ALICE MANIACS by Fashion Columnist Daniela Lanna

Last weekend, on April 21st, the movie Alice’s in wonderland was launched in Brazil. So yesterday, I went to the movies to check on it and I definitely give credit for its special effects, esthetics and costume design - and I could not expect less of a Tim Burton film! -.

Tim Burton is one of those directors recognized for its unique style and his colorful and folkloric way of telling stories. Burton once again imprinted an original eye for an already known universe. And despite not being a triumph in movie market, Tim Burton’s Alice is a magical and imaginative performance, delightful to be seen, especially with a fashion eye!

If you have plans of watching Alice in Wonderland you sure will be touched by its visual effects. Burton’s Alice arouses the imagination of spectators and fashion designer all over the world and soon we could observe its influence in fashion. T-shirts, nail polish, make up, jewelry, shoes inspired by the fanciful universe of young Alice, a classical children’s literature.

Urban Decay dedicated a limited edition of eye shadow called Book of Shadows which comes with 16 ultra pigmented colors. The book is illustrated with a pop up image of Alice in the mushrooms forest.

Following the new trend, the famous nail polish brand O.P.I. launched the “Alice in Wonderland Collection” with 4 super modern colors named: mad as a hatter, off with her red, absolutely Alice, thanks so muchness.

"Alice in Wonderland Collection"

Another brand that invested in the fantastic universe of Alice was Swarovski, with a line of super cute

accessories, as you can see below.

In Brazil, some brands also invested in “Alice” trend. The colorful flowers garden inspired the Brazilian jewelry brand H.Stern to design finger rings with elements of the movie as giant flowers and the famous cat of Cheshire. The rings will be part of an exhibition in São Paulo and available for sale only by order.

The Brazilian cloth brand Ellus also created a line of t-shirts with icons of the movie, which will be available for sale only at Ellus and Guest. Tel.: (11)3552-6699.

* This post was written by Fashion Columnist Daniela Lanna

Quotation

Projects require a particular quality among its managers, producers or any envolved professional: pacience. In this case, pacience should always be the art of positively and actively wait for an answer, a confirmation, an approval that will decisively decide the course of a project. As you know, pacience is an inevitable fase of every project, plan or dream. Therefore, for down fases when you just want a "yes" answer, I just love Friedrich Nietzsche's phrase:

"You can bare any HOW if you have a strong WHY."

Hang in there. Be positive.

Painter Alyssa Monks

If you like the charade: is this real or not? is this a painting or is this a photo? you will love the New Yorker Alyssa Monks. She masters paintings with wet and naked people taking baths, showers or just hanging out (still wet and naked). As eper her own site: "Monks’s work explores narrative figuration. Currently she is playing with the tension between abstraction and realism in the same work, using different filters to visually distort and disintegrate the body." Alyssa has been awarded a Grant for Painting from the Elizabeth Greensheilds Foundation three times.

I love how she plays with an artful realism with the water and its forms. Wet flesh texture, glass, vapor, transparency and fog. 

I don't know, but I feel like taking a hot shower!

Bunkwaa - Street Illustrator from Australia

             

For the past two years Bunkwaa has been creating and selling his illustrations on King st, in Newtown (Australia). He has made approximately 1400 funny characters. His cartoons have appeared in newspapers, magazines, websites and books fro example. Bunkwaa is also an Art Teacher at the Pine Street Creative Center. According to Bunkwaa, busking in Newtown is awesome and he adds: "I'm always along side painters, musicians, poets and street artists. Creating my art out on the street has been like working in an open air studio, where I get instant feedback about my art from people wandering by; from complements to harsh criticism."

Bunkwaa is the one in the middle!

Bunkwaa Blog: http://www.bunkwaa.blogspot.com/

Bunkwaa Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwippy/

Bunkwaa Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/bunkwaa

Also, a great and leading art reference site from Australia is ArtsHUB, but you've got pay for it!

Bunkwaa - Video

Japanese Street Style: Fairy-Kei - by Guest Columnist Ana

If you’re around 20-ish or even 30-ish … and missing youth and the 1980´s cartoons, such as Popples, My Little Pony and Vintage Barbie, remember listening to Cyndi Lauper on the radio while the “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” hit reached the top #5 parade? Well,now you can revive all those special moments and even find stores in Tokyo to get dress in pink, purple, yellow and mint again!

Tavuchi, a Japanese fashion enthusiastic, opened her own store – called - SPANK! In 2004, starting the Fairy-Kei movement – which she don’t want credit for – selling used itens and her own creations based on the Disco and 1980´s culture, arguing that there wasn’t anywhere she could find clothing tasteful enough for her fashion needs.

Fairy-Kei is nowadays a popular style - thanks to Tavuchi and her brand – which mixes cute icons from the 80´s, toys, bright colors, head-eating bows and lots and lots of accessories.

There’s lots and lots of stores dedicated to this fashion, especially in Harajuku, they look like children’s store, but dedicated to youngsters and – Of course - adults. Another dedicated brands: SBY Happy Room and 6% DOKI DOKI.

You can check nice links here:

Tavuchi: That´s Her! Tavuchi (click!)

Lots of Pics : http://spankgirls.tumblr.com/
Official Website SPANK!: http://www.spankworld.jp/
Official Website 6% DOKI DOKI: http://www.dokidoki6.com
SBY Store: http://www.lacarmina.com/blogpics/091001_fk1.jpg


* This post was written by Guest Columnist Ana, 23 years, Fashion Designer who ABSOLUTELY loves japanese street fashion and it´s a Brazilian Lolita, living in Brasília for a while... Check out Ana´s blog here!

From Me to You - Jamie Beck

               

If you like photography, a great photo-blog is From Me to You by Jamie Beck. The blog was carefully designed by Kevin Burg to look like a pin board displaying memorable pictures. The photos are whimsical with strong colors and a well defined area focus. You will be delighted (and hungry!) with the food pictures and amazed by the city shots. Jamie can extract the perfect angles and add an artful pallete to her work. You know those pictures that incite you to visit the place, eat the food, to live? Those are Jamie's pics. It is worth checking out and have fun!

     

 

Jamie takes lots of pictures of herself. They are superb!

Thanks, Jamie, continue on your path!

Blank!

When I am in front of a white canvas or I am on stage or in front of the oven or a blank paper...asking basic questions to myself:
black or blue?
 to be or not to be?
       curry or coentro?
                  ink or pencil?
I always think about bare feet running on a wet and fresh green grass. Don't ask me why. I have no idea, but it works.
What does work for you?

Rio Etc - Street Wear Blog by Columnist Daniela Lanna

Zen-Beach

Soccer-Beach (watch out for balls season)

Preparing to be mermaids

 
  beach-talk

sand volleyball world winners playing

and it is winter in Rio...

There is a really nice Brazilian blog about the street wear in Rio de Janeiro called Rio Etc. It brings pictures of passer-by people in the streets of the "Cidade Maravilhosa", or "the wonderful city"of Rio de Janeiro.

Another famous street wear blog is The Satorialist that brings the every day fashion from New York, Milan and Paris. The fotoblog exists since September 2005 and was refered by the Time Manazine as the Top 100 Design Influencers.

* This post was written by Fashion Columnist Daniela Lanna

Banksy - street artist

This is one artist I totally love. His art is controvertial, political and critical. Acording to Wikipedia, Banksy is a pseudonymous British graffiti artist. He is believed to be a native of Yate, South Gloucestershire, near Bristol and to have been born in 1974, but his identity is unknown. Some people asserts that Banksy's work is simply vandalism. In 2004, Banksy hung a painting of the Monalisa with a yellow smiley face at Louvre.

    

   

   

   

   

Banksy has several books and, recently, he released his first film, Exit Through The Gift Shop, at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

Ever since I saw a book of his works, I feel in love with his street art. I think is uneasy and funny!

Lives of the Artists - Calvin Tomkins

This is a great book if you want to find out more about  the contemporary art world. The artists portrayed here are all modern (and living) conceptual and/or abstract artists. Calvin lets us know particular things about the artists life, career, atelie, ideology. You feel compeled to search more as the life of an artist is totally relevant to an understanding of his or her work.

There are 10 artists which include: Damien Hirst, Cindy Sherman, Julian Schnabel, Richard Serra, James Turrell, Matthew Barney, Maurizio Cattelan, Jasper Johns, Jeff Koons and John Currin.

I read this book really fast during my traffic hours. This is a rich and resourceful book. I liked it!

How to stand out from the clutter?

How to get the attention of your consumers? Nowadays, there are so many ad interruptions and product/service choices, that it is really hard to make YOURSELF or your product stand out from the crowd.

Seth Godin makes a point in his speech at the Business of Software conference:

1. Most professionals are solving a problem that people don't think they have, so they are not looking for a solution, for your solution. Therefore, you are invisible.
2. We are in a hiper-clutter momment. Where it used to be 3 options of drinks, now there are 3.000. Cullter is not your friend, principally, for small companies.
3. People are too busy with ads they get wether they want it or not.
4. You or your product should be worth make a remark about.
5. You or your product should matter, you should make yourself or your product worth talking about.
6. Explore the direct communication.
7. Create a direct users business because every interaction with your customer is a "change for a up or down."
8. Give people something to talk about, for that you should build the story, live the story, bring up the story. All types of sellers are story tellers.
9. When you give people lots of choices, they take it. They want personalized services or products that fullfills their needs.
10. Consumers are connected to consumer. Users are connected to users. The model of connecting users to eachother is how you are going to grow.
11. Your effort should not be in "how many" people you ad to, but "who" you reach.
12. Share of wallet is way easier than share of market. Go for the share of wallet.
13. The people who is failluring are the ones who do not acknowledge that commitment comes before success.
14. Make it easier for people to integrate to your tribe.
15. A tribe is an identity that stands for something that matters.

Resume Cicle:

Be remarkable > Integrate and connect deeply with customers > Tell a story to your sneezers > Provide tools for the story to be told > Customers connect to eachother through tribes > Customers connect to customers > Customers spread the word > They persuade others > You get permission to tell another story

* These insights were collect from Seth Godin´s speach in the link above.

Music Alley

Find the best tracks to put for free in your podcast or to just enjoy listening online! Some of the greatests podcasters use this resource and some good musicians find in the Music Alley a great way to advertise and show their work. So it works for them and us, the listeners!

The most played band is the Brother Love from New York city with the song "Summertime". This song was played 780 times already. And the top rated band is the Uncle Seth from Ontario, Canada. Their most listened music is "To be an angel".

Walking Art

Yesterday was a holiday, but of course I had to dress in my social outfit and go to the cold twin-building where I work. On my way to work, I encountered three walking artists. As you can see in the picture, it's clear they somewhat paint (canvas strapped to one of their backpacks), they play instruments (wooden drum attached to the backpack) and they perform fire juggling (check out the fire sticks). That's freedom!