs, the American artist who has had a 30+ year passion for making these intricate three dimensional wall hangings.

From a far, they look like starched dresses and painted leaves. Take a closer look, you will see the fabric, leaves and branches are carefully constructed pieces made from Finnish birch plywood. Combining Trompe L'oeil painting with intricate wood assembly, his aim is to have you question what you are really seeing. 

“I am still fascinated by the old simple idea of resemblance, the very first idea of art after tools and shelter: That an object made of one material can take on the outward appearance and therefore some of the "reality" of another,” explains Isaacs.

His three primary recurring subjects over the years are vintage clothing for the way they continue the life of the past into the present; plant materials in the form of sticks, leaves and flowers; and found objects. He goes on to say "they combine in appropriate or surprising juxtapositions, sometimes purely as a visual poem of sorts and sometimes as an image with real psychological resonance."

I am still in awe at how real these pieces look. So much fabulous talent out there in this wonderful world and I am happy to share some of it with you. I hope you enjoyed. See you next time.

Gessica X

Bohemian Decor

A bohemian at heart, my love of all things boho does not just stop at fashion. It extends to decor, furniture, colours, accessories, fabrics, nature...anything really that seem to have the free-spirited feel about it. 
Bohemian decor can be elegant, shabby chic, OTT baroque, or rustic. There are no rules yet there are rules to boho decor if that makes any sense?. The main rule for me is 'mismatching' items. The no rule for me is injecting my 'own personal' style: whether it's colour or minimal colour, crochet, fur, candles, flowers, intricately carved or painted items, shells, macrame, plants, gold, vintage or new furniture, art, wall hangings etc etc. 

As I like a variety of bohemian styles, from the pure white look, to rustic and through to the bold and colourful gypsy style, I decided to share with you what my favourite bohemian inspirations are.  Enjoy :-)

The Neutral Effect

Rustic & Natural

Bold & Bright

Baroque

Dodie Rosekrans in her Venetian Palazzo Brandolini

As you have seen here, you can veer into a few directions with bohemian style. You can create the looks cheaply or if you have the money, you can buy a Palazzo and do it the rich way! 

Either way, have fun if you are in the middle of a bohemian decor overhaul. 

See you next time. 

Love Gessica X

Jimmy Choo Meets Jimmy Choo

WARNING to all dog & handbag lovers, your bank account may take a big dip after reading this. 

With 238,000 Instagram followers, Brazilian artist Rafael Mantesso has certainly captured some attention, or should I say his pooch has. A bull terrier named Jimmy Choo (yes after the famous shoe and accessories designer).

Following a divorce that left him with nothing but blank white walls and the company of his dog Jimmy Choo, Mantesso went about filling the walls with illustrations using Jimmy as his muse for the drawings. He turned his personal misfortune into something comical and fun. Drawings such as Jimmy singing, having a  shower, playing DJ decks, sleeping, playing dress-ups and much more have made it on his walls. 

He photographed them and posted them on Instagram. When they started gaining worldwide attention, Jimmy Choo (the designer) came across the images and couldn't resist collaborating with the artist and dog for his Pre-Fall 2015 collection. 

In a brand statement Ms Choo said "All of a sudden, I had friends from all over the world forwarding me links to Rafael's enchanting work featuring his loveable English bull terrier, Jimmy Choo. I was instantly charmed by the way he animated his captivating dog into his artwork, I had never seen anything like it! His work is so playful, clever and witty, and we struck up an immediate friendship on line. I just knew that I had to incorporate his work into a collection". 

The collection sees Mantesso's designs on bags, purses, clutches and iPhone cases. The theme revolves around a day in the life of a Jimmy the dog, leading an extravagant lifestyle. 

And just for fun, Choo designed a dog collar.....

To celebrate this fun collection, Choo released an animated film created by London based animator Jo Ratcliffe, that tells the story of a day in the life of celebrity pooch Jimmy Choo. Watch this fabulous short video below....

 So cute, So much fun. 

Rafael Mantesso and Jimmy

What a clever, talented man. For the lonely out in the world, this is an inspiration: to know that time on your hands and a sad heart can be a good thing. I wonder if Jimmy the dog knows he is famous and Mantesso's wife is kicking herself :-))

Until next time

Ciao for now

Gessica X

P.S. Just a reminder, to read my articles on fashion styling please follow my blog stylebygessica 

The Kings of Mad Fashion

Whether you prefer to call it bizarre, mad, expressive or art, many designers when showcasing their Haute Couture collections on the catwalk tend to throw in a series of crazy fashion ensembles amongst it all. These pieces are generally not wearable, instead they are for show to re-iterate to the world how their genius, extraordinary minds work. They are made to wow you and convince you of their brilliance. For many the Haute Couture show is all about bringing their art to life. Designers that come to mind are Lacroix, Thierry Mugler, Jean Paul Gaultier, Alexander McQueen, John Galliano for Dior, Vivien Westwood only to name a few. There is no question in my mind, their mind blowing pieces are 'art'. 

Over the years I've collected a photo album of my favourite non-wearable art. Garments, shoes or head pieces that are made of tyres, feathers, paper, gold, butterflies, trash etc. I just love the brilliance of it all and I'd like to share some with you. Enjoy!

John Galliano: Some things in fashion are indisputable. The extraordinary talent of John Galliano is one of those things. In my opinion Galliano is crowned "king of flamboyance"...alongside Lacroix of course. 

 John Galliano for Dior 2003

Dior 2003 

Dior 2006

Dior 2008

Dior 2003

Alexander McQueen: The weird and ultra bizarre world of Alexander McQueen. Although Galliano and Lacroix are kings of flamboyance, McQueen reigns in complexity and strangeness that no-one (again in my opinion) does better. 

Christian Lacroix: The original king of flamboyance, sits on his throne beside Galliano.

 

Jean Paul Gaultier is another favourite, dazzling people with his whacky creations. 

Haute Couture 2014

Spring 2014

And just a few more I admire......

Malgorzata Dudek

Thierry Mugler

Van Herpen

Amato

Over the Top Gold  with Tex Saverio(left) and Dior

That's the end of this fun and colourful post. Designers must have so much fun creating these pieces. The hours, days of labour that go into them would be well worth it in the end. 

For those that haven't seen my latest post on Style by Gessica, "Wearing Black Differently to Work" then please click on the title and read away.

Until next time.....Ciao and have fun.

Gessica X