Issey Miyake - Paris Fashion Week

I can't believe I am still catching up with posts about the shows I attended at Paris Fashion Week! There was just so much inspiration to share and write about, that it is taking a while to go through all of it and get it posted!
One of the larger shows that I attended at Fashion Week was the Issey Miyake show held in the Jardin des Tuileries. After waiting in the hot sunshine for over 45 mins we were finally allowed into the massive tent where the show would be held. Thankfully there were cold water bottles and hand held fans waiting for us once inside the venue.
Once the show started, I quickly realized it was worth the wait! The theme of the collection was "Bloom Skin." It featured light, nude tone clothes with vivid colors symbolizing a woman who possesses both gentleness and strength.

The show featured a series of different looks all pertaining to flowers. It started out with a section titled "Bud," which symbolized an innocent bud waiting to bloom.

As the show went on, you could see the transformation of the flowers from a bud, growing stems into blossom, then full bloom. It was a beautiful show full of color and flowing fabrics. Using Japan's advanced weaving technology and Kyoto's traditional printing techniques, the silky soft fabrics showed delicate color gradations.

Semi transparent textures were created using a traditional dye house in Kyoto, which uses a special process on fabrics knit with two types of fibers. One fiber is dissolved, creating a sheer while the other maintains itself as a printed color.

The hat and head pieces in this show by, Christophe Coppens, were also a beautiful whimsical addition to the wonderful clothes. One reason why I liked this show is because they stayed true to the original Issey Miyake brand by manufacturing in cooperation with local craftspeople and creating pieces that are only made-in-Japan technology and ideas.

Monet's House in Giverny

Last Saturday, I had family in town visiting so we decided to get out of the busy city for the day and visit Giverny. We caught a train headed for Vernon were we then got a connecting bus that took us into the town of Giverny, famous for Claude Monet's house and gardens. Walking around the tiny streets of the village seemed like time had stood still. You could imagine Monet walking the cobblestone streets and sitting in a little cafe in the town.

Once inside Monet's house, there were many pieces of his artwork on show in the fist main room you enter. Looking out the window at his gardens, you see the his inspiration for his paintings. Through the house are some of his belongings, his bedroom and kitchen set up as it would have been years ago, and even a little sewing room!

After going through the house and stepping out into the gardens, you are met by the most amazing view of tree blossoms and flowers blooming. The colors are a true inspiration. Since it is early April, there were tulips galore. The garden is set out in rows of flowers leading down from the house. (Don't forget to click on the picture to enlarge it and see the beautiful flowers up close!)








At the end of the main garden, if you go down under the little bridge you will come across his famous water lily garden which was the inspiration for many of his paintings. Water surrounded by flowers, bamboo trees and beautiful twine covered bridges create a romantic feel to this part of the garden.






I even got a picture taken with the famous bridge from one of his paintings in the background! Does it look like the painting!?



Boats were floating in the water similar to those Monet used to sit and paint in.



After visiting these beautiful gardens, I couldn't help but be inspired by the colors! I came home and have started making some jewelry pieces that are inspired by Monet's gardens. Watch for them soon on www.glimpsebeads.com

Sunday Market

Since this is my first Sunday back in Paris, I had to go to our local market. There is just something so wonderful about the fresh produce, cheeses and flowers that are offered at french markets. The atmosphere is so lively with sellers shouting out their specials of the day. I took a few photos while I wandered through the stalls deciding what to buy!


Strolling through the market!



A beautiful flower stall



Fresh breads!



My favorite! A huge selection of fresh local cheese!



Colorful fresh veggies



Buckets filled with beautiful roses




Freshly baked breads. These looked delicious!



Onion and garlic stall



A selection of oysters

A little bit of everything

These past few days have been busy, from checking out the new Chanel windows to meeting friends for beading! Yesterday I met with my beading friends here in Paris. We spent the day making lampwork beads, and creating beaded beads. Making lampwork beads is a process of making glass beads. Glass rods are melted down by using a torch as seen in this picture, and wound around mandrels to create beads.


Creating beaded beads involves stitching smaller glass beads to create one larger bead. I love these new little beads that we learned how to make, and feel that I will need to make a bracelet with them very soon. Keep an eye out for them at www.glimpsebeads.com Here is a photo of all three of our beads that we made. It is amazing how different they can look just by changing the beads used.


Only in Paris do you get served this cake when going to someone's house to bead! It was made by my friend's husband especially for our beading meeting! It was SO delicious!


A few days ago, I headed out into Paris and found myself wandering past Chanel. Ok, I admit that I sometimes take a detour just to walk by the Chanel windows. This time, they were filled with white lace outfits, and beige crochet dresses. This bag was also in one of the windows. This is the type of work that was being done for Chanel while I was at studying at Lesage. There were natural looking fiber and straw like material being woven, braided and of course beaded!


Just down the street from Chanel is a jewelry shop called "de Grisogono." They always have beautiful jewelry in the window, and this day was no exception. These diamond and jewel encrusted earrings were stunning! I just had to stop and take pictures!


Another one of my favourite places to walk through in Paris is near the Cite metro stop. Situated there are all of the greenhouses selling flowers. Along the Seine, these little sheds are full of every type of flower you can imagine. Some also carry gift type items, and lots of dried lavender.




Along the street beside the garden shops there are trees lining the boulevard in full bloom. Paris is just so beautiful in the spring!

Parc Floral de Paris

If you are visiting Paris anytime soon, be sure to check out the Parc Floral de Paris. It is free admission until about the middle of June. It is a beautiful park situated just off the last stop on Metro 1 at Chateau Vincennes. The park is filled with flowers, ponds and waterfalls. You can stroll through the park, enjoy an Italian ice cream or even rent a two driver bicycle! There are a lot of things for kids to do at this park. There are climbing towers, slides, bicycles that look like horses, and even a ping pong tables.


I highly recommend a day out at Parc Floral de Paris when the sun is shining!