WATCH FOR ANGELA KREWENCHUK'S NEW WEBSITE, FASHION-INSIDER, LAUNCHING NOVEMBER 2013. IN THE MEAN TIME, CHECK OUT ITS FACEBOOK PAGE.This article is from our Fashion-Insider Angela Krewenchuk. Angela provides Retail Insider with fashion updates on the latest trends with her own unique and knowledgeable fashion perspective
I’m going to be straight Dear Reader. The Spring/Summer 2013 ("SS 2013") offerings lacked panache for me and provided me little fashion inspiration - THANK GOONESS FOR - Chloe Trujillo, who Singlehandedly put a breath of fresh air into a rather stale SS 2013 fashion season. It first became rather clear to me that the SS 2013 season was going to be under whelming around March 2013 when I was conducting research for a fashion show in Pennsylvania, where I served as its creative director. The fashion press predicted that there were going to be roughly 11 key looks for the season. The following list details some of my favorite looks: - Cropped, shirts and Pencil skirts (preferably together) with just a sliver of mid-riff showing.
- Eighties inspired looks (which have been in fashion since roughly SS 2004).
- Iridescence, watch out if your carrying some excess water weight.
- Mesh, been around for the past two years.
- Neon, who could outdo Kristopher Kane’s SS 2012 neon.
- The orient - ahhh, haaa -slightly new. The sixties done best by Moschino, and lastly:
- The seventies by Hedi Silmane which I spent most of the 1990’s dressed in -Yawn.
The dispiriting trends were graphics, bombers, flowers (aren’t they fashionable every SS?), white (you gotta be kidding?), summer trainers, and Easter Egg muted palates -common, I’m getting dressed for the day, not attending a baby shower.
In desperation, I searched and searched for something more spirited to rev up my wardrobe. My research brought me to a store on South Granville Street in Vancouver called Bacci's, where the owner Andrea turned me on to a line of gorgeous silk scarfs designed by Chloe Trujillo. For those not in the know, Chloe is the SMOKIN HOT talented artist and wife of Metalica's lead bassist Robert Trujillo. I ended up wearing her gorgeous SKULLS-IN-COLOR-SILK-SCARF in many different ways this SS and can wholeheartedly say that her scarf SINGLE HANDEDLY saved the season for me. I’m the type of gal that just cant be satisfied when fashion pundits proclaim that WHITE is one of the biggest fashion trends. Now I will share an interview with Chloe followed by my personal fashion adventures experimenting utilizing scarfs as an integral part of my look.
"Hi Chloe,
It's Angela Krewenchuk from Retail Insider / Fashion Insider. Here are a few interview questions, please feel free to be as brief or elaborate as much as you want.
1) Why scarfs - any other fashions to look out for in the future? Any more exciting things coming down your creative pipeline?
I've been selling giclees (reproductions of my original artwork on canvas) for a while and I thought, "how cool would it be to create a beautiful very high quality reproduction on silk?" My art could be wearable and so the idea came.... Plus I wear scarves all the time, they are my favorite accessory, I wear them wrapped around my head, in my hair, on my shoulders, around my waist, etc, etc.. The other fascinating thing that happened is as soon as the idea of making silk scarves popped in my head, my friend overseas emailed me the next day with the same idea along with an Italian high-end fabric manufacturer's number!! So I took action, called the number and within a few months I had my first scarf in my hands!
And yes, more to come of course! Very soon handbags and clutches are coming! I’m very excited about those!! And I made some jewelry prototypes, and clothing that I am still perfecting! Patience....
2) What inspires your art practice and when did you start it, who are your top three favorite artists?
I've always painted, or drawn for as long as I can remember... I used it a lot to express myself in the beginning, you know, to express things I couldn't express otherwise... Then it became almost a meditative practice, something that would clear my soul, clean my mind, and heal my self. Today all of this is still part of how I sometimes work, but the majority of the time, I have visions, I channel information and images that "need" to come out and be seen, so I let it all come through me and allow the creative source to take command.
For my top three artists, it's a difficult one to answer....I love so many artists, that I'm not sure I can narrow the number down to three?? To give you an idea, I love Hieronymus Bosch, Van Eyck's details, I admire Leornardo Da Vinci's body of work (not just the art, but all of his inventions and ideas...). I also love Albrecht Durer's engravery, Van Gogh's vibrancy of colors and energy, I've always loved the "Enluminures" of the Middle Ages, then again last year I went to Mexico city and saw Frida Kahlo's work and remembered how amazing she was... the list is endless... I also love the more underground artists scene nowadays! I go to as many exhibitions that I can with my busy schedule.
3) What medium have you always dreamed of working with?
I love texture, so working with thick oils for example. I really enjoy "knife" painting and don't do it as much as I'd like too, but now that I mentioned it I feel inspired....Now if you are asking me about something I haven't been working with yet, it would be clay for sculpting or some other medium to add dimension to a piece! Exploration is calling....
4) Please describe your creative process.
I constantly need a pen and paper with me; I draw and write all the time. I'm here traveling with one big sketchbook, three notebooks, a couple of fountain pen, some pencils and a good color selection of markers.
If I spend one day without sketching or writing down ideas, I get knots in my stomach and I don't feel right... It's crazy, it's a need! It's a true passion I guess, a way of living. Same thing with singing (except that there are some places where I can't really sing out, but I'll record melody ideas on my phone quietly and use or not use them later). I get ideas constantly; it's sometimes overwhelming, especially when you know you won't be able to bring all of these ideas to "life". Robert, my husband makes fun of me when he visits my studio because I always have a minimum of five projects in progress at the same time, minimum: painting, wood burning, designing, writing, wire-wrapping....
And as I mentioned earlier, I am in a state of channeling when I work, I allow the messages or images or melodies to come through and express themselves.
5) Living with another artist, are your creative processes separate or intertwined?
I think we feed off each other all the time. Nothing is separate, of course we each have our own style, our own way of creating things, but the basic process is the same. Robert lives with a bass guitar in his hands, plays all the time, writes new ideas as he is playing, I can hear him, so inevitably, he inspires me, the same way I inspire him when he sees my work.
6) Thoughts, remarks on Vancouver's style?
I've only been once to Vancouver and can't wait to visit again!! We loved it!!! So much that my sister and her family, after hearing me, are there on vacation right now!!! The people are so nice and friendly, the city is beautiful, and nature there is amazing!! We had the best experience there; I mean I was able to balance work and pleasure! I can say Vancouver is also a balance between nature and city. Stunning parks and vibrant metropolis! I also love the fact that the city is very eco-conscious! Lots of green facilities and practices, lots of organic foods and even great eco-fashion!!!!
6) I am DYING to know who your favorite 3 designers are?!
Coco Chanel, Riccardo Tisci and Alexander MacQueen. And many more too....I am here in Japan and can't help to think about Yohji Yamamoto for example or on a totally different vibe, Tsumori Chisato.
7) Last words.. What are three things you want people to know about you that I have I neglected to ask?
Music is such an important part of my life as well! My grandfather was a touring Opera singer and my first vocal coach! I am a singer and a songwriter, I've been singing on lots of different projects (blues, rock, musicals, classic, jazz, French cabaret, ..) and in different bands, and I am about to release my first solo album very soon!
Second thing is my healing and psychic work. I studied many different healing modalities, explored different spiritual avenues from many different cultures throughout the world. I do readings as well. I apply all of this in my work, working with the color and sound vibrations, an uplifting, loving energetic field around my work whether visual, audible or wearable is very important to me. We are all connected, we actually are all One with everything, our environment, what we listen to, what we surround ourselves with, what we see everyday, and my goal is to really uplift, beautify, protect, bring peace, love, strength and overall positive and healing energy into the Universe, contribute as much as I can to reinforce the good.
The ups and downs of this roller-coaster called life. I love what I do, but it hasn't always been an easy road, and learning to turn the "bad" experiences into learning tools is essential. I am currently writing a book about some of these experiences along with the tools I used, and, of course, images and meanings of some of my work. Looking forward to accomplish this and bring it to life!
*****
Now: Here is my firsthand account experimenting with scarfs as an integral part of my waredrobe:
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| Movie still Release Great Gatsby wearing an urban turban [Image Source] |
Back in mid May 2013 while flipping through Flare magazine a small fashion piece caught my eye. Essentially, the author was praising the aesthetic merits of a modernized turban fabricated using silk scarfs brought into vogue by the re-release of The Great Gatsby film.
Fashion inspiration had struck. The next thing you now I pulled out a well loved three seasons old pair of high waisted wide legged Gucci jeans and wrapped a Valentino scarf around my head and voila, instant, effortless, chic.
I wore the Valentino scarf and wide legged Gucci jeans out that day. Sure, I had a great outfit on but the ladylike silk Valentino scarf just didn’t feel like me. I yearned for something more punked out but had long ago tired of the only thing suiting this description on the fashion market (the Alexander McQueen Skull scarf) and its various knockoffs.
That weekend I was wandering about the South Granville shopping district in Vancouver Canada with 'Mr. X of Retail insider' and we wandered into Bacci’s. Suddenly my eye zeroed in on a swath of silk fabric. It was a panacea in an otherwise dispiriting SS 2013 offering. I spoke with the owner of the store Andrea and she informed me that the scarf was designed by the distinguished artist Chloe Trujillo. I had found the ultimate cool, edgy silk scarf.
Although beautiful in its own right, I’m just not a fan of the $429 Gucci Flora scarf that was designed for Grace Kelly in 1966 as a gift after she visited the flagship store in Milan. Neither am I a fan of Hermes scarfs. They just do not align with my personal style – they are far too ladylike for my aesthetic preference.
Around June, fashion reports came filtering in from various sources that the ultra cool global style tribes were wearing scarfs tied tightly around their heads. French stylist Catherine Baba was snapped during Paris fashion week wearing what was termed “the urban turban”; models in the Marc Jacobs SS 2013 show sported the urban turban. The hipper than though zeitgeist whispered URBAN TURBAN and I couldn’t resist its magnetic pull.
I got home and immediately contacted Chloe Trujillo, the artist behind the ultimate rock-n-roll silk scarf and asked if I could borrow one and put together various outfits around it for different social settings and write about my findings and then interview her for an article. She agreed and my scarf arrived in a gorgeous purple box less than a week later.
Outfit 1 . I attended an art show at Gallery Gachet in Vancouver:
For this event I wore a Floor skimming (flower child inspired) True Religion denim skirt, a see through fetish inspired mesh top with a black lace cropped halter top underneath (otherwise known as the SS 2013 la Senza Bralette).
A renowned fashion illustrator approached and told me she used to dress just like me in the 60’s and loved my look.
I wore the scarf around my head with a high-waisted black lambs leather pencil skirt with a slight flare around the bottom and a black-cropped top. My photo was taken by Ed Ng (http://www.edngphotography.com) for Hush Magazine (http://www.hushmagazine.ca) sitting beside Edward Quan of Styledrama (http://styledrama.com). After the fashion event I went to a friend of a friends going away party and was hit on by several cute eligible gentlemen. This I attributed primarily to their level of inebriation and the fact that I GAVE GOOD FASHION that night.
Outfit 3:
I wore the scarf out with my accomplished artist friend Garry Lee-Wilson pictured here who was Vancouver’s first celebrity hat designer in the early eighties and owner of Madame Hatters from 1983-1985. We went for coffee and a sweet treat at a hidden gem located in the heart of Vancouver’s West End. Walking down the picturesque streets we stumbled upon a construction dumpster with a few gorgeous midcentury modern furniture items in it. I was wearing the scarf around my head, a pair of Rag and Bone jeans with black suede insets and a black t-shirt. My dumpster diving proved to be artistic inspiration for my creative friend who insisted on snapping my photo so I obliged by striking a pose amongst the rubble. HOW MUCH MORE rock and roll can a girl get!
AND THERE YOU HAVE IT DEAR READER:
Chloe Trujillo and her gorgeous Skulls in Color silk scarf saved my SS 2013 Fashion season. This look is timeless and will be releant for FW 2013-2014.
