[ JAPANESE WAVES & SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS ] Gloria Shizico Yi

Another day, another Latitude prompted post. Meet Japanese fashion designer and graphic artist Gloria Yi Ling: fresh from London College of Fashion, her sophisticated 'East meets West', Fine Art inspired approach to fashion is sure to charm the likes of London's most cultivated fashion crowd before you can say 'A/W 2013'. I could just say I 'met' Gloria during Saturday's post-fashion show Design Salon in The Painted House, but that would be somewhat of an understatement. I was pretty much bowled over by her effervescent personality before I'd even had chance to scold the band of unruly teenagers nabbing bits of Samara's 'candy floss trees'. Bouncing merrily around the Faraway Forest, brightening up rained out punters with talk of her collection and confessions of adoration for her beloved Labrador, Favor, chancing upon Gloria was such a delight I just had to share her story with the rest of you. So here's a Q&A with the Labrador-loving designer herself:

1. You hail from across the waters, from the faraway land (for us!) that is Japan and where a lot of your design inspiration comes from. So what made you want to study in London?

I lived in both LA and New York, then I went back to Asia where my mother and father were living, but in between all of this I visited London for the first time in 2005 and it was love at first sight. I fell in love with all the museums and that was it. I’ve not thought about living or studying in any other place ever since.

2. Evidently part of your collection has been inspired by Hokusai’s famous woodblock print of The Great Wave of Kanagawa, a work synonymous with 19th century Japanese art. Why did you choose this one in particular?

I was looking for a certain craft to help build my collection and discovered that Japanese woodblock printing was similar to the way I use screen-printing for my own textile design, so I decided to combine the two techniques to create something new. I also mixed this style with influences from the culture of the Scottish Highlands - it’s what inspired the draping effect in my collection. I just really love the idea of a culture-clash; the way the chemistry of the two opposing elements can create something innovative and exciting. 

Two of my prints have actually just been selected to feature in the upcoming exhibition ‘Bite: Artists Making Print’ which opens at the Mall Galleries in London later this year. I’m so fortunate to find people in London who love my ‘East meets West’ style! 

Click the link below to keep reading about Gloria Shizico Yi

[ WANDERGRAMING LATITUDE ] More From The Painted House

More Wandergrams for you to peruse, this time hailing from this weekends wanderings at Latitude Festival in Suffolk. You may have already seen the previous illustration by Rosie McGuinness, and if you've read the earlier interview with The Painted House's founders Imogen and Samara, you'll probably understand the significance of the above pictured candy floss trees and dishevelled house, if not you can read more about it here.

Of course, you can always follow my recent wanderings on Instagram, but here are a few snaps from my own showcase at The Painted House, Rag & Bow's Vintage Workshop and Imogen's Graduate Design Salons. Enjoy!

[ POST-FEST: LATITUDE ] A Weekend In The Painted House

Monday morning greetings from a warm and cosy Hampshire home (and no longer a cold, damp tent!). I've just returned from my wanderings at Latitude Festival in Suffolk where I've been for the past five days. What a wonderful festival! Did anyone else go? If you did, I hope you came down to The Faraway Forest to see the daily spectacle that was The Painted House! I was there on Friday afternoon with my showcase of ethnic fashion finds from around the globe and a couple of traditional Indian woodblocks - which all the kiddies seemed to enjoy making a mess with! 

I was lucky enough to meet some lovely London based creatives such as Victoria from Rag & Bow's Roaming Vintage Store, London College of Fashion design graduates Gloria-Yi Ling and Fernanda Yumi Fujiwara, Out There Magazine's David Hawkins and illustrator Nina Chakrabarti. Excitingly, I also got to meet super talented fashion illustrator Rosie McGuinness who captured me in my infamous Rajasthani gypsy blouse and hand block printed Indian maxi skirt, as pictured above.

There'll be lots more Latitude related content coming soon, so watch this digital void. But for now I'm off to de-soggify my tent and scrub the mud off my boots! 

If you were one of the lovely people that came down to see me on Friday I'd love to hear what you thought, so send me an email at samantha@wandering-threads.com

[ CHEAP / CHIC ] Ethnic Festival Threads For Scrimpers & Spenders!

1. Mango Ethnic Feather Necklace 2. Free People Thirty Seven Miles East Tank 3. Oasis Scarf Print T-Shirt 4.Boemos TUNDRA womens Loafers 5. Mango Ethnic Print Cotton Foulard 6. ASOS Mini Feather Drop Earrings 7.Landia Denim Cuff Beaded Gladiators 8. TOPSHOP **Cut Out Playsuit by Rare 9. River Island Festival Bracelet 10. Ribbon Navajo Patch Denim Shorts 11. Triple 7 Neon Our Way Bag 12. FULL TILT Cinch Front Crop Bandeau

1. Zimmermann Collector Printed Cotton Maxi Dress 2. Ancient Greek Sandals Nausica Flat Sandals 3. Sandro Pantagonie Printed Crepe Playsuit 4. Missoni Rubber Boots 5. THU THU Tribal Embroidered Denim Shorts 6.Stella McCartney Printed Modal + Silk-Blend Scarf 7. One Vintage Megan Top 8. Multicolour Crossbody Vintage Bag 9. Sandro Paprika Printed Crepe Pants 10. Free People Secret Garden Shift

The weather may not be quite as blissful as we'd hoped for this year's Latitude Festival, but who said rain could dampen our spirits (although it seems to have dampened everything else)?! If you're coming to join the fun this weekend at Henham Park in Suffolk or planning for another festival later on this summer (?!), make sure you've got some ethnic inspired boho bits in your festival wardrobe! Need some inspiration? Well here you have it: for richer, for poorer, thou shalt wear ethnic chic!

 

[ GIVEAWAY ] Win An Ajrakh Block Printed Scarf by Kahani

If you've already read yesterday's interview with Kahani founder Lisanne, you'll know that the label's handcrafted, luxury scarves and shawls are created using age-old techniques, on the highest quality fabrics, by highly skilled, indigenous artisans in Kutch, India. Each and every item in the Kahani store possesses an appeal of timeless quality that can be worn with the knowledge that the craftsmen who created it were paid a fair wage and worked under ethical conditions. I'd say that's pretty awesome, wouldn't you?

So to spread some of this awesomeness around, Wandering Threads has partnered with Kahani to give you the chance to win your very own Tussar silk Ajrakh block printed scarf, worth $85!

This particular scarf (as pictured above and below) is created using a form of traditional hand block printing and resist dyeing done using natural pigments. It's a laborious process that requires several stages of preparation, printing, drying, dyeing, re-printing, re-dyeing, washing and so on. In fact, a traditional Ajrakh cloth can take up to three weeks for the desired colour and pattern to be achieved!

If you'd like to be in with a chance of winning this beautiful scarf, and owning your own artisanal creation, simply follow the instructions below. The contest is open to entrants from around the world, so go on, enter now!

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3 WAYS TO ENTER:

1. 'Like' Kahani & Wandering Threads on Facebook

 2. Pin your favourite 5 Kahani items on Pinterest

3.  Share Kahani on your own blog.

then...

Comment on this post, mentioning

how you have entered, providing links if necessary. 

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For a limited time only, the very generous people at Kahani are also offering 15 % off all items, store wide, from the 11th -30th July 2012. Just enter 'WANDERINGTHREADS' at checkout to get your discount!

Contest runs from 11.07.2012 to 30.07.2012. Winner will be picked at random by Kahani and notified through the method they have entered (Facebook/blog/Pinterest.