ART & FASHION

Some people think theres a difference between art and fashion but I personally dont. Everything usually starts with a concept, some inspiration, an idea or experimentation. Then again I everyone has their own artistic impression, whether you're an artist or not.

Even though some brands create very simple pieces shapes and patterns are taken into consideration to flatter the wearers body. Like the simple t-shirt dresses or shift dresses that are super trendy right now and perfect for Hong Kong weather.

Our designer Kanch has always been a big fan of art and fashion and collaborating them in a more literal sense by spray painting portraits of her family on t-shirts and using different mediums for different effects. We love to DIY our own t-shirts here at KC and Kanch and I are big fans of cutting our t-shirts for a different fit and cutting shapes to spruce up a plain tee or dress.

Kanch also hosting a few events and worked with other designers that have similar aesthetics to create special one off designs for charity.

When I think of fashion and art, I think of Iris Van Herpen. A very talented designer with a unique sense of style. Herpen Couture is some of the most intricate pieces I've seen on a runway, using different materials, not necessarily fabrics but wires and plastic. I love the way shapes are created with materials that aren't your everyday fabrics- I mean that's what fashion and art is about right? Pushing boundaries, testing limits, experimentation, and deconstruction.

I guess art in a sense is just creating something rather than a process even though the process is a key part of the finishing product but the same principles apply.

Kanch once created a skirt that had close to 50 metres of silk with a beautiful silk-screen print on the layers which created a lot of volume and was reminiscent of a 50s poodle dress, just A LOT bigger! The printing on the skirt was so stunning and the colours worked so well together that I would certainly call it fashion art.

I hope she'll create more of these one off pieces... I'll have to convince her!

Love, Petra

Enquiries: +852 2117 1782 | info@kanchancouture.com

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THE MODEL DEBATE

Ah, models- love em' and hate em'

There has always been so much controversy with models, age, weight, height, gender and so on but lately the most talked about one is weight and role models.

I remember doing a presentation when I was back at school about anorexia and bulimia and how the environment can effect us. My partner and I for the project, had to research different forms of influence on regular people and the main one was celebrities and models. Being in the limelight so much younger kids are being influenced by these people we put so much attention towards. Models back in the day were slim and regulations were close to non existant. These days regulations are more strict with age and weight. Countries around the world are starting to implement rules and are refusing to hire underweight models which started in Israel and Spain and hopefully will make its way around the world. There is also an age limit now to modeling in some countries which is set at 16.

Recently Vogue banned the use of models under 16 and anyone that looked like they had an eating disorder which is great progress being one of the leading fashion magazines in the world. Chinese, British, American and French Vogue have sworn they will not knowingly use underage models with Japanese Vogue jumping on board last month.

Some statistics said

“Most runway models meet the Body Mass Index physical criteria for Anorexia,” one reads.

“Twenty years ago the average fashion model weighted 8% less than the average woman. Today she weighs 23% less,” another states.

The editorial claims that the average plus sized model at most modeling agencies, fluctuates between a size 6 and 14, while ten years ago, they averaged between size 12 and 18.

A medical report said in 2007 that as many as 40% of models are suffering from an eating disorder and are hiding it very well.

A couple of weeks ago and I had seen a Dove campaign for real beauty that was put side by side a Victoria's Secret campaign with the caption: What is real Beauty?
I completely support the Dove campaign because it has a sense of realism to it by using people that aren't one size and that aren't heavily photoshopped and close to starving.

I really admire Dove and what they stand for because if we don't start making a change, our children will and can have it worse than us now.
The media has showed us that one look is considered beautiful but this look makes up for maybe 10% of the worlds population, so what about the rest?

Society has changed so much and we've been led to believe a certain look is perfection. It is so sad to see that only 4% of women in the world consider themselves beautiful even though everyone is beautifully unique.

I think thats why I love what I do, because we create made to order dresses and for the most important day of a girls life, their wedding dress. We usually sit with a client and talk about the form and fit of the dress and we always customise it so that you're comfortable in your dress.
A lot of people think fashion is just one sided and we all promote this sort of body type but we don't. When I did castings for Kanchan Couture when never expected a certain body-type to show up, if you look good in our clothes and our clothes look good on you, you've got the job.
I hope one day it will be that simple for larger fashion houses and our kids won't have to grow up wishing they had the "perfect body."

Love, Petra

BEHIND THE SCENES

When it comes to fashion there are so many behind the scenes type jobs, you have stylists, make-up artists, directors, designers, photographers etc and I have had the pleasure of experiencing a lot of these aspects.

I have always loved behind the scenes type jobs, the anticipation, the excitement, the rush and the chaos comes with the job. My favourite would have to be the runway shows when all the models are getting their hair and make up done and the lights and music are being tested, you can feel the anticipation in the air and the atmosphere starts to get tense and the pressure builds.

I think I like the stress because so much goes into planning a show like this that you need to make sure every detail is in place, everything is working and ready to go. Maybe even living in Hong Kong explains why I like the hustle and bustle of a city like Hong Kong and all it has to offer.

I remember one of our last shows at Vero Lounge for the launch of our Kanch line by KC we got to the venue a couple hours before hand and started to decorate and make sure everything was in place.
While the models got their hair and make-up done, I planned with a fellow intern at the time who was going to wear what. We had these A3 pieces of paper where we wrote the girls names on them and wrote down their outfits and next changes.
That night was such a hustle as the girls had to change in the smallest room behind a makeshift back drop where the models came out. Not only did we have to dress the girls but we also had to pick out jewellery that was kindly lent to us by fellow designer and good friend Megha of Taara Jewellery. All the pieces were very intricate so we had to be careful when putting them on the models while changing their outfits.
In the end there were a few hiccups but nothing anyone noticed so it was a great success and everyone breathed a sigh of relief after everything was over.

When you're doing a fashion show it completely flashes before your eyes and before you know it the model is in then shes rushed back out with only a few seconds to change.

Lately I've been watching the Rachel Zoe project and it is such a perfect and accurate look into the backstage/behind the scenes footage. What I especially admire is Rachel Zoe's dedication and the work that goes into a shoot or a show. One of my favourite episodes featured a cover shoot with Harpers Bazzar with Demi Moore on the front cover with, believe it or not a giraffe!
It gave viewers an inside peek at the ins and outs of styling a shoot. Zoe would pull several looks and edit while she was on set baring in mind the them and look of the shoot.

We can't wait to do something on a larger scale (although we don't necessarily need a giraffe) and we will definitely share our experiences with you all!

Love, Petra

Enquiries: +852 2117 1782 | info@kanchancouture.com

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AUCTION

Kanchan Couture has always been a huge supporter of charities and we've been really gratefulto be a part of raising awareness for different causes and I'm so proud to say that Kanch is the founder of Hong Kong chapter charity, Atma.

Atma was founded in India and is dedicated to helping less fortunate children and adults learn to read write and speak. A recent study found that in 2050, 50% of the worlds illiterate will be in India.

We have started organizing events to help raise some money for Atma in India by doing a Charity Cook out which was a fabulous success and absolutely delicious. This month we've got another charity cook out lined up and a charity bespoke shoes event where you can learn how to create and design your own bespoke shoes, learn the process and maintenance over some wine and nibbles.

At the moment we are planning another event which we are super excited about however thats on the hush hush but it did make me wonder and I decided to do some research on fashion auctions for an idea we were thinking of. I came across some really amazing pieces auctioned off, some were vintage, some were recent but nonetheless they were all beautiful and definitelyhistorical.

Marie Antoinette's shoes we're put up for auction in March and despite being almost 300 years old the shoes were a huge a hit and sold for $57,000 USD in France.
Marie Antoinette was convicted of treason shortly after the whole royal family was sent to prison and then executed a year later. It must be pretty amazing to own something like this!

I found some other auction items belonging to iconic women of the turn of the century such as Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn. All of these ladies had a charm about them and were definitely Hollywood sweethearts. They were all fashionable in their own right, had amazing careers and were loved by millions of people all over the world.
Not only was Elizabeth Taylor known for her tally of husbands but her gigantic collection of jewellery and clothing. Her items were up for auction with hundreds of wealthy elite itching to get their hands on an iconic piece. One item, a 33.29ct ring was estimated to be worth less than half the amount it went for and brought an incredible $8.8million USD alone. The top seller at the auction was a ruby necklace given to the star by Richard Burton in 1969 went for $11.8 million. The entire auction brought $137million which broke records and certainly made history.

We can't wait to start planning our fund raiser which we hope to finish in a few months and this post has certainly given me some ideas and inspiration.

I will be posting a link in the coming days for our bespoke shoes charity event which will be held at the end of August. Watch this space!

Love, Petra

Enquiries: +852 2117 1782 | info@kanchancouture.com

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