Sharpies Rock The Runway. Rodarte S/S 2010 Collection Includes Sharpie Body Art.

Sharpie® markers are fast becoming a truly recognized art medium. Along with the glut of unexpected artful uses as shown on my previous post, And You Thought Sharpies We're For Writing Your Name In Your Underwear, the permanent laundry marker has made its way into the world of Couture.




Pasadena based fashion designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy, the women behind the brand Rodarte, (and fellow graduates of my alma mater, UC Berkeley) featured their Spring Summer 2010 Ready-To-Wear collection accented with hand drawn tattoos and body art applied with a Sharpie marker to the runway models.

Applying the Sharpie art before the show:






As eerie yellow and green lit dry ice poured from the stage, models emerged clad in the latest Rodarte designs donning what at first looked like tribal tattoos and upon closer inspection- and information- turned out to be Sharpie marker drawings in black.

The runway show:





The drawn-on designs accented the collection beautifully without detracting from it, and were a welcome surprise replacement for what could have been clunky jewelry.











above runway photos Marcio Madeira, close up photos by Don Asby
all other photos courtesy of Rodarte.



above: Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte.
Rodarte

Don't forget to check out :

•And You Thought Sharpies Were For Writing Your Name In Your Underwear

•The Sharpie doodles of Charlotte Mann

See other wonderful uses of Sharpie markers at Sharpie Uncapped

Wocka Wocka Wocka Down The Runway: Giles Deacon Does Pac Man Couture

Critics say that hot fashion designer Giles Deacon's latest collection for Spring/Summer 2009 is fairly conservative for him and not as wacky or irreverent as his past fashion excursions. With more traditional silhouettes (there were exceptions), fabulous graphic colored camouflage patterns and trim, as well as streamlined solid colored double knit jersey dresses, he may actually be turning somewhat... dare I say it... wearable.



However, the styling and production of his Spring Summer 2009 runway show, the floor of which was painted with the familiar graphic imagery of the 80's video game pac man, was anything but conservative. In an homage to Midway's Pac Man video game, every few models to strut down the runway wore large metal headgear which emulated the pac man characters (with a little creative liberty, of course).


Above: The 1980 original pac man video game characters and interface



Wocka wock wocka.......











Fabulous runway photos by Marco Madiera

Other noteworthy pieces in Giles Deacon's new collection, sans pac man accoutrements, included modern, splashy interpretations of military camo:





Some facts about the Designer:
• Giles Deacon has designed for Jean Charles De Castelbajac, Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren
• His design studio is the Rochelle School in East London where Katie Hillier, Luella Bartley, Hazel Robinson and his other fashion friends work
• In 2007 he was named British Designer of the Year
• He used to date Beth Orton
• He's a brilliant illustrator - having been published in Interview, The Face, Pop, i-D.



He also designed a collection (above), Gold, for New Look with Drew Barrymore in the ad campaigns (the pair decided to work together after a chance meeting in an elevator), and he also designed womenswear for DAKS for two seasons ending in autumn/winter 2008-9.


Above: Fashion designer Giles Deacon

To see his entire Spring/Summer '09 Collection, go here.