Wild Horses

Milk from a Thistle is the brainchild of Sydney-based designer Danielle Atkinson, whose previous life was in indie music. She has since returned to nurture her first love, fashion, and with her Autumn 2011 collection shows these amazing digitally-printed horses placed cleverly on the bottom half of dresses and skirts. Paired with bold stripes, there is an easy but unexpected pop to her looks, and everything looks extremely soft and wearable.

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, opening at the Costume Institute May 4th, will..."celebrate the late Alexander McQueen's extraordinary contributions to fashion. From his postgraduate collection of 1992 to his final runway presentation which took place after his death in February 2010, Mr. McQueen challenged and expanded the understanding of fashion beyond utility to a conceptual expression of culture, politics, and identity. His iconic designs constitute the work of an artist whose medium of expression was fashion. " Here we've compiled some of our favorites of McQueen's looks and prints. Inspiration for his collection have ranged from bullfights for Spring 02, to Leigh Bowery for Fall 09 to Atlantis for Spring 09. The shows were almost always imaginative spectacles channeling past and future. Although he died an untimely and tragic death, Lee McQueen lives on as one of the greatest fashion icons of our time.

Old is New...

As print designers, our work often goes uncredited. But, the recent discovery of prints from Parisian studio, Lizzie Derriey, receive their own praise at Liberty. The collection was unearthed in the South of France and contains hundreds of hand painted designs from the now defunct studio which operated between 1928 and 1994. The prints are on exhibit at Liberty and each is available for purchase if you want to take it home.

The Cult of Beauty

Here are a few knick-knacks you can purchase in celebration of the V & A exhibit, "The Cult of Beauty" which explores the Aesthetic movement of 1860-1900. Designers like William Morris and Liberty London were a huge influence on the movement and continue to influence surface design today. Here are a few of our favorite things from the V & A Gift Shop:

1. Blue Flower Gloves

2. V & A Arbutus Umbrella inspired by William Morris

3. Audrey Beardsley A3 notebook

4. Wooden Print Blocks

5. William Morris Wallpaper Coasters

Missoni + Converse

Missoni teams up with Converse once again this year, and these shoes are available now at select locations, and in limited quantities. Get more info at Hypebeast.

Printsource April Show

The next Printsource show opens next week – Tuesday and Wednesday. Come view the latest print collections from studios around the world.

A Step Ahead

Online registration for the April 12 + 13, 2011 Printsource New York Show is now closed but you can be a step ahead. Print the registration form, fill it out and bring the form and your business card with you to 7 W New York on Tuesday morning and jump to the front of the registration line for your badge. Registration opens at 9 a.m.

Print Designer: Catalina Estrada

Carolina Estrada is a Barcelona-based designer that we've admired for some time. Her work is inspired by the richness and color of South American craft but refined into something modern and unique. She's worked with Paul Smith, Cola-Cola, Zara Home and lots of others. You can see more here.

Printsource | The Source for Product Design and Development

West Elm turned a collection of Luli Sanchez''s geometric textile designs into bold framed wall art. They also worked with her on a collection of whimsical pillows based on creatures of the sea–zebra fish, coral and whales. "I'm always inspired by the endless variety of gorgeously odd life forms that live beneath the sea," she says. "I love that there's a whole other world living down there that we're not even aware of most of the time." Luli's work will be represented by Insytes Design Group at the upcoming April 12 + 13 Printsource New York.

http://www.westelm.com/we-love/lourdes-sanchez.html

http://www.lulisanchez.com/