PopRina - Fashion the Masses

It's Friday afternoon and I'm not so in the mood for some intense thinking. Internet surfing aimlessly is not really my thing; so here I am, yet for another rant on how fashion is not as a shallow subject as most would think (especially for the guys, we don't break your wallet for nothing). I will write another post for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of fashion .

I am more interested in sharing with all of you out there, my all time favourite Gucci girl, predecessor of Tom Ford; who else if not Frida Giannini! Here's a quick background on who she is and how she came about as a revolutionary designer;

"Born in Rome to creative, intellectual parents — her father is an architect, her mother teaches history of art — Giannini has fashion embedded in her DNA. Her grandmother owned a boutique and she spent many afternoons after school styling the mannequins. She was encouraged to express her creativity early on by painting flowers all over her bedroom walls, which were whitewashed regularly so that she could reinvent her designs." - Times Online

"Giannini landed a job at Fendi in 1997, designing ready-to-wear before switching to leather goods. In 2002 she jumped to Gucci, where she oversaw handbags. In 2004 she was appointed creative director of accessories, which make up more than 80% of the company's sales."

"Giannini, who replaced Alessandra Facchinetti as creative director of women's wear at the $2 billion luxury house last spring, is known for her talent as an accessories designer. Now she will have to prove herself in apparel."
- Spectrum Women

Being relentlessly inventive is one thing, but staying true to own's principals is another. While Gucci's previous collections are more sexually motivated - please refer to most of its print ads, you'll get what I mean- Giannini keeps sexiness in her designs very subtle to its minimum. She is more attentive towards reality and wearability of her designs which had won appeals more against its Gucci Group counterparts like YSL, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga and Stella McCartney. What is more lovely about her is that, she deems to accentuate Gucci wearer's personality rather than materialistic possessions. According to Giannini, "Without a strong personality, you can have the most beautiful clothes in the world and you will never look right.".

Even so, her fresh and humorous designs with slight androgyny is not much approved by the veterans(or should I say traditionalist?) and mainstream designers. Her Spring/Summer 2009 collections are criticized as unethical against fashion exclusivity for its "resemblance" with retailers like Zara.

Her new rebranded Gucci is described for "the woman who enjoys life, successful in her job and leaves a lasting impression every time she walks into a room" as opposed to Gucci's previous image which she refers as "the footballer’s wife" kind.

"What people don’t acknowledge is that ready-to-wear sales were slipping quite a lot even while Tom was still at Gucci, so you have to think, maybe you can look sexy just by baring your shoulders rather than exposing the whole lot. Maybe it’s not about the red carpet but about having a good time with your friends. Maybe the time for wearing shoes that make you feel destroyed after a few hours has passed. And while I’m not anti-celebrity, I’m not a Hollywood girl — and maybe it’s not the moment for just being a celebrity brand." - was what she said in her interview with Times Online. I could not agree more.

Frida Giannini's magical touch is the epitome of looking fabulous with practicality. She also gave a word or two on how guys should improve their style. Taken from Esquire.com magazine:

"The first thing I notice about a man are his shoes. Then I look at his watch.

The most iconic figures -- Jean-Paul Belmondo, Steve McQueen, James Dean -- were all rebels. Without a strong personality, you can have the most beautiful clothes in the world and you will never look right.

Sexiness is a very subjective thing. A man can be just as sexy in a buttoned-up suit as he can in jeans and a T-shirt.

I would love American men to embrace a narrower silhouette in suits and coats. It's way more sexy for a man to wear closer-fitting clothes."

(OK you guys should so take note of this. You better be.)

Definitely one of a gem, inspiring Giannini empowers women through projecting the right image by mere construction and arrangement of shapes, colours - and probably popular sentiments like old school prints and cuts. Boyish yet feminine, extroverted yet reserved, fun yet professional - the kind of traits of modern women in this fast-paced challenging world, just like the rest of us.

I have this mutual crush with Helen Marnie of Ladytron since I've first listened to their album "604" (2001) for her blended sweet and icy dark look - a perfect balance! Well it goes with her frosty voice too. And, her makeup has never really changed from the first I knew her up to this day. I've always been checking out her hair-do and attempted to have mine cut like hers whenever I have my irregular visit to the hair salons. Normally it does at first but it automatically alters itself after I washed my hair leaving only resembling fringes. There is something with her style that truly attracts me.

Now, lets have a preview of some shots of hers that I took it off their videos (source coming from http://ladytron.nettwerk.com/video) in chronological order.

604 - Playgirl (2001)

Light & Magic - Seventeen (2002)

Light & Magic - Blue Jeans(2002)

Light & Magic - Evil(2003)

Witching Hour - Sugar (2005)

Witching Hour - Destroy Everything You Touch (2005)

Velocifero - Ghosts (2008)

From posted shots above, it is evident that her style association revolves around black, neatness, modesty and simplicity. I include black as a style adjective for its symbolic and subjective meanings. It could also mean a whole lot of things.

Citing a source from http://www.EgoDevelopment.com:

Black: The color of darkness is undoubtedly the most popular color in fashion. A man wearing black suggests elegance, authority and power. When worn properly, black clothing also conveys neatness, simplicity and great versatility.

OK, maybe I should just state black. Hahaha! God, I must refrain myself from writing articles in the blog like writing a thesis! Anyways, Helen Marnie indirectly demonstrates all those traits mentioned above. Also, check out her expression in every video which I find very authoritative and powerful in contrast of her title as the disco queen. Another point worth noting is her style consistency in different clothings and the way she carries herself in those clips.

Black, neatness and simplicity is just a combo example. I am sure Helen fancies wearing vibrant colours off-screen too. Generally, every girl has her own preference; but I personally think it is simplicity that truly outstands one's personality as it is herself that she carries, not the clothings outdoing her real appearance. We don't necessarily need expensive elaborate clothings to look good. The essence of wearing a garment is enhanced by having a modest personal style. And to be stylish is to wear your own personal style with confidence, like Helen Marnie!

From: http://poprina.blogspot.com

PopRina is a clothing line ran independently by a Sabahan youth of whom is also a Computer Science researcher, aggressively carving her niche in Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia. PopRina is about reinventing and preserving simplicity in traditional designs suitable with energetic modern lifestyle. Her designs are mostly inspired by the efficiency of technology and the authenticity of traditional values. The label is already renowned by peers in urban regions of West Malaysia, also being independent music lovers and had been credited of it's achievements by the local media.

PopRina currently is actively involved in collaboration projects with local arts movements in Kuala Lumpur such as British Council, Angkatan Baju Malaya and Urbanscapes - to name a few, to build creative platforms for Malaysian youths. This blog would share her appreciation, thoughts and experiences towards arts, fashion and entrepreneurship. She believes that a progressive and innovative society comes from constructive cognitive development of the youths through creative thinking. Sharing of this blog aims to promote competitiveness and fighting spirit amongst Sabahan youths to preserve freedom in realizing their hopes and dreams. Sabah Boleh!

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Music genre and the way we dress.

I have always known that an individual's personality is indirectly reflected by which genre of songs that they listen to. I used to have a very narrow acquaintance acceptance because I only befriend with people with good pick of music. An avid addiction to highly energetic songs makes me a listener to only rock and all sorts of electro music, of which also makes me think that others who doesn't share similar tastes boring, uncool, no fun, you name it. Yeah shallow . Anyways, at the end of the day, it is the way you communicate with others and relating with their strengths and weaknesses that truly adds meaning to your companionships.

For today's entry, I have an article to share which also justifies my aforementioned assumption. Got it from Elle Magazine Singapore March Edition. Based on the article, I am definitely the Rock Chick. So, it's your turn to find out which chick are you and perhaps this would make you finally understand your other female mates.

Written by Shane Watson.

IT'S ALL IN THE MUSIC

"Can't keep up with fashion's fickle trends? Identify your inner song style and your life will be a perfect symphony - well, almost, says Shane Watson"

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Friday, March 28, 2008

Fresh Labels 2008 - An Overdue Review

Thanks to Jiok Brian for the photo

Fresh Labels 2008 is another fashion show project that is held annually by SIFE Nottingham and this year, SIFE MMU contributed several independent designers in conjunction with their Art Market Project which is going to take place this April 1st until 3rd. So, if you happen to be around Cyberjaya on that day, please make a point to come and visit our humble booth .

On the day Fresh Labels took place, I arrived at 7.30pm as stated in the promotional flyer and came looking for Zul of PopMalaya with his fiance of whom arrived earlier. Zul clad in My Indie Rock Darling t-shirt covered with knitted plaid cardigan and Dila in her pre-90's artist's vest attire paired with jeans were dressed seemingly oblivious to the glamor of the event. I, normally prepared with every possible expectations of the event, applied very little make-up, eyes highlighted with metallic and black eye shadows completed with my M.A.C. nude colored lipstick - yeah the color is a bit passe for this Spring season but whatever ha! I wore my latest design, a crossover of kimono top, only tighter with my men trousers that I had it tailored when I was in Phuket. It is actually my favorite piece of the wardrobe.

Anyways, after we've found each other and exchanged casual remarks, we decided not to wait for the rest of the crowd to arrive and proceeded to the queue aisle. We didn't know what to do as we're not used to get invitations to this kind of event so I just came up to the lady at the ticketing counter and told her we're in the list. Haha OMG I just said that! I felt trendy upon chanting the phrase "We're in the list." hahaha! This may sound absurd but yeah coming from the underground background, this situation can rarely be encountered unless we're party regulars . So yeah, next, this cute guy introduced himself as Chris gave us VIP tags (another reason to be OMG-ed) and ushered us to the VIP seats beside the stage. Check this out, we did have our own place to hang! Hahahah!

We weren't expecting much as we've never been to any fashion show except the ones that we organized for the independent clothing labels but the VIP treatment made us feel good around that place. The VIP wasn't a big deal, really. It's just another fanciful experience, so why not enjoy it? . The event started with the DJ playing some cool house numbers with the likes of Moby remixed and stuffs in contrary with trance and overrated hip-hop.

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Saturday, March 22, 2008

I Want My Pop! - An article by Junk Magazine

Source from - http://www.junkonline.net/node/747

I Want My Pop!

It's a wonder how a chat between two friends can result in one of the most successful independent brands in Malaysia. It was in late 2005, friends Zul and Ijam were sitting down, talking about how they were fed up with their jobs, and wanted to do something different. Since both were interested in design, they decided to start a T-Shirt label, Pop Malaya, which is one of Malaysia's pioneer independent T-Shirt brands,

Mention the word 'pop' and images of popular culture comes to mind. That's the gist of what Pop Malaya is all about, merging old Malaysian images with up-to-date, kitsch designs. Wanting to localise their brand, Zul and Ijam decided to have a Malaysian name instead of a foreign sounding one. Zul says, "The name of the brand was Ijam's idea. We were brainstorming and watched this M. Nasir film, Kembara Seniman Jalanan. It was a movie about Malaysian pop culture in the 80's and we took inspiration from it. In it, M. Nasir portrayed a hippie wearing a headband and all that, and we thought, 'Hey, there are hippies in Malaysia.' So we decided to play with the carefree attitude that Malaysians have and created a label out of it."

Pop Malaya's designs takes familiar, traditional Malaysian images and injects some pop in it for a local appeal. So, you'd get the instantly recognizable image of theatre veteran P. Ramlee with a colorful background, T-Shirts with sardine cans ala Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup Cans, and designs that draw inspiration from the Malaysian national flower, the bunga raya (hibiscus). "These designs are old school retro, yet represents pop art as well," Zul says.

It's not unusual to see these T-Shirts don the bodies of KL-ites on a day out, but it was Pop Malaya's very first design that got the brand noticed, and it is a design that still gets noticed today. The image of a girl's face sits on a corner of the tee, with the words, "pop Malaya" in Jawi across it; is instantly recognizable as a Pop Malaya tee. This design was a hit when it made its debut in gigs and bazaars around KL, and also in a quaint little boutique in the Klang Valley called Wondermilk. It spoke for the brand's zeal to take the traditional and make it more up-to-date and relevant in today's society.

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Friday, March 21, 2008

How to become a successful fashion entrepreneur?

I was browsing through a supposedly fashion magazine online profile. I was like really looking into the profile for it being unsophisticated and disorganized in contents placement. All the fonts are not properly sized and aligned, well in short was indeed unfashionable. And then, there was this section that captured my attention. It asked, "What does it take to be a fashion entrepreneur?". Yeah I would naturally be, as I am juggling my mind and soul to be one . The answer did look a bit emotionally written (or typed, technically) as it looked exactly like this:

"HARD WORK. DEDICATION. EATING, BREATHING AND LIVING YOUR DREAMS, EVERY DAY. BEING RESOURCEFUL. TAKING RISKS WHEN OTHERS WONT. NETWORKING. RESEARCHING. BEING FOCUSED. BEING PERSISTENT. FORESIGHT. NEVER SURRENDERING. BEING FEARLESS. BEING A LEADER. INSPIRING YOURSELF. UNITING AND INSPIRING PEOPLE WHOM YOU MAY NEVER SEE OR KNOW. EVERY DAY".

See? Simple as that. The fact that it is all typed in capital letters makes the expression a bit more heart-stirring, you know it's as if the guy was shouting "OK COME ON GUYS, LETS DO THIS BECAUSE WE ROCK!". To whomever that wrote it, I feel you man.. I feel you! He surely is as fashionable in everything he does as he can very well dress his words with that kind of simplicity!

I like that he insisted to do all these inspirational stuff every day by stating "Every day" twice. I mean it might sound stupid but a constant reminder of everything is what we humans need, don't we? Every day, haha!

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