Jil Sander

Happy Designer Day, oh ye Most Glorious Readers! Today’s designer is a German woman, the classic minimalist Heidemarie Jiline Sander (1943 – ), better known as Jil.

Jil Sander was originally a textile engineer, and she worked as a fashion editor in the German magazine Petra, before she opened a boutique selling Sonia Rykel among with her own designs. In 1968 she founded her own fashion house: Jil Sander.

Opposite to many of Vili Flik’s earlier featured designers, Jil Sander was not an immediate success. Her showing at the 1975 Paris Fashion week was a disaster, and it was not really before the beginning of the 1990s that she started gaining any noteable attention.

Jil Sander’s own place in her fashion house went into some turbulence after Prada bought the majority of the stocks in 2000. They demanded she used cheaper fabrics and more standarized patterns, she refused, and took a leave of absence. The brand suffered without her, and luckily, she made a comeback in 2003.

But, alas, in 2004, she resigned again, seemingly for good this time. And now she works as a fashion consultant, leaving the fashion house Jil Sander in the more than capable hands of it’s now head designer, Raf Simons.

Jil Sander values the understated elegance, the easily-combined, high-quality materials and refined tailoring. The clothes are always classy and seemingly comfortable. Some of the labels given the designer herself has been: the Queen of Less, the Master Minimalist and the Fashion Reductionist.

And she (and he, I suppose, giving some credit to Raf Simons as well) is not afraid of using colors. Awesome.

Love, Hanna

Taylor Reeve

This Monday I want to draw your attention to the magnificence that is Taylor Reeve’s shoes.

Reeve is a California-based artist with a unique style, drawing from art forms such as tattoos, pop art, graffiti and kustom kulture. She has designed stuff for several companies, including Quicksilver, Dragon, Osiris and SkullCandy.

You can find her Etsy-shop here:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/taylorsays

Now, about the shoes: We wants them. I mean, take a look:

Love, Elin

The Book Thief

The Book Thief (2005) by Markus Zusak, is about Liesel, a nine-year-old girl who grows up in Nazi Germany with her foster family. One day Max, a runaway Jew, shows up at their door asking for help. The family takes him in and hides him in the basement, at great risk. Liesel spends her days learning to read, and when she finishes with the few books the family possesses, she begins to steal books from others.

The novel is narrated by Death, which is interesting in itself, and describes the life of an average German family living in Germany during World War II, which is a new approach to the war and provides a more balanced impression of the German people at this time.

This is a lovely, beautiful, heartbreaking, funny and interesting novel, one which everyone should read.

Love, Elin

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

I expect most of you darling readers to have seen this week’s film already, but at the odd chance that some of you haven’t, I thought it would be worth to mention it. This week’s weekend entertainment is no other than the musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975).

Newly engaged Brad and Janet are on their way to visit their friend Dr. Everett V. Scott, but unfortunately their car breaks down and, as there is a storm, they are forced to seek help in a nearby castle. And you just know that this is going to be good. The castle is inhabited by Frank- N- Furter, a sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania, who is throwing a party to celebrate that he has created a man, with blond hair and a tan, and he invites Brad and Janet to stay for the night and witness the “birth” of his creation. And trust me, psychedelic 70s weirdness ensues.

The stars of this amazing musical include Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Richard O’Brian (who also wrote the script) and Meat Loaf. The music is great, the costumes are revealing, there are oh so many references to old horror- and mystery films and the humor is great. You can tell that they had a lot of fun making this movie.

I strongly advise you to see or re-see it this weekend!

Love, Elin

Bill Nighy

I almost forgot! It’s Thursday and we need a hottie! This week I have chosen a golden oldie – the magnificent, stylish, funny and awesome British actor – Bill Nighy (1949 – ).

Reading up on the Bill I came to realize that the two of us have a lot in common. We both enjoy reading and we like our boy Hemingway (not to be confused with Daniel Defoe, btw). He wanted to become a journalist but lacked the qualifications (hello, story of my life), and he also wanted to write a great novel, but could only come up with a title. (I don’t even have a title, though, all I know is that I want Johnny Depp to star in the movie version).

But, (and this is where our differences start), Nighy still managed to forge a career for himself, as a wonderful actor. You may have seen him in stuff like:

I Capture the Castle (2003)

The little known Christmas classic wannabe

Love Actually (2003)

Shaun of the Dead (2004)Kind of creepy-looking there...The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) and At World's End (2007). Not his most flattering role, no.

Hot Fuzz (2007)

And the wonderful The Boat that Rocked (2009)

There are so much great stuff which he has made greater (or greatified, if you wish) by showing up to work! He is a very well-deserved and awesome Hottie. And often very well dressed too.

Love, Hanna

Vili Flik Design

Dress: Read! by Hanna Marie Volle

Burlesque

“It’s a life, it’s a style, it’s a need, it’s Burlesque”

Thus goes the song, and we here at Vili Flik can’t help but agree. Burlesque is stylish, and we certainly feel a need for it (although we must admit we haven’t quite adopted the life..).

Now, I feel the need to specify that we are dealing with the so-called neo-burlesque here: this is derived from the American burlesque popular from around the 1860s, and features song, dance and striptease – though not always taken to extremes.

Most burlesque-acts today are based on the relatively simple concept of women in sexy clothes (and I use the word “clothes” in the loosest sense) who dance and sing – usually jazz-inspired numbers.

Corsets, feathers, diamonds, pearls, high heals, long gloves and tassles are common ingredients, and the women look smashing indeed!

One of the most famous burlesque-dancers of all times was the wonderful Lili St. Cyr (1918-99) who, during the 1940s and ’50s did such acts as “The Wolf Woman”, “Afternoon of a Faun”, “The Ballet Dancer”, “In a Persian Harem”, “The Chinese Virgin” and “Suicide”.

Famous contemporary acts include the Pussycat Dolls. Yes, they started as a burlesque group before they decided to go all pop on us, which almost makes them OK. But just almost… Now, if only they’d do some good music…

Their burlesque roots are still evident in their style.

The most famous contemporary burlesque performer must still be the very stylish and sensual Dita von Teese.

Not only does she have fabulous costumes onstage, her off-stage style is also inspired by burlesque. Do a google images-search and you’ll see what I mean.

Now, I will leave you with a last photo of the wonderful Ms Teese and some strategically placed feathers. Enjoy!

Love, Mari

Christopher Kane

Hello scrumptous readers! Ready for another fabulous Designer Day? Remember my bitter envy towards Dries van Noten last week? Well, it seems to become a recurring theme, as today’s designer is a marvelous man only three years older than me. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Christopher Kane (1982).

This Scottish designer worked with fashion while still in college, and thus attracted the attention of none other than Donatella Versace, and was hired to work on Versace’s couture collectin, and consulting on shoes and accessories. (Nice!)

Kane established his own label, Christopher Kane, in 2006, and presented his first showing to great success. His collections tend to vary differ a great deal from each other, but everyone of them has, so far, been labeled his “best ever.” He keeps consulting at Versace as well as collaborating with the King of Shoes: Manolo Blahnik.

Versus Versace by Christopher Kane

When I saw what Kane did for Versus Versace this year I just had to let you guys see as well. Lovely, right?

 

Now, more from his own label:

Great. Now I wanna shop.

Love, Hanna

Kindred Spirits

So, I was browsing the internet yesterday, looking for some inspiration for a painting, and I came across the most awesome bridal site ever! We’re not really big on marriages here on Vili Flik, so far I’m the only one even wanting to get married (think of the presents!), but this might change the other two’s minds. My friends, I bring you Kindred Spirits – Bridal Originals, Wedding Dresses and Historical Bridal Designs. These girls make one-of-a-kind wedding dresses based on wonderful, elaborate, extravagant historical fashion trends, and trust me, that something old, new, borrowed and blue can go right in the bin. Let me show you some of the stuff they have to offer:

You wants? Mhm, me too!

You can check out more at their lovely webpage here: http://www.bridal-originals.co.uk/index.html

Love, Elin

Vili Flik Design

Skirt: imp design by Elin Fjøsne