I’m Haunted by Alexander McQueen!
Alexander McQueen Fall/Winter 2013/2014 suspended all thought processes from my analytical mind. The baroque frescoed halls of the Opera Comique was haunted with super models seeming as if they were white and dark apparitions floating before our eyes, as we watch from without. There were probably arched necks hissing at these “foreign entities” swallowing their space. I’ve never been fond of ghosts creeping around any setting, I’d storm right out the door sending a chill vibration through everyone, but this collection has me wishing I was a white apparition crushing my energy into the setting seen in Alexander McQueen’s white and menacing under tone gowns. Beyond words, it’s simply ethereal. The inspiration, is about troubled nuns, mysterious angels, Queen Elizabeth I– and the Virgin Queen. I’ll be that mysterious angel, Alexander McQueen, I have been a fervent lover of your collection if you know what I mean!
What was Sarah Burton_current designer for Alexander McQueen_ trying to achieve with this “modern” collection? Maybe, we are just opening up to the New Age Fashion! Where spirituality and materialism are an Integration of Oneself! Oooh we can only learn from folks who have come to pass, and still breath heavily their left legacies.Their souls might have departed, but they are free to be wherever, and whenever we call on them for inspiration and guidance.
The Rich, Beautiful, and Famous!
I’ve been reflecting, not spending 7 days in meditation like the infamous philosopher Rene Descretez’s, II Meditations, concerning the nature of the human mind, but out of curiosity “Why woman aspire to become Fashion Models”? Is it the “words” that are associated with it? Bewitching Beauty, “Fashion put it all on me” and “Click,click, Flash” fellow fashionista Ciara bedazzles us with. Celebrities and parties are endlessly rejoicing in Great Gatsby’s Revolution, the kind of Glamourous Life that Fergie advices us to aspire to. However way it’s seen, hey I’m convinced I’d want to be apart of the rich,beautiful,and famous.
But what happened to the beauty that William Shakespeare seen in his mistress? He is after all a man of great eloquence and eye for beauty.
He said, “
My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red:
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask’d, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound.
I grant I never saw a goddess go:
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.
To him his mistress’ beauty is rare, raw, and the realism of her sensuality fueled their romance.
The feeling of a lover,honestly, glorifying in your unique qualities does leave a permanent mark of admiration that reciprocates between the two of you. However, those words aren’t meant for you to exploit and genuinely believe that you have an advantage over others.
Magazine covers mesmerizes us with faces considered Ideal, according to the Encyclopedia of Modern Beauty, when really modeling is about height, and proportions; so where does iconic beauty fit in to the equation? The glamourous Kim Kardashian hasn’t been featured in Vogue Magazine, is it because she is not beautiful? Obviously, the politics of the industry plays a major role in how these “beautiful faces” will be in demand.
Still…What really justifies beauty from a modeling agency’s prospective? No one can convince me that he has no physical flaws. I’m a self declared analyst and observer of mankind’s physical structures,and there is no specie known to nature that holds no imperfections, or created without an opposite. Even fruits have this insecurity; If your the sweetest peach in the world, there will be someone who hates sweet peaches.
Love yourself as you are because that is the ultimate beauty designed by the great architect himself-God.
The FIAT Music Video_Sexy People_ and its Featured Fashion
Music Video Breakdown:
“When I hear the ocean calling” sings Arianna in a hypnotic voice and streams us through an ad campaign featuring guest stars: Charlie Sheen,former 3LW singer Adrianna, Shaggy,and NFL stars Chad Johnson, and former Dez Bryan. We get “Welcomed to Miami” and see surprise guests: mermaids who lose their tops, and dancing seahorses.
Sexy People glamorizes us with Arianna’s Yacht; I suppose only sexy people are seen in those nowadays congregating with Italian FIAT 500 across the Atlantic sea surface. The sexy models strutted down in a white sexy and chic beach suite, which makes the models look like editorial couture beach suite model. The excitement in the video sells the FIAT,and the women’s beach suites. we are yet to see white become a popular chosen color for beach suites by this summer in North America and the US. This leads me to contemplate the rise of trends as being perpetuated by business corporations aiming to whether the retail storms. We get it Pitbull, no one ever said it’s bad to “have fun” while the immigrants and you hawk Italian cars, and rise to fame. It is about publicity after all!
Talk about mixing “Business with Pleasure!” Adrianna ft. Pitbull have their hands full here. Advertising tactics with a spice of creative song lyrics makes this an interesting perspective! Will we see PitBull and his imitated look of James Bond featuring him in GQ Magazine or Vanity Fair?
Detail Decisions
Should I wear the red shoes or black shoes, which would go well with this dress? Being torn between two options of items is a common dilemma faced when it comes to dressing. There comes a point when one is torn between two items and they have to decide on one. Perhaps it’s not between two shoes necessarily – that’s probably a shoes-type-of-girl’s personal headache, maybe your a guy and it’s a tie, or a shirt or some other item.
A lot goes into dressing up. First, the thinking begins – don’t tell me am the only one with an imaginary version of my closet in my head! I start browsing through options of what I am going to wear ahead of time if am aware of an event am attending or am trying to create a certain look. Mind you, this initial process takes place all in thought.
It’s no wonder when I am facing my closet, like most women after creating Mt. Icanfindanythingtowear, I find my self frustrated and whining out the common phrase, ” I have nothing to wear”. It never fails!
Then there’s the second push, a sincere effort to find something because to be honest there is a lot to wear. And to be honest if for every time we think we don’t have anything to wear, we actually bought more clothes, we would be short of having a hording intervention.
So, we try and here is when the details matter most. In the second attempt , I don’t just throw stuff on, run to the mirror, access the ensemble and then toss it if it’s not meeting my vision. A much more analytically approach to dressing is awakened in this round. Questions such as , ” How can I make this dress more elegant, or what jewelry will add the right pizzazz with this piece?” are suddenly explored.
It really comes down to the details of details, these decisions sometimes leaves one with such a close tie and here’s when most women enlist their male companions or fellow female friends for further scrutiny of which will be the best fit. I know the commercial of the female asking her significant other, ” honey, which shoes?” and him looking widely lost because they all look the same is suddenly playing in your head, no?
Anyhow, we all have reached this dichotomous point before, some find themselves here often and others less. Which are you? Do have a mental debate outlining why you should wear, say item A over B? Or are you one who would rather run to someone and have them pick something? How is this decision made? What is the process like?
Here’s a few things to consider if you find yourself in such a fashion quandary, these are my ABC detail decision breaker.
(A) Do I want to do the norm or do I want to be experimental and stand out?
Let me explain. When you’re torn between two fashion items, if you have to pick quickly, you’ll pick your default, not-out-there option if your a minimalist. If your not then you’ll pick the latter. Lets say it’s a multicolored dress with some black detailing and your deciding to wear a black shoes or a leopard print shoes. If you answer the question and decide you want to do the norm and not-stand out, then you’ll pick the black shoes so as not to stand-out and besides the dress has some black in it so your playing up the color. If you answer I want to stand out then you know which you’ll pick. Audience is certainly a factor in this choice as well. What is the event, who’s presence will you be gracing? Then again decided on the question, “ Do I want to do the norm or do I want to be experimental and stand out?”
(b) Which, between which ever two option I am torn between, is most true to my personal style?
It’s essential that one dresses in clothing that exerts personal confidence. We feel the way we dress. If you chose something that isn’t necessarily you simply because your trying to fit in, then you may not be comfortable. Let’s say your not too fond of garish, gaudy jewelry but your torn between wearing such a piece and something much more subtle. Well, which is more you? Do not wear that huge, abstract necklace if people starring at it or making it a point of conversation makes you feel awkward. First rule in dressing: where what you want to wear and wear what you are!
(C) Can I find a middle ground between the two options?
This last option is crucial if you’re severely confused and undecided. If you really think that lace top looks hot with the fitted, turquoise sheer skirt yet you also like the simple beige shirt then maybe find the best thing between the two. Ask more questions of yourself to help find a middle ground. What about option “A” do I like most, what is making option “B” equally attractive to me? What if I choose option “B” and to satisfy my need for texture, which is what the lace was giving me in option “A”, I add texture by carrying a clutch with multiple texture instead, or I put a hair accessory, etc…
It’s best to have a thought-process to go to immediately when torn between items of clothing. Otherwise, next thing you know time is running out and you have to be dressed and on your way in minutes – and for god’s sake you just can’t decide on anything!
” My theory is that if you look confident you can pull off anything_even if you have no clue what you are doing.” Jessica Alba
Stylish Sana
“From Chaos to Couture” The Politics of “Punk Movement” and Met Gala Fashion Event
“One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.” Friedrich Nietzsche
Hollywood stars graced the red carpet event, The Met Gala Fashion fundraiser, themed “From Chaos to Couture.” The event is orchestrated by Anna Wintour, Vogue Magazine editor-in chief. Anna Wintour is one of the most powerful people in fashion. Setting trends and anointing new designers.
Wintour believes that fashion and politics are interconnected. She said, “If you look at any great fashion photograph out of context, it will tell you just as much about what’s going on in the world as a headline in The New York Times.”
What does punk (DIY) ethics reveal to us about what’s going on in the World? Are we transiting through the energies of Punk movement? Punk breaks down barriers, and shocks with actions and ideas. The music is created as a hard-edged fast antiestablishment lyric. There’s always a youthful rebellious attitude, which is shown by distinctive fashionable styles and anti-authoritarian ideologies. Punk will not sacrifice its personal freedom. Anna’s wisdom shines a mirror on the trends taking place in this “Spirit of the Times-zeitgeist- energies. It can mean Political upheaval, government secrecy, and rebellion against established laws.
Did Anna Wintour consciously persuade Hollywood celebrities to raise awareness about universal political issues? We’ve experienced massive bailouts to banks, Job losses and layoffs, the collapse of housing markets, the stock market, religious intolerance, and above all “Us versus Them” mentality. Politically if it’s not these issues Anna wanted to bring to light, what message would she have wanted to send? Each look is personable yet personified to capture the essence of the movement. The event illuminated on the beauty that can spark from chaos.
The Punk Movement isn’t too detached from Marx Marxism’s conception of ideology. Which says that the ideas and interests of the dominant class are the very ideas that shape the course of history. Marx views ideology as a fragmented system that distorts consciousness into principles that only satisfies the elite in the social hierarchy. Conflict rises as a result of ideological views because of class and labor division serving the dominant class. Ideology functions deceptively to keep society civil and obedient to the exploiting class. Again, no punk movement sacrifices their personal freedom. This ideological correlation to historical materialism is that the masters of production-socialist anarchist- force upon the working class-the producers-economic systems (capitalism) that affects the labor workers as a means to generate more capital for their personal wealth; this creates a cycle of greed-and me against the world attitude. The Punk movement certainly is out to demolish such held beliefs. Fashion is interconnected to the politics of “The Times” and in this case, each “Look” is “Punked” and rebels against what no longer serves its needs.
Hathaway stood up dignified in a blond hairdo, different from Miley Cyrus’,in a Valentino vintage gown that compels even the strongest of hearted to obedience. Hathaway’s inspiration was Blondie’s Debbie Harry, who also dazzled herself in a studded blazer by Tommy Hilfiger.
Beyonce,the event’s honorary chairwoman, was adorned in a motif Givency’s Riccardo Tisci gown flaming her way out of Chaos.
“Chaos in the world brings uneasiness, but it also allows the opportunity for creativity and growth.” Tom Barrett
Image Courtesty of Dimitrios Kambouris
How my childhood experiences influenced my Love for Fashion
“The remains of yesterday’s okra we’ll eke it for today, ya habebti.” Mom always said these things that made me ask myself, why? Why isn’t she going to the sokhe(grocery store) for fresh produce today? I came to my senses at the age of eight that she just didn’t have the money.
In July of 1993 in Khartoum Sudan, I hated living in huts. I remember, holding my breath in shock to the sight of my mom’s landlord. Her landlord complained a lot about her health issues, and wanted the rent money, relentlessly. My mom, feeling inadequate and miserable, remained hopeful that her landlord won’t tell her to pack her stuff and leave us homeless.
Inevitably, that day came, “Where would we go, mommy?” I asked her in a pronounced Arabic accent. She would smile, and nod, “You’ll have to go live with your grandmother.”
I loved my grandmother; she was the backbone of my childhood. Although she’s filled with hardships she always persevered and triumphed over the difficulties with a divine spirit. Her face and hands were etched with wrinkles, each one earned. She would guide my hands towards my heart, “It’s right here, to your left” she would point, and I would argue, “No, but it beats on my right side grandma.”
I didn’t know why mom wanted to get rid of me. I’ve always been so strongly attached to her. I loved how she looked; she was very vibrant, with a few fresh teenage acnes on her face.
What is she planning on doing? I began to question myself because no one else took care of me like she did. She always had a very calming smell that was a mixture of glycerin and rosemary water.
In the evenings, our house-exhaled mists like an early morning, and I would feel angry with my father for not bringing any money home. I just never told him. Mom needed to pay the rent, get grocery and he was nowhere around us when we needed him. He always left to look for a job, and always came home empty handed. My food plate was empty, and I knew my mom would be caking up a solution. She hated watching me starve, and I couldn’t take it anymore. My stomach was fighting and eating up its own flesh. I was dizzy and felt a dull constant twang of hunger.
I never knew papa’s dreams, ambitions, and sense of humor. He was always so serious with a very dry cut personality. I never expected him to give me any affection; I just wanted him to make mom happy. While he taught me Arabic words, he would smack my finger for a slight mispronunciation of a word, with his rigid hand flying across my face with such speed and precision that it dysfunctions any cell. I was that hateful burden that my mom brought with her. I felt like I was an unexpected sourness that popped along his life path, and marked it with so much unfortunate events.
Hope began to form my think. I hoped for a place where we were all happy. I visualized myself going to school and not laboring at the house all day. Not boiling flour with water that the U.N supplies us with for food. I imagined a place with no water dripping down from its rooftop, leaving my mom and I cold, and filled with sadness. I prayed that whatever it is that be fells us to go away, so I wouldn’t wake up to an empty hut next to a cemetery.
Our house stood 5 inches high of solid cow waste as its base, circulating in a round radius, and bricks forming a triangular shape as its rooftop. The place was my grandmother’s house. I accepted that was where I was living now because a year and half has gone by, and I have not seen my mom. Nonetheless, I would stretch my arms outward like a flying bird at the sight of the sunrise, feeling the cold breeze hit my face, and imagined a different place. A place where birds chirp in the morning, and there’s plenty of food to feed them and my family.
My grandmother sold many of her clothes too, in exchange for food for us. I hated that she was selling her beloved belongings, in fact, I’d much rather be hungry than to watch her exchange items at a near by sokhe(grocery store) for us to eat. The sokhe smelled of fresh cow meat, human sweat, and unrecognizable smells. People were constantly rushing to buy their produce for the day. I was breathing in the fumes of raw sirloin, fresh mangos, and muddy water. I stared from the side under a tent as my grandmother attempts to negotiate her offers for food. Watching like a lost invisible soul, I saw soldiers raiding stores and stealing chickens, and goats. They were like licking honey off of a thorn, their tongues hurt by their own hunt for food, and their mouths barking for more. I have never been so petrified. My grandmother quickly grabbed onto my hand, and rushed to cave us behind a pile of tomatoes as we waited for them to leave. Some looked even looked my age (eight years old ) with weapons I had never seen before. It was chaotic, the chickens were attempting to fly while squirming with fear, and the storeowners just gave whatever the soldiers’ hands can carry. It became so normal, to be stolen from or to be terrorized until you give your last. Eventually, they left, and I was once again happy.
I began to accept my mother’s absence. It was unbearable to think of her and not be able to contact her. I looked forward to Fridays which dawned a crisp and sunny days, I thought it would be just another day like the rest, so predictable. In spite of the tormenting day before, no one was hurt. Being the courageous young lady that I was I never feared much anymore, I was so anxious to go play with the kids outside already. Which meant I would sneak out of our spacious field of dust and tip toe out of the door to play with my friend, Fyza. My grandmother raised her too, I never knew much about her, I just knew her parents died in Sudan’s Civil War. Being the fine explorers that we were, our walk resonates with a film noir mystery. We saw dead dogs covered by nature’s soil, and the washed off parts that the rain had buried. They reeked like a funky fish that sat out of the water for too long. I hated the sight of little kids with their fat hungry belly, and their mothers covered up with nature’s soil close to our house graveyard. I was a beacon of hope, I knew all this is too unreal, it couldn’t be life, but my child instincts always had the best of me, and I just dismissed our misfortune. I never looked deeper into the circumstances I was born into.
Fyza and I thought about going home, we knew it was getting late, and my grandmother would be waiting with a stick to smack me in the head with. I felt scared and we rushed home immediately. We stormed in fear; my feet were dry and filled with sand marks migrating its way up to my knees. I stopped frequently to buckle my sandals whose tongues were flopping to the side of my feet, restricting me from walking. I always managed to make it home. If it meant taking my sandals off, I did, only when the sun wasn’t shinning too bright. I already had enough cracks on my feet from walking with no shoes. As I pushed our front door open, I saw my mom bursting in tears on her knees when she laid her eyes on me. She crawled into a fetus position, her head tilted to the front door’s entrance, and her eyes were glistening with joy. Her radiance and aura shocked me in bright colors. The look on her eyes, I’ve held on to her gaze of love in my heart. I was jumping up and down with my sandals off, evaporating the dust from its serene state towards my face. I was never so happy-as the day I seen- she was out of prison.
My mom was traveling to Borsudan from Khartoum, Sudan in 1993 when a passenger seated next to her stuffed her luggage with marijuana. Once she saw the police searching everyone’s luggage, the woman immediately shoved all her illegal possessions in my mom’s luggage. When the police searched my mom’s luggage they found the drugs. My mom swore it didn’t belong to her. However, there were no cameras in the bus to validate that. My mom was escorted to jail, and sentenced to 21 years in prison. Sudan amidst the DarFur Genocide, how can it know justice? Or believe in innocence until proven guilty? The justice system took away from me what I lived for. I was depressed, and was constantly quite playing this scene in my mind over and over. Wondering if mom was awake, and hadn’t fallen asleep in the bus none of this would have happened. That incident was the hallmark of my introverted personality.
When I finally felt her presence, and heard her soft, melodious voice, I wanted to express to her how happy I was, I wanted to tell her I loved her, but I just couldn’t. The freshness of her tob(cloth) reminded me of her distinctive smell, glycerin with rosemary water. I ran fast to hug her so tightly and she whispered, “We are going to Egypt, ya habebti.”
“Us? No! Are you sure?”
“Unless you like it here, habebti” she laughed, and I couldn’t have imagined a better sound. Tears just glistened in my big brown eyes. My tears cleansed away the dust on my face after a prolonged time of weeping, and I wiped off my tears with my delicate hands; this cleansing was a glimpse of a clean path, a second chance at everything. I could hear my heart beating so fast, I finally confirmed it too, my heart beats on the left side, or at least I thought so.
“I want to know everything mommy, I’m not a little girl anymore”
I shouted out loud, my agony suddenly reciprocated.
“When you’re my height, you’ll know everything ya habebti.” She always called me that which means, my beloved. To hear those words of affection and at last our family is migrating to Egypt makes my mom a truly magnificent expression of humanity.
The way she smelled, the way she looked so vibrant, the way she wore her dress, were so pleasant that my mother became the driving force in my life’s obsession with Fashion, she is my muse. Now, when I find a beautiful garment-even if it’s not a brand name, but as long as it’s sensual in my eyes-she cherishes it. My memories of her style and charisma were like a fresh breath of new life and happiness that emanated from her presence; she is God’s chosen messenger that led me to my creative passions. I’m ever so appreciative for even the turbulent experiences together because without it I wouldn’t have discovered an imagination that is so Bright and Abundant.
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal._2 Corinthians 4:18
Photo Curtesy of:
Serkan Mumcuoglu
Flash Fiction: Fashion Is My Therapy
“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” Mark Twain
“Today, at the office meeting, they saw how wrinkled my pants looked. The threads strung upright from the seams on the bottom of my pants. I asked my wife to press on each pleat on the bottom, and to remove the lint. She shouldn’t have washed my work pants with her wool jacket, but she was running late for work. The thought of lint hanging loosely on my pants oozed saliva from my teeth, filling my mouth. My embarrassment was inevitable, life suddenly began pulsating through my veins,and all access was denied to my imagination who was in search of a reason to go on conducting the meeting.
I bolted from the meeting room to the bathroom feeling unnerved by the mirror on the wall swallowing my image. My hand curled into a fist crushing itself through the cracked surface. Like a flash of thunder strike the glass shattered, and each of my breath felt heavy hearted. I pounded harder to squash the sensations I felt inside my chest. Pain only surfaced once more in the face I masked, and fear crept into my consciousness. I am of very dark complexion with a hint of red which I saw as a burnt brick tone etched with wrinkles. It lacked a purposeful expression,but remains buried in deep sleep in my mind. The unnecessary skin that has found itself a home around my neck was covered with an Italian high collar, and a two button band for closure. No one saw the staggered skin that have folded with time. I’ve camouflaged myself with elegance and sophistication to hide my depression, and body imperfections.
My nephew says he wants to be like me. To be seen as expensive, and sophisticated, and feared for his ability to project power and dominion. “You think clothes does that to a person, I asked jokingly. “Yes!” he says proudly. I couldn’t deny his response, I am a hypocrite, all those years I have been possessed by fashion, without it, I am always in search of my true identity. When I’m not up to date with trends I find myself in search of a deeper meaning for my life, my purpose driven life which still remains a mystery to me. Yet, with an overpowering obsession to remain trendy,sophisticated, and well mannered I suffer from not knowing why I must always look like a gift well wrapped up for the public. Fashion has been that cathartic release from the naked emptiness I feel from my insecurities, to shine as a prominent person in the eyes of others. As a buyer for highend retailers, fashion is akin to a religious experience when I’m in fashion shows. My entrance into mystical ecstasy because my imperfections are not visible. It remains nonexistent as long as I’m clothed in the finest of fabrics.
Minutes passed before I regained myself. I called for the custodian to clean up the shattered mirror on the floor. When I pulled the bathroom door to leave, I overheard a couple of females that were at the board meeting in the hall saying, “wow,did you see what he wore?” I saw her pause for a second to catch her breath. Her friend knotted her head and said, “he is always fashionable, and is well mannered. I bet he has great confidence,and wealth.”
Feedback is greatly Appreciated!
Image Courtesy of Junn J. Autumn Collection
J’adore Street Style
“Style is a way to say Who You Are without having to speak.” Rachel Zoe
Samantha Spiegel, hair and makeup stylist, was captured at the Broadway Tunnel in San Francisco and the Bohemian club. She is irresistibly discreet and seductive without uttering a single peep in a “Little Black Dress” an off the shoulder decolletages.
“I wear this therefore I am.” Yasmine Benjamin, student at the University of Maine,was captured at The Mill in Saco. Her dignified stance is a marked flamboyance and manner.
Egypt, Yasmine’s niece, is quite charismatic in following her aunt’s lead!
Once I Came Out, I Never Went Back!
Once I Came Out, I Never Went Back
Our personality and lifestyle choices certainly influences our sense of style; fashionably or even in choosing decorative items. Nate Berkus has a magnetic natural finesse for interior designing. He continues to wow us with his ability to renovate the dullest living spaces into a utopian environment of fengshui, or transform castles to feel like it’s floating on a cloud. Hey, our home is meant to feel like our sanctuary, after all. Design, can open up a whole new world to you!
Nate’s career reached its climax when he announced his sexual orientation to his family and the public with ease and confidence.
Only he knew his true self on a deeper level. There was an instant spark of transformation when he accepted his true self and not what his dad or society expects him to be.
Complexity is certainly inherent in our lives, even choices we are easily prone to making can be determined as choices driven by our sense of ego or spirituality, never seemingly easily understood by others. The power that drives our desires and passions lies in our makeup like an astrological imprint of planets frozen in space and vibrating of strong energies beyond us yet manifesting itself before our eyes; and our higher self clings to it and lusts to materialize it. Psychologically, identifying with our own creative map is a rebirth into our true Spirit. Nate has revealed to us his true confessions “Once I Came out, I never Went Back” as a feeling of liberation and owning his individuality. That sense of liberation truly frees us of a psychic space mentally so we are to devote our thoughts into areas of greater purpose. His passion for designing has blossomed when he lived in harmony with himself. Then, he was able to fulfill his passion for design. Be yourself, and your passion and style will shimmer through the surface!
Nate enlightens us by saying, “Your home should tell your story. The way you do that is through your things. #thingsmatter
Yes, we know it’s not so simple to do that with all the expectations we face.
Objectively so many influences affects the nature of individuality and our quality of life. Like a quilt of various components somehow interconnected for the whole being known as wo/man: Heredity, geographical circumstances, nationality, social class, free will, and ever changing influences governing an individual’s complex identity. The most significant part is the belief and nature of our reality/context. Nonetheless, false information gets regurgitated for the purposes of blending in with the rest of civilized individuals. As Virgil has said, “Happy is he who gets to know the meaning for things.” Be nothing but yourself, and you’ll begin to feel and experience the paragon of God’s creation-your ideal self, life, passions, and inspirations.
I am intrigued by the intricate complicated web of our human selves, which are an unmistakable mark of God’s gentle touch.
Image courtesy of Nate Berkus.
Flash Fiction: Madame Serpent
10. Whispers of satanic worship commanded her to execute the spell.
9. The walls marked unexplained symbols engraved against the stones.
8. She seen an apparition emerge from her juvenile cell.
7. What once stood there was a sanatorium.
6. He departed, but his spirit stayed.
5. She felt his cold touches.
“I’ll free you from here Miss Gemini!_your dare devil side_” His voice roared like a thunderous lion. “And grant you the recognition and success of a Fashion Icon. You are not just Selling your Soul for an exclusive prestige. It’s shedding off your skin and evolving into a Mystical Butterfly.
4. Mesmerized by his offer, she agreed.
3. But on a second thought, dehumanize them all.
2. For sacrifice.
1. Revenge!
Image courtesy of Serkan Mumcuoglu (Art Director and Photographer)
Videos
A thing of beauty is a joy forever.
Its loveliness increases; it will never
pass into nothingness …
―John Keats
Masses of people are secretly in love with the woman Chanel adorns in her millenary hats,gemstones, bijouterie and her curvaceous hourglass suites. Her sinuous manner inspires more than just admiration, she is a beauty that’s breathless and full of bliss.
She is one who epitomizes elegance as a way of lifestyle. Mannerism, Seduction, and Simplicity are never out of season. It’s especially delightful to see how Gabrielle Bonleur Chanel started out in this video,” Once Upon a Time” in 1909, at 160 Boulevard Malesherbes Paris. The House of Chanel has clothed many celebrities, of the many, Marchesa Luisa Casti leaves us with a powerful felt presence. Decades have passed, but she still remains a relevant fashion icon. she said, “I want to be a living work of art.” Certainly, Marchesa has set the scale up high for modern celebrities like Lady Gaga, Grace Jones, and if rocking shark teeth around your neck or camouflaging your body in snake skin sounds like a fashion statement, than you might just have what it takes to aspire to Marchesa Casti.
There’s something utterly transcendent about a woman who knows she holds a magnetic allure, and intoxicates us with her Chanel No.5 fragrance spritzed over her little black dress; such awareness turns on even the hardest harded of men into her admirers, and sedates the rest of us to have a lustful desire for her sorcerous appeal. Wo/man Chanel always leaves us inspired!
” Woman are the most perfect dolls to ever be dressed with delight and admiration.” Karl Lagerfeld
“The appreciation of beauty in art or nature is not only (for all its difficulties) the easiest available spiritual exercise; it is also a completely adequate entry into (and not just an analogy of) the good life, since it is the checking of selfishness in the interest of seeing the real.” John Debson
Guo Pei,fashion designer, eclipses fashion to a religious experience. The silhouettes are a celebration and expression of a Dionysian impulse-body’s expression of emotions, intuition, and ecstasy.
Pei’s steam punk theme is a modern interpretation of ideas based on history yet with evolutionary emphasis on culture. The essence of culture is magical, a shinning path to the divine. She is the mystical alchemist that links the microcosm with the macrocosm (the Universe) through genius work. The harmonic proportions directly communicated to our psyche can hold a power of transformation, as we see each design intrinsically enmeshed with (her) life/culture and art. There’s a ruthless self-revelation seen in her work that mirrors her nature. Effortlessly, we get carried to a private realm, and shown in full spectrum that the designs convey a deep personal message.
Seated at the edge of my seat,unfortunately behind my laptop not the event, I see each silhouette enlightening my senses in Mega Doses. Some dresses are covered fully in golden panels. The show not only represents an inspirational blend derived from Arabian tales, but from classical Chinese fairy tales and the West. The blue and white designs are reminiscent of Ming vases mingling with rich imagery of birds, Persian motifs, Rocco and baroque styles. Her couture collections are a blend of classic fantasy and grandiose cultural and historical themes. According to the New York Times, “She had trained a crew of 300 employers to specialize specifically in making her dresses” The dresses would take over 50,000 hours to embroider. And other dresses, contain 200,000 Swarovski crystals. Lady Gaga, singer and actress Zuying have been her clientele.
There’s an unmistakable beauty and sense of individuality; a common root that shows a balance of harmony within all the constructed elements playing in unison. Talk about an interplay between the Apollonian and Dionysian impulse!
Images
“The finest clothing made is a person’s skin, but of course, society demands something more than this.” –Mark Twain
I walked into his private parlor, palpably arrayed with his aesthetic touches, history, and spiritual energy. It became clear that art is a window to his soul. I could sense it touched him profoundly. This aura aroused my curiosity for some form of spiritual enlightenment through him. I felt his affinity for the arts in a sensual way.
He gently leaned over and whispered softy, “I’ve wanted to tell you something.” He paused to align his breathing with his heartbeat. “You are a very beautiful woman.” He felt his blood rushing through his veins as the aroma of the musk fragrant that I had spritzed over my skin aroused him. He laid his provocative hands on my face and leaned toward the corners of my plump lips trailing feather light kisses. I wasn’t shocked by his intimacy. I held my breath as I felt his twirling tongue on my skin gently taking my flesh into his mouth. I felt joy from his explorative soft kisses and his fingertips pressing against my neck. He released the pressure of his fingertips and wrapped me closely in his arms. The feeling between us felt like we were in silent meditation.
“I have to go,” I said as I tried to hide my explosive outbursts of emotions from seeping. I swayed my hips provocatively as I walked away from his admiring stare. The morning air was heavy and warm. We could have easily been consumed with our faithless passion. “Maybe it’s something spiritual; there was something gloomy and peculiar about him today that was trying to revive from an innate state.” I immediately dismissed my thoughts, and became attentive to his stare admiring the contours of my womanly body. He blushed at my fallen hair pressing against the soft fabric of his cashmere red sweater. My eyes reflected a glowing hidden passion he longed to devour.
His eyes were still lit on me like bees on a radiant flower as he explored all the possibilities of regret for our intimate encounter, but his heart failed to resent me when it embraced the reflection of the fire glow in my eyes penetrating through his body. He reached and touched my hand while sending a telepathic wave of tremendous loneliness that we both knew we’d always feel because of our significant others. Slowly, I then slithered out of his red cashmere sweater,and stood up bold upright owning my own sensuality.
Galleries
This gallery contains 42 photos.
