hautechnic

THIS BLOG IS NOW ELSEWHERE!

2010-06-11T19:30:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to consolidate my miscellany of blogs and online presences, I moved my design blog to my online design portfolio and site for my independent design company, petit récit.

www.petitrecit.com

My blogger will remain active so I can keep up with the blogs to which I subscribe - such as TransCanadada Motorway Services - but otherwise, you can find me at the link above. Cheers and happy blogging!

Leif Podhajsky

2010-05-30T16:59:00.000-07:00

...from Melbourne is righteous.

LONG LIVE GAP-TOOTH FASHION

2010-05-26T14:11:00.000-07:00

"I think the gap-tooth beauty trend is another example of the evolution of beauty. What it is saying is, you no longer need to be a perfect blond with blue eyes to grab the cover of a fashion magazine. Maybe it comes down to the fact that, these days, anyone can have rows of Chiclet teeth, thanks to caps and overly white veneers. The commonality of them makes a perfect smile seem so last week."

Adriana Ermter
Beauty Director
Fashion Magazine

Anti-Globalization & (Alter)Modernity

2010-05-25T15:14:00.001-07:00

Charles Avery | Aleph Null Head and Installation of Drawings | Altermodern Exhibit @ Tate Triennial 2009

I've been puttering around with my post-pomo/post-millennium worldview for a while, without finding any of the new art movement intellectualisms (supermodern, hypermodern, remodern...) particularly sincere or satisfying. I heard of the Altermodern a while ago when the British art gallery Tate was putting on its 2009 Triennial, but when I recently saw the term on the cover of Adbusters, I became doubly suspicious of its legitimacy. To my surprise, despite Adbusters' poor rendering of its facets, Bourriaud's idea is far more intelligent, mutable, practical, and revolutionary than I thought. Centering on a rejection of commercialism, this could be a very potent vehicle for social change, if its somewhat neoist approach to opposition and difference is maintained rather than subsumed into the homogenous soup of globalization. I don't usually link to my other blog, but I wrote an open letter on my thoughts here. Check it out and let's start a revolution. Seriously.

ZINES ZINES ZINES!

2010-05-24T15:13:00.000-07:00

National holidays are perfect for zinemaking. Thanks to a new scanner cord, Curran and I have begun producing all of the zines I / he and I have been making. Below is a small sampling of the fare...

Chris Kuzma

2010-05-10T18:21:00.000-07:00

Chris Kuzma, an illustrator from Toronto, has a fantastic eye for absurd beauty. Check out his portfolio here.

I'm obsessed with French Creative Director Theo Gennitsakis

2010-05-06T20:42:00.000-07:00

Check him out here.

Marc Ngui illustrates A Thousand Plateaus

2010-05-06T20:02:00.000-07:00

As a shameless Deleuze and Guattari fan-girl, this illustration project swallows me! Illustrator Marc Ngui presents a methodical interpretation of the first two chapters of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari's A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schzophrenia through interesting, evocative, and intelligent illustrations. "The drawings," he writes, "were created as a means of understanding the ideas being presented in the book." Check out the fare here, and below.

Dai Rosko Projekt by Soon in Tokyo

2010-05-05T17:22:00.000-07:00

Founded by Nuria Guinovart, Angelo Palma and Javi Donada, design agency Soon in Tokyo designed a wicked mockumentary + book project titled Dai Rosko for the Loop International Festival of Video Art in Barcelona. I'm obsessed.

Rosko Viruka from Soon in Tokyo on Vimeo.

70s porn posters

2010-05-05T11:33:00.000-07:00

... are awesome. The post-millennium porn industry could learn a thing or two about design, but I'm sure they don't really need my advice.

Vintage Book Design

2010-05-04T16:33:00.000-07:00

Old books are beautiful. A friend of mine works at Turtle Creek, a bookstore in Port Credit, which houses some of the oldest and most beautiful hardcover books I've ever encountered. Once, he brought me into the back after hours to check out the collection, and I was baffled by the sight and weight of the most beautiful designs embossed in ivory, leather, and sometimes wood. Old special edition books carry the aura that mass produced texts often lack; the investment of time and human energy that marks the object itself with something entirely transcendental. Call me fetishistic, I'll call myself intuitive. At least I know Benjamin agrees with me.

For Tightrope Books' Fall 2010 catalogue I'm going to have to channel the feeling I experienced in my gut when holding a 500 year old book into one of my paperback designs. Interestingly enough, the contents of this particular collection are avant-garde and graphic, but the outer design is meant to juxtapose the work, offering the reader a tame enclosure for the madness within. Some hand-made inspirations:

For another Fall 2010 title, I'm providing a similar vintage aesthetic through ocular illustrations/simple collages to accompany the poetry. Much of my inspiration has been coming from vintage eye charts and camera instruction pamphlets, which have been both fun to filter through, and a new experience for me.

After designing 13 colourful and often wacky books for Tightrope Books so far, it looks as though Fall 2010 is going to channel the past in ways I've never done before. I'm excited for the shift in mood and aesthetic, and to grow as a designer.

Short and stiff

2010-05-04T16:20:00.000-07:00

I neglected this blog as I finished up my Bachelor's degree at York University, but now that the school work is done, and I've indulged in a week or so of binge partying while getting back on track with my freelance work, I'm back!

The weather in Toronto has finally warmed up, and I'm happier than ever to have my bike on the street for warm leisurely rides. It also means I can start to get a little bit of sun on my ivory legs as I break out my collection of jean shorts and high-waisted hot-pants. Isn't that why everyone lusts after summertime?

Saddle Shoes

2010-02-27T13:34:00.000-08:00

M8 Classic Saddle shoes from Opening Ceremony

I had a pair of pink and white patent-leather saddle shoes when I was three. What can I say - my immigrant mother had great taste. Two decades later, I'm lusting after the same style. Is it cultural recycling or just plain classic design?

Celebrate McQueen

2010-02-11T23:50:00.000-08:00

Above: The painter as muse for Alexander McQueen's Spring 2010, from Fashionisto

I'm so sad to hear that Alexander McQueen, four-time winner of the British Designer of the year award, CBE honoree, and recipient of the International Designer of the year award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America has passed away at the ripe age of 40. The fashion world has lost a magnificent talent.

Spring 2010 McQueen boots on Selectism

A MAN A PLAN A CANAL | VENA CAVA

2010-02-06T11:48:00.000-08:00

Fashion baby of former Parsons students Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai, Vena Cava is a femme-moderne collection I have been obsessed with since first encountering their smashing Fall/Winter 2007 collection. Their offerings for Spring 2010 are as stunning as ever, with classic shapes taking on new lives through beautifully tailored silks and leathers in muted palettes. Their subsect Resort Collection for Spring 2010 also takes the sleekness of the brand to the street level, gesturing toward classic and fine tailoring in the day-to-day fashion of the contemporary young woman. I love it. Check out the forthcoming collection and past collections here.

Titillating Uberwoman Textiles

2010-02-04T23:28:00.000-08:00

Something I really look forward to this Spring (other than the landslide of school-work, pay-work and NPO-ing) is the proliferation of all things lace. For a woman who's really into the minimal lingerie thing, this gives me a chance to feel the uberwoman textile against my skin in a variety of titillating ways. Yum.

Olivier Zahm for Purple Fashion Magazine

2010-02-02T12:54:00.000-08:00

Purple Fashion Magazine is a wicked subsect of the Purple Journal out of Paris. For the forthcoming issue, they'll have a spread with the much beloved muse Betty Catroux - who is still smashing in her golden years. I can't get enough of it.

Olivier Zahm and Betty Catroux from Purple Magazine on Vimeo.

Olivier Zahm shooting Betty Catroux for a women’s fashion story in the next Purple Fashion magazine, Paris. Video Caroline Gaimari.