Take Me Back To Manhattan

Hello Readers!

So, at long last, after traveling through Spain, Italy, Turkey, & Egypt, I've returned to NYC!  The lovely Hotel Belleclaire was kind enough to generously sponsor me again during my visit.  Situated in the Upper West Side, their location is ideal.  It's close to Lincoln Center, Central Park, the subway, & lots of restaurants & stores.  It's also not too noisy a location, which is nice & unusual for NYC.  It was such a nice place to come back to after the meetings of the day.  I was so lucky to have the chance to partner with them again!  Here are some photos of the visit, including one of my Corinne Monique pieces on display in the hotel lobby :)

above the clouds

Upper West Side

my fashion crew

Hotel Belleclaire lobby

Corinne Monique fashion installation

such pretty orchids

Broadway

view from Central Park

Garment District

Well, that's it for now...more to come!  Thanks again to the beautiful Hotel Belleclaire!

Until we meet again,

Corinne

xoxo

Nights (and Days) in the Gardens of Spain

Hola amigos!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  It's super duper hot here in Cairo (my current home-away-from-home), but I know it still feels like winter back in Canada, so here's a post for my peeps to heat things up :)

A while back, before I officially debuted my line, Corinne Monique, I designed and made a few capsule collections.  This post features one of those collections entitled 'Latinada.'  The collection was inspired by Spanish, Mexican, and South American painters and composers, by Latino and Hispanic artists who conjure up images of faraway terracotta-tiled, sunkissed villas and ladies with flowers in their hair, swaying in the breeze.  Press play & close your eyes...

{ http://youtu.be/aSf8Z5xuMBQ }

{ http://youtu.be/sIvmYMXB7FQ }

Now open your eyes!

Miquel Barceló

Ricardo Chavez Mendez

Playing With Fire

Dear Readers,

I've been going through all my photos & finding some little gems while tidying things up a bit.  I came across a shoot I did with my uber-talented cellist sister, Kathleen Long, a while back, using a Corinne Monique dress from the Latinada capsule collection, shoes I inherited after a Greta Constantine runway show, & probably half the jewelry I own haha (ok, ok, I own more than that...but I'm just saying it was a lot of layering).  It was a very last-minute, "hey, lets go do this before it gets dark out" kind of shoot we did for a poster for one of Kathleen's performances.  We shot it in the last hours of daylight at the Toronto Music Garden, down by the Harbourfront, another location scouted by my ever-supportive mother, Norah Long.  The shoot featured Kathleen with her cello, much like the Valentina, Valentino photoshoot we did together with the custom couture recycled gown made from curtains.  But this time, the inspiration behind the shoot, & the end result, was much different from that sweet & sombre shoot.

For hair and makeup, as well as the set, I was inspired by Beyoncé's Run the World (Girls) video, directed by Francis Lawrence & shot in the Mojave Desert, California.  I loved the smoky, post-apocalyptic look of things and Beyoncé's gladiator-esque armour-inspired looks, featuring pieces designed by Alexander McQueen, Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier, Gareth Pugh, & Emilio Pucci, among others.  I also had Kathleen do a quick study on some of the poses which brought across a sense of power & authority in order to capture a similar aggressive, assertive image.

The Life of a Legend and Death of a Diva

"There are things that we don't want to happen but have to accept, things we don't want to know but have to learn, and people we can't live without but have to let go." ~ Author Unknown

Jeanette "Cookie" Cooke-Dabney 11/29/1955 - 1/20/2014

Cookie 'werking' the runway in the gown I designed and made just for her.
photos: Brooks Fotographie & Brian Branch Price

Yesterday, the world of fashion lost one of its brightest stars and greatest spirits, a true model in every sense of the word.   I lost my great mentor, a beautiful model and muse, and a special friend whom I loved dearly.  You may not know her, but you would have loved her too...everyone did.

Cookie, the amazing designer Willie Hall, and me at NYFW 

Things That Go Bump In the Night

Good Evening...

Here's a little dose of creepy couture for your Halloween hoots...be afraid, be very afraid...& don't blame me if you have nightmares!

Roundup Redux

How exciting is this?!  I've made Independent Fashion Blogger's Links à la Mode again!  Thank you IFB!  I am so grateful to be chosen alongside these other fantastic bloggers - please be sure to read their posts!!!

Picture Perfect

Whether it be styling the right outfit, looking good in glasses, or finding treasures in your closet, ultimately as fashion bloggers we share our fashion story. Through words or through photography, this roundup takes a closer look at making life more beautiful, fashion icons like Lilly Pulitzer who passed away over the weekend, Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli.. and the downward spiral of the house of Saint Laurent. What are we going to do to keep the world beautiful? Sustainable fashion and shopping our closets? And how will we document it.. there are fantastic photo tutorials in the mix to. Enjoy!

Links à la Mode: The IFB Weekly Roundup, April 11th

• Aesthete News: Saint Laurent Goes Rogue with Marilyn Manson and More
• Clever Little Buttons: Fashion Icon Lilly Pulitzer - I will Miss Her
• Coco and Picasso: "Fashion is a B*tch"
• Corinne Monique: The Year of the Serpent
• DIY Doyenne: Iconic Figures in Fashion: Chanel and Schiaparelli
• Ethical Fashion Blog: Is there a sustainable fashion revolution taking place?
• Fashion is Evolution: Adventures in Free-lensing
• Floral & Flannel: Four Eyed and Fabulous
• Inspirations and Celebrations: Designer Spotlight - Lilly Pulitzer
• Magnolia Reverie: Some tips for self-portraits
• Margo and Me: California Coachella Cool
• Miss S.J.: J Brand Denim Dedication at The Dressing Room
• Oh to be a Muse: What's Your Shoe Game Like?
• Rose and Pine: Spring Florals for Under $85!
• Real Girl Glam: 4 Ways to Wear Boyfriend Jeans
• Tailor Spy: Welcome to Buttons State!
• Twelve52: Does Beauty Blogging Make Us More Self-Conscious?
• The Fashionable Wife: Shopping Your Closet
• The Photogramps: 10 Tips for Great Blog Photos
• Wishing for Chanel: Dynamic Denim Mary Katrantzou/Current/Elliot collab

SPONSOR: New @Shopbop: 3x1, Alas, Star Mela, Beth Richards, Flogg, Moyna, Thierry Mugler, Ulla Johnson, Friends & Associates, Star Mela, & Stella McCartney Sunglasses

Draw A Dot

Hello again!

See, that wasn't too long of a wait, was it? :)

Just a quick post on a fashion illustration contest I've entered put on by Draw A Dot. x SixLee x Fashionary.

Since SixLee's S/S 2013 collection was inspired by Juan Gatti's paintings, I chose to contrast the layered and airy pale blues and greys of the SixLee piece in my watercolour illustration with a fun Gatti-like background.  If you like my illustration, you can vote for me to win the contest by clicking on the photo of my illustration which will take you to it's Facebook photo link.  From there, 'like' the photo, as well as 'liking' Draw A Dot.'s Facebook page to vote for me!

You can also check out my Facebook page dedicated to my illustrations if you like!  And be sure to contact me directly if you are interested in commissions, orders, or collaborations :)

Thank you!

Corinne

xoxo

PS Thank you all for voting for my illustration - it made the final five!!!

The Year of the Serpent

Dearest Readers,

I am so sorry for the almost year-long delay in posts, but I was so busy with so many exciting and wonderful projects!  The coming posts on all the news will be well worth the wait, I promise!

For my first post this year, I wanted to tell you all about my début fashion show of my eponymous womenswear line, Corinne Monique, during New York Fashion Week this past February!  Thanks to some wonderful sponsors, friends, and family, and to Rogues Gallery Presents, run by the extremely talented Ron Cooke, who put on the Emerging Designer Showcase, I was able to live the dream.  It truly still feels like it might have all been just a fabulous dream and I keep having to pinch myself to remind me that the experience was real!  I was the only Canadian designer invited to show & I actually ended up closing the Showcase, which was such an honour as the other designers I showed with, Urban Masala by Sehar Peerzada, Willie Hall, Mikasa La Charles, Diane Linston, 7T7 by Tarique Tabani, and Brehon Williams, were all amazingly talented.

My Fall/Winter 2013 collection, entitled ‘The Year of the Serpent,’ was inspired by a sense of wanderlust surrounding the exoticism of the Far East and is a modern take on the Orientalism of bygone eras.  The decadent and dramatic, yet controlled collection examines the symbolism of the poisonous serpent, a mythological creature familiar to all cultures, and often a symbol of female power.  The Orient of my mind encompassed Asian locales including China, Japan, Tibet, Russia, Mongolia, Iran, Indochina, and India, with a few non-Eastern influences thrown in from other sunny faraway cultures, such as Argentina, Spain, Peru, and Mexico.  Here are a few photos of my mood/inspiration board, fabrics, including hand-felted silk, and my sketches:

Exciting Exhibit Excursions - Part 2

Dear Readers,

I'm baaack...with part deux!  Besides my visit to NYC, the other place I traveled to this summer was Montréal!  I had only been there once before for a couple of days, so I was pretty excited about going there again.  During my visit, I stayed with my darling friend, wonderful cellist, and tour guide extraordinaire, Marie-Cristine Pelchat St-Jacques :)  Other than visiting Marie and exploring Montréal, I was able to go to the exhibit The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier, From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk at the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts!  Actually, my previous visit to Montréal just happened to coincide with the Yves Saint Laurent exhibit at the MMFA.  Both exhibits were very well presented!  The Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit was fun to visit because it was humorous as well as beautiful and gave you a real sense of JPG's personality.  The mannequins had computerized faces and some of them would speak or sing :)  Here are some of my favourite pieces:

Exciting Exhibit Excursions - Part 1

Dear Readers,

Yes, the time has come for the long-promised post about my escapades this past summer!  For the first time, I was able to go to NYC this summer not once but TWICE!!  My lovely bosses at Greta Constantine, Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong, became my fairy godfathers and took me with them!  The first time, we went to see the Alexander McQueen exhibit, Savage Beauty, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art!  The second time, we went during New York Fashion Week!  Lucky me!!!

First stop, the Met:

And now for Savage Beauty.  This exhibit was, in a word, amazing.  It was the best exhibit I have ever been to and was incredibly well done.  It also gave me an eerily strong sense of McQueen's spiral into increasing darkness.  It was an obsessive exploration.  Each piece was a beautiful work of art, and I've included a few of my favourite photos from the exhibit below:

images courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, 

and from the exhibition catalogue, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, photography by © Sølve Sundsbø / Art + Commerce

 

Meet Me At the Met!

New York's Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute Gala this past Monday chose a special topic for the evening.  The traditional accessibly fun and sometimes trivial themes of past Galas were replaced by a more weighty, serious subject matter:  paying tribute to the work and memory of the late Lee Alexander McQueen and the unveiling of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibit in his honour, entitled Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty.

God Save McQueen!

via: Telegraph

Dear Readers,

I must preface this by saying, had Kate Middleton not made the right dress choice last Friday, this post would not exist.

Truth be told, up until last week, I wasn't very excited about the Royal Wedding.  But I started to get into it, and come Friday morning, after I saw the (correct) dress, I just couldn't help myself!  I got sucked in to the frenzy of monarchical madness!!  (You might not be able to tell, but I wrote this post with a British accent!)

For anyone who missed the wedding and wants to catch up, this is basically what happened (and I dare any wedding naysayers not to enjoy this!):

Art Decoupage

Edward Steichen, Gloria Swanson (lace), 1924

Hello again Dear Readers,

I hope you were all able to take in some fashion shows this past season, or at least got to flip/click through photos of the shows :)

Here's some of what I was busy doing last month at the gorgeous Eastern-inspired Greta Constantine Fall/Winter 2011 show...

Daring & Demure: A Tale of Two Red Carpets (Grammys & BAFTAs)

Hello Readers,

This past weekend, two interesting fashion events occurred (ok, way more if you count the start of the Fall/Winter 2011 Ready-To-Wear season with the Montreal and New York Fashion Weeks kicking off.  But never fear, I will, of course, cover that in detail in a future post...):  the Grammys and the BAFTAs.  

To me, the Grammys are always an excuse to go absolutely crazy (sometimes to the extreme and ridiculous) with fashion, and the celebs seem to try to get away with as much (or as little ;) as possible.  This year, some fashion choices even left me asking, "who hatched this idea?"  As I have no (kind) words for certain wardrobe choices, I will just post some looks I liked...

My favs:

Rihanna in Christian Dior Haute Couture
I love couture & I love pansies, nuff said.
Plus, I think this dress shows off this gorgeous girl's *ahem* assets better than other outfits...
& still screams for attention, just in a different way.

Masquerade! Paper faces on parade...

Around this time of year, I always get the January blues - too many short, dark days and too much winter, cold, and snow (I wonder if people who live in warmer climates have this issue?).  I am a film lover and often escape with a good movie year-round, but during the dead of winter, this pastime almost becomes a necessary obsession.  I am also a lover of themes and like to watch "seasonal" movies (crazy, I know).  This includes films I deem "wintery" or those which are the complete opposite of winter, as a virtual vacation.  For some reason, I always have the urge to watch The Phantom of the Opera around this time of year...you have to be in the mood for that one and around about now it just feels right ;)

Anyway, this got me to thinking about masquerades in general and how that theme was often used in literature (think Shakespeare) as well as films and fashion.  I love the idea behind masquerades and masks - the ability to conceal one's identity and become someone or something else for a short time.  I also love the glamour and mystery associated with masquerades.  Wouldn't it be fun to have a masquerade party?!

Besides The Phantom of the Opera there are some other great masked moments in film:

Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette