Patricia Field Style and the City

Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte all had a not-so-secret friend who turned them from women speaking directly into the camera about their dating fiascoes (a rookie season one mistake) into style icons adored the world over. It has been years since the series ended and the last of the films graced the silver screen (breaking box office records) but women all over the world can still not get enough. With this in mind "Style and the City", an exhibition of beautiful gowns and outfits worn by these fictional but very real style icons has been cleverly curated by legendary costume designer Patricia Field and brought to Perth. Launching on Friday morning, the free exhibition will run until May 1st at enex100 and inside Myer at Forrest Chase.

At the launch Patricia shared stories from the set- how she met the actors and how they became family, posed for photos, met and chatted with some 100 women and men all obvious fans of her amazing work. 

Not only is Patricia Field the Emmy Award winning costume designer behind Sex and The City, but Oscar nominated designer behind films like The Devil Wears Prada, Confessions of a Shopaholic, and television series' Ugly Betty, Spin City, Cashmere Mafia, Hope and Faith, Six Degrees and Kath and Kim. Her boutique, which she opened in Greenwich Village in 1966 has been attracting fashion forward locals, internationals and celebrities for fifty years. Named in Time Magazines '100 Most Influential Fashion Icons of All Time', Field is a down to earth and fascinating woman. Her stories brought to life the experiences on set while demonstrating her design process, character analysis and relationship with cast members. 

Costumes from both the HBO television series and both of the Sex and the City films are on display, from the infamous Vivienne Westwood wedding gown (complete with bird!), Zac Posen wedding party gowns (the black worn by Charlotte was Field's pick for Sarah-Jessica Parker to wear in white but Parker chose the Westwood), the Versace ruffled gown Carrie was stood up in by Alexander Petrovsky during that last episode in Paris and a whole lot more. By a whole lot more, I am talking the Carrie necklace, the blue Manolo Blahnick's, that white dress with the gigantic orchid corsage, the Eiffel Tower bag etc etc etc… Patricia Field scoured dresses from across the globe to bring to Perth, just for us. Zac Posen dug into his New Jersey archives for the wedding party dresses, designers and collectors around the world were called, and the results are a stunning collection of 24 colourful, iconic gowns and costume pieces that you just have to see. 

xx Jenelle 

Student Runway Part Two

Following on from the first Student Runway article for the Perth Fashion Festival, I shot these looks from the Eco and Costume Design categories. These are two categories which invite students to really get creative. The attention to detail for these garments- as they are not 'ready to wear' and therefore do not need to meet retail commercial requirements can be truly unique.

For a costume designer, I really like to see looks which communicate a character, and give you a sense of time and place. The details, fabric choices and garment execution are of the upmost importance.

This year the Costume division prize was taken out by WAAPA student Phillippa Nilant

with an incredibly beautiful off white gown, evoking a modern ethereal elegance. The garment, with a skirt made up of thousands of layers, easily weighing around 10 kilos, moved so mesmerisingly, I have tried to capture it here as best I could, but it really must be seen in person. 

Congratulations to all students involved who undertook such a big workload on top of thier class load to produce a beautiful show.

Tomorrow I will glam things up for daytime events in the next Hatch collaboration.

xx Jenelle

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The Great Gatsby

As you all know I am a costume and set designer, so naturally I get pretty excited about period films. The team at Bazmark have once again managed to peak the interest of movie lovers around the world with the release of The Great Gatsby. 

I am a huge fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel and the 1974 film by Jack Clayton with the divine Mia Farrow as Daisy, so I await the Australian release of Baz Lurhmann's new film with anticipation. 

The film opens on the 30th of May, book yourselves in for a night of spectacle, glamour, drama and one of the greatest stories ever written. The irony of the American dream and that damn green light blinking across the water!  

Also I am pretty excited to see Gemma Ward grace our screens in this film! Love that girl!

Keen for some little facts about the Costume of the film?

Of course you are!

Total costume crew: 84
Total metrage of lace purchased from Solstiss (including plain lace, beaded lace and fabrics): 1400 (that’s 1.4km!!)
Total number of styles of individual lace purchased from Solstiss: 210
Total pairs of stockings/pantyhose/garterbelts from Fogal: 1,080
Total number of Prada party dresses: 40 (Uh, I die!)
Total items of men's formalwear and daywear produced for background talent by Brooks Bros.: 2,291
Total number of Brooks Bros. tuxedos: 200
Total number of Brooks Bros. bowties: 260
Total number of Brooks Bros. braces: 200
Total number of Brooks Bros. shirt collar studs: 200
Total number of Brooks Bros. silk knots: 200
Total number of Brooks Bros. daywear shirts: 150
Total number of Brooks Bros. tuxedo shirts: 200
Total number of Brooks Bros. three-piece suits: 55
Total number of Brooks Bros. boaters: 100

Watch The Great Gatsby behind the scenes video here and get excited! 

Images care of Bazmark and The Great Gatsby Facebook pages, and press releases from Roadshow.

Swamped

Hello, this is just a short and sweet post to let you know I am inundated with work and will be on a short hiatus. 

This is my busiest time of the year as The Adelaide Cabaret Festival opens very soon, so I am swamped. I am

busily organizing final details, having my pieces built, art finished, final sourcing, and back to back meetings in order to bring together the seven entertainment venues, two pop up bars, pop up restaurant, pop up cafeteria and garden space, function space, Artist bar, corporate functions designs, costumes, props and set elements for various artists shows, Shane Warne The Musical, the Reg show, anniversary Gala, Cabaret Gala and more.

Yep. I have five outfit posts, a travel diary, and a ton of other material ready to be edited to share with you, but I am not sure when I will get a sec to get them up, so please bare with me. Trust me, once Cabaret etc are up, I'll have some REALLY cool stuff to share in the way of behind the scenes! :)

 Follow me on instagram, facebook or twitter for regular behind the scenes updates, and of course pre-post images from the Josh Goot lunch on Friday (I am justifying going as I have not eaten a sit down meal in a week, and well, it's Josh Goot- just make it happen!), my adventures in Melbourne sourcing during Shane Warne rehearsals, and the odd launch coming up. 

xx Nell

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Oh and anyone following on Pinterest wondering why I have a Shane Warne board? Haha, it's the easiest way for the director to check in and see my reference images for the Shane Warne characters costumes/ hair/ makeup etc. I am not suddenly into cricket! :)

The Piano

A costume drama... Inspired by The Piano.

Romance in a barren, unfamiliar place. Deposited on an empty shore, transported from the familar after a long journey to embark on a new one.

As a costume designer, I am often privy to collecting historical costumes, or keeping pieces from a show. I get to design dream dresses and looks which hardly ever cross over into the modern wardrobe, but I love them all the same. Finding an excuse to wear them is pretty minimal, but creating one, like this shoot is fun. I had been living on the shore in Perth, and the afternoons became windy, bare and often dramatic with dark moody clouds, choppy waters in the most beautiful colours. I had really wanted to shoot this dress against the grey and blue tones of the clouds and ocean, while the grasses of the dunes also provided a silvery, grey link. This costume came from a collection for sale from the archives of the West Australian Ballet Company. I loved it, and had to stop myself from buying a few more from the same show. After all, I only have a limit of two suitcases to fly back to Adelaide with come the begining of Febuary.

The gown was handsewn, evidently over many hours, has been worn by several dancers, as the name tags have been sewn into the garment, which I feel adds to the history and value of this garment. The costume was from the ballet Lady of the Camellias, based on the Alexandre Dumas novel of 1848. It tells a story of forbidden love and the life of Parisian courtesans in the 19th century. For the Victorian period, between 1830-1860s, this dress would be designed for day wear, and obviously shortened for dance. Often the petticoats or crinolines worn beneath these cotton, wool or silk dresses were made of stiffned silks or horsehair fabric. In 1856 pliable steel hoops were invented, becoming the cage crinolines. Whale bones were used at some point as well, but I am happy with tulle.



As a kid I remember watching the haunting and beautiful film The Piano by Jane Campion.
Also I have always loved that Anna Paquin had a gap in her two front teeth like me, it wasn't so fashionable once upon a time and I used to be so embarrassed by it.
I read recently that it was the last film that Kurt Cobain watched before he passed away.
As this is my 250th post I wanted to do something a little bit different.
A big thank you to Emma Robinson for shooting these for me.
I may have to bring in some more costume design based posts during 2013.
For now, enjoy, and have a wonderful Christmas.
xx - Nell.

'Unveiled' at The WA Museum

The WA Museum and The V & A Museum have paired together for the first time to bring an incredible and exclusive exhibition to Perth for the summer. 'Unveiled' is 200 years of Wedding Glamour. 

Featuring incredible wedding gowns and suits from an immaculate collection, 'Unveiled' takes you on a journey through the history of Weddings in the UK, and Australia. Incorporating accessories, stories and photographs, video and more, the excellently curated exhibition took several shipping containers to bring to Perth and a week to install. The mannequins were made specially for the garments, so no detail is spared. Bias-cut gowns with meters of trains, beading, pleats, undergarments, silk, lace, bonnets, orange blossom garlands, shoes, veils and are there to delight and educate. 

The exhibition also incorporates some local WA wedding history, with beautiful images and gowns. 

For all of the incredible details and beautiful pieces, I still thank first lady Coco Chanel for delivering us form corsets.

My highlight: Gwen Stefani's Galliano wedding dress. OH WOW. I love it. Incredible. 

(We weren't allowed to take pics of that one, so you'll have to go see for yourself!)

 Also Vivienne Westwood's gown created for Dita von Teese. A non-white wedding gown is where it is at. 

Qui a le droit de porter du blanc?

I took a heap of ready to instagram photos, so check out my feed for more. I love the winter fur trimmed gown and Philip Treacy head piece.

A very warm thank you to the lovely team at the WA Museum for having us and being so welcoming. 

You have done a marvelous job and I wish you all the best for the season.

Below is an exclusive garment created for the exhibition by incredible Perth based designer Aurelio Costerella. 

Jaw-dropping. I can not even convey the love for this antique silver silk. Divine. 

Outfit post to come here is a little sneak...

 

Photos taken by Laura of Ethereal Reality see more here

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