PFW: Victoria Beckham F/W 2023 RTW

 Highlights from the fashionshow of Victoria Beckham for the season F/W 2023 RTW, seen at Paris Fashion Week. I hope you're Inspired ........
Thank you for reading this blogpost.
Source: VOGUE
Photos courtesy of Victoria Beckham

Fashion: Delightful Resort 2024 collection from Luisa Beccaria, Part 01

 In love with this delightful Resort 2024 collection from Luisa Beccaria. Be Inspired .......

Thank you for reading this blogpost.
Source: VOGUE
Photos: courtesy of Luisa Beccaria.

Food: Wedding Cakes Inspired by Works of Art

Would like to share with you today these wedding cakes inspired by works of art. Wedding cakes are designed to be put on display, but these edible masterpieces take exhibition to a whole new level. Inspired by famous paintings both old and new, each of the following confections is a study in good taste. I hope you're Inspired ......

Post-Impressionism Wedding Cake
Inspiration: "Sunflowers" series, by Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, 1888 to 1889
Designed by contributing editor Wendy Kromer, a cake maker in Sandusky, Ohio. The floral motif on this cake will brighten any reception -- from the eclectic to the more traditional in style. Kromer used a golden color palette (both inside and out) and oven-dried piped meringue petals to channel van Gogh's cheerful blossoms. To mimic his textured brush strokes, she painted on the buttercream frosting with a brush.

French Post-Impressionism Wedding Cake

Inspiration: "The Basket of Apples," by Paul Cezanne, circa 1893

Also designed by cake maker Wendy Kromer. This lemon cake was frosted in meringue to echo the original work's draped fabric. Finished with marzipan peaches and pears filled with nuts, dates, and figs. 

Inspiration: The shimmering backgrounds in Austrian artist Gustav Klimt's figure paintings, early 1900s
Like the artist himself, Kromer's opulent caramel cake is all drama. The textured gold finish was made by pressing rectangles of edible gold leaf onto fondant. Decorative cord anchors each layer; the cake's cut-off corners allude to the artist's love of unconventional geometry.

Abstract Expressionism Wedding Cake
Inspiration: The poured canvases of American painter Jackson Pollock, 1947 to 1952
Designed by assistant food editor Elizabeth Colling. A chic urban wedding calls for a conversation piece like this cake. To re-create the artist's famous dripped, flung, and poured style, Colling drizzled melted white, milk, and dark chocolate onto tempered milk chocolate panels with a spoon. Then she fitted the panels onto a rich chocolate cake covered in fondant.

Dutch Golden Age Wedding Cake
Inspiration: The hyper-realistic botanical still-life paintings of Dutch artist Rachel Ruysch, circa 1685 to 1750
More than one guest will do a double take at the sight of this cake, which looks like a lush floral centerpiece. Custom-made sugar flowers, created by Amy DeGiulio of Sugar Flower Cake Shop in New York City, were planted in a bed of chocolate-fondant-covered cake, which was set in a large gold urn. Fill the cake's layers with rosewater buttercream to call out its blooming adornments.

Thank you for reading this blogpost.
Source: Martha Stewart Weddings.com

Design: Beautiful outdoor collection 'Knit' by Patrick Norguet for Ethimo

Would like to share with you today this beautiful outdoor collection 'Knit' designed by Patrick Norguet for Ethimo. Knit mixes teak or black mahogany wood with a woven synthetic fabric fiber to achieve a sophisticated family of furnishings. What a beautiful design! Be Inspired ....... This is a repost of my blogpost of 11-08-2016. 

Thank you for reading this blogpost.
Sources: Design Milk, Patrick Norguet and Ethimo
More Pinterest inspiration, SEE HERE   

PFW: Elegant collection from Dries van Noten F/W 2023 RTW, Part 3

Would like to share with you this elegant collection from fashion designer Dries van Noten for the season F/W 2023 RTW, seen at Paris Fashion Week. I will post 3 blogs about this beautiful collection, this is Part 3. I hope you're Inspired. Earlier I wrote more blogs about Fashion, SEE HERE

More about the designer
Born in Antwerp in 1958, Dries Van Noten is the third generation in a family of tailors. At the age of 18, Dries entered the fashion design course of Antwerp’s Royal Academy. On graduating, he began to freelance as a consultant designer before starting his own collection of menswear in 1986. Since its beginnings Dries Van Noten has presented collections for women and men for Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter each year. He celebrated his 50th fashion show in 2004 and 100th fashion show in 2017.

In June 2008, the Council of Fashion Designers of America honoured Dries Van Noten with its International Designer of the Year Award. 2014 began with the grand opening of Dries Van Noten, “Inspirations”, a first ever exhibition featuring his designs and influences at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Another configuration of the exhibit moved to Antwerp in 2015. In July France decorated Dries Van Noten with the honour of ‘Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.’ In October 2016, Dries Van Noten wins the Culture Award from The Province of Antwerp for his contribution to Culture.

2019 saw Mr Van Noten collaborate with world renowned fashion designer Mr Christian Lacroix on his collection for Women, Spring/Summer 2020. In June 2020 and September 2021, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) has again nominated Dries Van Noten for its International Designer of the Year Award.

Q&A with dries van noten

When did you know that designing clothes was your path & passion?

There was a certain logic to my choice as my family had been involved in fashion and the garment business for generations. My father created one of Belgium’s most innovative retailers of ‘Pret-a-Porter’ and my grandfather was a tailor. I inherited my love of garment making, its traditions and rituals, from these men and my mother. Family immersed me in the craft and skill of fabrics, impassioned me with the power of flair and style for women and men that fired my quest to explore and question the subjectivity of “beauty” and the role it would play in my life. My family was very supportive and encouraged me to continue its fashion tradition. I regularly accompanied my parents to Paris and Milan on their many buying trips for collections. Though they had imagined I might take over the retail business, that I was passionate to become a fashion designer came as a great surprise to them.

What is your design signature?

I see a garment as a singular item of excellence that is part of a larger story told, firstly, within a designer’s vision for a collection and ultimately as part of the final wearer’s expression of their style through their wardrobe. My joy is to create a garment that fuses and balances beauty, craft and function, a garment that can perform well and continue in time to become part of life’s story. I enjoy juggling with colours, textures and light in a way that evokes rather than provokes.

Where do you come up with your best ideas?

The spark of inspiration for the narrative of a collection rarely ever comes in the same way. The initial idea can sometimes come quickly and remain constant throughout the design process… occur on a walk in my garden, encountering a painting or the life and work of an artist. It can be something rarefied or ordinary, for example, suddenly looking at something that has surrounded me every day and seeing it in a different way that inspires. It can be a photograph in a book or a magazine, a re-read passage in a loved book, a conversation with friends or my design team or a piece of music. For other collections the story is more of a journey, deliberate, considered, and evolves through time and the design process. Anything can be that spark that ignites the creative process. What I have learned is that one recognises the spark when it happens, it may not be too planned, be ‘of its time’ and is more emotional than cerebral.

Is there a difference between style and fashion?

Of course, style comes from within..

What colour or fabric would you never use?

None actually! Often, challenging myself to work with colours, fabrics, or forms that I have disliked and bringing them into a collection can be an important aspect of the creative process.

What is beauty?
The idea of beauty is supremely subjective and very personal. Time also plays a role when our view on what is beautiful to us evolves. A flower, a building or a garment can be a thing of wonder for one while leaving another completely indifferent. What was beautiful to us even recently may be ugly today. Luckily, all designers have their own eye on and language of beauty.

Thank you for reading this blogpost.
Sources: VOGUE and Dries van Noten 
Photos: courtesy of Dries van Noten

COLOR INSPIRATION - COLOR NATURE (70)

As interiorblogger I am always looking for interesting color palettes which I can use for decorating rooms and to inspire my weblog readers. Below you will find the color palette 'Color Nature'. Be inspired by this lovely color palette ....... I wrote MORE BLOGS about color palettes. 

Thank you for reading this blogpost. 
Source: Design Seeds
For more photos, see also my Pinterest moodboard "Color Palettes"

Runway: Louis Vuitton S/S 2024 Menswear, Part 01

Vogue revealed a list with the most-viewed men’s fashionshows of Spring/Summer 2024. The fashion house Louis Vuitton was number 1 on this list. They did do a great job again! Of course I could not resist to share some inspiring photos with you of their show. I will post 2 blogs, this is Part 1. Part 2 will follow soon. Be Inspired .........












Thank you for reading this blogpost.
Sources: VOGUE 01 and VOGUE 02
Photos: courtesy of Louis Vuitton