Coming Up at Apparel Arts

Apparel Arts’ June-December, 2010 schedule is on the website. We are offering more than usual in the summer months – Draping, Fashion Illustration, and Very Basic Sewing. We are also offering Sewing Difficult Fabrics this June. We only offer this class once a year so take advantage of this class offering with Lynda Maynard. Another new offering is Continuing Draping in August with Allison Page. This class will introduce you to more advanced draping exercises. Space is limited for this 4-week class so sign up early. Two brand new classes for Apparel Arts this summer are as follows: Tech Packs on Illustrator and Excel, and Beyond the Organic Label (How to Produce Ecological color for Artisan Textile Production). Check out the class descriptions, teacher bios and schedule on line. Fall 2010

Trends

Fendi RTW 2010

I love the trench coats coming out for fall. Fendi has a nice modern twist on an old classic. Trench coats never go out of style, but they seem to be making a strong showing in 2010. I like the trench look with a flare pant. There are some beautiful wool pants coming out with flared bases and while we will have the skinny jean look for a few more seasons, it is nice to have an alternative denim look. Both Ralph Lauren

(RALPH LAUREN RTW #2) and Dior are showing interesting bohemian/street urchin looks that are interesting and fresh. I always like the layering that is shown in the fall. Some of the layering is very streamlined as expected from Armani and Gucci, (GUCCI RTW #9) and then there are some designers who load it up like Kenzo (KENZO RTW #5) and Galliano. Check out the fall lines at www.style.com/fashionshows/collections/F2010RTW. and see what you think.

Check This Out

Our very own Josie Jesser won Silicon Valley’s Red Cross Heroes Fashion Show in the beginning of May. The premise was to design a wearable art garment with a lifesaving message that crosses the disciplines of fashion design, still-life and/or wearable technology. All the contestants were really creative with their ideas and execution. Look at the pictures from the event at http://starlameris.com/temp_photo/RedCrossHeroes2010-Gallery1/index.htm. Specifically check out Josie’s winning design pictured here

as well as Apparel Arts’ student Maria Konstantoglou who also participated and made very, very strong showing combining fashion and architecture. Congratulations to Josie, Maria, and Bobby Lopez who organized and hosted the show. For more information on the Silicon Valley Red Cross, go to www.siliconvalley-redcross.org.

Great Reads to Inspire

Susan Khalje’s Bridal Couture (Fine Sewing Techniques for Wedding Gowns and Evening Wear) is out on CD. Some of you might have this title in book form which is now out of print and hard to find. If you are working in bridal or evening wear this CD could become your number one reference. You can check it out at www.susankhalje.com or at the studio at Apparel Arts. Staying with the couture track, look up Kenneth D. King’s Cool Couture: Construction Secrets for Runway Style (Singer Studio). This book is so fun and is filled with great information on couture sewing. I especially like the tailoring methods for the front of a jacket.

Until next time!

Suzy Furrer

Director