More of Celia Birtwell Prints

Pet Portrait

Looking at old fashioned style framed portraits for a project, I came across this interesting style.
These are digital portraits of pets in formal victorian wardrobe in beautiful sepia tones.
They are the work of Cindy Jerrell and can be found at Etsy/Shop/HotDigitalDog

Celia Birtwell and a love for prints!

Celia Birtwell

Celia Birtwell, (born 1941) is a textile designer known for her distinctive bold, romantic and feminine designs, which draw influences from Picasso, Matisse and from the classical world. She was well-known for her prints which epitomised the 1960s/70s. After a period away from the limelight she has returned to fashion.



She studied textile design at Salford School of Art, where in 1959 she met the fashion designer Ossie Clark, whom she later married in 1969 after being reintroduced when they both studied in London.

Muse of David Hockney and partner of Ossie Clark, Celia Birtwell is and was the most important textile designer of her generation. She has been described as the face that launched a thousand prints and her major contribution to the world of interiors and fashion 

The collaboration began with a 1966 collection for the Quorum boutique in London, which they shared with the designer Alice Pollock. It was the Clarks who began the modern catwalk show: the previous procession of modeled clothes was put to music, the London glitterati were invited, and the shows became events. 

Birtwell worked at home designing textiles for Clark, who would use his skill in cutting and understanding of form, together with her knowledge of fabrics and textures to produce haute couture for the 1960s culture. 

From 1967 to 1973 Celia and Ossie were the toast of the fashion industry and dressed everyone from the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Jimmy Hendrix, Paloma Picasso, Talitha Getty, Patty Boyd, Twiggy and Marianne Faithful all the way to the British Aristocracy. It was during this time that Dave Gilmore drove a van for Ossie before he found fame in his band, Pink Floyd.

With the collapse of her marriage in 1973, Celia left the fashion industry to raise her children and teach at colleges across London, including Chelsea School of Art. She continued to be painted and drawn by David Hockney and it was with his help and support that, in 1984, she decided to start designing again. With a need to have complete control over her designs Celia decided to open a shop in Notting Hill’s Westbourne Park Road and she quickly established herself as a force to be reckoned with in the world of interiors.

Her distinctive bold, romantic and feminine designs have inspired collections throughout the fashion industry whilst her and Ossie’s style has been present on the catwalk across the globe for the past four decades. It is no wonder, then, that her enduring style has enticed some of UK’s most respected designers, retailers & manufacturers to seek an invitation to collaborate with her on an ever-growing array of fashion and lifestyle products.

Celia was always the single driving force in her business and it was in 2006, prior to the launch of the hugely successful and critically acclaimed collaboration with Top Shop, that she decided to retire from managing the business and hand the reins over to her son, George and daughter in law, Bella.

A style icon with a rich and colourful history she continues to design and delight her fans across the globe.

How would you dress Lady Gaga? I

When clothes are not made of fabric - Trompe l´oeil

To and Fro, Acrylic on birch plywood construction, 2008

Good Dream

Wallflower

These are the work of artist Ron Isaacs.
He works in wood, creating what amounts to an optical illusion - trompe l'oeil ("fool the eye") making the viewer question whether the subject of the piece is real or a representation.

Isaacs work is based in three main areas.
Clothing is central; 
Plant material is important too: "I keep falling in love with leaves."
And then there are the works that are about surfaces. 

Her House

Into the garden

Ron Isaacs builds clothing out of plywood, then paints it.  His pieces are composed of Finnish birch plywood and acrylic paints.  He creates the illusion, shadow and textured found in 16th and 17th century Dutch genre painting.  But instead of flat panel, he works three-dimensional forms.  

Lucy's Cape (October), 2008, acrylic on birch plywood construction

Ron Isaacs, Polka Magnolia, 2008, Acrylic on birch plywood

Wisdom

BOTANY, 2009, Acrylic on birch plywood construction

Miles Away, Ron Isaacs 2002

La Nuit, Acrylic on birch plywood construction, 2009

Corvus, 2007, Acrylic on birch plywood construction

Mary Katrantzou @ Topshop

Mary Katrantzou, one of the most sucessful new emerging talents in fashion, has team up with one of my, ever, favorite shops in London - Topshop - and created a small collection.

Printed Scarf  £60.00

Printed Trousers £ 130.00

Floral Tee £50.00

Floral Leggings  £40.00