Recently in Fashion Category

The first round of photos from LA Fashion Week @ BoxEight are up on Flickr.

I'll be at BoxEight for the Spring 2009 Collection. I still need to post photos from the last gallery event...

Color Overload is a very cool Tshirt blog by Gino Orlandi, the talented designer who also runs one of my favorite design blogs, You the Designer. Color Overload is not your standard Tshirt or fashion blog - created with the designer in mind, instead of latest trends or "what I wore today"-type posts, you'll find an organized collection of very well-designed Tshirts that are presented in a fresh, inventive style. Tshirts are presented by category or color, and it's really inspiring to see what other designers are creating. If No Talent Hacks with Too Much Cash represents a bad direction in fashion and "design," Color Overload is a refreshing reminder that good design is alive and well, so be sure to support small, independent Tshist makers and designers with actual talent and quality products!

Here it is, the Rudyland FW08 collection of designer Tshirts! The Men and Women's tshirts are based on a custom pattern that is unique to Rudyland; they're not prefabricated shirt bodies from a generic wholesaler. The collar shirts and tshirts with stuff on them already are part of the "Rudyland Recycles" program, where I take existing garments and print my art on them, making something cool that is also good for the environment!

On Saturday I loaded my car with the Rudyland FW08 samples, camera gear, plenty to drink, and my awesome friends, and we headed for the BoxEight Factory in Downtown LA to take some pictures. I'm currently in the editing process right now, but the collection will be up by the end of the week, I promise! (see Photographer's Dilemma)

I have a secret shame - I read gossip blogs like The Superficial and Oh No They Didn't. But it's purely for the Schadenfreude Factor, ok? It's really entertaining to read about idiot "celebrities" doing dumb things and laughing. One trend I've noticed, however, is that for some reason all these people think they can launch a clothing line as easily as intentionally "forgetting" your underwear. Abandon any idea of hard work, good design, or artistic integrity - with all that cash who needs it?

I'm about halfway through getting my FW08 photos on Flickr. My "Photographer's Dilemma" is that I find far more enjoyment in the taking of pictures than in post-processing them - instead of sitting around making minor corrections in PS and then resizing photos for web, I'd rather go out and take more photos. It's counterproductive, really, because as I sort through my photos I often think to myself that although I am satisfied, I still feel that I could explore other situations and angles and lighting, and basically take the photo over again to make it better instead of bothering to edit what I have. I explained this to another artist and he called me selfish. He's probably right.

Of course, dealing with clients is totally different - all my clients get work delivered on time and in the specified format. But for personal stuff, I'm woefully lazy.

When I was still in school, a professor asked me "What is your best photo?"

My answer? "I haven't taken it yet."

The Rudyland Premier Collection for FW 08 is in production right now. By the numbers:

• 9 original designs
• 2 unique patterns exclusive to Rudyland
• 50 shirts total - 25 Men's & 25 Women's
• 4 colors - black, white, and two pantones
• 3 special thread colors used, since having black thread on a black shirt is boring!

Art Preview: Days until LA Market: around 50

LA Fashion Week FW 08 was amazing; I had press credentials for both BoxEight shows, which were done beautifully @ The Factory, their official studio in the downtown fashion district.

I'm in the process of organizing and editing all the photos; there are nearly 1000 photos covering 4 collections, art installations, live performances, party people, and exactly one lowrider (it was a '63 Impala and it was rad).

In March last year I had a press pass to the very cool BoxEight Fashion Show in Downtown LA, held at the gorgeous Los Angeles Theater. The stunning opulence of the old time movie palace was the perfect backdrop for the exciting and unique show, which showcased a variety of distinctive styles.