STYLIST OF THE MOMENT >>> PATRICIA FIELD!!!

Patricia Field is an American Academy Award-nominated stylist and fashion designer. She was born in New York City and raised in Astoria, Queens to Greek and Armenian parents, after they immigrated there from the island of Chios in Greece and Istanbul.

Field met Sarah Jessica Parker during the filming of 1995's Miami Rhapsody. The actress became so enchanted with Field's collections that they became friends.

Before beginning the first season of the Sex and the City television series on HBO, Parker asked to have Field design some of the clothes that her character, Carrie Bradshaw, would wear. During Field's tenure as costume designer on Sex and the City, the show became famous for the fashions showcased. For her work on Sex and the City, Field was nominated for 5 Emmy Awards, with one win, and nominated for 6 Costume Designers Guild Awards, with 4 wins.

Field has been in constant demand by some high society clientele ever since, and some of her designs have become well-known. Her television credits include Hope & Faith and Ugly Betty. She served as costume coordinator for the feature film The Devil Wears Prada, for which she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Costume Design, although in an extensive interview included as a bonus feature on the film's DVD release, she admits she dressed the cast by gathering garments from other designers' ready-to-wear collections rather than creating them herself.

Now with the Sex and the City movie taking over the world, her fashionable visions (good or bad) are sure to be talked about for many seasons to come...


Video courtesy of Current.com (http://current.com/items/88884997_sex_the_city_undressed)

via this lil note:
Dear Editor at Butch Diva,
I read your post today all about Patricia FIeld, and I thought you would appreciate this video we recently placed on our site Current.com that gives an insider scoop all about this NYC fashion icon. In this video, we follow Jael DePardo, a young woman who shares her experience working for Patricia Field and the significance she has had in her life. As she revisits her past, she interviews Patricia who tells us about her roots, her inspiration, her growth into becoming a stylist to the stars, opening her store, and becoming a fashion stylist for Sex and the City, and so much more. From the list of notables who adore Patricia Field, we have Richie Rich and Amanda Lepore who also share their love and admiration for this incredible stylist.
Hope you enjoy...

WHAT'S "AVANT GARDE" YOU ASK?

Avant-garde (pronounced [avɑ̃gard] in French) means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English, to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics.

Avant-garde represents a pushing of the boundaries of what is accepted as the norm or the status quo, primarily in the cultural realm. The notion of the existence of the avant-garde is considered by some to be a hallmark of modernism, as distinct from postmodernism. Postmodernism posits that the age of the constant pushing of boundaries is no longer with us and that avant-garde has little to no applicability in the age of Postmodern art. However, this is not true in the case of music as many pieces are still being released which are generally considered Avant-garde in popular culture.

Source: Wikipedia

...AND THEN THERE WAS DAVID LaCHAPELLE!!

LaChapelle’s works have been described as surrealist, grotesque, shocking and ironic. His use of celebrities and exaggerates aspects of them or their superficial world...





Some call him genius, some call him vile, but as a fan of his work for years now, I would say he is just another source of inspiration, take it or leave it alone.
LaChapelle attended the North Carolina School of the Arts and the School of Visual Arts in New York City. His first photograph was of his single mother, Helga LaChapelle, on a family vacation in Puerto Rico. She wore a bikini and held a martini glass on a balcony. From then on he was obsessed with photography.

His first professional job as a photographer was offered by Andy Warhol for Interview magazine. LaChapelle has four published books of his photographs, including LaChapelle Land and Hotel LaChapelle, both containing vivid and bizarre portraits of celebrities such as Marilyn Manson, Drew Barrymore and Uma Thurman.

Another favorite of mine, LaChapelle's film Rize, a documentary on the krumping style of dance that invaded South Central Los Angeles, premiered at Sundance in 2005 and was released theatrically that summer.

BUTCHDIVA BLOGSPOT FLASHBACK...

SHINUH STYLING BUTCH DIVA...

Shinuh, frequent visitor to the BUTCH DIVA studio, keeps the looks coming as she shares with me how she's been incorporating BUTCH DIVA gear into her styling sessions. Seen here is a BUTCH DIVA tank with a shredded center front detail. And I immediately spotted the BUTCH DIVA pink spandex skirt that she very cleverly transformed into leg warmers for this shot...I see you Shinuh! Keep up the good work!!

URBAN OUTFITTER PICKS >>> BUTCH DIVA APPROVED...

Go shop the looks if you want, urbanoutfitters.com

STYLIST SHINUH x BUTCH DIVA

...this just in!!! I see stylist Shinuh out there making me proud, seen here is an image from one of her recent shoots in which a model rocks silver metallic BUTCH DIVA jumpsuit from head to toe...

DESIGNER PROFILE >>> ZAC POSEN

Born in Brooklyn in 1980, Zac Posen attended the St. Ann’s School for the Arts and Parsons School of Design in New York, and Central St. Martins College in London, but soon abandoned school to pursue his career. At sixteen, the precocious Posen interned at the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute, under the tutelage of Richard Martin; two years later he interned at Nicole Miller, then served as a design assistant at Tocca. A spot in Gen Art’s 2001 Fresh Faces in Fashion show put Posen on the fast track with his fans, as well as his peers. After the success of his first major runway show in 2004, Posen was awarded the CFDA Swarovski-Perry Ellis Award for Ready-to-Wear.

In 2001, designer Zac Posen was barely old enough to legally toast the immediate success of his start-up business—and at the time, was garnering almost as much press attention for his age as for his comely creations. A favorite of young Hollywood, Posen’s design style is not exactly trend-oriented; instead, his pieces have a timeless nostalgia to them, with bias-cut silhouettes, ruffled satin draping and fishtail hems that often mirror the mastery of Christian Dior and Madame Vionnet. He is known for Draped, anatomically seamed construction. Sweeping strapless evening dresses, ruffled fishtail mermaid gowns and bias-cut cocktail dresses in shades of taupe, bronze and teal.


Backed by Sean Combs since 2004, Posen is gearing up to expand his company on many levels in the coming seasons...

Source: New York Magazine Designer Profile (http://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/designers/bios/zacposen/)

BUTCH DIVA FLASHBACK...

Lower East Side BUTCH DIVA styling from a few season's back. I love the feeling I get when I look at my old work and I still love it...that's how I know I'm doing the right thing!

VIKTOR & ROLF FALL 08 CAMPAIGN GETS BOLD AND STAYS BEAUTIFUL

"IN ORDER TO BE IRREPLACEABLE, ONE MUST ALWAYS BE DIFFERENT" - Coco Chanel

Photography by David Field, based in New York. He centers his work around concept and composition in the creation of surrealistic imagery... each image often takes him months to complete!

BUTCH DIVA SAMPLE SALE...

BUTCH DIVA'S BOSS LADY FALLS INTO A BUCKET OF NEON...

...what can I say, the whole neon trend has me wrapped around it's finger sometimes, it's like of course I love color...and to see bright agressive pinks, limes, and oranges peeking out my closet is sooo fun! But warning, it's not an everyday type style, easy does it!

XO
BUTCH DIVA's Boss Lady >>> Tiffany LaStar

MORE OF NAJA CONRAD - HANSEN MEANNORTH

Do your homework please...see more on the artist under BUTCH DIVA Resource Center.

BACKTRACK <<< >>> BUTCH DIVA SAMPLE SALE PREP...

A firm believer that I work better under pressure, the 24 hour countdown to the BUTCH DIVA sample sale had begun, and chaos was splashed in bright colors across my walls!... but in the end, it's all for the love of being an artist.

CLASSIC DESIGNER PROFILE >>> DONNA KARAN

Fashion Designer Donna Karan was born 1949, in Queens, New York. She grew up in Long Island with her step-father who was a tailor and her mother who was a model. Being trained at Parson's School of Design, she entered the busines herself, designing for Anne Klein. Eventually she became head of the Anne Klein design-team and remained in this position until 1984.

In 1985, she left Anne Klein and founded her own company. At first she became known for her line of elastic bodies. Then word spread about her Essentials line, offering seven easy pieces every woman should have in her closet. The Essentials line became a success and the seven pieces were broadened to about 200 pieces today.

The introduction of her DKNY collection in 1988 marks the beginning of a period of amazing growth of the company. Thought of as a bridge collection, DKNY has developed to be the pillar of the Donna Karan business. DKNY is a modern, moderately-priced young collection, drawing from the spirit of big city life.

Donna Karan is known to support the needs of modern women with her clothing. When designing her clothes, Donna Karan claims not have the top model in mind, but women like herself. The saying goes, that before the production of a piece of clothes is approved by Karan, it has to look good on her. It seems, that with Donna Karan clothing, function comes before styling.

Source >>> Infomat:Fashion Industry Source Engine

VERSACE FLASHBACK...

The hues of color, the styling, the attitude...I loved this ad campaign when it hit a few years ago, and looking back through my archive of inspiration, I realize I dig it even more now...

BUTCH DIVA X STYLIST SHINUH

Latest frequent visitor to the BUTCH DIVA studio is stylist Shinuh, referred by stylist Ricardo a.k.a Mr. Style. This is where networking comes in handy and the power of a referral goes a long way. Shinuh was kind enough to shoot me these images from one of her latest shoots incorporating BUTCH DIVA samples in the mix...

BANK ROBBERY FANTASY...

Shhhhhhhhhhh, don't tell anyone, but for the longest I used to fantasize about getting the girls together, putting on our sexiest lingerie and hijacking a bank! Then I came across this creation, and realized this look works too!

A CAREER IN ART DIRECTION...

...it must be so overwhelmingly rewarding to see this kind of exquisite vision and imagination come to life. Inspiration is everything!