Fall 2010 lookbook

first look

This is one of the images of my Fall 2010 lookbook, which I'm finalizing this week.
I ended up taking all of the pictures this time, because I just wanted to get it done and out of the way. I'm learning a bit more about lighting techniques, so the next photo shoot that I do will hopefully be even better. It's fun having another creative outlet and I'm excited to experiment more!

(the model is Karalyn!)

working pics

I snapped a ton of pictures these past few months, but I've been too busy to go through them all until recently.

Here are a couple that I took while creating textures for my Fall 2010 collection.
And this one, which I may have posted before, but I'll post anyway because Monkey's just too cute sometimes and also a very good assistant. Actually...moments later she probably growled, hissed and stormed off. She doesn't handle constructive criticism very well, apparently.

spring cleaning

(eventhough, technically not yet Spring; especially not here in NY!)

I've posted some samples up on Etsy this week, because currently my rack is pulling out of the wall because it's too heavy. And now my cutting tables are all covered with clothes to alleviate the racks, and so I've been cutting on the floor.

I do need to get more racks, but a quick solution is spring cleaning the studio of things I've been holding on to. I need to do more than just a few samples, though. It's so hard to part with some these pretty things, and I am definitely a pack rat! :)

I need to make even more room, because I'm currently having a few styles from my Spring collection produced that I'll be selling on my website and in NY.This is one of the lovelies I'm letting go of. I might have a few more throughout the week, too.
(photo by Caitlin Bellah)
This is how my racks used to look last spring, shortly after I moved in. Color organized and all! Ahh, memories....

Fashion Week Fall 2010

I've been so swamped with work for the last month preparing for fashion week, that I didn't have a moment to even post my typical "sorry, for not posting in awhile" posts.

Ahh, it's so nice to have it all done and over with, and considering having an incredibly stressful past couple of weeks due to my late start on the collection, it all went pretty well and I'm quite happy with it. There's definitely more of a healthy dose of commercial pieces that I'll be able to do production on and that can be worn everyday, and then there are my artistic pieces that scratch the itch of my desire to sculpt and create.

The inspiration was topography, but done in a very feminine romantic way. Yes, an excuse to make lots of noodles and layers that I love in plenty of eco-friendly and organic materials. Basically, I made a lot of things that I enjoyed creating and would love to have in my closet.

I was so lucky in the last week to have help from not only my friend Suede from my season, but Maya from season 7 came to my studio the night before and helped me until about 2 in the morning. What a dear and a life-saver!

I think my favorite two pieces ended up being the last two that I worked on: This eco-felt topographical dress which I hammered out in the wee early hours of the morning the day of the show (The material is made from recycled plastic soda bottles), and the long teal low-back gown (which Suede and I were affixing the skirt embellishments on backstage before the show). And of course I see so many little things that I nit-pick at and will be fixing before production.

All I can say is, I will definitely be starting for next season this week. No more last minute stressstravaganzas like this. For some reason, I reverted back to bad old habits of thinking that I can do everything myself on this collection. And I did mostly, but without the help of other very talented people in the final hours none of this would be possible. I can't thank them enough, and know that things are going to change and be very different for next time.

I feel bad for anyone who talked to me after the show. At that point I hadn't slept in 3 days (or showered) I didn't make any sense at all, and I probably stunk! Haha! Oh, lesson learned my friends. ;)Photos ©Wire and Getty Images.


Here is a link to more (but not all) looks from the show:
http://www.coutorture.com/New-York-Fashion-Week-Leanne-Marshall-Fall-2010-7403123

brought to you by the letter N

In order to get the organic cotton materials the colors that I wanted, I ended up hand-dyeing everything in the collection. Well, that is after the eco-friendly dye-house that was going to do it, somehow managed to ruin every fabric I gave them. Hmm, still not sure how they did that.

Thankfully, I had better results. The cotton took the peach really well, and in these folds it somehow almost glowed orange in natural lighting. 

studio snapshots

More shots of the work-in-progress when I was creating what I like to refer to as the monster-gown. I ended up having to cut each and every one of those petals out, and I was going to use those scraps on another dress, but they ended up as some really cool swiss cheese curtains instead! Also, yes, the machine I prefer to work on is a very cheap basic home-sewing machine. I know it's silly, but I prefer them. Mainly because if and whenever they ever break, I can usually repair them myself instead of having to call in a service guy, which is kind of nice. 

Tip: I also just posted a couple of samples up on Etsy, which will probably go fast. There will likely be some more after New Years.