Mood echoed in The Weather

Wearing Vintage Lee denim, Black Noise White Rain Jumper,
Arvust Shirt and Vans

I met up with Shannon Two Fridays ago for a quick shoot in the afternoon. The light rain that was occurring was really consistent with my emotions as an hour before this shoot i lost my job. But now on to bigger and better things starting with moving to Brisbane, which i am so excited for, a friend has offered me a place to stay, now i just need to find a job, so if anyone out there knows of anything, feel free to contact me! I have already lined up some exciting shoots and creative opportunities in Brisbane as well! I recently started the second part of my photography class and I'm learning some really interesting things which are really helping me think about each image as i create it, expect to see some shots up on my photography blog this week. The outfit featured in todays post is one of my favourite comfy winter outfits, its easy and I'm not too worried about it getting wet or dirty and its surprisingly warm! thanks to the amazing Black Noise White Rain jumper, which i feel compliments the incredibly soft vintage denim extremely well, giving it a kind of grungy/nineties feel. Already one quarter through 2014 and we're powering through, I am personally incredibly excited for the next few months and can't wait for this next stage in my life!

Interview with a Designer III

I was privileged enough to get the opportunity to speak with Joseph Turvey abut the collection he designed for River Island AU check out what he had to say below.

Joseph Turvey

It must be quite a different experience designing for a high street brand rather than just designing things for yourself, what have you learnt along the way?

I think just the sheer amount of people that are involved in this one collection. There’s just a team. It’s quite daunting. When you go in by yourself it’s quite a singular process, for me anyway, there’s not many of us working in my studio and going into River Island and there’s just a team for every single stage so that was quite daunting at first. But it’s exciting too ’cause you kind of learn new things and especially with the production side for me, that was an interesting step for me.

Joseph Turvey for River Island

Can you tell me a bit about what inspired your collection?

I started looking at the photography of Jamel Shabazz, which was kind of very street wear and urban and his New York photography was absolutely amazing, you should check it out. And then I wanted to kind of mix that with kind of something completely different, so I looked at Bill Oddie, nature and that kind of rambling and so I got the cameo print and kind of mixed that with street wear shapes and fabrics and yeah, that was kind of the starting point and it’s kind of developed from there.

Joseph Turvey for River Island

What was the best part about designing the collection?

I think just being able to work with so many different people has been exciting, because I work in a small team, and I think just having the ability to just go “this is what I wanna do” and then I don’t have to do the sourcing and that was really nice. Because that’s the bit of design when you’re by yourself which is just the hardest, because you can’t just always do what you want and there’s “find that fabric”, “find that manufacturer” and all that. With this it was just like “this is the design” and some lucky person goes off and the next week I’ve got a sample. That was the best bit for me. It was nice.

Joseph Turvey for River Island

Where would you look to begin your career if you were aspiring to be a fashion designer?
Education for me. I think if I wouldn’t have done my MA in this I wouldn’t be sitting here now. And the process that I went through from my BA to my MA was a massive change and I mean I did women’s wear in my BA and then to men’s and that is down to the tutors who were with me and they kind of… I don’t think I was very strong when I was there, but I think that he managed to see something that was good in me and got the best out of me. I think that’s what the MA does, it just enables you [to take] the skills you have to just evolve them and it changed my mind set with design. I think that made me a better designer and I think that’s the best way for me.

Interview With A Designer II

I asked my friend Sarah Taylor the brilliant designer from AVE. to do a little interview for me and she graciously obliged!

1. So Sarah tell me what is your earliest memory when it comes to clothes

- my older sister used to dress me up in crazy stuff, using my mum’s fancy scarves as dresses & then trying to replicate the evening look on my younger sister…I was about 5 

2. How old were you? And how did you realise that working in the fashion industry is what you wanted to do? 

- when I was about 15 I knew that I had to be a fashion designer. I heard that the only place to go after high school was the Fashion Design Studio, East Sydney, I only then realized how tough it was and how hard you had to work. But I only ever wanted to design, I didn’t consider anything else. 

AVE. SS14 Lookbook

3. What work in the fashion industry did you do before deciding on creating your own line? And what has been the highlight of your career so far?  

- Straight from graduating from East Sydney I started designing for a Australian cult brand, followed by a year in New York then coming back to design for a large Sydney fashion label. After many years of designing for other people, I finally was encouraged to start AVE. which was the highlight for me.  

4. More and more people are starting to study fashion, where and what did you study? In your opinion is a formal education vital in this day and age? Or do you feel practice and constantly producing can be just as effective?  

- The Fashion Design Studio, East Sydney (now at Ultimo TAFE). I went straight from high school to completing the full time fashion design certificate course initially then the full 3 years of the advanced diploma course. 

AVE. SS14 Lookbook 

5. What were the major hurdles and problems you had to overcome on the road to starting your own line? If you could go back would you change anything, or are you happy with how it has progressed?  

- AVE. has evolved naturally which is how I wanted it, over night success is amazing however I am looking for longevity…  

My first collection I spent close to 8 months creating which doesn’t happen twice, I went all out and had fabrics and trims custom dyed at a top supplier and digitally printed all in Sydney. I have no regrets, however I am more budget conscious now, I discovered that focusing on a few elements rather than trying to do everything straight away is important. Design, fabric and construction quality are my focus, which is why I only produce in Australia regardless of expense. 

6. As an aspiring designer are you looking to follow trends as dictated by other designers? or trying to do your own thing? Do you find yourself more critical of other designers or more accepting of there work due to your experience and education? 

- I tend to do my own thing. Sometimes I create something that can accidently fall into a trend however I don’t really follow trends when I design. There are of course designers who I love and look up to regardless if it has a different aesthetic to AVE. I wear their clothes and yes, of course I am critical as I would also expect others are of my designs. It is important to take on criticism in order to learn and evolve as a designer. Not everything is a success but that is part of the process. 

AVE. SS14 Lookbook

 7. What advice would you have for anyone who is wanting to create their own clothing line?  

- Patience… With fashion being so accessible now everyone wants to have a go at having a label that can be a good and a bad thing. My advice would be, if you want to do it, do so properly. 

8. Fashion at the moment is incredibly versatile, what are your favourite and least favourite trends/looks for the coming summer season? What is your favourite piece of clothing you have produced?  

- I am all about transeasonal clothing. People travel so much these days and the seasons are less predictable. I love summer layering, good quality fabrics and I love contrasting hard/soft elements.  

Probably a piece from my latest A/W collection, the Tunnel Vest; its perforated suede and leather, a real statement piece but also quite classic. 

I’m looking forward to the colder weather so I can wear it out. 

AVE. SS14 Lookbook

 9. If you could do absolutely anything in fashion right now, what would it be? Or what would you do if you could do anything with the AVE label? 

- I would love to make a huge collection with every element I ever wanted to use! Just got nuts… 

I love clothing but I also love shoes. I would really enjoy designing a collection with shoes & bags. 

10. In an Ideal world Sarah where would you like to see yourself and the Business in 5 years?  

- Ideally being based in Sydney and New York, creating 4 collections per year, to have stockists in Australia, US, UK, Asia, Europe and opening the first AVE. concept store. 

AVE. SS14 Lookbook

 11. And finally we are coming into the summer season, what should we expect to see in the next few months from yourself and your clothing?  

- S/S 2015 is going to be slightly more feminine than previously, a little softer but still using masculine notes.  

I have recently developed plans to enter the Asian market and launching in China. So the next few months are crazy but we are developing AVE. into a global brand which is really exciting new chapter.

AVE. Website: http://www.ave.net.au

Instagram: http://instagram.com/a_v_e_

Cooling down

Wearing: Ksubi T-shirt, Pelvis Long Sleeve Shirts, Evil Twin Pants
and Dr Martens Boots

I've fallen in love with these pants and have to physically stop myself from wearing them too often! The only issue is they are extremely thin so come winter won't be the warmest choice!! But great for the current weather as we move into autumn, I met up with Rowland after work last week to shoot this look, that features some heavy layering with a long sleeve t to finish, which are gonna be my staples for the autumn period having added a large number to my wardrobe already, the dr martens I feel really compliment the punk/rock feel of the tartan pants and are just a must have for guys in the winter. I'm currently looking for a new job and hopefully will get a few shoots done while I'm not working, I should have another update within a couple says, stay posted and take care!