Nanette Lepore

Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to Nanette Lepore (1963 – ), described by New York Magazine to be “known for her feminine style and fine detailing, Nanette Lepore makes ultra-chic clothes that are at the same time easy to wear.”

Miss Lepore is an American designer based in New York, where she got her degree in design at the city’s Fashion Institute of Technology. In 1992 she borrowed some money from her dad and set up shop in a penthouse in the garment district.

After opening another boutique in LA Lepore started to gain recognition, and her clothes are now sold in America and Europe.

I love her for using so many strong colors. Color good.  

Not being among the most famous designers ever (at least not yet), I don’t have too much to tell you about this brilliant woman, but let’s enjoy some more pictures.

Love, Hanna

Gingham

Gingham is a kind of vintage pattern – and I think it has a summery feel, so it’s perfect for a mid-July Wednesday Vintage.

Pretty!

The name gingham comes from Malay and actually means striped, because in the beginning of its use (17th century) it was striped. From the mid 18th century it became more and more common for gingham to be checked rather than striped.

So beautiful.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, people!

Love, Hanna

Vera Wang

Hello dearies! Yesterday we at Vili Flik went to a wedding exhibition (believe it or not) at a museum nearby where we got to see vintage Chanel and Dior and lots of other lovelies. Vera Wang (1949 – ) was not among the prestigious party, but she definetly should have been, since she, a marvellous designer, might be best known for her bridal collections.

Yeah… I’m gonna need a purple throne. Anyway, back to Mrs. Wang. She is another of the glorious designers who has not studied fashion – actually Vera Wang has a degree in art history, and entering the world of fashion was more of an afterthought after having failed to make the US Olympics team (as a figure skater). And aren’t we glad she did? Fashion yay, sports yuck.

In 1990, Vera Wang opened her design salon in New York – before this she had worked as a design director for Ralph Lauren and as a senior fashion editor for Vogue.

Some of the brilliance of Vera Wang lies in that she combines rich fabrics traditionally associated with French couture, such as duchesses satin and silk lace, with more low-key, relaxed American style – creating a perfect fusion.

Oh the awesomeness. Must go make clothes.

Love, Hanna

The Count of Monte Cristo

How did I escape? With difficulty. How did I plan this moment? With pleasure.

Has someone done you wrong? Do you feel the need for the thing called revenge? The Count of Monte Cristo (1844) by Alexandre Dumas (1802-70) is just the read for you then, cause when it comes to revenge, Edmond Dantes is the go to guy. As usual, I have stolen the plot summary from wikipedia:

“In 1815 Edmond Dantes, a young and successful merchant sailor recently granted his own command by his dying captain Leclère, returns to Marseille to marry his fiancée Mercédès. Leclère, a supporter of the exiled Napoleon I, has charged Dantès to deliver two objects: a package to Maréchal Bertrand (exiled with Napoleon Bonaparte on Elba), and a letter from Elba to an unknown man in Paris. On the eve of his wedding to Mercédès, Fernand (Mercédès’ cousin and a rival for her affections) and Danglars (who is jealous of Dantes’ rapid rise to captain) send an anonymous note accusing Dantès of being a Bonapartist traitor. Villefort, the deputy crown prosecutor in Marseille, destroys the letter from Elba because it is addressed to his father who is a Bonapartist and he fears that it will harm his career. In order to silence Dantès, he condemns him without trial to life imprisonment.

During his fourteen years imprisonment in the Château d’If, Dantes befriends the Abbé Faria, a fellow prisoner trying to tunnel his way to freedom, who claims knowledge of a massive treasure and continually offers to reward the guards well if they release him. Faria gives Dantès an extensive education. He also explains to Dantès how Danglars, Fernand, and Villefort would each have had their own reasons for wanting Dantès in prison, out of circulation. After years of friendship, and knowing himself to be close to death, Faria tells Dantès the location of the treasure, on Monte Cristo.”

Years later, disguised as the Count of Monte Cristo, Dantes executes his revenge on the men who wronged him in the past. And what a revenge! Lovely.

This is a brilliant, enthralling summer read that I’m sure you will enjoy.

Love, Hanna

Vili Flik Design

Dress: Decadence Design by Mari Baustad

Ryan Conferido

Now , the person with the (un)healthy obsession with Asian dancers alluded to in last week’s post is me , and I now feel the overwhelming need to present to you the man who started it all , Mr Ryan “Ryanimay” Conferido – dancer extraordinaire .

My obsession started when he was a contestant on the first season of the American (and original) version of So You Think You Can Dance in 2005 , and it has grown ever since .

Especially when I found out that he’s also a musician (<– link to one of his songs , not explanation as to what the word “musician” means) .

Ryan was born in 1983 , or so it is claimed . Personally , I’m not sure he was born at all , as he does things with his body which should not be humanly possible . Hence , my theory is that he is some sort of lovely cyborg . Or alien . Really , check out some videos on YouTube – you’re not supposed to do a back flip and land on your head without seriously injuring yourself ! Whatever his origins though , they designed him really well – very hot indeed .

Ryan unfortunately didn’t win SYTYCD , but he did manage to take the victory in another dance show – America’s Best Dance Crew – with Quest Crew in season 3 . Yes , they’re a bunch of hot Asian dancers , and yes , I’m kind of in love with all of them now .

Great dancers, great hair (mainly courtesy of Ryan , who I believe cuts it) .

If you wonder what they did to win ABDC , the two routines from the finale can be seen here and here . Well deserved victory indeed . And you should also check out their steampunk set from a guest performance at SYTYCD .

You can check them all out on their website , questcrew.com , or on YouTube . So much great dancing , charm and charisma , and great , great hair !

Love , Mari

Jean-Paul Gaultier

Since I last week presented Calvin Klein, the king of simplicity, to you, I thought it only fitting to use this Designer Day to admire the genius of theatrical wonder Jean-Paul Gaultier (1952 – ), the French haute couture designer.

Mr. Gaultier is one of the long list of designers never to have received formal training, instead he just made sketches and sent these to famous fashion houses. This resulted in him being hired as an assistant for Pierre Jardin in 1970.

1976 was the year he released his first collection, and people were seduced by his creativity and excellent tailoring. He introduced man-skirts in 1985,

and when working with Madonna throughout the nineties he also invented the cone-bra.

Yeah. Enough about that – let’s look at some pretties instead:

Unlike some other designers who shall remain nameless, Gaultier is not afraid of diversity when choosing models – he has used older people, people twice the size of the typical model, and people with lots of piercings and tattoos. This has earned him great popularity, which he totally deserves. What an awesome man.

Ah, Jean-Paul, how we adore you.

This brilliant and lovely man has also designed costumes for some movies, including a Vili Flik Favourite: La Cité des Enfants Perdus  (The City of Lost Children).

Awesomeness.

More? Yes.

 Love, Hanna

Summer Disclaimer

As regular readers will have noticed, there have not been daily updates here at Vili Flik for the past couple of weeks. Because of summer vacations, trips to places without internet access, and busy schedules (no, really! There’s all sorts of stuff to do now that we’re broke, unemployed and not in school..), updates may be slightly erratic throughout the summer months. However, we promise to post regular features as often as we can manage, and to keep up with comments and stuff when we can.

We beg your forgiveness for the irregularity of posts, and promise to come back stronger in the autumn!

Love, Vili Flik

Harry Shum Jr.

One of the other girls here at Vili Flik has a rather (un)healthy obsession with Asian dancers, and I’m not sure whether I’m happy or unhappy to report that this obsession has started to spread, and that’s why, dear readers, I present to you the gorgeous and awesomely talented dancer Harry Shum Jr (1982 – ).

He might also be a tad known for playing Mike Chang in Glee (which, yes, I totally watch. There. Judge me as much as you want).

The glorious Shum started dancing in high school, and he tends to incorporate styles such as popping, locking, waving and breaking into his dance. And let me tell you, it’s brilliant. Which is probably why he’s a dancer and coreographer for the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (I’m not a member, no, but thanks for asking). And the man tends to have great style as well, check it out:

Looking all nice and nerdy. Check out his dancing on Glee or youtube – you won’t regret it.

Love, Hanna

Calvin Klein

Calvin Klein (1942 – ) is an American fashion designer, who, like so many others both before and after him, decided to open a fashion house (great idea) and name it after himself (kind of boring idea – seriously, aren’t these people supposed to be kind of creative?). Anyway, Klein started studying fashion, but couldn’t be bothered to graducate, instead he launched Calvin Klein in 1968. He was, of course, immediately glorified for his glorious gloriousness. Let’s look at some of the reasons why:

Now, me and the Klein differ at some points – while I ADORE the theatricality of fashion, his clothes tend to be a protest against all the drama. Now, that might be a bit boring in a way – few colors, no patterns, simple – but the brilliance of Calvin Klein, I think, lies in the cut, the drapings, the tiny but significant details which show that this is great tailoring and design, and that again creates contrast and, Mr. Klein, I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but it adds drama. I think it’s lovely.

 

Love, Hanna