Ten Gifts for the Pattern Lover

1. Pattern Book Box Set V & A
2. Ceramic Vase Vaetwerk Collection Moooi
3. Silk Scarf Anna Giertz x Hugo & Marie
4. DeLonghi Espresso Maker customized by Mario Hugo
5. Tribe Wool Rug by Matthew Williamson The Rug Company
6. Cacti Wine Rack Habitat
7. Gareth Pugh iphone case incase
8. Médicine Douce Jewelry
9. NosDa Wool Throw by Donna Wilson SCP
10. Long Wallet Lara Bohinc

Happy Christmas!

Tsumori Chisato (x2) Proenza Schouler, Pixie Market
Here are some of our favorite sweaters for sipping tea near a cozy fire. Mmmmm. Happy Holidays everyone! --Claudia and Jessie

Doo.Ri: Pre-Fall 10

Doo.Ri showed some textured, paint-splattery seperates for Pre-Fall 10. I like the top on the right, the cut is nice, and the print looks like tumbling waves of an ocean during a storm.

Florals: Pre-Fall 10

Diane von Furstenberg, Carolina Herrera, Rachel Roy, Zac Pozen, Thakoon
Pre-fall is a small, safe, and market-friendly season; not too ground breaking, and with very little pomp and circumstance. Print-wise, not seeing any real trends here, just a bit more of the same, although I did like Rachel Roy's pixel floral print (reminds me of one of our favorites from the PP collection) But my goodness, those pink stretch pants with pleats! Why oh why? Also, the Carolina Herrera floral is quite beautiful and I already raved about the rest of the prints in her collection below.

Carolina Herrera Pre-Fall 10

Oh, the gorgeousness of these rich, bright patterns! The inspiration here was the Tango, and the print in the middle is of dancers locked arm in arm. Lava red, dandelion yellow, and Directoire blue were used all throughout the collection, and the color blockings on some ball gowns and the jacket on left were done flawlessly.

Collaboration with Hugo & Marie

Deanne Cheuk x Hugo & Marie

Anna Giertz x Hugo & Marie

Micha Lidberg x Hugo & Marie

Say goodbye to the days of the designer poster. New York agency, Hugo & Marie, brings us a new way to support art. The illustrations and collages of a handful of designers are turned into wearable art in the form of 100% silk scarves. Each piece is custom printed using eco-friendly dyes and also features hand finished edges for a luxurious touch.

The collaboration includes the work of Micha Lidberg, Benbo George, Deanne Cheuk, and Anna Giertz. We love the creations of Deanne and Anna and were excited to have included their designs in our pattern exhibit, Beneath the Surface, last May.

Benbo George x Hugo & Marie

Holiday Paper, Folky Dutch Style

Clockwise: Sanna Anukka for Marimekko, Paper Source, Marcel Wanders for Target,
Sanna Annuka for Marks & Spencer, Ikea, Marimmeko
Our favorite trend for Holiday paper goods and such, has been this folksy dutch style seen on products from Marimekko, Ikea, Target, and Paper Source. If you don't know about Sanna Annukka's work, she did the album art for Keane's album Under The Iron Sea, and creates beautiful folk-inspired designs. Check her out here.

Tie Dye

From Style.com: Tibi, Peter Pilotti, Proenza Schouler, Calvin Klein

“There’s something about tie-dye that speaks to everyone,” says Tory Burch, in a recent story on Style.com.“It’s a little nostalgic but also feels modern.” If Blumarine’s caftan belongs cheerfully in the former camp, Proenza Schouler gave the dyeing technique new life by applying it to sleek and of-the-moment active-sports styles. Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte, meanwhile, pieced together ragged, postapocalyptic looks using fabric usually associated with long-haired flower children. Read the rest of the story here.

Louise Armstrup SS 10

Danish born Louise Armstrup studied with Alexander McQueen before starting her own line in 2006. For her Spring/Summer 10 collection shown at London fashion week, the prints and cuts were inspired by shattered mirrors and a surrealist perspective. Everything about this line is so futuristically now, and the McQueen influence is evident but not overbearing. This type of mirrored, psychedelic print direction is something near and dear to Pattern People, and we've been working on some new prints in this vein that we're super excited about! Sneak previews coming soon!

Spring 10: African Prints

Issey Miyake, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Givenchy, Eley Kishimoto, Suno
African prints have been trending for a few years now, and seem to be gaining steam with heavy hitters like Marc Jacobs, Givenchy and Eley Kishimoto using them generously in their Spring 10 collections. Lively mixed prints, jagged organic shapes, batiks, and colorful messy stripes are all looking playful and fun right now. Take a look at some more inspirational textiles on the Pattern People blog.

Pantone for your iPhone

Has everyone seen the new Pantone app for iPhone? It's called myPANTONE, and marries the power of the iPhone with the inspiration of PANTONE Color Palettes, enabling designers to be creative whenever inspiration strikes them. Providing a digital, portable design studio and essential color tools at their fingertips, myPANTONE gives designers the freedom to access PANTONE Colors anywhere, without the need to be in their office or carry around cumbersome guides. For more information go to http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/pantone.aspx?pg=20698&ca=10.

Umbro Contest Winners

Umbro has unveiled the finalists for their competition to customise the sole on a pair of "Specialis." Although many of their choices seem dated and/or bizarre, above are ones we thought were pretty nice. Take a look at the other finalists on the Umbro blog.

Spring 10: Japan Fashion Week: Geos

Mint Designs, Matohu, Mint Designs, Matohu, Tiny Dinosaur

Matohu
Japan fashion week is a sea of inspiration. Geos from Matohu and others look new but familiar, and the cuts and drapes are impeccable.

Spring 10: Japan Fashion Week: Florals

Somarta, Yuma Koshino, Dress 33, Yuki Torii, Somarta
Japan's fashion week looked to be on a caliber all its' own. Beautiful prints, gorgeous cuts, and soft sillouhettes dominated. Giant head adornments were prevalent as well. The florals seen above seemed to tie back to the floral trends happening all over. Cabbage roses, soft smudgy textures, and ditsies.

Spring 10: Tie Dye

Cynthia Rowley, L.A.M.B, Blumarine, Helmut Lang, Lela Rose, Ports 1961
Tie dye and dip dye are all the rage right now, on runways and in retail, and luckily it's easy to reproduce the look at home. I've been doing some dip dying and "twist" dying myself, with a jar of black rit and some Hanes t-shirts. Check out photos and instructions from my last tie dye session on Pattern People's blog. --Claudia

INTERIORS: Panic Lobby

Print: Pattern People. Interior: Holst, Osmose. photo: Chris Hodney
For the lobby inside of Portland-based software company, Panic, we created a pattern which was initially based on a persian rug. On close inspection, you can see that the entire rug is drawn by hand, and incorporates a story personal to Panic. There are hamburgers and chips, alluding to the staff's love of late-night snacking, an original Mac computer, as a symbol of the company's dedication to Mac software, and a few of our takes on their logos. We worked with Andee Hess of Osmose Design to bring this to fruition, and it was a daunting but fun project indeed!

Spring 10: Tripping Out

Alexander McQueen

Basso and Brooke, Mary Katrantzou, Basso and Brooke, Nicole Miller. Background: Pattern People
Woah! Did somebody spike the water supply in London? Some of our favorite print designers are on a serious acid trip. Of course, McQueen's show was an insane event of epic proportions. Basso and Brooke and Mary Katrantzou had similar print stories to one another, with swirls and space ship lights whizzing around. At some points, as above, the prints could have come from the same designer. Nicole Miller must have caught the transmission in New York as she adorned her dresses with cosmological placement prints.

Spring 10: Pattern Overload!

Duro Olowu (x2), Eley Kishimoto, Dries Van Noten

Rodarte, Louis Vuitton, Paul Smith, Wunderkind, Issey Miyake
For those of us that love pattern, it's fun to see layers of draped cloth oozing with different prints but living together in harmony. Wearing different patterns together takes some skill and usually creates one of three effects: earth mama of the world, crazy lady, or torn up goth after a night of casting spells.

Spring 10: Conversationals

Miu Miu, Prada, Giles, Karen Walker, Holly Fulton
Miu Miu explored the tension between innocence and sexual knowledge, with images of kitty cats, birds, apples, and naked men on preppy school girl outfits. Miuccia then took a light and literal approach to the Prada line with photographic, tonal beach scenes.

The concept for Karen Walker's line was inspired by a movie called "The Prisoner," in which former spies are inprisoned on an island. The idea is, Holiday for prisoners. Lots of nautical stripes and maritime flags adorned the line.

Holly Fulton was the shining star of Fashion East's presentation. Prints and appliques of skyscrapers created a very original and forward look to her simple dresses.

Spring 10: Geometrics

Jonathan Saunders, Nicole Farhi, Karen Walker, Eley Kishimoto, Issey Miyake.
Background: Pattern People

Mary Katrantzou, Eley Kishimoto, Kenzo, Matthew Williamson, PPQ,
Background: Pattern People
The geometrics were very interesting this season, some inspired by Africa and Morocco, some with a 60's look, and others with an active-wear feel.

Spring 10: The State of Florals

Matthew Williamson, Duro Olowu, DKNY, Gaspard Yurkievich, Cynthia Rowley

Issa, Eley Kishimoto, Maurizio Pecararo, Eley Kishimoto, United Bamboo

Rebbekah Taylor, Roberto Cavalli, Christian Dior, Stella McCartney, Richard Chai
The Spring 10 shows had varying takes on the floral; from starkly graphic, to soft and smudgy, to tiny and sweet. Our favorites were Christian Dior's sexy use of the ditsy, Cynthia Rowley's smokey gorgeous florals, Eley Kishimoto's graphic flowers, and Maurizio Pecararos's pastel cut-outs.