Hi out there in the big world! :)
How are you? I am feeling sort of energetic just right now, and reinspired after reading Susie Bubble's blog. I love people who can give energy to others with their words. She is sort of the type of person. Just makes me smile. :) well, well, maybe one day I will make you smile as well! just let me know please, so that I know. :D
So let's crack on with a rather interesting Hungarian fashion brand for this week!
Would you have thought of concrete as a material to inspire you, and to create amazing designs? No? Me neither really. Concrete is sort of an artificial material, that doesn't really look great, just grey...and in the noughties people were rather trying to get away from it. Especially in Hungary, it is rather associated with socialism and socialist architecture. Cube buildings, all concrete, all grey. Booooooooooring.
BUT! Apart from you and me,
IVANKA did consider concrete as a source of inspiration and as a medium for creative and awesome design. And they revolutionised our perception on concrete!
The company was founded by husband and wife, András and Katalin Ivanka in 2003. They did not start off with fashion and their main profile is not fashion now either, but they did branch into it with a rather interesting concept. Ivanka uses concrete and its aesthetic qualities to create distinctive designs.
They mostly design homeware products, made of and inspired by concrete.
Their most successful product and design so far is a special tile for the wall, called
FLASTER tiles. They even have a flaster composer, where you can log in and play endlessly with colours to make up patterns and forms. Like a huge puzzle! Try it! :D
But but but, going back to my loved subject, CLOTHES! CONCRETE CLOTHES! AND BAGS! CONCRETE BAGS!
For fashion designs Katalin Ivanka joined up with other Hungarian fashion designers to create a new textile that was imitating concrete visually.
So without chatting any longer, just look at this: LOOK AT THESE GARMENTS AND ACCESSORIES and tell me they are not amazing!
SO CHIC! SO HU!
And well, just to show you, this is where they started off, the very first idea, called as a Cement Couture:
They basically put garments into cement, so they were semi rigid and the concrete formed interesting texture on the garments. Great starting point and artistic experimentation, but I am happy they moved onto more wearable materials and styles. :)
And they have organ inspired jewellery! Peculiar! The only thing I cannot figure out, how you are supposed to wear these? If they are a ring or a medal...hm...probably a ring. And they come in different shades of concrete, like black, grey, beige and white.
The only thing that I couldn't figure out unfortunately is if you can buy any of the items somewhere. There is no sign for it online, and as there is no Ivanka store in Budapest yet, I assume that all collections are sort of haute couture and not available to the public yet. Shame, shame. But it's yet to come. :)
I know it was again a lot of pictures and an essay, so I hope I didn't bore you too much but rather got you as excited as I got while going through all this. :) Desires, desires....
Hope you will have a nice and relaxing weekend! Although Christmas rush comes...
And a good night quote for you:
Whatever happens tomorrow, we had today! Always remember!
Jó éjt!
