Dedicated Follower of Fashion

Nosey Parker: RENETA J

RENETA J is one of those fabulous LA designers I've had the pleasure of seeing on the runway (twice), wearing (twice), meeting (twice) and now have had the pleasure to interview!

(Pictures: me wearing a dress borrowed from the Spring/Summer 2011 collection)

Where did you get your start in design?

I started designing after I graduated from college (UCI) in 2009. My family has been a part of the fashion industry for the past 11 years doing production work for designers across the United States and Europe. We own a factory in New Delhi, India where I manufacture all my garments. I have always been in love with everything fashion and I couldn’t wait to jump right in to it.

What's your favourite season to design for?

I love designing for fall. It’s probably because I am a fall gal myself. I feel that I tend to design a little edgier for fall with more neutral hues and pops of color and chic separates. I love designing trendy fall jackets as well.

What inspires you the most?

I feel like I get inspired by the most random things. I once created a dress based on a shoe. I was absolutely in love with these gladiator sandals that I bought from BCBG so I decided to create a dress with a sleeve just like my sandals! I also get inspired by different fabrics and raw materials. I always like experimenting, and having my own factory makes it so much easier to do so.

Who is the "RENETA J girl"?

The RENETA J girl is fashionable, hip, feminine. These have always been the 3 words I use to describe my line. Whether she is a trendy 21 year old college student, or a stylish 45 year old mom, the RENETA J girl always feels empowered, sexy, and chic.

What do you love the most about Los Angeles?

I love how Los Angeles is so upbeat and full of spunk. It is a very trendy city with everyone feeling comfortable to express their own sense of style. I love how it is so star driven and thus has this natural sense of glamour to it.

What's coming up for RENETA J?

The goal for RENETA J is to always keep designing and creating pieces that all women would love to wear. We hope to be in as many stores both nationally and internationally and transform all women into fashionable, empowered, sexy women.

After winning the Vitaminwater Zero Flavor Fashionista Challenge, RENETA J will be in a 944 magazine spread. Keep a look out for the spread this coming fall!

Thanks Reneta!

Kelsi Smith.

 

A Current Affair - Interview with David Zyla

David Zyla is an Emmy award winning Costume Designer who currently works on 'All My Children', he has an obvious flair for fashion, a love for vintage and is quite the charmer.

He has just released the book: 'Color Your Style' - a guide to finding your true colours (a book I shall be reading and reporting back on!)

I got to catch up with him at A Current Affair and ask some key questions regarding vintage + current fashion - above is the interview!

Kelsi x

Nosey Parker: POPAVINA

POPAVINA is an LA based label from designer Marina Rahlin. I completely fell for the whimsical and super feminine 'pop' stylings of her utterly lustworthy creations when she introduced herself via email. Not only are her designs outrageously fun, but Marina is a doll too, as discovered in this little interview:

How would you describe the POPAVINA aesthetic/girl?

The POPAVINA girl loves fashion and is not afraid of new and wild trends. Fashion for her is fun and a way of expressing herself.

Who would you most want to see wearing POPAVINA?

I would love to see a girl that is usually shy and doesn't experiment much with fashion and color to wear POPAVINA and feel feminine, flirty and sexy!

What inspires you the most?

I get inspired the most by paintings and interesting fabrics.

How did you start designing?

I started designing 5 years ago, I always loved fashion and when I heard about FIDM, I decided to try to get in but I didn't know how to sketch, so I took a fashion sketching class twice a week and fell in love with everything related to the process of making clothes.

What's inspiring you for Fall?

I really like the turbans that are in right now, both the actual turban hats and the turban wraps, I think it adds sophistication to any outfit.

What's your favourite book?

9 stories by J.D Salinger, I  love short stories and I feel Salinger writes like he knows women better than women themselves.

POPAVINA is one to watch, and I'll be sure to keep you updated on her career and beautiful dresses!!

Kelsi Smith.

Designer Spotlight - Hopeless

By Carly xo

I have had a rather deep fondness for Hopeless, since I stumbled upon them over a year ago. Hopeless is a couture lingerie company owned by two sisters, Gaby and Dominique Adamidis.

The company was founded in 2006 in Melbourne, Australia. Hopeless use only the finest silks and natural fabrics, which along with brilliant craftsman ship, result in the most wonderful vintage inspired lingerie you could imagine. I had the pleasure of interviewing Gaby, for you lovely people at Dedicated.

Hopeless are all about high quality underwear and sleepwear, inspired by an array of different things. And promoting a healthy and positive attitude toward your body.

"The designs are dreamy and luxurious, with a young spirit and positive attitude."

And all pieces have adjustable elements, to help flatter and form your body. And what's more...all items are handmade to order, to your measurements!

Top left-right: Striped Cami - $150, Knickers $90 & Top - $270, Flounce Halter Top - $175. Bottom left-right: Chemise - $238, Cami - $150, Sheer Cami $100. 

Gaby lists some of her favorite things as her boyfriend Nick, Tim Burton, Rum, The Wedding Singer and cooking. Oh, and of course cupcakes...red velvet cupcakes! She is such a lovely lady and deserves all the success in the world.

Do you have any advice for emerging and independent designers, particularly those wanting to pursue a career in lingerie design?

It is a lot of ridiculously hard work. Many many many hours and many mistakes along the way. Embrace the mistakes the same way you embrace successes, learn from every stumble. Try not to look at what other people are doing, follow your own journey and find your own inspirations in unusual places. Try not to look at things that have already been designed. Make sure you really love it, and do your research. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. These are the things I try and tell myself constantly! 

What inspired you to begin hopeless? And what continues to inspire you?

I have always loved drawing and sewing and being creative, so lingerie was the culmination of a few of my passions. I love all things vintage, and also working on small detailed things so vintage inspired lingerie was a pretty good fit. I am inspired every day by so many different things. From film, to artists, to music. There is no end really!

You also have your little accessories shop in Etsy too, are you inspired by the same things, or do you feel that's a separate accomplishment, and therefore should be different?

It's important that the accessories work together for me, its all my creations and I want them to speak the same language and work together as a package. I understand that not everyone is into lingerie, so the accessories are for those people who might like to show things on the outside a little more. I want it all to flow as well, and follow on, I usually alternate a lingerie collection and then an accessories collection, so it evolves and grows as my inspiration travels and skills improves. I hope there is a story to follow! 

What are your most proud of?
Rather than a single event, its the fact that I have created an internationally recognized business in under 2 years and things seem to be getting better everyday.

And last but not least, what are your top three lingerie designers.
Pretty hard to pick just three! But at the moment it is...Princess Tam Tam. I just bought some of their knickers and WOW! Damaris Evans, especially Mimi Holliday. And Fifi Chachnil; I dream that one day all my underwear will be Fifi Chachnil!

And as if she isn't busy enough, making lingerie drawers prettier, Gaby is quite a keen blogger and you can check out her blog out here; Spokes & Daggers. Gaby often updates her blog with little sneak peeks at her new collections, and judging from this image, it is not going to disappoint & it's inspired by Predator. I can't wait to see the whole collection! There is also a lot of inspirational images on her blog. I'd check it out, especially if you love knickers, beautiful ladies in beautiful clothes, and fabulous designers.

You can check out Hopeless on Etsy, as well as Hopelessy Devoted. Gaby also has Twitter AND there is also a Facebook page for Hopeless Lingerie;

A SHFT in Conciousness

TV producer Peter Glatzer and actor and activist Adrian Grenier have gotten together to create SHFT, an online, new media platform, celebrating the eco concious lifestyle through video, shopping and education. I was able to sit down (digitally!) with Co-Founder Peter Glatzer and learn more.

What was the motivation behind starting SHFT?

Adrian and I had always shared the idea that sustainable living didn't have to be a sacrifice or not about good design or fun times.  We wanted to take the "environmentalism" out of the equation and see this shift in consciousness in all the things we do: the way we eat, what we wear, the furniture and electronics we buy and sort of nudge this notion into the mainstream.  We also always agreed that the problems of climate change depend on market driving solutions. That we, as consumers, call the shots and vote with our dollars.  If we demand sustainable products, businesses will respond.  It's really simple.  This was a few years ago when we started putting SHFT together.  Now there's - thankfully - a burgeoning sustainable market place and we can select and curate the best of it for SHFT.

Where does the name come from?

We're moderate people and don't think that anything extreme in this realm really works.  If you preach to people and wag your finger, it turns them off.  And now with the BP spill, everyone is saturated with depressing news day in and day out.  SHFT connotes a subtle shift in the paradigm, a shift in consciousness, a shift in the way we think about things.  Also, in our texting we can remove a vowel and still know what it means.  And practically, we could trademark SHFT.  But we like it.

Peter Glatzer & Adrian Grenier

How did you end up working together?

We share a very close friend, Clark Stiles, who knew that I was cooking up a TV show and a brand initiative and he encouraged us to talk about it.

The Downtown LA Space

Back in May you had a Pop Up Shop in Downtown Los Angeles, how did it go?and why did you choose Downtown LA? (I say this as a huge fan of Downtown LA)

We found ourselves posting a lot of art content on the site.  One of our contributors, Karl Burkart, writes about art and nature, Ars Natura, for us, and we find photographers and series we like all the time.  We were asked to be a part of Artwalk - a monthly downtown event where like 20 galleries are open - and we figured if we're curating all this stuff and going into this great space, we should be open for as long as we could and do a few events and salons.  The space used to be a bank at the turn of the century and it is - in and of itself - a beautiful example of a re-purposed building.  It's great to see the streets downtown full of people checking out galleries and bustling around like they do in New York.

Water Bottles Designed by Shepard Fairey Studio One exclusively for SHFT

How do you both integrate eco living into your everyday lifestyle? 

After you start doing it, you don't even notice it anymore.  Try to never buy water bottles - we installed a filter in the kitchen sink in my house - Adrian has one too - it was about $40 bucks and do away with even the big delivery ones.  Try to buy organic foods - the ones that really matter.  With clothes, try to get vintage as much as possible.  Being aware of electric usage, carpooling.  Then there's the really nice rituals like having a dinner party with good friends and turning off all the electrics from the circuit breaker for the meal.  We light candles and play acoustic music.  We did this at Adrian's house for our TV show ALTER ECO, and we've done it at my house too.  You wind up instead of doing it for an hour, doing it for 3-4 hours and the lights, when they eventually come back on, seem like an intrusion.  It's romantic, it's sexy, and it's fun.

If you could recommend one step that everyone could take to improve the planet, what would it be?

Stop using plastic bags.  Bring your own re-usable ones.  California may become the first state to ban them. We're actually making a PSA right now to support the ban.  It passed the assembly and now goes to the senate.  It's easy, and if everyone stopped, it would make a big difference.  There's a plastic waste floating in our oceans and it's despicable. 

What new eco design innovations have impressed you?

Clothing that harnesses the energy of our movement and generates enough electricity to power an iPod. Researchers are developing this breakthrough technology that will enable people to do this. The scientists are using microscopic fibers known as nanofibers, which can create electricity through simple motions like bending, stretching, and twisting.  The fibers are so small and unobtrusive that they could be stitched into a piece of clothing and be undetectable to the human eye.  That's pretty exciting stuff.

Who are your favourite eco fashion designers?

We had Linda Loudermilk on our show - she's a pioneer in sustainable high fashion.  We like Nau, we like Loomstate.  Actually, our friend and compatriot Angela Lindvall should be asked this question.  She's been in the fashion industry for 15 years and has been an activist in this area.  She's also a big part of SHFT and we're developing a web series with her on eco-fashion.  One of the things about SHFT is we've become a sort of creative collective and we can draw upon our friends in certain areas.  Lauren Gropper, our partner in SHFT is a sustainable design expert - she's LEED certified and consults on green building.  We have people we've come to count on for expertise in various areas.

Do you plan on expanding the wearable side of SHFT in the future?

Yes.  Lauren just spearheaded our presence at D&A and I think SHFT will be venturing further into the online retail space sooner rather than later. 

What is in the future for SHFT? 

We're co-presenting a series at LACMA called EATLACMA with Fallen Fruit.  Very cool series there with crazy and wonderful gardens by various artists.  We'll be expanding the site and doing more web series.  Currently we are in the middle of rolling out LIGHTEN UP, it's a series following bands who are lowering their carbon footprint while on tour.  Adrian's band THE HONEY BROTHERS are in one episode, there's one on DAVE MATHEWS BAND, EDWARD SHARPE, BRANDI CARLILE and a lot more.  Check it out on shft.com.

Shop SHFT:

  1) Loomstate Organic Cotton T-Shirt - $42, 2) TOMS Vegan Classics - $54, 3) Leather bag Recycled from Leather Jackets by Ashley Watson - $POA, 4) Forest Bound Carryall Bag - Made from Reclaimed Materials over 100 years old - $250, 5) Boyfriend Ring made from Recycled Skateboards by Lindsay Jo Holmes - $54. All available from SHFT.com

By Kelsi Smith