Poetic Couture
The Spring 2011 women collection will be called " Poetic Couture ". We asked many of our friends, customers, agents and distributors and we looked at many of the articles written about Andersen & Lauth in the press worldwide and these words pop up again and again. Therefore it must capture the essence of the women collection. These are beautiful words and we love to make beautiful pieces. This blog will be about the sketching of the collection. Let´s go to the magic world of the cloth, the handwork, the embroideries and the skilled craftspeople and dream a dream of Poetic Couture.
G+K
.....We always start the design period in the same way. With breakfast at Ottolenghi in London. Normally we have the same, Organic yoghurt with their own granola, fresh fruits and a soya latte. I remember Kolla once had a croissant with jam, must have been a saturday. To take away we reccomend the chocolate with the strawberries, in case it´s a saturday J
Fresh fruits at Ottolenghi, We love the colorful plates they use...
Saturday morning coffee, some people go through the morning papers or watch news, we go through embroideries...
Sometimes we get tempted to take on projects we do not have time to do but we just love to make wedding dresses....we have a soft spot for weddings..there is something so magical about it...see the sketch of the dress....
Here is the dress in real life, Karen in the studio working on the last bit of the embroidery....
...and a scone at Liberty's, a great little treat after a busy day in London...
....a part of the moodboard at our private room in the studio....
We were working on this embroidery...we think this is a bit to " bulky " for a clothing embroidery.....hmmmmm.....maby we could use it for a embroidery for a cushion for the A & L home collection ??
I was reading a interview with the Lanvin head designer Alber Elbaz and he described it so well how tough it can be to be a designer. You have to do better with each collection. A great collection demands a better one next time. Sometimes when you start with an empty sheet in the beginning of the sketch period it can be a terrifying process ahead. So many days, so many sketches, so many decisions, shapes, colors, texture, silhouettes. Some days you don´t feel like it, but you have to, you can´t loose the day. You just want to go back to bed and put your head back under the pillow. But...always....eventually the collections start moving, sketch by sketch and the passion comes and shakes you. Emotions come flowing through the vains, to the heart and the brain and you feel on fire. You want to get it out to the world. This is where the magic starts. Sometimes I just wish we had more time.....time is precious.
...Today a Scandinavian magazine came to take photos from our studio in Reykjavik, normally we say no but these guys just asked so nicely....here are photos they sent us from their visit....
we want to do plates and that kind of stuff one day, I came across this photo, they will be in this mood...
....and stuff like this.....we love this.....
We saw a woman walking the streets of London, she was very chic. She was wearing a long zebra beaded coat / cardigan, slim jeans and boots and a slouchy clutch bag. Super cool bird that lady. We have been working on a embroidery like this, who knows it might end up in the collection....let´s see :) see a embroidery swatch below....cool ? right ? we want to change the white beads to vintage gold color....
Today we were working on this drawstring detail on a lace sleeve, it will be good... I think..
....playing with adding vintage pearls on the top waistband of a lace skirt....a little bit girly, sexy and in a way a victorian underwear something....we will work on this further....
This is the way we work on color variations on different embroideries, little swatches are made to see the outcome. Mixing colors and different beads and finishes is a world we know very well. We have so many great people to work on this....We always want to see how the final outcome is...This is for a style we call Syria...it will be FAB in both color ways....We were just confirming the Gold color on the right.
...and here is the ready prototype of the skirt....we might do some changes but it looks fab :)
This embroidery will be amazing, we are planing a group from this embroidery that will include a long slouchy cardigan. A bit rock´n roll but still bohemian and romantic....We will post the photo of the prototype of the cardigan when ready......we can´t wait to have it ready....
We are playing with these vintage laces, making a skirt out of them, it will be a beautiful group of styles, We will make a skirt, a cape and a long skirt. It will be great summer pieces.....
Again playing with old Laces making a small shirt with volume sleeves, this will be very nice. See the photos
We will make a top and a dress in the same style group...mmmmm.....see the sketches below...
....We were working on the idea of playing with several fabrics and embroideries. Some of them vintage and some we did embroideries on top of them. All then washed and treated. This will be a interesting story....Vintage, Bohemian, feminine and beautiful. Like life should be every day of the year. Strolling down the beach at St. Augustine....the flowy sleeves would reflect your careless mood of the day.....
We are working on a group that we know will be great. Working on getting the beads and embroidery as vintage as possible playing with the different colors and working on the finish of the beads that can give various effects. Will show more when ready but see below a photo of the process of finding the perfect balance of the colors.
Halli from the office ran into Quentin Tarantino and he knows we are big fan of his and he lied to him that I was a 25 year old film director student and asked him for a autograph. Here it is on the wall in our studio. You have to understand Tarantino to get what he means when he wrote " Good luck, shoot film good ( not digital ) Bad. What a genius.
3 prototypes hanging in the studio.....summer 2011 in slow process....looks fab, agree ?
We want to do more with the home collection we have started selling in our stores. There will be a large selection of pillows, throws, blankets and other nice things presented next winter for a summer 2011 delivery for home decoration fanatics to play with :) see below some overview sketches of the items. It is of course in the same mood as the clothing, vintage, romantic and beautiful....
In our small room at the studio, this is on the wall. This is simply true, keep walking and believing !!
See a rail with spring 2011 proto types...mmmm... a...good season in process....step by step it happens..
See small embroidery swatches in process....we have not decided what to do with them but it will come..
We just got this amazing prototype of a kind of a punkish but still romantic lace waistcoat....we Love it.....
We are so happy with this group of 2 styles, amazing handwork, we love the sophisticated but daring look and colors of these garments.....very chic and very A & L....
and the dress in the same group.......
Before a embroidered dress is stitched together the embroidery itself is put on a piece of fabric, here you can see a panel of fabric with the ready embroidery and the next step is to make the garment, this is a embroidery around the neckline of a spring 2011 kaftan shirt.
We just got this one......the women that will buy this dress next spring will be fabulous looking on a stylish summer night....this style turned out just perfect....
More simple and sweet summer top...very A & L, we like the embroidery...
And a longer version....nice....
... the beadwork on this waistcoat is so beautiful...you have to see it in real life to see the various details and handwork. Based on a 100 year old embroidery we found in London...we have also a top in making in the same...can´t wait to see it....
We have so many beautiful scarfs in the spring collection, this one is rather simple and sweet, with a cut-out detail and tassels....
and another one with a nice print....
.jpg)
Each collection we thrown in some colors even that our normal color palette is very romantic, soft and feminine. We love this green color as one of the colors this season..nice and simple embroidery work.
....and a top in the same group.....
...playing with creased cotton, lace inserts and embroidery...nice summer stuff,,,,
...and a bat sleeve top in the same...
.....mmmmm....a sweet but sexy summer silk dress.....
...see this prototype, this will be a good style but we made big changes in the shape, embroidery and all details....will post the final version when ready...
One of the prints of the season, this will be good....we always want our printed items to be feminine...
We are working on this halter neck long dress, it is not ready but will be good ( we hope )..
This will be a typical Andersen & Lauth piece, LOVE the handwork and the mood of it...
....and we did a cape based on the same design....Lovely :)
Some of our tailoring is getting ready at the studio, the shapes of the jackets need to be perfect...
We are working on a mix of cotton and silk in a tye-dye effect with beadwork, we think it works :)
We made this nice dress but we want to make the beadwork at the neckline more interesting, more handwork, we want it to be even better....never settle for just ok....
We did a dress similar to this last spring and decided to do new styles based on the same. We love to do that sometimes. It´s like meeting a old friend :)
and the top, we feel think it is a interesting color combination...
We just received some of the new designs in the Home range...we Love them :)
...now the samples are coming every day and the collections more and more looking complete...
This dress is extremely nice, it is all beaded inside and it is very heavy but damn it looks good :)
and a little beaded waistcoat in the same group...
We love the look on this one, it is very vintage, washed and has the right beach summer look...
this one as well...nice embroidery, perfect for the beach...
We got the final version of the style, the embroidery work is great....
Nice little beaded cardigan...
and the top here...mmmm.....really isn´t this nice :)
And the rails in the showroom start to come together....
Nice combination of washed jersey and beadwork...
We love how the embroidery came out in this style....Romantic but calm...
We were playing with lace and patchwork....looks nice...
This will be a nice summer top....nice embroidery...
and more rails come together :)
We like this color combo, fresh summer breeze...
Nice back of the waistcoat...
Amazing piece......not cheap but nice things always cost money :)
We Love how this turned out, very soft suede with flat studs, the shape is very, very nice...
We have been playing with fresh colors of embroideries on our normal color palette...
And more splash of colors, we call this color mint, it looks nice on a vintage looking garment like this...
We love how romantic and sweet this one is, the color and the combination of lace and silk is very sexy..
This embroidery is sweet as pie :)
We are working on this top...is the embroidery to big ? should it be smaller ??
...we were not sure if this embroidery would be to " charleston " but we Love how it turned out...
I know Paloma in Madrid will love this skirt :)
Sometimes we do prints, not a lot but we like this one, summery and faded, washed and sweet..
Love this little shoulder detail....
We have been working on many strong scarfs this season, more colorful than before, nice...
Nice combination of pleats, lace and fabric covered buttons....
Looks a bit odd on hanger but it is a lovely cardie with beads in the pockets...
We love these 2 styles of " Drapy " knits....
Love these colors of beads and the silk...
Lovely summer kaftans....perfect for sunny downtown coffee....
Silky jumpsuit....sexy, chic and cool...
Cool beaded jacket....use it with skinny jeans and punk boots...
Some ideas you never know if they will work or not, this is one of them, the frills could have been horrible but you know what ? they came out lovely....
We made a program of white summer tops and kaftans, easy and comfy...
The vest with pleats also came out perfectly :)
The end result of the beaded Tiger Coat is so coooool....
And the small tiger jacket....
A new kind of tank top ;) a little bit more stylish...
Everything happens fast in the studio these days....
The little mint vintage looking jacket, the small small beads are so nice...
Nice long summer dress....thin cotton voal, perfect summer item...
A old pattern at our studio, our dear Indriði made this pattern, bless his memory...
We got the final piece today...mmmmmmm....what an amazing hanwork...
Love this metal tassle at the end of the band...
Romantic and sweet...like life should be every day...
It looks like a 1920's nightgown, really sweet....
We were not sure about the pinky color but this turned out very Andersen & Lauth...
We don´t do many beaded jerseys but this one is a good exception...
Washed and faded summer top...
We were playing at home with handmade sheets of papers to make a collage to use on the cover of the spring 11 sales files...maby it will work, let´s see :)
