 Comfy maxi shirts, extra wide sleeves, flared pants, sporty jackets and more.... We love the Marfy sewing patterns from Italy. Especially the trends for Spring 2021. We got the newsletter by email and want to share it with our readers.
Remember beautiful Christy Turlington as the Chanel Model of the 80's? She was amazing and she still is! We love her as an activist for several foundations to support women all over the world. And we love her new running advertisement for Adidas shown on Vogue.com.
 Stella McCarthey introduced her new collection of garments made from Mylo leather last week. Mylo is a new fabric made by the clever engineers from Bolt Threads™.
'Mylo Unleather' is a durable fabric made from champions. Mylo has the appearance and properties of leather and is soft, supple and less harmful to the environment. Adidas, lululemon, and Stella McCartney now use this fabric for their new collections.  We love the interview with Gabriela Hearts about Sustainability and we would like to share it with you. It is available on the Vogue website.
 The home dress is back in town! Vogue has spent an entire article this week about the home dress and selected the most beautiful dresses for the reader. But what is a home dress? And why would you want (to make) it?
CHANEL is faithful since Decembre 2001 to Amanda Sanchez, one of the two in-house models! The first person she spoke to was Virginie Viard.  We simply love Fashion-designer Stella McCartney and her vision on fashion & sustainability. Read the surprising and inspiring article on Vogue.com last days. She tells us all about her promises in this collection, which was 80% sustainable. She also used up the overstock of said fabrics she’s been saving for the last 20 years.
 Nice, thick, warm winter coats ... All of a sudden we need them anyway. Yess! It seems a bit too late in the season to start sewing a coat.... But it is possible. Sewing a DIY-winter coat seems like a lot of work but that is not true! We will help you to make a good choice in terms of sewing pattern. Let's start sewing!
Bridgerton is an American drama series created by Chris Van Dusen and produced by Shonda Rhimes and is on Netflix since December 2020. It is based on Julia Quinn's novels. It takes place around 1813 in the competitive world of Regency London at the debutante ball: regency dresses, gloves and umbrellas. Daughters of aristocratic backgrounds make their debut in the hope of securing a suitable marriage partner.
Totally new! But Bridgerton is not just a costume drama as we have seen in the past such as Downton Abbey, Amadeus, The King's speech, The remains of the day and Pride & Prejudice. Bridgerton is innovative in terms of casting. The cast is multi-cultural and it fits perfectly into the story. In addition, we all enjoy Bridgerton exactly at the right moment. We are in a dark time because of the Pandemic and most people have been living in their hoodies and sweatpants for months. And suddenly there is a delightful series in which the costumes look dramatically large, extremely beautiful and almost unreal.
Run-away-bride?
We cannot run from a Pandemic, in fact, we are all trapped in our home or our limited work-related-circle or 'social bubble'. We have to get the Pandemic under control and prevent it from spreading around. Of course, everyone knows it won't last forever, even though it feels like it. But we can escape and enjoy our digital life, a good book or great movies and series. Like Bridgerton! Costumes and dressing up big time! The life at Bridgerton's is so different that it seems almost unreal. Beautiful settings, people and even better: the costumes and accessories. While we are walking in the streets with masks and plastic gloves, the Bridgerton artistocracy walks with umbrellas, mega dresses (with crinoline cages underneath), hats and long, flawless white or lace gloves. When was the last time we dressed up so chic, or did we do our very best to look neat and clean? It seems a long time ago.... The twenties of this century, so far, do not look like 'the roaring twenties' (of the last century) at all.... 
Dressing up, in dark times
In this corona crisis, is hardly applicable anymore. Why should we? Many people opt for convenience and comfort. But dressing up also has to do with joie de vivre, self-confidence, self-esteem and ambition. As we wrote in: Living in a bubble, we now live and work digitally, but we are definitely seen. Behind the screen during Facetime conversations, by means of selfies for Instagram or during meetings on Zoom. A nice blouse with a bow or brooch, or a homemade Chanel-style jacket, shows a different attitude than a sweater or hoodie with a just-out-of-bed hairstyle. Read more: Dressing up or dressing down 
Bridgerton as inspiration
But for now, fortunately, we have Bridgerton to escape from the abnormally-normal now-a-days world. We live in our comfortable - dressing down clothes for months.... And while we are enjoying ourselves watching the innovative costume drama, why not make something ourselves? Just for fun, or for the future (party)? Our suggestions for you to get creative:
Summarized:
While we are enjoying the Netflix series Bridgerton and the beautiful costumes, we realize once again how we are live during the Pandemic and lockdown(s). We hardly make any effort to look good. Comfort is more important than chic, and that is of course practical. Dressing down is also part of life and has become almost standard in this corona time ... But 'Dressing up' says a lot about you as a person and is always possible. Use the beautiful series as inspiration and make something beautiful for yourself, for now or later. We won't be walking down the street in crinolines or mega costumes, but sometimes it's not just about the result, but also about the feeling and of course the challenge of the sewing process!  The spencer (sleeveless sweaters) and the waistcoat (sleeveless blazers) are back in fashion this fall/winter. But that's always the case because they are always ideal in changeable weather. Or are they really beloved and timeless classics? A spencer is timeless A spencer is a sleeveless sweaters and have been in fashion for so long that they either look very old-fashioned or super modern. Think of the classic check spencer. The checkered spencers are looking as old as the Middle-Ages but they are super modern as well. Especially if these retro-items are combined with modern trends. We believe spencers can be both terribly ugly and timelessly beautiful. It just depends on how you wear a spencer and how you style it. Tips:
 Waistcoats Waistcoats have never really gone out of style. They have evolved over time and have often adapted in shape and length. From super short and sexy to long and casual. And let's not forget that they belong to the workwear of many, especially the yellow vests in traffic (and demonstrations!), Protection for lumberjacks and nature guides, body protectors, business clothing and evening wear. But it remains a clothing item "You either like or you either don't" ... Tips:
 Summarized: Every autumn and winter, variants of the spencer and waistcoat come along with the announcement that they are super trendy again. But it is really a matter of taste whether this will be such a success or not. Would you like to make a nice waistcoat in Bouclé fabric? That is definitely recommended. Sewing pattern: Newlook 6914 Would you like to make a nice chic, modern longer waistcoat? Sewing pattern: Sewing Scandinavian style  What about circular fashion? A term you will hear more and more. Is it just about recycling clothes or does it mean more? We will explain to you, give some examples and make it clear to everyone. Hope you will get inspired! Get rid of waste! The cheaper the clothing (think of large retail store with cheap clothing), the bigger the waste of raw materials. That's a fact and clear to everyone. The fashion industry has become a throwaway industry. The clothing is so cheap, it has such a poor quality, it will almost 'disappear' after a few washes. This is because mixes of fabrics are used which are as cheap as possible and because the clothing is produced as cheaply as possible. Think of fast, bad seams, think of cheap finishing (or lack off) and think especially of closures in the form of zippers, buttons, etc. bad and poor quality. Nice and cheap Of course it is nice if you can buy cheap clothes and most of us often buy them because of budgetary reasons. Why would you buy pants for 90 euros, when you can also buy them for 19.95 euros? We all love 'fast fashion' as much as we love 'fast food'. Fast, easy and cheap. And if it's so cheap... why not buy two servings of junk food or two pants instead of one, right away? Fast-fashion industry is based on over-consumption. We not only want cheaper, but also more. We buy more than we need.  Hèrmes-style bag and jewellery; perfect findings at a thrift store. Circular economy action plan But the waste and the major consequences of this on the environment, more and more people do not like it anymore and take action. The European Commission launched the European Green Deal with a Circular Economy action plan that mainly concerns the textile industry. There will have to be a transition to a circular fashion and textile industry that prevents waste of raw materials. On a global level and as permanent change. It's about time... Sustainable lifestyle = chic Circular fashion is a term that has a lot to do with just second-hand and recycled fashion but it is a lot more. It is not something to be ashamed of, as a fashion house or employees in the textile industry, but we all should be proud of it. More and more big-names fashion labels are participating and that's great! The corona crisis has also accelerated this process because it was difficult to obtain raw materials and because we stayed at home en masse and put on our 'home-wear'. These are garments that are easier to make from recycled fabrics. And we have discovered we do not need an overload of clothes and 'things' to be happy. H&M recently introduced a LOOOP system in Sweden where old or unused clothing is shredded and pulverized and made into fibers without the use of water and chemicals. These fibers are mixed with other fibers and can be used for new clothing. Apart from all environmental aspects, there is also a more social system linked to fair working conditions for employees in the entire textile production chain. And there is a great emphasis on respect for craftsmanship. For the first time in ages, crafts are respected and appreciated by consumers. Let's go circling! Circular actually means nothing more than that a garment is made in a special way; after use (or non-use) it returns into the circle of production to get another life. A kind of 'upcyling', but on a larger level. A garment will never really come to the end of its life, because it can be used to make something different from the raw materials. This can be done in the way LOOOP: completely pulverized, but it is also possible because the garment has a timeless appearance and is quickly transformed into something new with simpler adjustments. Like this: "If you wait long enough, fashion will always come back" ..., but more actively.  Recycling, upcycling and circular fashion It all has to do with each other, but it mainly means that garments no longer disappear into the waste bin. At the beginning of the process, more thought is given to the raw materials, the production process and especially the lifespan of the clothing. The fact that clothes are often thrown away is actually very strange. After all, it also contains a lot of things that can be reused anyway. Think of zippers, buttons, decorations. We already wrote about this in 'Start your own haberdashery collection'. Do it yourself! Some tips for getting involved in circular fashion:
Don't throw anything away! Sell, borrow, exchange, give or recycle as much textiles as possible. What is worthless to one person can be of great value to another. Even if an old, worn-out T-shirt ends up in a dog basket -> the dog (yours or someone else's) is happy with it again. Even more creative: cut it into strips and braid it into a toy. How simple can it be?  Summarized: Circular fashion is all about the production process, from the first step to the last, the environment, the lifespan of clothing and the social aspects are taken into account, to avoid wasting (raw) materials. You can also participate yourself. Make your own clothing, but especially when buying, think about the type of fabric, the lifespan of clothing and whether you want to go for fast-fashion or sustainable clothing. We are ABSOLUTELY participating. You too? Ideas, suggestions, opinions and especially examples are more than welcome.  Almost everything is suitable for upcyling - projects: from ties till laptop sleeve
The Chanel Pre-Fall 2020/2021 Collection, by Virginie Viard, is shown at Château de Chenonceau / Le Château des Dames - France) Filmed by: Alex Arcoleo - Glowing Moon / Headphones In, Anton Flanders - Blaze. A beautiful collection in a surprising setting.
Chanel - timeless allure! This collection breathes Chanel, Chanel and again Chanel. You don't have to use a magnifying glass to notice it is all created by the fashion house Chanel. Coco Chanel would be proud because many designs and the essence of Chanel is strongly present and has been translated to these modern times. Black and white & colors The colors black, white and gray (anthracite) clearly dominate the show, translated into beautiful Bouclé jackets and checkered fabrics for skirts, Pied-de-poule fabrics for jackets and suits. In addition, we see beige, soft pink, jeans blue, a single color ocher-yellow, orange (brique) and peacock-blue. But the black and white tones dominate the entire collection. Fabrics The season offers an infinity of possible fabrics. After all, it is an intermediate season and the days are always either warm or cold. This reflects the collection. From warm Bouclé fabrics to almost transparent chiffon. The leather look or real leather fabrics are striking and strong. These are deep black and show very tough and strong. There is also a lot of spandex for leggings. We are a little less enthusiastic about these leggings. The Bouclé fabrics vary in look: from a sleeveless jacket (for warm days) to a complete Bouclé outfit including a warm long coat. 
FF Channel, Chanel | Pre-Fall 2020/2021 | Full Show
Haute couture
In the collection you notice all the work behind the scenes. A complete crochet dress, lots of embroidery and detailed finishes that are undoubtedly made by hand. See the video: Chanel documentary - Chanel journal of a collection. Variations in style The beautiful details in terms of fabric and accessories are genius. We see many small bags, striking belts and jewelery in the form of hairpieces, earrings, a few hats and necklaces. This ensures, among other things, that there is a lot of variation in style. The styles are baroque, hippies, retro, casual and business. Some black long coats can even pass as Gothic-style. We think the long dresses, long coats and flowing fabrics are beautiful and very feminine. After all, in times of (corona) crisis, many fabrics are always used in clothing to create a feeling of luxury and well being. It is a wonderful collection and ewe like the vararity of different styles. We are curious what eventually will be spotted on the streets. The collection is easily translated for the mainstream public. By the way, we miss the facemasks and we will skip the leggings... 
Stop watching Netflix series and close your book. Here is a - free - film about Chanel's Haute couture from A to Z. It is a film by Loic Prigent.
Haute couture documentary This You-tube movie is certainly not a little movie; it is true documentary. The film lasts an hour and you will enjoy it. The film was shot from June to July 2020, after the lockdown in Paris, but still in the middle of the pandemic. You will notice the face masks and the social distance rules. Behind the scenes The documentary shows the ateliers of Chanel, the new director Virginie Viard, the seamstresses, the leaders of the workshops, the studios, the fit models Amanda and Cris, the embroidery artists, the photographer and all the other people behind the scenes. A bit like the book: Chanel, the making of a collection. Despite the hectic nature that is inherent in making Haute couture collections, the documentary also shows nice relaxing moments, social interactions among the employees and coffee & coockies. What is striking is the passion of the employees when they are talking about their work and how proud they are to work for Chanel. Our conclusion: An honest documentary about the makers behind the Chanel brand. And definitely worth watching every minute of it! Inspiration? Yes, after this documentary you immediately want to start making Haute couture yourself!
Filmed with Julien Da Costa Sound by Clément Duché Edited by Anthony Goujjane and Konstantin Maslakov Produit par Natacha Morice pour DERALF (Divertissant Et Révoltant A La Fois) Contact : deralfproduction@gmail.com Music : Audionetworks baby!
 Patchwork is very 2020 ánd the future!  Thrilled to Pieces: |
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