I don’t remember how I stumbled onto Jonas Unger’s portfolio but I’m happy that I did. Literally, each image has so much to say. I want to know what is going on beyond the moment that was captured. What do you think?

Plus, I’m loving this hairpiece

♥ the alchemist

It’s the Spring Fashion Issue of New York Magazine. Look at this editorial titled Dress Descending a Staircase with all these saturated colors.

I have a weakness for clothes that look like art. Last summer, I bought a dress from Zara simply because I felt like a walking painting. These blow that dress out of the water.

           Multicolored silk long-sleeved dress with Harlequin print, Miu Miu.

                                 Circle-print top, and skirt, Fendi.

                                         Multicolored gown, Marni.

                                    Vernis-print dress, Chloé.

                   Hand-printed silk organza dress,  Dolce & Gabbana.

                       Zac Posen cyclone gown, Bergdorf Goodman

The Zac Posen is my favorite, maybe I have a thing for the brush strokes, hand-painted element?

♥ the alchemist

I’m so happy that Agathe of Style Bytes shared this beautiful illustration that Aksiniya made for her. What a wonderful gift.  

On Aksiniya’s blog, there are lots of images that are so beautiful and lovely.

But this one image caught my heart, because it is a take on the recent S/S 2008 collection of one of my favorite designers: Wunderkind

Is this not wonderful?

♥ the alchemist

Back in early January I got an email alerting me to the Improv Everywhere’s latest mission which was to ride around the New York Subway Public Transportation System sans pants.

Umm…no thanks! It’s cold, it’s dirty, it’s public. Most importantly, it’s sans pants and I only walk around my house in my underwear, okay!

I mean what if I saw my crush (awkward), my first-grade teacher (yea, this is what I’m up to these days), those kooky Project Runway judges (I didn’t realize this style was last season’s…) or the mailman ( I just threw that one in there)??? These are the questions that plague me at night. Anyway…

So, I put those crazy folks on the back burner because I had seen other missions and knew that this was something I would want to be a part of eventually. Didn’t know the next one was going to be that soon and I completely missed the mark on one of the coolest missions that I have seen in a long time and am kicking myself that I didn’t pay attention to the next email.

Check out Frozen in Grand Central.  Really, upset at myself. How cool is this? And I missed it???

Next time, Improv Everywhere, next time.

You and me, we have a date.

Name the time and the place (as long as my undies are covered, I’ll be there)

♥ the alchemist

I will let the pictures do the talking.

Plus, the two coolest Bobs in the world.

Please check out the sleeveface flickr pool and sleeveface.com for more amazing photos. Love.

photos: jeanieforever; sleeveface.com; lolabix; easilydistracted; dope_transmissions

This video is a funny tutorial on how to sleeveface.

♥ the alchemist

Keetja Allard is an accomplished photographer working with different magazines, actors and musicians. Looking through her portfolio I was really drawn to this particular editorial, titled nylon depression era.

Love the color combination of the purple with those blue shoes.

♥ the alchemist

I stumbled onto photographer Sarah Wilmer’s portfolio which is filled with lovely, quirky images.  Sarah allows us, the viewer to feel like a voyeur quitely observing a scene. Most of her subjects never face the camera and they are permanently caught unaware in an intimate moment. Leaving us to determine why they are there and what exactly is happening. Each image is a short story waiting to be written. This is just a sprinkling of some of her work.

Why do I love a top hat so much??

Stunning!

Sarah also has a series titled Cryosphere which are photographs of frozen landscapes which are refreshingly beautiful.

♥ the alchemist

Ahh, call it graffiti, guerilla art, however you spell it, most folks have very definitive views on it. Some people love and appreciate graffiti as art, others hate and view it as a form of vandalism. I definitely fall into the first category. Now, don’t get me wrong this doesn’t mean that I’m all for the defacing of property and the ubiquitous tag scribbled furiously in an attempt to elude getting caught. No, I’m talking about the type of graffiti that has something to say, that is essentially art. (on a building)

Growing up in NYC, I have seen my share of graffiti and the culture inspired from it. One artist who is internationally known for his combination of stenciling and anti-war/anti-establishment subject matter is Banksy. As with any real graffiti artist, his identity is under-wraps as well as it can be. Some people think that Banksy is a collective under one name, others believe that he is just one man on a quest, all these theories are part of the mystery surrounding the art. There is an awesome Flickr group dedicated to Banksy that has lot of images for you to peruse.

Here is a great video of Banksy attempting to place some guerilla art within museums.

♥ the alchemist

I’ve always associated lace with delicacy and femininity which is why I think this idea of a lace fence is so cool. Dutch design house DEMAKERSVAN has turned something utilitarian and functional like a wire fence and given it a touch of whimsy.

To take something so cold and industrial and add this effect really makes it into a work of art.

Plus, their mission is impressive:

“Dutch Design is mostly famous for its conceptual, almost art-like status.
We are very much Dutch, but apart from that, we also strongly believe that in the end our work should also find a larger audience.
That is why we work in a similar way as the Haute Couture fashion world works.
Our studio will take the largest amount of artistic freedom to express valuable concepts, fantastic stories in projects that know no limitations.
We use them ourselves as an inspiration and show them as a way to tell our story.
On the other hand that same drive can lead to products that find their way in the productionline.

We are storytellers, from fantasy to factory, from statement to product.”

♥ the alchemist

I am a natural collector of beautiful things, especially images. I adore them. Some are stored in little file folders on the computer, many more are kept in a more tactile form where I can physically hold them and look at them. These images by Miles Aldridge (who is a fantastic photographer) have sat in my computer files since last year and every so often I observe them.  This editorial titled Immaculee featuring Alana Zimmer ran in Numero Magazine early last year.

Absolutely stunning!

♥ the alchemist

Okay, I admit it. I love seeing the actual prepartion that goes into a collection, where the designers find inspiration, the backstage photos. To me, this makes the actual designs more interesting. Sisters, Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte are designers that consistently let me take a peek into their world and I devour the photos.

Back in July, I posted some images from their Fall 2007 show. Here are some behind-the-scenes images including fittings from the Spring 2008 collection.

Rodarte allows me to be a part of their fantastical vision and I’m happier for it.

♥ the alchemist

Wow, Nikoline Liv Andersen is a Danish fashion designer whose 2007-2008 collection is theatrical and intricately over-the-top.

Here are some images from her myspace page:

Everything in this picture is sublimely grotesteque but wonderfully modern. The jacket, the styling with the mask.

Ruffs are popping up everywhere! How 16th century.

The texture of this dress is insane. I just want to reach out and touch it. It reminds me of a wood grain pattern.

♥ the alchemist