Tuesday, November 16, 2010

November already....I dislike shopping at the best of times let alone when there are nasty jingles and tinsel and throngs of desperate shoppers feeling anything but festive.

Pour me a long iced tea with a mint spring, fire up the Mac or pc and get comfy, I have decided to do the majority of my shopping and shipping on line Whoo Hoo! No parking, my own music soundtrack and the 12 hours I would have spent trudging back...that time i intend to spend having friends over and enjoying their company, not just diving in to drop of a cheesy present (well haven't we all be caught in that trap before!?) and another thing I am buying multiple people the same gift...from the heart.

Gift giving - its appreciated always but even more so when its a desired or useful item personally speaking that is.

So with that in mind and with a thick slather of self promotion applied this is what I intend to buy / give...
A selection of Calendars - I get good feedback all year from these Art Calendars






$22.00 each (AU) Bargain!




















Or a framed print...I get my family and friends to choose from here and Santa does the rest Shop here

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Melbourne Photoworkshop Amazing locations Weekend or 4 Day Pass

Melbourne : 26 - 20 November 2010

Amazing locations and skilled and professional organizers, I am the Stylist on this shoot and plan to make it memorable......get ready to get your High end, Glam, Rock Star, Elegant, Real, Kitsch ON!

A diverse cross section of locations, models and looks, a workshop you can really get your teeth into.

You have be warned....space is filling quickly with less than 10 places still available!

Add to your portfolio, diversify, explore, engage.

Book Eucalypse Now

I look forward to seeing you all there!

Monday, October 25, 2010

Lady Love

Women - they don't make them like they used to, perhaps it was all the dairy products they ate or the unprocessed animal fat? Perhaps it was the nature of the lifestyle, handwashing, hand beating and kneading, heavy lifting, lots of walking, what ever it was shapes like these are hard to come by these days. I was going to say it was the tailoring but you cant say that with a Bikini on.

Drum role please...with an honorable mention to Gina Lollabridgida and a very young Jane Fonda but they both should have eaten a few more steaks to qualify.

The one and only Raquel Welsh.

There is something about his woman's presence, her confidence and yes no doubt the shoulder / hip ratio - she has very broad shoulders that work like the coat hanger from heaven.
Anita Eckberg Ok I will never forget seeing this woman's body for the first time tucked up in my seat to see Fellini's La Dolce Vita already in love with her leading man Marcello Mastroianni she appears; her face, her radiant angelic womanly face - great from any angle, impossibly proportioned - you would think that torso required an inner scaffold to support the dimensions of that frame, her immense heaving chest atop of the tiniest waist, as a clothing designer I marveled at the cut of this dress the bodice not tight yet harnessing her chest, an inverted triangle of flesh, perfection and temptation - pure heaven.



Sophia Loren The brutal savage beauty, I am quite sure Sophia would have had a fiery and volatile sensuality and spirit with a temper to match - just my personal opinion. This fine example of a woman encompasses it all for me, an earthy yet glamorous, defiant, dynamic purposeful woman, the woman, the beauty, the siren, the wife, the actress, the mother, the home maker, the achiever, the feisty and determined. I love her!


This image is so exquisite on so many levels. I am speechless at its perfection.





A Goddess almost mythical.



















Modern References
Monica Belluci This woman makes me and I am sure the entire male populous melt, she is soft like the perfect dessert, tepid and inviting and yes I think I would change sides for her, she invites like a beautiful pool of glistening water.
See.....
Uma Thurman The fascinating imperfect beauty, alluring and can fight like an action hero - now that's a woman! Legs to her neck, an almost geeky elegance, intriguing and genuinely and intuitively talented. Her strangeness is compelling, statuesque and majestic. Uma magic.


  




















So hopefully as a woman I can take a leaf from each of these icons pages and attempt to reflect a small portion of them within me. There is however a woman I do suspect lives with in me, besides the actual me and I fancy her as a 6 foot tall dark skinned powerhouse!


Grace Jones Outrageous and completely unconventional!

Magnificent.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

To all the Men I have Loved Before

Ok lets talk men. Striking men, memorable men, lovely delicious men! Ordinary men, plain men, brooding sexy men, fugly weird sexual men - hey its all good.

Gene Kelly
strong athletic unguarded and as much charm as any man could
muster.

I have watched this man amble, swan and lift women like they are delicate dainty bouquets. Such a masculine dancer and those arms...mmmm.




 Darling darling darling darling!
Cary Grant....where do I start? Brilliant comic timing a tan to rival George Hamilton perfect glossed hair, legs to his neck...only rivaled by Robert Mitchum in physique..but Cary had class and a refined finesse, perfectly well rounded verbal affectation that I am sure loosened garments and corsets alike.



The lovely Mr Curtis - just plain cute...cheek squeezing goodness...
Ah Javier...mmm like gristle, chewy and interesting something you linger on, nasty yet addictive...munch munch munch. been watching Javier Bardem since he was only ever in foreign films - love seeing him more now :)


Don - Do Me - Draper. Now Don interesting complex character - just love the guy...and I want to step back in time with him...."Come in put your hat down, I'll take your coat" I love you Don.


And  Waldemar Januszczak.......oh good lord the guy is as cute as a button - I do suspect I would tower over him but that's ok, love this fellas take on things and verbal flamboyance that he splashes his own creativity and skewed view so unexpectedly - love it! Intelligence, wisdom and wit....oh Waldermar!

THE BEST DISCO

Ok I had the perm but it was a cool one! I have photos to support this claim...for now however the link will have to do all the talking!

Falsetto Kinky Heaven

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
XXXXXXXX

Saturday, September 4, 2010

LANDELL at Alumbra : Fashion 101

Melbourne Spring Fashion week is in full swing and I am delighted to report that that my label LANDELL was invited to be a part of the exclusive event!

Some quick snaps from APL Photography
 "POPPY" Lisa Defazio for LANDELL


"HAVANA" Lisa Defazio for LANDELL

Dresses for sale or made to order on request.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

For the Love of Art


Long before I understood what it was that I was taking into the deepest recesses of my nubile mind I have been captivated by dimensions and scale. I think art is best taken in like that openly without preconception or filtering through the critical or cynical mind.

Sculpture is something that truly excites me there is something so remarkable about the three dimensional form and it being appreciable and transitional from every angle.

In terms of sculpture the stand outs are as follows.
Allen Jones 1969

Then there's Jeff Koons and his take on German kitch - think Hansel and Gretel on acid but my heart belongs to puppy. A three story tall steel structure that is replete with floral 'fur' the concept alone is mind boggling let alone its execution. I think he is a contemporary Warhol. This image to my knowledge is the first and original 'Puppy' and has been recreated on a number of occasions around the world including Rockefeller Center.
PUPPY Jeff Koons














Puppy Two
A few years at the National Gallery of Victoria to see Man Ray I discovered the Mr and Mrs Woodman series. Clever Subtle Erotic and Intense they are housed at the Centre Pompidou in France. I am still astounded by the intimacy achieved by these inanimate objects, I find these images beautifully touching.

I have been drawing faceless dolls for years before I seeing these images and related to the tone of the works the juxtaposition of the materials and content, the lack of faces - void of detail that emitted an audible sensual roar. The images shown here are quite tame there are more in the series that take on a more intense and exacting sexual tone. It is also of note the period these works were created.


My version of little faceless beings in love My art 'Love Soaked Sox' and another 'It's All About the Dance - and the music only you two hear. It's all about the Dance



A more recent find a neat little sculpture...'The Power of Love' by Mathieu Lehanneur -you can listen to it...together! 

And if ever you find yourself at http://www.heide.com.au/ Heidelberg Melbourne Australia there is another of my favourites permanently on display there, it is a small scale bronze donkey he is hidden amoungst the greenery on the grounds of the property and is waiting for you. He was first made from carpet underlay before he was cast and is possibly the most adorable thing ever. Did I mention I have a thing for donkeys - I may well have done in a previous post.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Some Images I Truly Adore.

Honey I'm Home...
and it's Martini Time!

I just adore this image and those that follow but this first one is the epitome of style, sophistication and romance...ahhhhh swoon.
The Subtle Siren of 1952.....
This image of a lone woman evokes so much the mood and level of heightened fashion stylization is just divine - beautiful portrait.


Perfection in Red...
Disarming smile, come hither beckoning eyes, she looks soft to the touch. Shamaltsy Perfection!
Dangerously Hot Fox : First Prize...
Clearly on the prowl - she looks like she devours men for the game. Got to love her!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

My love of .........Whats Not Fashionable at the Time

Now this may be one of the most risque 'shares' of my entire lifetime. I do like to think of myself of a modernist to some degree with traditional values but I have never been afraid to challenge convention either.

As most of you now know I am a clothing designer, stylist and an artist. My love of beauty and detail goes into the appreciation and creation of my work and the things I have collected over many years.

So with my heart on my sleeve I must confess...amongst my collection of mid century ceramics, vintage sewing accessories, jewelery and clothing including cravats and tie pins and the best cuff links you could ever imagine...tucked in a drawer here and there and yes snuck subtly onto display in my home- lets call it subversively (makes me feel cool and edgy) are my .........pause for effect...........doilies and hand embroidered table cloths and linen.

I LOVE THEM!

There I have said it...they are small intimate treasures hand stitched desires, hearts poured into small neat threads of carefully selected color, hand made lace, starching and ideas of permanence. Small details to cover protect and covet the furniture purchased once to last a lifetime, in a time when in that patient diligence of heartfelt creation pride and dignity was poured.

Young girls were taught by their mothers, aunts, sisters and grandmothers how to sew, how to sit and master the fine grade weaves and knots, how to tat, embroider and sew, these divine little creations were passed on, carefully placed into glory boxes and hope chests...it seems that hiding behind my perm in the mid 80's my mind had notions like that. So there in my best gloried funk traipsing around Melbourne's not so cool streets then Johnston,Greville and Smith Streets, Plenty Road and High Street I gathered and collected all manner of what people perceived to be rubbish...as listed above. You must remember folks this is in a time of Salmon and Grey decor...and while I am at it I do own a hand full of smashing Nanna hats too...they were just to well made to ignore.

Back to the doilies...perhaps I should just let the pictures do the talking - these are taken in my home and perhaps reflect my mish mash approach to the era's I love.

Do you think Janice loved her David? On the other corners of this small square linen table cloth is what I suspect to be the children's initials - one is shown here...
















Are you expecting?
I think the babies pillow slip is machine embroidered but is still exquisite to me.


































Ok another fetish I have is for donkeys they have the kindest eyes, lovely lashes and work so hard...this is probably my most favorite piece! This is one corner of a square table cloth - so 50's!





Ok so this ones a multiple brag - I threw together the art works and the phone is possibly one of the best things I have ever been given its been embellished to be known as the Glamor Phone and the jewelery box is something else I love given to me by my big sister - the flowers were a gift from the Mothers Day stall from my sons and it all sits upon an embroidered place-mat that's far to delicate to ever be used for those purposes.



Close up.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Lisa Defazio for LANDELL @ ALUMBRA for MSFW

This season is all about the frock! Think 1950's and 60's cocktail soirees all about shape and form. Luxe fabrics form fitting, body hugging, gorgeous silhouettes, tactile and sensual...Black Watermarked Moire, Silver Lace, Gold Brocades and fabulous Sequined sparkle larkle are the fabrics in this signature range.

Lisa Defazio for LANDELL @FASHION 101 :
The fashion show will feature cult Melbourne labels like Lady Petrova, Violet and I, Eva Q, Harvest Powell, Landell Designs with headpieces by Cailin Alainn. More designers set to strut the runway will soon be announced.
Fashion 101 will be held Wednesday 1st September from 7.30pm to 11.30pm at Alumbra 9/161 Harbour Esplanade in Docklands. Tickets are $30 (or $25 concession) and include fingerfood, musical entertainment and gift bags.

 Catwalk at Alumbra featuring Lisa Defazio for LANDELL fashion and Millinery by Leanne of Cailin Aliann

Thursday, July 15, 2010

My Earliest Fashion Influences

Samantha Stevens : Her conservative tight housewife style, understated with the best garish house as backdrop this woman had 'it' in a very subtle way. Love the way the clothes stood away from the figure and was about cut and colour, small discreet accessories and statement hair.



Gidget - Ohhhhhhhh I cant gush enough Hello Ric Rac, Gingham, and bobbles on bikinis! So much fruity colour, stripes, towels with fringe HEAVEN! Great hip shaking dancing, the flipped out brown bob..too cute!

Now lets get really serious about my earliest role model Agent 99 subtle, sultry, doe eyed and a
complete hipster. Max was nice but HYMIE if I could find him I would marry him today love that guy!

 
This might have to be part one of two ;)