Samantha Sung designs her exquisite textiles by painting her original prints. She is inspired by traveling the world and adapting traditional artisan designs, making each piece unique with both sophistication and comfort in mind. Her classically shaped tunics have instant appeal to the modern woman regardless of age.
“I find inspiration all around me. I really love to travel and for me, traveling and sketching are almost simultaneous – I cannot do one without the other.” Samantha Sung
It communicates an instant message and yet tells a compelling truth. We choose colors by our emotions and when you walk into that roomful of viewers you are saying something about yourself. Color has an emotional appeal, noted by expressions or phrases like green with envy, red-hot lover, moody blue, mellow yellow.
I feel color when I wear it.
Fall winter is my moody period and I project myself in mostly blacks and whites with teases of intense hues for what I like to call a laid back sophisticated style. While in spring I like to adopt a refreshing hue of lightness reminiscing of the blue sea, sand and crystal day sky, perennial yellows and oranges, orchid purples with silver accents, luscious blue-green, hummingbird iridescence. Indulge me in silky sheers and feathery light drapy linens with the luxury of movement that projects an illusion of a summer ocean breeze.
It all makes sense, with the staggering heat and sluggish humidity of summer or the deep chill of winter, you must feel a connected part in the midst of the elements of nature. My solution is to borrow from nature the colors in their natural surroundings. Wildflowers, mosses, the projected turquoise of the sea, the apple blossom with an array of citrus colors all lend a brilliant palette.
The lesson from nature is to trust the spectrum of color it offers.
When choosing your style colors be playful. I like to layer the same color in different hues and texture, showing dimensions of the color and creating a rich image.
If brilliant colors suit your palette and your style imagines a range that transforms your spirit to be more fun, alive and brighter, use nature to discover the stunning choices you can connect with intimately.
Patterns dazzle the color spectrum with movement and fantasy.
Often projecting a diverse style, they allow for a lively palette of personal choice. Spring summer lends a delightful opportunity to expand the color vocabulary while bringing a theatrical highlight to your taste.
Look around and discover the multiple color choices in bloom or on a rocky cliff or while walking a desert path, look closely.
Design is about transforming your shape; color simply identifies your soul.
By Gabrielle Ruvolo
This year is the beginning of a new era; a New Look in fashion will be characterized by the challenging time we now live in. What becomes unfashionable is influenced by this shifting economic change and what becomes fashionable will be an emotional reaction.
From the excessive gluttonous, ’take all that one can get’ years to a future of growing financial concerns and constraints, we have now entered into a time of more restrictions placed on our daily choices. How will this play into fashion. We live in an era of greatly diverse fashion choices than ever before, when just a few decades ago fashion designers produced a look by virtue of the times. Wars, economic boom times as well as downturns dramatically made their effect known on the world of fashion as well as the world of music and food, interior design, cars and gadgets.
‘What’s in, what’s out’ are determined by are value system and the new financial restraints dictated by this capricious time. The days of consumerism and opulence are over for now.
The monogram bag and showy studs, metal and tacky gemstones, silly frills are about out. Statements of worth by virtue of corrupt financial worlds are out and a more authenticity and simplistic styling are certainly gaining admirers. Society has a way of imposing what we wear by the changing times. What comes with a time of economic criticism of capitalism, possibly a greater independence from the social hierarchy with a growing emphasis on clean simplistic classical lines that avoids fashions excesses.
The 1970’s and the financial crisis of deep economic recession brought us longer hemlines, trousers for women, denim, thrift store hippy finds, and a retro return to the 30’s emphasizing the romantic nostalgia.
Time is right for denouncing gimmicks, monograms on bags and extolling a discreet minimal look with earthy hues. Hmmm, where are we going with this? This is 2009, fashions time for a transformation. So how does the fashion industry deal with this added constraint by consumer resistance to pay high prices for trendy looks. It may be a practical time but with women still holding on to elegance and glamour with a sense of power yet romance and allure while avoiding the unwelcome attention of gimmicks.
Women are admired for their intellectual and perceptive powers, their enigmatic clever wit, their good sense and their lively enthusiasm. Innovation is in the hands of designers to define this new era of fashion that will compliment the woman of today whether she is a housewife or a businesswomen, a doctor or an artist, living in the countryside or a cosmopolitan city. Fashion demands something new like elegance and practicability.
By Gabrielle Ruvolo
feminine silhouette . . .