The ABC's of fashion design.

My design philosohy is to make fashion design fun and easy. After 25 years in the fashion design industry or whatever your industry is, there comes a time when we start using all of those tools which helped us pursue and live out our dreams and now begin to offer them to the young and eager to learn. Achieving dreams isn't always easy. We all have probably experienced some challenges and struggles along the way. I experienced many struggles in the pursuit of fulfilling a dream in fashion design. Self-doubt, peer pressure and bullying, just to name a few. Fortunately, at this point in my career, I'm able to turn those struggles into creative, fun, easy to use, and result oriented tools and methods to learn from. A creative mind is a wonderful starting point, however without the proper nurturing and professional guidance, that creative mind will soon go to waste. So come out onto The Courageous Catwalk, where fashion design and development is as easy as learning the ABC's.          

S/S ‘94 marker, pen NYC

The need for Artisians

 Man’s desire to decorate, color, draw, weave, sculpt, is man’s inherent nature to design. The instinctual artist is within us. Looking back through history we can see man’s connection with art, color, and design was his saving grace. There was something fascinating and liberating about the pursuit of creative endeavors and enterprise. It enlivened and enriched man’s senses. It also brought a sense of serenity, joy and happiness  usually to places that were devoid of such pleasures and virtues. It provided a place of freedom and creative discovery. Escapism. What is unique about it is that it’s pure, authentic, and honest. In a way it’s a form of LOVE for there is no aggression, hate, or prejudice when man pursues his creativie discoveries. During the creative pursuits there is an inherent connection to something greater than ourselves. It is an organic rhythmic flow of positive energy and directional spirit. Art in all it’s varied manifestations is the saving grace of mankind. We need our modern day Artisians to continue producing their art and bringing us joy. Namaste. 

From actions to alignments

Marker, ink, metallic pen. NYC 2017

  Anything which brings spiritual, mental, emotional, creative or physical change, and awareness requires movement.....action. For me, I  prefer to call them alignments rather than actions. Alignment is a much easier word, for there is a spiritual component within it rather than the word action, which can very often dwell in the ego, the I gotta to do it! This is where pressure and tension begins to manifest. When I identify those wonderful alignments as actions I get exhausted. The pressure sets in my mind, feet and my soul. It becomes something heavy, and unwillingness sets in like concrete drying around my spiritual aura. No wonder it’s challenging, seemingly impossible. Drying concrete does not promote ease, flow, or rhythm. It only produces heaviness, immobility. My source is free-flowing. My path is free-flowing. Concrete does not play a part in this journey, if only to give me a glimpse of the negative side of my being. It has served its purpose. Drying concrete or cement is a wake up call. The importance of writing, reflecting and dialoguing helps me identify with clarity the peace and serenity in those things that I can change. Even if it’s with imperfect alignment. Namaste. 

The principles of design

The principles of design, whether it be accessories, fashion or any other area of design are color, shape, form, and function.

Color helps convey the overall mood. Brights elude happiness and joie de vivre. Dark colors convey  mystery, sleekness.

Shape is the outline or silhouette of the product. Shape can convey ( but not limited to ) outrage, exaggeration, complacency, and strength.     

Form refers to the manifestations of technique, embellishment, intricacy, detail, innovation, structure or texture.                          

Function refers to the to the intention of the object as well as the perceived manifestation of the designer ie. to keep warm, to hold, to surprise, to seduce. For all areas of fashion design, clothes -> accessories, interiors -> architecture or any other concept of design these principles must be addressed in order to succeed.

Color. Shape. Form. Function.

Developing a Signature

What does it take to develop a signature? How does one's signature develop? Is it a definitive expression of the designer, unmistakably detectable by certain characteristics ensnared by their persona?                                                                                                                              

 The signature of the designer is embedded within their DNA. It's an offshoot, a unique attribute of who they are. A signature is a mark of authenticity, differentiating that individual designer from those who have preceded them or from those who are their contemporaries. A true signature is not bought, has no interest in copying, but is consistent in its pursuit of truth in design. Yes, designers are influenced by what stimulates their creative brains, and can be heavily influenced from those things they find empowering.                                                           

However, they are original in their approach to design, their point of view and their idyllic perception of women, men, and lifestyle. 

Bwa Plank Mask inspired

An Inspiration, a Desire and a Marker.

History is a treasure trove of ideas

Fashion design can be fun and easy. All it takes is a desire to be creative and the willingness to let go of your fear and need to control. The history of fashion is one place where you can find inspiration and excitement. Go to the local bookstore or select a fashion book that you have on your shelf and skim through the pages. It's important to allow yourself time to do this leisurely and without pressure. I bet you'll be surprised at how inspired you are and all the creative ideas that will pop into your head. Find a period or a fashion object that really fascinates you and focus on that. Envision it in your style and own it. Now begin jotting or scribbling down your creations. Surprised??...No! You had it within you all this time. After all, to begin designing the only thing you need is an inspiration, a desire, and oh, don't forget the marker.

So many ways to draw, so little time

" Express yourself " MADONNA

Fashioning with compasses and rulers

Before I learned how to draw freehand, and because there was an underlying, burning creativity wishing to be realized, the use of compasses and rulers proved to be most vital in lending themselves as reliable and cherished tools. They allowed and encouraged that inspiration to come forth. So don't believe that inner voice that's telling you you can't draw because you have no freehand skills. Take up the nearest ruler, compass and T-square, work those circles, semi-circles and squares, and let that imagination soar🏹.

A Courage to Love

All Cultures are Fashionably BEAUTIFUL!

My original blog [ http://www.jamiepesavento.com/blog/ ] addressing prejudice and the Islamic culture was written in June 2016, pre-election of Trump. Little did I know that the message from that blog would be more relevant today than back then. The need to revisit the message is quite clear to me. With the advent of increasing internal prejudice how do we uphold the premise that this country is a land of the free? A country manuscripted, word by word and built, brick by brick by foreigners...IMMIGRANTS. Diverse cultures sewn together to create a beautifully textured society. Our national goal is more LOVE and NO hate within our beautiful democracy. Unreasonable restrictions and bans placed upon our society limits exchange of ideas and growth, creatively or otherwise. With all this unnerving animosity within our country and toward our people, we the free people have an obligation to choose LOVE. It's DE RIGUEUR. 

london-show-reflects-global-boom-in-islamic-fashion   How ISIS ‘Fashion’ Sews the Seeds of Terror 

French minister compares veiled women to 'negroes who supported slavery'

Fashion mogul accuses designers of 'enslaving women' with Islamic styles

The True INFLUENCERS

Before the word "INFLUENCERS" gained a steroid persona, with little content or conviction there was Antonio Lopez and Steven Stipleman. Creatives offering something so new, so daring, so beautiful and so bold in fashion illustration, you had to take notice. The noise they were making set new standards in beauty and broke new ground in fashion art. Either with glorious splendor from Mr. Stipleman or the more aggressive approach from Mr. Lopez, they were the influencers who inspired my creative life and thousands, if not millions of other designers, fashion illustrators and fashionistas.

The noise of Antonio is iconoclastic in it's sensuality, sexuality and artistic bravura. The colors so similar to the way YSL understood and juxtaposed conventional color in unconventional ways. There is an underlying comic quality of POP and reference to Roy Lichtenstein. And then, the surreal quality of the portraits with their dismembered anatomy so luxuriously portrayed or fashion drawings with a hidden edge or the transformational drawings, metamorphose figure into fetishistic shoe. All reminiscent of Salvatore Dali.  http://www.elmuseo.org/        

.......and then there is Steven Stipleman.

The noise Steven has made over his amazing careeer is quite different than Antonio's but just as powerful. For there is a  beauty, glamour and elegance which only Steven Stipleman can portray. It appears so effortless and blissful that it produces a a sigh of heaven in every illustration. Steven's girls are the epitomy of pure perfection. His illustrations carry an exclusive understanding and an intimate relationship with the garment, whether it be a dress, coat, gown. This romantic interpretation transports us into the realm of dream, almost like a garden of Eden. Steven has created a representation of the female form setting the standard in beauty then and through today.

Unprecedented in their portrayal of beautiful creatures and fashion, Steven and Antonio have been inspiring me and others for the past 40 years and continue to do so today.

That is the sign of a TRUE INFLUENCER. 

Antonio's and Steven's influence circa 1989

S/S 2017 trend report: Carrying the message of [L O V E ]

Designers here's your chance to....Suit up and Show up. With the word love in every concievable language either printed on, stenciled on, scribbled on, tattooed on, heat transferred on, stiched on, grommeted on, nailheaded on, scratched on, hand written on or 3D printed on. If every designer chooses his or her own way of expressing universal love in their collections, the world will change for the better.

The [ L O V E ] Collection: carrying the message

Are we afraid of making happiness and peace???? Are we as a nation and a world addicted to distress, prejudice, violence? Do we ONLY think we want peace?

The time is now. Nationally and Internationally the world mourns and is in need of L O V E.

S/S trend report: The [ L O V E ] Collections

The world needs a message right now and it's up to the billion dollar fashion industry to suit up and show up.

• Diane, Steven, Fern, Lisa -CFDA - organize a "LOVE" presentation and invite all designers, from all over, young and old designers to express their version of International love
• Anthony, revise Yves's 1970's "Love Me Forever Coat"
• Donatella have Medusa sing out the word LOVE.
• Anna, Franca, Carla, Alda...start stenciling LOVE onto your Fendi furs.
• Karl...start weaving the word LOVE in all languages over Chanel tweeds.
• Alessandro start sequinning the word LOVE over your Gucci menswear and womanswear
• Donatella have Medusa sing out the word LOVE.
• Missoni start knitting up some International LOVE letters.
•  Hanes....underwear and socks with universal LOVE symbols.
• Christian, put the LOVE message on your famous Louboutin red soles.
• Stefano and Domenico....emblazon crystal LOVE in all languages.

Suit up in suits with the word love in every concievable language either printed on, stenciled on, scribbled on, tattooed on, heat transferred on, stiched on, grommeted on, nailheaded on, scratched on, hand written on or 3D printed on. If every designer chooses his or her own way of expressing universal love in their collections, the world will change for the better.

It does not matter how each designer chooses to do it, but please take the initiative and do something.

The [ L O V E ] Dress

 Arabic symbol for [ L O V E ] all-over print on jersey/exaggerated shoulders, illusion-lined back

With the advent of increasing prejudice, I thought how do we bring cultures together? How do we, as a universally connected fashion industry spread the message of humanity? And so here it is...The [ L O V E ] Dress. Our universal goal is more LOVE and NO war. We want to exchange our ideals and creativity with each other, share our fashion design aesthetics and make it a reciprocal process. It's an openness to learn and build and share with each other, learn from each other whether in the design room, executive office or political haven. Arabic is a language celebrated with love by millions of people. The [ L O V E ] Dress chooses to celebrate those who speak with LOVE.

With it's beautifully curved lines, sweeping gestures and sharp angels Arabic symbols and writing have always captured my aesthetic. It was my desire to design a dress with a message. Can fashion promote universal healing?  As a designer I find inspiration in all cultures. And so it is, with all this unnerving animosity worldwide, I have chosen LOVE. Fashion initiatives from some designers have chosen to stop violence, like Walter Van Beirendonck’s ‘Stop Terrorizing our World’ tunic. Radical groups propagate terror like ISIS sewing fashion and ignorant perspectives whether by Pierre Berge babbling about the 'enslavement' of Islamic woman or Laurence Rossingnol the French minister disclaiming the modern abaya do nothing but incur skepticism. My position is to promote fashion design with healing power, inspiration and that good 'ole feeling we all say we want and need but don't regularly enact upon..... L O V E.

london-show-reflects-global-boom-in-islamic-fashion   How ISIS ‘Fashion’ Sews the Seeds of Terror 

French minister compares veiled women to 'negroes who supported slavery'

Fashion mogul accuses designers of 'enslaving women' with Islamic styles

Arabic symbol for "L O V E " color block knit/exaggerated shoulders, illusion-lined back

A still life becomes a dress

Watercolor, metallic pen, pencil, charcoal

The opportunity to begin watercolor, taught by my friend, artist Bill Curran was both exciting and scary. For artists, designers and creatives, the opportunity to experiment with a new medium stimulates the imagination. It also helps one to fantasize and design in new, creative thought patterns. And then there are those old voices.....you've never really done that before, you're gonna mess up, the class is too early. However, our desire to create and expand our abilities, overcome these imaginary monsters. We commence with more enthusiasm than trepidation. The ocassion to express fashion, or my rendition of 'fashion' in a new medium holds an irristable allure. And so it was...a still life consisting of a few daisies in a plastic cup became my opportunity for extravagance, a window for opulence. How can that be? How does one channel their creativity or thought process to transcend the given? How do we move beyond the expected?

 Simple....you make it your own. You grasp it and teach it to obey. PASSION is the teacher here. So whatever your passion is, the next time you draw something, or are making a plan, or are about to initiate upon a new endeavor, here's your chance. Look at it as a golden opportunity to turn your imagination and thinking into the HULK and allow yourself to bust out!!!

The "Art" in Draping

While wandering through the collections of 16th, 17th, and 18th century paintings, sculptures and art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, I was intrigued by how dramatic draping in art constituted their "de rigueur" habitat of dress. There is something grand, romantic, and glorious when taking voluminous swathes of fabric and allowing them life through sumptuous and spontaneous strokes. This appeals to my aesthetic as a fashion designer. When romance and art are combined it's remarkable in that the end result, whether it is in fashion or art, the similarities produced are uncanny. Why was it that artists in those centuries still favored the romance of illustrating glorious draping??? They appear, in all their glory as haphazard, rendering the image a feeling of freedom and carelessness and...with complete abandon. Au contraire! They are calculated and precise. However, and this is their significance, there must be a certain amount of abandon to allow the freedom to visually present itself on canvas, in marble or in fabric. The freedom expressed in any medium can not be represented without having that inner experience of the same freedom. So, although it appears consise and exact, by nature, it is the opposite, free and vagrant. Only through precise technical application can this effect of effortlessness be achieved.

Are we, as designers, still allowed to enjoy that joy and spontaneity or have we been confined to limitations, stifling the freshness and exuberance of freedom?

A FINE LINE

The most important component in fashion sketching is the line. How can it be that something so simple can convey a 1000 words? A complete image? A state of being? Drama? Sensuality? The line is to be revered, almost as something sacred, for with just 1 stroke an entire story unfolds. The line must be free of restraint yet controlled. It must have fluidity and poise in order to be able to define something as sensuous as the female shape, or bold and powerful enough to identify a silhouette.

From the Inside Out: FABRIC. DRAPE. GO.............

Part Two: With the arrival of each new season comes new energy and ideas. A new optimism and hope develops, praying that this season's collection will be better than the last......beauty, design and $ALES! So with the freshness of new inspiration and directional trends comes the colors, embellishments and ultimately the FABRIC! Oh yes, the glorious, luxurious fabrics. Imported taffetas, laces customed dyed and beaded, Chantilly, embroidered tulles, drapey chiffons, structured silk satins and weighted satin faced organzas. Pondering the shapes and silhouettes for the new season we are to begin the design process. The mannequin, positioned there, boldly waiting to be manipulated by the artists hands and intruded upon by the army of pins.

 ....approaching this like a sculptor to his medium. Gently puffing the fabric, pinning, releasing it, wrapping it. Adding crinoline for volume. Minimizing when necessary. Reaching for the embellishment. The feathers, the beads, the fur. Tightening the asymmetric drape. Pin. Pin. Pin.

As draping is reactionary, impulsive and EXTREMELY allusive it is pertinent to capture the design exactly where, when, and how the folds and drape exist. CLICK. CLICK. The camera is indespensible for these transient moments capable of changing with the release of just ONE pin! Leaving no indecisiveness or uncertainty of shape, design and placement of style lines or embellishment, the photos are taken. One from this angle. The other capturing a particular fold. The image, accompanied by the sketch becomes the blueprint for our intrusted patternmaker.

Go ahead. Purchase some fabric. Get a mannequin, pins and a scissors and don't forget to have your camera at your fingertips. You are now ready to begin designing your stairway to heaven! Oh, and if you need some help, just call me.

Color block #colorblock #illustration #bard @emperor_vanity

Last night it was my first time participating at Bard Graduate Center's evening of sketching and music. Bard Center is housed in a grand 6 story townhouse on the UWS of Manhattan, so the ambience itself is inspirational. The Emperor Vanity, a fantastic costumed character would be one of the models to draw. He appeared in a glorious outfit and his attire drew me in. I was captured by the blocks of color his outfit revealed.

It occurred to me to capture this imagery utilizing only the color portrayed by his outfit. That means eliminating the usual outlines used to depict the shape and thus, relying solely upon a color block method of rendering.

Look Ma...no outlines!

In all my time drawing this form of abandon NEVER occurred to me. It kinda frightened me, not outlining the subject then coloring it in, the predictable method. But once I allowed and trusted and gave into the freedom and focus of color only, it was exhilarating. There revealed was the ability to compose, I guess the same way as an artists creates, through color and form. Without to much analyzing and embracing abandon. It was this designer's version of thrill seeking.....on the 3rd floor of a beautiful mansion. Ha!

From the Inside Out

 Part one: After 19 years of designing and manufacturing here in NYC under my own label, there are many things I have learned from this glorious and sometime riotous industry called FASHION. From construction to design, marketing to trunk shows, fit through production. But what remains at the core, is the importance of the hands on experience. Relying solely upon artistic instinct and the unforeseen magic which occurs when hands meet fabric or paper, that is where art, fashion and design are born.

That tactile experience is unfortunately taking a backseat to velocity and quantities enabled by a computer generated mania. Imagine not touching someone or being touched. What we experience through our tactile sensibilities goes beyond becoming familiar with the nuances fabric will organically produce or how pencil marks will organically take on a direction of their own, producing surprises. In designing and drawing hands on, there becomes an infinite supply and source for creative expression. Techniques and ideas develop on their own volition. Focus straddles the line between the consciousness of ones hands and mind and the unconsciousness of the fabric, folds, brushstrokes and lines. Beyond human perception and plan the fabric and pencils, if given the proper freedom of expression, move and design, dance and sing to a the rhythm of a creative universe.

Working with one's hand's, folding, manipulating, scribbling, coloring is such a precious act developing harmony and promoting well being within. So when the time comes during the day when you are becoming anxious and overwrought with, you know what, take a few minutes and a pen. Start to scribble and draw or doodle some ideas or buried thoughts. It's a refreshing and de-caffeinated break. Who knows that doodle could be the next big seller!

Jacqueline de Ribes: The 'ART' of Draping. 'The Art of Style'.

She is an artist. I always loved the Jacqueline de Ribes collections and was disappointed when she closed the doors to her house in 1995. Last Friday at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibition on Ms. de Ribes' aristocratic background and her body of work, it was revealed to me, by surprise! why I admired her work so much. As it turns out Ms. de Ribes loved designing through draping. She said that the only way to design is by working with fabric either on the  mannequin or a live model. On display were gowns with asymmetric collars, dramatic sleeves and ruching. There is not an over indulgence of decoration and glitter. Instead the structural complexity of the fabric is the adornment while concurrently, preserving the sexuality, femininity and allure of the female form. She indulged herself with this art form and the result is evident. There is a certain shape and sensuality that draping presents regardless of the period in time. I found it quiet interesting how draping can influence design aesthetics among fashion designers years apart. Ms. de Ribes' one armhole/one shoulder [pictured above] from 1988 echoed similarities to a design I created in 2001. Same concept...one armhole/one shoulder.

Another striking similarity born out of the draping process was Ms. de Ribes' draped ruffle cocktail dress on the left with my idea 15 years later on the right. By working with the bias organza pieces indiscriminately, the form, and draping, the design takes shape. All the while allowing the creator to view the process and progress allowing time for the discretionary eye and hand to design or alter. At the forefront, always  maintaining the importance of the female shape.

It may be challenging to identify the differences between those designs which are draped and those which are flat sketched, but if you take into consideration these few reminders you will be one step closer. 1. Draping highlights the curves of the female form 2. There is an interest of fabric manipulation minus the overindulgance of decoration 3. It may look simple, but it's all in the details.

Stella Jean and Me

On Tuesday November 2, The Fashion Institute of Technology presented the designer Stella Jean to speak on her fashion design philosophy, meteoric rise in the fashion industry and her Ethical Fashion Initiative. Seems this beautiful model turned fashion designer has much more on her mind than being the next 'hot' designer. Born in Rome of an Italian father and Haitian mother she spoke of the challenges growing up in a 'homogenized' ethnicity such as Italy. She also mentioned how the status quo since her childhood hasn't changed much, as her children now encounter the same challenge. That is being racially different but none the less an Italian citizen with Italian cultural heritage. 

Her unique style is a combination of exceptional Italian tailoring with a relaxed aristocratic ring to it. That is juxtapositioned with her absolute allegiance to her Haitian and African heritage; ethnic patterns and primitive prints of exceptional color. No wonder we love her. The blend is as beautiful and diverse as she is herself. The way in which Stella pits pattern against pattern and then umbrellas it with cool Italian restraint is brava. Those fabrics represent more than color and boldness on the fashion runway. They represent Stella's collaboration with the Ethical Fashion Initiative, a goal to bring light, recognition and preservation to the traditional methods of textile development in underdeveloped but artistically rich countries. She has traveled from West Africa to Haiti developing fabrications and working alongside the artisans. Her commitment for acceptance is contagious. I'm glad to have had the opportunity to meet her and her incredible journey layered with many messages... just like her outfits.