I came across Brazilian designer Maria Elvira Crosara. She designs clothing under the fashion brand Anunciação. One of her techniques is to commission guest artists to design the prints and embroideries used in her clothing. Artist Catalina Estradda's illustrations appear in the winter 07 collection. Her illustrations are seen in the orange and blue dress below.

What is most striking for me is that the print and embroidery seem to be more meaningful in her collections than the actual design of the clothing. The following picture is an example of embroidery on her clothing. Although the jacket is beautiful, it is overshadowed by the the bright embroidery. I do love how much colour she uses in her designs, and I love the playfulness of the prints she selects.


Another designer-team I love is Jovovich-Hawk. I especially like their collection from Fall/Winter 2005. It is so feminine and tom-boyish at the same time!

Well, I dragged out my sketchbook today, and decided to do a little sketching. I haven't just sketched for the fun of it in a long time, so below are some of what I finished today. Here are some artists I found this week and whose work I love! They are Maria Ikonomopoulou, Kiki Smith, Mar Hernández, Julie West, and Saskatoon-based artists Yuka Yamaguchi and Kristin Bjornerud.