Live below the line

Today I began my first day of the 'Live below the line' challenge. This inspiring campaign was created to raise awareness and much needed funds for people living in extreme poverty.

With a budget of merely $10 for food and drink to last me the whole 5 days, (that's just $2 a day!!), it's definitely going to be a hard and at times draining challenge, and I know that for this week I will be hungry for a lot of each day.

But I am fortunate because at the end of the week, I can go back to normal.  Not everyone is this lucky. For 1.4 BILLION people (that's over 60 times the population of Australia), this is how they live all day, every day.

And for these people the $2 has to cover more than just food; it has to spread between health, housing, transport, food, education…

It's pretty hard to imagine living like this.

Money raised from this event will go straight to the Oaktree Foundation, which is helping to build schools, train teachers, and provide learning materials to the 'Yangi' communities who live 'Below the line' everyday in the mountains of Papua New Guinea. This education will hopefully help break the cycle of extreme poverty, and allow the people to strive for a better future.

So if you want to support me in this challenge, and at the same time make an important contribution to a very worthy cause, click on the link below. Whether it's $1 or $100, it doesn't matter, because as I'm learning this week, EVERY cent counts.

xox Alyce

Iris Van Herpen

The bigger, the bolder, the better?

As it states on her website, for Iris Van Herpen.. 'Normal rules don't apply'.

The other day I stumbled upon these creations by the innovative Dutch designer, and was amazed by the structures, shapes and complete individuality shown in the outfits she creates.

I love how she experiments with textures and shapes one would never normally associate with clothing, and because of this I see her designs as pieces of art rather than fashion.

My favourite is definitely the stunning outfit which I call 'The Water Splash', - not the most creative name but to me this is exactly what I see when I look at the silvery creation.

Absolutely breathtaking, Iris Van Herpen has managed to freeze frame and capture incredible moments in her completely original couture.

xox Alyce

It's Cocoa not Chanel!

Happy Easter!

(Sorry I'm a little late!)

Chocolate is traditionally seen as a delicious, sweet indulgence..

But can it be used in fashion?

The answer in yes. 'The Chocolate Fashion Show' is an event hosted annually all over the world; this year taking place in the very fashionable city of New York. Keeping true to its name, the show features amazing outfits created through the collaboration of designers and chocolatiers, which are then showcased in a mouthwatering catwalk show!

If you're a choco-shopa-holic, then this is your must-see show of the year!

Small dessert chocolates take the place of hair decorations, buttons, and jewellery. While some of the outfits look like you could just break a piece off and eat it! Practicality and comfort is definitely not a high priority, and unless you enjoy feeling like a human chocolate fountain - you wouldn't want to be caught out in the heat in one of these outfits!

So from the kitchen shelf to the runway, what do you think about these guilty pleasures of fashion? 

 Click on any of the 'mouthwatering' images below to enlarge!

xox Alyce

Front Row Louis Vuitton

I'm sorry I haven't posted for so long! I've been so caught up in other things, but that's really no excuse. So here's how I'm going to make it up to you all; you are all going to sit front row at a Louis Vuitton Show...

Okay not really, but what I have found is practically that! I literally can't describe it but in their most recent show, Louis Vuitton used a 360 degrees camera, so that in the video (I've posted as a link to below,) you actually (and I'm not just saying that!) feel like you're there!

You can 'look around' and move the camera to whatever angle you want, and watch as the models walk right past you! It's the weirdest thing and trust me, to understand you have to try it for yourself!

Click on the link below!

Louis Vuitton fashion show - front row

Enjoy!

xox Alyce

Who's that... Girl?

Okay, so many of you will be wondering; what's so special about this model?...

The model in question is Andrej Pejic. Andrej is 19, was born in Bosnia but raised in my very own city - Melbourne, was the model in the new Marc by Marc Jacobs ad, and is the fresh, new face of Jean-Paul Gaultier's Spring Ad campaign. 

No doubt this model is gorgeous. But like I said earlier, what's the big deal? You're probably thinking: "So what, we get it, she's pretty!"

Well, Stop. Right. There.

'She' is not a she at all. This gorgeous, glamorous, blonde beauty, called Andrej Pejic... is in fact a MAN!!!

Andrej has taken cross-dressing to a whole new level - this is no Rocky-Horror Picture Show. According to the media, designers, and many others, THIS is High Fashion.

But what message is the Fashion World trying to send by having a male model pose as a woman?

Should we be offended? Many female models are already pushing themselves to the limit to obtain the skinny, 'boy-like' bodies that are demanded of them in the cut-throat modelling industry. By sending a boy dressed as a girl down the runway, is this just saying that women will never be good enough? Andrej has the face of a girl, but the tall, un-curvy figure of a boy; the perfect combination for many designers.  So where does that leave the female models, who as hard as they try, will never be able to achieve this?…

Or is this a good thing? A sign of how the world is moving forward and into the future. Where social 'norms' and stereotypes are being discarded, to make way for the acceptance of those who are a little bit different…

Finally, it was a big milestone when women began to dress like men (wearing a feminised version of the suit), however it has never been normal for this situation to be reversed. Will Andrej mark the start of clothing not being targeted to just one gender?...

Or is this just a big publicity stunt? There are so many ways you could interpret this very different portrayal of fashion. So maybe its better to stop analysing it, and accept it for what it is. Who knows.

These are just a few of my thoughts,  I'm personally quite fascinated by Andrej and have to keep reminding myself that he's not actually a girl! I'll be very interested to see where his career goes.

I'd love to know what you all  think (so make sure to leave a comment!) because I'm sure everyone will have their own opinion on this and on fashions newest star; Andrej!

xox Alyce

 

Back to the Futurism

Futurism: no I'm not referring to the fashion that people will be wearing in 'The future', in a time of hover-cars, timetravel, and aliens! Nor is about shiny tin foil looking outfits that would fit right in on an intergalactic spaceship...

Futurism is an art movement that originated in Milan, Italy (yes the fashion capital Milan!) in the early 20th century (1909).

It involves the principal of creating 'movement' in unfluid objects or materials, and showing speed and motion - often through the use of repetition. It was influenced by the growing use of technology at that time and machinery in particular. The camera was seen as a powerful tool for futurists as it was able to 'freeze' a moment, which could then be replicated through art.

This popular art form is still used today over a wide range of media: fashion, art, architecture, and sculpture.

Currently I'm studying it in art  - we're creating sculptures using the futurism model - and now that I know what it is I can see how often it is used in the fashion world! Whenever you see structured outfits that don't  quite make sense on the human body (think Alexander McQueen!) then you're probably looking at a futurism piece!

Shaggy, spikey, and spider-web-heeled shoes

This hairstyle fascinates me...

It reminds me of something weird, I just can't think what!

Yes, this is a glowing bag!


So, as 'futurists' would say: Live in the present, look forward to the future, and don't get lost in the past. I hope you're now inspired like I was.

xox Alyce

L'Oreal Fashion Festival PART 2 - The Experience

Fashion events don't end on the runway..

If you've been following my blog you will probably have already read part 1 of this post:  L'Oreal Fashion Festival - The Fashion.

Now I want to tell you all about the amazing time I had 'pre' and 'post' catwalk!

The waterside pier was bustling with people eager to see and be seen. From celebrities, models, designers, and photographers, I was overwhelmed by the number of people I had seen on TV and were now right in front of me! Style was certainly a must and everyone looked amazing! It was like a fashion heaven and I came away longing for many of the to- die-for shoes I had seen paraded around during the evening!



Getting photo taken... = very exciting!!



I was so excited when a group of photographers came up to me, asking if they could photograph me for the 'Australian Fashion Guide' Best Dressed Competition!!! My dress was an original by an Australian designer - DeSaku, and my shoes are from a little boutique shop called 'Imagination'.




Photo taken for 'Australian Fashion Guide' Best Dressed Competition.

 



The entrance to heaven?

 

Another fun part of the night was getting our hair done in the L'Oreal hair and make-up tent! The queue to get in was almost as long as the runway! - But it was definitely worth it in the end!



I wish I knew how to do this!!



It really was an incredible night, and hopefully not the last! Fingers crossed that next time I go to a 'Paris Runway Show' maybe it will even be in Paris!

  

Shoes!



Jess, Me, Eliza, Leanne



xox Alyce