I’ve moved house… find me at www.wideawakethoughts.com.

If you have linked me from your blog, I would appreciate it if you could please update it to include my sparkly new URL. If you haven’t linked to me but would like to, get in contact and let’s share the love.

images courtesy of Jak & Jil

Readers of Tommy Ton’s awe-inspiring style blog Jak & Jil will have no doubt seen these images of Tara Vasev already, but I couldn’t resist adding them to my own little corner of the digital world. Pouring over the photographs of Vasev, Alexander Wang’s Merchandising Assistant, my heart broke a little in the best of ways.

This is what stops my breath when it comes to fashion. Found objects worn like tribal armour, leathers celebrated for the stories they could tell, clothing that aches as if borrowed from a lost love, and a subtle loyalty to a favourite hero. Working for a brand like Alexander Wang is surely a dream for so many of us but these images hint at a girl who, despite an obvious affinity to the designer who pays her bills, has a firm grip on her own personal style.

sass & bide pants and bodysuit, Saba leather jacket, Sam Edelman Zoe boots, vintage bag, rings and necklaces.

A considered blend of hell for leather and frenzied print makes for an outfit that whispers of cool confusion; with 15 days until Fashion Week, I have my parents to thank for my new leather jacket (a graduation present) that will be just the ticket to keep me toasty in between shows in the shadow of Autumn. It’s a clever little number; versatile in its willingness to march to a military beat or fly high in an aviator mood, it does as I say.

Wait…. only 15 days until Fashion Week?

About an hour or so ago we tore down the magazine covers and welcomed our street frontage at the new Frockshop boutique. If you’re in the neighbourhood tomorrow morning (near 65 James Street in Brisbane that is), you should pop down and say hello. I’d love for you to take a peek at what we’ve put together. If you can’t make the trip, become a fan on Facebook so we can keep in touch.

I wonder if I will ever tire of the tinted hair trent: models with neon manes catch my eye and tickle my  spirit, and I even tried it myself recently in an attempt to get it out of my system, to no avail. Help me, please. We’re moving into AW2010 and I’m dangerously at risk of falling behind on the fashion barometer; a summer-inspired approach to winter weather dressing? How can I possibly keep it up?

For the moment, I seek and find comfort in the knowledge that others share my obsession. I’ve mixed up her images and scattered them out of context, but this girl has a killer taste for fashion editorial, you should take a peek.

I spent a lazy hour on Etsy looking for moonstone rings and handmade things until I laid my eyes on this little number.

on skin: YSL touche eclat, YSL matt touch compact powder foundation, Benefit perfect ten bronzer
on lips: Mac lip pencil, Lancome sparkling paris juicy tube

I’m becoming increasingly obsessed with 90′s style. Since I’ve stopped working for a certain fashion label a little over a month ago, I’ve spent most weekends hunting for vintage and listening to Triple J on long road trips. I’ve long felt hard done by that I wasn’t old enough to experience 90′s fashion when it was in vogue the first time around; as its influence trickled back onto the runways during the AW10/11 I could hardly contain my excitement.

Powdered skin and dark lips hinted at grunge and the likes of Freja and Abbey Lee wore it just as convincingly as the cool 90′s girls I remember. Inspired, my trip down memory lane led to a trip to the YSL counter. Mr Whipps and I staged a photo shoot in the closet later that night and with the radio keeping us company I channeled a young Courtney Love with my black velvet pout.

photography courtesy of Mr Whipps

I’ve been uncharacteristically quiet in the beginning of this month. April days have brought a refreshed mood, and some news; in a long story cropped short, I’ve graduated from university. Finally, I have my degree. In an impossible perfect state of mind, I tripped down the coast with Kevin and some friends to spent some lazy days with salt spray on my skin and coloured hair spray over just about everything.

images courtesy of fashionising

Sticks and stones may break your bones but this back-to-nature editorial in the April issue of Russh magazine hints at a fashion moment that is soft to the touch.

Fresh faced model Bambi Northyood-Blyth lives up to her name with a doe-eyed gaze that seems perfectly at ease in the wilderness. This is the kind of editorial you either love or hate at a glance; I fell for it instantly.

Self Titled is unfeigned, effortless chic. It speaks of simple classic elegance with discreet sensuality; played out on a platform that reflects expression and experimentation with plans of leatherwear, accessories and eventually footwear.

Self Titled designer Tulia Wilson creates pieces with longevity. Designed with women like her friends in mind, her pieces integrate easily into one’s wardrobe and transcend over time, allowing the wearer to add their own personality and interpretation to the garment.

Fresh off the plane from a snowboarding trip to Japan, Tulia graciously granted me some time of her own to speak of collaboration, fashion’s use of new media, and the way your heart flutters when you meet someone who really gets you.

Who is the Self Titled woman?

She is exactly that; a woman of her own making. A strong individual, she is intriguing, vivacious, intelligent, exciting. She dresses to please herself, in an unexpected, distinctive, effortless yet sensual way.

Your collection features an incredible array of textures from suede to lurex; what inspires you to make use of such diverse fabrics?

I have always been inspired by textures. I have just returned from an annual snowboarding trip to Japan and I am in awe of the incredible way that the Japanese manipulate the textures in nature to create beautiful objects; a piece of rock or a slice of bamboo is elevated to an almost divine status by the careful, reverential handling of these materials.

I certainly don’t claim to achieve anything like this, but textures in fabric are a bit like that for me. I prefer to play with juxtaposition and experiment with combinations of different materials together. The old adage ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’ is what I am striving towards.

You spent fifteen years at Zambesi working across many aspects of the fashion business from retail to merchandising, marketing, show production and on to eventual creative direction of the company; what was the most challenging aspect of your role?

I loved my time at Zambesi.  I was so fortunate to be given the freedom to learn so many skills.  I feel it has stood me in very good stead.  Probably the most challenging aspect was to keep such an established business at the forefront of the NZ fashion industry for so many years. While establishing the creative direction from a design perspective was such a fun process, and fairly effortless to be honest, the work was really to manage tight budgets to find new and innovative ways to profile the brand; ensuring it was always a step ahead of what our competitors were up to and that we were continuing to innovate and to prove season after season that Zambesi’s position as New Zealands most directional design house was justified.  I believe it is much harder to do this for an established label than it is for a young brand.

You have worked on creative projects for labels such as Konstantina Mittas alongside super stylist Pip Edwards; do you believe collaboration is the key to success as a designer?

Not necessarily. I appreciate how well collaborations work for some designers, and how recent combinations of high end brands and designers who have generated collections for mass market retailers can indeed result in an expansion of their profile and market share. But for me, it is just important to stay true to the work that you do. I believe that if the collaboration comes naturally and is mutually beneficial then it can be an amazing opportunity. I do love working with my friends, and that is why I seized the opportunity to work with Pip as she and I have a lot of fun working together.

What are your thoughts on fashion’s use of new media?

I think that new media is an extraordinarily powerful tool for the fashion industry.  Look at how well talents such as Alexander McQueen used new media technology.  The egalitarian nature of the internet means that a young designer can profile themselves as effectively as an established brand if they choose to do so. The rise of blogs and street fashion on the internet is a very  important influence on many designers, and raises the bar of fashion as a whole.

However, because of the saturation of imagery and then immediacy of it, people now have a short attention span and get bored quickly. It is still important to celebrate the craftsmanship of fashion; to take the time and understand what goes into making every garment.

The Self Titled brand identity features a striking logo; what was the inspiration for the design?

The design was the brainchild of the very talented Mr Jonathan Zawada. I sat down and had a lengthy conversation with him about what I loved about fashion, and what I loathed. I talked about texture and colour, and how I felt it was a little boring that so much fashion identity was often black and white. We also discussed all sorts of things that had nothing to do with fashion. Then I left him to it. The result you see is how he interpreted me.  It was very exciting to have somebody create something specifically for me. I think it is the first time in my life that I have had that experience; it is amazing when somebody really ‘gets you’. I wanted an identity that stood on its own, and that could develop its own personality over time.