Cotton candy boas, silk stockings, and pink satin bows are hallmarks of Olivia De Berardinis’ deliciously sweet pinups. Sheer fabrics play against naked skin in a visual striptease. It’s pure cheesecake: beautiful girl in the girliest of lingerie. Enjoy.
Check out my previous post on Olivia’s artworks of Bettie Page.
Paolo Roversi photographed Tiiu Kuik for this photo-shoot “The Poetic Spirit” for Vogue Italia, September 2003. More art photography than fashion spread, these decadent sepia images seem to recall romantic vintage postcards.
Pics via Fashion Spreads.
Modern Antenna creates amazing contemporary kimono designs. Their simple and bold graphic prints are incredibly versatile, and can be styled in fashions ranging from chic to cute. J-pop group SCANDAL rocked these Brit-punk inspired co-ordinates for their album SCANDAL SHOW.
Check out the official Modern Antenna site here (all Japanese unfortunately).
SCANDAL pics via Comtrya Sugoi.
Itchiku Kubota is an artist recognised for his unique contributions to the art of kimono. A master of traditional decorative techniques, he attempted to recreate the lost tradition of tsujigahana. After decades of experimentation Kubota eventually merged modern innovations with ancient tradition to create his own unique decorative technique. Kubota’s planned masterpiece was a series of eighty kimono called the Symphony of Light, in which vast panoramas, flowed between kimono. While Kubota was unable to finish this work before his death, his son and daughter continue their father’s work today.
Lately I’ve seen a lot of really cute doll-like Japanese girls in magazine spreads and make-up tutorials. The combination of circle lenses and fake eyelashes, pouting lips and long curling wigs is both surreal and beautiful. While some people are critical that these fashions are an attempt not to look “Japanese”, everyone has the right to dress how they like, and I think these girls look fantastic.
Unfortunately I don’t have links for each individual images, but most of these pics should be from Drop Dead Kawaii and Get Into Fashion.
Taken from the 2006 Victorian Maiden Spring and Summer Collection, these simple and relaxed co-ordinates shows the elegance and beauty of Classical Lolita. While I love the more elaborate Lolita fashions, these images are a breath of fresh air, and the rustic-romantic look seem to anticipate the mori girl style. Enjoy.
I’ve featured Anne Leibocitz’s work before in this amazing Alice In Wonderland themed spread. So of course I couldn’t resist 2005 Vogue photo-shoot starring Drew Barrymore as Beauty, in Beauty and the Beast. The photo’s all have the classical compositions of paintings. The image of Beauty in the garden has a wonderful Pre-Raphaelite feel, while the dinner scene has the rich drapery and decadence of a Baroque still-life. It’s all very beautiful and romantic, a perfect fairy-tale with a happy ending.
Pics via Fairy Tale News.
Imai Kira’s illustration for the brand Angelic Pretty, perfectly depicts the aesthetic ideal of sweet lolita fashion. It’s a candy-colored world where doll-like girls with beautifully coiffured hair lounge on cakes and giant jars of strawberry jam.
Perfect if you have a sweet tooth for cute things.
The RAAK brand was created by Eiraku, to bring tenugui, Japanese facecloths, into the modern era. Eiraku was founded in 1615, and this impressive legacy is the foundation of the RAAK brand, as traditional designs are fused with modern elements. The result is textile design that is not only cute and quirky, but also surprising elegant and understated.
In addition to tenugui dyed using the traditional methods, RAAK also stocks handbags, scarfs, hats and other accessories
Visit their official website here
Takashi Murakami is an internationally recognized artist whose work should be familiar to anyone interested in contemporary art. Murakami coined the term “superflat” to describe both his own work, and an entire movement of Japanese pop artists inspired by both traditional Japanese arts and popular culture in the form of anime and manga.
Murakami’s work blurs the line between commercial illustration and fine art, perhaps best demonstrated in his work for Louis Vuitton. The art animation/commercial Superflat Monogram is the beautiful result of this collaboration, and it looks simply stunning in glorious HD.
In additiona to Superfalt Monogram I’m also featuring two more of Murakami’s video works; Super Flat First Love and KaiKai & Kiki. Enjoy.
You can check out Murakami’s official website here.
Pictures via Nong Jia Nu.