Print Trend

Did you spook or get spooked?

Day of the Dead Skulls

Leading on from last week’s post on Halloween (did you spook or get spooked?) Dia de Muertos is forming the base of our inspiration for creation this weekend. The Mexican Day of the Dead festival which celebrates the life of family and friends who have passed has become quite a fascination with popular western culture in the past few seasons and it’s easy to see why.

Brightly coloured tattooed skulls (known as sugar skulls) have adorned t-shirts and hoodies. Simple black and white imagery could be seen on scarves and tote bags on every second person and even models were done up in makeup resembling adorned skeletons for Lena Hoschek’s spring/summer 2013 catwalk show in Berlin. For a while there it could be found everywhere and it might be too early to tell if the trend has past or just lying low for the moment.

While we wait to see where this trend takes us, why not take a moment to reflect on life and death and then turn it into a creative celebration of the circle of life.

Day of the Dead symbols from a font on www.fontbros.com/

Images from Lena Hoschek’s spring/summer 2013 catwalk show in Berlin.

Art & Design Fashion Inspiration Print Trend

The Witching Hour Draws Near

Spooky Scene by Poofy on Flickr
www.flickr.com/photos/enchanticals/galleries/72157627899470504#photo_2950228894

Next week is Halloween people. Time to get your print scare on.

Now Australia has only in recent years, embraced the whole October 31^st party vibe, that is more traditionally seen as an American festival of all things spooky. And while there may be complaints from some about our country becoming too “Americanised” this is one occasion which should be taken on board whole heartedly, or less heartedly if you’re inclined to dress up as a heart eating monster this year. Simple because you get to dress up as anything you want to, scary or not and how often do we really allow ourselves this chance?

Trending this year are popular shows from the past couple of years, notably Game of Thrones’ Daenerys Targaryen, the Breaking Bad boys and somewhat more random, Duck Dynasty a ‘reality’ show about duck hunters.

Now you could jump on this band wagon, let Yahoo! do the work for you with their recent top ten’s lists (see below) or you could use that imaginative spirit that was born for an all hallows eve festivity and get crazy with your outfit!

With Halloween right around the corner, Yahoo has released the lists for the top 10 searched Halloween related items this season.

What better way to scare (or impress) the boo out of your friends than rocking up in an outfit that you not only made yourself, but had the fabric printed specifically for it as well! Think cobwebs and creepy crawlies with splashes of suspicious colour or eerie scenes of mist through an abandoned street. It is also no coincidence that Mexico’s Day of the Dead follows up Halloween on November 1, so there’s some great inspiration right there.

If this post seams a little excited, it’s because it is. Purely because there’s so much creativity that comes with dressing up for an event like this, it’s hard not to see the potential for Halloween to play muse and feed into your print designs. So turn the lights down low, light a few candles and let the shadows take you to the witching hour.

A designer edge for Halloween (L-R)
Dolce & Gabbana, Christopher Kane, Ashish (sweater), Mary Katrantzou (skirt)

Art & Design Fashion Print Trend

Aerial

We are still looking at aerial shots in the office for inspiration after some research we discovered these beautiful photographs by photographer Joseph Ford

Ford teams aerial photographs with designer garments, giving a visual for how we can translate environmental inspiration into collections or prints.

Aerial: Riserva Naturale dello Zingaro, Sicily
Jacket: K-Way
//www.josephford.net

www.josephford.net
Aerial: Sicily
Jacket: Barbour

www.josephford.net
Aerial: Macari, Sicily
Sweater: Missoni

www.josephford.net
Aerial: Sardinia
Blazer: Missoni

Aerial: Morocco, Merzouga
Jumper: Kenzo
Background shirt: APC

Images from Joseph Ford

Fashion Inspiration Print Trend Prints Designs

Get Up High to Look Down Low

Phillip Lim Spring14 runway shot and a topographical map

This week we’re going up sky high to get a bird’s eye view of some great ideas to feed into the repeating pattern melting pot of textile design. And having seen a few on the runway shots from New York from the past week, there could be a trend in here somewhere. A change in perspective is never a bad thing, it can help to inform a full idea or understanding of the thing that you might be looking at and the result could be even more interesting than initially considered and has the potential to keep viewers on their toes. Mess with their minds and their idea of what they should be looking at.

Farm land in Queensland, Australia and tiered rice paddies in China

Snow caped mountains and valleys and an aerial view of a coral reef

Some great examples of where to find inspiration are from the aerial shots of colourful rice paddies in China or snowy mountains anywhere, views of coral reefs and topographical maps of countries. A similar approach can be taken by getting beneath the surface, going under water or inspecting the microscopic images of all types of matter.

But for now, be a bird even if just metaphorically, and take in what they might see soaring the skies.

Aerial shot of horses in a paddock create some interesting shadow play
www.natgeocreative.com

From inspiration to the garment (clockwise from left)
Emanuel Ungaro, Sara Phillips, Due, Grey Malin

Fashion Inspiration Print Trend

Floral for Spring

The Spring 2014 RTW Fashion shows have commenced with New York first to start showing the talented designers latest collections. One trend so far that has been featured in almost all the collections is Floral’s, in the words of Miranda Preisley “florals for sprint..? Ground Breaking!” And yet Floral’s for Spring just seems so right; We are currently in the 6th day of spring in the southern hemisphere, and Sydney is well and truly showing off what lays ahead for the months to come. The weather is absolutely perfect for floral everything!

Now we won’t get to purchase our favourite pieces from NYFW shows until next year, but with some quick designs and our speedy turn-around you could start making your own floral spring inspired garments in no time!

BCBG MAC AZRIA Spring 2014 RTW

VFILES Spring 2014 RTW

Tocca Spring 2014 RTW

Tanya Taylor Spring 2014 RTW

Richard Chai Love Spring 2014 RTW

Honor Spring 2014 RTW

Creatures of the wind Spring 2014 RTW

Images from style.com

Fashion Inspiration Print Trend

Optical Illusions

Carrying on from our last blog post, we are still looking at the impact of texture in prints.

Today we are inspired by the Swedish label ACNE Studios. When you think ACNE Studios, you think classic shapes, beautiful fabrics and luxurious leathers. Designer Jonny Johansson for ACNE studios latest collection up for sale on the ACNE website features a few printed garments that have been cleverly executed.

These prints are soft and subtle but create depth and texture to each piece.

Acne Studios

Images from ACNE Studios

Fabric Printing Inspiration Print Trend

Get A Little Touchy Feely

Different types of surface textures from a range of objects and places of inspiration

If the digital printing form on textiles where it’s possible to render fine detail and subtleties in colour, adding texture to your design can enhance your print, lifting it beyond the end product into a realm of its own.

There are many ways to add depth and interest into your designs and playing with textures is just one of them, but considering that we come into constant visual contact with surface variations, we have endless avenues for inspiration. The bricks of a house, the bark of a tree, the frothiness of our morning coffee, the reflections out the bus window, shadows, ripples, concrete, clouds, grass…its everywhere and it all can feed through into a great design.

Different types of surface textures from a range of objects and places of inspiration

And there are just as many ways to translate a rough or smooth or in between feature. Whether you start out organically rendering the area by hand, take photographs to rework it, use features in design programs or a combination of any of these things to overlay and manipulate, its undeniable that at some point as a creative being you’ve considered the importance of texture in your current piece of work.

This is not about using it all the time and everywhere, just an observance piece how texture plays a fairly large role in the designing of fabric prints and has just as much impact as colour, scale, movement or positive and negative space.

So be aware and be inspired and take another look at the surface area of your smoked salmon wrap, what’s happening with texture there?

Great sources of texture images and inspiration can be found at the following website, some of which were used as sources for the included images:

Fine Art America

Deviantart

Pattern People

Fashion Inspiration Print Trend

Read Between The Lines

: Big and bold combinations
(L-R) Etro, Dolce & Gabbana, Paul & Joe

Its always around in some capacity, from season to season there’ll be a stripe or two, a polka dot and even a check. But recently it seems the good ol’ geo is getting a little bolder, a little more out there and even when in the standard black and white, there’s an impact being made and a statement being said.

Even simple geo prints are being teamed with more intricate florals or with a pop of colour which adds intrigue and appeal. Although wearing an all over bold stripe might be daunting for some, finding smaller pieces to go with colour blocking or quite simply a pair of jeans and flats is an easy way to dip a toe into this trend pool.

Steal the show in this impact making number by Oscar de la Renta

In any case take another look at straight or curvy lines and all sizes of spots that surround you every day at let that feed a little creativity when it comes to the simple geo. Take the trend and run with it, between, over or around the lines and see where it can take you. It could lead you right to Digital Fabrics with a great new print to wow all your friends with being so on trend and all!

Geo collage
(L-R) Peter Pilotto, Preen, Erdem

Christian Dior and Aquilano.Rimondi

For more on the geo collage styling, see the following links:

Vogue: Walk the Line

Pattern People: Black and White Interiors

Fashionising

Fabric Printing Fashion Print Trend

3.1 Phillip Lim for Target

The Fashion world is a buzz by the release of yet another Target collaboration, the latest designer lending their creative talent is 3.1 Phillip Lim

The collection highlights the classic silhouettes 3.1 Phillip Lim is famous for, with some statement pieces; the collection features clothing, intimates, shoes, bags and travel accessories.

We have added a few of our favourites, which of course feature prints! Get inspired by these printed beauties!

3.1 Phillip Lim for Target

The collection will hit Target stores in the States September 15.

Images from hollywoodlife

Art & Design Inspiration Print Trend

Faux Nature

At Digital Fabrics we love Flowers and anything Flora or Flora inspired. This weeks Flora inspiration comes from Isabelle Menin a Belgian photographer.

Isabelle Menin began her artist career focusing on painting, after several exhibitions, she decided to quit painting and to work with digital photography. To achieve her technique she takes photographs, scans fragments of nature and plays with texture and color, transforming and mixing them to create a rich and gorgeous faux nature.