FEATURE // YUYAN HE . FASHION DESIGNER + ILLUSTRATOR

Our feature today is talented YUYAN HE who is a Fashion Designer.  She recently finished her MA Fashion Design Degree in the US and began her career as a Fashion Designer and Illustrator for various clients from NYC, Dallas and Atlanta since 2011.

Yuyan's signature style lies in her keen ability to capture and find inspiration in a great variety of artistic disciplines (architecture, painting, cinema, music, etc) and to creatively translate them into  modern, dynamic, and yet timeless fashion.  She likes challenging new things and competing in a limited timeline and the use of materials.

You can view her new collection"ARCH COLLECTION" which is a mini collection she finished all by herself in a month and a half - www.yuyanhe.nyc.

You can also view her amazing portfolio here and here.  Below is a glimpse of some of her images from her portfolio of fashion illustrations and ideation mood boards.

© Yuyan He - all rights reserved. 

TRENDS // TRENDSTOP . SS 2016 COLORS

A great resource for fashion and creative professionals is Trendstop.com an online fashion and trend forecasting agency based in London.  They have an extensive data for forecasts and trends in all areas of clothing, accessories and beauty for Men's and Women's.

Here is a key Women's color trend for the S/S 2016 season. Go here to order your copy. 

    SPRING PAPAYA     

Dusty turmeric embodies this soft, fruity and spicy shade, continuing its presence from winter’s palette. Prada was one of the first early adopters of this color, as seen in their SS15 catwalk show. This S/S 2016 Fashion Color is ideal for the Contemporary and Missy Markets.

DESIGN COMPETITION // LVMH PRIZE . YOUNG FASHION DESIGNER 2015

LVMH is launching the 2015 edition of the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers, after the successful first edition, with three very promising winners rewarded (designer Thomas Tait, the brand Miuniku and the collective Hood by Air).

The LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers is open to designers under the age of 40 who have presented and sold at least two women's or men's ready-to-wear collections. 

The jury, whose members are Creative Directors of the Group - J.W. Anderson, Nicolas Ghesquière, Marc Jacobs, Karl Lagerfeld, Humberto Leon & Carol Lim, Phoebe Philo, Raf Simons, Ricardo Tisci - and Delphine Arnault, Jean-Paul Claverie, advisor to Bernard Arnault, and Pierre-Yves Roussel, Chairman and CEO of the LVMH Fashion Group chooses the winner of the LVMH Prize in May, 2015.

LVMH will provide the winner with the resources needed to pursue their creative work:

• A grant of 300,000 euros 
• Personalized technical and financial support from the Group for a 12-month period following the LVMH Prize award. This support covers all the areas of expertise that are critical to a young fashion brand (intellectual property, sourcing, production and distribution, image and advertising, marketing, etc.). 

Applications accepted until: February 8th, 2015

To learn more, go to their website www.lvmhprize.com.

TRENDSPIRATION // SKETCHY ILLUSTRATIVES . PRE FALL 2015

SOURCE OF INSPIRATIONS
COURTESY OF  STYLE.COM

TSUMORI CHISATO | STELLA MCCARTNEY | TSUMORI CHISATO | STELLA MCCARTNEY |
JEAN PAUL GAULTIER | STELLA MCCARTNEY

[ INSPIRATION + ILLUSTRATION ] series by MELANIE BOYCHUK

Here is the latest Inspiration + Illustration series #1 for 2015 by Melanie Boychuk, illustrator contributor for FV. Here, she shows you her source of inspirations to create her illustration from Nylon magazine.

You can also check out her website, missmel.com to view more of her work and to contact her if you need an illustrator for any projects.  To also view her past illustration posts on FV, go here.

©MELANIE BOYCHUK illustration and Fashion Vignette layout. All rights reserved. No part of these images may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, or otherwise, without prior written permission from the illustrator.

TRENDS // PATTERNBANK - PRINT INSPIRATIONS A/W 2015-16 RUNWAY

Patternbank is an exceptionally great resource with over 20 years in the print, graphics and fashion industry. Their global research brings you essential inspiration ideas for graphics, prints and patterns, making Patternbank a valuable resource and intelligence tool for any business, designer or buyer.  To stay informed of their reports, sign up for the Patternbank Weekly Digest here.  

Below is a preview of their Pre Autumn Winter 2015 - Catwalk Print and Pattern Trend Highlights.  You can view their entire report here.  You can also view and order many of their other reports here. 

     FRAGMENTED GEOMETRICS    
Geometric Overlays – Colour Blocked Checks – Deconstructing Blocks – Air Brushed Edges – Over-scaled Geometrics  

Clover Canyon / Givenchy / Derek Lam 10 Crosby / Kenzo / ICB / Burberry – photos via Style.com & Vogue

     SMALL SCALE   

Dotted Texture – Crammed Ditsy Florals – William Morris Pattern – Camouflage Colour – Laura Ashley Types – Dark Backgrounds – Multi Coloured Florals 

Sonia Rykiel / 10 Crosby / Sonia Rykiel / Valentino / Sonia Rykiel / Giamba – photos via Style.com & Vogue

    FADED TEXTILE   

Worn Pattern Fade Outs – Darned and Repaired – Pattern Mixing – Merging Marks – Off Set – Soft Colour Backgrounds – Smudged and Blurred.  

 Nicole Miller / MM6 Maison Martin Margiela /Nicole Miller / Antonio Maras / Nicole Miller / Antonio Maras – photos via Style.com & Vogue

    INK EFFECTS   

Blurred Distortion – Inky Marks – Dark Blacks and Blues –  Photographic Techniques – Bleached out Highlights – Paint Smudges – Large Scale Florals

Emporio Armani / Elie Saab / Marissa Webb / Elie Saab / Milly / Lela Rose – photos via Style.com & Vogue

DESIGN COMPETITION // FRONT ROW SOCIETY . X-RAY FLOWERS

CREATIVE BRIEF

Submission Deadline: 15 February, 2015, 6pm CET
Voting Starts: 16 February, 2015, 6pm CET

Through the widespread use of smart phones, tablets, and other devices, cameras have become so integrated into our daily lives that we sometimes forget what a sublime art photography is. It has become such an immediate process that we forget how miraculous it can be, and yet even the word itself possesses something other-worldly about it; stemming from the Greek words “photos” and “graphe” the art of photography literally means “to draw with light.”

So for this month’s “X-Ray Flowers” challenge, we’re asking you to show us the ways that photography can elevate the everyday into the ethereal. We want to see how even the tiniest and most fragile botanical structures can be suddenly transformed into detailed, semi translucent objects of wonder; how the inner workings of plants and flowers can be even more beautiful than their outer appearance when revealed in diaphanous layers of color and shade.

This competition is for scarves. As always, don’t forget that your print might need to be adjusted to fit the appropriate template. All templates are marked with design specifications to help you get your design just right. Please note that all Front Row Society templates may differ slightly from final manufacturing specifications, so make sure your print is versatile and flexible enough for production. 

What can you win?

Each winner receives a one-off prize of 200€ once the collection launches on the website plus a sample of their products when it arrives in stock. But that is not all – if your design receives 500 orders on wholesale, you will receive an additional €200. This means that FRS can continue to embody the spirit of fashion democracy, rewarding our top designs again...and again...and again! We will also conduct an interview with the winner, publicizing their design across the fashion community in Berlin and worldwide.

To learn more and to submit your designs, go here.

TRENDS + EVENTS // TEXWORLD USA + PARIS . A/W 2015-16

Texworld an international trade fair for fabrics, trims and accessories is one of the largest sourcing event in the world for apparel fabric buyers, R&D and product development specialists, designers, merchandisers and overseas sourcing professionals.

Their next shows are scheduled in NYC, NY,  Jan 19-21, 2015 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and in Paris, France, Feb 9-12, 2015 at the Parc des Expositions Paris Le Bourget. Go here for NY and here for Paris to learn more about attending their shows.

Here are some of their current trend information  for the Fall/Winter 2015-16 season and you can download the entire comprehensive, 32 page report in PDF format, here. To view below images larger, select an image and a slideshow will appear.

TEXWORLD IMPULSION

TRENDS // PATTERN CURATOR . PRINT, PATTERN + COLOR - AUTUMN BLUES/CINNAMON CHAI

FV contributor,  Pattern Curator curates an insightful forecast of mood boards & color stories and we are thrilled to have them on board as our newest FV contributor.  They are collectors of images and photos to offer print, pattern and color trends.  Each of the boards curated is visually directional, relevant and trend-right.  An amazing site for inspirations, check out their site  here. 

   AUTUMN BLUES    

sources: everyday golden.wordpress.com, yourhairstyleideas.com, flickr.com, modewalk.com,flickr.com, makeitallup.tumblr.com, anmazine.tumblr.com

   CINNAMON CHAI    

sources:modcloth.com, voyagerr.tumblr.com, beau-details.tumblr.com, thoughtfulfood.net, tinylanscapes.wordpress.com, shootingphotography.co.uk, dailymail.co.uk

DESIGN COMPETITION // TEXTILE FEDERATION - MOTION

MOTION PROJECT - S/S ACTIVEWEAR COLLECTION

THE BRIEF

Exploring fluidity in color and design to express movement and motion, we’re looking for bright high energy palettes and inspiring repeat patterns to be used on our brand new activewear collection.

This project is open to all and designs can be either suitable for digital or screen printing. 3 winners will be selected and see their designs produced and sold across some of the world’s largest fashion retailers.
The winning entrants will receive £300 per print design.

Competition submission deadline is January 29, 2015.

To learn more and to submit your designs, go here.

TRENDS + EVENT // PREMIERE VISION . SPRING/SUMMER 2016

PREMIERE VISION, the world's premier fabric show will be held on February 10-12, 2015 at the Parc d'Expositions Paris Nord Villepinte. To register online, go to PV's - Registration. Here is a preview of their Spring/Sumer 2016 trends and colors.  You can view their trends and interactive color info, here.

You can find all of the season’s fashion information and themes in the Spring Summer 16 colour-range booklet on sale in their e-boutique, and illustrated in the Première Vision Paris forums. 

Spring summer 16 lets itself speak freely, joyously affirming its creative commitment and greedily welcoming surprise.Certainties and habits are let go of. Exchanges and sharing create a blossoming of ideas. Fake look-alikes delightfully playing on reality and fantasy battle uniformity.

A highly tactile, poetic and sensual season, all freshness and energy, flowery and fruity a season to savor with relish.

It invites fashion to defy convention and move away from entrenched identities, the better to enthusiastically delve into sports, infuse menswear and casual wear with suppleness, sophisticate raw looks and make silhouettes bloom with bright, bursting colour.

IN MOTION

Seizing on new harmonies embodying both energy and well-being, for supple, round fashions whose contours accentuate and follow the body without constraint. Taking a more intimate approach to a sporty spirit, locating the balance between calmness and vitality. Embracing sensual and invisibly techno fabrics with friendly stretch, bouncy and fine fluids, fresh softness, and artificial fleshiness.

Constructing curves around the body, envisioning cuts in 3D, infusing chic looks with a new athleticism, seeing technology as a more personal added-value, and delighting in a virtuoso balance of dynamism, comfort and seduction.

IN ABUNDANCE

Accentuating fullness, enveloping with air, floating and layering to suggest loose lines and free the body of all weight.

Combining transparency and boundless profusion, multiplying layers, spreading decoration, expanding and opening up volumes. Dreaming up a nonchalant, bubbly and slightly futuristic fashion. Injecting a high summer spirit into citywear or red-carpet looks, playing around with the very long or very short, revealing and concealing, giving a fresh look to menswear. Turning to poetic or experimental fantasy, cultivating unknown and appetising fruits and flowers.

IN ESSENCE

Constructing simply, bringing elementary cuts to life through the richness of textures, effacing the body but leaving a perception of it through openings and necklines. Creating hybrids of minimal sportswear and couture luxury, reconciling rigour and sexiness, expressed through highly tactile structures and captivating behaviours. Envisioning long and lean shapes, concise foldings, primitive wrappings, fake-twin assemblies, and decorations with a rudimentary opulence.

    COLORS    

The colors of the range orchestrate encounters between fresh, intense, subtle and sparkling colors.
They reveal a voluptuous neutrality, inviting soothing and biting contrasts.They offer up subtle and explosive duos, mischievous and tasty fake twins, deceptively monochrome lookalikes.They light up the darkness with coldly luminous brights, and underline the primordial power of darks.The range explores colorful new plays on proportions, inventing light and playful alliances of pale tones, and revealing soft and strident duos or multi-tones.

Go here to view their interactive Spring/Summer 2016 color ranges.

TRENDSPIRATION // BLACK + WHITE GRID . PRE FALL 2015

SOURCE OF INSPIRATIONS

CHLOE | PROENZA SCHOULER | MODEL FEI FEI SUN VOGUE 2O14 | ANTONIO MARRAS|  PROENZA SCHOULER  | LANVIN 

DESIGN COMPETITION // ALL WALKS BEYOND THE CATWALK + ART THREADS

DIVERSITY NOW! 2015

Garment Design/ Photography/ Styling/ Illustration/ Graphic Design/ Journalism

Project Outline

NOW! is the time for CREATIVES to boldly vision a fashion future which steps beyond stereotypes, redefines boundaries and celebrates a wider range of beauty and body ideals in age, size, race and physical ability. A fashion future that empowers and emboldens the viewer and the wearer, envisioning impactful, emotionally considerate, commercially relevant practice in all areas of the industry.

Diversity NOW2014/15

Help us build a library of fashion design, imagery and communication that celebrates difference of skin tone, age, size and body type, to encourage debate about the psychological impact of fashion on our lives.

Entries uploaded to Arts Thread by March 21st will be considered for Diversity NOW! 2015 Campaign and showcased on www.allwalks.org.  The co-founders will highlight chosen students who best portray the excitement of diversity. A single student will be announced as The Co-Founders Choice for 2015. Please note students can collaborate to create one entry. 

Submission deadline is March 21, 2015.  To learn more go here.

TRENDS // FASHION SNOOPS - S/S 2016 GRAPHICS

Fashion Snoop is an online forecasting trend service that reports on color, design themes, key items, details, etc., for women's, men's, kid's and accessories.  To learn more and subscribe to their services, go here to view their amazing site and check out their inspiring blog. 

 Here is a preview of FASHION SNOOPS',  Spring/Summer 2016 Graphics.  To order a copy of the report, go here.

    CHINTZ    

Chintz in the past has been used to describe, cheap and gaudy imagery, but this is certainly not the case here. We were Inspired by old wallpaper designs, authentic Chintz florals and English textile designer Charles Voysey is our main inspiration. The designs are simplified versions of the expected William Morris, as the background is cleaner, and the designs are flat in color and obviously heavily repeated.

    FIGHTING CHANCE    

Fighting chance is our athletic graphic expression, as we see go-faster stripes, way finder imagery and logos suitable to the boxing ring. The colors are equally sporty.

    LINEAR LANDSCAPE    

Linear Landscape is a new expression, as we see illustrated lines hinting or suggesting where the lines of the landscape lie. We are especially enthralled by the sense of movement and fluidity within this trend. The color palette is exceptionally soft, as this expression will sit within a Zen like women’s trend- Retreat.

    NATURE'S LENSES    

Within Natures lens we dust off our magnifying glass and take a close up look at the beauty that Mother Nature has to offer. Butterflies and bugs sit contently with imagery mimicking a micro-organism or bacteria, as well as zoomed in leaves and under water foliage.

     PSYCHEDLIC DREAM    

Psychedelic tie dyes and trippy verbiage come together with even more intense and fun florals as we imagine a teenagers wildest imagination, and the subsequent colorful world. Authentic 70s graphic posters are particularly inspiring!

TRENDS // MATERIAL PREVIEW - S/S 2016

The Material Preview is an event dedicated exclusively to leathers suited for top-end footwear, leather goods, leatherwear, home decor and accessories.  Material Preview aims to supply the leather sector with the tools to study and develop innovation and research on materials to the fullest. Go here to learn more about them.  Their next show is scheduled on January 13, 2015 in Florence, Italy at the Stazione Leopolda, go here to pre-register.

Below is a preview of their Spring/Summer 2016 Fashion and Color Trends where you can view here. Stay tuned for a comprehensive guide subdivided into four key themes. 

[ TREND + PRINT REPORT ] AARYN WEST STUDIO

Today's post [ TREND + PRINT REPORT ], is from FV print and fashion contributor AARYN WEST of Aaryn West Studio based in Los Angeles, California. Below are her most recent print trend call outs from the Resort '15 collections.  

Aaryn West Studio is a design studio specializing in bespoke prints and patterns for application on nearly any surface in the fashion, interior, and gift design industries.  Go here, to check out her website


    CAT LADY    

Some might say that every print tells a story. While that might make an adequate metaphor in most cases, this particular trend displays a more literal interpretation. We found a noteworthy number of typographic prints parading down the runway in the Spring 2015 shows. This can be a tricky trend to tackle as every typeface and recognizable word will conjure a different feeling in your audience – much more so than a paisley or floral element. Our advice is to either distort your overall design just enough to prevent your written words from being fully discernible, or pick a simple word or short phrase to repeat that you think will be universally likable.

Zoë Jordan, Donna Karan, Whit all via Style.com
Background print © Aaryn West

    FRUIT SALAD    

There is no way to wrap up our review of Spring 2015 runway print trends without first serving up a healthy dose of fruit salad. This tasty trend has been around for some time now, and with all the examples found in recent runway collections, we predict it will remain on the menu for a good while longer. Keep your prints from feeling stale by combining your fruity conversationals with other trends like abstract textures, geometric elements or the Matisse collage look.

Nicole Miller, Sonia by Sonia Rykiel, Au Jour Le Jour all via Style.com
Background print © Aaryn West